Determination of Mn,Fe, Cu,Zn, and Pb in particulate matter,raw and final materials of a brick factory by radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analysis

Radionuclide X-ray fluorescence method with a Si/Li semiconductor detector and²³⁸Pn exciting source was used in the study of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Pb content of solid emissions, raw and final materials of a brick factory. From the point of view of metal content, the working environment of the brick factory is safe for workers.     

Shear and NMR experiments of materials with flow behaviour depending on the deformation history

Oxide ceramic masses react to simple shearing with hardening (peptisation: increase in the shear stress with the shear deformation). In the present study the correlation between the increase in the shear stress and the porosity, agglomeration processes and the type of flow are analysed. For this purpose oxide ceramic masses are tested in a shear device especially developed for pastes and analysed by rheometric experiments, NMR methods and particle size analysis. The results support the hypothesis that structural changes (hardening, increase in the mean porosity) of the material during the peptisation mainly depend on the magnitude and not on the kind of the energy input and thus of the type of flow. The fraction of bound (more generally, the immobilised) water increases with the shear displacement. Also crushing of primary particles could be observed. Both the crushing of solid particles causing an increased solid surface and the formation of a three-dimensional gel structure are microscopic effects capable of resulting in the binding or retaining water. On a macroscopic scale these phenomena cause hardening. Magnetic resonance imaging visualises flow-induced agglomerates, which form owing to the shear flow and increase the porosity averaged over the whole sample. After the shear experiment rolls of paste can be seen which indicate that the general assumption of a plane shear flow in the shear device is not warrantable. Received: 19 July 2001 Accepted: 25 October 2001     

Kinetics of the manganese(III)-oxalate reaction in acidic sulphate media

The kinetics of the reaction of manganese(III) with oxalic acid (OA) has been studied in H₂SO₄ solutions. Under the experimental conditions of 6 × 10^–3 <>₀ < 0.4=" mol=">^–3 and [H₂SO₄]₀ 0.2 mol dm^–3 the observed pseudo-first order rate constant k _obs follows the expression

Flow injection analysis : Part II. Ultrafast determination of phosphorus in plant material by continuous flow spectrophotometry

The effect of sample volume, tube length, tube diameter, peak height and sampling rate on the determination of phosphorus in acidic plant digests was investigated, and optimal conditions for the flow injection method are described. Sampling rates of 420 samples per hour were achieved without incurring problems from carryover of samples, and evidence was obtained that rates as high as 700 samples per hour are possible. The flow injection method was proved to be suitable for routine analyses and has obvious advantages over other automated or manual methods in sampling rate, simplicity of design and cost.     

Resolution method for overlapping peaks based on the fractional-order differential

Equations between the differential order and the maximum of the fractional-order differential for the specified peak signals are developed based on the variation of the maximum of the specified peak signals at different orders. Also, equations between the differential order and the zero-crossing of the fractional-order differential of the specified peak signals are proposed according to the variation of the zero-crossing of the specified peak signals at different orders. Characteristic paramters of the Gaus- sian peak, Lorentzian peak, and Tsallis peak can be estimated using estimator I and estimator II which are obtained by the equations above. As a result, a new method is presented to resolve the overlapped peaks signal. Firstly, a fractional-order differential of the specified peak signals is obtained with the fractional-order differentiation filter. Then, characteristic paramters of the specified peak signals can be extracted using estimator I and estimator II. Finally, the Tsallis peak is used as a model to assign the overlapping peak signals correctly. Experimental results show that the proposed method is efficient and effective for the simulated overlapping peaks and detected overlapping voltammetric peak signals.     

Growth of ramification-like ZnO rods in the presence of polyaniline

To obtain new materials with synergetic or complementary behaviors, polyaniline composite filled with ZnO rods in ramification-like structure was prepared by a hydrothermal approach. Comparative experiments of ZnO preparation in the presence of some metal ions were also carried out. The results indicated that the morphology of ZnO was strongly affected by the preparation condition. The method to grow ZnO rods in the presence of polyaniline offers a simple approach to obtain polyaniline composite filled with linear ZnO structure. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the strong interaction between ZnO and polyaniline possibly exists to cause the charge transfer.     

Synthesis of 5-Substituted 1,3-Dimethylpyrazolo[4,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis>][1,2,4]triazines

Summary.  A novel method for the synthesis of a new series of 5-substituted 1,3-dimethyl pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazines is described. The new synthetic strategy is based on the classical Bischler 1,2,4-benzotriazine synthesis. This approach involves the preparation of 5-hydrazinopyrazole from 5-chloro-1,3-dimethyl-4-nitropyrazole followed by acylation and nitro group reduction to form the corresponding 4-amino-3-(acylhydrazino)pyrazoles. Intramolecular oxidative cyclization of the latter derivatives, using polyphosphoric acid, produced the respective target pyrazolotriazines.     

Remarkably enhanced capacitance of ordered polyaniline nanowires tailored by stepwise electrochemical deposition

A stepwise deposition method was employed to create ordered polyaniline (PANI) nanowires with remarkably enhanced capacitance. Cyclic voltammetry, AC impedance, and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling were employed to investigate the electrochemical performance of the PANI electrodes. The PANI-deposited electrode exhibits much higher capacitance than those prepared by one-step deposition method, which were mainly contributed from the unique nano structure of PANI and the increased biological, economical, and technical surface areas. The superior capacitive behaviors of the nano PANI electrodes show great potential in preparation of high efficient electrochemical capacitors or rechargeable batteries.     

Detection of environmental chemicals by SPR assay using branched cyclodextrin as sensor ligand

We obtained the association constants Ka of estrogen (E2) and environmental chemicals by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay using the immobilized mono-6-O-α-maltosyl-β-CD (G₂βCD) compared with the immobilized β-CD and the immobilized estrogen receptor (ER). The association behavior of G₂βCD was shown as a ER model compound. The calibration curve was determined by the initial rate of association depending on the various concentrations, and the minimum detectable concentrations in the order of parts per billion were calculated. The SPR assay has advantages that the pre-treatment of the sample is not necessary and the immobilized ligand is stable and useful for the repeated measurement.     

Polymer-Titanium hybrids obtained by radical polymerization and Sol-Gel process

The possibility to prepare hybrids made by poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and/or poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEtA) with TiO₂ was studied. The processes of polymer formation-radical polymerization and sol-gel process for inorganic network —were achieved simultaneously. Due to a high reactivity of titanium isopropoxide (TIP) in the sol-gel process, a complexant comonomer, allyl acetoacetate (AlAcAc), was used. Covalent bonds between polymer and inorganic chains were obtained by addition of trialkoxysilane derivates with vinyl (VTES) or methacryloyl (MPTS) groups. The presence of TIP inhibits the radical polymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc). The PVAc-TiO₂ hybrids were produced by the sol-gel process of TIP in the presence of pre-obtained PVAc. Except for VTES and MPTS, trialkoxysilane derivates with methyl (MeTES), octyl (OTES) and phenyl (PTES) groups were used. The thermal stability of hybrids is strongly affected by TiO₂ presence and by the type of trialkoxysilane derivates. The thermal stability of PVAc hybrids decreases in the presence of TiO₂ inorganic network. The glass transition temperature of polymers increases in the presence of the inorganic network.