Understanding silica-supported metal catalysts: Pd/silica as a case study

Supported metal catalysts, particularly noble metals supported on SiO₂, have attracted considerable attention due to the importance of the silica–metal interface in heterogeneous catalysis and in electronic device fabrication. Several important issues, e.g., the stability of the metal–oxide interface at working temperatures and pressures, are not well-understood. In this review, the present status of our understanding of the metal–silica interface is reviewed. Recent results of model studies in our laboratories on Pd/SiO₂/Mo(1 1 2) using LEED, AES and STM are reported. In this work, epitaxial, ultrathin, well-ordered SiO₂ films were grown on a Mo(1 1 2) substrate to circumvent complications that frequently arise from the silica–silicon interface present in silica thin films grown on silicon.     

Effects of genotype and treatment on the antioxidant activity of sweet potato in Taiwan

Six genotypes of sweet potato commercially available in Taiwan, including TNG57, TNG66, TNG68, TYY1, RP and WP, were used as samples in this study of the effects of steaming and kneading with pre-steaming treatments on the antioxidant components and antioxidant properties of methanolic extracts. Steam treatment increased the total phenols contents of all genotypes (2–13 times), flavonoids content of RP (1.3 times) and anthocyanins contents of RP and WP (5–6 times). Steam treatment also increased the reducing power and scavenging DPPH radical effect of sweet potato flours. For the methanolic extracts of steamed and kneaded flours, reducing powers were 0.02–1.70 at 5.0 mg ml⁻¹ and the scavenging effects on DPPH radicals were 19–92% at 2.5 mg ml⁻¹. Both showed the order of RP > WP > TYY1 and TNG66 > TNG57 and TNG68. However, the chelating effect of the six genotypes at 1.0 mg ml⁻¹ ranged from 50% to 73%. Contents of total phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins of sweet potato flours were significantly positively correlated with the reducing power and scavenging DPPH radical effects. After steaming and kneading treatments, RP showed the highest increase in the contents of total phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins among the six genotypes studied.     

8Li次级束的产生

在北京串列加速器次级束流线上通过2 H(7Li,8Li) 1H逆运动学反应产生了用于核天体物理研究的8Li次级束。准直后的次级束纯度达到 80 %以上 ,对于 44MeV的7Li强度约为 3 0s- 1·pnA- 1,可以用来进行逆几何转移反应的实验测量。     

Visual tracking in high-dimensional state space by appearance-guided particle filtering

In this paper, we propose a new approach, appearance-guided particle filtering (AGPF), for high degree-of-freedom visual tracking from an image sequence. This method adopts some known attractors in the state space and integrates both appearance and motion-transition information for visual tracking. A probability propagation model based on these two types of information is derived from a Bayesian formulation, and a particle filtering framework is developed to realize it. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for high degree-of-freedom visual tracking problems, such as articulated hand tracking and lip-contour tracking.     

A 0.9 V 92 dB Double-Sampled Switched-RC Delta-Sigma Audio ADC

A 0.9 V third-order double-sampled delta-sigma audio ADC is presented. A new method using a combination of a switched-RC technique and a floating switched-capacitor double-sampling configuration enabled low-voltage operation without clock boosting or bootstrapping. A three-level quantizer with simple dynamic element matching was used to improve linearity. The prototype IC implemented in a 0.13 CMOS process achieves 92 dB DR, 91 dB SNR and 89 dB SNDR in a 24 kHz audio signal bandwidth, while consuming 1.5 mW from a 0.9 V supply. The prototype operates from 0.65 V to 1.5 V supply with minimal performance degradation.     

Poly(butylene terephthalate)–clay nanocomposites prepared by melt intercalation: morphology and thermomechanical properties

Nanocomposites based on poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and an organoclay (Cloisite 30B) were prepared by melt blending using a twin‐screw extruder. Two kinds of PBTs, ie PBT‐A and PBT‐B, with different inherent viscosities (η_inh), were used for this study (η_inh of PBT‐A and PBT‐B were 0.74 and 1.48, respectively). Dispersion of the clay layers in the PBT nanocomposites was characterized by using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tensile and dynamic mechanical properties and non‐isothermal crystallization temperatures of the nanocomposites were also examined. Nanocomposites based on the higher‐viscosity PBT (PBT‐B) showed a higher degree of exfoliation of the clay and a higher reinforcing effect when compared to the composites based on the lower‐viscosity PBT (PBT‐A). The clay nanolayers dispersed in PBT matrices lead to increases in the non‐isothermal crystallization temperatures of the PBTs, with such increases being more significant for the PBT‐B nanocomposites than for the PBT‐A nanoocomposites. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Morphology and properties of poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethyl‐hexyloxy)‐para‐phenylene vinylene]/silica nanoparticle hybrid films

Poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethyl‐hexyloxy)‐para‐phenylene vinylene] (MEH‐PPV)/silica nanoparticle hybrid films were prepared and characterised. Three kinds of materials were compared: parent MEH‐PPV, MEH‐PPV/silica (hybrid A films), and MEH‐PPV/coupling agent MSMA/silica (hybrid B films), in which MSMA is 3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate. It was found that the hybrid B films could significantly prevent macrophase separation, as evidenced by scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, the thermal characteristics of the hybrid films were largely improved in comparison with the parent MEH‐PPV. The UV‐visible absorption spectra suggested that the incorporation of MSMA‐modified silica into MEH‐PPV could confine the polymer chain between nanoparticles and thus increase the conjugation length. The photoluminescence (PL) studies also indicated enhancement of the PL intensity and quantum efficiency by incorporating just 2 wt% of MSMA‐modified silica into MEH‐PPV. However, hybrid A films did not show such enhancement of optoelectronic properties as the hybrid B films. The present study suggests the importance of the interface between the luminescent organic polymers and the inorganic silica on morphology and optoelectronic properties. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effects of Na, Cu, Ni and Co Modifications on the Activity and Characteristics of Rh/Al2O3 Catalysts for NO Reduction

This study used different metals to modify Rh/Al₂O₃ catalysts for NO reduction in a simulated waste incineration flue gas containing 6% O₂. The characteristics of the modified catalysts were analyzed using BET, TEM and XRD. The results of the experiment reveal that Na addition can significantly affect the properties of Rh/Al₂O₃ catalysts on the BET surface area and Rh metal dispersion. Furthermore, Na addition was found to significantly enhance the NO conversion of Rh/Al₂O₃ at 250–350 °C. On the contrary, Cu, Ni, and Co addition was found to have slight suppression effects.     

Onset of buoyancy-driven convection in melting from below

When a horizontal homogeneous solid is melted from below, convection can be induced in a thermally unstable melt layer. In this study the onset of buoyancy-driven convection during time-dependent melting is investigated by using similarly transformed disturbance equations. The critical Rayleigh numbers based on the melt-layer thickness are found numerically for various conditions. For small superheats, the present predictions approach the well known results of classical Rayleigh-Bénard problems, that is, critical Rayleigh numbers are located between 1,296 and 1,708, regardless of the Prandtl number. However, for high superheats the critical Rayleigh number increases with an increase in phase change rate but with decrease in Prandtl number.