Non-destructive determination of plutonium in nuclear fuel rods and pellets

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - A non-destructive method and an experimental set-up are described by which the Pu content in UO2/PuO2 mixed oxide (MOX) pellets and in fuel rods,...     

Photoinduced electron transport process in electrochemical cell I. Phenomenological description

The process of electron transport plays an essential role in the fundamental phenomena of life like photosynthesis, respiration and vision as well as in photoelectronic devices. However, the molecular mechanisms of the electron way and factors governing the transport rate in such systems are still unclear. Several groups have reported theoretical approaches for searching the mechanisms by using statistical mechanics, coherent dynamics and quantum mechanics. The current density vector inside the semiconducting layer is determined. In this paper we consider the problem of transport of electron promoted in the electrochemical cell constructed of two electrodes with the dye molecules immersed in. We describe the process of electron promotion by refractive light wave on the vacuum–semiconductor boundary as well as on the semiconducting electrode and the dye molecule layer in terms of extended phenomenological electrodynamics formalism. The results of our theoretical model show that such a theoretical approach will give more information on the mechanism of electron transport and will give insight in the determination of some electric features of materials.     

The influence of the salt concentration on the aggregation behavior of viscoelastic detergents

The influence of excess NaCl on the properties of viscoelastic detergent solutions of Cetypyridiniumsalicylate (CPySal) has been studied by static and dynamic light scattering, electric birefringence and rheological measurements. It is obeserved that the rodlike micelles of length L which are present in these solutions and which are responsible for their elastic properties grow in length with the increase of the NaCl concentration. As long as the rods are shorter than their mean distance, their length can be determined from the rheological and electric birefringence measurements. For very small shear fields these solutions behave as Newtonian fluids. The viscosity of the solution increases strongly when the rods begin to overlap. Solutions with overlapping rods are elastic. It is postulated from the results that the cmc_II (the critical concentration above which rods are present) and the length L of the rods are partially determined by the intermicellar interaction energy. It is furthermore postulated that this intermicellar interaction energy has an influence on the polydispersity of the rods and seems to make the rods relatively monodisperse.     

Chemical analysis of rain and snow samples from Chernogolovk/Russia by IC, TXRF and ICP–MS

 Data are reported for a first measurement campaign for a great number of cations (the range of concentrations for main components is given in ng/mL: Na:<70–880; Mg: 12–160; Al:<7–120; K: 200–1600; NH₄ ⁺: 2500–9000; Ca: 300–2500; Fe:<140–1200; Zn: 20–320) and anions (HCOO^-: 100–1800; CH₃COO^-: 400–14500; C₂O^2- ₄: <100–460; NO^- ₂: <20–55; NO^- ₃: 660–9900; SO^2- ₃:<100–1150; SO₄ ^2-: 450–19700; Cl^-: 170–3200) in rain and snow samples of the Chernogolovka region 80 km northeast of the centre of Moscow. These data serve as a first assessment of the situation of the atmosphere in this region. For the determination of fluoride, formate, acetate, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, sulfite, and sulfate by IC, a relevant development of the method was carried out. For some metallic cations, a critical quality control was achieved by parallel measurements with ICP-MS, TXRF, and IC. Furthermore, time resolved measurements were performed for a rain event. Filtration experiments were undertaken to differentiate between the presence of a series of elements and species in liquid or solid state in the collected aqueous samples. Received: 25 July 1996 / Revised: 26 September 1996 / Accepted: 13 October 1996     

Is laser-ablation-ICP-MS an alternative to solution analysis of solid samples?

The basic obstacles for the general use of laser-ablation(LA)-ICP-MS in analytical laboratories are connected with its reproducibility and calibration. A mathematical relation deduced from the correlation function of the analytical signals allows the estimation of the number of craters needed for representative analyses. The procedure was applied to different samples such as manganese crusts and soils. The ion intensities of the major elements in the manganese crusts and nodules were used as internal standards, improving relative standard deviations by factors between 2 and 3. Selected samples of wood and manganese crusts were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS and the results compared with those obtained by solution ICP-MS. The agreement of the values is within the 95% confidence limits. Powdered reference materials and, in the case of wood analysis, cellulose doped with standard solutions were used for the calibration.     

Vesicle Phases with Semipolar Additives

We examined the influence of semipolar additives on the phase behavior of mixed zwitterionic surfactant/consurfactant systems. It is shown that in these systems with increasing concentration esters like hexylacetate (HA) and ketones like hexylmethylketone (HMK) can behave both like consurfactants and like hydrocarbons. In solutions of 200 mM tetradecyldimethylamineoxide (TDMAO)/cosurfactant the additives cause first a phase transformation from the micellar L(1) phase to a lamellar L(alpha) phase. Upon further increasing concentration, the L(alpha) phase is transformed into a microemulsion. The L(alpha) phase consists of densely packed multilamellar vesicles. The vesicles are shown by electron microscopy. The multilamellar character of the vesicles is also reflected in the conductivity of the phase. It is up to 10 times lower than the conductivity of the L(1) phase. In some systems the vesicles are transformed on rest into a multidomain stacked L(alpha) phase. It is furthermore demonstrated that the two-phase L(1)/L(alpha) region in these systems is very narrow. In situations where enough HA is added to be close to the boundary of the L(1) phase, it is shown that very small amounts of cosurfactant can transform the L(1) phase into the L(alpha) phase. In extreme situations 1 mM cosurfactant is sufficient for transforming the L(1) phase with 200 mM TDMAO into the L(alpha) phase. In the investigated systems the L(alpha) phase is a highly viscoelastic fluid in which the storage modulus is 1 order of magnitude larger than the loss modulus. Besides the conventional way to prepare samples by adding all ingredients and stirring the solution intensively, all investigated systems were additionally prepared without applying any shear forces. In a surfactant/cosurfactant solution the additive was brought into the sample by diffusion. The phase behavior of both types of samples showed fundamental differences in some cases, which give insight into the influence of shear forces on these systems. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Die Verteilungkoeffizienten von TiO2+, Cr3+, Mn2+ und Fe3+

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Sodium and Calcium Laurylamidomethylsulfate: Aqueous Micellar Phases, Their Properties, and a Precipitate of Vesicles

A new anionic surfactant (M-LAMS) that is capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds was investigated. Inverse solubilities of Na and Ca salts were found. Critical micelle concentration and aggregation behavior were determined by surface tension, light scattering, electric birefringence, and SANS measurements. It is found that the Na salt forms globular micelles while the Ca salt forms rodlike micelles. The phase behavior of the micellar solutions with increasing cosurfactant concentration was also studied. It is observed that 100 mM Na-LAMS solutions in the presence of 100 mM CaCl(2) undergo several phase transformations with increasing n-hexanol concentration. We found not only the expected micellar L(1) phase and a lamellar phase at concentrations quite low for this kind of system, but also a novel phase: At a cosurfactant/surfactant ratio x(C) of 1.2 a white precipitate is formed at the bottom of the sample. With increasing ratio x(C) the precipitate dissolves into a liquid crystalline L(alpha) phase that at x(C)=3.2 is transformed into an L(3) or sponge phase. Investigation by FF-TEM, light microscopy, and SANS shows that the precipitate consists of agglomerated polydisperse multilamellar vesicles. The vesicles consist of densely packed bilayers that contain little water. The bilayer thickness is about 20 ? and independent of its composition whereas the interlamellar distance is strikingly linked to concentrations of cosurfactant (surfactant/cosurfactant ratio) and electrolyte. With increasing cosurfactant content, the bilayers become less rigid and resulting thermal undulations force the membranes apart and weaken their interactions until a common L(alpha) phase is formed. This transition is an example of a bonding-nonbonding transition of membranes. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

NO-Mediated aromatic nitration during decomposition of phenolic S-nitrosothiols in non-aqueous aerobic medium

Five novel S-nitrosothiol compounds (6-10) derived from L-cysteine were generated in solution and their decomposition rate was followed by UV spectroscopy. In acetonitrile, compounds 9 and 10 were the most stable of this series with a half-life of 24 h. The final organic decomposition products of the five S-nitrosothiols were also analysed. Derivatives 8, 9, and 10, possessing a phenolic hydroxyl group, afforded an unexpected decomposition pathway, with nitration of aromatic ring occurring in non-aqueous media. A mechanism involving a phenoxy radical seems to be implicated.