A polyfluoroalkyl imidazolium ionic liquid as iodide ion source in dye sensitized solar cells

We report on the use of a fluorinated imidazolium ionic liquid as a source of iodide ions in solvent-based electrolytes for DSSCs. Efficient dye regeneration and fast charge transport in the fluorinated electrolyte result in an overall improvement of the device performances compared to conventional hydrogenated ionic liquids.     

A Quantum Chemical Study of the Abnormal Reactivity of 2‐Methoxyfuran

The gas‐phase pyrolytic and oxidative chemistry of furans has received much attention recently because of their potential as platform chemicals and biofuels. Typically these compounds exhibit very strong ring carbon to H or CH₃ bonds. 2‐Methoxyfuran had been reported to be exceptionally unstable in comparison to related substituted heterocycles in pyrolytic experiments. The origins of its reactivity are shown to be due to the very weak O–CH₃, which at 189.5 ± 1.9 kJ mol^?1 is some 200 kJ mol^?1 weaker than C–H bonds in the molecule. We show that the reported reactivity is somewhat overestimated but that does not alter the fact that 2‐methoxyfuran is exceptionally unstable. It may prove to be a useful alternative to azomethane as a thermal source of methyl radicals.     

Novel Separation Processes for Solid/Liquid Separations in Coal Derived Liquids

The removal of the mineral matter found in coal derived liquids is a very difficult solid/liquid separation process. Clays, pyrites and other minerals that occur in coal ultimately find their way into the liquefied product. This is the case, e.g., for both the solvent refined coal (SRC-I) and H-Coal processes. The ash content of bituminous coals which may be fed to coal liquefaction processes normally rangesfrom 6 to 11 wt.%. The ash content of the coal liquid product can range from 4 to 20 wt.% depending upon the lique-faction .process. Ash levels must be reduced to, e.g., 0.4 wt.% in the case of boiler fuel and less than 0.1 wt.% for gas turbine fuels.     

Hopf-algebraic renormalization of QED in the linear covariant gauge

In the context of massless quantum electrodynamics (QED) with a linear covariant gauge fixing, the connection between the counterterm and the Hopf-algebraic approach to renormalization is examined. The coproduct formula of Green’s functions contains two invariant charges, which give rise to different renormalization group functions. All formulas are tested by explicit computations to third loop order. The possibility of a finite electron self-energy by fixing a generalized linear covariant gauge is discussed. An analysis of subdivergences leads to the conclusion that such a gauge only exists in quenched QED.