What Oxidation State of Iron Determines the Amethyst Colour?

A colourless quartz crystal doped with ⁵⁷Fe³⁺ was obtained by hydrothermal synthesis in an NH₄F solution. The crystal was transformed into violet amethyst by gamma-irradiation. The change in colour was accompanied by changes in the Mössbauer spectrum that can be interpreted as the conversion of trivalent iron into the tetravalent state: Fe³⁺→Fe⁴⁺.

     

Adsorption Behaviour of 134Cs and 22Na Ions on Tin and Titanium Ferrocyanides

Tin and titanium ferrocyanides were studied as adsorbents for alkali metal ions, viz., ¹³⁴Cs and ²²Na, which represent radioactive wastes. The ferrocyanides were prepared in granular form. The tin version contained 11.2% water, while the titanium version contained 17.7% water. The exchange capacities for Cs⁺ and Na⁺ in the hydrated tin version were about 1.5 and 0.7 meq/g, respectively, while those in the titanium version were 2.2 and 1.2 meq/g, respectively. Drying at 250°C decimated those capacities. The diffusional time constant of Cs⁺ at 25°C, determined via Fick's second law, was of order of magnitude 1 × 10^–3 s^–1, though there were minor differences due to particle size and the form of ferrocyanide. Similarly, the effective diffusivity was of order of magnitude 1 × 10^–8 cm²/s. The titanium version responded slightly faster than the tin version. Likewise, equilibrium measurements in mixtures with sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, or uranium oxide, showed that the titanium version exhibited significantly greater selectivity for Cs⁺ than did the tin version. Unfortunately, tests of complete elution of the Cs⁺ from the ferrocyanides were mostly disappointing. Work continues on that subject.     

Radioactive Tracer Study of the Displacement of Iodine Adatoms from Platinized Platinum Electrode by Carbon Monoxide

Radioactive tracer studies confirm the earlier electrochemical results that carbon monoxide can virtually completely displace iodine adatoms. For the first time, it is found that iodine adatoms are not displaced by carbon monoxide when iodide anions are adsorbed in the presence of an upd silver monolayer. The possible reasons for the effect observed are discussed.     

负离子元素杂质破坏模型

探讨了HfO₂薄膜中负离子元素杂质破坏模型，并得出薄膜中的杂质主要来源于 镀膜材料. 用电子束蒸发方法沉积两种不同Cl元素含量的HfO₂薄膜，测定薄膜 弱吸收和损伤阈值来验证负离子元素破坏模型. 结果表明，随着Cl元素含量的增加薄膜的弱 吸收增加损伤阈值减小. 这主要是因为负离子元素在蒸发过程中形成挥发性的气源中心而产 生缺陷，缺陷在激光辐照过程中又形成吸收中心. 因此负离子元素的存在将加速薄膜的破坏 . 关键词： 负离子元素杂质 缺陷 吸收     

利用低能质子束产生高强度放射性束流

加拿大TRIUMF实验室利用¹¹C成功验证了一种产生高强度(～10⁸ions/s)放射性束流的方法. 该方法不同于普通在线同位素分离方法, 它利用了13MeV的低能强流质子束, 可以产生一系列核天体物理实验感兴趣的高强度放射性束流.     

Development of a RILIS ionisation scheme for gold at ISOLDE, CERN

At the ISOLDE on-line isotope separation facility, the resonance ionisation laser ion source (RILIS) can be used to ionise reaction products as they effuse from the target. The RILIS process of laser step-wise resonance ionisation of atoms in a hot metal cavity provides a highly element selective stage in the preparation of the radioactive ion beam. As a result, the ISOLDE mass separators can provide beams of a chosen isotope with greatly reduced isobaric contamination. With the addition of a new three-step ionisation scheme for gold, the RILIS is now capable of ionising 26 of the elements. The optimal scheme was determined during an extensive study of the atomic energy levels and auto-ionising states of gold, carried out by means of in-source resonance ionisation spectroscopy. Details of the ionisation scheme and a summary of the spectroscopy study are presented.     

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation mechanisms in kaolinite confirmed by magic-angle spinning

Spin-lattice relaxation mechanisms in kaolinite have been reinvestigated by magic-angle spinning (MAS) of the sample. MAS is useful to distinguish between relaxation mechanisms: the direct relaxation rate caused by the dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins is not affected by spinning while the spin diffusion-assisted relaxation rate is. Spin diffusion plays a dominant role in ¹H relaxation. MAS causes only a slight change in the relaxation behavior, because the dipolar coupling between ¹H spins is strong. ²⁹Si relaxes directly through the dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins under spinning conditions higher than 2 kHz. A spin diffusion effect has been clearly observed in the ²⁹Si relaxation of relatively pure samples under static and slow-spinning conditions. ²⁷Al relaxes through three mechanisms: phonon-coupled quadrupole interaction, spin diffusion and dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins. The first mechanism is dominant, while the last is negligibly small. Spin diffusion between ²⁷Al spins is suppressed completely at a spinning rate of 2.5 kHz. We have analyzed the relaxation behavior theoretically and discussed quantitatively. Concentrations of paramagnetic impurities, electron spin-lattice relaxation times and spin diffusion rates have been estimated.     

Hydrogen Oxidation on a Platinum Microelectrode: Effect of Carbon Monoxide Impurities

The kinetics of the hydrogen oxidation and the CO adsorption on a Pt (ultra)microelectrode is studied in a 0.5 M H₂SO₄ solution saturated with a mixture of gaseous H₂ and CO at partial CO pressures p _CO = 10–500 ppm. The balance between rates of diffusion and adsorption of CO at different adsorption times is studied. Studied is the effect of CO impurities in H₂ on steady-state polarization curves for the hydrogen ionization and nonsteady-state curves of the oxidation current decay with time at 0.02–0.05 V. Conditions under which in a certain time interval and at a certain CO concentration the slope of an I vs. t curve is proportional to p _CO are determined. The obtained dependence may be used when designing a technique for monitoring CO impurities in technical hydrogen.     

The characterization of silica microparticles by electrophoretic mobility measurements

Summary Electrophoretic mobility measurements in the pH 2‐10 range are described for several commercial HPLC silica microparticles and a laboratory-produced product. The content of metal impurities for the silicas was also determined by AAS. An acidic/hydrothermal treatment was used to generate a more homogenous surface for some of the silicas. The zero points of charge (zpc) for both a native and a treated silica plus several commercial HPLC silicas were compared. The electrophoretic mobility method may be useful in predicting the utility of certain types of silica supports for chromatographic separations.     

State of Molecules and Ions in the Structural Channels of Synthetic Beryl with an Ammonium Impurity

The contents of the structural channels of beryl, grown hydrothermally from an ammonium-containing solution, were investigated by IR and EPR spectroscopy. Using IR spectroscopy we found that water molecules, ammonium ions, and a small number of HCl molecules enter the structural channels of beryl in the course of mineral growth. In these beryls, the ammonium ions play the role of alkali cations. The ammonium ions are as rigidly fixed in the lattice as are water molecules; they are eliminated by calcination at high temperatures close to the decomposition temperature. On exposure to radiation at 77 K, the paramagnetic NH ₃ ⁺ and H⁰ radicals are stabilized in the structural channels of beryl. In addition to the known H⁰ radical, other states of atomic hydrogen, interacting with medium protons, are observed as well. For one of the additional radicals, H_b, we suggest the model of atomic hydrogen stabilized at the center of a silicon-oxygen ring with two water molecules in adjacent cavities.