Dysprosium doped copper oxide (Cu1-xDyxO) nanoparticles enabled bifunctional electrode for overall water splitting

The production of hydrogen, a favourable alternative to an unsustainable fossil fuel remains as a significant hurdle with the pertaining challenge in the design of proficient, highly productive and sustainable electrocatalyst for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, the dysprosium (Dy) doped copper oxide (Cu_1-xDy_xO) nanoparticles were synthesized via solution combustion technique and utilized as a non-noble metal based bi-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. Due to the improved surface to volume ratio and conductivity, the optimized Cu_1-xDy_xO (x = 0.01, 0.02) electrocatalysts exhibited impressive HER and OER performance respectively in 1 M KOH delivering a current density of 10 mAcm^?2 at a potential of ?0.18 V vs RHE for HER and 1.53 V vs RHE for OER. Moreover, the Dy doped CuO electrocatalyst used as a bi-functional catalyst for overall water splitting achieved a potential of 1.56 V at a current density 10 mAcm^?2 and relatively high current density of 66 mAcm^?2 at a peak potential of 2 V. A long term stability of 24 h was achieved for a cell voltage of 2.2 V at a constant current density of 30 mAcm^?2 with only 10% of the initial current loss. This showcases the accumulative opportunity of dysprosium as a dopant in CuO nanoparticles for fabricating a highly effective and low-cost bi-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.     

Using Amplitude Analysis of Acoustic Emission Signals under Cyclic and Static Loading of Steel Samples

Russian Journal of Nondestructive Testing - The results of amplitude analysis of discrete acoustic emission signals from developing sources such as fatigue cracks are presented. The studies were...     

Digital Tools for Statistical Quality Management in Automobile Production

Russian Engineering Research - Digital tools for managing improvements in automobile production are developed. An operative tool provides warnings regarding the operational quality of the vehicles...     

A review of phosphorescent and fluorescent phosphors for fingerprint detection

Currently, the efficient detection of fingerprints is essential for the crime investigations. Revealing fingerprints is commonly achieved with fluorescent organic compounds but they are not efficient for fingerprint detection on porous or reflective surfaces. In order to solve the problem of collecting fingerprints on porous/reflective surfaces, inorganic phosphors have been employed, since they have characteristics of variable color emission, afterglow, high chemical stability and nano-size, which allow the fingerprint detection on any porous or non-porous surfaces. Due to these last properties, this review presents a summary about the use of phosphorescent and fluorescent phosphors for the detection of latent fingerprints. First, we discussed the main physical and chemical characteristics of the fingerprints which permit their detection and collection from any surface. After this, we presented the main morphological, structural and luminescent properties of the phosphorescent and fluorescent phosphors that allow their use for fingerprint detection. Later, we demonstrated with pictures of fingerprints (with and without light emission from the phosphors deposited on them) that both, phosphorescent and fluorescent phosphors can be used to visualize fingerprints with high resolution and high contrast without interference of the background surface, which is ideal for its collection and registration in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). We believe that this review could be useful to understand how to select an appropriate phosphorescent or fluorescent material for fingerprint detection depending on the type of surface (porous or non-porous, reflective or not reflective) where the fingerprint is deposited.     

Synthesis,Structural and Biomedical Characterization of Hydroxyapatite/Borosilicate Bioactive Glass Nanocomposites

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - In this work, a borosilicate glass sample (5SiO2–45B2O3–20Na2O–25CaO–5Ag2O) was added to nano-sized...     

Effects of upholstery materials on the burning behavior of real‐scale residential upholstered furniture mock‐ups

Fire spread and growth on real‐scale four cushion mock‐ups of residential upholstered furniture (RUF) were investigated with the goal of identifying whether changes in five classes of materials (barrier, flexible polyurethane foam, polyester fiber wrap, upholstery fabric, and sewing thread), referred to as factors, resulted in statistically significant changes in burning behavior. A fractional factorial experimental design plus practical considerations yielded a test matrix with 20 material combinations. Experiments were repeated a minimum of two times. Measurements included fire spread rates derived from video recordings and heat release rates (HRRs). A total of 13 experimental parameters (3 based on the videos and 10 on the HRR results), referred to as responses, characterized the measurements. Statistical analyses based on Main Effects Plots (main effects) and Block Plots (main effects and factor interactions) were used. The results showed that three of the factors resulted in statistically significant effects on varying numbers of the 13 responses. The Barrier and Fabric factors had the strongest main effects with roughly comparable magnitudes. Foam was statistically significant for fewer of the responses and its overall strength was weaker than for Barrier and Fabric. No statistically significant main effects were identified for Wrap or Thread. Multiple two‐term interactions between factors were identified as being statistically significant. The Barrier*Fabric interaction resulted in the highest number of and strongest statistically significant effects. The existence of two‐term interactions means that it will be necessary to consider their effects in approaches designed to predict the burning behavior of RUF.     

Evaluating the Possibility of Using Ionic Liquids in the Synthesis and Separation of Cyclohexanone

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - Using gas–liquid chromatography, the activity coefficients upon the infinite dilution of the components of the reaction mixture for obtaining...     

Thermal prehistory,structure and high-temperature thermodynamic properties of Y2O3-CeO2 and Y2O3-ZrO2-CeO2 solid solutions

Ceria-based solid solutions are important materials for high- and medium-temperature electrochemical applications. However, the stabilities of both binary and ternary ceria-based solid solutions are insufficient at elevated temperatures, which limits their application as solid electrolytes or SOFC cathodes. Data on the high-temperature stability of ceria-based ceramics are unavailable in the literature. In the present study, we report a thermodynamic stability investigation of Y₂O₃-CeO₂ and Y₂O₃-ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions. The thermal prehistories of binary and ternary systems were investigated using STA, XRD, and ESCA techniques. The vaporization processes were investigated in the temperature range of 1577–2227°С via the Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry technique. Using data on the component activity in solid-phase thermodynamic properties of Y₂O₃-CeO₂ solid solutions, which is represented as the Gibbs energy, the excess Gibbs energy was calculated as a function of the ceria mol. %. It was shown that the reduction of Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ in Y₂O₃-CeO₂ and Y₂O₃-ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions corresponds to less-negative Gibbs energy compared to ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions.     

Mathematical Modeling and Optimization of Diesel-Fuel Hydrotreatment

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - The main approaches to developing a reactor block for the hydrodesulfurization of diesel fuels are considered taking into account the reactivity of...     

Lipidomic Analysis of Plasma from Healthy Men and Women Shows Phospholipid Class and Molecular Species Differences between Sexes

The phospholipid composition of lipoproteins is determined by the specificity of hepatic phospholipid biosynthesis. Plasma phospholipid 20:4n-6 and 22:6n-3 concentrations are higher in women than in men. We used this sex difference in a lipidomics analysis of the impact of endocrine factors on the phospholipid class and molecular species composition of fasting plasma from young men and women. Diester species predominated in all lipid classes measured. 20/54 Phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) species were alkyl ester, 15/48 phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn) species were alkyl ester, and 12/48 PtdEtn species were alkenyl ester. There were no significant differences between sexes in the proportions of alkyl PtdCho species. The proportion of alkyl ester PtdEtn species was greater in women than men, while the proportion of alkenyl ester PtdEtn species was greater in men than women. None of the phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) or phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) molecular species contained ether-linked fatty acids. The proportion of PtdCho16:0_22:6, and the proportions of PtdEtn O-16:0_20:4 and PtdEtn O-18:2_20:4 were greater in women than men. There were no sex differences in PtdIns and PtdSer molecular species compositions. These findings show that plasma phospholipids can be modified by sex. Such differences in lipoprotein phospholipid composition could contribute to sexual dimorphism in patterns of health and disease.