Observed Enhancement in LIBS Signals from Nano vs. Bulk ZnO Targets: Comparative Study of Plasma Parameters

In this article, we will report an experimental evidence of enhanced LIBS emission upon replacing a Bulk-Based ZnO target by the corresponding Nano-Based target. The plasma was initiated via interaction of a Nd:YAG laser at the fundamental wavelength with both targets in open air under the same experimental conditions. The measurements show an enhanced emission from the Zn I-lines at the wavelengths of 328.26, 330.29, 334.55, 468.06, 472.2, 481.01, 636.38 nm. The measurements were repeated at different delay times in the range from 1 to 5 μs at constant irradiation level and fixed gate time of 1 μs. The average enhancement over the different Zn I-lines was found increases exponentially up to 8-fold with delay time. The electron density to each plasma was measured utilizing the Hα-line appeared in the emitted spectra from each plasma and was found to give similar values. The electron temperatures were measured via Boltzmann plot method utilizing the relative intensities of the Zn I-lines and were found to give very close values. Moreover, the relative population density of the ground state of the zinc atoms (relative concentration) was measured spectroscopically utilizing the Boltzmann plot method and was found to increase in a very similar trend to that of enhancement. The results of the spectroscopic analysis conclude that these signal enhancements can be attributed to the higher concentration of neutral atoms in the Nano-Based material plasma with respect to the corresponding Bulk-based ZnO material.

Physical aspects of magnetized Jeffrey nanomaterial flow with irreversibility analysis

This research presents the applications of entropy generation phenomenon in incompressible flow of Jeffrey nanofluid in the presence of distinct thermal features. The novel aspects of various features, such as Joule heating, porous medium,dissipation features, and radiative mechanism are addressed. In order to improve thermal transportation systems based on nanomaterials, convective boundary conditions are introduced. The thermal viscoelastic nanofluid model is expressed in terms of differential equations. The problem is presented via nonlinear differential equations for which analytical expressions are obtained by using the homotopy analysis method(HAM). The accuracy of solution is ensured. The effective outcomes of all physical parameters associated with the flow model are carefully examined and underlined through various curves. The observations summarized from current analysis reveal that the presence of a permeability parameter offers resistance to the flow. A monotonic decrement in local Nusselt number is noted with Hartmann number and Prandtl number.Moreover, entropy generation and Bejan number increases with radiation parameter and fluid parameter.

Analysis of Brand Management Application in Enterprises in Republic of Srpska

The economy of Republic of Srpska is in state of transition with tendency of gaining membership in EU; and also with tendency of expending the market. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the economy and means of competition which bring the value to the enterprise, and are also accepted in world＇s market. Also, the current state of the economy of Republic of Srpska has many problems and one of them are definitely the products which are not enough prepared through marketing, as well as the ignorance of problems and strategy of brand management, which will be presented in the paper. In other words, by focusing on the brand value and favorizing the factors which determine that value, it is possible to increase the income of domestic enterprises.

Enhanced stability of Pt nanoparticle electrocatalysts for fuel cells

Although polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells （PEMFCs） have received broad attention due to their virtually zero emission, high power density, and high efficiency, at present the limited stability of the electrocatalysts used in PEMFCs is a critical limitation to their large-scale commercialization. As a type of popularly used electrocatalyst material, carbon black supported platinum （Pt/C）--although highly efficient--undergoes corrosion of carbon, Pt dissolution, Ostwald ripening, and aggregation of Pt nanoparticles （NPs） under harsh chemical and electro- chemical oxidation conditions, which results in performance degradation of the electrocatalysts. In order to overcome these disadvantages, many groups have tried to improve the carbon support materials on which Pt is loaded. It has been found that some novel carbon nanomaterials and noncarbon materials with high surface areas, sufficient anchoring sites, high electrical conductivities, and high oxidation resistance under the strongly oxidizing condition in PEMFCs are ideal alternative supports. This review highlights the following aspects： （i） Recent advances in using novel carbon nanomaterials and noncarbon support materials to enhance the long-term durability of electrocatalysts; （ii） solutions to improve the electrical conductivity, surface area, and the strong interaction between metal and supports; and （iii） the synergistic effects in hybrid supports which help improve the stability of electrocatalysts.

Effect of Incentives on Web-Based Surveys

Investigators seek ways to effectively raise the response rate of surveys. Incentives have a great influence on response rate, retention rate, and response quality in traditional surveys. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what kinds of incentives are effective in web-based surveys. This study summarizes the research framework of previous studies on the effect of incentives in web-based surveys to show that material incentives have a significant effect on web-based surveys with prepaid incentives having a moderate influence on raising the response rate. Contingent incentives significantly reduce the response rate. These findings provide guidance for web-based investigations.