The present dissertation investigates the relationship between the structure and thermoelectric properties of ZnO based materials, with a focus on trivalent element doping on engineering the microstructure and altering the electrical and thermal transport properties. Within the solubility range, the addition of trivalent elements, such as In3+, Fe3+ and Ga3+, is observed to increase the electrical conductivity of ZnO and decrease the thermal conductivity. / Engineering and Applied Sciences

The study of infinitely long cylinders of constant cross-section floating in an infinite fluid bath in zero-gravity environments has primarily been focused on bodies whose cross-sections are strictly convex and sufficiently smooth. In this thesis, our efforts are concentrated on the consideration of bodies that are only convex and piecewise smooth. These types of bodies are seldom considered in current literature. We have worked with a series expansion of the energy function in order to determine when configurations of a given body will be in equilibrium, stable or otherwise. We have proven that any convex body with a straight side cannot float in a stable equilibrium with the fluid interface intersecting the interior of the straight side in a single point. This fact is then used to prove necessary and sufficient conditions for stable equilibrium of polygons, bodies whose cross-sections are comprised of only straight sides. We illustrate these conditions with several examples. In the latter portion of the thesis, we turn our attention to bodies in three dimensions. While past research has again been focused on strictly convex bodies, we began to consider bodies that do not meet these requirements by examining bodies of revolution. A condition for stability with respect to vertical variations of bodies of revolution is derived. We conclude with several examples of bodies of revolution, some of which interestingly relate back to an analogous two-dimensional shape.

Developing environmentally sustainable processes are essential to improving the quality of life for future generations. In addition to reducing our impact on the environment, we must design processes to be both economical and safe. A large component of any chemical process is the solvents used to dissolve the reactants and extract the products. The research presented here focuses on coupling efficient homogeneous reactions with simple heterogeneous separations using propane-organic-aqueous tunable solvent systems. Our tunable solvents undergo a phase separation upon application of propane pressure to a fully miscible mixture of water and an organic solvent. The propane based tunable systems detailed here eliminate carbonic acid formation and reduce productphase contamination when compared with the equivalent CO2 based solvent systems previously studied. Additionally, we eliminate the need to use buffers and thus solids handling equipment is not needed.

<p>We design algorithms for markets consisting of multiple items, and agents with budget constraints on the maximum amount of money they can afford to spend. This problem can be considered under two broad frameworks. (a) From the standpoint of Auction Theory, the agents valuation functions over the items are private knowledge. Here, a "truthful auction" computes the subset of items received by every agent and her payment, and ensures that no agent can manipulate the scheme to her advantage by misreporting her valuation function. The question is to design a truthful auction whose outcome can be computed in polynomial time. (b) A different, but equally </p><p>important, question is to investigate if and when the market is in "equilibrium", </p><p>meaning that every item is assigned a price, every agent gets her utility-maximizing subset of items under the current prices, and every unallocated item is priced at zero. </p><p>First, we consider the setting of multiple heterogeneous items and present approximation algorithms for revenue-optimal truthful auctions. When the items are homogeneous, we give an efficient algorithm whose outcome defines a truthful and Pareto-optimal auction. Finally, we focus on the notion of "competitive equilibrium", which is a well known solution concept for market clearing. We present efficient algorithms for finding competitive equilibria in markets with budget constrained agents, and show that these equilibria outcomes have strong revenue guarantees.</p> / Dissertation

This thesis is concerned with aspects of the surface and colloid chemistry of various microemulsion systems stabilised by pure nonionic surfactants and alcohol as well as mixtures of nonionic and anionic surfactants. Phase equilibria and interfacial characteristics of the systems are studied with a view to their potential usefulness for enhanced oil recovery, in which salinity and temperature are important parameters. The equilibrium microemulsion phases are scanned at different temperatures and salinities and thus interfacial boundaries can be determined and optimum salinity scans can be performed accurately using a modified spectrophotometer. Several analytical techniques (e.g., high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, mass spectrometry, viscometry, electrical conductivity, photon correlation spectroscopy, UV-spectrophotometry, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, surface and interfacial tension techniques) have been used to characterise and understand the microchemistry of the microemulsion systems. Ultra-low interfacial tensions (>0.1 µN/m) can be achieved in the microemulsion systems. Surfactant transfer between phases, and phase inversion of micro emulsions are shown to occur around the condition which produces minimum interfacial tension. Adsorption of the surfactants from aqueous and nonaqueous solutions has been investigated and the results show that the extent of adsorption can be reduced significantly in the presence of alcohols (co-solvent). The extent of adsorption increases with increasing temperature and salinity; however, it decreases with an increase in the hydrophilic head group of the surfactant. Adsorption of nonionic surfactants on quartz from the nonaqueous solution (decane) is much greater than from aqueous solution. In microemulsion applications, droplet combustion of w/o microemulsions is also studied for different surfaces (i.e. silica, oxidised Fecralloy and catalyst coated Fecralloy) in the temperature range of 313-573K. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are formed as intermediate combustion products. Thus the microemulsion combustion can lead to new oxygenate products. The w/o microemulsion route is used to synthesize colloidal silica of controlled particle size and morphology. The particle size can be varied by changing the molar ratio of water to TEOS using a water pH of 10.5.

Erebus is a well-studied open-vent volcano located on Ross Island, Antarctica (77◦ 32’ S, 167◦ 10’ E). The volcano is the focus of ongoing research aimed at combining petrologic data and experiments with surface gas observations in order to interpret degassing histories and the role of volatiles in magma differentiation, redox evolution, and eruptive style. This research focus has been driven in part by an abundance of studies on various aspects of the Erebus system, such as physical volcanology, gas chemistry, petrology, melt inclusion research, seismic, and more. Despite this large data set, however, interpretations of Erebus rocks, particularly mafic and intermediate lavas, which are thought to originate from deep within the magmatic plumbing system, have been hindered due to a lack of experimental data. Experimental petrology is a common tool used to understand volcanic plumb- ing systems and to tie observations made at the Earth’s surface to the deep pro- cesses responsible for driving volcanic activity. Experimental petrologists essen- tially recreate natural magma chambers in miniature by subjecting lavas to con- ditions of pressure, temperature, and volatile chemistry (P-T-X) relevant to a natural underground volcanic system. Because many important parameters can be constrained in the laboratory, the comparison of experimental products with naturally erupted ones allows for an understanding of the formation conditions of the rocks and gases we see at the surface. In this thesis, I have employed experimental and analytical petrological tech- niques to investigate the magmatic plumbing system of Erebus volcano. Broadly, the research is focused on volatiles (namely H2O, CO2, and S species) in the Ere- bus system: their abundances, solubilities, interactions, evolution, and ultimate contributions to degassing. Specifically, three key themes have been investigated, each employing their own experimental and analytical techniques. Firstly, the mixed volatile H2O-CO2 solubility in Erebus phonotephrite has been investigated under P-T-X conditions representative of the deep plumbing system of Erebus. Understanding the deep system is crucial because the constant supply of deeply derived CO2-rich gases combined with a sustained energy and mass input into the lava lake suggests a direct link between the phonolite lava lake and the volcano’s ultimate mantle source via a deep mafic plumbing system. Secondly, I have mapped the phase equilibria and evolution of primitive, inter- mediate, and evolved Erebus lavas. The chemistries of these experimental products span the full range of lavas on Ross Island and help to constrain magmatic evolu- tion from basanite to phonolite as well as to elucidate the geometry of the deep Ross Island plumbing system. Finally, lower-pressure experiments representing the shallow plumbing system at Erebus have been performed in order to understand the transport properties of sulfur in alkaline magma. Experiments were performed on natural Erebus basanite and phonolite, which represent the most primitive and evolved lavas from Erebus. A distinct cocktail of C-O-H-S fluid was equilibrated with each experiment, and a wide range of experimental oxygen fugacities was explored. Overall, experiments from this work are the first to place constraints on the en- tire magma plumbing system of Erebus volcano. In addition, experimental results foster a new understanding of non-ideal gas behavior at high pressure, the affinity of CO2 to deeply sourced rift magmas, and the effect of alkalis on fluid transport capabilities in melts.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-141). / The focus of this dissertation is on colonisation and decolonisation as cornerstones in the development of sub-Saharan Africa's current institutions and how these historical institutions affect current economic growth outcomes. The dissertation consists of three main chapters besides the introductory and concluding chapters. The rst main chapter considers conditions of optimality in a co-optive strategy of colonial rule. It proposes a simple model of elite formation emanating from a coloniser's quest to maximise extracted rents from its colonies... In the second main chapter, I argue that the pattern of decolonisation in West Africa was a function of the nature of human capital transfers from the colonisers to the indigenous elites of the former colonies. Underpinning the nature of these human capital transfers is the colonial educational ideology... The third main chapter investigates the channels through which colonial origin affects economic outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It focuses on four key channels of transmission namely, human capital, trade openness, market distortion and selection bias.

This research enthusiastically highlights the bio-adsorption of methylene blue (MB) by local, poultry, NaOH and citric acid modified ubiquitous eggshell (LES, NLES, CLES, PES, NPES and CPES) adsorbents. The microstructures of these adsorbents indicated that they had some surface functional moieties that were responsible for the adsorption of MB. The Langmuir isotherm and PSO model best fit the experiment data. The largest Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity qmax, was 242.47mg/g, with the largest MB initial concentration of 400mg/L. This was a clear indication and a confirmation that MB adsorption by the powdered eggshells was chemisorptive. Moreover, the values of F $F$, the thickness of the boundary layer/film were >0, showing that the rate limiting step for the adsorption process was controlled by more than one diffusion mechanism. The values of ΔG° for the adsorption of MB by the adsorbents indicated that the adsorption reactions were all non-feasible and non-spontaneous. The values for ΔS° (J/K/mol) for LES, NLES and CPES for the uptake of MB showed decrease in the chaos or degree of randomness of the adsorption reactions, and the reverse was the case for PES, NPES and CLES for the uptake of MB, which showed increase in the chaos or degree of randomness of the adsorption. The adsorption of MB by LES, NLES and CPES gave ΔH°(kJ/mol) values which were indicative of endothermic nature of the adsorption systems, and the reverse was the case for the uptake of MB by PES, NPES and CLES, which was indicative of the exothermic nature of the adsorption systems.

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