Recent advances in measurement of Pb isotopes in polar ice and snow at sub-picogram per gram concentrations using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry

Techniques for Pb measurements have reached the stage where Antarctic ice with sub-picogram per gram concentrations can be reliably analysed for isotopic composition. Here, particular attention has been given to measuring the quantity of Pb added during the decontamination and sample storage stages of the sample preparation process because of their impact on accuracy at low concentrations. These stages, including the use of a stainless steel chisel for the decontamination, contributed ∼5.2 pg to the total sample analysed, amounting to a concentration increase of ∼13 fg g⁻¹, which is significantly less than expected. Consequently, the corrections to the isotopic ratios and concentration were also smaller. Other contributions to the blank, such as Pb fallout onto critical working areas in the HEPA-filtered air laboratories, were also relatively small as was the amount of Pb leached from preconditioned perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) beakers during sample processing. The ion source contributed typically 89±19 fg to the blank. Although this was relatively large, its influence depended upon the amount of Pb available for analysis and it had the greatest impact when small volumes of samples with a very low concentration were analysed. A 15 months investigation of the leaching characteristics of Pb from a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) sample storage bottle showed 11 fg cm⁻² per day was released immediately following the initial 2 months cleaning process, but this decreased to immeasurable values after a further 3 months of cleaning.     

降低真空制冰系统真空度的理论研究

文中针对真空冰浆制备系统运行真空度较高的问题进行分析,提出利用在水中加入中介物质的方法来降低制备系统对真空度的要求,并利用物质的化学势平衡理论与溶液相图相结合的方法,从理论上验证了在真空冰浆制备系统中加入中介物质具有降低系统对真空度要求的作用.     

Ti-MWW催化丁酮氨肟化连续於浆床工艺

在液相连续赞浆床反应器中,Ti-MW WIH202体系表现出较高的催化丁酮氨肪化制备丁酮肠的活性,详细考察了各反应条件对Ti-MWW分子筛催化性能的影响.结果表明,在优化的反应条件下,丁酮转化率和丁酮肪选择性分别达95%和99%以上;均优于传统的铁硅分子筛TS-1,且稳定性也更高.     

Research on the icephobic properties of fluoropolymer-based materials

Fluoropolymer, because of the extremely low surface energy, could be non-stick to water and thus could be a good candidate as anti-icing materials. In this paper, the icephobic properties of a series of fluoropolymer materials including pristine PTFE plates (P-PTFE), sandblasted PTFE plates (SB-PTFE), two PTFE coatings (SNF-1 and SNF-CO1), a fluorinated room-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber coating (F-RTV) and a fluorinated polyurethane coating (F-PU) have been investigated by using SEM, XPS, ice adhesion strength (tensile and shear) tests, and static and dynamic water contact angle analysis. Results show that the fluoropolymer material with a smooth surface can significantly reduce ice adhesion strength but do not show obvious effect in reducing ice accretion at −8 °C. Fluoropolymers with sub-micron surface structures can improve the hydrophobicity at normal temperature. It leads to an efficient reduction in the ice accretion on the surface at −8 °C, due to the superhydrophobicity of the materials. But the hydrophobicity of this surface descends at a low temperature with high humidity. Consequently, once ice layer formed on the surface, the ice adhesion strength enhanced rapidly due to the existence of the sub-micron structures. Ice adhesion strength of fluoropolymers is highly correlated to CA reduction observed when the temperature was changed from 20 °C to −8 °C. This property is associated with the submicron structure on the surface, which allows water condensed in the interspace between the sub-micron protrudes at a low temperature, and leads to a reduced contact angle, as well as a significantly increased ice adhesion strength.     

Enhancement of Nanoclay Dispersion and Exfoliation in Epoxy Using Aminic Hardener Treated Clay

Exfoliation and dispersion of nanoclays in epoxy matrices plays an important role in achieving better physical and mechanical properties of resultant nanocomposites. In this article, modification of clay with an aminic hardener for the increment of dispersion and exfoliation into the epoxy matrix has been investigated. In the solvent media, a slurry of hydrophilic Na-Montmorrilonite was mixed and treated with isophoronediamine (IPDA). The nanocomposites containing epoxy and IPDA-modified clay were produced through a recently developed “slurry compounding” method. Dispersion and exfoliation of the modified clay and the microstructure of the resultant nanocomposite were studied by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The samples were then compared with the high shear mixed and sonicated nanocomposites containing commonly used quaternary ammonium modified clays. The comparison showed that dispersion and exfoliation of hardener-modified organoclays in epoxy have been improved due to the treatment of clay and the compounding method.     

Preparation and Evaluation of Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose from Sugarcane Bagasse for Applications in Coal-Water Slurry

A study on the feasibility of preparing cellulose from sugarcane bagasse, by means of chemical procedures including acid hydrolysis and alkaline treatment was conducted. The extracted purified cellulose was further used to prepare a cost-effective additive via alkalization and etherification for Coal-water slurry (CWS). The degree of substitute (DS) and intrinsic viscosity of the prepared sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC1) were determined and its structure was also characterized by means of FT-IR and TGA, with another sample of SCMC2 produced from microcrystalline cellulose and a commercial SCMC3 as references. Results showed SCMC1 had a DS of 0.857 which was 32.7% and 44.7% higher than SCMC2 and SCMC3, respectively. The higher intrinsic viscosity of SCMC1 indicated it had a higher molecular mass. The SCMC samples were used as additives to prepare CWS of which the rheological behavior and static stability were measured to evaluate their applied performances. The data showed that CWS with SCMC1 had a lower apparent viscosity and higher static stability than others, which was due to the higher DS and higher molecular mass of SCMC1. For SCMC1 could provide stronger electrostatic repulsive forces and steric repulsive forces between the coal particles via adsorption.     

Water-solid interfaces probed by high-resolution atomic force microscopy

Water-solid interfaces play important roles across a broad range of scientific and application fields. In the past decades, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has significantly deepened our understanding of water-solid interfaces at molecular scale. In this review, we describe the recent progresses on probing water-solid interfaces by noncontact AFM, highlighting the imaging of interfacial water with ultrahigh spatial resolution. In particular, the recent development of qPlus-based AFM with functionalized tips has made it possible to directly image the H-bonding skeleton of interfacial water under UHV environment. Based on high-order electrostatic forces, such a technique even enables submolecular-level imaging of weakly bonded water structures with negligible disturbance. In addition, the three-dimensional (3D) AFM using low-noise cantilever deflection sensors can achieve atomic resolution imaging at liquid/solid interfaces, which opens up the possibility of probing the hydration layer structures under realistic conditions. We then discuss the application of those AFM techniques to various interfacial water systems, including water clusters, ion hydrates, water chains, water monolayers/multilayers and bulk water/ice on different surfaces under UHV or ambient environments. Some important issues will be addressed, including the H-bonding topology, ice nucleation and growth, ion hydration and transport, dielectric properties of water, etc. In the end, we present an outlook on the directions of future AFM studies of water at interfaces and the challenges faced by this field, as well as the development of new AFM techniques.     

电容感应式冰厚监测系统在南极海冰监测中的应用

为了实现对南极的实时自动化监测,设计并研制了电容式冰厚监测系统,系统于2012年3月至8月对南极中山站附近的近岸海冰进行了连续6个月的厚度自动化监测,通过对监测数据的对比分析,得到了监测系统的准确度与相对偏差.结果证明系统用于高精度定点监测海冰厚度是可行的,并对系统监测南极海冰的不足与今后改进研究的内容进行了讨论.     

溶剂极性对微波辐射老化制备前驱体及CuO/ZnO/Al2O3催化剂结构的影响

在制备CuO/ZnO/Al2O3催化剂的老化过程中,采用微波辐射老化技术,着重研究了溶剂极性对前躯体物相组成,烧后CuO/ZnO/Al2O3催化剂结构及其在浆态床合成甲醇工艺中催化性能的影响。通过XRD、DTG、H2-TPR,FTIR、HR-TEM和XPS对前驱体及催化剂表征表明,沉淀母液在微波辐射条件下进行老化,溶剂的极性对前躯体物相组成及催化剂结构影响显著。随着溶剂极性的增大,Zn2+/Cu2+取代Cu2(CO3)(OH)2/Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6中Cu2+/Zn2+的取代反应增强,使得前躯体中(Cu,Zn)5(CO3)2(OH)6和(Cu,Zn)2(CO3)(OH)2物相的含量增多,结晶度提高,导致烧后CuO/ZnO/Al2O3催化剂中CuO-ZnO协同作用增强,且CuO晶粒减小,表面Cu含量增加,催化剂活性和稳定性提高。水溶剂的极性最大,制备的催化剂活性和稳定性最好,甲醇的时空收率(STY)和平均失活率分别为320 mg.g-1.h-1和0.11%.d-1。     

A Comparison of Sample Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Iron and Zinc in Bulgur Wheat by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

ABSTRACT

A comparison was made of different digestion methods for the determination of iron and zinc in two types of bulgur wheat prior to their analysis in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Samples were digested by means of acid treatment in room temperature, acid treatment at 60°C in a water bath and in a microwave oven and by dry ashing in open ah system. Except for microwave digestion, the samples proved to be unclear. The concentrations of the elements studied in the bulgur samples obtained by the four digestion methods are inconsistent in limits of standard deviations. It was found that aluminum sulfate (4μg/10μl sample) added to the samples acted as a modifier, improving the signal shape and increasing the stability of slurries obtained from digestion procedures.