The Goodmanham plane: Raman spectroscopic analysis of a Roman ivory artefact

Raman spectroscopy has been applied to the study of the exceptional ivory stock of an archaeological discovery of great importance for the history of woodworking tools: a virtually complete Roman plane that was found in a late fourth century A.D. context in North Yorkshire, UK, in A.D. 2000. An assessment has been made of the viability of Raman spectroscopy for the identification of ivories from archaeological excavations and comparisons made with similar studies of modern specimens. All of the attributed ivory specimens studied have suffered from deterioration in their burial environment, and severe degradation of their proteinaceous component was observed. In addition, spectral quality was affected through the absorption of fluorescent materials from their environment, and from the presence of emergency conservation procedures undertaken to preserve the integrity of very fragile specimens. The spectra of ivories dating from about 2000 years ago varied considerably because some specimens had experienced an almost complete leaching‐out of collagen, whereas in others, the degraded protein was still substantially identifiable. Generally, however, the protocols used successfully for the identification of modern ivories and for an assignment of their mammalian species were not transferable into archaeological ivory identification and classification because of the collagen degradation and decreased spectral quality. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of structural disordering and forming defects in a milling process for selenium

In our previous paper, structural changes of selenium powders ground by a planetary ball mill at various rotational speeds were investigated for the nanostructural modification of particles using mechanical grinding process. The experimental results indicated that the amorphisation of Se by grinding accompanies lattice strain, and the lattice strain arises from impact energy which is more than an energy related to intermolecular interaction. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations of selenium have been carried out under compressing conditions of various pressure strengths for obtaining information of the lattice strain at atomic level. Then, dynamical behaviour of atomic configuration has been discussed in this process. The structural disordering and formation of the structural defects were estimated by deviations of bond length and angle and the number of created defects before and after compressing from simulated results. The disordering took place during compressing at various pressure strengths, and the disordered atoms return to their initial positions at lower pressure. Stable disordered state and defects after the compression can however remain by compression at more than a certain pressure strength mainly associated with binding energy of selenium.     

Direct detection of carrier traps in Si solar cells after light‐induced degradation

In solar cells fabricated from boron‐doped Cz‐Si wafers minority and majority carrier traps were detected by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) after so‐called “light‐induced degradation” (LID). The DLTS signals were detected from mesa‐diodes with the full structure of the solar cells preserved. Preliminary results indicate metastable traps with energy levels positioned at E_V + 0.37 eV and E_C – 0.41 eV and apparent carrier capture cross‐sections in the 10^–17–10^–18 cm² range. The concentration of the traps was in the range of 10¹²–10¹³ cm^–3. The traps were eliminated by annealing of the mesa‐diodes at 200 °C. No traps were detected in Ga‐doped solar cells after the LID procedure or below the light protected bus bar locations in B‐doped cells. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Accelerated formation of the boron–oxygen complex in p‐type Czochralski silicon

This Letter reports on the acceleration of the rate of formation of the boron–oxygen defect in p‐type Czochralski silicon with illumination intensities in excess of 2.1 × 10¹⁷ photons/cm²/s. It is observed that increased light intensities greatly enhance the rate of defect formation, without increasing the saturation concentration of the defect. These results suggest a dependence of the defect formation rate upon the total majority carrier concentration. Finally, a method using temperatures up to 475 K and an illumination intensity of 1.68 × 10¹⁹ photons/cm²/s is shown to result in near‐complete defect formation within seconds. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Some recent studies at Coventry University sonochemistry centre

Three main areas of research at Coventry University are discussed: the uses of power ultrasound in polymer science (for both synthesis and degradation) and its effects on catalytic reactivity and radical production in solution.     

甲基苯基乙烯基硅橡胶电离总剂量效应

甲基苯基乙烯硅橡胶具有耐高低温、防震等独特优势,在航天器的减震、密封等领域具有广泛应用前景。研究了甲基苯基乙烯基硅橡胶的电离总剂量效应。结果表明,随着辐射剂量的增加,甲基苯基乙烯基硅橡胶的力学性能出现了不同程度的退化。拉伸强度和撕裂强度变化规律以1106 Gy(Si)剂量点为分界点。低于该剂量,拉伸和撕裂随剂量增加快速下降;高于该剂量时,随辐照剂量增加,拉伸强度出现一定程度反弹,呈现出宽U形,而撕裂强度则是先增加后下降。拉断伸长率和邵氏硬度A随辐照剂量增加分别出现快速下降和增加,最终接近饱和。最后,从辐射交联和裂解方面讨论了甲基苯基乙烯基硅橡胶电离总剂量效应的潜在物理机制。     

Light‐induced degradation of PECVD aluminium oxide passivated silicon solar cells

Light‐induced degradation (LID) has been identified to be a critical issue for solar cells processed on boron‐doped silicon substrates. Typically, Czochralski‐grown silicon (Cz‐Si) has been reported to suffer from stronger LID than block‐cast multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si) due to higher oxygen concentrations. This work investigates LID under conditions practically relevant under module operation on different cell types. It is shown that aluminium oxide (AlOx) passivated mc‐Si solar cells degrade more than a reference aluminium back surface field mc‐Si cell and, remarkably, an AlOx passivated Cz‐Si solar cell. The defect which is activated by illumination is shown to be doubtful a sole bulk effect while the AlOx passivation might play a certain role. This work may contribute to a re‐evaluation of the suitability of boron‐doped Cz‐ and mc‐Si for solar cells with very high efficiencies. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Sonochemical and visible light induced photochemical and sonophotochemical degradation of dyes catalyzed by recoverable vanadium-containing polyphosphomolybdate immobilized on TiO2 nanoparticles

Na₅PV₂Mo₁₀O₄₀ supported on nanoporous anatase TiO₂ particles, TiO₂–PVMo, was used as an efficient photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of different dyes by visible light using oxygen as oxidant. This catalyst showed a good catalytic activity in the sonocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic decomposition of different dyes in aqueous solutions. The TiO₂–PVMo composite showed higher photocatalytic and sonocatalytic activity than pure polyoxometalate or pure TiO₂.     

超声降解处理水体污染物的研究状况与发展

利用超声产生的空化效应来降解水体中的污染物,是近几年来国外研究者关注的热点领域之一。文章就超声在污染水体降解的原理、理论、降解效果以及主要的影响因素作扼要的综述介绍,对存在的问题和发展的趋势提出见解和看法。