Enabling efficient heat-to-electricity generation at the mesoscale
We present a technology that efficiently harnesses the energy content of hydrocarbon fuels in a volume that is only a fraction of a cubic inch.
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We present a technology that efficiently harnesses the energy content of hydrocarbon fuels in a volume that is only a fraction of a cubic inch.
By utilizing the interaction between Cu and CNTs, a record-high zT of 2.4 has been achieved in Cu 2 Se/CNT hybrid materials.
Diffuson-mediated thermal transport suggests a lower minimum thermal conductivity than phonon models.
The influence of grain boundaries is modelled to show that there is much room for improvement in some thermoelectric materials.
Improved selectivities to aromatics and olefins were achieved with mesoporous ZSM-5 and ZSM-5 nanocrystals with coke formed in micropores.
This article discusses the formation of robust C–C linkages in lignin and proposes ways to avoid it.
The optimum Mg 3 Sb 2 –Mg 3 Bi 2 alloy composition for thermoelectrics is modeled by analyzing transport properties and understanding changes in the electronic structure.
The collective magnetic properties of nanoparticle (NP) solid films are greatly affected by inter-particle dipole–dipole interactions and therefore the proximity of the neighboring particles.
Due to the low volatility and highly oxygenated nature of biomass derived feedstocks, biomass upgrade reactions are frequently conducted in the presence of solvent to improve substrate mass transfer to the catalyst surface.
H-ZSM-5 was identified as the most efficient catalyst for the liquid phase Prins condensation of formaldehyde with isobutene to 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol and subsequently isoprene.
Thermoelectric properties are heavily dependent on the carrier concentration, and therefore the optimization of carrier concentration plays a central role in achieving high thermoelectric performance.
Using first-principles DFT we systematically investigate the thermodynamic stability and off-stoichiometry in 108 nominal 19-electron half-Heusler (hH) compounds. We demonstrate unambiguously that considering a cation deficiency towards the off-stoichiometric valence balanced, VEC = 18 composition is necessary for explaining the stability of all previously reported nominal VEC = 19 compounds. This is understandable in terms of an energy benefit from valence balance considering the valence of each atom using Zintl chemistry that offsets the energy penalty of forming defects in nearly all cases. Thus, we propose a valence balanced rule to understand the ground state stability of half-Heuslers irrespective of stoichiometry and nominal electron count (8, 18 or 19). Using this generalized rule we (a) predict 16 previously unreported nominal 19-electron XYZ half-Heuslers and (b) rationalize the reports of giant off-stoichiometries in compounds such as Ti (1–x) NiSb which has been known for over 50 years. Of the 16 new compounds predicted here, Ti (1–x) PtSb was synthesized and the half-Heusler phase confirmed through X-ray studies. Here, the flexibility in stoichiometry of the half-Heusler systems to attain a stable valence balanced composition by accommodating large defect concentrations opens up multiple dimensions for discovery of multi-component defective half-Heuslers based on intrinsic and extrinsic defects which compensate for the nominally non-18-electron count of the structure.
Using IR absorption anisotropy, interligand energy transfer in N712 is shown to occur on a sub-ps time scale, and is thus unlikely to limit injection in DSSCs.
Transient absorption and X-ray scattering demonstrate 1,8-diiodooctane impact on morphology and charge generation in mixed phases in bulk heterojunction solar cells.
n-Type conduction in a Mg 3 Sb 1.5 Bi 0.5 system is achieved with La-doping at cation sites with a peak zT > 1.
Investigations into a thermally generated decarboxylation mechanism for metal site activation and the generation of mesopores in a carboxylate iron-based MOF, PCN-250, have been conducted. PCN-250 exhibits an interesting oxidation state change during thermal treatment under inert atmospheres or vacuum conditions, transitioning from an Fe(III)3 cluster to a Fe(II)Fe(III) 2 cluster. To probe this redox event and discern a mechanism of activation, a combination of thermogravimetric analysis, gas sorption, scanning electron microscopy, 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction studies were conducted. The results suggest that the iron-site activation occurs due to ligand decarboxylation above 200 °C. This is also consistent with the generation of a missing cluster mesoporous defect in the framework. The resulting mesoporous PCN-250 maintains high thermal stability, preserving crystallinity after multiple consecutive high-temperature regeneration cycles. Additionally, the thermally reduced PCN-250 shows improvements in the total uptake capacity of methane and CO 2 .
The stability of zeolite Sn-beta (Sn-β) was greatly improved for glucose isomerization to fructose and fructose yield of 41.5% has been obtained when dioxane/water was used as solvent. The effect of dioxane/water solvent mixtures for fructose dehydration on Amberlyst-131 was also studied and it was found that small amounts of water in dioxane increase the yield of HMF (up to 74%) by limiting the formation of oligomers like difructose anhydride (III). 56% yield of HMF from glucose, maltose, trehalose or cellobiose and 60% from sucrose were produced when hydrolysis of disaccharides, glucose isomerization and fructose dehydration were coupled in a mixture of dioxane/water (5 wt%).
The formation of sparingly soluble ternary Na/Mg–Np( v )–borate(s) solid phases in alkaline, dilute-to-concentrated, NaCl and MgCl 2 solutions is confirmed by a multimethod experimental approach.