An expansion formula for fractional derivatives of variable order

In this work we extend our previous results and derive an expansion formula for fractional derivatives of variable order. The formula is used to determine fractional derivatives of variable order of two elementary functions. Also we propose a constitutive equation describing a solidifying material and determine the corresponding stress relaxation function.     

On double cycling for container port productivity improvement

How quay cranes (QC) are scheduled is vital to the productivity of seaside container port operations. Double cycling concept is an operation strategy of loading the containers into ships as they are unloaded, thus improving the efficiency of a QC as well as the container port. Goodchild and Daganzo (Transp Sci 40(4):473–483, 2006) first described QC double cycling problem and solved the problem after formulating it into a two machine flow shop problem. Song (Port Technol Int 36:50–52, 2007) studied the formula to determine the optimal starting sequence for double cycling while reflecting on the practical issue of QC working direction. The above studies focused on a single QC double cycling and their empirical trials showed the double cycling could improve the productivity of each QC approximately by between 10 and 20 %. In Zhang and Kim (Comput Ind Eng 56(3):979–992, 2009), a multiple QC double cycling model was first suggested by formulating a mixed integer programming model to maximise the number of double cycles between multiple QCs. In the present paper we point out a flaw with the existing multiple QC double cycling model that lets cycles that are not implementable. In addition, the paper discusses the need for imposing constraints arising from real world requirements to the formulations aiming at double cycling.     

Wettability of pristine and alkyl-functionalized graphane

Graphane is a hydrogenated form of graphene with high bandgap and planar structure insensitive to a broad range of chemical substitutions. We describe an atomistic simulation approach to predict wetting properties of this new material. We determine the contact angle to be 73°. The lower hydrophobicity compared to graphene is explained by the increased planar density of carbon atoms while we demonstrate that the presence of partial charges on carbon and hydrogen atoms plays only a minor role. We further examine the effects of graphane functionalization by alkyl groups of increasing chain lengths. The gradual increase in contact angle with chain length offers a precise control of surface wettability. A saturated contact angle of 114° is reached in butylated form. We find the saturation of contact angle with respect to the length of the functional groups to coincide with the loss of water's ability to penetrate the n-alkyl molecular brush and interact with carbon atoms of the underlying lattice. Since no experimental data have yet become available, our modeling results provide the first estimate of the wettability of graphane. The results also show how its alkyl functionalization provides the basis for a variety of chemical modifications to tune hydrophilicity while preserving the planar geometry of the substrate.     

Elucidating the Nature of the External Acid Sites of ZSM-5 Zeolites Using NMR Probe Molecules

The identification of acid and nonacid species at the external surface of zeolites remains a major challenge, in contrast to the extensively-studied internal acid sites. Here, it is shown that the synthesis of zeolite ZSM-5 samples with distinct particle sizes, combined with solid-state NMR and computational studies of trimethylphosphine oxide (TMPO) adsorption, provides insight into the chemical species on the external surface of the zeolite crystals. ¹H–³¹P HETCOR NMR spectra of TMPO-loaded zeolites exhibit a broad correlation peak at δ_P ∼35–55 ppm and δ_H ∼5–12 ppm assigned to external SiOH species. Pore-mouth Brønsted acid sites exhibit ³¹P and ¹H NMR resonances and adsorption energies close to those reported for internal acid sites interacting with TMPO. The presence of an external tricoordinate Al-Lewis site interacting strongly with TMPO is suggested, resulting in ³¹P resonances that overlap with the peaks usually ascribed to the interaction of TMPO with Brønsted sites.     

Synthese und Charakterisierung von Aquapentachloroplatinaten(IV) – Struktur von [K(18-Krone-6)][PtCl5(H2O)]

Synthesis and Characterization of Aquapentachloroplatinates(IV) – Structure of [K(18-crown-6)][PtCl₅(H₂O)] The crown ether complex of the aquapentachloroplatinic acid of the composition [H₁₃O₆][PtCl₅(H₄O₂)] · 2(18-cr-6) ( 2 ) reacts with K₂CO₃ and [NⁿBu₄]OH in aqueous solution to give [K(18-cr-6)][PtCl₅(H₂O)] ( 5 a ) and [NⁿBu₄][PtCl₅(H₂O)] · ¹/₂ (18-cr-6) · H₂O ( 5 b ), respectively. Both compounds were characterized by microanalysis, vibrational (IR, Raman) and NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹⁵Pt) spectroscopy. The X-ray structure analysis of 5 a (orthorhombic, pnma; a = 16,550(4), b = 18,044(3), c = 7,415(1) Å; Z = 4; R1 = 0,0183; wR2 = 0,0414) reveals that the crystal is threaded by chains built up of [PtCl₅(H₂O)]^? and [K(18-cr-6)]⁺ units. There are tight K …? Cl contacts (d(K? Cl1)) = 3,0881(9) Å and O_W? H? O_cr hydrogen bridges (d(O1 …? O2) = 2,806(3) Å) between these units. The coordination polyhedron [PtCl₅O] has approximately C_4v symmetry.     

Biodegradable hybrid polymer films based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and collagen hydrolyzate

Hybrid blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and collagen hydrolyzate (CH), an added value waste from leather indutry, have been converted by blown molding extrusion, to environmentally degradable films. Blown extruded films comprising 5-15% of CH, were tested as sel fertilizing mulching films and analyzed for their propensity to enviromental degradation. PVA/CH films rapidly disintegrate when buried in soil, and resulted promising for application such as transplanting films, with additional fertilizing action of CH.     

Physicochemical characterization of phosphinic pseudopeptides by capillary zone electrophoresis in highly acidic background electrolytes

Phosphinic pseudopeptides (i.e., peptide isosteres with one peptide bond replaced by a phosphinic acid moiety) were analyzed and physicochemically characterized by capillary zone electrophoresis in the pH range of 1.1-3.2, employing phosphoric, phosphinic, oxalic and dichloroacetic acids as background electrolyte (BGE) constituents. The acid dissociation constant (pK(a)) of phosphinate group in phosphinic pseudopeptides and ionic mobilities of these analytes were determined from the pH dependence of their effective electrophoretic mobilities corrected to standard temperature and constant ionic strength of the BGEs. It was shown that these corrections are necessary whenever precise mobility data at very low pH are to be determined. Additionally, it was found that the ionic mobilities of the phosphinic pseudopeptides and pK(a) of their phosphinate group are affected by the BGE constituent used. The variability of migration behavior of the pseudopeptides can be attributed to their ion-pairing formation with the BGE components.     

Facile carbon-fluorine bond activation and subsequent functionalisation of 1,1-difluoroethylene and tetrafluoroethylene promoted by adjacent metal centres

The bridging fluoroolefin ligands in the complexes [Ir(2)(CH(3))(CO)(2)(μ-olefin)(dppm)(2)][OTf] (olefin = tetrafluoroethylene, 1,1-difluoroethylene; dppm = μ-Ph(2)PCH(2)PPh(2); OTf(-) = CF(3)SO(3)(-)) are susceptible to facile fluoride ion abstraction. Both fluoroolefin complexes react with trimethylsilyltriflate (Me(3)SiOTf) to give the corresponding fluorovinyl products by abstraction of a single fluoride ion. Although the trifluorovinyl ligand is bound to one metal, the monofluorovinyl group is bridging, bound to one metal through carbon and to the other metal through a dative bond from fluorine. Addition of two equivalents of Me(3)SiOTf to the tetrafluoroethylene-bridged species gives the difluorovinylidene-bridged product [Ir(2)(CH(3))(OTf)(CO)(2)(μ-OTf)(μ-C=CF(2))(dppm)(2)][OTf]. The 1,1-difluoroethylene species is exceedingly reactive, reacting with water to give 2-fluoropropene and [Ir(2)(CO)(2)(μ-OH)(dppm)(2)][OTf] and with carbon monoxide to give [Ir(2)(CO)(3)(μ-κ(1):η(2)-C≡CCH(3))(dppm)(2)][OTf] together with two equivalents of HF. The trifluorovinyl product [Ir(2)(κ(1)-C(2)F(3))(OTf)(CO)(2)(μ-H)(μ-CH(2))(dppm)(2)][OTf], obtained through single C-F bond activation of the tetrafluoroethylene-bridged complex, reacts with H(2) to form trifluoroethylene, allowing the facile replacement of one fluorine in C(2)F(4) with hydrogen.     

Synthesis of Polylactide: Effect of Dispersion of the Initiator

The ring opening polymerization of L-lactide was studied in bulk using stannous octoate as initiator. In some experiments, triphenylphosphine, a Lewis base was also used as co-initiator. The polymerization was carried out at 130°C up to 29 h. The monomer was used after recrystallizing three times with dry toluene. Experiments were carried out using a wide range of monomer to initiator ratio. The averages and distributions of molar masses of resulting PLA have been determined by means of size exclusion chromatography, SEC. It is shown that the (mode, process) procedure of dispersion of the catalyst in polymerization system affects the molar mass distribution of the product as is evidenced by the bimodality or even trimodality observed in the SEC chromatograms.     

Solvothermal synthesis of WO3/TiO2/carbon fiber composite photocatalysts for enhanced performance under sunlight illumination

Carbon fiber (CF)‐based WO₃/TiO₂ composite catalysts (WO₃/TiO₂/CF) were successfully synthesized by solvothermal method. The catalysts were characterized by XPS, SEM, BET, XRD, FTIR, Raman and UV–Vis. The analyses confirmed the WO₃/TiO₂ nanoparticles with high crystallinity deposited on the carbon structure. The photocatalytic degradation of Orange II azo dye under UV and sunlight illumination with the synthesized catalyst was explored. The composite catalyst displayed high performance (85%) for Orange II degradation while that of for WO₃/TiO₂ was found as 76%. The effects of CF amount, solution pH, initial dye concentration and catalyst dose on photocatalytic performance were studied. It was found that the degradation efficiency increased from 68% to 90% with the increasing CF amount from 3 wt% to 5 wt%, while the further increase in CF amount (7–10 wt%) decreased the photodegradation due to the blocking the active sites of WO₃/TiO₂. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency was mainly attributed to the electrical properties of the CF and reduced bandgap.