Mass Scale Production Research Articles

Designing and simulating of new highly efficient ultra-thin CIGS solar cell device structure: Plan to minimize cost per watt price

This research paper examines the execution of ultra-thin solar cells made from chalcopyrite copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). The study presents a new CIGS heterojunction solar cell structure, which includes a Cd-free tungsten disulfide (WS2) buffer layer and poly (3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) passivation layer. The performance of the solar cell is raised by a back surface field (BSF). A highly recombining rear surface is kept away from minority carriers by a field created by further strong doping at the back. The structure is Ni/PEDOT:PSS/CIGS/WS2/ZnO/Al and has been estimated numerically using the Opto-electrical stimulation of semiconductor layers simulator SCAPS-1D. A high efficiency with a Back surface passivated layer of 25.70 % with Voc of 0.81 V, Jsc of 39.33 mA/cm2, and FF of 79.89 % and without passivated layer efficiency of 17.58 % with Voc of 0.73 V, Jsc of 32.18 mA/cm2, and FF of 74.78 % is found for the intended CIGS-based solar cell with WS2 buffer. The interface between CIGS and WS2 forms a band structure that resembles spikes. This structure is crucial in enhancing the outputs by reducing carrier recombination. The optimal thicknesses for the buffer and CIGS absorber layers are 0.02 μm and 0.2 μm, respectively. These findings help reduce the cost per watt of the solar cell. Fabrication at a mass production scale, minimizing the thickness will have a significant impact on reducing cost.

Product Re-Design Towards Sustainability: a Case Study of a Mass-Production Device

Sustainability issues are nowadays embedded in society and organizations cannot avoid tackling them. Product design represents the phase in which 80% of the overall emissions are determined, thus the one on which changes should be realized. In some industrial sectors the environmental impact has never been accounted systematically during the conceptualization phase. The resulting products are consequently characterized by poor environmental performances, that have a deep negative effect if realized on a mass production scale. A sustainable re-design and process innovation approach is therefore required. This is the objective of this research, that uses Rold Washing Machine Doorlock as a case study example. After the realization of a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the component under exam, design and process modifications are identified. The assessment is not limited to the proposal of environmentally improved versions of the product. A barrier towards sustainability adoption is represented by the common perception of its unaffordability. It is important for the identified solutions leading to improved ecological performances, but they should be sustainable for the company also in financial terms. At this purpose, for each proposed change, a technical assessment of the operational steps required is performed, together with an economic analysis. The resulting re-engineered product passes all the desired conditions, and the methodology applied can be extended to every other sector facing the same issue.

Cr-rich structure evolution and enhanced mechanical properties of CoCrFeNi high entropy alloys by mechanical alloying

Mechanically-alloyed CoCrFeNi high entropy alloys (MA-HEAs) show better mechanical properties than as-cast HEAs. However, the limited amount of powder milled in one-milling cycle creates a challenge in larger-scale applications. The low ball-to-powder ratio (BPR) milling used to increase powder yield resulted in the formation of Cr-rich second phases in the face-centered cubic matrix. To overcome the above issues, in this work, with a low BPR of 5:1, four different processes were analyzed: quicker milling intervals, higher milling speed, and the pre-alloying of Cr and Ni. All parameters mentioned before were used and tested together in the fourth sample. Samples were consolidated by spark plasma sintering technique. Microstructural characterization was made on a Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with EDS and EBSD detectors and a Transmission Electron Microscope. X-ray diffraction was employed to develop the structural evolution of powders sintered and annealed samples. The global hardness was measured using microhardness tests, while the nanohardness tests helped us correlate the evolution of secondary phases with their mechanical properties. The results show that pre-alloying elements with the lowest diffusion coefficient before the main milling process might be an attractive strategy to improve productivity and optimize microstructure without limiting the efficiency of low BPR MA-HEAs. The results described below demonstrate the promising perspective for the implementation of powder metallurgy techniques in a mass scale production as low BPR is essential for numerous applications like aerospace industry, car engines and medicine, where improved productivity of powder mixing is mandatory.

In vitro propagation of stone fruit rootstock cultivar Evrica 99 and its influence on some phytochemical traits of fresh apricot fruit

Background: The cultivation of stone fruits is of primary importance in Armenia. Their fruits contain antioxidants, fiber, potassium, vitamin A, C, E, minerals, etc., which have a beneficial effect on human health and prevent many diseases. The concentration of those components varies depending on ecological factors, cultivar, rootstock, cultural practices, etc. Clonal rootstocks are important for increasing orchard density, tree uniformity, and high yields, and they can also affect fruit quality. In vitro culture is a valuable method for rapid propagation of high-quality, virus free plant material. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop in vitro production technology for the stone-fruit rootstock cultivar Evrica 99, and to determine if rootstocks affect some fresh fruit traits of ´Yerevani´ and ´Sateni´ apricot cultivars. Methods: The shoot apical meristem and lateral bud served as explants for shoot regeneration. Different sterilizing agents at various periods of exposure were used for the explant surface sterilization. Various concentrations of phytohormones, both individually and in combinations, were employed for in vitro regeneration and rooting of plants. The titratable acidity (TA), dry matter (DM), vitamin C, mineral content, total carotenoids (TC), and sugar contents were evaluated in fresh fruit. Results: The most optimal option for explant surface sterilization was the gradual application of calcium hypochlorite [Ca (ClO)2] (2.0% solution, exposure time 10 min) and ethanol (70% solution, exposure time 20 s), as a result of which we had 75.5% survival rate of explants. The efficient medium for in vitro shoot regeneration was MS supplemented with 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) 0.8 mg/l, Kinetin (Kin) 0.2 mg/l, and Gibberellic acid (GA3) 1.0 mg/l. The half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.8 mg/l indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was optimal for in vitro rooting. Rooted plants were successfully adapted with a survival rate of 85.0%. The defined method can be successfully used for 'Evrica 99' cultivar micropropagation. The results obtained showed that fruit quality strongly depended on both the varieties and the rootstock tested. Conclusion: In the current study, an alternative in vitro propagation technology for rootstock cultivar ´ Evrica 99 was developed by direct organogenesis, enabling mass-scale production of virus-free plants that is suitable for commercial purposes as well. The apricot cultivars ´Yerevani´ and ´Sateni´ grafted on the virus-free rootstock cultivar Evrica 99 showed higher fruit quality traits, which are essential for human health and diet. Keywords: ´Evrica 99, fucnctional foods, in vitro regeneration, micropropagation, plant growth regulators, stone fruit rootstock, tissue culture.

Mass scale production and purification of graphite oxide from Sri Lankan vein graphite and spectroscopic characterization

Discovery of graphene has enhanced attention on industrial scale production of graphene using natural graphite which involves oxidation followed by reduction processes. Aiming for the first time, mass scale production of graphite oxide from Sri Lankan vein graphite of natural purity 99.5% carbon, following an improved Hummer’s method was experimented at optimized conditions minimizing chemical, energy and time wastage. The present study further aimed at determination of pH and manganese ions on successive purification processes of graphite oxide. The X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterizations were followed for verification of products. The wastewater produced from graphite oxide preparation process was systematically tested for Mn2+ ion using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). XRD peaks verified the formation of graphite oxide successfully through a complete oxidation of graphite. FTIR spectrum exhibited characteristic peaks related to typical graphite oxide while SEM shows the typical morphological features. XPS analysis verified complete removal of Mn from graphite oxide after purification. AAS analysis reveals entire removal of Mn after several washing cycles using only water. The investigation concludes that even mass scale production of quality graphite oxide is possible from Sri Lankan pure vein graphite which can subsequently be used to produce precious graphene and derivatives for various high-end applications.

In-Vitro Propagation of Malus domestica and its Conservation

Conventional methods of propagation commonly used for commercially important apple varieties are time consuming, laborious and induce disease transmission from donor to propagating plant. To overcome these problems, a study was designed to optimize the procedure for micropropagation and conservation of Apple. For this purpose, the excised shoot tips of apple varieties were collected from the field of Biological Conservation Institute (BCI), NARC, Islamabad. The surface sterilization of shoot tips was done with 10, 15 20 % sodium hypochlorite for 15 minutes followed by ethanol application at 10, 15 and 20 % for 15 minutes. It had been observed that 10 % of sodium hypochlorite showed maximum survival percentage for ex-plant establishment. After culture initiation, ex-plants were transferred to MS media with the addition of different hormones i.e., BAP at the concentration ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 mg/L, GA3 from 0.5 to 2.5 mg/L and IBA from 0.5 to 3.5 mg/L under aseptic conditions. The results revealed that maximum number of leaves, shoots and plant height was attained with the addition of BAP 0.1 mg/L as compared to other hormonal concentrations. Cultures were incubated at 25 ᵒC under 1000-1500 lux. The plants after propagation were shifted to conservation media for five months (sorbitol mannitol at 10, 20 and 30 g/L each). The use of sorbitol at the concentration of 10 g/L showed slowest growth recorded after 35 days. This optimized method can be used for efficient mass scale production of true type apple varieties and breeders may get disease free plantlets of apples.

Nondestructive online measurement of pineapple maturity and soluble solids content using visible and near-infrared spectral analysis

Pineapple is a popular tropical fruit with economic value, and the measurement of its maturity and soluble solids content (SSC) is crucial for quality control and sorting purposes. This study developed a non-destructive and rapid method for internal color-based maturity and SSC in pineapples using online visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VIS-NIRS). The spectral data for light transmitted through the pineapple sample was measured on the conveyor belt while the machine was moving at a speed of 100 mm/s. A spectrometer with a wavelength range of 200–1100 nm was used during online spectral measurements. The pre-processed spectral data were analyzed using partial least squares regression (PLSR). The internal color-based maturity model achieved a correlation coefficient of double cross-validation (Rv) of 0.97 and a root mean square error of double cross-validation (RMSEV) of 0.034. The SSC model achieved a Rv of 0.88 and a RMSEV of 1.04%. The study demonstrates the potential of online VIS-NIRS as a non-destructive and rapid method for measuring pineapple maturity and SSC. Therefore, this offers a potential for real-time quality monitoring of pineapples at a mass production scale.

Novel techniques for the mass production of nutritionally improved, fungus-treated lignocellulosic biomass for ruminant nutrition.

Laboratory-scale experiments have shown that treatment with selective lignin-degrading white-rot fungi improves the nutritional value and ruminal degradability of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). However, the lack of effective field-applicable pasteurization methods has long been recognized as a major obstacle for scaling up the technique for fungal treatment of large quantities of LCB for animal feeding. In this study, wheat straw (an LCB substrate) was subjected to four field-applicable pasteurization methods - hot-water, formaldehyde fumigation, steam, and hydrated lime - and cultured with Pleurotus ostreatus grain spawn for 10, 20, and 30 days under solid-state fermentation. Samples of untreated, pasteurized but non-inoculated and fungus-treated straws were analyzed for chemical composition, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 ), and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), in vitro total gas (IVGP), methane (CH4 ), and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production. During the 30-day fungal treatment, steam and lime pasteurized straws had the greatest loss of lignin, resulting in marked improvements in crude protein (CP), IVDMD, IVGP, and total VFAs. Irrespective of the pasteurization method, the increase in IVDMD during fungal treatment was linearly (R2 = 0.77-0.92) related to lignin-loss in the substrate during fungal treatment. The CH4 production of the fungus-treated straw was not affected by the pasteurization methods. Aflatoxin B1 was within the safe level (<5 μg kg-1 ) in all pasteurized, fungus treated straws. Steam and lime were promising field-applicable pasteurization techniques to produce nutritionally improved fungus-treated wheat straw to feed ruminants. Lime pasteurization was more economical and did not require expensive energy inputs. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Magnetic Properties of Fe–Mn–Ni Powders Prepared by Hydrogen Reduction of Wet-Synthesized Ferrite Nanopowders

Soft magnetic Fe- <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">X</i> powders with different Ni compositions (Ni = 0, 2.2, 4.4, 6.7, and 8.8 at%) have been synthesized on a 1 kg batch scale, and the effect of Ni content on their magnetic properties has been investigated. The coercivity increased as the Ni content increased. The saturation magnetization was maximum for a Ni content of 4.4 at%. The magnetic properties of the Fe- <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">X</i> powder synthesized in this study on a mass production scale achieved a coercivity of 0.77 Oe and a saturation magnetization of approximately 222 emu/g at a composition of 0.1 at% Mn and 2.2 at% Ni content.

Sustainable Strategic Management For A Sustainable Future

Due to the imbalance that has been caused by mass scale production, societies are looking towards the corporate to adopt the sustainable strategies. The organizations' very objective of producing goods in bulk and to operate on economies of scale has left the environment unnoticed. Sustainable Strategies are financially sound, socially responsible and in balance with the environment. The importance of sustainable strategies cannot be overemphasized for the societies and companies. Successfully implementing the sustainable strategic management practices will require transformational change processes that allow organizations to examine and redefine their core values and assumption as well as the nature of their work and the role of their employees. The idea of Green world can be achieved only when the corporates incorporate sustainability strategies in their working This research paper discusses the need and relevance of sustainable strategic management for today’s corporate and also discusses in brief the process of sustainable strategic Management.

Rice Straw Waste-Based Biogas Production via Microbial Digestion: A Review.

The development of sustainable and renewable energy production is in high demand, and bioenergy production via microbial digestion of organic wastes is in prime focus. Biogas produced from the microbial digestion of organic waste is the most promising among existing biofuel options. In this context, biogas production from lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most viable and promising technologies for sustainable biofuel production. In the present review, an assessment and feasibility advancement have been presented towards the sustainable production of biogas from rice straw waste. Rice straw (RS) is abundantly available, contains a high composition of cellulose, and is found under the category of lignocellulosic waste, but it may cause severe environmental issues if not treated. Whereas, due to its high cellulose and inorganic content, lower cost, and huge availability, this waste can be effectively valorized into biogas production at a lower cost on a commercial scale. Therefore, the present review provides existing insight in this area by focusing on the operational parameter's improvement and advancement in the research for the expansion of mass-scale production at a lower cost. Thus, the presented review analyzed the processing parameters status, associated challenges, and positive endnote solutions for more sustainable viability for biogas production.

Reaction microkinetic model of xylose dehydration to furfural over beta zeolite catalyst

AbstractIn recent decades, there has been a growing interest in bio-refineries as a crucial element in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. One specific aspect of this interest is the conversion of carbohydrates into separate platform chemicals, such as furfural (FUR), which play a significant functional role in various daily life processes. This research paper focuses on investigating the use of a H-beta catalyst with SiO2/Al2O3 = 28 for producing furfural from xylose in water. Various conditions, such as temperature and initial solution concentration, are studied to determine their effect on FUR yield. The highest FUR yield (40 mol.%) is obtained when FUR is the only product species. We also report that about 90% yield from reaction with fresh catalyst can be achieved after catalyst regeneration. The activation energies for the reaction on the catalyst surface are found to be in the range of 38–75 kJ/mol. A mathematical kinetic model with three irreversible steps is derived to estimate the reaction sequence at 160, 180, and 200 °C. The model takes into account mechanisms such as adsorption, desorption, and transport (internal or external). Our results suggest that the H-beta catalyst shows high activity toward FUR yield and could be a promising alternative for mass-scale production of the latter.

A hard mask process and alignment device aims to achieve high consistency and mass-scale production of gas sensors based on spraying hydrothermal gas sensing material.

The material synthesized through the hydrothermal method has received extensive and in-depth study in recent years, with a large number of literature reporting their excellent performance in the fields of catalysis or gas sensitivity. In order to combine the hydrothermal material with micro-electro-mechanical system processes to achieve large-scale manufacturing of hydrothermal synthesized materials at the wafer-level, this paper proposes a series of processes for hard mask patterned electro-atomization spraying of hydrothermal materials and designs and manufactures an alignment device that achieves the alignment of silicon hard mask and electrode wafers based on the vacuum clamping principle. Through experiments, it has been verified that this device can achieve micrometer-level alignment between the hard mask and the electrode wafer. By conducting electro-atomization spraying, hard mask patterning, optical microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscope measurements, as well as gas sensitivity testing on a CeO2/TiO2 hydrothermal composite material published in our previous research, it was further verified that this process has good film formation consistency (Sa and Sq are both less than 3μm and the average film thickness deviation is less than 5μm), excellent and consistent gas sensitivity performance, and good long-term working stability. This article provides a promising process method for the large-scale production of hydrothermal synthesis materials at the wafer-level.

Ultra-Low-Cost Disposable Hand-Held Clinical-Scale Propane Gas Hyperpolarizer for Pulmonary Magnetic Resonance Imaging Sensing.

Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents are revolutionizing the field of biomedical imaging. Hyperpolarized Xe-129 was recently FDA approved as an inhalable MRI contrast agent for functional lung imaging sensing. Despite success in research settings, modern Xe-129 hyperpolarizers are expensive (up to $1M), large, and complex to site and operate. Moreover, Xe-129 sensing requires specialized MRI hardware that is not commonly available on clinical MRI scanners. Here, we demonstrate that proton-hyperpolarized propane gas can be produced on demand using a disposable, hand-held, clinical-scale hyperpolarizer via parahydrogen-induced polarization, which relies on parahydrogen as a source of hyperpolarization. The device consists of a heterogeneous catalytic reactor connected to a gas mixture storage can containing pressurized hyperpolarization precursors: propylene and parahydrogen (10 bar total pressure). Once the built-in flow valve of the storage can is actuated, the precursors are ejected from the can into a reactor, and a stream of hyperpolarized propane gas is ejected from the reactor. Robust operation of the device is demonstrated for producing proton sensing polarization of 1.2% in a wide range of operational pressures and gas flow rates. We demonstrate that the propylene/parahydrogen gas mixture can retain potency for days in the storage can with a monoexponential decay time constant of 6.0 ± 0.5 days, which is limited by the lifetime of the parahydrogen singlet spin state in the storage container. The utility of the produced sensing agent is demonstrated for phantom imaging on a 3 T clinical MRI scanner located 100 miles from the agent/device preparation site and also for ventilation imaging of excised pig lungs using a 0.35 T clinical MRI scanner. The cost of the device components is less than $35, which we envision can be reduced to less than $5 for mass-scale production. The hyperpolarizer device can be reused, recycled, or disposed.

Production of fermentable glucose from bioconversion of cellulose using efficient microbial cellulases produced from water hyacinth waste

The economic production of cellulase enzymes for various industrial applications is one of the major research areas. A number of broad industrial applications, for example, in cellulosic biomass hydrolysis for simple sugars such as glucose and subsequent biofuel production, make these enzyme systems the third most demanding enzymes. Nevertheless, due to their production on commercial substrates, cellulases fall into the category of costly enzymes. Therefore, the goal of the present work is to evaluate the enhancement of cellulase production and its utilization in the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass using low-cost cellulosic substrate, which is abundant and widely available. In this context, waste biomasses of water hyacinth (WH), including leaves and stems, have been used as feedstock to produce cellulases via solid-state fermentation (SSF) in the current study, which improves its production as well as activity. Furthermore, the impact of process parameters like temperature and pH has been investigated for improved cellulase production. At optimum concentration using 10 g of feedstock, 22 IU/gds of FP, 92 IU/gds of BGL, and 111 IU/gds of EG have been noticed in day 5 of SSF. Herein, 40 °C has been identified as the optimum temperature for cellulase production, whereas 50-55 °C has been recorded as the optimum reaction temperature for cellulase enzyme activity. Additionally, pH 5.5 has been identified as the optimum pH for cellulase enzyme production, whereas this enzyme was thermally stable (55 °C) at pH 5.0 up to 3.5 h. Further, the cellulosic biomass hydrolysis of WH leaves via an optimized crude enzyme has been performed, and this could release 24.34 g/L of glucose in 24 h of the reaction. The current findings may have potential for developing cellulases for mass-scale production using WH-based waste bioresources for numerous biorefinery applications.

Tuning Surface Energy to Enhance MoS2 Nanosheet Production via Liquid-Phase Exfoliation: Understanding the Electrochemical Adsorption of Cesium Chloride.

Environmental pollution caused by radionuclides like Cs-137 and Cs-134 has increased global attention toward public health. Electrochemical adsorption has emerged as a feasible, rapid, and scalable method to treat contaminated water sources. However, graphene and its derivatives have limitations in ion adsorption via physisorption, forming a double layer that restricts the electrode's adsorption capacity. To address this, we propose the use of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with its extensive intercalation galleries of MoS2 nanosheets for cesium removal via an electrochemical route. Liquid-phase exfoliation with water and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was then used to produce MoS2 nanosheets in a scalable quantity (high-yield production). The formation of a mixed solvent possessing relatively equivalent surface energy for exfoliation enabled us to achieve a remarkable exfoliation yield of up to ca. 1.26 mg mL-1, which is one of the highest yields reported to date (without a surfactant being added) and to the best of our knowledge. The 35% v/v of water in NMP displayed a maximum yield while maintaining the structure of the as-exfoliated one. Water exceeding over 66.7% v/v led to the formation of MoO3. Moreover, an insight into the cesium ion removal mechanism through the electrochemical route was demonstrated. It is found that the Cs+ removal follows electrochemical intercalation rather than adsorption. This work aids the understanding of cesium intercalation coupled with a mass-scale production method, which should lead to more efficient and cost-effective removal of radionuclides from contaminated water sources, opening new research avenues in materials and environmental science.

Robust sustainable canola oil-based biodiesel supply chain network design under supply and demand uncertainty.

The excessive consumption of fossil fuels has sparked debates and caused environmental damage, leading the global community to search for a suitable alternative. To achieve sustainable development goals and prevent harmful climate scenarios, the world needs to increase its use of renewable energy. Biodiesel, a clean and eco-friendly fuel with a high flash point and more lubrication than petroleum-based fuels, and without the emission of harmful environmental gases, has emerged as one of the fossil fuel alternatives. To promote the mass-level production of biodiesel, a sustainable supply chain (SC) that does not depend on laboratory production is necessary. For this purpose, this research proposes a multi-objective mixed-integer non-linear mathematical programming (MINLP) model to design a sustainable canola oil-based biodiesel supply chain network (CO-BSCND) under supply and demand uncertainty. This mathematical model aims to minimize the total cost (TC) and total carbon emission while maximizing the total number of job opportunities simultaneously. A scenario-based robust optimization (SBRO) approach is applied to deal with uncertainty. The proposed model is implemented in a real case study in Iran, and numerical experiments and sensitivity analysis are conducted to demonstrate its applicability. The results of this research demonstrate that designing a sustainable supply chain network for the production and distribution of biodiesel fuel is achievable. Moreover, this mathematical modeling makes mass-scale production of biodiesel fuel a possibility. In addition, the SBRO method adopted in this research enables managers and researchers to explore the design conditions of the supply chain network by controlling the uncertainties that affect it. This approach allows the chain's performance to be as close as possible to the actual conditions. As a result, the SBRO method enhances the efficiency of the supply chain network and boosts productivity toward achieving desired goals.

Cu2S Nanorods Decorated with NiFe-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution in Alkaline Saline Water/Seawater

The progress of highly efficient and stable nonprecious metallic-based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in saline water/seawater is of great importance for the mass-scale production of hydrogen energy. Herein, a nanostructured NiFe-LDH/Cu2S heterostructure is constructed by growing NiFe-LDH nanosheets onto Cu2S nanorods. This heterostructure possesses exceptional HER performances with η10 = 36 mV (η10 indicates the overpotential at a current density of 10 mA cm2) and worked stably over 100 h in alkaline saline water. Moreover, the heterojunction catalyst acts as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for the anode and cathode, achieving a cell voltage of η10 = 1.463 V, which is superior to many reported electrocatalysts. The improvement of catalytic performance of NiFe-LDH/Cu2S can be ascribed to the charge redistribution on the heterointerface that accelerates the dissociation process caused by the formation of Ni with low electron cloud density. Moreover, the obtained covalent S–O bonds are beneficial to the adsorption of H*. In addition, NiFe-LDH/Cu2S also exhibits considerable catalytic performances in seawater electrolytes, delivering a cell voltage of η10 = 1.483 V with a stability of 27 h. We present a promising bifunctional electrocatalyst for water electrolysis in alkaline saline water/seawater which may find wide applications in the area of hydrogen energy.

Machine learning assisted cancer cell detection using strip waveguide Bragg gratings

An early cancer diagnosis has become necessary in the medical domain as it can facilitate a timely and appropriate treatment, providing for the clinical management of patients. This work proposes a rapid and inexpensive label-free bio-sensing platform based on Waveguide Bragg Gratings for cancer detection. The refractive index values of cancer cells are different from normal cells, which provide a different reflection spectrum when the sample is placed on the functionalized surface of the waveguide grating structure. We combine simulations from the effective index method, finite element method, and Transfer Matrix method of the Grating structure to optimize the sensing structure and employ a neural network model to predict whether a sample contains cancerous cells. The machine learning model provides excellent accuracy for high-resolution interrogator data, and the accuracy falls below 95% only when the resolution of the interrogator is taken as 0.9 nm, thereby eliminating the need for an expensive high-resolution optical Interrogator system. This, combined with the mass-scale production capability of the waveguide Bragg gratings using standard CMOS technology, paves the way towards combining nano-scale optical biosensing platforms and machine learning-based optimization techniques for early and low-cost label-free cancer detections.

Opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology in enhanced oil recovery: An overview

Primary objective of this review includes advantages and challenges associated with implementation of nanotechnology in EOR (enhanced oil recovery). Nanotechnology refers to science which deals in dimensions of nanoscale (1–100 nm). Nanotechnology is an important technique due to their small size. Small size of particles offers high surface area which makes nanotechnology as one of the candidates for EOR technique. Also, nanoparticles result in change in fluid and formation properties which ultimately leads to increased production. Wettability alteration, increase in structural disjoint pressure and reduction in interfacial tension are some of the factors that are being contributed by Nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery. Apart from these advantages there are some drawbacks associated with the techniques. Mass scale production of Nanoparticles, stability of Nanoparticles is some of the tedious and unresolved task that require immediate attention. Thus, the review focusses on advantages and challenges discussed in brief occurring in implementation of nanotechnology in EOR.