Montmorillonite is an inorganic hydrophilic substance, with small layer spacing, difficult to disperse in organic solution, and polymer molecules are difficult to insert into its interlayers, so it must be chemically modified first.

The modification method is to use cetyl trimethylamine salt and MMT interlayer inorganic ions to form organic montmorillonite through ion exchange, so that the layer spacing of montmorillonite increases, which is conducive to the insertion of polymers, and at the same time, the microenvironment between layers changes from hydrophilic to lipophilic, and montmorillonite is easier to disperse in organic solvents.

The specific process is to dissolve montmorillonite in 20wt% cetyl trimethylamine, magnetically heat and stir at 80 °C for 4 hours, wash, vacuum dry and then grind, and analyze it with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and X-ray diffractometer.

Xiao Ran and Kong Jiyuan's job is to use the data measured by the Fourier transform infrared analyzer to analyze the results of montmorillonite modification.

"Senior Brother Kong, are the results of the infrared spectrum show out?" Liu Wenhai walked over and asked Kong Jiyuan, who was a little distracted.

Kong Jiyuan was still thinking about Xiao Ran and the tiger, and seemed a little absent-minded, but when he heard Liu Wenhai's voice at this moment, he woke up like a dream, and hurriedly responded: "Oh! Come out, Senior Brother Liu. ”

As he spoke, he took out the printed infrared spectrum from the instrument and handed it to Liu Wenhai.

Liu Wenhai took the infrared spectrum diagram and carefully observed the data and waveforms on it, his brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

After a while, he raised his head and looked at Kong Jiyuan, with a hint of doubt in his eyes: "Senior Brother Kong, this result seems to be a little wrong." ”

"Oh? What's wrong? When Kong Jiyuan heard this, he leaned over and looked at the infrared spectrum map, then scratched his head and said, "There's no problem, I did it all according to your requirements." ”

"There's definitely something wrong with the results." Liu Wenhai shook his head, then raised his head to look at Kong Jiyuan, frowned and said, "Are you sure you didn't enter the wrong data?" ”

"Uh" Kong Jiyuan was about to say something, when Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Let me take a look." ”

"Well, come and see!" Liu Wenhai was still very convinced of Xiao Ran's level, and immediately handed him the infrared spectrum map.

Xiao Ran took the picture and glanced at it carefully, then raised his head and glanced at Kong Jiyuan with a smile: "Senior Brother Kong, did you forget to adjust the parameters of inorganic cations?" ”

Hearing this, Kong Jiyuan hurriedly looked at the computer, and compared the data given to him by Liu Wenhai, and suddenly his old face turned red, just now he was thinking about Xiao Ran, but he forgot to adjust a parameter, which led to a deviation in the result.

"Really! I'm sorry Brother Liu, but I was negligent. Kong Jiyuan touched his nose a little embarrassed, then quickly adjusted the parameters and re-measured it.

Liu Wenhai was a little dissatisfied and said, "Senior Brother Kong, what's the matter with you today, you can even make such a low-level mistake?" ”

"My bad!" Kong Jiyuan sneered, "It's not Senior Brother Xiao's matter, it's too shocking, so much that I can't relax until now." ”

"Why are you still thinking about this?"

When Liu Wenhai heard this, he shook his head helplessly: "Okay, pay attention next time." Scientific research requires rigor and focus, and there is no room for sloppiness. ”

"Got it, Senior Brother Liu!" Kong Jiyuan nodded stupidly, and was just about to go back to ask Xiao Ran about it again, when he heard Liu Wenhai turn his head and ask, "Senior Brother Xiao, did you really subdue a tiger with your bare hands?" ”

Kong Jiyuan:

Xiao Ran also glanced at Liu Wenhai helplessly: "Senior Brother Liu, why did you join in the fun?" ”

"Ahem, isn't this the result of the infrared spectrum that hasn't come out yet, and being idle is also idle." Liu Wenhai coughed and said seriously.

Get! If you don't make it clear today, don't even think about doing this experiment!

Xiao Ran had no choice but to briefly tell the curious duo about the process of subduing the tiger yesterday, which could be regarded as satisfying their curiosity.

"You mean, yesterday when the tiger was about to bite Su Yunjin, you grabbed the tiger's tail, and when it turned around to bite you, you pulled its tail and pulled it hard, and the tiger fell to the ground?"

"That's about it!"

Liu Wenhai and Kong Jiyuan looked at each other, and there were so many slots in them that they didn't know how to complain.

"Are you sure you're dealing with a tiger, not an older orange cat?" Liu Wenhai sent out a soul torture.

And Kong Jiyuan also muttered in a low voice: "I thought that someone using a sliding shovel to deal with a tiger was shocking enough, but I didn't expect someone to be braver than him, whose general is this!" ”

I knew you were going to have that on your face.

Xiao Ran glanced at the two of them angrily: "Okay, I have already told you what happened, as for the truth or falsehood, you can judge for yourself, don't come to ask me!" ”

"But no matter how you think about it, it's outrageous." Kong Jiyuan wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Liu Wenhai.

"Okay, okay, don't worry about this problem, Senior Brother Xiao said yes." Liu Wenhai squeezed his eyebrows and patted Kong Jiyuan's shoulder, signaling him not to ask any more.

Kong Jiyuan was stunned for a moment, then understood in his heart, and said happily: "Mine, mine!" Senior Brother Xiao, we shouldn't doubt you! ”

Xiao Ran's face was black: "Roll on, don't send it, disgust me with this yin and yang weird expression!" ”

Believe it or not!

At this time, the results of the infrared spectrum also came out, Kong Jiyuan smiled and hurriedly checked the data and waveform carefully, and handed it to Liu Wenhai after confirming that it was correct: "Senior Brother Liu should be fine this time." ”

Liu Wenhai took the infrared spectrum and observed it carefully for a while again, then nodded: "It's no problem this time." After speaking, he looked at Xiao Ran: "Senior Brother Xiao will look at you next." ”

"I'm analyzing!"

Xiao Ran answered without raising his head, ignoring the two goods, just focusing on the spectral chart in front of him.

"After montmorillonite modification, the absorption peaks of -CH3 and -CH2-telescopic vibration appeared near 2851cm-1 and 2920cm-1, respectively, and the absorption peaks that originally belonged to Na+ or K+ around 1655cm-1 disappeared, but a strong N-H absorption peak appeared at 1540cm-1.

In addition, from the small-angle XRD characterization of montmorillonite, a strong diffraction peak appeared at 2θ=5.79° before montmorillonite, and the diffraction angle of 2θ moved to the small angle after modification, and the interlayer spacing of montmorillonite increased from the original 1 to 1 according to the Bragg equation (2dsinθ=λ).

After Xiao Ran preliminarily analyzed the data measured by the Fourier transform infrared analyzer, he concluded in a relaxed tone: "The results of this experiment are not bad, and it can be seen that the larger organic cation groups exchange with the smaller inorganic ions between the montmorillonite layer, and the layer spacing is expanded, which is more conducive to the insertion of polymer molecules during film making."

Liu Wenhai looked at his side face, with mixed feelings in his heart, should I say it or not, although this junior brother Xiao likes to pretend to be a bit serious, but his academic strength is indeed undoubted, whether it is the proof of mathematical theorems or the research in the laboratory, Xiao Ran has shown extraordinary talent and strength.

This is something that even he admires from the bottom of his heart.

"So it's time for the next experiment?" Kong Jiyuan interjected and asked.

Liu Wenhai nodded: "Well, let's start the next experiment." ”

In the following time, several people were engaged in intense experiments, and after the successful modification of montmorillonite, the next step was to prepare montmorillonite/polyvinylidene fluoride composite polymer electrolyte.

At present, the mainstream of the scientific research community is to prepare polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP)-based polymer electrolyte, generally using the Bellcore method or phase transfer method to prepare a microporous membrane, and then the membrane and the positive and negative electrodes of the battery are wound into a cell, and the electrolyte membrane absorbs the electrolyte after liquid injection to activate the polymer battery.

Compared with the above two film making processes, the Bellcore method uses a large number of organic plasticizers, which is complex and costly, while the phase transfer method is to introduce non-solvent (usually water) into the polymer solution, so that the polymer solution undergoes phase transfer and pore-making, and the operation is relatively simple.

However, in order to realize the commercial application of this type of polymer battery, in addition to simplifying the electrolyte preparation process, it is necessary to ensure its high ionic conductivity at room temperature, good mechanical strength and stable electrode interface properties.

After making the polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene-based polymer electrolyte, polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene and montmorillonite were mixed with N,N′dimethylformamide (DMF) respectively, dispersed by ultrasonic shaking for 30 minutes, then magnetically heated and stirred at 60 °C for 3 hours, and the bubbles were removed by standing to obtain a viscous solution, and then coated on the glass plate with a wet film preparer.

Finally, it was detected by scanning electron microscopy.

Several people were busy all day and finally prepared a batch of samples.

The next step was to test and analyze the samples to see if they performed as expected.

"I'm finally done." Xiao Ran stretched and moved his somewhat stiff neck and wrists.

"yes, it's been a busy day." Kong Jiyuan also sighed, "But the sample has finally been prepared, and the next step is to test." ”

"Hopefully the test results will be good." Liu Wenhai also said with some expectation.

After all, they have invested a lot of time and effort in this project, and it would be the greatest affirmation for them if they could succeed.

"I'll go back first!" Xiao Ran said hello to the two of them before leaving the laboratory.

As soon as I walked out of the laboratory, I happened to run into Lao Tian.

"Teacher Tian."

Lao Tian looked up and saw him, and said with a smile: "Xiao Ran, I also said that I was about to come to you." ”

"Looking for me?" Xiao Ran was a little puzzled: "Does the teacher have anything to say?" ”

Lao Tian looked at him with a smile and said, "It's nothing, just come and congratulate you, Xiao Ran!" ”

"Congratulations on what." Xiao Ran was slightly stunned, and then reacted: "Teacher, you are talking about today's incident at the International Federation of Mathematicians, right?" ”

Lao Tian nodded, and his smile did not decrease: "It's just a part." ”

"Huh? Are there any other happy events besides this? ”

"Yes," Lao Tian said leisurely after a pause, "just now my old friend called me and informed me that you have been shortlisted for next year's Chern Prize in Mathematics. ”

Saying that, Lao Tian smiled and quipped: "Do you think I should congratulate you?" ”

The Chern Prize in Mathematics, one of the three major mathematics awards in China and one of the most important awards in the international mathematics community, is named after the famous mathematician Chern Shiingshen and aims to recognize scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the field of mathematics.

For a young scholar like Xiao Ran, being able to enter the shortlist is already a great honor and affirmation.

Knowing that he had a chance to win this award, Xiao Ran said that it was fake if he was not excited.

However, he still maintained a modest smile on his face and said: "It's just a shortlist, and it's not certain whether you can win the award." ”

Lao Tian laughed and pointed at Xiao Ran, not knowing what to say: "Say you're modest, you don't even care about entering the shortlist, call you crazy, you still know that you may not be able to win." ”

"This is the Chern's Prize in Mathematics! There are many unattainable awards for scholars in China, but you kid is quite calm! ”

"It's all up to Mr. Tian's support!" Xiao Ran took advantage of the situation to make a sycophant, of course, there is also a certain amount of sincerity.

After all, the Chern Prize in Mathematics is produced by recommendation, and those who have this recommended quota are either domestic mathematicians who have made important contributions to the basic theory or applied research of mathematics, or they can be recommended by various research units, colleges and universities, national academic groups or jointly signed by five professors.

Xiao Ran was able to be successfully selected for the shortlist, although he also has his own academic achievements, but after all, age is there, young is sometimes an advantage, sometimes it is also a disadvantage, it all depends on how to understand.

To be honest, in the domestic academic circle, the phenomenon of seniority is still quite serious, isn't there such a sentence circulating on the Internet, even if Hawking comes, he has to stand up and toast the leader three glasses of wine!

Although this sentence is a bit exaggerated, it can be played by major netizens and empathize, which also explains some truth.

He can be selected for next year's Chern's Mathematics Prize, it is estimated that Lao Tian is working hard behind the scenes, no wonder Lao Tian's voice is rarely seen in the laboratory these days, if he guesses correctly, Lao Tian is estimated to be helping him these days.

Lao Tian waved his hand with a smile, signaling Xiao Ran not to thank him: "This is all the reward for your own efforts and talents, I just pushed it with my hand, if you want to thank you, you should thank Lao Lu well."

He has been busy with your business these days, writing recommendation materials for you, and contacting old classmates to find relationships, but he has no less worries about your affairs. ”

"You'd better thank him!" Lao Tian patted Xiao Ran's shoulder and said with emotion.

Lao Lu

Xiao Ran's heart warmed after hearing this, he knew that Lao Lu and Lao Tian had really put a lot of thought into his affairs.

Although he has always been confident, he also knows the importance of connections and relationships in this circle, and although he is very confident, even if he has no connections and connections, he can still reach the top with the help of the system, but it is inevitable that there will be some stumbles along the way.

The existence of Lao Lu and Lao Tian is like his guiding light, allowing him to walk more smoothly on the road of academics.

"I will, Mr. Tian!" Xiao Ran exhaled a deep breath and said solemnly: "The kindness between you and the teacher, Xiao Ran will remember it for the rest of his life!" ”

"Hahaha! No need to be so serious! Lao Tian smiled and waved his hand, saying so, but there was a little relief on his face, "By the way, how did your experiment go?" Is there anything I can help with? ”

Xiao Ran shook his head: "The experiment is going well, a batch of samples have been prepared, and the next step is to test and analyze the samples." I'll ask you for help if you need it. ”

"Alright, then you can get busy." Lao Tian waved his hand, "I won't talk nonsense with you kid, let's have fun by myself." ”

Should I say it or not, Lao Tian really knows him!

If it weren't for Lao Tian's presence, he would really have opened a champagne to celebrate!

After saying goodbye to Lao Tian, Xiao Ran wanted to go to Lao Lu to thank him, but at this time, Su Yunjin suddenly called.

Only then did he remember that he had promised Su Yunjin in the morning to come out to meet her tonight, so he gave up.

(End of chapter)