Liquid–liquid extraction of uranium from Egyptian phosphoric acid using a synergistic D2EHPA–DBBP mixture

Extraction of uranium from Egyptian phosphoric acid with synergistic mixture of di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and di-butyl butyl phosphonate (DBBP) is reported in this paper. The influence of various factors such as D2EHPA concentration, DBBP concentration, phosphoric acid concentration, contact time, aqueous: organic phase’s ratio (aq:org) and temperature on the degree of extraction has been established. The data on the effect of temperature on the extraction showed that the enthalpy change is −23.12 kJ/mol. Uranium extracted by D2EHPA–DBBP is further subjected to a second cycle of extraction and scrubbing impurities. The uranium is finally converted to a high purity UO₃ product using precipitation with hydrogen peroxide and heat treatment at 375 °C.     

Inner-sphere oxidation of ternary iminodiacetatochromium(III) complexes involving DL-valine and L-arginine as secondary ligands. Isokinetic relationship for the oxidation of ternary iminodiacetato-chromium(III) complexes by periodate

Background  

In this paper, the kinetics of oxidation of [Cr^III(HIDA)(Val)(H₂O)₂]⁺ and [Cr^III(HIDA)(Arg)(H₂O)₂]⁺ (HIDA = iminodiacetic acid, Val = DL-valine and Arg = L-arginine) were studied. The choice of ternary complexes was attributed to two considerations. Firstly, in order to study the effect of the secondary ligands DL-valine and L-arginine on the stability of binary complex [Cr^III(HIDA)(IDA)(H₂O)] towards oxidation. Secondly, transition metal ternary complexes have received particular focus and have been employed in mapping protein surfaces as probes for biological redox centers and in protein capture for both purification and study.     

Kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of chromium(III)-l-arginine complex by periodate

Oxidation of the chromium(III)-l-arginine complex [CrIII(L)2(H2O)2]+ by periodate has been investigated. In aqueous solutions, [CrIII(L)2(H2O)2]+ is oxidized by IO−4 according to the rate law: d[CrVI]/dt=k2K5[CrIII]T [IVII]T/1 +([H+]/K1)+K5[IVII]T where k2 is the rate constant for the electron transfer process, K1 the equilibrium constant for the dissociation of [CrIII(L)2- (H2O)2]+ to [CrIII(L)2(H2O)(OH)]+H+, and K5 the pre-equilibrium formation constant. Values of k2= 4.02×10−3s−1, K1=5.60×10−4m and K5=171m−1 were obtained at 30°C and I=0.2m. Thermodynamic activation parameters were calculated. It is proposed that electron transfer proceeds through an inner-sphere mechanism via coordination of IO−4 to chromium(III). This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structural, optical and dielectric properties of glass-nanocomposite

Transparent glass-nanocomposite sample [50Li₂B₄O₇-50(SrO-Bi₂O₃-Nb₂O₅)] (mol %) was prepared by a conventional melt-quenching technique. Fluorite (Bi₃NbO₇) and SrBi₂Nb₂O₉ (SBN) was produced by heat-treating the as-prepared sample at 773 K for 6 h (HT773). The nanocrystallites of fluorite and SBN phases in the Li₂B₄O₇ glass matrix were established by differential thermal analysis (DTA) which is confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies. The influence of heat-treating the as-prepared sample on the optical properties (transmission, optical band gap and Urbach energy) has been investigated. Properties such as dielectric constant and dielectric loss as a function of frequency (120 Hz -100 k Hz) and temperature (300-829 K) are reported.     

Magnetic properties of RE0.7Ca0.3Mn0.95Fe0.05O3 (RE=Sm and Gd) manganites at low temperature

The magnetic properties of RE_0.7Ca_0.3Mn_0.95Fe_0.05O₃ perovskite with rare-earth cations (RE=Sm and Gd) were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and low temperature (4.2-266 K) magnetization measurements. Structural characterization of these compounds shows that they both have orthorhombic (Pbnm) structure. The Mössbauer spectra show clear evidence of local structural distortion of the Mn(Fe)O₆ octahedron, which is based on the non-zero nuclear quadrupole interactions for high-spin Fe³⁺ ions. It was found that the local structural distortion increases significantly when Sm³⁺ is replaced by Gd³⁺. This distortion is attributed to the Jahn-Teller coupling strength as estimated from the Mössbauer effect results. The magnetic results indicate that the Curie temperature decreases as a result of replacing Sm by Gd. This is due to the decrease of the average A-site cationic radius 〈r_A〉. The rapid increase of magnetization at low temperature indicates the magnetic ordering of rare earth ions at the A-site.     

Study of the glassy magnetic behaviour and charge-ordering phase transitions in La0.75Ca0.25FeO3−δ perovskite

Abstract

In this work, La_0.75Ca_0.25FeO_3?δ perovskite sample was prepared by the coprecipitation method. The nanoparticle was found to crystallize in the orthorhombic (Pbnm) phase as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM). The oxygen non-stoichiometry (δ) and magnetic states of iron ions (three magnetic sextets and non-magnetic doublet) were investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy at room temperature (RT). The shape of the magnetic hysteresis loop of the sample reveals the existence of a weak ferromagnetism at RT. The magnetization vs. temperature curves, measured in the 9 to 200 K range, showed that the sample exhibits two magnetic-phase transition temperatures at 29 K (T_g) and 120 K (T_CO). The magnetization isotherms, M (H), around these magnetic-phase transition temperatures for the sample are analyzed.     

Quantum Phase and Nonlocal Correlations for a Three-Level System Interacting with Laser Light in a Nonlinear Kerr Medium Under Decoherence

In this paper, we study the time evolution of the geometric phase and nonlocal correlations for a three-level atom interacting with the quantum field emerged in a nonlinear Kerr medium. We discuss the dependence of the physical quantifiers on the phase damping effect. We examine the effects of the initial state and different system parameters on the evolution of the nonlocal correlation and geometric phase with and without the phase damping effect. Furthermore, we explore the link between the geometric phase and the nonlocal correlation during the time evolution. Finally, we show that the model proposed will be very useful to avoid the phase damping effect by a proper choice of the physical parameters in the field for both cases of the initial pure and mixed states of the three-level atom.     

Dynamical Properties of Some Statistical Quantities for a Quantum System in Generalized Negative Binomial States

We estimate the quantum state of a qubit and a quantized radiation field yielding a generalized negative binomial distribution (GNBD). We give an explicit form for various generalized negative binomial states associated to superposition, even, odd, and q-deformed states. We investigate the dynamical properties of the Mandel parameter as a quantifier of the statistical properties for the radiation field corresponding to its dynamics. We obtain the quantum Fisher information based on the estimation of the atomic state and compare it with the Mandel parameter for different instances of the GNBD. The link between the statistical quantities for different parameters of the GNBD is explored.     

Nonlocal Correlations of Moving Three-level Atoms in Photon-added Squeezed Thermal States

We investigate nonlocal correlations between a three-level atom and the optical field initially being in the photon-added squeezed thermal state. We examine the effect of the squeezing parameter and the number of added photons to the squeezed thermal field on the entanglement during the time evolution. We show that the entanglement can be enhanced by increasing the number of added photons and the squeezing parameter for moving and nonmoving three-level atoms. We present a useful way to generate and restrain a large amount of entanglement by increasing the number of added photons when the atomic motion is described by the atomic velocity.