Optimal Doping for Enhanced SnO2 Sensitivity and Thermal Stability

Tin oxide nanocrystals (5–10 nm) doped with silica (0–15 wt %) were made by flame‐spray‐pyrolysis direct deposition onto the sensing electrodes and in situ stabilization by rapid flame annealing. Although increased SiO₂‐doping reduced the SnO₂ crystal and grain size, its sensing performance to ethanol vapor (0.1–50 ppm) exhibited an optimum with respect to SiO₂ content. The thermal stability and morphology of SiO₂‐doped SnO₂ nanoparticles were evaluated by sintering at 200–900 °C for 4–24 h in air. At low SiO₂ content, sintering of SnO₂ was prevented only partially resulting in small sinter necks (bottlenecks) between SnO₂ primary particles (smaller than twice the Debye length). This morphology drastically enhanced the sensitivity toward the analyte by maintaining a thermally stable high surface area and fully depleted connections at the primary particle necks. This enhancement is attributed mostly to the decreasing neck size of the SnO₂ SiO₂ heterojunctions rather than the decreasing SnO₂ crystallite and grain sizes with increasing SiO₂ doping. At high SiO₂ contents, SnO₂ sintering was inhibited as its grains were separated effectively by dielectric SiO₂; this resulted in isolated SnO₂ nanocrystals with drastically reduced sensitivity, thereby effectively being insulators.     

Oxygen sensors based on a new design concept for amperometric solid state devices

A new design for all-solid amperometric detectors was tested as an oxygen sensor in the 1%–25% v/v concentration range. The design consisted of both the working (WEs) and counter electrodes (CEs) being vacuum-deposited as non-porous Au layers on the same face of a Nafion® membrane and in contact with the gas sample. Both a three-electrode device (the reference electrode being a strip of Ag/AgCl inserted between the two Au layers) and a two-electrode one were tested. In the former case, the sensor exhibited good linearity with oxygen concentration, response times comparable to a commercial sensor but a strong dependence on humidity. The origin of the latter is not due to ohmic losses but rather to the loss of catalytic activity with decreasing water contact in the polymer. The two-electrode device exhibits signal saturation at high oxygen concentrations, which is interpreted by limitations imposed by the CE reactivity. In both cases, oxygen reduction led to an exponential current rise over a wide potential range indicating very high mass transport rates and implying that the electroactive gas reacts at the line formed by the gas/solid electrolyte/metal layer interface.     

Characteristics and Catalytic Properties of Pd/SiO2 Synthesized by One-step Flame Spray Pyrolysis in Liquid-phase Hydrogenation of 1-Heptyne

In this study, Pd/SiO₂ catalysts with 0.5–10 wt.% Pd loadings were prepared by one-step flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and characterized by N₂ physisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), CO chemisorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The average cluster/particles size of Pd as revealed by TEM were ca. 0.5–3 nm. The turnover frequencies (TOFs) of the flame-made catalysts decreased from 66.2 to 4.3 per s as Pd loading increased from 0.5 to 10 wt.%, suggesting that the catalytic activity was dependent on Pd particle/cluster size. However, there were no appreciable influences on 1-heptene selectivity. The flame-made Pd/SiO₂ showed better properties than the conventional prepared catalysts. Their advantages are not only the presence of large pores that facilitates diffusion of the reactants and products, but also the high-catalytic activity of as-synthesized catalysts so that further pretreatment is not necessary.     

Energy—size reduction laws for ultrasonic fragmentation

The energy requirement is a key criterion for the selection and use of a grinding process. Ultrasonic dispersion is extensively used to disperse submicron agglomerated powders in liquid suspensions. Suspensions of silica agglomerates were ground with solids concentration up to 50% by weight. The fragmentation or grinding rate is inversely proportional to suspension volume. Starting from a semiempirical expression that relates fragmentation rate to particle size, suspension volume and ultrasonic power, energy consumption laws for both eroding and non-eroding powders are developed. Experimental results supporting the energy consumption laws are given. Lower power input for ultrasonication favors efficient energy use. For eroding powders (e.g. silica, zirconia) the energy expenditure per unit powder mass (specific energy) by ultrasonic grinding is lower than that of conventional grinding techniques. In contrast, it is slightly higher than ball milling for non-eroding powders (e.g. titania).     

Silver Nanoparticles from Oregano Leaves’ Extracts as Antimicrobial Components for Non-Infected Hydrogel Contact Lenses

The oregano leaves’ extract (ORLE) was used for the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs(ORLE)). ORLE and AgNPs(ORLE) (2 mg/mL) were dispersed in polymer hydrogels to give the pHEMA@ORLE_2 and pHEMA@AgNPs(ORLE)_2 using hydroxyethyl–methacrylate (HEMA). The materials were characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRPD), thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), derivative thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry (DTG/DSC), ultraviolet (UV-Vis), and attenuated total reflection mode (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopies in solid state and UV–Vis in solution. The crystallite size value, analyzed with XRPD, was determined at 20 nm. The antimicrobial activity of the materials was investigated against Gram-negative bacterial strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The Gram-positive ones of the genus of Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are known to be involved in microbial keratitis by the means of inhibitory zone (IZ), minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The IZs, which developed upon incubation of P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. epidermidis, and S. aureus with paper discs soaked in 2 mg/mL of AgNPs(ORLE), were 11.7 ± 0.7, 13.5 ± 1.9, 12.7 ± 1.7, and 14.3 ± 1.7 mm. When the same dose of ORLE was administrated, the IZs were 10.2 ± 0.7, 9.2 ± 0.5, 9.0 ± 0.0, and 9.0 ± 0.0 mm. The percent of bacterial viability when they were incubated over the polymeric hydrogel discs of pHEMA@AgNPs(ORLE)_2 was interestingly low (66.5, 88.3, 77.7, and 59.6%, respectively, against of P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. epidermidis, and S. aureus) and those of pHEMA@ORLE_2 were 89.3, 88.1, 92.8, and 84.6%, respectively. Consequently, pHEMA@AgNPs(ORLE)_2 could be an efficient candidate toward the development of non-infectious contact lenses.     

Thermodynamics of Vapor Synthesis of AlN by Nitridation of Aluminum and Its Halides

A thermodynamic analysis for the vapor synthesis of AlN is presented. A thermodynamic equilibrium computer code and recent thermochemical tables are used to evaluate various reactant gases for their potential to produce high-purity AlN at high yields. The Al/N/H/X/Y systems are examined, where X is any halide atom and Y is an inert gas. The effects of reactant ratio, temperature, and pressure on reactant conversion and product purity are estimated. Results from two systems are presented in the form of design diagrams, which represent the phases formed and the conversion achieved at various process conditions.     

PHOTOCATALYTIC DESTRUCTION OF PHENOL AND SALICYLIC ACID WITH AEROSOL-MADE AND COMMERCIAL TITANIA POWDERS

The photocatalytic destruction of phenol and salicylic acid in aerated aqueous suspensions of titania powders made in flame reactors was studied. These powders were made in five hydrocarbon diffusion flames by hydrolysis and oxidation of TiCI₄that resulted in powders of high specific surface area and high anatase content. The photoactivity of the flame-made titania powders was comparable and slightly better to that of commercial Degussa P25. Doping the titania with SiO₂ was detrimental to the photoactivity of the powders in contrast with what was seen in non-aerated suspensions. The photodegradation of phenol followed a first-order law while the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model was found to most accurately represent the photodegradation of salicylic acid.     

Scalable flame synthesis of SiO2 nanowires: dynamics of growth

Silica nanowire arrays were grown directly onto plain glass substrates by scalable flame spray pyrolysis of organometallic solutions (hexamethyldisiloxane or tetraethyl orthosilicate). The silicon dioxide films consisted of a network of interwoven nanowires from a few to several hundred nanometres long (depending on the process conditions) and about 20 nm in diameter, as determined by scanning electron microscopy. These films were formed rapidly (within 10-20 s) at high growth rates (ca 11-30 nm s(-1)) by chemical vapour deposition (surface growth) at ambient conditions on the glass substrate as determined by thermophoretic sampling of the flame aerosol and microscopy. In contrast, on high purity quartz nearly no nanowires were grown while on steel substrates porous SiO(2) films were formed. Functionalization with perfluorooctyl triethoxysilane converted the nanowire surface from super-hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Additionally, their hermetic coating by thin carbon layers was demonstrated also revealing their potential as substrates for synthesis of other functional 1D composite structures. This approach is a significant step towards large scale synthesis of SiO(2) nanowires facilitating their utilization in several applications.     

基于圆环和等强度截面的纤维缠绕环形容器设计与分析

复合材料环形压力容器以其特有的结构形状得到了日益广泛的应用.目前关于纤维缠绕环形容器的研究主要局限于测地线缠绕圆环截面容器.由于环形容器的结构效率取决于它的管截面形状,所以使用圆环截面的环形容器无法实现等强度结构.本文提出了分别使用圆环截面和等强度截面的环形压力容器设计方法,并对二者进行了比较.基于最小应变能准则,得到了缠绕层铺设角和环壳内力间的最优化关系.根据网格理论,考虑截面缠绕层的厚度变化,导出了圆环容器缠绕的最优线型.引入应力比,分析了环壳上纤维的应力分布.描述了等强度经线曲线的一般形状,分析了轴向截荷对等强度曲线形状的影响.计算结果表明当轴向载荷达到一定数值时,等强度曲线能够实现闭合形成环形容器.进一步计算和比较了两种截面形状的环形压力容器在不同相对弯曲半径下的结构质量.研究表明,使用等强度截面设计的环形容器比使用圆环截面的环形容器要轻的多.通过等强度截面设计,环形压力容器的结构性能得到了明显的提高.     

Definition and Performance Evaluation of Network Services Deployed Over a Differentiated Services Network

A vital requirement for next generation IP networks is the provision of services with differentiated behavior and characteristics. The basic reason for that is the need to provide Quality of Service (QoS) to the different types of user traffic produced by applications that are different in nature and behavior, analogously to the IP network services. The Differentiated Services (DiffServ) paradigm is still one of the major outcomes of the research community toward the provision of QoS to individual customer needs and applications. This paper addresses the definition and deployment of specific network services in a DiffServ environment. We reuse and extend the fundamental concepts of the Expedited Forwarding and Assured Forwarding per hop behaviors in order to define four new network services, apart from the well known Best Effort one, which introduce a specific traffic handling implementation along with an Admission Control methodology. These are analyzed and simulated in the paper in order to evaluate their performance and confirm the correctness of their fundamental principles.