Solvent extraction of U(VI) by trioctylphosphine oxide using a room-temperature ionic liquid

The unique physical and chemical properties of room-temperature ionic liquids(RTILs) have recently received increasing attention as solvent alternatives for possible application in the field of nuclear industry, particularly in liquid-liquid separations of radioactive nuclides. We investigated solvent extraction of U(VI) from aqueous solutions into a commonly used ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide([C4mim][NTf2]) using trioctylphosphine oxide(TOPO) as an extractant. The effects of contact time, TOPO concentration, acidity, and nitrate ions on the U(VI) extraction are discussed in detail. The extraction mechanism was proposed based on slope analysis and UV-Vis measurement. The results clearly show that TOPO/[C4mim][NTf2] provides a highly efficient extraction of U(VI) from aqueous solution under near-neutral conditions. When the TOPO concentration was 10 mmol/L, the extraction of 1 mmol/L U(VI) was almost complete( 97%). Both the extraction efficiency and distribution coefficient were much larger than in conventional organic solvents such as dichloromethane. Slope analysis confirmed that three TOPO molecules in [C4mim][NTf2] bound with one U(VI) ion and one nitrate ion was also involved in the complexation and formed the final extracted species of [UO2(NO3)(TOPO)3]+. Such a complex suggests that extraction occurs by a cation-exchange mode, which was subsequently evidenced by the fact that the concentration of C4mim+ in the aqueous phase increased linearly with the extraction percent of U(VI) recorded by UV-Vis measurement.     

Progress of Jinping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics (JUNA)

Jinping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics(JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background of CJPL lab and high current accelerator based on an ECR source and a highly sensitive detector to directly study for the first time a number of crucial reactions occurring at their relevant stellar energies during the evolution of hydrostatic stars. In its first phase, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of~(25)Mg(p,γ)~(26)Al,~(19)F(p,α)~(16)O,~(13)C(α,n)~(16)O and ~(12)C(α,γ)~(16)O reactions. The experimental setup,which includes an accelerator system with high stability and high intensity, a detector system, and a shielding material with low background, will be established during the above research. The current progress of JUNA will be given.     

A proposed direct measurement of cross section at Gamow window for key reaction ~(19)F( p,α)~(16)O in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars with a planned accelerator in CJPL

In 2014, the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC) approved the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics laboratory(JUNA) project, which aims at direct cross-section measurements of four key stellar nuclear reactions right down to the Gamow windows. In order to solve the observed fluorine overabundances in Asymptotic Giant Branch(AGB) stars, measuring the key ~(19)F( p,α)~(16)O reaction at effective burning energies(i.e., at Gamow window) is established as one of the scientific research sub-projects. The present paper describes this sub-project in details, including motivation, status, experimental setup, yield and background estimation, aboveground test, as well as other relevant reactions.     

Systematic analysis of the structural,elastic, and electronic properties of Ti–Cu–Me (Me=Al,Ga and In) ternary intermetallics

The structural, elastic, and electronic properties of eight intermetallics in Ti–Cu–Me (Me=Al, Ga and In) systems were investigated with the first-principles method. The calculations were performed within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) with the density functional theory (DFT) using the supercell (SC) method. Calculation results show that the SC approximation is accurate at zero pressure. These intermetallics are classified as stable and metastable in our investigation. The stable phases are those presented in the equilibrium phase diagram at room temperature. The metastable phases are those that usually appear in the equilibrium phase diagram at higher temperatures. The values of calculations show that the TiCuAl, Ti₂CuAl₅, and TiCu₂In compounds are brittle, and the Ti_0.5CuAl_0.5, TiCu₂Al, TiCuGa, Ti₂CuGa₅, and Ti_0.5CuIn_0.5 compounds are ductile at zero pressure.     

Synthesis and molecular structure of new heterometal alkoxide clusters Ln2Na8(OCH2CF3)14(THF)6 (Ln = Sm, Y, Yb): Highly active catalysts for polymerization of ε-caprolactone and trimethylene carbonate

The new polynuclear heterometal alkoxide clusters Ln₂Na₈(OCH₂CF₃)₁₄(THF)₆ (Ln = Sm 1, Y 2, Yb 3) have been synthesized by the reaction of anhydrous LnCl₃ with 7 equiv. of NaOCH₂CF₃ in 68–75% yields. Crystal structural analysis revealed clusters 1–3 are isomorphous composed of two cubanes and a double open cubane, with one face of an Ln₁Na₂O₄ open cubane capped by an additional Ln₁O₂ layer. Clusters 1–3 show extremely high activity for the polymerization of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) and trimethylene carbonate (TMC). The reactivity is much higher than those found for the monometallic alkoxides lanthanide complexes previously reported. The dependence of catalytic activity on lanthanide metals is observed: Yb ≈ Y < Sm for ε-CL and Yb < Y < Sm for TMC. The polymers obtained with these clusters all show a unimodal molecular weight distribution with moderate molecular weight distributions (M_w/M_n = 1.4–1.7), indicating that clusters 1–3 can really be used as single-component catalysts. The bimetallic cooperation and the coordination–insertion mechanism were proposed.     

Generalized Darboux transformation and localized waves in coupled Hirota equations

In this paper, we construct a generalized Darboux transformation to the coupled Hirota equations with high-order nonlinear effects like the third dispersion, self-steepening and inelastic Raman scattering terms. As application, an N$N$th-order localized wave solution on the plane backgrounds with the same spectral parameter is derived through the direct iterative rule. In particular, some semi-rational, multi-parametric localized wave solutions are obtained: (1) vector generalization of the first- and the second-order rogue wave solutions; (2) interactional solutions between a dark–bright soliton and a rogue wave, two dark–bright solitons and a second-order rogue wave; (3) interactional solutions between a breather and a rogue wave, two breathers and a second-order rogue wave. The results further reveal the striking dynamic structures of localized waves in complex coupled systems.     

Large eddy simulation of a shocked gas cylinder instability induced turbulence

The Navier-Stokes equations for compressible fluid are solved with the operator splitting technique and LES (large eddy simulation) with the Smagorinsky model. A computational code MVFT (multi-viscosity-fluid and turbulence) is developed to study hydrodynamic instability and the induced turbulent mixing for multi compressible fluid. In order to validate the code MVFT,the LANL's shock tube experiment of shocked SF6 gas cylinder is simulated with the initial state of SF6 gas cylinder described by dissipative ...     

Microstructure, hardness and stress in melted zone of 42CrMo steel by wide-band laser surface melting

Using laser surface melting (LSM) of a roller, to obtain the desired distribution of the microstructure, hardness and residual stresses with minimum distortion, is essential in order to improve machining efficiency and to achieve reliable service performance. In this study, a 3D finite element model has been developed to simulate the wide-band LSM process and predict the thermal and mechanical properties in the melted zone. The microstructure evolution, hardness distribution and stress field in the melted zone with different laser power were simulated. With the increase of the laser power from 3000 to 3800 W, the width and the depth of the laser melted layer increase, while the laser power has a little effect on the martensite contents, which exceed 90% in the melt-hardened zone. It greatly affects the mechanical properties in the melt-hardened zone with its volumetric expansion effect and the hardness increases by 2-3 times. The residual stress distributed within the melt-hardened zone is always of the compressive type. The amplitude of compressive stress exists in the transition region, and the amplitude of von Mises stress within the heat affected-zone (HAZ) decreases with the increase in laser power. The accuracy of the developed finite element simulation strategy is validated for phase proportion and hardness distributions through the wide-band LSM on roller steel with proper instrumentation for data measurement. This agreement is encouraging.     

Hyperbolic structure and stickiness effect: A case of a 2D area-preserving twist mapping

The stickiness effect suffered by chaotic orbits diffusing in the phase space of a dynamical system is studied in this paper. Previous works have shown that the hyperbolic structures in the phase space play an essential role in causing the stickiness effect. We present in this paper the relationship between the stickiness effect and the geometric property of hyperbolic structures. Using a two-dimensional area-preserving twist mapping as the model, we develop the numerical algorithms for computing the positions of the hyperbolic periodic orbits and for calculating the angle between the stable and unstable manifolds of the hyperbolic periodic orbit. We show how the stickiness effect and the orbital diffusion speed are related to the angle.     

Mesoporous silica SBA-15 functionalized with phosphonate and amino groups for uranium uptake

Mesoporous silicas have a very attractive ability of sorption and enrichment of metal ions due to their huge surface area and facile functionalization by organic ligands.In this work,phosphonate-amino bifunctionalized mesoporous silica SBA-15(PA-SBA-15) as U(VI) sorbent was fabricated through post-grafting method.The obtained mesoporous silica was characterized by SEM,XRD,NMR and nitrogen sorption/desorption experiments,which revealed the existence of ordered mesoporous structure with uniform pore diameter and large surface area.The adsorptivity of PA-SBA-15 for U(VI) from aqueous solution was investigated using batch sorption technique under different experimental conditions.The preliminary results show that the U(VI) sorption by PA-SBA-15 is very quick with equilibrium time of less than 1 h,and the U(VI) uptake is as large as 373 mg/g at pH 5.5 under 95 ℃.The sorption isotherm has been successfully modeled by the Langmuir isotherm,suggesting a monolayer homogeneous sorption of U(VI) in PA-SBA-15.The sorption is pH-dependent due to the pH-dependent charge of sorbent in the aqueous solution.The thermodynamics research shows that the sorption is a feasible and endothermic process.Based on these results,PA-SBA-15 could be a promising solid phase sorbent for highly-efficient removal of U(VI) ions from waste water and enrichment of U(VI) from a solution at a very low level.