Experimental study and modeling of organic solvent reverse osmosis separations through organosilica membranes

Exceptionally stable, mechanically robust, and highly methanol-selective organosilica membranes, including Bis(triethoxysiyl)acetylene (BTESA), fluorine-doped bis(triethoxysiyl) methane (F-BTESM), and Cetyltrimethylammonium chloride-etched bis(trimethoxysiyl)hexane (CTAC-BTMSH), were prepared and utilized for organic solvent reverse osmosis (OSRO) separations. The BTESA membrane showed optimal separation performance regarding methanol/toluene and possessed the highest levels of both permeation flux and rejection. Continuous measurements were performed to highlight the molecule size/shape discrimination of BTESA membranes using compounds such as methanol/methyl acetate, methanol/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and methanol/methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Also, a generalized solution-diffusion model was successful in predicting the permeation behaviors through organosilica membranes when used in an OSRO modality, and proved to be capable of accurate predictions on pressure-dependent permeation flux and rejection for a wide range of feed concentrations (0–55 wt%) and pressures (2–14 MPa). This study lends important insight for the development of organosilica membranes and process design for the energy-efficient OSRO separation of organic liquids.     

Application of bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquid electrolyte to silicon-nickel-carbon composite anode for lithium-ion batteries

An ionic liquid electrolyte containing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI) anion without any solvent is applied to a silicon-nickel-carbon (Si-Ni-carbon) composite anode for rechargeable lithium (Li)-ion batteries. The FSI-based ionic liquid electrolyte successfully provides a stable, reversible capacity for the Si-Ni-carbon anode, which is comparable to the performance observed in a typical commercialized solvent-based electrolyte, while a common ionic liquid electrolyte containing bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI) anion without FSI presents no reversible capacity to the anode at all. Ac impedance analysis reveals that the FSI-based electrolyte provides very low interfacial and charge-transfer resistances at the Si-based composite anode, even when compared to the corresponding resistances observed in a typical solvent-based electrolyte. Galvanostatic cycling of the Si-based composite anode in the FSI-based electrolyte with a charge limitation of 800 mAh g⁻¹ is stable and provides a discharge capacity of 790 mAh g⁻¹ at the 50th cycle, corresponding to a cycle efficiency of 98.8%.     

Multilayer Mg-Stainless Steel Sheets,Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties

Different multilayer Mg AZ31 and SS304L steel sheet combinations were prepared with different volume fractions of Mg. Isolated stress–strain curves of the Mg layers showed significant improvements in the strength and elongation of multilayer samples. Results indicated that in the most extreme situation with the lowest Mg volume fraction (V _f  = 0.39), the ultimate strength was increased by 25 pct to 370 MPa and the elongation was improved by 70 pct to 0.34. Investigation of the fracture surface showed that failure occurs by the coalescence of cracks close to the interface region. The improved strength of the multilayer samples was due to the combined effect of surface crack prevention by the steel layer and the higher work-hardening rate caused by the possible increased activity of non-basal systems. It is suggested that the stronger work-hardening behavior and the enhanced activity of non-basal systems in the multilayer samples were due to the formation of new stress components in the transverse direction. The larger the volume fraction of steel in the multilayer, the longer the distance remaining unstrained before the UTS.

     

Molecular orientation induced by high-speed substrate transfer during vacuum vapor deposition of organic films

The authors investigate a relationship between substrate transfer speeds during vacuum vapor deposition and orientation characteristics of organic molecules. Results show that rod-shaped molecules of alpha-sexithiophene (α-6T) are oriented in a substrate transfer direction and an absorption dichroic ratio of 1.44 is obtained from the oriented α-6T molecule film when a high substrate transfer speed of 4 m s⁻¹ is used. By combining the substrate transfer technique with homoepitaxial growth of α-6T molecules on a rubbed surface, the absorption dichroic ratio further increases to 4.29. Polarized electroluminescence (EL) characteristics are investigated using rod-shaped molecules of 4,4′-bis[4-(di-p-tolylamino)styryl]biphenyl (DPAVBi) as a light-emitting hole-transport layer. An EL dichroic ratio of 2.12 is obtained due to an orientation of DPAVBi molecules caused by combining two techniques.     

New aspects in the unfolding of the nilpotent singularity of codimension three

This paper is concerned with three-dimensional vector fields and more specifically with the study of dynamics in unfoldings of the nilpotent singularity of codimension three. The ultimate goal is to understand the dynamics and bifurcations in the unfolding of the singularity. However, it is clear from the literature that the bifurcation diagram is very complicated and a complete study is far beyond the current possibilities, not only from a theoretical point of view but also from a numerical point of view, despite recent developments of computational methods for dynamical systems. Since all complicated dynamical behaviour is known to be of small amplitude, shrinking to the singularity for parameter values tending to the bifurcation parameter, the aim in this paper is especially to focus on a different aspect that might be interesting in the study of global bifurcation problems in the presence of such a nilpotent singularity of codimension three. The notion is introduced of 'traffic regulator' and the specific sets called the 'inset' and 'outset', which give a new framework for studying a transition map in a cylindrical neighbourhood of the singularity that contains all the non-trivial dynamics that can bifurcate from the singularity, focusing on the domains on which the transition map is defined. A list is also given of open problems which are believed to be helpful for future investigation of the bifurcations from the nilpotent triple zero singularity in 3.     

Characteristics of ammonia permeation through porous silica membranes

A sol–gel method was applied for the preparation of silica membranes with different average pore sizes. Ammonia (NH₃) permeation/separation characteristics of the silica membranes were examined in a wide temperature range (50–400°C) by measurement of both single and binary component separation. The order of gas permeance through the silica membranes, which was independent of membrane average pore size, was as follows: He > H₂ > NH₃ > N₂. These results suggest that, for permeation through silica membranes, the molecular size of NH₃ is larger than that of H₂, despite previous reports that the kinetic diameter of NH₃ is smaller than that of H₂. At high temperatures, there was no effect of NH₃ adsorption on H₂ permeation characteristics, and silica membranes were highly stable in NH₃ at 400°C (i.e., gas permeance remained unchanged). On the other hand, at 50°C NH₃ molecules adsorbed on the silica improved NH₃‐permselectivity by blocking permeation of H₂ molecules without decreasing NH₃ permeance. The maximal NH₃/H₂ permeance ratio obtained during binary component separation was ～30 with an NH₃ permeance of ～10^?7 mol m^?2 s^?1 Pa^?1 at an H₂ permeation activation energy of ～6 kJ mol^?1. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

Pore‐size evaluation and gas transport behaviors of microporous membranes: An experimental and theoretical study

A modified gas‐translation (GT) model based on a GT mechanism was successfully applied to the pore‐size evaluation and gas transport behavior analysis of microporous membranes with different pore‐size distributions. Based on the gas permeation results of three microporous membranes derived from different alkoxides, the effects of activation energy and the selection of a standard gas on the pore‐size evaluation were discussed in a comparative study. The presence of nano‐sized defects had an important influence on the gas permeation performance of microporous membranes, depending largely on the original pore size of the membrane in question. Moreover, the gas‐separation effect of the pore‐size distribution in a silica membrane was theoretically studied and revealed a significant increase in gas permeance for relatively large gas species but not for small ones. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2268–2279, 2015