•The effects that a high EGR rate can have on PCCI type combustion strategies have been analyzed.•The dependence of engine emissions and combustion noise on EGR has been addressed.•The time histories ...of the main in-cylinder variables have been plotted for different EGR rates.
The influence of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) has been analyzed considering experimental results obtained from a Euro 5 diesel engine calibrated with an optimized pilot-main double injection strategy. The engine features a late premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) type combustion mode. Different steady-state key-points that are representative of the engine application in a passenger car over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) have been studied. The engine was fully instrumented to obtain a complete overview of the most important variables. The pressure time history in the combustion chamber has been measured to perform calculations with single and three-zone combustion diagnostic models. These models allow the in-cylinder emissions and the temperature of the burned and unburned zones to be evaluated as functions of the crankshaft angle.
The EGR mass fraction was experimentally varied within the 0–50% range. The results of the investigation have shown the influence that high EGR rates can have on intake and exhaust temperatures, in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate time histories, engine-out emissions (CO, HC, NOx, soot), brake specific fuel consumption and combustion noise for a PCCI type combustion strategy. The outputs of the diagnostic models have been used to conduct a detailed analysis of the cause-and-effect relationships between the EGR rate variations and the engine performance. Finally, the effect of the EGR on the cycle-to-cycle variability of the engine torque has been experimentally investigated.
Although graphite is known as one of the most chemically inert materials, we have found that graphene, a single atomic plane of graphite, can react with atomic hydrogen, which transforms this highly ...conductive zero-overlap semimetal into an insulator. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the obtained graphene derivative (graphane) is crystalline and retains the hexagonal lattice, but its period becomes markedly shorter than that of graphene. The reaction with hydrogen is reversible, so that the original metallic state, the lattice spacing, and even the quantum Hall effect can be restored by annealing. Our work illustrates the concept of graphene as a robust atomic-scale scaffold on the basis of which new two-dimensional crystals with designed electronic and other properties can be created by attaching other atoms and molecules.
The unique optoelectronic properties of graphene make it an ideal platform for a variety of photonic applications, including fast photodetectors, transparent electrodes in displays and photovoltaic ...modules, optical modulators, plasmonic devices, microcavities, and ultra-fast lasers. Owing to its high carrier mobility, gapless spectrum and frequency-independent absorption, graphene is a very promising material for the development of detectors and modulators operating in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum (wavelengths in the hundreds of micrometres), still severely lacking in terms of solid-state devices. Here we demonstrate terahertz detectors based on antenna-coupled graphene field-effect transistors. These exploit the nonlinear response to the oscillating radiation field at the gate electrode, with contributions of thermoelectric and photoconductive origin. We demonstrate room temperature operation at 0.3 THz, showing that our devices can already be used in realistic settings, enabling large-area, fast imaging of macroscopic samples.
Graphene and other two-dimensional materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, have rapidly established themselves as intriguing building blocks for optoelectronic applications, with a ...strong focus on various photodetection platforms. The versatility of these material systems enables their application in areas including ultrafast and ultrasensitive detection of light in the ultraviolet, visible, infrared and terahertz frequency ranges. These detectors can be integrated with other photonic components based on the same material, as well as with silicon photonic and electronic technologies. Here, we provide an overview and evaluation of state-of-the-art photodetectors based on graphene, other two-dimensional materials, and hybrid systems based on the combination of different two-dimensional crystals or of two-dimensional crystals and other (nano)materials, such as plasmonic nanoparticles, semiconductors, quantum dots, or their integration with (silicon) waveguides.
The recent discovery of graphene has led to many advances in two-dimensional physics and devices. The graphene devices fabricated so far have relied on SiO(2) back gating. Electrochemical top gating ...is widely used for polymer transistors, and has also been successfully applied to carbon nanotubes. Here we demonstrate a top-gated graphene transistor that is able to reach doping levels of up to 5x1013 cm-2, which is much higher than those previously reported. Such high doping levels are possible because the nanometre-thick Debye layer in the solid polymer electrolyte gate provides a much higher gate capacitance than the commonly used SiO(2) back gate, which is usually about 300 nm thick. In situ Raman measurements monitor the doping. The G peak stiffens and sharpens for both electron and hole doping, but the 2D peak shows a different response to holes and electrons. The ratio of the intensities of the G and 2D peaks shows a strong dependence on doping, making it a sensitive parameter to monitor the doping.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most prevalent chronic liver disease in Western countries; it can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma. The ...importance of gut-liver-adipose tissue axis has become evident and treatments targeting gut microbiota may improve inflammatory and metabolic parameters in NASH patients. In a randomized, controlled clinical trial, involving 50 biopsy-proven NASH patients, we investigated the effects of synbiotic supplementation on metabolic parameters, hepatic steatosis, intestinal permeability, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) serum levels. Patients were separated into two groups receiving Lactobacillus reuteri with guar gum and inulin for three months and healthy balanced nutritional counseling versus nutritional counseling alone. Before and after the intervention we assessed steatosis by magnetic resonance imaging, intestinal permeability by lactulose/mannitol urinary excretion and SIBO by glucose breath testing. NASH patients presented high gut permeability, but low prevalence of SIBO. After the intervention, only the synbiotic group presented a reduction in steatosis, lost weight, diminished BMI and waist circumference measurement. Synbiotic did not improve intestinal permeability or LPS levels. We concluded that synbiotic supplementation associated with nutritional counseling seems superior to nutritional counseling alone for NASH treatment as it attenuates steatosis and may help to achieve weight loss.
Ultrafast lasers play an increasingly important role in many applications. Nanotubes and graphene have emerged as promising novel saturable absorbers for passive mode-locking. Here, we review recent ...progress on the exploitation of these two carbon nanomaterials in ultrafast photonics.
► Various ultrafast lasers mode-locked by nanotube based saturable absorbers have been reviewed in detail. ► Recent results on graphene enabled ultrafast lasers also have been reviewed. ► We present our outlook on this field (i.e. ultrafast lasers mode-locked nanotubes and graphene).
The combination of plasmonic nanoparticles and graphene enhances the responsivity and spectral selectivity of graphene-based photodetectors. However, the small area of the metal–graphene junction, ...where the induced electron–hole pairs separate, limits the photoactive region to submicron length scales. Here, we couple graphene with a plasmonic grating and exploit the resulting surface plasmon polaritons to deliver the collected photons to the junction region of a metal–graphene–metal photodetector. This gives a 400% enhancement of responsivity and a 1000% increase in photoactive length, combined with tunable spectral selectivity. The interference between surface plasmon polaritons and the incident wave introduces new functionalities, such as light flux attraction or repulsion from the contact edges, enabling the tailored design of the photodetector’s spectral response. This architecture can also be used for surface plasmon biosensing with direct-electric-redout, eliminating the need of bulky optics.
Graphene’s high mobility and Fermi velocity, combined with its constant light absorption in the visible to far-infrared range, make it an ideal material to fabricate high-speed and ultrabroadband ...photodetectors. However, the precise mechanism of photodetection is still debated. Here, we report wavelength and polarization-dependent measurements of metal–graphene–metal photodetectors. This allows us to quantify and control the relative contributions of both photothermo- and photoelectric effects, both adding to the overall photoresponse. This paves the way for a more efficient photodetector design for ultrafast operating speeds.
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