Mn–Co spinel protective–conductive coating on AL453 ferritic stainless steel for IT-SOFC interconnect applications

This paper presents research on the synthesis and properties of the Mn_1.5Co_1.5O₄ (MC) spinel powder, as well as its application for the preparation of a MC thick film on the AL453 steel to be used for metallic interconnect material in IT-SOFCs. In order to prepare the MC micropowder with excellent homogeneity of the chemical and phase compositions, EDTA gel processes were utilized. In order to improve the contact electrical resistance between an AL453 steel interconnect and the La_0.8Sr_0.2FeO₃ (LSF) cathode and protect the cathode from Cr poisoning, the surface of the AL453 steel was coated with a protective manganese cobaltite spinel matrix using screen printing in combination with an appropriate heat treatment. The oxidation of the AL453/MC composite layer carried out in the air–H₂O gas mixture at 1,073 K for 55 h showed that the spinel coating may serve as an effective barrier against outward Cr diffusion from the AL453 steel and, therefore, significantly inhibit the formation of volatile Cr vapors from the chromia scale. The contact ASR study of the interconnect–cathode interface in the AL453/MC/LSCM/LSF/LSCM/MC/AL453 system carried out in the range of 723?1,073 K in air showed a very large drop in ASR compared to the resistance of the AL453/LSCM/LSF/LSCM/AL453 system without the spinel coating.     

Luminescent silicate core-shell nanoparticles: synthesis, functionalization, optical, and structural properties

SiO(2)/Zn(2)SiO(4):Mn(2+) core-shell nanoparticles with mean diameters in the range of 55-220 nm were prepared by a modified Pechini sol-gel method followed by lyophilization and annealing at temperatures of 800-1100°C. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the crystal structure of the shell and the optical properties can be tuned by the annealing temperature and a variation of the concentration of doping ions. Under UV excitation, the samples emit green luminescence with its maximum at 525 nm, typical for the Mn(2+) ions in α-Zn(2)SiO(4). The resulting nanoparticles were successfully modified with amine and carboxyl functions with respect to a later attachment of biological moieties.     

Metaheuristic hybridizations for the regenerator placement and dimensioning problem in sub-wavelength switching optical networks

Physical layer impairments severely limit the reach and capacity of optical systems, thereby hampering the deployment of transparent optical networks (i.e., no electrical signal regenerators are required). Besides, the high cost and power-consumption of regeneration devices makes it unaffordable for network operators to consider the opaque architecture (i.e., regeneration is available at every network node). In this context, translucent architectures (i.e., regeneration is only available at selected nodes) have emerged as the most promising short term solution to decrease costs and energy consumption in optical backbone networks. Concurrently, the coarse granularity and inflexibility of legacy optical technologies have re-fostered great interest in sub-wavelength switching optical networks, which introduce optical switching in the time domain so as to further improve resources utilization. In these networks, the complex regenerator placement and dimensioning problem emerges. In short, this problem aims at minimizing the number of electrical regenerators deployed in the network. To tackle it, in this paper both a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure and a biased random-key genetic algorithm are developed. Further, we enhance their performance by introducing both path-relinking and variable neighborhood descent as effective intensification procedures. The resulting hybridizations are compared among each other as well as against results from optimal and heuristic mixed integer linear programming formulations. Illustrative results over a broad range of network scenarios show that the biased random-key genetic algorithm working in conjunction with these two intensification mechanisms represents a compelling network planning algorithm for the design of future sub-wavelength optical networks.     

Electrochemically Tunable Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer in Pd‐Catalyzed Benzaldehyde Hydrogenation

Acid functionalization of a carbon support allows to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of Pd to hydrogenate benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol proportional to the concentration of Brønsted‐acid sites. In contrast, the hydrogenation rate is not affected when H₂ is used as a reduction equivalent. The different responses to the catalyst properties are shown to be caused by differences in the hydrogenation mechanism between the electrochemical and the H₂‐induced hydrogenation pathways. The enhancement of electrocatalytic reduction is realized by the participation of support‐generated hydronium ions in the proximity of the metal particles.     

Kinetics of esterification of the levulinic acid with n‐hexanol,n‐octanol,and 2‐ethylhexanol in the presence of methanesulfonic acid as a catalyst under nonisothermal conditions

The levulinic acid was esterified with alcohol at an alcohol to acid molar ratio of 3:1, 5:1, and 10:1 in the presence of a 0.1 wt% methanesulfonic acid catalyst. During esterification, the temperature was changed linearly from 373 to 428 K and its average change was 4.5 K/min. The authors stated that reactions were of second order and that the activation energy (E) decreased from 61 to 46 kJ/mol in the following alcohol sequence: n‐hexanol > n‐octanol > 2‐ethylhexanol. The fitting errors varied between 3.8% and 6.4%. The time of experiment carried out under nonisothermal condition is five to 15 times shorter than that conducted under isothermal conditions. A smaller number of experimental series also determines a significantly lower cost of such research. The results of such study are the precise form of the kinetic equation, which is indispensable in design and optimization of industrial‐scale chemical reactors.     

Klein-Gordon thermal equation for a planck gas

In this paper the quantum hyperbolic equation formulated in our earlier paper [Found. Phys. Lett. 10, 599 (1997)] is applied to the study of the propagation of the initial thermal state of the universe. It is shown that the propagation depends on the barrier height. The Planck wall potential is introduced,V _P = ħ/8t_P = 1.125 10¹⁸ GeV, wheret _P is a Planck time. For the barrier heightV <V _P , the master thermal equation isthe modified telegrapher’sequation, and for barrier heightV >V _P the master equation is theKlein- Gordon equation. The solutions of both type equations for Cauchy boundary conditions are discussed.     

Direct High-Throughput Screening Assay for mRNA Cap Guanine-N7 Methyltransferase Activity

In eukaryotes, mature mRNA is formed through modifications of precursor mRNA, one of which is 5’ cap biosynthesis, involving RNA cap guanine-N7 methyltransferase (N7-MTase). N7-MTases are also encoded by some eukaryotic viruses and facilitate their replication. N7-MTase inhibitors have therapeutic potential, but their discovery is difficult because long RNA substrates are usually required for activity. Herein, we report a universal N7-MTase activity assay based on small-molecule fluorescent probes. We synthesized 12 fluorescent substrate analogues (GpppA and GpppG derivatives) varying in the dye type, dye attachment site, and linker length. GpppA labeled with pyrene at the 3’-O position of adenosine acted as an artificial substrate with the properties of a turn-off probe for all three tested N7-MTases (human, parasite, and viral). Using this compound, a N7-MTase inhibitor assay adaptable to high-throughput screening was developed and used to screen synthetic substrate analogues and a commercial library. Several inhibitors with nanomolar activities were identified.     

Studies of adsorption equilibria and kinetics of o-, m-, p-nitro- and chlorophenols on microporous carbons from aqueous solutions

The studies of adsorption of o-, m-, and p-nitrophenols and chlorophenols from aqueous solutions on microporous activated carbon are presented. The adsorption isotherms were measured at different temperatures: 288, 298, 308 and 318 K. The thermal analysis was applied in order to find the differences in solute interactions with adsorbent surface. The kinetic dependences were measured and the relations between position of adsorbate functional groups and adsorption rate were discussed. The adsorption data are analyzed in terms of the theory of physical adsorption on energetically non-homogeneous solids. The relations between the adsorbate structure and adsorption effectiveness, and the influence of temperature are discussed.     

Regeneration of Carbonyl Compounds from Azines with Cerium(IV) Ammonium Nitrate

Azines treated with cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate in acetonitrile under mild conditions afforded aromatic aldehydes and ketones in high to excellent yields.