A fast electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) evidences the presence of nanobubbles in alkaline water splitting.

A fast electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (EQCM-D) was used to study the formation of hydrogen bubbles at a cathode during water splitting. Different metal surfaces behaved similarly. The kinetics revealed two time scales.

Modelling Caffeine and Paracetamol Removal from Synthetic Wastewater Using Nanofiltration Membranes: A Comparative Study of Artificial Neural Networks and Response Surface Methodology.

The integration of computational intelligence techniques into pharmaceutical wastewater treatment offers promising opportunities to improve process efficiency and minimize operational costs. This study compares the predictive capabilities of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models in forecasting the rejection efficiencies of caffeine and paracetamol using AFC 40 and AFC 80 nanofiltration (NF) membranes. Experiments were conducted under varying operating conditions, including transmembrane pressure, feed concentration, and flow rate.

Feature selection for specific prediction targets at the user level in a district heating network.

With the challenge of district heating network transition as part of the global objective of clean energy, machine learning provides a methodological approach for understanding the relationships between various influencing factors and demand-side properties of district heating networks, which is decisive for reducing losses, enhancing sustainability, and guaranteeing residential comfort. This work focuses on accelerating the application of modern machine learning methods to modeling district heating networks by generating knowledge on feature engineering and selection for newly suggested prediction targets, namely volume flow, supply, and return temperatures, directly at the building level. A systematic workflow for data acquisition, feature engineering, and selecting the most relevant predictors is presented.

Twin-AI: Intelligent Barrier Eddy Current Separator with Digital Twin and AI Integration.

The current paper presents a comprehensive intelligent system designed to optimize the performance of a barrier eddy current separator (BECS), comprising a conveyor belt, a vibration feeder, and a magnetic drum. This system was trained and validated on real-world industrial data gathered directly from the working separator under 81 different operational scenarios. The intelligent models were used to recommend optimal settings for drum speed, belt speed, vibration intensity, and drum angle, thereby maximizing separation quality and minimizing energy consumption.

Imaging Spectroscopy at the Plasma-Liquid Interface.

This contribution presents a novel, simple and cost-effective method for observing the movement of reaction products out of the plasma-liquid interface (PLI). By employing an imaging spectrograph, a multidimensional view, i.e.

Synergistic thermal treatment of mixed lithium iron phosphate and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide black mass for improved recycling operations.

Various approaches are being investigated to recover valuable materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, particularly for lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode chemistries. Graphite recovery has gained increasing interest due to its classification as a critical raw material, with Flotation being a promising process for its recovery from black mass. A requirement for successfully realizing this process is the removal of binders from the anode and cathode surfaces, which is usually achieved through thermal treatment.

Camphor-Based NHC Ligands with a Sulfur Ligator Atom in Rhodium Catalysis: Catalytic Advances in the Asymmetric Ring Opening of -Protected Azabenzonorbornenes.

In this study, we report the synthesis, characterization, and reactivity assessment of a chiral camphor-based Rh(I) catalyst functionalized with a sulfur moiety. The catalytic system was evaluated in the asymmetric ring-opening (ARO) of -protected bicyclic substrates, with ensured high product yields and enantioselectivity. In addition to the application of various indoles as nucleophiles in the ARO reaction, a broad scope of bicyclic substrates was also explored.

Access to SCF-Substituted Indolizines via a Photocatalytic Late-Stage Functionalization Protocol.

A mild, scalable, and highly chemoselective photocatalytic method was developed for direct indolizine functionalization with -((trifluoromethyl)thio)saccharin, yielding high amounts of desired products while tolerating various functional groups. The photoredox catalyst employed offers a straightforward and inexpensive alternative to commercially available catalysts. Additionally, a 3-SCF analogue of a histamine H3 receptor antagonist was synthesized with excellent yield, demonstrating the strategy's potential in developing biologically relevant molecules.

Influence of Surface Treatments and Adhesive Type on Bond Strength Between Stainless Steel and CFRP in Agricultural Machinery.

In the domain of agricultural machinery, the utilization of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) for structural components, such as the chassis, facilitates substantial weight reduction. To integrate additional components, stainless-steel connection points can be bonded to the CFRP chassis using adhesives. This study investigates surface preparation methods to enhance adhesive bonding strength at the coupon level.

The meaning of Li diffusion in cathode materials for the cycling of Li-ion batteries: A case study on LiNi0.33Mn0.33Co0.33O2 thin films.

We demonstrate that for polycrystalline LiNi0.33Mn0.33Co0.

Efficient Degradation of Consumer-Grade PLA by Commercial Savinase: Optimized Conditions and Molecular Dynamics Insights.

Poly-(lactic acid) (PLA) is the most widely produced biopolymer globally, with 920,000 tons reaching the market in 2024. Although it is a biobased polymer and biodegradable, it currently poses a threat by generating a considerable waste stream in the environment unless its end-of-life options are further developed. Biorecycling of PLA is a promising solution and is critical for PLA to be a truly sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, further enabling the (bio)-plastics circular economy.

A microfocus study on basic-oxygen-furnace slag thin sections to understand the principles of vanadium incorporation.

Vanadium in basic-oxygen-furnace (BOF) slags is particularly interesting regarding the recovery of this element, which has been further strengthened by its inclusion in the list of critical raw materials by the European Union in 2017. As BOF slags can have a significant vanadium content, they continue to be a promising secondary vanadium source. Therefore, the binding mechanisms of vanadium in the respective slag minerals must be fundamentally understood to adapt a recovery process, which enables a sufficient yield and is environmentally friendly and resource-saving.

Assessing the hyphenation of ion chromatography with optical emission spectrometry for trace analysis of oxyhalide bromine and chlorine species.

Background: The increased application of oxidative water treatment is associated with the presence of halogenated disinfection by-products (DBPs) in aqueous systems. Due to their hazard potential, permanent measurements of selected analytes are required to monitor their compliance with regulatory limits and guidelines. However, the simultaneous acquisition of alarming inorganic oxyhalide species by conventional ion chromatography (IC) is often impeded by co-elution of interfering analyte or matrix components, especially when DBPs of multiple halogens are present in solution.

-Heterocyclic Olefins of Pyrazole and Indazole.

Deprotonation of 3-methylpyrazolium and 3-methylindazolium salts yielded -heterocyclic olefins (NHOs) in excellent yields, which reacted with isocyanates, halogens, and carbon disulfide. Calculated proton affinities are 261 kcal/mol (indazole NHOs) and 272 kcal/mol (pyrazole NHOs). The calculated p values are between 14.

Utility-based optimization of Fujikawa's basket trial design - Pre-specified protocol of a comparison study.

Basket trial designs are a type of master protocol in which the same therapy is tested in several strata of the patient cohort. Many basket trial designs implement borrowing mechanisms. These allow sharing information between similar strata with the goal of increasing power in responsive strata while at the same time constraining type-I error inflation to a bearable threshold.

Internal friction and energy dissipation during fracture in silicate glasses.

To obtain a deeper insight into the nature of energy dissipation during fracture, the internal friction of 13 borosilicate, aluminosilicate, soda-lime, and lead-containing glasses, for which inert crack growth data are known, was measured using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. For asymmetrically bent glass beams, the loss tangent, tan δ, was determined between 0.2 and 50 Hz at temperatures between 273 K and the glass transition temperature, Tg.

Bichromophoric Ruthenium Complexes for Photocatalyzed Late-Stage Synthesis of Trifluoromethylated Indolizines.

Indolizines are a promising class of biologically active compounds. However, photocatalytic methods for their selective derivatization are scarce in the literature. Herein, a mild, simple, and chemoselective protocol for the synthesis of 3-(trifluoromethyl)indolizine has been developed.

Advanced Freeze-Drying Modeling: Validation of a Sorption-Sublimation Model.

Modeling freeze-drying is crucial due to the complex interplay of heat and mass transfer, which significantly impacts product quality and process efficiency. Traditional experimental approaches can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, making rigorous modeling an essential tool for optimization. Sorption-sublimation models incorporate the dynamic nature of the drying steps by accurately describing heat and mass transfer, enabling precise calculation of product temperature and residual moisture.

Toward Symmetric Organic Aqueous Flow Batteries: Triarylamine-Based Bipolar Molecules and Their Characterization via an Extended Koutecký-Levich Analysis.

Symmetric organic flow batteries (SOFBs) can potentially address membrane crossover problems by employing bipolar redox-active organic molecules (BROMs). Herein, a triarylamine (TAA) skeleton was chosen as a posolyte moiety for a new class of bipolar molecules for pH-neutral aqueous flow batteries (FBs). Pyridinium and viologen derivatives were tethered to the posolyte moiety, and the new compounds were characterized.

Online photoelectron current spectroscopy of metal powder at atmospheric pressure.

This paper introduces a new setup to measure the work function of metal powders and bulk materials, called Powder Photoelectron Current Spectroscopy (PPCS) at atmospheric pressure. This setup, which works in different gas compositions under atmospheric pressure and at room temperature, was developed for the online analysis of the oxidation state of metal powders used in the oxygen-free production, where all processes take place in a controlled environment at extremely low oxygen levels. The PPCS method can refer to many advantages, such as being quick, relatively inexpensive compared with UHV systems, and easy to use, also compatible with small amount of powders (≈1 mg).

Rapid Solidification of Plant Latices from Driven by a Sudden Decrease in Hydrostatic Pressure.

By monitoring the solidification of droplets of plant latices with a fast quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), droplets from were found to solidify much faster than droplets from and also faster than droplets from all technical latices tested. A similar conclusion was drawn from optical videos, where the plants were injured and the milky fluid was stretched (sometimes forming fibers) after the cut. Rapid solidification cannot be explained with physical drying because physical drying is transport-limited and therefore is inherently slow.

Enhanced Performance of Nanocomposite Membranes by an Environmentally Friendly High-Pressure Silanization Method.

Composite membranes that contain an inorganic phase dispersed in a polymer are valuable for various applications because they combine the flexibility of polymers with the excellent thermal stability and gas selectivity of inorganic materials. The appearance of voids at the interface between the organic and inorganic phases is a central issue in such nanocomposite design. One approach to tackling this issue is grafting the inorganic phase with silane coupling agents that serve as linkers for the two phases.

A multi-point calibration method for electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) of indium in sphalerite (ZnS).

This article presents a multi-point calibration approach for electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) for the trace element analysis of indium in sphalerite (ZnS). To define a multi-point calibration curve, indium and cadmium-doped ZnS crystals in a concentration range from 0 (blank) to ~ 1500 µg / g were used. The samples were measured with two different analytical settings (25 kV acceleration voltage and 100 nA beam current as well as 7 kV and 200 nA).

Platform Process for an Autonomous Production of Virus-like Particles.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a promising platform as carriers for vaccination and general treatments against many pathogens. While there are long development timelines and challenges in the production of clinical-grade VLPs, this study introduces a platform process for the production and purification of those particles, aided by process analytical technology (PAT). Fed-batch cultivation and consecutive purification, including novel membrane technology and anion-exchange chromatography, showed robust process performance with design and control spaces defined in previous studies.

Studies on the Effect of Positive and Negative Charges on the Se NMR Shifts of Selenones and Selenenyls of N-heterocyclic Carbenes of Imidazolium-4,5-dicarboxylates.

1,3-Imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid derivatives were investigated with respect to the properties of the underlying N-heterocyclic carbenes. Their selenium adducts were prepared as diesters, monoesters, and dianionic dicarboxylates. Se-methylation yielded selenenyls (cationic selenoethers).