Preparation, Electrochemical Behavior and Electrocatalytic Activity of a Copper Hexacyanoferrate Modified Ceramic Carbon Electrode

A copper hexacyanoferrate modified ceramic carbon electrode （CuHCF/CCE） had been prepared by two-step sol-gel technique and characterized using electrochemical methods. The resulting modified electrode showed a pair of well-defined surface waves in the potential range of 0.40 to 1.0 V with the formal potential of 0.682 V （vs. SCE） in 0.050 mol·dm^-3 HOAc-NaOAc buffer containing 0.30 mol·dm^-3 KCl. The charge transfer coefficient （a） and charge transfer rate constant （ks） for the modified electrode were calculated. The electrocatalytic activity of this modified electrode to hydrazine was also investigated, and chronoamperometry was exploited to conveniently determine the diffusion coefficient （D） of hydrazine in solution and the catalytic rate constant （kcat）. Finally, hydrazine was determined with amperometry using the resulting modified electrode. The calibration plot for hydrazine determination was linear in 3.0 × 10^-6--7.5 × 10^-4 mol·dm^-3 with the detection limit of 8.0 × 10^-7 molodm^-3. This modified electrode had some advantages over the modified film electrodes constructed by the conventional methods, such as renewable surface, good long-term stability, excellent catalytic activity and short response time to hydrazine.     

Porous ceramic bed supports for fused silica packed capillary columns used in liquid chromatography

Porous ceramic bed supports for fused silica packed capillary columns utilized in liquid chromatography were prepared by polymerizing solutions containing potassium silicate in-situ within a column to create a mechanically stable, rugged, and easily constructed termination. The effect of the bed support length on efficiency, and comparisons to glass wool bed supports, were considered in terms of column efficiencies and hydrodynamic variables. Results obtained indicate better performance for the ceramic bed support.     

Electroanalytical Study of the Composition of the Raw Pigment Mixtures that Yield the Metallic Lustre on Ceramics. A Link Between Composition and Final Result

Voltammetry of immobilized microparticles was used to study the electrochemistry of the raw pigments that produce the metallic lustre on ceramics after a successful firing. To study this influence of the mixture components on the reduction properties to achieve the metallic lustre, 14 mixtures of illitic clay, Fe₂O₃, HgS, CuO and AgNO₃ were prepared and studied in different media. Iron oxide improves the yield of the reduction of the metals and cinnabar helps a closer reduction of silver to copper reduction and prevents the Ag? Cu alloying because of the formation of silver–mercury adducts. The presence of one of the metals influences the peak position of the other metal. The use of vinegar as diluting agent is not casual, because in this media the reduction of silver takes place at a potential closer to the copper. This electroanalytical technique allowed to distinguish between powders of different composition and offered some information about the role of the components in the reduction of copper and silver and the selection of vinegar to prepare the raw pigment suspensions.     

Topical Problems in Elemental Analysis of Advanced Ceramic Materials

Selected prominent problems in the analysis of advanced ceramic materials are surveyed. The importance of reliability of results is discussed in the field of elemental trace- and microanalysis in view of its interaction with economy, power of detection, local resolution and speciation selectivity. Particular problems in the analysis of major constituents, trace components and microlocal distributions are based on the striking propertics of ceramics; they are exemplified. Analytical assistance must start from the beginning of the production processing, in the preparation of the powdered base materials. Determination of the stoichiometry requires high accuracy and differentiation of chemical species in bulk and surface analysis of ceramic base powders. Element trace determination by direct instrumental methods requires standard reference materials for calibration; these are currently inavailable in a sufficient variety. For optimum reliability and power of detection, element traces must be prepared in isolated form in a small excitation volume for analysis. A review on the state-of-the-art of wet-chemical combined procedures is presented. Decomposition position procedures are emphasized, due to their risk of contributing severe systematic error. Combustion in elementary fluorine is presented for decomposition of refractory materials. The performance of some direct procedures is discussed. Very efficient methods are available for element trace determinations in ceramic materials, offering high detection power. Several approaches for high-resolution local microanalysis in non-conductive ceramic materials are identified as the most promising development in the analysis of sintered compact ceramic products and devices.     

Oxidation at a sol-gel composite electrode doped with a dirhodium-substituted polyoxometalate for amperometric detection of peptides separated by HPLC

Oxidation of a variety of compounds, including methionine (Met), using a complex formed between dirhodium(II) acetate and the lacunary form of phosphotungstic acid as the catalyst is effective over a wide range of conditions, including pH 2–10. Thus, amperometric detection at a composite in which this complex is immobilized in a sol–gel material does not place restrictions on selection of conditions for separations by reverse-phase HPLC. A demonstration of this point is shown by a study of Met, Met–Phe, Phe–Met, Met–Met, and Gly–Met–Gly (Phe, phenylalanine; Gly, glycine). Using a 0.05 M phosphate buffer at pH 6.7, a C18 column, and a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹, capacity factors for Met, Gly–Met–Gly, Met–Met, and Phe–Met were 1.4, 2.1, 5.6, and 34, respectively. Phe–Met and Met–Phe co-eluted.     

Microporous SiO2 and SiO2/MOx (M=Ti,Zr, Al) for ceramic membrane applications: A microstructural study of the sol-stage and the consolidated state

Microporous SiO₂ and SiO₂/MO₂ (M=Ti, Zr, Al; 10 mol% MO_x) materials for gas separation membrane applications have been prepared from polymeric sols. Characterization of these sols with SAXS showed that the mean fractal dimension of the SiO₂ sols is 1.3–1.4 with a radius of gyration of approximately 2.5 nm. The dried and calcined films are microporous and the pore size distribution was bimodal with maxima at diameters of 0.5 nm and 0.75 nm. For the SiO₂/TiO₂, SiO₂/ZrO₂ and SiO₂/Al₂O₃ systems, much milder reaction conditions proved to be necessary to obtain sols with comparable fractal dimensions due to the high reactivity of the Ti/Zr/Al-alkoxides. Microporous supported membranes with molecular sieve-like gas transport properties can be prepared from a relatively wide range of sol structures: from polymers too small to characterize with SAXS to structures with fractal dimensions: 1<d _f<2.04.     

Sol-Gel Preparation of Ceramic Coatings for Electrical, Laser, Space Engineering and Power

The brief review, based on long-term experience of authors on preparation of temperature-resistant electric insulating and optical light-reflecting ceramic coatings on metal surface is offered. The main components of TEOS-, H₃PO₄- and alkali silicates-derived sols and suspensions for deposition of ceramic coatings are listed. Some features of preparation of the coatings from the sols containing fillers are analysed. Two approaches to improve bending and electrical strength of flexible insulation are developed. The techniques of synthesis of modified fillers for preparing gas-proof and anticorrosive coatings are offered. The wide functional possibility and extensive list of application areas of the coatings and some materials prepared from sols with fillers, including on far prospect are given.     

Sol-Gel Synthesis of Humidity-Sensitive P2O5-SiO2 Amorphous Films

The sol-gel synthesis of silicophosphate gels using phosphoryl chloride and tetraethoxysilane as molecular precursors is reported and discussed. Gel-derived glasses and films having the molar compositions 10P₂O₅ · 90SiO₂ and 30P₂O₅ · 70SiO₂ have been obtained. The structure of the dried gels as well as the structural modifications that occurs during the transformations in gel-derived glasses are analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It has been found that the evidence of the P—O—Si linkages begins to appear only on the FTIR spectra of the bulk gels heat treated up to 400°C while they are well resolved on the FTIR spectra of the bulk gel samples heated up to 1000°C indicating that at this temperature the transformation in the corresponding gel-derived glasses occurs. The humidity sensitive properties of the gel-films have been evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The phosphorous content as well as the temperature of the heat treatments strongly affect the sensitivity to RH of the gel-derived films.     

层叠Blumlein线多开关导通时间分散性

高介电常数陶瓷储能脉冲形成线需要用到多开关触发的层叠Blumlein线结构。从形成线波过程理论出发，分析了多开关导通时间分散性对层叠Blumlein线及其输出波形的影响。主要包括两方面影响:其一是造成输出方波脉冲的前沿和后沿均出现阶梯形畸变；其二是使得各延迟导通的平行平板Blumlein线承受过电压，容易引起陶瓷储能介质的电击穿。在不单独考虑开关电感的理想情况下，利用PSpice电路程序模拟了开关导通时间分散性对四级层叠Blumlein线的影响，模拟结果与波过程理论分析一致。为减弱这些影响，提出了可行的解决方案。     

A potential flower-like coating consisting of calcium-phosphate nanosheets on titanium surface

A potential calcium-phosphate fl ower-like nanocoating were coated onto the titanium surface in an easy approach. It has high surface area, low cytotoxicity as well as promising cell affi nity, which makes it a potential alternative modifi cation method for titanium surface.