MHD boundary-layer flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid in a porous channel

Two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid is investigated in a channel. The walls of the channel are taken as porous. Using the similarity transformations and boundary layer approximations, the nonlinear partial differential equations are reduced to an ordinary differential equation. The developed nonlinear equation is solved analytically using the homotopy analysis method. An expression for the analytic solution is derived in the form of a series. The convergence of the obtained series is shown. The effects of the Reynolds number Re, Deborah number De and Hartman number M are shown through graphs and discussed for both the suction and injection cases.     

Electrochemical determination of lead using bismuth modified glassy carbon electrode

Electrochemical application of bismuth film modified glassy carbon electrode was studied with the objective of lead detection. Bismuth film on glassy carbon substrate was formed in a plating solution of 2 mmol/L Bi(NO₃)₃, in 1 mol/L HCl at ?1.1 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for 300 s. Lead was detected by differential pulse anodic voltammetry in acetate buffer of pH 5.0 in the concentration range of 7.5 nmol/L to 12.5 μmol/L. Factors influencing the anodic stripping performance, including deposition time, solution pH, Bi(III) concentration, potential, pulse amplitude, pulse width, have been optimized. Three linear calibration plots in the range 7.5 nmol/L to 0.1 μmol/L, 0.25 to 1 μmol/L, 2.5 to 12.5 μmol/L with regression coefficients of 0.991, 0.986 and 0.978 respectively were obtained. The theoretical detection limit equivalent to three times standard deviation for 7.5 nmol/L lead (n = 5) was calculated to be 5.25 nmol/L utilizing a 5 min deposition time and sensitivity 83.97 A L/mol. The sensitivity and detection limit of the method was compared with reported voltammetric methods for detection of lead and the result obtained was found to be promising for determination of lead.     

Pulsed laser deposition and characterization of multilayer metal-carbon thin films

Cobalt-DLC multilayer films were deposited with increasing content of cobalt, keeping carbon content constant by pulsed laser deposition technique. A cobalt free carbon film was also deposited for comparison. Excimer laser was employed to ablate the materials onto silicon substrate, kept at 250 °C, while post-deposition annealing at 400 °C was also performed in situ. The formation of cobalt grains within the carbon matrix in Co-DLC films can be seen through scanning electron and atomic force micrographs while no grains on the surface of the cobalt-free DLC film were observed. Raman spectra of all the films show D- and G-bands, which is a confirmation that the films are DLC in nature. According to Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) measurements, the DLC films with cobalt revealed ferromagnetic behaviour whereas the cobalt free DLC film exhibited diamagnetic behaviour. The pure DLC film also shows ferromagnetic nature when diamagnetic background is subtracted. Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) analysis showed that the optical band gaps, refractive indices and extinction coefficients of Co-DLC films can be effectively tuned with increasing content of cobalt.     

Improvement of Power Conversion Efficiency of P3HT/PCBM Polymer Solar Cell Systems by Optimization of the Process Steps

In this work, different steps involved in the fabrication of polymer solar cells were optimized using P3HT/PCBM heterojunction. Steps included spinning speed for coating of the PEDOT:PSS layer, use of filter for the PEDOT:PSS layer, spinning speed for coating of the active layer, sequence of annealing of the active layer either before or after electrode deposition, and modification of the cooling mechanism (either by cooling rapidly or slowly after heating of the active layer). Investigation of these steps led to an improvement of the power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of the polymer solar cells, especially the last step involving the change of cooling mechanism, which improved PCE by 25%.     

Partial slip effects on the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a third grade fluid

This article looks at the slip effects on the flow and heat transfer of a third grade fluid past a porous plate. The resulting equations and boundary conditions are non-linear. The non-linear boundary condition is reduced into a linear one and a series solution of the problem is obtained using the homotopy analysis method (HAM). Variations of interesting parameters are seen on the velocity and temperature profiles.     

A variational approach to bäcklund and infinitesimal bäcklund transformation for Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

A new form of the Bäcklund transformation for the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation is obtained through the variational formalism. At no stage we use the equation of motion for the deduction of the Bäcklund transformation. So we follow the method of Steudel for the derivation of the infinite number of conservation laws using Noether's theorem in three dimensions and the corresponding infinitesimal Bäcklund transformation.     

Micelle Catalyzed Oxidation of D-Mannose by Cerium (IV) in Sulfuric Acid

Kinetics of D-mannose oxidation by cerium (IV) was studied in a sulfuric acid medium at 40°C both in absence and presence of ionic micelles. In both cases, the rate of the reaction was first-order in D-mannose and cerium (IV), which decreased with increasing [H₂SO₄]. This suggested that the redox reaction followed the same mechanism. The reaction proceeded through formation of an intermediate complex, which was proved by kinetic method. The complex underwent slow unimolecular decomposition to a free radical that reacted with cerium (IV) to afford the product. The catalytic role of cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles was best explained by the Menger-Portnoy model. The study of the effect of CTAB also indicated that a negatively charged species was the reactive form of cerium (IV). From the kinetic data, micelle-cerium (IV) binding and rate constants in micellar medium were evaluated. The anionic micelle of sodium dodecyl sulfate plays no catalytic role. The oxidation has the rate expression: -d[Ce(IV)]=k1Kc1[D-mannose][Ce(IV)]dt Different activation parameters for micelle catalyzed and uncatalyzed paths were also calculated and discussed.     

Experimental performance analysis of two different passive cooling techniques for solar photovoltaic installations

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - At higher ambient temperatures during summer months, the cell temperature of a photovoltaic (PV) module increases to 50–60 °C and sometimes...     

Efficient Low-Cost Procedure for Microextraction of Estrogen from Environmental Water Using Magnetic Ionic Liquids

In this study, three magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) were investigated for extraction of four estrogens, i.e., estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and ethinylestradiol (EE2), from environmental water. The cation trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium ([P₆₆₆₁₄]⁺), selected to confer hydrophobicity to the resulting MIL, was combined with tetrachloroferrate(III), ferricyanide, and dysprosium thiocyanate to yield ([P₆₆₆₁₄][FeCl₄]), ([P₆₆₆₁₄]₃[Fe(CN)₆]), and ([P₆₆₆₁₄]₅[Dy(SCN)₈]), respectively. After evaluation of various strategies to develop a liquid–liquid microextraction technique based on synthesized MILs, we placed the MILs onto a magnetic stir bar and used them as extracting solvents. After extraction, the MIL-enriched phase was dissolved in methanol and injected into an HPLC–UV for qualitative and quantitative analysis. An experimental design was used to simultaneously evaluate the effect of select variables and optimization of extraction conditions to maximize the recovery of the analytes. Under optimum conditions, limits of detection were in the range of 0.2 (for E3 and E2) and 0.5 μg L⁻¹ (for E1), and calibration curves exhibited linearity in the range of 1–1000 μg L⁻¹ with correlation coefficients higher than 0.998. The percent relative standard deviation (RSD) was below 5.0%. Finally, this method was used to determine concentration of estrogens in real lake and sewage water samples.