Enhanced Solar‐to‐Hydrogen Generation with Broadband Epsilon‐Near‐Zero Nanostructured Photocatalysts

The direct conversion of solar energy into fuels or feedstock is an attractive approach to address increasing demand of renewable energy sources. Photocatalytic systems relying on the direct photoexcitation of metals have been explored to this end, a strategy that exploits the decay of plasmonic resonances into hot carriers. An efficient hot carrier generation and collection requires, ideally, their generation to be enclosed within few tens of nanometers at the metal interface, but it is challenging to achieve this across the broadband solar spectrum. Here the authors demonstrate a new photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution based on metal epsilon‐near‐zero metamaterials. The authors have designed these to achieve broadband strong light confinement at the metal interface across the entire solar spectrum. Using electron energy loss spectroscopy, the authors prove that hot carriers are generated in a broadband fashion within 10 nm in this system. The resulting photocatalyst achieves a hydrogen production rate of 9.5 µmol h^?1 cm^?2 that exceeds, by a factor of 3.2, that of the best previously reported plasmonic‐based photocatalysts for the dissociation of H₂ with 50 h stable operation.     

Parallel implementation of finite-element/newton method for solution of steady-state and transient nonlinear partial differential equations

Domain decomposition by nested dissection for concurrent factorization and storage (CFS) of asymmetric matrices is coupled with finite element and spectral element discretizations and with Newton's method to yield an algorithm for parallel solution of nonlinear initial-and boundary-value problem. The efficiency of the CFS algorithm implemented on a MIMD computer is demonstrated by analysis of the solution of the two-dimensional, Poisson equation discretized using both finite and spectral elements. Computation rates and speedups for the LU-decomposition algorithm, which is the most time consuming portion of the solution algorithm, scale with the number of processors. The spectral element discretization with high-order interpolating polynomials yields especially high speedups because the ratio of communication to computation is lower than for low-order finite element discretizations. The robustness of the parallel implementation of the finite-element/Newton algorithm is demonstrated by solution of steady and transient natural convection in a two-dimensional cavity, a standard test problem for low Prandtl number convection. Time integration is performed using a fully implicit algorithm with a modified Newton's method for solution of nonlinear equations at each time step. The efficiency of the CFS version of the finite-element/Newton algorithm compares well with a spectral element algorithm implemented on a MIMD computer using iterative matrix methods.Submitted toJ. Scientific Computing, August 25, 1994.     

Transmission pricing and recovery of investment costs in the deregulated power system based on optimal circuit prices

Transmission pricing has become a major issue in the discussions about the deregulated electricity markets.Consequently,open access to the transmission system is one of the basic topics to allow competition among participants in the energy market.Transmission costs have an important impact on relative competition among participants in the energy market as well as on short-and long-term economic efficiencies of the whole electricity industry,although they represent only close to 10% of the energy market price.This paper deals with the design and tests of a transmission pricing method based on the optimal circuit prices derived from the economically adapted network(EAN).Prices derived from the EAN have the advantage of being in tune with the maximum revenue allowed to the owner of transmission assets and simplifying the optimal allocation of transmission costs among participants.Beginning from the conceptual design,the proposed method is tested on a three-bus network and on the IEEE 24-bus reliability test system.     

Constraining Si Particles within Graphene Foam Monolith: Interfacial Modification for High‐Performance Li+ Storage and Flexible Integrated Configuration

Pulverization of electrode materials and loss of electrical contact have been identified as the major causes for the performance deterioration of alloy anodes in Li‐ion batteries. This study presents the hierarchical arrangement of spatially confining silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) within graphene foam (GF) for alleviating these issues. Through a freeze‐drying method, the highly oriented GF monolith is engineered to fully encapsulate the Si NPs, serving not only as a robust framework with the well‐accessible thoroughfares for electrolyte percolation but also a physical blocking layer to restrain Si from direct exposure to the electrolyte. In return, the pillar effect of Si NPs prevents the graphene sheets from restacking while preserving the highly efficient electron/Li⁺ transport channels. When evaluated as a binder‐free anode, impressive cycle performance is realized in both half‐cell and full‐cell configurations. Operando X‐ray diffraction and in‐house X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm the pivotal protection of GF to sheathe the most volume‐expanded lithiated phase (Li₁₅Si₄) at room temperature. Furthermore, a free‐standing composite film is developed through readjusting the pore size in GF/Si monolith and directly integrated with nanocellulose membrane (NCM) separator. Because of the good electrical conductivity and structural integrity of the GF monolith as well as the flexibility of the NCM separator, the as‐developed GF/Si‐NCM electrode showcases the potential use in the flexible electronic devices.     

Anti‐Oxygen Leaking LiCoO2

LiCoO₂ is a prime example of widely used cathodes that suffer from the structural/thermal instability issues that lead to the release of their lattice oxygen under nonequilibrium conditions and safety concerns in Li‐ion batteries. Here, it is shown that an atomically thin layer of reduced graphene oxide can suppress oxygen release from Li_xCoO₂ particles and improve their structural stability. Electrochemical cycling, differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and in situ heating transmission electron microscopy are performed to characterize the effectiveness of the graphene‐coating on the abusive tolerance of Li_xCoO₂. Electrochemical cycling mass spectroscopy results suggest that oxygen release is hindered at high cutoff voltage cycling when the cathode is coated with reduced graphene oxide. Thermal analysis, in situ heating transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy results show that the reduction of Co species from the graphene‐coated samples is delayed when compared with bare cathodes. Finally, density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations show that the rGO layers could suppress O₂ formation more effectively due to the strong C? O_cathode bond formation at the interface of rGO/LCO where low coordination oxygens exist. This investigation uncovers a reliable approach for hindering the oxygen release reaction and improving the thermal stability of battery cathodes.     

Hydrometallurgical Extraction of Vanadium from Mechanically Milled Oil-Fired Fly Ash: Analytical Process Optimization by Using Taguchi Design Method

In this study, the Taguchi design method was employed to determine the optimum experimental parameters in extraction of vanadium by NaOH leaching of oil-fired fly. Prior to designed experiments, the raw precipitates were mechanicallly milled using a high-energy planetary ball mill. Experimental parameters were investigated as follows: mechanical milling (MM) times (2 and 5?hours), NaOH (1 and 2 molar concentration) as reaction solution (RS), powder to solution (P/S) ratios (100/400 and 100/600?mg/mL), temperature (T) of reaction system (303 K and 333?K [30?°C and 60?°C]), stirring times (ST) of reaction media (4 and 12?hours), stirring speed (SS) being adjusted to 400 and 600?rpm, and rinsing times (RT) of remained filtrates (1 and 3?hours). Statistical analysis of signal-to-noise ratio followed by analysis of variance was performed in order to estimate the optimum levels and their relative contributions. Data analysis is carried out using L₈ orthogonal array consisting of seven parameters each with two levels. The optimum conditions were MM1 (3?hours), RS2 (2 molar NaOH), P/S2 (100/600?mg/mL), T2 (333?K [60?°C]), ST2 (12?hours), SS1 (400?rpm), and RT1 (1?hour). Finally, from environmental and economical points of view, the process is faster and better organized by employing this analytical design method.     

Transmission pricing and recovery of investment costs in the deregulated power system based on optimal circuit prices

Transmission pricing has become a major issue in the discussions about the deregulated electricity markets.Conse-quently,open access to the transmission system is one of the basic topics to allow compe...     

Evaluation of Centrifugal Casting Process Parameters for In Situ Fabricated Functionally Gradient Fe-TiC Composite

A gradient Fe-TiC composite was successfully produced via combination of in situ reaction with centrifugal casting techniques. Additionally, some of the effective parameters of the centrifugal casting process have been studied. Cast iron and ferrotitanium, which were used as raw materials, were melted using a high-frequency induction furnace coupled with centrifugal equipment. The microstructure and phase characterization of the fabricated composite was studied by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the production of a pearlite matrix composite reinforced by TiC particles is feasible. The distribution of TiC in the pearlitic matrix is completely uneven as a result of density difference between molten medium and TiC in the centrifugal casting process.