Next-generation aqueous flow battery chemistries

The battery industry is seeking solutions for large-scale energy storage that are affordable, durable, and safe. Aqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) have the inherent properties to meet these requirements. While much has been learned over the past decade on the properties of redox materials, the focus of next-generation systems must be primarily on lowering redox material cost and increasing durability. In this context, in addition to inexpensive materials such as iron salts, redox couples based on small organic molecules have shown significant promise. A considerable level of understanding has been gained on the factors affecting the durability of aqueous RFB systems, specifically relating to molecular stability and crossover. New molecular classes, substituent strategies, and cell configurations have been identified to enhance the durability of systems in the future. Next-generation systems will also need to focus on designing molecules for achieving high energy efficiency and power density as well. Furthermore, the application of computational methods for screening of chemical stability could accelerate discovery of new molecular architectures.     

Assessing the antimicrobial activity of zinc oxide thin films using disk diffusion and biofilm reactor

The electronic and chemical properties of semiconductor materials may be useful in preventing growth of microorganisms. In this article, in vitro methods for assessing microbial growth on semiconductor materials will be presented. The structural and biological properties of silicon wafers coated with zinc oxide thin films were evaluated using atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and MTT viability assay. The antimicrobial properties of zinc oxide thin films were established using disk diffusion and CDC Biofilm Reactor studies. Our results suggest that zinc oxide and other semiconductor materials may play a leading role in providing antimicrobial functionality to the next-generation medical devices.     

Study of electrolyte induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles capped by amino acids

This work reports the electrolyte induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles directly conjugated to amino acid by chemical reduction in aqueous solution. The study was focused on three different classes of amino acids depending on the nature of alpha substituent, viz. l-cysteine, l-leucine, and l-asparagine. The band broadening and the red shift of surface plasmon band with increase in flocculation parameter showed the aggregation of gold nanoparticles with increase in electrolyte concentration and decrease in pH as monitored by UV-visible spectrophotometer. The (1)H NMR spectrum demonstrates that the sulfide bond of cysteine and alpha amino group of leucine and asparagine interact with nanoparticles surface. Furthermore, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed to characterize and to support the fate of stabilization of the gold nanoparticles by amino acid.     

Synthesis of the proposed structure of mucoxin via regio- and stereoselective tetrahydrofuran ring-forming strategies

An enantioselective total synthesis of the proposed structure of mucoxin (1) is described. Mucoxin, an annonaceous acetogenin isolated from bioactive leaf extracts of Rollinia mucosa, is the first acetogenin containing a hydroxylated trisubstituted tetrahydrofuran (THF) ring. This natural product is a highly potent and specific antitumor agent against MCF-7 (breast carcinoma) cell lines (ED50 = 3.7 x 10(-3) microg/mL compared to adriamycin, ED50 = 1.0 x 10(-2) microg/mL). The total synthesis described herein features two regio- and stereoselective THF ring-forming reactions. The 2,3,5-trisubstituted THF portion (C13-C17) was accessed using a highly regioselective cyclization of a methylene-interrupted epoxydiol, and the 2,5-disubstituted THF ring (C8-C12) was conveniently assembled via a 1,2-n-triol cyclization strategy. The spectral data of the synthetic material and two of its diastereomers did not match the reported data for the natural product. On the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis of the synthesized molecule, we reason that the spectral discrepancies are due to stereochemical misassignment of the natural product.     

JKR adhesion in cylindrical contacts

Planar JKR adhesive solutions use the half-plane assumption and do not permit calculation of indenter approach or visualization of adhesive force–displacement curves unless the contact is periodic. By considering a conforming cylindrical contact and using an arc crack analogy, we obtain closed-form indenter approach and load–contact size relations for a planar adhesive problem. The contact pressure distribution is also obtained in closed-form. The solutions reduce to known cases in both the adhesion-free and small-contact solution (Barquins, 1988) limits. The cylindrical system shows two distinct regimes of adhesive behavior; in particular, contact sizes exceeding the critical (maximum) size seen in adhesionless contacts are possible. The effects of contact confinement on adhesive behavior are investigated. Some special cases are considered, including contact with an initial neat-fit and the detachment of a rubbery cylinder from a rigid cradle. A comparison of the cylindrical solution with the half-plane adhesive solution is carried out, and it indicates that the latter typically underestimates the adherence force. The cylindrical adhesive system is novel in that it possesses stable contact states that may not be attained even on applying an infinite load in the absence of adhesion.     

Conformally flat collapsing stars in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>) gravity

The present work includes an analytical investigation of a collapsing spherical star in f(R) gravity. The interior of the collapsing star admits a conformal flatness. Information regarding the fate of the collapse is extracted from the matching conditions of the extrinsic curvature and the Ricci curvature scalar across the boundary hypersurface of the star. The radial distribution of the physical quantities such as density, anisotropic pressure and radial heat flux are studied. The inhomogeneity of the collapsing interior leads to a non-zero acceleration. The divergence of this acceleration and the loss of energy through a heat conduction forces the rate of the collapse to die down and the formation of a zero proper volume singularity is realized only asymptotically.     

A Total Measure of Multi-Particle Quantum Correlations in Atomic Schrödinger Cat States

We propose a total measure of multi-particle quantum correlation in a system of N two-level atoms (N qubits). We construct a parameter that encompasses all possible quantum correlations among N two-level atoms in arbitrary symmetric pure states and define its numerical value to be the total measure of the net atom-atom correlations. We use that parameter to quantify the total quantum correlations in atomic Schrödinger cat states, which are generated by the dispersive interaction in a cavity. We study the variation of the net amount of quantum correlation as we vary the number of atoms from N=2 to N=100 and obtain some interesting results. We also study the variation of the net correlation, for fixed interaction time, as we increase the number of atoms in the excited state of the initial system, and notice some interesting features. We also observe the behaviour of the net quantum correlation as we continuously increase the interaction time, for the general state of N two-level atoms in a dispersive cavity.     

Improvements on "fast space-variant elliptical filtering using box splines"

It is well-known that box filters can be efficiently computed using pre-integration and local finite-differences. By generalizing this idea and by combining it with a nonstandard variant of the central limit theorem, we had earlier proposed a constant-time or O(1) algorithm that allowed one to perform space-variant filtering using Gaussian-like kernels. The algorithm was based on the observation that both isotropic and anisotropic Gaussians could be approximated using certain bivariate splines called box splines. The attractive feature of the algorithm was that it allowed one to continuously control the shape and size (covariance) of the filter, and that it had a fixed computational cost per pixel, irrespective of the size of the filter. The algorithm, however, offered a limited control on the covariance and accuracy of the Gaussian approximation. In this paper, we propose some improvements of our previous algorithm.     

ortho‐Phenylenediamine: An Effective Spacer to Build Highly Magnetic Fe3O4/Au Nanocomposites

1,2‐Diaminobenzene, popularly known as ortho‐phenylenediamine (PDA), is found to be a prototype spacer for the deposition of gold nanoparticles on the surfaces of Fe₃O₄ microspheres. Upon carbonization with PDA, the morphology of the product changes significantly, and the resulting nanocomposites exhibit enhanced magnetism beyond the saturation value of Fe₃O₄. The Fe₃O₄/Au nanocomposites show good surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy activity with a detection limit of 10^?15 M .