Synthesis of the 3D porous carbon-manganese oxide (3D-C@MnO) nanocomposite and its supercapacitor behavior study

A 3D porous carbon-manganese oxide ([email protected]) nanocomposite is successfully synthesized via a thermal plasma deposition method. The chemical bonds and compositions, phase structures, surface morphologies, etc. of as-obtained [email protected] nanocomposite were characterized by the various equipment, such as X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron microscopes. The electrochemical performances of the [email protected] nanocomposite electrode showed a specific capacitance of 780 F g^?1 at a current density of 2 A g^?1 and a capacitance retention rate of 99% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles at a high current density of 10 A g^?1. These excellent capacitive performances may be attributed to the encapsulation of MnO nanoparticles by porous carbon sheets in the [email protected] MnO nanocomposite structure. It is believed that the carbon-encapsulated MnO nanoparticles can be protected from a volume deformation during the charge adsorption/desorption cycle and can be electrically improved by the encapsulated carbon sheets, resulting in better overall capacitive performance. In addition, this study also demonstrates the practical applicability by assembling a supercapacitor using the as-obtained [email protected] nanocomposite to glow a light emitting diode.     

Optimization of flotation variables for the recovery of hematite particles from BHQ ore

The technology for beneficiation of banded iron ores containing low iron value is a challenging task due to increasing demand of quality iron ore in India. A flotation process has been developed to treat one such ore, namely banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) containing 41.8wt% Fe and 41.5wt% SiO₂, by using oleic acid, methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC), and sodium silicate as the collector, frother, and dispersant, respectively. The relative effects of these variables have been evaluated in half-normal plots and Pareto charts using central composite rotatable design. A quadratic response model has been developed for both Fe grade and recovery and optimized within the experimental range. The optimum reagent dosages are found to be as follows: collector concentration of 243.58 g/t, dispersant concentration of 195.67 g/t, pH 8.69, and conditioning time of 4.8 min to achieve the maximum Fe grade of 64.25% with 67.33% recovery. The predictions of the model with regard to iron grade and recovery are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Electromagnetically induced transparency with resonant nuclei in a cavity

The manipulation of light-matter interactions by quantum control of atomic levels has had a profound impact on optical sciences. Such manipulation has many applications, including nonlinear optics at the few-photon level, slow light, lasing without inversion and optical quantum information processing. The critical underlying technique is electromagnetically induced transparency, in which quantum interference between transitions in multilevel atoms renders an opaque medium transparent near an atomic resonance. With the advent of high-brilliance, accelerator-driven light sources such as storage rings or X-ray lasers, it has become attractive to extend the techniques of optical quantum control to the X-ray regime. Here we demonstrate electromagnetically induced transparency in the regime of hard X-rays, using the 14.4-kiloelectronvolt nuclear resonance of the M?ssbauer isotope iron-57 (a two-level system). We exploit cooperative emission from ensembles of the nuclei, which are embedded in a low-finesse cavity and excited by synchrotron radiation. The spatial modulation of the photonic density of states in a cavity mode leads to the coexistence of superradiant and subradiant states of nuclei, respectively located at an antinode and a node of the cavity field. This scheme causes the nuclei to behave as effective three-level systems, with two degenerate levels in the excited state (one of which can be considered metastable). The radiative coupling of the nuclear ensembles by the cavity field establishes the atomic coherence necessary for the cancellation of resonant absorption. Because this technique does not require atomic systems with a metastable level, electromagnetically induced transparency and its applications can be transferred to the regime of nuclear resonances, establishing the field of nuclear quantum optics.     

Upgradation of bauxite by molecular hydrogen and hydrogen plasma

An approach was developed to upgrade the bauxite ore by molecular hydrogen and hydrogen plasma. A gibbsite-type bauxite sample was obtained from National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Odisha, India. The obtained sample was crushed and sieved (to 100 μm) prior to the chemical analysis and grain-size distribution study. The bauxite sample was calcined in the temperature range from 500 to 700°C for different time intervals to optimize the conditions for maximum moisture removal. This process was followed by the reduction of the calcined ore by molecular hydrogen and hydrogen plasma. Extraction of alumina from the reduced ore was carried out via acid leaching in chloride media for 2 h at 60°C. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry in conjunction with differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the material before and after extraction. Alumina extracted from the reduced ore at the optimum calcination temperature of 700°C and the optimum calcination time of 4 h is found to be 90% pure.