Dispersion and Confinement Loss Control in Modified Hexagonal Photonic Crystal Fibers

This paper presents a novel technique for the control of chromatic dispersion and confinement loss in hexagonal photonic crystal fibers (H-PCFs). It is demonstrated that it is possible to obtain very low chromatic dispersion of 0 ± 0:38 ps/(nm·km) in the wavelength range of 1.41 to 1.66 μm and confinement loss of less than 0.0001 dB/km from a six ring modified H-PCF (MH-PCF). The higher order dispersion at 1.55 μm is about −0.001 ps/(nm²-km).     

Synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes for NH3 gas detection

It has been recently demonstrated that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a new type of chemical sensor capable of detecting a small concentration of molecules such as CO, NO₂, NH₃.In this work, CNTs were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on the SiO₂/Si substrate by decomposition of acetylene (C₂H₂) on sputtered Ni catalyst nanoparticles. Their structural properties are studied by atomic force microscopy, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The CNTs grown at 700 °C exhibit a low dispersion in size, are about 1 μm long and their average diameter varies in the range 25–60 nm as a function of the deposition time. We have shown that their diameter can be reduced either by annealing in oxygen environment or by growing at lower temperature (less than 600 °C).We developed a test device with interdigital Pt electrodes on an Al₂O₃ substrate in order to evaluate the CNTs-based gas sensor capabilities. We performed room temperature current–voltage measurements for various gas concentrations. The CNT films are found to exhibit a fast response and a high sensitivity to NH₃ gas.     

A new minor butenolide from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Machilus odoratissima</Emphasis>

A new butenolide, designated odoratinolide (1), was isolated from the bark of the Vietnamese medicinal plant Machilus odoratissima. Its structure was determined by spectroscopic analyses.     

Reduced graphene oxide-encapsulated mesoporous silica as sulfur host for lithium–sulfur battery

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - With up to fivefold higher in energy density vs. lithium-ion battery, lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery is a compelling energy storage system,...     

Structural properties of graphs of diameter 2 with maximal repeats

It was shown using eigenvalue analysis by Erdös et al. that with the exception of C₄, there are no graphs of diameter 2, of maximum degree d and of order d², that is, one less than the Moore bound. These graphs belong to a class of regular graphs of diameter 2, and having certain interesting structural properties, which will be proved in this paper.     

Molecular deformation mechanisms of isotactic polypropylene in α‐ and β‐crystal forms by FTIR spectroscopy

The orientation behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) in α‐ and β‐crystal form was investigated by rheo‐optical Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. This method enabled quantification of the degree of orientation as a feature of structural changes during uniaxial elongation in not only the crystalline phase but also the amorphous one. Molecular orientation mechanisms can be successfully derived from experimental results. Generally, three mechanisms were detected for iPP: (1) interlamellar separation in the amorphous phase, (2) interlamellar slip and lamellar twisting at small elongations, and (3) intralamellar slip at high elongations. The third mechanism was favored by α‐PP, whereas β‐PP favored the second mechanism, which, in fact, was responsible for the different mechanical properties of both materials at the macroscopic level. On the other hand, crystallization conditions may have significantly affected the amorphous orientation. Nevertheless, for both iPP types the chains in the amorphous phase always oriented less than did those in the crystalline phase. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4478–4488, 2004     

On global existence of solutions to a cross-diffusion system

We consider a strongly coupled nonlinear parabolic system which arises in population dynamics in n-dimensional domains (n?1). We prove the global existence of classical solutions to the system for n<10.     

TPR and XPS characterization of chromia–lanthana–zirconia catalyst prepared by impregnation and microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition methods

Chromia–lanthana–zirconia catalysts prepared by wet impregnation and microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition methods have been characterized by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The impregnation procedure requires large amounts of solvent and calcination at high temperatures producing Cr⁶⁺ species. Unlike this, it is found that the microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) method predominantly produces Cr³⁺ species on zirconia-based supports. Moreover, it has been shown that the dispersion of chromium species deposited on zirconia-based support by the PECVD method is higher than the dispersion of those prepared by wet impregnation. Thus, the advantages of PECVD over the impregnation method consist in this case in preventing the use of large amounts of solvent and avoiding the primary formation of poisonous Cr⁶⁺ species as well as in enabling the deposition of chromium species with high dispersion on zirconia-based supports.