Phototoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting represents a highly promising strategy to convert solar energy to chemical energy in the form of hydrogen, but its performance is severely limited by the water oxidation reaction. We conformally grew an ultrathin and continuous coating of Cu2O on TiO2 nanowire array (NWA) to form a truly core-shell TiO2@Cu2O NWA via a new facile, economical, and scalable polymer-mediated self-assembly approach, in which the polymer serves as a stabilizer, reductant, and linker simultaneously. This heteronanostructure was subsequently directly used as a photoanode for PEC water splitting, showing a photocurrent density of 4.66 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V vs RHE in 0.5 M Na2SO4 solution and a maximum photoconversion efficiency of 0.71%, both of which are the highest reported for TiO2-based photoanodes measured under the same conditions (neutral conditions and without any sacrificial agent). The superior PEC performance of the TiO2@Cu2O NWA toward water oxidation is primarily due to much enhanced visible light collection and charge separation for high charge carrier density as well as greatly facilitated charge transfer and transport. This work not only offers a novel TiO2@Cu2O core-shell NWA photoanode for highly efficient PEC water oxidation and investigate its enhancement mechanism but also provides scientific insights into the mechanism of the polymer-mediated self-assembly, which can be further extended to fabricate various other core-shell nanoarchitectures for broad applications.

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The extent of reaction between magnesium oxide (MgO) and silica fume (SiO2) is normally limited and mixes require high water contents to give suitable rheology. The use of considerably lower water contents and the formation of magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H) gel as a binding phase is made possible by adding sodium hexametaphosphate (Na-HMP) to the mix water prior to the addition of MgO and SiO2. This results in the formation of extensive reaction products and cured samples with high compressive strength and low porosity. In this work, the effect of Na-HMP on the hydration of MgO/SiO2 mixes is investigated using high water to solids ratio samples to allow monitoring of pH and the solution chemistry during hydration. It is shown that a relatively small amount of Na-HMP inhibits the formation of Mg(OH)2 when MgO is hydrolyzed. It is proposed that this is due to adsorption of phosphate species on the MgO which inhibits the nucleation of the Mg(OH)2.. This gives rise to high Mg 2+ species in solution and elevated pH (>12) conditions relative to when Mg(OH)2 forms. In contrast, the phosphate does not suppress formation of M-S-H gel. In combination with the enhanced dissolution rate of SiO2 at high pH, M-S-H gel can form quickly without competition for Mg 2+ ions by Mg(OH)2 precipitation. Incorporating the optimum concentration of Na-HMP into the mix water therefore transforms the properties of cement paste and mortar samples formed by reacting MgO and SiO2.

Semiconductor photocatalysts are widely used in environmental remediation and energy conversion processes that affect social development. These processes involve, for example, hydrogen production from water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction, pollutant...

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/lignin-containing cellulose nanofibrils (L-CNFs) composite films with different lignin contents were produced bythe solution casting method. The effect of the lignin content on the mechanical, thermal, and crystallinity properties, and PLA/LCNFs interfacial adhesion wereinvestigated by tensile tests, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tensile strength and modulus of the PLA/9-LCNFs (9 wt % lignin LCNFs) composites are 37% and 61% higher than those of pure PLA, respectively. The glass transition temperature (Tg) decreases from 61.2 for pure PLA to 52.6 °C for the PLA/14-LCNFs (14 wt % lignin LCNFs) composite, and the composites have higher thermal stability below 380 °C than pure PLA. The DSC results indicate that the LCNFs, containing different lignin contents, act as a nucleating agent to increase the degree of crystallinity of PLA. The effect of the LCNFs lignin content on the PLA/LCNFs compatibility/adhesion was confirmed by the FTIR, SEM, and Tg results. Increasing the LCNFs lignin content increases the storage modulus of the PLA/LCNFs composites to a maximum for the PLA/9-LCNFs composite. This study shows that the lignin content has a considerable effect on the strength and flexibility of PLA/LCNFs composites.

Hyperbranched polysilane grafted reduced graphene oxide, marked as HBPSi-rGO, was synthesized by the reaction of hydrosilylation. The effects of HBPSi-rGO on tribological, mechanical and thermal performances of Bismaleimides have been studied.

Abstract. Over the past decades, usability techniques have been introduced into software development practices. At the same time many software development teams have started to use the agile development process -Scrum -to plan and organize their software projects. The focus of this study is to explore how usability techniques are integrated during software development in Scrum projects. The most commonly used usability technique in Scrum projects is workshops, followed by lo-fi prototyping, interviews and meetings with users, all used by more than half of the participants. The technique that is most frequently used is lo-fi prototyping used by more than half of the participants two to four times a month. All these usability techniques are informal, meaning that these techniques can be used quickly without much preparation. Formal usability evaluation with users is a highly ranked technique by the participants but not commonly used by them.