Electrochemically converting nitrate, a widespread water pollutant, back to valuable ammonia is a green and delocalized route for ammonia synthesis, and can be an appealing and supplementary ...alternative to the Haber-Bosch process. However, as there are other nitrate reduction pathways present, selectively guiding the reaction pathway towards ammonia is currently challenged by the lack of efficient catalysts. Here we report a selective and active nitrate reduction to ammonia on Fe single atom catalyst, with a maximal ammonia Faradaic efficiency of ~ 75% and a yield rate of up to ~ 20,000 μg h
mg
(0.46 mmol h
cm
). Our Fe single atom catalyst can effectively prevent the N-N coupling step required for N
due to the lack of neighboring metal sites, promoting ammonia product selectivity. Density functional theory calculations reveal the reaction mechanisms and the potential limiting steps for nitrate reduction on atomically dispersed Fe sites.
Converting solar energy into chemical fuels is increasingly receiving a great deal of attention. In this work, CdS nanoparticles (NPs) are solvothermally anchored onto graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) ...that are longitudinally unzipped from multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The as‐synthesized CdS/GNR nanocomposites with recyclability present GNR content‐dependent activity in visible‐light‐driven hydrogen evolution from water splitting. In a range of 1–10 wt% GNRs, the CdS/GNR composites with 2 wt% GNRs achieves the greatest hydrogen evolution rate of 1.89 mmol h−1 g−1. The corresponding apparent quantum efficiency is 19.3%, which is ≈3.7 times higher than that of pristine CdS NPs. To elucidate the underlying photocatalytic mechanism, a systematic characterization, including in situ irradiated X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Kelvin probe measurements, is performed. In particular, the interfacial charge transfer pathway and process from CdS NPs to GNRs is revealed. This work may open avenues to fabricate GNR‐based nanocomposites for solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion and beyond.
The charge transfer pathway and process of CdS/graphene nanoribbon composites with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution were revealed by in situ irradiated X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Kelvin probe measurements.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract Oxygen reduction reaction towards hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) provides a green alternative route for H 2 O 2 production, but it lacks efficient catalysts to achieve high selectivity and ...activity simultaneously under industrial-relevant production rates. Here we report a boron-doped carbon (B-C) catalyst which can overcome this activity-selectivity dilemma. Compared to the state-of-the-art oxidized carbon catalyst, B-C catalyst presents enhanced activity (saving more than 210 mV overpotential) under industrial-relevant currents (up to 300 mA cm −2 ) while maintaining high H 2 O 2 selectivity (85–90%). Density-functional theory calculations reveal that the boron dopant site is responsible for high H 2 O 2 activity and selectivity due to low thermodynamic and kinetic barriers. Employed in our porous solid electrolyte reactor, the B-C catalyst demonstrates a direct and continuous generation of pure H 2 O 2 solutions with high selectivity (up to 95%) and high H 2 O 2 partial currents (up to ~400 mA cm −2 ), illustrating the catalyst’s great potential for practical applications in the future.
Due to rock masses' nonlinear failure property, it is inappropriate to investigate the stability of rock slopes using the traditional SRM (strength reduction method) which is based on the linear MC ...(Mohr-Coulomb) failure criterion. To conduct 3D analysis (three dimensional) of rock slopes, we propose a 3D-NSRNMM (3D nonlinear strength reduction numerical manifold method) that is based on the nonlinear GHB (Generalized Hoek-Brown) failure criterion. To effectively implement the proposed 3D-NSRNMM, two methods are adopted to convert the GHB parameters into the average and instantaneous equivalent MC parameters. With the proposed 3D-NSRNMM, the influences of different types of equivalent MC parameters, and boundary conditions on rock slopes' stability are investigated. The numerical results assessed from the proposed 3D-NSRNMM indicate that: 1) boundary conditions will significantly influence the safety factor and failure mode of a rock slope obtained from 3D analysis; 2) the safety factor from two-dimensional analysis is more conservative compared with 3D analysis; 3) Furthermore, safety factors based on the instantaneous equivalent MC parameters are very close to those based on the average equivalent MC parameters, but 3D rock slopes' failure modes based on the two different types of equivalent MC parameters are a little different from each other.
•A 3D-NSRNMM that is on the basis of the nonlinear GHB criterion is proposed.•Two methods are adopted to convert GHB parameters into equivalent MC parameters.•Stability analyses of 3D rock slopes are investigated using the 3D-NSRNMM.•Boundary conditions significantly influence the safety factor and failure mode of 3D rock slopes.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Three-phase pulsewidth modulation inverter fed induction motor drive system is widely applied in high power drive applications. Sensor faults are very common in the drive system, which, once occur, ...might result in degraded system performance or even system shutdown. In order to rapidly and accurately diagnose the sensor faults, this paper proposes an intelligent time-adaptive data-driven method to identify the fault location and fault type of sensors in the drive system. An emerging machine learning technology named extreme learning machine (ELM) is applied to learn the sensor fault dataset; an ensemble ELM classifier is then designed to improve diagnostic accuracy, based on which a time-adaptive fault diagnosis process is proposed to achieve a high and balanced diagnostic accuracy and speed. As a data-driven method, the proposed method only employs the phase current, dc-link voltage, and speed signals as the inputs to the ensemble ELM classifiers and requires no additional sensors and other hardware. Simulated and experimental tests show that the proposed method can rapidly and accurately detect the fault sensor location and identify offset fault, stuck fault, and noise faults with an average diagnostic accuracy of 98% and the average decision time of 10 ms after the fault occurs. Moreover, such diagnosis method is robust to the fluctuation of catenary voltage and dc-link voltage, fault severity, and variation of model parameters, speed, and load.
Advanced Antennas for Small Satellites Gao, Steven; Rahmat-Samii, Yahya; Hodges, Richard E. ...
Proceedings of the IEEE,
03/2018, Volume:
106, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Antenna is one of the key components onboard small satellites as its design determines the performance of all the wireless systems including telemetry, tracking and control, high-speed data downlink, ...navigation, intersatellite communications, intrasatellite communications, wireless power transfer, radars and sensors, etc. This paper presents a review of recent development in advanced antennas for small satellites (MiniSat, MicroSat, NanoSat, CubeSat, etc.). A number of recent examples of antennas for small satellite applications are shown and discussed. A conclusion and future development in antennas for small satellites are given in the end.
Increasing the utilization efficiency of sulfur electrodes and suppressing the “shuttle effect” of intermediate polysulfides are the key challenge for high‐performance lithium–sulfur batteries ...(LSBs). Herein a facile combined strategy is reported to fabricate novel porous carbon fibers/vanadium nitride arrays (PCF/VN) composite scaffold for the storage of sulfur via a facile chemical etching united solvothermal–supercritical fluid method. More active sulfur can be stored in the PCF/VN backbone and dual blocking effects associated with “physical block and chemical absorption” for polysulfides are achieved in the PCF/VN/S integrated electrode. The PCF with highly porous structure provides large space to accommodate active sulfur and possesses cross‐linked maze channels to physically immobilize the polysulfide species. The VN nanobelt arrays demonstrate strong ability for chemically anchoring the polysulfides, thus retarding the shuttle effect. Due to the unique structure and dual confining effect, the designed PCF/VN/S electrode shows a high reversible capacity of 1310.8 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C, an extended cycle life (1052.5 mA h g−1 after 250 cycles) as well as enhanced rate capability, much better than other counterparts (CF/VN/S, PCF/S, and CF/S). This work opens a new door for fabricating high‐performance integrated electrodes for LSBs.
A novel porous carbon fibers/vanadium nitride arrays (PCF/VN) composite scaffold is demonstrated as the promising sulfur host for high‐performance Li‐S batteries. A dual polysulfides blocking strategy associated with “physical block and chemical absorption” is successfully verified in the designed PCF/VN/S electrode, which shows more effective sulfur utilization, prolonged cycling life, and enhanced high‐rate performance.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by synovial tissue inflammation and joint destruction associated with the activation of angiogenesis. Exosomes, which play a ...role in cell-to-cell communication as carriers of genetic information, transfer microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) between cells and have been studied as delivery vehicles for therapeutic molecules. The aim of the current study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived miR-150-5p exosomes on joint destruction in RA. The expression and secretion of miR-150-5p, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 14, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in RA patients and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) were examined by quantitative RT-PCR, ELISA, and Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess angiogenesis. MSCs were transfected with an miR-150-5p expression plasmid, and MSC-derived exosomes were harvested. The effect of MSC-derived miR-150-5p exosomes (Exo-150) on MMP14 and VEGF expression was examined. The effects of Exo-150 on cell migration and invasion in cytokine-stimulated FLS from RA patients were examined by HUVEC tube formation and transwell assays. The effect of Exo-150 in vivo was examined in a collagen-induced arthritis mouse model. Exo-150 decreased migration and invasion in RA FLS and downregulated tube formation in HUVECs by targeting MMP14 and VEGF. Injection of Exo-150 reduced hind paw thickness and the clinical arthritic scores in collagen-induced arthritis mice. Exo-150 reduced joint destruction by inhibiting synoviocyte hyperplasia and angiogenesis. Exosomes facilitate the direct intracellular transfer of miRNAs between cells and represent a potential therapeutic strategy for RA.
A compact low-profile all-textile multiband antenna operating in the 2.45/5.8 GHz ISM bands, mobile WiMAX IEEE 802.16 2005 (3.3-3.4 GHz), and 5G sub-6 NR frequency band n77 (3.85-4.0 GHz) is proposed ...for wireless body-area network (WBAN) applications. Good broadside radiations are achieved by properly activating the inherent TM 11 , TM 21, and TM 31 modes of a circular patch antenna. An elliptical slot and a C-shaped slot are employed to tune the three modes to the desired operating frequencies. A rectangular slot is used to reduce undesirable depression in the 5.8 GHz radiation pattern. The proposed antenna is fabricated from a conductive fabric layer integrated onto a single layer of denim, making it extremely low-profile and suitable for wearable applications. It has an overall size of 60 × 60 × 1.17 mm (0.64 λ g × 0.64 λ g × 0.0125 λ g at 2.45 GHz). The measured maximum realized gains and bandwidth at the four frequencies are −0.81, −2.81, −1.16, 2.83 dBi, and 90, 190, 230, 570 MHz, respectively. Test results show that when the antenna is placed on and bent around a human arm model, the reflection coefficient has only slight influence. Since the antenna adopts full ground plane structure, the SAR values are far below the EU standard of 2 W/kg limit. With merit characteristics, the proposed design indicates a promising candidate for WBAN applications.
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