Effective gel for gold nanoparticle formation, support and metal oxide templating

Gold nanoparticles were synthesized using agarose as a reducing agent, which gelled to support the gold nanoparticles, then readily functioned as a template to produce a porous, evenly-distributed Au/TiO(2) nano-hybrid.     

Investigation of carbon steel anodic dissolution in ammonium chloride solutions using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

The anodic dissolution of carbon steel in ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl) solutions (5, 10, and 20 wt%) is investigated via various electrochemical techniques and other complementary techniques. The polarization measurements reveals that the carbon steel is susceptible to general corrosion. The impedance data taken at various overpotentials shows multiple loops, corresponding to capacitance, inductance, and negative capacitance, and the number of time constants observed is also not the same for various NH₄Cl concentrations. From reaction mechanism analysis, a multi-step reaction mechanism with three adsorbed intermediates and three dissolution paths (one chemical path and two electrochemical paths) is proposed to describe the observed patterns in impedance measurements. The surface coverage of intermediate species and the contribution of chemical reaction and electrochemical reaction to the overall corrosion rate are also estimated from the proposed model. The results obtained from field emission scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements are also reported.     

Characteristics investigation on heat transfer growth of sonochemically synthesized ZnO-DW based nanofluids inside square heat exchanger

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In recent decades, the growth of heat transfer using nanomaterials in the conventional base fluid has caught the attention of researchers...     

The Inverse Problem of the Calculus of Variations: Separable Systems

This paper deals with the inverse problem of the calculus of variations for systems of second-order ordinary differential equations. The case of the problem which Douglas, in his classification of pairs of such equations, called the separated case is generalized to arbitrary dimension. After identifying the conditions which should specify such a case for n equations in a coordinate-free way, two proofs of its variationality are presented. The first one follows the line of approach introduced by some of the authors in previous work, and is close in spirit, though being coordinate independent, to the Riquier analysis applied by Douglas for n = 2. The second proof is more direct and leads to the discovery that belonging to the separated case has an intrinsic meaning for the given second-order differential equations: the system is separable in the sense that it can be decoupled into n pairs of first-order equations.     

Sn interaction with the CeO2(1 1 1) system: Bimetallic bonding and ceria reduction

A tin layer 0.8 nm thick was deposited onto the CeO₂(1 1 1) surface by molecular beam deposition at a temperature of 520 K. The interaction of tin with cerium oxide (ceria) was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and resonant photoelectron spectroscopy (RPES). The strong tin-ceria interaction led to the formation of a homogeneous bulk Ce-Sn-O mixed oxide system. The bulk compound formation is accompanied by partial Ce⁴⁺ → Ce³⁺ reduction, observed as a giant 4f resonance enhancement of the Ce³⁺ species. CeO₂ and SnO₂ oxides were formed after oxygen treatment at 520 K. The study proved the existence of strong Ce-Sn interaction and charge transfer from Sn to the Ce-O complex that lead to a weakening of the cerium-oxygen bond, and consequently, to the formation of oxygen deficient active sites on the ceria surface. This behavior can be a key for understanding the higher catalytic activity of the SnO_x/CeO_x mixed oxide catalysts as compared with the individual pure oxides.     

Cerium oxide stoichiometry alteration via Sn deposition: Influence of temperature

Cerium oxide layers grown on Cu(1 1 1) were studied by conventional X-ray and resonant photoelectron spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation. A quantitative method of determining the cerium chemical state from the Ce 3d photoelectron spectra is described in detail. After the preparation of the ceria layer, Sn films of different thickness were evaporated onto the surface at temperatures of 120, 300 and 520 K. In all three cases, the deposited Sn was oxidized, CeO₂ was partially reduced, and a mixed Sn–Ce–O oxide was formed. The quantitative extent of these reactions was found to be determined by limited diffusion of the deposited Sn atoms into the ceria layer at low temperature. The excess of tin formed a metallic overlayer on the sample surface.     

O 1s --> sigma* resonance in O2: inadequacy of only two exchange-split components

The O 1s-->sigma* transition below the O K-edge in O2 has been investigated by absorption, constant ionic state (CIS) experiments, and extensive configuration interaction calculations. CIS scans of the three lowest-lying final states reached in resonant Auger decay provide a wealth of information on energy range, symmetry, and spin multiplicity of the intermediate states with sigma* character. We conclude that the identification of only two exchange-split components is inadequate because a complex manifold of states with sigma* character exists with no unique energy difference between related states.     

Observation and characterization of the fluorescence decay of the 2s2p(6)np 1P(o) excited states of Ne

Fluorescence decay of the 2s2p(6)np (1)P(o) excited states of neon has been observed directly for the first time. This process has also been observed indirectly by threshold photoelectron spectroscopy and in electron/photon coincidences. The measurements have allowed this weak decay channel to be characterized and branching ratios derived. The fluorescence excitation spectrum is well described by a simple Rydberg model that highlights the interplay and competition between the decay channels of autoionization and fluorescence.