Dark Energy with Phantom Crossing and the H0 Tension

We investigate the possibility of phantom crossing in the dark energy sector and the solution for the Hubble tension between early and late universe observations. We use robust combinations of different cosmological observations, namely the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), local measurement of Hubble constant (H0), Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) and SnIa for this purpose. For a combination of CMB+BAO data that is related to early universe physics, phantom crossing in the dark energy sector was confirmed at a 95% confidence level and we obtained the constraint H0=71.0−3.8+2.9 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level, which is in perfect agreement with the local measurement by Riess et al. We show that constraints from different combinations of data are consistent with each other and all of them are consistent with phantom crossing in the dark energy sector. For the combination of all data considered, we obtained the constraint H0=70.25±0.78 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level and the phantom crossing happening at the scale factor am=0.851−0.031+0.048 at a 68% confidence level.     

[Nb@Ge13/14]3−: New Family Members of Ge-Based Intermetalloid Clusters

During the past two decades, single-atom-centered medium-sized germanium clusters [M@Ge_n] (M=transition metals, n>12) have been extensively explored, both from theoretical perspectives and experimental gas-phase syntheses. However, the actual structural arrangements of the Ge₁₃ and Ge₁₄ endohedral cages are still ambiguous and have long remained an unresolved problem for experimental implementation. In this work, we successfully synthesize 13-/14-vertex Ge clusters [Nb@Ge₁₃]³⁻ ( 1 ) and [Nb@Ge₁₄]³⁻ ( 2 ), which are structurally characterized and exhibit unprecedented topologies, neither classical deltahedra nor 3-connected polyhedral structures. Theoretical analysis indicates that the major stabilization of the Ge backbones arises due to the substantial interaction of Ge 4p-AOs with the endohedral Nb 4d-AOs through three/four-center two-electron bonds with an enhanced electron density accumulated over the shortest Nb−Ge13 contact in 1 . Low occupancies of the direct two-center two-electron (2c–2e) Nb−Ge and Ge−Ge σ bonds point to a considerable degree of electron delocalization over the Ge cages revealing their electron deficiency.     

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) as a green and efficient dipolar aprotic reaction medium

The great challenge for modern research is to define the most efficient tools to make more sustainable the industrial production and manufacturing. Among the different aspects that require attention the replacement of toxic and/or non-renewable solvents it is certainly playing a crucial role. Dealing with widely used dipolar aprotic solvents, among the different alternatives proposed in the literature γ-valerolactone (GVL) plays a pivotal role covering different application area. In this contribution, the benefits derived from the use of GVL as a circular, safe, biomass-derived reaction medium are highlighted covering most recent publications (2021). The presentation has been divided into three major sections: (i) biomass valorization, (ii) materials synthesis, manufacturing and recycle and (iii) new synthetic methodologies.     

Acridone-Based Host Materials for Green Phosphorescent and Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent OLEDs with Low-Efficiency Roll-Offs

By linking the carbazole unit to the nitrogen atom of acridone through phenyl or pyridyl, two compounds, named 10-(4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)acridin-9(10H)-one (AC-Ph-Cz) and 10-(5-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridin-2-yl)acridin-9(10H)-one (AC-Py-Cz) were designed and synthesized. These two materials, characterized with highly twisted and rigid structure, good thermal stability, and balanced carrier-transporting properties, were employed as host materials for green phosphorescent and thermally activated delayed fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The carbazole group, despite its small contribution to the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) of these two materials, plays an essential role as an intramolecular host in energy delivering and improving the hole transporting ability of these two hosts. The incorporation of the electron-deficient pyridyl group as a linking group slightly improves the electron transporting capability of AC-Py-Cz. The green phosphorescent OLED (PhOLED) based on AC-Py-Cz exhibited excellent device performance with a turn-on voltage of 2.5 V, a maximum power efficiency and an external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of 89.8 lm W⁻¹ and 25.2 %, respectively, benefitting from the better charge-balancing ability of AC-Py-Cz host due to the presence of the pyridyl bridge. More importantly, all the devices based on these two hosts showed low efficiency roll-off at high brightness due to the suppressed non-radiative transition in the emitting layer. In particular, the AC-Py-Cz-hosted green PhOLED exhibited an efficiency roll-off of 1.6 % from the maximum next at a high brightness of 1000 cd m⁻² and a roll-off of 15.9 % at an extremely high brightness of 10000 cd m⁻². This study manifests that acridone-based host materials have great potential in fabricating OLEDs with low efficiency roll-off.     

基于离子迁移谱的假币用纸快速检测及溯源

该文采用离子迁移谱（IMS）对20种假币用纸进行分析，通过快速检测假币用纸中的可挥发性组分，构建假币用纸的指纹谱图库。基于主成分分析（PCA）和层次聚类分析（HCA）对迁移时间8 ~ 17.5 ms范围的迁移谱信息进行处理，从而对假币用纸进行分类。PCA可将同种假币用纸聚类，HCA则可进一步将20种假币用纸准确分类，其对6个未知来源的半成品假币的分类正确率达83.33%。结果表明，IMS快速检测分析是比较和分类假币用纸的有效方法。     

Shock waves in gas flows with nanoparticles

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The paper focuses on the analytical analysis of the propagation of a normal shock wave in an adiabatic gas flow with nanoparticles. A modified...     

Crossing VIMP and EIS for studying heterogeneous sets of copper/bronze coins

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and voltammetry of immobilized particles (VIMP) measurements using air-saturated mineral water and...     

Dynamic response of rocking cracked masonry walls

The behaviour of masonry constructions results to be very far from the one characterizing ductile structures. In masonry constructions, the seismic action activates a rocking motion rather than a dissipating mechanism. A strength resource of masonry structures, properly reinforced in order to avoid early local failures, consists in exhibiting rocking behaviour, until a failure condition is attained. Aim of the paper is to investigate the dynamic behaviour of masonry single storey walls, according to Housner’s studies and innovatively introducing the effect of diagonal cracks developing from the toes of the piers and shown by typical post-earthquake cracking patterns. The proposed procedure can be easily applied to the case of multi-storey regular masonry walls with openings representing the main resistant structural components of a masonry building. Starting from the evaluation of the incipient rocking acceleration of the system, the free and forced motions of the wall are examined. In the paper, according to the classical Housner’s approach, the energy dissipation occurring during the impact is modelled. Finally, a numerical application, considering a simple constant horizontal acceleration impulse of given duration has been carried out.

     

Evolution of Classical and Quantum States in the Groupoid Picture of Quantum Mechanics

The evolution of states of the composition of classical and quantum systems in the groupoid formalism for physical theories introduced recently is discussed. It is shown that the notion of a classical system, in the sense of Birkhoff and von Neumann, is equivalent, in the case of systems with a countable number of outputs, to a totally disconnected groupoid with Abelian von Neumann algebra. The impossibility of evolving a separable state of a composite system made up of a classical and a quantum one into an entangled state by means of a unitary evolution is proven in accordance with Raggio’s theorem, which is extended to include a new family of separable states corresponding to the composition of a system with a totally disconnected space of outcomes and a quantum one.