Structural asymmetry in liquid Fe–Si alloys

The thermodynamic properties and microscopic structure of liquid Fe–Si alloys at 1873 K were studied by using the regular associated solution model. The model was utilized to determine the complex concentration in a regular associated solution of Fe, Si and Fe₂Si. The complex concentration was then used to calculate the integral excess free energy of mixing, activity, concentration fluctuations in the long-wavelength limit, S_CC (0), and the Warren–Cowley short-range parameter α ₁. The analysis suggests that heterocoordination leading to the formation of complex Fe₂Si is likely to exist in the liquid and is of a strongly interacting nature. The theoretical analysis reveals that the alloy is more ordered towards the Fe-rich region. The observed asymmetry in the properties of mixing of Fe–Si alloys in the molten state is successfully explained on the basis of the regular associated solution model.     

Pressure-induced structural phase transition and electronic properties of RESb (RE = Ho,Er and Tm) compounds: ab initio calculations

The structural phase transition and electronic properties at ambient (B ₁-phase) and high pressure (B ₂-phase) of heavy rare earth monoantimonides (RESb; RE?=?Ho, Er, and Tm) have been studied theoretically using the self-consistent tight binding linear muffin tin orbital method. These compounds show metallic behavior under ambient condition and undergo a structural phase transition to the B ₂ phase at high pressure. We predict a structural phase transition from the B ₁ to B ₂ phase in the pressure range 30.0–35.0?GPa. Apart from this, the ground state properties, such as lattice parameter and bulk modulus are calculated and compared with the available theoretical and experimental results.     

Unsteady MHD two-phase Couette flow of fluid–particle suspension

The problem of two-phase unsteady MHD Couette flow between two parallel infinite plates has been studied taking the viscosity effect of the two phases into consideration. Unified closed form expressions are obtained for the velocities and the skin frictions for both cases of the applied magnetic field being fixed to either the fluid or the moving plate. The novelty of this study is that we have obtained the solution of the unsteady flow using the Laplace transform technique, D’Alemberts method and the Riemann-sum approximation method. The solution obtained is validated by assenting comparisons with the closed form solutions obtained for the steady states which have been derived separately and also by the implicit finite difference method. Graphical result for the velocity of both phases based on the semi-analytical solutions are presented and discussed. A parametric study of some of the physical parameters involved in the problem is conducted. The skin friction for both the fluid and the particle phases decreases with time on both plates until a steady state is reached, it is also observed to decrease with increase in the particle viscosity on the moving plate while an opposite behaviour has been noticed on the stationary plate.     

Evolution of absorption energy per unit thickness of damaged sandstone

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This paper experimentally studies the evolution of absorption energy characteristics per unit thickness of Jhiri sandstone at variable temperatures...     

Synthesis of zirconium diboride and its application in the protection of stainless steel surface in harsh environment

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Surface degradation of steel is one of the key problems of steel end user because of the electrochemical reaction at the steel surface caused by...     

Efficient approximately 2 microm Tm3+ -doped tellurite fiber laser

Laser emission in the range of 1.88-1.99 micrim from a Tm3+ -doped tellurite fiber is demonstrated when pumped with a diode-pumped Er3+/Yb3+-doped silica fiber laser operating at 1.57-1.61 microm. This pump source excites the Tm3+ ions directly into the F43 upper laser level and yields an output power of 280 mW with a slope efficiency of 76% in a 99%-12% laser cavity arrangement and a 32 cm long fiber. This result is very close to the Stokes efficiency limit of approximately 80%. This is, to the authors' knowledge, the first demonstration of high efficiency lasing in a tellurite fiber at wavelengths longer than 1.56 microm.     

Tm(3+)/Ho(3+) codoped tellurite fiber laser

Continuous-wave and Q-switched lasing from a Tm(3+)/Ho(3+) codoped tellurite fiber is reported. An Yb(3+)/Er(3+)-doped silica fiber laser operating at 1.6 microm was used as an in-band pump source, exciting the Tm(3+) ions into the (3)F(4) level. Energy is then nonradiatively transferred to the upper laser level, the (5)I(7) state of Ho(3+). The laser transition is from the (5)I(7) level to the (5)I(8) level, and the resulting emission is at 2.1 microm. For continuous wave operation, the slope efficiency was 62% and the threshold 0.1 W; the maximum output demonstrated was 0.16 W. Mechanical Q switching resulted in a pulse of 0.65 microJ energy and 160 ns duration at a repetition rate of 19.4 kHz.     

Perspective and Prospective of Pretreatment of Corn Straw for Butanol Production

Corn straw, lignocellulosic biomass, is a potential substrate for microbial production of bio-butanol. Bio-butanol is a superior second generation biofuel among its kinds. Present researches are focused on the selection of butanol tolerant clostridium strain(s) to optimize butanol yield in the fermentation broth because of toxicity of bio-butanol to the clostridium strain(s) itself. However, whatever the type of the strain(s) used, pretreatment process always affects not only the total sugar yield before fermentation but also the performance and growth of microbes during fermentation due to the formation of hydroxyl-methyl furfural, furfural and phenolic compounds. In addition, the lignocellulosic biomasses also resist physical and biological attacks. Thus, selection of best pretreatment process and its parameters is crucial. In this context, worldwide research efforts are increased in past 12 years and researchers are tried to identify the best pretreatment method, pretreatment conditions for the actual biomass. In this review, effect of particle size, status of most common pretreatment method and enzymatic hydrolysis particularly for corn straw as a substrate is presented. This paper also highlights crucial parameters necessary to consider during most common pretreatment processes such as hydrothermal, steam explosion, ammonia explosion, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide pretreatment. Moreover, the prospective of pretreatment methods and challenges is discussed.     

Harnessing sun for catalyst and sensitizer free regio- and stereo-selective [2+2] cycloaddition

Presence of cyclobutane rings in bioactive natural products makes them a popular synthetic target. Most common strategy for synthesizing cyclobutanes is [2+2] cycloaddition, which is usually facilitated by using ultraviolet radiation and catalysts. Herein we report the design and synthesis of densely functionalized cyclobutanes by alleviating these drawbacks and using sunlight. Further, we identified the putative mechanism of the transformation based on kinetic, fluorescence and crystallographic studies and evaluated biological activities of the products against MCF7 cell lines. The rational design of the olefinic substrates was based on their UV–vis spectra. The generic aspect of the reaction was elucidated by the syntheses of diverse analogs of cyclobutanes. Further, crystal structures and UV–vis spectra of the olefinic partners assisted us in rationalizing the stereoselectivity of the heterodimers. We believe this energy-efficient mild approach will provide a substantial contribution to the existing repertoire of strategies to regio- and stereoselectively access cyclobutanes.