Synthesis and properties of MoO3–V2O5–PbO glasses

Lead vanadate glasses of the system xMoO₃–50V₂O₅–(50-x)PbO (0 ≤ x ≤ 25 mol. %) were synthesized and studied by FTIR and ultrasonic spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry to investigate the role of MoO₃ content on their atomic structure. The elastic properties and Debye temperatures of the glasses were investigated using sound velocity measurements at 4 MHz. The activation energy for the glass transition was derived from the dependence of the glass-transition temperature (T_g ) on the heating rate. Similarly, the activation energy of the crystallization process was also determined. According to the IR analysis, the vibrations of the vanadate structural units are shifted towards higher wavenumbers on the formation of bridging oxygens. The change of density and molar volume with MoO₃ content reveals that the molybdinate units are less dense than the lead oxide units. The observed compositional dependence of the elastic moduli is interpreted in terms of the effect of MoO₃ on the coordination number of the vanadate units. A good correlation was observed between the experimentally determined elastic moduli and those computed according to the Makishima–Mackenzie model. It is assumed that MoO₃ plays the role of a glass former by increasing the activation energy for the glass transition and the activation energy for crystallization and by increasing both the thermal stability and the glass formation range of the vanadate glasses.     

Effect of WO3 on the glass transition and crystallization kinetics of borotellurite glasses

Tellurite glasses of the system xWO₃–75TeO₂–(25 ? x)B₂O₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 25 mol. %) were prepared and studied by differential thermal analysis to explore the effect of WO₃ on their glass transition and crystallization kinetics. The crystallization kinetics was studied under non-isothermal conditions using the formal theory of transformations for heterogeneous nucleation. The crystallization results were analyzed and both the activation energy of the crystallization process and the crystallization mechanism characterized. The phases into which the glass crystallizes were identified by X-ray diffraction. Diffractograms of the transformed material indicate the presence of microcrystallites of α-tellurite, Te_0.95W_0.05O_2.05, Te₂W and B₂O₃ in the amorphous matrix.     

Radiation annealing of rapidly solidified Sn–6.7Sb–5.3Zn alloy by low-dose gamma ray

The radiation annealing of a rapidly solidified Sn–6.7Sb–5.3Zn (in atomic percent) melt-spun alloy was caused by low-dose gamma ray irradiation. This is observed from the increase in both the volume of unit cell and particle size of the Sn matrix, as revealed from X-ray diffraction analysis, and the decrease in the resistivity. The alloy was irradiated by gamma ray at doses 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 100 Gy. The electrical resistivity was measured for the alloys subjected to these doses and it was found that the resistivity decreased by increasing the dose to a minimum value of 50 Gy and then increased by increasing the dose.     

Synthesis of methyl (5Z,8Z,10E,12E,14Z)-eicosapentaenoate

The first total synthesis of methyl (5Z,8Z,10E,12E,14Z)-eicosapentaenoate has been achieved in seven steps and in 16% overall yield. The synthesis confirmed the assigned structure of this polyunsaturated natural product.     

Molluscicidal activity of methomyl and cardenolide extracts from Calotropis procera and Adenium arabicum against the land snail Monacha cantiana

In this work, we have evaluated the molluscicidal activity of two cardenolide extracts from Adenium arabicum Balf f. [the benzene (B) and methanol (M) extracts], one cardenolide extract from Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton (extract C), and methomyl against the harmful land snail Monacha cantiana (Montagu). The contact LD?? values for the above mentioned plant extracts were 12.62, 34.63, and 34.35 mg·kg?1 of body weight, respectively, while the LD?? for methomyl was 116.62 mg·kg?1, that is, the plant extracts were 9.24, 3.37, and 3.4 times more toxic than methomyl. In addition, a simple colorimetric method, based on Kedde reagent, was modified to determine cardenolide concentrations in plant extracts. Thin layer chromatography analysis (TLC) showed several cardiac glycosidal compounds in each plant extract. The results proved that cardiac glycosides are promising candidate compounds that could be used to control land snails, or exploited to develop new, effective, and environmentally friendly molluscicides.     

Photoacoustic diagnosis of human teeth using interferometric detection scheme

We have investigated the mechanical and acoustic properties of human teeth using the laser generation of surface acoustic wave (SAW) technique. The materials investigated included normal and decayed teeth, which have similar grain sizes and different thicknesses. The tissue responds to the laser-induced stress by thermoelastic expansion. The informative features of this method allow one to determine sample thermal, optical, and acoustical properties that depend on the peculiarities of the sample compositional structure. An interferometric detection experimental scheme is applied for detection generated SAW pulses. The surface displacement curves shape of normal and decayed human teeth are shown. The dispersion curves for SAW pulses were determined by Fourier analysis. The result is an almost linear dependence of SAW velocity on frequency for a normal tooth, the magnitude of the thermoelastic expansion of the normal tooth reaches its peak at 0.344 μs, a SAW phase velocity of 2500 ms^?1 between 0.0008 and 5 MHz was determined. For abnormal teeth, the magnitude of thermoelastic expansion of the normal tooth reaches its peak at 1.3 μs, the measured velocity was 3225 ms^?1. Due to the inhomogeneity of abnormal teeth perpendicular to the propagation direction, strong differences in their dispersion curves were obtained. The detection of acoustic waves is the basis of photoacoustic methods, which can be used for diagnostic purposes.     

Numerical evaluation of the thermomechanical effective properties of a functionally graded material using the homogenization method

When the stresses of the functionally graded materials (FGMs) are discussed under thermal and/or mechanical loading conditions, the different thermomechanical effective properties are needed. For the steady state thermal analyses, these properties include the Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, thermal expansion coefficient and thermal conductivity. For the transient analyses of the heat conduction problem, on the other hand, the density and heat capacity should be added to the aforementioned properties. The homogenization method (HM) based on the finite element method (FEM) is used as it has advantages, such as it is appropriate for estimating the effective properties of composites with a given periodic fiber distribution and complicated geometries. For a periodic composite structure, it is not necessary to study the whole structure but only a representative volume element (RVE) or a unit cell (UC). As the overall behavior of composites depends on the arrangement of the reinforcements, the corresponding UCs of two different arrangements of the fibers are analyzed; namely the square and hexagonal arrangements. It is found that the square arrangement predicts higher values of the Young’s modulus than the hexagonal one but with small difference. In order to verify the computed values of the properties, the results are compared with previous experimental measurements and results of analytical and numerical methods, and good agreement is achieved.     

Effect of spatial heterogeneity on level of rejuvenation in Ni80P20 metallic glass

Understanding the relation between spatial heterogeneity and structural rejuvenation is one of the hottest topics in the field of metallic glasses (MGs). In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is implemented to discover the effects of initial spatial heterogeneity on the level of rejuvenation in the Ni$_{80}$P$_{20 }$MGs. For this purpose, the samples are prepared with cooling rates of $10^{10}$ K/s-$10^{12}$ K/s to make glassy alloys with different atomic configurations. Firstly, it is found that the increase in the cooling rate leads the Gaussian-type shear modulus distribution to widen, indicating the aggregations in both elastically soft and hard regions. After the primary evaluations, the elastostatic loading is also used to transform structural rejuvenation into the atomic configurations. The results indicate that the sample with intermediate structural heterogeneity prepared with 10$^{11}$ K/s exhibits the maximum structural rejuvenation which is due to the fact that the atomic configuration in an intermediate structure contains more potential sites for generating the maximum atomic rearrangement and loosely packed regions under an external excitation. The features of atomic rearrangement and structural changes under the rejuvenation process are discussed in detail.     

Gas Sensors Based on Porous Ceramic Bodies of MSnO3 Perovskites (M = Ba,Ca, Zn): Formation and Sensing Properties towards Ethanol,Acetone, and Toluene Vapours

In this work, the gas-sensing functionality of porous ceramic bodies formed by the slip casting technique was studied using perovskite nanoparticles of an MSnO₃ system (M = Ba, Ca, Zn) synthesized by a chemical route. The performance and reliability of the sensitive materials in the presence of different volatile organic compounds (acetone, ethanol, and toluene), and other gases (CO, H₂ and NO₂) were analysed. The ZnSnO₃, BaSnO₃, and CaSnO₃ sensors showed sensitivities of 40, 16, and 8% ppm⁻¹ towards acetone, ethanol, and toluene vapours, respectively. Good repeatability and selectivity were also observed for these gaseous analytes, as well as excellent stability for a period of 120 days. The shortest response times were recorded for the ZnSnO₃ sensors (e.g., 4 s for 80 ppm acetone) with marked responses to low concentrations of acetone (1000 ppb). These results are attributed to the porosity of the sensitive materials, which favours the diffusion of gases, induces surface defects, and provides greater surface area and good sensitivity to acetone, as is seen in the case of ZnSnO₃.