Natural Melanin Nanoparticle‐decorated Screen‐printed Carbon Electrode: Performance Test for Amperometric Determination of Hexavalent Chromium as Model Trace

A biosensor was prepared with natural melanin nanoparticles (MNP) decorated on a screen‐printed carbon electrode (SPCE). Hexavalent chromium was selected as a well‐known heavy metal ion to be detected for testing the performance of novel biosensor. Natural MNP was extracted from cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) ink. Surface decoration of SPCEs with MNP was performed by two different methods. The first one was layer‐by‐layer assembly (LBL‐A) for different cycle times(n). In the second one, plasma treatment of SPCE incorporated with evaporation‐induced self‐assembly (EI‐SA) techniques including different incubation times in MNP solutions. The performance of both modified SPCEs were tested for amperometric detection of Cr(VI) in various water samples, and peak reduction of Cr(VI) was determined at 0.33 V. Amperometric results showed wide linear ranges of 0.1–2 μM and 0.1–5 μM of Cr(VI) for SPCEs modified with 14n‐LBL‐A and 12h‐EI‐SA, respectively. The sensitivities of SPCEs modified with 14n‐LBL‐A and 12h‐EI‐SA techniques were 0.27 μA μM^?1 and 0.52 μA μM^?1, respectively. In addition, both modified SPCEs selectively detected Cr(VI) in a model aqueous system composed of certain other heavy metals and minerals, and tap and lake water samples. The LOD and LOQ values for 12h‐EI‐SA were 0.03 μM and 0.1 μM, respectively. This showed that MNP‐modified‐SPCEs generated via EI‐SA techniques have the potential to be an alternative to conventional detection methods such as ICP‐MS.     

Analytical and approximate solutions of(2+1)-dimensional time-fractional Burgers-Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

In this paper, we applied the sub-equation method to obtain a new exact solution set for the extended version of the time-fractional Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation, namely BurgersKadomtsev-Petviashvili equation(Burgers-K-P) that arises in shallow water waves.Furthermore, using the residual power series method(RPSM), approximate solutions of the equation were obtained with the help of the Mathematica symbolic computation package. We also presented a few graphical illustrations for some surfaces. The fractional derivatives were considered in the conformable sense. All of the obtained solutions were replaced back in the governing equation to check and ensure the reliability of the method. The numerical outcomes confirmed that both methods are simple, robust and effective to achieve exact and approximate solutions of nonlinear fractional differential equations.     

Overview of finite elements simulation of temperature profile to estimate properties of materials 3D-printed by laser powder-bed fusion

Laser powder bed fusion(LPBF),like many other additive manufacturing techniques,offers flexibility in design expected to become a disruption to the manufacturing industry.The current cost of LPBF process does not favor a try-anderror way of research,which makes modelling and simulation a field of superior importance in that area of engineering.In this work,various methods used to overcome challenges in modeling at different levels of approximation of LPBF process are reviewed.Recent efforts made towards a reliable and computationally effective model to simulate LPBF process using finite element(FE)codes are presented.A combination of ray-tracing technique,the solution of the radiation transfer equation and absorption measurements has been used to establish an analytical equation,which gives a more accurate approximation of laser energy deposition in powder-substrate configuration.When this new analytical energy deposition model is used in in FE simulation,with other physics carefully set,it enables us to get reliable cooling curves and melt track morphology that agree well with experimental observations.The use of more computationally effective approximation,without explicit topological changes,allows to simulate wider geometries and longer scanning time leading to many applications in real engineering world.Different applications are herein presented including:prediction of printing quality through the simulated overlapping of consecutive melt tracks,simulation of LPBF of a mixture of materials and estimation of martensite inclusion in printed steel.     

镁掺杂氧化铈整体式催化剂催化CO2和CH3OH直接合成碳酸二甲酯

采用共沉淀法成功地合成了不同Mg掺杂量的Ce_1-xMg_xO₂(x=0.05、0.10、0.15、0.20)固溶体催化材料,并运用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、氮气吸附-脱附测试、拉曼光谱、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、CO₂程序升温脱附(CO₂-TPD)等技术对这些材料进行了表征。结果发现,通过调控CeO₂晶格中Mg的含量,可以调控所制备的Ce_1-xMg_xO₂催化材料的粒径、比表面积、表面缺陷等。其中Ce_0.90Mg_0.10O₂展现了最佳的表面性质,具有最小的平均粒径(约5.8 nm),最大的比表面积(约136 m2·g^-1)以及最高的表面氧含量(31.98%)。将Ce_1-xMg_xO₂催化材料涂覆在堇青石蜂窝陶瓷上制成整体催化剂,考察其对CO₂和CH₃OH直接合成碳酸二甲酯的催化性能。在140℃、2.4 MPa、反应2 h的条件下,Ce_0.90Mg_0.10O₂整体催化剂上碳酸二甲酯的收率高达20.21%,催化效果明显优于CeO₂和其余的Ce_1-xMg_xO₂(x=0.05、0.15、0.20)催化材料。     

Chemometric approach to the optimisation of LC-FL and GC-MS methods for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in some biological,food and environmental samples

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method and a liquid chromatography–fluorescence (LC-FL) detection method using experimental design and optimisation approach were improved for the quantitative determination of nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples. The obtained recoveries of nitrite and nitrate ions from samples based on both GC-MS and LC-FL results ranged from 98.5% to 98.9% for nitrite and 97.9% to 98.4% for nitrate. The precision of these methods, as indicated by the relative standard deviations (RSDs), was within the range from 2.4% to 3.6% for nitrite and 2.5% to 3.8% for nitrate, respectively. The limits of detection of nitrite and nitrate ions from samples based on GC-MS and LC-FL results ranged from 0.01 to 0.14 ng L^?1 for nitrite and 0.02 to 0.71 ng L^?1 for nitrate, respectively. The optimised isolation procedure by central composite design was successfully applied to real samples. The results revealed that the proposed procedure combined with GC-MS and LC-FL techniques is more sensitive, reliable and selective compared to the other methods available for the precise determination of trace levels of nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples.     

Determination of low level nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FL) methods have been proposed for the determination of low level nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples. The methods include derivatization of aqueous nitrite with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN), enzymatic reduction of nitrate to nitrite, extraction with toluene and chromatographic analyses of highly fluorescent 2,3-naphthotriazole (NAT) derivative of nitrite by using GC-MS in selected-ion-monitoring (SIM) mode and LC-FL. Nitrite and nitrate ions in solid samples were extracted with 0.5 M aqueous NaOH by sonication. The recoveries of nitrite and nitrate ions based on GC-MS and LC-FL results were 98.40% and 98.10% and the precision of these methods, as indicated by the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 1.00% for nitrite and 1.20% for nitrate, respectively. The limits of detection of the GC-MS in SIM mode and LC-FL methods based on S/N = 3 were 0.02 and 0.29 pg/ml for nitrite and 0.03 and 0.30 pg/ml for nitrate, respectively.     

Exergoeconomic analysis of a thermochemical copper–chlorine cycle for hydrogen production using specific exergy cost (SPECO) method

The manner is investigated in which exergy-related parameters can be used to minimize the cost of a copper–chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production. The iterative optimization technique presented requires a minimum of available data and provides effective assistance in optimizing thermal systems, particularly in dealing with complex systems and/or cases where conventional optimization techniques cannot be applied. The principles of thermoeconomics, as embodied in the specific exergy cost (SPECO) method, are used here to determine changes in the design parameters of the cycle that improve the cost effectiveness of the overall system. The methodology provides a reasonable approach for improving the cost effectiveness of the Cu–Cl cycle, despite the fact that it is still in development. It is found that the cost rate of exergy destruction varies between $1 and $15 per kilogram of hydrogen and the exergoeconomic factor between 0.5 and 0.02 as the cost of hydrogen rises from $20 to $140 per GJ of hydrogen energy. The hydrogen cost is inversely related to the exergoeconomic factor, plant capacity and exergy efficiency. The results are expected to assist ongoing efforts to increase the economic viability and to reduce product costs of potential commercial versions of this process. The impact of the results are anticipated to be significant since thermochemical water splitting with a copper–chlorine cycle is a promising process that could be linked with nuclear reactors to produce hydrogen with no greenhouse gases emissions, and thereby help mitigate numerous energy and environment concerns.     

Cloud point extraction procedure for flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of lead(II) in sediment and water samples

The conditions for cloud point extraction of lead(II) from aqueous solutions were investigated and optimized. The procedure is based on the separation of Pb(II) – brillant cresyl blue (BCB) complexes into the micellar media by adding the surfactant Triton X-114. After phase separation, the surfactant-rich phase was dissolved with 1 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ in ethanol and diluted with 1 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ solution before lead was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Optimization of the pH, ligand and surfactant quantities, incubation time, temperature, viscosity, sample volume, and interfering ions was performed. The effects of the matrix ions were also examined. The detection limits for three times the standard deviations of the blank for lead were 7.5 μg L⁻¹ for water samples and 0.33 μg g⁻¹ for sediment samples. The validity of cloud point extraction was checked by employing certified reference samples of Lake Sediment IAEA-SL-1 and Sewage Sludge BCR-CRM 144R. The procedure was applied to natural waters and sediment samples with satisfactory results (recoveries >95%, relative standard deviations <6.4%).