Synthesis of cation-exchanged laponite suspensions by laser ablation of microsized-metal particles in liquid

Laser ablation in the liquid technique has been used to synthesize cation-exchanged laponite suspensions. In summary, laser ablation of the microsize-metal powder (Co, Al, and Cu) dispersed in an aqueous solution containing deionized water laponite crystals was carried out using laser beam generated by a single-mode, Q-switched Nd-Yag laser operating at 532 nm with a pulse duration of 5.5 ns and 10 Hz repetition rate. Laser fluence was 0.265 J/cm² for all tests. For all samples, the mass fraction of laponite was 1%. General observations of the prepared samples indicated that an aqueous suspension of 1 wt% laponite retained its free flowing liquid phase characteristics even after aging for several weeks. When bivalent cationic metals (Cu, Co, Al) were ablated in it for about 1 h, even with a small amount of the metal (0.025% and 0.050%) were generated, the suspension became highly viscous and behaved as a shear-thinning and thixotropic material. That is, the suspension gelled strongly when it was allowed to rest. The gels, however, could easily be reverted to a low viscosity liquid with simple shaking. Information from TEM and XRD analysis indicated that such a sol-gel transformation might be due to the charge exchange between the cationic species produced during the laser ablation and the sodium ions in the interlayers of the clay sheets.     

Seasonal variation of 129I species in the Baltic Proper

Iodine speciation plays a significant role in iodine volatilizing into atmosphere from the seas, as well as serving as a biological indicator. Despite this importance, the data on iodine species revealed inconclusive evidence of what factors controlling speciation transformation. We here present new data on profiles of ¹²⁹I speciation in the Baltic Proper during November 2009. Along with the two earlier investigations (August 2006 and April 2007), an assessment of seasonal variation of ¹²⁹I species is presented. The results show that, due to the anoxic nature of Baltic Proper, presence of ¹²⁹IO₃ ^? in the Baltic Proper does not follow an obvious seasonal cycle, as the case with ¹²⁹I^?. Concentrations of ¹²⁹I^? in the Baltic Proper exhibit higher values in summer than the other two seasons (spring and winter), which might be associated with degrading of organic matter and release from sediment to water column that is more pronounced during summer. ¹²⁹I^? in surface water from the three seasons does not reflect the release function from the reprocessing facilities during the period April 2007 to November 2009. Consequently variability of ¹²⁹I^? in surface seawater of the Baltic Proper depends, to some extent, on local physical as well as biochemical conditions.     

Molecular dynamics studies of ultrafast laser-induced nonthermal melting

Molecular Dynamics (MD) is employed to investigate nonthermal melting triggered by coherent phonon excitation in bismuth telluride, which has Peierls distortion in the lattice structure. Results showed that the structural distortion caused by coherent phonons appears as early as 80 fs, while it takes several picoseconds for the whole phonon-excited area to evolve into a liquid state. It was also found that the temperature in the phonon-excited area rises quickly within tens of femtoseconds, while the rest of the lattice remains at the initial temperature even after several picoseconds, which is separated from the high temperature region across a thin transition area. This phenomenon is analogous to the heat transfer across a solid–liquid interface, even though in our case there is no abrupt solid-liquid interface between the cold lattice and the quasiliquid.     

Off-center Li defects in KCl: Parameters for isolated Li+ as a function of hydrostatic pressure and evidence for other Li centers

Abstract

We have measured all three tunneling parameters for the KCl:Li system as a function of hydrostatic pressure; all increase with pressure. Our measurements show that the off-center tunneling model works exceedingly well for this system. Surprisingly, the pressure dependence of the electric dipole moment shows a sharp break near 900 bar. In some samples, additional lines indicate other Li centers are present, possibly Li pairs.     

Anionic surfactant selective electrode for the titrimetric determination of anionic surfactant

The construction and characteristic performance of a PVC membrane electrode responsive for sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) are described in this paper. The electrode based on CTA⁺DS^? ion pair as ionophore in PVC membrane displays a Nernstian slope of ?58.8 ± 0.7 mV/decade in a 1.32 × 10^?6 to 3.75 × 10^?3 mol L^?1 concentration range and a limit of detection of 1.13 × 10^?6 mol L^?1. The electrode can be used for 3 months without showing significant changes in the value of slope or working range. The electrode has been utilized as an end point indicator electrode for potentiometric titration involving Hyamine as titrant. More than 100 titrations were carried out for the evaluation of the electrode parameters: the standard deviations of the equivalent volume and the equivalent potential, the height of the potential jump and the number of faulty titrations. The behavior of the electrode was assessed with regard to their usefulness in routine analysis.     

Annihilation of persistent slip bands and its effect on the fatigue life of copper single crystals

In single-slip-oriented copper single crystals, which were cyclically deformed under constant plastic shear strain amplitude control, a persistent slip band (PSB) was initiated on the persistent slip line (PSL) that first formed in the matrix vein dislocation structure. During intermediate temperature recovery (ITR) treatment in vacuum at 245 to 400°C, the variations in dislocation configurations and other defects of fatigued specimens were studied by using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) electron channelling contrast (ECC) and the positron annihilation life (PAL) techniques. The results show that the ladders in the PSBs became curved and broken, or escaped locally until the PSBs disappeared completely during ITR treatment. The annihilation of the PSBs and other dislocation structures in the fatigued specimens prolonged the fatigue life to a certain extent.     

Low-temperature solubility of copper in iron: experimental study using thermoelectric power,small angle X-ray scattering and tomographic atom probe

Measuring the solubility limit of copper in iron at temperature lower than 700°C is problematic because copper diffusion is too slow in this temperature range. To overcome this difficulty, fine precipitation of copper is studied. The solubility limit of copper is measured after complete precipitation using two complementary techniques: thermoelectric power and small angle X-ray scattering. Values obtained are confirmed by tomographic atom probe and give results much higher than what is usually extrapolated from high-temperature experiments.     

Effect of long-period stacking ordered phase on thermal stability of refined grains in Mg-RE-based alloys

The refined grains in both as-cast Mg-10Y-1Zn-2Zr (WZ101?K, wt.%) and Mg-10Y-1Al (WA101, wt.%) alloys have been found to have superior thermal stability after solution treatment. Plate-shaped, but different polytypes of long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases distributed along grain boundaries are considered as the predominant inhibitors of grain growth. Based on the plate-shaped features of the LPSO phases, a modified Zener’s model is established and the predicted limiting grain sizes are in a good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, this model has strong potential for designing advanced Mg-RE-based alloys with high strength and high creep resistance at high temperatures.