Progress and major BARRIERS of nanocatalyst development in direct methanol fuel cell: A review

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), among the most suited and prospective alternatives for portable electronics, have lately been treated with nanotechnology. DMFCs may be able to remedy the energy security issue by having low operating temperatures, high conversion efficiencies, and minimal emission levels. Though, slow reaction kinetics are a significant restriction of DMFC, lowering efficiency and energy output. Nowadays, research is more focused on fundamental studies that are studying the factors that can improve the capacity and activity of catalysts. In DMFC, among the most widely explored catalysts are platinum and ruthenium which are enhanced in nature by the presence of supporting materials such as nanocarbons and metal oxides. As a result, this research sheds light on nanocatalyst development for DMFCs based on Platinum noble metal. To summarize, this research focuses on the structure of nanocatalysts, as well as support materials for nanocatalysts that can be 3D, 2D, 1D, or 0D. The support material described is made up of CNT, CNF, and CNW, which are the most extensively used because they improve the performance of catalysts in DMFCs. In addition, cost estimations for fuel cell technology are emphasized to show the technology's status and requirements. Finally, challenges to nanocatalyst development have been recognized, as well as future prospects, as recommendations for more innovative future research.     

技术性贸易壁垒对我国出口的影响及对策研究

随着国际贸易的发展,技术性贸易壁垒已成为WTO体制下推行贸易保护的最有效的方法之一．析了欧盟、美国、日本等发达国家实施的技术性贸易壁垒对我国出口的影响,并以美国为例对两者间的关系进行了实证分析,然后分析了这种影响产生的原因,最后提出了一些应对技术性贸易壁垒的措施．     

基于Multi Agent的技术性贸易壁垒

技术性贸易壁垒成为阻碍我国出口的主要因素,建立高效的预警预测系统已经势在必行。结合MultiAgent和Ontology技术,在JADE开发平台的基础上,给出了系统的详细设计方案和实现的关键技术。     

Characterization of Clay Particle Surfaces for Contaminant Sorption in Soil Barriers Using Flow Microcalorimetry

Clays such as kaolinite and bentonite are widely used in various industries as sorbents. The sorptive characteristics of clays are exploited when they are used in contaminant barrier systems. To use clays effectively, their surface characteristics need to be known; especially, when they are used for contaminant sorption. Available surface area of clay minerals and the characteristics that depend on it are very sensitive to environmental changes such as those that can be induced by changes in the composition of pore fluid. Flow microcalorimetry with a down-stream concentration was used to determine the heats and amounts of adsorption of acids and bases on the clays. Test results presented herein revealed that both kaolinite and bentonite exhibit significantly different adsorption isotherms and heat of wetting under high pH and low pH conditions. Kaolinite has the capacity to adsorb both acidic and basic molecules almost equally. However, it has a tendency to adsorb more base than acid because of its stronger complexation capacity with acids than with bases. On the other hand, bentonite has a tendency to adsorb more acidic than basic molecules per gram. These results also indicate that both kaolinite and bentonite have different heats of wetting characteristics. As the concentrations of the acids and bases increase, the heat of wetting of kaolinite decreases while that of bentonite increases.     

Collaboration barriers in BIM-based construction networks: A conceptual model

Building information modelling (BIM) teams, hereafter referred to as BIM-based construction networks, are teams whose possibly geographically dispersed members from various organisations and disciplines, perform project tasks on BIM-enabled projects. In recent years, BIM-based construction networks have progressively become the norm in executing BIM activities on projects. However, even though achieving BIM's full capabilities relies on effective collaboration among the team members in BIM-based construction networks, it is still a struggle for these members to collaborate. Nonetheless, only a few studies have been conducted to identify the barriers to strengthening team collaboration in BIM-based construction networks. To address this gap, the current study, by examining 73 journal articles on collaboration in BIM-based construction networks, builds upon a theoretical review of the literature. A conceptual model is presented to capture the main barriers to collaboration in BIM-based construction networks. The study benefits researchers as well as project managers. For researchers, the conceptual model provides an intermediate theory, namely, a theoretical basis to direct further knowledge creation attempts on the topic. In addition, the conceptual model supports project managers on BIM-enabled projects. That is, it simplifies the knowledge now available for practical applications enabling it to be translated into guidelines and practical instructions on real-life projects.     

Global social knowledge management – Understanding barriers for global workers utilizing social software

Utilizing social software as a part of a global knowledge management strategy has raised increasing interest in enterprises as well as in the educational domain. Rather than being proactive, organizations tend to face barriers related to knowledge management after the problems occur. When dealing with social technologies in a distributed setting, organizations and individuals face a variety of barriers currently unrecognized in knowledge management literature. Within the study, we analyze knowledge management literature extending the body of knowledge with barrier analysis regarding global challenges as well as social software. Our focus is especially on knowledge exchange and globally distributed collaboration activities in organizations. We argue for contextualized understanding of the barriers, recognizing the challenges studied in similar activities. The paper concludes with a synthesis of these interrelated components, proposing a Global Social Knowledge Management-barrier framework that demonstrates the wide spectrum of possible challenges in globally distributed, social software supported knowledge management activities.     

Influence of personality on travel-related consumer-generated media creation

While a growing number of travelers engages in consumer-generated media (CGM) use and creation, the gap between the number of users and the number of actual content creators remains large. It is important to find out what drives this minority of creators and what makes them different from those who only use CGM. Personality has been found to be a particularly influential trait that predicts behavior. The influence of personality on travel CGM creation was investigated and the results indicate that travelers’ personality traits significantly influence perceived barriers to content creation, motivations to engage in CGM creation, and specific creation behaviors. Contributions and implications are discussed from both a theoretical and a practical perspective.     

Diffusive Transport of VOCs through LLDPE and Two Coextruded Geomembranes

The diffusive properties of two coextruded geomembranes, one with a polyamide inner core and the other with an ethylene vinyl-alcohol (EVOH) inner core, and a standard 0.53-mm (20-mil) linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) geomembrane were examined. Diffusion and sorption laboratory tests were performed to estimate the parameters controlling diffusive migration, including the partitioning, diffusion, and permeation coefficients of the geomembrane in both the aqueous and vapor phases. Results indicate a significant reduction in mass flux through the coextruded geomembranes compared to conventional LLDPE. The EVOH coextruded geomembrane had the lowest permeation coefficients (Pg) with a range of (2–6)×10?12?m2?s?1 for diffusion from the aqueous phase. These values for EVOH are upper bounds and the actual values may be lower than as stated. The polyamide (nylon) coextruded geomembrane had higher values than for EVOH, with a Pg range of (0.7–2.2)×10?11?m2?s?1 from the aqueous phase. The highest permeation coefficients were for the standard 20-mil LLDPE, which ranged from (0.6–1.1)×10?10?m2?s?1. Thus the permeation coefficient for LLDPE was about one order of magnitude greater than for the nylon coextruded and at least two orders of magnitudes higher than for the EVOH coextruded geomembrane. Both coextruded geomembranes showed decreased Pg values and therefore improved diffusive resistance to volatile organic compounds over traditional 0.56-mm PVC geomembranes. The EVOH geomembrane showed a 5–12-fold decrease in Pg in comparison to a 2.0-mm high density polyethylene geomembrane.     

Barriers and drivers for non-shoppers in B2C e-commerce: A latent class exploratory analysis

The barriers and drivers of e-shopping, as well as segmentation and behavior of e-shoppers, have been long studied in the last two decades, but the behavior of non-shoppers in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce is still an open field for research which has seldom been dealt with. Our exploratory study has as its main objective the classification of non-shoppers in B2C e-commerce based on the barriers which keep deterring them from purchasing on the Internet and the drivers which might lead them to engage in e-shopping. In order to achieve this goal, data was gathered from 1499 Spanish respondents from a nationwide household panel survey. The responses were analyzed using a latent class analysis (LCA) approach and the results show four different types of non-shoppers based on the barriers for online shopping, while six different groups were identified based on the drivers to start shopping on the Internet. Implications for research and practice from the findings of the study are discussed in the final section.     

Barriers to and driving forces for energy efficiency in the non-energy intensive manufacturing industry in Sweden

The manufacturing industry is facing tougher competition which increases the demand to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures. However, studies have indicated that obvious cost-efficient measures are not always undertaken. This is explained by the existence of barriers to energy efficiency. The aim of this study is to investigate the existence and importance of different barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the Swedish non-energy intensive manufacturing industry. Results from this study highlight a number of factors that inhibit the degree of implementation, such as the cost and risk associated with production disruptions, lack of time and other priorities, lack of sub-metering in larger organizations, etc. The study also finds a number of drivers, such as the existence of people with real ambition and a long-term energy strategy at site level.