The γ-polymorph of AgZnPO4 with an ABW zeolite-type framework topology

The γ-polymorph of the title compound, silver zinc orthophos­phate, was synthesized under hydro­thermal conditions. The structure consists of ZnO4, PO4 and AgO4 units. The coord­ination spheres of ZnII and PV are tetra­hedral, whereas the AgI atom is considerably distorted from a tetra­hedral coordination. Each O atom is linked to each of the three cations. An elliptic eight-membered ring system is formed by corner-sharing of alternating PO4 and ZnO4 tetra­hedra, leading to a framework with an ABW-type zeolite structure. The framework encloses channels running parallel to [100] in which the Ag cations are located, with Ag⋯Ag contacts of 3.099 (3) Å. This short distance results from d 10⋯d 10 inter­actions, which play a substantial role in the crystal packing. The structure of γ-AgZnPO4 is distinct from the two other polymorphs α-AgZnPO4 and β-AgZnPO4, but is isotypic with NaZnPO4-ABW, NaCoPO4-ABW and NH4CoPO4-ABW

Poly[ethyl­enediammonium [tris­[μ3-hydrogenphosphato(2−)]dicadmium] monohydrate]

The title compound, {(C2H10N2)[Cd2(HPO4)3]·H2O}n, was synthesized under hydro­thermal conditions. The structure of this hybrid compound consists of CdO6, CdO5 and PO4 polyhedra arranged so as to build an anionic inorganic layer, namely [Cd2(HPO4)3]2−, parallel to the ab plane. The edge-sharing CdO6 octa­hedra form infinite chains running along the a axis and are linked by CdO5 and PO4 polyhedra. The ethyl­ene­diammonium cation and the water mol­ecule are located between two adjacent inorganic layers and ensure the cohesion of the structure via N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Design and Analysis of a Passive Lighting Device for a Sustainable Office Environment in Hot-Arid Climate Conditions

Visual comfort in office spaces improves not only productivity and wellbeing but also satisfaction and energy efficiency of the buildings. The objective of this research is to study the effect of one of the transporting daylighting systems (Anidolic Integrated Ceiling ‘AIC’) on the enhancement of the luminous interior environment and energy saving in office building through objective and subjective evaluations. The quantitative study was performed by measurement of the illuminance values in the physical model (1:4) under local luminous climate in two scenarios (with and without ‘AIC’) and by numerical simulation to calculate the daylight autonomy. The qualitative evaluations were achieved by using a field survey composed of four questions related to pleasantness, level of light and artificial lighting needs. Experimental study shows that the AIC offers high levels of illumination in quantitative terms result in moderate values of Daylight Factor (2% - 4%). Simulation results showed that more than 88% of energy consumption for electrical lighting can be saved. Subjective evaluation results indicate that in the test model (with AIC), 67% of participants felt more pleasant with the luminous environment, 74.19% considered that the level of light is sufficient and only 08 of 31 subjects need to use artificial lighting

Study of land use/cover change impacts on thermal microclimate using QGIS in urban agglomeration

Thermal comfort and air quality are major concerns for people living in urban areas. In the last decades, cities are growing quickly and the increased urbanization is leading to the expansion of cities, which changes the properties and composition of the landscape. However, the surface temperatures are increasing, globally, because of anthropogenic climate change. Land use and land cover change have been shown to have a significant effect on climate through various pathways that modulate land surface temperature and rainfall. The objective of this study is to understand how the land use and land cover change affects the thermal microclimate in the city of Biskra (Algeria) using QGIS for the period between 2010 and 2020. The analysis results reveal that the mean temperature of the city has increased by ~4 °C during the past decade with the most accelerated warming (~7 °C) occurring during the recent decade (2010 to 2020). Our study shows also that 32% to 56% of this observed overall warming is associated with land use/cover and the largest changes are related to changing vegetation cover as evidenced by changes to both land use and land covers classes and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)

Thorium divanadate dihydrate, Th(V2O7)(H2O)2

The title compound, Th(V2O7)(H2O)2, was synthesized by a hydro­thermal reaction. The crystal structure consists of ThO7(OH2)2 tricapped trigonal prisms that share edges, forming [ThO5(OH2)2]n chains along [010]. The edge-sharing ThO7(OH2)2 polyhedra share one edge and five vertices with the V2O7 divanadate anions having a nearly ecliptic conformation parallel to [001]. This results in an open framework with the water mol­ecules located in channels. O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding between water molecules and framework O atoms is observed. Bond-valence-sum calculations are in good agreement with the chemical formula of the title compound