Photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light irradiation on Zn1-x Cu x S solid solution

The H₂ evolution reaction from an aqueous Na₂SO₃ solution proceeded with 3.7% quantum yield under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) on a Zn_0.957Cu_0.043S solid solution photocatalyst without co‐catalysts such as Pt. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cinétique de dégagement des matières volatiles lors de la pyrolyse d'électrodes de carbone industrielles

In aluminium plants, the anode baking process is associated with an important release of volatile combustible matter. It is the purpose of this study to investigate the kinetics of the evolution of these volatiles. A large thermogravimetry set-up has been designed in such a way that it could simulate real plant conditions. Samples of two distinct masses have been subjected to pyrolysis at different heating regimes. The loss of weight together with the concentrations of the released gases were recorded on a continuous basis during the temperature rise. Kinetic results were found for methane, hydrogen and tar. No variation of the order of reaction with the heating rate was observed, whereas the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor increased. Furthermore, for the range of sample dimensions studied, it was found that the mass of the solid had no significant influence on the kinetic parameters.     

Understanding aluminum behaviour in aqueous alkaline solution using coupled techniques: Part I. Rotating ring-disk study

Rotating disk electrode (RDE) and rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) measurements have been undertaken to study the behaviour of pure aluminum electrodes in alkaline media. The measurements did consist of linear sweep voltammetry from anodic to cathodic potentials on 4N, 5N or 5N5-aluminum samples in 4 M aqueous potassium hydroxide solution. In the potential range studied (−0.7 V versus NHE to −2.5 V versus NHE) the aluminum undergoes oxidation/dissolution into aluminates anions at high electrode potential while it yields strong hydrogen evolution at low potentials. Thanks to the RRDE technique, we show that hydrogen starts to evolve from the aluminum electrode even above the open circuit potential. Also, the oxidation state of superficial aluminum varies according to the electrode potential: whereas non-conducting aluminum oxides are present above the open-circuit potential hindering hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), they tend to disappear below the ocp, due to the strong hydrogen evolution, following the probable porous oxide layer blow up induced by the hydrogen bubbles formation. In consequence at very low potential, HER occurs on bare aluminum, HER kinetics being much faster than on oxide-covered aluminum.     

过度开采对地下水水化学特征的影响研究

为探究过度开采对地下水水化学特征的影响,通过对比分析研究区1997年和2010年的地下水水位与水质资料,研究了过度开采条件下地下水水位与水化学特征的动态规律及两者之间的联系。研究结果表明:1997年和2010年研究区地下水水位与水化学特征的空间变化规律具有很高的一致性,表现为地下水水位降幅较大的区域对应的镁离子、硫酸盐含量增幅也相对较大,地下水水化学特征受地下水水位变化的影响较大。空间叠加分析结果表明:镁离子、硫酸盐与地下水水位变化较大的区域空间重合率分别为72.2%,53.1%。过度开采通过改变地下水补径排条件及饱和带、非饱和带的水环境变化对地下水水化学特征产生影响,因此对于地下水不可盲目、过度开采。     

拆坝对河流生态系统的影响及评估方法综述

为研究拆坝对河流生态系统造成的影响,从短期和长期两个时间尺度综合分析了河流水文情势、地形地貌、岸边带植物、鱼类和底栖动物等关键生态因子对拆坝的响应,并总结了目前拆坝对生态系统影响的两种主要评估方法。认为根据实际拆坝情况进行评估和基于数值模型进行预测两种评估方法中,实地观测是最直接、最有说服力的研究方法,但受成本和一些不可控因素限制;数值模拟具有速度快、费用低、无比尺影响等优点,可对拆坝影响进行预测,为管理者提供参考,但精度和准确性有待提高。指出后续研究中应综合考虑拆坝过程中各生态因子间的耦合效应,需对不同拆坝时机和分阶段拆坝方式对河流生态系统的影响进行深入研究。     

Pattern synthesis of time‐modulated conformal arrays by an improved differential evolution algorithm

In this article, an improved differential evolution algorithm (IDE) based on two different colonies is proposed and applied to time‐modulated conformal arrays syntheses. The whole population of IDE is divided into two parts. The one part searches the solution globally while the other searches the neighborhood of the solution provided by the previous one. Benchmark functions are provided to testify IDE. Furthermore, IDE is applied to synthetize sum‐difference patterns with a 1 × 16 elements time‐modulated circular array and low sidelobe level (SLL) patterns with an 8 × 12 elements time‐modulated cone array. After optimization, the sideband level (SBL) of the circular array at the first sideband frequency is ?1.00 dB. The SLL and SBL at the first sideband frequency of the cone array are lower than ?30.00 and ?20.00 dB, respectively. Experiment results verify the superior performance of IDE. Moreover, to accelerate the computation speed, graphics processing unit parallel computing technique is introduced into pattern synthesis and the acceleration ratios of more than 23 times can be achieved. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:697–705, 2014.     

Hydrogen evolution in alkaline solution on electrolytic nickel-cobalt and nickel-iron deposited with different bath compositions and current densities

Nickel-cobalt and nickel-iron electrodeposits were characterized as hydrogen electrodes in alkaline water electrolysis (6 mol/L KOH, 25°C). The nickel-based codeposits were fabricated with different bath compositions and at different current densities. The hydrogen evolution in water electrolysis on the nickel-based codeposits was apparently enhanced as compared with that on nickel. The improvement of the electrocatalytic behaviour of the hydrogen electrodes is attributed to their composition and an increase of their active surface, which are dependent on the electrodeposition conditions.     

A global energy optimization framework for 2.1D sketch extraction from monocular images

The 2.1D sketch is a layered image representation, which assigns a partial depth ordering of over-segmented regions in a monocular image. This paper presents a global optimization framework for inferring the 2.1D sketch from a monocular image. Our method only uses over-segmented image regions (i.e., superpixels) as input, without any information of objects in the image, since (1) segmenting objects in images is a difficult problem on its own and (2) the objective of our proposed method is to be generic as an initial module useful for downstream high-level vision tasks. This paper formulates the inference of the 2.1D sketch using a global energy optimization framework. The proposed energy function consists of two components: (1) one is defined based on the local partial ordering relations (i.e., figure-ground) between two adjacent over-segmented regions, which captures the marginal information of the global partial depth ordering and (2) the other is defined based on the same depth layer relations among all the over-segmented regions, which groups regions of the same object to account for the over-segmentation issues. A hybrid evolution algorithm is utilized to minimize the global energy function efficiently. In experiments, we evaluated our method on a test data set containing 100 diverse real images from Berkeley segmentation data set (BSDS500) with the annotated ground truth. Experimental results show that our method can infer the 2.1D sketch with high accuracy.     

Pt/TiO_2光催化制氢的初步研究

对无氧条件下Pt/TiO_2光催化重整甲醇制氢的基本步骤进行简化,在同一体系中进行了光催化剂的合成和光催化制氢的两步反应。基于正交设计法对该复杂体系进行了分析,得到Pt载量、甲醇/水体积、灯距、前反应时间这4种影响因素的3个不同水平对放氢速率的影响。确定了最佳实验条件为Pt载量0.5％(mol)、甲醇/水体积比5:1、灯距12 cm、前反应时间3h。分析结果表明,Pt载量对放氢速率的影响最大。实验获得的最高放氢速率为5.84 ml·h~(-1)·g~(-1)。     

Retaining and attracting users in social networking services: An empirical investigation of cyber migration

Users are the most critical strategic resource of any online social networking service (SNS). This paper offers strategic recommendations for SNS providers based on an empirical study exploring why users switch from a primary SNS to others. We first identify important characteristics that combine to distinguish SNSs from conventional information systems, then develop a “cyber migration” research model that includes push, pull and mooring factors which influence user intention to switch from one SNS to another. Findings from a field survey of 180 users reveal four significant factors that promote switching: dissatisfaction with socialization support, dissatisfaction with entertainment value, continuity cost, and peer influence. Strategies grounded in these factors are suggested for SNS providers to better attract and retain users.