Synchrotron XANES and ED‐XRF analyses of fine‐paste ware from 13th to 14th century maritime Southeast Asia

The combination of energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (ED‐XRF) and synchrotron X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) provides the detailed composition of fine‐paste ware (FPW) kendis, dated back to 13th–14th century maritime Southeast Asia. Sources of clay and production sites were classified according to Al₂O₃, SiO₂, α‐Fe₂O₃ and γ‐Fe₂O₃ as well as trace elements. The similarities based on these components provided another evidence of a trade route between Kota Cina in North Sumatra of Indonesia and Kok Moh on Satingphra Peninsula, a well‐known production area in present‐day Thailand. In additions, the uniquely large contribution of α‐Fe₂O₃ in XANES spectra suggests that Nakhon Si Thammarat province of Thailand could also be one of FPW production areas in maritime Southeast Asia. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid–Air Interface Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles Synthesized from Reaction Between Fe(dbm)<Subscript>3</Subscript> and Pt(acac)<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The liquid–air interface is demonstrated as a method to assemble nanoparticles synthesized from the reaction between iron (III) dibenzoylmethane (Fe(dbm)₃) and platinum acetylacetonate (Pt(acac)₂) into a long range monolayer. These surface-modified particles have average Fe to Pt atomic ratio of 0.77:1. The increase in surfactants further reduces the Fe:Pt ratio and increases the particle diameter to over 4 nm. The self-assembled pattern of FePt-based nanoparticles can be enhanced by dropping nanoparticle suspensions on the surface of diethelyne glycol (DEG). The concentrations of these nanoparticle suspensions in hexane from 0.2 to 0.4 mg/ml can be used without the agglomeration into multilayered islands. The voids in the self-assembled monolayer on the DEG-air interface are reduced to the minimum in the case of the lowest concentration.     

Characterizations of octahedral zinc oxide synthesized by sonochemical method

The ultrasonic reaction of zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O) and hexamethylenetetramine (C₆H₁₂N₄) was investigated by varying the concentration of the reactants, the irradiation time, and the type of sonicator. The morphology, composition, and phase structure of the products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. Octahedral zinc oxide (ZnO) micropowders were formed at low concentrations, 0.05 M, of Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O and C₆H₁₂N₄ in both lab-made sonicator and commercial ultrasonic bath. However, at concentrations between 0.1 and 1.0 M Zn(NO₃)₂-C₆H₁₂N₄ mainly plate-like zinc hydroxide nitrate hydrate (Zn₅(OH)₈(NO₃)₂(H₂O)₂) resulted with only a small fraction of ZnO, irrespective of the irradiation time employed, highlighting the sensitivity of the system to the concentration of the starting materials. Heat treatment of Zn₅(OH)₈(NO₃)₂(H₂O)₂ at 350 °C in air affords a ZnO phase of irregular morphology. Octahedral ZnO is found to exhibit slightly lower IR absorption and similar UV absorption to that of commercial prismatic hexagonal ZnO, although an extra peak due to small quantities of Zn₅(OH)₈(NO₃)₂(H₂O)₂ is observed.     

Magnetoimpedance of cobalt-coated silicon steels

Magnetoimpedance (MI) effect of cobalt-coated silicon steels is measured as a function of cobalt thickness (0−45 μm), DC magnetic field (0-2 kOe), frequency (1 kHz-1 MHz) and magnitude (1-20 mA) of AC current. With increase in deposition thickness, the MI ratio and the characteristic frequency are decreased because the samples are magnetically hardened by the coating. Nevertheless, cobalt deposition broadens the frequency-dependent MI curves, and the frequency range with a large MI ratio is extended. The variations of this peak width as well as the characteristic frequency and the MI ratio are explained by the skin effect and crossing effect.