Noninvasive plasma diagnostics in a parallel-plate reactor for RF discharges

Extensive studies on the discharge current of a 50-kHz argon glow discharge in a parallel-plate reactor has led to a model that is able to describe the discharge in a wide range of pressures and powers for the evaluation of plasma parameters. The network simulation program PSPICE can be used to simulate the model in a way easily adopted to other plusma reactors as well. This may lead to a new plasma diagnostic method that does not require a complicated setup. The behavior of the discharge current can also he used for numerical simulations of the sell bias voltage in capacitively coupled plasma reactors. The influence of power and pressure can be integrated and allows an estimation of the self-bias for given reactor geometries and process parameters.     

Model of microsecond pulsed glow discharge in hollow cathode for mass spectrometry

A new model for microsecond pulsed glow discharge in a hollow cathode and its afterglow is described. The model is based on the Monte-Carlo method together with a new method for electrical field calculation, which is based on some phenomenological laws of plasma behavior. The afterglow model uses continuity and Poisson equations. A qualitative agreement between the model results and results published in experimental and theoretical works is demonstrated. Some processes in the microsecond pulsed discharge in the hollow cathode, such as sputtering, ionization and transfer of sample, are investigated. The model is successfully used for the optimization of the operational parameters of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer with ionization by microsecond pulsed glow discharge in a hollow cathode.     

Solution cathode glow discharge induced vapor generation of mercury and its application to mercury speciation by high performance liquid chromatography-atomic fluorescence spectrometry

A novel solution cathode glow discharge (SCGD) induced vapor generation was developed as interface to on-line couple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) for the speciation of inorganic mercury (Hg(2+)), methyl-mercury (MeHg) and ethyl-mercury (EtHg). The decomposition of organic mercury species and the reduction of Hg(2+) could be completed in one step with this proposed SCGD induced vapor generation system. The vapor generation is extremely rapid and therefore is easy to couple with flow injection (FI) and HPLC. Compared with the conventional HPLC-CV-AFS hyphenated systems, the proposed HPLC-SCGD-AFS system is very simple in operation and eliminates auxiliary redox reagents. Parameters influencing mercury determination were optimized, such as concentration of formic acid, discharge current and argon flow rate. The method detection limits for HPLC-SCGD-AFS system were 0.67 μg L(-1) for Hg(2+), 0.55 μg L(-1) for MeHg and 1.19 μg L(-1) for EtHg, respectively. The developed method was validated by determination of certified reference material (GBW 10029, tuna fish) and was further applied for the determination of mercury in biological samples.     

Addition of SiO2 to the operation of a polyimide cathode in a sodium battery

The effect of the addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles on the properties of a polyimide cathode was explored by CV, XPS, and galvanostatic cycling methods. The capacity and average cycling potential of the cell increased in the presence of SiO₂. By quantum chemical modeling, it was shown that SiO₂ nanoparticles served as a framework for polyimide, which retained its fixed structure upon metalation with sodium.     

Spin-projected coupled-cluster theory with single and double excitations

Coupled-cluster (CC) theory including single (S) and double (D) excitations and carried out with a spin-unrestricted Hartree–Fock (UHF) reference wave function is free from S + 1 spin contamination as can be confirmed by an analysis of the expectation value of the spin operator, Ŝ ². Contamination by the S + 2 contaminant can be projected out by an approximate procedure (APCCSD) with a projection operator, P^, represented by the product of the spin annihilation operators ? _{s+ 1} and ?_s+2. The computational cost of such a projection scales with O(M ⁶) (M is the number of basis functions). The APCCSD energy obtained after annihilation of the S + 2 contaminant can be improved by adding triple (T) excitations in a perturbative way, thus leading to APCCSD(T) energies. For the 17 examples studied, the deviation of the UHF-CCSD(T) energies from the corresponding full configuaration interaction values is reduced from 4.0 to 2.3 mhartree on the average as a result of annihilating the S + 2 contaminant in an approximate way. In the case of single-bond cleavage, APCSSD leads to a significant improvement of the energy in the region where the bonding electrons recouple from a closed shell to an open shell singlet electron pair. Received: 13 April 2000 / Accepted: 12 July 2000 / Published online: 24 October 2000     

Gas and liquid phases interaction at the FeO·Cr2O3 cathode of a direct-current arc discharge

The study of an arc discharge in argon has been made with the cathode of the discharge system in the form of molten chromite, FeO·Cr₂O₃. The partial pressure distributions of the elements Fe and Cr, as well as the temperature distributions, have been determined in the arc by spectroscopic methods. The data obtained were used, in conjunction with a mathematical model, for the determination of the oxygen species distribution in the same medium. The cathode bath surface was measured by means of the two-wavelength method. From a consideration of free energy of reaction values, it is concluded that the presence of elemental Fe and Cr in the cathode bath is mainly related to the migration of Fe⁺ and Cr⁺, present in the arc, toward the liquid cathode. The formation of these elements in the molten cathode is very unlikely.     

A Theoretical study on the charge and discharge states of Na-ion battery cathode material,Na1+xFePO4F

Na₂FePO₄F is a promising cathode material for a Na-ion battery because of its high electronic capacity and good cycle performance. In this work, first principle calculations combined with cluster expansion and the Monte Carlo method have been applied to analyze the charge and discharge processes of Na₂FePO₄F by examining the voltage curve and the phase diagram. As a result of the density functional theory calculation and experimental verification with structural analysis, we found that the most stable structure of Na_1.5FePO₄F has the P2₁/b11 space group, which has not been reported to date. The estimated voltage curve has two clear plateaus caused by the two-phase structure composed of P2₁/b11 Na_1.5FePO₄F and Pbcn Na₂FePO₄F or Na₁FePO₄F and separated along the c-axis direction. The phase diagram shows the stability of the phase-separated structure. Considering that Na₂FePO₄F has diffusion paths in the a- and c-axis directions, Na₂FePO₄F has both innerphase and interphase diffusion paths. We suggest that the stable two-phase structure and the diffusion paths to both the innerphase and interphases are a key for the very clear plateau. We challenge to simulate a nonequilibrium state at high rate discharge with high temperature by introducing a coordinate-dependent chemical potential. The simulation shows agreement with the experimental discharge curve on the disappearance of the two plateaus. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A comparison of single and double pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of aluminum samples

Single and double pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was carried out on aluminum samples in air. In the case of double pulse excitation, experiments were conducted by using the same laser source operated at the same wavelength (1064 nm in most cases here presented). A lowering of the second pulse plasma threshold was observed, together with an overall enhancement in line emission for the investigated time delay between the two pulses (40–60 μs). The laser-induced plasma originated by a single and double pulse was investigated near ignition threshold with the aim to study possible dynamical mechanisms in different regimes. Currently available spectroscopic diagnostics of plasma, such as the line broadening and shift due Stark effects, have been used in the characterization in order to retrieve electron densities, while standard temperature measurements were based on Boltzmann plot. Plasma relevant parameters, such as temperature and electron density, have been measured in the plasma decay on a long time scale, and compared with crater shape (diameter and inferred volume). The comparison of double with single pulse laser excitation was carried out while keeping constant the energy per pulse; the influence of laser energy was investigated as well. Results here obtained suggest that use of the double pulse technique could significantly improve the analytical capabilities of LIBS technique in routine laboratory experiments.     

Study of a hollow cathode arc discharge in the presence of chromium oxide

A hollow cathode arc discharge in hydrogen has been used for the purpose of chromium oxide reduction, the solid oxide being placed inside the anode. Mass transport from the oxide to the gas phase and excitation conditions in the plasma have been investigated. The results show that a substantial amount of oxide is transferred to the gas phase with subsequent reduction and deposition inside the cathode cavity, in the form of a pure metal. The residual part condenses on the discharge chamber wall as an amorphous substance, containing 50–60% of Cr metal, and on the anode surface under the form of a mixture of chromium oxide and metal crystals (10%). From spectroscopic investigations it follows that, inside the anode zone, total Cr concentration in the gas phase is of the order of 10¹⁴ cm^–3, the excitation temperature of the atoms and ions being 4500 and 5500 K, respectively, and the ionization temperature being about 6000 K.Notation I absolute spectral line intensity (W cm^–2 sr^–1) - emission coefficient (W cm^–3 sr^–1) - A relative absorption - absorption coefficient (cm^–1) - L plasma diameter (mm) - f _tk oscillator strength - _D full Doppler width (cm^–1) - S( ₀ L) Ladenburg-Levy function - wave number (cm^–1) - k _pl mass transport rate (mol cm^–2 s^–1) - k _th thermal reduction rate (mol cm^–2 s^–1) - u ion mobility (mm V^–1 s^–1 ) - E electric field strength (V mm^–1) - drift velocity (cm s^–1)     

Noise in atomic absorption flame spectrometry—a comparison between single beam and double beam instruments

Noise levels have been measured under a variety of conditions using comparable single and double beam instruments. At low absorbance, in the vicinity of the detection limit, the major types of noise are photon noise, flame transmission noise and lamp flicker noise. The precision at low absorbance is slightly better with single than double beam providing a blank correction is made before and after each sample measurement. At higher absorbances, analyte absorption noise is dominant and there is no difference in precision between single and double beam.     

On the interrelation between orbits and double cosets

Orbits and double cosets are intimately related: double cosets can always be looked upon as being orbits and often orbits can be identified with double cosets, in reverse. This note presents two such situations where orbits can be traced back to double cosets: the restriction of transitive permutation representations to subgroups and the cartesian product of two transitive permutation representations. These results readily apply to standard topics in chemical combinatorics dealing with isomers and isomerizations but equally like to less familiar combinatorial schemes such as Redfield's.     

Determination of one-dimensional crystal structures using the double Patterson function

The properties and previous use of the double Patterson function in x-ray crystallography are briefly reviewed followed by an account of a new iterative technique, based on the double Patterson, which is being developed by the author. The technique starts with an approximation to the double Patterson which does not require phases, then improves the approximation by making it conform to the known projections and known magnitudes of the Fourier coefficients. The latter are 3-phase structure invariants and estimating their phases is an important step in the direct determination of structure factor phases. Tests carried out on one-dimensional centro-symmetric structures show that the technique is successful. At best, it determines correct phases for all 3-phase invariants. At worst, it fails to improve on the estimate of all phases being zero. It consistently does very much better than the B_{3, 0} formula which is also based on the double Patterson. Further development is necessary to apply the technique to non-centrosymmetric structures and to real structures in three dimensions.     

The design and characteristics of direct current glow discharge atomic emission source operated with plain and hollow cathodes

A compact direct current glow discharge atomic emission source has been designed and constructed for analytical applications. This atomic emission source works very efficiently at a low-input electrical power. The design has some features that make it distinct from that of the conventional Grimm glow discharge source. The peculiar cathode design offered greater flexibility on size and shape of the sample. As a result the source can be easily adopted to operate in Plain or Hollow Cathode configuration. I-V and spectroscopic characteristics of the source were compared while operating it with plain and hollow copper cathodes. It was observed that with hollow cathode, the source can be operated at a less input power and generates greater Cu I and Cu II line intensities. Also, the intensity of Cu II line rise faster than Cu I line with argon pressure for both cathodes. But the influence of pressure on Cu II lines was more significant when the source is operated with hollow cathode.     

A theoretical investigation on the excited state intramolecular single or double proton transfer mechanism of a salicyladazine system

Given the tremendous potential applications of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) systems, ESIPT molecules have received widespread attention. In this work, based on density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent DFT (TDDFT) methods, we theoretically study the excited state dynamical behaviors of salicyladazine (SA) molecules. Our simulated results show that the double intramolecular hydrogen bonds of SA are strengthened in the S₁ state via exploring bond distances, bond angles, and infrared (IR) vibrational spectra. Exploring the frontier molecular orbitals (MOs), we confirm that charge redistributions indeed have effects on excited state dynamical behaviors. The increased electronic densities on N atoms and the decreased electronic densities on O atoms imply that charge redistribution may trigger the ESPT process. Analyzing the constructed S₀‐state and S₁‐state potential energy surfaces (PESs), we confirm that only the excited state single proton transfer reaction can occur although SA possesses two intramolecular hydrogen bonds. In this work, we clarify the specific ESIPT mechanism, which may facilitate developing novel applications based on the SA system in future.     

Critical comparison of emission spectroscopic determination of dissociation in hydrogen RF discharges

The degree of dissociation of molecular hydrogen in a RF parallel plate plasma reactor is analyzed by three dif erent emission spectroscopic methods. These schemes are based on the comparison of line intensities of atomic and molecular hydrogen and of argon which is admixed as a tracer gas (actinometry). The different schemes yield similar results in the parameter ranges where they are applicable. The basic assumptions, the available cross sections, and the conditions and limitations of applicability of the different schemes are compared and discussed.     

A 3D fibrous cathode with high interconnectivity for solid oxide fuel cells

A three-dimensional (3D) fibrous cathode of solid oxide fuel cell was fabricated by using eggshell membranes (ESMs) as the template. This cathode possesses high porosity and interconnectivity, and low polarization resistance. A single fuel cell with the 3D fibrous Sm_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃/Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O_1.9 cathode shows significantly improved performances at low operating temperatures (500–600 °C) as compared with the cell prepared with the ESM-templated cluster cathode in our previous study.     

Flame-retarded polystyrene: Investigating chemical interactions between ammonium polyphosphate and MgAl layered double hydroxide

Potential flame retardants, MgAl-LDH and ammonium polyphosphate (APP), were added to neat polystyrene (PS) individually or in combinations at weight fractions no greater than 10%. Structural morphologies of MgAl-LDH and the corresponding PS nanocomposites were established via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and cone calorimetry were used to study the thermal stability and fire performance of the composites. Time to ignition is greatly reduced for PS composites when compared to the virgin polymer. Synergistic effects were observed in both TGA and cone calorimetry for formulations containing both MgAl-LDH and APP. Physical and chemical interactions between MgAl-LDH and APP are responsible for the observed synergy in thermal stability and fire performance.     

Nitrogen incorporation in saturated aliphatic C6–C8 hydrocarbons and ethanol in low‐pressure nitrogen plasma generated by a hollow cathode discharge ion source

Ion/molecule reactions of saturated hydrocarbons (n‐hexane, cyclohexane, n‐heptane, n‐octane and isooctane) in 28‐Torr N₂ plasma generated by a hollow cathode discharge ion source were investigated using an Orbitrap mass spectrometer. It was found that the ions with [M+14]⁺ were observed as the major ions (M: sample molecule). The exact mass analysis revealed that the ions are nitrogenated molecules, [M+N]⁺ formed by the reactions of N₃⁺ with M. The reaction, N₃⁺ + M → [M+N]⁺ + N₂, were examined by the density functional theory calculations. It was found that N₃⁺ abstracts the H atom from hydrocarbon molecules leading to the formation of protonated imines in the forms of R′R″C?NH₂⁺ (i.e. C–H bond nitrogenation). This result is in accord with the fact that elimination of NH₃ is the major channel for MS/MS of [M+N]⁺. That is, nitrogen is incorporated in the C–H bonds of saturated hydrocarbons. No nitrogenation was observed for benzene and acetone, which was ascribed to the formation of stable charge‐transfer complexes benzene????N₃⁺ and acetone????N₃⁺ revealed by density functional theory calculations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.