Self-Regulated Learning: A Study of Feedback Seeking By Integrating Self-Motives and Social Influences in an Online Context

To have an effective online communication, individuals need to be self-regulated and self-initiate online conversations when needed. Feedback seeking is a key strategy of self-regulated learning through which individuals can gain more knowledge and become more adapted. Existing studies on feedback seeking mainly focus on personal motivation rather than social factors. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, this study examines how both self-motives and social influence affect individuals’ feedback-seeking behaviour. Moreover, based on the relational communication theory, we also investigate how the perceptions of informational and relational value mediate the relationships between self-motives, social influences and feedback-seeking behaviour. As learning styles can affect individuals’ learning motivation and learning effectiveness, individuals’ learning styles may interact with self-motives and social influence to affect their value perceptions toward feedback. We further examine whether learning styles moderate the effects of personal and social factors on value perceptions. A survey will be undertaken to collect the data and test the proposed hypotheses. This study is expected to inspire researchers and practitioners to pay equal attention to personal and social factors in online learning. The findings also attempt to shed light on the necessity of considering informational and relational value simultaneously in studying feedback seeking behaviour

Tailoring C─N containing compounds into carbon nanomaterials with tunable morphologies for electrocatalytic applications

Carbon materials with unique sp2-hybridization are extensively researched for catalytic applications due to their excellent conductivity and tunable physicochemical properties. However, the development of economic approaches to tailoring carbon materials into desired morphologies remains a challenge. Herein, a convenient “bottom-up” strategy by pyrolysis of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) (or other carbon/nitrogen (C, N)-enriched compounds) together with selected metal salts and molecules is reported for the construction of different carbon-based catalysts with tunable morphologies, including carbon nano-balls, carbon nanotubes, nitrogen/sulfur (S, N) doped-carbon nanosheets, and single-atom catalysts, supported by carbon layers. The catalysts are systematically investigated through various microscopic, spectroscopic, and diffraction methods and they demonstrate promising and broad applications in electrocatalysis such as in the oxygen reduction reaction and water splitting. Mechanistic monitoring of the synthesis process through online thermogravimetric-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry measurements indicates that the release of C─N-related moieties, such as dicyan, plays a key role in the growth of carbon products. This enables to successfully predict other widely available precursor compounds beyond g-C3N4 such as caffeine, melamine, and urea. This work develops a novel and economic strategy to generate morphologically diverse carbon-based catalysts and provides new, essential insights into the growth mechanism of carbon nanomaterials syntheses

Tailoring C─N Containing Compounds into Carbon Nanomaterials with Tunable Morphologies for Electrocatalytic Applications

Carbon materials with unique sp2-hybridization are extensively researched for catalytic applications due to their excellent conductivity and tunable physicochemical properties. However, the development of economic approaches to tailoring carbon materials into desired morphologies remains a challenge. Herein, a convenient “bottom-up” strategy by pyrolysis of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) (or other carbon/nitrogen (C, N)-enriched compounds) together with selected metal salts and molecules is reported for the construction of different carbon-based catalysts with tunable morphologies, including carbon nano-balls, carbon nanotubes, nitrogen/sulfur (S, N) doped-carbon nanosheets, and single-atom catalysts, supported by carbon layers. The catalysts are systematically investigated through various microscopic, spectroscopic, and diffraction methods and they demonstrate promising and broad applications in electrocatalysis such as in the oxygen reduction reaction and water splitting. Mechanistic monitoring of the synthesis process through online thermogravimetric-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry measurements indicates that the release of C─N-related moieties, such as dicyan, plays a key role in the growth of carbon products. This enables to successfully predict other widely available precursor compounds beyond g-C3N4 such as caffeine, melamine, and urea. This work develops a novel and economic strategy to generate morphologically diverse carbon-based catalysts and provides new, essential insights into the growth mechanism of carbon nanomaterials synthese

Development and research trends of a polypropylene material in electrical engineering: A bibliometric mapping analysis and systematical review

In order to explore the development and research trends of polypropylene (PP) in electrical engineering, the research literature is quantitatively analyzed using a bibliometric method with the VOSviewer and CiteSpace software. First, the research literature about PP material in electrical engineering applications is collected, from 1990 to 2022. Then, by analyzing the keyword co-occurrence, keyword co-occurrence timezone, author cooperation network, and national cooperation network, the research hotspots of the PP field and its time evolutionary path and development direction are introduced. It is found that the nano-modification, mechanical, and electrical properties are the most popular research hotspots in this field. Most research studies were completed by few specific researchers. A stable cooperative group has not been formed in this field yet, indicating the necessity of further integration. Most articles about PP were published in dielectric and material journals. It is suggested that more open access journals are required to popularize the existing research results among the public and to promote the development of PP. Although the most published country is China, the United States publishes the most cited papers on average

Dynamics and control of active sites in hierarchically nanostructured cobalt phosphide/chalcogenide-based electrocatalysts for water splitting

The rational design of efficient electrocatalysts for industrial water splitting is essential to generate sustainable hydrogen fuel. However, a comprehensive understanding of the complex catalytic mechanisms under harsh reaction conditions remains a major challenge. We apply a self-templated strategy to introduce hierarchically nanostructured “all-surface” Fe-doped cobalt phosphide nanoboxes (Co@CoFe–P NBs) as alternative electrocatalysts for industrial-scale applications. Operando Raman spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments were carried out to track the dynamics of their structural reconstruction and the real catalytically active intermediates during water splitting. Our operando analyses reveal that partial Fe substitution in cobalt phosphides promotes a structural reconstruction into P–Co–O–Fe–P configurations with low-valence metal centers (M0/M+) during the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Results from density functional theory (DFT) demonstrate that these in situ reconstructed configurations significantly enhance the HER performance by lowering the energy barrier for water dissociation and by facilitating the adsorption/desorption of HER intermediates (H*). The competitive activity in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) arises from the transformation of the reconstructed P–Co–O–Fe–P configurations into oxygen-bridged, high-valence CoIV–O–FeIV moieties as true active intermediates. In sharp contrast, the formation of such CoIII/IV–O–FeIII/IV moieties in Co–FeOOH is hindered under the same conditions, which outlines the key advantages of phosphide-based electrocatalysts. Ex situ studies of the as-synthesized reference cobalt sulfides (Co–S), Fe doped cobalt selenides (Co@CoFe–Se), and Fe doped cobalt tellurides (Co@CoFe–Te) further corroborate the observed structural transformations. These insights are vital to systematically exploit the intrinsic catalytic mechanisms of non-oxide, low-cost, and robust overall water splitting electrocatalysts for future energy conversion and storage

Control synthesis of switched systems

This book offers its readers a detailed overview of the synthesis of switched systems, with a focus on switching stabilization and intelligent control. The problems investigated are not only previously unsolved theoretically but also of practical importance in many applications: voltage conversion, naval piloting and navigation and robotics, for example. The book considers general switched-system models and provides more efficient design methods to bring together theory and application more closely than was possible using classical methods. It also discusses several different classes of switched systems. For general switched linear systems and switched nonlinear systems comprising unstable subsystems, it introduces novel ideas such as invariant subspace theory and the time-scheduled Lyapunov function method of designing switching signals to stabilize the underlying systems. For some typical switched nonlinear systems affected by various complex dynamics, the book proposes novel design approaches based on intelligent control concepts. It is a useful source of up-to-date design methods and algorithms for researchers studying switched systems and graduate students of control theory and engineering. In addition, it is a valuable reference resource for practising engineers working in switched-system control design. Readers should have a basic knowledge of linear, nonlinear and switched systems