Effect of water chemistry and aging on iron-mica interaction forces: implications for iron particle transport

The transport of particles through groundwater systems is governed by a complex interplay of mechanical and chemical forces that are ultimately responsible for binding to geological substrates. To understand these forces in the context of zero valent iron particles used in the remediation of groundwater, atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based force spectroscopy was employed to characterize the interactions between AFM tips modified with either carbonyl iron particles (CIP) or electrodeposited Fe as a function of counterion valency, temperature, particle morphology, and age. The measured interaction forces were always attractive for both fresh and aged CIP and electrodeposited iron, except in 100 mM NaCl, as a consequence of electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged mica and positively charged iron. In 100 mM NaCl, repulsive hydration forces appeared to dominate. Good agreement was found between the experimental data and predictions based on the extended DLVO (XDLVO) theory. The effect of aging on iron particle composition and morphology was assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) revealing that the aged particles comprising a zero valent iron core passivated by a mixture of iron oxides and hydroxides. Force spectroscopy showed that aging caused variations in the adhesive force due to the changes in particle morphology and contact area.     

Extensional rheology of a shear-thickening cornstarch and water suspension

A filament-stretching rheometer is used to measure the extensional viscosity of a shear-thickening suspension of cornstarch in water. The experiments are performed at a concentration of 55 wt.%. The shear rheology of these suspensions demonstrates a strong shear-thickening behavior. The extensional rheology of the suspensions demonstrates a Newtonian response at low extension rates. At moderate strain rates, the fluid strain hardens. The speed of the strain hardening and the extensional viscosity achieved increase quickly with increasing extension rate. Above a critical extension rate, the extensional viscosity goes through a maximum and the fluid filaments fail through a brittle fracture at a constant tensile stress. The glassy response of the suspension is likely the result of jamming of particles or clusters of particles at these high extension rates. This same mechanism is responsible for the shear thickening of these suspensions. In capillary breakup extensional rheometry, measurement of these suspensions demonstrates a divergence in the extensional viscosity as the fluid stops draining after a modest strain is accumulated.     

Development of Disposable Carbon Nanofibers Electrodes Supported on Filters

The purpose of this work is to develop simple and reproducible ways to fabricate carbon nanofibers (CNFs) electrodes. Disposable CNFs electrodes were fabricated after filtering CNFs through polytetrafluoroethylene filters (PTFE), using directly as electrodes these filters with the CNFs film. The electrochemical behaviour of CNFs/PTFE electrodes were tested with ferrocenemethanol and tris(2,2′‐bypyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II) (Ru(bipy)₃²⁺). As a proof of concept of the analytical usefulness of the CNFs/PFTE electrodes, the study of vitamin B₁₂ was carried out. Multivariate calibrate has been successfully used to determine vitamin B₁₂ in a complex medium with vitamins B₁ and B₆ as interferents.     

Photoelectron diffraction study of ultrathin film growth of Ni on Pt(111)

X-ray photoelectron diffraction (PD) based on a forward scattering approach (FS-PD) has been used to study the growth mode of the first few Ni monolayers deposited on the Pt(111) surface, with a particular attention to the initial stages of epitaxy, i.e. the formation of the first atomic layer. Strong evidences for a layer-by-layer (or Frank-Van der Merwe) growth mode are reported, substantiated also by theoretical simulations carried out with the single scattering cluster-spherical wave (SSC-SW) framework. The first Ni monolayer grows strained in-plane to match the substrate pseudomorphically even if there is a 10% mismatch between the lattice parameters of Ni and Pt. The multilayer (up at least to six monolayers) maintains the horizontal strain and consequently shows a vertical spacing contraction (tetragonal distorsion). It retains the overall threefold symmetry and azimuthal orientation of the substrate, indicative of a single-domain epitaxial fcc stacking. There is also some evidence (even if it is not conclusive) for the fact that the Ni atoms of the first monolayer occupy hcp sites of the substrate surface.     

Synthetic approaches to phomactins: Late stage stereochemical and reactivity issues

Oxidation of a 15-methylenebicyclo[9.3.1]pentadeca-3,7-dien-14-ol with a 10-phenylsulfonyl substituent provided a 14-oxobicyclo[9.3.1]pentadeca-1(15),3,7-triene-15-carbaldehyde that on reduction with DIBAL-H was converted into a 15-hydroxymethylbicyclo[9.3.1]pentadeca-1(15),3,7-triene-14-ol with the relative configuration at C14 required for incorporation into a synthesis of phomactin A. The oxidation and reduction of an analogous 3,4-epoxide that lacked the 10-phenylsulfonyl group gave a diol with the opposite relative configuration at C14. However, the TPAP oxidation and DIBAL-H reduction of a 14-hydroxy-15-methylene-3,4-epoxide that still had the 10-phenylsulfonyl group gave a diol with the required configuration at C14 although the expected spontaneous participation of the 14-hydroxyl group in an intramolecular epoxide ring-opening was only observed under Lewis acidic conditions.     

Invariant strings and pattern-recognizing properties of one-dimensional cellular automata

A cellular automaton is a discrete dynamical system whose evolution is governed by a deterministic rule involving local interactions. It is shown that given an arbitrary string of values and an arbitrary neighborhood size (representing the range of interaction), a simple procedure can be used to find the rules of that neighborhood size under which the string is invariant. The set of nearestneighbor rules for which invariant strings exist is completely specified, as is the set of strings invariant under each such rule. For any automaton rule, an associated filtering rule is defined for which the only attractors are spatial sequences consisting of concatenations of invariant strings. A result is provided defining the rule of minimum neighborhood size for which an arbitrarily chosen string is the unique invariant string. The applications of filtering rules to pattern recognition problems are discussed.     

Stability of Na-, K-, and Ca-montmorillonite at high temperatures and pressures: a Monte Carlo simulation

Monte Carlo grand canonical molecular simulations on the hydration of Na-, K-, and Ca-montmorillonite show that between 333 and 533 K and 300-1300 bar Na-montmorillonite forms stable one-layer hydrates of d(001) spacings 12.64-12.38 Angstroms, K-montmorillonite of 12.78-12.59 Angstroms, and Ca-montmorillonite of 12.48-12.32 Angstroms. A two-layer hydrate of 14.80 Angstroms occurs for Na-montmorillonite at 533 K and 1300 bar, for K-montmorillonite of 15.32 Angstroms at 533 K and 1300 bar and of 14.74 Angstroms at 533 K and 2000 bar, and for Ca-montmorillonite of 13.83 Angstroms at 473 K and 1000 bar. Three-layer hydrates may possibly form within these same ranges. Outside of them, one-layer hydrates simulate as the only stable hydrates. In sedimentary basins, the two-layer hydrate of Ca-montmorillonite will locate at 6.7 km depth and those of Na- and K-montmorillonite at 8.7 km depth; above and below these depths, the one-layer hydrates are the stable phases.     

The potts model on bethe lattices

We analyze the properties of theq-state ferromagnetic Potts model for realq. The nature of the phase transition at the critical point is first-order forq2, and second-order forq=2. The random-bond percolation limitq1, and its second-order-like transition, are not related to the previous behaviour since they arise from non-stable phases of the system. It is suggested that this property characterizes the model on high-dimensional lattices, too.Supported by MPI and CNR