Application of laser-induced photoacoustic spectroscopy for determination of plutonium concentration in nuclear waste solutions.

Laser-induced photoacoustic spectroscopy was used in a quantitative analysis of Pu in HNO3 medium. Plutonium was quantitatively oxidized to Pu(VI) using Ce(IV). The photoacoustic measurement of Pu(VI) with maximum absorption at 830.5 nm was subsequently performed to determine the concentration. The photoacoustic signal was linearly proportional to the Pu(VI) ion concentration. The detection limit of Pu(VI) was estimated to be 0.5 microg mL(-1) (3sigma) in 3 M HNO3. By the proposed method, Pu concentration was successfully determined in a nuclear waste solution for use in nuclear materials management.     

Ion-exchanger phase photoacoustic spectrometry for trace analysis of metal ions

Laser-induced photoacoustic spectroscopy has been applied to the determination of chromate, uranyl, and Cr(VI) and Fe(II) ions as coloured complexes that were sorbed on ion-exchanger beads. A simple photoacoustic cell has been constructed; it consisted of a fused silica glass tube and an attached cylindrical piezoelectric transducer. A pulsed laser fight at 532 or 355 nm irradiated the ion-exchanger beads that had been collected in the glass tube of the cell. Since a sample material was effectively concentrated on the ion exchanger, the sensitivity was much higher than that in the corresponding photoacoustic spectrometry in a solution state. The lowest detection limit was 0.21 ng/ml Fe for Fe(II)-DPPS (4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinedisulphonate) complex sorbed on QAE-Sephadex gel. Analytical characteristics of the present method are described.     

溶液中三价稀土Ho3+、Nd3+的脉冲激光光声光谱研究及其测定

采用自制的液体光声传感器,研究了在620～665nm波长范围不同溶剂中稀土Ho³⁺的光谱精细结构;探讨了入射激光脉冲能量、测试温度以及各种与水混溶的有机溶剂对光声信号强度的影响。在乙腈水溶液中测定稀土Ho³⁺、Nd³⁺检测限分别为5×10^-8mol/L和1.0×10^-7mol/L,相应的吸光度为1.5×10^-7和6.3×10^-7。     

Photoacoustic spectroscopic studies on the solid phase cell with a differential type microphone using a diode laser as radiation source

The design and applications of the solid phase photoacoustic cell with a differential type microphone are described. This cell has higher sensitivity and reproducibility relative to a cell without a differential microphone. The method has been applied to the determination of phosphate ion in water samples. The detection limit for phosphate ion concentrated from 22.5 ml of sample solution on a membrane filter as molybdophosphate-n-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide was 3.0 ng PO(3-)(4)/ml and the coefficient of variation for five measurements at 20 ng PO(3-)(4)/ml of phosphate ion was 3% using a diode laser (30 mW, 826 nm) as radiation source. The calibration graph for phosphate ion was linear over the range 5-50 ng PO(3-)(4)/ml.     

Application of ion-exchanger phase photoacoustic spectroscopy to flow analysis of trace amounts of iron in water

Ion-exchanger phase photoacoustic spectroscopy has been applied to the flow analysis of trace amounts of iron in water. The reaction product of iron(II) with 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-disulphonate, introduced into a carrier solution stream in the flow system, was concentrated on a small amount of QAE-Sephadex gel settled in a fused silica glass tube (1.5 mm i.d.) of a photoacoustic cell. The photoacoustic signal produced by pulsed laser irradiation of the gel beads at 532 nm was detected by a cylindrical piezoelectric transducer which was attached outside the glass tube. When 3.7 ml of a sample solution was introduced into the flow system, the sensitivity of this method was 590 times higher than that of the corresponding solution photoacoustic spectrometry and the detection limit of iron was 0.33 ng/ml. Because the coloured complex was desorbed from the cell with a desorbing agent solution, the present method could afford repeated analyses of natural water samples containing iron at ng/ml levels without any preconcentration procedures.     

Pulsed photoacoustic spectrometry for selective determination of sorbed and dissolved praseodymium species

Pulsed photoacoustic spectroscopy is used to monitor the adsorption of praseodymium at a montmorillonite clay surface in situ. Observation of the photoacoustic transient response shows that the signals from solid and solution are temporally resolved, allowing spectra of praseodymium in solution and on the clay surface to be obtained.     

Photoacoustic detection of circular dichroism

An analysis is presented for an experimental technique involving the measurement of circular dichroism using polarization-modulated photoacoustic spectroscopy. The technique is referred to as photoacoustic circular dichroism (PACD). In the PACD experiment, a photoacoustic signal is induced by using polarization-modulated excitation light which is alternately left-and right-circularly polarized. Expression appropriate for analyzing the PACD experimental observables (signal strength and phase) in terms of sample circular dichroism are developed within the general framework of the Rosencwaig and Gersho model for the photoacoustic effect in solids and liquids. Calculations based on these expressions are reported and the applicability of PACD for measuring the circular dichronic properties of optically opaque samples is discussed.     

DETERMINATION OF THE IN VIVO ABSORPTION AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROPERTIES OF THE LICHEN Acarospora schleicheri USING PHOTO ACOUSTIC SPECTROSCOPY

Photoacoustic spectroscopy was used to determine the in vivo spectra of the stratified components of the lichen Acarospora schleicheri. There were three pigmented layers observed by the photoacoustic method: an absorption band associated with the pigment rhizocarpic acid, a bulk cytochrome absorption, and the absorption of the algal chloroplast. Due to the different absorption properties of these distinct layers, the photoacoustic technique was able to monitor the physical effect of hydration on the lichen. Hydration of the lichen reduced the scatter of the sample, increasing the effective incident light intensity within the sample. Hydration also resulted in an increase in the optical absorption coefficient of the algal layer, which was interpreted as a movement of the algal chloroplast in response to low light fluence and hydrated conditions. The photoacoustic technique was also used to monitor the relative photosynthetic activity of the algae within the lichen in a hydrated and dehydrated state. The photosynthetic assay could detect photosynthetic activity in the hydrated state but not in the dehydrated state. In addition, the photosynthetic response was found to be induced and repressed with light and dark periods respectively and its detection was limited at high frequencies by the damping of the thermal wave from the algal layer.     

Photoacoustic determination of the photostability of 3-phenyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene

The intrinsic photostability of 3-phenyl-1,2-dihyrdonaphthalene (4a) in hexane at room temperature was proved by photoacoustic measurements. The large photoacoustic effect of 4a compared with that of 2-phenylindene (7 and stilbene (8 demonstrates the unexpected flexible structure of excited 4.