Formation of Small-Sized CdSxSe1-x Crystals in Sol-Gel-Derived SiO2 Glasses

Silica glasses doped with small-sized CdS_x-Se_1-x crystals were prepared by the sol-gel method. Gels synthesized by the hydrolysis of Si(OC₂H₅)₄, in the presence of CdSeO₄ with NH₄SCN dissolved in HNO₃ or NH₄OH, were heated in H₂-N₂ atmosphere. The pH value of solutions for CdSeO⁴ and NH⁴SCN primarily determined the fraction of anions in CdS^xSe^1-x crystals. The anion content in crystals was dependent on the pH value of the solvent and/or heat-treatment temperature, and the sulfur fraction changed from 0.1 to 0.6. The optical absorption spectra were red-shifted as the selenium content and the crystal size increased, and the emission spectra showed a sharp band near the absorption edge position and a broad tail extending into the long wavelength. The optical band gap energies increased reciprocally proportional to the square of the crystal size.     

Ring hydrogenation of naphthalene and 1-naphthol over supported metal catalysts in supercritical carbon dioxide solvent

Catalytic ring hydrogenations of naphthalene and 1-naphthol were studied over several supported metal catalysts in supercritical carbon dioxide solvent at low temperature. Higher concentration of hydrogen in supercritical carbon dioxide and lower reaction temperature were responsible for higher catalyst activity and selectivities to the desired partial ring hydrogenated products as compared with those observed in organic solvent for the same catalyst.     

Dehydration of Gels and Glasses in the Systems B2 O3-SiO2 and ZrO2-SiO2 Prepared by the Sol-Gel Process from Metal Alkoxides

Dehydration of gels prepared by the sol-gel process from metal alkoxides in the systems B₂O₃-SiO₂ and ZrO₂-SiO₂ was determined by measuring the shrinkage of the gel on heating. Dehydration was enhanced with increased ZrO₂ content, whereas it decreased with B₂O₃ content. Diffusion of water was also measured in the nonporous glasses obtained by heating the gels. The diffusion rate was independent of the composition of the glass.     

Influence of activated carbon pore structure on oxygen reduction at catalyst layers supported on rotating disk electrodes

Carbon materials are often used as catalyst supports, and for catalysts in electrodes of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, carbon black has been used. Recently, it was found, however, that activated carbon could replace carbon black and besides, significantly improve the activity of the electrode catalyst layer for oxygen reduction. In the present study, to optimize the pore structure of activated carbon for further activity improvement, the influence of the pore structure on the activity was investigated using activated carbon of various specific surface areas and mean pore diameters. A catalyst layer was formed from activated carbon loaded with platinum and a polymer electrolyte. The activity of the layer was measured in an oxygen-saturated perchloric acid solution, supporting the layer on a rotating glassy carbon disk electrode. We found that increases in the specific surface area and mean pore diameter increased the activity and that the latter was more effective than the former mainly due to the enhanced mass-transfer in the pores; the catalyst layer formed from activated carbon with the largest mean pore diameter was the most active. Unless pores excessively develop and lose connections between particles, a large pore diameter is therefore desired for the fuel cell electrodes.     

The electrocatalytic activities of the Pd-doped MnO2 for the chlorine evolution reaction

The anodic evolution of chlorine on the massive β-MnO₂ doped with various amounts of Pd was investigated in acidic chloride solution. A second-order relation was found between the rate of the chlorine evolution reaction and the number of active Pd sites at the electrode surface. And it was confirmed that, in the relatively low doped electrodes, the active sites are more effectively dispersed on the surface with microscopic homogeneity. From the activation energies, it was also suggested that the reaction mechanism on the MnO₂ doped with relatively small amounts of Pd is somewhat different from that on the pure PdO electrode.     

Synthesis and electrode performance of layered nickel dioxide containing alkaline ions

Several polymorphs of layered nickel dioxide were prepared by using the chemical insertion of alkaline ions into Li_0.10NiO₂. We used aqueous AOH (A = Li, Na, K) solutions as reducing agents. Sodium and potassium insertion resulted in hydrated layered compounds that can be classified as γ-NiOOH with high crystallinity, while lithium insertion occurred without hydration. We discuss the coordination environment around the A⁺ ions for these inserted compounds. The thermal behavior, analyzed using high temperature (HT) X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric (TG) measurements, indicated that heating the hydrate at 150 °C yielded its dehydrate. The electrode performance of the nickelate was studied in lithium cells. We discuss the effect of interlayer water on cell rechargeability and the similarity between these nickelate and hydrated manganese dioxide (birnessite).     

On-chip fabrication of magnetic alginate hydrogel microfibers by multilayered pneumatic microvalves

Alginate hydrogel has widespread applications in tissue engineering, cancer therapy, wound management and drug/cell/growth factor delivery due to its biocompatibility, hydrated environment and desirable viscoelastic properties. However, the lack of controllability is still an obstacle for utilizing it in the fabrication of 3D tissue constructs and accurate targeting in mass delivery. Here, we proposed a new method for achieving magnetic alginate hydrogel microfibers by dispersing magnetic nanoparticles in alginate solution and solidifying the magnetic alginate into hydrogel fiber inside microfluidic devices. The microfluidic devices have multilayered pneumatic microvalves with hemicylindrical channels to fully stop the fluids. In the experiments, the magnetic nanoparticles and the alginate solution were mixed and formed a uniform suspension. No aggregation of magnetic nanoparticles was found, which is crucial for flow control inside microfluidic devices. By regulating the flow rates of different solutions with the microvalves inside the microfluidic device, magnetic hydrogel fibers and nonmagnetic hydrogel fibers were fabricated with controlled sizes. The proposed method for fabricating magnetic hydrogel fiber holds great potential for engineering 3D tissue constructs with complex architectures and active drug release.     

Granulation of a hardmetal powder for spark plasma sintering

A fluidized bed granulation method, pressure swing granulation (PSG), was applied to granulation of a hardmetal powder without pressing lubricants for making the upstream process of spark plasma sintering (SPS) more efficient.

The properties of the granules were examined and compared with those of spray dried granules and extruded ones under the present system using a sieve.

Spherical granules between 0.15 and 0.84 mm in diameter difficult to obtain by the spray drying were obtained with high yield. The flowability of the granules was far better than that of spray dried granules and similar to that of extruded ones. Iron contamination and oxidization during pressure swing granulation were tolerable to the real production.     

Enhanced strain hardening in elongational viscosity for HDPE/crosslinked HDPE blend. I. Characteristics of crosslinked HDPE

Blending a crosslinked high‐density polyethylene (xHDPE) enhances melt strength and strain hardening behavior in elongational viscosity of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) to a great degree. Gel fraction of xHDPE has a stronger effect on the strain hardening than sol fraction, although sol fraction also enhances the strain hardening to some degree. Further, the xHDPE crosslinked by peroxide in a compression mold exhibits more pronounced effect than xHDPE by radiation, which is attributed to the difference in the amount of the gel fraction. The xHDPE, which enhances the strain hardening, has sparse crosslink points in the network. Moreover, it was found from linear viscoelastic measurements, such as oscillatory modulus and relaxation modulus, that the xHDPE is characterized as a critical gel, which was also supported by the result of tensile testing. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 73–78, 2002     

Local disturbances preceding a running crack front in a viscoelastic solid

The local disturbances ahead of a running crack front in a viscoelastic solid were measured through noncontact electro-optical tools. It was observed that the very high local strain rate up to 200/sec exists even in the present quasistatic loading case. It may be concluded that the running crack propagation velocities, not the conventional average strain rates ranging from about 10^?4/sec to 10^?2/sec, govern the local disturbances, as the crack propagation velocities always exceed 200m/sec for both average strain rates, while the local strain rates observed do not show much differences between both average strain rate cases.