Sedimentation and electrophoresis of a porous floc and a colloidal particle coated with polyelectrolytes

Sedimentation and electrophoresis of porous colloid complex; a colloidal floc and a colloidal particle covered with adsorbed polyelectrolytes are visited to examine the characteristic length of the transport phenomena. In the sedimentation, the overall size of a floc is dominative in the determination of Stokes drag, while the permeability is determined by the largest pore in the floc. This picture is important when break-up of flocs in a turbulent flow is considered. When a colloidal particles is coated with polyelectrolytes, the characteristic length for diffusion is that of the diameter of colloidal particle plus protruding part of polymer chain adsorbed onto the particle. On the other hand, when the porous colloid complex is placed in the electric field, fluid surrounding the complex can easily penetrate into the complex by means of electro-osmosis. The diffusive part of electric double layer located inside of the complex is the source of strong driving force of this osmotic flow. Flow generated in this regime can be treated as a sort of shear driven. The characteristic length scale for transport phenomena is the Debye length or the distance between charged segments. These lengths are much shorter than the case of sedimentation and Brownian diffusion.     

Preparation of two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide for NO2 detection at room temperature

In this work, the two-dimensional MoS₂ film was prepared by sulfuring the molybdenum atomic layer on SiO₂/Si substrate. The reaction temperature, heating rate, holding time and carrier gas flow rate were investigated comprehensively. The quality of MoS₂ film was characterized by optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The characterization results showed that the optimum synthesis parameters were heating rate of 25 °C/min, reaction temperature of 750 °C, holding time of 30 min and carrier gas velocity of 100 sccm. The MoS₂ gas sensor was fabricated and its gas sensing performance was tested. The test results indicated that the sensor had a good response to both reducing gas (NH₃) and oxidizing gas (NO₂) at room temperature. The sensitivity to 100 ppm of NO₂ was 31.3%, and the response/recovery times were 4 s and 5 s, respectively. In addition, the limit of detection could be as low as 1 ppm. This work helps us to develop low power and integrable room temperature NO₂ sensors.     

Enhanced electrochemical performances of layered LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 as cathode materials by Ru doping for lithium-ion batteries

Ionics - The pristine and Ru-doped LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 cathode materials are synthesized by a wet chemical method, followed by a high-temperature calcination process. The influence of Ru substitution on...     

Nonlinear dynamics of a novel fractional-order Francis hydro-turbine governing system with time delay

This paper focuses on the stability of a hydropower station. First, we established a novel nonlinear mathematical model of a Francis hydro-turbine governing system considering both fractional-order derivative and time delay. The fractional-order α, which is introduced into the penstock system, in the range from 0.82 to 1.00 is on the left side of the model in a incommensurate manner in increment of 0.03 to provide an adjustable degree of system memory. The time delay τ, which exists between the signal and response in the hydraulic servo system, in the range from 0 s to 0.26 s is inserted on the right side of the model in increment of 0.04 s. Utilizing the principle of statistical physics, we respectively explored the effects of the fractional-order α and the time delay τ on the stable region of the system. Furthermore, we exhaustively investigated the nonlinear dynamic behaviors of the system with different governor parameters by using bifurcation diagrams, time waveforms and power spectrums, finding that only under the condition of reasonable collocation of governor parameters the system can maintain stable operation. Finally, all of the above numerical experiments supply new methods for studying the stability of a hydropower station.     

On the topologic structure of economic complex networks: Empirical evidence from large scale payment network of Estonia

This paper presents the first topological analysis of the economic structure of an entire country based on payments data obtained from Swedbank. This data set is exclusive in its kind because around 80% of Estonia's bank transactions are done through Swedbank; hence, the economic structure of the country can be reconstructed. Scale-free networks are commonly observed in a wide array of different contexts such as nature and society. In this paper, the nodes are comprised by customers of the bank (legal entities) and the links are established by payments between these nodes. We study the scaling-free and structural properties of this network. We also describe its topology, components and behaviors. We show that this network shares typical structural characteristics known in other complex networks: degree distributions follow a power law, low clustering coefficient and low average shortest path length. We identify the key nodes of the network and perform simulations of resiliency against random and targeted attacks of the nodes with two different approaches. With this, we find that by identifying and studying the links between the nodes is possible to perform vulnerability analysis of the Estonian economy with respect to economic shocks.     

Bi/Bi_2O_3 nanoparticles supported on N-doped reduced graphene oxide for highly efficient CO_2 electroreduction to formate

Electrocatalytic CO_2 reduction(CO_2 ER) into formate is a desirable route to achieve efficient transformation of CO_2 to value-added chemicals,however,it still suffers from limited catalytic activity and poor selectivity.Herein,we develop a hybrid electrocatalyst composed of bismuth and bismuth oxide nanoparticles(NPs) supported on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide(Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO) nanosheets prepared by a combined hydrothermal with calcination treatment.Thanks to the combination of undercoordinated sites and strong synergistic effect between Bi and Bi_2 O_3,Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO-700 hybrid displays a promoted CO2 ER catalytic performance and selectivity for formate production,as featured by a small onset potential of-0.5 V,a high current density of-18 mA/cm~2,the maximum Faradaic efficiency of85% at-0.9 V,and a low Tafel slope of 166 mV/dec.Experimental results reveal that the higher CO_2 ER performance of Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO-700 than that of Bi NPs supported on NrGO(Bi/NrGO) can be due to the partial reduction of Bi_2 O_3 NPs into Bi,which significantly increases undercoordinated active sites on Bi NPs surface,thus boosting its CO_2 ER performance.Furthermore,a two-electrode device with Ir/C anode and Bi/Bi_2 O_3/NrGO-700 cathode could be integrated with two alkaline batteries or a planar solar cell to achieve highly active water splitting and CO_2 ER.     

Enhanced enantioselectivity in the heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of acetoacetate esters into the corresponding 3-hydroxybutyrates using commercial nickel powder

Heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of acetoacetic acid esters over tartaric acid/NaBr-modified Ni powder was determined to be a critical function of the steric bulk of the ester moiety to afford quantitatively 3-hydroxybutyrate in 94% enantiomeric excess when ethyl and i-butyl esters are used, providing a facile route to optically active 3-hydroxybutyrates.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Liquid Crystalline Epoxides with Lateral Substituent Showing Imposing Shape Memory Properties

In this work, a series of novel shape memory liquid crystalline (LC) epoxides with lateral substituent were prepared and characterized. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and shape memory testing were used to investigate on the thermo-mechanical properties and shape memory effects of prepared samples. The results showed that the modulus in the rubbery region (E_R ) decreased as the length of lateral alkyl group increases. And more than 95% of the deformation can be fixed as the sample was cooled down below the glass transition temperature (T_g), which was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement, and can be recovered completely as heating. Effects of the curing agent and substituent on the shape memory behavior were also studied. We found that LC epoxides cured by aromatic diamine have a higher recovery speed. The recovering speeds of the shape memory decreased as the length of lateral alkyl group inscreased. The local ordered structures and the lateral substituent played an important role in shape memory effects.     

Controlling the propagation of broadband light pulses by Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

We present an experimental and theoretical investigation, performed on hot sodium atoms in a ladder scheme, showing the control of the absorption and of the propagation velocity of a probe light pulse with a spectral bandwidth as large as 1.8 GHz. The predictions of the theoretical model compare favorably with the experimental results.