Pd nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide as an effective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the Mizoroki–Heck coupling reaction

A general method for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles loaded on reduced graphene oxide functionalized with diethylenetriamine (PdNPs/rGO-NH₂) using a sonochemical procedure is described. The heterogeneous nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, thermogravimetric analysis, high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–visible absorption, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The PdNPs/rGO-NH₂ was very effective for the Mizoroki–Heck coupling reaction of several aryl iodide compounds with different alkenes in the presence of triethylamine. The reaction provides the coupling products in good to excellent yields (59–100%). Additionally, the PdNPs/rGO-NH₂ catalyst can be reutilized for six successive runs without any apparent diminution of its catalytic reactivity.     

The method of dynamic mode decomposition in shallow water and a swirling flow problem

In this paper, a new vector‐filtering criterion for dynamic modes selection is proposed that is able to extract dynamically relevant flow features from dynamic mode decomposition of time‐resolved experimental or numerical data. We employ a novel modes selection criterion in parallel with the classic selection based on modes amplitudes, in order to analyze which of these procedures better highlight the coherent structures of the flow dynamics. Numerical tests are performed on two distinct problems. The efficiency of the proposed criterion is proved in retaining the most influential modes and reducing the size of the dynamic mode decomposition model. By applying the proposed filtering mode technique, the flow reconstruction error is shown to be significantly reduced. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduced rank static error covariance for high‐dimensional applications

A method for creating static (e.g., stationary) error covariance of reduced rank for potential use in hybrid variational‐ensemble data assimilation is presented. The choice of reduced rank versus full rank static error covariance is made in order to allow the use of an improved Hessian preconditioning in high‐dimensional applications. In particular, this method relies on using block circulant matrices to create a high‐dimensional global covariance matrix from a low‐dimensional local sub‐matrix. Although any covariance used in variational data assimilation would be an acceptable choice for the pre‐defined full‐rank static error covariance, for convenience and simplicity, we use a symmetric Topelitz matrix as a prototype of static error covariance. The methodology creates a square root covariance, which has a practical advantage for Hessian preconditioning in reduced rank, ensemble‐based data assimilation. The experiments conducted examine multivariate covariance that includes the impact of cross‐variable correlations, in order to have a more realistic assessment of the value of the constructed static error covariance approximation. The results show that it may be possible to reduce the rank of matrix to O(10) and still obtain an acceptable approximation of the full‐rank static covariance matrix. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Principal interval decomposition framework for POD reduced‐order modeling of convective Boussinesq flows

A principal interval decomposition (PID) approach is presented for the reduced‐order modeling of unsteady Boussinesq equations. The PID method optimizes the lengths of the time windows over which proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is performed and can be highly effective in building reduced‐order models for convective problems. The performance of these POD models with and without using the PID approach is investigated by applying these methods to the unsteady lock‐exchange flow problem. This benchmark problem exhibits a strong shear flow induced by a temperature jump and results in the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. This problem is considered a challenging benchmark problem for the development of reduced‐order models. The reference solutions are obtained by direct numerical simulations of the vorticity and temperature transport equations using a compact fourth‐order‐accurate scheme. We compare the accuracy of reduced‐order models developed with different numbers of POD basis functions and different numbers of principal intervals. A linear interpolation model is constructed to obtain basis functions when varying physical parameters. The predictive performance of our models is then analyzed over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. It is shown that the PID approach provides a significant improvement in accuracy over the standard Galerkin POD reduced‐order model. This numerical assessment of the PID shows that it may represent a reliable model reduction tool for convection‐dominated, unsteady‐flow problems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sampling and resolution characteristics in reduced order models of shallow water equations: Intrusive vs nonintrusive

We investigate the sensitivity of reduced order models (ROMs) to training data spatial resolution as well as sampling rate. In particular, we consider proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), coupled with Galerkin projection (POD-GP), as an intrusive ROM technique. For nonintrusive ROMs, we consider two frameworks. The first is using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), and the second is based on artificial neural networks (ANNs). For ANN, we utilized a residual deep neural network, and for DMD we have studied two versions of DMD approaches; one with hard thresholding and the other with sorted bases selection. Also, we highlight the differences between mean subtracting the data (centering) and using the data without mean subtraction. We tested these ROMs using a system of 2D shallow water equations for four different numerical experiments, adopting combinations of sampling rates and spatial resolutions. For these cases, we found that the DMD basis obtained with hard thresholding is sensitive to sampling rate. The sorted DMD algorithm helps to mitigate this problem and yields more stabilized and converging solution. Furthermore, we demonstrate that both DMD approaches without mean subtraction provide significantly more accurate results than DMD with mean subtracting the data. On the other hand, POD is relatively insensitive to sampling rate and yields better representation of the flow field. Meanwhile, spatial resolution has little effect on both POD and DMD performances. Numerical results reveal that an ANN on POD subspace (POD-ANN) performs remarkably better than POD-GP and DMD in capturing system dynamics, even with a small number of modes.     

Synthesis of PNIPAM polymer brushes on reduced graphene oxide based on click chemistry and RAFT polymerization

Preparation and characterization of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) polymer brushes on the surfaces of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets based on click chemistry and reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization was reported. RGO sheets prepared by thermal reduction were modified by diazonium salt of propargyl p‐aminobenzoate, and alkyne‐functionalized RGO sheets were obtained. RAFT chain transfer agent (CTA) was grafted to the surfaces of RGO sheets by click reaction. PNIPAM on RGO sheets was prepared by RAFT polymerization. Fourier transform‐infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results all demonstrated that RAFT CTA and PNIPAM were successfully produced on the surfaces of RGO sheets. Nanosized PNIPAM domains on RGO sheets were observed on TEM. Micro‐DSC result indicated that in aqueous solution PNIPAM on RGO sheets presented a lower critical solution temperature at 33.2 °C. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Energy decomposition analysis of cation–π, metal ion–lone pair,hydrogen bonded,charge‐assisted hydrogen bonded,and π–π interactions

This study probes the nature of noncovalent interactions, such as cation–π, metal ion–lone pair (M–LP), hydrogen bonding (HB), charge‐assisted hydrogen bonding (CAHB), and π–π interactions, using energy decomposition schemes—density functional theory (DFT)–symmetry‐adapted perturbation theory and reduced variational space. Among cation–π complexes, the polarization and electrostatic components are the major contributors to the interaction energy (IE) for metal ion–π complexes, while for onium ion–π complexes ( , , , and ) the dispersion component is prominent. For M–LP complexes, the electrostatic component contributes more to the IE except the dicationic metal ion complexes with H₂S and PH₃ where the polarization component dominates. Although electrostatic component dominates for the HB and CAHB complexes, dispersion is predominant in π–π complexes.Copyright © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

三维二硫化钼/还原氧化石墨烯气凝胶用作宏观可见光催化剂

近年来,光催化技术在解决环境污染和能源短缺方面展现出巨大潜力.二硫化钼(MoS2)作为一种二维层状光催化材料受到广泛关注.MoS2具有可调的带隙(1.2–1.9 eV)、低的成本和高的存储量,是一种可替代铂的理想助催化剂.然而,MoS2本身光催化活性较低.理论和实验已经证明,MoS2只有暴露的边缘具有催化活性,并且MoS2的光生电子-空穴对容易复合,导致其光催化效率低.增加暴露的活性边缘以及有效分离电子-空穴对是提高MoS2光催化活性的关键.而石墨烯气凝胶是一种理想的催化剂载体,其高比表面积和高空隙率可以有效提高催化剂利用率.同时,其高导电性可以促进光生电子-空穴对分离.因此,将MoS2负载到石墨烯气凝胶上制备宏观可回收光催化材料具有广阔的应用前景.然而,目前尚未见到有关MoS2/石墨烯气凝胶光催化产氢以及还原Cr(VI)的报道.本文以钼酸铵为钼源,硫脲为硫源和还原剂,同时加入氧化石墨烯及其还原剂氨水,通过一步水热法制备出二硫化钼/还原氧化石墨烯(MoS2/RGO)水凝胶.最后通过冷冻干燥得到MoS2/RGO气凝胶.经光催化测试发现其产氢达到38.9μmol/g,光还原Cr(VI)达到92%,明显高于MoS2粉体.采用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、紫外-可见-近红外吸收光谱(UV-Vis-NIR)及红外光谱(FTIR)等手段研究了其光催化性能提高的原因.XRD测试显示,过量的NH4+离子插入到MoS2层与层之间增加了(002)面的晶面间距;SEM观察到在形成气凝胶后,MoS2从粉末的片状转变成花状,这是因为氧化石墨烯上的含氧官能团促进MoS2成核同时限制其生长导致的;TEM观察到MoS2上存在大量的脱节和扭曲,这是由于过量硫脲阻碍了MoS2晶体的取向生长而产生缺陷;XPS发现,除了形成MoS2之外,还形成了MoO2,同时大量的暴露边缘导致不饱和硫产生;FTIR表明MoS2与RGO之间通过氢键链接在一起;UV-Vis-NIR吸收光谱显示,MoS2/RGO气凝胶在可见光区具有很强的吸收,这是黑色的RGO以及光在花状结构的不断反射共同作用导致的.综合以上结果,我们提出了MoS2/RGO光催化性能增强的机理.首先,三维的气凝胶网状结构以及花状结构的MoS2所带来的高比表面积(599.7 m2/g)使得材料对H+和Cr(VI)吸附量增加;其次,黑色的RGO以及入射光在花状结构层片间的不断反射增加了MoS2/RGO气凝胶对可见光的吸收;最后,RGO本身的高导电性促进了光生电子-空穴有效分离,电子通过RGO快速转移到材料表面参与光催化反应.因此,将MoS2负载在RGO上可提高光催化效率.另外,低密度的MoS2/RGO气凝胶(56.1 mg/cm3)可以有效吸附有机溶剂且容易回收.综上所述,本文制备的MoS2/RGO气凝胶光催化材料在环境与能源方面表现出潜在的应用前景.     

Electrochemical detection of selenium using glassy carbon electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide

In this work, a simple experimental procedure was reported for the electroanalytical determination of selenium (IV) using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The rGO was obtained by reduction of graphene oxide obtained via Hummer’s method. The synthesised rGO was characterised using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy and transmission Electron microscopy (TEM). GCE was modified with rGO and the electrochemical properties of the bare and modified electrode were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results obtained showed that the modified electrode exhibited more excellent electrochemical properties than the bare GCE. The optimum conditions for detection of selenium in water using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry were as follows: deposition potential ?500 mV, pH 1, pre-concentration time of 240 s and 0.1 M nitric acid was used as supporting electrolyte. The linear regression equation obtained was I (µA) = 0.8432C + 9.2359 and the detection limit was calculated to be 0.85 μg L^?1. However, Cu(II) and Cd(II) are the two cations that interfered in the analysis of selenium in water.

The sensor was also applied for real sample water analysis and the result obtained was affirmed with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopic method. It is believed that our proposed sensor hold promise for practical application.