Elemental Analysis of Copper-Zinc Ores by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence using Nonaqueous Suspensions

Novel rapid determination of copper-zinc ore elemental composition by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) is proposed. Approaches for solid state sample analysis by TXRF are provided. The sample preparation is chosen to obtain the suspensions in ethylene glycol. The optimum suspension preparation conditions (sample mass, volume of dispersion medium) and the measurement conditions (internal standard element, spectra acquisition time) were determined. The sedimentation stability of suspensions was studied. It was found that the suspensions remain stable for approximately 2?min, which is sufficiently long for the sampling the suspension. The proposed technique allows determining the elemental composition of solid ore samples without sample digestion. The sample preparation time takes approximately 20?min. The relative standard deviation of the analytical results did not exceed 10%.     

Apodized fibre Bragg grating with modulated refractive index change for transmissive gain equalization

This paper presents a new enhanced design of fibre Bragg grating for flattening the gain profile of an erbium-doped fibre amplifier in transmission configuration. This grating has modulation of refractive index change and constant chirp rate, wherein both profiles of the parameters are properly apodized. The design utilizes an alternative approach to the renowned inverse scattering method, yet produces a similar spectral response quality and conceptually simpler. Moreover, it offers precise control over all parameters of the grating structure. It is shown that the design approach could produce gain-flattening filters of satisfactory quality through simulations using the accurate transfer matrix method.     

Transfer of a microfluid to a stochastic fibre network

The transfer of a microscopic fluid droplet from a flat surface to a deformable stochastic fibre network is investigated. Fibre networks are generated with different levels of surface roughness, and a two-dimensional, two-phase fluid-structure model is used to simulate the fluid transfer. In simulations, the Navier-Stokes equations and the Cahn-Hilliard phase-field equations are coupled to explicitly include contact line dynamics and free surface dynamics. The compressing fibre network is modelled as moving immersed boundaries. The simulations show that the amount of transferred fluid is approximately proportional to the contact area between the fluid and the fibre network. However, areas where the fluid bridges and never actually makes contact with the substrate must be subtracted.     

Preparation and characterization of conductive nanostructured particles based on polyaniline and cellulose nanofibers

Conducting polyaniline (PANI) and cellulose coated PANI (PANI-NC) nanostructures with sizes of about 80–100 nm, doped with hydrochloric acid were synthesized by a sonochemical method. Both type of particles resulted electrically conductive (direct current conductivity of 0.059 and 0.075 S/cm for PANI and PANI-NC structures, respectively) and could be dispersed easily in water, leading to green colored suspensions that remain stable for more than 4 h. The morphology, crystallinity, electrical conductivity (σ) and thermal stability of the obtained PANI based structures were investigated and compared. Furthermore, UV–Vis spectroscopy and rheology of water suspensions were used to explain the measured properties. Although the concentration of cellulose fibers used to synthesize the PANI-NC structures was very low, important differences respect to the neat PANI fibers regarding the microstructure, electrical conductivity and suspension behavior were found.     

Influence of Dispersing Agents on the Solubility of Perovskites in Water

In this study, solubility behavior of lead magnesium niobate (PMN) powders in water was investigated in the presence of pure polyacrylic acid and polyacrylic acid/polyethylene oxide comb polymers. Experiments were performed by measuring the solubility of PMN in terms of the concentration of Pb⁺² and Mg⁺² ions in supernatant as a function of pH and dispersing agent dosage. The concentrations of the metal ions in supernatant were found to be affected by the dispersant concentration, stirring time and the suspension pH. Results revealed that both dispersing agents enhance the cation dissolution from PMN surface at pH 9 due to weak (reversible) adsorption and complexation of Pb⁺² and Mg⁺² by carboxylate groups. On the other hand, under acidic conditions cation dissolution from PMN is inhibited and this was attributed to the strong adsorption of dispersing agents onto the powder surface and formation of a dense polymer layer.     

Flame retardant challenges for textiles and fibres: New chemistry versus innovatory solutions

Almost 50 years ago, the 1950-1960 period witnessed the development of the chemistry underlying most of today’s successful and durable flame retardant treatments for fibres and textiles. In today’s more critical markets in terms of environmental sustainability, chemical toxicological acceptability, performance and cost, many of these are now being questioned. “Are there potential replacements for established, durable formaldehyde-based flame retardants such as those based on tetrakis (hydroxylmethyl) phosphonium salt and alkyl-substituted, N-methylol phosphonopropionamide chemistries for cellulosic textiles?” is an often-asked question. “Can we produce char-forming polyester flame retardants?” and “Can we really produce effective halogen-free replacements for coatings and back-coated textiles?” are others.These questions are addressed initially as a historical review of research undertaken in the second half of the twentieth century which is the basis of most currently available, commercialised flame retardant fibres and textiles. Research reported during the first decade of the twenty first century and which primarily addresses the current issues of environmental sustainability and the search for alternative flame retardant solutions, the need to increase char-forming character in synthetic fibres and the current interest in nanotechnology is critically discussed. The possible roles of micro- and nano-surface treatments of fibre surfaces and their development using techniques such as plasma technology are also reviewed.     

Effectiveness of different solid-phase microextraction fibres for differentiation of selected Madeira island fruits based on their volatile metabolite profile--identification of novel compounds

A headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) procedure based on five commercialised fibres (85 μm polyacrylate - PA, 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane - PDMS, 65 μm polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene - PDMS/DVB, 70 μm carbowax/divinylbenzene - CW/DVB and 85 μm carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane - CAR/PDMS) is presented for the characterization of the volatile metabolite profile of four selected Madeira island fruit species, lemon (Citrus limon), kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa), papaya (Carica papaya L.) and Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia). The isolation of metabolites was followed by thermal desorption gas chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-qMS) methodology. The performance of the target fibres was evaluated and compared. The SPME fibre coated with CW/DVB afforded the highest extraction efficiency in kiwi and papaya pulps, while in lemon and plum the same was achieved with PMDS/DVB fibre. This procedure allowed for the identification of 80 compounds, 41 in kiwi, 24 in plums, 23 in papaya and 20 in lemon. Considering the best extraction conditions, the most abundant volatiles identified in kiwi were the intense aldehydes and ethyl esters such as (E)-2-hexenal and ethyl butyrate, while in Chicasaw plum predominate 2-hexenal, 2-methyl-4-pentenal, hexanal, (Z)-3-hexenol and cyclohexylene oxide. The major compounds identified in the papaya pulp were benzyl isothiocyanate, linalool oxide, furfural, hydroxypropanone, linalool and acetic acid. Finally, lemon was shown to be the most divergent of the four fruits, being its aroma profile composed almost exclusively by terpens, namely limonene, γ-terpinene, o-cymene and α-terpinolene. Thirty two volatiles were identified for the first time in the fruit or close related species analysed and 14 volatiles are reported as novel volatile metabolites in fruits. This includes 5 new compounds in kiwi (2-cyclohexene-1,4-dione, furyl hydroxymethyl ketone, 4-hydroxydihydro-2(3H)-furanone, 5-acetoxymethyl-2-furaldehyde and ethanedioic acid), 4 in plum (4-hydroxydihydro-2(3H)-furanone, 5-methyl-2-pyrazinylmethanol, cyclohexylene oxide and 1-methylcyclohexene), 4 in papaya (octaethyleneglycol, 1,2-cyclopentanedione, 3-methyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione and 2-furyl methyl ketone) and 2 in lemon (geranyl farnesate and safranal). It is noteworthy that among the 15 volatile metabolites identified in papaya, 3-methyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione was previously described as a novel PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ) agonist, having a potential to minimize inflammation.     

Multistage polar switching in bent-core mesogens

We report a novel type of electro-optical switching in a tilted smectic phase of bent-shaped mesogens. The switching consists of a continuous stage and two bistable transitions. Detailed optical and electro-optical measurements using high-speed imaging are given and possible interpretations of the experimental results are discussed.     

Monitoring the buckling threshold of drying colloidal droplets using water-ethanol mixtures

We visualize the drying of droplets of colloids suspended in a mixture of two miscible solvents, namely water and ethanol. After a period of isotropic shrinkage, droplets suddenly buckle like elastic shells. For a fixed colloid solid fraction, the buckling threshold evolves as a function of ethanol content, due to changes of the solvent mixture physical properties, such as viscosity and evaporation rate. A simplified model predicting the qualitative behavior of the buckling threshold as a function of the initial ethanol mass fraction has been developed that fits well experimental results.