Effect of phosphate on sorption of Eu(III) by montmorillonite

Eu(III) sorption by Na-montmorillonite, the principal component of bentonite, has been studied in absence and presence of phosphate under varying experimental conditions of pH, metal ion, phosphate and sorbent concentration. The sorption edge was found to shift to high pH with decreasing sorbent concentration indicating site heterogeneity on the clay. Eu(III) sorption by Na-montmorillonite was found to increase in presence of phosphate at lower sorbent concentration of 0.5 g/L while at higher sorbent loading no effect of phosphate was observed. ATR–FTIR spectroscopy has been used to understand transition from surface complexation to surface precipitation with decreasing sorbent concentration.     

DNA-protein interactions as the source of large-length-scale chirality evident in the liquid crystal behavior of filamentous bacteriophages

Although all filamentous phages are constructed of chiral components, this study of eight of these phages (fd, IKe, I(2)2, X-2, Pf1, Pf3, tf-1, and X) shows that some form nematic liquid crystals, which are apparently oblivious to the chirality of the components, while others form cholesteric liquid crystals revealing a type of structural chirality not normally encountered. Additions of dopants that interact with the DNA or protein components of the viruses change the liquid crystal properties of seven of the phages. In these seven, DNA-capsid symmetry differences do not allow strict structural equivalency among the protein subunits. The polymorphism arising from this nonequivalency is proposed here to give rise to coiling of the filaments, a large-length-scale chirality that is responsible for forming cholesteric liquid crystal phases. Only one phage of those studied here, Pf1, which is distinguished from the others in its DNA-capsid interactions, forms nematic phases under all conditions tried. The formation of liquid crystals has been developed as a method to detect subtle overall shape effects arising from DNA-subunit-derived polymorphism, an unusual role for the mesogenic state and a new tool for the study of filamentous phage structure.     

Refractive index and molar refractivity of benzonitrile, chlorobenzene, benzyl chloride and benzyl alcohol with benzene at T = 298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K

Densities and refractive indices were measured for the binary liquid mixtures formed by benzonitrile, chlorobenzene, benzyl chloride, and benzyl alcohol with benzene at (T = 298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K) and atmospheric pressure over the whole concentration range. The Lorentz–Lorentz mixing rule, the Ramaswami and Anbananthan model, and the model devised by Glinski were used to study the refractive index and molar refractivity. These results have been discussed to study the type of mixing behavior between the mixing molecules. The measured data were fitted to the Redlich–Kister polynomial relation to estimate the binary coefficients and standard errors. Furthermore, the McAllister multibody interaction model is used to correlate the binary refractive index with the experimental findings. It is observed that molar refractivity, molecular interaction, and association constant can be better understood from these models.     

A coupled VOF–IBM–enthalpy approach for modeling motion and growth of equiaxed dendrites in a solidifying melt

A coupled methodology for simulating the simultaneous growth and motion of equiaxed dendrites in solidifying melts is presented. The model uses the volume-averaging principles and combines the features of the enthalpy method for modeling growth, immersed boundary method for handling the rigid solid–liquid interfaces, and the volume of fluid method for tracking the advection of the dendrite. The algorithm also performs explicit–implicit coupling between the techniques used. A two-dimensional framework with incompressible and Newtonian fluid is considered. Validation with available literature is performed and dendrite growth in the presence of rotational and buoyancy driven flow fields is studied. It is seen that the flow fields significantly alter the position and morphology of the dendrites.     

Removal of Cs from simulated high-level waste solutions by extraction using chlorinated cobaltdicarbollide in a mixture of nitrobenzene and xylene

Efficacy of chlorinated cobaltdicarbollide in a modified diluent, 20% nitrobenzene in xylene was tested for the extraction and recovery of Cs from simulated high-level waste (HLW) solutions generated from PHWR-fuel reprocessing. Concentration of the reagent, composition of the diluent, numbers of contacts, the nature of stripping agents are some of the parameters optimized for the complete removal of Cs from such waste solutions. The above solvent extraction procedure can be applied to genuine HLW solutions for effective reduction of the dose due to Cs so that HLW can be handled in fume hoods for its characterization.     

Estimation of 90Sr in reprocessing streams using pre-packed extraction chromatographic column of 4,4'(5')-bis(tert-butylcyclohexano)-18-crown-6 impregnated on amberlite XAD-7

This work focuses on the polymorphic nature of the UO₃ and UO₃–H₂O system, which are important materials associated with the nuclear fuel cycle. The UO₃–water system is complex and has not been fully characterized, even though these species are key fuel cycle materials. Powder X-ray diffraction, and Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies were used to characterize both the several polymorphic forms of UO₃ and the certain UO₃-hydrolysis products for the purpose of developing predictive capabilities and estimating process history; for example, polymorphic phases of unknown origin. Specifically, we have investigated three industrially relevant production pathways of UO₃ and discovered a previously unknown low temperature route to the production of β-UO₃. Several phases of UO₃, its hydrolysis products, and key starting materials were synthesized and characterized as pure materials to establish optical spectroscopic signatures for these compounds for forensic analysis.     

Lattice energy and phase transition of alkaline earth chalcogenide

In this study, we have investigated the high-pressure structural phase transition of alkaline earth's chalcogenides within the framework of three-body potentials. We are considering short-range repulsive interactions up to the second nearest neighbors. The structural phase transition from the low-pressure NaCl (B1) to the high-pressure CsCl (B2) structure is estimated by Gibbs free energy calculations. The results are satisfactory and in agreement with the available experimental and other theoretical results.