439 research outputs found
Characterization of polar organosulfates in secondary organic aerosol from the unsaturated aldehydes 2-E-pentenal, 2-E-hexenal, and 3-Z-hexenal
We show in the present study that the unsaturated aldehydes 2-E-pentenal, 2-E-hexenal, and 3-Z-hexenal are biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) precursors for polar organosulfates with molecular weights (MWs) 230 and 214, which are also present in ambient fine aerosol from a forested site, i.e., K-puszta, Hungary. These results complement those obtained in a previous study showing that the green leaf aldehyde 3-Z-hexenal serves as a precursor for MW 226 organosulfates. Thus, in addition to isoprene, the green leaf volatiles (GLVs) 2-E-hexenal and 3-Z-hexenal, emitted due to plant stress (mechanical wounding or insect attack), and 2-E-pentenal, a photolysis product of 3-Z-hexenal, should be taken into account for secondary organic aerosol and organosulfate formation. Polar organosulfates are of climatic relevance because of their hydrophilic properties and cloud effects. Extensive use was made of organic mass spectrometry (MS) and detailed interpretation of MS data (i.e., ion trap MS and accurate mass measurements) to elucidate the chemical structures of the MW 230, 214 and 170 organosulfates formed from 2-E-pentenal and indirectly from 2-E-hexenal and 3-Z-hexenal. In addition, quantum chemical calculations were performed to explain the different mass spectral behavior of 2,3-dihydroxypentanoic acid sulfate derivatives, where only the isomer with the sulfate group at C-3 results in the loss of SO3. The MW 214 organosulfates formed from 2-E-pentenal are explained by epoxidation of the double bond in the gas phase and sulfation of the epoxy group with sulfuric acid in the particle phase through the same pathway as that proposed for 3-sulfooxy-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropanoic acid from the isoprene-related alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde methacrolein in previous work (Lin et al., 2013). The MW 230 organosulfates formed from 2-E-pentenal are tentatively explained by a novel pathway, which bears features of the latter pathway but introduces an additional hydroxyl group at the C-4 position. Evidence is also presented that the MW 214 positional isomer, 2-sulfooxy-3-hydroxypentanoic acid, is unstable and decarboxylates, giving rise to 1-sulfooxy-2-hydroxybutane, a MW 170 organosulfate. Furthermore, evidence is obtained that lactic acid sulfate is generated from 2-E-pentenal. This chemistry could be important on a regional and local scale where GLV emissions such as from grasses and cereal crops are substantial
Spin-polarized transport through a single-level quantum dot in the Kondo regime
Nonequilibrium electronic transport through a quantum dot coupled to
ferromagnetic leads (electrodes) is studied theoretically by the nonequilibrium
Green function technique. The system is described by the Anderson model with
arbitrary correlation parameter . Exchange interaction between the dot and
ferromagnetic electrodes is taken into account {\it via} an effective molecular
field. The following situations are analyzed numerically: (i) the dot is
symmetrically coupled to two ferromagnetic leads, (ii) one of the two
ferromagnetic leads is half-metallic with almost total spin polarization of
electron states at the Fermi level, and (iii) one of the two electrodes is
nonmagnetic whereas the other one is ferromagnetic. Generally, the Kondo peak
in the density of states (DOS) becomes spin-split when the total exchange field
acting on the dot is nonzero. The spin-splitting of the Kondo peak in DOS leads
to splitting and suppression of the corresponding zero bias anomaly in the
differential conductance.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Indium rich InGaN solar cells grown by MOCVD
Cataloged from PDF version of article.This study focuses on both epitaxial growths of InxGa1-xN epilayers with graded In content, and the performance of solar cells structures grown on sapphire substrate by using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The high resolution X-ray and Hall Effect characterization were carried out after epitaxial InGaN solar cell structures growth. The In content of the graded InGaN layer was calculated from the X-ray reciprocal space mapping measurements. Indium contents of the graded InGaN epilayers change from 8.8 to 7.1 % in Sample A, 15.7-7.1 % in Sample B, and 26.6-15.1 % in Sample C. The current voltage measurements of the solar cell devices were carried out after a standard micro fabrication procedure. Sample B exhibits better performance with a short-circuit current density of 6 mA/cm(2), open-circuit voltage of 0.25 V, fill factor of 39.13 %, and the best efficiency measured under a standard solar simulator with one-sun air mass 1.5 global light sources (100 mW/cm(2)) at room temperature for finished devices was 0.66 %
Chemical composition of isoprene SOA under acidic and non-acidic conditions: effect of relative humidity
The effect of acidity and relative humidity on bulk
isoprene aerosol parameters has been investigated in several studies;
however, few measurements have been conducted on individual aerosol
compounds. The focus of this study has been the examination of the effect of
acidity and relative humidity on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) chemical
composition from isoprene photooxidation in the presence of nitrogen oxide
(NOx). A detailed characterization of SOA at the molecular level was also
investigated. Experiments were conducted in a 14.5 m3 smog chamber
operated in flow mode. Based on a detailed analysis of mass spectra obtained
from gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of silylated derivatives in
electron impact and chemical ionization modes, ultra-high performance
liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/time-of-flight high-resolution
mass spectrometry, and collision-induced dissociation in the negative
ionization modes, we characterized not only typical isoprene products but
also new oxygenated compounds. A series of nitroxy-organosulfates (NOSs) were
tentatively identified on the basis of high-resolution mass spectra. Under
acidic conditions, the major identified compounds include
2-methyltetrols (2MT), 2-methylglyceric acid (2mGA), and 2MT-OS. Other products identified
include epoxydiols, mono- and dicarboxylic acids, other organic sulfates,
and nitroxy- and nitrosoxy-OS. The contribution of SOA products from
isoprene oxidation to PM2.5 was investigated by analyzing ambient
aerosol collected at rural sites in Poland. Methyltetrols, 2mGA, and several
organosulfates and nitroxy-OS were detected in both the field and laboratory
samples. The influence of relative humidity on SOA formation was modest in
non-acidic-seed experiments and stronger under acidic seed aerosol. Total
secondary organic carbon decreased with increasing relative humidity under
both acidic and non-acidic conditions. While the yields of some of the
specific organic compounds decreased with increasing relative humidity,
others varied in an indeterminate manner from changes in the relative
humidity.</p
Falsification Of The Atmospheric CO2 Greenhouse Effects Within The Frame Of Physics
The atmospheric greenhouse effect, an idea that many authors trace back to
the traditional works of Fourier (1824), Tyndall (1861), and Arrhenius (1896),
and which is still supported in global climatology, essentially describes a
fictitious mechanism, in which a planetary atmosphere acts as a heat pump
driven by an environment that is radiatively interacting with but radiatively
equilibrated to the atmospheric system. According to the second law of
thermodynamics such a planetary machine can never exist. Nevertheless, in
almost all texts of global climatology and in a widespread secondary literature
it is taken for granted that such mechanism is real and stands on a firm
scientific foundation. In this paper the popular conjecture is analyzed and the
underlying physical principles are clarified. By showing that (a) there are no
common physical laws between the warming phenomenon in glass houses and the
fictitious atmospheric greenhouse effects, (b) there are no calculations to
determine an average surface temperature of a planet, (c) the frequently
mentioned difference of 33 degrees Celsius is a meaningless number calculated
wrongly, (d) the formulas of cavity radiation are used inappropriately, (e) the
assumption of a radiative balance is unphysical, (f) thermal conductivity and
friction must not be set to zero, the atmospheric greenhouse conjecture is
falsified.Comment: 115 pages, 32 figures, 13 tables (some typos corrected
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