Effect of Co,Pd and Pt ultra-thin films on the Ni-silicide formation: investigating the sandwich configuration

The effect of Co, Pd and Pt ultrathin films on the kinetics of the formation of Ni-silicide by reactive diffusion is investigated. 50 nm Ni/1 nm X/ 50 nm Ni (X?=?Co, Pd, Pt) deposited on Si(100) substrates are studied using in-situ and ex-situ measurements by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The presence of Co, Pd or Pt thin films in between the Ni layers delays the formation of the metal rich phase compared to the pure Ni/Si system and thus these films act as diffusion barriers. A simultaneous silicide formation (δ-Ni₂Si and NiSi phases) different from the classic sequential formation is found during the consumption of the top Ni layer for which Ni has to diffuse through the barrier. A model for the simultaneous growth in the presence of a barrier is developed, and simulation of the kinetics measured by XRD is used to determine the permeability of the different barriers. Atom probe tomography (APT) of the Ni/Pd/Ni system shows that the Pd layer is located between the Ni top layer and δ-Ni₂Si during the silicide growth, in accordance with a silicide formation controlled by Ni diffusion through the Pd layer. The effect of the barrier on the silicide formation and properties is discussed.

     

Natural hydrogen emanations in Namibia: Field acquisition and vegetation indexes from multispectral satellite image analysis

Natural hydrogen exploration is now active in various places of the world. Onshore, correlation between natural H₂ generation and the presence of iron rich rocks especially from Archean and Neoproterozoic cratons have been observed. Emanations and accumulations of H₂ have already been confirmed in such geological settings in Australia, South Africa and Brazil. The geological similitude and the presence of numerous sub circular depressions that are a good proxy for hydrogen emanations suggest that hydrogen resources may also exist in Namibia. We present here the results of a data acquisition campaign which allowed us to confirm the presence of natural hydrogen in this country in the vicinity of Neoproterozoic Banded Iron Formation. The H₂ content in the soil, as in Brazil, is variable within the depressions in time and space and is particularly time sensitive across the day. Comparison of the H₂ signal versus time within these two regions shows a similar behavior of the soils with an increase of the H₂ flow at the middle of the day. In addition, these new data allow us to better constrain the morphological characteristics of such H₂-emiting depressions. By using satellite images and digital elevation model we propose a new proxy to differentiate potentially H₂-emiting features from other type of depressions such as Salt Pan. The Landsat multispectral images and their processing through NDVI and SAVI indexes, that highlight a ring of healthy vegetation around the sub circular area with scarce vegetation already observed appear able to discriminate between H₂ emitting structures and other soft depressions.     

Electrosynthesis of eco-friendly electrocatalyst based nickel-copper bimetallic nanoparticles supported on poly-phenylenediamine with highest current density and early ethanol oxidation onset potential

Bimetallic catalysts have been investigated as the most efficient materials to accelerate the chemical transformations at the anode in Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells. A comparative study is presented here to synthesize Ni–Cu bimetallic nanoparticles for the ethanol oxidation reaction on three conducting polymers: poly-ortho-phenylenediamine, poly-meta-phenylenediamine, and poly-para-phenylenediamine. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were used to analyze the modified electrodes. A series of bimetallic Ni–Cu nanoparticles with tunable ratios were successfully synthesized by simply changing the concentrations of Nickel and Copper. It has been confirmed that the best Ni/Cu molar ratio was 25% in the aspect of catalytic performance. The electrocatalyst exhibited an excellent catalytic activity with an anodic current of 70.5 mA cm^?2 at the lowest onset potential of 0.39 V with impressive stability. Ni₄Cu₁/PpPD should be considered as a good alternative to noble metal anode catalyst.     

Rip currents near coastal structures in Lake Michigan: Characterization and assessment for warnings

Rip currents near coastal structures commonly occur in Lake Michigan in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Lack of timely warning due to undocumented characteristics of rip currents and no assessment tool can contribute to tragic drownings incidents. In this paper, we characterized rip current occurrences near breakwater structures and developed an assessment tool for providing timely rip current warnings to beachgoers at the study site, City of Port Washington, WI. Characteristics of rip currents near the structure were observed from field measurements or visual images. Deflection rip currents had speeds of ～ 0.2 m/s and lasted for several hours. The rip current occurrences were associated with environmental proxies. It was found that rip currents can occur even when the water appears calm near the structure. A Structure Rip Checklist and Assessment Matrix (SRiCAM) with a four-tiered risk was developed and validated using observations. Furthermore, the SRiCAM was integrated into cyberinfrastructure with a data contingency plan to provide real-time warnings to the public. The applicability of the SRiCAM to other locations across Lake Michigan was further tested and results are promising. Overall, the SRiCAM has the potential to be widely extended to foster recreational water safety and resilience to rip current hazards in the Great Lakes.     

Investigation of liquid water heterogeneities in large area proton exchange membrane fuel cells using a Darcy two-phase flow model in a multiphysics code

Proper management of the liquid water and heat produced in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells remains crucial to increase both its performance and durability. In this study, a two-phase flow and multicomponent model, called two-fluid model, is developed in the commercial COMSOL Multiphysics® software to investigate the liquid water heterogeneities in large area PEM fuel cells, considering the real flow fields in the bipolar plate. A macroscopic pseudo-3D multi-layers approach has been chosen and generalized Darcy's relation is used both in the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and in the channel. The model considers two-phase flow and gas convection and diffusion coupled with electrochemistry and water transport through the membrane. The numerical results are compared to one-fluid model results and liquid water measurements obtained by neutron imaging for several operating conditions. Finally, according to the good agreement between the two-fluid and experimentation results, the numerical water distribution is examined in each component of the cell, exhibiting very heterogeneous water thickness over the cell surface.     

Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.     

A boron-11 NMR study of the stability of the alkaline aqueous solution of sodium borohydride that is both an indirect fuel and a direct fuel for low-temperature fuel cells

Alkaline aqueous solution of sodium borohydride NaBH₄ (denoted SB-fuel) is an indirect fuel when it is used to generate H₂ by hydrolysis, with the as-generated H₂ feeding a fuel cell, and it is a direct fuel when it is an anodic fuel of a direct fuel cell. However, SB-fuel suffers from a major drawback: NaBH₄ spontaneously hydrolyzes. Our study falls within this context. We studied the instability, at the NMR scale and over 12 weeks, of a series of SB-fuels (initial NaBH₄ concentration from 3.65 to 31.22 wt%, NaOH concentration from 1 to 16 M, and temperature between ?15 and 60 °C) to find the conditions at which SB-fuel can be stored for weeks in relative safety. We found that SB-fuel with a NaOH concentration of ≥8 M is relatively stable under cold conditions (?15 and 4 °C). In these conditions, NaBH₄ is not prevented from hydrolyzing, but the reaction is significantly mitigated. Otherwise, our study highlights the gaps in our understanding of the SB-fuel, emphasizes SB-fuel is a new concept of fuel (it should not be seen as any current fuel), and points out the challenges for attaining higher technology readiness levels.     

Linear viscoelastic behaviours of bituminous mixtures and fiberglass geogrids interfaces

One major research topic is to characterize the mechanical behaviour of actual reinforced pavement structures from laboratory experimentation and take it into account for the design. This investigation aims to verify the effect of fiberglass geogrid presence on interface linear viscoelastic (LVE) behaviour separately and as a system along with the bituminous mixture layers. To conduct the research, two different fiberglass geogrids, with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 100 and 50 kN/m, and tack coat made of straight-run bitumen and modified by polymer were combined for the fabrication of three reinforced configurations. In addition, two unreinforced configurations were also fabricated. The first was a single layer slab and the second was a double-layered slab composed of two bituminous mixtures (same type) bonded layers by a tack coat. Complex modulus tests were carried out in specimens cored in two different directions, vertically (V) and horizontally (H) cored. The experimental data were fitted using the 2 Springs, 2 Parabolic Elements and 1 Dashpot (2S2P1D) model. The test results showed that all interfaces’ complex modulus obtained for V specimens were LVE. Moreover, complex viscous properties of the interfaces were obtained from the used binder. The interface containing polymer modification presented the highest stiffness.     

Fast Quadtree/Octree adaptive meshing and re-meshing with linear mixed elements

Engineering with Computers - In this paper, we will focus on adaptive meshing and re-meshing. We present an original approach, based on Quadtree and Octree, to construct the initial mesh and refine...