Wrapping the cube and other polyhedra

An infinite series of twofold, two-way weavings of the cube, corresponding to 'wrappings', or double covers of the cube, is described with the aid of the two-parameter Goldberg- Coxeter construction. The strands of all such wrappings correspond to the central circuits (CCs) of octahedrites (four-regular polyhedral graphs with square and triangular faces), which for the cube necessarily have octahedral symmetry. Removing the symmetry constraint leads to wrappings of other eight-vertex convex polyhedra. Moreover, wrappings of convex polyhedra with fewer vertices can be generated by generalizing from octahedrites to i-hedrites, which additionally include digonal faces. When the strands of a wrapping correspond to the CCs of a four-regular graph that includes faces of size greater than 4, non-convex 'crinkled' wrappings are generated. The various generalizations have implications for activities as diverse as the construction of woven-closed baskets and the manufacture of advanced composite components of complex geometry. © 2012 The Royal Society.

Reversible CO2 absorption by the 6H perovskite Ba 4Sb2O9

A novel compound for carbon capture and storage (CCS) applications, the 6H perovskite Ba4Sb2O9, was found to be able to absorb CO2 through a chemical reaction at 873 K to form barium carbonate and BaSb2O6. This absorption was shown to be reversible through the regeneration of the original Ba4Sb 2O9 material upon heating above 1223 K accompanied by the release of CO2. A combined synchrotron X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric, and microscopy study was carried out to characterize first the physical absorption properties and then to analyze the structural evolution and formation of phases in situ. Importantly, through subsequent carbonation and regeneration of the material over 100 times, it was shown that the combined absorption and regeneration reactions proceed without any significant reduction in the CO2 absorption capacity of the material. After 100 cycles the capacity of Ba4Sb2O9 was ∼0.1 g (CO 2)/g (sorbent), representing 73% of the total molar capacity. This is the first report of a perovskite-type material showing such good properties, opening the way for studies of new classes of inorganic oxide materials with stable and flexible chemical compositions and structures for applications in carbon capture. © 2013 American Chemical Society.