On the application of ICP-MS techniques for measuring uranium and plutonium: a Nordic inter-laboratory comparison exercise

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques are widely used for determination of long-lived radionuclides and their isotopic ratios in the nuclear fields. Uranium (U) and Plutonium (Pu) isotopes have been determined by many researchers with ICP-MS due to its relatively high sensitivity and short measurement time. In this work, an inter-laboratory comparison exercise among the Nordic countries was performed, focusing on the measurement of U and Pu isotopes in certified reference materials by ICP-MS. The performance and characters of different ICP-MS instruments are evaluated and discussed in this paper.     

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) mediated in vitro radiosensitization at megavoltage radiation energies

The purpose of this study was to assess SPION’s in vitro radiosensitizer effect at 6MV-energies and to calculate nanoparticle enhancement ratio (NER) of SPIONs. Citrate coated-SPION’s were synthesized. Trypan-blue, metabolic activity tests were performed. Cell cultures were irradiated at 0,2,4,6,8 Gy at 6MV-energy. Clonogenic survival assays, NER calculations were carried out. SPIONs were biocompatible. NERs were cell-line specific and dose dependent. The highest radiosensitization were seen in radiosensitive MCF-7 and MDAH-2447 cells at 2 Gy (NER:1.49 and 1.39 respectively), in relatively radioresistant MDA-MB-231 cells at 4 Gy (NER:1.20). By increasing doses radiosensitizer effect disappeared. There is possibility that by synergistic effect, SPIONs may cause dose-dependent and cell-line specific radiosensitization at 6MV.     

Novel graphene oxide/bentonite composite for uranium(VI) adsorption from aqueous solution

A novel graphene oxide/bentonite composite (GO/bentonite) was synthesized and then characterized through powder X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Adsorption achieved equilibrium within 10 min. Moreover, U(VI) adsorption on GO/bentonite was highly dependent on solution pH and independent of ionic strength. These characteristics suggested that inner-sphere surface complexes of U(VI) formed on GO/bentonite. The adsorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution on GO/bentonite was fitted to the pseudo-second-order and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum sorption capacity of GO/bentonite was 234.19 mg g^?1 under neutral pH at 303 K. GO/bentonite is a potentially powerful adsorbent for the efficient removal of U(VI) from aqueous solutions.     

Electrical and electrochemical characteristics of La<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>CoO<Subscript>3-δ</Subscript> cathode materials synthesized by a modified citrate-EDTA sol-gel method assisted with activated carbon for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cell application

The electrical conductivity and electrochemical performance of a La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3-δ (LSC) cathode produced by a modified citrate-EDTA sol-gel method assisted with activated carbon are characterized for a proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cell (H⁺??SOFC) application at intermediate temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the decomposition of the unrequired intermediate compounds in the precalcined powder was completed at 800?°C. A single LSC perovskite phase was formed at a calcination temperature of 900?°C, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The particle size, crystallite size, and BET-specific surface area of the powder are 219–221?nm, 18?nm, and 9.87?m²?g^?1, respectively. The high index value of the extent of agglomeration (5.53) showed that the powder was barely agglomerated. Bulk LSC sintered at 1200?°C for 2?h showed the highest direct-current electrical conductivity (σ_d.c) compared to that of bulk LSC sintered at 1000?°C and 1100?°C. The value of σ_d.c was affected by the density and porosity of the sintered samples. The area specific resistance (ASR) of screen-printed LSC working on a proton conductor of BaCe_0.54Zr_0.36Y_0.1O_2.95 (BCZY) decreased from 5.0?Ω?cm²–0.06?Ω?cm² as the temperature increased from 500?°C to 800?°C with an activation energy of 1.079?eV. Overall, in this work, the LSC material produced with the aid of activated carbon meet the requirements for the application as a cathode in an intermediate temperature H⁺-SOFC.

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Influence of pH of solution on phase composition of samarium-strontium cobaltite powders synthesized by wet chemical technique

Powders of Sm_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3-δ and La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3-δ were synthesized using wet chemical technique. Structural and surface properties of synthesized materials were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The influence of pH on the phase state, chemical composition, morphology, and fractal dimension of the synthesized powders were investigated. It was found that the change of pH has the influence on phase composition of synthesized powders. The increase of solution pH allows one to obtain homogeneous samples at lower temperatures down to 900–950?°C.

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Effect of pretreatment on microstructure and photocatalytic activity of kaolinite/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> composite

Kaolinite/TiO₂ composites were prepared by using sol-gel method and raw kaolin, pretreated kaolinite and tetrabutyl titanate as the main raw materials. X-ray diffractometer, field-emission scanning electron microscope and infrared spectrometer analysis were carried out to characterize the phase composition and microstructure of the samples. The photocatalytic performance of the kaolinite/TiO₂ composites were evaluated by degrading the methylene blue (MB) and phenol aqueous solution, respectively. The results show that intercalation and exfoliation reduced the size and thickness of kaolinite particles. Acid treatment improved the distribution and the loading quantity of TiO₂ grains. When the kaolinite/TiO₂ composites were calcined at 500?°C, the tetragonal structure of anatase particles of 30–100?nm in size were obtained, but the exfoliated kaolinite crystals were damaged. The degradation rate of MB increased gradually with the extension of photocatalytic reaction time and the enhancement of photocatalyst dosage. The adsorption performance of acid-treated kaolinite/TiO₂ composite (AKT) was nearly the same as that of raw kaolin/TiO₂ composite (RKT), but that of the exfoliated kaolinite/TiO₂ composite (EKT) was the most excellent. The photocatalytic performance of AKT and EKT were better than that of RKT, and AKT exhibited the optimum property. Under a certain photocatalyst dosage and photocatalysis time, the absorption rate and the degradation rate decreased gradually with the enhancement of initial concentration of MB. Similar result was also acquired for the degradation of phenol. Both the acid treating and the exfoliating to kaolinite enhanced the photocatalytic performance of the kaolinite/TiO₂ composite photocatalysts, but acid treatment may be more helpful to the preparation of high performance kaolinite/TiO₂ composite photocatalyst.

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Synthesis and antibacterial activity of Ag/CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> hybrid architectures

Flower-like ceria (CeO₂) architectures consisting of well aligned nanosheets were first synthesized by a glycol solvothermal method. The size of CeO₂ architectures is about 5?μm in width and 10?μm in length, with the nanosheets thickness below 100?nm. Subsequently, the adsorbed Ag ions on the surface of CeO₂ were in situ reduced to form Ag nanoparticles (NPs), leading to the fabrication of Ag/CeO₂ hybrid architectures (HAs). The formed Ag NPs with sizes of 20–40?nm were uniformly loaded on the surface of the CeO₂ sheets. The antibacterial properties of Ag/CeO₂ HAs against Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive S. aureus were evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and a filter paper inhibition zone method. The results demonstrated that Ag/CeO₂ HAs displayed excellent antibacterial activity toward S. aureus and E. coli, which were attributed to the synergistic antibacterial effect between Ag NPs and CeO₂ in HAs_. Here, CeO₂ nanoflowers as a new substrate could restrict Ag NPs aggregations and improve their antibacterial activities. Therefore, the resulted Ag/CeO₂ HAs would be considered as a promising antibacterial agent.

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Chemical looping combustion characteristics of coal with Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> oxygen carrier

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) by direct use of coal as fuel is promising with its prominent advantages, but insufficient conversion of coal in the CLC system is a great limitation. In this research, in order to explore the limiting factor inherent for coal conversion in the CLC system, from the perspective of chemical structure of coal, reaction of a selected Chinese typical coal (designated as LZ) with Fe₂O₃ was systematically investigated. Thermogravimetric investigation of LZ coal reaction with Fe₂O₃ at the oxygen excess number Φ = 1.0 indicated that after dehydration, there existed three discernible reaction stages as observed, which were attributed to the combined reactions of Fe₂O₃ with the primary and secondary gaseous products evolved from LZ coal. Meanwhile, the Fe₂O₃ provided should be controlled around Φ = 1.0 aiming at effective conversion of LZ coal and simultaneous proper utilization of Fe₂O₃. And then, both gaseous Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the gaseous and solid products formed from reaction of LZ coal with Fe₂O₃ at Φ = 1.0 indicated that full conversion of LZ coal was not reached with a little unconverted CO occurring, though partial Fe₂O₃ was over reduced to lower valence of oxides than Fe₃O₄. Furthermore, in order to explore the insufficient conversion of LZ coal at the molecular scale, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed the distribution and evolution of the carbon functional groups involved in LZ coal after its reaction with Fe₂O₃ and further found that effective conversion of the aromatic/aliphatic C=C/C–H groups in LZ coal was the rate-limited step at the molecular scale with the relative content of these groups still dominated around 59% after LZ coal reaction with Fe₂O₃. Finally, solid IR (infrared) analysis and quantitative evaluation of the solid products of LZ coal reaction with Fe₂O₃ indicated that the length of aliphatic C–H groups decreased due to its partial disintegration, while the aromatization of the residual char was aggravated with the higher relative IR intensity ratio of the aromatic C=C groups, which reduced the reactivity of LZ residual char and hindered the full conversion of LZ coal.     

Effect of additives on the performance of Dyckerhoff cement,Class G,submitted to simulated hydrothermal curing

Stability of Dyckerhoff cement Class G partially substituted (15 mass%) by metakaolin (MK), silica fume (SF) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (BFS) was investigated after 7 days of curing under standard and two different autoclaving conditions. Mercury intrusion porosimetry, X-ray diffraction analysis and combined thermogravimetric–differential scanning calorimetry were used to evaluate pore structure development, compressive strength and their dependence on the type of additives in relation to the particular phase composition. Hydrothermal curing led to the formation of α-C₂SH and jaffeite, mostly in the case of referential samples and compositions with addition of slowly reacting BFS. Whilst modest hydrothermal curing (0.6 MPa, 165 °C) favoured formation of α-C₂SH, larger amounts of jaffeite were determined after curing at the highest used pressure and temperature (2.0 MPa, 220 °C). Undesired transformation of primary hydration products was prevented especially by addition of highly reactive and very fine SF. Particular composition attained the best pore structure characteristics and compressive strength after curing at 0.6 MPa and 165 °C. Formation of more stable phases with C/S ratio close to 1 was proved by wollastonite formation during DSC analyses. More severe conditions of curing, however, led to the significant deterioration of microstructure and strength of corresponding sample, probably due to the formation of trabzonite, killalaite and zoisite. Considering the values of hydraulic permeability coefficient and compressive strength, replacement of cement by MK improved significantly the properties of cement when compared with the referential as well as with other blended compositions under the mentioned curing conditions.     

Olivine thermal diffusivity influencing factors

Titanium and its alloys are used in production of implants such as knee and hip prostheses due to their superior properties. Ti–Nb–Zr ternary alloys are preferred over other metallic implant materials due to the presence of non-toxic elements, high corrosion resistance, good biocompatibility, and proper mechanical properties. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of zirconium addition on α → β phase transformation, microstructure, and mechanical behavior of Ti–16Nb alloy. In doing so, Ti–16Nb–xZr (x: 0, 5, 10, 15 mass%) alloys are produced by powder injection molding, which offers advantages such as low cost, net shape, and easy production of complicated parts for implant fabrication. X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscope images showed that zirconium behaves as a β stabilizer and according to differential thermal analysis, and it decreases α to β transition temperature approximately 30 °C. It is also revealed that increasing zirconium content caused finer microstructure and hardness of the alloy was raised from 336 HV_0.5 to 412 HV_0.5 while elastic modulus remains approximately steady between 103 and 110 GPa. It is concluded that Ti–Nb–Zr alloys have been found to be a good alternative to known metallic implant materials.