Metal hollow sphere electrocatalysts

Metal micro-/nano hollow spheres have been widely applied in numerous fields during the last decade. This review will only focus on the synthetic strategies to synthesize hollow spherical structures in the enhancement of their electrocatalytic activity, especially the metal hollow spherical materials. We present a comprehensive overview of synthetic strategies for metal hollow spherical structures which have been approached specifically in electrochemical reactions. These synthetic methods are mainly categorized as hard templates, soft templates, sacrificial templates and without templates. The review further includes electrocatalytic approaches of hollow spherical metals in different electrochemical processes, especially the methanol electro-oxidation reaction for methanol fuel cell application and hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions in water electrolyzer, as metal hollow spherical materials are especially applied in these specific reactions.     

Nutritional effects of mustard seed protein detoxified with aqueous isopropanol in young rats

The effect of removing anti‐nutritional factors from n‐hexane‐extracted mustard meal using 80% isopropanol (to reduce thioglucosides, phenolics, etc.) on growth, food efficiency ratio, serum and liver lipid profiles and protein content of young rats was examined. For this n‐hexane‐extracted mustard meal was extracted with 80% isopropanol giving a fraction with 68% protein and low residual thioglucoside (0.5%) as well as phenolic (0.3%) content. This isopropanol‐extracted mustard seed protein fraction reduced the growth of young rats slightly when compared with casein. The food efficiency ratio between rats fed isopropanol‐extracted mustard seed protein or casein did not differ, nor did the protein composition affect serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL‐cholesterol, LDL‐cholesterol, VLDL‐cholesterol and LDL‐C/HDL‐C ratio. However, rats fed isopropanol‐extracted mustard seed protein showed a significantly lower (p<0.05) liver cholesterol concentration than rats fed casein. Liver triglyceride and phospholipid concentrations did not differ between rats fed the two proteins, nor was serum protein affected. This study indicates that extraction of hexane‐extracted mustard meal with 80% isopropanol reduced a number of anti‐nutritional factors like thioglucoside and phenolics. Furthermore the nutritional quality of mustard seed protein fraction is comparable to casein in respect to growth, food efficiency ratio, serum lipid and protein concentrations and organ weights.     

Parametric control for optimal quality of the workpiece surface in ECM

The authors have successfully designed and developed an Electrochemical Machining set-up with a microprocessor-controlled stepper motor drive control unit for providing variable and automatic tool feed rates and also with an electronic circuit for auto-sensing of changes of the ECM gap condition during the course of machining, so as to actuate the auto-feedback control of the tool feed-rate and thus secure constant current Electrochemical Machining.

The present paper also highlights various research results with the auto-feed ECM system for analysing the effect of some of the process variables, e.g. the electrolyte flow rate, the electrolyte concentration, the current density and the applied voltage, on the various surface-roughness parameters and bearing properties of the machined surface, as measured with the help of a computerised Talysurf unit. The test results indicate clearly the optimal parametric combinations that are needed for enhanced metal removal and better surface finish and other surface topographical characteristics, with the present design of auto-tool-feed control. It is evident from the test results that the present study on ECM will be quite useful and a step forward for proceeding with further applied research for achieving effective utilisation of ECM in practice, with better surface-quality characteristics so as to meet the needs of modern manufacturing industry.     

Blends of polypropylene and ethylene octene comonomer with conducting fillers: Influence of state of dispersion of conducting fillers on electrical conductivity

Blends of polypropylene/ethylene octene comonomer (PP/EOC) with conducting fillers viz., carbon black (CB) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) were prepared using melt mixing technique with varying filler concentration and blend compositions. Thermo gravimetric analysis studies indicated that presence of filler enhanced the thermal stability of PP/EOC blends. Morphological analysis revealed the formation of matrix‐dispersed droplet and co‐continuous type of morphology depending on the blend compositions. Significant reduction in droplet size and finer ligament thickness in co‐continuous structure were observed in the blends with filler due to compatibilization action. Fillers were found to be aggregated in the EOC phase irrespective of blends compositions and could be related to the affinity of the fillers toward EOC phase. The electrical conductivity of PP/EOC blends with CB and MWNT was found to be highest for 80/20 composition and decreased as EOC content increased. The percolation threshold of CB was between 10 and 15 wt% for the 80/20 and 70/30 blends whereas it was 15–20 wt% for blends with EOC content higher than 30 wt%. The percolation threshold was 2–3 wt% MWNT for PP/EOC blends. This was attributed to the aggregated filler network preferentially in the EOC phase. The melt‐rheological behavior of PP/EOC blends was significantly influenced in presence of both the fillers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Experimental study of chemical treatment of coal fly ash to reduce the mobility of priority trace elements

Coal fired electric power plants produce large volumes of fly ash and other coal combustion by-products (CCBs) every year. Although almost 50% of the fly ash produced in the US is recycled for beneficial use, most of the ash material is disposed in dry landfills and ash lagoon impoundments. Fly ash may contain hazardous leachable trace elements such as As, B, Cr, Mo, Ni, Se, Sr and V which have a negative impact on the environment due to potential leaching by acid rain and groundwater with time. Many of the older CCB disposal facilities are unlined and unmonitored and as a result the EPA is currently developing national standards for monitoring CCB disposal sites. The cost to the US electric power industry could exceed one billion dollars if existing and closed CCB disposal facilities come under regulation. Thus simple, low-cost and effective in situ chemical treatment techniques are needed to stabilize hazardous leachable trace elements in the coal combustion by-product (CCB) materials. This paper reports the results of experiments designed to chemically treat fly ash with ferrous sulfate solutions to immobilize hazardous leachable trace elements after disposal.The current study is focused on three acidic and one alkaline fly ash samples collected from electric power plants located in the southeastern United States that were treated with two ferrous sulfate treatment solutions. The first treatment solution contained ferrous sulfate (FS) to give 322 mg/L of dissolved iron, while the second treatment solution contained the same concentration of ferrous sulfate along with excess calcium carbonate (FS + CC) to buffer the pH. Fly ash treatment experiments were carried out at solid:liquid (S:L) ratios of 1:3 and 1:30. The effectiveness of the treatment methods was evaluated by sequentially leaching the treated and the untreated fly ash samples using a synthetic acid rain (SAR) solution (US EPA Method 1312B SPLP fluid) as the leachate. The best overall treatment result was shown by the unbuffered ferrous sulfate solution at the 1:30 S:L ratio, which substantially reduced the mobility of the oxyanion trace elements. The overall mobility reduction achieved for As was 23-72%, B mobility was reduced by 43-80%, Cr by 45-77%, Mo by 21-90%, Se by 41-85% and V by 41-53% The unbuffered ferrous sulfate treatment was not effective for immobilization of the cationic trace elements Ni and Sr.     

Some Observations of Diatoms Under Turbulence

The effect of turbulence on several freshwater diatom taxa was investigated and our findings are described herein. We have compared diatom morphology in shallow natural systems that experience turbulence due to wind and in river/waterfall systems where turbulence is due to high flow rates. We have also introduced turbulence into diatom laboratory cultures by mechanical shaking and by forcing air into the media. In particular, we have studied diatoms in five independent environments or cultures: the freshwater diatoms Tabellaria and Eunotia in equatorial lakes experiencing extreme seasonal variability in depth; two freshwater diatom monocultures of Aulacoseira granulata var angustissima and Melosira varians in the laboratory; and a freshwater diatom community possessing equal amounts (by number) of elongated and non-elongated diatoms (mostly Nitzschia and mostly Cyclotella, respectively) in the laboratory. We have demonstrated the effect of turbulence on freshwater diatom frustule morphologies and, perhaps more importantly, the effect of turbulence on freshwater diatom species population after controlled perturbation of the organisms’ environment. It has been widely reported that symmetry is often preferred in biological evolution, however here we have observed a preference towards asymmetry for the survival of diatoms in the presence of environmental stress (in particular, turbulence). We also note that to date there have been no systematic attempts to manipulate diatom frustules using external stimuli. We therefore present a proof-of-concept study in order to demonstrate: (i) that diatom morphologies can be manipulated by controlled simple external triggers (chemical and physical) (ii) that population balance (i.e. natural selection) can be controlled via simple external triggers (chemical and physical). This approach could open up an entire new field of future studies wherein controlled environmental perturbations are used to manipulate the structure, form, growth and reproduction of biological species.     

Modeling of heat transfer in rotational molding

Rotational molding is a process for manufacturing hollow or open‐sided plastic products using a rotating mold subjected to heating and then cooling. The process is attractive for the production of stress‐free objects at a competitive cost. In this article, a modified model for heat transfer in rotational molding is proposed, which assumes that the heat transfer at the mold‐powder interface is because of convection, whereas the powder particles are heated up by conduction. Heat transfer through the mold–air contact is also included. A source‐based formulation is used for modeling the layer‐by‐layer nonisothermal deposition of plastic. The reduced heat transfer due to warpage is calculated by using a modified heat transfer coefficient. Good overall agreement is found between the cycle times as predicted by the model and the experimental data. The model is then used for calculating the cycle time for particulate composites, based on their effective properties. A reduction in the cycle time is observed in the case of reinforced composites. This is attributed to the increase in thermal conductivity of the particulate composites and the reduced mass fraction of the polymer. Numerical calculations of the cycle time for the glass‐bead reinforced composites are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Cure-reaction kinetics of amine-blocked polyisocyanates with alcohol using hot-stage Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Cure reaction between a series of N-methylaniline-blocked polyisocyanates, based on 4,4′-methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate), poly(tetrahydrofuran) and several substituted N-methylanilines, and n-decanol has been studied. The solid-state isothermal cure reaction was carried out using hot-stage FTIR spectroscopy, in the temperature range of 125–145°C. The urea carbonyl absorption band of blocked polyisocyanate moiety was used to monitor the conversion of blocked polyisocyanate into polyurethane. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were calculated using normalized conversion curves. The overall order of cure reaction, for each of the blocked polyisocyanates was found to be first order. Based on the results of kinetics and reaction conditions used in this study, the elimination-addition (S_N¹) mechanism was suggested for the cure reaction between N-methylaniline-blocked polyisocyanates and n-decanol. The effect of substituents present in the blocking agents on the cure reaction of N-methylaniline-blocked polyisocyanates was investigated and found that the cure reaction of N-methylaniline-blocked polyisocyanates was retarded by electron-donating substituents and facilitated by electron withdrawing substituents. The observed high negative entropy of activation value supports the formation of a four-centered, intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded ring structure during transition state of the cure reaction. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

功能梯度类金刚石薄膜的脉冲激光制备

长期以来 ,高质量的纯类金刚石薄膜的成功制备一直受其巨大内部压应力的阻碍 ,因为这种压应力导致严重的附着问题。厚度大于 50 0nm的类金刚石薄膜中的压应力常使薄膜与基体剥离。作者采用功能梯度的设计概念 ,应用准分子脉冲激光沉积方法 ,成功制备了厚度超过 1 0 μm的高质量类金刚石薄膜。薄膜中的SP3碳原子含量超过 6 0 %。纳米硬度测试表明 ,薄膜的弹性模量高达 50 0GPa ,纳米硬度高达 6 0GPa ,薄膜与基体间附着良好。证明功能梯度的设计概念可以用于制备较厚的超硬类金刚石薄膜。