Hydrogen behavior in gasochromic tungsten oxide films investigated by elastic recoil detection analysis

Changes in the composition and crystalline structure of gasochromic tungsten oxide films resulting from the incorporation of hydrogen were investigated; the oxide films were prepared by reactive RF magnetron sputtering on SiO₂ and glassy carbon substrates simultaneously. X-ray diffraction analysis of the deposited films at 600 °C showed a uniaxial oriented structure in the (0 1 0) plane of monoclinic WO₃ for both substrates. The elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) for the films on glassy carbon revealed that the hydrogen impurity was uniformly distributed up to a concentration of 0.24 H/W. The Pd-coated films on SiO₂ turned blue when they were exposed to a mixture of Ar and 5% H₂ gases. When the sample became colored, the hydrogen concentration in the film increased to 0.47 H/W and the crystalline structure of the film changed from monoclinic to tetragonal. These results indicated that the gasochromic coloration of the tungsten oxide films coincided with incorporation of hydrogen atoms into the crystalline lattice, corresponding to the formation of hydrogen tungsten bronze (H_xWO₃).     

An experimental study on aerodynamic sound generated from wake interaction of circular cylinder and airfoil with attack angle in tandem

In our previous study, the effects of the interval between the cylinder and the airfoil on the aerodynamic sound were investigated and compared with the cases of single circular and single airfoil. In this study, the effects of the attack angle of the airfoil located downstream on the characteristics of aerodynamic sound and the wake structure are investigated at a given interval between the cylinder and the airfoil. It is found that the sound pressure level of DFN and the peak frequency decrease with increasing attack angle of airfoil because of the diffusive wake structure due to the increased back pressure of circular cylinder, which is caused by the blocking effect of airfoil. It is shown that the sound sources are corresponded to the attack points of shedding vortex form the upstream circular cylinder to the downstream airfoil. We conclude that the pressure fluctuation at the airfoil surface effects on the sound pressure level, from the flow visualizations and the exploration test of sound source.     

Structurally Diverse Polyamines: Solid‐Phase Synthesis and Interaction with DNA

A versatile solid‐phase approach based on peptide chemistry was used to construct four classes of structurally diverse polyamines with modified backbones: linear, partially constrained, branched, and cyclic. Their effects on DNA duplex stability and structure were examined. The polyamines showed distinct activities, thus highlighting the importance of polyamine backbone structure. Interestingly, the rank order of polyamine ability for DNA compaction was different to that for their effects on circular dichroism and melting temperature, thus indicating that these polyamines have distinct effects on secondary and higher‐order structures of DNA.     

Change in liquid temperature behind the impeller blades with impeller speed in boiling stirred tanks

In our previous study (Fukuda, R., Tokumura, M., Znad, H.T. and Kawase, Y., 2009, Vapour generation from the impellers in boiling stirred tank reactors. Chem Eng Res Des, 87: 452–459), it was found that in boiling stirred tanks with multiple impeller systems vapour was generated from the heater at lower impeller speeds and with an increase in impeller speed most vapour was generated from the top impeller rather than the lower impellers and the heater. The change of nucleation sites with the impeller speed might be controlled by the local liquid temperature. Therefore we measured the liquid temperature behind the impellers blades and found the decrease in liquid temperature with increasing impeller speed. In this paper, a simple model was developed to predict the change in liquid temperature behind the impeller blades in which nucleation takes place. In the proposed model based on the results for pressure distribution on the impeller blade in the literature, the liquid temperature behind the impeller blades is estimated from the measured power consumption. The validation of the proposed model was conducted using the experimental results in our previous study and reasonable agreement was obtained.     

Characterization of silica-coated silver nanoparticles prepared by a reverse micelle and hydrolysis–condensation process

Described herein is the synthesis of individually silica-coated silver nanoparticles using a reverse micelle method followed by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The size of a silica-coated silver nanoparticle can be controlled by changing the reaction time and the concentration of TEOS. By maintaining the size of a silver nanoparticle as a core particle at around 7 nm, the size of a silica-coated silver nanoparticle increased from 13 to 28 nm as the reaction time increased from 1 to 9 h due to an increase in silica thickness. The size of silica-coated silver nanoparticles also increased from 15 to 22 nm as the TEOS concentration increased from 7.8 to 40 mM. The size of a silica-coated silver nanoparticle can be accurately predicted using the rate of the hydrolysis reaction for TEOS. Neither the dispersion nor the film of silica-coated silver nanoparticles exhibited any peak shifting during surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at around 410 nm, whereas, without silica coating, the SPR peak of Ag film shifted to 466 nm.     

Pt and Sn Doped Sputtered CeO2 Electrodes for Fuel Cell Applications

The interaction of Pt with CeO₂ layers was investigated by using photoelectron spectroscopy. Thirty‐nanometre‐thick Pt and Sn doped CeO₂ layers were deposited simultaneously by rf‐magnetron sputtering on a Si(001) substrate and a carbon diffusion layer of a polymer membrane fuel cell by using a composite CeO₂–Pt–Sn target. The laboratory XPS and synchrotron radiation soft X‐ray and hard X‐ray photoemission spectra showed the formation of cerium oxide with completely ionised Pt^2+,4+ species, and with Pt⁴⁺ embedded in the film bulk. Hydrogen/air fuel cell activity measurements normalised to the amount of Pt used revealed high specific power of up to 5.4 × 10⁴ mW mg^–1 (Pt). The activity of these materials is explained by the strong activity of embedded Ptⁿ⁺ cations.     

Development of the Water Cooled Ceramic Breeder Test Blanket Module in Japan

The development of a Water Cooled Ceramic Breeder (WCCB) Test Blanket Module (TBM) is being performed as one of the most important steps toward DEMO blanket in Japan. For the TBM testing and evaluation toward DEMO blanket, the module fabrication technology development by a candidate structural material, reduced activation martensitic/ferritic steel, F82H, is one of the most critical items from the viewpoint of realization of TBM testing in ITER. In Japan, fabrication of a real scale first wall, side walls, a breeder pebble bed box and assembling of the first wall and side walls have succeeded. Recently, the real scale partial mockup of the back wall was fabricated. The fabrication procedure of the back wall, whose thickness is up to 90 mm, was confirmed toward the fabrication of the real scale back wall by F82H. Important key technologies are almost clarified for the fabrication of the real scale TBM module mockup. From the view point of testing and evaluation, development of the technology of the blanket tritium recovery, development of advanced breeder and multiplier pebbles and the development of the blanket neutronics measurement technology are also performed. Also, tritium production and recovery test using D-T neutron in the Fusion Neutronics Source (FNS) facility has been started as the verification test of tritium production performance. This paper overviews the recent achievements of the development of the WCCB TBM in Japan.     

Crystal growth and scintillation properties of Nd-doped Lu3Al5O12 single crystals with different Nd concentrations

Nd 0.1%, 0.5%, 1% and 3% doped Lu₃Al₅O₁₂ (Nd:LuAG) single crystals were grown in the nitrogen atmosphere by the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) method. The grown crystals had a single-phase confirmed by powder XRD analysis. In absorption spectra, some weak absorption lines due to Nd³⁺ 4f-4f transitions were observed and their intensity increased with the increase of Nd concentration. When excited by ²⁴¹Am α-ray, a broad emission peak due to defects in the host lattice at 320 nm and some sharp lines due to Nd³⁺ 4f-4f transitions at wavelength longer than 400 nm were observed. The decay time profiles of Nd:LuAG under γ-ray excitation were well approximated by two exponential function of 340-760 ns and 3-5 μs for each sample. By pulse height measurement using ¹³⁷Cs, Nd 0.5%:LuAG showed the highest light yield of 7600 ± 760 photons/MeV.     

Design of pseudo-ternary and quaternary alloys by superlattices consisting of (zn,cd)(s,se) binary ii–vi compounds

Theoretical design of pseudo-ternary and quaternary alloys by superlattice structures consisting of (Zn,Cd)(S,Se) binary II–VI compounds has been studied. For pseudo-ternary ZnCdS and ZnCdSe alloys, the superlattices with two layers in a cycle, i.e., ZnS/CdS and ZnSe/CdSe are considered, and for pseudo-quaternary ZnCdSSe alloy, the two superlattice structures with more than two layers in a cycle are considered. In order to design and evaluate these superlattices, the expression for the equilibrium in-plane lattice constant of these superlattices has been derived by minimizing the total elastic strain energy in the cycle. The combinations of layer thicknesses in a cycle and the effective bandgap of these superlattices have been calculated while the elastic strain effect was included. The usefulness of these superlattice structures has been evaluated.