Importance of Surface Energy in Nanoemulsion

The emerging prospects of nanoscience and nanotechnology have an enormous promise to revolutionize various aspects of human life. In this context, the application of nanoemulsion stands at the vanguard of introducing newer dimensions to the way we see the everyday world. Naturally, the preparation and stability of nanoemulsion demand a precise understanding of the underlying forces of interaction toward achieving a greater control over their functionality and regulating them. The stability of nanoemulsion is primarily governed by the conjugate and complex interplay of van der Waals forces and steric interactions. The present chapter will be dedicated to the discussion of the regulatory roles of these forces in dictating the stability of nanoemulsion with particular emphasis on the origin of these fundamental forces from a molecular-level viewpoint

Forte: An Interactive Visual Analytic Tool for Trust-Augmented Net Load Forecasting

Accurate net load forecasting is vital for energy planning, aiding decisions on trade and load distribution. However, assessing the performance of forecasting models across diverse input variables, like temperature and humidity, remains challenging, particularly for eliciting a high degree of trust in the model outcomes. In this context, there is a growing need for data-driven technological interventions to aid scientists in comprehending how models react to both noisy and clean input variables, thus shedding light on complex behaviors and fostering confidence in the outcomes. In this paper, we present Forte, a visual analytics-based application to explore deep probabilistic net load forecasting models across various input variables and understand the error rates for different scenarios. With carefully designed visual interventions, this web-based interface empowers scientists to derive insights about model performance by simulating diverse scenarios, facilitating an informed decision-making process. We discuss observations made using Forte and demonstrate the effectiveness of visualization techniques to provide valuable insights into the correlation between weather inputs and net load forecasts, ultimately advancing grid capabilities by improving trust in forecasting models.Comment: Accepted for publication in the proceedings of 2024 IEEE Power & Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference, North America (ISGT NA

Unexpected magnetism explained in Cu/Cu2O-rGO nanocomposite

The observation of room temperature ferromagnetism along with a low temperature paramagnetic counterpart in undoped Cu-Cu2O-rGO nanocomposite was demonstrated. A phenomenological approach was taken to explain the observations based on 3D Ising model for arbitrary spins generated due to Cu vacancy in the Cu2O system preferably at the interface

Evidences for the augmented Cd(II) biosorption by Cd(II) resistant strain Candida tropicalis XTA1874 from contaminated aqueous medium

Abstract Cadmium is one of the most dreadful heavy metals and is becoming a major toxicant in ground water with increasing concentration above the WHO Guidelines in drinking water (0.003 mg/L). The potential sources of cadmium include sewage sludge, phosphate fertilizers and ingredients like Ni–Cd batteries, pigments, plating and plastics. Cadmium levels are increased in water owing to the use and disposal of cadmium containing ingredients. Water draining from a landfill may contain higher cadmium levels. The authors have tried to evaluate the optimized nutritional conditions for the optimal growth and Cd(II) remediation capacity for a developed Cd(II) resistant yeast strain named Candida tropicalis XTA 1874 isolated from contaminated water-body in West Bengal. By analyzing the optimization conditions, a synthetic medium was developed and the composition has been given in the main text. The strain showed much better Cd(II) adsorption capacity under the optimized nutritional conditions (Mean removal = 88.077 ± 0.097%)

Unconventional Dexter–Silverton Type Manganese Heteropolytungstate [Mn₇(MnW₁₂O₄₂(OH)₄·8H₂O)] Hollow Microsphere: Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Growth Mechanism, and Optical Property Study

An uncommon yet highly symmetric crystal form of a Mn-based heteropolytungstate (Mn-HPT), Mn₇(MnW₁₂O₄₂(OH)₄)·8H₂O, has been synthesized by a unique solvothermal method at 180 °C for 6 h. The nature of the solvent (water/ethanol = 50/50 by volume) and the presence of citric acid were the key reasons for the formation of the Mn-HPT phase and its hollow spherical morphology under the said experimental conditions. Combined powder X-ray diffraction analysis and field emission scanning electron miroscopy (FESEM) analysis reveals that the structure (cubic, space group <i>Im</i>3) consisted of [MnW₁₂O₄₂]^10– polyanion with Mn in a central 12-coordinated cavity, which cross-linked three dimensionally with other MnO₆ octahedra, to form the characteristic rhombododecahedron shaped particles of size ∼150 nm. Each polyanion was made of six pair of face shared WO₆ dimers (W₂O₉) with mean W···W separation of 2.98 Å. The WO₆ octahedrons were tilted to an O–W–O angle of 99.1° with four different types of W–O bonds. The structure was further characterized by thermogravimetric (TG), infrared (IR), Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis suggests that the material essentially was an indirect band gap semiconductor with <i>E</i>_g = 2.33 and 2.93 eV corresponding to the transitions from two different sets of nonbonding HOMO (O 2p) to the π* LUMO (W 5d). Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) analysis further delineates the HOMO–LUMO transition in the blue (412 nm) to green (525 nm) region with characteristic mean decay lifetime ∼8 ns

Solvent Dependent Phase Transition between Two Polymorphic Phases of Manganese–Tungstate: From Rigid to Hollow Microsphere

Crystallization of manganese (Mn²⁺) and tungstate (WO₄^2–) ions in the presence of citric acid under different water/ethanol mixtures has been systematically investigated under solvothermal conditions. A unique phase transition between two polymorphic phases, formulated as MnWO₄, manganese tungstate, and Mn₈W₁₂O₄₂(OH)₄·8H₂O, manganese heteropolytungstate (Mn-HPT), was observed along with a striking morphological alteration from rigid to hollow microsphere. The effective coordination of citrate ion to tungstate (tungstate–citrate 1:1 complex) in aqueous solution before the hydrothermal treatment drives the system to nucleate the less symmetric, monoclinic (space group: <i>P</i>2/<i>c</i>) MnWO₄ phase, which is the thermodynamically preferred polymorph. However, formation of the tungstate–citrate complex can be tuned by changing the dielectric constant of the solvent or by decreasing the citric acid to tungstate molar ratio. Results show that both conditions assist in the formation of the kinetically stable, more symmetric, cubic Mn-HPT (space group: <i>Im</i>3̅) phase at the same reaction temperature and time. The formation of the Mn-HPT phase is mediated by a kinetically advantageous crystallization process from an amorphous precursor, while later on it gradually converted into more stable MnWO₄ phase according to “Ostwald rule of successive phase transformation”. Optimum reaction conditions for the synthesis and plausible growth mechanisms of both microspheres were proposed on the basis of solvent, reaction time, temperature, and the presence of citric acid. Magnetic properties of both samples were investigated in order to illuminate the nature of magnetic interaction within the crystal lattice