Far-field accuracy investigation using modulated scattering technique for fast near-field measurements

Near field measurement techniques in conjunction with near-field to far-field transformation algorithms are widely used today. Two of the most important concerns are, firstly, the degree of accuracy achieved, and secondly, the measurement duration. Although high degrees of accuracy can be obtained, the time required to scan completely the near field of an antenna using the classical near-field measurement techniques is rather long. The modulated scattering technique would offer a means to reduce this time by a factor of 10 to 100 while maintaining a reasonable degree of accuracy. Using this technique, however, one introduces further sources of inaccuracy such as the mutual coupling between the elements of the array used to probe the test antenna, and the further limitation of the available measurement dynamic range. In this paper, these two sources of inaccuracy inherent in this technique or other techniques which use a similar set-up, are explored. Multiple reflections between the test antenna and the probe array are ignored. A parabolic reflector is chosen as the test antenna, and an array of dipoles is chosen as the probe antenna in the numerical simulation.     

Evaluation des cadences de mesure de champs proches au moyen de sondes modulées

The problems involved in the direct far-field measurements of large antennas have led to the development of the near-field measurement technique. According to this method, the far-field pattern of the antenna is calculated from the near-field measurements close to the antenna. The only inconvenience in this technique is the slow rate of measurements. This slowness is due to the mechanical displacement of the measuring probe or the test antenna. The modulated scattering technique is a method to reduce the measurement time while preserving acceptable levels of accuracy. This article is mainly concerned with estimating the possible measurement rates in typical configurations.     

Ionophore Properties of Schiff Base Compounds as Ion Sensing Molecules for Fabricating Cu(II) Ion-Selective Electrodes

Bis(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)-1,2-diaminoethane (L^I), bis(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)-1,3-diaminopropane (L^II) and bis(2-hydroxybenzaldehyde)-4,4'-methylendianiline (L^III) were examined as ionophores for fabrication of polyvinylchloride (PVC) membrane Cu(II) ion-selective potentiometric sensors. The optimum composition (%) for the sensors was: 5 L^I, 30 PVC, 6 sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB), 59 ortho-nitrophenyloctyl ether (NPOE); 4 L^II, 30 PVC, 5 NaTPB, 61 dibutyl phthalate; 6 L^III, 30 PVC, 5 NaTPB, 59 NPOE. The linear response range of the electrodes was 5 × 10^–4–0.05 (L^I), 5 × 10^–4–0.1 (L^II) and 1 × 10^–6–0.01 M (L^III), and the corresponding detection limits were 4 × 10^–4, 4 × 10^–4 and 2 × 10^–7 M, respectively. The sensors were showed rapid response time (≈10 s). Their responses were independent on pH in the range 2.5–5.0 (L^I), 3.2–4.7 (L^II) and 4.0–5.0 (L^III). The selectivity of the prepared electrodes towards copper ions over some mono-, di- and trivalent metal ions was evaluated. The sensors were used as indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of copper ions in aqueous solutions.     

Kinetics of cluster growth by aggregation

The classical problem of the coalescence of isolated species to produce growing clusters/colloids/polymers by successive statistical encounters having the same rate constant, is revisited using numerical simulation for a maximum nuclearity value of a few 10³ units. The evolution with time of the abundance of clusters of a given nuclearity and of the total population, and the distribution of sizes at a given time are obtained and compared with models from the literature. A remarkable feature of these curves is that they exhibit parity effects for the nuclearity, even clusters being systematically more abundant than odd ones. For easier comparison with experiments, some simulated curves are presented in the form of an approximated analytical expression: kinetics of the total population, and of the monomer, dimer and higher oligomers populations, amplitudes at the maximum and delay for the maximum as functions of the nuclearity, size distribution at a given time. The validity of the approximations is discussed.     

Evaluating the efficiency of the GO‐Fe3O4/TiO2 mesoporous photocatalyst for degradation of chlorpyrifos pesticide under visible light irradiation

In this work, the photocatalytic activity of the synthesized graphene oxide (GO)‐Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ mesoporous photocatalysts was evaluated using chlorpyrifos (CP) as a contaminant. The nano‐photocatalyst was characterized by X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and specific surface area by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method. Using visible light, the GO‐Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ mesoporous photocatalyst was investigated on the degradation of CP pesticide. The GO‐Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ photocatalyst displayed a good photocatalytic activity, which was achieving 97% of CP degradation after 60 min. Finally, experiments were performed to evaluate GO‐Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ mesoporous nanocatalyst activity on repeated applications; after several uses, its photocatalytic activity was retained, which indicated stability.     

Fabrication of a Novel Electrochemical Sensor for Determination of Riboflavin in Different Drink Real Samples

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - In the present study an electrochemical sensor has been produced for measuring riboflavin with high sensitivity and selectivity. Deferential pulse technique...     

Thermal modified Kaolinite as useful material for separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of manganese ions

This work assesses for the first time the potential of natural Kaolinite as adsorptive material for preconcentration of metal traces. Manganese is quantitatively retained by 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP) on thermal modified Kaolinite by column method in pH range of 8.5-10.0 at flow rate of 2 ml min⁻¹. Manganese was removed from column with 5.0 ml of H₂SO₄ 4 mol l⁻¹ and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometric at 279.5 nm. In this case, 0.l μg of manganese can be concentrated from 800 ml of aqueous sample (where concentration is as low as 0.125 μg l⁻¹). Detection limit is 4.3 μg l⁻¹ (3 δ_bl m⁻¹) and analytical curve is linear in the 0.02-10 mg l⁻¹ in final solution with correlation coefficient 0.9997 and relative standard deviation for eight replicate determination of 5 μg of manganese in final solution is 0.71%. The interference of a large number of anions and cations has been studied in detail to optimize the conditions and method was successfully applied for determination of manganese in complex materials.     

Atomic absorption spectrometric determination of trace amounts of copper and zinc after simultaneous solid-phase extraction and preconcentration onto modified natrolite zeolite.

This work assesses the use of modified natural natrolite zeolite as an adsorptive material for the separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of ions. In this work we investigated the potential of modified natural natrolite zeolite for the simultaneous separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of copper and zinc ions. We have developed a simple, rapid, selective, sensitive and economical method for the simultaneous separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of copper and zinc in an aqueous medium using 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP) as an analytical reagent. The sorption was quantitative in the pH range 7.5 - 9.5, whereas quantitative desorption occurred instantaneously with 5.0 mL of 2 mol L(-1) nitric acid. Linearity was maintained between 0.05 - 6.0 microg mL(-1) for copper and 0.02 - 1.5 microg mL(-1) for zinc in the final solution. Ten replicate determinations of 1.0 microg mL(-1) copper and 0.5 microg mL(-1) zinc in a mixture gave mean absorbances of 0.1687 and 0.2788 with relative standard deviations of +/-1.2% and +/-1.3%, respectively. The detection limits were 0.03 ng mL(-1) for Cu(II) and 0.006 ng mL(-1) for Zn(II) in the original solution (3 sigma(bl)/m). Different parameters, such as the effect of the pH, flow rate, breakthrough volume and interference of a large number of anions and cations, were studied and the proposed method was used for the determination of these metal ions in water as well as standard samples (e.g. Nippon Keikinzoku Kogyo (NKK) CRM, No. 916 and No. 920 aluminum alloy, National Institute for Environment Studies (NIES) No. 1 pepperbush and NIES No. 2 pond sediment). The determination of these metal ions in standard samples showed that the proposed method has good accuracy (recovery > 97%).