Growth and characterization of model oxide catalysts

Oxide catalysts are frequently used to convert toxic species to environmentally benign molecules, and to prevent the formation of toxic species in the first place. In this paper, growth and characterization of model oxide systems employed in both approaches is discussed. An example of the former approach is the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO emitted from power plants by NH₃, which employs tungsten and vanadium oxides supported on the anatase polymorph of TiO₂. To model SCR catalysts, epitaxial titanium, vanadium and tungsten oxide films were grown using molecular beam epitaxy and magnetron sputtering. Two different anatase orientations were grown on LaAlO₃ substrates and their interactions with vanadia were characterized. On LaAlO₃ (0 0 1), anatase exposed a (4 × 1) reconstructed (0 0 1) surface. Vanadia lifted the reconstruction and at 1 ML a (1 × 1) surface with mostly V⁵⁺ was observed. Continued V₂O₅ growth led to loss of order, but at high temperatures epitaxial VO₂ could be grown; vanadia behaved similarly on anatase films on LaAlO₃ (1 1 0). Results suggested that the monolayer is pseudomorphic with O adsorption oxidizing the surface V to 5+, since the anatase structure cannot accommodate more bulk oxygen, only a monolayer can be pseudomorphic and have only V⁵⁺. Thus the vanadia monolayer has unique structural and chemical properties that can help explain why vanadia monolayers on TiO₂ are much more active than bulk V₂O₅. For WO₃, a series of added row reconstructions were observed as the epitaxial films were reduced. The effect of these structures on surface chemistry was characterized by studying 1-propanol adsorption. The results indicated that the structure of the WO₃ surface did not alter its catalytic function but had a strong effect on reaction kinetics. As an example of a system where catalysts prevent the formation of toxic species, the reactivity of oxidized Pd surfaces used in CH₄ catalytic combustion were studied. An ordered PdO-like monolayer was found to be less reactive towards CO than adsorbed O on Pd. On the other hand, the PdO layer favored a lower activation energy C₃H₆ oxidation pathway. The results indicated that Pd oxidation reduces the sticking coefficient of reactive species but once molecules adsorb, the oxide surface can reduce the activation energy for subsequent reaction.     

Singlet versus triplet dynamics of β-carotene studied by quantum control spectroscopy

Biomolecules very often present complex energy deactivation networks with overlapping electronic absorption bands, making their study a difficult task. This can be especially true in transient absorption spectroscopy when signals from bleach, excited state absorption and stimulated emission contribute to the signal. However, quantum control spectroscopy can be used to discriminate specific electronic states of interest by applying specifically designed laser pulses. Recently, we have shown the control of energy flow in bacterial light-harvesting using shaped pump pulses in the visible and the selective population of pathways in carotenoids using an additional depletion pulse in the transient absorption technique. Here, we apply a closed-loop optimization approach to β-carotene using a spatial light modulator to decipher the energy flow network after a multiphoton excitation with a shaped ultrashort pulse in the near-IR. After excitation, two overlapping bands were detected and identified as the S₁ state and the first triplet state T₁. Using the transient absorption signal at a specific probe delay as feedback, the triplet signal could be optimized over the singlet contribution.     

Generic Transport Aft-body Drag Reduction using Active Flow Control

Active flow-separation control is an effective and efficient mean for drag reduction and unsteady load alleviation resulting from locally or massively separated flow. Such a situation occurs in configurations where the aerodynamic performance is of secondary importance to functionality. The performance of heavy transport helicopters and aeroplanes, having a large, and almost flat, aft loading ramp suffer from the poor aerodynamics of the aft body. Hence, a combined experimental and numerical investigation was undertaken on a generic transport aeroplane/helicopter configuration. The experimental study provided surface pressures, direct drag measurements, surface and smoke flow visualization. The baseline flow was numerically analyzed, using finite volume solutions of the RANS equations. The baseline flow around the model was insensitive to the Reynolds number in the range it was tested. The flow separating from the aft body was characterized by two main sources of drag and unsteadiness. The first is a separation bubble residing at the lower ramp corner and the second is a pair of vortex systems developing and separating from the sides of the ramp. As the model incidence is decreased, the pair of vortex systems also penetrates deeper towards the centerline of the ramp, decreasing the pressure and increasing the drag. As expected, the ramp lower corner bubble was highly receptive to periodic excitation introduced from four addressable piezo-fluidic actuators situated at the ramp lower corner. Total drag was reduced by 3–11%, depending on the model incidence. There are indications that the flow in the wake of the model is also significantly steadier when the bubble at the lower ramp corner is eliminated. The vortex system is tighter and steadier when the ramp-corner bubble is eliminated.     

Resolving Discrepancy between Theoretical and Experimental Optical Trapping Forces Using Effects of Beam Waist and Trapping Position Displacement due to Gravity

Optical trapping forces of polystyrene microspheres are analyzed both theoretically and experimentally, and comparisons are made between the two. Discrepancies are mainly caused by straight-ray approximation for axial trapping, and by trapping-position vertical displacement due to gravity for transverse trapping.     

Electron beam induced modification of poly(ethylene terephthalate) films

Electron beam processing of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films is found to promote significant changes in the melting heat, intrinsic viscosity and polymer film-liquid (water, isooctane and toluene) boundary surface tension. These properties are featured with several maximums depending on the absorbed dose and correlating with the modification of PET surface functionality. Studies using adsorption of acid-base indicators and IR-spectroscopy revealed that the increase of PET surface hydrophilicity is determined by the oxidation of methylene and methyne groups. Electron beam treatment of PET films on the surface of N-vinylpyrrolidone aqueous solution provided graft copolymerization with this comonomer at optimum process parameters (energy 700 keV, current 1 mA, absorbed dose 50 kGy).     

改善液晶光阀投影光学系统偏振特性的理论设计方法

定量分析了液晶光阀投影光学系统中影响系统对比度的主要因素，利用矢量方法建立三维空间数学模型对光线进行追迹，并利用琼斯矩阵和矢量光学的原理分析了偏振器件--主要是波片--和各种光学薄膜对光学系统性能的影响。给出了在一定假设条件下的对没有波片的光学系统和插入波征后的光学系统的仿真计算结果。两组数据比较表明在光路中插入合适相位差的波片可以显著提高系统对比度等性能。     

Stratifiable Families of Extremals and Sufficient Conditions for Optimality in Optimal Control Problems

It is shown that, if a parametrized fämily of extremals F can be stratified in a way compatible with the flow map generated by F, then those trajectories of the family which realize the minimal values of the cost in F are indeed optimal in comparison with all trajectories which lie in the region R covered by the trajectories of F. It is not assumed that F is a field covering the state space injectively. As illustration, an optimal synthesis is constructed for a system where the flow of extremals exhibits a simple cusp singularity.     

Optimal Control of Magnetohydrodynamic Equations with State Constraint

This work is concerned with the maximum principle for optimal control problem governed by magnetohydrodynamic equations, which describe the motion of a viscous incompressible conducting fluid in a magnetic field and consist of a subtle coupling of the Navier-Stokes equation of viscous incompressible fluid flow and the Maxwell equation of electromagnetic field. An integral type state constraint is considered.     

Does the beam width affect the generalized M factor of hard-edged diffracted beams?

A detailed study of the generalized M² factor of hard-edged diffracted beams based on the truncated second-order moments method, asymptotic analysis and self-convergent beam width approach is performed. The dependence of the generalized M² factor on the parameters characterizing the spatial profile, and beam truncation, etc. is analyzed.     

Numerical calculations of temperature distribution of double layer metallic surface treated by laser beams

A mathematical model of laser beam treatment of double layer alloys (Ni/Fe, Al/Fe and Cr/Fe systems) describing the effect of laser beam on different physical and geometrical parameters of coated layer system has been adapted. The numerical solutions of the non-homogeneous heat-transport differential equation could estimate the temperature of the treated region.The suggested model allows investigation of the temperature distribution as a function of treated surface and laser parameters. The physical parameters of the treated materials were taken as functions of temperature due to the change in the temperature of the treated double layer materials.