Preconcentration and Separation of Trace Copper in Water Samples with Nanometer-Size TiO_2 Colloid and Determination by FAAS

A new absorbent of nanometer-size TiO2 colloid for Cu（Ⅱ ） was studied in this work. The adsorption rate could reach above 99% when the pH values were at the range of 5-6. The adsorption balance time, adsorption capacities, and the eluent were investigated. A novel method of trace Cu（ Ⅱ ） preconcentration and separation with nanometer-size titanium dioxide colloid and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry （FAAS） was advanced. The detection limit （3a） of the method was 1.15 μg · L^-1, and the relative standard deviation （R.S.D） was 1.53% （n=6）. Environmental sample experiments were also conducted to test the feasibility of the method, and it came out that the recovery rates were between 95.9% and 97.8%.

Synthesis of Nanometer-sized Mesoporous Oxide Spheres

A few hundreds nanometer-sized mesoporous silica and alumina spheres were synthesized in organic solvents. The impacts of ammonia, N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and stirring speed were also investigated.

Preconcentration of Ultra-trace Cadmium with Nanometer-size TiO_2 Colloid and Determination by GFAAS with Slurry Sampling

A novel method of ultra-trace Cd（Ⅱ） preconcentration with nanometer-size TiO2 colloid and determination by graphite furnace atomic adsorption spectrometry（GFAAS） with slurry sampling was first advanced in this paper. The adsorption efficiency of nanometer-size TiO2 colloid for ultra-trace Cd（Ⅱ） could reach above 96% in a short time when the pH value was between 5 and 6. Other problems were also studied, such as adsorption capacity, nanometer-size TiO2 colloid dosage, effect of coexistent ions. The detection limit（3σ） and the relative standard deviation （R.S.D） of this method were 4.46.103 μg/L and 1.30%（n=7）, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of environmental samples with recoveries between 93.8% and 96.4%.

THE MECHANISM FOR NANOMETER-SIZED TiC SYNTHESIZING BY MECHANICAL & THERMAL ACTIVATION PROCESSING

A novel process for synthesizing nano-ceramics powders, named mechanical & therm al activation processing, is discussed in the present paper. It is a processing based on thermal activation in liquid phase (molten salt) after mechanical activ ation. The nanometer-sized TiC particles (15-20nm) have been synthesized by the method, and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscop e (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) sp ectroscopy. An interface interaction between liquid (molten salt) and solid (fin al product particles) phases plays a dominating role for the control of product particles size. The mechanism for the formation of nanometer-sized TiC particles has been discussed.

Synthesis and Luminescent Properties of Novel Nanometer-sized ScAlMgO_4:Eu^(3+) Phosphors for PDP

Novel nanometer-sized ScAlMgO4：Eu3＋ phosphors were successfully synthesized by the citric acid complexation method.The mean particle size of the obtained powders was within the range of 100～150 nm according to the SEM patterns.In ScAlMgO4：Eu3＋ showed strong characteristic red emission,of which the maximum emission peak was located at 629 nm for ultraviolet（UV） excitation.The dependence of photoluminescence intensity on Eu3＋ concentration was also studied in detail,and the emission intensity of Sc1-xEuxAlMgO4 was about 10% at optimized Eu3＋ concentration.Furthermore,the luminescence decay measurements showed that the lifetimes of Eu3＋ were in the range of millisecond.The obtained ScAlMgO4：Eu3＋ phosphors with nanometer size and excellent luminescence efficiency would be potential red phosphors in plasma display panels.

Application of Nanometer-Size Titanium Dioxide in Extreme-Trace V(Ⅴ) Analysis

The adsorption properties of nanometer-size TiO2 for V（Ⅴ ） were studied. The adsorption rate could reach above 99~ when the pH values were at the range of 4 10. The adsorption balance time was 10 min , the saturation capacity of adsorption of nanometer-size TiO2 to V（Ⅴ） was 6.43 mg per gram. Using 2 mL 1.5 mol · L^-1 NaOH as elution, we found the elution rate could reach 95%. A novel method of extreme-trace V（Ⅴ ） preconeentration with nanometer-size titanium dioxide and determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy （GFAAS） was advanced. The detection limit（3σ）of the method was 0.61μg ·L^-1 , and the relative standard deviation was 8.1% （n=6） of 2.5μg ·L-^1 V（Ⅴ）. Environmental samples experiments were also conducted to test the feasibility of the method, and it came out that the recovery rates were between 91.2% and 102.0%.

INVESTIGATIONS ON NANOMETER-SIZED ULTRAMICRO-ELECTRODES(Ⅱ)—FABRICATION, CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBON FIBER CYLINDER ULTRAMICROELECTRODES

Described here are the fabrication and characterization of carbon fiber cylinder ultramicroelectrodes with cylinder length of less than 100 am, total tip diameter of several hundreds nanometers. The electrodes have been fabricated by direct etching of carbon fiber using an ion beam thinner. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry have been employed to characterize those electrodes. The experimental results obtained indicate the electrodes can be used for in vivo detection of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, 5—hydroxytryptamine in a single cell.

Preparation and characterization of nanometer-sized barium titanate powder by complex-precursor method

A new complex-precursor method was proposed to prepare nanometer-sized BaTiO3 powder. Firstly,Ti2O(O2)2(ta)24-complex ions were prepared by the reaction of H2O2,Ti4+ and ta3-(ta=C6H6O6N3-) with a desirable amount of surface active agent,and then the Ba2Ti2O(O2)2(ta)2·2H2O precursor was obtained by reaction between Ti2O(O2)2(ta)24-and Ba2+. Finally,the precursor was annealed at 800 ℃ for 2 h to obtain BaTiO3 powder. The morphology,the particle size distribution,the purity and the molar ratio of Ba to Ti of BaTiO3 powder were investigated systematically by TEM,XRD,IR,Raman and chemical analysis,respectively. The results show that the BaTiO3 powders with the grain size of about 40 nm have a tetragonal crystalline structure at room temperature and a spherical morphology.

Simulation of Electrical Discharge Initiated by a Nanometer-Sized Probe in Atmospheric Conditions

In this paper, a two-dimensional nanometer scale tip-plate discharge model has been employed to study nanoscale electrical discharge in atmospheric conditions. The field strength dis- tributions in a nanometer scale tip-to-plate electrode arrangement were calculated using the finite element analysis （FEA） method, and the influences of applied voltage amplitude and frequency as well as gas gap distance on the variation of effective discharge range （EDR） on the plate were also investigated and discussed. The simulation results show that the probe with a wide tip will cause a larger effective discharge range on the plate; the field strength in the gap is notably higher than that induced by the sharp tip probe; the effective discharge range will increase linearly with the rise of excitation voltage, and decrease nonlinearly with the rise of gap length. In addition, probe dimension, especially the width/height ratio, affects the effective discharge range in different manners. With the width/height ratio rising from 1 ： 1 to 1 ： 10, the effective discharge range will maintain stable when the excitation voltage is around 50 V. This will increase when the excitation voltage gets higher and decrease as the excitation voltage gets lower. Fhrthermore, when the gap length is 5 nm and the excitation voltage is below 20 V, the diameter of EDR in our simulation is about 150 nm, which is consistent with the experiment results reported by other research groups. Our work provides a preliminary understanding of nanometer scale discharges and establishes a predictive structure-behavior relationship.

Influence of Finishing Cooling Temperature and Holding Time on Nanometer-size Carbide of Nb-Ti Microalloyed Steel

The nanometer-size carbides formed in ferrite matrix of Nb-Ti microalloyed steel at different finishing cooling temperatures and holding time have been investigated. The characteristics of nanometer-size carbides in ferrite were observed by transmission electron microscopy, and mechanical properties of ferrite were detected by a nano-hardness tester. The results showed that interphase precipitation and diffusion precipitation were observed at different finishing cooling temperatures, and the interphase precipitation was planar and curved. Sheet spacing of inter-phase precipitation increased with the increase of finishing cooling temperature and changed a little when holding for 50--1000 s. Interphase precipitation shows higher nano-hardness at 640℃ compared with diffusion precipitation at 600℃, and the contribution of interphase precipitation to the mechanical properties of ferrite was larger than that of diffusion precipitation.

Influence of Mo on Growth and Coarsening of Nanometer-sized Carbides in Low-alloy Ferritic Steels Containing Ti

By optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, the changes with aging time in size, composition and distribution of nanometer-sized （Ti, Mo）C precipitated in Ti-Mo low-alloy ferritc steel have been studied in comparison with that of nanometer-sized TiC precipitated in Ti low-alloy ferritc steel. It was found that the growth rate of （Ti,Mo）C in Ti-Mo steel was less than that of TiC in Ti steel. Nanometer- sized carbides formed at 650 ~C （or 550 ~C） for 55 h were at transitional stage from growth to coarsening. When aging time reaches 55 h, the coarsening rates of nanometer-sized carbides in Ti and Ti-Mo steel tend to be the same and in- variable. The influence of Mo on growth and coarsening of nanometer-sized carbides tends to decrease with increasing aging time, and Mo contents in nanometer-sized carbides with the same size at different aging time were different.

Effect of nanometer-sized MgO particles on flux pinning in YBa_2Cu_30_(7-δ)

As is well known, the relatively low critical current density J_c and the serious flux motion limit a variety of applications of high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs). The introduction

The effect of heat treatment on the optical properties of nanometer-sized In_2O_3 capped by surfactants

R. K. Jain and R. C. Lind measured large third-order optica1 nonlinear susceptibility andultrafast carrier combination time in the semiconductor microcrystallite-doped filter glass in1983. From then on, semiconductor nanoparticles as a new type of nonlinear opticalmaterial have attracted great attention.

Mechanism of low thermal conductivity of xonotlite-silica aerogel nanoporous super insulation material

In an effort to incorporate the low thermal conductivity of the silica aerogel and the superior structure strength of the xonotlite,a composite material of these two was produced. It was synthesized under vacuum condition and dried by supercritical drying technique. The thermal conductivity of the new material,which is at 298K with the gas pressure ranging from 1.01×10^5 to 1×10^-2 Pa,was measured using the transient hot-strip method. The mechanism of the low thermal conductivity was studied. The results indicate that the low thermal conductivity mainly results from the significant decrease of gaseous thermal conductivity of the new material due to the restriction of the motion of gas molecules in its fine structures. The formation of the fine structures is because the new material takes the pore structure of the silica aerogel which consists of mainly nanometer-sized pores.

Characterization of precipitates in 9%Cr heat resistant steel

Precipitation strengthening as well as solution strengthening is key mechanism for heat resistant steels.It is very important to characterize the precipitates in 9%Cr ferrite heat resistant steels,especially to show the nanometer-sized particles.By transmission electronic microscope attached with an energy dispersive spectrometer as well as optical microscope,scanning electronic microscope,the microstructure and chemical composition of precipitates in a 9%Cr heat resistant steel after different heat treatments were investigated.It was found that the microstructure of normalized sample was martensite with fine NbC and Fe_3C.The microstructure of tempered sample is tempered martensite,and there mainly were two types of precipitates,M_(23)C_6 with the size range of 50 - 300 nm and MX with the size of 10 - 100 nm.Superfine M_(23)C_6 precipitated preferably on prior austenitic grain boundaries and martensitic lath boundaries,while nanometer-sized MX precipitates were distributed randomly. After short-term creep,Laves phase formed along grain boundaries of the 9%Cr steel,and M_(23) C_6 and MX precipitates were found to become coarser.More information about precipitates in the 9%Cr steel had been exhibited by atomic force microscopy.Thereby,distribution,size and shape of the precipitates as well as their compositions and structures were revealed.

Fractionations of rare earth elements in plants and their conceptive model

Fractionations of rare earth elements (REEs) and their mechanisms in soybean were studied through application of exogenous mixed REEs under hydroponic conditions. Significant enrichment of middle REEs (MREEs) and heavy REEs (HREEs) was observed in plant roots and leaves respectively, with slight fractionation between light REEs (LREEs) and HREEs in stems. Moreover, the tetrad effect was observed in these organs. Investigations into REE speciation in roots and in the xylem sap using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and nanometer-sized TiO2 adsorption techniques, associated with other controlled experiments, demonstrated that REE fractionations should be dominated by fixation mechanism in roots caused by cell wall absorption and phosphate precipitation, and by the combined effects of fixation mechanism and transport mechanism in aboveground parts caused by solution complexation by intrinsic organic ligands. A conceptive model was established for REE fractionations in plants based on the above studies.

A collaborative strategy for enhanced reduction of Cr(Ⅵ) by Fe(0) in the presence of oxalate under sunlight:Performance and mechanism

Nanometer-size zero-valent iron(NZVI)is an efficient reducing agent,but its surface is easily passivated with an oxide layer,leading to reaction inefficiency.In our study,oxalate(OA)was introduced into this heterogeneous system of NZVI,which could form ferrioxalate complexes with the NZVI surface-bound Fe3+and dissolved Fe3+in the solution.Photolysis of ferrioxalate complexes can facilitate the generation of Fe2+from Fe3+and CO2·-radical,both species have strong reduction capacity.Hence,a"photo-oxalate-Fe(0)"system through sunlight induction was established,which not only prohibited the formation of a surface passivation layer,but also displayed a synergetic mechanism of ferrioxalate photolysis to enhance reduction,exhibiting remarkably higher degradation activity(several times faster)toward the model pollutant Cr(Ⅵ)than the mechanism with NZVI alone.Factor tests suggested that both NZVI dosage and OA content markedly affected the reduction rate.Low pH was beneficial to the reduction efficiency.Moreover,recyclability experiment showed that the reduction rate decreased from 0.21706 to 0.03977 min-1 after three cycles of reuse due to the NZVI losing reaction activity generally,but the system still maintained considerable reduction capacity.Finally,a mechanism was revealed whereby NZVI would transform to Fe oxides after the exhaustion of its reductive power,and the photolysis of ferrioxalate to promote the cycling of iron species played the predominant role in providing extra reduction ability.These features confirm that introduction of OA into Cr(Ⅵ)reduction by NZVI through sunlight induction is advantageous and promising.

Internal noise stochastic resonance in CO oxidation on nm-sized palladium particles

Based on a stochastic mesoscopic model, the influence of internal noise on the oscillatory kinetics of the catalytic oxidation of CO on nm-sized palladium particles is studied, using the chemical Langevin equations, Poisson approximation algorithm, and exact stochastic simulation algorithm. The reaction rate oscillations are of stochastic nature due to considerable internal noise in such mesoscopic systems. It is found that the performance of the stochastic oscillations undergoes a maximum with the variation of internal noise level for a given CO partial pressure, which demonstrates the occurrence of internal noise stochastic resonance. This phe-nomenon implies that optimal internal noise would favor the reaction rate oscillation of CO oxi-dation on nm particles. Such a phenomenon is robust to the change of external parameters, such as CO pressures.

Genesis of Carlin-type gold deposits in southwestern Guizhou Province,China

A solution containing nanometer-sized pure gold particles was prepared with the hydrolysisreduction method. As observed under the electron microscope, the gold particles were as large as 2—20 nm in size. Different kinds of mineral and rock were put into the solution and the experimental result showed that the nanometer-sized gold particles are obviously adsorbed on sulfide minerals, native copper and carbonaceous rocks. This experimental result is consistent with the actual geological observation. On this basis a better explanation is presented of the genesis of the Carlin-type gold deposits.

Phase and size control of NH_3 clusters generated in supersonic jet expansions

Because of their interesting properties and potential applications, nanometer-size parti-cles have attracted scientists’attention during the past decade. Various methods forsynthesizing the nanometer-size materials, including consolidation from vapor, ma-trix-mediated synthesis, ball-milling, magnetic sputtering, electrochemical techniques, and ar-rested precipitation reactions in solutions, have been reported. Every method has its ad-vantages and limitations and new approaches are desirable. Since Becker and hiscoworkers first reported H2,Ar and N2 cluster beams formed from free jet expansions,