Current air quality analytics and monitoring: A review

This review summarizes the different tools and concepts that are commonly applied in air quality monitoring. The monitoring of atmosphere is extremely important as the air quality is an important problem for large communities. Main requirements for analytical devices used for monitoring include a long period of autonomic operation and portability. These instruments, however, are often characterized by poor analytical performance. Monitoring networks are the most common tools used for monitoring, so large-scale monitoring programmes are summarized here. Biomonitoring, as a cheap and convenient alternative to traditional sample collection, is becoming more and more popular, although its main drawback is the lack of standard procedures. Telemonitoring is another approach to air monitoring, which offers some interesting opportunities, such as ease of coverage of large or remote areas, constituting a complementary approach to traditional strategies; however, it requires huge costs.     

EPR and XPS measurements of polymeric catalysts doped with hereopolyacids in oxygen adsorption studies

The goal of our studies was to determine the nature of interactions between catalytic active samples, such as polypyrrole (PPy) doped with: chloride anions, heteropolyacids such as H₅PMo₁₀V₂O₄₀, or H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀, and oxygen particles. In order to reveal the mechanism of the linkage between the catalysts and oxygen we provided the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements of synthesized samples in O₂ and N₂ flow. Moreover, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were performed to show the properties of doped heteropolyacids and the state of nitrogen in polypyrrole matrix. The results of EPR studies of PPy(Cl), PPy(H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀), PPy(H₅PMo₁₀V₂O₄₀) samples, show that the polypyrrole doped with chloride anions interacts much easier with oxygen than polypyrrole doped with heteropolyacids (in the above given order, of preference with the most active polypyrrole system first). It correlates with XPS results, which show that a molybdenium-vanadium anion is more reduced than a silicon-tungsten one. The redox reactions of heteropolyacids involve the oxidation-reduction of the conjugated polymer chain, leaving no or little place for interactions with oxygen. Polypyrrole doped with H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀ shows some oxygen sensitivity as observed in the EPR studies, as opposed to polypyrrole doped with H₅PMo₁₀V₂O₄₀, which is in line with the XPS results.     

Reactivity of a Ti–45.9Al–8Nb alloy in air at 700–900°C

A Ti–45.9Al–8Nb (at%) alloy with a lamellar structure (γ+α₂) was oxidised in air at 700, 800, 850 and 900°C in isothermal and thermal cycling conditions. The reaction progress was followed by thermogravimetric measurements. In isothermal conditions the oxidation kinetics followed approximately a parabolic rate law and the rate constants ranged from about 10^–12 kg² m^–4 s^–1 at 700°C to 10^–10 kg² m^–4 s^–1 at 900°C. The oxide scales were built of Al₂O₃ and TiO₂, the former being the main component of the outermost layer. The oxidation behaviour of Ti–45.9Al–8Nb was referred to a commercial titanium alloy, WT4 (Ti–6Al–1Mn), and selected oxidation-resistant alloys.     

Determination of Emodin and Phenolic Acids in the Petioles of Rheum undulatum and Rheum rhaponticum

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Emodin and twelve phenolic acids (ellagic, gallic, protocatechuic, homoprotocatechuic, caffeic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric,...     

Two- and three-dimensional analysis of bose-einstein correlations inπ +/K+p interactions at 250 GeV/c

The NA22 data onπ ^? π ^? correlations are analyzed in terms of a number of two- and three-dimensional parametrizations (Gaussian space-time, Goldhaber, Bowler string-like, Bertsch hydrodynamical, Kopylov-Podgoretskii, etc.). Contrary to the results obtained for e⁺e^? andµp collisions, the Goldhaber parametrization, as well as string-like models, fail in describing the hadron-hadron data. Better fits are obtained in the framework of surface-emitting fireball-like models, both when including and excluding hydrodynamical expansion of nuclear matter. Our results indicate that pion radiation occurs at earlier stages of matter evolution than in nuclear collisions.     

The dynamics of multidimensional cosmological models in the presence of quantum effects. I. The case FRW ×T D at high temperatures

The dynamical system approach is applied to the study of dynamics of multidimensional cosmological models with topology FRW ×T ^D (D-dimensional torus) in the presence of high-temperature quantum effects. The stability methods developed in the paper of Szydowski (Gen. Rel. Grav.,20, 221, 1988) are used in the analysis of typical states of the metric in the neighborhood of singularities and for large time values. The problems of dynamical dimensional reduction, structure of singularities, isotropization, etc., are discussed in this context.     

Mesoporous micelle templated silica with incorporated C<Subscript>8</Subscript> and C<Subscript>18</Subscript> phase

Mesoporous silica material of MCM-41 type was synthesized by co-condensation of highly concentrated octyltriethoxysilane (OTEOS), octadecyltriethoxysilane (ODTEOS) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The obtained hybrid materials were characterized using XRD, TG-DSC and low temperature adsorption/desorption of nitrogen. It was shown that the applied method of synthesis allows to obtain silica of MCM-41 type with a high degree of hydrocarbon saturation.     

Thiol-ene chemistry as an effective tool for hydrophobization of cotton fabrics

In this paper, several methods of hydrophobization of cotton fabrics using the thio-ene click reaction were compared. Durable, superhydrophobic textiles were obtained in an easy way. Various variants of functionalized silsesquioxanes were used for the hydrophobization of fabrics. The synthesis of bifunctional silsesquioxanes (RSiMe₂O)₄(ViSiMe₂O)₄Si₈O₁₂ and (RSiMe₂O)₄(R’SiMe₂O)₄Si₈O₁₂ were performed via hydrothiolation of silsesquioxane derivative (ViSiMe₂O)₈Si₈O₁₂. Alkoxysilyl, alkyl and fluoroalkyl moieties were introduced as functional groups. Samples were prepared using four methods, differing in the modification method and the number of stages. During the research, fabrics were modified via (a) the dip-coating process, (b) carrying out thiol-ene click reactions directly on the surface of the fabric and (c) using both of these methods. The hydrophobicity of the fabric was evaluated by measuring the Water contact angle (WCA). The obtained samples were also examined using infrared analysis (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Elemental analysis (SEM–EDS). All analyses were performed before and after the washing process in order to verify the stability of the performed modifications.

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Thermodynamic properties of ternary semiconducting alloys

Using the new information supplied by extended-x-ray-absorption-fine-structure measurements and the results of our structural model, we compute the bond probability of a few ternary semiconducting III–V and II–VI alloys as a function of temperature and composition in the framework of a modified quasi-chemical approximation. We derive the thermodynamic functions of mixing, considering both elastic and chemical contributions to the bond energies. We examine how the deviation from the full randomness affects the ordering of such alloys and we construct the phase diagrams in the region of phase separation. Possible formation of ordered compounds at low temperatures is predicted.     

A new phase in the Ag−O−S system

The investigations of reaction between Ag₂SO₄ and Ag₂S in air atmosphere have been carried. Results of DTA and X-ray phase powder diffraction of a reaction mixture have confirmed that in the Ag?O?S system exists a new phase. A formula of the phase is Ag₂SO₂.