Self-standing,hybrid three-dimensional-porous MoS2/Ni3S2 foam electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline medium

Self-standing and hybrid MoS₂/Ni₃S₂ foam is fabricated as electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline medium. The Ni₃S₂ foam with a unique surface morphology results from the sulfurization of Ni foam showing a truncated-hexagonal stacked sheets morphology. A simple dip coating of MoS₂ on the sulfurized Ni foam results in the formation of self-standing and hybrid electrocatalyst. The electrocatalytic HER performance was evaluated using the standard three-electrode setup in the de-aerated 1 M KOH solution. The electrocatalyst shows an overpotential of 190 mV at ?10 mA/cm² with a Tafel slope of 65.6 mV/dec. An increased surface roughness originated from the unique morphology enhances the HER performance of the electrocatalyst. A density functional approach shows that, the hybrid MoS₂/Ni₃S₂ heterostructure synergistically favors the hydrogen adsorption-desorption steps. The hybrid electrocatalyst shows an excellent stability under the HER condition for 12 h without any performance degradation.     

Cyclodextrin-based low molecular weight polymers as encapsulates for nonpolar drug molecules

A quaternized ammonium photoinitiator was synthesized via Michael-addition reaction and quaternization reaction, then ion-exchanged with montmorillonite (MMT). An ordered swollen structure of the intercalated montmorillonite was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). UV–vis absorption spectroscopy was employed to investigate the maximal absorption of photoinitiator and the intercalated montmorillonite. The modified montmorillonite was then mixed with urethane acylate oligomer (CN964) and tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) to form Polyurethane/montmorillonite nanocomposites by photopolymerization. The photopolymerization kinetics was monitored by real time infrared spectroscopy (RTIR). The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results revealed that the modified montmorillonite was exfoliated and dispersed in parallel alignments as multilayers in the organic matrix.     

A comparative study of Vitamin E TPGS/HPMC supersaturated system and other solubilizer/polymer combinations to enhance the permeability of a poorly soluble drug through the skin

In transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS), it is a challenge to achieve stable and prolonged high permeation rates across skin, because the concentration of the drug dissolved in the matrix has to be high in order to maintain zero order release kinetics of the drug. In case of poorly soluble drugs, due to thermodynamic challenges, there is a high tendency for the drug to nucleate immediately after formulating or even during storage. The present study focuses on the efficiency of vitamin E TPGS/HPMC supersaturated solution and other solubilizer/polymer systems to improve the solubility of the drug and inhibit crystal growth in the transdermal formulation. Effect of several solubilizers, for example, Pluronic F-127, vitamin E TPGS and co-solvent, for example, propylene glycol (PG) were studied on the supersaturated systems of ibuprofen as model drug. Various stabilizers such as hydroxylpropyl methylcellulose (HPMC 3 cps) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP K-30) were examined to evaluate their crystal inhibitory effects. Different analytical tools were used in this study to detect the growth of crystals in the systems. Vitamin E TPGS and HPMC 3 cps formulation produced the highest permeation rate of the drug as compared to other systems. In addition, the onset of crystallization time was shown to be longer with this formulation as compared to other solubilizer/polymer combinations.     

High Performance VLSI Architecture for Three-Step Search Algorithm

Motion estimation is the most computationally intensive part of any video coding standard. The three-step search algorithm is a popular fast search technique to reduce complexity in motion estimation. In this paper, we propose a novel architecture for the three-step search technique that simplifies memory addressing and reduces hardware complexity. The proposed architecture minimizes the area while maintaining the speed requirements for real-time video processing. Implemented in Verilog HDL on Virtex-5 technology and synthesized using Xilinx ISE Design Suite 14.1, the critical path in the hardware is 6.536 ns and the equivalent area is calculated to be 2.3 K gate equivalent.     

Bubble formation and dynamics in a quiescent high‐density liquid

Gas bubble formation from a submerged orifice under constant‐flow conditions in a quiescent high‐density liquid metal, lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE), at high Reynolds numbers was investigated numerically. The numerical simulation was carried out using a coupled level‐set and volume‐of‐fluid method governed by axisymmetric Navier–Stokes equations. The ratio of liquid density to gas density for the system of interest was about 15,261. The bubble formation regimes varied from quasi‐static to inertia‐dominated and the different bubbling regimes such as period‐1 and period‐2 with pairing and coalescence were described. The volume of the detached bubble was evaluated for various Weber numbers, We, at a given Bond number, Bo, with Reynolds number . It was found that at high values of the Weber number, the computed detached bubble volumes approached a 3/5 power law. The different bubbling regimes were identified quantitatively from the time evolution of the growing bubble volume at the orifice. It was shown that the growing volume of two consecutive bubbles in the period‐2 bubbling regime was not the same whereas it was the same for the period‐1 bubbling regime. The influence of grid resolution on the transition from period‐1 to period‐2 with pairing and coalescence bubbling regimes was investigated. It was observed that the transition is extremely sensitive to the grid size. The transition of period‐1 and period‐2 with pairing and coalescence is shown on a Weber–Bond numbers map. The critical value of Weber number signalling the transition from period‐1 to period‐2 with pairing and coalescence decreases with Bond number as , which is shown to be consistent with the scaling arguments. Furthermore, comparisons of the dynamics of bubble formation and bubble coalescence in LBE and water systems are discussed. It was found that in a high Reynolds number bubble formation regime, a difference exists in the transition from period‐1 to period‐2 with pairing and coalescence between the bubbles formed in water and the bubbles formed in LBE. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3996–4012, 2015     

Investigation of semiconducting parameters of Pb---Sn alloy oxide-electrolyte interface by Butler Gartner model

The effect of Sn doping on the photoactivity of anodized Pb---Sn alloy electrodes is discussed. The Butler-Gartner model has been applied to understand the reasons for getting the highest photocurrent with pure lead oxide and the next highest photocurrent with a Pb---Sn alloy oxide containing 0.1 wt.% Sn. The low photoresponse of Sn doped lead oxide is attributed to creation of a small space charge width (5600Å) compared to the large penetration depth (97,000Å) of the incident light.     

Influence of Electron Acceptor and Electron Donor on the Photophysical Properties of Carbon Dots: A Comparative Investigation at the Bulk‐State and Single‐Particle Level

Carbon dots (CDs) are extensively studied to investigate their unique optical properties such as undergoing electron transfer in different scenarios. This work presents an in‐depth investigation to study the ensemble‐averaged state/bulk state and single‐particle level photophysical properties of CDs that are passivated with electron‐accepting (CD‐A) and electron‐donating molecules (CD‐D) on their surface. The bulk‐state experiments reveal that in a mixture of these CDs, CD‐A dominates the overall photophyiscal properties and eventually leads to formation of at least two associated geometries, which is dependent on time, concentration, intramolecular electron/charge transfer, and hydrogen bonding. Single‐particle studies, however, do not reveal an “acceptor‐dominating” scenario based on analysis of instantaneous intensity, bleaching kinetics, and photoblinking, indicating that the direct interaction of these CDs may affect their photophysical properties in the bulk state due to formation of hierarchical structural assemblies. Here it is anticipated that these fundamental results will further provide insights toward the understanding of the complex mechanism associated with CD emission, which is one of the key contributors to their successful application. As an immediate application of these functional CDs, it is shown that they can be used as a sensing array for metal ions and serve as a powerful toolbox for their technological applications.     

Monte Carlo criticality analysis of simple geometries containing tungsten-rhenium alloys engrained with uranium dioxide and uranium mononitride

The critical mass and dimensions of simple geometries containing highly enriched uranium dioxide (UO₂) and uranium mononitride (UN) encapsulated in tungsten-rhenium alloys are determined using MCNP5 criticality calculations. Spheres as well as cylinders with length to radius ratios of 1.82 are computationally built to consist of 60 vol.% fuel and 40 vol.% metal matrix. Within the geometries, the uranium is enriched to 93 wt.% uranium-235 and the rhenium content within the metal alloy was modeled over the range of 0-30 at.%. The spheres containing UO₂ were determined to have a critical radius of 18.29-19.11 cm and a critical mass ranging from 366 kg to 424 kg. The cylinders containing UO₂ were found to have a critical radius ranging from 17.07 cm to 17.84 cm with a corresponding critical mass of 406-471 kg. Spheres engrained with UN were determined to have a critical radius ranging from 14.82 cm to 15.19 cm and a critical mass between 222 kg and 242 kg. Cylinders which were engrained with UN were determined to have a critical radius ranging from 13.81 cm to 14.15 cm and a corresponding critical mass of 245-267 kg. The critical geometries were also computationally submerged in a neutronically infinite medium of fresh water to determine the effects of rhenium addition on criticality accidents due to water submersion. The Monte Carlo analysis demonstrated that rhenium addition of up to 30 at.% can reduce the excess reactivity due to water submersion by up to $5.07 for UO₂ fueled cylinders, $3.87 for UO₂ fueled spheres and approximately $3.00 for UN fueled spheres and cylinders.