Solid-state pH nanoelectrode based on polyaniline thin film electrodeposited onto ion-beam etched carbon fiber

An ultramicro pH sensor has been constructed based on a thin polyaniline film that was electrochemically deposited onto a carbon fiber nanometer-size electrode. The substrate nanoelectrodes were fabricated using ion-beam conically etched carbon fibers with tip diameters ranging ca. from 100 to 500 nm. The polyaniline film was deposited from HCl solution containing the aniline monomer by cycling the potential between −0.2 and +1.0 V. The electromotive force (emf) signal between the pH sensitive polyaniline-coated nanoelectrode and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode was linear over the pH range of 2.0-12.5 with a slightly super-Nernstian slope of ca. −60 mV/pH unit. Response times ranged from several sec at pHs around 7 up to 2 min at pH 12.5. The proposed pH nanoelectrode displayed high ion selectivity with respect to K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and Li⁺, with log K_H,M values around −12 and has a working lifetime of about 20 days. Key parameters important for the pH nanoelectrode performance, including polyaniline film preparation, selectivity, response time, temperature dependence, relative coating thickness, stability, and reproducibility, have been characterized and optimized. The performance of the pH nanoelectrode was examined by measuring the pH of several real samples including body fluids (serum, urine) and low ionic strength water samples (rain, deionized and tap water). The results agreed very well with those obtained by using commercial glass pH electrodes. The proposed pH nanoelectrode demonstrated attractive properties and seems particularly promising for use under physiological conditions.     

A RELATION BETWEEN THE APPARENT VELOCITY AND THE SPECTRAL POWER OF SUPERLUMINAL RADIO SOURCES

It is proved that the apparent transverse velocities β_(app) and the spectral powers at 10GHz P_(10) of the cores of known superluminal sources are correlated. An interpretation ofthis result within the framework of the relativistic jet model shows that the jet Lorentzfactor γ depends on the intrinsic luminosity of the sources. The probable existence of twosubpopulations of the superluminal sources is shown by a linear regression analysis. "Small"sources f i.e. the sources without extended emission or with a distance from the core tothe outer edge of the lobe<20 kpc, show lower β_(app) than the "large" objects; this can beinterpreted as an orientation effect. Since all BL Lac objects belong to the "small" class,this result sheds new light on such a question as why these sources have lower apparent ve-locities than the "classical" superluminal quasars.     

Mechanical properties of fiber reinforced styrene-butadiene rubbers using surface-modified UHMWPE fibers under EB irradiation

Aiming to develop a high performance fiber reinforced rubber of SBR, a special technique using electron beam (EB) irradiation-induced graft-polymerization was applied to ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers. Although UHMWPE is chemically inert, N-vinyl formamide (NVF) could be graft-polymerized onto the UHMWPE fiber surface with this special technique. A maximum grafting percentage of 23.6% was achieved. The composite of SBR and grafted UHMWPE fibers with maximum grafting indicated a linear increase in the initial modulus and strength with the fiber content. At the fiber content of 10%, the initial modulus was improved about five times with respect to that of the pure SBR, while the strength was done about twice. At this moment, only a small reduction could be observed in the strain compared with that of pure SBR. The fiber reinforced rubber with a good performance was obtained in the system of SBR and grafted UHMWPE fibers.     

Behaviors and mechanisms of copper adsorption on hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile fibers

Polyacrylonitrile fiber (PANF) was hydrolyzed in a solution of sodium hydroxide and the hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile fiber (HPANF) was used as an adsorbent to remove copper ions from aqueous solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the hydrolysis process made the surface of HPANF rougher than that of PANF. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that the HPANF contained conjugated imine (-Cz=Nz-) sequences. Batch adsorption results indicated that the HPANF was very effective in adsorbing copper, and the adsorption equilibrium could be reached within 10-20 min. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that some aggregates formed on the surface of the HPANF after copper ion adsorption and the average surface roughness (R(a)) value of the HPANF changed from 0.363 to 3.763 nm due to copper adsorption. FTIR analysis indicated that copper adsorption caused a decrease of the light adsorption intensity of the imine (-Cz=Nz-) groups at 1573 and 1406 cm(-1) wavenumbers, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the binding energy (BE) of some of the nitrogen atoms in the HPANF increased to a greater value due to copper adsorption. The FTIR and XPS results suggest that the adsorption of copper ions to the HPANF is attributed to the imine groups on the surface of the HPANF.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particulate matter collected with low volume samplers

The determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained in samples of particulate matter (PM), collected with low volume pumps, were carried out with an high sensitivity method that comes from several revisions of a previous method. The present work describes how, by using programmable temperature vaporization (PTV) and a mass selective detector with inert ionic source for the GC-MS analysis and the modifications of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), the sensitivity of the method can be increased.The PAHs chosen for testing the method are: benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (Ip) and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DbA). They, in fact, belong to that group of substances that are the most harmful for human health for their carcinogenicity.PAHs recoveries for spiked standard solutions at different concentrations were between 95 and 100% with relative standard deviation ranging from 1 to 3%. The revised method was validated using a 1649a urban dust standard reference material (SRM). The results obtained were in good agreement with certified values. The high sensitivity of the method allows to carry out analyses using only a half of the sampled filter (usually 47 mm diameter membranes). In this way, the other half can be used for the characterization of the other components of PM (heavy metals, organic carbon, ions, etc). The last step has been constituted by application of the optimized method on real samples collected in two cities located in Southern Italy (Bari and Taranto).     

左手材料阶跃型光纤的模场特性

从Maxwell方程组出发,讨论纤芯为左手材料,包层为右手材料阶跃型光纤,推导了矢量解的场方程.经过数学计算,求得了左手材料阶跃型光纤矢量解的特征方程.根据矢量模的分类,找到了TE模、TM模、HE模和EH模的特征方程.根据各模的特征方程,并且与右手材料光纤相关的特征方程,在靠近截止和远离截止两种情况下进行了比较,得到了左手材料光纤的某些奇异特性.     

带有对称啁啾光纤光栅的Sagnac环滤波器

通过在光纤Sagnac环中引入对称啁啾光纤光栅,对带有光纤光栅的Sagnac环梳状滤波器进行了改进,克服了原有滤波器工作带宽小、通带间隔不等的缺点.通过对光栅参量进行适当设计,在中等折射率调制度下,可使光栅同时具有高反射率和大反射带宽,结合Sagnac环可得到大带宽、等间隔梳状滤波器.     

一种全光归零码到非归零码变换的新技术方案

报道了一种利用单只半导体光放大器和光滤波器实现全光归零码到非归零码变换的新技术方案.当探测（Probe）光和数据信号光同时输入到SOA时,基于SOA中的交叉增益调制和交叉相位调制现象,探测光光谱的后沿和前沿将分别产生红移和蓝移.通过调节光滤波器和探测光的中心波长之间的失调量,滤出光谱的特定部分,可以得到转换后的NRZ码光信号.这种新型的全光码型变换器具有结构简单、偏振不敏感、控制参量少和稳定性高的特点.分别采用仿真和实验的方式实现了20 Gbit/s光数据信号从RZ码到NRZ码的全光码型变换,并且仿真结果和实验结果相吻合.     

探头对共聚焦内窥成像系统层析能力的影响

根据透镜成像规律和单模光纤的传输特性,获得基于单模光纤的共聚焦内窥成像系统轴向光强分布,发现系统的成像过程由于单模光纤的介入呈现非线性,照明光路系统和接收光路系统仅影响系统接收信号的总强度,系统层析能力取决于探头和单模光纤性能.通过建立的共聚焦内窥成像实验装置,测量出在三组不同物镜组合情况下系统的归一化轴向光强分布.结果显示已建立的共聚焦内窥成像系统的理论模型是正确的,扫描光点的定位精度对系统层析能力影响很大,系统设计应该综合考虑光学、机械和电子方面的性能要求.     

五阶非线性下零色散附近的调制不稳定性

在同时考虑光纤损耗、高阶色散以及高阶非线性情况下,从广义非线性薛定谔方程出发,研究了零色散附近的调制不稳定性,分析了四阶色散和五阶非线性对增益谱的影响.结果表明：当光脉冲工作在零色散附近时,四阶色散对调制不稳定性起决定作用,它使反常色散区的增益谱变宽.在光纤正常色散区,正（负）五阶非线性使增益谱的谱宽和峰值增大（减小）;但在反常色散区,五阶非线性仅改变增益谱的峰值,几乎不影响谱宽.