Reductive immobilization of perrhenate in soil and groundwater using starch-stabilized ZVI nanoparticles

Perrhenate(ReO4-) was used as nonradioactive surrogate for the radionuclide pertechnetate(99TcO-4) to investigate the potential of using starch-stabilized zero valent iron(ZVI) nanoparticles for reductive immobilization of pertechnetate in soil and groundwater.Batch kinetic tests indicated that the starch-stabilized ZVI nanoparticles were able to reductively remove ～96% of perrhenate(10 mg/L) from water within 8 h.XRD analyses confirmed that ReO 2 was the reduction product.A pseudo-first-order kinetic model was able to interpret the kinetic data,which gave a pseudo first order rate constant(kobs) value of 0.43h-1 at pH 6.9 and room temperature(25℃).Increasing solution pH up to 8 progressively increased the reaction rate.However,highly alkaline pH(10) resulted in much inhibited reaction rate.Consequently,the optimal pH range was identified to be from 7 to 8.Increasing solution temperature from 15 to 45℃ increased k obs from 0.38 to 0.53 h-1.The classical Arrhenius equation was able to interpret the temperature effect,which gave a low activation energy value of 7.61 kJ/mol.When the ReO-4-loaded loess was treated with the stabilized nanoparticles suspension([Fe]=560 mg/L),the water leachable ReO-4 was reduced by 57% and nearly all eluted Re was in the form of ReO2.This finding indicates that starch-stabilized ZVI nanoparticles are promising for facilitating in situ immobilization of ReO-4 in soil and groundwater.     

Calibration of the U 37 K′ index of long-chain alkenones with the in-situ water temperature in Lake Qinghai in the Tibetan Plateau

Long-chain alkenones (LCAs) can potentially be used as indicators to understand past variations in lacustrine environments.Previous research has suggested that the relationship between the temperature and the unsaturation index of LCAs should be calibrated individually,because of the possible variations in the alkenone-producing algal species in the lacustrine environment.In this work,we have calibrated U37K’ of water filter samples against the in-situ water temperature in Lake Qinghai,Tibetan Plateau.There are significant relationships between U37K’ and the water temperature,a non-linear relationship was derived.Because the U37K’ values did not respond sensitively at lower temperatures,we suggested that a quadratic regression (U37K’ =0.0011×T2-0.0201×T+0.1959,n=15,r2=0.74) was appropriate than linear regression to represent the relationship between the in-situ temperatures and U37K’.Meanwhile,the U37K correlation relationship was not more significant than U37K’ index in our study.Because of the C37:4 effects by salinity change,we suggest U37K is not as robust as the U37K’ index as a temperature proxy,at least for the salt lake in the Tibetan Plateau.The calibration of the U37K’ index in this work has provided a new understanding of historic climatic changes in the Tibetan Plateau.     

Stress corrosion cracking of X80 pipeline steel exposed to high pH solutions with different concentrations of bicarbonate

Susceptibilities to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of X80 pipeline steel in high pH solutions with various concentrations of HCO₃? at a passive potential of ?0.2 V vs. SCE were investigated by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test. The SCC mechanism and the effect of HCO₃? were discussed with the aid of electrochemical techniques. It is indicated that X80 steel shows enhanced susceptibility to SCC with the concentration of HCO₃? increasing from 0.15 to 1.00 mol/L, and the susceptibility can be evaluated in terms of current density at ?0.2 V vs. SCE. The SCC behavior is controlled by the dissolution-based mechanism in these circumstances. Increasing the concentration of HCO₃? not only increases the risk of rupture of passive films but also promotes the anodic dissolution of crack tips. Besides, little susceptibility to SCC is found in dilute solution containing 0.05 mol/L HCO₃? for X80 steel. This can be attributed to the inhibited repassivation of passive films, manifesting as a more intensive dissolution in the non-crack tip areas than at the crack tips.     

The preparation and performance of high activity Ni-Cr binary catalysts for direct borohydride fuel cells

Ni-Cr binary anode catalysts used in direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs) were prepared using a constant potential electrodepo- sition method. Compared with pure metal Ni catalysts, the electro-oxidation currents of borohydride ions (BH-4) more than doubled when using Ni-Cr binary catalysts under the same conditions. The enhanced activity of the Ni-Cr binary catalysts could be attributed to the change in distribution of BH-4ions on the surface of the Ni electrode. This is due to Cr electrodeposits, which allows a greater number of hydrogen atoms to catalyze from each tetrahedron BH-4 ion. The performance of Ni-Cr binary catalysts could also be improved by optimizing the electrodeposition conditions. The results show that Ni-Cr binary catalysts are optimally prepared using an electrodeposition method of 1s with a Cr3+ concentration of 0.2 mol L-1 and a potential of -0.100 V.     

InAsSb thick epilayers applied to long wavelength photoconductors

InAs_0.052Sb_0.948 epilayers with cutoff wavelengths longer than 8 μm were successfully grown on InAs substrates using melt epitaxy (ME). Scanning electron microscopy observations show that the interface between the epilayers and substrates is flat, indicating the good quality of the epilayers, and the thickness of the epilayers is 40 μm. Photoconductors were fabricated using InAs_0.052Sb_0.948 thick epilayers grown by ME. Ge optical lenses were set on the photoconductors. At room temperature, the photoresponse wavelength range was 2–10 μm. The peak detectivity D_λp* reached 5.4 × 109 cm·Hz1/2·W?1 for the immersed detectors. The detectivity D* was 9.3 × 108 and 1.3 × 108 cm·Hz1/2·W?1 at the wavelength of 8 and 9 μm, respectively. The good performance of the uncooled InAsSb detectors was experimentally validated.     

Thermodynamic functions and growth constants of web-like ZnO nanostructures

Web-like ZnO nanostructures have been successfully synthesized using the potassium nitrate route at various temperatures to simplify conventional preparation methods. The structures and morphologies of the as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed that the reaction temperature was an important parameter, and that there was a feedback effect between nano-structure and growth parameters, combined with in situ micro-calorimetry, the reaction rate constants of the three systems were found to have been: 2.43×10-6, 2.70×10-8 and 3.12×10-7s-1 respectively. Furthermore, based on the relationship governing the potential differences between nanoand bulk ZnO, thermodynamic functions of nano-ZnO such as standard molar entropy (Sm,ZnO(nano)), standard molar Gibbs free energy of formation (△rGm,ZnO(nano)), and standard molar enthalpy of formation (△rHm,ZnO(nano)) have been calculated by the electrochemical method.     

Thermodynamics and density functional theory study of potassium dichromate interaction with galena

The adsorption heat and reaction rate constant of potassium dichromate on the surface of galena were studied. The results indicate that potassium dichromate tends to adsorption on the galena surface. The reaction order is only 0.08385, suggesting that the concentration of potassium dichromate has little influence on its adsorption on the galena surface. In addition, the simulation of CrO₄2? adsorption on the PbS (100) surface in the absence and presence of O₂ was carried out by density functional theory (DFT). The calculated results show that CrO₄2? species adsorb energetically at the Pb-S bond site, and the presence of O₂ can enhance this adsorption.     

Cellular prion protein imaging analysis with aptamer-labeled Ru（bpy）32＋-doped silica nanoparticles

A new type of highly selective aptamer-labeled fluorescent silica nanoparticles [Apt-tris（2,2＇-bipyri- dyl）ruthenium（II）@SiO2 NPs] were prepared through the reverse microemulsion method by using prolonged fluorescence lifetime ruthenium complexes of tris（2,2＇-bipyri- dyl）ruthenium（II） （Ru（bpy）2＋） as the source of the fluorescence for cellular prion protein imaging. Investigations showed that the newly prepared Ru（bpy）32＋@Si02 NPs possessed superior advantages of strong fluorescence, low toxicity, and easy surface modification for bioconjugation. Cell imaging experiments indicated that Apt- Ru（bpy）32＋@SiO2 NPs had great tendency to human bone marrow neuroblastoma cells （SK-N-SH cells）, since they can express large amount of prion protein on the surface of the cell, while in HeLa cells this phenomenon disappeared for the reason that HeLa cells cannot express prion proteins.     

Optical turbulence profiling with single star SCIDAR technique

In order to characterize optical turbulence, we have developed a single star SCIDAR （SSS） for measurement of the distribution of Cn^2 with height. The SSS consists of a 40 cm telescope and a CCD camera for fast sampling of stellar scintillation pattern. Spatio- temporal auto and cross-correlation functions of the single star images are computed, providing vertical profiles of optical turbulence intensity C2（h） and wind speed V（h）. Using this new SSS experiment, profiles of turbulence can be obtained from the ground to the top of atmosphere, allowing the determination of seeing, isoplanatic angle and coherence time. Detailed characteristics of atmospheric optical turbulence are important for active and passive imaging, astronomical site testing, adaptive optics, laser communications, target tracking and designation, and laser beam control. We plan to improve the robotization of the SSS to be able to use it routinely even under harsh weather and altitude conditions that we expect to encounter on the high Tibetan plateau or at Dome A in Antarctica. SSS will also be applied for the site testing campaign of the future Chinese extremely large telescope.     

A model for estimating the viscosity of blast furnace slags with optical basicity

Viscosity is an important physical property of blast furnace slags and has a great influence on blast furnace operations. Because of time consumption and difficulties encountered during high temperature experimental measurement, viscosity data are also limited, so a reasonable and accurate estimation model is required to provide the data for controlling and optimizing the blast furnace process. In the present study a viscosity model was proposed for blast furnace slags. In the model the activation energy was calculated by the optical basicity corrected for cations required for the charge compensation of AlO₄5-, and the temperature dependence was described by the Weymann-Frenkel equation. The estimated viscosity values of the CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂, CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-MgO, and CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-MgO-TiO₂ systems fit well with experiment data, with the mean deviation less than 25%.     

Reaction mechanisms for 0.5Li2MnO3·0.5LiMn0.5Ni0.5O2 precursor prepared by low-heating solid state reaction

Lithium-excess manganese layered oxides, which are commonly described in chemical formula 0.5Li₂MnO₃·0.5LiMn_0.5Ni_0.5O₂, were prepared by low-heating solid state reaction. The reaction mechanisms of synthesizing precursors, the decomposition mechanism, and intermediate materials in calcination were investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The major diffraction patterns of 0.5Li₂MnO₃·0.5LiMn_0.5Ni_0.5O₂ powder calcinated at 720°C for 15 h are indexed to the hexagonal structure with a space group of 3 R $\bar 3$ m, and the clear splits of doublets at (006)/(102) and (108)/(110) indicate that the sample adopts a well-layered structure. FESEM images show that the size of the agglomerated particles of the sample ranges from 100 to 300 nm.     

The Distribution of a CP-asymmetric quantity in the decay channelJ/Ψ→π + π − π 0

The distribution of a CP-asymmetric quantityA in the decay channelJ/ψ→π ⁺ π ^? π ⁰ is investigated. This dimensionless quantityA is constructed from the momenta of the π-meson final states, namely A=P _x ^{π +} P _y ^{π ?} -P _x ^{π ?} P _y ^{π ?}, whereP _h,P _x ^h andP _y ^h are the module of the momentum of a hadron h, the x- and y-components of that momentum respectively, theJ/ψ particle is produced by e⁺ e^? collision, and the direction of the momentum of e⁺ is taken to be the positive direction ofz axis. There would exists the violation under the combined transformation of charge conjugation and space reflection (CP violation) when the average ofA among a lot of events, 〈A〉, be examined to be nonzero clearly from data. In this way, 748 events are selected from the BES experimental data, and analyzed. The corresponding averageA-value is measured to be 〈A〉 = 0.010 39 ± 0.014 61 ± 0.015 2. Further, some discussion of our result, the size of the data sample being need for further attempt and a possible perspective are given.     

Water solubility in orthopyroxene: Dependence on temperature and Al content

The water solubility in Al-Fe-Mg orthopyroxene [(Mg,Fe,Al)(Si,Al)O₃: X _Fe = 0.1] was investigated as a function of temperature and Al contents. Experiments were performed at 10 kbar with temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200°C under water-saturated conditions. Water contents in the (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-H₂O-Al₂O₃ system were determined using unpolarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The present results show that water solubility in Al-bearing orthopyroxene decreases systematically with temperature from approximately 1 weight % at 800°C to 568 ± 58 ppm at 1200°C and increase significantly with increasing Al₂O₃ contents under the same annealing temperature and pressure. Combined with published results on the dependence of hydroxyl solubility on water fugacity and pressure, the present results can be described by the relation $C_{OH} = A(T)f_{H_2 O}^{n = 0.5} \exp \left( { - \frac{{\Delta H^{1bar} + \Delta V^{solid} P}} {{RT}}} \right)$ where A = 0.0024 ± 0.0015 ppm/bar^0.5, ΔH ^1bar = ?103.348 ± 9.768 kJ/mol, and solid ΔV ^solid = 9.2 ± 1.1 cm³/mol. This equation implies that the incorporation mechanism of water in aluminous orthopyroxene involves the isolated OH groups. Based on the experimentally established solubility model used in this study, it is suggested that water solubility decreases with increasing temperature under typical upper mantle pressure. The predicted temperature dependence of water solubility is in good agreement with the previous experimental observations in Al-bearing orthopyroxene, but the opposite dependence is observed in Al-free systems. Moreover, our estimation of the water solubility in upper-mantle minerals as a function of depth for a typical oceanic geotherm might be of potential importance in interpreting the geophysical observations.     

Nonstoichiometric Li1±x Ni0.5Mn1.5O4 with different structures and electrochemical properties

Li1±xNi0.5Mn1.5O4(x=0.05,0) spinel powders were synthesized using a solid-state reaction.Their structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.Their electrochemical properties for use as active cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries were measured.The LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4,Li1.05Ni0.5Mn1.5O4 and Li0.95Ni0.5Mn1.5O4 samples crystallized in Fd 3m,Fd 3m and P4332,respectively.The LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and Li0.95Ni0.5Mn1.5O4 samples exhibited better cycle performance than the Li1.05Ni0.5Mn1.5O4 sample,while Li0.95Ni0.5Mn1.5O4 had the worst rate performance.Thus,it appears unnecessary to introduce nominal lithium nonstoichiometry in LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 electrode materials.     

First-principle study on the surface atomic relaxation properties of sphalerite

The surface properties of sphalerite (ZnS) were theoretically investigated using first principle calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). DFT results indicate that both the (110) and the (220) surfaces of sphalerite undergo surface atom relaxation after geometry optimization, which results in a considerable distortion of the surface region. In the normal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the surface, S atoms in the first surface layer move outward from the bulk (d₁), whereas Zn atoms move toward the bulk (d₂), forming an S-enriched surface. The values of these displacements are 0.003 nm for d₁ and 0.021 nm for d₂ on the (110) surface, and 0.002 nm for d₁ and 0.011 nm for d₂ on the (220) surface. Such a relaxation process is visually interpreted through the qualitative analysis of molecular mechanics. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis provides the evidence for the S-enriched surface. A polysulphide (S_n2-) surface layer with a binding energy of 163.21 eV is formed on the surface of sphalerite after its grinding under ambient atmosphere. This S-enriched surface and the S_n2- surface layer have important influence on the flotation properties of sphalerite.     

On the scalability of PSRS algorithm

In this paper, using the metric of iso-efficiency function [1]. we analyze the scalability of PSRS (Parallel Sorting by Regular Sample) algorithm [2] on two popular architectures (Mesh and Hypercube). The isoefficiency function of PSRS on 2-dimensional mesh withp processors reaches the lower bound $\Omega \left( {\sqrt p \cdot 2^{c\sqrt F } } \right)$ for that of sorting algorithms on this architecture. In this sense, we say, the scalability of PSRS is optimal on 2-dimensional mesh. The iso-efficiency function of PSRS on hypercube is equal to that of PSRS on 2-dimensional mesh. After changing the data exchanging scheme of PSRS, we get a new iso-efficiency functionO(log² p·p ^Ciogp), which is better than that of PSRS on 2-dimensional mesh So we say that hypercube is more suitable for PSRS than 2-dimensional mesh.     

The impact of nanoporous SiN x interlayer growth position on high-quality GaN epitaxial films

The impact of nanoporous SiN x interlayer growth position on high-quality GaN epitaxial film was elucidated from the behavior of dislocations. The best quality GaN film was achieved when a nanoporous SiN x interlayer was grown on a rough layer, with the high-resolution X-ray diffraction rocking curve full width at half maximum for ( 1102 ) reflection decreasing to 223 arcs, and the total dislocation density reduced to less than 1.0×10 8 cm 2 . GaN films were grown on sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The quality of these films was investigated with high-resolution X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. A preference for the formation of half-loops to reduce threading dislocations was observed when an SiN x interlayer was grown on a rough layer. A growth mechanism is proposed to explain this preference.     

Degradation of a fullerene end-capped polycaprolactone by lipase AK

Using titrimetric method, enzymatic behavior of lipase AK against fullerene end-capped polycaprolactone (C₆₀-PCL) was studied for the first time, compared with polycaprolactone (PCL). The results showed that degradation of both C₆₀-PCL and PCL by lipase followed Mechaelis-Menten equation, with the degradation parameters of PCL and C₆₀-PCL were 0.75 mg mL^–1 and 0.16 mg mL^–1 for Km, and 0.90 mL h^–1 and 0.43 mL h^–1 for Vmax, respectively. C₆₀-PCL had a slower degradation rate than PCL under the same conditions. These data indicated that the introduction of fullerene enabled PCL hard to be degraded by lipase.     

On convergence of singular integral operators with respect to path of integration

Givenf being Hölder continuous in a regionG?C. For the Cauchy principal integral $$I(\Gamma ,f) = \frac{1}{{\pi i}} \int_\Gamma {\frac{{f(\zeta )}}{{\zeta - \zeta _0 }}d\zeta , \zeta _0 \in \Gamma } $$ where Γ?G is a smooth closed contour, it is established that, if a sequence of smooth closed contours Γn?G(n∈N) smoothly convergent to Γ, then the corresponding sequenceI(Γ _n, f)is convergent to I(Γ, f). Furthermore, when Γ is approximated by a sequence of complex cubic splines $S_{\Delta _n } (\Gamma )$ interpolatory to Γ, the error $|I(\Gamma ,f)--I(S_{\Delta _n } (\Gamma ,f)|$ is estimated.     

Interdiffusion in the Fe2O3-TiO2 system

Interdiffusion in the Fe₂O₃-TiO₂ system was investigated by the diffusion couple method in the temperature range of 1323 to 1473 K. The diffusion concentration curves of Ti⁴⁺ cations were obtained by electron probe microanalysis, according to which the Boltzmann-Matano method optimized by Broeder was used to calculate the interdiffusion coefficients. The interdiffusion coefficients almost increased linearly with the mole fraction of Ti⁴⁺ cations increasing, and they were in the range of 10^?12–10^?11cm²·s^?1. The increase of temperature could also lead to the increase of the interdiffusion coefficients at a constant concentration of Ti⁴⁺ cations. It was also found that the thickness growth of the diffusion layer obeyed the parabolic rate law.