Triphenylene‐Derived Electron Acceptors and Donors on Ag(111): Formation of Intermolecular Charge‐Transfer Complexes with Common Unoccupied Molecular States

Over the past years, ultrathin films consisting of electron donating and accepting molecules have attracted increasing attention due to their potential usage in optoelectronic devices. Key parameters for understanding and tuning their performance are intermolecular and molecule–substrate interactions. Here, the formation of a monolayer thick blend of triphenylene‐based organic donor and acceptor molecules from 2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexamethoxytriphenylene (HAT) and 1,4,5,8,9,12‐hexaazatriphenylenehexacarbonitrile (HATCN), respectively, on a silver (111) surface is reported. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, valence and core level photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as low‐energy electron diffraction measurements are used, complemented by density functional theory calculations, to investigate both the electronic and structural properties of the homomolecular as well as the intermixed layers. The donor molecules are weakly interacting with the Ag(111) surface, while the acceptor molecules show a strong interaction with the substrate leading to charge transfer and substantial buckling of the top silver layer and of the adsorbates. Upon mixing acceptor and donor molecules, strong hybridization occurs between the two different molecules leading to the emergence of a common unoccupied molecular orbital located at both the donor and acceptor molecules. The donor acceptor blend studied here is, therefore, a compelling candidate for organic electronics based on self‐assembled charge‐transfer complexes.     

Tool Integration in Distributed Environments: an Experience Report in a Manufacturing Framework

Due to enormous pressure from national and international marketplaces, computer integrated manufacturing ( cim) has become a tremendously important area for both research and development. However, the current state of the art is still characterized by islands of automation. In order to connect these islands, appropriate frameworks have to be developed to integrate heterogeneous computer aided design ( cad) tools. We present in this paper a federated approach to tool integration in distributed and heterogeneous environments making tools evolve in an autonomous way. We have experimented this approach by integrating propel and spex cad tools in the dmms ( design management and manufacturing system) environment backed by a common pcte providing an open repository for software development. We use in our experiment an implementation of pcte 1.5 named Emeraude V12.5, product of gie emeraude repository.     

Synthesis of fiber Bragg grating parameters from experimental reflectivity: a simplex approach and its application to the determination of temperature-dependent properties

A simple, accurate, and fast method to synthesize the physical parameters of a fiber Bragg grating numerically from its reflectivity is proposed and demonstrated. Our program uses the transfer matrix method and is based on a Nelder-Mead simplex optimization algorithm. It can be applied to both uniform and nonuniform (apodized and chirped) fiber Bragg gratings. The method is then used to synthesize a uniform Bragg grating from its reflectivity taken at different temperatures. It gives a good estimate of the thermal expansion coefficient and the thermo-optic coefficient of the fiber.     

Synthesis of Biodegradable Diblock Copolymers of Glycolide and Poly(oxyethylene) Using a Montmorillonite Clay as Catalyst

Biodegradable diblock copolymers were prepared from glycolide and poly(oxyethylene) of M_n=600 (POE 600), 1500 (POE 1500) and 2000 (POE 2000). The copolymerization of glycolide and POE was induced in heterogeneous phase by “Maghnite-H⁺” under suitable conditions. Maghnite-H⁺ is a montmorillonite sheet silicate clay exchanged with protons. Various techniques, including ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, DSC and Ubbelohde viscometer were used to elucidate structural characteristics and thermal properties of the resulting copolymers. The effect of the [glycolide]/[POE] molar ratio on the rate of copolymerization and on intrinsic viscosity of the resulting copolymers was studied. Data showed that the rate of copolymerization and intrinsic viscosity of copolymers increase with increasing [glycolide]/[POE] molar ratio.     

Cationic Ring Opening Polymerization of Glycolide Catalysed by a Montmorillonite Clay Catalyst

The ring opening bulk polymerization of glycolide catalyzed by Maghnite-H⁺ was reported. Maghnite-H⁺ is a montmorillonite sheet silicate clay, exchanged with protons. The effect of the amount of Maghnite-H⁺ and the temperature on polymerisation was studied. Increasing Maghnite-H⁺ proportion and temperature produced the increase in glycolide conversion. The kinetics indicated that the polymerization rate is first order with respect to monomer concentration. Mechanism studies showed that monomer inserted into the growing chains with the acyl–oxygen bond scission rather than the break of alkyl–oxygen bond.     

2D‐DOA estimation performance using split vertical linear and circular arrays

This paper presents a new approach to reduce the computational complexity in two‐dimensional (2D) matrix pencil (MP) method for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of plane wave signals using a combination of vertical uniform linear array (VULA) and uniform circular array (UCA). By applying phase mode excitation based beamforming to the UCA, we can apply the matrix pencil (MP) method to the beamspace data using only a single snapshot. The technique is based on the split array, which is composed of two perpendicular arrays. The vertical uniform linear array used to determine the elevation DOA components is located perpendicularly at the center of the uniform circular array in the horizontal plane used to calculate the azimuth angles. Unlike common planar and circular arrays, this antenna array with its particular geometry requires no pair‐matching between the azimuth and the elevation angle estimation and can also remove the drawbacks of estimation failure problems. Using this particular geometry for the 2D MP method leads to an efficient computational methodology for real‐time implementation on a digital signal processor. The obtained simulation results of the MP method applied to both uncorrelated and correlated narrow‐band sources in the presence of white noise show good performance estimation. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of receiver geometry on the optical and thermal performance of a parabolic trough collector

In this study, the optical and thermal performance of a Parabolic Trough Collector PTC system is investigated theoretically. A series of numerical simulations and theoretical analysis has been conducted to investigate the effect of the receiver geometry and location relative to the focal line on its optical performance. The examined receiver geometries are circular, square, triangular, elliptical and a new design of circular- square named as channel receiver. The thermal performance of PTC is studied for different flow rates from (0.27 to 0.6 lpm) theoretically. Results showed that the best optical design is the channel receiver with an optical efficiency of 84% while the worst is the elliptical receiver with an optical efficiency of 70%. Thermally the best design is the elliptical receiver with a thermal efficiency of 85% while the worst is the circular receiver with a thermal efficiency of 82%.     

Preparation process and properties of LiCoO2/PANI/dodecylbenzenesulfonate composite electrode materials

Composite materials that combine the lithium exchanging material LiCoO₂ and the conductive polymer poly(aniline) (PANI) have been investigated regarding their possible application to electrode materials of lithium batteries. Such composite materials have been prepared by means of polymerization of aniline in acidic suspensions of LiCoO₂ particles. PANI was synthesized by oxidative polymerization of aniline by ammonium persulfate in the presence of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a micellar template and dopant. The composite material consisted in LiCoO₂ particles dispersed in a continuous matrix of PANI. The ribbon-like morphology of the powdered material was distinctly different of the morphologies of the parent materials. The conductive material had conductivity close to that of PANI because the LiCoO₂ content of the composite material was low. The presence of the poorly conductive inorganic phase caused a significant loss of conductivity, showing that LiCoO₂ blocked electronic transfers between PANI crystallites. Ammonium persulfate caused the loss of lithium from LiCoO₂ when it was used at high concentration in the polymerization recipe. In this case a new phase made of Co₃O₄ formed by chemical decomposition of Li_xCoO₂. Thin films prepared from stable suspensions of composite materials in water show comparable electrical performance to that measured for bulk materials.     

A tubular solar still integrated with a heat pipe

The aim of this work is to explore the thermal performance of a tracked tubular solar still (TSS) with a parabolic trough concentrator in Baghdad (33.27° N, 44.37° E) in September 2022. The present tubular still is distinguished by its hexagonal glass cover. The effect of integrating the TSS with a heat pipe, the still tilt angle (10°, 15°), and the depth of saline water inside the still partitions on the productivity of freshwater are investigated. The results showed that using heat pipe enhances the freshwater productivity by 25%–40% and the efficiency by 25%. For the still integrated with heat pipe, as the water depth is increased from 5.5 to 6.5 cm the productivity of freshwater is increased by 16% and 20% for tilt angles 10° and 15°, respectively.