640 research outputs found
Bearing the Cost of Stored Carbon Leakage
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is considered a key technology for stabilizing climate change. However, leakage of CO2 from stored carbon can potentially undermine the value of carbon storage as a mitigation option. Thus, monitoring and verifiability of CO2 storage should be encouraged through policy provisions such as accounting and pricing of leaked emissions. Here we assess different institutional and economic mechanisms for accounting for carbon leakage. Using an integrated assessment model we quantify the impacts on the climate, the economy and the mitigation strategies. Results show that carbon leakage can reduce the share of fossil based CCS by up to 35%, if it is controlled and correctly priced. Biomass based CCS is less affected. Accounting for leakage leads to an increase of climate policy costs of up to 0.4 percentage points due to increased emissions
Memristive operation mode of a site-controlled quantum dot floating gate transistor
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the European Union (FPVII (2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 318287 Landauer) as well as the state of Bavaria.We have realized a floating gate transistor based on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure with site-controlled InAs quantum dots. By short-circuiting the source contact with the lateral gates and performing closed voltage sweep cycles, we observe a memristive operation mode with pinched hysteresis loops and two clearly distinguishable conductive states. The conductance depends on the quantum dot charge which can be altered in a controllable manner by the voltage value and time interval spent in the charging region. The quantum dot memristor has the potential to realize artificial synapses in a state-of-the-art opto-electronic semiconductor platform by charge localization and Coulomb coupling.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
The Charging Structure for the Great Barrier Reef - A review of willingness to pay
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA or the Reef Authority) is currently conducting a comprehensive review of the charging structure for the use of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park with a view to implement potential changes from 1 July 2023
Exotic magnetism in the alkali sesquoxides Rb4O6 and Cs4O6
Among the various alkali oxides the sesquioxides Rb4O6 and Cs4O6 are of
special interest. Electronic structure calculations using the local
spin-density approximation predicted that Rb4O6 should be a half-metallic
ferromagnet, which was later contradicted when an experimental investigation of
the temperature dependent magnetization of Rb4O6 showed a low-temperature
magnetic transition and differences between zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and
field-cooled (FC) measurements. Such behavior is known from spin glasses and
frustrated systems. Rb4O6 and Cs4O6 comprise two different types of dioxygen
anions, the hyperoxide and the peroxide anions. The nonmagnetic peroxide anions
do not contain unpaired electrons while the hyperoxide anions contain unpaired
electrons in antibonding pi*-orbitals. High electron localization (narrow
bands) suggests that electronic correlations are of major importance in these
open shell p-electron systems. Correlations and charge ordering due to the
mixed valency render p-electron-based anionogenic magnetic order possible in
the sesquioxides. In this work we present an experimental comparison of Rb4O6
and the related Cs4O6. The crystal structures are verified using powder x-ray
diffraction. The mixed valency of both compounds is confirmed using Raman
spectroscopy, and time-dependent magnetization experiments indicate that both
compounds show magnetic frustration, a feature only previously known from d-
and f-electron systems
Challenges and opportunities in the bottom-up mechanochemical synthesis of noble metal nanoparticles
Mechanochemistry is a promising alternative to solution-based protocols across the chemical sciences, enabling different types of chemistries in solvent-free and environmentally benign conditions. The use of mechanical energy to promote physical and chemical transformations has reached a high level of refinement, allowing for the design of sophisticated molecules and nanostructured materials. Among them, the synthesis of noble metal nanoparticles deserves special attention due to their catalytic applications. In this review, we discuss the recent progress on the development of mechanochemical strategies for the controlled synthesis of noble metal nanostructures. We start by covering the fundamentals of different preparation routes, namely top-down and bottom-up approaches. Next, we focus on the key examples of the mechanochemical synthesis of non-supported and supported metal nanoparticles as well as hybrid nanomaterials containing noble metals. In these examples, in addition to the principles and synthesis mechanisms, their performances in catalysis are discussed. Finally, a perspective of the field is given, where we discuss the opportunities for future work and the challenges of mechanochemical synthesis to produce well-defined noble metal nanoparticles.Peer reviewe
Associative learning with Y-shaped floating gate transistors operated in memristive modes
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the European Union (FPVII (2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 318287 Landauer) as well as the state of Bavaria.We present Y-shaped three-terminal floating gate transistors with positioned quantum dots (QDs) acting as floating gates. The QDs are precisely positioned in the input terminals and the localized charge controls the conductance of the transistors. Connecting two devices enables to implement associative learning by tuning the QD-charge with two input signals. The number of pulses to develop or to forget the association depends on the widths and amplitudes of the applied voltage pulses. The Y-shaped geometry of the presented device may be considered to implement synaptic functionalities without separating learning and signal transmission in time.PostprintPeer reviewe
Electro-photo-sensitive memristor for neuromorphic and arithmetic computing
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the European Union [FPVII (2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 318287 Landauer], as well as the state of Bavaria.We present optically and electrically tunable conductance modifications of a site-controlled quantum-dot memristor. The conductance of the device is tuned by electron localization on a quantum dot. The control of the conductance with voltage and low-power light pulses enables applications in neuromorphic and arithmetic computing. As in neural networks, applying pre- and postsynaptic voltage pulses to the memristor allows us to increase (potentiation) or decrease (depression) the conductance by tuning the time difference between the electrical pulses. Exploiting state-dependent thresholds for potentiation and depression, we are able to demonstrate a memory-dependent induction of learning. The discharging of the quantum dot can further be induced by low-power light pulses in the nanowatt range. In combination with the state-dependent threshold voltage for discharging, this enables applications as generic building blocks to perform arithmetic operations in bases ranging from binary to decimal with low-power optical excitation. Our findings allow the realization of optoelectronic memristor-based synapses in artificial neural networks with a memory-dependent induction of learning and enhanced functionality by performing arithmetic operations.PostprintPeer reviewe
Graphene Oxide alpha Bi2O3 Composites for Visible Light Photocatalysis, Chemical Catalysis and Solar Energy Conversion
The growing challenges of environmental purification by solar photocatalysis, precious metal free catalysis and photocurrent generation in photovoltaic cells are receiving the utmost global attention. Here we demonstrate the one pot green chemical synthesis of a new stable heterostructured, eco friendly, multifunctional micro composite consisting of amp; 945; Bi2O3 micro needles intercalated with anchored graphene oxide GO micro sheets 1.0 wt for the above mentioned applications in a large economical scale. The bare amp; 945; Bi2O3 micro needles display twice as better photocatalytic activities than commercial TiO2 Degussa P25 while the GO hybridized composite exhibit 4 6 times enhanced photocatalytic activities than neat TiO2 photocatalyst in the degradation of colored aromatic organic dyes crystal violet and rhodamine 6G under visible light irradiation 300 W tungsten lamp . The highly efficient activity is associated with the strong surface adsorption ability of GO for aromatic dye molecules, the high carrier acceptability and efficient electron hole pair separation in Bi2O3 by individual adjoining GO sheets. Introduction of Ag nanoparticles 2.0 wt further enhances the photocatalytic performance of the composite over 8 folds due to a plasmon induced electron transfer process from Ag nanoparticles via GO sheets into the conduction band of Bi2O3. The new composites are also catalytically active. They catalyze the reduction of 4 nitrophenol to 4 aminophenol in presence of borohydride ions. Photoanodes assembled from GO amp; 945; Bi2O3 and Ag GO amp; 945; Bi2O3 composites display an improved photocurrent response power conversion efficiency 20 higher over those prepared without GO in dye sensitized solar cells DSSCs
Nanocrystalline and stacking-disordered β-cristobalite AlPO4: the now deciphered main constituent of a municipal sewage sludge ash from a full-scale incineration facility
This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.For the first time evidence is provided that a nanocrystalline and stacking-disordered, chemically stabilized β-cristobalite form of AlPO4 occurs in a sewage sludge ash (SSA). This proof is based on a combined X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray fluorescence investigation of an SSA produced at a large-scale fluidized bed incineration facility serving a catching area with a population of 2 million. The structural and chemical characterization was carried out on ‘as received’ SSA samples as well as on solid residues remaining after leaching this SSA in sodium hydroxide solution. Thus, it was ascertained that the observed nanocrystalline and stacking-disordered cristobalite-like component belongs to the aluminum phosphate component of this SSA, rather than to its silicon dioxide component. In addition, a direct proof is presented that the chemically stabilized β-cristobalite form of AlPO4 does crystallize from X-ray amorphous precursors under conditions that mimic the huge heating rate and short retention time (just seconds at T ≈ 850°C), typical for fluidized bed incinerators.Peer Reviewe
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