Cobalt Based Nanoparticles Embedded Reduced Graphene Oxide Aerogel for Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalyst

Efficient water electrolysis catalyst is highly demanded for the production of hydrogen as a sustainable energy fuel. It is reported that cobalt derived nanoparticle (CoS₂, CoP, CoS|P) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite aerogel catalysts for highly active and reliable hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. 7 nm level cobalt derived nanoparticles are synthesized over graphene aerogel surfaces with excellent surface coverage and maximal expose of active sites. CoS|P/rGO hybrid aerogel composites show an excellent catalytic activity with overpotential of ≈169 mV at a current density of ≈10 mA cm^?2. Accordingly, efficient charge transfer is attained with Tafel slope of ≈52 mV dec^?1 and a charge transfer resistance (R_ct) of ≈12 Ω. This work suggests a viable route toward ultrasmall, uniform nanoparticles decorated graphene surfaces with well‐controlled chemical compositions, which can be generally useful for various applications commonly requiring large exposure of active surface area as well as robust interparticle charger transfer.     

Fuzzy convex sets in median algebras

The fuzzification of convex sets in median algebras is considered, and some of their properties are investigated. A characterization of finite valued fuzzy convex set is given.     

Fluorescent oligonucleotide incorporating 5-(1-ethynylpyrenyl)-2-deoxyuridine: sequence-specific fluorescence changes upon duplex formation

We describe the design and properties of a pyrene-labeled deoxyuridine that can be inserted efficiently into oligodeoxynucleotides using phosphoramidite chemistry. An oligonucleotide incorporating the pyrene-labeled deoxyuridine is a sensitive fluorescence probe that can discriminate between perfect and single-base-mismatched pairing by changes in its fluorescence intensity.     

Thermal behavior of metallodendrimers possessing bis(terpyridinyl)Ru(II) connectivity and different surface functionality

A series of metallodendrimers, assembled by means of bis(terpyridinyl)Ru^(II) connectivity on poly(propylene imine) dendrimer scaffolds, with homogeneous or heterogeneous surfaces, were prepared. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis were used to determine their thermal behavior, glass‐transition temperatures, and the decomposition kinetics and temperatures; no synergy effects for these properties were observed for the heterogeneously surfaced constructs in contrast to the corresponding homogeneously coated materials, which exhibited different values depending on their surface functionalities. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1487–1495, 2004     

Effects of poly[styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene] on the charge distributions of low‐density polyethylene/polystyrene blends

The effect of the triblock copolymer poly[styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene] (SEBS) on the formation of the space charge of immiscible low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)/polystyrene (PS) blends was investigated. Blends of 70/30 (wt %) LDPE/PS were prepared through melt blending in an internal mixer at a blend temperature of 220 °C. The amount of charge that accumulated in the 70% LDPE/30% PS blends decreased when the SEBS content increased up to 10 wt %. For compatibilized and uncompatibilized blends, no significant change in the degree of crystallinity of LDPE in the blends was observed, and so the effect of crystallization on the space charge distribution could be excluded. Morphological observations showed that the addition of SEBS resulted in a domain size reduction of the dispersed PS phase and better interfacial adhesion between the LDPE and PS phases. The location of SEBS at a domain interface enabled charges to migrate from one phase to the other via the domain interface and, therefore, resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of space charge for the LDPE/PS blends with SEBS. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2813–2820, 2004     

Photoswitching of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals doped with chiral dopant

Chiral dopants were added to the formulation of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals and the effects studied in terms of grating formation dynamics, morphology, diffraction efficiency, contrast ratio and electro-optical properties of the films. A gradual increase of real-time diffraction efficiency, decrease of droplet size and increase of diffraction efficiency of the composite film were obtained with the addition and increasing content of chiral dopant, due to the increased viscosity of the liquid crystal (LC) doped with the chiral dopant leading to decreased droplet coalescence. The contrast ratio decreased with increasing content of chiral dopant due to the difficult orientation of LC molecules caused by the formation of a helical structure. Addition of a small amount of the chiral dopant increased the driving voltage slightly, whereas the decay time is decreased significantly as a result of the high twisting of the helical structure.     

Synthesis and adsorption properties of gold nanoparticles within pores of surface‐functional porous polymer microspheres

Mesoporous polymer microspheres with gold (Au) nanoparticles inside their pores were prepared considering their surface functionality and porosity. The Au/polymer composite microspheres prepared were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) techniques. The results showed that the adsorption of Au nanoparticles could be increased by imparting the pore structure and surface‐functional groups into the supporting polymer microspheres (in this study, poly (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate‐co‐acrylonitrile) and poly (EGDMA‐co‐AN) system). Above all, from this study, it was established that the porosity of the polymer microspheres is the most important factor that determines the distribution and adsorption amount of face‐centered cubic (fcc) Au nanoparticles in the final products. Our study showed that the continuous adsorption of Au nanoparticles with the aid of the large surface area and surface interaction sites formed more favorably the Au/polymer composite microspheres. The BET measurements of Au/poly(EGDMA‐co‐AN) composite microspheres reveals that the adsorption of Au nanoparticles into the pores kept the pore structure intact and made it more porous. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5627–5635, 2004     

REML estimation for binary data in GLMMs

The restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedure is useful for inferences about variance components in mixed linear models. However, its extension to hierarchical generalized linear models (HGLMs) is often hampered by analytically intractable integrals. Numerical integration such as Gauss-Hermite quadrature (GHQ) is generally not recommended when the dimensionality of the integral is high. With binary data various extensions of the REML method have been suggested, but they have had unsatisfactory biases in estimation. In this paper we propose a statistically and computationally efficient REML procedure for the analysis of binary data, which is applicable over a wide class of models and design structures. We propose a bias-correction method for models such as binary matched pairs and discuss how the REML estimating equations for mixed linear models can be modified to implement more general models.