Thermodynamic study of complex formation between 18-crown-6 and potassium ion in some binary non-aqueous solvents using a conductometric method

The complexation reaction between a macrocyclic polyether, 18-crown-6 (18C6), and potassium ion was studied in methanol (MeOH)-acetonitrile (AN), dimethylformamide (DMF)-AN and propylecarbonate (PC)-DMF binary solvent systems at different temperatures using a conductometric method. It was found that the stability of the 1:1 complex formed between K(+) ion and this ligand increases with decreasing temperature. Standard enthalpies and standard entropies of the complex formation were obtained from the temperature dependence of the stability constant. In all cases negative DeltaH(o)(c) and DeltaS(o)(c) values characterize the formation of 18C6-K(+) complex. The results obtained show that the stability of the complex is governed by the solvent medium and the thermodynamic parameters DeltaH(o)(c), DeltaS(o)(c) and DeltaG(o)(c) are sensitive to the composition of the mixed solvents. In addition, it was found that the stability constant of the resulting 1:1 complex among various neat solvents used varies in the order PC > MeOH > AN > DMF.     

Thermodynamic properties of the NdBr3–MBr binary systems (M = Na,K)

Thixoforming involves heating different types of alloys to the semisolid state at high heating rates and forming in die-casting machines or conventional presses. At temperatures higher than the solidus and lower than the liquidus, the mush metal behaves like a high-viscosity thixotropic material. Therefore, determining the thermodynamic behavior of the solid-to-liquid transition is paramount to control thixoforming processes. This article describes a simple, novel experimental setup based on differential thermal analysis (DTA) for analyzing the phase transitions in an alloy heated using high heating rates typical of industrial applications. A365 alloy was chosen to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method as the phase transformations for this alloy in semisolid materials (SSM) processing are well understood. Samples were heated to 750 °C using constant linear heating rates of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 °C min in a Norax 25 kW 8 kHz induction furnace with an Omron E5CK temperature controller. AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel was used as the inert reference. Comparison of the results of DTA using the proposed method and the results of simulation with Thermo-Calc^® indicates that the proposed in situ DTA device and its method is suitable for analyzing phase transitions when high heating rates are used.     

A soft multi-criteria decision analysis model with application to the European Union enlargement

This paper proposes a new multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) model that uses a series of existing intuitive and analytical methods to systematically capture both objective and subjective beliefs and preferences from a group of decision makers (DMs). A defuzzification method that combines entropy and the theory of displaced ideal synthesizes crisp values from the DMs’ subjective judgments. This approach assists the DMs in their selection process by plotting alternatives in a four quadrant graph and considering their Euclidean distance from the “ideal” choice. A pilot study illustrates the details of the proposed method. The DMs were a group of graduate students from the University of Paderborn in Germany. The pilot study concerned the addition of new members into the European Union (EU), a decision that has profound economic and political effects on both the entering and existing members of the Union. The DMs were required to consider a large number of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats in assessing the decision to enlarge the EU. Although the pilot study was not performed by actual DMs from the EU, it was an excellent platform for testing the proposed model.     

The emission of electrons from hot silicon surfaces

The emission of electrons from hot silicon surfaces is reviewed in an effort to present a summary of the state of research in this field. The theoretical aspect of the problem is outlined briefly, and experimental results covering the temperature and field dependence of the saturation current density, as well as the anisotropy and the energy distribution of the emission are presented.     

Preparation and characterization of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sol–gel modified nanocomposite films

In this study, the role of TiO₂ MT-150A loading in the polymeric sol was investigated for the synthesis of immobilized TiO₂ nanocomposite films on glass substrate using the MT-150A nanoparticles-modified sol–gel method. The nanocomposite film properties were examined using different material characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometer, Scotch tape test and pencil hardness test. The hydrophilicity of films during UV/Vis irradiation and storage in a dark place were evaluated by a contact angle analyzer. The MT-150A loading had a significant effect on the amount of crystallite phases in the films. However, increasing the MT-150A loading in the sol resulted in an increase in rutile phase content. In addition, increasing MT-150A loading in the sol yielded films with higher hydrophilicity but a concentration of 10–30 g/L MT-150A in the sol was found as the maximum for obtaining films with good adherence on the glass substrate.     

Approximation of the Cubic Functional Equations in Lipschitz Spaces

Let G be an Abelian group and let ρ : G×G→[0,∞) be a metric on GLet E be a normed spaceWe prove that under some conditions if f : G→E is an odd function and Cx : G→E defined by Cx(y) := 2 f(x + y) +2 f(x-y) + 12 f(x)-f(2x + y)-f(2x-y)is a cubic function for all x∈G, then there exists a cubic function C : G→E such that f-C is LipschitzMoreover, we investigate the stability of cubic functional equation2 f(x + y) + 2 f(x-y) + 12 f(x)-f(2x + y)-f(2x-y) = 0 on Lipschitz spaces.