Anisotropic Lithium Ion Conductivity in Single‐Ion Diblock Copolymer Electrolyte Thin Films

Well‐defined single‐ion diblock copolymers consisting of a Li‐ion conductive poly(styrenesulfonyllithium(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) (PSLiTFSI) block associated with a glassy polystyrene (PS) block have been synthesized via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Conductivity anisotropy ratio up to 1000 has been achieved from PS‐b‐PSLiTFSI thin films by comparing Li‐ion conductivities of out‐of‐plane (aligned) and in‐plane (antialigned) cylinder morphologies at 40 °C. Blending of PS‐b‐PSLiTFSI thin films with poly(ethylene oxide) homopolymer (hPEO) enables a substantial improvement of Li‐ion transport within aligned cylindrical domains, since hPEO, preferentially located in PSLiTFSI domains, is an excellent lithium‐solvating material. Results are also compared with unblended and blended PSLiTFSI homopolymer (hPSLiTFSI) homologues, which reveals that ionic conductivity is improved when thin films are nanostructured.

     

Recent progresses on solution-processed silver nanowire based transparent conducting electrodes for organic solar cells

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are considered as a future alternative for conventional silicon based solar cells, owing to their low cost, ease of production and high-throughput. The transparent conducting electrode (TCE) is a fundamental component of OPVs. Traditionally, indium tin oxide (ITO) has been mainly utilized as a TCE in OPV applications due to its relatively high transparency and low sheet resistance. However, increasing demand for the optoelectronic devices has led to large fluctuations in ITO prices in the past decade and ITO is known to account more than 50% of the total cost of OPV devices. Thus, it is believed that development of solution-processable alternative materials is of great importance in reducing the cost of OPVs. Numerous materials, including silver nanowires, carbon nanotubes, graphene and conducting polymers, have been offered as replacements for ITO. This article reviews recent progress on fabrication of TCE via solution based coating techniques of silver nanowires (Ag NWs). In addition, performance of the Ag NWs based TCE in OPVs is summarized. Finally, we explore the future outlook for Ag NWs based TCE at the end of the review.     

An ILP and simulation model to optimize search and rescue helicopter operations

Maritime search and rescue (SAR) operations, conducted for rendering aid to the victims in need of help at sea, play a crucial role in dropping the number of causalities. Therefore, it is of high importance to organize SAR operations properly. In this paper, we compose a hybrid methodology which combines optimization and simulation to allocate SAR helicopters. First, we build an integer linear programming (ILP) model to provide an effective deployment plan and use it as an input to a simulation model which includes constraints that the ILP model cannot tackle. Next, using a rule-based algorithm, we generate alternative solutions and seek better plans that exist in the vicinity of the ILP model solution. We perform our methodology on the historical incident data in the Aegean Sea region. Results show that the hybrid methodology we adopted leads to a more effective utilization of resources than the optimization model alone.     

Prolongation of the active lifetime of a biomolecular motor for in vitro motility assay by using an inert atmosphere

Over the last few decades, the in vitro motility assay has been performed to probe the biophysical and chemo-mechanical properties as well as the self-organization process of biomolecular motor systems such as actin-myosin and microtubule-kinesin. However, aggression of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and concomitant termination of the activity of biomolecular motors during investigation remains a drawback of this assay. Despite enzymatic protection that makes use of a combination of glucose, glucose oxidase, and catalase, the active lifetime of biomolecular motors is found to be only a few hours and this short lifetime restricts further study on those systems. We have solved this problem by using a newly developed system of the in vitro motility assay that is conducted in an inert nitrogen gas atmosphere free of ROS. Using microtubule-kinesin as a model system we have shown that our system has prolonged the active lifetime of the biomolecular motor until several days and even a week by protecting it from oxidative damage.     

Photochemically initiated oxidative carbon-carbon bond-cleavage reactivity in chlorodiketonate Ni(II) complexes

Three mononuclear Ni(II) complexes containing a 2-chloro-1,3-diketonate ligand and supported by the 6-Ph(2)TPA chelate, as well as analogues that lack the 2-chloro substituent on the β-diketonate ligand, have been prepared and characterized. Upon irradiation at 350 nm under aerobic conditions, complexes containing the 2-chloro-substituted ligands undergo reactions to generate products resulting from oxidative cleavage, α-cleavage, and radical-derived reactions involving the 2-chloro-1,3-diketonate ligand. Mechanistic studies suggest that the oxidative cleavage reactivity, which leads to the production of carboxylic acids, is a result of the formation of superoxide, which occurs through reaction of reduced nickel complexes with O(2). The presence of the 2-chloro substituent was found to be a prerequisite for oxidative carbon-carbon bond-cleavage reactivity, as complexes lacking this functional group did not undergo these reactions following prolonged irradiation. The approach toward investigating the oxidative reactivity of metal β-diketonate species outlined herein has yielded results of relevance to the proposed mechanistic pathways of metalloenzyme-catalyzed β-diketonate oxidative cleavage reactions.     

Effect of iridium loading on HZSM-5 for isomerization of n-heptane

The effect of iridium loading on the properties and catalytic isomerization of n-heptane over Ir-HZSM-5 is studied. Ir-HZSM-5 was prepared by impregnation method and subjected to isomerization process in the presence of flowing hydrogen gas. XRD and BET studies show that the presence of iridium stabilizes the crystalline structure of HZSM-5, leading to more ordered framework structure and larger surface area. TGA and FTIR results substantiate that iridium species interacts with OH group on the surface of HZSM-5. Pyridine FT-IR study verifies the interaction between iridium and surface OH group slightly increased the Bro¨nsted and Lewis acid sites without changing the lattice structure of HZSM-5. The presence of iridium and the increase of strong Lewis acid sites on HZSM-5 were found to bring an increase about 4.1%, 33.2% and 11.8% in conversion, selectivity and yield of n-heptane isomerization, respectively.     

Synthesis of pyrazoles via electrophilic cyclization

Electrophilic cyclizations of α,β-alkynic hydrazones by molecular iodine were investigated for the synthesis of 4-iodopyrazoles. α,β-Alkynic hydrazones were readily prepared by the reactions of hydrazines with propargyl aldehydes and ketones. When treated with molecular iodine in the presence of sodium bicarbonate, α,β-alkynic hydrazones underwent electrophilic cyclization to afford 4-iodopyrazoles in good to high yields. Iodocyclization was general for a wide range of α,β-alkynic hydrazones and tolerated the presence of aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic, and ferrocenyl moieties with electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents.     

Mann iterative process for pseudocontractive mappings

Let K be a nonempty, closed and convex subset of a real Banach space E. Let T:K→K be a strictly pseudocontractive map. For a fixed x ₀∈K, define a sequence {x _n } by x _n+1=(1?α _n )x _n +α _n Tx _n , where {α _n } is a real sequence defined in [0,1] satisfying the following conditions (i) $\sum_{n=0}^{\infty }\alpha _{n}=\infty $ , (ii) lim? _n→∞ α _n =0. Then lim?inf? _n→∞‖x _n ?Tx _n ‖=0. If, in addition, T is demicompact, then {x _n } converges strongly to some fixed point of T. Remark 8 is important.     

An analysis of p-median location problem: Effects of backup service level and demand assignment policy

Any solution to facility location problems will consider determining the best suitable locations with respect to certain criteria. Among different types of location problems, involving emergency service system (ESSs) are one of the most widely studied in the literature, and solutions to these problems will mostly aim to minimize the mean response time to demands. In practice, however, a demand may not be served from its nearest facility if that facility is engaged in serving other demands. This makes it a requirement to assign backup services so as to improve response time and service quality. The level of backup service is a key, strategic-level planning factor, and must be taken into consideration carefully. Moreover, in emergency service operations conducted in congested demand regions, demand assignment policy is another important factor that affects the system performance. Models failing to adopt sufficient levels of backup service and realistic demand assignment policies may significantly deteriorate the system performance.Considering the classic p-median problem (pMP) location model, this paper investigates the effects of backup service level, demand assignment policy, demand density, and number of facilities and their locations on the solution performance in terms of multiple metrics. For this purpose, we adopt a combined optimization and simulation approach. We will first modify the classic pMP to account for distances to backup services. Next, we employ a discrete event simulation to evaluate the performance of location schemes obtained from the deterministic mathematical model. Our results provide insights for decision-makers while planning ESS operations.     

Novel method for laser focal point positioning on the cover slip for TPP-based microfabrication and detection of the cured structure under optical microscope

Detection of a single cured structure in two-photon photopolymerization (TPP) based microstructure fabrication requires the laser focal spot to be exactly positioned on the cover slip. This is due to the fact that if the laser focal position is not exactly on the cover slip, the structure may not stick to the cover slip and flow away with the liquid during the washing and developing stages. In this paper, we report a scheme of laser spot positioning for the implementation of TPP process and the detection of a single cured microstructure under an optical microscope. For this, a novel yet very simple approach is devised and an uncomplicated procedure is developed. Experimental results are also included to prove the worthiness of the devised method.