Effect of Mechanochemical Activation on the Catalytic Properties of Ferrites with the Spinel Structure

It was found experimentally that stacking defects formed in the mechanochemical activation of zinc ferrite enhanced the specific catalytic activity in the reaction of CO oxidation. The specific rate of CO oxidation was a linear function of defect concentration, which was determined using Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. A conclusion was drawn that the same centers are responsible for an increase in the catalytic activity, the sorption capacity for hydrogen sulfide, and the reactivity of zinc ferrite in the interaction with hydrochloric acid. It was assumed that analogous factors caused an increase in the catalytic activity and reactivity of magnesium ferrite.     

M?ssbauer studies of the phase composition and microstructure of the La1-xCaxFeO3-y system as related to the reactivity of surface and bulk oxygen

The phase composition and microstructure of samples of the La_1-xCa_xFeO_3-y system prepared via a ceramic route were characterized by M?ssbauer spectroscopy. In all cases, iron was found in the 3+ state. The ordering of anion vacancies in the samples with the composition in the range of 0.8 > x ≥ 0.4, which corresponds to a microheterogeneous solid solution, generates new distorted octahedral and fivefold/tetrahedral sites revealed by two typical sextets. The disordering of this solid solution and small (10-100 ?) sizes of domains with a perovskite, braunmillerite or Grenier phase structure caused the appearance of a superparamagnetic doublet, which grows with the Ca content up to x = 0.8 but disappears in the sample of pure braunmillerite. The appearance of Fe cations in a distorted coordination correlates with the increased activity of the samples with a microheterogeneous structure in the CO catalytic oxidation and with their reducibility by H₂. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Radial Distribution Function of a Hard-Sphere Fluid

A hard-sphere fluid (8788 particles) is modeled by the Monte Carlo method for 41 occupation coefficients in the range of = 0.10-0.50 (step 0.01). The radial distribution functions were determined at 512 points in an interval of up to five hard sphere radii. In this interval, the number of analyzed particle pairs was from 1.8 · 10 ⁹ to 9.0· 10 ⁹ ( =0.10-0.50). The two-variable function g(r, ) was analytically expressed using least-squares analysis; standard deviation from the Monte Carlo data was of the order of 0.001. An equation of state is suggested for a hard-sphere fluid (standard deviation 0.002). A direct comparison shows that at high densities the accuracy of the expressions is one order of magnitude higher than that of the best relations reported in the literature.     

Mössbauer spectroscopic study of high-temperature proton-conducting Ba<Subscript>2</Subscript>SnY<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O<Subscript>6 − δ</Subscript> oxides

High-temperature proton-conducting Ba₂SnY_{1 ? x} Fe _x O_{6 ? δ} oxides are studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy on ¹¹⁹Sn and ⁵⁷Fe isotopes. For the perovskite structure, the possible states of anionic vacancies are discussed as a function of the nature of the nearest small cations. It is concluded that the energy of formation of a cation-vacancy-cation defect depends on the overall concentration of vacancies in the compound. As the result, with the increase in the water content in the Ba₂SnYO_{6 ? δ} compound, the equilibrium shifts to the tin-vacancy-tin state.     

Equation of state of the hard sphere liquid

Using the results of Monte Carlo simulation, equations of state of hard sphere liquids are calculated for 106 values of the fill factor η= 0.005–0.530 (step of 0.005). In the region of liquid phase stability the absolute accuracy of about 0.00001–0.00008 is reached. Correctness of the accuracy estimate is discussed. The results obtained are compared with reported equations of state of the hard sphere liquid.     

Radial distribution function of a hard-sphere fluid for the nearest neighbor surroundings

An expression for RDF as a function of two variables, the distance r and the packing factor η, was obtained by approximating the results of Monte Carlo simulation of a hard-sphere fluid. The mean square accuracy of the expressions presented is about ±0.0002 (1 ≤ r ≤ 1.5, 0 ≤ η ≤ 0.5). A continuous extension of RDF to the region of r < 1 is proposed, which provides the continuity of the first and second derivatives of RDF at the point r = 1. Analysis of the problem of determining the hard sphere diameter in WCA theory of simple liquids shows that the proposed expression makes it possible to directly calculate the hard sphere diameter without any simplifying approximations.     

Second order of perturbation theory correction to the radial distribution function of a liquid with the interaction potential of hard spheres plus a square-well

A liquid with the interaction potential of hard spheres plus a square-well is analyzed using the Monte-Carlo technique. Numerical results for the perturbation theory series over a square-well potential are obtained in the form of the Barker and Henderson discrete representation. Approximating expressions for the correction to a liquid radial distribution function in the second order of perturbation theory are presented. The obtained results allow us to define this correction with a root-mean-square deviation of about 0.007. It is shown that the given approach provides a complete calculation in the second order of perturbation theory, and also the determination of the third order correction to the free energy for a liquid interacting with the potential of the Lennard-Jones type.     

On the consequences of mechanical activation of zinc and nickel ferrites

Mechanical activation of zinc and nickel ferrites was shown to affect their physicochemical properties. For example, the temperature of magnetic transition of activated zinc ferrite sharply increased, while that of activated nickel ferrite decreased. Variation in the magnetic properties of ferrites is not due to their reversal degree, but is caused by transfer of cation from tetrahedral- to the vacant octahedral-sites in the spinel structure. The cations are randomly distributed on the octahedral-sites producing new exchange-bound pairs. The disordering of the anion and cation sublattices, leading eventually to the X-ray-amorphous structure, is thought to be due to the plastic deformations in the course of mechanical activation.     

Thermodynamic perturbation theory of simple liquids: Monte Carlo simulation of a hard sphere system and the Helmholtz free energy of SW fluids

The Monte Carlo method is used to simulate similar sized hard sphere systems in a wide range of densities (from η 0.005 to 0.530 with a step of η = 0.005). The models are used to calculate the coefficients of the thermodynamic perturbation theory series for SW fluids up to the fourth order. The width of the attraction zone of the SW potential λ is varied from 1 to 2.5 sphere diameters. The analytical expressions approximating the obtained coefficients by polynomials with respect to the variables η and λ are determined. The absolute accuracy of the approximation is estimated to be better than ±0.001. All the necessary data for the calculation of the Helmholtz free energy of SW fluids up to the fourth-order perturbation theory are given.     

Structural features, nonstoichiometry and high-temperature transport in SrFe1−xMoxO3−δ

The oxide solid solutions SrFe_1−xMo_xO_3−δ, where x=0.05, 0.1 and 0.2, are studied in this work. It is shown that substitution of iron for molybdenum results in stabilization of a cubic quasi-perovskite locally inhomogeneous structure, which is evidenced by HREM and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The coulometric titration is used in order to determine changes of oxygen nonstoichiometry in the obtained solutions with temperature and ambient oxygen partial pressure. Partial molar thermodynamic functions of the labile oxygen are calculated from the measured data. The variations of partial molar entropy with oxygen content follow the ideal gas model reasonably well thus demonstrating approximately random distribution of oxygen vacancies in the doped ferrite at high temperatures. The partial molar enthalpy is found to increase with doping, which is indicative of a progressive decrease in average values of the bonding energy of labile oxygen ions. The measurements of total conductivity are used in order to determine partial contributions of charge carriers. The oxygen ion component is shown to increase at small level of doping, x=0.05 while further increase in molybdenum content is accompanied with the decline in the ion conductivity. The electron contribution in reducing conditions tends to increase with molybdenum content, which is interpreted as a manifestation of involvement of Mo⁵⁺ cations in electron transport. Concentration and mobility of electron carriers are calculated. Some increase in mobility of electron holes at small doping is explained as related to the filling of oxygen vacancies.