Determination of iron and nickel in water and brine by solvent extraction and atomic absorption spectroscopy

A rapid, reliable and sensitive atomic absorption method for the determination of traces of iron and nickel in concentrated brine and in water has been developed. A simple, single extraction procedure is effective for iron in water at concentrations of 0.4–200 p.p.b. and in 25% (w/w) sodium chloride solutions at concentrations between 0.8 p.p.b. and 200 p.p.b. A similar procedure has been developed for nickel concentrations in the range 2–200 p.p.b. in water and 4–200 p.p.b. in brine. Extraction for 15 min with MIBK from a system buffered at pH 7 yields optimum results. The complexing agents are 0.2% solutions of 8-hydroxyquinoline and dimethylglyoxime for iron and nickel, respectively.     

Ordered mesoporous alumina-supported metal oxides

The one-pot synthesis of alumina-supported metal oxides via self-assembly of a metal precursor and aluminum isopropoxide in the presence of triblock copolymer (as a structure directing agent) is described in detail for nickel oxide. The resulting mesoporous mixed metal oxides possess p6 mm hexagonal symmetry, well-developed mesoporosity, relatively high BET surface area, large pore widths, and crystalline pore walls. In comparison to pure alumina, nickel aluminum oxide samples exhibited larger mesopores and improved thermal stability. Also, long-range ordering of the aforementioned samples was observed for nickel molar percentages as high as 20%. The generality of the recipe used for the synthesis of mesoporous nickel aluminum oxide was demonstrated by preparation of other alumina-supported metal oxides such as MgO, CaO, TiO 2, and Cr 2O 3. This method represents an important step toward the facile and reproducible synthesis of ordered mesoporous alumina-supported materials for various applications where large and accessible pores with high loading of catalytically active metal oxides are needed.     

The determination of nickel, zinc, cobalt and manganese impurities in cadmium by pulse polarography

A pulse-polarographic method for the simultaneous determination of traces of nickel, zinc, cobalt and manganese in cadmium and its compounds is described. Interference from the reduction of the cadmium matrix was eliminated by a prior electrolytic deposition of cadmium on a mercury cathode at a controlled potential of –0.90 V vs. S.C.E. Iron in excess interfered with the determination of cobalt and was therefore extracted from the electrolysed solutions. The polarographic determination was performed in 0.1 M lithium acetate -0.025 M lithium thiocyanate as supporting electrolyte. A sample weight of 10 g and a final volume of 10 ml allowed the determination of about 0.08 p.p.m. nickel, 0.01 p.p.m. zinc, 0.02 p.p.m. cobalt and 0.003 p.p.m manganese. Less than 0.01 p.p.m. nickel could be determined with a 0.25 M pyridine 0.05 M potassium chloride supporting electrolyte. Several synthetic samples and commercially available cadmium products were analysed.     

Spectrophotometric determination of cobalt and nickel with Pyridine-2-Aldehyde-2-Quinolylhydrazone

Pyridine-2-aldehyde-2-quinolylhydrazone (PAQH) is a selective and sensitive reagent for cobalt or nickel. The reagent reacts with only a few metals to give coloured complexes; with the exception of palladium, the cobalt chelate is the only complex relatively stable towards protons and PAQH is a very selective reagent for cobalt. In the presence of thioglycollic acid only nickel reacts with PAQH; the chelate is extracted with chloroform and its absorbance measured at 492 nm. The high molecular extinction coefficients (30·10³ and 51·10³) permit the determination of 0.2–2 p.p.m. of cobalt and 0.1–1 p.p.m. of nickel.     

Determination of nickel in standard rocks and glasses by photon activation analysis with 30-MeV bremsstrahlung

The determination of nickel in various silicate rocks and glasses by photon activation analysis with a linear electron accelerator is described. Simultaneous irradiation of the sample and comparative standards produces the ⁵⁸Ni(γ, n)⁵⁷Ni reaction, and a post-irradiation chemical separation is used in conjunction with Ge(Li) γ-spectrometry. Nickel abundances for ten standard silicate rocks and two elementally doped glasses are presented and compared with the data previously published. The method is quite simple and gives good reproducible results for nickel down to sub-p.p.m. levels.     

镍有序纳米孔洞阵列厚膜的制备和表征

以阳极氧化铝为模板,通过两步复型的方法,制备了金属镍的有序纳米孔洞阵列厚膜.镍膜的孔道彼此平行,呈六角排列,孔径约40 nm,孔洞间距80 nm,孔密度约1011个/cm2 .     

The determination of sulphur in copper,nickel and aluminium alloys by proton activation analysis

The ³⁴S(p, n)^34mCl reaction induced by 13-MeV protons is used for the determination of sulphur in copper, nickel and aluminium alloys. The ^34mCl is separated by repeated precipitation as silver chloride. The results obtained were 3.08 ± 0.47, 1.47 ± 0.17 and <1μg g^-1 for copper, nickel and aluminium alloys, respectively.     

Comparative studies on excitation of nickel ionic lines between argon and krypton glow discharge plasmas

The emission characteristics of nickel ionic lines in a glow discharge plasma are investigated when argon or krypton was employed as the plasma gas. Large difference in the relative intensities of nickel ionic lines which are assigned to the 3d⁸4p–3d⁸4s transition is observed between the krypton plasma and the argon plasma. Different intense Ni II lines appear in the krypton spectrum and in the argon spectrum, such as the Ni II 231.601 nm for Kr and the Ni II 230.009 nm for Ar. The excitation energy of these Ni II emission lines can give a key in considering their excitation mechanisms. The explanation for these experimental results is that charge-transfer collisions between nickel atom and the plasma gas ion play a major role in exciting the 3d⁸4p excited levels of nickel ion. The conditions for energy resonance in the charge-transfer collision determine particular energy levels having much larger population; for example, the 3d⁸4p ⁴D_7/2 level (6.39 eV) for Kr and the 3d⁸4p ⁴P_5/2 level (8.25 eV) for Ar.     

Simultaneous determination of lead and nickel in uranium by square-wave polarography

A sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of trace lead and nickel in uranium is described. These elements are separated from uranium by anion exchange and then determined by square-wave polarography using the alkaline cyanide solution as supporting electrolyte. The procedure is applicable to uranium metal and its compounds containing as little as 1 p.p.m. of lead and nickel.     

Electrodialysis performance when recycling dilute nickel solutions directly into a plating bath

This work was performed to determine membrane performance characteristics when using low current electrodialysis to recover and recycle nickel (salts) from dilute waste waters. Results showed that nickel at typical plating rinse concentrations (3000 p.p.m.) can be transferred electrically across commercially available membranes, and directly into a concentrated Watt's nickel plating bath (72,000 p.p.m.). Recovery at approximately 90% current efficiency was possible at current densities as low as 3.0 mA/cm². Nickel and co-transported water were routinely recycled as a relatively concentrated solution which would not cause dilution, since it was well above plating bath strength at all but the lowest current densities.     

The sequential injection system with adsorptive stripping voltammetric detection

Two sequential injection systems have been developed for adsorptive stripping voltammetric measurement. One is for substances adsorbing at mercury, e.g. riboflavin. In this case, a simple arrangement with only sample aspiration is needed. Reproducibility was 3% and detection limit 0.07 μM. The measuring system was applied to determination of riboflavin in vitamin pills and to study the photodegradation process of riboflavin in aqueous solutions. In the second case, metal ions were determined. They have to be complexed before deposition on the mercury surface. Thus, both the sample and the ligand have to be aspirated in the system. In this case, the reproducibility was ≈6% and the detection limit <0.1 ppm for cadmium, lead and copper when complexation with oxine was used. Dimethylglyoxime was used in determination of nickel and cobalt and nioxime complexes were used in determination of nickel and copper. With these complexing agents, the reproducibility was the same as with oxine, but the metals could be determined at concentrations lower than 0.01 ppm. Application of two ligands in a SIA system with AdSV detection was also studied. Simultaneous determination of copper, lead, cadmium and cobalt was possible by using oxine and dimethylglyoxime. Copper and nickel were simultaneously determined by using dimethylglyoxime and nioxime.     

The application of differential pulse polarography to the determination of a pharmacologically active benzhydrylpiperazine derivative and its major electroactive metabolites in the plasma and urine of animals.

A method for the determination of 1–500 p.p.m. of acid-soluble aluminium and 2–500 p.p.m. of acid-insoluble aluminium in low-alloy and stainless steels by flameless atomic absorption with a HGA 74 graphite furnace is described. A typical value of the relative standard deviation for acid-soluble aluminium at concentrations larger than 10 p.p.m. was 5 %. The steel sample was dissolved in hydrochloric and nitric acid and filtered. Ammonium sulphate was added to the filtered sample in order to overcome interferences caused by hydrochloric acid. No concentration steps were used. Acid-soluble aluminium was determined within 20 min. The influence of iron, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and ammonium sulphate respectively was investigated.     

Immobilized boron-centered heteroscorpionates: heterocycle metathesis and coordination chemistry

The preparation of a resin-supported boron-scorpionate ligand and its nickel(II) coordination complexes are reported. The supported ligand is prepared as its potassium salt, making it a general reagent suitable for chelation of any transition metal ion. Resin-immobilized benzotriazole (Bead-btz) reacted cleanly with KTp* (Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate) by heterocycle metathesis in warm dimethylformamide (DMF) to yield bead-Tp'K, {resin-btz(H)B(pz*)(2)}K. Significantly, bead-Tp'K readily bound nickel(II) from simple salts with minimal leaching of the nickel ion. Bead-Tp'NiNO(3) reacts further with cysteine thiolate (ethyl ester), imparting the deep green color to the beads characteristic of a Tp(R)NiCysEt coordination sphere. Bead-Tp'NiCysEt exhibited an oxygen sensitivity similar to Tp*NiCysEt in solution (Inorg. Chem. 1999, p 5690) and also independently verified for a selenocystamine analogue, Tp*NiSeCysAm. Addition of fresh cysteine thiolate ethyl ester to oxidized bead-Tp'NiCysEt reproduced the original green color. Heterocycle metathesis was also used to prepare KTp' as a white solid. Reaction with nickel(II) gave (Tp')(2)Ni, separable into two different isomers. The air-sensitive molybdenum(0) complex, [PPh(4)][Tp'Mo(CO)(3)], was also prepared and the C(s) complex symmetry demonstrated by infrared and (13)C NMR spectroscopies. Immobilized TpmMo(CO)(3) was prepared from the previously reported resin-supported tris(pyrazolyl)methane. In contrast to its weak coordination of nickel(II) (Inorg. Chem. 2009, p 3535), bead-Tpm proved a strong chelate toward this second row metal. The supported scorpionates described here should find use in studies of selective metal-protein binding, metalloprotein modeling, and heterogeneous catalysis, and render such scorpionate applications amenable to combinatorial methods.     

Separators for nickel—zinc batteries

The widespread use of nickel—zinc batteries, particularly as electric vehicle power sources, would be strongly enhanced by significantly extending the deep-discharge cycle life beyond the current level of 100—300 cycles. p]The nickel—zinc battery's cycle life is governed in part by the properties of the battery separator system. Cycle life appears to be related to the separator's mass transport properties. Batteries containing separators with the lowest electrolytic resistivity and highest water permeability give the longest cycle life. The results favor the use of microporous separators with an average pore diameter of about 300 A which provide the necessary mass transfer whilst still retaining adequate dendrite penetration resistance. This paper describes the types of separators and separator systems used in nickel—zinc batteries, the typical properties and characterization of these separators, and the failure modes of nickel—zinc batteries as influenced by the choice and properties of the separator system.     

X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopic chemical state quantification of mixed nickel metal,oxide and hydroxide systems

Quantitative chemical state X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis of mixed nickel metal, oxide, hydroxide and oxyhydroxide systems is challenging due to the complexity of the Ni 2p peak shapes resulting from multiplet splitting, shake‐up and plasmon loss structures. Quantification of mixed nickel chemical states and the qualitative determination of low concentrations of Ni(III) species are demonstrated via an approach based on standard spectra from quality reference samples (Ni, NiO, Ni(OH)₂, NiOOH), subtraction of these spectra, and data analysis that integrates information from the Ni 2p spectrum and the O 1s spectra. Quantification of a commercial nickel powder and a thin nickel oxide film grown at 1‐Torr O₂ and 300 °C for 20 min is demonstrated. The effect of uncertain relative sensitivity factors (e.g. Ni 2.67 ± 0.54) is discussed, as is the depth of measurement for thin film analysis based on calculated inelastic mean free paths. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reinforced nickel and nickel-platinum catalysts for performing the thermally coupled reactions of methane steam reforming and hydrogen oxidation

The formation of composite nickel and nickel-platinum catalysts reinforced with steel gauze was studied. The catalysts were prepared by sintering powdered nickel metal and a supported nickel catalyst (GIAP-3 or NIAP-18) with a chromium oxide additive in the case of nickel-containing composite catalysts or by sintering powdered nickel, aluminum, and a supported platinum catalyst in the case of catalysts containing nickel-platinum. With the use of electron microscopy, mercury porosimetry, and X-ray electron probe microanalysis, it was found that a metal matrix, in the pores of which supported catalyst particles were distributed, was formed in the composite catalysts. The reinforced nickel catalysts prepared were active in the reaction of methane steam reforming, and the catalysts containing nickel-platinum were active in the reaction of hydrogen oxidation. An increase in the activity of reinforced nickel catalysts in the course of the reaction was found. It is believed that the increase of the activity was due to the reduction of nickel oxide from an inactive difficult-to-reduce oxide film containing nickel and chromium oxides under the action of the reaction atmosphere.     

Effect of phosphorus concentration on the electronic structure of nanocrystalline electrodeposited Ni–P alloys: an XPS and XAES investigation

A surface analysis has been conducted on a series of electrodeposited nickel‐phosphorus (Ni–P) alloys containing from 6 to 29 at.% phosphorus, using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X‐ray excited Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES). No changes in core‐level binding energies, Ni2p3/2 and Ni2p1/2, P2p, P2s, or X‐ray excited NiLMM and PKLL Auger lines were observed regardless of phosphorus concentration. The only systematic differences observed concerned: (i) the binding energy of the Ni2p satellite peak, (ii) the fine structure of the NiLMM Auger lines, (iii) the percentage of the satellite in the total Ni2p3/2 spectrum and (iv) the valence band density of states in the Ni3d electrons region, all related to the electronic structure of the Ni–P alloys. For the first time, it has been possible to describe and rationalise the influence of (phosphorus) ligand concentration on the electronic structure of nickel‐based alloys, using a screening model proposed in the literature for clarifying the role of substituents on the electronic structure of conductor compounds of nickel. As the phosphorus content increases, the number of non‐bonding Ni3d electrons decreases. Thus the d‐type core‐hole screening is less pronounced and the binding energy of the satellite for the final state with a filled Ni4s shell increases. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Derivative spectrophotometric determination of nickel using Br-PADAP

A major problem with spectrophotometric methods for nickel is cobalt interference, because many of the reagents for nickel also react with cobalt. In this work, the interference of cobalt in the determination of nickel using 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylaxo)-5-diethylaminophenol (Br-PADAP) was eliminated by the use of derivative spectrophotometry, using the zero-crossing method for evaluation of the derivative signal. Br-PADAP reacts with nickel(II) in the presence of Triton X-100 to form a red complex with absorption maxima at 530 and 562 nm. The reactions parameters and the conditions for the measurements of the first-derivative signal were studied and the results demonstrated that using the derivative technique, Br-PADAP can be used for nickel determination with a selectivity higher than that of ordinary spectrophotometry and with a limit of detection of 0.2 ng ml(-1). The pH should be in the range 5.0-6.0 using an acetate buffer. The determination of nickel in the presence of cobalt was performed with conventional and derivative procedures, and the results demonstrated that only the derivative method should be used and, of the methods used for evaluation of the derivative signal, the zero-crossing method is the best. The proposed procedure was used for nickel determination in steels standards. The results demonstrated that the procedure has satisfactory accuracy and precision. Cobalt interference can be also eliminated by using dual-wave-length spectroscopy.     

Separation of the radioelements210Pb−210Bi−210Po by spontaneous deposition onto noble metals and verification by Cherenkov and liquid scintillation counting

A method for the separation of²¹⁰Pb,²¹⁰Bi and²¹⁰Po using spontaneous deposition has been developed. The²¹⁰Bi and²¹⁰Po are simultaneously removed by deposition onto nickel foil (copper and tin could also be used but less effectively) while the²¹⁰Po is separated from²¹⁰Bi, after dissolution of the nickel foil, by deposition onto silver foil. The effectiveness of each separation was evaluated by adding aliquot portions of each solution to a cocktail and counting with a liquid scintillation counter. Water was used as the medium to observe the Cherenkov count of the sample solution.     

A fluorescence-based sensing system for the environmental monitoring of nickel using the nickel binding protein from Escherichia coli

A sensing system for nickel based on the nickel binding protein (NBP) from Escherichia coli is shown to be feasible. The versatility of NBP was demonstrated by its use in three different assay formats. When the NBP binds nickel, it undergoes a conformational change that can be used as the basis for an optical sensing system for nickel. The NBP gene was overexpressed in E. coli and the protein purified in a single step using perfusion anion-exchange chromatography. A unique cysteine residue at position 15 in the NBP was labeled with the fluorophore, N-[2-(1-maleimidyl)ethyl]-7-(diethylamino)coumarin-3-carboxamide (MDCC). In a spectrofluorimetric assay, there was a maximum of 65% quenching of the fluorescence signal produced by NBP-MDCC in the presence of nickel. A response curve for nickel using NBP-MDCC revealed a detection limit of 8 x 10(-8) mol L(-1). NBP-MDCC was also used to develop assays in microtiter plate and fiber optic bundle formats. Detection limits for nickel using these formats were also in the submicromolar range. Selectivity studies conducted with other divalent metals, including copper, cobalt, iron, cadmium, and manganese, showed that fluorescence quenching for cobalt was similar in magnitude but with a detection limit more than 10-fold higher than for nickel. The quenching responses were lower for the other metals, with detection limits at least 10 to 100 times higher than for nickel. These results suggest that fluorescently labeled NBP is potentially useful in the development of a sensing system for nickel.