Microwire Chronoamperometric Determination of Concentration,Diffusivity, and Salinity for Simultaneous Oxygen and Proton Reduction

A microwire chronoamperometric method is reported employing a 25 µm diameter platinum microwire for multi‐parameter electroanalysis with digital simulation‐based evaluation (employing DigiElch 4.F). Concentration and diffusion coefficient data are obtained for the reduction of oxygen and for the reduction of protons individually and simultaneously in saline (0.1 M to 4.0 M NaCl) electrolyte media. The diffusion coefficient and concentration data for oxygen allows salinity levels to be estimated. The microwire chronoamperometry method offers versatility and precision due to (i) a slow approach to steady state (when compared to microdisc methods) and (ii) insignificant viscosity effects (when compared to hydrodynamic methods).     

A zinc oxide microwire laser

In this paper, we report stimulated emission from a zinc oxide (ZnO) microcrystal grown by carbothermal evaporation observed by spatially resolved photoluminescence (PL) and high excitation spectroscopy (HES).     

A long-range hybrid THz plasmonic waveguide with low attenuation loss

Numerical solutions are obtained for the proposed novel hybrid terahertz plasmonic waveguide structure, namely the silicon metal silicon (SMS) waveguide. It is shown that the SMS waveguide can overcome the diffraction limit while still maintaining a sizeable propagation length. The geometric dependence of the mode characteristics of this structure is analyzed in detail, showing strong confinement and low loss with propagation lengths exceeding 14 mm at normalized mode areas of 1.72 × 10⁻². By using the FEM method (Comsol), the guiding properties of the hybrid terahertz surface plasmon polariton (HTSPP) waveguide are numerically analyzed at the THz frequency, and a combination of double-structured comparisons of the best features of the terahertz plasmonic waveguide is made. Depending on the height used and how the mode confinement is measured, various modal designs, such as double microwire structures, are developed. The structures indicate that we verified the possibility of low attenuation loss of hybrid THz plasmonics propagation. The effective mode area A_eff, energy distribution, and propagation length L_p versus height for waveguides with Si microwire and SiO₂ are shown. The numerical calculation results reveal a potential for use in applications such as optical force in trapping and transporting biomolecules, and in high-density integrated circuits.     

Determination of arsenate in natural pH seawater using a manganese-coated gold microwire electrode

Direct electrochemical determination of arsenate (As^V) in neutral pH waters is considered impossible due to electro-inactivity of As^V. As^III on the other hand is readily plated as As⁰ on a gold electrode and quantified by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). We found that the reduction of As^V to As^III was mediated by elemental Mn on the electrode surface in a novel redox couple in which 2 electrons are exchanged causing the Mn to be oxidised to Mn^II. Advantage is taken of this redox couple to enable for the first time the electrochemical determination of As^V in natural waters of neutral pH including seawater by ASV using a manganese-coated gold microwire electrode. Thereto Mn is added to excess (∼1 μM Mn) to the water leading to a Mn coating during the deposition of As on the electrode at a deposition potential of −1.3 V. Deposition of As⁰ from dissolved As^V caused elemental Mn to be re-oxidised to Mn^II in a 1:1 molar ratio providing evidence for the reaction mechanism. The deposited As^V is subsequently quantified using an ASV scan. As^III interferes and should be quantified separately at a more positive deposition potential of −0.9 V. Combined inorganic As is quantified after oxidation of As^III to As^V using hypochlorite. The microwire electrode was vibrated during the deposition step to improve the sensitivity. The detection limit was 0.2 nM As^V using a deposition time of 180 s.     

Anodic Stripping Voltammetry Using a Vibrating Electrode

This work proposes a vibrating microwire electrode as working electrode in stripping voltammetry. The vibration was found to maintain a constant and thin (1–2 μm) diffusion layer during the deposition step. The electrode vibration eliminated the need for external stirring of the solution, thus facilitating in situ detection in the environment. The vibration was effected by fixing a low‐voltage (3 V), asymmetric, electrical rotor to the working electrode (a gold microwire of either 5 or 25 μm). The sensitivity of the vibrated electrode was ca. 22×greater than stationary. Measurements of copper (4 nM) by anodic stripping voltammetry using the vibrating electrode had a low standard deviation (1% for n=6) indicating that the diffusion layer had only minor variability. The agitation mechanism was unaffected by water moving at >2 m s^?1 and by water pressure equivalent to a depth of >40 m, indicating its suitability for in situ measurements. The vibrating probe was used for in situ detection of copper by anodic stripping voltammetry to a depth of 6 m. Using a 5 min deposition time, the limit of detection for labile copper was 38 pM.     

球形、花形和线状钒酸铋的可控合成及光催化性能

通过无模板、无助剂的可控水热法, 制备出球形、花形和线状钒酸铋(BiVO₄), 研究了其光学和可见光催化性能. 通过X射线衍射(XRD)和透射电镜(TEM)观测其结构和形貌特征. XRD谱线显示, 所制备的样品为单斜晶体结构. TEM结果表明, 通过控制水热过程的反应参数可以得到不同形貌的纳米粉体. 基于不同条件下制备的样品的微结构分析, 提出了这些不同形貌的形成机制. 紫外-可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis DRS)表明BiVO₄样品的带隙能约为2.19-2.33 eV. 利用可见光(λ>420 nm)照射下的罗丹明B(RhB)降解实验评价了BiVO₄样品的光催化性能. 结果表明, BiVO₄的光催化活性比商用TiO₂催化剂P25 和掺氮TiO₂ (N-TiO₂)高得多. 所制备的球形BiVO₄光催化效率最高, 经可见光照射180 min, RhB溶液的降解率可达100%. 系统地研究了结构和形貌对不同pH值下制备的BiVO₄样品光催化活性的影响.     

Giant magneto-impedance and stress-impedance effects of microwire composites for sensing applications

Composites consisting of glass-coated amorphous microwire Co_68.59Fe_4.84Si_12.41B_14.16 and 913 E-glass prepregs were designed and fabricated. The influences of tensile stress, annealing and number of composite layers on the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) and giant stress-impedance (GSI) effects in these composites were investigated systematically. It was found that the application of tensile stress along the microwire axis or an increase in the number of composite layers reduced the GMI effect and increased the circular anisotropy field, while the annealing treatment had a reverse effect. The value of matrix-wire interfacial stress calculated via the GMI profiles coincided with the value of the applied effective tensile stress to yield similar GMI profiles. Enhancement of the GSI effect was achieved in the composites relative to their single microwire inclusion. These findings are important for the development of functional microwire-based composites for magnetic- and stress-sensing applications. They also open up a new route for probing the interfacial stress in fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites.     

Inorganic arsenic speciation in water and seawater by anodic stripping voltammetry with a gold microelectrode

The determination of arsenic in sea and freshwater by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) was revisited because of problems related to unstable peaks and inconveniently strong acidic conditions used by existing methods. Contrary to previous work it was found, that As(III) can be determined by ASV using a gold microwire electrode at any pH including the neutral pH typical for natural waters. As(V) on the other hand, requires acidification to pH 1, but this is still a much milder condition than used previously. This is the basis of a new method for the chemical speciation of arsenic in natural waters. The limits of detection are 0.2 nM As(III) at pH 8 and 0.3 nM combined arsenic (III + V) at pH 1 with a 30 s deposition time. These limits are lowered by extending the deposition time. The detection step at pH 8 was stripping chronopotentiometry (SC) as this was found to give a lower detection limit than ASV. Copper is co-determined simultaneously with arsenic. The method was applied successfully to the determination of arsenic as well as copper in samples from the Irish Sea, mineral water and tap water.     

Giant magnetoimpedance in glass-covered amorphous microwires at microwave frequencies

In this work, results on the giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) of a glass-covered amorphous microwires with nominal compositions Co_70.4Fe_4.6Si₁₅B₁₀ and Fe_77.5Si_7.5B₁₅ are presented. The impedance Z=R+iX has been investigated as function of frequency (up to 1.8 GHz) and magnetic field (up to ±400 Oe), using a HP4396B impedance analyzer and an appropriate coaxial microwave cavity. The effects of the thermal treatments (Joule heating, from 20 mA up to 100 mA for 10 min) for anisotropy induction and, as a consequence, for GMI effect have been investigated.     

Synthesis of Fe3O4 particle-chain microwires in applied magnetic field

Fe₃O₄ particle-chain microwires are firstly synthesized under magnetic field by a simple coprecipitation method. The increase of magnetic field caused the lengthening of the wires, and doubled densities of starting solution lead to a halved diameter. It was supposed that the magnetic field gradient and the particular growing process of particles are the main factors of the formation of these microwires. Magnetic hysteresis curves of Fe₃O₄ microwires were also measured.