Solution combustion synthesis,energy and environment: Best parameters for better materials

Solution combustion synthesis (SCS) is a worldwide used methodology for the preparation of inorganic ceramic and composite materials with controlled properties for a wide number of applications, from catalysis to photocatalysis and electrocatalysis, from heavy metal removal to sensoristics and electronics. The high versatility and efficiency of this technique have led to the introduction of many variants, which allowed important optimization to the prepared materials. Moreover, its ecofriendly nature encouraged further studies about the use of sustainable precursors for the preparation of nanomaterials for energy and environment, according to the concept of circular economy. On the other hand, the large variety of expressions to define SCS and the often-contradictory definitions of the SCS parameters witnessed a scarce consciousness of the potentiality of this methodology. In this review article, the most important findings about SCS and the selection criteria for its main parameters are critically reviewed, in order to give useful guidelines to those scientists who want to use this methodology for preparing materials with improved or new functional properties. This review aims as well (i) to bring more clarity in the SCS terminology (ii) to increase the awareness of the SCS as a convenient tool for the synthesis of materials and (iii) to propose a new perspective in the SCS, with special attention to the use of ecofriendly procedures. Part of the review is also dedicated to precautions and limitations of this powerful methodology.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of some new class of benzothiazole–pyrazole ligands containing arene ruthenium,rhodium and iridium complexes

Transition Metal Chemistry - Metal complexes 1–9 have been synthesized by reacting the benzothiazole–pyrazole derivative ligands (L1, L2 and L3) with the metal precursors of ruthenium...     

ChemInform Abstract: Study of Phase Transformation in BaTe2O6 by in situ High‐Pressure X‐Ray Diffraction,Raman Spectroscopy,and First‐Principles Calculations.

The title compound is synthesized by solid state reaction of a stoichiometric mixture of BaCO₃ and TeO₂ (air, 550 °C for 6 h, and 650 °C for 12 h).     

Steady-state fluorescence investigations of aqueous binary mixtures of myristyl alcohol based bis-sulfosuccinate anionic gemini surfactant and effect of different conventional surfactants therein

The present research work is associated with the fluorescence investigations of binary aqueous mixed surfactants solutions of anionic bis-sulfosuccinate gemini surfactant (BSGSMA_1,8) and three different conventional surfactants—anionic viz. sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cationic viz. cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), and nonionic surfactant viz. Triton X 100. Steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy technique has been utilized to examine the micellization behavior of aqueous solution of pure myristyl alcohol-based BSGSMA_1,8 having flexible methylene chain [(CH₂)₈] as spacer group. Critical micelle concentration (CMC), aggregation number (N), and micropolarity of pure and mixed surfactants systems were explored during the investigations. The results revealed the best synergism behavior of prepared gemini BSGSMA_1,8 with SDS as compared to CTAB and Triton X 100. The maximum reduction in the value of pyrene intensity ratio (I₁/I₃) was observed for gemini and SDS mixed surfactant solution. On the other hand, the increased I₁/I₃ value of mixed gemini with Triton X 100 exhibited that mixed surfactant system of anionic gemini BSGSMA_1,8 with non-ionic Triton X 100 is not as compact as other mixed surfactant systems. Aggregation number increased and micropolarity decreased with increased concentration of gemini surfactants.     

Approximation of Solutions of Fractional-Order Delayed Cellular Neural Network on $$\varvec{[0,\infty )}$$

In this paper, we study a class of fractional-order cellular neural network containing delay. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium solution followed by boundedness. Based on the theory of fractional calculus, we approximate the solution of the corresponding neural network model over the interval \([0,\infty )\) using discretization method with piecewise constant arguments and variation of constants formula for fractional differential equations. Furthermore, we conclude that the solution of the fractional-delayed system can be approximated for large t by the solution of the equation with piecewise constant arguments, if the corresponding linear system is exponentially stable. At the end, we give two numerical examples to validate our theoretical findings.     

Kinetics and Mechanism of Acid-Catalyzed 2,5-Xylenol-Formaldehyde Reaction

This paper deals with kinetic studies of the 2,5-xylenol and formaldehyde reaction catalyzed by hydrochloric acid. The catalyst concentrations used were 0.008, 0.012, 0.02, and 0.04 N. The investigations were carried out at 65, 70, 75, and 80°C. It was observed that the reaction follows a second-order rate law. The rate of reaction was found to increase with an increase in acid concentration. The overall rate constant was resolved into stepwise rate constants. It is a two-step reaction, the second step of the reaction being a rapid follow-up of the first step. Activation parameters for the overall reaction have been calculated, and a mechanism conforming to the experimental observations is suggested.     

Experimental study and performance evaluation of various cook stove models based on energy and exergy analysis

This article presents the experimental study and comparative performance evaluation of four types of cook stoves using energy and exergy analysis. Analysis of four different types of cook stove models viz. Envirofit, Mangla, Harsha and Vikram were selected and the water boiling test has been carried out. The suitable biomass available from the local market was prepared in the proper size as described in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and has been used as the fuel for cook stove in this experimental study. The aluminium pots of proper capacity as per BIS standard have been used for different cook stoves. The data from the experiments was collected and evaluated for the energy and exergy efficiencies for different models. Based on the data analysis it is found that the exergy efficiency is much lower than that of the energy efficiency for all the four models. It is also found that the both the efficiencies of Envirofit model are found to be higher than those of other models studied here.     

The Impact of Compaction and Sand Migration on Permeability and Non-Darcy Coefficient from Pore-Scale Simulations

Transport in Porous Media - Compaction and sand migration are important problems in loosely consolidated and unconsolidated high-rate gas reservoirs, and proppants in the hydraulic fractures. Their...     

Electrochemical studies of novel olivine-layered (LiFePO4-Li2MnO3) dual composite as an alternative cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In the present work, olivine-layered composites, i.e., LiFePO4-Li2MnO3, are successfully synthesized in the form of a single monolithic electrode and layer...     

Nonnegative solutions to reaction–diffusion system with cross-diffusion and nonstandard growth conditions

We establish the existence of nonnegative weak solutions to nonlinear reaction–diffusion system with cross-diffusion and nonstandard growth conditions subject to the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. We assume that the diffusion operators satisfy certain monotonicity condition and nonstandard growth conditions and prove that the existence of weak solutions using Galerkin's approximation technique.