ADSORPTION BEHAVIOR OF COBALT( II) IONS ON LAYERED DIHYDROGEN TETRATITANATE HYDRATE FIBERS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS IN THE RANGE FROM 298 to 523 K

The adsorption properties of cobalt(II) ions have been studied on layered dihydrogen tetratitanate hydrate fibers, H₂Ti₄O₉,?nH₂O, in the temperature range from 298 to 523?K. The distribution coefficients of the adsorption of cobalt (II) ions were increased with increasing temperatures up to 367?K, but were decreased in the temperature range between 367 and 523?K. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the fibers indicate that the fibers hold layer structure up to 367?K, but change to low crystalline anatase or its precursor above that temperature. It is notable that the material has the capability of cobalt (II) adsorption even at 523?K, although the maximum is present at 367?K.     

ION-EXCHANGE PROPERTIES OF HYDROUS TITANIUM DIOXIDE WITH A FIBROUS FORM OBTAINED FROM POTASSIUM DITITANATE

ABSTRACT

Ion-exchange properties of a new type of hydrous titanium dioxide with a fibrous form, which was obtained from potassium dititanate (K₂O(TiO₂)2), have been studied. The pH titration curve snowed that this material behaved as a bifunctional ion-exchanger. Distribution coefficients of some divalent metal ions on this material were measured as a function of pH and the selectivity series were found to be Ba > Sr > Ca > Mg for alkaline earth metal ions and Cu > Zn > Mn > Co > Ni for divalent transition metal ions. Large separation factors were obtained between some metal ion pairs and the mutual separations such as Cu from Sr, Ca, Mg, Co and Ni, and Mg from Ba and Zn have been achieved on columns of this material.     

Effects of casting solvents on characteristics of organic EL devices containing poly(l-glutamate) as hole-transport material

The characteristics of EL devices containing α-helical poly(l-glutamate) and having a carbazole side chain (PCELG) were found to strongly depend on the casting solvents. Among EL devices fabricated using chlorine-containing casting solvents such as 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE), 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TCE), chloroform (CHCl₃), and monochlorobenzene (?-Cl), the EL device fabricated using the DCE solvent exhibited the maximum luminance (65.8 cd/m²). The difference between the threshold voltages of the devices ranged up to 6.0 V, despite their fabrication by using solutions with the same composition ratio. The maximal efficiency of the devices fabricated using the DCE solvent was found to be 20 times greater than that of the devices fabricated using TCE solvents. A comparison of the current densities and voltages among devices fabricated using different casting solvents at their maximal efficiencies showed that the maximal efficiencies tended to significantly increase in the order TCE < CHCl₃ < DCE solvents at similar voltages (～15 V), despite a lowering of the current density. The current density was considered to be directly related to the number of carriers injected into the device. The above-mentioned observations suggested that the maximal efficiency in these devices was not the hole and electron injection efficiencies, but the values of some parameters subsequent to carrier injection, such as the recombination rate, amount of excitons generated, and the diffusion length.     

Ultra Low-Dose Radiation: Stress Responses and Impacts Using Rice as a Grass Model

We report molecular changes in leaves of rice plants (Oryza sativa L. - reference crop plant and grass model) exposed to ultra low-dose ionizing radiation, first using contaminated soil from the exclusion zone around Chernobyl reactor site. Results revealed induction of stress-related marker genes (Northern blot) and secondary metabolites (LC-MS/MS) in irradiated leaf segments over appropriate control. Second, employing the same in vitro model system, we replicated results of the first experiment using in-house fabricated sources of ultra low-dose gamma (γ) rays and selected marker genes by RT-PCR. Results suggest the usefulness of the rice model in studying ultra low-dose radiation response/s.     

R & D Needs - Drying of Ceramics

ABSTRACT

New research and development needs for the drying of ceramics are prooosed. The researches on the ceramic drying are briefly reviewed and the role of the drying in the ceramic production process iS summarized. The drying must deal with molded materials and the problem is of significant difference from another drying with particulate materials. It means that the drying must be performed with keeping the molded feature and the insufficient completion of drying and the careless operation influence directly on the product quality The importnance of the R & D on the heat and moisture transfer. shrinking mechanism. the deformation behavior and the strain-stress formation in the molded clay issuggested. The subjects are also pointed out for the further improvement of the ceramic drying process and the precise design of molding with high quality.     

High-rate deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films using inductively coupled silane plasma

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generated at 13.56 MHz has been employed for high-rate deposition of device-quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). It has been shown that an increase in the flow rate of a monosilane gas enhances the generation rate of deposition precursors, while the ion flux decreases and becomes saturated. The defect density reaches the minimum at a deposition rate of 2.3 nm/s. It has also been demonstrated that even at deposition rates around 4 nm/s, a-Si:H deposited at 150°C exhibits a subgap defect density lower than 6×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ after 12 h AM1 (100 mW/cm²) light soaking.     

Recycling of aluminum matrix composites

Separation of matrix metals in composites was tried on alumina short fiber-reinforced aluminum and 6061 alloy composites and SiC whisker-reinforced 6061 alloy composite for recycling. It is possible to separate molten matrix metals from fibers in the composites using fluxes that are used for melt treatment to remove inclusions. About 50 vol pct of the matrix metals was separated from the alumina short fiber-reinforced composites. The separation ratio of the matrix from the SiC whisker-reinforced 6061 alloy composite was low and about 20 vol pct. The separation mechanism was discussed thermodynamically using interface free energies. Since the flux/fiber interface energy is smaller than the aluminum/fiber interface energy, the replacement of aluminum with fluxes in composites takes place easily. Gases released by the decomposition of fluxes act an important role in pushing out the molten matrix metal from the composite. The role was confirmed by the great amount cavity formed in the composite after the matrix metal flowed out.     

Detection of moving object by mobile stereo omnidirectional system (SOS)

Moving object detection with a mobile image sensor is an important task in robotics and computer vision, when considering the practical use of robotics in human environments. In this paper, we propose a robust method that detects moving objects in the environment using the omnidirectional depth information obtained by a mobile Stereo Omnidirectional System (SOS). In order to detect only the moving objects within the depth image that are obtained by a sensor in motion, we first estimate the ego‐motion of the sensor, and generate a predicted depth image for the current time from the depth obtained at the previous time by only considering the ego‐motion of the sensor. Then the predicted depth image is compared with the actual one obtained at the current time, and the inconsistent regions are detected as moving objects. When the sensor moves, occlusions will occur in the scene and they will cause false detections. However, these false detections can be suppressed by estimating the occlusion regions using the ego‐motion parameters of the sensor and the jump edges in the depth image. The effectiveness of the method is shown with experimental results for a real environment. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 152(3): 29–38, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience. wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20155     

Resonance acoustoelasticity measurement of stress in thin plates

A computer-driven, swept-frequency measurement technique is developed on the basis of resonance birefringence acoustoelasticity to evaluate the stresses in thin plates. The resonance frequency depends on the thickness and the elastic wave velocity; they change with stress because of the Poisson effect and the acoustoelastic effect. The resonance frequency is obtained from the spectral response curve in the electric impedance of the piezoelectric transducer. The frequency displacement induced by acoustically coupling the transducer can be minimized by employing the resonance peak closest to the transducer fundamental frequency. To illustrate the method, the residual stress is measured in butt-welded aluminum alloy plates and is compared with the results of conventional methods.