The use of sulfide cluster-derived catalysts to understand the promotional effect in hydrotreatment catalysis

Sulfide cluster-derived ensembles are promising models of the active sites in commercial hydrotreatment catalysts. A series of sulfide clusters were adsorbed intact onto high-surface-area γ-alumina, magnesium oxide and activated carbon supports, then pretreated to produce highly dispersed catalytic ensembles with sizes similar to those of their precursor clusters. The activities of the bimetallic cluster-derived catalysts were significantly higher than those of the monometallic catalysts. We took this as evidence that direct interactions between molybdenum and the promoter element cause the promotional effect observed in commercial hydrotreatment catalysts. The hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation activities correlated with the extent of molybdenum reduction. Our results suggested that the active sites in promoted hydrotreatment catalysts are centered on molecular-scale ensembles containing molybdenum, sulfur and the promoter element.     

An analysis of the radiation reaction in a charged dumbbell

We make a thorough non-covariant analysis of the derivation of the equation of motion for a charged particle, including radiation reaction, by means of a simple model for the charge: a dumbbell. This model and our method to expand retarded quantities, based on complex-variable theory, allow us to avoid some of the usual approximations, so we can show several features of the radiation reaction problem.     

Parabolic Harnack inequality for divergence form second order differential operators

Old and recent results concerning Harnack inequalities for divergence form operators are reviewed. In particular, the characterization of the parabolic Harnack principle by simple geometric properties -Poincaré inequality and doubling property- is discussed at length. It is shown that these two properties suffice to apply Moser's iterative technique.     

Influence of concentration on the activation energy for diffusion in polymer-solvent systems

The self-diffusion of benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene in polystyrene have been analyzed using the Vrentas/Duda free-volume diffusion model. Diffusion coefficient predictions suggest an exponential concentration dependence of the activation energy required to overcome attractive forces, E. Without the use of any diffusion data approximating E as zero over the entire concentration range yields self-diffusion coefficient predictions which are in good agreement with experimental data. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Metabelian groups with a single defining relation and the Magnus embedding

Translated from Matematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 597–605, April, 1995.     

Synchronization Analysis of Coupled Noncoherent Oscillators

We present two different approaches to detect and quantify phase synchronization in the case of coupled non-phase coherent oscillators. The first one is based on the general idea of curvature of an arbitrary curve. The second one is based on recurrences of the trajectory in phase space. We illustrate both methods in the paradigmatic example of the R?ssler system in the funnel regime. We show that the second method is applicable even in the case of noisy data. Furthermore, we extend the second approach to the application of chains of coupled systems, which allows us to detect easily clusters of synchronized oscillators. In order to illustrate the applicability of this approach, we show the results of the algorithm applied to experimental data from a population of 64 electrochemical oscillators.