Copper oxide nanoparticle made by flame spray pyrolysis for photoelectrochemical water splitting - Part II. Photoelectrochemical study

A scalable method for hydrogen generation by splitting water via a photoelectrochemical cell was studied. Flame spray pyrolysis and spin coating processing methods were used for preparing copper oxide nanoparticles and copper oxide photocathodes. Copper oxide p-type semiconductor nanoparticles made by flame spray pyrolysis were spin coated on conducting ITO substrates and served as photocathodes for photoelectrochemical splitting of water. The film thickness was controlled by the concentration of the CuO suspension solution and numbers of layer deposited on the substrate. As sintering temperature increased to 600 °C, crystalline diameter increased from 28 nm (before sintering) to 110 nm and the bandgaps decreased from 1.68 eV to 1.44 eV. A 387 nm thickness CuO film with bandgap 1.44 eV was demonstrated to have 1.48% total conversion efficiency and 0.91% photon-to-hydrogen generation efficiency. The net photocurrent density (photocurrent - dark current) was measured to be 1.20 mA/cm² at applied voltage of −0.55 V vs. Ag/AgCl in 1 M KOH electrolyte with 1 sun (AM1.5G) illumination. Based on the Mott-Schottky plot, the carrier density was estimated to be 1.5 × 10²¹ cm⁻³ and the flatband potential to be 0.23 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Furthermore, the valence band edge and conduction band levels were found to lie at −5.00 eV and −3.56 eV respect to the vacuum respectively.     

Knowledge stickiness in the buyer-supplier knowledge transfer process: The moderating effects of learning capability and social embeddedness

Increased outsourcing yields less vertically-integrated firms, suppliers have to rely on different buyers and interdisciplinary teams for acquired and utilized knowledge to improve performance. However, knowledge transfer from buyers to suppliers is not always successful. Studies pertaining to the knowledge stickiness between firms in the knowledge transfer process, such as between buyers and suppliers, have been minimal. Furthermore, while knowledge transfer processes are essentially context-specific in terms of who participates and how they participate in the process, it is very important to put knowledge transfer into context. The results provide support for a curvilinear inverted-U shape relationship between knowledge stickiness and manufacturing capability. In addition, the influence of knowledge stickiness on manufacturing capability would be enhanced by the moderating variables of social embeddedness and learning capability. The finding further suggests that supplier manufacturing capabilities impact supplier commitment and supplier performance.     

JADE implemented mobile multi-agent based,distributed information platform for pervasive health care monitoring

In this paper we aim to implement a highly distributed information infrastructure—MADIP by using Intelligent Agent paradigm, which is able to notify the responsible care-provider of abnormality automatically, offer distance medical advice, and perform continuous health monitoring for those who need it. To confront the issues of interoperability, scalability, and openness in heterogeneous e-health environments, a FIPA2000 standard compliant agent development platform—JADE (Java Agent DEvelopment Framework) was adopted for the design and implementation of the proposed intelligent multi-agent based MADIP system.     

The interparticulate friction behavior of acetal copolymer pellets with bilobal and trilobal cross-sections

The interparticulate friction coefficient has been measured for a range of pellet cross-sections. This measurement is postulated as representing the integrity of the solid bed in plasticating extrusion, reciprocating-screw injection molding and extrusion blow molding. The value of the interparticulate friction coefficient has been found to be consistently greater for profiled pellet cross-sections such as bilobal and trilobal than for conventional pellets with circular cross-sections. It is postulated that this result means that solids beds formed from pellets with profiled cross-sections are less likely to fracture, or break-up, than are solids beds formed with conventional pellets, during plasticating extrusion, reciprocating-screw injection molding and extrusion blow molding. It is further postulated that this will result in surge inhibition, and allow the manufacturing units to run faster with fewer operational problems. The effects of normal load, pellet geometry, polymer molecular weight and agitation of the bed are also presented. In addition to the measurement of the interparticulate friction coefficients, the manufacturing procedures for profiled pellets are explained.     

Comparative study on MoS2 and WS2 for electrocatalytic water splitting

Replacing Pt by earth abundant catalysts is one of the most important tasks toward potential large-scale HER applications. Among many potential candidates, low cost and earth abundant transition metal dichalcogenides such as MoS₂ and WS₂ have been promising as good H₂ evolution electrocatalysts when they are engineered into the structures with active sites. In this work, we have performed systematic studies on the catalytic reactivity of both MoS₂ and WS₂ materials produced by one-step and scalable thermolysis from (NH₄)₂WS₄ and (NH₄)₂MoS₄ precursors respectively. Structural analysis shows that these materials prepared at a higher thermolysis temperature exhibit higher crystallinity. The H₂ evolution electrocatalysts efficiency for the MoS₂ prepared at a lower temperature is higher than those at higher temperatures, where amorphous MoS₂ or S₂²⁻${{\text{S}}_2}^{2-}$ species instead of crystalline MoS₂ is the main active site. By contrast, crystalline WS₂ prepared at high temperature is identified to be the key reaction site. Both catalysts display excellent efficiency and durability as an electrocatalyst operating in acidic electrolytes. This work provides fundamental insights for further design and preparation of emergent metal dichalcogenide catalysts, beneficial for the development in clean energy.