Effects of Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> on the crystallization and structure of CaO–Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> glass ceramics

Radiation-induced degradation of the weakly and strongly 4-vinylpyridine basic ion exchange resins by gamma radiolysis was investigated in the presence of air and liquid water. This study is focused on evaluating the radiolytic gases (H₂, CO, CO₂ and CH₄) and liquid products (water-solute TOC and NH₄ ⁺). The weakly basic resin yielded lower amounts of H₂ and CO and higher amounts of CO₂ than those of the strongly basic resin. Moreover, the strong basic resin tended to yield greater amounts of NH₄ ⁺. Resins were characterized by the FTIR spectroscopy technique and the results showed that the resins structures are relatively stable.     

Formation of solid solutions of multiferroics in the Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Nd<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> system

The sequence of phases appearance during the formation of Bi_1–xNd_xFeO₃ solid solutions in powder oxides mixtures of bismuth, neodymium, and iron has been determined. It has been shown that the closeness of the reaction mixture composition to that of the individual compound (BiFeO₃ or NdFeO₃) is essential for the realization of the series of phase transformations yielding solid solutions of multiferroics Bi_1–xNd_xFeO₃ as the final product, due to the prevalence of various interphase contacts in the starting reaction zone.     

Concentration Space of Homogeneous Garnet in the System Ga<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–(Y,Bi)<Subscript>3</Subscript>(Fe,Ga)<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript>–Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The concentration space of homogeneous garnet in the system Ga₂O₃–(Y, Bi)₃(Fe, Ga)₅O₁₂–Fe₂O₃ was determined by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The obtained results expand the knowledge of the possible variations of cation ratios Y : Bi : Fe : Ga in garnet, which can be used for searching for and creating new stable magneto-optical materials.     

On the Control of Plasma Parameters and Active Species Kinetics in CF<Subscript>4</Subscript> + O<Subscript>2</Subscript> + Ar Gas Mixture by CF<Subscript>4</Subscript>/O<Subscript>2</Subscript> and O<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Ar Mixing Ratios

The effects of both CF₄/O₂ and Ar/O₂ mixing ratios in three-component CF₄ + O₂ + Ar mixture on plasma parameters, densities and fluxes of active species determining the dry etching kinetics were analyzed. The investigation combined plasma diagnostics by Langmuir probes and zero-dimensional plasma modeling. It was found that the substitution of CF₄ for O₂ at constant fraction of Ar in a feed gas produces the non-monotonic change in F atom density, as it was repeatedly reported for the binary CF₄/O₂ gas mixtures. At the same time, the substitution of Ar for O₂ at constant fraction of CF₄ results in the monotonic increase in F atom density toward more oxygenated plasmas. The natures of these phenomena as well as theirs possible impacts on the etching/polymerization kinetics were discussed in details.     

Synthesis and properties of magnetic superhydrophobic mesoporous Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> composites

Ways to obtain Fe₂O₃–SiO₂ iron-containing silica composites with organized mesoporous structure (MCM-41) and large specific surface area (up to 1476 m² g^–1) were considered. The influence exerted by the method used to synthesize the materials on their structure, texture characteristics, particle size, and magnetic properties were studied. The aggregative stability of samples was examined. It was shown that treatment of the resulting composites with compounds from the chlorosilane group affects their hydrophobic properties.     

Synthesis of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>@Au core–shell nanoparticles

A new two-step synthesis of Fe₃O₄@Au core–shell nanoparticles stabilized in polyethylene glycol is described. The nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, UV and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Fe₃O₄@Au nanoparticles featured both optical properties (they featured a plasmon resonance band) and magnetic properties (they responded to an external magnetic field), typical of individual gold and magnetite nanoparticles, respectively.     

Structural and Temperature Dependent Electrical Conductivity Properties of Dy<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Sm<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> CO-Doped Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

In the present work, Dy₂O₃ and Sm₂O₃ double-doped Bi₂O₃-based materials are synthesized by exploiting the solid-state synthesis method. The structural and temperature dependent electrical properties of these ternary ceramic samples, which are candidate materials for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs) electrolyte, are determined by means of a powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), the four point-probe method (FPPM), and the thermal-gravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA). As a result of the XRD measurements, the fluorite-type fcc δ-phase with a stable structure is obtained for higher values of the dopant oxide material, which are the samples with the maximum content of fixed 20% Dy₂O₃ and 15% and 20% Sm₂O₃. The samples with the stable δ-phase structure have higher conductivities. The highest electrical conductivity is found for the (Bi₂O₃)0.6(Dy₂O₃)_0.2(Sm₂O₃)_0.2 sample, which was 2.5×10^–2 (Ohm cm)^–1 at 750 °C. The activation energies are also calculated from the Arrhenius charts, which were determined from the FPPM measurements. The lowest activation energy is found as 0.85 eV for the sample with the highest electrical conductivity.     

Thermal analysis study of LiFeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> formation from Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>CO<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> mechanically activated reagents

Series of n-octadecane/expanded graphite composite phase-change materials (PCMs) with different mass ratio were prepared using n-octadecane as PCMs, expanded graphite as multi-porous supporting matrix through vacuum impregnation method. Microstructure, crystallization properties, energy storage behavior, thermal cycling property and intelligent temperature-control performance of the composite PCMs were investigated. Results show that the composite PCMs have a good energy storage property. The melting enthalpy and crystallization enthalpy can reach 164.85 and 176.51 J g^?1, respectively. Furthermore, the good thermal conductivity of expanded graphite reduces the super-cooling degree of n-octadecane and endows the composite PCMs with fast thermal response rate and excellent thermal cycling stability. As a result, the phase-change temperatures and phase-change enthalpy almost have no change after 50 thermal-cooling cycles. The test of intelligent temperature-control performance shows that the electronic radiator filled with the composite PCMs possesses a high intelligent temperature-control performance, and its temperature can sustain in the range of 22–27.5 °C for about 6120 s. These results indicate that the prepared composite PCMs possess good comprehensive property and can be widely used in energy storage and thermal management systems.     

Identification of iron oxidation states in the products of interaction of Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> and Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> by Mössbauer absorption spectroscopy

The first stage of the solid-phase reaction of Na₂O₂ and Fe₂O₃ yields a tetravalent iron derivative. The product is unstable and disproportionates to form compounds with different oxidation states of iron. Analysis of their Mössbauer spectra was performed with the DISCVER program based on the Afanas’ev-Chuev method. At the early stage of analysis, the program identifies the maximal possible number of well-defined lines in the spectrum with a specified statistical quality and, thus, discerns a large number of known and unknown iron derivatives (phases) in samples of complex composition. Previously unknown highest oxidation states of iron from +5 to +8 were identified.     

Physicochemical properties of (CH<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>NH<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cl–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> composites

Composite solid electrolytes were synthesized from the organic salt dimethylammonium chloride (1–x)C₂H₈NCl–xAl₂O₃. Their physicochemical properties were studied. In the starting C₂H₈NCl salt, there is a phase transition at 39°C accompanied by an increase in conductivity by two orders of magnitude. The conductivity of the high-temperature phase is 9.3 × 10^–6 S/cm at 160°C. A differential scanning calorimetry study showed that the salt in the composites spreads over the oxide surface and at x > 0.6 the salt melting enthalpy decreases to zero. The conductivity of the resulting composites was studied by impedance spectroscopy. It was shown that heterogeneous doping leads to a sharp increase in ion conductivity to 7.0 × 10^–3 S/cm at 160°C and a decrease in the activation energy to 0.55 eV.     

Synthesis and properties of γ-Ga<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

The textural and structural properties of mixed oxides Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃, obtained via impregnating γ-Al₂O₃ with a solution of Ga(NO₃)₃ and subsequent heat treatment, are studied. According to the results from X-ray powder diffraction, gallium ions are incorporated into the structure of aluminum oxide to form a solid solution of spinel-type γ-Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ up to a Ga₂O₃ content of 50 wt % of the total weight of the sample, accompanied by a reduction in the specific surface area, volume, and average pore diameter. It is concluded that when the Ga₂O₃ content exceeds 50 wt %, the β-Ga₂O₃ phase is observed along with γ-Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ solid solution. ⁷¹Ga and ²⁷Al NMR spectroscopy shows that gallium replaces aluminum atoms from the tetrahedral position to the octahedral coordination in the structure of γ-Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃.     

Thermal analysis of the (Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>1−x</Subscript>(Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>x</Subscript> pigments

The synthesis of new compounds based on Bi₂O₃ is investigated because they can be used as new ecological inorganic pigments. Chemical compounds of the (Bi₂O₃)_1−x(Y₂O₃)_x type were synthesized. The host lattice of these pigments is Bi₂O₃ that is doped by Y³⁺ ions. The incorporation of doped ions provides the interesting colours and contributes to a growth of the thermal stability of these compounds. The simultaneous TG-DTA measurements were used for determination of the temperature region of the pigment formation and thermal stability of pigments. This paper also contains the results of the pigment characterization by X-ray powder diffraction and their colour properties.     

Preparation and characterization of rapid magnetic recyclable Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>@SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>@TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–Sn photocatalyst

Effective procedure to synthesize Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@TiO₂–Sn magnetically separable photocatalyst by a combination of co-precipitation, sol–gel and photodeposition methods was introduced. Products were characterized by XRD, SEM, VSM, EDS, DRS, TEM, ICP-OES and IR techniques. The dimensions of catalyst particle size were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, and results approved nanoscale size for product. In addition, studying the magnetic nature by VSM analysis showed superparamagnetic properties for all samples. XRD pattern indicates that TiO₂ coated on Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ core well crystallized at 400 °C in anatase phase. Synthesized photocatalyst shows good photocatalytic performance in decolorization of rhodamine B aqueous solution. The composite nanoparticles showed high recycling efficiency and stability over five separation cycles.     

Modifying additives affect the properties of Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> system

The effects caused by modifying additives, namely nonionic surfactants (Tween 80 and Neonol AF 9-6) and oxides (B₂O₃ and HfO₂), on the rheology, film formation, and phase formation in the yttrium aluminum silicate system prepared by sol–gel technology were studied. The effect of 1 wt % HfO₂ additions on the activation energy of crystallization was studied.     

Photoelectrochemical performance of bilayered Fe–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Zn–Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films for solar generation of hydrogen

A visible-light sensitive bilayered photoanode of Fe–TiO₂/Zn–Fe₂O₃ has been developed by spray pyrolytically depositing Zn–Fe₂O₃ layers onto predeposited Fe–TiO₂ thin film on ITO substrate. Fe–TiO₂/Zn–Fe₂O₃ photoelectrodes were characterized by XRD, Raman, AFM, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Photoelectrochemical properties of bilayered Fe–TiO₂/Zn–Fe₂O₃ photoelectrode were studied by Mott–Schottky curves and I–V characteristics. Bilayered Fe–TiO₂/Zn–Fe₂O₃ photoelectrode was observed to possess much higher separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers and could generate nine times better photocurrent density than pure Fe–TiO₂. Solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency exhibited by this electrode was 0.77%.     

Thermal studies of ZnO–B<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–P<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>–TeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> glasses

The effect of TeO₂ additions on the thermal behaviour of zinc borophosphate glasses were studied in the compositional series (100 − x)[0.5ZnO–0.1B₂O₃–0.4P₂O₅]–xTeO₂ by differential scanning calorimetry, thermodilatometry and heating microscopy thermal analysis. The addition of TeO₂ to the starting borophosphate glass resulted in a linear increase of glass transition temperature and dilatometric softening temperature, whereas the thermal expansion coefficient decreased. Most of glasses crystallize under heating within the temperature range of 440–640 °C. The crystallization temperature steeply decreases with increasing TeO₂ content. The lowest tendency towards crystallization was observed for the glasses containing 50 and 60 mol% TeO₂. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that major compounds formed by annealing of the glasses were Zn₂P₂O₇, BPO₄ and α-TeO₂. Annealing of the powdered 50ZnO–10B₂O₃–40P₂O₅ glass leads at first to the formation of an unknown crystalline phase, which is gradually transformed to Zn₂P₂O₇ and BPO₄ during subsequent heating.     

Glass Formation in the Ternary System La<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–As<Subscript>2</Subscript>S<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Er<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The boundaries of the glass formation region in the ternary system La₂O₃–As₂S₃–Er₂O₃ were found. Transparent glass of composition (La₂O₃)_0.03(As₂S₃)0.90(Er₂O₃)0.07 was studied by X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy. The intensities of the bands characterizing As–S, La–O, and Er–O bonds increased, and these bands were shifted toward higher energies. This was due to an increase in the covalence of these bonds and probably due to the formation of new bonds in the glasses. Samples in the glass formation region are resistant at 300 K to air, water, and organic solvents.     

Synthesis,Structure and Solid-Phase Transformations of Fe Nitrosyl Complex Na<Subscript>2</Subscript>[Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>(S<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>(NO)<Subscript>4</Subscript>] · 4H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O

Binuclear iron nitrosyl complex Na₂[Fe₂(S₂O₃)₂(NO)₄] · 4H₂O (I) was synthesized by the reaction of iron(II) sulfate with sodium thiosulfate in the flow of NO gas. According to X-ray diffraction data, the [Fe₂(S₂O₃)₂(NO)₄]^2– anion has binuclear centrosymmetric structure with Fe atoms bonded by the µ-S atoms of thiosulfate groups. The isomeric shift for complex I =0.168(1) mm/s and quadrupole splitting E _Q =1.288 mm/s at T=80 K. When heated, complex I transforms to Na₂[Fe₂(S₂O₃)₂(NO)₄] (II), whose unit cell parameters found by X-ray diffraction method differ from those of complex I. The process of transformation of I to II was studied by calorimetric method. Complex I transforms to complex II without chemical decomposition, which was confirmed by IR and mass spectroscopy data.__________Translated from Koordinatsionnaya Khimiya, Vol. 31, No. 5, 2005, pp. 323–328.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Sanina, Aldoshin, Rudneva, Golovina, Shilov, Shulga, Martynenko, Ovanesyan.     

Atmospheric control of gel-oxide transformation in sol–gel derived Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> fibers

Via sol–gel processing metal–organic fibers were produced and dried up to 140 °C. For these gel fibers the influence of a treatment in different atmospheres was investigated for the temperature range of 200–850 °C. The atmospheres were nitrogen, water vapor, evaporated nitric and hydrochloric acid and evaporated hydrogen peroxide. In the presence of moisture and especially with acidic moisture fibers were transformed almost completely to their oxide composition (82 mol% Al₂O₃·18 mol% Y₂O₃). In these inorganic amorphous structures considerable differences were observed on several structural levels. On the atomic scale, the coordination of Al ions was investigated by ²⁷Al MAS NMR and skeletal density by He-pycnometry. Porosity in the nm scale was characterized by N₂-sorption. As a macroscopic effect of different treatment atmospheres, the longitudinal shrinkage was observed. For fibers treated at 500 °C the relative shrinkage varied by 100% (comparing water vapor and nitrogen atmosphere). No simple correlation between the release of organic constituents, the formation of porosity and the shrinkage could be found. These aspects were controlled by the rigidity of the inorganic network against atomic reconstitution. The kind of atmosphere was found to be an effective parameter to control various aspects of the xerogel structure.