Polymer Coated Functional Catalysts for Industrial Applications.

Surface engineering of conventional catalysts using polymeric coating has been extensively explored for producing hybrid catalytic material with enhanced activity, high mechanical and thermal stability, enhanced productivity, and selectivity of the desired product. The present review discusses in detail the state-of-the-art knowledge on surface modification of catalysts, namely photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, catalysts for photoelectrochemical reactions, and catalysts for other types of reactions, such as hydrodesulfurization, carbon dioxide cycloaddition, and noble metal-catalyzed oxidation/reduction reactions. The various techniques employed for the polymer coating of catalysts are discussed and the role of polymers in enhancing the catalytic activity is critically analyzed.

Towards a Mathematical Model for the Viral Progression in the Pharynx.

In this work, a comprehensive model for the viral progression in the pharynx has been developed. This one-dimension model considers both Fickian diffusion and convective flow coupled with chemical reactions, such as virus population growth, infected and uninfected cell accumulation as well as virus clearance. The effect of a sterilizing agent such as an alcoholic solution on the viral progression in the pharynx was taken into account and a parametric analysis for the effect of kinetic rate parameters on virus propagation was made.