In this article, a new type of flux-intensifying permanent magnet (FI-PM) motor is designed, analyzed, and optimized. It focuses on the low-speed operation condition of electric vehicles (EVs). The key characteristic of this motor is the feature of the reverse saliency, so that it not only utilizes the positive reluctance under the positive d -axis current but also improves the PM operation point under maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) control strategy. The relationships among the key parameters, reverse saliency, and torque performance are analyzed and investigated. The response surface method is used to optimize the motor performances. Then, for a better presentation of the investigated motor, the motor performances are evaluated and compared with the traditional interior permanent magnet motor (IPM) in torque characteristic and irreversible demagnetization ability. Finally, for the experimental validation, the prototyped motor is manufactured and tested.

This study focused on utilizing a boron nitride (BN) layer to improve the photoelectric property stability of the flexible Al/Cu/ZnO multilayer thin film, which was prepared on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. By analyzing surface morphology, chemical composition and photoelectric properties of flexible BN/Al/Cu/ZnO multilayer films with different BN layer thicknesses, the BN/Al/Cu/ZnO film with a 100-nm-thick BN layer (BN100/Al/Cu/ZnO), which had the best comprehensive photoelectric property with a figure of merit of 0.82 x 10(-3) Omega(-1), was chosen to further study the performance stability with storage temperature and time. It was found that as compared to the Al/Cu/ZnO film, the BN100/Al/Cu/ZnO film had more stable photoelectric properties at different storage temperatures and times, which was inferred to be attributed to the excellent heat and oxidation resistances of the BN layer that were conducive to avoiding surface damage and oxidation of the film. The results in this work demonstrate the key role of the BN layer in enhancing photoelectric property stability of the flexible Al/Cu/ZnO film, and may provide a feasible strategy for improving thermal and long-time stability of single-layer or multilayer flexible transparent conductive films.

ZnO/Al/Cu/ZnO multilayer films were deposited on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The overall thickness of the intermediate Al and Cu metal layers maintained at 8 nm. The four different Al/Cu thickness ratios were 7:1, 6:2, 5:3 and 4:4. Other four reference samples were prepared by using the same process, i.e. ZnO single-layer film, ZnO/Al-8 (8-nm-thick Al layer, the same below)/ZnO, ZnO/Cu-8/ZnO and ZnO/Cu-2/Al-6/ZnO multilayer films. The effects of Al/Cu thickness ratio and deposition sequence of Al and Cu layers were investigated. The results revealed that with the increase of Cu layer thickness, sheet resistance of the multilayer film decreased, while transmittance increased first and then decreased. The ZnO/Al-6/Cu-2/ZnO multilayer film with a sheet resistance of 108 Omega/sq and an average visible transmittance of 84.73% had the optimum overall photoelectric property, being confirmed by the highest figure of merit of 1.77 x 10(-3) Omega(-1). Furthermore, ZnO/Cu-2/Al-6/ZnO and ZnO/Al-6/Cu-2/ZnO multilayer films exhibited almost the same average visible transmittance and sheet resistance, implying that the deposition sequence of Al and Cu layers has little influence on photoelectric properties. It is demonstrated that ZnO/Al/Cu/ZnO multilayer flexible films have great potential in various fields.

Metalfree photocatalytic aerobic hydroxylation of benzene to phenol is achieved by using the low-cost commercially available quinoline sulfate (QuH(2)SO(4)) as the photocatalyst. The reaction conditions are optimized and a high phenol yield of 11.3% is obtained under the optimal reaction conditions. It is found that the [QuH](+) cation is the catalytic active species and its planar structure is crucial for its effect interaction with benzene. Moreover, the influence of the coupled anion on the photocatalytic activity of the [QuH](+) cation is investigated and discussed.

The release of nanoparticles into the environment is inevitable, which has raised global environmental concern. Melatonin is involved in various stress responses in plants. The present study investigated the effects of melatonin on photosynthetic carbon (C) assimilation and plant growth in nano-ZnO stressed plants. It was found that melatonin improved the photosynthetic C assimilation in nano-ZnO stressed wheat plants, mainly due to the enhanced photosynthetic energy transport efficiency, higher chlorophyll concentration and higher activities of Rubisco and ATPases. In addition, melatonin enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes to protect the photosynthetic electron transport system in wheat leaves against the oxidative burst caused by nano-ZnO stress. These results suggest that melatonin could improve the tolerance of wheat plants to nano-ZnO stress.