The magnetic and electrical properties of crystalline Mn0.05Si0.95 films prepared by post-thermal treatment of the as-deposited amorphous Si-Mn (95at.%−5at.%) have been investigated. Both the temperature dependence and field dependence of magnetization were measured using superconducting quantum interference devices, and it has been indicated that the film materials are ferromagnetic with Curie temperature over 400K. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed full crystallization of the films and the incorporation of Mn into the host crystalline Si lattice. Behavior of thermally activated conduction processes of the films has been evinced by electrical property measurement for the films.

A novel three-dimensional (3D) Ni foam/N-CNTs/NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets electrode was synthesized by combining a chemical vapor deposition method and a facile electrochemical deposition method followed by a calcination process. The N-CNTs entangle each other and construct a 3D highly conductive network, creating a structure which offers a skeleton for homogeneous electrodeposition of thin NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets. By taking advantage of the one-dimensional (1D) N-CNTs, the two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin nanosheets and the 3D hybrid structure, the 3D Ni foam/N-CNTs/NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets electrode exhibits superior supercapacitive performances with high specific capacitance (1472 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 ), remarkable rate capability and excellent cycling stability (less than 1% loss after 3000 cycles). The outstanding supercapacitive performance is attributed to the highly conductive 3D Ni foam/N-CNTs substrates and the ultrathin morphology of the NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets.The former offers a strong skeleton for uniform electrodeposition, endures the volume change, and provides a good electrical conducting pathway for ion and electron transport; meanwhile the latter possesses numerous active sites and short diffusion path. Moreover, the synthesis strategy can be extended to the preparation of other 3D electrode materials for supercapacitors and other energy-storage devices. IntroductionThe impending energy crisis and the environmental pollution have triggered tremendous research into the design and development of various types of advanced energy storage devices. 1-3 Supercapacitors are practical and environmentally friendly energy storage devices with high power density, long cycling stability, fast deliver rate and improved safety. 4-7 Pseudocapacitors, as one of the two types of supercapacitors, possess a higher capacitance than the other (electrical double-layer capacitors) due to their fast faradaic reactions on the electrode surface. [8][9][10] Among various pseudocapacitor materials, spinel nickel cobaltite (NiCo 2 O 4 ) has attracted intense attention owing to its high theoretical capacitance, rich redox reactions, low cost and environmental friendliness. 11-14 However, the self-assembled NiCo 2 O 4 materials (grown without substrate) usually suffer from low capacitance, poor rate performance and short cycle life due to structural instability and insufficient the 1D N-CNTs show great electron mobility, and can offer a strong skeleton for homogeneous growth of active materials. 37, 38 On the other hand, among numerous nanostructures, 2D nanosheets (NS), especially those with the ultrathin morphology and interconnected structure, exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance because of their fast ion/electron transport, better accommodation of volume expansion and large surface area. NS and the ultrathin and interconnected NS structure. These merits offer a strong skeleton for homogeneous electrodeposition, endure the volume change, provide a good electrical conducting pathway for the transportation of both ion and electron,...

Simultaneous observations of rainfall collected by a tipping bucket rain gauge (TBRG), a weighing rain gauge (WRG), an optical rain gauge (ORG), a present weather detector (PWD), a Joss–Waldvogel disdrometer (JWD), and a 2-D video disdrometer (2DVD) during January to October 2012 were analyzed to evaluate how accurately they measure rainfall and drop size distributions (DSDs). For the long-term observations, there were different discrepancies in rain amounts from six instruments on the order of 0% to 27.7%. The TBRG, WRG, and ORG have a good agreement, while the PWD and 2DVD record higher and the JWD lower rain rates when R > 20 mm h⁻¹, the ORG agrees well with JWD and 2DVD, while the TBRG records higher and the WRG lower rain rates when R > 20 mm h⁻¹. Compared with the TBRG and WRG, optical and impact instruments can measure the rain rate accurately in the light rain. The overall DSDs of JWD and 2DVD agree well with each other, except for the small raindrops (D < 1 mm). JWD can measure more moderate-size raindrops (0.3 mm < D < 1.5 mm) than 2DVD, but 2DVD can measure more small-size raindrops (D < 0.3 mm). 2DVD has a larger measurement range; more overall raindrops can be measured by 2DVD than by JWD in different rain rate regimes. But small raindrops might be underestimated by 2DVD when R > 15 mm h⁻¹. The small raindrops tend to be omitted in the more large-size raindrops due to the shadow effect of light. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of small raindrops in the heavy rainfall from 2DVD should be handled carefully

Novel multi-scaled porous nitrogen-doped carbon is synthesized by enriching the simple R–F method with: addition of melamine and PEO–PPO–PEO micelles for nitrogen-doping and duct percolation; integration of the CO2 activation process for the most critical formation of abundant 2 nm pores.