Chinese visual traditions encountered on Safavid furniture

This paper investigates the design patterns derived from the Chinese tradition of wood-based crafts which were applied on furniture as found in the illustrated books of “The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasb” and “The Shahnama of Firdausi” during the Safavid period. The intimate connections between the Middle East and Asia over the past centuries (1501 to 1722) raised interest in both the handcrafts and decorative design motifs of the two regions. This resulted in the appearance of Chinese decorative motifs in Safavid miniatures which commenced in early Islam when Shah Ismail became a Chinese art appreciator. The Shah’s patronage is explicit through the painters and designers working in the court workshops where the practice of Chinese structural composition and designed patterns are evident with continued production during the following Safavid kings

A study of the interior furniture and decorative motifs of Acheamenid and Sassanid

This study reviews two types of Persian interior furniture; court furniture such as chairs and beds, also known as thrones and Persian rugs, through an examination of taxonomy; their general types, structure, and decorative patterns, which were used in two important Pre-Islamic era in Iran; Achaemenid (530-330 B.C.) and Sassanid (224 to 651 A.D.). This topic is investigated to increase the understanding of the maturity of the Iranian interior furniture industry. Its symbolic system is also explored, which was based on animal and plant motifs, to consider the function of elements and symbolism on Iranian interior furniture. Extant evidence of high-level furniture and rugs in these periods have only remained in the form of artworks, wall carvings, and the traditional stories. Both rugs and high-level furniture were used extensively as luxurious items by the ruling classes and as such are the only sources that are considered here in this study. This surviving evidence shows how the ruling classes influenced the historical development of Iran's interior furnishing designs in both wood and carpet forms

Synthesis of layered silicon-graphene hetero-structures by wet jet milling for high capacity anodes in Li-ion batteries

While silicon-based negative electrode materials have been extensively studied, to develop high capacity lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), implementing a large-scale production method that can be easily transferred to industry, has been a crucial challenge. Here, a scalable wet-jet milling method was developed to prepare a silicon-graphene hybrid material to be used as negative electrode in LIBs. This synthesized composite, when used as an anode in lithium cells, demonstrated high Li ion storage capacity, long cycling stability and high-rate capability. In particular, the electrode exhibited a reversible discharge capacity exceeding 1763 mAh g−1 after 450 cycles with a capacity retention of 98% and a coulombic efficiency of 99.85% (with a current density of 358 mA g−1). This significantly supersedes the performance of a Si-dominant electrode structures. The capacity fade rate after 450 cycles was only 0.005% per cycle in the 0.05–1 V range. This superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the highly layered, silicon-graphene porous structure, as investigated via focused ion beam in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy tomography. The hybrid electrode could retain 89% of its porosity (under a current density of 358 mA g−1) after 200 cycles compared with only 35% in a Si-dominant electrode. Moreover, this morphology can not only accommodate the large volume strains from active silicon particles, but also maintains robust electrical connectivity. This confers faster transportation of electrons and ions with significant permeation of electrolyte within the electrode. Physicochemical characterisations were performed to further correlate the electrochemical performance with the microstructural dynamics. The excellent performance of the hybrid material along with the scalability of the synthesizing process is a step forward to realize high capacity/energy density LIBs for multiple device applications

Comparative study of the implementation of tin and titanium oxide nanoparticles as electrodes materials in Li-ion batteries

Transition metal oxides potentially present higher specific capacities than the current anodes based on carbon, providing an increasing energy density as compared to commercial Li-ion batteries. However, many parameters could influence the performance of the batteries, which depend on the processing of the electrode materials leading to different surface properties, sizes or crystalline phases. In this work a comparative study of tin and titanium oxide nanoparticles synthesized by different methods, undoped or Li doped, used as single components or in mixed ratio, or alternatively forming a composite with graphene oxide have been tested demonstrating an enhancement in capacity with Li doping and better cyclability for mixed phases and composite anodes