MFI zeolite as a support for automotive catalysts with reduced Pt sintering

The noble metals used as catalysts in automotive exhaust systems are subject to sintering at extreme temperatures, leading to deterioration of catalytic activity. Zeolite with the MFI (ZSM5) structure is examined as a support for Pt particulate catalysts. The MFI structure is composed of agglomerates of single-crystal zeolite with interstitial mesoporosity. Pt fixed within these mesopores is shown through high-temperature aging tests in air to be highly resistant to sintering due to the mechanical constraints on particle size imparted by the mesoporous structure. The deterioration of catalytic activity after aging is significantly lower than that for comparable γ-alumina supported catalyst.     

General formulas for capacity of classical-quantum channels

The capacity of a classical-quantum channel (or, in other words, the classical capacity of a quantum channel) is considered in the most general setting, where no structural assumptions such as the stationary memoryless property are made on a channel. A capacity formula as well as a characterization of the strong converse property is given just in parallel with the corresponding classical results of Verdu-Han (1994) which are based on the so-called information-spectrum method. The general results are applied to the stationary memoryless case with or without cost constraint on inputs, whereby a deep relation between the channel coding theory and the hypothesis testing for two quantum states is elucidated.     

Information geometry of Boltzmann machines

A Boltzmann machine is a network of stochastic neurons. The set of all the Boltzmann machines with a fixed topology forms a geometric manifold of high dimension, where modifiable synaptic weights of connections play the role of a coordinate system to specify networks. A learning trajectory, for example, is a curve in this manifold. It is important to study the geometry of the neural manifold, rather than the behavior of a single network, in order to know the capabilities and limitations of neural networks of a fixed topology. Using the new theory of information geometry, a natural invariant Riemannian metric and a dual pair of affine connections on the Boltzmann neural network manifold are established. The meaning of geometrical structures is elucidated from the stochastic and the statistical point of view. This leads to a natural modification of the Boltzmann machine learning rule.     

Crystallization of nylon 6–clay hybrid by annealing under elevated pressure

Nylon 6–clay hybrid (NCH) is a molecular composite of nylon 6 and uniformly dispersed silicate layers of montmorillonite. We found that the phase with the high melting temperature (HMT phase) in the NCH annealed under elevated pressure. The melting temperature of the HMT phase was 240°C. Nylon 6 annealed under elevated pressure did not have the HMT phase. Thus, the presence of the HMT phase was characteristic of the NCH. The relative heat of fusion of the HMT phase (heat of fusion of HMT phase/heat of fusion in the pressure annealed NCH) increased with increase in pressure. High-pressure differential thermal analysis (DTA) measurement revealed that the temperature, at which the relative heat of fusion showed a maximum value, was below about 20°C of the melting temperature of the original NCH under elevated presssure. It was considered that the nylon 6 crystallite near the melting temperature and the molecular mobility under elevated pressure were necessary to the appearance to the HMT phase. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Solid-liquid phase equilibria of benzene + cyclohexane system under high pressures

Solid-liquid phase equilibria of the benzene + cyclohexane system have been investigated experimentally at temperatures from 278 to 323 K and pressures up to 500 MPa using a newly designed optical vessel. The uncertainties of the measurements of temperature, pressure, and composition are within ±0.1 K, ±0.5 MPa, and ±0.001 mole fraction, respectively. The solid-liquid equilibrium pressure at a constant composition increases almost linearly with increasin temperature. The eutectic point shifts to a higher temperature and to a benzenerich composition with increasing pressure. This trend is found to agree with the direction predicted by the van Laar equation. The solid-liquid coexistence curves can be expressed by the Wilson equation with a mean deviation of 0.007 and a maximum deviation of 0.029 in mole fraction.     

Fabrication of three‐dimensionally ordered microporous membrane by wet phase separation

We report a novel porous fluorinated polyimide membrane with a cylinder structure fabricated by a wet phase inversion process, which is formed by a ternary system, polyimide/solvent/water. The porous polyimide membranes consisted of a thin top porous layer and three‐dimensionally ordered cylinder micropores. The porous membrane‐forming solvents were N‐methylpyrrolidone containing nonsolvent additives such as alcohol, and the height and width of the cylinder structure were controlled by the solvents. Water fluxes through the porous polyimide membranes were measured using a stirred dead‐end filtration cell, and the fluxes of the porous membrane with the cylinder‐type structure were approximately three times greater than those of the membrane with the finger‐type structure. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3016–3021, 2004     

Possibility of using near infrared spectroscopy for evaluation of bacterial contamination in shredded cabbage

The possibility of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to measure the amount of bacterial contamination in shredded cabbage was investigated. NIR measurements in the short wavelength region from 700 to 1100 nm were done using two types of saline solutions: one was used to stomach with the samples as the conventional method and the other was used to wash the outer surface of the sample to examine the possibility of a non‐destructive method. Partial least squares regression (PLS) was used to develop the equations for bacterial amount. Spectra from the stomacher solution and the washing solution produced similar results. Sufficiently accurate results could be obtained with the bias‐corrected standard error of prediction (SEPs) of 0.46 log CFU g^?1 for the stomacher solution and 0.44 log CFU g^?1 for the washing solution. NIR spectroscopy was clarified to be a rapid and non‐destructive method for prediction of bacterial contamination in shredded cabbage.     

Evaluation of temperature characteristics of high-efficiency InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells under concentration

Temperature characteristics of the open-circuit voltage (V_oc) were investigated in the temperature range from 30°C to 240°C for the InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction cells. Also, single-junction cells that had the similar structure to the subcells in the triple-junction cells were studied. In the high-temperature range (from 170°C to 240°C), the temperature coefficients of V_oc of the InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell (dV_oc/dT) were different from those in the low-temperature range (from 30°C to 100°C). This is because photo-voltage from the Ge subcell becomes almost 0 V in the high-temperature range. It was found that the open-circuit voltage of a Ge single-junction cell reduced to almost 0 V temperatures over 120°C under 1 sun condition.     

Analysis of nonlinear transient responses of piezoelectric resonators

The electric transient response method is an effective technique to evaluate material constants of piezoelectric ceramics under high-power driving. In this study, we tried to incorporate nonlinear piezoelectric behaviors in the analysis of transient responses. As a base for handling the nonlinear piezoelectric responses, we proposed an assumption that the electric displacement is proportional to the strain without phase lag, which could be described by a real and constant piezoelectric e-coefficient. Piezoelectric constitutive equations including nonlinear responses were proposed to calculate transient responses of a piezoelectric resonator. The envelopes and waveforms of current and vibration velocity in transient responses observed in some piezoelectric ceramics could be fitted with the calculation including nonlinear responses. The procedure for calculation of mechanical quality factor Q(m) for piezoelectric resonators with nonlinear behaviors was also proposed.     

Photosensitized hydrogen evolution from water using a single-walled carbon nanotube/fullerodendron/SiO2 coaxial nanohybrid

A coaxial nanohybrid consisting of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), fullerodendron, and SiO(2) shows high-efficiency light-driven hydrogen evolution from water. Upon visible light irradiation, SWCNT/fullerodendron/SiO(2) coaxial nanohybrid shows hydrogen evolution activity in the presence of methyl viologen (MV(2+)), benzyldihydronicotinamide (BNAH), and a colloidal polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)-Pt.