Rechargeable metal-metal alkaline batteries : Recent advances, current issues and future research strategies

Over the past few decades, remarkable advancement has been attained in the field of rechargeable metal–metal alkaline batteries (RABs). In terms of safety, energy density, charge-discharge capacity, and long-term storage capability, metal-metal RABs (e.g., Ni–Zn, Ni–Fe, Ni–Bi, Ni–MH, Ag–Zn, Co–Zn, Cu–Zn, and Bi–Zn systems) are contemplated as the promising energy storage devices for the applications in electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid EVs, grid-scale energy storage, as well as various implantable and wearable electronic devices. Especially, Ni-MH batteries become competitive with Li-ion batteries for EVs and hybrid EVs applications due to their high tolerance against mechanical abuse, stability under wide temperature ranges, and considerable charge/discharge capacity. Meanwhile, earlier works reviewed only specific topics, so, as a rapidly growing research topic, providing a deep understanding on metal–metal RABs is timely and worthwhile. So, in this work, we discuss the electrochemistry of all metal-metal RABs, then full cell designing with their performance will be discussed thoroughly. Further, issues associated with the existing metal–metal RABs and corresponding impro

Graphene oxide deposition on neodymium doped zinc borotellurite glass surface: optical and polarizability study for future fiber optics

Neodymium oxide doped tellurite-based glass has been widely documented for potential uses in optoelectronics, but graphene oxide (GO)-coated tellurite-based glass has rarely been reported. In this work, we compare two sets of glass series which were GO-coated and uncoated tellurite-based glass series denoted as ZBTNd-GO and ZBTNd, respectively. The two sets of glasses were fabricated via melt-quenched process. A set of glass was coated with GO using low-cost spray coating method. The structural and morphological properties of the glass samples were investigated to confirm the type of structure in glass and formation of graphene oxide on glass surface. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the amorphous structural arrangement in both sets of glass series. The morphological study proved the existence of GO layers on top of the ZBTNd-GO surface. The optical bandgap energy of ZBTNd-GO glass was found in the range of 3.253 eV–3.381 eV which was higher than ZBTNd glass. Meanwhile, the refractive index of ZBTNd-GO glass varies from 2.301 to 2.332 which was higher than ZBTNd glass due to the presence of functionalized oxygenated groups in GO structure. The oxide ion polarizability of ZBTNd-GO glass was found decreased due to the shift of optical band gap when coated with GO. This work offers a new form of glass that could be used as a new strategy to upgrade the current photonic materials

Répertoire numérique des minutes des jugements du Tribunal mixte immobilier de Tunisie

N’ayant pas fait l’objet d’un traitement archivistique, les registres du Tribunal mixte immobilier de Tunisie ne comportent pas de cote ni de numéro d’ordre. L’indication de l’année qui figure au dos de chaque reliure est le seul identifiant. C’est cette information qui figure dans la première colonne du tableau (ci-dessous) ; dans la deuxième sont indiquées les dates extrêmes des décisions contenues dans le registre ; la troisième informe sur la section du Tribunal concernée (chambre ou cabi..

The effect of manganese IV oxide doping on the optical and elastic properties of calcium borate glass derived from waste chicken eggshell

The extraction of CaO from waste eggshell can be used to produce new product known as calcium borate glass doped manganese (IV) oxide. A tertiary (B2O3)0.6 [(CaO)0.4]1-x (MnO2)x glass system with 0.010 ≥ x ≥ 0 M fraction were prepared using conventional melt-quenching technique. XRF spectroscopy confirms CaO as the main constituent in the calcined eggshell. XRD spectra unveils the two amorphous humps of the glass samples. FTIR analysis reveals the typical features of CaCO3 and B2O3 network. The density has opposite behaviour with molar volume as MnO2 content increases. Next, the optical band gap and refractive index are evidencing the formation of non-bridging oxygen in the glass matrix. The present glass system also has low polarizability, acidic in nature and have tendency to metallizing. The elastic properties of glass samples were determined using the ultrasonic technique. Elastic moduli such as longitudinal modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, bulk modulus, Poisson's ratio and hardness of the glass system were discussed

Review on Multicatalytic Behavior of Ba_0.85Ca_0.15Ti_0.9Zr_0.1O₃ Ceramic

Ferroelectric materials are known to possess multicatalytic abilities that are nowadays utilized for removing organic pollutants from water via piezocatalysis, photocatalysis, piezo-photocatalysis, and pyrocatalysis processes. The Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.9Zr0.1O3 (BCZTO) ceramic is one such ferroelectric composition that has been extensively studied for electrical and electronic applications. Furthermore, the BCZTO ceramic has also shown remarkable multicatalytic performance in water-cleaning applications. The present review explores the potentiality of BCZTO for water-cleaning and bacterial-killing applications. It also highlights the fundamentals of ferroelectric ceramics, the importance of electric poling, and the principles underlying piezocatalysis, photocatalysis, and pyrocatalysis processes in addition to the multicatalytic capability of ferroelectric BCZTO ceramic

A study of the effect of temperature on the dielectric breakdown and lifetime of polyethylene materials under applied DC voltages at the nanoscale

The reported simulation results could be considered as one of the firsts modeling of the effect of temperature on the electrical breakdown phenomenon in polyethylene nanoscale. The breakdown begins with an abrupt increase of the external current density without a subsequent saturation. Our results show that the increase of temperature at a constant applied DC voltage leads to a breakdown and to a decrease of the insulator's lifetime. These outcomes are strongly linked to the injection of free charges into the sample and to the temporal evolution of the conduction current

Industrial fluoride pollution of Jerbi grape leaves and the distribution of F,Ca, Mg, and P in them

Fluoride damaged leaves of the Jerbi grape vine tree (Vitis vinifera L) growing in the vicinity of a phosphate fertilizer manufacturing plant near Sfax, Tunisia, were used to study the distribution of the chemical elements F, Ca, Mg, and P in the leaves and stalks. Photosynthesis and the chlorophyll content of healthy leaf parts were also investigated to determine tolerance mechanisms of this species to fluoride. The subdivision of the necrotic zone into concentric necrotic halos evidently reflects a series of plant reactions to preserve a large portion of the leaf assimilatory surface. Photosynthesis still occurred with 30 to 40% necrosis of the leaves. Preferential accumulation of F was found in the leaf margins along with a parallel accumulation of Ca. Necrosis becomes evident when a fall in Ca occurs with an excess of F. After this happens, the plant tends to maintain high Mg and P concentrations in its healthy leaf parts. At 60% leaf necrosis, F seems to be effective in reducing photosynthesis and chlorophyll content

Deletion analysis of SMN and NAIP genes in Tunisian patients with spinal muscular atrophy

Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder involving degeneration of anterior horn cells of spinal cord, resulting in progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. Aims: The purpose of our study was to determine the frequency of SMN and NAIP deletions in Tunisian SMA patients. Materials and Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used to detect the deletion of exon 7 and exon 8 of SMN1 gene, as well as multiplex PCR for exon 5 and 13 of NAIP gene. Results: Fifteen (45.4%) out of 33 SMA patients were homozygously deleted for exons 7 and/or 8 of SMN1. Homozygous deletion of NAIP gene was observed in 20% (3 / 15) of patients. Conclusions: The molecular diagnosis system based on PCR-RFLP analysis can conveniently be applied in the clinical testing, genetic counseling, prenatal diagnosis, and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis of SMA

Enhancing performance in the presence of outliers with redescending M-estimators

Abstract In real-life situations, we have to analyze the data that contains the atypical observations, and the presence of outliers has adverse effects on the performance of ordinary least square estimates. In this situation, redescedning M-estimators, proposed by Huber (1964), are used to tackle the effects of outliers to increase the efficiency of least square estimates. In this study, we introduce a redescending M-estimator designed to generate robust estimates by mitigating the influence of outlier observations, even when the tuning constant is set to low values. This innovative estimator exhibits enhanced linearity at its core and maintains continuity throughout its range. Our proposed estimator stands out for its novelty, simplicity, differentiability, and practical applicability across real-world scenarios. The results of the proposed redescedning M-estimators are compared with existing robust estimators using an extensive simulation study. Two examples based on real-life data are also added to validate the performance of the suggested function. The formulated redescedning M-estimator produced efficient results as compared to all the considered redescedning M-estimators