Structures and stability of water nanoclusters in hydrophobic nanospaces

The temperature dependencies of in situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of water adsorbed and of adsorption isotherm of water in hydrophobic carbon nanopores were measured over the temperature range of 293 to 328 K. The structures of water nanoclusters adsorbed in the nanopores were determined with the density fluctuation analysis of in situ SAXS data. The difference of the density fluctuations between adsorption and desorption was ascribed to the water structural difference. The structural transitions of the water nanoclusters were observed around 318 K for adsorption and 308 K for desorption.     

Inorganic-organic hybrid molecular architectures of cyanometalate host and organic guest systems: specific behavior of the guests

Molecular architectures built of inorganic cyanometalate building blocks provide variegated host structures with several organic guest molecules. The strategies to derive novel structures are presented briefly. The formation of a charge-transfer (CT) complex as the guest inside the cavity and the photochemistry of the CT complexes are discussed. The chemical pressure that the guest experiences inside the cavity is also discussed based on the vibrational spectroscopic results.     

New structures of GaAlAs lateral-injection laser for low-threshold and single-mode operation

Two new structures of lateral-injection transverse junction stripe (TJS) lasers, in which the stripe geometry is formed by the double heterojunctions, have been developed. These lasers, the homojunction type and the single-heterojunction type, have a self-reverse-biased p-n junction for concentrating current into the narrow active region. The temperature dependence of the threshold current has been very much improved in one of the new structures, the homojunction type, and is fair compared with those of good conventional broad-contact lasers. The threshold current does not increase rapidly up to 350 K in the homojunction lasers. These lasers exhibit improved characteristics of low threshold, the single longitudinal mode oscillation as well as the single fundamental transverse-mode oscillation, and "kink-free" behavior in the current depedence of the light-output power.     

Purification and characterization of a highly thermostable, oxygen-resistant, respiratory [NiFe]-hydrogenase from a marine, aerobic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Hydrogenovibrio marinus

The membrane-bound [NiFe]-hydrogenase from Hydrogenovibrio marinus (HmMBH) was purified homogeneously under anaerobic conditions. Its molecular weight was estimated as 110 kDa, consisting of a heterodimeric structure of 66 kDa and 37 kDa subunits. The purified enzyme exhibited high activity in a wide temperature range: 185 U/mg at 30 °C and 615 U/mg at 85 °C (the optimum temperature). The K_m and k_cat/K_m values for H₂ were, respectively, 12 μM and 8.58 × 10⁷ M⁻¹ s⁻¹. The optimum reaction pH was 7.8, but its stability was particularly high at pH 4.0-7.0. Results show that HmMBH was remarkably thermostable and oxygen-resistant: its half-life was 75 h at 80 °C under H₂, and more than 72 h at 4 °C under air. The air-oxidized HmMBH for 72 h showed only weak EPR signals of Ni-B, suggesting a structural feature in which the active center is not easily oxidized.     

Analytical approach with Laplace transform to the inverse problem of one‐dimensional heat conduction transfer: Application to second and third boundary conditions

An analytical method using Laplace transformation has been developed for one‐dimensional heat conduction. This method succeeded in explicitly deriving the analytical solution by which the surface temperature for the first kind of boundary condition can be well predicted. The analytical solutions for the surface temperature and heat flux are applied to the second and third of the boundary conditions. These solutions are also found to estimate the corresponding surface conditions with a high degree of accuracy when the surface conditions smoothly change. On the other hand, when these conditions erratically change such as the first derivative of temperature with time, the accuracy of the estimation becomes slightly less than that for a smooth condition. This trend in the estimation is similar irrespective of any kind of boundary condition. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(1): 29–41, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10069     

Three-dimensional rainbow schlieren measurements in underexpanded sonic jets from axisymmetric convergent nozzles

The rainbow schlieren deflectometry has been combined with the computed tomography to obtain three-dimensional density fields of shock containing free jets and we call the method the schlieren CT. Experiments on the schlieren CT have been performed at a nozzle pressure ratio of 4.0 by using an axisymmetric convergent nozzle with an inner diameter of 10 mm at the exit where the nozzle was operated at an underexpanded condition. Multidirectional rainbow schlieren pictures of an underexpanded sonic jet can be acquired by rotating the nozzle about its longitudinal axis in equal angular intervals and the three-dimensional density fields are reconstructed by the schlieren CT. The validity of the schlieren CT is verified by a comparison with the density fields reconstructed by the Abel inversion method. As a result, it is found that excellent quantitative agreement is reached between the three-dimensional jet density fields reconstructed from both methods.     

Effects of crystal Structure of yttria- and scandia-stabilized zirconia in nickel-based SOFC anodes on carbon deposition and oxidation behavior

The effect of crystal structure of yttria- (YSZ) and scandia-stabilized zirconia (ScSZ) in nickel-based SOFC anodes was investigated in relation with carbon deposition and oxidation behavior in methane fuel. The lattice parameter of the zirconia decreased by the dissolution of 1-2 mol%Ni to YSZ and ScSZ. For Ni-doped ScSZ, the lattice parameter of the zirconia increased by the Ni dissolution, and the crystal structure of the zirconia was modified after reduction treatment. New finer Ni particles were formed around original Ni grains accompanied by the decrease in Ni solubility to ScSZ after reduction treatment. Carbon deposition was initiated near the boundary between Ni particles and YSZ (or ScSZ) substrate in dry methane atmosphere. Furthermore, the rod-shaped carbon was observed to grow from the new finer Ni particles on the ScSZ substrate. On the other hand, a large amount of amorphous carbon was promoted to be deposited on Ni-YSZ cermet at a high temperature of 1273 K. The amorphous carbon, however, was oxidized at lower temperatures than graphite. The carbon deposition and oxidation behavior was strongly affected by the morphology and crystallinity of deposited carbon.     

Correlation for boiling heat transfer of R-134a in horizontal tubes including effect of tube diameter

A Chen-type correlation for flow boiling heat transfer of R-134a in horizontal tubes was modified taking into account the effect of tube diameter. The effect of tube diameter on flow boiling heat transfer coefficient was characterized by the Weber number in gas phase. Results showed that this correlation could be applied to a wide range of tube diameters (0.5–11-mm-ID). In addition, the dryout point and the heat transfer characteristics after the dryout point were also investigated based on the annular flow model. The proposed experimental expressions to predict both the dryout quality and the post-dryout heat transfer coefficient could also be applied to a wide range of tube diameter (0.5–11-mm-ID).