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Effects of La2O3 on the Mixed Higher Alcohols Synthesis from Syngas over Co Catalysts: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study
The promoting role of lanthanum oxide (La{sub 2}O{sub 3}) in the catalytic synthesis of mixed higher (C{sub 2}-C{sub 6}) alcohols from syngas on Co-based catalysts was investigated using a combination of in situ and ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), catalyst reactivity performance studies, and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. XRD measurements show that doping with La (0.5 wt %) onto activated carbon (AC) supported Co catalyst enhances the Co{sub 2}C phase formation, whereas the Co{sub 2}C phase formation is largely suppressed on alumina supported Co catalyst. A strong correlation of the selectivity toward alcohols with the ratio of Co{sub 2}C/Co particles present in the catalysts was observed. AIMD simulations suggest that on AC supports La exists as an oxide phase in the form of small clusters in the vicinity of Co particles. It was found that Co{sub 2}C formation is energetically favorable, especially for smaller Co particles because of the formation of surface carbide. Theoretical mechanistic studies indicate that oxygenated hydrocarbons can be formed on these catalysts by multiple routes involving the formation of CH{sub x}O and CH{sub x}CO species at the interface between the La{sub 2}O{sub 3} phase and Co/Co{sub 2}C. A detailed comparison with previous findings in the literature as well as discussion of the implications of these results upon the improvement of the selectivity of these catalysts toward higher alcohols is presented.
Exchange-driven intravalley mixing of excitons in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are promising two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors for application in optoelectronics. Their optical properties are dominated by two series of photo-excited exciton states—A (XA) and B (XB) 1,2 —that are derived from direct interband transitions near the band extrema. These exciton states have large binding energies and strong optical absorption 3–6 , and form an ideal system to investigate many-body effects in low dimensions. Because spin–orbit coupling causes a large splitting between bands of opposite spins, XA and XB are usually treated as spin-polarized Ising excitons, each arising from interactions within a specific set of states induced by interband transitions between pairs of either spin-up or spin-down bands (TA or TB). Here, by using monolayer MoS 2 as a prototypical system and solving the first-principles Bethe–Salpeter equations, we demonstrate a strong intravalley exchange interaction between TA and TB, indicating that XA and XB are mixed states instead of pure Ising excitons. Using 2D electronic spectroscopy, we observe that an optical excitation of the lower-energy TA induces a population of the higher-energy TB, manifesting the intravalley exchange interaction. This work elucidates the dynamics of exciton formation in monolayer TMDCs, and sheds light on many-body effects in 2D materials.
Tracking carrier and exciton dynamics in mixed-cation lead mixed-halide perovskite thin films
Mixed-cation lead mixed-halide perovskites simultaneously possess structural stability and high power conversion efficiency. A thorough study of both carrier and exciton dynamics is needed to understand the photophysical properties that underpin its superior photovoltaic performance. By utilizing a broadband transient absorption spectroscopy, we observe the carrier and exciton dynamics in a FA 0.85 Cs 0.15 Pb(I 0.97 Br 0.03 ) 3 (FCPIB) perovskite by simultaneously resolving the carrier and exciton contribution to the transient change of the absorption spectra, from which the carrier density and exciton oscillator strength can be determined. Our data reveal a quick and significant conversion of the photogenerated carriers to excitons, on top of the usual carrier recombination process. Moreover, the decay of carrier density shows a change of kinetics from a second-order recombination at high pump fluence to a third-order recombination at low pump fluence. Our analysis utilizes band anharmonicity, presents an independent determination of electronic temperature and quasi-Fermi energy, and reveals an interesting interplay among the processes of carrier cooling, exciton formation/decay and carrier recombination, all as a function of time after photoexcitation. Our work demonstrates the use of pump fluence as a knob to tune the relative populations of carriers and excitons in halide perovskite materials.
Electrochemical properties and structural evolution of O3-type layered sodium mixed transition metal oxides with trivalent nickel
The electrochemical properties of NaNi 0.5 Co 0.5 O 2 and NaNi 0.5 Fe 0.5 O 2 and their structural transitions as a function of Na extraction associated with redox reactions are investigated. Synthesized in the O3-type layered structure, both materials show reasonable electrochemical activities at room temperature, delivering approximately 0.5 Na per formula unit at C/10 discharge. More Na can be reversibly cycled in NaNi 0.5 Co 0.5 O 2 at elevated temperature and/or in an extended voltage window, while NaNi 0.5 Fe 0.5 O 2 shows significant capacity fading at a high voltage cutoff which is likely due to Fe 4+ migration. In situ X-ray diffraction shows that the structural changes in the two materials upon desodiation are very different. NaNi 0.5 Co 0.5 O 2 goes through many different two-phase reactions including three different O3-type and three different P3-type structures during cycling, producing a voltage profile with multiple plateau-like features. In contrast, NaNi 0.5 Fe 0.5 O 2 has a smooth voltage profile and shows the typical O3–P3 phase transition without lattice distortion seen in other materials. Finally, this different structural evolution upon desodiation and re-sodiation can be explained by the electronic structure of the mixed transition metals and how it perturbs the ordering between Na ions differently.
Moderate supercritical synthesis as a facile route to mixed-valent uranium( iv , v ) and ( v , vi ) silicates
The synthesis of five new U( iv , v ) and U( v , vi ) silicates points toward moderate supercritical synthesis as a new route to the stabilization of mixed-valent uranium compounds.
Oxidatively stable ferrocenyl-π-bridge-titanocene D–π-A complexes: an electrochemical and spectroscopic investigation of the mixed-valent states
Coordination of Cu I into R Cp 2 Ti(C 2 Fc) 2 compounds results in well-separated Fe III/II couples and mixed-valent states with distinct spectroscopic signatures.
Co-mixing hydrogen and methane may double the energy storage capacity
Mixing hydrogen and methane gas may significantly increase or even double the energy storage capacity.
Facile one-pot synthesis of PdM (M = Ag, Ni, Cu, Y) nanowires for use in mixed matrix membranes for efficient hydrogen separation
A general synthesis method is demonstrated for producing PdM (M= Ag, Cu, Ni, and Y) nanowire networks. As a prototypical application, these nanowires are incorporated into polybenzimidazole to create mixed matrix membranes for H 2 /CO 2 separation.
Light-induced degradation of mixed-cation, mixed-halide perovskite: observed rates and influence of oxygen
The kinetics of light-induced Pb 0 formation in mixed-cation, mixed-halide perovskite films are studied using sub-bandgap absorption measurements. Oxygen is shown to prevent Pb 0 formation and modulate the optoelectronic performance decline.
Relating quark mixing neutrino mixing and {delta}{sub lep}
It is proposed that all flavor mixing is caused by the mixing of the three quark and lepton families with vectorlike fermions in 5+5-bar multiplets of SU(5). The entire 3 Multiplication-Sign 3 complex mass matrix of the neutrinos M{sub {nu}} is then found to have a simple expression in terms of two complex parameters and an overall scale. Thus, all the presently unknown neutrino parameters are predicted. The best fits are for {theta}{sub atm} Less-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 40 Degree-Sign The leptonic Dirac CP phase is found to be somewhat greater than {pi}.
Gas mixing system for imaging of nanomaterials under dynamic environments by environmental transmission electron microscopy
A gas mixing manifold system that is capable of delivering a stable pressure stream of a desired composition of gases into an environmental transmission electron microscope has been developed. The system is designed to provide a stable imaging environment upon changes of either the composition of the gas mixture or upon switching from one gas to another. The design of the system is described and the response of the pressure inside the microscope, the sample temperature, and sample drift in response to flow and composition changes of the system are reported.
The study of the transition regime between slab and mixed slab-toroidal electron temperature gradient modes in a basic experiment
Electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes are suspected sources of anomalous electron thermal transport in magnetically confined plasmas as in tokamaks. Prior work in the Columbia Linear Machine (CLM) has been able to produce and identify slab ETG modes in a slab geometry [Wei et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 042108 (2010)]. Now by modifying CLM to introduce curvature to the confining axial magnetic field, we have excited mixed slab-toroidal modes. Linear theory predicts a transition between slab and toroidal ETG modes when (k{sub ∥}R{sub c})/(k{sub y}ρ) ∼1 [J. Kim and W. Horton, Phys. Fluids B 3, 1167 (1991)]. We observe changes in the mode amplitude for levels of curvature R{sub c}{sup −1}≪(k{sub ∥,slab})/(k{sub ⊥}ρ) , which may be explained by reductions in k{sub ∥} in the transition from slab to mixed slab-toroidal modes, as also predicted by theory. We present mode amplitude scaling as a function of magnetic field curvature. Over the range of curvature available in CLM experimentally we find a modest increase in saturated ETG potential fluctuations (∼1.5×), and a substantial increase in the power density of individual mode peaks (∼4–5×)
The complex mixed Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin-full-wave approach and its application to the two dimensional mode structure analysis of ion temperature gradient/collisionless trapped electron mode drift waves
The complex mixed Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB)-full-wave approach is applied to the 2D mode structure analysis of ion temperature gradient/collisionless trapped electron mode drift waves in tokamak plasmas. The parallel mode structure is calculated with the full-wave approach, while the radial envelope is calculated with the complex WKB method. The tilting of the global mode structure along radius is demonstrated analytically. The effects of the phase and amplitude variation of the radial envelope on the parallel mode structure are included in terms of a complex radial wave vector in the parallel mode equation. It is shown that the radial equilibrium non-uniformity leads to the asymmetry of the parallel mode structure not only in configuration space but also in spectrum space. The mixed approach provides a practical way to analyze the asymmetric component of the global mode structure due to radial equilibrium non-uniformity.
Drought effects on composition and yield for corn stover, mixed grasses, and Miscanthus as bioenergy feedstocks
Drought conditions in 2012 were some of the most severe reported in the United States. It is necessary to explore the effects of drought on the quality attributes of current and potential bioenergy feedstocks. Compositional analysis data for corn stover, Miscanthus, and CRP grasses from one or more locations for years 2010 (normal precipitation levels) and 2012 (a known severe drought year nationally) was collected. Results & discussion: The general trend for samples that experienced drought was an increase in extractives and a decrease in structural sugars and lignin. The TEY yields were calculated to determine the drought effects on ethanol production. All three feedstocks had a decrease of 12-14% in TEY when only decreases of carbohydrate content was analyzed. When looking at the compounded effect of both carbohydrate content and the decreases in dry matter loss for each feedstock there was a TEY decrease of 25%-59%. Conclusion: Drought had a significant impact on the quality of all three bioenergy crops. In all cases where drought was experienced both the quality of the feedstock and the yield decreased. These drought induced effects could have significant economic impacts on biorefineries.
Integrated modelling of steady-state scenarios and heating and current drive mixes for ITER
Recent progress on ITER steady-state (SS) scenario modelling by the ITPA-IOS group is reviewed. Code-to-code benchmarks as the IOS group's common activities for the two SS scenarios (weak shear scenario and internal transport barrier scenario) are discussed in terms of transport, kinetic profiles, and heating and current drive (CD) sources using various transport codes. Weak magnetic shear scenarios integrate the plasma core and edge by combining a theory-based transport model (GLF23) with scaled experimental boundary profiles. The edge profiles (at normalized radius rho = 0.8-1.0) are adopted from an edge-localized mode-averaged analysis of a DIII-D ITER demonstration discharge. A fully noninductive SS scenario is achieved with fusion gain Q = 4.3, noninductive fraction f(NI) = 100%, bootstrap current fraction f(BS) = 63% and normalized beta beta(N) = 2.7 at plasma current I(p) = 8MA and toroidal field B(T) = 5.3 T using ITER day-1 heating and CD capability. Substantial uncertainties come from outside the radius of setting the boundary conditions (rho = 0.8). The present simulation assumed that beta(N)(rho) at the top of the pedestal (rho = 0.91) is about 25% above the peeling-ballooning threshold. ITER will have a challenge to achieve the boundary, considering different operating conditions (T(e)/T(i) approximate to 1 and density peaking). Overall, the experimentally scaled edge is an optimistic side of the prediction. A number of SS scenarios with different heating and CD mixes in a wide range of conditions were explored by exploiting the weak-shear steady-state solution procedure with the GLF23 transport model and the scaled experimental edge. The results are also presented in the operation space for DT neutron power versus stationary burn pulse duration with assumed poloidal flux availability at the beginning of stationary burn, indicating that the long pulse operation goal (3000s) at I(p) = 9 MA is possible. Source calculations in these simulations have been revised for electron cyclotron current drive including parallel momentum conservation effects and for neutral beam current drive with finite orbit and magnetic pitch effects.
Mixed dark matter in left-right symmetric models
Motivated by the recently reported diboson and dijet excesses in Run 1 data at ATLAS and CMS, we explore models of mixed dark matter in left-right symmetric theories. In this study, we calculate the relic abundance and the elastic scattering cross section with nuclei for a number of dark matter candidates that appear within the fermionic multiplets of left-right symmetric models. In contrast to the case of pure multiplets, WIMP-nucleon scattering proceeds at tree-level, and hence the projected reach of future direct detection experiments such as LUX-ZEPLIN and XENON1T will cover large regions of parameter space for TeV-scale thermal dark matter. Decays of the heavy charged W{sup ′} boson to particles in the dark sector can potentially shift the right-handed gauge coupling to larger values when fixed to the rate of the Run 1 excesses, moving towards the theoretically attractive scenario, g{sub R}=g{sub L}. This region of parameter space may be probed by future collider searches for new Higgs bosons or electroweak fermions.
Prospects for axion detection in natural SUSY with mixed axion-higgsino dark matter: back to invisible?
Under the expectation that nature is natural, we extend the Standard Model to include SUSY to stabilize the electroweak sector and PQ symmetry to stabilize the QCD sector. Then natural SUSY arises from a Kim-Nilles solution to the SUSY μ problem which allows for a little hierarchy where μ~ $f$ $^{2}_{a}$/M P~ 100-300 GeV while the SUSY particle mass scale m SUSY~ 1-10 TeV >> μ. Dark matter then consists of two particles: a higgsino-like WIMP and a SUSY DFSZ axion. The range of allowed axion mass values m a depends on the mixed axion-higgsino relic density. Here, the range of m a is actually restricted in this case by limits on WIMPs from direct and indirect detection experiments. We plot the expected axion detection rate at microwave cavity experiments. The axion-photon-photon coupling is severely diminished by charged higgsino contributions to the anomalous coupling. In this case, the axion may retreat, at least temporarily, back into the regime of near invisibility. From our results, we urge new ideas for techniques which probe both deeper and more broadly into axion coupling versus axion mass parameter space.