Impact of the SiC addition on the morphological,structural and mechanical properties of Cu-SiC composite powders prepared by high energy milling

The effect of the SiC content on the microstructural, mechanical, and magnetic properties of Cu(1 − x)SiC(x) composite powders (x = 0, 2, 10 and 15 wt%) prepared by high energy milling for 30 h was investigated. The results showed that Cu particles were severely deformed and formed plate like particles of different sizes, while SiC particles were fragmented and embedded in the Cu phase, thus, forming composite particles. As the SiC content increased, the average particle size decreased from 40.75 to 12.84 µm. Besides, XRD data showed a decrease in the crystallite sizes of the Cu phase (from 23.66 to 21.56 nm), accompanied by an increase in the lattice micro-strain (from 0.41 to 0.46%). Changes in the lattice parameters of the Cu phase were observed. The Vickers microhardness were measured in compacted powder samples and reached a maximum value of 135.22 HV for the sample with 15 wt% SiC. The samples showed hysteresis magnetic behavior at 300 K, and with a maximum saturation magnetization of 0.123 emu/g. The weak magnetic signal is mainly due to Co impurities present in the WC from the milling media.     

Customers segmentation in eco-friendly hotels using multi-criteria and machine learning techniques

This study aims to investigate the travellers' choice behaviour towards green hotels through existing online travel reviews on TripAdvisor. Accordingly, a method combining segmentation and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) techniques was developed to segment travellers based on their provided reviews and to prioritize green hotel attributes based on their level of importance in each segment. The data were taken from travellers' online reviews of Malaysian eco-friendly hotels on TripAdvisor. The results showed that the sleep quality was one of the most imporant factors for eco-hotel selection in the majority of segments. The developed method in this study was able to analyse travellers’ reviews and ratings on eco-friendly hotels to identify the future choice behaviour and aid travellers in their decision-making process. The study provides new insights for hotel managers and green policy makers on developing environmental-friendly practices.     

Combustion and emission characteristics of an Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) spark ignition engine with hydrogen direct injection

Butanol could reduce emissions and alleviate the energy crisis as a bio-fuel used on engines, but the production cost problem limits the application of butanol. During the butanol production, ABE (Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol) is a critical intermediate product. Many studies researched the direct application of ABE on engines instead of butanol to solve the production cost problem of butanol. ABE has the defects of large ignition energy and vaporization heat. Hydrogen is a gaseous fuel with small ignition energy and high flame temperature. In this research, ABE port injection combines with hydrogen direct injection, forming a stratified state of the hydrogen-rich mixture around the spark plug. The engine speed is 1500 rpm, and λ is 1. Five αH₂ (hydrogen blending fractions: 0, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) and five spark timings (5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25° CA BTDC) are studied to observe the effects of them on combustion and emissions of the test engine. The results show that hydrogen addition increases the maximum cylinder pressure and maximum heat release rate, increases the maximum cylinder temperature and IMEP, but the exhaust temperature decreases. The flame development period and flame propagation period shorten after adding hydrogen. Hydrogen addition improves HC and CO emissions but increases NO_x emissions. Particle emissions decrease distinctly after hydrogen addition. Hydrogen changes the combustion properties of ABE and improves the test engine's power and emissions. The combustion in the cylinder becomes better with the increase of αH₂, but a further increase in αH₂ beyond 5% brings minor improvements on combustion.     

Manganese oxides treated with organic compounds as catalysts for water oxidation reaction

Manganese oxides of different crystalline structures: α-MnO₂, δ-MnO₂, α,γ-MnO₂ and Mn₂O₃; were treated with the organic compounds picolinic acid, ethylenediamine and pyridine; and were applied as catalysts in the chemical water oxidation reaction using Ce(IV) ammonium nitrate as sacrificial oxidant. The treatment led to modifications in the oxides properties, such as reduction of the particle size, increase of surface area and partial reduction of Mn⁴⁺ to Mn³⁺ for the Mn(IV) oxides, or of Mn³⁺ to Mn²⁺ for Mn₂O₃, because of favored interactions of the organic molecules with the lattice planes with higher d spacing. Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) tests showed the superior catalytic activity of the treated Mn(IV) oxides, for instance α,γ-MnO₂-en presented TOF five times higher than pure α,γ-MnO₂. The increase in surface area as well as the higher Mn³⁺ content caused by the treatment of the Mn(IV) oxides were correlated with the improvement in the OER catalytic activity.     

Tungsten(VI) oxide supported rhodium nanoparticles: Highly active catalysts in hydrogen generation from ammonia borane

Herein, we report the use of tungsten(VI) oxide (WO₃) as support for Rh⁰ nanoparticles. The resulting Rh⁰/WO₃ nanoparticles are highly active and stable catalysts in H₂ generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB). We present the results of our investigation on the particle size distribution, catalytic activity and stability of Rh⁰/WO₃ catalysts with 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0% wt. Rh loadings in the hydrolysis reaction. The results reveal that Rh⁰/WO₃ (0.5% wt. Rh) is very promising catalyst providing a turnover frequency of 749 min^?1 in releasing 3.0 equivalent H₂ per mole of AB from the hydrolysis at 25.0 °C. The high catalytic activity of Rh⁰/WO₃ catalyst is attributed to the reducible nature of support. The report covers the results of kinetics study as well as comparative investigation of activity, recyclability, and reusability of colloidal(0) nanoparticles and Rh⁰/WO₃ (0.5 % wt. Rh) catalyst in the hydrolysis reaction.     

Current trends in structural development and modification strategies for metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) towards photocatalytic H2 production: A review

Photocatalytic H₂ generation using semiconductor photocatalysts is considered as a cost-effective and eco-friendly technology for solar to energy conversion; however, the present photocatalysts have been recognized to depict low efficiency. Currently, porous coordination polymers known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) constituting flexible and modifiable porous structure and having excess active sites are considered to be appropriate for photocatalytic H₂ production. This review highlights current progress in structural development of MOF materials along with modification strategies for enhanced photoactivity. Initially, the review discusses the photocatalytic H₂ production mechanism with the concepts of thermodynamics and mass transfer with particular focus on MOFs. Elaboration of the structural categories of MOFs into Type I, Type II, Type III and classification of MOFs for H₂ generation into transition metal based, post-transition metal based, noble-metal based and hetero-metal based has been systematically discussed. The review also critically deliberate various modification approaches of band engineering, improvement of charge separation, efficient irradiation utilization and overall efficiency of MOFs including metal modification, heterojunction formation, Z-scheme formation, by introducing electron mediator, and dye based composites. Also, the MOF synthesized derivatives for photocatalytic H₂ generation are elaborated. Finally, future perspectives of MOFs for H₂ generation and approaches for efficiency improvement have been suggested.     

Geometry optimization and pressure analysis of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

For proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the distribution of reactant streams in the reactor is critical to their efficiency. This study aims to investigate the optimal design of the inlet/outlet flow channel in the fuel cell stack with different geometric dimensions of the tube and intermediate zones (IZ). The tube-to-IZ length ratio, the IZ width, and the tube diameter are adjusted to optimize the geometric dimensions for the highest pressure uniformity. Four different methods, including the Taguchi method, analysis of variance (ANOVA), neural network (NN), and multiple adaptive regression splines (MARS), are used in the analyses. The results indicate the tube diameter is the most impactive one among the three factors to improve the pressure uniformity. The analysis suggests that the optimal geometric design is the tube-to-IZ length ratio of 9, the IZ width of 14 mm, and the tube diameter of 9 mm with the pressure uniformity of 0.529. The relative errors of the predicted pressure uniformity values by NN and MARS under the optimal design are 1.62% and 3.89%, respectively. This reveals that NN and MARS can accurately predict the pressure uniformity, and are promising tools for the design of PEMFCs.     

Tungsten(VI) oxide supported rhodium(0) nanoparticles; highly efficient catalyst for H2 production from dimethylamine borane

It reports the preparation and characterization of tungsten(VI) oxide supported rhodium(0) nanoparticles (Rh⁰/WO₃ NPs) being used as catalysts in releasing H₂ from dimethylamine borane (DMAB). The reducible nature of WO₃ plays a significant role in the catalytic efficiency of rhodium(0) nanoparticles in the dehydrogenation of DMAB. The Rh⁰/WO₃ NPs were in-situ generated from the reduction of Rh²⁺ ions on the surface of WO₃ during the catalytic dehydrogenation of dimethylamine borane in toluene and isolated from the reaction solution after the dehydrogenation to be characterized by using SEM, TEM, XPS, ATR-IR and XRD. The results reveal the formation of Rh⁰ NPs with a mean particle size of 1.92 ± 0.34 nm dispersed on the surface of tungsten(VI) oxide. Rh⁰/WO₃ NPs are found to be very active catalyst releasing 1.0 equiv. H₂ per mole of dimethylamine borane under ambient conditions. Among the various WO₃ supported Rh⁰ NPs with different metal loadings, the sample with 0.1% wt. Rh provide the record catalytic activity (TOF = 2816 h^?1) which is one of the highest value ever reported for rhodium-based catalysts in H₂ generation from DMAB at 60.0 ± 0.5 °C. Rh⁰/WO₃ NPs were also reusable catalyst in dehydrogenation of DMAB retaining 55% of their initial catalytic activity in the 3rd run of the dehydrogenation reaction. Control experiments were performed at various catalyst concentrations and temperatures to investigate the kinetics of dehydrogenation and to calculate the activation parameters for the reaction.     

Human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing in the industry 4.0 context – A scoping review

Industry 4.0 revolution has brought rapid technological growth and development in manufacturing industries. Technological development enables efficient manufacturing processes and brings changes in human work, which may cause new threats to employee well-being and challenge their existing skills and knowledge. Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) is a scientific discipline to optimize simultaneously overall system performance and human well-being in different work contexts. The aim of this scoping review is to describe the state-of-the-art of the HF/E research related to the industry 4.0 context in manufacturing. A systematic search found 336 research articles, of which 37 were analysed utilizing a human-centric work system framework presented in the HF/E literature. Challenges related to technological development were analysed in micro- and macroergonomics work system frameworks. Based on the review we frame characteristics of an organisation level maturity model to optimize overall sociotechnical work system performance in the context of rapid technological development in manufacturing industries.     

Trends and driving forces of low-carbon energy technology innovation in China’s industrial sectors from 1998 to 2017: from a regional perspective

Low-carbon energy technology (LC) innovation contributes to both environmental protection and economic development. Using the panel data of 30 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities in China from 1998 to 2017, this paper constructs a two-layer logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model to uncover the factors influencing the variation of the innovation of LC in China’s industrial sectors, including the alternative energy production technology (AEPT) and the energy conversation technology (ECT). The results show that China’s industrial LC patent applications rapidly increased after 2005 and AEPT patent applications outweighed ECT patent applications all the time with a gradually narrowing gap. Low-carbon degree played the dominant role in promoting the increase in China’s industrial LC patent applications, followed by the economic scale, R&D (research and development) efficiency, and R&D share. Economic structure contributed to the increases in LC patent applications in the central and the western regions, while led to the decreases in the eastern region, the north-eastern region, and Chinese mainland Xizang(Tibet) Autonoomous Region is not considered due to lack of data. This note applies to the entire article.. Low-carbon degree and economic scale were two main contributors to the growths of both industrial AEPT patent applications and ECT patent applications in Chinese mainland and the four regions. Several policy recommendations are made to further promote industrial innovation in China.