Glow discharge mass spectrometry

Over the past twenty years or so, glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS) has become the industry standard for the analysis of trace elements in metals and semiconductors. A review of its history is followed by a picture of the present situation and a look to where the future may lie. Applications are summarised, including the ability of GDMS to offer depth-resolved data and non-conductor analysis, and the well-documented quantitative nature of the results is reviewed. The effects resulting from the physical properties of the analyte material are discussed at length. Finally, recent work such as fast flow sources and pulsed glow discharges is reviewed.     

Plasma-Catalytic Decomposition of Phenols in Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge

This study investigated the processes for the destruction of phenol and its derivatives (resorcin and pyrocatechol) in aqueous solutions under the action of an oxygen dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure in the presence or absence of catalysts in the plasma zone. It was shown that the DBD had a high decomposition efficiency for phenol and its derivatives (up to 99%). Phenol was the most stable and pyrocatechol was the least. In a plasma-catalytic hybrid process, the effective rate constants for phenol, resorcin and pyrocatechol decomposition were 11, 4 and 2.5 times higher, respectively, than those for the DBD treatment without catalysts. The process also resulted in a 1.4, 1.6 and 1.2 times higher rate of carboxylic acid formation for phenol, resorcin and pyrocatechol, respectively. The fractional conversion into the respective carboxylic acids reached 56% for phenol and 68% for resorcin and pyrocatechol.     

Plasma-induced Degradation of Chlorobenzene in Aqueous Solution

Liquid-phase degradation of chlorobenzene (CB), induced by contact glow discharge electrolysis under various reaction conditions, such as, the initial solution pH, current intensity, volume of solution and iron salts was investigated. Experimental results indicated that, in the absence of catalysts, the depletion of CB followed first-order kinetics, where the observed value of the first-order rate constant ‘k’ is directly proportional to the applied current intensity and inversely proportional to the solution volume. Initial solution pH had little effect on the value of k. HPLC and IC analyses showed that the major intermediate products were chlorophenols, phenol, organic acids and chloride ions. During the treatment, a lot of hydrogen peroxide was formed. Role of Fenton’s reaction was examined. A reaction pathway is proposed based on the degradation kinetics and the distribution of intermediate products.     

Oxidative Degradation of Aqueous Cresols Induced by Gaseous Plasma with Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis

The oxidative degradation of cresols smoothly proceeded toward inorganic end products when a gaseous plasma generated by means of dc glow discharge was sustained in contact with the surface of aqueous solution containing organic compounds. In order to get mechanistic insight, the monohydroxylation products from each isomeric cresol were closely examined as primary intermediates to reveal that the aromatic hydroxylation preferentially occurred at the position para to the hydroxyl group of each starting material. It was also established that the degradation of cresols strictly followed the first-order rate law. On the basis of the orientational analysis and the kinetical consideration including the effects of Fe ions added on the reaction rate, it was concluded that hydroxyl radical, which might result from the homolytic cleavage of water molecules by the action of plasma, was the most likely reagent responsible for the mineralization of cresols.     

Evaluation of Multiple Corona Reactor Modes and the Application in Odor Removal

Effects of multiple corona reactor modes on pulse characteristics, energy transfer efficiency, and odor (H₂S and NH₃) removal were investigated experimentally by the wire-plate corona reactor(s). The removal efficiency of H₂S was only 91% and the energy consumption was 16.1 Wh m⁻³ by the single mode with a gas-flow rate of 23 m³ h⁻¹ and an initial concentration of 200 mg m⁻³. At the same experimental conditions, almost 100% removal efficiency was achieved and the energy consumption was only 12.8 and 14.9 Wh m⁻³ by the series and parallel modes. In the case of 50 mg m⁻³ NH₃ removal at the same gas-flow rate, the removal efficiencies with the single mode, the series and parallel modes were 64, 92 and 70%, respectively. The energy requirement did not increase at the same residence time under the experimental conditions of the single mode with a gas-flow rate of 11.5 m³ h⁻¹ and the series or parallel mode with a gas-flow rate of 23.0 m³ h⁻¹. The experimental results indicate that the series and parallel modes are effective in saving energy consumption, improving removal ability and efficiency, especially for the series mode.     

基于定向纳米碳管气体放电的气敏传感器研究

介绍了一种基于定向纳米碳管的气敏传感器,以生长定向纳米碳管的氧化铝模板作为阳极,铝板作为阴极,利用纳米碳管的尖端发射效应,在较低的电压下使气体产生放电现象。通过对纳米碳管在气体中击穿电压和放电电流的测量,实现对气体的定性定量检测。同时纳米碳管气敏传感器还具有体积小、灵敏度高、稳定性好、响应速度快、在常温常压下即可进行检测等优点,具有较好的应用前景。     

Electrolytic Co3O4 for thin-layer anodes of lithium-ion batteries

Electrolytic (e) cobalt oxide of a spinel structure, e-Co₃O₄, is obtained from the sulfate and nitrate (aqueous, water-alcohol) solutions containing Co²⁺ with the aim of using it in thin-layer anodes of lithium-ion batteries. The physicochemical and structural properties of the synthesized compounds are examined using thermal and x-ray diffraction analyses, absorption IR spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The electrochemical characteristics of e-Co₃O₄ are determined in breadboards of lithium power sources and in the lithiumion system LiCoO₂/e-Co₃O₄.     

Investigation of glow discharge plasma for surface modification of polypropylene

Material surface properties of polymers, plastics, ceramics and textiles can be modified by atmospheric or low‐pressure glow discharge plasma. The aim of the present work is to study the surface modification of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film in order to improve its hydrophilic and wetting properties. In this article we used low‐pressure, low‐temperature oxygen plasma for the surface treatment of BOPP. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that plasma treatment causes mainly physical changes by creating microcraters and roughness on the surface and increasing surface friction. Attenuated total reflectance infrared spectra show oxygen‐containing groups such as ? OH at 3513 cm^?1 and C?O at 1695 cm^?1. Microscopic investigations of water droplets on BOPP (treated, untreated) show that the interfacial adhesion of treated surfaces is increased. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

火花激发原子发射光谱分析不锈钢线材

火花激发原子发射光谱法应用于直径小于8mm的不锈钢线材的分析，对此类试样应用了一种特制的夹具，用块状标准样品制作工作曲线。由于线状试样和块状标准样品之间的形状差异所产生的系统不确定度借采用同类型标样作校正，对共存元素的相互干扰也采用了相应的校正方法。其它分析条件，包括严格的制样工序，氩气的纯度要求及其流量控制，以及光源的最佳条件等，作了深入的试验。按所提出的方法测定了不锈钢线材试样中碳、硅、锰、磷、硫、铬、镍及钛等8个元素。经校正后的结果与化学法测得结果相符。     

Application of glow discharge mass spectrometry to multielement ultra-trace determination in ultrahigh-purity copper and iron: a calibration approach achieving quantification and traceability

A new approach was developed for quantitative calibration in GD-MS which can afford reliable and metrologically traceable results for many trace elements and was exemplified for pure copper and pure iron. It can be assumed that the technique can be further improved and applied to the analysis of other pure metals. Pressed copper and iron powder samples were used to calibrate the glow discharge mass spectrometry applied to the analysis of pure copper and iron. The new type of glow discharge mass spectrometer—the Element GD (Thermo Electron Corporation)—was used with a Grimm-type discharge cell for flat samples. Two series of powder samples were prepared for each of the copper and iron matrixes. The powders were quantitatively doped with solutions of graduated and defined concentrations of 40 or 20 analytes, respectively. The mass fractions of the analytes in the dried and homogenized metal powder samples ranged from μg/kg levels up to 10 mg/kg levels. A special technique was developed to press the samples and to form mechanically stable pellets with low risk of contamination. Ion beam ratios of analyte ions to matrix ions were used as measurands. The calibration curves were determined and the linear correlation coefficients were calculated for different intervals of the curves. The linear correlation coefficients are very satisfactory for most of the calibration curves, which include the higher segments of mass fractions; however, they are less satisfactory for the lower segments of the calibration curves. Nevertheless, in many cases rather acceptable and rather promising values were achieved even for these lower segments, representing mass fractions of analytes at ultra-trace level. The comparison of the certified values of different reference materials with the measured values based on calibrations with the pressed powder samples led to deviations less than 30% for most of the considered examples.