On the solubility of aluminum in cryolitic melts

The solubility of aluminum in NaF-AlF₃-Al₂O₃ melts with various additives was found to increase with increasing NaF/AlF₃ molar ratio (CR) and increasing temperature and to decrease with additions of A1₂O₃, CaF₂, MgF₂, and LiF to the melts. With the use of literature data for the activities of NaF and A1F₃ in cryolitic melts, three dissolution reaction models were found to give a good fit to the experimental solubility data. According to the most probable of these models the total concentration of dissolved aluminum (aluminum and sodium species) is given by c_Al = c_Na(diss) + c_AlF2- + c_Al2F3- + c_Al3F4- + c_Al4F5- In NaF rich melts, aluminum will dominantly dissolve as sodium, while at cryolite ratios commonly used in aluminum electrowinning (CR = 2.25 to 2.7) the AlF _-2 ^- -ion is the predominant dissolved metal species. Other species (A1₂F₃ ^-, A1₃F₄-, A1₄F₅-) were found to be of some significance only in melts with high excess A1F₃ (CR < 2).     

Zirconium tetra-n-butylate modified with different organic acids: Hydrolysis and polymerization of the products

In this work, (a) complexation reaction of zirconium tetra-n-butylate, Zr(OBu ⁿ )₄, with MAc and different organic acids, (b) the hydrolysis reaction of modified Zr species, and (c) the polymerization reaction of complex products are studied. Zr(OBu ⁿ )₄ was reacted with different mole ratios of methacrylic acid (MAc) at room temperature and the maximum combination ratio was found to be 1:2 [Zr(OBu ⁿ )₄:MAc] by FT-IR. The modification of zirconium tetra-n-butylate with the acid mixtures [methacrylic acid-acetic acid (MeCOOH), methacrylic acid-propionic acid (EtCOOH), methacrylic acid-butyric acid (PrCOOH)] was made for a combination ratio of 1:1:1 [MAc:RCOOH:Zr(OBu ⁿ )₄; R: Me, Et, Pr] and the products were characterized by¹H-NMR, FT-IR, and UV spectroscopies. Following their synthesis, hydrolysis of the complexes with various amounts of water and polymerization with benzoyl peroxide were realized. The hydrolysis and polymerization products of the complexes were studied by Karl-Fischer coulometric titration and thermal analysis, respectively. Methyl ethyl ketone(MEK) and chloroform were chosen as solvents.     

The determination of interface state energy distribution of the H-terminated Zn/p-type Si Schottky diodes with high series resistance by the admittance spectroscopy

Analysis of Zn/p-Si Schottky diodes (SDs) with high resistivity has been given by admittance spectroscopy. The importance of the series resistance in the determination of energy distribution of interface states and especially their relaxation time in the SDs with high resistivity has been considered. The effect of the series resistance on capacitance-conductance/frequency characteristics has been given by comparing experimental data with theoretical data. The interface state density N_ss from the admittance spectroscopy ranges from 1.0×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in 0.720-E_v eV to 2.03×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in 0.420-E_v eV. Furthermore, the relaxation time ranges from 4.20×10⁻⁵ s in (0.420-E_v) eV to 3.20×10⁻⁴ s in (0.720-E_v) eV. It has been seen that the interface state density has a very small distribution range (1.0-2.03×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹) that is ascribed to the predominant termination with hydrogen of the silicon surface after HF treatment.     

Dynamic component testing of a series system with redundant subsystems

We consider the component testing problem of a series system with redundant subsystems where all components fail exponentially. The main feature of our model is that the component failure rates are not constant parameters, but in fact change in a dynamic fashion with respect to time. The optimal component testing problem is formulated as a semi-infinite linear program. We present an algorithmic procedure to compute optimal test times based on the column generation technique, and illustrate it with numerical results.     

A study of the rectifying behaviour of aniline green-based Schottky diode

An Al/aniline green (AG)/Ga₂Te₃ device was fabricated and the current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V) and capacitance-frequency (C-f) characteristics of the device have been investigated at room temperature. The values of the ideality factor, series resistance and barrier height obtained from Cheung and Norde methods were compared, and it was seen that there was an agreement with each other. It was seen that the forward bias current-voltage characteristics at sufficiently large voltages has shown the effect of the series resistance. In addition, it was seen from the C-f characteristics that the values of capacitance have been decreased towards to the high frequencies. The higher values of capacitance at low frequencies were attributed to the excess capacitance resulting from the interface states in equilibrium with the Ga₂Te₃ that can follow the ac signal.     

The frequency-dependent electrical characteristics of interfaces in the Sn/p-Si metal semiconductor structures

The purpose of this paper is to investigate frequency-dependent electrical characteristics of the interface states in Sn/p-Si metal semiconductor (MS) Schottky structures. To yield quantitative information about their frequency (f) and voltage (V) dependent characteristics, Sn/p-Si MS structures have been studied by using capacitance (C) and conductance (G/ω) measurements over a wide range of frequencies (50 kHz-1 MHz). The increase in capacitance at lower frequencies is seen as a signature of interface states, and the densities of which are evaluated to be of the order of ≅10¹⁰ cm⁻² eV⁻¹. The presence of the interfaces states (N_SS) is also evidenced as a peak in the capacitance-frequency characteristics that increases in magnitude with decreasing frequencies. Furthermore, the voltage and frequency dependence of series resistance (R_S) were calculated from the C-V and G/ω-V measurements and plotted as functions of voltage and frequency. The effect of R_S on C and G/ω is found noticeable at high frequencies. The C-V-f and G/ω-V-f characteristics of studied structures show fairly large frequency dispersion especially at low frequencies due to N_SS in equilibrium with the semiconductor. The experimental values of interface state densities and series resistance from C-V-f and G/ω-V-f measurements were obtained in the ranges of 3.46 × 10¹⁰−1.26 × 10⁹ cm⁻² eV⁻¹ and 71.1-57.3 Ω, respectively. Experimental results show that both the R_S and N_SS values should be taken into account in determining frequency-dependent electrical characteristics.     

Simple urea-glutaraldehyde mix used as a formaldehyde-free adhesive: effect of blending with nano-Al2O3

A formaldehyde-free adhesive based on urea (U) and glutaraldehyde (GA) was developed. High reactivity of the urea-glutaraldehyde mix at ambient temperature allows for its cold setting. The glues of GA/U molar ratio between 0.8 and 1.2 were examined. It was found that for the satisfactory performance of the system, blending with nano-Al₂O₃ was necessary.     

A Critical Evaluation of Interlaboratory Data on Total,Elemental, and Isotopic Carbon in the Carbonaceous Particle Reference Material,NIST SRM 1649a

Because of increased interest in the marine and atmospheric sciences in elemental carbon (EC), or black carbon (BC) or soot carbon (SC), and because of the difficulties in analyzing or even defining this pervasive component of particulate carbon, it has become quite important to have appropriate reference materials for intercomparison and quality control. The NIST “urban dust” Standard Reference Material^® SRM 1649a is useful in this respect, in part because it comprises a considerable array of inorganic and organic species, and because it exhibits a large degree of (¹⁴C) isotopic heterogeneity, with biomass carbon source contributions ranging from about 2 % (essentially fossil aliphatic fraction) to about 32 % (polar fraction).A primary purpose of this report is to provide documentation for the new isotopic and chemical particulate carbon data for the most recent (31 Jan. 2001) SRM 1649a Certificate of Analysis. Supporting this is a critical review of underlying international intercomparison data and methodologies, provided by 18 teams of analytical experts from 11 institutions. Key results of the intercomparison are: (1) a new, Certified Value for total carbon (TC) in SRM 1649a; (2) ¹⁴C Reference Values for total carbon and a number of organic species, including for the first time 8 individual PAHs; and (3) elemental carbon (EC) Information Values derived from 13 analytical methods applied to this component. Results for elemental carbon, which comprised a special focus of the intercomparison, were quite diverse, reflecting the confounding of methodological-matrix artifacts, and methods that tended to probe more or less refractory regions of this universal, but ill-defined product of incomplete combustion. Availability of both chemical and ¹⁴C speciation data for SRM 1649a holds great promise for improved analytical insight through comparative analysis (e.g., fossil/biomass partition in EC compared to PAH), and through application of the principle of isotopic mass balance.     

XRD and IR analysis of nanocrystalline Ni-Zn ferrite synthesized by the sol-gel method

Nanocrystalline Ni_1−xZn_xFe₂O₄ (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) ferrites were synthesized by the sol-gel method. The obtained powder was annealed at temperatures from 500 to 1000 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) were used to study the structural changes taking place with varying Zn content x. The grain size decreased while the lattice parameter increases with the increase of the Zn content.