Differential capacitance of hybrid organic/inorganic CdSe/ZnS quantum dots light-emitting device

We have studied the differential capacitance of self-assembly hybrid organic/inorganic quantum dot (QD) light-emitting devices (QD-OLEDs) at room temperature in the frequency range of 1×10³ to 1×10⁶ Hz. Self-assembly CdSe/ZnS QDs monolayer was used to fabricate trilayer hybrid QD-OLEDs on indium tin oxide coated glass substrates. We observed negative differential capacitance (NDC) in both OLED and QD-OLEDs for the first time in the intermediate frequency range of 5×10³ to 5×10⁵ Hz. The onset and frequency range of NDC are strongly depended on the applied bias voltage. This behavior is described by a mathematical model. The simulated results showed that the NDC was due to the time-dependent transient current from the QDs and organic/metal interfacial states in the device. The probable mechanisms of NDC in organic devices are discussed.     

An Exact Penalty Function Method for Continuous Inequality Constrained Optimal Control Problem

In this paper, we consider a class of optimal control problems subject to equality terminal state constraints and continuous state and control inequality constraints. By using the control parametrization technique and a time scaling transformation, the constrained optimal control problem is approximated by a sequence of optimal parameter selection problems with equality terminal state constraints and continuous state inequality constraints. Each of these constrained optimal parameter selection problems can be regarded as an optimization problem subject to equality constraints and continuous inequality constraints. On this basis, an exact penalty function method is used to devise a computational method to solve these optimization problems with equality constraints and continuous inequality constraints. The main idea is to augment the exact penalty function constructed from the equality constraints and continuous inequality constraints to the objective function, forming a new one. This gives rise to a sequence of unconstrained optimization problems. It is shown that, for sufficiently large penalty parameter value, any local minimizer of the unconstrained optimization problem is a local minimizer of the optimization problem with equality constraints and continuous inequality constraints. The convergent properties of the optimal parameter selection problems with equality constraints and continuous inequality constraints to the original optimal control problem are also discussed. For illustration, three examples are solved showing the effectiveness and applicability of the approach proposed.     

Supported Ru catalysts prepared by two sonication-assisted methods for preferential oxidation of CO in H2

The preferential oxidation (PROX) of CO in the presence of H(2) is an important step in the production of pure H(2) for industrial applications. In this report, two sonochemical methods (S1 and S2) were used to prepare highly dispersed Ru catalysts supported on mesoporous TiO(2) (TiO(2)(MSP)) for the PROX reaction, in which a reaction gas mixture containing 1% CO + 1% O(2) + 18% CO(2) + 78% H(2) was used. The supported Ru catalysts performed better than the supported Au and Pt catalysts, and the S1 and S2 methods are superior to the impregnation method. The Ru/TiO(2)(MSP) catalysts were active for the PROX reaction below 200 °C and good for the methanation reactions of CO and CO(2) above 200 °C. The presence of residual chlorine in the catalysts severely suppressed their PROX reaction activity, and a higher dispersion of Ru particles led to better catalytic performances. The addition of Au in the Ru/TiO(2)(MSP) catalyst also caused a poorer catalytic activity for both the PROX and the methanation reactions. TPR results showed that in the active catalysts prepared by the S1 and S2 methods, the well dispersed Ru particles, after calcination in air, had a stronger interaction with the support than those in the catalyst prepared by the impregnation method and in the Au-Ru/TiO(2)(MSP) catalyst. In situ CO absorption experiments performed with the diffusion reflectance Fourier transform infra red (DRIFT) method showed that the bridged adsorbed CO species on isolated Ru(0) sites correlated with the catalytic performances, indicating that these isolated Ru(0) sites are the most active sites of the Ru/TiO(2)(MSP) catalysts in the PROX reaction.     

Sonochemical polymerization of miniemulsions in organic liquids/water mixtures

The sonochemical oil-in-water miniemulsion polymerization of n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) has been studied in mixtures with a range of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon liquids under ambient conditions. Measurements of monomer conversion percentage and molecular weights of the BMA polymers were performed to investigate the effect of the various organic liquids on the kinetics of the polymerization process and on the properties of the resultant polymers. Both the rates of polymerization and the molecular weights of the polymers formed were found to be dependent on the amount and type of the organic liquid present in the emulsion. The experimental results revealed that when the organic liquids were aliphatic, there were no significant changes in the rates of BMA polymerization whereas when the organic liquids were aromatic, the rates of polymerization were greatly reduced. Molecular weight data of the BMA polymers showed that in the presence of an organic liquid, the size of the polymer significantly decreased. The results have been interpreted in terms of the formation of a radical complex between the propagating radical and the organic liquid in the oil mixture, as well as chain transfer reactions that affect the kinetics of the polymerization process.