High-K dielectric sulfur-selenium alloys.

Upcoming advancements in flexible technology require mechanically compliant dielectric materials. Current dielectrics have either high dielectric constant, K (e.g., metal oxides) or good flexibility (e.g., polymers). Here, we achieve a golden mean of these properties and obtain a lightweight, viscoelastic, high-K dielectric material by combining two nonpolar, brittle constituents, namely, sulfur (S) and selenium (Se). This S-Se alloy retains polymer-like mechanical flexibility along with a dielectric strength (40 kV/mm) and a high dielectric constant (K = 74 at 1 MHz) similar to those of established metal oxides. Our theoretical model suggests that the principal reason is the strong dipole moment generated due to the unique structural orientation between S and Se atoms. The S-Se alloys can bridge the chasm between mechanically soft and high-K dielectric materials toward several flexible device applications

Generation of Intense Phase-Stable Femtosecond Hard X-ray Pulse Pairs

Coherent nonlinear spectroscopies and imaging in the X-ray domain provide direct insight into the coupled motions of electrons and nuclei with resolution on the electronic length and time scale. The experimental realization of such techniques will strongly benefit from access to intense, coherent pairs of femtosecond X-ray pulses. We have observed phase-stable X-ray pulse pairs containing more thank 3 x 10e7 photons at 5.9 keV (2.1 Angstrom) with about 1 fs duration and 2-5 fs separation. The highly directional pulse pairs are manifested by interference fringes in the superfluorescent and seeded stimulated manganese K-alpha emission induced by an X-ray free-electron laser. The fringes constitute the time-frequency X-ray analogue of the Young double-slit interference allowing for frequency-domain X-ray measurements with attosecond time resolution.Comment: 39 pages, 13 figures, to be publishe

New rational interpolation functions for finite element analysis of rotating beams

A rotating beam finite element in which the interpolating shape functions are obtained by satisfying the governing static homogenous differential equation of Euler–Bernoulli rotating beams is developed in this work. The shape functions turn out to be rational functions which also depend on rotation speed and element position along the beam and account for the centrifugal stiffening effect. These rational functions yield the Hermite cubic when rotation speed becomes zero. The new element is applied for static and dynamic analysis of rotating beams. In the static case, a cantilever beam having a tip load is considered, with a radially varying axial force. It is found that this new element gives a very good approximation of the tip deflection to the analytical series solution value, as compared to the classical finite element given by the Hermite cubic shape functions. In the dynamic analysis, the new element is applied for uniform, and tapered rotating beams with cantilever and hinged boundary conditions to determine the natural frequencies, and the results compare very well with the published results given in the literature

Stiff-String Basis Functions for Vibration Analysis of High Speed Rotating Beams

A new rotating beam finite element is developed in which the basis functions are obtained by the exact solution of the governing static homogenous differential equation of a stiff string, which results from an approximation in the rotating beam equation. These shape functions depend on rotation speed and element position along the beam and account for the centrifugal stiffening effect. Using this new element and the Hermite cubic finite element, a convergence study of natural frequencies is performed, and it is found that the new element converges much more rapidly than the conventional Hermite cubic element for the first two modes at higher rotation speeds. The new element is also applied for uniform and tapered rotating beams to determine the natural frequencies, and the results compare very well with the published results given in the literature

Complex formation between cationically modified gold nanoparticles and DNA: an atomic force microscopic study

Atomic force microscopy has been used for direct visualization of the wrapping of DNA around 30-nm-sized functionalized gold nanoparticles for the first time. The morphology of the complexes seems to be dictated by the relative concentration of the nanoparticles and DNA. A higher concentration of the former leads to the formation of a network of nanoparticles assembled on DNA. This assembly pattern seems to be significantly different from the manner in which cationically modified gold nanoparticles of smaller size (<5 nm) arrange linearly on DNA, as shown in the literature. A DNA−gold nanoparticle can be developed as a model system for in vitro studies on the mechanism of DNA condensation and also for developing novel methods of nanoparticle self-assembly on the DNA template

Hybrid stiff-string-polynomial basis functions for vibration analysis of high speed rotating beams

A new finite element is developed for free vibration analysis of high speed rotating beams using basis functions which use a linear combination of the solution of the governing static differential equation of a stiff-string and a cubic polynomial. These new shape functions depend on rotation speed and element position along the beam and account for the centrifugal stiffening effect. The natural frequencies predicted by the proposed element are compared with an element with stiff-string, cubic polynomial and quintic polynomial shape functions. It is found that the new element exhibits superior convergence compared to the other basis functions

Free vibration analysis of rotating tapered blades using Fourier-pp superelement

A numerically efficient superelement is proposed as a low degree of freedom model for dynamic analysis of rotating tapered beams. The element uses a combination of polynomials and trigonometric functions as shape functions in what is also called the Fourier-$p$ approach. Only a single element is needed to obtain good modal frequency prediction with the analysis and assembly time being considerably less than for conventional elements. The superelement also allows an easy incorporation of polynomial variations of mass and stiffness properties typically used to model helicopter and wind turbine blades. Comparable results are obtained using one superelement with only 14 degrees of freedom compared to 50 conventional finite elements with cubic shape functions with a total of 100 degrees of freedom for a rotating cantilever beam. Excellent agreement is also shown with results from the published literature for uniform and tapered beams with cantilever and hinged boundary conditions. The element developed in this work can be used to model rotating beam substructures as a part of complete finite element model of helicopters and wind turbines

Two-Dimensional Material-Reinforced Separator for Li–Sulfur Battery

Li–S batteries are heavily researched as they are capable of meeting the demands of electrification of transport systems, provided their inherent polysulfide shuttling can be prevented to enhance the cycle life. Although several approaches have been made to mitigate the shuttling effect, success is limited due to the poor adsorption capability of polysulfides on the cathode surface. Herein, we propose an efficient approach of using two-dimensional materials with permanent dipoles in the separator to inhibit mass transport of polysulfides from cathode and subsequent parasitic reactions on the metallic lithium anode. Two-compartment H-cell experiments coupled with spectroscopic studies, such as ultraviolet–visible absorption, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, are used to demonstrate the interactions between the two-dimensional materials-modified separator and polysulfide species. Furthermore, electrochemical properties reveal the excellent specific capacity of 1210 mAh g^–1 and self-discharge studies suggest the feasibility of modified separator for commercial applications