Mechanism of Pyrolysis Reaction of Al-Rich Al/PTFE/TiH2 Active Material

In order to obtain the chemical reaction mechanism of Al-rich Al/PTFE/TiH2 composites in argon and oxygen atmosphere, Al/PTFE, PTFE/TiH2, Al/TiH2 and Al-rich Al/PTFE/TiH2 with different contents of TiH2 composites were prepared by using the wet mixing method. The pyrolysis behavior of the above composites was investigated by thermogravimetric differential scanning calorimeter (TG-DSC). In addition, the calorific value of the above composite was measured by an oxygen bomb calorimeter. The compositions of TG-DSC residues at different peak temperatures and 1000 °C and the residues of oxygen bomb experiment were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), The results show that the pyrolytic products of Al-rich Al/PTFE/TiH2 materials under argon atmosphere can be divided into four stages. In the first stage (328.6–378.6 °C), the products are TiH1.924, (C2F4)n, (CF2)n, H2(g), Al and TiH2; in the second stage (510.8–534.3 °C), the products are Al, TiH1.924, (C2F4)n, (CF2)n, Ti, AlF3, TiF3, TiF4(g), C and H2(g). In the third stage (540.8–618.1 °C), the products are Al, C, Ti, (C2F4)n, (CF2)n, AlF3, TiF3, TiF4, CF4(g), C3F6(g), C4F8(g), C2F6(g), Al5Ti2 and H2(g); in the fourth stage (918.5–1000 °C), the products are AlCTi2, Al2Ti, AlTi, TiC, AlF3, Al, TiF3, TiC0.957, TiC0.981 and TiC0.95. The calorific value of the combustion of Al-rich Al/PTFE/TiH2 composite with 10% the content of TiH2 is the highest and is 19,899 J/g, which is 3.776% higher than that of Al-rich Al/PTFE composite. When TiH2 content is greater than zero and not more than 10%, the chemical reaction mechanism of Al-rich Al/PTFE/TiH2 is almost the same under oxygen atmosphere. When the content of TiH2 is higher than 10%, the mechanism of this material is different.

Thermoacoustic Instabilities of Hydrogen-Enriched Partially Premixed Flames in a Swirl Combustor

Large eddy simulations (LES) of premixed hydrogen-enriched swirling flames were performed to investigate the flame topology and combustion instabilities with different hydrogen concentrations. A compressible LES approach is utilised to account for the self-excited combustion dynamics. A transported probability density function (pd f) approach is adopted to account for sub-grid scale (sgs) turbulence-chemistry interaction, and the solution to the joint sgs – pd f evolution equation of the scalars is obtained by the stochastic field method. The chemistry is represented using a reduced chemical reaction mechanism containing 15 reaction steps and 19 species. The results revealed that as the concentration of hydrogen increases, the flame is shortened in the injecting direction and more confined in the cross-sectional direction, which is consistent with experimental observations. The self-excited limit-cycle oscillations for all considered cases were successfully reproduced, with the predicted peak frequencies of the chamber pressure spectra in excellent agreement with the measured values. The feedback loop of the oscillations is successfully captured and analysed with the temporal evolution of axial velocity and heat release presented.

Functional and structural characterization of a flavoprotein monooxygenase essential for biogenesis of tryptophylquinone cofactor

Bioconversion of peptidyl amino acids into enzyme cofactors is an important post-translational modification. Here, we report a flavoprotein, essential for biosynthesis of a protein-derived quinone cofactor, cysteine tryptophylquinone, contained in a widely distributed bacterial enzyme, quinohemoprotein amine dehydrogenase. The purified flavoprotein catalyzes the single-turnover dihydroxylation of the tryptophylquinone-precursor, tryptophan, in the protein substrate containing triple intra-peptidyl crosslinks that are pre-formed by a radical S-adenosylmethionine enzyme within the ternary complex of these proteins. Crystal structure of the peptidyl tryptophan dihydroxylase reveals a large pocket that may dock the protein substrate with the bound flavin adenine dinucleotide situated close to the precursor tryptophan. Based on the enzyme-protein substrate docking model, we propose a chemical reaction mechanism of peptidyl tryptophan dihydroxylation catalyzed by the flavoprotein monooxygenase. The diversity of the tryptophylquinone-generating systems suggests convergent evolution of the peptidyl tryptophan-derived cofactors in different proteins.

Analysis of the Ignition Behavior Based on Similarity Factor Method

The chemical kinetics mechanism is an important factor to accurately predict the combustion characteristics of constant-volume bomb (CVB). In this study, an n-heptane oxidation mechanism constructed by Wang et al. is introduced to study the correlation of the ignition behaviors with the mechanism constructed by Chang et al. The effects of the similarity factor method in the analysis of ignition behaviors of fuel in CVB were repeatedly verified by changing the important spraying parameters: injection pressure and hole diameter. Through further verification, it was found that the combustion process was controlled at approximately 850 K and stoichiometric ratio mixture of fuel/air in CVB, which corresponds to the negative temperature coefficient region at stoichiometric ratio mixture in shock tube (ST). The mechanism verified by the experiment under the condition in ST can reflect the chemical ignition in CVB. In addition, the similarity factor method was less dependent on the chemical reaction mechanism and boundary conditions.

Optimization of hot-press parameters for plywood with environmental aluminophosphate adhesive

An aluminophosphate adhesive was used as the binder in plywood. The hot-pressing parameters of aluminophosphate adhesive-based plywood (APPs) including hot-press temperature (A), time (B), and pressure (C) were optimized using response surface methodology. Results indicated that the hot-press temperature was the most dominant factor. The maximum bonding strength of 1.98 MPa was found with an optimal parameter of 171 °C (hot-press temperature), 7.5 min (hot-press time), and 1.0 MPa (hot-press pressure). Additionally, the chemical reaction mechanism between aluminophosphate adhesive and wood fibers was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results showed that good interaction was generated between wood fibers and adhesives through their surface functional groups. In conclusion, the optimized pressing conditions of plywood significantly improved bonding strength of APPs.

Modulation of the adsorption chemistry of a precursor in atomic layer deposition to enhance the growth per cycle of a TiO2 thin film

This study investigates the chemical reaction mechanism of the ALD to obtain a designated growth behaviour in theoretical and experimental way, hence, provides significant implications for understanding the ALD mechanism based on the DFT calculation.