Enhanced hydrogen selectivity from catalytic decomposition of formic acid over FeZnIr nanocatalyst at room temperature

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Hydrogen is considered a promising energy carrier for the future, especially for clean energy generation via fuel cell technologies. Formic acid is one of the...     

Electrochemical performance of grown layer of Ni(OH)2 on nickel foam and treatment with phosphide and selenide for efficient water splitting

Active nanocomposites synthesized by the electrochemical approach play a vital role in energy generation, conversion, and storage technologies. Recently, scientists began to explore the use of earth-rich transition metal-based materials to replace precious metal-based catalysts. Transition metals (TMs) based nickel (Ni) and their pnictides compounds such as phosphides and selenides exhibit good activity for hydrogen evaluation reaction (HER) and the entire water electrolysis process. In this study, we first prepared Ni(OH)₂ and grown its layer on Ni foam (NF) and treated it with selenide (Se) and phosphide (P) then nickel-based selenide-phosphide catalyst (Ni–P–Se) was prepared by simultaneous selenization and phosphidation process for the first time. The as-obtained composite was then analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), elemental mapping and transmission electron microscope (TEM) means to study the composition, structure, and micro-morphology of materials. Furthermore, we also observed electrocatalytic water splitting activity using electrochemical cell. The results of electrochemical tests depicted that the selenization and phosphidation treatments significantly enhanced the electrocatalytic HER activity of the starting materials. The overpotentials required for Ni–P–Se to reach 10 ?mA ?cm^?2 and 100 ?mA ?cm^?2 were only 242 ?mV and 282 ?mV. The Tafel slope of Ni–P–Se is 151 ?mV dec^?1, which is lower than that of nickel phosphide, selenide, and hydroxide indicating that selenide-phosphide enhances the HER reaction kinetics of the material, which in turn increases hydrogen output rate as compared with previous studies.     

A Haar wavelets based approximation for nonlinear inverse problems influenced by unknown heat source

In this discussion, a new numerical algorithm focused on the Haar wavelet is used to solve linear and nonlinear inverse problems with unknown heat source. The heat source is dependent on time and space variables. These types of inverse problems are ill-posed and are challenging to solve accurately. The linearization technique converted the nonlinear problem into simple nonhomogeneous partial differential equation. In this Haar wavelet collocation method (HWCM), the time part is discretized by using finite difference approximation, and space variables are handled by Haar series approximation. The main contribution of the proposed method is transforming this ill-posed problem into well-conditioned algebraic equation with the help of Haar functions, and hence, there is no need to implement any sort of regularization technique. The results of numerical method are efficient and stable for this ill-posed problems containing different noisy levels. We have utilized the proposed method on several numerical examples and have valuable efficiency and accuracy.     

Search for associated higgs boson production WH-->WWW*-->l+/-nul'+/-nu'+X in pp collisions at square root s=1.96 Te V

We present a search for associated Higgs boson production in the process pp-->WH-->WWW*-->l;+/-nul'+/-nu'+X in final states containing two like-sign isolated electrons or muons (e+/-e;+/-, e+/-micro+/-, or micro+/-micro+/-). The search is based on D0 run II data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 360-380 pb-1. No excess is observed over the predicted standard model background. We set 95% C.L. upper limits on sigma(pp-->WH)xBr(H-->WW*) between 3.2 and 2.8 pb for Higgs boson masses from 115 to 175 GeV.     

Maximum-entropy TFμSR study of vortex states in 1/2/3 cuprates

A maximum-entropy (ME) method has been applied to TFSR vortex data of RBa₂Cu₃O₇ (R1237; R=Er, Gd and Eu). The obtained information on the field distribution is of much better quality than that resulting from Fourier transformation and curve-fitting of the same data. ME application to R1237 TFSR data taken below T_c at LAMPF show asymmetrical, nearly triangular, field distributions, which broaden with decreasing temperature. Significant deviations from Abrikosov predictions have been observed for the estimated R1237-vortex field distributions. Below 10 K, for Er1237 and Gd1237, the non-Abrikosov features appear to be influenced by the rare-earth magnetism. The low-field tail in the field distribution and the ME-intensity anomaly near T_c suggest glassy features in the 1/2/3 cuprate vortex states.     

Antibacterial Activity of Clay Soils against Food-Borne Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus

Natural clays have recently been proven to possess antibacterial properties. Effective natural antimicrobial agents are needed to combat bacterial contamination on food contact surfaces, which are increasingly more prevalent in the food chain. This study sought to determine the antibacterial activity of clays against the food-borne pathogens Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 13565. Soils were processed to yield leachates and suspensions from untreated and treated clays. Soil particle size, pH, cation-exchange capacity, metal composition and mineralogy were characterized. Antibacterial screening was performed on six Malaysian soils via the disc diffusion method. In addition, a time-kill assay was conducted on selected antibacterial clays after 6 h of exposure. The screening revealed that Munchong and Carey clays significantly inhibit Salmonella typhimurium (11.00 ± 0.71 mm) and S. aureus (7.63 ± 0.48 mm), respectively. Treated Carey clay leachate and suspension completely kill Salmonella typhimurium, while S. aureus viability is reduced (2 to 3 log₁₀). The untreated Carey and all Munchong clays proved ineffective as antibacterials. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of pyrite and magnetite. Treated Carey clays had a higher soluble metal content compared to Munchong; namely Al (92.63 ± 2.18 mg/L), Fe (65.69 ± 3.09 mg/L) and Mg (88.48 ± 2.29 mg/L). Our results suggest that metal ion toxicity is responsible for the antibacterial activity of these clays.     

Determination of beryllium in solid samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after preconcentration on activated carbon.

It is generally supposed that the preconcentration procedure is used for the determination of metal concentrations under the sensitivity of the measurement method. This study showed that preconcentration is also need for the beryllium (Be) concentration over the sensitivity of atomic absorption spectrometry. For this purpose, a simple and selective method for the determination of Be in solid samples is modified. The method is based on the preconcentration of the complexes of beryllium-acetylacetone plus morin, oxine, PAN and PAR on activated carbon at different pH values. The adsorbed beryllium was eluted with aqua regia and measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Recoveries of up to 85% were achieved. For removing chemical interferences and applying the method to Be determination in solid samples, the masking studies and reproducibility were examined. The detection limit was found to be 0.12 ng mL(-1). The relative sandard deviations (RSD) were found to be 8% for 60 mL of 10.0 ng mL(-1) using 10 replicate enrichment procedures. Beryllium concentrations in the studied solid samples were found in the range of 0.28 - 3.95 mg kg(-1).     

Measurement of semileptonic branching fractions of B mesons to narrow D** states

Using the data accumulated in 2002-2004 with the D0 detector in proton-antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, the branching fractions of the decays B --> D0(1)(2420)mu+ vmuX and B --> D2(*0)(2460)mu+ vmuX and their ratio have been measured: B(b --> B) x B(B --> D0(1)mu+ vmuX) x B(D0(*0) --> D*- pi+) = [0.087 +/- 0.007(stat) +/- 0.014(syst)]%; B(b --> B) x B(B --> D2(*0) mu+ vmuX) x B(D2(*0) --> D*- pi+) = [0.035 +/- 0.007(stat) +/- 0.008(syst)]% and [B(B --> D2(*0)mu+ vmuX) x B(D2(*0) --> D*- pi+)]/[B(B --> D0(1)mu+ vmuX) x B(D0(1) --> D*- pi+)] = 0.39 +/- 0.09(stat) +/- 0.12 (syst), where the charge conjugated states are always implied.     

Search for large extra spatial dimensions in dimuon production with the d0 detector

We present the results of a search for the effects of large extra spatial dimensions in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV in events containing a pair of energetic muons. The data correspond to 246 pb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Good agreement with the expected background was found, yielding no evidence for large extra dimensions. We set 95% C.L. lower limits on the fundamental Planck scale between 0.85 and 1.27 TeV within several formalisms. These are the most stringent limits achieved in the dimuon channel to date.     

Measurement of the ratio of inclusive cross sections sigma(pp --> Z + b jet)/sigma(pp --> Z + jet) at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV

Using the data collected with the D0 detector at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV, for integrated luminosities of about 180 pb(-1), we have measured the ratio of inclusive cross sections for pp --> Z + b jet to pp --> Z + jet production. The inclusive Z + b-jet reaction is an important background to searches for the Higgs boson in associated ZH production at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Our measurement is the first of its kind, and relies on the Z --> e+ e- and Z --> mu+ mu- modes. The combined measurement of the ratio yields 0.021+/-0.005 for hadronic jets with transverse momenta pT > 20 GeV/c and pseudorapidities absolute value(eta) < 2.5, consistent with next-to-leading-order predictions of the standard model.