Producing and Cracking Kosovo Myths. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Emergence and Critique of a New Ethnonationalism, 1984 – 1990

The author analyses how the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) has gained significance for the new leadership of the League of Communists in Serbia since the mid-1980s. With its authority as a scientific institution, the SANU legitimised the political measures implemented to centralise and consolidate authoritarian rule. The new perception of the Yugoslav crisis, marked by ethnicisation and self-victimisation, used Kosovo as the focus and became the dominant stance on the war and authoritarian rule of the 1990s. However, as the author shows, a critique of these developments needs to be included in the analysis in order to adequately grasp the tense dynamics.Peer Reviewe

Periphere Vergangenheiten. Erinnerungen an die Zwischenkriegszeit im serbisch-bulgarischen Grenzgebiet

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.Peer Reviewe

Anodic luminescence, structural, photoluminescent, and photocatalytic properties of anodic oxide films grown on niobium in phosphoric acid

This article reports on properties of oxide films obtained by anodization of niobium in phosphoric acid before and after the dielectric breakdown. Weak anodic luminescence of barrier oxide films formed during the anodization of niobium is correlated to the existence of morphological defects in the oxide layer. Small sized sparks generated by dielectric breakdown of formed oxide film cause rapid increase of luminescence intensity. The luminescence spectrum of obtained films on niobium under spark discharging is composed of continuum radiation and spectral lines caused by electronic spark discharging transitions in oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Oxide films formed before the breakdown are amorphous, while after the breakdown oxide films are partly crystalline and mainly composed of Nb2O5 hexagonal phase. The photocatalytic activity of obtained oxide films after the breakdown was investigated by monitoring the degradation of methyl orange. Increase of the photocatalytic activity with time is related to an increase of oxygen vacancy defects in oxide films formed during the process. Also, higher concentration of oxygen vacancy defects in oxide films results in higher photoluminescence intensity

The formation of tungsten doped Al2O3/ZnO coatings on aluminum by plasma electrolytic oxidation and their application in photocatalysis

Tungsten doped Al2O3 /ZnO coatings are formed by plasma electrolytic oxidation of aluminum substrate in supporting electrolyte (0.1 M boric acid + 0.05 M borax + 2 g/L ZnO) with addition of different concentrations of Na2WO4 center dot 2H(2)O. The morphology, crystal structure, chemical composition, and light absorption characteristics of formed surface coatings are investigated. The X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate that formed surface coatings consist of alpha and gamma phase of A(2)O(3), ZnO, metallic tungsten and WO3. Obtained results showed that incorporated tungsten does not have any influence on the absorption spectra of Al2O3/ZnO coatings, which showed invariable band edge at about 385 nm. The photocatalytic activity of undoped and tungsten doped Al2O3 /ZnO coatings is estimated by the photodegradation of methyl orange. The photocatalytic activity of tungsten doped A(2)O(3)/ZnO coatings is higher thanof undoped Al2O3 /ZnO coatings; the best photocatalytic activity is ascribed to coatings formed in supporting electrolyte with addition of 0.3 g/L Na2WO4 center dot 2H(2)O. Tungsten in A(2)O(3)/ZnO coatings acts as a charge trap, thus reducing the recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The results of PL measurements are in agreement with photocatalytic activity. Declining PL intensity corresponds to increasing photocatalytic activity of the coatings, indicating slower recombination of electron-hole pairs

Effect of cerium oxide doping on the photocatalytic properties of rutile TiO2 films prepared by spray pyrolysis

The spray pyrolysis is fast and simple method for deposition of CeO2 – rutile TiO2 coatings on stainless steel substrate. The coatings were deposited on stainless steel substrate and characterized by XRD, AFM, XPS, Raman, DRS and photoactivity test for methyl orange decolorization. Photoactivity of CeO2 – rutile TiO2 coatings increase with increasing CeO2 content up to 5 wt% and further increase of CeO2 content leads to decrease of photoactivity. Improvements of photoactivity originate from close contact between CeO2 and rutile TiO2 particles which create numerous centers able to produce very reactive radical species. Besides, the close contact between the CeO2 and rutile TiO2 provides easier charge transfer facilitating the formation of electron/hole pairs that is a necessary step in the overall photocatalytic process

Influence of iron doping on photocatalytic activity of TiO2 coatings formed on titanium by plasma electrolytic oxidation

This paper presents the results of our recent investigation focused on the preparation and possible photocatalytic application of iron doped TiO2 coatings formed by plasma electrolytic oxidation of high purity titanium in electrolyte containing FeSO4. The morphology, phase and elemental composition, and absorption band of the coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of coatings was evaluated by measuring the degradation of methyl orange under simulated sunlight conditions. It was found that the addition of iron precursor to electrolyte solution improves the photocatalytic properties of obtained coatings with respect to pure TiO2 coating. The incorporation of iron in TiO2 lattice was identified as the main factor affecting the increase of photocatalytic activity. The highest photocatalytic activity was observed when coatings were processed for 2 min with addition of 1 g/L FeSO4 to electrolyte

Oxidation of n-hexane over Pt and Cu-Co oxide catalysts supported on a thin-film zirconia/stainless steel carrier

The complete oxidation of n-hexane in air over a stainless steel foil (SS) coated with a thin film of ZrO2 (SS/ZrO2), SS/ZrO2/Pt, SS/ZrO2/La2O3/CuCo and SS/ZrO2/La2O3/CuCo/Pt catalysts has been investigated. The ZrO2 films were deposited on the SS substrate by electrochemical and spray pyrolysis (SP) methods. Among electrochemically prepared samples, Pt containing catalysts exhibited the highest activity. The presence of La, Cu and Co oxides along with Pt did not improve the catalytic activity. The SS/ZrO2/Pt sample prepared by spray pyrolysis showed a much better light-off characteristic than did the electrochemically obtained catalysts. The spray pyrolysis method permits the preparation of thicker ZrO2 films as compared to films prepared by an electrodeposition method. Thus, an increase of the surface area available for deposition of Pt atoms was achieved

Preparation and Characterization of Al2O3 Thin Films for Catalytic Activity Studies

In the present work, the surface properties of various Al oxide films were investigated. The oxide films were produced on a stainless steel by spray pyrolysis and cathodic deposition methods. The films obtained represent typical layers that can be used as a support in model systems to investigate alumina-based catalysts. Information about the chemical environment of the Al and O ions in the oxide films depending on the preparation conditions has been deduced from the binding energies of the Al 2p and O Is electron core levels and corresponding Auger parameters

Influence of manganese oxide on the activity of Pt/Al2O3 catalyst for CO and n-hexane oxidation

The influence of low loadings of MnOx on the catalytic activity for n-hexene and CO oxidation over highly dispersed Pt on alumina catalysts has been investigated. The applied deposition-precipitation method allows Mn to be deposited on the Pt containing egg-shell volume. The catalyst samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and selective CO chemisorption. Platinum influences the dispersion of deposited MnOx. The dispersion of the MnOx phase is higher on Pt containing samples than on Al2O3. The Pt decoration by Mn is reflected by a low CO uptake and the Pt oxidation state (Pt2+). The addition of Mn lowers the catalytic activity for CO oxidation. This is attributed to a change of the Pt sites such that adsorption of CO is less favorable. The activity of the catalysts in the oxidation of n-hexane showed a significant improvement with addition of MnOx. A light-off shift by about 40 degrees C was observed. This improvement is attributed to the formation of Mn-Pt oxide like species that primarily weakens the Pt-O bond