Preparation and examination of multilayer graphene nanosheets by exfoliation of graphite in high efficient attritor mill

Graphene multilayers have been prepared by mechanical method based on milling graphite in high efficient attritor mill. The results showed that the best dispersion media is ethanol, and 10 hours of intensive milling proved to be the most efficient way to separate the graphite layers as it was shown by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements.      

Parameter Determination for Reductive Dechlorination of Chlorinated Solvents

The contamination of subsurface due to the chlorinated solvents such as tetrachlorethylene (PCE) and trichlorethylene (TCE) is one of the most difficult environmental problems to treat. Bioremediation has been shown by many researchers to be a remedial alternative for this type of contamination. Chlorinated solvents are not directly mineralized but rather are transformed by microorganisms into one or more intermediate compounds before converting into a final compound. These sequential reactions, termed “reductive dehalogenation”, consist of replacing a chlorine atom by a hydrogen atom. The pathway of degradation of PCE can be expressed by the following scheme PCE → TCE → DCE → VC → ETH, where dichloroethene (DCE), vinyl chloride (VC) and finally ETH is ethylene. Since the biotransformation rate coefficients of each intermediate compound are different, they have to be determined very precisely to establish an effective treatment operation. The sequential decay can be described by Michaelis–Menten’s kinetics, which constitutes a highly nonlinear system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). This is very sensitive to the changes of biotransformation rate coefficients. In this study we introduce a methodology how to numerically estimate the rate coefficients for Michaelis–Menten’s equations from the knowledge of the concentrations of PCE, TCE, DCE, VC and ETH. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated on some examples. Estimated biotransformation coefficients are employed to predict the concentrations of chlorinated solvents. Computations and measurements show a very good agreement.     

Differential pulse polarographic determination of uranium(VI) in complex materials after adsorption of its trifluoroethylxanthate cetyltrimethylammonium ion-associated complex on naphthalene adsorbent.

Uranium(VI) is adsorbed as a uranium trifluoroethylxanthate (TFEX)-cetyltrimethylammonium (CTMA) ion-pair complex on microcrystalline naphthalene quantitatively in the pH range 4.2 - 7.0. Without cetyltrimethylammonium as the counter ion, the adsorption is hardly 70%. The metal has been desorbed with HCI and determined with a differential pulse polarograph. Uranium can alternatively be quantitatively adsorbed on TFEX-CTMA-naphthalene adsorbent packed in a column at a flow rate of 1 - 5 ml/min and determined similarly. A well-defined peak has been obtained in this medium at -0.20 V versus a saturated calomel electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse polarography and D.C. polarography studies indicate that uranium has been reduced irreversibly under these conditions. The detection limit is 0.30 microg/ml at the minimum instrumental settings (signal-to-noise ratio of 2) (with a preconcentration factor of 10, the detection limit would be 30 ng/ml for uranium when the volume in the cell is 15 ml). However if the volume in the cell is 5 ml, it would have been 10 ng/ml with a preconcentration factor of 30. Linearity is maintained in a concentration range of 0.5 - 19.0 microg/ml (2.1 - 79.83 x 10(-9) M) with a correlation factor of 0.9994 and a relative standard deviation of +/-1.1% (in this case 7.5 microg may be concentrated from 150 ml of the aqueous sample where its concentration is as low as 50 ng/ml). Various parameters, such as the effect of the pH, volume of the aqueous phase, flow rate and the interference of a large number of metal ions and anions on the determination of uranium, have been studied in detail to optimize the conditions for its trace determination in various complex materials, like alloys, coal fly ash, biological, synthetic, and waste-water samples.     

Meson spectrum in a simple planar bootstrap model

A simple planar cluster-multiperipheral model with a finite-energy sum rule constraint is set up, and self-consistency is imposed. This dynamically generates a zero-parameter infinitely-rising vector-tensor Regge trajectory which is in good agreement with experiment.     

Vibrational properties of crystalline and amorphous Ge1−xSixalloys

A five-atom cluster Bethe lattice method treating the short-range order with proper statistical effects has been proposed for understanding the crystalline and amorphous alloys. Numerical results for Ge_1?xSi_x alloys are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. In the system studied the network is random but the nearest-neighbour coordination should be treated exactly. The long-range coordination is seen to be concentration-dependent in the crystalline alloys but concentration-independent in the amorphous alloys.     

Surfactant-promoted novel reductive synthesis of supported metallic Cu nanoclusters and their catalytic performances for selective dehydrogenation of methanol

We have found a surfactant-promoted novel reductive synthesis of metallic Cu nanoclusters on metal oxides under hydrothermal synthesis conditions, which are active for the selective dehydrogenation of methanol.     

Grenzen der Konzentrationsmessung eines Hochfrequenztitrimeters mit einer Frequenz von etwa 130 MHz

Zusammenfassung Die unteren Konzentrationsgrenzen der Durchführbarkeit von Säure-, Basen- und Fällungstitrationen mit dem bei 130 MHz arbeitenden Hoch-frequenztitrimeter wurden untersucht. Dabei wurde festgestellt, daß die untere Grenze der Bestimmungsmöglichkeit bei Salzsäure 1, bei Essigsäure 20, bei Chlorid 2 und bei Sulfat 10g/ml beträgt. Bezüglich der Wahl der Titrierflüssigkeit halten wir die Anwendung solcher Reagenzien für wichtig, bei denen die Richtungstangente im Äquivalenzpunkt möglichst ihr Vorzeichen ändert.

---

Summary A study was made of the lower concentration limits at which it is possible to conduct acid-base and precipitation titrations with the high-frequency titrimeter operating at 130 MHz. It was found that the lower limit of the possibility of determining hydrochloric acid is1 g/ml, of acetic acid 20, of chloride 2, and sulfate 10. With respect to the choice of the titrant, the writers believe it important to use such reagents with which the direction tangent show the maximum change in indication at the equivalent point.

---

Résumé Les auteurs ont cherché à déterminer les limites inférieures de concentration pour lesquelles les titrages acide-base et les titrages par précipitation restaient possible avec un titrimètre haute fréquence travaillant à 130 MHz. Ils ont établi que ces limites inférieures étaient de 1g/ml pour l'acide ehlorhydrique de 20g/ml pour l'acide acétique de 2g/ml pour les chlorures et de 10g/ml pour les sulfates. En ce qui concerne les liquides titrants ils considèrent que ces réactifs ne sont intéressants que lorsque au voisinage du point équivalent la direction de la tangente change de signe aussi nettement que possible.

     

Mutual relation of leakage and emission currents in the Al-Al2O3-Al system

In the present paper the analysis of VA characteristics of the leakage current determined experimentally for the Al-Al₂O₃-Al system is discussed. It is shown that the total leakage current is given by a sum of several local currents from the single places of the dielectric given by various mechanisms acting simultaneously. The tunnel component of the leakage current passes through a part of the dielectric area only. This current component obeys the same regularities holding for the case of emission current of electrons into vacuum. Comparison of the values of applied field intensity obtained for this tunnel component leakage current with the values corresponding to the Fowler-Nordheim equation suggests the assumption of a nonuniform potential distribution in the dielectric, i.e. the existence of a region where the potential drop agrees with the theoretical values and the region of a lower potential drop. Further, the influence of the position of potential barrier and the transmission probability over the top electrode on the emission VA characteristics is shown.