In situ observation of synthesized nanoparticles in ultra-dilute aerosols via X-ray scattering

In-air epitaxy of nanostructures (Aerotaxy) has recently emerged as a viable route for fast, large-scale production. In this study, we use small-angle X-ray scattering to perform direct in-flight characterizations of the first step of this process, i.e., the engineered formation of Au and Pt aerosol nanoparticles by spark generation in a flow of N₂ gas. This represents a particular challenge for characterization because the particle density can be extremely low in controlled production. The particles produced are examined during production at operational pressures close to atmospheric conditions and exhibit a lognormal size distribution ranging from 5–100 nm. The Au and Pt particle production and detection are compared. We observe and characterize the nanoparticles at different stages of synthesis and extract the corresponding dominant physical properties, including the average particle diameter and sphericity, as influenced by particle sintering and the presence of aggregates. We observe highly sorted and sintered spherical Au nanoparticles at ultra-dilute concentrations (< 5 × 10⁵ particles/cm³) corresponding to a volume fraction below 3 × 10^–10, which is orders of magnitude below that of previously measured aerosols. We independently confirm an average particle radius of 25 nm via Guinier and Kratky plot analysis. Our study indicates that with high-intensity synchrotron beams and careful consideration of background removal, size and shape information can be obtained for extremely low particle concentrations with industrially relevant narrow size distributions.

     

Design of an Electromagnetic Frequency Tunned Antenna for Mobile Communications

Wireless Personal Communications - Current mobile communications technology relies heavily on efficient design of antennas, where the operational characteristics of the wireless communication...     

Sintering behaviour of fluorapatite–silicate composites produced from natural fluorapatite and quartz

In this work, the sintering behaviour of fluorapatite (FAp)–silicate composites prepared by mixing variable amounts of natural quartz (2.5 wt% to 20 wt%) and FAp was studied. The composites were pressureless sintered in air at temperatures from 1000 °C to 1350 °C. The effects of temperatures on the densification, phase formation, chemical bonding and Vickers hardness of the composites were evaluated. All the samples exhibited mixed phase, comprising FAp and francolite as the major constituents along with some minor phases of cristobalite, wollastonite, dicalcium silicate and/or whitlockite dependent on the quartz content and sintering temperature. The composite containing 2.5 wt% quartz exhibited the best sintering properties. The highest bulk density of 3 g/cm³ and a Vickers hardness of >4.2 GPa were obtained for the 2.5 wt% quartz–FAp composite when sintered at 1100 °C. The addition of quartz was found to alter the microstructure of the composites, where it exhibited a rod-like morphology when sintered at 1000 °C and a regular rounded grain structure when sintered at 1350 °C. A wetted grain surface was observed for composites containing high quartz content and was believed to be associated with a transient liquid phase sintering.     

Rare-earth free sensitizer in NaLuCrF4:Er upconversion material

Upconversion phosphors are known as a material system that can convert near-infrared light into visible/ultraviolet emissions by sequentially absorbing multiple photons. The studies on upconversion materials often use two rare earth (RE) ions as a sensitizer-activator pair. We investigated the influences on luminescence intensity depending on Cr-doping content (x) of hexagonal NaLu_0.98–xCr_xF₄Er_0.02 (x = 0–0.9) upconversion material by substituting Lu³⁺ ions with Cr³⁺in the absence of Gd³⁺. The change in upconversion luminescence intensity appears with saddle-like shape. We suggest that Cr³⁺ ions play the dual role as a constituent in host lattice and a sensitizer in the upconversion process. Optimal conditions for gaining the strongest upconversion emission correspond to x = 0.3–0.5, where there are effective energy transfers between Cr³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions and CrEr dimers. Apart from these values, the emission intensity decreases rapidly which can be ascribed to the absence of multiple-photon absorption for the case of low Cr³⁺ contents, and to the coupling between Cr³⁺ and/or Er³⁺ ions for the case of high Cr³⁺ contents. Magnetization and electron-spin-resonant measurements were performed to understand the correlation between the optical and magnetic properties.     

Stabilization of 6H-Hexagonal SrMnO3 Polymorph by Al2O3 insertion

We demonstrate the structural evolution of polymorphic phases in Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ ceramics synthesized by solid state reaction. While the 4H-hexagonal phase is predominant in pure SrMnO₃ ceramics, a small amount of 6H-hexagonal polymorph is identified in addition to the primary 4H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ and the secondary hexagonal SrAl₂O₄ phases in the as-sintered ceramics, evidenced by x-ray diffraction and subsequent Rietveld refinement analyses. The existence of the 6H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ phase is corroborated using Raman spectroscopy. The chemical compositions and electronic structures of the Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ compounds are also examined using energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The first-principles calculations reveal that there is no clear difference between the total energies of 4H- and 6H-hexagonal polymorphs regardless of the presence/absence of Sr and oxygen vacancies. Possible origins are discussed with the estimation of actual strain based on the refined lattice parameter of 6H SrMnO₃.     

An automated treatment planning strategy for highly noncoplanar radiotherapy arc trajectories

Radiation therapy is a technology-driven cancer treatment modality that has experienced significant advances over the last decades, due to multidisciplinary contributions that include engineering and computing. Recent technological developments allow the use of noncoplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), one of the most recent photon treatment techniques, in clinical practice. In this work, an automated noncoplanar arc trajectory optimization framework designed in two modular phases is presented. First, a noncoplanar beam angle optimization algorithm is used to obtain a set of noncoplanar irradiation directions. Then, anchored in these directions, an optimization strategy is proposed to compute an optimal arc trajectory. The computational experiments considered a pool of twelve difficult head-and-neck tumor cases. It was possible to observe that, for some of these cases, the optimized noncoplanar arc trajectories led to significant treatment planning quality improvements, when compared with coplanar VMAT treatment plans. Although these experiments were done in a research environment treatment planning software (matRad), the conclusions can be of interest for a clinical setting: automated procedures can simplify the current treatment workflow, produce high-quality treatment plans, making better use of human resources and allowing for unbiased comparisons between different treatment techniques.     

Impact of high-intensity ultrasound on physical properties and degree of oxidation of lipase modified menhaden oil with caprylic acid and/or stearic acid

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) on physical properties, degree of oxidation, and oxidative stability of structured lipids (SLs). Caprylic acid (C) and stearic acid (S) were incorporated into menhaden oil using Lipozyme® 435 lipase to obtain five samples: (1) LC 20 (menhaden oil with 20% of C), (2) LC 30 (menhaden oil with 30% C), (3) LS 20 (menhaden oil with 20% S), (4) LS 30 (menhaden oil with 30% S), and (5) Blend C (menhaden oil with 16.24% C and 13.04% S). Samples were crystallized for 90 min at the following temperatures: (1) LC 20 at 15.5°C, (2) LC 30 at 17.5°C, (3) LS 20 at 24°C, (4) LS 30 at 30°C, and (5) Blend C at 18.0°C, and HIU was applied at the onset of crystallization. Physical properties, degree of oxidation, and oxidative stability were evaluated in sonicated and nonsonicated samples. All SLs had statistically higher G′ after sonication. Sonicated LS 30, LC 30, and Blend C had a higher melting enthalpy than the nonsonicated ones, while enthalpy values in sonicated LS 20 and LC 20 samples were not statistically different than the nonsonicated ones. No significant difference between sonicated and nonsonicated samples was observed in peroxide values (1.2 ± 0.1 meq/kg, p > 0.05) and in the oxidative stability index (6.3 ± 0.2 h, p > 0.05). These results showed that HIU was effective at changing physical properties without affecting the oxidation of the samples.     

The Impact of PbF2-Based Glasses on Radiation Shielding and Mechanical Concepts: An Extensive Theoretical and Monte Carlo Simulation Study

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - This work aimed to investigate the impact of Lead-fluoride based glasses via theoretical and simulation techniques on mechanical and...