An efficient strategy for the partial oxidation of methane into methanol over POM-immobilized MOF catalysts under ambient conditions

One of the scientific obstacles in the direct conversion of methane to methanol lies in how to improve product selectivity. A dark photocatalysis mode that decouples solar energy in the dark may effectively alleviate this challenge. Herein, a range of composites had been prepared in which Fe-BTC was employed as the gas enrichment unit, while phosphotungstic acid (PTA) acted mainly as an electron storage within the framework. The modified reaction system allowed for the achievement of methanol yields up to 968 μmol·g_cat⁻¹·h⁻¹ under ambient conditions. Besides extrinsic factors, such as a gentle reaction environment and avoidance of the oxidation reactions between photogenerated holes and alcohols, we also demonstrated through in situ EPR measurements that the introduced PTA effectively regulated •OH radicals and suppressed their further reaction with methanol. Moreover, the strategy demonstrated its universality by effectively enhancing the performance of other POM-immobilized MOF composites. This work opens a new path for the efficient and targeted conversion of inert methane to methanol.     

Effective width estimation of flanged reinforced concrete shear walls

The present study deals with introducing a novel approach toward estimating the effective width of flanged reinforced concrete shear walls (FRCSWs). Due to the paucity of studies in assessing the effective width of nonrectangular sections, this paper aims at proposing efficacious formulations for the effective width estimation of short, squat, and slender T- and U-shaped reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls subjected to the simultaneous action of the axial and lateral loading. To this end, at first, FRCSWs are simulated in the flanged shear wall numerical laboratory (FlashLab) program, which utilizes the finite element Abaqus software to analyze the walls. Thereafter, employing the developed numerical models, an extensive parametric investigation is conducted for a wide range of the key parameters. General expressions have then been developed to estimate the effective width of flanged RC shear walls invoking the evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR) analysis in conjunction with the genetic algorithm (GA). To assess the capability of the established equations in predicting the effective width of flanged sections, R-factors have been calculated for all the cases examined in this study, which ranged between 0.78 and 0.94. Furthermore, a comparison has been made among the results attained through the proposed methodology and those obtained using the conventional design codes. It was revealed that the relative error obtained employing the proposed formulations is less than that of the corresponding values of the design codes by approximately 30% on average. The superiority of the established framework stems from consideration of the following: (1) influential parameters, (2) effective width variations at different performance levels, (3) loading direction, and (4) type of the wall in the effective width calculation process.