Thermal analysis of the crystallization kinetics of lead zirconate titanate powders prepared via sol–gel route

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The transformation temperatures, magnetization behavior, shape memory behavior, and mechanical properties of polycrystalline Ni45Mn40Co5Sb10?xBx...     

Structure,Thermal Behavior and Characterization of a New Hybrid Iron Fluoride FeF4(2,2'-bipyridine)(H2O)2

New crystal of FeF₄(2,2'-bipyridine)(H₂O)₂ was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. Crystalline structure determination is performed from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. The unit cell is monoclinic space group P2₁/n, with cell parameters a=0.9046(5) nm, b=0.7502(5) nm, c=1.9539(5) nm, β=93.307(5)°, V=1.3238(12) nm³ and Z=4. The structure of FeF₄(2,2'-bipyridine)(H₂O)₂ is built up from FeF₄N₂ octahedra coordinated by two nitrogen atoms of the 2,2'-bipyridine molecules, and four fluorine atoms as well as uncoordinated H₂O molecules. Thermal analysis of the title compound showed that the decomposition introduced four steps. IR spectra confirmed the presence of 2,2'-bipyridine molecules. The optical absorption was measured at the corresponding l_max using UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum.     

Isotopes to assess sustainability of overexploited groundwater in the Souss–Massa system (Morocco)

Groundwater depletion and changes in isotopic and chemical contents constitute the main indicators of overexploitation, recharge, and flow paths in the Souss–Massa aquifer. These indicators highlight processes concerning sustainability of water resources in the aquifer (e.g. surface/groundwater interaction, recharge processes, and marine intrusion). The spatial variation of stable and radioactive isotopic contents indicates a mixing of modern and old water within the system. Recent recharge was observed mainly along the Souss River (the major surface-water drainage in the study area) and in the irrigated areas. Mapping of chemical and isotopic variation shows that the area is affected by abstraction, irrigation water return, and the evolution of modern recharge in time and space. The processes, distribution, and timing of groundwater flow are influenced by short- and long-term effects; long-term recharge is dependent on climatic conditions. This study can be used to make informed decisions about water-resource allocation and alternative management practices.     

An experimental and modeling study of ammonia with enriched oxygen content and ammonia/hydrogen laminar flame speed at elevated pressure and temperature

Laminar flame speeds of ammonia with oxygen-enriched air (oxygen content varying from 21 to 30 vol.%) and ammonia-hydrogen-air mixtures (fuel hydrogen content varying from 0 to 30 vol.%) at elevated pressure (1–10 bar) and temperature (298–473 K) were determined experimentally using a constant volume combustion chamber. Moreover, ammonia laminar flame speeds with helium as an inert were measured for the first time. Using these experimental data along with published ones, we have developed a newly compiled kinetic model for the prediction of the oxidation of ammonia and ammonia-hydrogen blends in freely propagating and burner stabilized premixed flames, as well as in shock tubes, rapid compression machines and a jet-stirred reactor. The reaction mechanism also considers the formation of nitrogen oxides, as well as the reduction of nitrogen oxides depending on the conditions of the surrounding gas phase. The experimental results from the present work and the literature are interpreted with the help of the kinetic model derived here. The experiments show that increasing the initial temperature, fuel hydrogen content, or oxidizer oxygen content causes the laminar flame speed to increase, while it decreases when increasing the initial pressure. The proposed kinetic model predicts the same trends than experiments and a good agreement is found with measurements for a wide range of conditions. The model suggests that under rich conditions the N₂H₂ formation path is favored compared to stoichiometric condition. The most important reactions under rich conditions are: NH₂+NH=N₂H₂+H, NH₂+NH₂=N₂H₂+H₂, N₂H₂+H=NNH+H₂ and N₂H₂+M=NNH+H+M. These reactions were also found to be among the most sensitive reactions for predicting the laminar flame speed for all the cases investigated.     

Experimental investigation on ammonia combustion behavior in a spark-ignition engine by means of laminar and turbulent expanding flames

Ammonia combustion appears as a meaningful way to retrieve stored amounts of excess variable renewable energy, and the spark-ignition (SI) engine has been proposed as a practical conversion system. The present work aims at elucidating the combustion characteristics of ammonia blends in engine-relevant turbulent conditions. To that end, laminar and turbulent flame experiments were conducted in a constant-volume vessel at engine-relevant conditions of 445 K and 0.54 MPa to assess the combustion behavior of ammonia/hydrogen/air, ammonia/methane/air and methane/hydrogen/air mixtures observed in an all-metal single-cylinder SI engine. Results show that the respective accelerating or decelerating effects of hydrogen or methane enrichment observed in the SI engine could not be sufficiently explained by the measured laminar burning velocities of the mixtures. Since the latter are very low, the studied combustion regimes are at the boundary between the thin and broken reaction zones regimes, and thus strongly influenced by flame-turbulence interactions. The quantification of the flame response to turbulence shows much higher effects for ammonia blends, than for methane-based fuels. The aforementioned opposite effects of ammonia enrichment with hydrogen or methane are observed on the turbulent burning velocity during the turbulent flame experiments and correlated to the thermochemical properties of the reactants and the flame sensitivity to stretch. The latter may explain an unexpected bending effect on the turbulent-to-laminar velocity ratio when increasing the hydrogen fraction in the ammonia/hydrogen blend. Nevertheless, a very good correlation of the turbulent velocity was found with the Karlovitz and Damköhler numbers, that suggests that ammonia combustion in SI engines may be described following the usual turbulent combustion models. This encourages further investigations on ammonia combustion for the optimization of practical systems, by means of dedicated experiments and numerical simulations.     

Investigation of Pr0.2Ce0.8O2-δ@Li2CO3 nanocomposite electrolytes as intermediate temperature ionic conductors: a thermal,structural, and morphological insight

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Pr0.2Ce0.8O2-δ@Li2CO3 (PDC-LC) nanocomposite electrolytes were prepared through the co-precipitation of Pr-doped cerium/lithium complex carbonate and...     

Effect of Agave americana L. on the human,and Aspergillus oryzae S2 α-amylase inhibitions

Among phenolic compounds, Agave americana L. extract contained puerarin (38.4%) and p-coumaric acid (12.29%) (pCa). From the Lineweaver–Burk plots, pCa and puerarin demonstrated a competitive and a non competitive inhibitions towards human α-amylase activity, respectively. PCa exhibited a higher human inhibitory activity with an IC₅₀ of 98.8 μM which was about 2.3 times than acarbose. Puerarin (IC₅₀ = 3.87 μM) and pCa (IC₅₀ = 10.16 μM) also showed an excellent inhibition for Aspergillus oryzae S2 α-amylase activity. The inhibitions of the described biocatalysts compounds towards both amylases were significantly decreased when they were pre-incubated with starch. The binding modes of these compounds were evaluated in silico. The binding efficiency order of these molecules in terms of polar contact numbers for both enzymes was in agreement with the in vitro studies. These findings provided a rational reason to establish the isolated compounds capability as therapeutic target for hyperglycaemia modulation and antifungal therapy.     

Direct detection of OTA by impedimetric aptasensor based on modified polypyrrole-dendrimers

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a carcinogenic mycotoxin that contaminates food such as cereals, wine and beer; therefore it represents a risk for human health. Consequently, the allowed concentration of OTA in food is regulated by governmental organizations and its detection is of major agronomical interest. In the current study we report the development of an electrochemical aptasensor able to directly detect trace OTA without any amplification procedure. This aptasensor was constructed by coating the surface of a gold electrode with a film layer of modified polypyrrole (PPy), which was thereafter covalently bound to polyamidoamine dendrimers of the fourth generation (PAMAM G4). Finally, DNA aptamers that specifically binds OTA were covalently bound to the PAMAM G4 providing the aptasensor, which was characterized by using both Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) techniques. The study of OTA detection by the constructed electrochemical aptasensor was performed using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and revealed that the presence of OTA led to the modification of the electrical properties of the PPy layer. These modifications could be assigned to conformational changes in the folding of the aptamers upon specific binding of OTA. The aptasensor had a dynamic range of up to 5 μg L⁻¹ of OTA and a detection limit of 2 ng L⁻¹ of OTA, which is below the OTA concentration allowed in food by the European regulations. The efficient detection of OTA by this electrochemical aptasensor provides an unforeseen platform that could be used for the detection of various small molecules through specific aptamer association.     

Fluoroferrate templated with HAmTAZ: X-ray single crystal,thermal behaviour,vibrational study and magnetic characterization

A new metal–organic compound FeF₆(HAmTAZ)₃ which (HAmTAZ = 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole) was hydrothermally synthesized from an equimolar mixture of FeF₂ and FeF₃ with HAmTAZ, aqueous HF and ethanol solvent at 410 K yielded a new hybrid class I fluoroferrate. The structure was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The crystal structure of FeF₆(HAmTAZ)₃ crystallizes in the trigonal system space group R3c with a = b = 12.5230 (6) Å, c = 18.5950 (16) Å, γ = 120° and Z = 6. The structure was built up from isolated octahedral FeF₆ separated by [HAmTAZ]⁺ cations. The thermal analysis has shown that the decomposition undergoes two steps between 475 and 775 K. IR and mass spectrometry have been used to confirm the presence of the organic molecule in the crystal lattice and determine the evacuated vapours during the decomposition, respectively. The magnetization of the title compound has no revealed any ferromagnetic component in the range of magnetic field from ?20 to 20 KOe at room temperature.