Three-body force rearrangement contribution to single nucleon potential in nuclear matter

Within the framework of microscopic Brueckner-Hatree-Fock, the contribution of the three-body force (TBF) rearrangement to the. single nucleon potential is calculated. The TBF rearrangement effects on the momentum and the density dependence of the single nucleon potential are investigated. The influence of the TBF rearrangement on the effective mass of nucleon is also discussed. It is shown that the rearrangement contribution of TBF is repulsive and momentum-dependent. The TBF rearrangement effect and its momentum dependence increase rapidly as increasing density and momentum. At high densities and high momenta, the repulsive rearrangement contribution reduces strongly the attraction of the single nucleon potential and enhances considerably the momentum dependence of the single nucleon potential.

Single nucleon potential and effective mass with ground state correlations in hot nuclear matter

In the framework of the finite temperature Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach including the contribution of the microscopic three-body force, the single nuclear potential and the nucleon effective mass in hot nuclear matter at various temperatures and densities have been calculated by using the hole-line expansion for mass operator, and the effects of the three-body forces and the ground state correlations on the single nucleon potential have been investigated. It is shown that both the ground state correlations and the three-body force affect considerably the density and temperature dependence of the single nucleon potential. The rearrangement correction in the single nucleon potential is repulsive and it reduces remarkably the attraction of the single nucleon potential in the low-momentum region. The rearrangement contribution due to the ground state correlations becomes smaller as the temperature rises up and becomes larger as the density increases. The effect of the three-body force on the ground state correlations is to reduce the contribution of rearrangement. At high densities, the single nucleon potential containing both the rearrangement correction and the contribution of the three-body force becomes more repulsive as the temperature increases.

Probing high-density behavior of symmetry energy from pion emission in heavy-ion collisions

Within the framework of the improved isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics (ImIQMD) model, the emission of pion in heavy-ion collisions in the region 1 A GeV as a probe of nuclear symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities is investigated systematically, in which the pion is considered to be mainly produced by the decay of resonances Delta(1232) and N*(1440). The total pion multiplicities and the pi(-)/pi(+) yields are calculated for selected Skyrme parameters SkP, SLy6. Ska and SIB, and also for the cases of different stiffness of symmetry energy with the parameter SLy6. Preliminary results compared with the measured data by the FOPI Collaboration favor a hard symmetry energy of the potential term proportional to (rho/rho(0))(gamma s) with gamma(s) = 2. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A high performance Time-of-Flight detector applied to isochronous mass measurement at CSRe

A high performance Time-of-Flight detector has been designed and constructed for isochronous mass spectrometry at the experimental Cooler Storage Ring (CSRe) The detector has been successfully used in an experiment to measure the masses of the N approximate to Z approximate to 33 nuclides near the proton drip-line Of particular interest is the mass of As-65 A maximum detection efficiency of 70% and a time resolution of 118 +/- 8 Ps (FWHM) have been achieved in the experiment The dependence of detection efficiency and signal average pulse height (APH) on atomic number Z has been studied The potential of APH for Z identification has been discussed (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved

CONSISTENT THREE-BODY FORCE WITH BONN B POTENTIAL AND NEUTRON STAR STRUCTURE

Microscopic three-nucleon force consistent with the Bonn B two-nucleon potential is constructed, which includes Delta(1232), Roper, and nucleon-antinucleon excitation contributions. Recent results for the choice of the meson parameters are discussed. The forces are used in Brueckner calculations and the saturation properties of nuclear matter are determined. At the high densities,the nuclear equation of state and the symmetry energy are calculated. The corresponding neutron star mass-radius relations are presented.

Study of a high power density sodium polysulfide/bromine energy storage cell

Nickel catalyst supported on carbon was made by reduction of nickelous nitrate with hydrogen at high temperature. Ni/ C catalyst characterization was carried out by XRD. It was found that the crystal phase of NiS and NiS2 appeared in the impregnated catalyst. Ni/ C and Pt/ C catalysts gave high performance as the positive and negative electrodes of a sodium polysulfide/ bromine energy storage cell, respectively. The overpotentials of the positive and negative electrodes were investigated. The effect of the electrocatalyst loading and operating temperature on the charge and discharge performance of the cell was investigated. A power density of up to 0.64 W cm(-2) ( V = 1.07 V) was obtained in this energy storage cell. A cell potential efficiency of up to 88.2% was obtained when both charge and discharge current densities were 0.1 A cm(-2).

Potential CO2 Emission Reduction by Development of Non-Grain-Based Bioethanol in China

Assessment of the potential CO2 emission reduction by development of non-grain-based ethanol in China is valuable for both setting up countermeasures against climate change and formulating bioethanol policies. Based on the land occupation property, feedstock classification and selection are conducted, identifying sweet sorghum, cassava, and sweet potato as plantation feedstocks cultivated from low-quality arable marginal land resources and molasses and agricultural straws as nonplantation feedstocks derived from agricultural by-products. The feedstock utilization degree, CO2 reduction coefficient of bioethanol, and assessment model of CO2 emission reduction potential of bioethanol are proposed and established to assess the potential CO2 emission reduction by development of non-grain-based bioethanol. The results show that China can obtain emission reduction potentials of 10.947 and 49.027 Mt CO2 with non-grain-based bioethanol in 2015 and 2030, which are much higher than the present capacity, calculated as 1.95 Mt. It is found that nonplantation feedstock can produce more bioethanol so as to obtain a higher potential than plantation feedstock in both 2015 and 2030. Another finding is that developing non-grain-based bioethanol can make only a limited contribution to China's greenhouse gas emission reduction. Moreover, this study reveals that the regions with low and very low potentials for emission reduction will dominate the spatial distribution in 2015, and regions with high and very high potentials will be the majority in 2030.

High-performance dye-sensitized solar cells based on solvent-free electrolytes produced from eutectic melts

Low-cost excitonic solar cells based on organic optoelectronic materials are receiving an ever-increasing amount of attention as potential alternatives to traditional inorganic photovoltaic devices. In this rapidly developing field, the dye-sensitized solar cell(1) (DSC) has achieved so far the highest validated efficiency of 11.1% (ref. 2) and remarkable stability(3).

Amphiphilic Core-Shell Nanocarriers Based On Hyperbranched Poly(ester amide)-star-PCL: Synthesis, Characterization, and Potential as Efficient Phase Transfer Agent

Amphiphilic biodegradable star-shaped polymer was conveniently prepared by the Sn(Oct)(2)-catalyzed ring opening polymerization of c-caprolactone (CL) with hyperbranched poly(ester amide) (PEA) as a macroinitiator. Various monomer/initiator ratios were employed to vary the length of the PCL arms. H-1 NMR and FTIR characterizations showed the successful synthesis of star polymer with high initiation efficiency. SEC analysis using triple detectors, RI, light scattering, and viscosity confirmed the controlled manner of polymerization and the star architecture.

Nanoelectrocatalyst based on high-density Au/Pt hybrid nanoparticles supported on a silica nanosphere

A high-efficiency nanoelectrocatalyst based on high-density Au/Pt hybrid nanoparticles supported on a silica nanosphere (Au-Pt/SiO2) has been prepared by a facile wet chemical method. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are employed to characterize the obtained Au-Pt/SiO2. It was found that each hybrid nanosphere is composed of high-density small Au/Pt hybrid nanoparticles with rough surfaces. These small Au/Pt hybrid nanoparticles interconnect and form a porous nanostructure, which provides highly accessible activity sites, as required for high electrocatalytic activity. We suggest that the particular morphology of the AuPt/SiO2 may be the reason for the high catalytic activity. Thus, this hybrid nanomaterial may find a potential application in fuel cells.

Monodisperse, submicrometer-scale platinum colloidal spheres with high electrocatalytic activity

Monodisperse, submicrometer-scale platinum (Pt) colloidal spheres were prepared through a simple direct chemical reduction of p-phenylenediamine (PPD)-chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6) coordination polymer colloids. It was found that the prepared Pt colloids had the similar size and morphology with their coordination polymer precursors, and the prepared Pt colloids with rough surfaces were three-dimensional (3D) structured assemblies of high-density small Pt nanoparticles. The electrochemical experiments confirmed that the prepared Pt colloids possessed a high electrocatalytic activity towards mainly four-electron reduction of dioxygen to water, making the prepared Pt colloids potential candidates for the efficient cathode material in fuel cells.

A simple route to incorporate redox mediator into carbon nanotubes/Nafion composite film and its application to determine NADH at low potential

Through a new and simple ion-exchange route, two-electron redox mediator thionine has been deliberately incorporated into the carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/Nafion composite film due to the fact that there is strong interaction between any of two among the three materials (ion-exchange process between thionine and Nafion, strong adsorption of thionine by CNTs, and wrapping and solubilizing of CNTs with Nation). The good homogenization of electron conductor CNTs in the integrated films provides the possibility of three-dimensional electron conductive network. The resulting integrated films exhibited high and stable electrocatalytic activity toward NADH oxidation with the significant decrease of high overpotential, which responds more sensitively more than those modified by thioine or CNTs alone. Such high electrocatalytic activity facilitated the low potential determination of NADH (as low as -0.1 V), which eliminated the interferences from other easily oxidizable species. In a word, the immobilization approach is very simple, timesaving and effective, which could be extended to the immobilization of other cationic redox mediators into the CNTs/Nafion composite film. And these features may offer potential promise for the design of amperometric biosensors.

Toward high-performance polymer solar cells: The importance of morphology control

Polymer solar cells have the potential to become a major electrical power generating tool in the 21st century. R&D endeavors are focusing on continuous roll-to-roll printing of polymeric or organic compounds from solution-like newspapers-to produce flexible and lightweight devices at low cost. It is recognized, though, that besides the functional properties of the compounds the organization of structures on the nanometer level-forced and controlled mainly by the processing conditions applied-determines the performance of state-of-the-art polymer solar cells. In such devices the photoactive layer is composed of at least two functional materials that form nanoscale interpenetrating phases with specific functionalities, a so-called bulk heterojunction. In this perspective article, our current knowledge on the main factors determining the morphology formation and evolution is introduced, and gaps of our understanding on nanoscale structure-property relations in the field of high-performance polymer solar cells are addressed. Finally, promising routes toward formation of tailored morphologies are presented.

Fabrication of core-shell Au-Pt nanoparticle film and its potential application as catalysis and SERS substrate

In this paper we report the rational design and fabrication of high-quality core-shell Au-Pt nanoparticle film. Such film shows highly efficient catalytic properties and excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) ability.

Investigation of facilitated ion-transfer reactions at high driving force by scanning electrochemical Microscopy

The kinetics of facilitated ion-transfer (FIT) reactions at high driving force across the water/1,2-dichloroethane (W/DCE) interface is investigated by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The transfers of lithium and sodium ions facilitated by dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) across the polarized W/DCE interface are chosen as model systems because they have the largest potential range that can be controlled externally. By selecting the appropriate ratios of the reactant concentrations (Kr c(M)+/c(DB18C6)) and using nanopipets as the SECM tips, we obtained a series of rate constants (k(f)) at various driving forces (Delta(O)(W) phi(ML+)(0') - Es, Delta(O)(W) phi(ML+)(0') is the formal potential of facilitated ion transfer and Es is the potential applied externally at the substrate interface) based on a three-electrode system. The FIT rate constants k(f) are found to be dependent upon the driving force. When the driving force is low, the dependence of 1n k(f) on the driving force is linear with a transfer coefficient of about 0.3. It follows the classical Butler-Volmer theory and then reaches a maximum before it decreases again when we further increase the driving forces. This indicates that there exists an inverted region, and these behaviors have been explained by Marcus theory.