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- ItemIncreasing the efficiency of optimized v-sba-15 catalysts in the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde by artificial neural network modelling(Basel : MDPI, 2020) Kunkel, Benny; Kabelitz, Anke; Buzanich, Ana Guilherme; Wohlrab, SebastianThe present study investigates the possibility of improving the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde over V-SBA-15 catalysts in two different ways. In a classical approach of catalyst optimization, the in situ synthesis of V-SBA-15 catalysts was optimized with regard to the applied pH value. Among the set of catalysts synthesized, a higher amount of incorporated vanadium, a higher content of polymeric VOx species as well as a less ordered structure of the support material were observed by increasing the pH values from 2.0 to 3.0. An optimum in performance during the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde with respect to activity and selectivity was found over V-SBA-15 prepared at a pH value of 2.5. With this knowledge, we have now evaluated the possibilities of reaction control using this catalyst. Specifically, artificial neural network modelling was applied after the collection of 232 training samples for obtaining insight into the influence of different reaction parameters (temperature; gas hourly space velocity (GHSV); and concentration of O2, N2 and H2O) onto methane conversion and selectivity towards formaldehyde. This optimization of reaction conditions resulted in an outstanding high space-time yield of 13.6 kgCH2O·kgcat·h−1. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- ItemCpCo(III) Precatalysts for [2+2+2] Cycloadditions(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Fischer, Fabian; Eder, Michael; Hapke, MarkoCatalysts applied in cobalt-catalyzed cyclotrimerizations reactions in general rely on the use of Co(I) precatalysts or the in situ generation of Co(I) catalysts from Co(II) sources by reduction in the presence of steering ligands, often by addition of less noble metals. In this paper, we report the synthesis and properties of novel stable CpCo(III) complexes as precatalysts and their exemplary evaluation for application in catalytic [2+2+2] cycloadditions. The role of phosphite neutral ligands, as well as iodide and cyanide as anionic ligands, on the reactivity of the complexes was evaluated. A modified one-pot approach to the synthesis of Cp ring-functionalized Cp’Co(III) complexes was developed. The investigations demonstrated that CpCo(III) complexes can be directly applied as catalysts in catalytic cyclotrimerizations of triynes without reducing agents as additives. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- ItemCopper-iron bimetal ion-exchanged sapo-34 for NH3-scr of NOx(Basel : MDPI, 2020) Doan, Tuan; Dam, Phong; Nguyen, Khang; Vuong, Thanh Huyen; Le, Minh Thang; Pham, Thanh HuyenSAPO-34 was prepared with a mixture of three templates containing triethylamine, tetraethylammonium hydroxide, and morpholine, which leads to unique properties for support and production cost reduction. Meanwhile, Cu/SAPO-34, Fe/SAPO-34, and Cu-Fe/SAPO-34 were prepared through the ion-exchanged method in aqueous solution and used for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3. The physical structure and original crystal of SAPO-34 are maintained in the catalysts. Cu-Fe/SAPO-34 catalysts exhibit high NOx conversion in a broad temperature window, even in the presence of H2O. The physicochemical properties of synthesized samples were further characterized by various methods, including XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, UV-Vis-DRS spectroscopy, NH3-TPD, H2-TPR, and EPR. The best catalyst, 3Cu-1Fe/SAPO-34 exhibited high NOx conversion (> 90%) in a wide temperature window of 250–600 °C, even in the presence of H2O. In comparison with mono-metallic samples, the 3Cu-1Fe/SAPO-34 catalyst had more isolated Cu2+ ions and additional oligomeric Fe3+ active sites, which mainly contributed to the higher capacity of NH3 and NOx adsorption by the enhancement of the number of acid sites as well as its greater reducibility. Therefore, this synergistic effect between iron and copper in the 3Cu-1Fe/SAPO-34 catalyst prompted higher catalytic performance in more extensive temperature as well as hydrothermal stability after iron incorporation. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- ItemStructural and Electric Properties of Epitaxial Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-Based Thin Films(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Magalhaes, Bruno; Engelhardt, Stefan; Molin, Christian; Gebhardt, Sylvia E.; Nielsch, Kornelius; Hühne, RubenSubstantial efforts are dedicated worldwide to use lead-free materials for environmentally friendly processes in electrocaloric cooling. Whereas investigations on bulk materials showed that Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT)-based compounds might be suitable for such applications, our aim is to clarify the feasibility of epitaxial NBT-based thin films for more detailed investigations on the correlation between the composition, microstructure, and functional properties. Therefore, NBT-based thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on different single crystalline substrates using a thin epitaxial La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 layer as the bottom electrode for subsequent electric measurements. Structural characterization revealed an undisturbed epitaxial growth of NBT on lattice-matching substrates with a columnar microstructure, but high roughness and increasing grain size with larger film thickness. Dielectric measurements indicate a shift of the phase transition to lower temperatures compared to bulk samples as well as a reduced permittivity and increased losses at higher temperatures. Whereas polarization loops taken at −100 °C revealed a distinct ferroelectric behavior, room temperature data showed a significant resistive contribution in these measurements. Leakage current studies confirmed a non-negligible conductivity between the electrodes, thus preventing an indirect characterization of the electrocaloric properties of these films.
- ItemOne-Pot Synthesis of Copper Iodide-Polypyrrole Nanocomposites(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Konakov, Artem O.; Dremova, Nadejda N.; Khodos, Igor I.; Koch, Marcus; Zolotukhina, Ekaterina V.; Silina, YuliyaA novel one-pot chemical synthesis of functional copper iodide-polypyrrole composites, CuI-PPy, has been proposed. The fabrication process allows the formation of nanodimensional metal salt/polymer hybrid structures in a fully controlled time- and concentration-dependent manner. The impact of certain experimental conditions, viz., duration of synthesis, sequence of component addition and concentrations of the intact reagents on the structure, dimensionality and yield of the end-product was evaluated in detail. More specifically, the amount of marshite CuI within the hybrid composite can be ranged from 60 to 90 wt.%, depending on synthetic conditions (type and concentration of components, process duration). In addition, the conditions allowing the synthesis of nano-sized CuI distributed inside the polypyrrole matrix were found. A high morphological stability and reproducibility of the synthesized nanodimensional metal-polymer hybrid materials were approved. Finally, the electrochemical activity of the formed composites was verified by cyclic voltammetry studies. The stability of CuI-PPy composite deposited on the electrodes was strongly affected by the applied anodic limit. The proposed one-pot synthesis of the hybrid nanodimensional copper iodide-polypyrrole composites is highly innovative, meets the requirements of Green Chemistry and is potentially useful for future biosensor development. In addition, this study is expected to generally contribute to the knowledge on the hybrid nano-based composites with tailored properties.
- ItemRetained Free Energy with Enhanced Nucleation during Electrostatic Levitation of Undercooled Fe-Co Alloys(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Matson, Douglas M.; Liu, Xuanjiang; Rodriguez, Justin E.; Jeon, Sangho; Shuleshova, OlgaDouble recalescence in many ferrous alloy systems involves rapid solidification of metastable ferrite from the undercooled melt with subsequent transformation to stable austenite. Containerless processing is used to monitor the process using pyrometry and high-speed cinematography such that delay behavior can be predicted based on the application of the retained damage model (RDM). When comparing Fe-Cr-Ni alloys to Fe-Co alloys, the cluster attachment rate is enhanced while free energy retention is reduced. These trends are tied to specific alloy properties. A retained free energy criterion is proposed based on the ratio of thermophysical properties used to define the transformation driving force such that the thermodynamic limit for energy retention may be predicted. Surprisingly, at long delay times, healing occurs such that much of the retained free energy is not available to enhance the transition from metastable to stable phases. At delay times less than one second, no healing is observed and the RDM correctly predicts transformation delay behavior over a wide range of alloy compositions.
- ItemMicrostructure, Texture, and Strength Development during High-Pressure Torsion of CrMnFeCoNi High-Entropy Alloy(Basel : MDPI, 2020) Skrotzki, Werner; Pukenas, Aurimas; Odor, Eva; Joni, Bertalan; Ungar, Tamas; Völker, Bernhard; Hohenwarter, Anton; Pippan, Reinhard; George, Easo P.The equiatomic face-centered cubic high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi was severely deformed at room and liquid nitrogen temperature by high-pressure torsion up to shear strains of about 170. Itsmicrostructurewas analyzed by X-ray line profile analysis and transmission electronmicroscopy and its texture by X-ray microdiffraction. Microhardness measurements, after severe plastic deformation, were done at room temperature. It is shown that at a shear strain of about 20, a steady state grain size of 24 nm, and a dislocation density of the order of 1016 m-2 is reached. The dislocations are mainly screw-type with low dipole character. Mechanical twinning at room temperature is replaced by a martensitic phase transformation at 77 K. The texture developed at room temperature is typical for sheared face-centered cubic nanocrystalline metals, but it is extremely weak and becomes almost random after high-pressure torsion at 77 K. The strength of the nanocrystalline material produced by high-pressure torsion at 77 K is lower than that produced at room temperature. The results are discussed in terms of different mechanisms of deformation, including dislocation generation and propagation, twinning, grain boundary sliding, and phase transformation. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- ItemPressure- and Temperature-Dependent Crystallization Kinetics of Isotactic Polypropylene under Process Relevant Conditions(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Spoerer, Yvonne; Boldt, Regine; Androsch, René; Kuehnert, InesIn this study, a non-nucleated homopolymer (HP) and random copolymer (RACO), as well as a nucleated HP and heterophasic copolymer (HECO) were investigated regarding their crystallization kinetics. Using pvT-measurements and fast scanning chip calorimetry (FSC), the crystallization behavior was analyzed as a function of pressure, cooling rate and temperature. It is shown that pressure and cooling rate have an opposite influence on the crystallization temperature of the materials. Furthermore, the addition of nucleating agents to the material has a significant effect on the maximum cooling rate at which the formation of α-crystals is still possible. The non-nucleated HP and RACO materials show significant differences that can be related to the sterically hindering effect of the comonomer units of RACO on crystallization, while the nucleated materials HP and HECO show similar crystallization kinetics despite their different structures. The pressure-dependent shift factor of the crystallization temperature is independent of the material. The results contribute to the description of the relationship between the crystallization kinetics of the material and the process parameters influencing the injection-molding induced morphology. This is required to realize process control in injection molding in order to produce pre-defined morphologies and to design material properties.
- ItemUnderstanding Nonlinear Pulse Propagation in Liquid Strand-Based Photonic Bandgap Fibers(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Qi, Xue; Schaarschmidt, Kay; Li, Guangrui; Junaid, Saher; Scheibinger, Ramona; Lühder, Tilman; Schmidt, Markus A.Ultrafast supercontinuum generation crucially depends on the dispersive properties of the underlying waveguide. This strong dependency allows for tailoring nonlinear frequency conversion and is particularly relevant in the context of waveguides that include geometry-induced resonances. Here, we experimentally uncovered the impact of the relative spectral distance between the pump and the bandgap edge on the supercontinuum generation and in particular on the dispersive wave formation on the example of a liquid strand-based photonic bandgap fiber. In contrast to its air-hole-based counterpart, a bandgap fiber shows a dispersion landscape that varies greatly with wavelength. Particularly due to the strong dispersion variation close to the bandgap edges, nanometer adjustments of the pump wavelength result in a dramatic change of the dispersive wave generation (wavelength and threshold). Phase-matching considerations confirm these observations, additionally revealing the relevance of third order dispersion for interband energy transfer. The present study provides additional insights into the nonlinear frequency conversion of resonance-enhanced waveguide systems which will be relevant for both understanding nonlinear processes as well as for tailoring the spectral output of nonlinear fiber sources.
- ItemReal Time Predictions of VGF-GaAs Growth Dynamics by LSTM Neural Networks(Basel : MDPI, 2021) Dropka, Natasha; Ecklebe, Stefan; Holena, MartinThe aim of this study was to assess the aptitude of the recurrent Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks for fast and accurate predictions of process dynamics in vertical-gradient-freeze growth of gallium arsenide crystals (VGF-GaAs) using datasets generated by numerical transient simulations. Real time predictions of the temperatures and solid–liquid interface position in GaAs are crucial for control applications and for process visualization, i.e., for generation of digital twins. In the reported study, an LSTM network was trained on 1950 datasets with 2 external inputs and 6 outputs. Based on network performance criteria and training results, LSTMs showed the very accurate predictions of the VGF-GaAs growth process with median root-mean-square-error (RMSE) values of 2 × 10−3. This deep learning method achieved a superior predictive accuracy and timeliness compared with more traditional Nonlinear AutoRegressive eXogenous (NARX) recurrent networks.