Strain and electric field-modulated indirect-to-direct band transition of monolayer GaInS2

Journal of Computational Electronics - The strain- and electric field-dependent electronic and optical properties of monolayer GaInS2 have been calculated using density functional...     

Energy Efficient Hardware Loop Based Optimization for CGRAs

Journal of Signal Processing Systems - Research interest and industry investment in edge computing solutions have increased dramatically in recent years. Consequent quest for balanced performance,...     

Effect of silane functionalized alumina on poly(vinyl butyral) nanocomposite films: Thermal,mechanical, and moisture barrier studies

In this work, a hybrid‐polymer nanocomposite film, based on polyvinyl butyral/amino‐silane functionalized nano alumina, was fabricated by melt processing. The calcium degradation measurements suggest the functionalized nanocomposite films exhibit higher resistance towards moisture penetration as compared to the neat alumina loaded films. Thermal stability, mechanical strength, and contact angle studies of the composites were also conducted to evaluate the performance of the functionalized alumina loaded films. These nanocomposite films were encapsulated over Al/P3HT/ITO Schottky structured device. The changes observed in the current density of the devices to the applied voltage before and after accelerated aging conditions are presented. The nanocomposite with functionalized alumina films exhibits 50% change in current density, which is superior to that attained with neat and non‐functionalized films. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:1426–1435, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Electrochemical copolymerization of thiophene derivatives; a precursor to photovoltaic devices

This work presents an electrochemical technique for the polymerization and copolymerization of thiophene derivatives like 7,9-dithiophene-2yl-8H-cyclopenta[a]acenaphthalene-8-one and 3-hexylthiophene. The structural characterization of chemically synthesized monomers and electrochemically synthesized polymers was carried out by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermal characterizations indicate that copolymer has increased thermal stability than that of homopolymer. Morphological studies of the polymerized films carried out by scanning electron microscopy shows network structure of copolymer. Optical properties of the homopolymers and copolymer were studied by UV–visible spectrometer and it was observed that band gap of copolymer is less than the homopolymers. HOMO and LUMO levels, band gap values of the respective polymers were also calculated from the cyclic voltammetry technique with various scan rates. By the peak current obtained from various scan rates shows that all polymerization reactions are diffusion controlled process. Charge transfer resistances of polymers were determined using Nyquist plots. Conductivity of synthesized polymers shows higher conductivity for copolymer than homopolymers.     

Nonlinear analysis of an imperfect radially graded annular plate with a heated edge

The present work deals with a geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis of an imperfect radially graded annular plate with a heated edge. The geometrical imperfection of the graded annular plate is assumed in aspect of its little intrinsic transverse deflection. The analysis is mainly for investigating the effects of intrinsic geometrical imperfection and temperature in the graded annular plate on its nonlinear flexural behaviour under a transverse mechanical load. The temperature is uniformly distributed across the thickness of the plate and it varies along the radial direction only. The temperature-dependent material properties are radially graded according to a simple power-law that is formed by power-law exponent and material properties of constituent materials (ceramic and metal). Based on the Von Karman nonlinear strain–displacement relations for imperfect annular plates, the nonlinear finite element equations of equilibrium are derived employing the principle of minimum potential energy. A single nodal displacement-control solution strategy is described for numerical solutions of nonlinear finite element equations of equilibrium. The numerical illustrations show a significant role of geometrical imperfection of the annular plate for its unstable equilibrium and alteration of structural behaviour under thermo-mechanical load. The analysis reveals the usefulness of radially graded annular plate in order to mitigate the unstable equilibrium of imperfect monolithic annular plate under thermo-mechanical load. It is found that the radial location for maximum value of a stress component insignificantly depends on the magnitudes of power-law exponent and applied temperature. The effects of material properties and applied temperature on the critical mechanical load corresponding to the unstable equilibrium of the imperfect radially graded annular plate are also presented.     

Nano Molecular‐Platform: A Protocol to Write Energy Transmission Program Inside a Molecule for Bio‐Inspired Supramolecular Engineering

In a coded self‐assembly, a simple code is written in the molecule, which self‐assembles the molecules into a fractal like structure, which acts as a seed for the next step. As the molecule turns into a complex seed, the code transforms into another form and several seeds self‐assemble into another structure, which acts as a seed for the next step. Until now, this technology was considered as a prerogative of nature. Here, a dendritic network is used to write a basic code by synthetically attaching 32 molecular rotors and doping two controller molecules in its cavity. The code live, which is an energy transmission path in the molecule, is imaged. When the energy transmission path or code is triggered, a series of products generate one after another spontaneously. Two examples are: i) dendritic seed (5–6 nm)→paired nanowire (≈12 nm)→nanowire (≈200 nm)→microwire (500 nm)→wire like rod (1–2 μm)→jelly→rectangular sheet (5 μm). ii) dendritic seed→nano‐sphere (20 nm)→micro‐sphere (500 nm)→large balls(1 μm)→oval shape rod (5–10 μm)→Y, L or T shaped rod assembly. The energy level interactions are tracked using spectroscopy how exactly a directed energy transfer code generates multi‐step synthesis from nano to the visible scale.     

Effect of air-pressure on room temperature hydrogen sensing characteristics of nanocrystalline doped tin oxide MEMS-based sensor

Nanocrystalline indium oxide (In2O3)-doped tin oxide (SnO2) thin film sensor has been sol-gel dip-coated on a microelectrochemical system (MEMS) device using a sol-gel dip-coating technique. Hydrogen (H2) at ppm-level has been successfully detected at room temperature using the present MEMS-based sensor. The room temperature H2 sensing characteristics (sensitivity, response and recovery time, and recovery rate) of the present MEMS-based sensor has been investigated as a function of air-pressure (50-600 Torr) with and without the ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure. It has been demonstrated that, the concentration of the surface-adsorbed oxygen-ions (which is related to the sensor-resistance in air), the ppm-level H2, and the oxygen (O2) partial pressure are the three major factors, which determine the variation in the room temperature H2 sensing characteristics of the present MEMS-based sensor as a function of air-pressure.     

On the orness of Bonferroni mean and its variants

This article addresses orness measures to reflect the or-like degree of the Bonferroni mean (BM) and its variants. Some properties of these operators associated with their orness measures are portrayed analytically. However, the general orness measure involves the multiple integrals with the integral fold number being the number of the aggregated elements and as a result, the computation becomes complicated when the number of the aggregated elements is large. Furthermore, the analytical formula of the orness measure often cannot be obtained. For this reason, this study concentrates on Monte Carlo simulation to validate the result. We estimate the two parameters of the BM for a predefined orness value and a fixed length of the input vector. Besides the theoretical study of orness measure related to BM and its variants, the article also explores the simulation-based results. To support this, we provide four numerical examples.     

Smart Sankey picturization for energy management systems in India

AI & SOCIETY - India’s energy demand is predicted to rise by 135% within a span of 20 years. Coping up with surging energy demands requires several reforms in both renewable and...