Chemical separation and inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometric determination of seventeen trace metals in thorium oxide matrix using a novel extractant – Cyanex-923

Comprehensive studies have been carried out on the extraction behaviour of thorium matrix vis-a-vis 17 trace metallic elements using a novel extractant viz. Cyanex-923. The near total extraction of thorium and quantitative separation of these metals has been established using inductively coupled argon plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES). The recovery of few representative elements has been confirmed by radio-active tracer studies. The studies carried out here have enabled determination of μg/l amounts of all analyte elements with a precision of better than 1% RSD with prior chemical separation from as low as 1 g thorium sample in just five chemical extractions.     

Spectrophotometric Studies of Cerium(III) and Thorium(IV) Chelates of Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid (DTPA)

The interaction between diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA or H_sZ) and Ce(III) and Th(IV) ions has been investigated spectrophotometrically in aqueous solution at an ionic strength of 0.1 and for various temperatures. It has been found that the Ce(III)-DTPA chelate (1:1) exhibited a characteristic absorption maximum at 297 nm, and the optimum pH range is between 3.4 to 4.4. The absorption of Ce(III)-DTPA chelate is considerably diminished by adding small amounts of Th(IV) ions. This phenomenon was used to evaluate the formation constant of Th(IV)-DTPA chelate (1:1). The formation constants and the thermodynamic properties characterizing the formation of the chelates have been calculated at 25°. The results are as follows:      

Adsorption of thorium(IV) on magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The influences of pH, contact time, solid-liquid ratio, temperature and C60(C(COOH)2)n on Th(IV) adsorption onto the magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MMWCNTs) were studied by batch technique. The dynamic process showed that the adsorption of Th(IV) onto MMWCNTs could reach equilibrium in 40 h and matched the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The adsorption of Th(IV) onto MMWCNTs was significantly dependent on pH values, the adsorption ratio increased markedly at pH 3.0–5.0, and then maintained a steady state as pH values increased. At low pH, different C60(C(COOH)2)n content could enhance the adsorption content of Th(IV) onto MMWCNTs, but restrained it at higher pH. Through simulating the adsorption isotherms by Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubini-Radushkevich models, it could be seen respectively that the adsorption pattern of Th(IV) onto MMWCNTs was mainly surface complexation, and that the adsorption process was endothermic and irreversible.     

A novel microwave assisted reverse micelle fabrication route for Th (IV)‐MOFs as highly efficient adsorbent nanostructures with controllable structural properties to CO and CH4 adsorption: Design,and a systematic study

Reducing gas contaminants by affordable and effective adsorbents is a major challenge in the 21^st century. In the present study, thorium metal organic framework (Th‐MOF) nanostructures are introduced as highly efficient adsorbents. These compounds were manufactured via a novel route resulting from the development of microwave assisted reverse micelle (MARM) and ultrasound assisted reverse micelle (UARM) methods. The products were characterized utilizing XRD, SEM, TGA/DSC, BET, and FT‐IR analyses. Based on the results, the samples synthesized by MARM had uniform size distribution, high thermal stability, and significant surface area. Calculations using DFT/B3LYP indicated that the compounds have a tendency to the polymeric form, which could theoretically confirm the formation of Th‐MOF. Results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that synthesis parameters played a critical role in the manufacturing of products with distinctive properties. Response surface methodology (RSM) predicted the possibility of creating Th‐MOF adsorbents with the surface area of 2579 m²/g, which was a considerable value in comparison with the properties of other adsorbents. Adsorption studies showed that, in the optimum conditions, the Th‐MOF products had high adsorption capacity for CO and CH₄. It is believed that the synthesis protocol developed in the present study and the systematic studies conducted on the samples which lead to products with ideal adsorption properties.     

Modification of Hole Transport Layers for Fabricating High Performance Non‐fullerene Polymer Solar Cells

Interfacial engineering is expected to be a feasible strategy to improve the charge transport properties of the hole transport layer (HTL), which is of crucial importance to boost the device performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this study, two types of alcohol soluble materials, 2,3,5,6‐tetrafluoro‐7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (F₄‐TCNQ) and di‐tetrabutylammoniumcis–bis(isothiocyanato)bis (2,2’‐bipyridyl‐4,4’‐dicarboxylato) ruthenium(II) (N719) dye were selected as the dopant for HTL. The doping of F₄‐TCNQ and N719 dye in poly (ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) with and without integrating a graphene quantum‐dots (G‐QDs) layer has been explored in poly[[2,6′‐4‐8‐di(5‐ethylhexylthienyl)benzo[1,2‐b:3,3‐b]dithiophene][3‐fluoro‐2[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thio‐phenediyl:(2,2′‐((2Z,2′Z)‐(((4,4,9, 9‐tetrakis(4‐hexylphenyl)‐4,9‐dihydro‐s‐indaceno[1,2‐b:5,6‐b′]dithiophene‐2,7‐diyl)bis(4‐((2‐ethylhexyl)oxy)thiophene‐5,2‐diyl))bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6‐difluoro‐3‐oxo‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐indene‐2,1‐diylidene))dimalononitrile (PTB7‐Th:IEICO‐4F) OSCs. The power conversion efficiency of the non‐fullerene OSCs has been increased to 10.12% from 8.84%. The influence of HTL modification on the nano‐morphological structures and photophysical properties is analyzed based on the comparative studies performed on the control and modified devices. The use of chemical doping and bilayer strategy optimizes the energy level alignment, nanomorphology, hole mobility, and work‐function of HTL, leading to considerable reduction of the leakage current and recombination losses. Our work demonstrates that the doping of HTL and the incorporation of G‐QDs layer to constitute a bilayer HTL is an promising strategy to fabricate high performance non‐fullerene polymer solar cells     

Verbindungsbildung in den quasi-binären Systemen AcX4?MX2 (Ac = Th,U; M = Ca,Sr, Ba,Eu, Ge,Sn, Pb; X = Br,I)

Formation of Compounds in the Quasi-binary Systems AcX₄? MX₂ (Ac = Th, U; M = Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu, Ge, Sn, Pb; X = Br, I) T,x-phase diagrams of the systems ThI₄? SnI₂, ThI₄? PbI₂, ThI₄? CaI₂, and ThI₄? SrI₂ were established using thermoanalysis and x-ray methods. The only ternary compounds have a 1:1 composition. Further AcMX₆ compounds (Ac: Th, U; M: Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu, Ge, Sn, Pb; X: Br, I) were synthesized and their structures investigated. Four structure types are found depending on the temperature and the Ac/M combinations. The structures of γ-ThSnI₆ and β-ThSnI₆ were determined with single crystal methods as representatives of a whole series of isotypic compounds.     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Magnetic Properties of the New Boride Solid Solutions M0.5Ru6.5B3 (M = Cr,Mn, Co,Ni)

Powder samples and single crystals of the borides M_0.5Ru_6.5B₃ (M = Cr, Mn, Co, Ni) were synthesized by arc‐melting the elements in a water‐cooled copper crucible under argon. The new phases were structurally characterized by single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction as well as EDX‐Analyses. They crystallize in the hexagonal Th₇Fe₃ structure type (space group P6₃mc, no. 186, Z = 2) and a pronounced site preferential M/Ru substitution is observed. Magnetic properties of the compounds were investigated and Pauli paramagnetism was observed in all cases. However, a strong temperature dependency is subsequently observed in Mn_0.5Ru_6.5B₃ below 250 K, but no hint of magnetic ordering was found.     

Sub-barrier fission fragment angular distributions for the system19F+232Th

The measurements of fission fragment angular distributions for the system¹⁹F+²³²Th have been extended to the sub-barrier energies of 89.3, 91.5 and 93.6 MeV. The measured anisotropies, within errors are nearly the same over this energy region. However, the deviation of the experimental values of anisotropies from that of standard statistical model predictions increases as the bombarding energy is lowered.