In contrast to hypervalent iodine compounds, the chemistry of their sulfur analogues has been considerably less explored. Herein, we report the direct C–H bond thiolation of electron-rich ...heterocycles, arenes, and 1,3-dicarbonyls by dichlorosulfuranes under mild conditions. Mechanistic studies and density functional theory calculations suggest the radical chain mechanism of the disclosed transformation. The key to success is attributed to a strikingly low S–Cl bond dissociation energy, which enables the generation of radical species upon exposure to daylight.
A series of novel 4-(het)arylimidazoldin-2-ones were obtained by the acid-catalyzed reaction of (2,2-diethoxyethyl)ureas with aromatic and heterocyclic C-nucleophiles. The proposed approach to ...substituted imidazolidinones benefits from excellent regioselectivity, readily available starting materials and a simple procedure. The regioselectivity of the reaction was rationalized by quantum chemistry calculations and control experiments. The anti-cancer activity of the obtained compounds was tested in vitro.
Nanocrystalline electrocatalysts with chemical composition corresponding to Ir
1 −
x
M
x
O
2
(M = Co, Ni, and Zn, 0.05 ≤
x
≤ 0.2) were prepared by the hydrolysis of H
2
IrCl
6
·4H
2
O solutions ...combined with nitrates and acetates of Ni, Zn, and Co. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that the dopant Co, Ni, and Zn cations substitute the Ir atoms in the rutile lattice. The prepared materials contain small inclusions of iridium metal on the level comparable with the detection of the XRD technique. The local environment of Co and Zn in the doped IrO
2
materials conforms to a rutile model with a homogeneous distribution of the doping elements in the rutile lattice. The incorporated Ni is distributed in the rutile lattice non-homogeneously and tends to form clusters within rutile structure. The incorporation of Ni and Co enhances the activity of the prepared electrocatalysts in oxygen evolution. The modification of the IrO
2
via doping process alters also the material’s selectivity in the parallel oxygen and chlorine evolution. Incorporation of Co and Zn cations shifts the selectivity of the catalysts toward oxygen evolution in chloride-containing media; the Ni incorporation leads to an enhancement of the selectivity toward chlorine evolution. Chlorine evolution is apparently limited by the number of the active catalytic sites on the electrode surface.
This article argues that the institutional practices and journalistic ethics on RT, formerly Russia Today, have been influenced by the Soviet kontrpropaganda tradition, a defence mechanism against ...anti-communist narratives. RT’s post-Soviet institutional structure has enabled the continuation of inherently ‘defensive’ practices in a way that they form a ‘countering’ ethic on the network. While kontrpropaganda informs the journalistic culture of RT’s Russian staff, its international journalists are socialised into it. This article uses historical texts, archival materials and interviews with current and former journalists of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya network to examine how these defensive practices have become an everyday norm. In their strive for broadening the audience and for changing public opinion in the West, RT’s staff adopts reactive, patriotic or legitimising practices. The countering ethic on RT informs the journalists’ scramble for legitimacy not only of Russia as a country but also of RT as their employer. By analysing the underpinnings that organise the work of RT journalists, the article sheds light on broader problems of countering as a status-seeking effort in the international media ecosystem and contributes to ongoing research on self-censorship and conspiracy theories.
Wormlike surfactant micelles are widely used in various applications including fracturing technology in oil industry, template synthesis of different nanoobjects, micellar copolymerization of ...hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers, and so forth. Most of those applications suggest the solubilization of different additives in the micelles. The present paper is aimed at the comparative study of the effect of the solubilization of hydrophobic (n-decane and 1-phenylhexane) and hydrophilic (N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylamide) substances on the rheological properties and structure of the micelles using several complementary techniques including rheometry, small angle neutron scattering, dynamic light scattering, and diffusion ordered NMR spectroscopy. For these studies, mixed micelles of potassium oleate and n-octyltrimethylammonium bromide containing the excess of either anionic or cationic surfactants were used. It was shown that hydrophobic additives are completely solubilized inside the micelles being localized deep in the core (n-decane, 1-phenylhexane) or near the core/corona interface (1-phenylhexane). At the same time, only a small fraction of hydrophilic additives (14% of N-isopropylacrylamide and 4% of acrylamide) penetrate the micelles being localized at the corona area. Despite different localization of the additives inside the micelles, all of them induce the breaking of wormlike micelles with the formation of either ellipsoidal microemulsion droplets (in the case of hydrophobic additives) or ellipsoidal surfactant micelles (in the case of hydrophilic additives). The breaking of micelles results in the drop of viscosity of the solution up to water value. The main result of this paper consists in the observation of the fact that for all the additives under study, the dependences of the viscosity on the volume fraction of additive lie on the same master curve being shifted along the volume fraction axis by a certain factor depending on the hydrophobicity of the added species. Those data are quite useful for various applications of wormlike surfactant micelles suggesting the solubilization of different additives inside them.
•Microgrid composed of a train station, wind power plant and district is investigated.•Each player is modeled as an individual agent aiming at a particular goal.•Prediction Intervals quantify the ...uncertain operational and environmental parameters.•Optimal goal-directed actions planning is achieved with robust optimization.•Optimization framework improves system reliability and decreases power imbalances.
A microgrid energy management framework for the optimization of individual objectives of microgrid stakeholders is proposed. The framework is exemplified by way of a microgrid that is connected to an external grid via a transformer and includes the following players: a middle-size train station with integrated photovoltaic power production system, a small energy production plant composed of urban wind turbines, and a surrounding district including residences and small businesses. The system is described by Agent-Based Modelling (ABM), in which each player is modelled as an individual agent aiming at a particular goal, (i) decreasing its expenses for power purchase or (ii) increasing its revenues from power selling. The context in which the agents operate is uncertain due to the stochasticity of operational and environmental parameters, and the technical failures of the renewable power generators. The uncertain operational and environmental parameters of the microgrid are quantified in terms of Prediction Intervals (PIs) by a Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) – trained Neural Network (NN). Under these uncertainties, each agent is seeking for optimal goal-directed actions planning by Robust Optimization (RO). The developed framework is shown to lead to an increase in system performance, evaluated in terms of typical reliability (adequacy) indicators for energy systems, such as Loss of Load Expectation (LOLE) and Loss of Expected Energy (LOEE), in comparison with optimal planning based on expected values of the uncertain parameters.
The rapid expansion of urban populations and concomitant increase in the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) exert considerable pressure on the conventional centralized MSW management system ...and are beginning to exceed disposal capacities. To tackle this issue, the conventional centralized MSW management system is more likely to evolve toward a more decentralized system with smaller capacity waste treatment facilities that are integrated at different levels of the urban environment, e.g., buildings, districts, and municipalities. In addition, MSW can become an important urban resource to address the rising energy consumption through waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies capable of generating electricity, heat, and biogas. This shift toward the combined centralized-decentralized waste-to-energy management system (WtEMS) requires an adapted decision-support methodology (DSM) that can assist decision-makers in analyzing MSW generation across large urban territories and designing optimal long-term WtEMS.
The proposed integrated DSM for WtEMS planning relies on: i) an MSW segregation and prediction methodology, ii) an optimization methodology for the deployment of multi-level urban waste infrastructure combining centralized and decentralized facilities, and iii) a multi-criterion sustainability framework for WtEMS assessment. The proposed DSM was tested on a case study that was located in Singapore. The proposed WtEMS not only reduced the total operational expenses by about 50%, but also increased revenues from electricity recovery by two times in comparison with the conventional MSW management system. It also allowed more optimal land use (capacity-land fragmentation was reduced by 74.8%) and reduced the size of the required transportation fleet by 15.3% in comparison with the conventional MSW system. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was improved by about 18.7%.
•Integrated Decision Support Methodology for Waste-to-Energy Management System planning for Municipal Solid Waste segregation and prediction.•Integrates methodologies for segregation and prediction, facilities deployment optimization, and multi-criterion sustainability analysis.•Case study shows 50% total operational expenses reduction, twice revenue increase from electricity recovery in comparison with conventional MSW.•Results show 74.8% reduction in capacity-land fragmentation, 15.3% reduction in required transportation fleet compared with conventional systems.•Results also show improved Global Warming Potential by about 18.7%.
There has recently been a rapid emergence of electricity prosumers at all levels of the grid. However, the skepticism about the feasibility and profitability of their physical disconnection remains. ...This paper contributes to the exploration of these issues by analyzing the impact of billing policy on the profitability of investment in prosumer schemes in Ontario (Canada). We conclude that the recent fast improvement in commercial storage technologies has made it possible for prosumers to become fully electricity self-sufficient even in locations with high electricity consumption and low availability of renewable energy sources. Among the three options of remaining a conventional consumer, switching to Net Metering or going Off-grid, Off-grid is the least attractive for investment in 2019. However, by 2030 Off-grid gains significant value, and for some locations it becomes even the first or the second most attractive option. Sensitive locations where disconnection is more profitable are characterized by a high share of fixed costs in the total electricity bill. In such locations, it is no longer attractive to remain a conventional consumer in 2030. If the annual bill increase goes beyond 4% and the decreasing trends in the cost of technologies are maintained, Off-grid will become profitable by 2030.
•Seasonal energy storage is the key to electric self-sufficiency of pro-sumers.•Prosumers may go Off-grid even in places with low availability of re-newable energy.•The billing policy has a direct and strong impact on the decisions of prosumers.•The profitability of Off-grid increases dramatically with increasing fixed charges.
We consider a microgrid for energy distribution, with a local consumer, a renewable generator (wind turbine) and a storage facility (battery), connected to the external grid via a transformer. We ...propose a 2 steps-ahead reinforcement learning algorithm to plan the battery scheduling, which plays a key role in the achievement of the consumer goals. The underlying framework is one of multi-criteria decision-making by an individual consumer who has the goals of increasing the utilization rate of the battery during high electricity demand (so as to decrease the electricity purchase from the external grid) and increasing the utilization rate of the wind turbine for local use (so as to increase the consumer independence from the external grid). Predictions of available wind power feed the reinforcement learning algorithm for selecting the optimal battery scheduling actions. The embedded learning mechanism allows to enhance the consumer knowledge about the optimal actions for battery scheduling under different time-dependent environmental conditions. The developed framework gives the capability to intelligent consumers to learn the stochastic environment and make use of the experience to select optimal energy management actions.
•A consumer exploits a 2 steps-ahead reinforcement learning for battery scheduling.•The Q-learning based mechanism is fed by the predictions of available wind power.•Wind speed state evolutions are modeled with a Markov chain model.•Optimal scheduling actions are learned through the occurrence of similar scenarios.•The consumer manifests a continuous enhance of his knowledge about optimal actions.
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