Uranium-bearing francolites present in organic-rich limestones of NW Greece: a preliminary study using synchrotron radiation and fission track techniques

Synchrotron radiation techniques (μ-XRF and μ-XANES) were applied to the study of organic-rich phosphatized limestones of NW Greece (Epirus). The results revealed uranium accumulation in areas of the material containing, among others, carbonate apatite (francolite) and organic matter. The UL ₃-edge of μ-XANES spectra showed that uranium was present in tetravalent form. U-bearing francolite crystals were separated from the rock and characterized by Raman spectroscopy and microprobe. The analysis of the crystals also indicated the presence of sodium and sulfur. The uranium presence in the crystals was also visualized, after neutron irradiation and etching, by the observation of the fission tracks.

     

Aluminium nitride catalyzed solvent-free synthesis of some novel biologically active α-aminophosphonates

A green and atom-efficient one-pot protocol for the synthesis of some novel α-aminophosphonates using micron-particulate AlN/Al as a new reusable heterogeneous catalyst by the Kabachnik–Fields reaction under solvent-free conditions has been developed. The synthesized α-aminophosphonates were screened for several biological activities. They all were investigated to exhibit moderate to promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties.     

CuBe precipitation in Cu-Be alloys

The decomposition of supersaturated, disordered, solid solutions in the binary Cu-2 wt % Be and the ternary Cu-2 wt % Be-0.6 wt % Co alloys was found to be initiated through the formation of GP zones. The ordered CuBe phase (B2 structure) was found to form from these clusters by continuous ordering. The morphology, the crystallography and the mechanism of formation of the precipitate phase is discussed in this paper.     

The β-γ phase transition in titanite and the isosymmetric analogue in malayaite

X-ray diffraction technique and hard mode infrared spectroscopy were used to study the thermal behaviour of synthetic titanite, CaTiSiO₅, two natural titanite samples and iso-structural malayaite, CaSnSiO₅. Both pure minerals show a thermal anomaly near 500 K. Specific heat measurements show an intermediate phase in synthetic titanite. Impurities in titanite tend to suppress the discontinuity near 500 K. The β-γ transition near 820 K is not affected by Fe and Al defects in the natural material. Infrared studies in malayaite show a change of the temperature dependence of the phonon frequencies. X-ray experiments show weak structural rearrangements with heating but no evidence of a symmetry breaking phase transition near 500 K The character of the 500 K anomaly in malayaite is more similar to the β-γ transition (825 K) than the α-β Mtransition (496 K) in synthetic titanite.