Surface and Structural Investigation of a MnOx Birnessite‐Type Water Oxidation Catalyst Formed under Photocatalytic Conditions

Catalytically active MnO_x species have been reported to form in situ from various Mn‐complexes during electrocatalytic and solution‐based water oxidation when employing cerium(IV) ammonium ammonium nitrate (CAN) oxidant as a sacrificial reagent. The full structural characterization of these oxides may be complicated by the presence of support material and lack of a pure bulk phase. For the first time, we show that highly active MnO_x catalysts form without supports in situ under photocatalytic conditions. Our most active ⁴MnO_x catalyst (～0.84 mmol O₂ mol Mn^?1 s^?1) forms from a Mn₄O₄ bearing a metal–organic framework. ⁴MnO_x is characterized by pair distribution function analysis (PDF), Raman spectroscopy, and HR‐TEM as a disordered, layered Mn‐oxide with high surface area (216 m²g^?1) and small regions of crystallinity and layer flexibility. In contrast, the ^SMnO_x formed from Mn²⁺ salt gives an amorphous species of lower surface area (80 m²g^?1) and lower activity (～0.15 mmol O₂ mol Mn^?1 s^?1). We compare these catalysts to crystalline hexagonal birnessite, which activates under the same conditions. Full deconvolution of the XPS Mn2p_3/2 core levels detects enriched Mn³⁺ and Mn²⁺ content on the surfaces, which indicates possible disproportionation/comproportionation surface equilibria.     

Symphony of kinetics and statistical design approaches for response analysis during tray drying of Lagenaria siceraria leaves

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Drying characteristics of horticultural produce often target studies on the process parameters so as to derive useful data for the development of...     

Application of Polyphosphoric Acid‐Mediated Acyl Migration for Regiospecific Synthesis of Diverse 2‐Acylpyrroles from Chalcones

A metal‐free approach for the synthesis of 2‐acylpyrroles is reported in this paper. Synthesis of the target molecule started from chalcones and was carried out in two steps. Initial step involved the conversion of chalcones to corresponding 4‐substituted‐3‐acylpyrroles by reaction with TosMIC. In the subsequent step, target molecules were obtained in modest to good yields by polyphosphoric acid‐mediated acyl rearrangement of 3‐acylpyrroles to their 2‐acyl congeners. The crucial final step was amenable to diverse substitutions on pyrrole ring. Preliminary experiment for the determination of mechanism indicated the involvement of acylium ion.     

Metal-free synthesis of pyridin-2-yl ureas from 2-aminopyridinium salts

An unprecedented base promoted domino approach has been developed for the synthesis of pyridin-2-yl urea derivatives via the reaction of 2-aminopyridinium salts and arylamines. The developed strategy tolerated a wide range of functional groups and afforded pyridin-2-yl ureas in moderate to good yields. The reaction was postulated to involve tandem cyclization, intermolecular nucleophilic addition, ring opening, and demethylation.     

Charged particle multiplicity distributions ine + e − annihilation at 29 GeV: a comparison with hadronic data

The charged particle multiplicity distributions for two-jet events ine ⁺ e ^? annihilation at 29 GeV have been measured using the High Resolution Spectrometer at PEP. A Poisson distribution describes the data for both the complete event and for the single jets. In addition, no correlation is observed between the multiplicities in the two jets of an event. For fixed values of the prong number of the complete event, the multiplicity sharing between the two jets is in good agreement with a binomial distribution. The rapidity gap distribution is exponential with a slope equal to the mean rapidity density. These observations, which are consistent with a picture of independent emission of single particles, are contrasted to the results from soft hadronic collisions and conclusions are drawn about the nature of clusters.     

S-wave structure in the Kπ system

We have analysed the Kπ spectrum (4 827 events) of the reaction K⁺n→K⁺π^?p at 9 GeV/c and find evidence of a broad S-wave enhancement which may be interpreted as a resonance. For production of Kπ masses above 890 GeV/c², we have assumed the dominance of pion exchange.     

The reaction Kp→Λπ in the c.m. energy range 1915 to 2168 MeV

A formationstudy of the reaction K⁻p→Λπ^o at 13 c.m. energies between 1915 and 2168 MeV is presented. Experimental differential cross sections and polarizations are given as expansions of Legendre polynomials and associated Legendre polynomials respectively. Partial wave analysis confirms the assignment of the Σ(2030) and the assignment of the Σ(1915). The parameters of these resonances are determined. The possible existence of other resonances coupled to this channel is investigated.     

An efficient fourth order weighted-Newton method for systems of nonlinear equations

In this paper, we develop a fourth order method for solving the systems of nonlinear equations. The algorithm is composed of two weighted-Newton steps and requires the information of one function and two first Fréchet derivatives. Therefore, for a system of n equations, per iteration it uses n?+?2n ² evaluations. Computational efficiency is compared with Newton’s method and some other recently published methods. Numerical tests are performed, which confirm the theoretical results. From the comparison with known methods it is observed that present method shows good stability and robustness.     

On the Dynamics of International Real-Estate-Investment Trust-Propagation Mechanisms: Evidence from Time-Varying Return and Volatility Connectedness Measures

In this paper, we investigate the time-varying interconnectedness of international Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) markets using daily REIT prices in twelve major REIT countries since the Global Financial Crisis. We construct dynamic total, net total and net pairwise return and volatility connectedness measures to better understand systemic risk and the transmission of shocks across REIT markets. Our findings show that that REIT market interdependence is dynamic and increases significantly during times of heightened uncertainty, including the COVID-19 pandemic. We also find that the US REIT market along with major European REITs are generally sources of shocks to Asian-Pacific REIT markets. Furthermore, US REITs appear to dominate European REITs. These findings highlight that portfolio diversification opportunities decline during times of market uncertainty.