Two confined phases of argon adsorbed inside open single walled carbon nanotubes

Isothermal adsorption of Ar on single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been studied at 77 and 87 K. The SWNTs have been grown by laser vaporization of a graphite pellet containing 0.6% (atomic) Ni/Co catalyst. The nanotubes have been prepared for argon adsorption measurements by prolonged outgassing of as-grown material in a vacuum at room temperature (295 K), at elevated temperatures of up to 475 K, and by oxidization for 2 h in dry air at 470 K. Formation of two condensed phases of Ar in the interior of SWNTs has been observed at 77 K. The low-density phase is formed at 155(5) microTorr, while the high-density phase, at 120(5) microTorr. At 87 K, only a single phase has been observed at 185(5) microTorr. Condensation at both 77 and 87 K appears to be the first-order phase transition. Onset of the quasi-one-dimensional linear (one-channel) phase and the quasi-two-dimensional monolayer (six-channel) phase formation on the external surface of bundles has been observed at 77 K near 0.0017 and 0.8 Torr, respectively, and at 87 K near 0.018 and 5 Torr, respectively. Isosteric heats of adsorption for the one-channel phase, the first external layer, and the second external layer have been determined to be equal to 137, 107, and 70 meV, respectively.     

Perimidine-based synthetic receptors for determination of copper(II) in water solution

Perimidine-based chelators 1 and 2 were prepared, and their structures were confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, MS spectroscopy and elemental analysis. These compounds were studied as specific synthetic receptors for the recognition of transition metal ions. They exhibited high affinity and selectivity towards Cu(II) ions. The conditional binding constants, linear dynamic range and detection limit were determined by UV–vis spectroscopy. These parameters demonstrated high potential of the prepared synthetic receptors for the recognition and determination of Cu(II) ions. The minimum detectable concentrations of Cu(II) ions for the synthetic receptors 1 and 2 were 270 and 75 nM (R ² = 0.9915 and 0.9964) in aqueous medium (water/DMSO; 99:1 (v/v)), respectively.     

Stability analysis of data-driven local model networks

This article discusses stability analysis of data-driven dynamic local model networks. In contrast to traditional fuzzy modelling, the structure and complexity of such model architectures is not unique when only observed input- and output data are available for their parametrization. The present article complements the well-known trade-off between accuracy and complexity by the notion of stability. For this purpose, existing Lyapunov stability criteria for local model networks are extended by a decay rate which represents a scalar and quantitative stability measure. It allows to compare models with different degrees of complexity also in view of their stability. For some of the commonly available Lyapunov stability criteria, the individual local model transitions are crucial. Therefore, in this article, an approach is introduced to determine the actually occurring model transitions by means of the identification data. The methods presented in the article are illustrated and discussed by means of a simulation example. It is shown how model complexity and the related approximation quality can have an adverse impact on the stability and how the outcome of different Lyapunov criteria is affected by the proper determination of local model transitions.     

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Molecular Beam Investigation of New Singlet and Triplet Electronic States of Yttrium Monohydride

The yttrium monohydride spectrum in the range 12 500-25 000 cm⁻¹ has been studied by various laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques. YH (YD) molecules have been produced in a free jet molecular beam apparatus by a laser vaporizing yttrium metal in the presence of He doped with H₂ (D₂) or NH₃ (ND₃). Low-resolution (∼0.04 cm⁻¹) excitation spectra have been recorded in the entire studied range. Four green bands (19 300-19 900 cm⁻¹) of the YH isotopomer have been studied in more detail: (1) high-resolution (∼120 MHz, ∼0.004 cm⁻¹) excitation spectra have been recorded, (2) dispersed fluorescence spectra have been obtained, and (3) lifetimes of the selected rotational levels of the upper states have been measured. Our observations have confirmed that the ground state of yttrium monohydride has ¹Σ⁺ symmetry and have provided a link between the singlet and triplet manifolds. The upper states of the observed transitions have been tentatively assigned to five electronic states, d0⁺, f³Π, f′1, D¹Π, E0⁺, and Fl. The low-energy excited electronic state observed in the dispersed fluorescence experiment has been assigned as the a³Δ state.     

Noncovalent functionalization of boron nitride nanotubes using poly(2,7-carbazole)s

To fully actualize the potential of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), it is necessary to overcome the inherent insolubility of this nanomaterial. Drawing on the successes realized in the analogous carbon nanotube field, noncovalent functionalization with conjugated polymers offers a simple, scalable route toward the production of stable dispersions of BNNTs. 2,7-carbazoles were chosen as our core monomer based on density functional theory (DFT) predictions, which suggest superior interactions with BNNTs when compared to fluorene-BNNT interactions. Homo poly(2,7-carbazole)s and copolymers with fluorenes were synthesized and used successfully to disperse BNNTs into organic solvents. Thermogravimetric analysis and atomic force microscopy results confirm the proficiency of these polymers to disperse large amounts (> 80% by weight) of individualized BNNTs. Analysis of absorbance data shows that the choice of solvent is critical, with stability enhanced in THF compared to CHCl₃ due to the more efficient planarization of polymer chains on the surface of BNNTs, particularly for the homopolymers. The utility of these highly-soluble poly(2,7-carbazole)-BNNT complexes for printed electronics and transparent composites was demonstrated by the fabrication of simple capacitors and incorporation into poly(methyl methacrylate) composites, respectively.     

Intensive care unit occupancy predictions in the COVID-19 pandemic based on age-structured modelling and differential flatness

The COVID-19 pandemic confronts governments and their health systems with great challenges for disease management. In many countries, hospitalization and in particular ICU occupancy is the primary measure for policy makers to decide on possible non-pharmaceutical interventions. In this paper a combined methodology for the prediction of COVID-19 case numbers, case-specific hospitalization and ICU admission rates as well as hospital and ICU occupancies is proposed. To this end, we employ differential flatness to provide estimates of the states of an epidemiological compartmental model and estimates of the unknown exogenous inputs driving its nonlinear dynamics. A main advantage of this method is that it requires the reported infection cases as the only data source. As vaccination rates and case-specific ICU rates are both strongly age-dependent, specifically an age-structured compartmental model is proposed to estimate and predict the spread of the epidemic across different age groups. By utilizing these predictions, case-specific hospitalization and case-specific ICU rates are subsequently estimated using deconvolution techniques. In an analysis of various countries we demonstrate how the methodology is able to produce real-time state estimates and hospital/ICU occupancy predictions for several weeks thus providing a sound basis for policy makers.

     

Low-melting salts based on a glycolated cobalt bis(dicarbollide) anion

A new series of low-melting quaternary ammonium salts based on a glycolated cobalt bis(dicarbollide) anion structure have been synthesized and characterized, and their spectroscopic and physicochemical properties have been studied. The lowest melting point was obtained for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (～50 °C) followed by 1-butyl-1-methylpiperidinium (～80 °C), 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium (～95 °C), and 1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium salts (～115 °C). The salts were thermally stable up to 180 °C [decomposition of an oligo(ethylene glycol) chain] and contained variable amounts of water. The flexible oligo(ethylene glycol) chains contributed to the waxy state of salts. The solubility of the salts was determined for 76 solvents that are commonly used in organic chemistry. Generally, the solubility increased with the dipole moment and relative polarity of the solvent. Salts exhibited good solubility in ketones and esters; moderate solubility was observed in alcohols, aromates, and chlorinated solvents, and poor solubility was obtained in ethers. The salts were practically insoluble in higher hydrocarbons and water. Salts are dissolved in the form of ion pairs or separated ions, depending on the nature of the solvent.     

Model order reduction by projection applied to the universal Reynolds equation

The approach presented in this paper yields a reduced order solution to the universal Reynolds equation for incompressible fluids, which is valid in lubrication as well as in cavitation regions, applied to oil-film lubricated journal bearings in internal combustion engines. The extent of cavitation region poses a free boundary condition to the problem and is determined by an iterative spatial evaluation of a superposed modal solution. Using a Condensed Galerkin and Petrov–Galerkin method, the number of degrees of freedom of the original grid is reduced to obtain a fast but still accurate short-term prediction of the solution. Based on the assumption that a detailed solution of a previous combustion cycle is available, a basis and an optimal test space for the Galerkin method is generated. The resulting reduced order model is efficiently exploited in a time-saving evaluation of the Jacobian matrix describing the elastohydrodynamic coupling in a multi-body dynamics simulation using flexible components. Finally, numerical results are presented for a single crankshaft main bearing of typical dimensions.     

3D track reconstruction capability of a silicon hybrid active pixel detector

Timepix3 detectors are the latest generation of hybrid active pixel detectors of the Medipix/Timepix family. Such detectors consist of an active sensor layer which is connected to the readout ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), segmenting the detector into a square matrix of 256 \(\times \) 256 pixels (pixel pitch 55 \(\upmu \)m). Particles interacting in the active sensor material create charge carriers, which drift towards the pixelated electrode, where they are collected. In each pixel, the time of the interaction (time resolution 1.56 ns) and the amount of created charge carriers are measured. Such a device was employed in an experiment in a 120 GeV/c pion beam. It is demonstrated, how the drift time information can be used for “4D” particle tracking, with the three spatial dimensions and the energy losses along the particle trajectory (dE/dx). Since the coordinates in the detector plane are given by the pixelation (x,y), the x- and y-resolution is determined by the pixel pitch (55 \(\upmu \)m). A z-resolution of 50.4 \(\upmu \)m could be achieved (for a 500 \(\upmu \)m thick silicon sensor at 130 V bias), whereby the drift time model independent z-resolution was found to be 28.5 \(\upmu \)m.