Concentration profiles in NiO-CoO mixed oxide formed during oxidation

Equations derived by Wagner in a recent theory of binary alloy oxidation yield the cation distributions in the scale. Using available data from the literature, these equations in a modified form have been tested for the concentration profiles in NiO-CoO mixed oxide formed during the oxidation of a Ni-10.9% Co alloy at 1000°C. The agreement between the calculated and experimental values has been found to be good. The oxygen activity as a function of a normalized distance coordinate in the scale is also evaluated from these results.     

Enhancement of Magnetic and Dielectric Properties in Chemically Modified Multiferroic (0.90)BiFe1−x Cr x O3–(0.10)BaTiO3 Nanocomposite

Multiferroic BiFeO₃ and Cr-doped (0.90)BiFe_1?x Cr _x O₃–(0.10)BaTiO₃ (x=0.00, 0.03, and 0.05) nanocomposites were prepared by sol–gel method. Optimum calcination and sintering strategies for obtaining pure perovskite phase have been determined. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used for the structural and particle size analysis, whereas LCR and SQUID magnetometer was used for dielectric and magnetic measurements. TEM measurements show that the average particle sizes of all the samples were ～19 nm. The dielectric constant was found to be increased twofold in low frequency region with the Cr-doping for x=0.05 in (0.90)BiFe_1?x Cr _x O₃–(0.10)BaTiO₃. The hysteresis curve (M–H) exhibits ferromagnetic nature for all the samples (x=0.0, 0.03, and 0.05) and the spontaneous magnetization at room temperature was found to be 0.63 emu/gm in pure BiFeO₃, which increased to 0.99 emu/gm for x=0.05. Zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization curves show large discrepancy suggesting spin glass behavior.     

A contact‐point based approach for the analysis of reactions among solid particles

The contact‐point framework, 1 which replaces the picture of continuous contact between the reactants by contact at a finite number of points, has been proposed as a rational one for treating reactions among particulate solids. However, available models suffer from various drawbacks, the main one being that they do not show the right asymptotic behavior for large number of contact points. A model is presented here, that corrects these deficiencies. The results show that the contact‐point model approaches particle‐continuum behavior whenever the number of contact points exceeds 500. The model predictions have been compared with some data from our previous work on calcia‐alumina system in the temperature range 1,150–1,300°C. The model fits the data well, with the fitted values of diffusivity (of calcia through alumina) being of the order of 10^?16 m²/s. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

Humidity sensing properties of spray deposited Fe doped TiO2 thin film

In the present work,ferrite (Fe) doped TiO2 thin films with different volume percentage (vol％) were synthesized us-ing a spray pyrolysis technique.The effect of Fe doping on structural properties such as crystallite size,texture coefficient,mi-crostrain,dislocation densities etc.were evaluated from the X ray diffratometry (XRD) data.XRD data revealed a polycrystalline anatase TiO2 phase for sample synthesized up to 2 vol％ and mixed anatase and rutile crystalline phase for sample synthesized at 4 vol％ Fe doped TiO2.The crystalline size was observed to decrease with increase in Fe dopant vol％ and also other structur-al parameters changes with Fe dopant percentage.In the present work,electrical resistance was observed to decrease with a rise in Fe dopant vol％ and temperature of the sample.Thermal properties like temperature coefficient of resistance and activa-tion energy also showed strong correlation with Fe dopant vol％.Humidity sensing properties of the synthesized sample altered with a change in Fe dopant vol％.In the present paper,maximum sensitivity of about 88.7％ for the sample synthes-ized with 2 vol％ Fe doped TiO2 and also the lowest response and recovery time of about 52 and 3 s were reported for the same sample.     

Understanding stability relationships among three curcumin polymorphs

Understanding thermodynamic stability relationship among polymorphs of any active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is a necessary step for drug formulation development. Knowledge of such relationship enables identification of a stable polymorphic form at the prevalent conditions. Curcumin, a pharmaceutically active ingredient found in herbal spice turmeric, exists in three polymorphic forms; a monoclinic form (Form 1) and two orthorhombic forms (Form 2 and Form 3). However, thermodynamic stability relationships among curcumin polymorphs have not been ascertained yet. This work therefore, was focused on understanding thermodynamic stability relationships among curcumin polymorphs. During purification of curcumin, the pressure applied for vacuum evaporation of organic solvent was found to significantly affect the polymorphic outcome. Form 1 was obtained at pressures ranging from 300 to 400?mbar whereas Form 2 was obtained at pressures ranging from 100 to 200?mbar. Form 3 was obtained by liquid antisolvent precipitation using ultrasound and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) as an additive. The obtained polymorphs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Relative stability of polymorphs was established by conducting solvent mediated transformation studies, thermal analysis through DSC and variable temperature X-ray diffraction studies (VT-XRD). It was observed that Form 2 and Form 3 irreversibly convert to Form 1 upon heating. Further, Form 2 and Form 3 convert to Form 1 in aqueous organic solutions at temperatures ranging from 0?°C to 50?°C. Thus, the curcumin polymorphs were found to be monotropically related to each other with the monoclinic form (Form 1) being the most stable form.     

Assembly of phase transferred nickel nanoparticles at air-water interface using Langmuir-Blodgett technique

Development of simple and efficient protocol for the synthesis of Ni nanoparticles in aqueous media and their subsequent phase transfer to organic media is reported. The synthesis of nickel nanoparticles in aqueous medium is accomplished by reducing the nickel nitrate with sodium borohydride in presence of oleic acid. It results in the formation of nickel nanoparticles capped with oleic acid. The pristine oleic acid capped nickel nanoparticles were then phase transferred to nonpolar solvents such as toluene using stearic acid. The phase transfer was effective probably due to the space exchange between the oleic acid moiety and stearic acid molecules. The hydrophobized Ni thus obtained was organized at the air-water interface and it was observed that by controlling the pressure and concentration of hydrophobized Ni nanoparticles at air-water interface, linear ribbon like assemblies could be obtained. The organization process was followed by surface pressure-area isotherm measurement and Brewster Angle Microscopy.     

Interpenetrating polymer networks based on carboxylated nitrile rubber and poly(alkyl methacrylate)s

A series of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR) and poly(alkyl methacrylate)s such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) and poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBuMA) were synthesized. The compositions of the IPNs were also varied by changing the swelling time of the rubber in the methacrylate monomer. The tensile and dynamic mechanical properties of the IPNs were studied. The dynamic mechanical properties in the range of 1–10⁵ Hz were obtained by the time‐temperature superposition of the data under multifrequency mode, which indicated high tanδ with good storage modulus in the entire frequency range. This indicates the suitability of these IPNs as vibration and acoustic dampers.     

Shape memory properties and unusual optical behaviour of an interpenetrating network of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)

An interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) with shape memory properties was prepared by using poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). PHEMA acts as a fixed phase and PEO as a switching phase. The switching action of PEO is due to the reversible process of melting and crystallization. It was observed that the shape recovery of the IPN increases with increasing crosslinker concentration up to an optimum value and decreases thereafter. In addition to the shape memory property, the IPNs show a reversible change in optical properties from translucent to opaque. The change in optical properties is quite different from that observed in a semicrystalline polymer system where the transparency increases as a result of the melting of crystals. This behaviour of the IPN is explained in terms of H‐bonding of PEO with PHEMA. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the H‐bonding between PEO and PHEMA. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry