Preliminary study of the thermally stimulated blue luminescence of ulexite

In this paper, novel results on the blue thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) emission of ulexite (NaCaB₅O₆(OH)₆·5H₂O) have been studied. The four maxima appearing at 60, 110, 200 and 240°C on the TSL glow curves of this borate could be respectively associated to: (i) the first dehydration (NaCaB₅O₆(OH)₆·5H₂O→NaCaB₅O₆(OH)₆·3H₂O), (ii) the creation-annihilation of the three-hydrated phase, (iii) the Na-coordinated chains dehydroxylation and the starting point of the alkali self-diffusion through the lattice and (iv) the amorphisation of the lattice. These results are fairly well correlated with the differential thermal analyses (DTA), in situ thermal observations under environmental scanning electron microscope (TESEM) and thermal X-ray diffraction (TXRD) techniques.     

Thermal characterization of a Spanish red mud

A Spanish red mud was thermally characterized. Chemical and mineralogical composition were determined by XRF and XRD.The thermal events observed in the range from room temperature to 1300°C were related to the sample composition. The first mass loss step was related to free water content, while many of the other processes were related to dehydration processes. It was found that most of the decomposition reactions of hydrohematite, ferrihydrite, aluminogoethite, boehmite, silicates and carbonates were strongly overlapping. It was also explained the formation of silicates and calcium titanate, which presence was confirmed at 1000°C by XRD.     

Dichlorocarbene Addition to

In contrast to the terminal phosphinidene complex PhPW(CO)(5) (2), which adds to [5]metacyclophane (1) in a 1,4-fashion, dichlorocarbene preferentially adds in a 1,2-fashion to the formal "anti-Bredt" type double bond of the aromatic ring of 1 to afford the norcaradiene 11b, which immediately rearranges to the bridged cycloheptatriene 12b and further by a [1,5] sigmatropic chlorine migration to the isomeric 13b as the first observable product. More slowly, the latter isomerizes via a dissociative mechanism to give 15b. A computational study supports the notion that the [1,5] chlorine migration in the rearrangement 12b --> 13b, for which an activation barrier of 70.2 kJ mol(-)(1) was calculated, is essentially concerted with minor charge separation. In contrast, the analogous [1,5] chlorine migration in the flat model compound 7,7-dichlorocycloheptatriene (12a) displays features of a dissociative pathway.     

Titanium Dioxide/Electrolyte Solution Interface: Electron Transfer Phenomena

Electron transfer between a titanium dioxide/electrolyte solution interface has been studied. As found by other researchers of similar interfaces (TiO(2)- and ZnO-electrolyte solution), a slow consumption of OH(-) ions takes place in this type of interface. A theoretical model has been developed for calculating the change in the Fermi energy of both electrolyte solution and semiconductor, showing that ion consumption from the solution is favoured by the decrease of the difference between their Fermi energies. A kinetic constant (upsilon) is found to characterise the consumption process, its value increasing with electrolyte and semiconductor mass concentrations. Furthermore, this process may be used to estimate the point of zero charge of a titanium dioxide colloidal dispersion. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Adsorption and Desorption of Triton X-100 in Polystyrene Particles with Different Functionality

An experimental desorption study of Triton X-100 from latices with different functionality is presented. Two different strategies to follow the desorption experiment have been used: first, a discontinuous method based on the wash step (centrifugation-removal-redispersion); and second, a continuous method based on the replacement of the disperse media. The desorption results show that in all cases a residual amount of Triton X-100 remains adsorbed, indicating irreversibility of the surfactant adsorption. Finally, the effect of desorption on the colloidal stability of one type of latex-surfactant complex has been analyzed. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.