Two- and three-dimensional comparative study of heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of nanofluids flow through a ventilated cubic cavity (part I: Newtonian nanofluids)

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Through this paper, three-dimensional fluid flow and heat transfer of Al2O3 nanofluid within ventilated enclosures was taken into consideration....     

Application of the wavelet transform for a channel flow in a mixed convection phenomenon

The aim of this paper is to investigate laminar-turbulent transition in a mixed convection phenomenon occurring in a horizontal rectangular duct. Indeed, laminar-turbulent transition is well known in the case of forced convection but the presence of secondary flow induced by natural convection on this transition is not well highlighted. In this study, we will not be concerned by determining a critical threshold value of a Reynolds number of transition but only to estimate the degree of turbulence in the transition regime, i.e. weak turbulence in the case of a mixed convection phenomenon. This is possible thanks to the application of the wavelet transform. The calculation of the Hölder exponent, associated with the maximum value of the singularity spectrum for various experimental conditions allows the degree of turbulence to be measured. The variation of the Hölder exponent versus heat flux and Reynolds number enables us to show that there are two ways to go towards turbulence: thermal by increasing heat flux and hydrodynamic by increasing fluid velocity.     

A New Method to Measure the Coupling Efficiency of Waveguide Photodetector

In this paper, a new method is outlined for the estimation of coupling efficiency between a source laser and a WGPD. Internal quantum efficiencies as high as 72% (for 0.15 μm device) and 86.5% (for 0.5 μm device) are achieved.     

Multifunctional ToF-SIMS: combinatorial mapping of gradient energy substrates

We present a simple method for chemical modification of chlorosilane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Si surfaces by exposure to a gradient of UV-ozone radiation to create stable substrates with a range of contact angles (θ_H2O≈5–95°) and surface energies on a single substrate. These gradient energy substrates are developed to potentially generate libraries for combinatorial studies of thin film phenomenology, where a systematic variation of interfacial surface energy represents one of the significant parameters along one axis. The graded oxidation process presents a systematic variation of surface chemical composition. We have utilized contact angle measurements and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to investigate this variation for a series of ions, among which are SiCH₃⁺, SiOH⁺ and COOH⁻. We show that the macroscopic measurements of surface free energy/contact angle correlate with the detailed analysis of surface chemistry (as assessed by ToF-SIMS) on these test substrates.     

Enzyme production and profile by Aspergillus niger during solid substrate fermentation using palm kernel cake as substrate

The oil palm sector is one of the major plantation industries in Malaysia. Palm kernel cake is a byproduct of extracted palm kernel oil. Mostly palm kernel cake is wasted or is mixed with other nutrients and used as animal feed, especially for ruminant animals. Recently, palm kernel cake has been identified as an important ingredient for the formulation of animal feed, and it is also exported especially to Europe, South Korea, and Japan. It can barely be consumed by nonruminant (monogastric) animals owing to the high percentages of hemicellulose and cellulose contents. Palm kernel cake must undergo suitable pretreatment in order to decrease the percentage of hemicellulose and cellulose. One of the methods employed in this study is fermentation with microorganisms, particularly fungi, to partially degrade the hemicellulose and cellulose content. This work focused on the production of enzymes by Aspergillus niger and profiling using palm kernel cake as carbon source.     

DEUSS: a perdeuterated poly(oxyethylene)-based resin for improving HRMAS NMR studies of solid-supported molecules

A novel resin called DEUSS (perdeuterated poly(oxyethylene)-based solid support) has been prepared by anionic polymerization of deuterated [D4]ethylene oxide, followed by cross-linking with deuterated epichlorohydrin. DEUSS can be suspended in a wide range of solvents including organic and aqueous solutions, in which it displays a high swelling capacity. As measured by proton HRMAS of the swollen polymer, the signal intensity of the oxyethylene protons is reduced by a factor of 110 relative to the corresponding nondeuterated poly(oxyethylene)poly(oxypropylene) (POEPOP) resin, thus facilitating detailed HRMAS NMR studies of covalently linked molecules. This 1H NMR invisible matrix was used for the solid-phase synthesis of peptides, oligoureas, and a series of amides as well as their characterization by HRMAS NMR spectroscopy. On-bead NMR spectra of high quality and with resolution comparable to that of liquid samples were obtained and readily interpreted. The complete absence of the parasite resin signals will be of great advantage, for example, for the optimization of multistep solid-phase stereoselective reactions, and for the conformational study of resin-bound molecules in a large variety of solvents.     

Temperature programmed reduction of silica supported nickel catalysts

Nickel oxide promoted catalysts are prepared by simple precipitation, precipitation from homogeneous solution and impregnation methods and their reduction behavior is monitored with temperature programmed reduction (TPR) technique. The effect of different parameters such as metal loading, method of preparation and heat treatment temperature are also observed on the reducibility of the catalysts. It is observed that reduction temperature increases with the increase of calcination temperature. Results indicate that the interactions between nickel oxide and silica begin with the increase of calcination temperature which leads to the formation of nickel hydrosilicates and are responsible for high temperature reduction peaks.     

Structure determination of bioactive galloyl derivatives by NMR spectroscopy

The investigation of the chemical constituents of Symplocos racemosa Roxb led to the isolation of two new glycosides, symcomoside A (1) and symcomoside B (2), together with one known glycoside, tortoside C (3), which is reported for the first time from this plant. The structures of the new compounds were determined by 1D and 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy, from chemical evidence and by comparison with published data for closely related compounds. Symcomoside B (2) showed potent inhibitory activity against alpha-glucosidase in a concentration-dependent fashion with an IC50 value of 0.733 +/- 0.033 mM whereas symcomoside A (1) showed very weak inhibitory activity against alpha-glucosidase (9.90% in 0.70 mM).     

Synthetic applications of aryl radical building blocks for cyclisation onto azoles

2-(2-Bromophenyl)ethyl groups have been used as building blocks in radical cyclisation reactions onto azoles to synthesise tri- and tetra-cyclic heterocycles. 2-(2-Bromophenyl)ethyl methanesulfonate was used to alkylate azoles (imidazoles, pyrroles, indoles and pyrazoles) for the synthesis of the radical precursors. Cyclisations of the intermediate aryl radicals yield new 6-membered rings attached to the azoles. The aryl radicals undergo intramolecular homolytic aromatic substitution onto the azole rings. Tributylgermanium hydride has been used with success to replace the toxic and troublesome tributyltin hydride. Initial studies show that the protocol can be used on solid phase resins. The molecular and crystal structures of methyl 5,6-dihydroimidazo[5,1-a]iso-quinoline-1-carboxylate and methyl 5,6-dihydroimidazo[2,1-a]isoquinoline-3-carboxylate were determined by X-ray crystallography.