Performance of an activated carbon made from waste palm shell in simultaneous adsorption of SO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> and NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> of flue gas at low temperature

This study examined the individual and simultaneous adsorption of SO{in{itx}} (SO{in{it2}}) and NO{in{itx}} (NO-NO{in{it2}}) on activated carbon prepared from waste palm shell. The adsorption process was examined in a fixed bed reactor at low temperatures (100\2-300\dgC). For individual adsorption without any catalytic activation, SO{in{itx}} showed good adsorption whereas NO{in{itx}} was very much poor. In the simultaneous adsorption of SO{in{itx}} and NO{in{itx}}, SO{in{itx}} showed greater adsorption affinity than NO{itx}. For palm shell activated carbon (PSAC) impregnated with metal catalyst (Ni and Ce) the concentration adsorbed profile showed that the amount of SO{in{itx}} adsorbed decreased regularly, while the amount of the adsorbed NO{in{itx}} increased irregularly. The properties of the pure and impregnated PSAC were analyzed by BET, SEM and EDX. These investigations indicated that PSAC impregnated with metal catalyst is the determining factor in the adsorption of SO{in{itx}} and NO{in{itx}} simultaneously. Supported financially by Yayasan FELDA, Malaysia (Grant No. 6050075)     

Structure and electrochemical properties of LiMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>F<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>

LiMn₂O₄−_xF_x prepared by the sol-gel method has a perfect crystal formation. The crystal particle size of the material was medium and distributed uniformly. The substitution of F for O increased the specific capacity of the material at the cost of the cycleability. The explanation of this results is that the F decreases the valence of Mn, that is, more Mn³⁺ and less Mn⁴⁺ exist in the material. The increase of Mn³⁺ will improve the initial specific capacity and Mn³⁺ is the original reason for Jahn-Teller effect that caused the poor cycleability of the cathode material by the micro-distortion of the crystal structure. In addition, the expanded measurement of the crystal lattice is also the reason for the poor cycleability. Therefore, the results of F-substitution and cation-substitution are opposite. If the two methods are combined, they can compensate the inability each other and the satisfactory results may be obtained. XIA Jun-lei: Born in 1977 Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 59972026)     

Precipitation and Hetero-nucleation Effect of V（C,N） in V-Microalloyed Steel

The precipitation behavior of V（C, N） in steels microalloyed with vanadium was researched using a thermal simulator during single-pass deformation at 800-750 ℃. The V（C, N） precipitates and its nucleation effect on ferrite were investigated by TEM and EDS. The experimental results show that there are two remarkable heterogeneous nucleation effects of V（C, N） particles precipitated before γ →/ α phase change： primary reason is that high coherency between V（C, N） and ferrite promotes V（C, N） to become a nucleating center of intragranular ferrite; secondary reason is that the coarsening of V（C, N） causes locally solute-poor region in austenite, thus expedites the nucleation of intragranular ferrites further. Furthermore, the relationship between the size and shape of V（C, N） was studied, and identification method was provided for distinguishing interphase precipitation and general precipitation to avoid erroneous judgment and misguide.     

Structures and properties of [CoPt/Ag]<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> multilayer fims

The magnetic properties and structures of [CoPt/Ag] _n , multilayer films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering have been studied. During the deposited process, two kinds of deposited sequences, that is Ag layer (FDAG) first deposited or CoPt layer (FDCP) first deposited, have been chosen. The results show that the microstructures and coercivities were strongly influenced by the deposited sequence and the thickness of films. The coercivities of [Ag/CoPt] _n with FDAG are obviously higher than those of [CoPt/Ag] _n with FDCP. Especially, when the thickness of films is 8 nm, the difference of coercivities between the FDAG film and the FDCP film is the largest. It is possibly because Ag plays a role of underlayer in FDAG multilayers, which can induce both the transformation from fcc to fct and the oriented growth along c-axis. In addition, δM curves reveal that the [CoPt/Ag]₈ multilayer, film has a lower intergrain interaction than the CoPt/Ag bilayer film.     

Fabrication and magnetic properties of Sm3(Fe,Ti)29Nx/α-Fe dual-phase nanocomposite permanent magnetic material

Sm3(Fe,Ti)29Nx/α-Fe dual-phase nanometer magnetic material was fabricated through rapid solidification, crystallization and nitridation of Sm-Fe (Ti) alloy. The effect of combination of rapid solidification and Ti alloy addition on the phase formation and microstructure of the Sm-Fe alloy is investigated in this paper. The microstructure of amorphous phase and dual-phase nano-grain crystals before and after crystallization annealing were observed using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HREM). The dual-phase nano-grains after annealing were compacted together with a clear interface with the direct exchange-coupling mechanism. Different annealing processes were used to examine the melt-spun alloy. Comparison of the images of SEM showed that annealing at 750℃ for 10 min was most suitable to get homogeneous and nano-grains. No obvious kink was detected in the second quadrant of the hysteresis loop like a single hard magnet, and strong exchange coupling was found between hard magnets and soft magnets.     

Effects of annealing processes on Cu<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Si<Subscript>1-<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> thin films

The Cu _x Si_1-x thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with in situ annealing on Si (001) and Si (111), respectively. The transformation of phase was detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the as-deposited films were composed of Cu on both Si (001) and Si (111). The annealed thin films consisted of Cu + η”-Cu₃Si on Si (001) while Cu + η’-Cu₃Si on Si (111), respectively, at annealed temperature (T _a) = 300-600 °C. With the further increasing of T _a, at T _a= 700 °C, there was only one main phase, η”-Cu₃Si on Si (001) while η’-Cu₃Si on Si (111), respectively. The annealed thin films transformed from continuous dense structure to scattered-grain morphology with increasing T _a detected by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). It was also showed that the grain size would enlarge with increasing annealing time (t _a).     

Microstructure and Thermal Properties Analysis of （1-x）As2S3-x CdBr2 Glass System

The homogeneous glass sample for the ( 1 - x ) As2S3-xCdBr2, where x=0. 015,0. 035,0.05, was prepared by the conventional melt-quenched method. Amorphoas ( 1 - x ) As2S3-xCdBr2 alloys were determined by X-ray diffraction, thermal compreheasive analysis and Raman scattering. The glass transittion temperature (TR) deereases a bit with the addition of CdBr2 . Based on the experimental data, the microstrtucture is considered to be the discrete molecule species of AsBr3 and Cd - S atomic bonds or clusters are honigeneously dispersed in a disordered polymer network formed by AsS3 pyramids interlinked by sulfur bridges.     

Synthesis and characterization of (PEO)<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>−(V<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>Mo<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> nanocomposite films

(PEO) _x −(V_0.85Mo_0.15)₂O₅(x=0,0.5,1.0) nanocomposite films were prepared by a modified sol-gel method. The structure of the films was analyzed by XRD, and the DC electrical conductivity. Cyclic voltammogram and optical spectral transmittance were investigated. The results show that the (V_0.85Mo_0.15)₂O₅ xerogel has a layered structure and its interlayer space increased from 1.3181 nm at x=0 to 1.7897 nm at x=1.0. The introduction of MoO₃ improved the DC electrical conductivities of the films due to the generation of V₄₊ to maintain the electrical neutrality of the oxides. PEO intercalated in the interlayer of (V_0.85Mo_0.15)₂O₅ oxides has interaction with the oxides, enhancing the amount of Li⁺ ions inserted into the interlayer of the oxides. Moreover, the intercalation of PEO into the interlayer of (V_0.85Mo_0.15)₂O₅ oxides improved the cathodic electrochromic property in near ultraviolet region and anodic electrochromic property in visible range. JIANG Cong-sheng: Born in 1963 Supported by the Science Foundation of Hubei Province (Grant No. 2001ABB083)     

Thermal-dynamical properties and pressure dependence of phonon spectrum of ordered Si<Subscript>50</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>50</Subscript> alloy based on <Emphasis Type="Italic">ab initio</Emphasis> methods

The phonon spectrum of ordered zincblende Si₅₀Ge₅₀ alloy is calculated by ab initio method. The energy band structure at zero pressure and the pressure dependence of phonon dispersion curves are shown up to 20 GPa. The calculation finds a pressure-induced softening of the transverse acoustic phonon mode and the mode frequency reaching zero at about 14 GPa, which indicate breaking of the symmetry and formation of a new phase under high pressure. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50771090), the State Key Program for Basic Research of China (Grant No. 2005CB724404) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Team (Grant No. IRT0650)     

Mechanical characteristics of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> electrets

1μm SiO₂ layer was thermally grown on silicon wafer. Negative and positive charging of SiO₂ layer was performed by means of corona method at room temperature. By controlling grid voltage, we have obtained uniformly charged SiO₂ with surface potential from −500 to +200 V. With certain electric field, the electrostatic force between charged SiO₂ is investigated. Experimental results indicate that attraction not only exists between charged SiO₂ with different polarity, but also exists between charged SiO₂ with the same polarity, and no repulsion has been observed. The attractive force is related to both surface potential difference of charged SiO₂ and the uniformity of the electric field. Based on the experiment, the attractive force is supposed to be caused by polarization when two charged SiO₂ wafers are close.     

Thermodynamic analysis of the formation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">In-situ</Emphasis> reinforced phases in cast Al-4.5Cu alloy

The thermodynamic analysis of the formation of in-situ reinforced phases in （TiB2＋Al3Ti）/Al-4.5Cu composites prepared by mixed salts reaction was conducted, and heat changes of mixed salts system were analyzed by differential thermal analysis（DTA）.The results show that although TiB2 possesses the strongest formation ability in Al-Ti-B ternary system, [Ti] is relatively excessive in the in-situ reaction and it combines with Al to form AlaTi phase. The reinforced phases are TiB2 and AlaTi in the produced composites due to the reaction taking place to form reinforced phase with the addition of mixed salts into Al-4.5Cu melt between 900 ℃ and 1 032 ℃.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In situ</Emphasis> preparation of nanoparticles/polymer composites

Nanoparticle (NP) is the matter between molecule and bulk material. It has attracted much attention in catalysis, optoelectronics and biology due to its unique physical and chemical properties. Incorporation of these NPs into the polymer matrix is one of the best methods to display their special functions, which not only stabilize the NPs but also realize the functional assembly of NPs and polymers. However, realization of this idea depends largely on the compatibility of NPs and polymers as well as the interaction between them. Therefore, many methods have been developed to prepare the composites of NPs and polymers in order to obtain the function expected. In this review, we mainly focus on the combination of in situ method with other methods to synthesize different functional one-dimension, two-dimension as well as bulk composites, which has been recently developed by our group. The most striking character of our method is the excellent compatibility between NPs and polymers which ensures a homogeneous distribution of NPs in the polymer matrix. The existence of the polymer network makes the NPs more stable, and is significant for displaying their functions. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 2007CB936402, 20534040) and Science Foundation for Young Teachers of Northeast Normal University (Grant No. 20070306)     

Properties of Nano SiO2 Modified PVF Adhesive

Some properties of nano SiO2 modified PVF adhesive were studied .the experimental results show that nano SiO2 can inprope the properties of PVF adhesive very well.Meanwhile the modification mechanism of nano SiO2 to PVF adhesire and the applications of this adhesire in paper-plastic composite ,conctete and fireproof paint were discussed by using IR and XRD determination.     

Influence of formate on bioactivity material-thuringiensin synthesized by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis> YBT-032

The biological method to synthesize thuringiensin and the influence of formate on thuringiensin biosynthesis were investigated. Addition of 1.00 g/L formate to growth medium of bacillus thuringiensis YBT-032 resulted in significant enhancements in productions of citrate, α -ketoglutarate, intracellular adenine and thuringiensin. These results demonstrate that added formate attends metabolism of cell, facilitates carbon metabolic flux in tricarboxylic acid cycle and hexose monophosphate pathway. As a carbon source, formate facilitates cell growth, increases glucose consumption and enhances the ability of cell to synthesis adenine analogues, and subsequently thuringiensin. Thuringiensin production rate significantly enhanced from 6.44 to 8.46 mg·g^-1 · h and transformation ratio from glucose to thuringiensin increased by 43.30%.     

Rheological properties of konjac glucomannan/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/organic-borate gels

A series of thermoreversible konjac glucomannan gels crosslinked by organic borate were prepared. Required amount of hydrophilic SiO₂ was added into the konjac glucomannan solutions before the crosslinking reaction. The gel network was formed through the crosslinking reaction between borate ions dissociated from organic borate and the cis-diol hydroxyl groups on the mannose units of polysaccharide chains. The rheological properties of the complex gels were studied by dynamic viscoelastic measurement. The gelation kinetics of the complex gels was studied and the critical gelation points of the gels were exactly determined by the Winter-Chambon criterion. The effects of temperature and composite ratio on the shear storage modulus (G′), the loss modulus (G″) and the sol-gel transition points were investigated. Funded by Chinese Natural Science Foundation Committee(No.50673080)     

Preliminary biocompatibility evaluation of regenerated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Antheraea yamamai</Emphasis> Silk Fibroin <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

The study aimed to investigate the adhesion, morphology and proliferation of Sprague Dawley (SD) albino rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by inverted microscope, cell counting, MTT test and laser scanning confocal microscop (LSCM). On the regenerated A yamamai SF film or blend films, the cell morphology was almost the same as that on collagen (collagen type I) film, the cell adhesion rate was higher than that on plastic cell plate and B mori SF film after 1 h (p < 0.01) of culture, and the cell proliferation was significantly higher than that on collagen film (p < 0.01) and plastic cell plate (p < 0.01), and also obviously better than that on B mori SF film. On the other hand, the viability of BMSCs in the regenerated A yamamai SF porous scaffold was better than that in B mori SF porous scaffold and medical grade polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge.     

Effect of Cu-Ti-C reaction composition on reinforcing particles size of TiC<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>/Cu composites

TiC _x /Cu composites were fabricated by combustion synthesis and hot press technology. Using XRD, SEM, EDS, FESEM analysis methods, the effects of various carbon sources and different Cu contents on the microstructures of TiC _x /Cu composites and the size of TiC _x particles were investigated. Results showed that TiC _x reinforcing particles size increases with decreasing Cu content in Cu-Ti-C reaction system. With carbon nanotubes (carbon black) serving as carbon source, the generated TiC _x particles size transits from nanometer to submicron when Cu content corresponding to the reaction system is reduced to 60 vol% (70 vol%); while graphite serves as carbon source, there is no clear limiting concentration. C particles with smaller size, larger specific surface area and better distribution result in finer TiC _x particles, which is more beneficial to generating nano-sized TiC _x /Cu composites.     

The effect of unbalanced coefficient of magnetron on the structure and properties of CN<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> coatings

The effect of unbalanced coefficient of magnetron (UCM) on the structure and tribological properties of CrNx hard coatings was studied.The CrNx coatings were deposited on both Si wafer and hardened tool steel substrates using a closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering ion plating technique in a gas mixture of Ar+N2 under different unbalanced magnetron conditions.The coatings were characterized by means of XRD,XPS,SEM,microhardness tester and pin-on-disc tribometer to study respectively their structure,chemical bonding state,microstructure,hardness and tribological properties.The experimental results show that the UCM has a profound effect on the structure,hardness and tribological properties of the CrNx coatings.With increasing the values of UCM,the dominant phases in the deposited coatings evolved from Cr+Cr2N to Cr2N+CrN,the microstructure became denser and the hardness increased;in addition,reduced coefficient of friction and improved wear resistance of CrNx coatings were also observed under a larger UCM.     

Dielectric Behavior of BaTiO3／ PVDF Nanocomposites In-situ Synthesized by the Sol-Gel Method

BaTiO3/ PVDF nanocomposites were prepared via in-situ growth of nanosized BaTiO3 particles in PVDF matrix by using the sol-gel method. The present elements of BaTiO3/ PVDF nanocomposites were analyzed by an electron probe X-ray microanalyser. Nanosized BaTiO3 grown in the composite films was characterized by an X-ray diffractometer and a transmission electron microscope, and the dielectric properties of the composite films were measured. The distribution of BaTiO3 nanoparticles in-situ grown in the PVDF matrix was examined using a scanning electron microscope.     

Spontaneous Magnetic Transitions and Corresponding Magnetoelastic Properties of Intermetallic Compounds <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>Mn<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>2</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>=Gd,Tb and Dy)

The spontaneous magnetic transitions and corresponding magnetoelastic properties of intermetallic compounds RMn₂Ge₂ (R=Gd, Tb and Dy) were investigated by using the X-ray diffraction method and magnetic measurement. The results showed that the compounds experience two magnetic transitions, namely the second-order paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition at temperature T_N (T_N=368, 423 and 443 K for GdMn₂Ge₂, TbMn₂Ge₂ and DyMn₂Ge₂, respectively) and the first-order antiferromagnetic - ferrimagnetic transition at temperature T_t (T_t=96, 80 and 40 K for GdMn₂Ge₂, TbMn₂Ge₂ and DyMn₂Ge₂, respectively) as the temperature decreases. The temperature dependence of the lattice constant a(T) displays a negative magnetoelastic anomaly at the second-order transition point T_N and, at the first-order transition T_t, a increases abruptly for GdMn₂Ge₂ and TbMn₂Ge₂, Δa/a about 10^-3. Nevertheless, the lattice constant c almost does not change at these transition points indicating that such magnetoelastic anomalies are mainly contributed by the Mn-sublattice. The transitions of the magnetoelastic properties are also evidenced on the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility χ. The first-order transition behavior at T_t is explained by the Kittel mode of exchange inversion.