Photocatalytic degradation of pesticide residues with RE3+ -doped nano-TiO2

The photocatalytic degradation effects of carbofuran solution under concentration of 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 g/L Re³⁺-doped nano-TiO₂ were studied. The highest degradation rate of 54.89% was obtained after 4 h degradation when the concentration of nano-TiO₂ was 0.4 g/L. Then field trials of photocatalytic degradation with suspension nano-TiO₂ were conducted. The photocatalytic degradation effect of organic phosphorus and carbamate pesticides in tomato leaves and soil with different concentratio catalyst (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 g/L) were studied. The results showed that nano-TiO₂ could significantly increase photocatalytic degradation rate of pesticide residues in tomato leaves and soil. Pesticide residues degradation rate could be increased by 20%-30% on the tomato leaves and 15%-20% in soil, and the best concentration of photocatalytic degradation was 0.2-0.4 g/L.     

Size dependence of up-conversion luminescence of NaYF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺

Tm3+/Yb3+ codoped NaYF4 microcrystals were synthesized using a hydrothermal method.The bright upconversion light was observed under 980 nm excitation.The upconversion luminescence was systematically investigated at different Yb3+ concentrations and different reaction temperatures and time.The sample with 60% Yb3+ concentration and reacting at 180 oC for 24 h possessed the highest luminescent efficiency.The higher luminescent efficiency was contributed to a large surface area.The large surface area induced the large vibration mode by absorbed H2O and CO2.The larger vibration mode could enhance the energy transfer efficiency from the excited Yb3+ to Tm3+ by the process of phonon assisted energy transfer.     

Optimization of BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺ phosphors by the substitution of Si-N bonds for Al-O bonds

We proposed a simple method to improve the thermal stability of BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+(BAM) phosphors by the substitution of Si-N bonds for Al-O bonds in the host lattice.Both photoluminescence properties and thermal stability under ultraviolet(UV) and vacuum ultraviolet(VUV) excitation could be significantly improved through Si-N incorporation.After thermal degradation at 600 °C for 1 h in air atmosphere,the Si-N doped sample(Ba0.88Eu0.12MgAl9.97Si0.03O16.97N0.03) had the highest emission intensity which was 22% and 40% stronger than that of as-received sample under UV and VUV excitation,respectively.This could be attributed to the stable local structure surrounding the Eu2+ ions and the lower electronegativity of nitrogen.     

Photoluminescence study of SiO₂ coated Eu³⁺:Y₂O₃ core-shells under high pressure

Uniform core-shell Eu3+:Y2O3/SiO2 spheres were synthesized via precipitation and the Stber method.The structural transition of core-shell Eu3+:Y2O3/SiO2 was studied by using high pressure photoluminescence spectra.With pressure increasing,the emission intensities of 5D0→7F0,1,2 transitions of Eu3+ ions decreased and the transition lines showed a red shift.The relative luminescence intensity ratio of 5D0→7F2 to 5D0→7F1 transitions decreased with increasing pressure,indicating lowering asymmetry around Eu3+ ions.During compression,structural transformation for cores in the present core-shell Eu3+:Y2O3/SiO2 sample from cubic to monoclinic took place at 7.5 GPa,and then the monoclinic structure turned into hexagonal above 15.2 GPa.After the pressure was released,the hexagonal structure transformed back to monoclinic and the monoclinic structure was kept stable to ambient pressure.     

Intense blue-emitting Ca₂PO₄Cl:Eu²⁺ phosphor for near-ultraviolet converting white light-emitting diodes

A blue phosphor Ca2PO4Cl:Eu2+(CAP:Eu2+) was synthesized by solid state reaction.The Ca2PO4Cl:Eu2+ exhibited high quantum efficiency and excellent thermal stability.The luminescent intensity of Ca2PO4Cl:Eu2+ was found to be 128% under excitation at 380 nm,149% under 400 nm,and 247% under 420 nm as high as that of BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+.The optimal doping concentration was observed to 11 mol.% of CAP:Eu2+.The energy transfer between Eu2+ ions in CAP were occurred via electric multipolar interaction,and the critical transfer distance was estimated to be 1.26 nm.A mixture of blue-emitting Ca2PO4Cl:Eu2+,green-emitting(Ba,Sr)2SiO4:Eu2+ and red-emitting CaAlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphors were selected in conjunction with 400 nm chip to fabricate white LED devices.The average color-rendering index Ra and correlated color temperature(Tc) of the white LEDs were found to be 93.4 and 4590 K,respectively.The results indicated that it was a promising candidate as a blue-emitting phosphor for the near-UV white light-emitting diodes.     

Facile synthesis of visible light excited La_1-xGd_xF₃:Eu³⁺ micro-meter sphere using polyvinylpyrrolidone as a template

Lanthanide fluorides exhibited unique luminescent properties in terms of their low phonon energy can restrict the luminescence quenching and extend luminescent lifetimes.Here,a room-temperature co-precipitation method was used to synthesize europium(III) activated La1-xGdxF3 solid phosphors.X-ray diffraction(XRD) data confirmed the crystalline phases of synthesized sample belongs to orthorhombic system.All the as-derived materials exhibited red luminescence(5D0→7F1) under the excitation at longer wavelengths(394 and 466 nm).The powder with the most intense emission was achieved in terms of 10 mol.% doping concentration(Eu content,La/Gd=1/9) and sample sintered at 700 oC.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) investigated the morphology and crystalline of the samples,showing that many regular and large balls(5-10 μmol/L) were dispersed within the micro-meter scale composites.We proved that the above crystal growth structures were controllable and predicable based on the surface functionalization by polyvinylpyrrolidone ligand.     

Synthesis of well oil-dispersible BaYF₅:Yb³⁺/Er³⁺ nanocrystals with green upconversion fluorescence

Nearly monodisperse,regular-shaped and well oil-dispersible tetragonal BaYF5:0.2Yb3+/0.02Er3+ nanocrystals(NCs) were synthesized in water-ethanol-oleic acid-sodium oleate system.The as-obtained NCs exhibited bright upconversion(UC) fluorescence under the 980 nm excitation.Blue(2H9/2-4I15/2),green((2H11/2,4S3/2)-4I15/2) and red(4F9/2-4I15/2) transitions were observed.The results indicated that the relative intensity of green to red increased gradually with increasing power density,which were seldom in the previous work.Therefore,the UC properties and mechanism were studied in detail.     

Re-determination of the crystal structure of Ca₂Y₈Si₆O₂₆ and study on the luminescent properties of Ca₂Y₈Si₆O₂₆:Tb³⁺

The crystal structure of silicate oxyapatite Ca2Y8Si6O26 was indexed as hexagonal,space group P63/m,a=0.93515 nm,c=0.67872 nm,α=β=90°,γ=120°,V=0.5138692 nm3.Three strong peaks located at 32.079o,32.595o,and 50.104o with d=2.7903,2.74649,1.8194 was in accordance with,(112),and(213) planes.The optimum concentration of Tb3+ in Ca2Y8Si6O26 to yield highest photoluminescence intensity was 10 mol.% of Y3+.The corresponding excitation spectrum consisted of an intense broad band from 220 to 260 nm.The photoluminescence measurements showed that the green emission originated from 5D4-7F5 was predominant in the measured range with strong doublet lines at 543 and 549 nm.     

Luminescence properties of BaAl₁₂O₁₉:Tb,Ce and energy transfer between Ce³⁺,Tb³⁺

BaAl12O19:Tb,Ce phosphors were prepared by sol-gel technique,the crystalline structures of samples characterized by XRD,and the luminescence properties and energy transfer between Ce3+ and Tb3+ were investigated.The results indicated that the emission intensity and the excitation wavelength range of Tb3+ increased when Ce3+ was doped.It demonstrated that the Ce3+ added in the BaAl12O19:Tb could deliver energy to Tb3+,and Ce3+ was not luminous by itself.The relative emission intensity of Tb3+ at wavelength of 548 nm was the strongest by Tb3+/Ce3+ ratio of 2:1,when excited at 310 nm,which was the characteristic adsorption wavelength of Ce3+.     

Effects of Sr²⁺ on structure and luminescent properties of BaAl₁₂O₁₉:Eu phosphors

Ba0.9-ySryAl12O19:Eu0.1 phosphors were prepared by sol-gel technique,the crystalline structures of samples characterized by XRD,and the luminescence properties were investigated.The influence of crystallographic positions on the luminescent properties of Sr2+-doped BaAl12O19:Eu was investigated in detail.The results indicated that the crystal lattice of BaAl12O19:Eu was not influenced by the Sr2+ and doping Sr2+ in BaAl12O19:Eu enhanced the luminescent properties of the phosphors at the proper concentration of Sr2+.With the increasing of concentration of Sr2+ doped in BaAl12O19:Eu,the relative luminescent intensity of Ba0.9-ySryAl12O19:Eu0.1 strengthened and blue-shifted.     

Controlled synthesis and tunable luminescence of NaYF₄:Eu³⁺

High quality NaYF4:Eu3+ luminescent materials were successfully synthesized via a facile template technique by hydrothermal method.The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and fluorescence spectroscopy(FS).The incorporating of Eu3+ ions into NaYF4 crystal lattice influenced the symmetry types of NaYF4 crystals,resulting in phase transformation of NaYF4 crystals between α and β phase.The pure hexagonal phase of branched NaYF4:Eu3+ was obtained as the Eu3+ concentration reached 15 mol.%.In addition,the luminescence color was tuned by changing the doping concentration of Eu3+ ions.     

Luminescent properties of Eu³⁺-doped BaZrO₃ phosphor for UV white light emitting diode

A novel orange phosphor Eu3+ doped barium zirconate(BaZrO3) was synthesized by conventional solid state reaction method and its crystal structure and luminescent properties were investigated in this paper.The X-ray diffraction patterns(XRD) showed that simple BaZrO3 phase was obtained.Monitoring at 596 nm,the excitation spectrum consisted of a broad band and a series of narrow bands and the stronger excitation peaks located at 275 and 393 nm,respectively.The emission spectrum excited by 393 nm UV light was composed of four narrow bands.The strongest emission was located at 596 nm.The appropriate concentration of Eu3+ was 0.025(molar fraction) for the highest emission intensity at 596 nm.The H3BO3 and ammonium were added as flux and the results showed that 2 wt.% NH4F ions was the optimal flux for BaZrO3:Eu3+.     

Electrospinning synthesis and luminescent properties of Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanofibers

One-dimensional Lu2O3:Eu3+ nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning followed by high-temperature calcinations.Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis,X-ray powder diffraction,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy,photoluminescent spectra and decay curves were used to characterize the samples.Results showed that samples began to crystallize at ～500 oC and crystallized completely around 1000 oC.The average diameter of nanofibers(1000 oC annealed) was about 55 nm and the particle size of Lu2O3:Eu3+ increased with increasing annealing temperature.Under ultraviolet excitation,nanofibers exhibited typical red emission of Eu3+ in Lu2O3.The effect of heat-treatment temperature on luminescent properties of nanofibers was also discussed.     

Effects of aluminum co-doping on photoluminescence properties of Ce³⁺-doped SiO₂ glasses

SiO2 glasses co-doped with Al3+ ions were prepared by a sol-gel method by holding 0.5% of Ce3+ ions constant and varying the Al3+ ions concentrations.Thermal stability,the structural,chemical and the optical properties of the samples were studied by using differential scanning calorimetric(DSC),thermo gravimetric analysis(TGA),X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS),UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy(PL).The DSC and TGA of samples depicted that the presence of dopant and co-dopant decreased the endothermic peak temperature and the yield respectively.SEM images showed that the particles were in the nano-range and spherical in shape.The XRD showed that all the samples were amorphous.The UV absorption measurements indicated that the presence of Al3+ ions significantly reduced the SiO2 absorption band,increased the absorbance intensity of SiO2 and decreased the transmittance as compared to the presence of the Ce3+ ions alone.The photoluminescence results displayed an optimum increase in luminescence intensity when the ratio of Al:Ce was 10:1 and further increase in aluminum content quenched the luminous intensity.     

Hydrothermal synthesis,structure study and luminescent properties of YbPO₄:Tb³⁺ nanoparticles

YbPO4:Tb3+ were synthesized by mild hydrothermal method.The luminescent properties,morphologies and structure of the obtained powders were characterized by photoluminescence(PL) spectra,FESEM,X-ray diffractometer(XRD) and FTIR.The results showed that the prepared YbPO4:Tb3+ nanoparticles were pure tetragonal phase and the average grain size varied with increasing of Tb3+ concentration.Hydrothermal temperature was revealed to be the key factor to enhance the emission intensity of YbPO4:Tb3+ phosphors.The spherical nanoparticles could be effectively excited by near UV(369 nm) light and exhibited green performance at 543 nm(5D4→7F5),489 nm(5D4→7F6) and 586 nm(5D4→7F4).The CIE chromaticity was calculated to be x=0.298,y=0.560.The YbPO4:Tb3+ nanoparticles exhibited potential to act as UV absorber for solar cells to enhance the conversion efficiency.     

Study on separation technology of Pr and Nd in D₂EHPA-HCl-LA coordination extraction system

The separation coefficient of Nd/Pr was lower in D2EHPA-HCl system. Pointing to this problem,the effect of the acidity of feed and the concentration of lactic acid on the distribution ratio,separation coefficient and extraction capacity was investigated in unsaponified D2EHPA-HCl-LA system,and the regression equations were calculated in this paper. The results showed that the distribution ratio and separation coefficient both increased with decreasing of feed acidity and increasing of the lactic acid concentration,and the extraction capacity increased with increasing of lactic acid concentration in D2EHPA-HCl-LA system. When the pH value of the feed was 3.5 and lactic acid concentration was 0.6 mol/L,the max separation coefficient was 1.57,and the extraction capacity was 27.87 g/L.     

Synthesis mechanism of Sm₂Fe₁₇ alloy produced in reduction-diffusion process

Sm2Fe17 alloy was the precursor of Sm2Fe17Nx magnetic materials.Reduction-diffusion(R/D) method was a new preparation process for the Sm2Fe17 alloy,and had been widely employed as a new preparation method for rare earth-transition metal intermetallic compounds.In this text,thermodynamics and kinetics for the synthesis of the Sm2Fe17 alloy by reduction-diffusion(R/D) method in the Ca-Sm2O3-Fe system were analyzed.The related synthesis mechanism of this reaction was investigated in detail by means of scanning electron microscope(SEM).The results showed that the thickness of the Sm2Fe17 alloy layer versus the reaction time could be fit by the parabola law,and its growth model was determined to be:(L0-L)2=43.848 t,the diffusion of Sm into Fe proceeded with the formation of the Sm2Fe17 phase from the very beginning of the reaction,and rich samarium phases,such as SmFe2 and SmFe3,were not formed,and the rate-determining step of the R/D reaction was found to be the peritectic reaction between liquid samarium and solid iron.     

Study on Transformation of CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-MgO System Inclusions in ZG06Cr13Ni4Mo Stainless Steel

This paper aims at generally studying on the inclusions of ZGG06Cr13Ni4Mo ultra-low carbon stainless steel used for large scale hydraulic turbine sets. On the basis of analysis the industrial test samples, thermodynamic software FactSage is used to study inclusions transformation process in CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO system while stainless steel is been smelting. The results illustrate the inclusions melting points and plasticity variation law. The reasonable inclusions plasticity controlling area is found out in low melting point. The melting point is up to 1280℃ While MgO weight concentration is 10% in CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO system, SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO in inclusions are in weight concentration range of 50-70%, 10-20% and 10-40%, respectively. For purpose of gaining low melting point inclusions, silicon alumina radio in deoxidant should be controlled between 2-5 for ultra-low carbon stainless steel refining in industry.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic property of Ce-doped SnO₂

Pure SnO2 and Ce-doped(1%,4%,7%,10% in mass ratio) SnO2 powders were prepared by a simple sol-gel method.The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) specific surface area analyzers.Results showed that the 7% Ce-doped sample has a particle size of 0.1-0.3 μm with a narrow particle size distribution while the pure SnO2 was consisted of large agglomerated particles with a diameter up to several micrometers.When used as the catalyst to degrade methyl orange(MO),the 7% Ce-doped sample showed best photocatalytic property.These properties can be attributed to the large surface area and small particle size of the 7% Ce-doped sample.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of manganite (La_0.8Ho_0.2)_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃ and (La_0.5Ho_0.5)_2/3Ca_1/3MnO₃

We reported the magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects(MCE) of(La0.8Ho0.2)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 and(La0.5Ho0.5)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 nanoparticles by sol-gel technique.With this method,we were able to obtain the samples with particle diameters ranging from 50 to 200 nm.In the(La1-xHox)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 compound,an external magnetic field induced a magnetic transition from an paramagnetic phase to a ferromagnetic phase above Ts=105-135 K,leading to magnetocaloric effects.The maximum value of ΔSM was 1.19 J/(kg·K) at 100 K and 2.03 J/(kg·K) at 152 K for a magnetic field change of 5 T.Because both samples had large relative cooling power(RCP) and wide δTFWHM,the study on systems with the(La1-xHox)2/3Ca1/3MnO3-related magnetic transitions may open an important field in searching good magnetic materials.