It is well-known that platinum (Pt) is the best electrocatalyst currently available. However, its high cost and scarcity have hindered the commercialization of many green technologies that require ...the use of Pt electrocatalysts. To pave the way for mass production, the search for alternative electrocatalysts was initiated by researchers working in the fuel cell area, and it has been rapidly expanded to other energy applications in the past few years. Our discussion in this perspective starts with several reasons why Pt is the best electrocatalyst for many important electrochemical reactions such as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Along with a brief introduction of other novel metal electrocatalysts (ruthenium and iridium compounds) used for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), this perspective highlights recent advances in the development of non-Pt electrocatalysts for dye-/quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs/QDSSCs) and water-splitting systems. We identify the key materials in each area that have shown promising results for replacing Pt as an electrocatalyst and discuss their pros and cons. The possible mechanisms responsible for the observed improvements in performance are also discussed. While many materials have shown encouraging electrocatalytic activity, the long-term stability under a variety of operating conditions remains as a critical issue that must be addressed. An improved theoretical understanding is also required to accelerate the progress in this area. The main challenge is to identify the active sites and operating mechanisms in order to intelligently design and synthesize better and more cost-effective electrocatalysts.
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Jameel Noori Nastaleeq"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; ...mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">In Urdu we can find many a novel relating to political issues. But it is being observed that all of the novelist tries to show their feeling towards any particular political theory or personality. It is necessary to introduce such novels in our language that has not any partiality so that tradition of Urdu novel can adopt this angle. The Porcupine by Julian Barnes is such a novel which can show us how to treat the narration with impartiality and make the horizon of novel vaster and broader.
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; ...mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: FA;">Ahmed Nadim Qasmi is a prominent personality of Urdu literature. Much has written about him. But still some hidden angels are there to be unveil. In thi article it has been analyzed that how Ahmed Nadim Qasmi was influenced by his contemporary literary figures. We have found a lot of examples that Ahmed Nadim Qasmi used to get inspiration from his close friends or literary mentores. This study will bring in light a new angle for studying Nadim's art and thought. By using comparative analysis, examples from poetic and fictinal works of the contemporaries of Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi are brought forth to argue that Qasmi had a great ability to assimilate the tone, style and themes of other literati.
Phenolic acids have recently gained substantial attention due to their various practical, biological and pharmacological effects. Chlorogenic Acid (CGA, 3-CQA) is a most abundant isomer among ...caffeoylquinic acid isomers (3-, 4-, and 5-CQA), that currently known as 5-CQA as per guidelines of IUPAC. It is one of the most available acids among phenolic acid compounds which can be naturally found in green coffee extracts and tea. CGA is an important and biologically active dietary polyphenol, playing several important and therapeutic roles such as antioxidant activity, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, neuroprotective, anti-obesity, antiviral, anti-microbial, anti-hypertension, free radicals scavenger and a central nervous system (CNS) stimulator. In addition, it has been found that CGA could modulate lipid metabolism and glucose in both genetically and healthy metabolic related disorders. It is speculated that CGA can perform crucial roles in lipid and glucose metabolism regulation and thus help to treat many disorders such as hepatic steatosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity as well. Furthermore, this phenolic acid (CGA) causes hepatoprotective effects by protecting animals from chemical or lipopolysaccharide-induced injuries. The hypocholesterolemic influence of CGA can result from the altered metabolism of nutrients, including amino acids, glucose and fatty acids (FA). The purpose of this review was to broaden the scope of knowledge of researchers to conduct more studies on this subject to both unveil and optimize its biological and pharmacological effects. As a result, CGA may be practically used as a natural safeguard food additive to replace the synthetic antibiotics and thereby reduce the medicinal cost.
Over the years, there has been an emphasis on the improvement of novel materials for photocatalytic processes for practical application in treating wastewater. In this sense, the ultrasonic‐assisted ...in‐situ chemical polymerization route was used to synthesize polypyrrole‐multiwall carbon nanotubes (PPy‐MWCNTs) nanocomposites. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet visible (UV–vis) analysis were employed to study the impact of MWCNTs on the properties of PPy. TEM showed that the PPy‐MWCNTs nanocomposites consist of spherical PPy with 80 nm particle size, while the MWCNTs showed inner and outer diameters of 7 nm and 13 nm, respectively. XRD analysis showed that the crystallinity of the PPy increased with MWCNTs loading. The potential of PPy‐MWCNTs nanocomposites as photocatalysts was evaluated via the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) dyes. The photodegradation efficiency was found to have improved with increasing MWCNTs loading. Almost 99.36% and 78.30% of RhB and MB dye degradation were achieved after 35 min of reaction for the highest loading of MWCNTs. The remarkable nanocomposite photocatalytic activity was attributed to the optical bandgap energy (Eg) reduction with the addition of MWCNTs. These results foreshadow the potential use of the PPy‐MWCNTs nanocomposites for water purification.
Activated carbon pellet (ACP) is advantageous to the industrial-based adsorption process owing to its easy handling, large volumetric adsorption capacity and good mechanical properties. This study ...introduces a straightforward phosphoric acid-impregnated sawdust as economical binder to convert textile sludge activated carbon powder into water resistant pellets. The effects of activation time and drying technique on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of ACPs were investigated. The materials were characterized using N2 gas adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscope, Boehm titration, pHpzc and compressive strength test. It was discovered that the physiochemical properties of ACPs were close to that of base activated carbon. Moreover, a longer activation time promotes the development of micropore on ACPs and enhances the compressive strength. The microporosity, surface area and compressive strength of ACPs are in the range of 16–23%, 668–979 m2/g and 0.4–1.5 MPa, respectively. The ACP prepared at 560 °C for 3 h showed a 395 mg/g of malachite green removal, whilst retaining its cylindrical shape. The Langmuir model gave the best conformity to the equilibrium data, suggesting a possible monolayer adsorption onto ACPs. This study demonstrated the potential of sawdust as low-cost binder and the applicability of ACPs in dye adsorption.
•Activated carbon pellets were prepared using H3PO4 impregnated sawdust as a binder.•Prolonged activation time improves the compressive strength of the pellets.•The pellets retain their shape in water with agitation for more than 3 days.•M6 has a SBET, compressive strength and qm of 979 m2/g, 1.5 MPa and 395 mg/g, respectively.
<span style="font-family: "Jameel Noori Nastaleeq"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Consumerism is an important subject in almost every literary and intelectual discussion all across the ...board. In the name of consumerism, the third world is being made subserviant to the advanced nations. Advertisement paves the way in this regard. Keeping the trend in view, in this article, it has been analysed that how advertisement marks its impact on the masses and try to make them mere consumers by manipulating them through mass advertisement and how far this manipulation of the public proves successful <span style="font-family: "Jameel Noori Nastaleeq"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;" lang="AR-SA">. <span style="font-family: "Jameel Noori Nastaleeq"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;" lang="AR-SA"> <span style="font-family: "Jameel Noori Nastaleeq"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Moreover, how man become the slave of the companies and by which meaures one can avoid to become a consumer.
Conflict resolution using game theory and rough sets Bashir, Zia; Mahnaz, Saima; Abbas Malik, Muhammad Ghulam
International journal of intelligent systems,
January 2021, 2021-01-00, 20210101, Letnik:
36, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Conflicts occur naturally in the real world at all levels of society, individually, in groups or society as a whole. Almost all the existing conflict resolution models are unilateral in their ...decision‐making process. They do not consider the actions of the involved parties simultaneously. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to design a novel conflict resolution model based on game‐theoretic rough sets by constructing a game between all the concerned parties (players), computing the payoff of different strategies and classifying them following equilibrium rules. The proposed model yields more realistic and accurate results as it explores all possibilities and is flexible in determining different threshold values relative to the complexities of real‐life problems. Three real‐life conflict situations are solved with the proposed model, and a comprehensive analysis is done to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Abstract
This work is aimed at evaluating the conversion of
Pterocarpus indicus
twigs into activated carbon via composite chemical activation for methylene blue and congo red dyes adsorption. The ...activated carbons were prepared by single-step chemical activation using zinc chloride and/or phosphoric acid at different mass impregnation ratios at 600 °C for 90 min. The activated carbons were characterized for textural properties and surface chemistry. The batch adsorption was investigated at different concentrations (5–1,000 mg/L), contact times (2–540 min) and temperatures (30–60 °C). Phosphoric acid-activated twigs carbon showed a high surface area of 1,445 m
2
/g with maximum methylene blue adsorption capacity of 438 mg/g. On the other hand, a composite-activated carbon yields a 217 mg/g of congo red removal. The adsorption data for both dyes fitted well with Langmuir and pseudo-second-order kinetics models, indicating the predominance of chemical adsorption through monolayer coverage of dye molecules on the homogenous surface of activated carbon. The thermodynamics properties of dye adsorption onto twigs-derived activated carbons indicated that the process is endothermic, spontaneous and favourable at high temperature. Overall, activated carbons derived from
Pterocarpus indicus
twigs could be effectively used for dye wastewater treatment.
Few-atom gold nanoclusters (NCs) exhibit molecule-like properties due to a discrete electronic structure driven by the quantum confinement effect. Unlike plasmonic Au particles, these nonplasmonic ...particles of diameter less than 2 nm, commonly referred to as nanoclusters, possess a distinct excited-state behavior that can offer a new opportunity to employ them as a photosensitizer. Their size-dependent excited-state behavior enables establishing logical designing principles to build up efficient light energy conversion systems. The photodynamics of thiolated Au NCs and efforts to exploit the Au NCs in light energy conversion applications discussed in this Review show new opportunities to utilize them as photosensitizers. Current bottlenecks in implementing thiolated Au NCs in light conversion applications and new strategies and future directions to address these limitations are also discussed.
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