Magnesium nanoparticles with transition metal decoration for hydrogen storage

We report on the hydrogen storage behaviour of Mg nanoparticles (NPs) (size range 100 nm–1 μm) with metal-oxide core–shell morphology synthesized by inert gas condensation and decorated by transition metal (TM) (Pd or Ti) clusters via in situ vacuum deposition. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared and hydrogenated NPs is studied by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction including in situ experiments and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, in order to investigate the relationships with the hydrogen storage kinetics measured by the volumetric Sieverts method. With both Pd and Ti, the decoration deeply improves the hydrogen sorption properties: previously inert NPs exhibit complete hydrogenation with fast transformation kinetics, good stability and reversible gravimetric capacity that can attain 6 wt%. In the case of Pd-decoration, the occurrence of Mg–Pd alloying is observed at high temperatures and in dependence of the hydrogen pressure conditions. These structural transformations modify both the kinetics and thermodynamics of hydride formation, while Ti-decoration has an effect only on the kinetics. The experimental results are discussed in relation with key issues such as the amount of decoration, the heat of mixing between TM and Mg and the binding energy between TM and hydrogen.     

A new synthetic entry to 3-carboxamido-4-carboxylic acid derivatives of isoxazole and pyrazole

Ethyl 2-amino-3-methoxycarbonyl-4-oxo-2-pentenoate (3) reacts with hydroxylamine or hydrazines to give isoxazole and pyrazole ortho-dicarboxylic acid esters 4 and 5, respectively. Partial hydrolysis of diesters 4 and 5 afforded the corresponding dicarboxylic acid monoesters 6 and 7. Amidation of the intermediate acid chlorides 8,9 followed by hydrolysis of 4-methylesters 10, 11 gave the title compounds 1 and 2, respectively.     

A Model for Information Processing Capacity: Formalizing the Impact of Structural and Information System Choices on Organizational Performance

This paper proposes a formal model of information processing inorganizations. The model takes a process view of organizations and includesboth structural and IS features of processes. Two structural properties areconsidered, networking and parallelism. Information systems are representedin terms of quantity of information used and level of informationcustomization allowed. Process performance is measured in terms of totalinformation processing capacity and flexibility afforded by a process. Therelationship between structural and information system choices and processperformance is studied by simulating the model for a range of values. Thepaper derives a set of propositions describing the independent and combinedimpact of structural and information system choices on performance. The results suggest the predominance of networking over parallelism and ofinformation customization over information quantity in determininginformation processing capacity. They also show a negative effect ofnetworking on process flexibility and an amplifying effect of networking onthe benefits of information customization. Overall, the findings validatethe interdependence between structural and information system variables indetermining process performance.     

Partial and unsharp quantum logics

The total and the sharp character of orthodox quantum logic has been put in question in different contexts. This paper presents the basic ideas for a unified approach to partial and unsharp forms of quantum logic. We prove a completeness theorem for some partial logics based on orthoalgebras and orthomodular posets. We introduce the notion of unsharp orthoalgebra and of generalized MV algebra. The class of all effects of any Hilbert space gives rise to particular examples of these structures. Finally, we investigate the relationship between unsharp orthoalgebras, generalized MV algebras, and orthomodular lattices.     

Metal-organic deposition of YBa2Cu3Ox and Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2Ox films on various substrates starting from different fluorine-free metallorganic compounds

YBa₂Cu₃O_x (Y-123) and Bi₂Sr₂Ca₁Cu₂O_x (Bi-2212) films on various substrates have been prepared by Metal-Organic Deposition starting from different metallorganic fluorine-free compounds and using a very simple instrumentation. The processing conditions include a rapid pyrolysis step in air and an annealing step in oxygen for Y-123 and in air for Bi-2212. The films obtained have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the formation of a superconducting phase of Y-123 or Bi-2212 was confirmed measuring the critical temperature (T _c) with Ac-susceptibility and resistive measurements. Microstructure and final cationic ratios have been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).     

Constructive (2,3)-generation: A permutational approach

A groupG is said to be (2,3)-generated if it can be generated by two elements of respective orders 2 and 3. The class of these groups has recently received a lot of attention by several authors: a brief survey of the results in this area is given in the introduction. In this paper we show that, ifR is a ring generated by one element of finite multiplicative order, then the analogues of classical groups overR are (2,3)-generated, provided that their rank is sufficiently large. Our lower bound for the rank improves previous results.