Investigating magnetorheological properties of a mixture of two types of carbonyl iron powders suspended in an ionic liquid

In this work, properties of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid, prepared by dispersing a mixture of two types of carbonyl iron powders (CIPs) of different sizes, in an ionic liquid (N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl) ammonium tetrafluoroborate) that is stable from 9 °C to ca. 300 °C, have been investigated. At first, the random packing density of the mixture was computed as function of mixing ratio of CIP, in order to find out the tendency of the variation. Next, several mixtures, all having the same weight, were prepared at various mixing ratios and dispersed in the ionic liquid, in order to experimentally find the most suitable mixing ratio of CIP. Then, the magnetic clusters of the synthesized MR fluids were observed by using a digital microscope equipped with two permanent magnets, whereas the MR properties were investigated by using a rotation viscometer equipped with a solenoid coil. The experimental results pointed out that the MR fluid with 60 wt% fraction of large particles exhibited the highest MR response.     

Stoichiometry-Controlled Synthesis of Nanoparticulate Mixed-Metal Oxyhydroxide Oxygen Evolving Catalysts by Electrochemistry in Aqueous Nanodroplets

Mixed-metal oxyhydroxides—especially those of Ni and Fe—are one of the most active classes of materials known for catalyzing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here, nanoparticulate mixed metal oxyhydroxides (of Ni, Fe, and Co) were prepared on an electrode surface by electrochemical reaction of a precursor solution encapsulated in aqueous nanodroplets (AnDs), with each of the droplets containing 10 s of attoliters of fluid. Electrode reactions and synthesis can be monitored in situ by electrochemistry as single AnD stochastically lands and interacts with the working electrode. Resultant metal oxyhydroxide nanoparticles can be size and composition controlled precisely by modulating the precursor solution stored in the AnD. Nanoparticulate metal oxyhydroxides were implemented as catalysts for the OER and exhibited superior catalysis compared to their thin-film counterparts, demonstrating a hundred-thousand-fold enhancement in atom efficiency at comparable turnover rates.     

MacWilliams duality and a Gleason-type theorem on self-dual bent functions

We prove that the MacWilliams duality holds for bent functions. It enables us to derive the concept of formally self-dual Boolean functions with respect to their near weight enumerators. By using this concept, we prove the Gleason-type theorem on self-dual bent functions. As an application, we provide the total number of (self-dual) bent functions in two and four variables obtaining from formally self-dual Boolean functions.     

The graphs G(n, k) of the Johnson Schemes are unique for n ≥ 20

Let G(n, k) denote the graph of the Johnson Scheme J(n, k), i.e., the graph whose vertices are all k-subsets of a fixed n-set, with two vertices adjacent if and only if their intersection is of size k ? 1. It is known that G(n, k) is a distance regular graph with diameter k. Much work has been devoted to the question of whether a distance regular graph with the parameters of G(n, k) must isomorphic to G(n, k). In this paper, this question is settled affirmatively for n ≥ 20. In fact the result is proved with weaker conditions.     

Novel fabrication route for carbon-free and dense CuInSe2 (CIS) thin films via a non-vacuum process for solar cell application

Carbon-free CuInSe₂ (CIS) thin film with a dense microstructure has been prepared using a novel non-vacuum based fabrication route. Cu_xS_y and In₂Se₃ binary nanoparticles, approximately 10 nm in size, were synthesized by a low temperature colloidal process. The precursor film was deposited using the coating ink formulated with the binary nanoparticles and pyridine, and then annealed in the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) chamber at 540 °C for 15 min under selenium (Se) atmosphere. Scanning electron micrographs, X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectra showed a phase pure carbon-free and dense CIS thin film was prepared in this method. A solar cell device fabricated using this CIS thin film showed the following photovoltaic characteristics: V_OC = 350 mV, J_SC = 24.72 mA cm⁻², FF = 38.73% and η = 3.36% under standard AM 1.5 condition.     

Improved dimensional stability of Nafion membrane modified using a layer by layer self-assembly of biophilic polymers

The modification of perfluorinated proton exchange membranes (e.g. Nafion) utilizing a layer by layer (LbL) electrostatic assembly of oppositely charged biophilic polymers such as poly-l-lysine as positive layer and dsDNA as a negative layer is developed to protect the interface between the catalyst layer and the membrane in a low temperature fuel cell. Various physicochemical measurements including water uptake, proton conductivity and surface tension were investigated for both the as-received Nafion and the biopolymeric LbL modified Nafion. The smaller water contact angle and the less swelling characteristics of the biopolymer modified Nafion membrane was founded compared to that of as-received Nafion. This clearly indicates that the more hydrophilic surface of biopolymeric layers on Nafion plays an important role in the enhanced dimensional stability. In addition, a potential hypothesis explaining the higher proton conductivity from the LbL biopolymeric film coated Nafion is suggested.     

Preparation and characterization of carbamoylphosphonate(CMPO) silane grafted on various mesoporous silicas

The carbamoylphosphosphonate silane (CMPO analogue; 2-(diphenylphosphoryl)-N-(3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl) acetamide) modified mesoporous silica was prepared via a post-synthesis grafting method for the effective purification of rare earth elements. The guest CMPO analogue was synthesized by direct coupling reaction of 2-(diphenylphosphoryl) acetic acid and 3-(triethoxysilyl)propan-1-amine. Various mesoporous silicates such as MCM-41, SBA-15, or amorphous silica nanoparticles were adopted as host materials. The resulting surface-modified mesoporous materials were characterized with respect to their structural integrity, surface area, and pore size and the concentration of the CMPO silane species. These CMPO functionalized periodic mesostructured silicates offer the potential of applications as catalysts, sensors, or environmental sorbents.     

A Criterion for Projective Modules

In case G is a finite group, there is a well-known criterion for projective modules: A ? G-module M is projective if and only if it is ? -free and has finite projective dimension. We first investigate whether only finite groups satisfy the above criterion. In the class of groups L H 𝔉, we conclude that this is true. Secondly, we consider the problem when a stably flat Γ-module is projective, where Γ is an arbitrary group. We show that if Γ is an L H 𝔉-group, then every stably flat cofibrant ? Γ-module is projective.     

Generalized MacWilliams identities and their applications to perfect binary codes

We present generalized MacWilliams identities for binary codes. These identities naturally lead to the concepts of the local weight distribution of a binary code with respect to a word u and its MacWilliams u-transform. In the case that u is the all-one word, these ones correspond to the weight distribution of a binary code and its MacWilliams transform, respectively. We identify a word v with its support, and consider v as a subset of {1, 2,..., n}. For two words u,w of length n such that their intersection is the empty set, define the u-face centered at w to be the set . A connection between our MacWilliams u-transform and the weight distribution of a binary code in the u-face centered at the zero word is presented. As their applications, we also investigate the properties of a perfect binary code. For a perfect binary code C, the main results are as follows: first, it is proved that our local weight distribution of C is uniquely determined by the number of codewords of C in the orthogonal u-face centered at the zero word. Next, we give a direct proof for the known result, concerning the weight distribution of a coset of C in the u-face centered at the zero word, by A. Y. Vasil’eva without using induction. Finally, it is proved that the weight distribution of C in the orthogonal u-face centered at w is uniquely determined by the codewords of C in the u-face centered at the zero word.