Synergistic electronic and geometric effects of Au/CeO2 catalyst for oxidative esterification of methacrolein

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is an important monomer for the production of acrylic plastics and polymer dispersions. In this study, we demonstrate a strategy to synergize the electronic and geometric effects of the Au/CeO₂ catalyst, achieving three orders of magnitude improvement in reaction rate for the oxidative esterification of methacrolein to MMA. The electronic properties of Au in terms of the valence electron population of 5d states are decoupled from the redox ability and acid–base properties of catalyst support as the main cause for the significant increase in the specific activity of the active site. Moreover, the Au edge site is identified as the main active site for this reaction, whose number reaches the maximum for the 1.6 nm-sized Au particles. Hence, the synergism between the electronic (lower valence electron population of 5d states) and geometric (more edge active sites) promotions of the Au-10/CeO₂ catalyst contributes to the highest catalytic activity.     

Prediction of friction coefficient of treated betelnut fibre reinforced polyester (T-BFRP) composite using artificial neural networks

The current work is an attempt of using artificial neural network configuration to predict frictional performance of treated betelnut fibre reinforced polyester (T-BFRP) composite. Experimental dataset at different applied loads (5-30 N) and sliding distances (0-6.72 km) was used to train the ANN configuration with a large volume of experimental data (492 sets) where three different fibre mat orientations were considered (anti parallel, parallel and normal orientations). Results obtained from the developed ANN model were compared with experimental results. It is found that the experimental and numerical results showed good accuracy when the developed ANN model was trained with Levenberg-Marqurdt training function.     

Square-Root-Domain Realization of Single-Cell Architecture of Complex TDCNN

Square-root-domain (SRD) CMOS analog realization of a single cell architecture of the complex Temporal Derivative Cellular Neural Networks (TDCNNs) is introduced in this paper. TDCNN initiates time derivative ‘diffusion’ between CNN cells for non-separable spatiotemporal filtering applications, where the input to the CNN is an image that changes over time. The evaluation of the performance of the complex SRD TDCNN cell has been done using the Cadence Orcad software with TSMC 0.18-μm CMOS process model parameters. The provided simulated results confirm the validity of the theory.     

Novel poly(arylene ethynylene) derivatives containing main chain triphenylamine and pendent quinoxaline moieties: synthesis and elementary characterization

BACKGROUND: Various poly(arylene ethynylene)s (PAEs) have been prepared and applied as molecular wires, in sensors, in nonlinear optics and as electroluminescent materials. But, to our knowledge, there has been no attention paid to the investigation of conjugated PAEs containing both triarylamine and quinoxaline groups. The influence imparted by the introduction of triarylamine and quinoxaline on the photophysical and electrochemical properties of PAEs is of interest. RESULTS: Two kinds of novel PAE derivatives, with electron‐donating triphenylamine groups in the backbone and electron‐accepting pendent quinoxaline moieties and bearing side chains of different lengths, were successfully synthesized with the Sonogashira coupling reaction. These polymers are soluble in common organic solvents and exhibit good film‐forming ability and thermal stability. UV‐visible investigations indicate that the ground states of these materials are unaffected by the polarity of their medium. An efficient intramolecular charge transfer effect is observed from an investigation of their photoluminescence properties in different solvents. Cyclic voltammetry study reveals that these polymers possess relatively high highest occupied molecular orbital levels due to the incorporation of triphenylamine segments into the polymer backbones. CONCLUSION: Primary characterization of these novel PAE derivatives shows that they might serve as potential active materials in optoelectronic devices. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Activated hopping of the hydroxide ion through electrodeposited thin films of electrochromic cobalt oxyhydroxide

Thin films of cobalt(II) oxyhydroxide on platinum have been prepared by electrodeposition. The chemical diffusion coefficient D of the hydroxide ion through the material has a marked temperature dependence, showing a simple activated behaviour in the range 273–292 K. The activation energy to ionic movement was rather large at 54.5 kJ mol^–1 which, it is proposed, is ascribable to ion hopping. When spins have changed alignment, at the Néel transition temperature T _Nr the activation energy more than doubled to 125 kJ mol^–1; and the diffusion coefficients obtained above this temperature also increased dramatically. It is proposed that structural changes occur in the electrodeposited oxide at about T _Nr hence the change in activation energy.     

Cottage cheese whey as an ingredient of cottage cheese dressing mixes

The objective of this study was to formulate and develop a good quality cottage cheese dressing using acid whey as the main ingredient. Up to 72% of cottage cheese whey was used in the dressing mixes. The percentage of fat (4.10–5.05%) and total solids (19.41–20.24%) approached the desired level and was within the legal limits for regular cottage cheese. Sensory evaluation scores for flavour, body/texture and appearance were not adversely affected by the use of acid whey. The sensory evaluation scores for all four products made with whey- or skimmed milk-based dressings were higher than the commercial control.