Synergistic effect between Sn and K promoters on supported platinum catalyst for isobutane dehydrogenation

Catalytic dehydrogenation of isobutane has recently received considerable attention because of the increasing demand for isobutene.In this study,the synergistic effect between Sn and K on PtSnK/γ-Al2O3 catalysts has been investigated by changing the content of Sn.It was found that with the presence of potassium,suitable addition of Sn could not only increase the metal dispersion,but also reduce the catalyst acidity.In these cases,the synergistic effect could also strengthen the interactions between the metal and support,which resulted in an increase in both catalytic activity and stability.In our experiments,Pt-0.6SnK/Al catalyst exhibited the lowest deactivation rate （12.4%） and showed a selectivity to isobutene higher than 94% at the isobutane conversion of about 45.3% after running the reaction for 6 h.However,with the excessive loading of Sn,surface property of active sites and the interactions between metal and support were changed.As a result,the initial optimal ratio between the metallic function and acid function would be destroyed,which was disadvantageous to the reaction.

Effect of aluminum modification on catalytic properties of PtSn-based catalysts supported on SBA-15 for propane dehydrogenation

The catalytic properties of PtSn-based catalysts supported on siliceous SBA-15 and Al-modified SBA-15, such as Al-incorporated SBA-15 （AlSBA-15） and alumina-modified SBA-15 （Al2O3/SBA-15）, for propane dehydrogenation were investigated. Al2O3/SBA-15 was prepared either by an impregnation method using aluminum nitrate aqueous solution, or by the treatment of SBA-15 with a Al（OC3H7）3 solution in anhydrous toluene. N2-physisorption, FT-IR spectroscopy, solid-state 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy, hydrogen chemisorption, XRF, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and TPO were used to characterize these samples. Among these catalysts, the PtSn-based catalyst supported on Al2O3/SBA-15, which was grafted with Al（OC3H7）3, exhibited the best catalytic performance in terms of activity and stability The possible reason was due to the high Pt metal dispersion and/or the strong interactions among Pt, Sn, and the support.

Effect of cerium addition on catalytic performance of PtSnNa/ZSM-5 catalyst for propane dehydrogenation

The effect of cerium addition on the catalytic performance of propane dehydrogenation over PtSnNaIZSM-5 catalyst has been investigated by reaction tests and some physicochemical characterization such as XRD, BET, TEM, XPS, NH3-TPD, H2 chemisorption, TPR and TPO techniques. It has been found that with suitable amount of cerium addition, the platinum dispersion increased, while the carbon deposition tended to be eliminated easily. In these cases, the presence of cerium could not only realize the better distribution of metallic particles on the support, but also strengthen the interactions between Sn species and the support. Additionally, XPS spectra confirmed that more amounts of tin could exist in oxidized form, which was advantageous to the reaction. In our experiments, PtSnNaCe （1.1 wt%）/ZSM-5 catalyst exhibited the best catalytic performance. After running the reaction for 750 h, propane conversion was maintained higher than 30% with the corresponding selectivity to propylene of about 97%.

Ionization process and distinctive characteristic of atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet driven resonantly by microwave pulses

In the present study,a coaxial transmission line resonator is constructed,which is always capable of generating cold microwave plasma jet plumes in ambient air in spite of using argon,nitrogen,or even air,respectively.Although the different kinds of working gas induce the different discharge performance,their ionization processes all indicate that the ionization enhancement has taken place twice in each pulsed periods,and the electron densities measured by the method of microwave Rayleigh scattering are higher than the amplitude order of 10^(18)m^(-3).The tail region of plasma jets all contain a large number of active particles,like NO,O,emitted photons,etc,but without O_(3).The formation mechanism and the distinctive characteristics are attributed to the resonance excitation of the locally enhanced electric fields,the ionization wave propulsion,and the temporal and spatial distribution of different particles in the pulsed microwave plasma jets.The parameters of plasma jet could be modulated by adjusting microwave power,modulation pulse parameters(modulation frequency and duty ratio),gas type and its flow rate,according to the requirements of application scenarios.

Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Left-Behind Children in Impoverished Rural China:A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study of First Grade Junior High School

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems and related factors of left-behind children in impoverished rural China(mainly in thefirst grade of junior high school).Methods:A cross-sectional survey of rural households in 27 poverty-stricken counties in 12 provinces across China was conducted using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire(SDQ).Results:The prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in left-behind children was 11.7%,and that of non-left-behind children was 8.9%.There was statistical difference between the two groups(P<0.01).There are no differences between the two groups in terms of the various factors of SDQ.The incidence of insomnia in the left-behind group was 58.3%,which was higher than that in the non-left-behind group 50.9%(P<0.01);loneliness(62.1%vs.51.8%,P<0.01);running away from home(23.1%vs.18.8%,P<0.01),and self-injury behavior(16.8%vs.12.2%,P<0.01).Left-behind children are more likely to have negative psychological feelings including insomnia,loneliness,self-injury,and run away from home.They also experienced more bullying including maliciously teased by peers,intentionally excluded or isolated,physically threatened or intimidated.All of these factors are associated with their abnormal emotional and behavioural development.Conclusion:The incidence of emotional and behavioral problems of left-behind children in rural areas in poverty-stricken areas is significantly higher than that of non-left-behind children;Logistic regression analysis showed that bullying behavior and abnormal psychological characteristics are significantly associated with left-behind adolescents abnormal emotional and behavioral development.

Geometric regulation of collective cell tangential ordering migration

Collective cell migration is a coordinated movement of multi-cell systems essential for various processes throughout life.The collective motions often occur under spatial restrictions,hallmarked by the collective rotation of epithelial cells confined in circular substrates.Here,we aim to explore how geometric shapes of confinement regulate this collective cell movement.We develop quantitative methods for cell velocity orientation analysis,and find that boundary cells exhibit stronger tangential ordering migration than inner cells in circular pattern.Furthermore,decreased tangential ordering movement capability of collective cells in triangular and square patterns are observed,due to the disturbance of cell motion at unsmooth corners of these patterns.On the other hand,the collective cell rotation is slightly affected by a convex defect of the circular pattern,while almost hindered with a concave defect,also resulting from different smoothness features of their boundaries.Numerical simulations employing cell Potts model well reproduce and extend experimental observations.Together,our results highlight the importance of boundary smoothness in the regulation of collective cell tangential ordering migration.

Spider web-like carbonized bacterial cellulose/MoSe_(2) nanocomposite with enhanced microwave attenuation performance and tunable absorption bands

It is essential to manufacture microwave absorbers with strong absorption as well as tunable absorption bands at a low filler content.However,it remains challenging for pure biomass material to reach this goal without loading other components.MoSe_(2),as a transition metal chalcogenide with semiconductor properties,has emerged as a potential microwave absorber filler.Herein,bacterial cellulose(BC)-derived carbon nanofibers/MoSe_(2) nanocomposite was fabricated and phosphoric acid was used to dope phosphorus in BC,in which MoSe_(2) microspheres were dropped on the BC network like a dew-covered spider web.This unique network structure enhances conductive loss and multiple reflections of the incident wave.The collocation of BC and MoSe_(2) is helpful to impedance match and introduces interfacial/dipolar polarization loss;moreover,the P-doping of BC helps to tune the absorption bands.Overall,the optimal reflection loss of undoped one reaches−53.33 dB with only 20 wt.%filler content,whose main absorption peaks focus on X-band.Interestingly,after the P-doping of BC,the main absorption peaks move to Ku-band and the optimal reflection loss gets stronger(−66.84 dB)with the same filler loading.Strong absorption and tunable absorption bands can be realized,and thus wide frequency range is covered.This work is expected to enlighten future exploration of biomass carbon materials on high-performance microwave absorption materials.

Empirical analysis of network measures for predicting high severity software faults

Network measures are useful for predicting fault-prone modules. However, existing work has not distinguished faults according to their severity. In practice, high severity faults cause serious problems and require further attention. In this study, we explored the utility of network measures in high severity faultproneness prediction. We constructed software source code networks for four open-source projects by extracting the dependencies between modules. We then used univariate logistic regression to investigate the associations between each network measure and fault-proneness at a high severity level. We built multivariate prediction models to examine their explanatory ability for fault-proneness, as well as evaluated their predictive effectiveness compared to code metrics under forward-release and cross-project predictions. The results revealed the following:(1) most network measures are significantly related to high severity fault-proneness;(2) network measures generally have comparable explanatory abilities and predictive powers to those of code metrics; and(3) network measures are very unstable for cross-project predictions. These results indicate that network measures are of practical value in high severity fault-proneness prediction.

Preparation and application of a phosphorous free and non- nitrogen scale inhibitor in industrial cooling water systems

A novel environmentally friendly type of calcium carbonate, zinc （Ⅱ） and iron （Ⅲ） scale inhibitor Acrylic acidallylpolyethoxy carboxylate copolymer （AA- APEL） was synthesized. The anti-scale property of the AA-APEL toward CaCO3, zinc （Ⅱ） and iron （Ⅲ） in the artificial cooling water was studied through static scale inhibition tests. The observation shows that both calcium carbonate, zinc （Ⅱ） and iron （Ⅲ） inhibition increase with increasing the dosage of AA-APEL. The effect on formation of CaCO3 was investigated with combination of scanning electronic microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, X-ray powder diffraction （XRD） analysis and fourier transform infrared spectrometer, respectively. The results showed that the AA-APEL copolymer not only influenced calcium carbonate crystal morphology and crystal size but also the crystallinity. The crystallization of CaCO3 in the absence of inhibitor was rhombohedral calcite crystal, whereas a mixture of calcite with vaterite crystals was found in the presence of the AA- APEL copolymer. Inhibition mechanism is proposed that the interactions between calcium or iron ions and polyethylene glycol （PEG） are the fundamental impetus to restrain the formation of the scale in cooling water systems.

Three-dimensional thermo-rheological structure of the lithosphere in the North China Craton determined by integrating multiple observations: Implications for the formation of rifts

The lithosphere of the North China Craton(NCC)has experienced significant destruction and deformation since the Mesozoic,a notable feature of which is the widespread extensional structure and lithospheric thinning in the eastern NCC.Since the thermo-rheological structure of the lithosphere is one of the main factors controlling these dynamic processes,a threedimensional thermo-rheological model of the present lithosphere in the NCC was developed based on a geophysical-petrological method using a variety of data,and its relationship with the extensional structures and the formation of rifts was further analyzed.Our results show that the western NCC is characterized by thick lithosphere,low Moho temperature(TMoho<600°C),as well as high lithospheric strength and mantle-crust strength ratio(Sm/Sc>1).The deformation of the western narrow rift is consistent with the localized deformation dominated by the strength of lithospheric mantle.On the other hand,the lithosphere in the eastern NCC is characterized by extensive thinning(with lithospheric thickness of about 80–110 km).However,the decrease of lithospheric strength is not uniform,with high strength(10×1012 Pa m)observed in some areas(such as the Bohai Bay Basin and Hehuai Basin).Most of the eastern lithosphere is characterized by high TMoho(600–750°C)and low Sm/Sc(<1),which is inconsistent with the widespread extensional structure in the eastern NCC.Incorporating results from palaeo-geothermal and petrological studies,we developed a thermo-rheological structure model of the lithosphere at different evolutionary stages of the NCC,and suggested that the eastern NCC had a significantly thinned and weakened lithosphere in the early stages of the formation of the rift,leading to a regional distributed extension deformation dominated by crustal strength,which eventually evolved into a series of wide rifts.However,the cooling and accretion of the lithosphere in the subsequent stages significantly increased the strength of the lithospheric mantle,resulting in the inconsistency between the present thermo-rheological structure of the lithosphere and the extensional structure formed in the past.