Nanyang Technological University

About: Nanyang Technological University is a education organization based out in Singapore, Singapore. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Computer science & Catalysis. The organization has 48003 authors who have published 112815 publications receiving 3294199 citations. The organization is also known as: NTU & Universiti Teknologi Nanyang.

Off-Grid Direction of Arrival Estimation Using Sparse Bayesian Inference

Abstract: Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation is a classical problem in signal processing with many practical applications. Its research has recently been advanced owing to the development of methods based on sparse signal reconstruction. While these methods have shown advantages over conventional ones, there are still difficulties in practical situations where true DOAs are not on the discretized sampling grid. To deal with such an off-grid DOA estimation problem, this paper studies an off-grid model that takes into account effects of the off-grid DOAs and has a smaller modeling error. An iterative algorithm is developed based on the off-grid model from a Bayesian perspective while joint sparsity among different snapshots is exploited by assuming a Laplace prior for signals at all snapshots. The new approach applies to both single snapshot and multi-snapshot cases. Numerical simulations show that the proposed algorithm has improved accuracy in terms of mean squared estimation error. The algorithm can maintain high estimation accuracy even under a very coarse sampling grid.

Electrochemical deposition of ZnO nanorods on transparent reduced graphene oxide electrodes for hybrid solar cells.

Abstract: Monocrystalline ZnO nanorods (NRs) with high donor concentration are electrochemically deposited on highly conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films on quartz. The film thickness, optical transmittance, sheet resistance, and roughness of rGO films are systematically studied. The obtained ZnO NRs on rGO films are characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and Raman spectra. As a proof-of-concept application, the obtained ZnO NRs on rGO are used to fabricate inorganic-organic hybrid solar cells with layered structure of quartz/rGO/ZnO NR/poly(3-hexylthiophene)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (P3HT/PEDOT:PSS)/Au. The observed power conversion efficiency (PCE, eta), approximately 0.31%, is higher than that reported in previous solar cells by using graphene films as electrodes. These results clearly demonstrate that rGO films with a higher conductivity have a smaller work function and show a better performance in the fabricated solar cells.

Mussel-inspired synthesis of polydopamine-functionalized graphene hydrogel as reusable adsorbents for water purification.

Abstract: We present a one-step approach to polydopamine-modified graphene hydrogel, with dopamine serving as both reductant and surface functionalization agents. The synthetic method is based on the spontaneous polymerization of dopamine and the self-assembly of graphene nanosheets into porous hydrogel structures. Benefiting from the abundant functional groups of polydopamine and the high specific surface areas of graphene hydrogel with three-dimensional interconnected pores, the prepared material exhibits high adsorption capacities toward a wide spectrum of contaminants, including heavy metals, synthetic dyes, and aromatic pollutants. Importantly, the free-standing graphene hydrogel can be easily removed from water after adsorption process, and can be regenerated by altering the pH values of the solution for adsorbed heavy metals or using low-cost alcohols for synthetic dyes and aromatic molecules.

Autonomous operation of hybrid microgrid with AC and DC sub-grids

Abstract: This paper investigates on the active and reactive power sharing of an autonomous hybrid microgrid. Unlike existing microgrids which are purely ac, the hybrid microgrid studied here comprises dc and ac sub-grids, interconnected by power electronic interfaces. The main challenge here is to manage the power flow among all the sources distributed throughout the two types of sub-grids, which certainly is tougher than previous efforts developed for only either ac or dc microgrid. This wider scope of control has not yet been investigated, and would certainly rely on the coordinated operation of dc sources, ac sources and interlinking converters. Suitable control and normalization schemes are therefore developed for controlling them with results presented for showing the overall performance of the hybrid microgrid.