7,924 research outputs found
Structural and electronic properties of ScnOm (n=1~3, m=1~2n) clusters: Theoretical study using screened hybrid density functional theory
The structural and electronic properties of small scandium oxide clusters
ScnOm (n = 1 - 3, m = 1 - 2n) are systematically studied within the screened
hybrid density functional theory. It is found that the ground states of these
scandium oxide clusters can be obtained by the sequential oxidation of small
"core" scandium clusters. The fragmentation analysis demonstrates that the ScO,
Sc2O2, Sc2O3, Sc3O3, and Sc3O4 clusters are especially stable. Strong
hybridizations between O-2p and Sc-3d orbitals are found to be the most
significant character around the Fermi level. In comparison with standard
density functional theory calculations, we find that the screened hybrid
density functional theory can correct the wrong symmetries and yield more
precise description for the localized 3d electronic states of scandium.Comment: 8 figure
Skyrmion-skyrmion and skyrmion-edge repulsions in skyrmion-based racetrack memory
Magnetic skyrmions are promising for building next-generation magnetic
memories and spintronic devices due to their stability, small size and the
extremely low currents needed to move them. In particular, skyrmion-based
racetrack memory is attractive for information technology, where skyrmions are
used to store information as data bits instead of traditional domain walls.
Here we numerically demonstrate the impacts of skyrmion-skyrmion and
skyrmion-edge repulsions on the feasibility of skyrmion-based racetrack memory.
The reliable and practicable spacing between consecutive skyrmionic bits on the
racetrack as well as the ability to adjust it are investigated. Clogging of
skyrmionic bits is found at the end of the racetrack, leading to the reduction
of skyrmion size. Further, we demonstrate an effective and simple method to
avoid the clogging of skyrmionic bits, which ensures the elimination of
skyrmionic bits beyond the reading element. Our results give guidance for the
design and development of future skyrmion-based racetrack memory.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
Reward-Biased Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Linear Stochastic Bandits
Modifying the reward-biased maximum likelihood method originally proposed in
the adaptive control literature, we propose novel learning algorithms to handle
the explore-exploit trade-off in linear bandits problems as well as generalized
linear bandits problems. We develop novel index policies that we prove achieve
order-optimality, and show that they achieve empirical performance competitive
with the state-of-the-art benchmark methods in extensive experiments. The new
policies achieve this with low computation time per pull for linear bandits,
and thereby resulting in both favorable regret as well as computational
efficiency
Carbon-Nanotubes-Supported Pd Nanoparticles for Alcohol Oxidations in Fuel Cells: Effect of Number of Nanotube Walls on Activity
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are well known electrocatalyst supports due to their high electrical conductivity, structural stability, and high surface area. Here, we demonstrate that the number of inner tubes or walls of CNTs also have a significant promotion effect on the activity of supported Pd nanoparticles (NPs) for alcohol oxidation reactions of direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). Pd NPs with similar particle size (2.1–2.8 nm) were uniformly assembled on CNTs with different number of walls. The results indicate that Pd NPs supported on triple-walled CNTs (TWNTs) have the highest mass activity and stability for methanol, ethanol, and ethylene glycol oxidation reactions, as compared to Pd NPs supported on single-walled and multi-walled CNTs. Such a specific promotion effect of TWNTs on the electrocatalytic activity of Pd NPs is not related to the contribution of metal impurities in CNTs, oxygen-functional groups of CNTs or surface area of CNTs and Pd NPs. A facile charge transfer mechanism via electron tunneling between the outer wall and inner tubes of CNTs under electrochemical driving force is proposed for the significant promotion effect of TWNTs for the alcohol oxidation reactions in alkaline solutions
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