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Composites of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) filled with metallic particles of nickel (Ni) were prepared via a blending and hot-molding technique. Rescaled temperature dependence of electric and dielectric behaviors of Ni/PVDF composites were studied at wide content ranges. Results show that there is significant positive temperature coefficient effect and giant dielectric constant as the concentration of Ni is near the percolation threshold. The nonuniform distribution of filler particles in PVDF host is observed from the scanning electron microscope micrograph since they are aggregated in amorphous regions of PVDF and form a network of conducting chains. Two relaxation peak regions of dielectric constant are observed from −10 to 40 °C and from 100 to 150 °C, which can be attributed to the contribution of polar effect of PVDF. The percolation theory, the thermal expansion model, and the simple concept of polarization in the capacitors are employed to explain these experimental results.

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In this work, a facile route using a simple solvothermal reaction to synthesize 3D porous flowerlike hierarchical nanostructures (HNs) of α-Fe(2)O(3) without employing templates or matrices for self-assembly is presented. The morphology and compositional characteristics of the 3D HNs were investigated by various techniques. The 3D HNs composed of 2D nanopetals, were intercrossed with each other and constructed from nanobricks with a length of about 100 nm and a diameter of about 30 nm. Influencing factors such as the reaction time, dosage of reactants and the solvents are systematically investigated. A possible formation mechanism for the 3D HNs is proposed. On the basis of characterization results, the growth of such 3D HNs has been proposed as a self-assembly followed by Ostwald ripening process. The specific surface area of the 3D HNs also was investigated by using nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherms. The as-prepared α-Fe(2)O(3) HNs have a comparatively large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of about 52.51 m(2) g(-1). The photocatalytic properties of the as-obtained α-Fe(2)O(3) 3D HNs are systematically investigated, which was evaluated by the degradation of RhB dye under ultraviolet light irradiation. The result shows that photocatalytic activity is greatly affected by the hierarchical and porous structure.

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Porous fluorine-doped maghemite(γ-Fe2O3) hollow spheres have been prepared by facile route based on solvothermal reaction and sequential calcinations. The composition and morphology of the as-prepared samples were characterized by various techniques. The SEM and TEM results showed that the as-synthesized products exhibited a spherical morphology with porous hollow structures. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflectance spectra display that the optical performance of γ-Fe2O3 products are related to their structure and the fluorine concentrations. The porous hollow structured fluorine-doped γ-Fe2O3 spheres exhibit ferromagnetic properties with relatively high saturation magnetization at room temperature. According to the experimental results, a formation mechanism of the fluorine-doped γ-Fe2O3 hollow spheres has been presented. Under UV light irradiation, the photocatalytic degradation activities of the as-synthesized fluorine-doped γ-Fe2O3 samples for RhB dye were 2-5 times higher than that of the undoped sample. The prepared fluorine-doped γ-Fe2O3 hollow spheres will also aroused great interest for their application in catalysis, separation technology, sensors, nanotechnology, and biomedical fields.

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Silicon microchannel plates with a large surface area coated with a nickel layer are excellent templates for miniature supercapacitors. Three-dimensional Si-MCP/Ni/Ni(OH) 2 and Si-MCP/Ni/Co(OH) 2 sandwiched structures are produced with the Ni(OH) 2 and Co(OH) 2 thin films serving as the active materials in the supercapacitors which consist of microcrystalline and nano-sized flakes or rods. The specific capacitances derived from the CV and typical charge/discharge curves exhibit good consistency. The highest specific capacitance of 3.75 F cm À2 is obtained at a discharge current density of 10 mA cm À2 from Si-MCP/Ni/Ni(OH) 2 and 1.46 F cm À2 from Si-MCP/Ni/Co(OH) 2 at a scanning rate of 10 mV s À1 . At high rates, the specific capacitances measured from both samples are relatively low, but the excellent capacitive properties are restored at low rates after being subjected to several high rate charge/discharge cycles. Owing to the large specific capacitance per unit area, good cycling performance, small volume, and unique three-dimensional structure, these electrodes are excellent supercapacitors suitable for secondary power sources. In addition, the potential of nickel coated Si-MCPs as templates for miniaturization and integration of devices in practical applications is discussed and demonstrated.