Investigation of the structural properties of annealed CdIn2Te4/CdS thin film solar cells produced by the electron-beam evaporation (e-beam) technique

Thin film CdIn₂Te₄/CdS solar cells were deposited onto the ITO-coated glass substrate by electron beam evaporation (e-beam) technique, and the the effect of annealing on their structural properties is studied. The annealing was performed under nitrogen atmosphere for 1 h. The manufactured solar cells were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis. Crystallite size (D), inter-planer distance (d) and lattice constant (a) values were calculated for the thin film solar cell from XRD data. Annealed samples display well defined XRD patterns with three diffraction peaks. We observed increased peak intensity in the annealed films. EDAX analysis showed that only CdIn₂Te₄ is present in absorber layer and CdS is found in the window layer, but no impurity atoms are present the structure. It is observed that surface roughness of the annealed films incresed, according to SEM images. The I–V characteristics show that the current is increased for annealed thin films solar cells.

     

Oxalic acid removal from wastewater using multi-walled carbon nanotubes: Kinetic and equilibrium analysis

Oxalic acid adsorption from aqueous solution is studied in this work. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were used as an adsorbent. The investigated adsorption variables are equilibrium time, initial acid concentration, and temperature. The experimental results were presented using equilibrium isotherm and kinetic models. The used equilibrium models are Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin adsorption isotherms. And the kinetic models are Elovich, Lagergren pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The thermodynamics studies were carried out at three different temperatures: 278, 298, and 318 K. Langmuir isotherm was the best fitted equilibrium model for the experimental data. The all applied kinetic models fitted the data suitably.     

Multicomponent Reactions of Furan‐2,3‐diones: Synthesis and Characterizations of Furo[3,2‐c]pyran‐4‐ones

Furo[3,2‐c]pyran‐4‐ones, which possess a natural‐product skeleton, are synthesized via a simple, one‐pot, three‐component reaction of furan‐2,3‐diones with dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates and Ph₃P.     

Radical scavenging and antioxidant activity of tannic acid

Tannic acid, a naturally occurring plant polyphenol, is composed of a central glucose molecule derivatized at its hydroxyl groups with one or more galloyl residues. In the present paper, we examines the in vitro radical scavenging and antioxidant capacity of tannic acid by using different in vitro analytical methodologies such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl free radical (DPPH) scavenging, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, total antioxidant activity determination by ferric thiocyanate, total reducing ability determination using by Fe³⁺–Fe²⁺ transformation method, superoxide anion radical scavenging by riboflavin–methionine-illuminate system, hydrogen peroxide scavenging and ferrous ions (Fe²⁺) chelating activities. Also, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), α-tocopherol and trolox, a water-soluble analogue of tocopherol, were used as the reference antioxidant radical scavenger compounds.Tannic acid inhibited 97.7% lipid peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion at 15 μg/mL concentration. On the other hand, the above mentioned standard antioxidants indicated an inhibition of 92.2%, 99.6%, 84.6% and 95.6% on peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion at 45 μg/mL concentration, respectively. In addition, tannic acid had an effective DPPH scavenging, ABTS⁺ radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, Fe³⁺ reducing power and metal chelating on ferrous ions activities. Also, those various antioxidant activities were compared to BHA, BHT, α-tocopherol and trolox as references antioxidant compounds. The present study shows that tannic acid is the effective natural antioxidant component that can be used as food preservative agents or nutraceuticals.     

Oxidation of Pt(111) under near-ambient conditions

The oxidation of Pt(111) at near-ambient O2 pressures has been followed in situ using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex situ using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Polarization-dependent XAS signatures at the O K edge reveal significant temperature- and pressure-dependent changes of the Pt-O interaction. Oxide growth commences via a PtO-like surface oxide that coexists with chemisorbed oxygen, while an ultrathin α-PtO2 trilayer is identified as the precursor to bulk oxidation. These results have important implications for understanding the chemical state of Pt in catalysis.     

Numerical simulation of partially coherent broadband optical imaging using the finite-difference time-domain method

Rigorous numerical modeling of optical systems has attracted interest in diverse research areas ranging from biophotonics to photolithography. We report the full-vector electromagnetic numerical simulation of a broadband optical imaging system with partially coherent and unpolarized illumination. The scattering of light from the sample is calculated using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical method. Geometrical optics principles are applied to the scattered light to obtain the intensity distribution at the image plane. Multilayered object spaces are also supported by our algorithm. For the first time, numerical FDTD calculations are directly compared to and shown to agree well with broadband experimental microscopy results.     

Schwarzian derivative as a proof of the chaotic behaviour

In recent years, a sufficient condition for determining chaotic behaviours of the non-linear systems has been characterized by the negative Schwarzian derivative (Hac?bekiro?lu et al, Nonlinear Anal.: Real World Appl. 10, 1270 (2009)). In this work, the Schwarzian derivative has been calculated for investigating the quantum chaotic transition points in the high-temperature superconducting frame of reference, which is known as a nonlinear dynamical system that displays some macroscopic quantum effects. In our previous works, two quantum chaotic transition points of the critical transition temperature, T _c, and paramagnetic Meissner transition temperature, T _PME, have been phenomenologically predicted for the mercury-based high-temperature superconductors (Onba?l? et al, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 42, 1980 (2009); Aslan et al, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 153, 012002 (2009); Çataltepe, Superconductor (Sciyo Company, India, 2010)). The T _c, at which the one-dimensional global gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken, refers to the second-order phase transition, whereas the T _PME, at which time reversal symmetry is broken, indicates the change in the direction of orbital current in the system (Onba?l? et al, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 42, 1980 (2009)). In this context, the chaotic behaviour of the mercury-based high-temperature superconductors has been investigated by means of the Schwarzian derivative of the magnetic moment versus temperature. In all calculations, the Schwarzian derivatives have been found to be negative at both T _c and T _PME which are in agreement with the chaotic behaviour of the system.     

Spectral asymptotics and basis properties of fourth order differential operators with regular boundary conditions

In this paper, we consider the problem where λ is a spectral parameter; q(x) ∈ L₁(0,1) is complex‐valued function; α_s, s = 1,2,3, are arbitrary complex constants that satisfy α₂ = α₁ + α₃ and σ = 0,1. The boundary conditions of this problem are regular, but not strongly regular. Asymptotic formulae for eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the considered boundary value problem are established. It is proved that all the eigenvalues, except for finite number, are simple and the system of root functions of this spectral problem forms a basis in the space L_p(0,1), 1 < p < ∞ , when ; moreover, this basis is unconditional for p = 2. We note that the considered problem was previously investigated in the condition of α₂ ≠ α₁ + α₃. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal Decomposition Kinetics of Some Metal Complexes of 2,3-Hydroxyimino-4-phenyl-6-phenyazo-1-thia-4,5-diazacyclohexa-5-diene

The Ni(II), Cu(II) Co(II) and Zn(II) complexes of 2,3‐hydroxyimino‐4‐phenyl‐6‐phenyazo‐1‐thia‐4,5‐diaza‐ cyclohexa‐5‐diene (H₂L) were synthesized. Thermal behavior of these complexes was studied in dynamic nitrogen atmosphere by TA (thermogravimetric analysis), DTA (differential thermal analysis) and DTG (differential thermal gravimetry) techniques. The reaction order, the activation energies, the entropies, the enthalpies, the free energies, and the pre‐exponential factors of the thermal decomposition reactions were calculated from the thermogravimetric curves. The kinetic analysis of the thermogravimetric data was performed by using several methods such as MacCallum‐Tanner (MT), van Krevelen (vK), Madhusudanan‐Krishnan‐Ninan (MKN), Wanjun‐Yuwen‐Hen‐Cunxin (WYHC), Horowitz‐Metzger (HM) and Coats‐Redfern method (CR) based on the single heating rate. Most appropriate methods were determined for each decomposition step according to the least‐square linear regression. The Ni(II), Cu(II) Co(II) and Zn(II) complexes displayed one‐ or two‐stage decomposition pattern when heating in a dynamic nitrogen atmosphere and metal oxides remained as end products of the complexes. The characterization of the end products of the decomposition was performed by X‐ray diffraction.