Carbon diffusion between the volume and surface of (100) molybdenum

The diffusion of carbon atoms between the volume and the surface of (100) molybdenum is directly studied at temperatures between 1400 and 2000 K (i.e., at process temperatures) for the first time. The balance of carbon atoms in the system is determined. The difference in the activation energies of carbon dissolution and precipitation, ΔE=E s 1-E1s, is found for the case when the diffusion fluxes of dissolved and precipitated carbon atoms are in equilibrium. This difference defines the enrichment of the surface by carbon relative to the bulk. The experimentally found activation energy of carbon dissolution is Es1=3.9 eV. The activation energy of carbon precipitation is estimated at E 1 s=1.9 eV. The latter value is close to the energy of bulk diffusion of carbon in molybdenum.     

Mineral content and botanical origin of Spanish honeys

Eleven elements (Zn, P, B, Mn, Mg, Cu, Ca, Ba, Sr, Na and K) were determined by inductively plasma coupled spectrometry in 40 honey samples from different places of Spain and four different botanical origins: Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.), Heather (Erica sp.), Orange-blossom (Citrus sinensis) and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). K, Ca and P show the higher levels with average concentrations ranged between 434.1-1935 mg kg⁻¹ for K; 42.59-341.0 mg kg⁻¹ for Ca and 51.17-154.3 mg kg⁻¹ for P. Levels of Cu (0.531-2.117 mg kg⁻¹), Ba (0.106-1.264 mg kg⁻¹) and Sr (0.257-1.462 mg kg⁻¹) are the lowest in all honey samples. Zn (1.332-7.825 mg kg⁻¹), Mn (0.133-9.471 mg kg⁻¹), Mg (13.26-74.38 mg kg⁻¹) and Na (11.69-218.5 mg kg⁻¹) concentrations were found strongly dependent on the kind of botanical origin.Results were submitted to pattern recognition procedures, unsupervised methods such as cluster and principal components analysis and supervised learning methods like linear discriminant analysis in order to evaluate the existence of data patterns and the possibility of differentiation of Spanish honeys from different botanical origins according to their mineral content. Cluster analysis shows four clusters corresponding to the four botanical origins of honey and PCA explained 71% of the variance with the first two PC variables. The best-grouped honeys were those from heather; eucalyptus honeys formed a more dispersed group and finally orange-blossom and rosemary honeys formed a less distinguishable group.     

Shear zones and wall slip in the capillary flow of concentrated colloidal suspensions

We image the flow of a nearly random close packed, hard-sphere colloidal suspension (a "paste") in a square capillary using confocal microscopy. The flow consists of a "plug" in the center while shear occurs localized adjacent to the channel walls, reminiscent of yield-stress fluid behavior. However, the observed scaling of the velocity profiles with the flow rate strongly contrasts yield-stress fluid predictions. Instead, the velocity profiles can be captured by a theory of stress fluctuations originally developed for chute flow of dry granular media. We verified this both for smooth and rough walls.     

Rapid flow injection method for the determination of sulfite in wine using the permanganate-luminol luminescence system

A simple, rapid and sensitive chemiluminescence method for the determination of sulfite has been developed by combining flow-injection analysis and its sensitizing effect on the known chemiluminescence emission produced by the oxidation of luminol in alkaline medium; in this work permanganate has been proposed as oxidizing reactive. The optimum conditions for the chemiluminescence emission were established. The chemiluminescence was proportional to the sulfite concentration over the range 1.6 × 10⁻⁵ and 4.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹. The detection limit was 4.7 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ of sulfite. The method has been satisfactorily used for the determination of free and bound sulfite in wines.     

Graphene-graphite phase transition at the surface of a carbonized metal

A phase transition leading to the transformation of a graphene layer into a multilayer graphite film at the surface of a carbonized metal has been experimentally studied on the atomic level under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. It has been shown that this process is governed by dynamic equilibrium between edge atoms of graphene islands and a chemisorbed carbon phase, two-dimensional carbon “gas,” and is observed in the temperature range of 1000–1800 K. The features of the phase transition at the surfaces Ni(111), Rh(111), and Re(10-10) are similar, although the specific kinetic characteristics of the process depend on the properties of the substrate. It has been shown that change in the emissivity of the substrate after the formation of a multilayer graphite film increases the rate of the phase transition and leads to a temperature hysteresis.     

Electromembrane extraction (EME) and HPLC determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in wastewater samples

In this paper, an electromembrane extraction (EME) combined with a HPLC procedure using diode array (DAD) and fluorescence detection (FLD) has been developed for the determination of six widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): salicylic acid (SAC), ketorolac (KTR), ketoprofen (KTP), naproxen (NAX), diclofenac (DIC) and ibuprofen (IBU). The drugs were extracted from basic aqueous sample solutions, through a supported liquid membrane (SLM) consisting of 1-octanol impregnated in the walls of a S6/2 Accurel^® polypropylene hollow fiber, and into a basic aqueous acceptor solution resent inside the lumen of the hollow fiber with a potential difference of 10 V applied over the SLM. Extractions that were carried out in 10 min using a potential of 10 V from pH 12 NaOH aqueous solutions shown concentration enrichments factors of 28-49 in a pH 12 NaOH aqueous acceptor solution. The proposed method was successfully applied to urban wastewaters. Excellent selectivity was demonstrated as no interfering peaks were detected. The procedure allows very low detection and quantitation limits of 0.0009-9.0 and 0.003-11.1 μg L⁻¹, respectively.     

Anomalous behavior of silver atoms in intercalation under a two-dimensional graphite film

It is shown that silver atoms, the only ones of many atoms studied previously (Si, C, Mo, Pt, Cu, Ir, Ni, Au, Cs, K, Na, Ba,...), do not intercalate, that is, do not penetrate under a two-dimensional graphite film (2DGF) on a metal either upon direct depositing in the temperature range 300–2000 K or annealing of a previously deposited silver film. Intercalation becomes possible if silver is deposited on a 2DGF with previously intercalated cesium; in this case, silver atoms displace Cs atoms from under the 2DGF upon heating up to 1100 K.     

Graphene traps for cesium atoms

A significant increase in the surface concentration of cesium atoms intercalated under graphene islands on rhodium has been revealed when annealing the adsorbed layer in a ultrahigh vacuum. Heating leads to a decrease in the area of graphene islands due to the solution of carbon atoms in the metal bulk. At the same time, the edge carbon atoms in the islands, which are coupled with the surface by chemisorptive forces, prevent the leakage of the alkali metal from under the islands. This leads to the significant compression of cesium and to an increase in its surface concentration under the islands by a factor of almost 10. The desorption of cesium is observed only after the complete thermal destruction of graphene islands.