Context. Studying the composition of dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) is crucial for understanding the cycle of dust in our galaxy. Aims. The mid-infrared spectral signature of amorphous silicates, the most abundant dust species in the ISM, is studied in different lines-of-sight through the Galactic plane, thus probing different conditions in the ISM. Methods. We have analysed ten spectra ...

Designed especially for capillary electrochromatography (CEC), silicate-entrapped columns are made by trapping particles of chromatographic packing material in a network of silica. Once entrapped, the capillary no longer requires frits. This renders a more homogeneous and stable packed bed. Accidental breakage of the fragile frits is not an issue with these robust columns. Columns packed with r...

Thermal stability of a porous low-k film is a critical issue for application consideration in the back-end-of-line. In this study, thermal stability of the porous silicate has been investigated by changing the thermal processing temperatures. Experimental results have shown that the dielectric constant of the porous silicate still remains below 2.0 after thermal processing at 500 8C for 1 h. A ...

Context. Studying the composition of dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) is crucial for understanding the cycle of dust in our galaxy. Aims. The mid-infrared spectral signature of amorphous silicates, the most abundant dust species in the ISM, is studied in different lines-of-sight through the Galactic plane, thus probing different conditions in the ISM. Methods. We have analysed ten spectra ...

Considerable efforts have been devoted recently to design and fabrication of high performance and low cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, catalytic activity of current electrocatalysts is usually restricted by high onset potential and limited active sites. Herein, we fabricated three-dimensional (3D) highly ordered mesoporous Pd-Co3O4 composite materials as excel...

Mesoporous, micro/nanosized TiO2/C composites with uniformly dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix have been rationally designed and synthesized. In brief, TiO2 precursor was infiltrated into the channels of surface-oxidized mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) by means of electrostatic interaction, followed by in situ hydrolysis and growth of TiO2 nanocrystallites, resulting in ultrafi...

Expansion of native corn starch produces a high surface area mesoporous material capable of acting as a novel stationary phase for separating various mixtures of compounds.