Optimization of Pretreatment Method for Alkylmercuries Speciation in Coal by High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with UV‐Digestion Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry

Abstract

Exhaustive extraction of analytes in their original chemical forms from samples with complex matrices is a pivotal step for speciation analysis. Herein we propose a pretreatment method for extracting and preconcentrating methylmercury and ethylmercury from coal samples by using KBr–H₂SO₄/CuSO₄–C₆H₅CH₃–Na₂S₂O₃ system. The extraction conditions, including the volume of the organic phase and the extraction time, were optimized in detail. Speciation analysis of alkylmercuries was carried out by high‐performance liquid chromatography online coupled with UV‐digestion and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The detection limits were 0.6 ng mL^?1 for methylmercury and 1 ng mL^?1 for ethylmercury, respectively. The recoveries of methylmercury and ethylmercury spiked in a sample were 84% and 82%, respectively. The method was applied successfully to analysis of alkylmercuries in four coal samples collected from northeast China.     

Image denoising using trivariate prior model in nonsubsampled dual-tree complex contourlet transform domain and non-local means filter in spatial domain

Image denoising is always the basic problem of image processing, and the main challenge is how to effectively remove the noise and preserve the detailed information. This paper presents a new image denoising algorithm based on the combination of trivariate prior model in nonsubsampled dual-tree complex contourlet transformlet transform (NSDTCT) domain and non-local means filter (NLMF) in spatial domain. Firstly, NSDTCT is constructed by combining the dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) and nonsubsampled directional filter banks (NSDFB). The noisy image is decomposed by using NSDTCT. Secondly, based on the correlation between the interscale and intrascale dependencies of NSDTCT coefficients, the distribution of the high frequency coefficients is modeled with the trivariate non-Gaussian distribution model. A nonlinear trivariate shrinkage function is derived in the framework of Bayesian theory, and then the denoised coefficients are obtained and inverse NSDTCT is performed to get the initial denoised image. Finally, NLMF is used to smooth the initial denoised image. Simulation experiment shows that our algorithm can obtain better performances than those outstanding denoising algorithms in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), mean structural similarity (MSSIM) as well as visual quality.     

Dynamical study on the stimulated processes of an exciton and a biexciton in a polymer

By applying a femtosecond stimulating pulse, we theoretically study the stimulated processes of an exciton and a biexciton in a polymer within the framework of an extended Su–Schrieffer–Heeger tight-binding model. For an exciton, it is obtained that the stimulated emission and absorption between the intragap levels take place with the same probability, by which we will not get the light amplification. However, the light amplification can be realized by the stimulated emission between the intragap levels in a biexciton, which is found to have two different modes. Finally, effect of the stimulating energy and intensity on the stimulated processes is separately analyzed. These results might be of great importance for further improving the optical applications of polymers, especially for optimizing the polymer laser properties.     

Using stochastic optimization to determine threshold values for the control of unreliable manufacturing systems

A manufacturing system with two tandem machines producing one part type is considered in this work. The machines are unreliable, each having two states, up and down. Both surplus controls and Kanban systems are considered. Algorithms for approximating the optimal threshold values are developed. First, perturbation analysis techniques are employed to obtain consistent gradient estimates based on a single simulation run. Then, iterative algorithms of the stochastic optimization type are constructed. It is shown that the algorithms converge to the optimal threshold values in an appropriate sense. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the performance of the algorithms.The research of these authors was supported in part by grants from URIF, MRCO, National Science Foundation, and Wayne State University. The authors would like to thank Dr. X. R. Cao, Digital Equipment Corporation, for the valuable initial discussion and Dr. X. Y. Zhou, University of Toronto, for his helpful comments.     

Near optimality of stochastic control in systems with unknown parameter processes

Stochastic control for systems with an unknown parameter is considered in this paper. The underlying problem is to minimize a functional subject to a system described by a singularly perturbed differential equation with an unknown parameter process driven by fast fluctuating random disturbances. This problem arises in the context of stochastic adaptive control, adaptive signal processing, and failure-prone manufacturing systems. Due to the nature of the wide-bandwidth noise processes, identifying the parameter process for eacht is very hard since the driving noise changes very rapidly. An alternative approach is used, and an auxiliary control problem is introduced to overcome the difficulties. By means of weak convergence methods and comparison control techniques, nearly optimal controls are obtained.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant DMS-9022139 and DMS-9224372.     

离子浓度及表面结构对岩石孔隙内水流动特性的影响

酸性环境引发的岩石孔隙表面溶解增加了孔隙内水溶液的盐离子浓度,破坏了孔隙的表面结构.本文采用分子动力学模拟的方法研究了纳米级岩石孔隙内水溶液的流动特性,分析了盐离子浓度和孔隙表面结构对水流速度分布的影响及原因.研究结果表明:纳米级岩石孔隙内的水溶液流动符合泊肃叶流动特性,流速呈"抛物线"分布;随盐离子浓度增加,水溶液内部氢键网络变得更为致密,水黏度随其呈线性增长;水溶液中离子浓度越大,孔隙表面对水流动的阻力越大,最大流速越小,速度分布的"抛物线"曲率半径越大;岩石孔隙表面结构的破坏改变了流动表面的粗糙程度,增加了孔隙表面对H2O分子的吸引力.随表面结构破坏程度的增大,水溶液在近壁区域的密度增大,流速降低;当表面破坏程度达到50%时,水溶液在近壁区域出现了明显的负边界滑移现象.     

基于锥面衍射实现高效率双光栅光谱合成

分析了基于锥面衍射的双光栅光谱合成系统的可行性,设计了激光入射角为Littrow角附近的双多层介质膜（MLD）光栅光谱合成系统,开展了两路合成实验。当入射极角等于自准直入射角,入射方位角为6°时,光栅衍射效率近似等于光束自准直入射时的衍射效率。基于锥面衍射原理,对中心波长为1050.24 nm和1064.33 nm的两束光纤激光子束进行合成,入射极角为43.99°,测得合成效率为92.9%,较基于非锥面衍射的双光栅光谱合成系统的合成效率提高了8.8%;测得合成光斑光束质量M_x²＝1.204,M_y²＝1.467,与基于非锥面衍射的双光栅光谱合成系统输出光斑光束质量基本一致。     

介质材料二次电子发射特性对微波击穿的影响

以介质填充的平行板放电结构为例,本文主要研究了介质填充后微波低气压放电和微放电的物理过程.为了探究介质材料特性对微波低气压放电和微放电阈值的影响,本文采用自主研发的二次电子发射特性测量装置,测量了7种常见介质材料的二次电子发射系数和二次电子能谱.依据二次电子发射过程中介质表面正带电的稳定条件,计算了介质材料稳态表面电位与二次电子发射系数以及能谱参数的关系.在放电结构中引入与表面电位相应的等效直流电场后,依据电子扩散模型和微放电中电子谐振条件,分别探讨了介质表面稳态表面电位的大小对微波低气压放电和微放电阈值的影响.结果表明,介质材料的二次电子发射系数以及能谱参数越大,介质材料的稳态表面电位也越大,对应的微波低气压放电和微放电阈值也越大.所得结论对于填充介质的选择有一定的理论指导价值.     

The structural,electronic and magnetic properties of Ag4M and Ag4MCO (M = Sc–Zn) clusters

The structures, spectra and electronic and magnetic properties of Ag₄M and Ag₄MCO (M?=?Sc–Zn) clusters have been studied using density functional theory and CALYPSO structure searching method. Structural searches show that M atoms except Zn tend to occupy the highest coordination position in the ground state Ag₄M and Ag₄MCO clusters. Carbon monoxide is most easily adsorbed on Ag atom of Ag₄Zn and M atom of other Ag₄M. Infrared and Raman spectra, photoabsorption spectra and photoelectron spectra of Ag₄M and Ag₄MCO clusters are forecasted and can be used to identify these clusters from experiment. Analysis of electronic properties indicates that the adsorption of CO on Ag₄M clusters changes the zero vibrational energy (ZPVE) and increases stability of the host clusters. Dopant atoms except for Zn improve the stability of silver cluster. The Ag₄Ni cluster shows high chemical activity and maximum adsorption energy for carbon monoxide. Magnetism calculations reveal that the magnetic moment of Ag₄M (M?=?Mn–Ni) cluster adsorbed by carbon monoxide is decreased by 2 μ_B. The change of magnetic moment makes it possible to be used as a nanomaterial for carbon monoxide detection. Simultaneously, it is found that the adsorption of CO on Ag₄Cu cluster is a physical adsorption.     

间二甲苯分子在不同外电场下结构和解离特性研究

间二甲苯是挥发性有机物(VOCs, Volatile Organic Compounds)的关键活性成分,研究其在外电场下的性质十分重要.采用密度泛函理论(DFT),在B3LYP/6-311G++基组水平上对间二甲苯分子进行优化,从分子结构研究了不同外电场(-0.025 a.u.～0.025 a.u.)作用下,间二甲苯分子的总能量,键长,电偶极矩,前线轨道,红外光谱和解离势能面.计算结果表明,沿两甲基中C原子连线方向的电场(-0.025 a.u.～0.025 a.u.)增加时,分子总能量和能隙先增大后减小,电偶极矩先减小后增加.通过计算发现外电场对间二甲苯分子不同键长和不同振动模式的红外光谱的影响均有所不同.间二甲苯分子的解离特性表现为:沿两甲基中C原子连线方向施加强度超过0.047 a. u.的电场时,位于电场增加方向的甲基与苯环之间起连接作用的C-C键断裂.以上计算结果可为利用电场降解间二甲苯提供重要理论参考.