Radius of clusters at the percolation threshold: A position space renormalization group study

Using a direct position-space renormalization-group approach we study percolation clusters in the limits , wheres is the number of occupied elements in a cluster. We do this by assigning a fugacityK per cluster element; asK approaches a critical valueK _c , the conjugate variables . All exponents along the path (K–K _c ) 0 are then related to a corresponding exponent along the paths . We calculate the exponent , which describes how the radius of ans-site cluster grows withs at the percolation threshold, in dimensionsd=2, 3. Ind=2 our numerical estimate of =0.52±0.02, obtained from extrapolation and from cell-to-cell transformation procedures, is in agreement with the best known estimates. We combine this result with previous PSRG calculations for the connectedness-length exponent , to make an indirect test of cluster-radius scaling by calculating the scaling function exponent using the relation =/. Our result for is in agreement with direct Monte-Carlo calculations of , and thus supports the cluster-radius scaling assumption. We also calculate ind=3 for both site and bond percolation, using a cell of linear sizeb=2 on the simple-cubic lattice. Although the result of such small-cell calculations are at best only approximate, they nevertheless are consistent with the most recent numerical estimates.Supported in part by grants from ARO and ONR     

Theoretical analysis of the performance of a model supercapacitor consisting of metal oxide nano-particles

The factors influencing the electrochemical behaviour of a supercapacitor have been partly examined in this work. The effects of so-called intrinsic parameters, i.e. exchange current density, unit cell length and double layer (DL) capacitance; as well as the so-called application parameters, i.e. cell current, on the cell potential discharge time have been considered. The contributions of each type of capacitors, DL capacitor and faradaic supercapacitor under various states of operation and material have been analyzed, and the competing (compensating) effects of the two types of capacitors as regards to the discharge and power characteristics manifested by current–potential and energy–power (Ragone plots) are elucidated.     

Electronic and Structural Properties of Neutral, Anionic, and Cationic Rh x Cu4−x (x = 0–4) Small Clusters: A DFT Study

In this study, electronic structure, stability, and tendency to exchange electron of neutral, anionic, and cationic Rh _x Cu_4?x (x = 0–4) small clusters were investigated by density functional theory calculations. For neutral small clusters, it was found that the most stable structures of Rh₄, Rh₃Cu and Rh₂Cu₂ have distorted tetrahedral shape while the most stable structures of RhCu₃ and Cu₄ have quasi-planer shape. Adding charges to the clusters, caused shapes of the most stable structures undergo variations. Stabilities of the neutral, anionic, and cationic clusters decrease linearly with increasing the copper content. In addition, calculated chemical harnesses indicated that the small cluster with 75 % copper content has the least chemical hardness. Interestingly, prevailing number of electronegative (Rh) and electropositive (Cu) atoms in the anionic and cationic clusters coincides with high dipole moment in these species that occur at 25 and 75 % copper respectively.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose on Ni and NiCu alloy modified glassy carbon electrode

Nickel and nickel–copper alloy modified glassy carbon electrodes (GC/Ni and GC/NiCu) prepared by galvanostatic deposition were examined for their redox processes and electro-catalytic activities towards the oxidation of glucose in alkaline solutions. The methods of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) were employed. The cyclic voltammogram of NiCu alloy demonstrates the formation of β/β crystallographic forms of the nickel oxyhydroxide under prolonged repetitive potential cycling in alkaline solution. It is also observed that the overpotential for O₂ evolution increases for NiCu alloy modified electrode. In CV studies, NiCu alloy modified electrode yields significantly higher activity for glucose oxidation compared to Ni. The oxidation of glucose was concluded to be catalyzed through mediated electron transfer across the nickel hydroxide layer comprising of nickel ions of various valence states. The anodic peak currents show linear dependency with the square root of scan rate. This behavior is the characteristic of a diffusion-controlled process. Under the CA regime, the reaction followed a Cottrellian behavior, and the diffusion coefficient of glucose was found to be 1 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹, in agreement with diffusion coefficient obtained in CV studies.     

碱性介质中 (氢) 氧化铜修饰电极电催化氧化蔗糖

 A stable copper (hydr)oxide-modified electrode was prepared in 0.5 mol/L NaOH solution by cyclic voltammetry in the range of -250 to 1 000 mV. It can be used for electrochemical studies in the range of -250 to 1 000 mV without interfering peaks because there is no oxidation of copper. During an anodic potential sweep, the electro-oxidation of saccharose on Cu occurred by the formation of Cu^III and this reaction also occurred in the early stages of the reversed cycle until it is stopped by the negative potentials. A mechanism based on the electro-chemical generation of Cu^III active sites and their subsequent consumption by saccharose was proposed, and the rate law and kinetic parameters were obtained. The charge transfer resistance from theoretical and impedance studies was used to verify the mechanism. Under chronoamperometry regimes, the reaction followed Cottrellian behavior. The transfer of up to 21 electrons was observed in further investigations of the electro-oxidation of saccharose on a (hydr)oxide Cu rotating disk electrode.     

A genetic algorithm for resource investment project scheduling problem,tardiness permitted with penalty

In this paper a genetic algorithm for solving a class of project scheduling problems, called Resource Investment Problem, is presented. Tardiness of project is permitted with defined penalty. Elements of algorithm such as chromosome structure, unfitness function, crossover, mutation, immigration and local search operations are explained.     

A hybrid scatter search for the discrete time/resource trade-off problem in project scheduling

We develop a heuristic procedure for solving the discrete time/resource trade-off problem in the field of project scheduling. In this problem, a project contains activities interrelated by finish-start-type precedence constraints with a time lag of zero, which require one or more constrained renewable resources. Each activity has a specified work content and can be performed in different modes, i.e. with different durations and resource requirements, as long as the required work content is met. The objective is to schedule each activity in one of its modes in order to minimize the project makespan. We use a scatter search algorithm to tackle this problem, using path relinking methodology as a solution combination method. Computational results on randomly generated problem sets are compared with the best available results indicating the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.     

Distorted square-based pyramidal and trigonal bipyramidal geometries in a mercury (II) coordination compound containing 2-(aminomethyl)pyridine ligand

The new complex of [Hg(2-AMPy)₂Cl]₂.HgCl₄ (1) was synthesized from the reaction of HgCl₂ with 2-(aminomethyl)pyridine (2-AMPy) in methanolic solution. Suitable crystal of compound 1 for diffraction experiment was obtained by slow evaporation from dimethyl sulfoxide. Resulted complex was characterized by infrared, elemental analysis, thermal analysis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the cationic part of this compound, two five-coordinated mercury centers have two different geometries, including distorted square-based pyramidal geometry by the trigonality index, τ₅, of 0.23 and trigonal bipyramidal geometries by the trigonality index, τ₅, of 0.57.     

Preparation and electrochemical performances of nanoporous/cracked cobalt oxide layer for supercapacitors

Nanoporous/cracked structures of cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) electrodes were successfully fabricated by electroplating of zinc–cobalt onto previously formed TiO₂ nanotubes by anodizing of titanium, leaching of zinc in a concentrated alkaline solution and followed by drying and annealing at 400 °C. The structure and morphology of the obtained Co₃O₄ electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction, EDX analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the obtained Co₃O₄ electrodes were composed of the nanoporous/cracked structures with an average pore size of about 100 nm. The electrochemical capacitive behaviors of the nanoporous Co₃O₄ electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 1 M NaOH solution. The electrochemical data demonstrated that the electrodes display good capacitive behavior with a specific capacitance of 430 F g^?1 at a current density of 1.0 A g^?1 and specific capacitance retention of ca. 80 % after 10 days of being used in electrochemical experiments, indicating to be promising electroactive materials for supercapacitors. Furthermore, in comparison with electrodes prepared by simple cathodic deposition of cobalt onto TiO₂ nanotubes(without dealloying procedure), the impedance studies showed improved performances likely due to nanoporous/cracked structures of electrodes fabricated by dealloying of zinc, which provide fast ion and electron transfer routes and large reaction surface area with the ensued fast reaction kinetics.