Adsorption of Precursors on Substrates in the Presence of scCO2 for the Synthesis of Supported Metallic Nanoparticles: Experiments and Modeling

Supercritical fluid reactive deposition is a promising technique for the synthesis of supported mono- or bimetallic nanoparticles. This process involves precursor dissolution in the supercritical fluid, adsorption of the precursor from the supercritical fluid mixture on the surface of the substrate and conversion of the precursor to its metallic form. Experimental results show, that the adsorption behavior of the precursor is the crucial process step that controls metal loading and the particle size. In this review, an overview on experimental and modeling work is given and experimental data were correlated with different adsorption isotherm models e.g. the Henry, Freundlich, Langmuir and Toth equation. Finally, strategies for overcoming current knowledge gaps and suggestions for future research are provided

The environmental and social impacts of ebanking : a case study with Barclays PLC ; final report ; Digital Europe

This report presents the calculations and findings as well as the resulting recommendations from the Barclays Plc case study within the Digital Europe project. Chapter 2 gives the background to the case study; chapter 3 investigates the environmental aspects; and chapter 4 highlights social aspects of different banking scenarios. Chapter 5 outlines future scenarios in the sector and chapter 6 finally makes recommendations for business and government

Umweltwirkungen von E-commerce

Eine Steigerung der Ressourceneffizienz ist – wie auch die Förderung der Inter­netnutzung – politisches Ziel in Europa. Offen ist aber, welchen Beitrag eine verstärkte Nutzung neuer internetgestützter Dienstleistungsangebote wie E-commerce zur Entkopplung von Wachstum und Ressourcenverbrauch leisten kann. Erste Hinweise gibt ein laufendes Forschungsprojekt zum Online-Banking

Überwachung der kontinuierlichen hydrothermalen Synthese mittels Impedanzspektroskopie

Die kontinuierliche hydrothermale Synthese (CHTS) stellt ein vielversprechendes Verfahren zur Herstellung metalloxidischer Nanopartikel dar. Das Prinzip beruht auf der Vermischung einer kalten wässrigen Metallsalzlösung mit einem nahe-/überkritischen Wasserstrom. Durch die außergewöhnlichen Eigenschaften des überkritischen Wassers kommt es zur Partikelbildung. Neben der Studie des Einflusses der Prozessparameter auf die resultierende Partikelgröße und -verteilung ist die Restkonzentration an gelöstem Metallsalz von Interesse. Diese kann mittels der Impedanzspektroskopie analysiert werden. Dazu werden an einer modifizierten CHTS-Anlage Vorversuche durchgeführt, um zukünftig die Restkonzentration direkt bestimmen zu können

Are our data ready for the next global challenges? Resilient data for resilient societies and economies.

Keywords: Covid-19; Data; New challenges; Resilient societie

Seasonal Patterns of Body Temperature Daily Rhythms in Group-Living Cape Ground Squirrels Xerus inauris

Organisms respond to cyclical environmental conditions by entraining their endogenous biological rhythms. Such physiological responses are expected to be substantial for species inhabiting arid environments which incur large variations in daily and seasonal ambient temperature (Ta). We measured core body temperature (Tb) daily rhythms of Cape ground squirrels Xerus inauris inhabiting an area of Kalahari grassland for six months from the Austral winter through to the summer. Squirrels inhabited two different areas: an exposed flood plain and a nearby wooded, shady area, and occurred in different social group sizes, defined by the number of individuals that shared a sleeping burrow. Of a suite of environmental variables measured, maximal daily Ta provided the greatest explanatory power for mean Tb whereas sunrise had greatest power for Tb acrophase. There were significant changes in mean Tb and Tb acrophase over time with mean Tb increasing and Tb acrophase becoming earlier as the season progressed. Squirrels also emerged from their burrows earlier and returned to them later over the measurement period. Greater increases in Tb, sometimes in excess of 5°C, were noted during the first hour post emergence, after which Tb remained relatively constant. This is consistent with observations that squirrels entered their burrows during the day to ‘offload’ heat. In addition, greater Tb amplitude values were noted in individuals inhabiting the flood plain compared with the woodland suggesting that squirrels dealt with increased environmental variability by attempting to reduce their Ta-Tb gradient. Finally, there were significant effects of age and group size on Tb with a lower and less variable Tb in younger individuals and those from larger group sizes. These data indicate that Cape ground squirrels have a labile Tb which is sensitive to a number of abiotic and biotic factors and which enables them to be active in a harsh and variable environment