TiO(2) porous electrodes with hierarchical branched inner channels for charge transport in viscous electrolytes.

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) photoelectrodes with micro/nano hierarchical branched inner channels have been prepared by an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technique and assembled to form dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Excellent penetration of ionic-liquid electrolytes and enhanced light harvesting in the longer wavelength region are realized within the composite-structure electrode, thus a better fill factor (ff) of 75.3 % and higher conversion efficiency (eta) of 7.1 % are obtained for viscous ionic-liquid electrolytes compared to pure nanostructured films. Hierarchical branched channels in the photoanodes can efficiently improve the transport properties of redox-active species in viscous electrolytes, which is demonstrated by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The incident monochromatic photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) shows that enhanced light scattering in the composite film is of benefit for light harvesting and thus for solar energy conversion efficiency.     

Comparative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study on the desulfurization of thiophene by Raney nickel and rapidly quenched skeletal nickel

The desulfurization of thiophene on Raney Ni and rapidly quenched skeletal Ni (RQ Ni) has been studied in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Raney Ni or RQ Ni can be approximated as a hydrogen-preadsorbed polycrystalline Ni-alumina composite. It is found that thiophene molecularly adsorbs on Raney Ni or RQ Ni at 103 K. At 173 K, thiophene on alumina is desorbed, while thiophene in direct contact with the metallic Ni in Raney Ni undergoes C-S bond scission, leading to carbonaceous species most probably in the metallocycle-like configuration and atomic sulfur. On RQ Ni, the temperature for thiophene dissociation is about 100 K higher than that on Raney Ni. The lower reactivity of RQ Ni toward thiophene is tentatively attributed to lattice expansion of Ni crystallites in RQ Ni due to rapid quenching. The existence of alumina and hydrogen may block the further cracking of the metallocycle-like species on Raney Ni and RQ Ni at higher temperatures, which has been the dominant reaction pathway on Ni single crystals. By 473 K, the C 1s peak has disappeared, leaving nickel sulfide on the surface.     

Preparation and characterization of silver/TiO2 composite hollow spheres

Silver-coated poly(methyl acrylic acid) (PSA) core-shell colloid particles were prepared by an in situ chemical reduction method. Crystalline silver/titania composite hollow spheres were obtained by coating the as-prepared PSA/silver particles with an amorphous titania layer and subsequently calcining in Ar atmosphere. SEM and TEM investigation indicated that the size of the as-prepared PSA/silver and PSA/silver/TiO(2) core-shell particles and silver/titania composite hollow particles was fairly uniform and the wall thickness of the hollow spheres was in the range of 40-80 nm. UV-vis absorption spectra were recorded to investigate their optical properties.     

重油催化裂化汽油中含氮化合物的分析

利用酸萃取技术浓缩分离重油催化裂化（RFCC）汽油中的氮化物，比较了两种萃取剂和两种油剂比对分离效果的影响，结果发现选用10％（体积分数）HCl作萃取剂，油剂比为10：1（体积比）时，碱性氮化物的提取率较高；浓缩分离出的氮化物用色谱－质谱联用方法对其进行了检测，结果表明RFCC汽油中的氮化物主要是C0－C2苯胺及少量吡啶类、喹啉类碱性氮化物。     

On the statistical mechanics of the traveling salesman problem

We consider the statistical mechanics of the traveling salesman problem (TSP) and develop some representations to study it. In one representation the mean field theory has a simple form and brings out some of the essential features of the problem. It shows that the system has spontaneous symmetry breaking at any nonzero temperature. In general the phase progressively changes as one decreases the temperature. At low temperatures the mean field theory solution is very sensitive to any small perturbations, due to the divergence of some local susceptibilities. This critical region extends down to zero temperature. We perform the quenched average for a nonmetric TSP in the second representation and the resulting problem is more complicated than the infinite-range spin-glass problem, suggesting that the free energy landscape may be more complex. The role played by frustration in this problem appears explicitly through the localization property of a random matrix, which resembles the tight binding matrix of an electron in a random lattice.     

Carbon nanotube assisted synthesis of CeO2 nanotubes

CeO₂ nanotubes have been synthesized facilely using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as templates by a liquid phase deposition method. The properties of the CeO₂ nanotubes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) as well as thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The obtained CeO₂ nanotubes with a polycrystalline face-centered cubic phase have a uniform diameter ranging from 40 to 50 nm. The CeO₂ nanotubes are composed of many tiny interconnected nanocrystallites of about 10 nm in size. The pretreatment of CNTs and calcination temperature were confirmed to be the crucial factors determining the formation of CeO₂ nanotubes. A possible formation mechanism has been suggested to explain the formation of CeO₂ nanotubes.     

All-atom molecular dynamic simulations and relative NMR spectra study of weak C-H...O contacts in amide-water systems

Amide-water mixtures are studied by all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the relative temperature-dependent NMR experiment. The weak C-H...O contacts are found in the amide-water systems theoretically and experimentally. The statistical results of the average numbers of hydrogen bonds indicate that the methyl groups in amide molecules represent different capabilities in forming the weak C-H...O contacts. The statistics also imply that the C-H...O contacts are more obvious in the amide-rich region than those in the water-rich region. The temperature-dependent NMR spectra are also adopted to investigate the weak C-H...O contacts in the amide-water systems. The relative chemical shifts of the methyl groups are in good agreement with the MD simulations.