Luminescent core–shell Fe3O4@Gd2O3:Er3+, Li+ composite particles with enhanced optical properties

Bifunctional magneto-optical nanocomposites with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as a core and erbium and lithium codoped gadolinium (Gd₂O₃:Er³⁺, Li⁺) as the shell were synthesized successfully using a simple urea homogeneous precipitation method. The fabricated Fe₃O₄@Gd₂O₃:Er³⁺, Li⁺ particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and quantum design vibrating sample magnetometry. The upconversion emission intensity was enhanced significantly comparing to that without Li⁺ ions. These bifunctional composites are expected to be potentially applied for drug delivery, cell separation and bioimaging.     

Reactive Dye Removal Using Inorganic–Organic Composite Material: Kinetics,Mechanism, and Optimization

An inorganic–organic composite material (MCPAM) consisting of magnesium chloride and polyacrylamide, was applied to remove reactive dye (Cibacron Red FN-R) from aqueous solution through coagulation–flocculation process. MCPAM with the ratio of 90% MgCl₂/10% PAM was the best ratio in removing reactive dye. Kinetics of reactive dye removal was investigated using pseudo-kinetics model and it fits pseudo-second-order reaction model. The mechanism of reactive dye removal was investigated through physicochemical properties of supernatant, flocs, and sludge. The change of conductivity and pH denotes the interactions between reactive dye and MCPAM. The chemical structure, settling, and microstructure of sludge indicate the formation of sludge during coagulation–flocculation process. The settled sludge volume and sludge volume index (SVI) that of MCPAM was lower than that of MgCl₂. The flocs formed using MCPAM was also relatively compact and larger in size compared to that of MgCl₂. The reactive dye removal was optimized through central composite design whereby color removal (%) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction (%) were optimized by five operating factors, namely, concentration of dye, pH, dosage of MCPAM, agitation speed, and agitation time. The optimal values reported for color removal (%) and COD reduction (%) were of 97–98% and 60–81%, respectively.     

Adsorption of As(III) from aqueous solution based on porous magnetic/chitosan/ferric hydroxide microspheres prepared via electrospraying

Porous chitosan(CS)/magnetic(Fe3O4 )/ferric hydroxide(Fe(OH)3 ) microsphere as novel and low-cost adsorbents for the removal of As(Ⅲ) have been synthesized via the electrospraying technology by a simple process of two steps. Characterization of the obtained adsorbents was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The adsorption kinetics and equilibrium isotherms were investigated in batch experiments. The Langmuir, Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic models agree well with the experimental data. The adsorption of As(Ⅲ) onto CS/Fe3O4 /Fe(OH)3 microspheres occurred rapidly and reached adsorption equilibrium after about 45 min. The maximum adsorption capacity of CS/Fe3O4 /Fe(OH)3 microspheres, calculated by the Langmuir isotherm model, was 8.47 mg g-1 , which is higher than that of CS/Fe3O4 /Fe(OH) 3 prepared by the conventional method (4.72 mg g-1 ). The results showed that the microspheres had a high adsorption capacity for As(Ⅲ) and a high separation efficiency due to their microporous structure and superparamagnetic characteristics. Present research may eventually lead to a simple and low cost method for fabricating microporous materials and application for removal of arsenic from aqueous solution.     

Initial dynamic mechanical and dielectric studies on a systematic series of γ glutamate polypeptides

The complementary dynamic mechanical and dielectric methods have been extensively employed in the characterization of organic polymers. While the former method is sensitive to molecular motions that affect the mechanical properties, the latter has the advantage of detecting molecular motions that involve dipole oscillation. We have used both methods simultaneously within this study in order to help understand a portion of the molecular transitions that occur within a series of synthetic polypeptides.     

Catalyst‐free thermally‐evaporated growth and optical properties of ZnO nanowires on Si,GaN and sapphire substrates

Vertically well‐aligned zinc oxide nanowires (NWs) with high density were successfully synthesized on Si, sapphire and GaN/sapphire substrates by thermal evaporation of zinc powders without catalysts or additives. The growth behavior of ZnO NWs was strongly dependent on the substrate materials. The effects of the substrate position on the structures and properties of ZnO NWs were primarily discussed. The morphology and crystallinity of the resultant NWs were studied by scanning electron microscope, transmission electronic microscope and X‐ray diffraction. The photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of the ZnO NWs on the different substrates were studied. The results showed that the as‐grown ZnO NWs exhibit a sharp and strong ultraviolet emission at 3.27 eV and a very weak green emission at around 2.48 eV, indicating that the a‐synthesized NWs have excellent PL properties with good crystalline quality and can be an ideal candidate for making luminescent devices. By comparison of PL spectra, we revealed that the green‐to‐UV emission intensity ratios were considerably dependent on the substrate materials, which was explained by the difference in the structural morphology of the produced nanowires.     

Electric feed-through for vacuum package using double-side anodic bonding of silicon-on-insulator wafer

It is not easy to hermetically seal using anodic bonding on both sides of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. Taking this into consideration, we suggest an electrical feed-through method for anodic bonding on the both sides of SOI wafer. The suggested method is illustrated on the basis of vacuum package of a conventional two-dimensional (2-D) micro-scanner. Electric feed-through for anodic bonding and electrical interconnection through the glass/silicon interface to the 2-D micro-scanner in the package are presented. The proposed electrical feed-through method is investigated by characterizing bonding current. The bonding current characteristics show that the electric feed-through has formed electric field distribution required for double-side anodic bonding. The operation characteristics of packaged 2-D micro-scanner are also investigated, which show successfully performed electric interconnection between inside and outside of the package. The proposed method is an effective technique for double-side anodic bonding based package not only for micro-scanner but also for different mechanical oscillators such as accelerometer, gyroscope and etc.     

Stability of Solutions of a Quasilinear Index-2 Tractable Differential Algebraic Equation by the Lyapunov Second Method

The Lyapunov second method is an important tool in the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations. In this paper, we consider the behavior of solutions of quasilinear index-2 tractable differential algebraic equations. Using the Lyapunov second method, we prove sufficient conditions for the stability of zero solution of such equations.__________Published in Ukrains’kyi Matematychnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 56, No. 10, pp. 1321 – 1334, October, 2004.     

On the probability of independent sets in random graphs

Let k be the asymptotic value of the independence number of the random graph G(n, p). We prove that if the edge probability p(n) satisfies p(n) ? n^?2/5ln^6/5n then the probability that G(n, p) does not contain an independent set of size k ? c, for some absolute constant c > 0, is at most exp{?cn²/(k⁴p)}. We also show that the obtained exponent is tight up to logarithmic factors, and apply our result to obtain new bounds on the choice number of random graphs. We also discuss a general setting where our approach can be applied to provide an exponential bound on the probability of certain events in product probability spaces. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 22: 1–14, 2003     

Comparison of HPTLC and HPLC for Determination of Econazole Nitrate in Topical Dosage Forms

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - HPTLC and HPLC methods have been established for separation and quantitative determination of econazole nitrate. HPTLC was...