Fabrication of highly efficient and cost-effective dye-sensitized solar cells using ZnO/MWCNT nanocomposite as photoanode

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In the present study, a novel cost-effective and efficient configuration of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with zinc oxide–multi-walled carbon...     

On the mechanism of growth of cells (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) in the mixed aqueous two-phase system

The growth ofBacillus amyloliquefaciens in the aqueous two-phase system, made up of polyethylene glycol, dextran, and water, was investigated. Generally,Bacillus partitions in the dextran phase, but the magnitude of the separation depends largely on the overall composition of polymers in the phase system. The kinetics of growth ofBacillus amyloliquefaciens was studied in the polyethylene glycol-rich continuous phase, dextran-rich dispersed phase, and in the mixed phase. From the kinetic data it appears that increasing the overall polymer composition causes the cells to adsorp at the interface. On the other hand, partition measurements indicate that increasing polymer concentrations make the cell partitioning more one-sided. This anomaly is explained by studying the interfacial adsorption of cells via dynamic surface tension measurements.     

Radar transparent glass fabric reinforced polyetherimide/Cloisite 30B nanocomposites

High performance radar transparent materials (RTMs) are important materials for the fabrication of radomes, nosecones, etc. of high velocity aerospace vehicles. RTMs with good mechanical performance and temperature capability are required for such applications. Toward this, fabric reinforced nano‐reinforced matrix composites (FRNCs), using reinforcing E‐glass fabric in Cloisite 30B reinforced polyetherimide (PEI) nanocomposite matrix (GNRPEI), was prepared. The properties of GNRPEI were evaluated and compared with E‐glass fabric reinforced PEI composites (GRPEI) with special reference to their radar transparent character for aerospace applications. Tensile and flexural properties along with interlaminar shear strength of GRPEI were observed to be lower than those of GNRPEI. Thermal behavior of both the composites was similar in differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analysis. But, in dynamic mechanical analysis, an increase in storage modulus and decrease in loss tangent were observed in GNRPEI compared to GRPEI. The values of dielectric constant and loss tangent of GNRPEI were lesser than those of GRPEI, but no significant difference was observed in the values of transmission and reflection losses for both the composites at 8–12 GHz frequency. FRNCs, based on organoclay reinforced PEI matrix, hold good promise as high performance RTMs. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A sequential sampling rule for selecting the most probable multinomial event

Summary A sequential sampling rule is given for selecting the most probable event from a multinomial distribution withk cells. A random number of observations is taken from the given multinomial distribution at each stage of sampling, where the number is distributed according to a Poisson distribution with mean λ. The sampling is stopped when the count in any cell is greater than or equal to a given positive integerN. The cell with the highest count is selected for the most probable event. The mathematical analysis of the problem is simplified as a result of the statistical independence of the cell frequencies due to the randomization of the sample number. The expected value of the stage when the sampling terminates is decreasing in λ. The sequential sampling scheme in which one observation is taken at a time until the highest cell count is equal toN, corresponds to λ→0. A table is given showing some properties of the given selection procedure.     

Anomalous freezing and melting behaviour of capillary confined CO2

In this paper we present our recent positron annihilation study of the liquid»solid phase boundary for CO₂ confined in nanometer pores of VYCOR glass. We find that CO₂ remains liquid in the pores far below the bulk freezing temperature and there is pronounced hysteresis between freezing and melting compared to that seen at the gas-liquid boundary in the pores. On freezing we see evidence of open space created in the pores. This leads to complex melting behaviour possibly involving the formation of gas-liquid interfaces. We see that frezing in the pores is totally irreversible, so that any solid which forms (no matter how small) remains stable up to the higher melting temperature. In contrast melting is more reversible (possibly indicating nucleation centres which permit immediate re-freezing). Finally, the pre-frozen state in the pores is different to the post-melted state.     

Understanding Complex Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy in Corrosion Systems Using in‐situ Synchrotron Radiation Grazing Incidence X‐ray Diffraction

The difficulty in interpreting electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data has limited the potential of the method despite its utility as an electrochemical method for studies of electrode reactions and interfacial structures. Taking the test case of the carbon dioxide corrosion of carbon steel, in‐situ synchrotron radiation grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction (SR‐GIXRD) has been demonstrated to be a powerful technique for validating and understanding the interfacial structures associated with complex EIS data. Carbon dioxide corrosion was found to occur in several steps, which may only be surmised by EIS, but the use of SR‐GIXRD in conjunction with EIS has enabled the establishment of a link between EIS time constants and structural changes associated with the evolution of corrosion products with time. By comparison to previous studies by the authors and others in this field, this communication provides the first direct experimental evidence linking SR‐GIXRD surface compositional data to otherwise indistinctive EIS time constants.     

Positron and positronium annihilation studies of phase behaviour in confined geometry

In this paper we present a brief review of the current state of positron annihilation research into the phase behaviour of fluids confined within restricted boundaries. We summarise, in the form of selected examples, the work done so far on: (1) fluids confined in the nanometer-size pores of VYCOR glass, with particular emphasis on the confined phase diagram and the mechanisms behind phase transitions compared to bulk. (2) The adsorption/physisorption of gases on internal surfaces of grafoil and the potential of positron technique for revealing physical properties, such as the intricate molecular arrangements during phase transitions of the layered fluid.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization,crystal structure,and anti-bacterial activity of diorganotin(IV) complexes with 5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde-N(4)-ethylthiosemicarbazone

Three new diorganotin(IV) complexes, [Me₂Sn(BDET] (2), [Bu₂Sn(BDET)] (3), and [Ph₂Sn(BDET)] (4), were synthesized by reacting R₂SnCl₂ (R = Me, Bu, and Ph) with 5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde-N(4)-ethylthiosemicarbazone [H₂BDET, (1)] in the presence of KOH in absolute methanol. The newly synthesized complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, UV–vis, FT-IR, ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectroscopies. The molecular structure of 4 was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography revealed that the doubly deprotonated O,N,S-tridentate thiosemicarbazone coordinates to tin(IV), resulting in a distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry. Their ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectra support a five-coordinate tin(IV) in solution for all complexes, in accord with the solid-state X-ray structure determined for 4. Compounds 1–4 were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhi. The results exhibited that 2–4 were active with comparable potency compared to the standard drug. Antibacterial studies also indicated that the complexes have potential for biological evaluation.     

Stereoselective intermolecular allylic C-H trifluoroacetoxylation of functionalized alkenes

Pd-catalyzed allylic C-H trifluoroacetoxylation of substituted alkenes was performed using PhI(OCOCF(3))(2) as the oxidant and acyloxy source. Trifluoroacetoxylation of monosubstituted cyclopentenes and cyclohexenes proceeds with excellent regio- and diastereoselectivity. Studies with one of the possible (η(3)-allyl)Pd(II) intermediates suggest that the reaction proceeds via stereoselective formation of Pd(IV) intermediates and subsequent stereo- and regioselective reductive elimination of the product.     

Reactivity Ratios and Sequence Distribution Characterization by Quantitative 13C NMR for RAFT Synthesis of Styrene‐Acrylonitrile Copolymers

The kinetics and reactivity ratios of styrene‐acrylonitrile (SA) copolymerization have been studied extensively in bulk and in a variety of solution media using conventional free radical polymerizations (FRPs). Due to the significant difference in the two reactivity ratios for this monomer pair, at certain feed ratios the copolymers display composition drift with conversion due to monomer depletion. In this study, the kinetics of SA copolymerization using Reversible Addition‐Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) has been studied in bulk at 80 °C. The reactivity ratios for the terminal model were calculated from the comonomer sequence distributions for the RAFT process at low conversion for nine different compositions and found to be in the same range as those reported for conventional FRP of SA. The changes in the composition and sequence distribution with conversion were studied for three feed compositions. The copolymers show compositional drift with conversion, except at the azeotropic composition, and match the predictions from the reactivity ratios obtained at low conversion. From quantitative ¹³C NMR the triad distributions of these copolymers were estimated and found to match the predicted triad distributions as conversion increased. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 919–927