Photocatalytic Activity of High Aspect Ratio TiO2 Nanorods

In this article, TiO₂ nanorods (aspect ratio >20) were prepared through a polyol process and doped with metal ions (Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Cr³⁺). Compared with TiO₂ nanoparticles, the TiO₂ nanorods displayed relatively higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of copper sulfophthalocyanine. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity was greatly enhanced when the metal ions were doped in the TiO₂ nanorods.     

Orientational and electro-optical properties of liquid crystal aligned with a directly spinnable carbon nanotube web

We investigated the orientational and electro-optical properties of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) aligned with a directly spinnable carbon nanotube (CNT) web functioning both as an electrode and as an alignment layer. The LC molecules were uniformly oriented along the drawing direction of the CNT web and the spatially averaged birefringence was comparable to a rubbed polyimide sample. The CNT web sample also showed smaller residual DC and hysteresis compared to the polyimide sample.     

Effects on molecular orientation and phase transition of addition of carbon nanotubes into liquid crystalline matrix

For practical guest–host applications, it is important to choose dyes with a high ability of orientation in the liquid crystal (LC) matrix. In this experimental work, two different azo-structured dyes (disperse yellow 3 and 7) were separately doped to each of two different nematic LCs (E7 and ZLI-1132). Their solubilities, textures, phase transition temperatures and order parameters were determined. At the second stage, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in a small amount were separately added to each of these solutions, and the experiments were repeated as similar to the previous ones. The solubilities of dyes in the LC E7 were lower than those of ZLI-1132. Moreover, the highest order parameter value was attained with yellow 7 dye in ZLI-1132 nematic host. Co-use of nanoparticles (CNTs) as dopant resulted in notable increases in order parameters. These dyes and CNTs did not significantly destabilise the mesomorphic phase of nematic hosts. An appreciable change in textures was not monitored with addition of dopant(s). In addition, it was observed that the narrowing on the temperature range of the LC did not take place with the addition of dopants to the crystal; on the contrary, an increase was recorded.     

Naphthalene and benzene levels in microenvironments associated with potential exposure: new and old apartments with moth repellents,and cabins of passenger cars

A lesser degree of information is available with respect to microenvironments associated with potential exposure to naphthalene, in comparison with other volatile organic compounds. The current study investigated the levels of benzene as well as naphthalene, both in the indoor and outdoor air of apartments and in the cabins of passenger cars. Two groups of 20 apartment buildings (20 new and 20 old) were chosen on the basis of the selection criteria (apartment location and size). In addition, 10 actual commuters were recruited for this study. The equal number of drivers was recruited for the study for comparison of two types of fuels for vehicles (five drivers of gasoline-fuelled and five drivers of diesel-fuelled passenger cars). Indoor naphthalene concentrations were similar between old and new apartments, while the benzene concentrations in new apartments were significantly higher than those of old apartments. The naphthalene concentrations in bedrooms, where wardrobes with moth repellent (MRs) were placed, were significantly higher than those for living rooms where no MRs were present. In turn, these indoor concentrations were significantly higher than outdoor levels. It is noteworthy that the mean and median values of naphthalene measured in the bedrooms exceeded the USEPA RfC (inhalation reference concentration) of 3?µg?m^?3, and the living room values were close to the RfC, while the residential benzene levels exceeded the European benzene limit of 5?µg?m^?3. In contrast, the maximum outdoor levels were well below that of the RfC. The use of passenger cars appeared to be a significant daily activity for both naphthalene and benzene exposure. The naphthalene-to-benzene ratios varied with the type of microenvironments. Both the indoor naphthalene and benzene concentrations in the present study were much higher than those of other studies.     

Zr/Ti摩尔比对锶锆钛复合氧化物在可见光下光催化性能的影响

通过分步沉积法制备了不同Zr/Ti 摩尔比的锶锆钛(SZT)复合氧化物催化剂, 以X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、紫外-可见(UV-Vis)漫反射光谱等表征手段考察不同Zr/Ti 摩尔比下SZT催化剂的结构形态, 以可见光下光催化降解亚甲基蓝为模型反应考察样品的光催化活性. 结果表明: Zr/Ti 摩尔比<1 时SZT催化剂发生Zr⁴⁺与Ti⁴⁺同质替换, 引起晶格缺陷, 光催化活性小幅提高; Zr/Ti 摩尔比≥1 时SZT催化剂产生SrZrO₃/Ti_nO_2n-1 (n=4, 9)的新晶相, Ti_nO_2n-1 (n=4, 9)的存在有利于光生电子-空穴的传导与分离, 可大幅提高催化剂光催化活性. 其中, SZT-5/5 表现出最高的光催化活性, 其一级反应速率常数达到0.2133 min^-1, 是同等光照条件下纯SrTiO₃样品(0.0158 min^-1)的13.5倍.     

Nanofluid in Hydrophilic State for EOR Implication Through Carbonate Reservoir

More than 50% of oil is trapped in petroleum reservoirs after applying primary and secondary recovery methods for removal. Thus, to produce more crude oils from these reservoirs, different enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approaches should be performed. In this research, the effect of hydrophilic nanoparticles of SiO₂ at 12 nm size, in (EOR) from carbonate reservoir is systematically investigated. Using this nanoparticle, we can increase viscosity of the injection fluid and then lower the mobility ratio between oil and nanofluid in carbonate reservoirs. To this end, a core flooding apparatus was used to determine the effectiveness and robustness of nanosilica for EOR from carbonate reservoirs. These experiments are applied on the reservoir carbonate core samples, which are saturated with brine and oil that was injected with nanoparticles of SiO₂ at various concentrations. The output results depict that, with increasing nanoparticle concentration, the viscosity of the injection fluid increases and results in decreased mobility ratio between oil and nanofluid. The results confirm that using the nanoparticle increases the recovery. Also, increasing the nanoparticle concentration up to 0.6% increases the ultimate recovery (%OOIP), but a further increase to 1.0 does not have a significant effect.     

循环流化床富氧气化实验研究

在循环流化床富氧气化实验台上,通过调节水蒸气流量使气化温度基本稳定在910℃,研究了不同氧气浓度及气化当量比对煤气组分、产气率、冷煤气效率及碳转化率的影响。结果表明,氧气浓度从25%增加至40%时,N2体积分数从48.82%降低至33.83%,H2从21.47%不断增加至27.59%,CH4基本不变;受水蒸气流量影响,氧气浓度高于35%时,CO体积分数降低,CO2体积分数增加;氧气浓度40%时的煤气热值为空气气化煤气热值的1.84倍,产气率随氧气浓度增加从2.35 m3/kg降至2.13 m3/kg,冷煤气效率和碳转化率不断增大;当气化当量比从0.20增加至0.29时,N2体积分数先降低后升高,H2体积分数从24.01%增加到25.46%后基本保持不变,CO和CH4持续减小,CO2不断增加,产气率由1.94 m3/kg升高到2.29 m3/kg;受水蒸气和气化当量比综合影响,冷煤气效率先增大后减小,碳转化率持续增加。     

单金纳米棒的光散射分析化学:径向比与分析灵敏度的关系

单纳米颗粒作为信号感应单元在化学与生物传感应用中已引起广泛关注.本文通过暗场显微成像(iDFM)研究了不同径向比金纳米棒的光散射性质.将iDFM与扫描电子显微镜(SEM)结合表征种子生长法制备的金纳米棒,结果发现,因局域表面等离子体共振而展示出的红色散射光随单个金纳米棒的径向比增大逐渐红移,且金纳米棒对其周围介质折光率(RI)变化的敏感程度随径向比增大而增大.这一结果对设计高灵敏的生物纳米传感器、提高分析检测的灵敏度具有很好的指导意义.     

Optimization of sampling frequency for routine river water quality monitoring

Sampling frequency is an important factor to be considered during the design of a water monitoring network,and the cost-effective selection of possible ways and means for the optimization of sampling frequency is still needed.This paper introduces water pollution index deviation ratio comparison(WPI DRC),a procedure for the optimization of sampling frequency for a routine river water quality monitoring system.Sampling frequency optimized using WPI DRC at monitoring station X5 in the mainstream of Xiangjiang River is compared with that established using the traditional Statistical Algorithm method.The result of comparison indicates that WPI DRC is more feasible than the traditional one.And then,the sampling frequencies for other 16 monitoring stations also have been optimized,and the results show the sampling frequencies of all the stations except that X4 are reduced,and there is no unacceptable difference between water quality evaluation results at 17 stations before and after the optimization.Therefore,it is concluded that WPI DRC is an effective optimization process with operable results,which can be used to fulfill the requirement of practical monitoring work.