Transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite and then to maghemite in a mixed FeCl2/NaOH solution

Ferrihydrite (Fe₅O₇(OH)·4H₂O) is poorly crystalline hydrated ferric oxyhydroxide. Using a treatment in a mixed FeCl₂/NaOH solution, we attempted to prepare magnetic nanoscale particles from ferrihydrite. During the treatment, the concentration of FeCl₂ was fixed at 0.1 M, and the concentration of NaOH was varied from 0.09 to 0.26 M. The as-prepared products were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The experimental results showed that under the FeCl₂/NaOH solution treatment, the ferrihydrite transformed into nanoscale γ-Fe₂O₃ via an α-FeO(OH) intermediate phase. The as-prepared products contained rod-type α-FeO(OH), sphere-type γ-Fe₂O_3, and flake-type γ-Fe₂O₃ particles. A mechanism for a coupling of the aggregation and the transition was proposed to interpret the formation of highly crystalline nanoscale particles from the poorly crystalline smaller particles.     

Two‐level Newton iterative method for the 2D/3D steady Navier‐Stokes equations

A combination method of the Newton iteration and two‐level finite element algorithm is applied for solving numerically the steady Navier‐Stokes equations under the strong uniqueness condition. This algorithm is motivated by applying the m Newton iterations for solving the Navier‐Stokes problem on a coarse grid and computing the Stokes problem on a fine grid. Then, the uniform stability and convergence with respect to ν of the two‐level Newton iterative solution are analyzed for the large m and small H and h << H. Finally, some numerical tests are made to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2012     

The quasi-magnetic-hysteresis behavior of polydisperse ferrofluids with small coupling constant

The magnetization behaviors of ferrofluids based on γ-Fe₂O₃/Ni₂O₃ composite nanoparticles of size about 11 nm have been investigated. The dipole coupling constant λ of these particles is so small (0.43) that they cannot form aggregates through magnetic interaction alone. Experimental results have shown that for a polydisperse ferrofluid with a particle volume fraction of ?_V=2.4%, the magnetization curve exhibits quasi-magnetic-hysteresis behavior, i.e., the demagnetization curve lies above the magnetization curve in a high field. However, for a more dilute γ-Fe₂O₃/Ni₂O₃ ferrofluid with ?_V=0.94%, the magnetization curve does not show such behavior. According to the bidisperse model for polydisperse ferrofluids, these magnetization behaviors may be attributed to field-induced effects of self-assembled pre-existing chain-like aggregates. For such pre-existing chain-like aggregates, the orientation of the moments inside the particles is not co-linear, so that during the magnetization and demagnetization processes, their apparent magnetizations at the high-field limit are different. As a consequence, the magnetization curve of the ferrofluid with ?_V=2.4% displays quasi-magnetic-hysteresis.     

The modification of the initial susceptibility of dilute binary ferrofluids based on γ-Fe2O3/ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles

This paper presents a multi-band metamaterial absorber comprising three multi-gap split-ring resonators (SRRs) with different radii and ring widths, designed in combinatorial approach. Experiments demonstrate that it can perform absorption peaks at three resonant frequencies 7.10 GHz, 10.04 GHz, and 17.44 GHz with the absorption of 99.90%, 99.91%, and 99.68%, respectively. The physical mechanism of metamaterial absorber was explained through numerical calculation and simulation, which showed that three absorption peaks were caused respectively by the three four-gap SRRs. The absorber is insensitive to incident angles and polarization states, so it has broad prospect of application.     

A magnetic field-dependent modulation effect tends to stabilize light transmission through binary ferrofluids

In binary ferrofluids composed of ferromagnetic γ?Fe₂O₃/Ni₂O₃ composite nanoparticles (A particles) and noncrystalline Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (B particles), the A particles alone will form chain-like aggregates upon application of a magnetic field. Due to both the long-range ‘magnetic convergent force’ (F_C) and the short-range ‘magnetic divergent force’ (F_D), the A-particle chains immersed in the B-particle ‘sea’ will move in a manner similar to the process of vibrational damping. The apparent damping of the ferrofluids will vary from weak to overdamping according to the motion of the chains, so that the intensity of light transmitted through a ferrofluid film along the direction of the field would tend to stabilize after a period of rapid decrements and increments. In binary ferrofluids, the B-particle system can produce a modulation effect on both the damping and the driving force, further stabilizing the behavior of the transmitted light. At low fields (e.g., 500 Gs, 900 Gs) only the modulation of the viscosity drag force (F_v) is considerable, so that overdamping increases linearly with B-particle volume fraction (Ф_B), and the variation in the transmitted light is much slower during the process tending towards stability as Ф_B increases. However, at high fields (e.g., 1300 Gs) the polarization of the B-particle ‘sea’ is enhanced, so that F_D is modulated as well as F_v (i.e., both the practical damping and driving forces are modulated simultaneously). Thus, the apparent overdamping of the binary ferrofluids system will vary non-linearly as Ф_B increases, and the transmitted light will tend to stabilize faster for ferrofluids with high Φ_B than for those with low Ф_B at an applied magnetic field of 1300 Gs.     

Eye‐Readable Detection and Oxidation of CO with a Platinum‐Based Catalyst and a Binuclear Rhodium Complex

Toxic gases that are colorless and odorless, such as CO, are a major environmental concern and require early detection to prevent serious toxicological effects. In this study, a unique system (Pt/HMSs‐BRC) was fabricated by combining a catalyst (Pt/hollow mesoporous silica spheres, Pt/HMSs) with a silica gel containing an adsorbed chromogenic probe (binuclear rhodium complex, BRC). The process is a simple method to prepare well‐dispersed and uniform Pt nanoparticles. The Pt/HMSs‐BRC materials demonstrated early CO detection and excellent catalytic performance for CO oxidation. The probe exhibited remarkable color modulation from gray‐violet to light‐yellow when exposed to CO concentration levels above 50 ppm, and the color of the chromogenic probe was fully recoverable. By a kinetics‐assisted discrimination method and DFT calculations, it was found that the corner Pt sites are the dominant active sites for CO oxidation.     

PLASTIC ZONE OF SEMI-INFINITE CRACK IN PLANAR KAGOME AND TRIANGULAR LATTICES

The fracture investigations of the planar lattices made of ductile cell walls are currently limited to bending-dominated hexagonal honeycomb. In this paper, the plastic zones of stretching-dominated lattices, including Kagome and triangular lattices, are estimated by analyzing their effective yield loci. The normalized in-plane yield loci of these two lattices are almost identical convex curves enclosed by 4 straight lines, which is almost independent of the relative density but is highly sensitive to the principal stress directions. Therefore, the plastic zones around the crack tip of Kagome and triangular are estimated to be quite different to those of the continuum solid and also hexagonal lattice. The plastic zones predictions by convex yield surfaces of both lattices are validated by FE calculations, although the shear lag region caused by non-local bending effect in the Kagome lattice enlarges the plastic zone in cases of small ratio of rp/l.     

钢柱抗爆响应分析单自由度模型适用性评估

为评估单自由度(SDOF)模型在结构抗爆设计中的适用性,分别采用SDOF模型和通用有限元软件ANSYS/LS-DYNA对简支钢柱承受爆炸荷载时的动力响应进行模拟;对比二者计算结果,并以有限元模拟为准,分析SDOF模型的适用范围。研究表明:可按照自由振动阶段SDOF模型位移结果的振幅大小,将其位移响应划分为有限变形阶段、临界阶段、失稳破坏阶段,有限变形阶段SDOF模型与有限元结果基本一致;截面高宽比、翼缘宽厚比对钢柱动力破坏形式有重要影响,高宽比越大、翼缘的宽厚比越小,越容易发生平面外弯扭失稳;在SDOF模型中通过假定塑性铰分布长度计算塑性阶段应变及应变率,采用随时间变化的应变率计算Cowper-Symonds本构关系中的应力放大系数是可行的。     

Existence and uniqueness of positive solutions to nonlinear fractional differential equation with integral boundary conditions

In this paper, we consider the following nonlinear fractional three-point boundary-value problem:

Theoretical and analytical radial distribution function for dense fluids

The ‘identical particles in quasi-mean potential energy field’ assumption was used to derive the approximate theoretical and analytical radial distribution function (RDF) for dense fluids through solving the two-body Schrödinger equation and using the first-order perturbation method. The theoretical and analytical expressions of RDF can save much computation time in calculating the thermodynamics properties of fluids and may make the statistical mechanics theories comparable with the equation of state method that is currently widely used in physics, chemistry and technology. The calculated properties for argon by this RDF fit well with the experimental data of reference over a very wide range of conditions, including dense fluids (liquid phase and dense gas), critical point, and dilute gas, in which the pair potential and the Axilrod-Teller three body interaction were considered. The extensive practical application of this model for science and technology needs further investigation.