673 research outputs found

    A first-principles tool to discover new pyrometallurgical refining options

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    We demonstrate the opportunities of first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations for the development of new metallurgical refining processes. As such, a methodology based on DFT calculations is developed to discover new pyrometallurgical refining processes that use the addition of a third element to remove an impurity from a molten host material. As a case study, this methodology is applied to the refining of lead. The proposed method predicts the existing refining routes as well as alternative processes. The most interesting candidate for the removal of arsenic from lead is experimentally verified, which confirms the suitability of the remover element. The method is therefore considered as a useful approach to speed up the discovery of new pyrometallurgical refining processes, as it provides an ordered set of interesting candidate remover elements.sponsorship: Computational resources have been provided by the supercomputing facilities of the Universite catholique de Louvain (CISM/UCL) and the Consortium des Equipements de Calcul Intensif en Federation Wallonie Bruxelles (CECI) funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (FRS-FNRS). Funding via the Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) project HBC.2016.0733 of the Flemish region with Campine is acknowledged. (Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (FRS-FNRS), Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO)|HBC.2016.0733)status: Publishe

    Studies in Annonaceae VI. A leafanatomical survey of genera of Annonaceae in the Neotropics

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    SETTEN, A. K. van & KOEK-NOORMAN, J.: Studies in Annonaceae. VI. A leafanatomical survey of genera of Annonaceae in the Neotropics. — Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 108: 17—50. 1986. — ISSN 0006-8152. Within the scope of the multidisciplinary research project on systematics of Annonaceae, a survey of the leafanatomical features and their distribution in the neotropical Annonaceae is presented. The studied specimens form a rather homogeneous group, as may appear from the family description given here. A detailed study of the leafanatomical features reveals, that differences are mainly found in the indument, the position and contents of the idioblasts, the structure of the primary vein, the type of crystals in the epidermal cells, and the type of sclereids. Based on character states, phenetic similarities and differences are discussed and compared with the classifications of FRIES (1959) and WALKER (1971)

    Benchmarking First-Principles Reaction Equilibrium Composition Prediction

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    The availability of thermochemical properties allows for the prediction of the equilibrium compositions of chemical reactions. The accurate prediction of these can be crucial for the design of new chemical synthesis routes. However, for new processes, these data are generally not completely available. A solution is the use of thermochemistry calculated from first-principles methods such as Density Functional Theory (DFT). Before this can be used reliably, it needs to be systematically benchmarked. Although various studies have examined the accuracy of DFT from an energetic point of view, few studies have considered its accuracy in predicting the temperature-dependent equilibrium composition. In this work, we collected 117 molecules for which experimental thermochemical data were available. From these, we constructed 2648 reactions. These experimentally constructed reactions were then benchmarked against DFT for 6 exchange–correlation functionals and 3 quality of basis sets. We show that, in reactions that do not show temperature dependence in the equilibrium composition below 1000 K, over 90% are predicted correctly. Temperature-dependent equilibrium compositions typically demonstrate correct qualitative behavior. Lastly, we show that the errors are equally caused by errors in the vibrational spectrum and the DFT electronic ground state energy

    Reflections on the ocular surface: Summary of the presentations at the 4th Coronis Foundation Ophthalmic Symposium Debate: “A multifactorial approach to ocular surface disorders” (August 31 2021)

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    The author (van Setten) thanks the Karin Sandqvists Foundation (Karin Sandqvists Stiftelse) Stockholm, Sweden, the Eye Foundation (Ögonfonden), Stockholm, Sweden and the Crown Princess Margaretas Foundation Working committee for the visually impaired KMA (Stiftelsen Kronprinsessan Margaretas Arbetsnämnd för synskadade KMA) Stockholm, Sweden, for the funding received forming the base for the presented model of dry eye disease.Peer reviewe

    Modeling X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Macromolecules Using <i>GW</i>

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    We propose a simple additive approach to simulate X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of macromolecules based on the GW method. Single-shot GW (G0W0) is a promising technique to compute accurate core-electron binding energies (BEs). However, its application to large molecules is still unfeasible. To circumvent the computational cost of G0W0, we break the macromolecule into tractable building blocks, such as isolated monomers, and sum up the theoretical spectra of each component, weighted by their molar ratio. In this work, we provide a first proof of concept by applying the method to four test polymers and one copolymer and show that it leads to an excellent agreement with experiments. The method could be used to retrieve the composition of unknown materials and study chemical reactions, by comparing the simulated spectra with experimental ones.sponsorship: The authors thank Paul van der Heide (Imec) for fruitful discussions. The authors acknowledge funding from the Imec Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP) . (Imec Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP))status: Published onlin

    Core-Level Binding Energies from GW: An Efficient Full-Frequency Approach within a Localized Basis

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    The GW method is routinely used to predict charged valence excitations in molecules and solids. However, the numerical techniques employed in the most efficient GW algorithms break down when computing core excitations as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We present a full-frequency approach on the real axis using a localized basis to enable the treatment of core levels in GW. Our scheme is based on the contour deformation technique and allows for a precise and efficient calculation of the selfenergy, which has a complicated pole structure for core states. The accuracy of our method is validated by comparing to a fully analytic GW algorithm. Furthermore, we report the obtained core-level binding energies and their deviations from experiment for a set of small molecules and large polycyclic hydrocarbons. The core-level excitations computed with our GW approach deviate by less than 0.5 eV from the experimental reference. For comparison, we also report core-level binding energies calculated by density functional theory (DFT)-based approaches such as the popular delta self-consistent field (ΔSCF) method. Our implementation is optimized for massively parallel execution, enabling the computation of systems up to 100 atoms

    Computing elastic tensors of amorphous materials from first-principles

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    The resources and services used in this work were partly provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) , funded by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government. The various members of our group for discussions and aid over the course of this research

    On the elastic tensors of ultra-thin films: A study of ruthenium

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    The resources and services used in this work were partly provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) , funded by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) , Belgium and the Flemish Government, Belgium. The various members of our group for discussions and aid over the course of this research
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