Preparation of dendritic bismuth film electrodes and their application for detection of trace Pb(Ⅱ)and Cd(Ⅱ)

In this paper,dendritic Bi film electrodes with porous structure had successfully been prepared on glassy carbon electrode using a constant current electrolysis method based on hydrogen bubble dynamic templates.The electrode prepared using a large applied current density showed an increased internal electroactive area and a significantly improved electrochemical performance.The analytical utility of the prepared dendritic Bi film electrodes for the determination of Pb(Ⅱ)and Cd(Ⅱ)in the range of 5–50 μg·L~(-1)were presented in combination with square wave stripping voltammetry in model solution.Compared with non-porous Bi film electrode,the dendritic Bi film electrode exhibited higher sensitivity and lower detection limit.The prepared Bi film electrode with dendritic structure was also successfully applied to real water sample analysis.     

The effects of Cu-content on Mg2CuxFe1O3.5+x electrodes for YSZ-based mixed-potential type NH3 sensors

Yttria-stablized zirconia (YSZ)-based mixed-potential type NH₃ sensors using Mg₂Cu_xFe₁O_3.5+x mixed metal oxides (x=0, 0.25, 0.50, 1) as sensing electrode material were fabricated for ammonia (NH₃) detection at different working temperatures (T=350 °C, 400 °C, 450 °C, 500 °C). The Mg₂Cu_xFe₁O_3.5+x electrodes were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The effects of Cu-content on phase composition, microstructures, NH₃ response performances and electrochemically catalytic-activity of Mg₂Cu_xFe₁O_3.5+x electrodes were discussed. Magnesium copper oxide (Mg_0.78Cu_0.22O) may be a functional phase that improved NH₃ sensitivity of Mg₂Cu_xFe₁O_3.5+x electrodes, but magnesium dicopper oxide (Cu₂MgO₃) played an opposite role as a suppressive phase. The Mg₂Cu_0.25Fe₁O_3.75 electrode exhibits the biggest response (about 267 mV for 200 ppm of NH₃), the highest NH₃ sensitivity (220 mV/decade NH₃) and the highest electrochemically catalytic-activity may be attributed to its suitable Cu-content for functional phase (Mg_0.78Cu_0.22O) with higher NH₃ adsorptivity, which can absorb more NH₃ to the triple-phase boundary (TPB) for the electrochemically reaction.     

Enhanced NO2 detection using hierarchical porous ZnO nanoflowers modified with graphene

Because of their potential applications in gas sensing and catalysis, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and ZnO have been the focus of much recent attention. However, few reported materials have been produced via the combination of hierarchical ZnO structures with RGO to achieve high sensing performances. In this paper, a hydrothermal method was used to synthesize hierarchical porous ZnO nanoflowers, which were then combined with graphene to enhance their sensing performances. The rapid detection of 1 ppm NO₂ was achieved at 174 °C. The morphologies and structures of these materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Photoluminescence measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were also used to investigate the mechanism of gas sensing by these materials.     

Photoluminescent and electrical properties of novel Nd3+ doped ZnV2O6 and Zn2V2O7

Nd³⁺ doped ZnV₂O₆ and Zn₂V₂O₇ samples were synthetized by using melt-quenching method. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that both samples are polycrystalline. The crystallinity was also verified by Raman scattering, from which the different vibrational modes of ZnV₂O₆ and Zn₂V₂O₇ were detected. Electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis shows that the Nd³⁺ incorporation into the ZnV₂O₆ and Zn₂V₂O₇ hosts is around 0.9±0.1 and 0.2±0.1 at%, respectively. The micrographs obtained by Scanning Electron Microscopy, reveal that the Nd³⁺ doped ZnV₂O₆ sample is predominantly composed by micro-rods, whereas the Nd³⁺ doped Zn₂V₂O₇ one is only composed by irregular blocks. The band gap energies (E_g) were calculated from the diffuse reflectance spectra by the Kubelka–Munk equation; E_g values resulted to be 2.24 and 2.86 eV for the Nd³⁺ doped ZnV₂O₆ and Zn₂V₂O₇ samples, respectively. By means of two points dark conductivity measurements, conductivity values in the 10⁻⁴–10⁻⁶ and 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁸(Ω cm)⁻¹range for the Nd³⁺ doped ZnV₂O₆ and Zn₂V₂O₇ samples were measured, respectively. The conductivity as a function of the temperature indicated a semiconductor behavior. The photoluminescence spectra upon Ar⁺ laser excitation at 488 nm, exhibited the Nd³⁺ characteristics emissions. For instance, the Nd³⁺ doped ZnV₂O₆ sample displayed the Nd^{3+ 4}F_5/2→⁴I_9/2 and ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_9/2 emissions; while the Nd³⁺ doped Zn₂V₂O₇ one showed the Nd³⁺ characteristic emissions associated with the ⁴G_7/2, ⁴F_9/2, ⁴F_5/2 and ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_9/2 transitions. The lifetimes were 80 and 130 µs for the Nd³⁺ doped ZnV₂O₆ and Zn₂V₂O₇ samples, respectively. All these results suggest a successful synthesis of Nd³⁺ doped zinc vanadate compounds by the melt-quenching technique.     

Transient shrinkage behavior of wustite-centered binary/ternary/quaternary/quinary-component oxide packed beds in a reducing atmosphere up to 1773 K

Wustite (FeO)-centered multicomponent oxides play an important role in the ironmaking process, and a complete understanding of their high temperature behaviors is of great importance for process optimization to achieve high efficiency and low emissions during industrial production. In this work, the transient shrinkages of FeO-centered multicomponent oxide packed beds are quantitatively determined in a reducing atmosphere up to 1773 K, and the effects of the interactions between the oxides on the shrinkage rate (SR) are qualitatively evaluated. The results show that although mixing CaO with FeO increases the SR to 0.42%/K below 1173 K, further mixing with SiO₂ or Al₂O₃ significantly limits this enhancement effect due to the formation of an olivine or spinel phase. However, in the subsequent stage, the SR increases to as high as 0.44%/K after CO is injected. The interaction between FeO and MgO leads to an SR of greater than 0.20%/K at lower temperatures, but it causes a decrease in the SR from 0.33%/K to 0.16%/K between 1173 K and 1273 K. Meanwhile, adding SiO₂ slows the reduction reaction, and the SR correspondingly decreases further to 0.04%/K. On the other hand, the interaction between CaO and Al₂O₃ takes precedence over the interaction between SiO₂ and MgO and dominates the shrinkage process in the quinary-component case, and the preferentially formed CaAl₂O₄ spinel phase hinders the formation of the Mg₂SiO₄ olivine phase.     

Impedance and dielectric analysis of polycrystalline undoped and Fe doped SnS2

Polycrystalline Sn_1−xFe_xS₂ samples with (x=0, 0.125, 0.250 and 0.375) have been prepared by the molten salt solid state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that all the samples crystallize in the hexagonal structure, with P-3m1 space group in preferred orientation of (011). The electrical properties have been studied by complex impedance spectroscopy over the frequency range (20 Hz up to 1 MHz) at room temperature. The Nyquist plot for all samples have been fitted using ZMAN software. The impedance analysis showed that all samples exhibit both bulk and grain boundary contributions and it was found that by increasing the iron content, the resistance increases, but, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent decrease which leads to decrease in conduction. The absorption coefficient (α) has been calculated from the complex dielectric constant. Interestingly, there was a significant correlation between the electromagnetic wave absorption and the reduction in the peak intensity of the XRD patterns indicating that when the iron content increases the sample seems to be a good absorber of electromagnetic waves.     

Synthesis and characterization of EuBa2Ca2Cu3O9−x: The influence of temperature on dielectric properties and charge transport mechanism

High dielectric constant materials have a crucial importance for various microelectronic applications such as memory devices, supercapacitors etc. Among other insulators, perovskite structured oxide materials attract great interest not only for their high dielectric constants but also their unique electrical and magnetic properties such as superconductivity etc. From this point of view, a new Europium based copper oxide layered material with perovskite structure (EuBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O_9−x coded as Eu-1223) has been synthesized by solid state reaction method in this work. The physical and chemical properties of Eu-1223 have been determined by FTIR, SEM, XRF, XRD, TGA and DTA techniques. The influence of temperature on impedance and dielectric properties of Eu-1223 has been investigated by impedance spectroscopy measurements performed within the frequency interval of 5 Hz–13 MHz between 298 K and 408 K temperatures. It has been found that the Eu-1223 material has high dielectric constants at each temperature operated. In addition, Eu-1223 sample behaves as a colossal dielectric material up to 300 kHz for 408 K due to observation of dielectric constant values which are greater than 10³. Furthermore, it has been revealed that Eu-1223 material can be used as thermally sensitive resistors in electronic circuits due to its decreasing resistance with increasing temperature. Moreover, it has been observed that the relaxation frequency of the system shifts from 46.5 kHz (low frequency radio wave band) to 1.57 MHz (mid frequency radio wave band) as the temperature increasing from 298 K to 408 K. According to dc conductivity investigations, the variation of dc conductivity with the inverse of temperature satisfies linear relationship that indicates a thermally activated nearest neighbor hopping conduction. On the other hand, it has been determined that ac conductivity has frequency dependent relation which obeys ω^s for the high frequency region. Furthermore, the frequency exponent, s, which takes values between 0.7 and 0.4, shows a decreasing behavior with increasing temperature. In conclusion, ac charge transport mechanism has been predicted as correlated barrier hoping for Eu-1223.     

An investigation on effects of various parameters on viscosities of coal–water mixture prepared with Erzurum–Aşkale lignite coal

In this study the effects of parameters such as coal loading (wt.%), the initial pH of mixture, the addition of various electrolytes, surfactants and temperature on the viscosity and rheologic parameters of coal–water mixture (CWM) have been investigated. The apparent viscosity was measured with a RV8-Brookfield rotating type viscosimeter. The additives used were AlCl₃ and K₂HPO₄ as the electrolytes and Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB), Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) and Borrosperse NA-3A as the surfactants. It was found that the most effective additives, in terms of the viscosity reduction, were CTAB and K₂HPO₄, and that the CWM which had coal concentrations up to 50% (based on the weight of dry coal) could be prepared by using each additives. In addition, the viscosities of CWM with increasing temperature were found to increase at low speed, and decrease at high speed.     

金属化合物超级电容器电极材料

金属化合物是理想的赝电容电极材料,但是其拥有导电性差且易团聚的缺点,使得电容性能显著下降。本文通过总结近年来的研究成果,阐述了金属化合物在超级电容器中的应用以及提高各类金属化合物电容性能的方法。研究表明,金属化合物与各类材料的复合、电沉积法、化合物结构的定向合成等多种方法均可有效提高金属化合物导电性,防止团聚现象的发生。随着金属化合物缺点的不断攻克,其在超级电容器的应用也将逐渐频繁起来,同时金属化合物赝也为新兴的储能元件注入了新的活力。     

可见光驱动溴化银/溴氧化铋复合纳米 材料制备及活性评价*

室温沉淀法合成溴氧化铋（BiOBr）纳米片,然后通过离子交换法制备溴化银/溴氧化铋（AgBr/BiOBr）复合纳米材料,采用X射线衍射（XRD）、场发射扫描电子显微镜（FE-SEM）及紫外可见分光光度计（UV-Vis）对其进行表征,并进行了光催化降解实验。以节能、绿色的LED灯为可见光光源,AgBr/BiOBr复合材料光催化降解罗丹明B（RhB）和甲基橙（MO）的效率均高于BiOBr。AgBr/BiOBr降解RhB的活性强于MO。在AgBr/BiOBr光催化系统中,超氧自由基和空穴是主要的活性物种。不同pH条件下,AgBr/BiOBr对RhB均表现出理想的光催化降解效果,酸性条件下降解效率最佳;碱性环境下AgBr/BiOBr光催化降解MO的活性最高。经过循环利用,AgBr/BiOBr可见光催化活性呈现出一定程度的降低,归因于降解过程中产生了金属银。