Effect of Adding Transition Metals to Copper on the Dehydrogenation Reaction of Ethanol

The present work aims to investigate the effect adding Ag, Co, Ni, Cd and Pt to copper on ethanol dehydrogenation. The catalysts synthesized by deposition–precipitation method were characterized using various physicochemical methods such as N₂ adsorption–desorption, TPR, SEM–EDX, XRD, XPS and TGA–DSC-MS. Catalytic evaluation results revealed that the predominant product of the reaction was acetaldehyde. Monometallic copper or mixed with Cd, Ag or Co show good catalytic performances. Adding nickel to copper improves the process conversion but reduces acetaldehyde selectivity, giving rise to methane in produced hydrogen. Pt-Cu/SiO₂ catalyst guides the reaction towards diethyl ether. Time on stream tests performed during 12 h at 260 °C, showed that adding Cd to Cu enhances its stability by over 30% of conversion, this is explained by the reduction of copper crystallites sintering, which makes Cd-Cu/SiO₂ a promising catalyst for the production of acetaldehyde by ethanol dehydrogenation.

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A modified design approach for compact ultra‐wideband microstrip filters

A modified design approach for compact ultra‐wideband microstrip filters with cascaded/folded stepped‐impedance resonators is described. The key feature of the proposed method is to facilitate stronger coupling between stepped‐impedance resonators and, at the same time, eliminate the requirement of extremely small gaps in coupled‐line sections, as found in traditional designs. Simulations and measurements demonstrate that the filters designed with this technique exhibit good reflection, insertion‐loss, and group‐delay performance within the 3.1–10.6 GHz band. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 2010.     

Microwave-assisted extraction kinetics of terpenes from caraway seeds

The process conditions during the extraction of carvone and limonene from caraway seed (Carum carvi L.) with microwave-assisted extraction have been studied with respect to microwave power, radiation dose and extraction time in order to obtain the secondary metabolites selectively. Using classical solid–liquid extraction, limonene, carvone and fatty oils in both the raw material and the residual matrix material were extracted. Yields of limonene, carvone and total oil (C₁₆, C₁₈) were determined by GC and GC/MS analysis for both extracts. The effects of microwaves on cell walls and cells destruction could be seen on SEM micrographs.     

Ultrasound-Assisted Aromatisation with Condiments as an Enabling Technique for Olive Oil Flavouring and Shelf Life Enhancement

Olive oil flavour represents the most important factor that influences customer’s perception for quality. In this study, an innovative aromatisation approach that enhanced quality and shelf life of olive oil is tested by means of in situ ultrasound-assisted extraction of Carum carvi L. seeds in olive oil. After the flavouring process, carvone and limonene, representing 99 % of caraway essential oil, were identified in virgin olive oil as revealed by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometer (HS-SPME gas chromatograph (GC)/mass spectrometer (MS)) analyses. Furthermore, kinetic studies indicate that flavouring rate in ultrasound-assisted system is faster than conventional aromatisation producing very stable aromatised oil with no changes in quality. This fact is attributed to ultrasound contribution to mass transfer intensification of essential oil components from seeds to the bulk medium, confirmed by scanning electron micrograph (SEM) micrographs in which cell damage and exudation of its main content are illustrated. However, it is important to note that ultrasound-treated samples produce higher degrees of conjugated dienes and conjugated trienes compared to conventional maceration. Nevertheless, this increase is not alarming and remains within permitted values of the European Community and the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC). Ultrasound-flavouring system stands as a fast alternative aromatisation method, which allows on top shelf life enhancement and olive oil quality preservation.     

Electrochemical polymerization and in situ FTIRS study of conducting polymers obtained from o-aminobenzoic with aniline at platinum electrodes

The electrochemical copolymerization of o-aminobenzoic acid with aniline (ANI) was carried out on platinum electrodes in perchloric acid aqueous medium by cyclic scanning of the potential. Electrochemical homopolymerization of o-aminobenzoic acid was also done. Experimental results showed that the polymers are formed in all cases and the presence of aniline promoted markedly the growth of the rate of copolymerization.The obtained polymer films have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry and in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The mechanism of the electrochemical polymerization reaction has been discussed.     

First-principles Calculations of Structural,Magnetic Electronic and Optical Properties of Rare-earth Metals TbX (X=N,O, S,Se)

The structural, magnetic, electronic and optical properties of Terbium-based binaries (TbX) (X = N, O, S and Se) in two cubic structures NaCl and CsCl have been investigated. This study is carried out by Full-Potential linearized Muffin-Tin orbitals (FP-LMTO) method in the framework of the functional theory of density (DFT) implemented in the lmtart code. The presence of f-state electrons in these induced high-correlation materials led us to study these systems using local density approximation (LDA) for the paramagnetic state and spin local density approximation (LSDA) for the ferromagnetic state within two cubic structures. We have demonstrated that these binaries are stable in the ferromagnetic state in the cubic phase of NaCl, which allows us to deduce the magnetic moments of these components. From the electronic band structures and density states, we have concluded that TbX (X = N, O, S and Se) are metallic in the NaCl phase. The results obtained in this work show that the theoretical parameters of the ground state, structure of the bands, density of the states (DOS) and optical properties agree well with other available theoretical and experimental data.     

Direct‐coupled waveguide filters for the lower gigahertz frequency range

An analysis method based on the coupled‐integral‐equations technique (CIET) and the mode‐matching technique (MMT) is presented for the design of a variety of direct‐coupled waveguide filters suitable for applications in the lower gigahertz frequency range. The method is verified by comparison with data obtained through other numerical techniques and measurements. With reference to standard waveguide filters, the issues of filter miniaturization and stopband extension toward higher frequency bands are investigated. For given frequency specifications in the 2‐GHz frequency range, examples of rectangular coaxial waveguide filters, ridge waveguide filters, ridge waveguide filters including coupling irises and T‐septum waveguide filters are presented. It is demonstrated that the rectangular/square coaxial waveguide filter achieves the highest degree of miniaturization, but that ridge and, especially, T‐septum waveguide filter technology is advantageous with respect to stopband performance toward higher frequencies. In particular, a T‐septum filter centered at 2.155 GHz is shown to block the entire frequency range up to 7.5 GHz. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 12: 217–225, 2002.