Adsorption of N719 Dye on Anatase TiO2 Nanoparticles and Nanosheets with Exposed (001) Facets: Equilibrium,Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Studies

Anatase TiO₂ nanosheets (TiO₂ NS) with dominant (001) facets and TiO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂ NP) with dominant (101) facets are fabricated by hydrothermal hydrolysis of Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ in the presence and absence of hydrogen fluoride (HF), respectively. Adsorption of N719 onto the as‐prepared samples from ethanol solutions is investigated and discussed. The adsorption kinetic data are modeled using the pseudo‐first‐order, pseudo‐second‐order, and intraparticle diffusion kinetics equations, and indicate that the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic equation and intraparticle diffusion model can better describe the adsorption kinetics. Furthermore, adsorption equilibrium data of N719 on the as‐prepared samples are analyzed by Langmuir and Freundlich models; this suggests that the Langmuir model provides a better correlation of the experimental data. The adsorption capacities (q_max) of N719 on TiO₂ NS at various temperatures, determined using the Langmuir equation, are 65.2 (30 °C), 68.2 (40 °C), and 76.6 (50 °C) mg g⁻¹, which are smaller than those on TiO₂ NP, 92.4 (30 °C), 100.0 (40 °C), and 108.2 (50 °C) mg g⁻¹, respectively. The larger adsorption capacities of N719 for TiO₂ NP versus NS are attributed to its higher specific surface areas. However, the specific adsorption capacities (q_max/S_BET) at various temperatures are 1.5 (30 °C), 1.6 (40 °C), and 1.7 (50 °C) mg m⁻² for TiO₂ NS, which are otherwise higher than those for NP, 0.9 (30 °C), 1.0 (40 °C), and 1.1 (50 °C) mg m⁻², respectively. The larger specific adsorption capacities of N719 for TiO₂ NS versus NP are because the (001) surface is more reactive for dissociative adsorption of reactant molecules compared with (101) facets. Notably, the q_max and q_max/S_BET for both TiO₂ samples increase with increasing temperature, suggesting that adsorption of N719 on the TiO₂ surface is an endothermic process, which is further confirmed by the calculated thermodynamic parameters including free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of adsorption process. The present work will provide a new understanding on the adsorption process and mechanism of N719 molecules onto TiO₂ NS and NP, and this should be of great importance for enhancing the performance of dye‐sensitized solar cells.     

Epoxidation of soybean oil catalyzed by [pi-C5H5NC16H33]3[PW4O16] with hydrogen peroxide and ethyl acetate as solvent

A new environmentally benign and highly efficient catalytic system [pi-C5H5NC16H33]3[PO4(WO3)4]/H2O2/CH3COOC2H5 for the epoxidation of soybean oil displayed excellent activity and high recovery. The change of the catalyst during the reaction was investigated by elemental analysis, FT-IR and 31P NMR.     

Two mononuclear octahedral complexes with benzimidazole‐2‐carboxylate: supramolecular networks constructed by hydrogen bonds

The title compounds, trans‐bis(1H‐benzimidazole‐2‐carboxylato‐κ²N³,O)bis(ethanol‐κO)cadmium(II), [Cd(C₈H₅N₂O₂)₂(C₂H₆O)₂], (I), and trans‐bis(1H‐benzimidazole‐κN³)bis(1H‐benzimidazole‐2‐carboxylato‐κ²N³,O)nickel(II), [Ni(C₈H₅N₂O₂)₂(C₇H₆N₂)₂], (II), are hydrogen‐bonded supramolecular complexes. In (I), the Cd^II ion is six‐coordinated by two O atoms from two ethanol molecules, and by two O and two N atoms from two bidentate benzimidazole‐2‐carboxylate (HBIC) ligands, giving a distorted octahedral geometry. The combination of O—H...O and N—H...O hydrogen bonds results in two‐dimensional layers parallel to the ab plane. In (II), the six‐coordinated Ni^II atom, which lies on an inversion centre, shows a similar distorted octahedral geometry to the Cd^II ion in (I); two benzimidazole molecules occupy the axial sites and the equatorial plane contains two chelating HBIC ligands. Pairs of N—H...O hydrogen bonds between pairs of HBIC anions connect adjacent Ni^II coordination units to form a one‐dimensional chain parallel to the a axis. Moreover, these one‐dimensional chains are further linked via N—H...O hydrogen bonds between HBIC anions and benzimidazole molecules to generate a three‐dimensional supramolecular framework. The two compounds show quite different supramolecular networks, which may be explained by the fact that different co‐ligands occupy the axial sites in the coordination units.     

Mechanics and chemical thermodynamics of phase transition in temperature-sensitive hydrogels

This paper uses the thermodynamic data of aqueous solutions of uncrosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) to study the phase transition of PNIPAM hydrogels. At a low temperature, uncrosslinked PNIPAM can be dissolved in water and form a homogenous liquid solution. When the temperature is increased, the solution separates into two liquid phases with different concentrations of the polymer. Covalently crosslinked PNIPAM, however, does not dissolve in water, but can imbibe water and form a hydrogel. When the temperature is changed, the hydrogel undergoes a phase transition: the amount of water in the hydrogel in equilibrium changes with temperature discontinuously. While the aqueous solution is a liquid and cannot sustain any nonhydrostatic stress in equilibrium, the hydrogel is a solid and can sustain nonhydrostatic stress in equilibrium. The nonhydrostatic stress can markedly affect various aspects of the phase transition in the hydrogel. We adopt the Flory-Rehner model, and show that the interaction parameter as a function of temperature and concentration obtained from the PNIPAM-water solution can be used to analyze diverse phenomena associated with the phase transition of the PNIPAM hydrogel. We analyze free swelling, uniaxially and biaxially constrained swelling of a hydrogel, swelling of a core-shell structure, and coexistent phases in a rod. The analysis is related to available experimental observations. Also outlined is a general theory of coexistent phases undergoing inhomogeneous deformation.     

A Discussion of the Effect of Tortuosity on the Capillary Imbibition in Porous Media

In the past decades, there was considerable controversy over the Lucas–Washburn (LW) equation widely applied in capillary imbibition kinetics. Many experimental results showed that the time exponent of the LW equation is less than 0.5. Based on the tortuous capillary model and fractal geometry, the effect of tortuosity on the capillary imbibition in wetting porous media is discussed in this article. The average height growth of wetting liquid in porous media driven by capillary force following the [`(L)] _s(t) ~ t^1/2D_T{\overline L _{\rm {s}}(t)\sim t^{1/{2D_{\rm {T}}}}} law is obtained (here D _T is the fractal dimension for tortuosity, which represents the heterogeneity of flow in porous media). The LW law turns out to be the special case when the straight capillary tube (D _T = 1) is assumed. The predictions by the present model for the time exponent for capillary imbibition in porous media are compared with available experimental data, and the present model can reproduce approximately the global trend of variation of the time exponent with porosity changing.     

水泥聚苯模壳格构式混凝土墙体的抗侧性能试验及分析

论文介绍6片不同高宽比的水泥聚苯模壳格构式混凝土墙体在轴压力和水平往复侧推力作用下的试验,分析这种墙体的抗侧强度、刚度和延性等力学性能.试验表明,高宽比大于1的墙体破坏时表现为墙体跟部的单一水平裂缝,其他部位完好;高宽比3∶4的墙体破坏时存在多条通过格构梁柱的斜向裂缝,墙体裂缝分布密集,变形能力好.     

Effect of moisture content on conveying characteristics of pulverized coal for pressurized entrained flow gasification

During the pneumatic conveying, pulverized coal with different moisture contents may develop substantial difference in flow characteristics, whose cause is not fully understood. This study focused on influence of moisture content on conveying characteristics in an experimental test facility with the conveying pressure up to 4 MPa. The experiments included soft coal and lignite with similar density and particle size. With the increase in moisture content, the mass flow rate decreased for lignite (3.24% < M < 8.18%) but increased at first and then decreased for soft coal (0.4% < M < 6.18%) at same operating parameters. The flowability of soft coal was worse than that of lignite at similar operating parameters and external moisture content. The extremal conveying moisture contents of two coal types were obtained. The particle charge and surface moisture content were investigated to indicate influence mechanism of moisture content on mass flow rate in pneumatic conveying at high pressure. Pressure drop of soft coal was greater than that of lignite for same test section. The conveying phase diagram of dense-phase pulverized coal at high pressure was obtained and the pressure drops through different test sections were compared and analyzed. The bend loss factor rose with the increase in moisture content and was independent of conveying velocity and solid-gas ratio in dense-phase pneumatic conveying at high pressure.     

A strong invariance principle for negatively associated random fields

In this paper we obtain a strong invariance principle for negatively associated random fields, under the assumptions that the field has a finite (2 + δ)th moment and the covariance coefficient u(n) exponentially decreases to 0. The main tools are the Berkes-Morrow multi-parameter blocking technique and the Csörg?-Révész quantile transform method.     

Some further <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>-series identities related to divisor functions

We give new generalizations of some q-series identities of Dilcher and Prodinger related to divisor functions. Some interesting special cases are also deduced, including an identity related to overpartitions studied by Corteel and Lovejoy.