Electrochemical determination of niobium cathode as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen generation in acidic media

Hydrogen gas (H₂) is notified as a renewable energy carrier. It is wanted to discover a low-cost electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to substitute the high-cost Pt in electrolysis cell. Niobium electrocatalyst nominated to substitute noble materials for electrocatalytic H₂ production and its electrochemical manner was estimated in H₂SO₄ acid of various concentrations utilizing a steady-state polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influences of acid concentration, cathodic potential and temperature on the H₂ creation were examined. The outcomes display that HER on Nb electrode proceeds by the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism. EIS tests, under open circuit and under cathodic polarization, were performed and the fitting has been done utilizing a suggested model for the electrode/electrolyte interface. Apparent activation energies (E_a) were estimated to be ca. 10.5 kJ mol^?1 for the HER on Nb. Thus, Nb is a good electrocatalyst for the cathodic H₂ manufacturing.     

The effect of maturity and tissue on the ability of mid infrared spectroscopy to predict the geographical origin of banana (Musa Cavendish)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sample presentation (tissue type) and maturity (ripe and unripe) on the classification of banana (Musa Cavendish) samples sourced from two different geographical regions and analysed using mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. The coefficient of determination (R²) and the standard error of cross-validation (SECV) obtained using partial least squares discriminant analysis were 0.83 (0.33), 0.75 (0.25) and 0.94 (0.19) for the prediction of maturity, geographical origin and tissue type, respectively. No effect of either of type of tissue (e.g. pulp or peel) or maturity was observed. The results of this study demonstrated that MIR spectroscopy might be used to classify the origin of the banana samples at different degrees of ripeness. However, one of the limitations of this study is on the number of samples analysed and further validation must be recommended using samples from other sources, regions and harvest seasons.     

Direct Growth of Germanene at Interfaces between Van der Waals Materials and Ag(111)

Germanene, a 2D honeycomb germanium crystal, is grown at graphene/Ag(111) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Ag(111) interfaces by segregating germanium atoms. A simple annealing process in N₂ or H₂/Ar at ambient pressure leads to the formation of germanene, indicating that an ultrahigh-vacuum condition is not necessary. The grown germanene is stable in air and uniform over the entire area covered with a van der Waals (vdW) material. As an important finding, it is necessary to use a vdW material as a cap layer for the present germanene growth method since the use of an Al₂O₃ cap layer results in no germanene formation. The present study also proves that Raman spectroscopy in air is a powerful tool for characterizing germanene at the interfaces, which is concluded by multiple analyses including first-principles density functional theory calculations. The direct growth of h-BN-capped germanene on Ag(111), which is demonstrated in the present study, is considered to be a promising technique for the fabrication of future germanene-based electronic devices.     

Photoacoustic Therapy for Precise Eradication of Glioblastoma with a Tumor Site Blood–Brain Barrier Permeability Upregulating Nanoparticle

Glioblastoma is an extremely difficult clinical indication with very few therapeutic choices. In this study, a nanoparticle is constructed featuring high red absorbance and selective penetration of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) at the tumor site. This nanoparticle can provide timely activation of the adenosine receptor on the BBB to allow self‐passage and accumulation in the tumor. The nanoparticle converts pulsed laser energy into a shockwave via photoacoustic (PA) cavitation to achieve localized mechanical damage and thus yields a precision antitumor effect. In addition to its therapeutic function, the nanoparticle‐mediated PA process can also generate images that provide valuable information regarding tumor depth, size, and vascular morphology to inform treatment planning and monitoring. The results show that the nanoparticles can be efficiently delivered into the glioblastoma via intravenous infusion and this PA shockwave therapy can selectively destroy glioblastoma tumors with no observable side effects on normal tissue.     

Effect of plastic deformation at room temperature on hydrogen diffusion of S30408

Understanding the influence of plastic deformation on diffusion is critical for hydrogen embrittlement (HE) study. In this work, thermal desorption spectroscope (TDS), slow strain rate test (SSRT), feritscope, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and TDS model were used to study the relation between plastic deformation and hydrogen diffusion, aiming at unambiguously elucidating the effect of plastic deformation on hydrogen diffusion of austenitic stainless steel, S30408. An effective method was developed to deduce apparent hydrogen diffusion coefficient of austenitic stainless steel in this paper. Results indicate apparent hydrogen diffusion coefficient decreases firstly and then increases with increasing plastic deformation at room temperature. Hydrogen diffusion effected by plastic deformation is a complicated process which is suggested to be divided into two processes controlled by dislocation and strain-induced martensite, respectively, and the transition point is about 20% strain demonstrated by experiments in this case.     

面源红外诱饵对抗红外制导导弹干扰策略研究

面源红外诱饵使用的过程中,合理有效的干扰策略是干扰红外制导导弹的关键,针对这一问题,通过理论分析与仿真模拟相结合得到面源红外诱饵对抗红外制导导弹的干扰策略。首先以红外成像制导导弹为例,介绍红外制导导弹的仿真模型,然后将攻击过程分为锁定前与锁定后,以命中率为评价指标,得到两个阶段下的最佳干扰策略,包括诱饵的最佳释放时机、释放间隔以及载机应采取的机动动作等。     

Corrosion Protection of AA2024-T3 by Cerium Malate and Cerium Malate-Doped Sol-Gel Coatings

Cerium malate (CeMal) was tested as a corrosion inhibitor for AA2024-T3 in this work. Corrosion inhibition on bare AA2024-T3 indicated that the inhibiting effect was a result of the synergistic effect of cerium cations and maleic anions. The corrosion of AA2024-T3 was stagnated by greatly reducing the corrosion current when CeMal was present in NaCl solutions. CeMal was adsorbed on the surface of AA2024-T3 forming a protective film in the initial stage. Then, cerium cations transformed to cerium oxide/hydroxides, precipitating on the cathode sites to inhibit the further corrosion. The electrochemical impedance spectra results of the sol-gel coatings proved that CeMal was an effective corrosion inhibitor in the sol-gel coatings to provide corrosion protection for AA2024-T3.