DIAGNÓSTICO E ANÁLISE DAS COMPETÊNCIAS DOS CONSELHEIROS DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO

A key issue when assessing a board of directors’ composition is defining the profile of directors’ desirable competences. This study follows competence theory to analyze the role of individual competences of board directors. We aim to answer the following questions: which are the required competences of board directors in non-listed companies, and what characteristics might lead to poor individual performance and adversely affect a board’s overall performance. To investigate these questions, a grounded theory-based study was conducted involving interviews with twelve board directors who had at least five years of experience as directors and extensive careers as top management executives. Results of the study led to a theoretical model which identifies a set of behavioral competences that add to previous studies on this subject

Interface Engineering in Nanostructured Nickel Phosphide for Efficient and Stable Water Oxidation

An approach to significantly enhance the performance of the cost-effective nickel phosphide catalyst for electrochemical water oxidation has been developed via interfacing with Mg oxide-hydroxide. We have synthesized Ni2P nanoparticles anchored on Mg2O(OH)2-like phase supported on carbon paper. During the oxygen evolution reaction, the well-defined Ni2P nanoparticles serve as precursors for the immediate formation of active and stable nanostructured nickel hydroxide catalyst. As the anode for the oxygen evolution reaction in an alkaline electrolyte, the electrode shows a modest Tafel slope of 48 mV dec–1 and a large turnover frequency of 0.05 s–1 at an overpotential of 0.4 V. Microstructure and composition studies of the catalyst suggest that interfacial strain between Mg- and Ni-containing phases is responsible for high catalytic activity. A significant increase in catalytic activity upon the combination of magnesium compound and transition-metal phosphide suggests an interesting strategy for the controlled and reproducible preparation of active Earth-abundant oxygen-evolving catalysts