Unveiling multi-element synergy in polymetallic oxides for efficient nitrate reduction to ammonia

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction is considered as a promising and sustainable method for ammonia synthesis.However,the selectivity and yield rate of ammonia are limited by the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction and the complex eight-electron transfer process.Herein,we developed a(FeCoNiCu)Ox/CeO_(2)polymetallic oxide electrocatalyst for effective nitrate reduction to ammonia.The synergistic effects among the multiple elements in the electrocatalyst were clearly elucidated by comprehensive experiments.Specifically,Cu acted as the active site for reducing nitrate to nitrite,and Co facilitated the subsequent reduction of nitrite to ammonia,while Fe and Ni promoted water dissociation to provide protons.Furthermore,the incorporation of CeO_(2)increased the active surface area of(FeCoNiCu)Ox,resulting in an improved ammonia yield rate to meet industrial demands.Consequently,the(FeCoNiCu)Ox/CeO_(2)electrocatalyst achieved an ammonia current density of 382 mA cm^(-2)and a high ammonia yield rate of 30.3 mg h^(-1)cm^(-2)with a long-term stability.This work offers valuable insights for the future design of highly efficient multi-element electrocatalysts.

Geographical origin identification of winter jujube(Ziziphus jujuba Dongzao')by using multi-element fingerprinting with chemometrics

Winter jujube(Ziziphus jujuba'Dongzao')is greatly appreciated by consumers for its excellent quality,but brand infringement frequently occurs in the market.Here,we first determined a total of 38 elements in 167 winter jujube samples from the main winter jujube producing areas of China by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer(ICP-MS).As a result,16 elements(Mg,K,Mn,Cu,Zn,Mo,Ba,Be,As,Se,Cd,Sb,Ce,Er,Tl,and Pb)exhibited significant differences in samples from different producing areas.Supervised linear discriminant analysis(LDA)and orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA)showed better performance in identifying the origin of samples than unsupervised principal component analysis(PCA).LDA and OPLS-DA had a mean identification accuracy of 87.84 and 94.64%in the testing set,respectively.By using the multilayer perceptron(MLP)and C5.0,the prediction accuracy of the models could reach 96.36 and 91.06%,respectively.Based on the above four chemometric methods,Cd,Tl,Mo and Se were selected as the main variables and principal markers for the origin identification of winter jujube.Overall,this study demonstrates that it is practical and precise to identify the origin of winter jujube through multi-element fingerprint analysis with chemometrics,and may also provide reference for establishing the origin traceability system of other fruits.

Magneto‑Dielectric Synergy and Multiscale Hierarchical Structure Design Enable Flexible Multipurpose Microwave Absorption and Infrared Stealth Compatibility

Developing advanced stealth devices to cope with radar-infrared(IR)fusion detection and diverse application scenarios is increasingly demanded,which faces significant challenges due to conflicting microwave and IR cloaking mechanisms and functional integration limitations.Here,we propose a multiscale hierarchical structure design,integrating wrinkled MXene IR shielding layer and flexible Fe_(3)O_(4)@C/PDMS microwave absorption layer.The top wrinkled MXene layer induces the intensive diffuse reflection effect,shielding IR radiation signals while allowing microwave to pass through.Meanwhile,the permeable microwaves are assimilated into the bottom Fe_(3)O_(4)@C/PDMS layer via strong magneto-electric synergy.Through theoretical and experimental optimization,the assembled stealth devices realize a near-perfect stealth capability in both X-band(8–12 GHz)and long-wave infrared(8–14μm)wavelength ranges.Specifically,it delivers a radar cross-section reduction of−20 dB m^(2),a large apparent temperature modulation range(ΔT=70℃),and a low average IR emissivity of 0.35.Additionally,the optimal device demonstrates exceptional curved surface conformability,self-cleaning capability(contact angle≈129°),and abrasion resistance(recovery time≈5 s).This design strategy promotes the development of multispectral stealth technology and reinforces its applicability and durability in complex and hostile environments.

N-S EQUATION CALCULATIONS ON MULTI-ELEMENT AIRFOILS WITH ZONAL PATCHED GRIDS

For a complex flow about multi-element airfoils a mixed grid method is set up. C-type grids are produced on each element′s body and in their wakes at first, O-type grids are given in the outmost area, and H-type grids are used in middle additional areas. An algebra method is used to produce the initial grids in each area. And the girds are optimized by elliptical differential equation method. Then C-O-H zonal patched grids around multi-element airfoils are produced automatically and efficiently. A time accurate finite-volume integration method is used to solve the compressible laminar and turbulent Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations on the grids. Computational results prove the method to be effective.

Monte Carlo simulation of reflection effects of multi-element materials on gamma rays

To study the effects of the gamma reflection of multi-element materials,gamma ray transport models of single-element materials,such as iron and lead,and multielement materials,such as polyethylene and ordinary concrete,were established in this study.Relationships among the albedo factors of the gamma photons and energies and average energy of the reflected gamma rays by material type,material thickness,incident gamma energy,and incidence angle of gamma rays were obtained by Monte Carlo simulation.The results show that the albedo factors of single-element and multi-element materials increase rapidly with an increase in the material thickness.When the thickness of the material increases to a certain value,the albedo factors do not increase further but rather tend to the saturation value.The saturation values for the albedo factors of the gamma photons,and energies and the reflection thickness are related not only to the type of material but also to the incident gamma energy and incidence angle of the gamma rays.At a given incident gamma energy,which is between 0.2 and 2.5 MeV,the smaller the effective atomic number of the multi-element material is,the higher the saturation values of the albedo factors are.The larger the incidence angle of the gamma ray is,the greater the saturation value of the gamma albedo factor,saturation reflection thickness,and average saturation energy of the reflected gamma photons are.

Aerodynamic and Acoustic Optimization for Multi-element Airfoils

The paper is to integrate aerodynamic and aero-acoustic optimizatiom design of high lift devices,especially for two-element airfoils with slat.Aerodynamic analysis on flow field utilizes a high-order,high-resolution spatial differential method for large eddy simulation(LES),which can guarantee accuracy and efficiency.The aeroacoustic analysis for noise level is calculated with Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings(FW-H)integration formula.Fidelity of calculation is verified by standard models.Method of streamline-based Euler simulation(MSES)is used to obtain the aerodynamic characters.Based on the confirmation of numerical methods,detailed research has been conducted for the leading edge slat on multi-element airfoils.Various slot parameter influences on noise are analyzed.The results of the slot optimization parameters can be used in multi-element airfoil design.

A DDoS Attack Information Fusion Method Based on CNN for Multi-Element Data

Traditional distributed denial of service(DDoS)detection methods need a lot of computing resource,and many of them which are based on single element have high missing rate and false alarm rate.In order to solve the problems,this paper proposes a DDoS attack information fusion method based on CNN for multi-element data.Firstly,according to the distribution,concentration and high traffic abruptness of DDoS attacks,this paper defines six features which are respectively obtained from the elements of source IP address,destination IP address,source port,destination port,packet size and the number of IP packets.Then,we propose feature weight calculation algorithm based on principal component analysis to measure the importance of different features in different network environment.The algorithm of weighted multi-element feature fusion proposed in this paper is used to fuse different features,and obtain multi-element fusion feature(MEFF)value.Finally,the DDoS attack information fusion classification model is established by using convolutional neural network and support vector machine respectively based on the MEFF time series.Experimental results show that the information fusion method proposed can effectively fuse multi-element data,reduce the missing rate and total error rate,memory resource consumption,running time,and improve the detection rate.

Identifying Pathfinder Elements for Gold in Multi-Element Soil Geochemical Data from the Wa-Lawra Belt, Northwest Ghana: A Multivariate Statistical Approach

A multivariate statistical analysis was performed on multi-element soil geochemical data from the Koda Hill-Bulenga gold prospects in the Wa-Lawra gold belt, northwest Ghana. The objectives of the study were to define gold relationships with other trace elements to determine possible pathfinder elements for gold from the soil geochemical data. The study focused on seven elements, namely, Au, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ag, As and Cu. Factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were performed on the analyzed samples. Factor analysis explained 79.093% of the total variance of the data through three factors. This had the gold factor being factor 3, having associations of copper, iron, lead and manganese and accounting for 20.903% of the total variance. From hierarchical clustering, gold was also observed to be clustering with lead, copper, arsenic and silver. There was further indication that, gold concentrations were lower than that of its associations. It can be inferred from the results that, the occurrence of gold and its associated elements can be linked to both primary dispersion from underlying rocks and secondary processes such as lateritization. This data shows that Fe and Mn strongly associated with gold, and alongside Pb, Ag, As and Cu, these elements can be used as pathfinders for gold in the area, with ferruginous zones as targets.

Role of heterogenous microstructure and deformation behavior in achieving superior strength-ductility synergy in zinc fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Zinc(Zn)is considered a promising biodegradable metal for implant applications due to its appropriate degradability and favorable osteogenesis properties.In this work,laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)additive manufacturing was employed to fabricate pure Zn with a heterogeneous microstructure and exceptional strength-ductility synergy.An optimized processing window of LPBF was established for printing Zn samples with relative densities greater than 99%using a laser power range of 80∼90 W and a scanning speed of 900 mm s−1.The Zn sample printed with a power of 80 W at a speed of 900 mm s−1 exhibited a hierarchical heterogeneous microstructure consisting of millimeter-scale molten pool boundaries,micrometer-scale bimodal grains,and nanometer-scale pre-existing dislocations,due to rapid cooling rates and significant thermal gradients formed in the molten pools.The printed sample exhibited the highest ductility of∼12.1%among all reported LPBF-printed pure Zn to date with appreciable ultimate tensile strength(∼128.7 MPa).Such superior strength-ductility synergy can be attributed to the presence of multiple deformation mechanisms that are primarily governed by heterogeneous deformation-induced hardening resulting from the alternative arrangement of bimodal Zn grains with pre-existing dislocations.Additionally,continuous strain hardening was facilitated through the interactions between deformation twins,grains and dislocations as strain accumulated,further contributing to the superior strength-ductility synergy.These findings provide valuable insights into the deformation behavior and mechanisms underlying exceptional mechanical properties of LPBF-printed Zn and its alloys for implant applications.

Exploratory Data Analysis Applied in Mapping Multi-element Soil Geochemical Anomalies for Drill Target Definition:A Case Study from the Unpha Layered Non-magmatic Hydrothermal Pb-Zn Deposit,DPR Korea

A factor analysis was applied to soil geochemical data to define anomalies related to buried Pb-Zn mineralization.A favorable main factor with a strong association of the elements Zn,Cu and Pb,related to mineralization,was selected for interpretation.The median+2 MAD(median absolute deviation)method of exploratory data analysis(EDA)and C-A(concentration-area)fractal modeling were then applied to the Mahalanobis distance,as defined by Zn,Cu and Pb from the factor analysis to set the thresholds for defining multi-element anomalies.As a result,the median+2 MAD method more successfully identified the Pb-Zn mineralization than the C-A fractal model.The soil anomaly identified by the median+2 MAD method on the Mahalanobis distances defined by three principal elements(Zn,Cu and Pb)rather than thirteen elements(Co,Zn,Cu,V,Mo,Ni,Cr,Mn,Pb,Ba,Sr,Zr and Ti)was the more favorable reflection of the ore body.The identified soil geochemical anomalies were compared with the in situ economic Pb-Zn ore bodies for validation.The results showed that the median+2 MAD approach is capable of mapping both strong and weak geochemical anomalies related to buried Pb-Zn mineralization,which is therefore useful at the reconnaissance drilling stage.

Geochemical analysis of multi-element in archaeological soils from Tappe Rivi in Northeast Iran

Multi-element analysis in historical sites is a major issue in archaeological studies;however,this approach is almost unknown among Iranian scholars.Geochemical multi-element analysis of soil is very important to evaluate anthropogenic activities.The aim of this study consists of assessing the potential usefulness of multi-elemental soil analysis,obtained by Analytical Jena atomic absorption spectrophotometer(AAS) and ICP-MS,to recognize ancient anthropogenic features on the territory of Tappe Rivi(North Khorasan,Iran).For that purpose,a total of 80 ancient soil samples were sampled from each soil horizon and cultural layer.The research involved Fe,Al,Cd,Cu,Ni,Co,Cr,Pb,and P which trace element samples were extracted according to the International Standard ISO 11466 and phosphorus samples by Olsen method.Besides,the contamination of the soils was assessed based on enrichment factors(EFs) by using Fe as a reference element.This geochemical/archaeological approach highlights that the content of most elements in the Parthian and Sassanid ages were significantly higher than the contents of the elements in other zones,which shows that by the development of the eras,the content of the elements has also increased.Also,the accumulation of metals in the Rivi site was significantly higher than in the control area.Among the sampled zones,enrichment factor(EF) indicated that the enrichment of Cu and phosphate at the Parthian and Sassanid had the highest content.This result is important because it shows that the amount of metals and human activities are directly related to each other during different ages.

Effect of Al and Sc on deformation behavior of FeCoNi multi-element alloys

The effects of Al and Sc on mechanical properties of FeCoNi multi-element alloys(MEAs) were investigated by compressive tests. The microstructures of FeCoNi MEAs with different contents of Al and Sc were characterized and the strengthening mechanisms were discussed. The results show that FeCoNi MEA with a low content of Al has a face-centered cubic(FCC) structure. The yield strength increases linearly with the increase of Al content, which is largely caused by solid solution hardening. Further addition of Sc can promote the formation of a new phase in(FeCoNi)1-xAlx MEAs. A minor addition of Sc can significantly increase the yield strengths of(FeCoNi)1-xAlx MEAs with a low Al content and improve the compressive plasticity of(FeCoNi)1-xAlx MEAs with a high Al content.

HYBRID CARTESIAN GRID/GRIDLESS METHOD FOR CALCULATING VISCOUS FLOWS OVER MULTI-ELEMENT AIRFOILS

A hybrid Cartesian grid/gridless method is developed for calculating viscous flows over multi-element airfoils.The method adopts an unstructured Cartesian grid to cover most areas of the computational domain and leaves only small region adjacent to the aerodynamic bodies to be filled with the cloud of points used in the gridless methods,which results in a better combination of the computational efficiency of the Cartesian grid and the flexibility of the gridless method in handling complex geometries.The clouds of points in the local gridless region are implemented in an anisotropic way according to the features of the thin boundary layer of the viscous flows over the airfoils,and the clouds of points at the vicinity of the interface between the grid and the gridless regions are also controlled by using an adaptive refinement technique during the generation of the unstructured Cartesian grid.An implementation of the resulting hybrid method is presented for solving two-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes(NS)equations.The simulations of the viscous flows over a RAE2822airfoil or a two-element airfoil are successfully carried out,and the obtained results agree well with the available experimental data.

Experiments of Multi-element Composite Foundation with Steel Pipe Pile and Gravel Pile

A set of serf-developed apparatus for foundation physical model were utilized to conduct model tests of the multi-element composite foundation with a steel pipe pile and several gravel piles. Some load-bearing characteristics of the multi-element Composite foundation, including the curves of foundation settlement, stresses of piles, pile-soil stress ratio, and load-sharing ratio of piles and soil, were obtained to study its working performances in silty sand soil. The experimental results revealed that the multi-element composite foundation with steel pipe pile and gravel pile contributed more than the gravel pile composite foundation in improving the bearing capacity of the silty fine sand.

Confinement and synergy effects of supported-confined bimetal catalysts with superior stability and catalytic activity

Bimetallic nanocrystals have attracted considerable attention because of their complicated systems,which are far superior to those of their individual constituents.A TiO_(2)-confined PtMnP bimetallic catalyst(PtMnP@TiO_(2)) was prepared using an ultrasonic-assisted coincident strategy,which demonstrated exceptional catalytic activity in the universal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).Owing to the bimetallic synergistic effect and TiO_(2) confinement,PtMnP@TiO_(x)showed ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (NPs),a higher active Pt^(0) content,adequate activation at the porous surface,and abundant acid sites.Simulations were performed to visualize the strain properties of Mn and Pt during the bending process and demonstrate the high activity of Pt.The Pt-Mn bimetallic catalysts were enriched with Pt NPs,convoyed by electron transfer from Mn to Pt.Briefly,PtMnP@TiO_(2) showed robust evolution reaction activities (an overpotential of 220 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2) and a Tafel slope of 186 mV dec^(-1))and the ability to contrast stated catalysts without ultrasonication-plasma.This protocol revealed that the geometrical and electronic effects of Pt and P surrounding the Mn species in PtMnP@TiO_(2) were crucial for increasing the catalytic activity (99%) and durability (over 20 cycles),which were far superior to those of other reported catalysts.

Synergy of inside doped metals–Outside coated graphene to enhance hydrogen storage in magnesium-based alloys

Grain growth of magnesium(Mg)and its hydride is one of the main reasons for kinetic and capacity degradation during the hydrogen absorption and desorption cycles.To solve this problem,herein we propose a novel method involving synergistic effect of inside embedded metals and outside coated graphene to limit the growth of Mg and its hydride grains.The graphene coated Mg-Y-Al alloys were selected as a model system for demonstrating this positive effect where the Mg_(91)Y_(3)Al_(6)alloy was first prepared by rapidly solidified method and then high-pressure milled with 5 wt%graphene upon 5 MPa hydrogen gas for obtaining in-situ formed YAl_(2)and YH_(3)embedded in the MgH_(2)matrix with graphene shell(denoted as MgH_(2)-Y-Al@GR).In comparison to pure MgH_(2),the obtained MgH_(2)-Y-Al@GR composites deliver much better kinetics and more stable cyclic performance.For instance,the MgH_(2)-Y-Al@GR can release about 6.1 wt%H_(2)within 30 min at 300℃ but pure MgH_(2)only desorbs∼1.5 wt%H_(2).The activation energy for desorption of MgH_(2)-Y-Al@GR samples is calculated to be 75.3±9.1 kJ/mol that is much lower than approximately 160 kJ/mol for pure MgH_(2).Moreover,its capacity retention is promoted from∼57%of pure MgH_(2)to∼84%after 50th cycles without obvious particle agglomeration and grain growth.The synergistic effect of outside graphene coating with inside embedded metals which could provide a huge number of active sites for catalysis as well as inhibit the grain growth of Mg and its hydride is believed to be responsible for these.

Tuning synergy between nickel and iron in Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites through controllable crystal dimensionalities towards enhanced oxygenevolving activity and stability

Ni-Fe-based oxides are among the most promising catalysts developed to date for the bottleneck oxygen evolution reaction(OER)in water electrolysis.However,understanding and mastering the synergy of Ni and Fe remain challenging.Herein,we report that the synergy between Ni and Fe can be tailored by crystal dimensionality of Ni,Fe-contained Ruddlesden-Popper(RP)-type perovskites(La_(0.125)Sr_(0.875))n+1(Ni_(0.25)Fe_(0.75))nO3n+1(n=1,2,3),where the material with n=3 shows the best OER performance in alkaline media.Soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy spectra before and after OER reveal that the material with n=3 shows enhanced Ni/Fe-O covalency to boost the electron transfer as compared to those with n=1 and n=2.Further experimental investigations demonstrate that the Fe ion is the active site and the Ni ion is the stable site in this system,where such unique synergy reaches the optimum at n=3.Besides,as n increases,the proportion of unstable rock-salt layers accordingly decreases and the leaching of ions(especially Sr^(2+))into the electrolyte is suppressed,which induces a decrease in the leaching of active Fe ions,ultimately leading to enhanced stability.This work provides a new avenue for rational catalyst design through the dimensional strategy.

Tailoring the microenvironment of Ti sites in Ti-containing materials for synergizing with Au sites to boost propylene epoxidation

Au sites supported on Ti-containing materials(Au/Ti-containing catalyst)are currently considered as a promising catalyst for the propylene epoxidation owing to the synergistic effect that hydrogen peroxide species formed on Au sites diffuses to the Ti sites to form the Ti-hydroperoxo intermedi-ates and contributes to the formation of propylene oxide(PO).In principle,thermal treatment will significantly affect the chemical and physical structures of Ti-containing materials.Consequently,the synergy between tailored Ti sites with different surface properties and Au sites is highly expected to enhance the catalytic performance for the reaction.Herein,we systematically studied the intrinsic effects of different microenvironments around Ti sites on the PO adsorption/desorption and conversion,and then effectively improved the catalytic performance by tailoring the number of surface hydroxyl groups.The Ti^(Ⅵ) material with fewer hydroxyls stimulates a remarkable enhancement in PO selectivity and H_(2) efficiency compared to the Ti^(Ⅵ) material that possessed more hydroxyls,offering a 7-fold and 4-fold increase,respectively.As expected,the Ti^(Ⅵ+Ⅳ) and Ti^(Ⅳ) materials also exhibit a similar phenomenon to the Ti^(Ⅵ) materials through the same thermal treatment,which strongly supports that the Ti sites microenvironment is an important factor in suppressing PO con-version and enhancing catalytic performance.These insights could provide guidance for the rational preparation and optimization of Ti-containing materials synergizing with Au catalysts for propylene epoxidation.

Trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services in Yutian County along the Keriya River Basin,Northwest China

The Keriya River Basin is located in an extremely arid climate zone on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin of Northwest China,exhibiting typical mountain-oasis-desert distribution characteristics.In recent decades,climate change and human activities have exerted significant impacts on the service functions of watershed ecosystems.However,the trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services(ESs)have not been thoroughly examined.This study aims to reveal the spatiotemporal changes in ESs within the Keriya River Basin from 1995 to 2020 as well as the trade-offs and synergies between ESs.Leveraging the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs(InVEST)and Revised Wind Erosion Equation(RWEQ)using land use/land cover(LULC),climate,vegetation,soil,and hydrological data,we quantified the spatiotemporal changes in the five principal ESs(carbon storage,water yield,food production,wind and sand prevention,and habitat quality)of the watershed from 1995 to 2020.Spearman correlation coefficients were used to analyze the trade-offs and synergies between ES pairs.The findings reveal that water yield,carbon storage,and habitat quality exhibited relatively high levels in the upstream,while food production and wind and sand prevention dominated the midstream and downstream,respectively.Furthermore,carbon storage,food production,wind and sand prevention,and habitat quality demonstrated an increase at the watershed scale while water yield exhibited a decline from 1995 to 2020.Specifically,carbon storage,wind and sand prevention,and habitat quality presented an upward trend in the upstream but downward trend in the midstream and downstream.Food production in the midstream showed a continuously increasing trend during the study period.Trade-off relationships were identified between water yield and wind and sand prevention,water yield and carbon storage,food production and water yield,and habitat quality and wind and sand prevention.Prominent temporal and spatial synergistic relationships were observed between different ESs,notably between carbon storage and habitat quality,carbon storage and food production,food production and wind and sand prevention,and food production and habitat quality.Water resources emerged as a decisive factor for the sustainable development of the basin,thus highlighting the intricate trade-offs and synergies between water yield and the other four services,particularly the relationship with food production,which warrants further attention.This research is of great significance for the protection and sustainable development of river basins in arid areas.

Trade-Offs and Synergie Effects of Regulating Ecosystem Services along an Climatic Gradient in Slovakia

This study aims to assess the synergies and trade-offs of regulating ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are non-linearly interconnected and changes in one service can positively or negatively affect another. We evaluated ecosystem services based on biophysical indicators using an expert scoring system that determines the corresponding soil functions and is part of the existing databases available in Slovakia. This methodological combination enabled us to provide unique mapping and assessment of ecosystem services within Slovakia. Correlation analysis between individual regulating ecosystem services and climate regions, slope, texture, and altitude confirm the statistically significant influence of climate and slope in all agricultural land, arable land, and grassland ecosystems. Statistically significant synergistic effects were established between the regulation of the water regime and the regulation of soil erosion within each climate region, apart from the very warm climate region. Only in a very warm climate region was potential of regulating ecosystem services mutually beneficial for soil erosion control and soil cleaning potential (immobilization of inorganic pollutants).