Influence of solution composition on sprayed ZnO nanorods properties and formation process: Thermoanalytical study of the precursors

ZnO is an important inorganic material for numerous applications. Different physical and chemical methods have been applied to deposit ZnO. Spray pyrolysis method being simple, rapid and low-cost is amongst the many options and has been chosen for this study. Fabrication of ZnO nanorods crystals by chemical spray pyrolysis was performed using an acidic solution of ZnCl₂1 or a basic ammonia-containing solution of ZnCl₂2. All layers were studied using X-ray diffractometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The formation of ZnO nanorods from 2 appeared at 450?°C, whereas spraying acidic solution 1 yielded ZnO nanorods like morphology at 550?°C.Thermal decomposition of precursors for ZnO layers prepared by de-watering of acidic aqueous solution of ZnCl₂ with pH =?3 (1) and basic solution of ZnCl₂ and NH₄OH with pH =?10 (2) was monitored by simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) in air coupled online with evolved gas analyses by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).The precursor (1) is ZnCl₂ *nH₂O; the precursor (2) is a mixture of (NH₄)₃(ZnCl₄)Cl, Zn(NH₃)₂Cl₂, NH₄Cl(NH₃)₃ and Zn(OH)₂ phases. The thermal decomposition of (1) and (2) in the temperature range of 30–700?°C consists of two steps with total mass losses of 86.2% and 93.8%, respectively. The main evolved gases from (1) are H₂O and HCl, whereas the main evolved gases from (2) are H₂O, NO_x and NH₃. Degradation of (1) and (2) is completed by 670 and 620?°C, respectively. The final decomposition product of (1) and (2) at 700?°C is ZnO.This study shows that the use of basic solutions enables to decrease the temperature of ZnO formation and the deposition temperature of ZnO nanorods layers.     

Contrast at very low energies of the gold/carbon specimen for resolution testing

This paper concerns the problem of testing the image resolution in scanned electron micrographs, namely from the point of view of the image contrast for the standard gold/carbon test specimen within the full energy scale, down to eV units. Microscopes equipped with a cathode lens are considered and experimental results are presented for three devices differing in vacuum conditions and fields surrounding the specimen. At very low energies, the contrast is shown to either invert or disappear and this ambiguity is discussed and confronted with data simulated on the basis of measured electron yields from gold and carbon. It is concluded that the observations can be explained in terms of the surface cleanliness and strength of the surrounding fields.     

Activity release from damaged fuel during the Paks-2 cleaning tank incident in the spent fuel storage pool

During crud removal operations the integrity of 30 fuel assemblies was lost at high temperature at the unit No. 2 of the Paks NPP. Part of the fission products was released from the damaged fuel into the coolant of the spent fuel storage pool. The gaseous fission products escaped through the chimney from the reactor hall. The volatile and non-volatile materials remained mainly in the coolant and were collected on the filters of water purification system. The activity release from damaged fuel rods during the Paks-2 cleaning tank incident was estimated on the basis of coolant activity concentration measurements and chimney activity data. The typical release rate of noble gases, iodine and caesium was 1-3%. The release of non-volatile fission products and actinides was also detected.     

Densification of nanosized amorphous and crystalline silicon nitride powders

The hot-pressing behavior of two amorphous and three crystalline silicon nitride powders, including both experimental and commercial samples has been investigated in the presence of MgO-Y₂O₃ sintering aid. The powders were characterized in terms of bulk and surface chemistry, phase composition and morphology. The sintering behavior was assessed on the basis of green and final densities, weight loss on densification and chemical and phase compositions of the dense material. ©     

Extracellular Prolidase (PEPD) Induces Anabolic Processes through EGFR, β1-integrin,and IGF-1R Signaling Pathways in an Experimental Model of Wounded Fibroblasts

The role of prolidase (PEPD) as a ligand of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was studied in an experimental model of wound healing in cultured fibroblasts. The cells were treated with PEPD (1–100 nM) and analysis of cell viability, proliferation, migration, collagen biosynthesis, PEPD activity, and the expressions of EGFR, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and β₁-integrin receptor including downstream signaling proteins were performed. It has been found that PEPD stimulated proliferation and migration of fibroblasts via activation of the EGFR-downstream PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Simultaneously, PEPD stimulated the expression of β₁-integrin and IGF-1 receptors and proteins downstream to these receptors such as FAK, Grb2, and ERK1/2. Collagen biosynthesis was increased in control and “wounded” fibroblasts under PEPD treatment. The data suggest that PEPD-induced EGFR signaling may serve as a new attempt to therapy wound healing.     

Detecting Bacterial Cell Viability in Few µL Solutions from Impedance Measurements on Silicon-Based Biochips

Using two different types of impedance biochips (PS5 and BS5) with ring top electrodes, a distinct change of measured impedance has been detected after adding 1–5 µL (with dead or live Gram-positive Lysinibacillus sphaericus JG-A12 cells to 20 µL DI water inside the ring top electrode. We relate observed change of measured impedance to change of membrane potential of L. sphaericus JG-A12 cells. In contrast to impedance measurements, optical density (OD) measurements cannot be used to distinguish between dead and live cells. Dead L. sphaericus JG-A12 cells have been obtained by adding 0.02 mg/mL of the antibiotics tetracycline and 0.1 mg/mL chloramphenicol to a batch with OD0.5 and by incubation for 24 h, 30 °C, 120 rpm in the dark. For impedance measurements, we have used batches with a cell density of 25.5 × 10⁸ cells/mL (OD8.5) and 270.0 × 10⁸ cells/mL (OD90.0). The impedance biochip PS5 can be used to detect the more resistive and less capacitive live L. sphaericus JG-A12 cells. Also, the impedance biochip BS5 can be used to detect the less resistive and more capacitive dead L. sphaericus JG-A12 cells. An outlook on the application of the impedance biochips for high-throughput drug screening, e.g., against multi-drug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, is given.     

Impedance study of protecting film formation on lithium and lithiated graphite induced by bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide anion

The process of Li⁺ reduction from room temperature ionic liquids consisting of N-methyl-N-propylpyrrolidinium cation (MPPyr⁺) and bis(fluorosulfonyl) imide (FSI⁻) or bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (TFSI⁻) anions was studied with the use of impedance spectroscopy. Reduction was carried out on both metallic lithium (Li) and graphite (G) electrodes. It has been found that the FSI anion in high amounts is able to form a protective film on both graphite and metallic lithium. The Li⁺/Li couple should rather be represented by a Li⁺/SEI/Li system. The SEI structure depends on the manner of its formation (chemical or electrochemical) and is not stable with time. The rate constant for the Li⁺ + e⁻ → Li process at the Li/SEI/Li⁺ (in MPPyrFSI) interface is k_o = 4.2 × 10⁻⁵ cm/s. In the case of carbon electrodes (G/SEI/Li⁺ interface), lithium diffusion in solid graphite is the rate determining step, reducing current by ca. two orders of magnitude, from ca. 10⁻⁴ A/cm², characteristic of the Li/SEI/Li⁺ electrode, to ca. 10⁻⁶ A/cm².