Solvothermal synthesis and characterization of acicular α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Nanometer-sized α-Fe₂O₃ particles have been prepared by a simple solvothermal method using ferric acetylacetonate as a precursor. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDAX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transition electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and thermal analysis (TG-DTA). XRD indicates that the product is single-phase α-Fe₂O₃ with rhombohedral structure. Bundles of acicular shaped nanoparticles are seen in TEM images with an aspect ratio ～ 12; typically 8–12 nm wide and over 150 nm long. The α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles posses a high thermal stability, as observed on thermal analysis traces.     

Phase-pure Na3V2(PO4)2F3 embedded in carbon matrix through a facile polyol synthesis as a potential cathode for high performance sodium-ion batteries

In this study, a pseudo-layered Na super-ionic conductor of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃ (NVPF)/C cathode for sodium-ion batteries is prepared successfully using a facile polyol refluxing process without any impurity phases. The X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement results confirm that NVPF possesses tetragonal NASICON-type lattice with a space group of P₄₂/mnm. In this preparative method, polyol is utilized as a solvent as well as a carbon source. The presence of nanosized NVPF particles in the carbon network is confirmed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The existence of carbon is analyzed by Raman scattering and elemental analysis. When applied as a Na-storage material in a potential window of 2.0–4.3 V, the electrode exhibits two flat voltage plateaus at 3.7 and 4.2 V with an electrochemically active V³⁺/V⁴⁺ redox couple. In addition, Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃/C composite achieved a retention capacity of ~ 88% even after 1,500 cycles at 15 C. Moreover, at high current densities of 30 and 50 C, Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃/C cathode retains the specific discharge capacities of 108.4 and 105.9 mAh·g^–1, respectively, revealing the structural stability of the material prepared through a facile polyol refluxing method.

     

Numerical assessment of springback for the deep drawing process by level set interpolation using shape manifolds

In this paper, we introduce an original shape representation approach for post-springback characterization based on the automatic generation of parameterized level set functions. The central idea is the concept of the shape manifold representing the design domain in the reduced-order shape-space. Performing Proper Orthogonal Decomposition on the shapes followed by using the Diffuse Approximation allows us to efficiently reduce the problem dimensionality and to interpolate uniquely between admissible input shapes, while also determining the smallest number of parameters needed to characterize the final formed shape. We apply this methodology to the problem of springback assessment for the deep drawing operation of metal sheets.     

Microwave-assisted route for synthesis of nanosized metal oxides

Microwave-assisted route for the synthesis of nanomaterials has gained importance in the field of synthetic technology because of its faster, cleaner and cost effectiveness than the other conventional and wet chemical methods for the preparation of metal oxide nanoparticles. In the present work, synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles viz., γ-Fe₂O₃, NiO, ZnO, CuO and Co-γ-Fe₂O₃ were carried out by microwave-assisted route through the thermal decomposition of their respective metal oxalate precursors employing polyvinyl alcohol as a fuel. The metal oxide nanoparticles are then characterized for their size and γ to α (in γ-Fe₂O₃) transition and structure by employing powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD) pattern and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectral studies. The morphology of the samples ranged from nanorods to irregular-shaped particles for different metal oxide samples on the basis of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images. Frequency-dependent dielectric study of the ferrite samples (γ-Fe₂O₃ and Co-Fe₂O₃) showed a similar behaviour, where the dielectric constant decreased rapidly with increase in frequency. Possible explanation for this behaviour is given.     

Fold-recognition and comparative modeling of human beta3GalT I, II, IV, V and VI and beta3GalNAcT I: prediction of residues conferring acceptor substrate specificity

beta3GalTs are type II transmembrane proteins that transfer galactose from UDP-Gal donor substrate to acceptor GlcNAc, GalNAc or Gal in beta1-->3-linkage. beta1-->3-linked galactose have been found to be a part of many glycans like glycosphingolipids, core tetrasaccharide of proteoglycans, type 1 chains. The 3-D structure of none of the beta3GalTs is known to date. In this study, the 3-D structures of human beta3GalT I, II, IV, V, VI and beta3GalNAcT I have been modeled using fold-recognition and comparative modeling methods. Residues that constitute the UDP-Gal binding site have been predicted. The models are able to qualitatively rationalize data from the site-directed mutagenesis experiments reported in the literature. Residues likely to be involved in conferring differential acceptor substrate specificity have been predicted by a combination of specificity determining positions prediction (SDPs) and subsequent mapping on the generated 3-D models.     

Fabrication,characterization and application of pectin degrading Fe3O4–SiO2 nanobiocatalyst

The covalent binding of pectinase onto amino functionalized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (CSMNPs) through glutaraldehyde activation was investigated for nanobiocatalyst fabrication. The average particle size and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The statistical analysis for TEM image suggests that the coating and binding process did not cause any significant change in size of MNPs. The morphological and phase change of the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) after various coatings and immobilization were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The various surface modifications and pectinase binding onto nanoparticles were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The maximum activity of immobilized pectinase was obtained at its weight ratio of 19.0 × 10^? 3 mg bound pectinase/mg CSMNPs. The pH, temperature, reusability, storage ability and kinetic studies were established to monitor their improved stability and activity of the fabricated nanobiocatalyst. Furthermore, the application was extended in the clarification of Malus domestica juice.     

Electrochemical cell current requirements for toxic organic waste destruction in Ce(IV)-mediated electrochemical oxidation process

The electrochemical cell for cerium oxidation and reactor for organic destruction are the most important operation units for the successful working mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) process. In this study, electrochemical cells with DSA electrodes of two types, single stack and double stack connected in series, were used. The performances towards the electrochemical generation of Ce(IV) in nitric acid media at 80 °C were studied. The current-voltage curves and cerium electrolysis kinetics showed the dependence on number of cell stacks needed to be connected in series for the destruction of a given quantity of organic pollutant. The presence of an optimum region for Ce(III) oxidation with a contribution of oxygen evolution, especially at low Ce(III) concentration (high conversion ratios), was found. The cells were applied for the Ce(IV) regeneration during the organic destruction. The cell and reactor processes were fitted in a simple model proposed and used to calculate the current needed in terms of Ce(III) oxidation rate and the number of cell stacks required for maintaining Ce(IV)/Ce(III) ratio at the same level during the organic destruction. This consideration was based on the kinetic model previously developed by us for the organic destruction in the MEO process.     

Design,Performance Analysis of GaAs/6H-SiC/AlGaN Metal Semiconductor FET in Submicron Technology

Silicon - A unique structure of GaAs/6H-SiC/InGaN metal–semiconductor field-effect transistor has been proposed and demonstrated in this work. The proposed GaAs/6H-SiC/InGaNMetal...     

A Qualitative Review on Tunnel Field Effect Transistor- Operation,Advances, and Applications

Silicon - Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) has become one of the promising devices to be part of Integrated circuits as the technology advances to the nanoscale. A TFET has many advantages...