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Interdigitated heterojunction (IHJ) structures have recently been investigated as an alternatives to bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structures due to their better film morphology stability, reproducibility, and contact selectivity. Herein, the electrical and optical properties of a nonfullerene IHJ structure are investigated using drift diffusion and Maxwell equations and compared with other conventional structures. Based on simulation results, the IHJ structure demonstrates electrical advantages such as enhanced charge transport pathways and reduced nonradiative recombination and exhibits superior optical absorption profiles compared to the BHJ structure, owing to its photonic crystal‐like structure. A method is also proposed to further enhance the optical absorption of this structure by introducing a third organic material with absorption capabilities in the near‐infrared range, increasing the solar cell power conversion efficiency from 18.42% to over 19.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present communication, binary (ZnO:Ga 2 O 3 - 1:1 (ZGO), ZnO:Ga 2 O 3 - 2:1 (GaZn))/ternary (EZG (Eu 2 O 3 : ZnO: Ga 2 O 3 (1:1:1)), MZG (MgO: ZnO: Ga 2 O 3 (1:1:1)) NCs are synthesized by P i p e r b e t l e leaves extract as a reducing agent followed by calcination at 600 °C for 3 h. The Bragg reflections confirms the formation of single phase cubic symmetry with F d 3 m space group in ZGO NCs whereas reflections related individual metal oxides are observed in the GaZn, EZG and MZG NCs. The irregular size and shaped nanoparticles are observed in all the synthesized NCs. The tuned band gap was found to be in the range of 3.08 to 3.11 eV. The optical nonlinearity of the specimens was analyzed using the open aperture Z-scan technique. The material demonstrated reverse saturable absorption attributed to a two-photon absorption (2PA) process. The non linear absorption coefficient follows the order MZG > GaZn > ZGO > EZG. However, the optical limiting threshold follows the order ZGO > GaZn > MZG > EZG NCs with increase in energy band gap. These outcomes distinctly indicate the superior potential of GaZn binary NCs for optical limiting applications. This characteristic is advantageous for shielding sensors and the human eye, safeguarding them against the detrimental effects of intense green laser radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In digital circuits, particularly space signal applications, the detection/estimation of phase (angle) like milli degree is challenging and involves many complex operations. To estimate milli degree (10-3) or more, floating point operations (like double precision adders, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions) are the significant components and power and area consumption; delays are more in existing works. Existing works mainly concentrate on clock-based synchronous operations, which require more hold, and clock distribution is another major problem due to extra circuitry requirements. The proposed pipelined and clock-efficient distribution system (CEDS) is incorporated in the Floating-Point Unit (FPU) design to address these issues. It includes a double-precision adder, multiplication, division, and subtraction. These FPU and CEDS can be used to detect Milli Degree for GHz frequency in Space applications more accurately. The floating points are essential in phase shift operation used in the space-borne system for effective correction of error checking rather than execution of error analysis in the real-time scenario. Modern digital circuits can hardly improve due to limitations of physical area consumption. The substitution for these limitations, the new digital ternary logic (0, 1, 2), is the solution because of its higher number of digital circuits involved in floating points. The ternary logic is the best solution for the minimization of number bits to optimize memory utilization, and ternary logic has Negative Ternary Inverter (NTI), Ternary Decrement Cycling Inverter (DCI), Standard Ternary Inverter (STI,) and Positive Ternary Inverter (PTI). The proposed design is successfully designed and validated on Zybo Z7-10 (XC7Z010-1CLG400C) FPGA development board. The results show a 45% reduction in power consumption, delay, and area utilization.

A lossless data compression code based on a binary-coded ternary number representation is investigated. The code is complete, universal, synchronizable, and supports a direct search in a compressed file. A simple monotonous encoding and very fast decoding algorithms are constructed owing to code properties. Experiments show that in natural language text compression, the new code outperforms byte-aligned codes SCDC and RPBC either in compression ratio or in decoding speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were executed for the titled features of hitherto unreported Rb2XS3 (X = Si, Ge, Sn) chalcogen compounds. All compounds were found to be in semiconducting character where they demonstrate high-k dielectric properties, high optical conductivity, high refractivity and reasonable absorbance. In addition, obtained phonon dispersion curves of all compounds with positive phonon frequencies stipulate the dynamical stability. Also, computed elastic stiffness constants prove mechanical stability and bilateral agreement between Pugh ratio analyses with Poisson ratio results confirms the ductile mechanical feature of all addressed compounds. Overall, with satisfactory optical, elastic and mechanical aspects, Rb2XS3 (X = Si, Ge, Sn) chalcogenides can be promising materials for recent optoelectronics and microelectronics with diverse applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, wavelength demultiplexing is demonstrated by using double defect layered 1D ternary photonic band gap (PBG) structures. It is shown that, a wavelength demultiplexer based on double defect layered 1D ternary PBG structure can be used to separate two different wavelengths of light. To separate more number of light wavelengths, more number of double defect layered 1D ternary PBG structures can be used. This idea finds application in WDM based optical networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary complexes of the zinc(II), [Zn(met)(gly)(Cl)2] (1), and [Zn(met)(hist)(Cl)2] (2) are synthesized and illustrated utilizing spectroscopic and analytical measurements, and the geometry of the complexes has been identified to be octahedral. The Coats Red fern approach was employed to enumerate the thermodynamic and kinetic variables for both the Zn(II) complexes' decomposition. The quantum chemical variables were estimated utilizing the molecular orbital conformations' energy distribution, which was derived from optimal geometric shapes to test the stabilization of both complexes. DNA‐binding investigations by UV–Vis absorption, fluorescence, and viscosity were all exploited to examine the bonding properties between Zn(II) complexes and ct‐DNA, and a groove mode of bonding was established. The interactions between complexes and BSA/HSA were investigated by employing absorption and emission spectroscopic methods. The results demonstrate that complexes have a powerful ability to diminish BSA and HSA luminescence intensity, and overall associating mode is predominantly a static quenching process. The cytotoxic effect of the two Zn(II) complexes was additionally examined in human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231) cell lines by employing the MTT technique. The IC50 values for every cell line were derived. Each of the two complexes was functional in both cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary germanide Mg5.57Ni16Ge7.43 (cubic, space group Fmm, cF116) belongs to the structural family based on the Th6Mn23‐type. The Ge1 and Ge2 atoms fully occupy the 4a (mm symmetry) and 24d (m.mm) sites, respectively. The Ni1 and Ni2 atoms both fully occupy two 32f sites (.3m symmetry). The Mg/Ge statistical mixture occupies the 24e site with 4m.m symmetry. The structure of the title compound contains a three‐core‐shell cluster. At (0,0,0), there is a Ge1 atom which is surrounded by eight Ni atoms at the vertices of a cube and consequently six Mg atoms at the vertices of an octahedron. These surrounded eight Ni and six Mg atoms form a [Ge1Ni8(Mg/Ge)6] rhombic dodecahedron with a coordination number of 14. The [GeNi8(Mg/Ge)6] rhombic dodecahedron is encapsulated within the [Ni24] rhombicuboctahedron, which is again encapsulated within an [Ni32(Mg/Ge)24] pentacontatetrahedron; thus, the three‐core‐shell cluster [GeNi8(Mg/Ge)6@Ni24@Ni32(Mg/Ge)24] results. The pentacontatetrahedron is a new representative of Pavlyuk's polyhedra group based on pentagonal, tetragonal and trigonal faces. The dominance of the metallic type of bonding between atoms in the Mg5.57Ni16Ge7.43 structure is confirmed by the results of the electronic structure calculations. The hydrogen sorption capacity of this intermetallic at 570 K reaches 0.70 wt% H2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a high-density programmable logic array based on a ternary memristor crossbar array is designed. Based on the three-valued state characteristics of the ternary memristor, we implement the ternary OR logic gate and a standard ternary inverter to demonstrate the application of this proposed crossbar by using reconfigurable and programmable connections of the memristor cells in the array. Subsequently, on the basis of these logic gates, ternary NAND gates, NOR gates, XOR gates and XNOR gates are further realized. The above-mentioned logic gates all use memristance as the logic state variable. Finally, we verified the functionality of the programmable gate array based on the proposed ternary memristor crossbar through SPICE simulation and gave the power consumption of each circuit under different input conditions. Compared with existing ternary memristor cross array circuits, our circuit has the advantages of low power consumption and high integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperfluorescence (HF) and reduced autofluorescence (RA) are important biomarkers in fundus autofluorescence images (FAF) for the assessment of health of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), an important indicator of disease progression in geographic atrophy (GA) or central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). Autofluorescence images have been annotated by human raters, but distinguishing biomarkers (whether signals are increased or decreased) from the normal background proves challenging, with borders being particularly open to interpretation. Consequently, significant variations emerge among different graders, and even within the same grader during repeated annotations. Tests on in-house FAF data show that even highly skilled medical experts, despite previously discussing and settling on precise annotation guidelines, reach a pair-wise agreement measured in a Dice score of no more than 63–80% for HF segmentations and only 14–52% for RA. The data further show that the agreement of our primary annotation expert with herself is a 72% Dice score for HF and 51% for RA. Given these numbers, the task of automated HF and RA segmentation cannot simply be refined to the improvement in a segmentation score. Instead, we propose the use of a segmentation ensemble. Learning from images with a single annotation, the ensemble reaches expert-like performance with an agreement of a 64–81% Dice score for HF and 21–41% for RA with all our experts. In addition, utilizing the mean predictions of the ensemble networks and their variance, we devise ternary segmentations where FAF image areas are labeled either as confident background, confident HF, or potential HF, ensuring that predictions are reliable where they are confident (97% Precision), while detecting all instances of HF (99% Recall) annotated by all experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver bismuth sulphide is a ternary material that has attracted attention due to its good properties and several applications. Here, the detailed methods of synthesizing silver bismuth sulphide including successive ionic layer and reaction, Bridgman, microwave, mechanical milling, pyrolysis, deposition, sol–gel and chemical methods are discussed. To understand the properties of the silver bismuth sulphide, characterization tools are required, some of these tools are highlighted. Its photocatalytic, sensing, photovoltaic, photothermal, hydrogen generation, usage in the treatment of cancer and other medical applications are also comprehensively reviewed. Lastly, future perspectives on the synthesis and applications of silver bismuth sulphide are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic photodetectors (OPDs) detecting light in the near‐infrared (NIR) range from 900 to 1200 nm offer numerous applications in biomedical imaging and health monitoring. However, an ultra‐low bandgap of the electron donor compound required to achieve NIR detection poses a unique challenge in selecting a complementary acceptor material with a suitable energy‐level offset. To tackle this, a solution‐processed, fullerene‐dominated, ternary device is engineered by adding an ultra‐low bandgap (0.6–0.8 eV) ambipolar polymer, polybenzobisthiadiazole‐dithienocyclopentane (PBBTCD), into the active layer of visible‐light‐responsive OPDs (bandgap of 1.8 eV) to form a ternary blend. The resulting OPD benefits from the extended absorption beyond 1000 nm. The cascaded energy level alignment within the ternary blend and the applied reverse bias both improve the overall NIR photocurrent responsivity by 2 orders of magnitude, reaching 0.4 mA W−1 at 1050 nm and −2 V for ternary devices. Furthermore, a photovoltage responsivity of 0.3 mV m2 W−1 along with significant open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.12 V allow NIR detection in the Voc mode. Prominently, this ability is accomplished with a minimal presence of PBBTCD. Taken together, this work indicates potential strategies for extending the spectral activity of conventional OPDs through introduction of an ambipolar ultra‐low bandgap polymer as a minor element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent global challenges encompass profound environmental pollution and the depletion of finite fuel resources. In this study, the biodiesel used in the mixture was derived from Azolla pinnata microalgae oil through a trans-esterification reaction chosen for its high oil concentration. During the initial phase of the experiment, varying volumes of biodiesel (5%, 10%, and 15%) and n-heptane (5%, 10%, and 15%) were introduced to diesel to form a ternary fuel blend. The experimental outcome shows that an n-heptane and biodiesel mixture of 10% by volume would produce the best results. Next, experiments were carried out by incorporating 10, 40, and 80 ppm titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) in a recommended ternary fuel blend. The experimental investigation showed that D80A10H10TNP40 (diesel 80% + biodiesel 10% + n-heptane 10% + TiO2 40 ppm) caused a 7.21% increase in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) with a decrease in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) by 9.58% and 10%, respectively, compared to (diesel 80% + biodiesel 20%) D80A20. D80A10H10TNP40 exhibits lower emissions, with a significant reduction of 11.29% and 20.96% in carbon monoxide (CO) and unburnt hydrocarbons (UBHC), respectively. Nitrogen oxide (NOX) and smoke emissions were reduced by 3.3% and 11.13%, respectively, compared to D80A10H10. Furthermore, D80A10H10TNP40 demonstrated enhanced combustion properties, comprising a significant rise of 4.39% in-cylinder pressure (CP), 35.29% in heat release rate (HRR), and 25.05% in the rate of pressure rise (RPR). The findings of this investigation indicate that D80A10H10TNP40 exhibits enhanced efficiency, emission, and combustion properties compared to the D80A20 fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel ternary energetic cocrystal composed of 3,4-diamino-furazan (DAF), 3,4-dinitropyrazole (DNP), and H2O in a 1:1:1 stoichiometry with low impact sensitivity is reported. This cocrystal has a predicted detonation velocity higher than DAF and TNT. Preliminary attempts are reported to obtain the even more energetic cocrystals DAF/DNP and DAF/DNP/H2O22 For the latter, an original approach based on the urea/H2O2 cocrystal as a source of H2O2 is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the new structure N×M (N-Ternary inputs and M-Binary outputs) Ternary to Binary Converter based on the Carbone Nanao Tube Field Effect Transistor is presented. The Carbone Nanao Tube Field Effect Transistor (CNTFET) has special properties such as controlled threshold voltage. The aforementioned advantages related to the multi-level (more specifically Ternary) circuits and systems based on CNTFET technology have encouraged researchers to put more effort into on their design and realization in recent years. The Encoder (one input- five outputs), 3×1 multiplexer (one input – one selector-three outputs), and special Adder blocks (Full Adder and Half Adder) are base blocks that are implemented by transistor level using special properties of CNTFET transistor. In general, to implement a N-input ternary-to-binary converter, the number of inputs can be divided into two small converters, and also a ternary-to-binary converter can be designed for each input. In this paper, 2×4, 3×5, 4×7 and 5×8 Ternary to Binary converters are designed and simulated by Hospice and 32 nanometer technology. The result of the simulation is shown that the 5×8 Ternary to Binary converter has 1.89 µW DC-Power and 52 ps propagation delay. The proposed 5×8 TTBC converter is implemented by 365 CNTFET transistors and divided into two ternary to binary converters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a multiwavelength optical buffer is proposed for optical communication networks. This buffer is based on 1D defect ternary photonic multilayer structure. This buffer will generate different delay times for different wavelengths. The wavelength to be buffered by this buffer can be changed and controlled by changing the temperature of the defect layer. The wavelength range of operation of this buffer can be changed by changing the structural parameters. This same optical buffer can be used for several wavelengths by changing the temperature of the defect layer. It has also been shown that to design a buffer with a different delay time, the thicknesses of the material layers and/or number of periods in this structure can be changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary logic provides the large number of the information over the conventional binary logic. Moreover, the graphene nanoribbon-based transistor (GNRFET) is the best technology to implement the ternary logic circuits because it offers excellent properties (i.e., the threshold-voltage is controlled by varying GNR sheet-width). Due to remarkable properties of ternary logic and GNRFET, this work presents the various schematics such as NAND, NOR, AND and OR using GNRFETs and ternary logic. The HSPICE-tool is used to develop the proposed schematics and investigate delay, power and power-delay-product (PDP), respectively. In addition, the obtained performances are compared to existing CNTFET ternary circuits to prove the efficiency. From the analysis, it is noticed that the proposed designs show high-performance up to 39.40 % than conventional CNTFET designs. Furthermore, the process (oxide thickness), voltage (power supply) and temperature (PVT) variations are also carried out. It is noticed that the performance is affected by the voltage and temperature variations, whereas the minimum variations on performance is observed for oxide thickness variations.

Ternary logics are more desirable than the binary logic because it offers high speed operations and large density of information in digital logic systems. The carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) are considered as better option for designing the ternary circuits because it provides the multiple threshold voltages by changing nanotube diameter. The complex arithmetic schematics such as adders and multipliers are important circuits in many VLSI applications. The ternary half-adder (THA) and multiplier (TMUL) designed using the Stanford 32 nm CNTFET are proposed in this study. The proposed THA and TMUL uses 41 and 33 CNTFETs and that resulting in a 54.44 % and 45 % reduction in transistor count, which plays major role for delay and power optimization. As a result, the proposed THA shows 37.01 %, 14.07 %, and 45.87 % improvement in delay, power, and energy, whereas TMUL shows 30.48 %, 6.64 %, and 36.74 % improvement in delay, power and energy, respectively, compared to existing circuits. The proposed THA and TMUL are developed using HSPICE with 0.9 V as a supply voltage.

Abstract Organic photodetectors (OPDs) detecting light in the near‐infrared (NIR) range from 900 to 1200 nm offer numerous applications in biomedical imaging and health monitoring. However, an ultra‐low bandgap of the electron donor compound required to achieve NIR detection poses a unique challenge in selecting a complementary acceptor material with a suitable energy‐level offset. To tackle this, a solution‐processed, fullerene‐dominated, ternary device is engineered by adding an ultra‐low bandgap (0.6–0.8 eV) ambipolar polymer, polybenzobisthiadiazole‐dithienocyclopentane (PBBTCD), into the active layer of visible‐light‐responsive OPDs (bandgap of 1.8 eV) to form a ternary blend. The resulting OPD benefits from the extended absorption beyond 1000 nm. The cascaded energy level alignment within the ternary blend and the applied reverse bias both improve the overall NIR photocurrent responsivity by 2 orders of magnitude, reaching 0.4 mA W−1 at 1050 nm and −2 V for ternary devices. Furthermore, a photovoltage responsivity of 0.3 mV m2 W−1 along with significant open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.12 V allow NIR detection in the Voc mode. Prominently, this ability is accomplished with a minimal presence of PBBTCD. Taken together, this work indicates potential strategies for extending the spectral activity of conventional OPDs through introduction of an ambipolar ultra‐low bandgap polymer as a minor element.

Now-a-days, the binary logic system has intensified by scaling the field effect transistor (FET). However, due to the effectiveness of scaling the FET, ternary logics became more popular. Out of numerous ternary logic devices, carbon nanotube (CNT) FET (CNTFET) is considered a good candidate over silicon FETs. Hence, in this study, ternary schematics are developed based on Pseudo N-type CNTFETs. The ternary basic designs such as standard ternary inverter (STI), AND and OR gates are presented. Then, using the proposed basic logic gates, the complex designs such as full adder and full subtractor are also proposed. The HSPICE simulator is utilized to design proposed circuits and analyze different performance parameters. The performance such as delay, power and power delay product (PDP) are analyzed for the proposed circuits. Moreover, the proposed schematics performances are also compared to complementary schematics. It investigated that Pseudo N-type CNTFET schematics improved the overall performance on an average up to 65.82% over the complementary ternary circuits.

A series of ternary Cu-ZnO-ZrO2 nanostructures was prepared containing either tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH, TH), polyoxyethylene lauryl ether carboxylic acid (BRIJ35, B5), poly-(ethylene oxide)-poly-(propylene oxide)-poly-(ethylene oxide) (P123 P3), decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DB), poly-(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP, PP), or no surfactant. First, based on the characterization results of XPS, H2-TPR, and other characteristics, the Cu species play vital roles in the process of dimethyl adipate (DMA) hydrogenation, and the Cu+ and Cu0 generated after reduction have a synergistic effect in the hydrogenation process. Results showed that changing the surfactant type and surfactant concentration in the catalyst synthesis has a great effect on the catalytic activity of the catalyst. In particular, the HDO selectivity of the CZZ-4-P3 (52%) catalyst treated with poly-(ethylene oxide)-poly-(propylene oxide)-poly-(ethylene oxide) was significantly improved compared to the untreated CZZ (29%) catalyst, which is related to the highest concentration and number of oxygen vacancies. The larger amount of Ovac might promote the hydrogenation of DMA through interaction with the carbonyl group and then weaken the CO bond. On the other hand, it also has a more surface basic (strong basic) amount on the CZZ catalyst. This will provide more adsorption sites and thus adsorb more DMA molecule. Furthermore, it has a larger dispersion of the Cu and smaller catalyst particles. This may be more conducive to adequate contact between the feedstock and catalyst, reducing diffusion effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows results of laboratory study on the effects of nano-SiO2 on Portland cement-fly ash systems. It is aimed to improve performance of fly ash–cement systems, particularly at early age, with the inclusion of nano-SiO2. In order to observe the effects of nano-SiO2 particles on the strength and hydration kinetics of fly ash blended cementitious systems, binary and ternary systems were prepared by adding 0.25–1.5% nano-SiO2 by weight of blended cements. Workability, setting time, water absorption capacity, fire resistance, compressive strength and isothermal calorimeter tests were conducted on the cementitious systems. The results indicate that increasing quantity of fly ash increased workability, setting time, water absorption capacity of cementitious systems, whereas the increasing quantity of nano-SiO2 reduced these values. Significant increment in compressive strength were observed, especially at early ages of fly ash–cement systems with nano-SiO2 addition, compared to fly ash added systems, which may compensate for the decrease in compressive strength caused by fly ash. Nano-SiO2 addition accelerated hydration reactions at early age. By partially eliminating the negative effects of fly ash with nano-SiO2, high rates of fly ash can be used in cementitious systems, thus forming more sustainable systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a novel photocatalytic material ZnO–CdO–Pr2O3 heterostructured ternary nanocomposite was successfully prepared using co-precipitation method from respective metal salts precursors. FT-IR, SEM, XRD and EDX analytical techniques were used to investigate the functional group (M–O), surface morphology, crystal phase purity and elemental composition of prepared nanocomposite, respectively. The direct energy bandgap of ternary nanocomposite (1.64 eV) was calculated from UV–vis spectroscopy, which makes it a proficient photocatalyst under sunlight illumination. The ternary nanocomposite (5 mg/L) showed 93% degradation efficiency against methylene blue and rhodamine B dyes under various time intervals. Adsorption kinetic of dyes on the surface of photocatalyst was effectively described by using first order kinetics model with all R2 > 95 indicating the strong relationship between time and dye concentration. A possible schematic model was proposed to elaborate the mechanism of degradation. Furthermore, species trapping experiments using various scavengers were conducted and results indicated that O2.− and OH. radicals were actively involved in degrading process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictions of the thermodynamic behavior of higher-order multicomponent alloys from thermodynamic data of binary and ternary systems have been proven to be very crucial, as it is extremely challenging to investigate the thermodynamic properties of higher-order systems. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the thermodynamic data of various binary and ternary systems that are important to lead-free solder applications. The literature lacks thermodynamic information for some lead-free systems. Tin–bismuth–antimony (Sn-Bi-Sb) is a good option as a solder ternary system free of lead. The integral and partial mixing enthalpies of a Sn-Bi-Sb system were determined using a drop-solution calorimeter. At 923 K, 973 K, and 1023 K, calorimetric measurements of the Sn-Bi-Sb system were made along five of the cross-sections. Pieces of pure tin were dropped into molten Sb0.25Bi0.75, Sb0.50Bi0.50, Sb0.75Bi0.25 alloys, bismuth into Sb0.50Sn0.50 , and antimony into Bi0.50Sn0.50. Using the calorimetric data, partial and integral thermodynamic properties were determined. The integral mixing enthalpy was used to plot iso-enthalpy curves. It was found that the mixing enthalpies were temperature-independent. The substitutional solution Redlich–Kister–Muggianu model was used to derive the interaction parameter based on ternary enthalpy values and, to obtain these parameters, a least square fitting model was used. When the estimated and measured values were compared, it was found that there was a good agreement between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel tri-phase NiO–CdO-Nd 2 O 3 nanocomposite was prepared by coprecipitation method and its catalytic activity in transesterification reaction was studied. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by using FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX to explore the functional, structural morphological and compositional properties respectively. In FTIR studies the vibrational bands for NiO, CdO and Nd 2 O 3 have been observed. The XRD pattern of nanocomposite revealed its crystalline nature and average particle size was calculated as 28nm. The SEM studies of nanocomposite revealed that the shape of nanocomposite is semi-circle and oval shaped. EDX analysis represented elemental composition of ternary composite. The newly prepared catalyst was used as heterogeneous catalyst in transesterification of triglycerides from mustard oil into fatty acid methyl esters as biodiesel fuel. The oval shaped nanoparticles showed good catalytic activity in biodiesel synthesis. The obtained biodiesel was thoroughly characterized using FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopic techniques. FT-IR analysis was also used to find out percentage yield using absorption spectra of different oil & methanol molar ratio. The FAMEs composition of obtained biodiesel was determined by GC-MS analysis which showed presence of methyl palmitoleate (C16:1), methyl linoleate (C18:2), methyl oleate (C18:1), metyl erucate (C22:1) and methyl behenate (C22:0) at various retention time. The quality of fuel parameters such as density, viscosity, cloud, pour and flash points were determined using ASTM methods and found within limits. The effect of several parameters on yield of biodiesel such as oil to methanol ratio (1:6, 1:9, 1:12, 1:15 and 1:18) catalyst amount (0.1, 0.5 and 0.9g) time of reaction (1.5, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5h) and effect of temperature (60–80 °C with interval of 5 °C) were studied in detail and optimized. The 80% yield of biodiesel was achieved at optimum conditions of 1:15 oil:methanol ratio, 0.5 g catalyst concentration, 5 h reaction time and 80 °C temperature. The reusability of catalyst was tested by using three times and the results were good with minor loss of catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the facile route for the synthesis of graphene oxide–functionalized manganese dioxide (GO–MnO2@Tau (GMT) and GO-MnO2@CA) (GMC) nanohybrids and their use as adsorbents for removal of selected dyes from industrial effluents. These nanohybrids were also tested for antibacterial activity in wastewater. Manganese dioxide nanoparticles were synthesized by redox reaction between potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and manganese acetate (Mn(CH3COO)2.4H2O) and functionalized with taurine (H3N+CH2CH2SO3−) and caproic acid (CH3(CH2)8COOH) to produce MnO2@Tau and MnO2@CA. These functionalized-MnO2 ­were then exploited as reinforcement in graphene oxide (GO) to fabricate nanohybrids. The nanohybrids were characterized for their morphology, structure, crystallinity and thermal behavior by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). They were investigated for adsorptive removal of methylene blue and malachite green and effect of temperature and quantity of adsorbent were studied. The adsorption of both dyes followed pseudo first order kinetics. The antibacterial activity of GO-MnO2@Tau and GO-MnO2@CA nanohybrids were tested against two bacterial strains (Gram-negative E. coli, and the Gram-positive S. aureus) and the results revealed efficient inhibition of these pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The metal chelator PBT2 (5,7-dichloro-2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-8-hydroxyquinoline) acts as a terdentate ligand capable of forming binary and ternary Cu2+ complexes. It was clinically trialed as an Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapy but failed to progress beyond phase II. The β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide associated with AD was recently concluded to form a unique Cu(Aβ) complex that is inaccessible to PBT2. Herein, it is shown that the species ascribed to this binary Cu(Aβ) complex in fact corresponds to ternary Cu(PBT2)NImAβ complexes formed by the anchoring of Cu(PBT2) on imine nitrogen (NIm) donors of His side chains. The primary site of ternary complex formation is His6, with a conditional stepwise formation constant at pH 7.4 ( K c [M−1]) of log K c = 6.4 ± 0.1, and a second site is supplied by His13 or His14 (log K c = 4.4 ± 0.1). The stability of Cu(PBT2)NImH13/14 is comparable with that of the simplest Cu(PBT2)NIm complexes involving the NIm coordination of free imidazole (log K c = 4.22 ± 0.09) and histamine (log K c = 4.00 ± 0.05). The 100-fold larger formation constant for Cu(PBT2)NImH6 indicates that outer-sphere ligand–peptide interactions strongly stabilize its structure. Despite the relatively high stability of Cu(PBT2)NImH6, PBT2 is a promiscuous chelator capable of forming a ternary Cu(PBT2)NIm complex with any ligand containing an NIm donor. These ligands include histamine, L-His, and ubiquitous His side chains of peptides and proteins in the extracellular milieu, whose combined effect should outweigh that of a single Cu(PBT2)NImH6 complex regardless of its stability. We therefore conclude that PBT2 is capable of accessing Cu(Aβ) complexes with high stability but low specificity. The results have implications for future AD therapeutic strategies and understanding the role of PBT2 in the bulk transport of transition metal ions. Given the repurposing of PBT2 as a drug for breaking antibiotic resistance, ternary Cu(PBT2)NIm and analogous Zn(PBT2)NIm complexes may be relevant to its antimicrobial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of using silica fume in combination with fly ash on setting time of cement paste and mechanical properties of mortar have been investigated in this paper. Three groups named I, II, and III of mortar include sixteen mixes have been tested in this research work. Mortar specimens cured through keeping them in water until testing day. Initial and final setting times of cement paste were measured. The compression test carried out for mortar at different ages until 180 days, while the flexural strength of mortar measured at 28 days only. The results indicate that the use of silica fume in combination with fly ash as a ternary cementitious material increases the initial and final setting times and improves the measured mechanical properties of mortar. Such combinations offset the problems associated with using increased amounts of fly ash or silica fume required when these materials are used individually. The CO2 emissions from the cement industry will be lowered due to the reduction of the cement content.

The use of pozzolans as cement substitutes has become widespread in concrete technology in recent years. This is due to the improvement of concrete properties as well as from the perspective of sustainable development and reduction of cement consumption. In this study, the effect of 45% ground granulated blast furnace slag, 7% silica fume, 35% fly ash, and 15% zeolite as binary and ternary mixtures on durability and corrosion resistance of Self-compacting concrete specimens were investigated. The studied parameters included compressive strength, electrical resistivity, water absorption, rapid chloride ion penetration Test and corrosion test also scanning electron microscopy images were used to analyze the microstructure of the concrete samples. Results showed that replacement cement with slag, silica fume, fly ash, and zeolite is generally increased the durability parameters and corrosion resistance of concrete. In all experiments, silica fume has shown better behavior in terms of durability, so that its electrical resistance after 90 days is more than 3.3 times that of the control specimen and other parameters such as water absorption and chloride ion penetration showed approximately 37% And 74% less than conventional concrete respectively. Also, corrosion results indicated that samples containing silica fume had the highest corrosion resistance and reduced the corrosion rate by more than 6 times after 15 test cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers highlight the field of nanosized semiconducting oxide gas sensors because of threats to the atmosphere and health of humans. In this work, Zn-doped SnO2–TiO2 ternary nanocomposites were synthesized via the method of co-precipitation and hydrothermal method. Stannic chloride, titanium isopropoxide and zinc nitrate were used as precursors. Ternary nanocomposites with different composition of ZnO-doped SnO2–TiO2 were obtained and named as STZ1, STZ2 and STZ3. The characterization studies of ternary nanocomposites were determined by X-ray diffractogram, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy and UV-diffused reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) analyses. To construct sensing devices, STZ1, STZ2 and STZ3 were coated on glass substrate as a thick film via doctor blade method. The STZ2 fabricated sensor shows the best selectivity to formaldehyde and attains maximum sensitivity at 100 ppm of gas concentration and at 10 ppm response time and recovery time was 8 s and 9 s, respectively, at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and selection of a suitable guest acceptor are particularly important for improving the photovoltaic performance of ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we designed and successfully synthesized two asymmetric silicon–oxygen bridged guest acceptors, which featured distinct blue‐shifted absorption, upshifted lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels, and larger dipole moments than symmetric silicon–oxygen‐bridged acceptor. Ternary devices with the incorporation of 14.2 wt % these two asymmetric guest acceptors exhibited excellent performance with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 18.22 % and 18.77 %, respectively. Our success in precise control of material properties via structural fusion of five‐membered carbon linkages and six‐membered silicon–oxygen connection at the central electron‐donating core unit of fused‐ring electron acceptors can attract considerable attention and bring new vigor and vitality for developing new materials toward more efficient OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, lithium-ion batteries using nickel-cobalt-manganese ternary materials as cathode materials have advantages of good electrical performance, high specific energy, green environmental protection, low cost, and high discharge stability. These have been widely used in new energy vehicles and portable electronics product areas. As a new generation of rechargeable batteries, lithium batteries have a certain service life, which is generally 3–5 years. Therefore, the rapid development of lithium-ion batteries has caused a blowout increase in the number of used lithium-ion batteries. Waste ternary lithium-ion batteries are very harmful to the environment and humans, but valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese have a high recycling value. In terms of resource recycling and environmental protection, used lithium-ion batteries have a high recycling value. At present, the recycling of waste lithium-ion batteries is facing some problems. For example, the diversity of electrode materials makes their separation and purification difficult, and the high cost can also cause some problems such as secondary pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to find green and low-cost methods for the recycling of waste lithium-ion batteries. Microwave metallurgy has outstanding advantages in this respect. Therefore, this paper used the mechanically crushed ternary lithium battery as the raw material for studying the dielectric properties of the apparent density of the positive electrode material at room temperature and the microwave dielectric properties and absorption that change with temperature. Results show that at room temperature, the cathode material has the best dielectric performance at an apparent density of 1.484 g·cm–3. During the heating process, the cathode material has good microwave absorption performance at 25–700 ℃. At 400 ℃, the dielectric constant \begin{document}$ {\textit{ε}}_{\rm{r}}^{'} $\end{document} reaches the maximum value of 11.96 F·M–1. With the increase in the microwave power, the time for the positive electrode powder to rise to 700 °C is significantly shortened, and the maximum heating rate is in the range of 320–450 °C. The changing trend of the dielectric properties is consistent with the changing trend of the microwave heating characteristics.

Here, a near‐infrared (NIR)‐absorbing small‐molecule acceptor (SMA) Y‐SeNF with strong intermolecular interaction and crystallinity is developed by combining selenophene‐fused core with naphthalene‐containing end‐group, and then as a custom‐tailor guest acceptor is incorporated into the binary PM6:L8‐BO host system. Y‐SeNF shows a 65 nm red‐shifted absorption compared to L8‐BO. Thanks to the strong crystallinity and intermolecular interaction of Y‐SeNF, the morphology of PM6:L8‐BO:Y‐SeNF can be precisely regulated by introducing Y‐SeNF, achieving improved charge‐transporting and suppressed non‐radiative energy loss. Consequently, ternary polymer solar cells (PSCs) offer an impressive device efficiency of 19.28% with both high photovoltage (0.873 V) and photocurrent (27.88 mA cm−2), which is one of the highest efficiencies in reported single‐junction PSCs. Notably, ternary PSC has excellent stability under maximum‐power‐point tracking for even over 200 h, which is better than its parental binary devices. The study provides a novel strategy to construct NIR‐absorbing SMA for efficient and stable PSCs toward practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For non-uniform control polygons, a parameterized four-point interpolation curve ternary subdivision scheme is proposed, and its convergence and continuity are demonstrated. Following curve subdivision, a non-uniform interpolation surface ternary subdivision on regular quadrilateral meshes is proposed by applying the tensor product method. Analyses were conducted on the updating rules of parameters, proving that the limit surface is continuous. In this paper, we present a novel interpolation subdivision method to generate new virtual edge points and new face points of the extraordinary points of quadrilateral mesh. We also provide numerical examples to assess the validity of various interpolation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of nanoelectronic circuits depends on technologies such as Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) or Bipolar CMOS (BICMOS), and the length of the channel can be reduced up to a certain limit. Due to the generation of various errors nanomaterials can be an alternative solution for circuit design. In the field of nanotechnology, Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have become a notable and remarkable invention. Their structure is very similar to that of graphite, and its small size, lightweight, high strength, and good conductivity make them ideal building blocks for future technologies. CNTs hold great promise for being the catalyst for the next technological revolution. Today, a broad range of processes is available to produce various types of CNTs, depending on the rolling times of graphite sheets. This review paper sheds light on the different types of CNTs, their properties, methods of synthesis such as arc discharge and chemical vapor deposition, and their applications. To achieve this goal, this paper provides a review that aims to define the state-of-the-art in this field from a novel and unified perspective while elaborating insights of current developments and emerging trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to the marine environment causes a gradual diminution in the strength and resistance to corrosion of a reinforced concrete structure. Studies about the behavior of blended concrete exposed to marine environments in arid regions are less in numbers and in-depth analyses are not widely available. This research aimed to study the structural behavior and corrosion resistance of blended cement concrete exposed to seawater in an arid region (Muscat, Oman) for one year. Four mixes namely, control mix (100% cement), two binary blended mixes (90% cement+10% silica fume and 60% cement+40% fly ash) and one ternary mix (50% cement+40% fly ash+10% silica fume) were used for tests. Each sample for the experiment was prepared to attribute 25 mm and 50 mm covers to the reinforcement. The samples were cured in normal water and seawater under the worst condition of alternate wet and dry, in the natural weather of the Muscat region for up to one year. The mechanical properties were assessed and the corrosion behavior was analyzed by an accelerated corrosion test. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was done on the samples for microstructure analysis. The test results indicate that the ternary blended concrete mix gives the maximum compressive split tensile strength and minimum corrosion. The results of SEM analysis were in concordant with the experimental results. Using regression analysis, an empirical equation was formulated to predict the weight loss of rebar in an accelerated corrosion test. The equation has been validated using the experimental data from other authors.