Au/ZnO and Au/Fe2O3 catalysts for CO oxidation at ambient temperature: comments on the effect of synthesis conditions on the preparation of high activity catalysts prepared by coprecipitation

The preparation of Au/ZnO and Au/Fe₂O₃ catalysts using two coprecipitation methods is investigated to determine the important factors that control the synthesis of high activity catalysts for the oxidation of carbon monoxide at ambient temperature. In particular, the factors involved in the preparation of catalysts that are active without the need for a calcination step are evaluated. The two preparation methods differ in the manner in which the pH is controlled during the precipitation, either constant pH throughout or variable pH in which the pH is raised from an initial low value to a defined end point. Non-calcined Au/ZnO catalysts prepared using both methods are very sensitive to pH and ageing time, and catalysts prepared at a maximum pH = 5 with a short ageing time (ca. 0–3 h) exhibit high activity. Catalysts prepared at higher pH give lower activity. However, all catalysts require a short operation period during which the oxidation activity increases. In contrast, the calcined catalysts are not particularly sensitive to the preparation conditions. Non-calcined Au/Fe₂O₃ catalysts exhibit high activity when prepared at pH ≥ 5. Calcined Au/Fe₂O₃ prepared using the controlled pH method retain high activity, whereas calcined catalysts prepared using the variable pH method are inactive. The study shows the immense sensitivity of the catalyst performance to the preparation methods. It is therefore not surprising that marked differences in the performance of supported Au catalysts for CO oxidation that are apparent in the extensive literature on this subject, particularly the effect of calcination, can be expected if the preparation parameters are not carefully controlled and reported.     

Use of tanninsulfonic acid in the synthesis of water‐dispersible polyaniline

Polyaniline was synthesized in the presence of tanninsulfonic acid to yield a product tanninsulfonic acid‐doped polyaniline (TANI‐PANI) that is water‐dispersible. Several samples ranging from 0 to 70% tanninsulfonate (TS) were prepared. These samples were then evaluated for differences in dispersibility, particle size, and conductivity. As the percent of TS in the samples was increased, the water‐dispersibility of the TANI‐PANI also increased. The particle size of the samples as well as the conductivity of the samples decreased with increasing percentages of TS in the samples. After extensive washings, however, the conductivity remained fairly constant (～0.5 S/cm) regardless of the amount of TS in the samples. Additionally, elemental analysis, TGA, and IR data were used to demonstrate that the TS may be grafted to polyaniline during the synthesis of TANI‐PANI. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2113–2119, 2007     

Technical and Economical Aspects of Current Thermal Barrier Coating Systems for Gas Turbine Engines by Thermal Spray and EBPVD: A Review

The most advanced thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems for aircraft engine and power generation hot section components consist of electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD) applied yttria-stabilized zirconia and platinum modified diffusion aluminide bond coating. Thermally sprayed ceramic and MCrAlY bond coatings, however, are still used extensively for combustors and power generation blades and vanes. This article highlights the key features of plasma spray and HVOF, diffusion aluminizing, and EBPVD coating processes. The coating characteristics of thermally sprayed MCrAlY bond coat as well as low density and dense vertically cracked (DVC) Zircoat TBC are described. Essential features of a typical EBPVD TBC coating system, consisting of a diffusion aluminide and a columnar TBC, are also presented. The major coating cost elements such as material, equipment and processing are explained for the different technologies, with a performance and cost comparison given for selected examples.     

Mechanism of crosslinking Tencel woven fabric for superior easy‐care properties and analysis using fluorescence microscopy

A crosslinking treatment to impart easy‐care properties to Tencel fabric has been investigated, using dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (Reaktant DH) as crosslinking agent and magnesium chloride hexahydrate as catalyst. Nonconventional treatment techniques such as “flash curing,” “moist curing,” “pad‐batch‐cure,” and “pad‐dry‐dry steam cure” are used to facilitate better penetration of crosslinking monomer into the fiber interior. Easy‐care properties of Tencel fabrics using these techniques are evaluated and compared with those treated with resin monomer using conventional pad‐dry‐cure process. Analysis of treated fabric using a fluorescent labeling technique and image analysis shows that nonconventional techniques significantly improve the penetration of crosslinking agent. The results further suggest that these techniques can be used to improve abrasion resistance and fabric handle of Tencel woven fabric. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2154–2161, 2006     

Abrasion phenomena in twill tencel fabric

The abrasion characteristics of Tencel fabrics were evaluated by Martindale abrasion and laundering, and the breakdown mechanism of fibers was surveyed by scanning electron microscopy. The fabric was subjected to pad‐dry‐cure treatment with two different types of modified dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea resins (Reaktant DH and Reaktant FC). Although the degree of dry abrasion varied with different resins, the damage exhibited by individual fibers differed little from untreated to resin‐treated; the major mechanism of abrasion was through friction, and the mechanism of fiber failure was multiple splitting and transverse cracking. In untreated Tencel, the characteristic feature of wet abrasion was massive fibrillation, and in crosslinked fabrics, the wet abrasion mechanism was through fiber slippage and slicing action, although in the Reaktant FC‐treated fabric, the wet abrasion mechanism was more through slicing than through fiber splitting. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 1391–1398, 2006     

Oxidation of Butane to Maleic Anhydride using Vanadium Phosphate Catalysts: Comparison of Operation in Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions using a Gas-gas Periodic Flow Reactor

The use of a periodic flow reactor is described for the oxidation of butane to maleic anhydride to compare the catalytic performance of vanadium phosphate catalysts operating under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. It is found that for the catalyst prepared via a standard VPO method, operation in the absence of oxygen leads to a very small enhancement in selectivity when butane concentrations in the range 0.9–2.9% are used. Operation in the absence of oxygen leads to very small differences in conversion such that the overall yield is enhanced and this effect is maximised for reactor feeds containing 1.5% butane. However, the enhancement is negligible when the catalyst is operated at high conversion required for commercial operation, indicating that reactors operating with continuous flow with aerobic conditions are preferred. Similar experiments are conducted for a catalyst prepared by the VPD method and, in contrast, this catalyst gives lower butane conversion and maleic anhydride selectivity when operated in the absence of oxygen.     

Mandibular gland components of european and africanized honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.)

The composition of the five-component honey bee queen mandibular gland pheromone (QMP) of mated European honey bee queens was compared to those of virgin and drone-laying (i.e., laying only haploid unfertilized eggs that develop into males), European queens and Africanized mated queens. QMP of mated European queens showed significantly greater quantities of individual components than all queen types compared, except for a significantly greater quantity of 9-hydroxy-(E)-2-decenoic acid (9-HDA) found in Africanized queens. Glands of European drone-laying queens contained quantities intermediate between virgin and mated queens, reflecting their intermediate reproductive state and age. QMP ontogeny shifts from a high proportion of 9-keto-(E)-2-decenoic acid (ODA) in young unmated queens to roughly equal proportions of ODA and 9-HDA in mated queens. A biosynthetic shift occurs after mating that results in a greater proportion of 9-HDA, methylp-hydroxybenzoate (HOB), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethanol (HVA) production, accompanied by a decreased proportion of ODA. Africanized QMP proportions of ODA and 9-HDA were significantly different from European queens. A quantitative definition of a queen equivalent of QMP is proposed for the various queen types, and a standard queen equivalent for mated European honeybee queen mandibular gland pheromone is adopted as 200µg ODA, 80µg 9-HDA, 20µg HOB, and 2 µg HVA.     

Analysis‐preserving video microscopy compression via correlation and mathematical morphology

The large amount video data produced by multi‐channel, high‐resolution microscopy system drives the need for a new high‐performance domain‐specific video compression technique. We describe a novel compression method for video microscopy data. The method is based on Pearson's correlation and mathematical morphology. The method makes use of the point‐spread function (PSF) in the microscopy video acquisition phase. We compare our method to other lossless compression methods and to lossy JPEG, JPEG2000, and H.264 compression for various kinds of video microscopy data including fluorescence video and brightfield video. We find that for certain data sets, the new method compresses much better than lossless compression with no impact on analysis results. It achieved a best compressed size of 0.77% of the original size, 25× smaller than the best lossless technique (which yields 20% for the same video). The compressed size scales with the video's scientific data content. Further testing showed that existing lossy algorithms greatly impacted data analysis at similar compression sizes. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:1055–1061, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A comparison of critical distance methods for fracture prediction

This paper is concerned with four methods which are used to predict the failure of bodies containing notches and other stress concentration features. Two of these methods, which we call the line method (LM) and point method (PM), use parameters taken from the elastic stress field ahead of the notch. The other two methods make use of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM): we call these the imaginary crack method (ICM) and finite fracture mechanics (FFM). A common feature of all the methods is the use of a material constant with the units of length, which we call the critical distance.In this work we test the hypothesis that these four methods all give similar predictions. Firstly, we show analytically that, for the simple case of a straight, through-thickness crack in an infinite body, predictions using the LM are identical to those of the ICM and FFM and, in addition, there is a very simple relationship between the critical distances for the three methods. For notches no precise relationship exists; we used both closed-form solutions and finite element analyses (FEA) to compare predictions of failure from common types of notches, such as circular holes, edge notches and slots, in large (essentially infinite) bodies. We modelled both isotropic and anisotropic materials. In all cases, we found that predictions from the four different methods were of similar magnitude, always falling within an error band of ±10%. However, large differences emerge in the case of finite bodies when the remaining width is similar in size to the critical distance; then predictions become asymptotic in different ways. These findings have practical consequences for the use of these methods in engineering design. The results also promote some discussion about the theoretical basis of critical distance approaches.     

Synthesis of the Sulphonate and Phosphonate Derivatives of Mercaptoacetyltriglycine. X-Ray Crystal Structure of Na(2)[ReO(Mercaptoacetylglycylglycylaminomethanesulphonate)].3H(2)O

Mercaptoacetyltriglycine forms complexes with (186/188)Re and (99m)Tc radionuclides that are useful in nuclear medicine because they are substrates of the renal anion transport system. However, the renal clearance of [MO(MAG(3))](2-)(MAG(3) = penta-anionic form of mercaptoacetyltriglycine, M = Re, Tc) complexes are less than ideal. Organic sulphonates are also transported by the renal anion transport system and phosphonates are similar to sulphonates in size and shape. In an effort to develop new ligands that form Re and Tc complexes and have improved renal clearances compared to [MO(MAG(3))](2-) complexes, the sulphonate and phosphonate derivatives of mercaptoacetyltriglycine were synthesized. The dianion [ReO(MAG(2)-AMS)](2-) (MAG(2)-AMS = penta-anionic form of mercaptoacetylglycylglycylaminomethanesulphonic acid) was prepared for characterization by exchange reaction of ReOCl(3)(Me(2)S)(OPPh(3)) and isolated as the disodium salt. The structure of Na(2)[ReO(MAG(2)-AMS)].3H(2)O (6) was determined by X-ray diffraction. The coordination geometry is pseudo square pyramidal, with the nitrogen and sulfur donor atoms forming a square base and the oxo ligand at the apex. The deprotonated sulphonate group has a syn conformation with respect to the oxo ligand. The renal clearances of [(99m)TcO(MAG(2)-AMS)](2-) and [(99m)TcO(MAG(2)-AMP)](3-) were similar in rats and suggest that the difference in total charge between the SO(3) (-) and PO(3) (2-) groups is not important to renal clearance. However, their renal clearances were 40-50% less than that of [(99m)TcO(MAG(3))](2-) suggesting that the size and shape of the large tetrahedral SO(3) (-) and PO(3) (2-) groups of [(99m)TcO(MAG(2)-AMS)](2-) and [(99m)TcO(MAG(2)-AMP)](3-) inhibit recognition by the renal transport system compared to the small planar CO(2) (-) group of [(99m)TcO(MAG(3))](2-).