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Purpose Innovation in fintech presents great opportunities and huge challenges for accounting practices around the world. This paper aims to examine the impact of Fintech on accounting practices including financial reporting, performance management, budgeting, auditing, risk and fraud management. Fintech is proxied by the adoption of AI and big data analysis in accounting practices. Design/methodology/approach We chose African countries as our focus countries and surveyed chartered and qualified accountants in both Ghana and Nigeria. With 201 questionnaires qualified for our final analyses, we adopted the structural equation modelling to analyse the impact of Fintech on accounting practices. Findings The empirical results show that the impact of AI and big data on accounting practices is positive and significant, indicating that fintech could potentially mitigate the agency problem in accounting practices and lead to better accounting practices. Interestingly, we find that, in general, the impact of AI is larger than that of big data. Originality/value Our results provide significant insights to regulators, policymakers and managers about the future development of adopting fintech in the regulation and governance framework at both macro and micro levels for accounting practice.

The [4+1] cyclization reaction of 2-hydroxylimides and trimethylsulfoxonium iodide was investigated.

To improve the extraction efficiency of practical components of crude oil emulsions, n-hexadecanoyl hyperbranched poly(amido-amine) (CHPAMAM), with HPAMAM as the structural core and palmitic acid chain as the decorated shell,...

The densities (ρ) and viscosities (η) of the ternary system exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene + n-decane + 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene and the three corresponding binary systems, exo-tetrahydrodicy...

Solid-state electrolyte (SSE) is promising for application in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries because of its reliable safety and longevity. The failure of SSE to suppress dendrite formation...

Lithium metal has been regarded as the most promising anode for the next generation high energy- density batteries. However, detrimental side reactions with electrolyte, uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth, distinct volume expansion and fragile solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer lead to low coulombic efficiency (CE), rapid battery failure and even safety hazards, which hinders its practical application. Herein, we propose a novel composite anode which embeds Li metal particles into a Li+/electron hybrid conductive framework and is reinforced by CNTs. Sulfurized pyrolyzed poly(acrylonitrile) (S@pPAN), which is extensively studied as superior cathode materials, is creatively adopted to render abundant Li3N and Li2S on the surface of the Li particles and in the free-space. The in-situ formed hybrid framework not only provides a rapid Li+ transfer channel throughout the electrode, but also suppresses the Li dendrite growth and inhibits the volume expansion. With further assistance of lithiophilic nano-MgO, the composite anode achieved dense and reversible Li plating/striping. As a result, a long cycle life of more than 800 hours with 10 mAh cm−2 and excellent electrode kinetics are obtained for symmetric cells. Moreover, the full cells coupled with S@pPAN and LiFePO4 cathodes deliver a long and stable cycle life. The rational 3D composite anode design provides a feasible strategy to build high performance Li metal batteries.

It has been proven that alcohols can regulate the performance of aviation fuels. In this work, the densities (ρ) and viscosities (η) for the ternary system of isopropylcyclohexane (1) + n-tridecane...

In spite of the advances in understanding how to prepare concave Pd nanocubes, the quantitative measurement on how the salt precursor reduction process impacts the product is still concealed. Herei...

Li metal anode has been considered as the ideal anode for next-generation batteries due to its ultrahigh capacity and lowest electrochemical potential. However, its practical application is still impeded by low Coulombic efficiency, huge volume change, and safety hazards arising from Li dendrite growth. In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) structured highly stable Li metal anode is designed and easily preapred. Benefiting from the in situ reaction between Li metal and AlN, highly Li+ conductive Li3N and lithiophilic LiAl alloy have been simultaneously formed and homogeneously distributed in the framework, in which Li metal is finely dispersed and embedded. The outstanding electron/ion mixed conductivity of Li3N/LiAl and 3D composite structure with enhanced interfacial area significantly improve the electrode kinetics and suppress the volume change on cycling, while a lithiophilic effect of LiAl alloy and uniform distribution of Li ion flux inside the electrode avoid dendritic Li deposition. As a result, the proposed Li metal electrode exhibits exceptional electrochemical reversibility in both carbonate and ether-based electrolytes. Paired with LiFePO4 and sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (S@pPAN) cathodes, the full cells deliver highly stable and long-term cycling performance. Therefore, the proposed strategy to fabricate Li metal anodes could promote the practical application of Li metal batteries.

exo-Tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene can serve as both the propellant and coolant in hypersonic vehicles. However, its applications are restricted by the poor properties of ignition and combustion to so...

Although β-Fe2O3 has a high theoretical solar-to-hydrogen efficiency because of its narrow band gap, the study of β-Fe2O3 photoanodes for water splitting is elusive as a result of their metastable nature. Raman identification of β-Fe2O3 is theoretically and experimentally investigated in this study for the first time, thus clarifying the debate about its Raman spectrum in the literature. Phase transformation of β-Fe2O3 to α-Fe2O3 was found to potentially take place under laser and electron irradiation as well as annealing. Herein, phase transformation of β-Fe2O3 to α-Fe2O3 was inhibited by introduction of Zr doping, and β-Fe2O3 was found to withstand a higher annealing temperature without any phase transformation. The solar water splitting photocurrent of the Zr-doped β-Fe2O3 photoanode was increased by 500% compared to that of the pure β-Fe2O3 photoanode. Additionally, Zr-doped β-Fe2O3 exhibited very good stability during the process of solar water splitting. These results indicate that by improving its thermal stability, metastable β-Fe2O3 film is a promising photoanode for solar water splitting., The use of element doping to prevent the phase transition of metastable semiconductors has been approved for the application of photoelectrochemcial hydrogen production via water splitting for the first time.

To deal with the demulsification of O/W emulsions, a novel kind of core–shell structural amphiphilic soft matter, HPEI-g-Cn (n = 10, 12, 14, 16, 18), with hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (HPEI) as the core and fatty acid chain Cn as the shell, is designed and synthesized. With the existence of amphiphilic HPEI-g-Cn, O/W emulsions can be thoroughly separated into two phases with a clear oil–water interface to reach demulsification equilibrium within 40 min. The oil removal ratio can exceed 99.9% under the addition of 40 ppm in simulative emulsions, and simultaneously the water content in the oil phase is less than 0.01%. This demulsifier can also contribute to excellent separation efficiency (up to 99.9%) for O/W emulsions from two China's oilfields, and even for heavy oil emulsions. More importantly, it is noted that the HPEI-g-Cn demulsifiers after demulsification are evenly and tightly dispersed at the oil–water interface as shown by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), which is beneficial to the subsequent recovery and utilization. With eco-friendly characteristics, outstanding demulsification performance and promising recyclability, the amphiphilic macromolecules HPEI-g-Cn as special soft matter display great promise to achieve industrial applications in the future.

Lithium metal is a promising candidate anode for next generation high energy density batteries. However, the Li dendrite growth results in electrode degradation and safety hazards, obstructing its ...

Using Li metal-free anodes for lithium-ion oxygen and lithium-ion sulfur batteries is considered as a promising solution to resolve the hazard of Li metal anode. Although Si anode exhibits high capacity and low electrochemical potential, it cannot match with oxygen (or sulfur) cathode, because both lack cycleable lithium ions. In this work, a free-standing and fibrous Si/C anode is prepared by electrospinning and its simple but effective lithiation is proposed. When assembling the cells, the free-standing Si/C anode was put between mass-controlled lithium metal foil and separator, and then the Si/C anode could be lithiated after adding electrolytes. By optimizing a LiFSI based ether electrolyte, the Si/C anode could achieve good cycleablity comparable to that in carbonate electrolytes. The lithiated Si–O2 cells exhibit better cycling stability than the lithium oxygen cells with gel polymer electrolye. Moreover, because both Si anode and S@pPAN cathode are compatible with carbonate electrolytes, exceptional cycling performance has been achieved for the lithiated Si–S cells. This simple method could pave the way to commercial applications of lithium-ion oxygen and lithium-ion sulfur batteries.

Biofuel mixed with fossil jet fuels has a lot of potential in applications of jet fuel extenders. To understand the fundamental properties of this typical mixture, measurements on densities and vis...

The phenomenon of trust and trust building has been widely researched with regard to different contexts and subjects. Nevertheless, the factors that influence trust building in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and the way in which trust affects the post-M&A process remain unclear. This study explores trust development in the cross-cultural integration process following emerging country firms’ acquisitions in an advanced economy. A grounded theory model was developed to link the contextual characteristics of Chinese M&As in Germany that require the development of trust and the way in which managers understand sources of trust building. The perceived future uncertainty, different levels of technology and management, previous public discourses, and differences in institutional and cultural norms require the development of trust. The data reveal that a range of factors can foster trust development, including economic factors as well as emotional factors, such as mutual understanding, reliability, familiarity, and emotional bonding. A three-stage cross-cultural trust development theory is proposed, asserting that trust can be established based on economic factors, improved through mutual understanding and reliability, and further developed based on familiarity and emotional bonding. Trust development influences the acquiring firm’s behavior with regard to the transparency in information policies, the integration in decision-making, the exercise of control over the acquired firm, and the granting of autonomy in the cross-cultural integration processes.

Charge transport in a photoelectrode largely influences its solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency. Especially, particle-assembled photoanode films are always subject to poor interparticle ...

Densities (ρ) and viscosities (η) for the ternary system of decalin (1) + methylcyclohexane (2) + cyclopentanol (3) and three corresponding binary systems have been measured over the whole composition range at 11 temperature points from 293.15 K to 343.15 K under atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa). The excess molar volumes (VmE) and viscosity deviations (Δη) of binary systems have been calculated and further fitted with the Redlich–Kister equation, while corresponding physical data of the ternary system have been correlated via the Clibuka, Singh, Nagata-Tamura, and Redlich–Kister equations. The VmE values are negative for the binary system of decalin (1) + methylcyclohexane (2) with a minimum when the moles of the two components are similar. For the system of decalin (1) + cyclopentanol (2), the VmE values are always positive with a maximun at about x1 = 0.6. At the same time, a sigmoid curve can be observed for the system of methylcyclohexane (1) + cyclopentanol (2). The minimum and maximum appear around x1...

The effects of chelating agents and salts on the interfacial characteristics and oxidative stability of oil-in-water emulsions containing an endogenous concentration of metal ions were investigated. Emulsions were fabricated by high-pressure homogenization of 10% oil phase (sacha inchi oil) and 90% aqueous phase (1% Tween 60 in phosphate buffer solution, pH 7, 50 mM). The oxidative stability of the emulsions was characterized by measuring peroxide values and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances throughout storage. Endogenous iron and copper ion levels in the emulsions were detected by atom absorption spectroscopy as 1.99 and 0.86 ppm, respectively. Incorporation of chelating agents, either ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or sodium citrate, into the emulsions effectively inhibited lipid oxidation, showing that even these low levels of endogenous metal ions ( parts per million) were sufficient to promote oxidation. Conversely, the addition of monovalent salts, NaCl or KCl, slightly increased the rate of lipid oxidation in the emulsions, which was attributed to their impact on the physical properties of the surfactant layer at the oil droplet surfaces. The impact of chelating agents and salts on the electrical characteristics (ξ potential) and relaxation time (

Accurate and rapid load forecasting for industrial customers has been playing a crucial role in modern power systems. Due to the variability of industrial customers’ activities, individual industrial loads are usually too volatile to forecast accurately. In this paper, a short-term load forecasting model for industrial customers based on the Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN) and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) is proposed. Firstly, a fixed-length sliding time window method is adopted to reconstruct the electrical features. Next, the TCN is utilized to extract the hidden information and long-term temporal relationships in the input features including electrical features, a meteorological feature and date features. Further, a state-of-the-art LightGBM capable of forecasting industrial customers’ loads is adopted. The effectiveness of the proposed model is demonstrated by using datasets from different industries in China, Australia and Ireland. Multiple experiments and comparisons with existing models show that the proposed model provides accurate load forecasting results.

The functions of heterogeneous metallic nanocrystals (HMNCs) can be undoubtedly tuned by controlling their morphologies and compositions. As a less-studied kind of HMNCs, corner-satellite multi-metallic nanocrystals (CSMNCs) have great research value in structure-related electrocatalytic performance. In this work, PdAgPt corner-satellite nanocrystals with well-controlled morphologies and compositions have been developed by temperature regulation of a seed-mediated growth process. Through the seed-mediated growth, the morphology of PdAgPt products evolves from Pd@Ag cubes to PdAgPt corner-satellite cubes, and eventually to truncated hollow octahedra, as a result of the expansion of {111} facets in AgPt satellites. The growth of AgPt satellites exclusively on the corners of central cubes is realized with the joint help of Ag shell and moderate bromide, and hollow structures form only at higher reaction temperatures on account of galvanic displacement promoted by the Pd core. In view of the different performances of Pd and Pt toward formic acid oxidation (FAO), this structure-sensitive reaction is chosen to measure electrocatalytic properties of PdAgPt HMNCs. It is proven that PdAgPt CSMNCs display greatly improved activity toward FAO in direct oxidation pathway. In addition, with the help of AgPt heterogeneous shells, all PdAgPt HMNCs exhibit better durability than Pd cubes and commercial Pt.

Short-term load forecasting (STLF) for industrial customers has been an essential task to reduce the cost of energy transaction and promote the stable operation of smart grid throughout the development of the modern power system. Traditional STLF methods commonly focus on establishing the non-linear relationship between loads and features, but ignore the temporal relationship between them. In this paper, an STLF method based on ensemble hidden Markov model (e-HMM) is proposed to track and learn the dynamic characteristics of industrial customer's consumption patterns in correlated multivariate time series, thereby improving the prediction accuracy. Specifically, a novel similarity measurement strategy of log-likelihood space is designed to calculate the log-likelihood value of the multivariate time series in sliding time windows, which can effectively help the hidden Markov model (HMM) to capture the dynamic temporal characteristics from multiple historical sequences in similar patterns, so that the prediction accuracy is greatly improved. In order to improve the generalization ability and stability of a single HMM, we further adopt the framework of Bagging ensemble learning algorithm to reduce the prediction errors of a single model. The experimental study is implemented on a real dataset from a company in Hunan Province, China. We test the model in different forecasting periods. The results of multiple experiments and comparison with several state-of-the-art models show that the proposed approach has higher prediction accuracy.

Metal nitrides are widely studied due to their outstanding physical properties, including high hardness, high thermal and chemical stability, low electrical resistivity etc. Generally, metal nitrides can be obtained from the direct reaction of metal and ammonia/nitrogen. However, some of the metal nitrides, such as Ta3N5, cannot be synthesized by direct nitridation of metals. To achieve Ta3N5, high-oxidation-state Ta precursors like Ta2O5, NaTaO3, TaS3, K6Ta10.8O30, Ta(N(CH3)2)5 and TaCl5 have to be employed, which is a time-consuming and laborious process with the possibility of introducing undesirable impurities. Here taking Ta3N5 as an example, a facile carbonate-assisted one-step nitridation method is proposed, which enables the direct synthesis of high-oxidation-state metal nitride films from metal precursors under ammonia flow. The mechanism of the nitridation process has been studied, which carbon dioxide released from carbonates decomposition reacts with metallic Ta and assists the one-step conversion of metallic Ta to Ta3N5. The as-prepared Ta3N5 film, after modified with NiFe layered double hydroxide, exhibits promising water splitting performance and stability. This method avoids the preoxidation process of metal precursors in high-oxidation-state metal nitride synthesis, and may facilitate the direct fabrication of other important metal nitrides besides Ta3N5.

Densities (ρ) and viscosities (η) of ternary system n-dodecane + bicyclohexyl + n-butanol and three corresponding binary systems, n-dodecane + bicyclohexyl, n-dodecane + n-butanol, and bicyclohexyl + n-butanol, were measured at temperature range from 293.15 to 333.15 K in detail. Densities were obtained using a vibrating-tube densimeter. Viscosities were determined using an automatic microviscometer based on the rolling ball principle. The excess molar volumes (VmE) and the viscosity deviations (Δη) of each mixture were calculated with the measured data. The VmE and Δη values of three binary systems were fitted to the Redlich–Kister equation, and those of the ternary system were fitted to Nagata–Tamura, Singh, Clibuka, and Redlich–Kister semiempirical equations. The VmE values are negative for the binary system of n-dodecane + bicyclohexyl with the minimum at about x = 0.5, while those of binary systems n-dodecane + n-butanol and bicyclohexyl + n-butanol are positive over the entire concentration range. F...

A symmetrical, almost linear and planar motif 2,6-bis(1-phenyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-4-nitroaniline have been designed and synthesized by click chemistry. The synthesis of this novel structure is straightforward and inexpensive. Two kinds of polymorphic crystals are obtained in different solvents, suggesting the versatile intra- and intermolecular interactions. Theoretical calculation was used to study the linear absorption spectrum, which show good agreement with the experimental results. Linear optical property shows an absorption band centered at 368 nm. Nonlinear optical property displays a two-photon absorption cross sections around 200 GM under different power intensities. Therefore, this novel click-derived chromophore exhibits highly-transparent and stable two-photon absorption property.