Preparation of high-purity bismuth by sulphur deleadization in vacuum distillation

The feasibility of separation of impurities in refined bismuth and sulphur deleadization with vacuum distillation was studied theoretically. Experimental studies on sulphur deleadization were carried out under vacuum. The influences of amount of sulphur, distillation temperature, vacuum degree and distillation time on deleadization were investigated and an optimal technical condition was achieved. The content of lead in refined bismuth can be decreased from 30 μg/g to 0.21 μg/g, which has reached the level of “5N” high-purity bismuth. Other impurities in refined bismuth can be also removed effectively under certain conditions.

Multiple factors influencing high-purity indium electrolytic refining

The effects of various contaminants in the electrolytic refinement of indium were investigated using a glow discharge mass spectrometer(GDMS).The effects of several factors such as the indium ion(In3+)concentration,the sodium chloride(NaCl)concentration,the current density,the gelatin concentration,the pH,and the electrode distance,were examined.Significant variations in impurity levels concerning gelatin concentration were observed.Both the gelatin and In3+concentration were moderately positively correlated with the Pb content.The Sb concentration was associated positively with the NaCl concentration,while the Ti concentration had an adverse correlation with the NaCl concentration.The Bi element content was positively linked to the electrode distance.As the current density increased,Cu,Pb,and Bi impurities initially rose and then eventually declined.Notably,a critical current density of 45 A·m^(-2) was identified in this behavior.

Polydopamine-modified metal-organic frameworks nanoparticles enhance the corrosion resistance and bioactivity of polycaprolactone coating on high-purity magnesium

Biodegradable magnesium(Mg)and its alloys exhibit excellent biocompatibility and mechanical compatibility,demonstrating tremendous potential for applications in orthopedics.However,the rapid degradation rate has limited their clinical application.Polycaprolactone(PCL)is commonly employed as a polymer coating to impede the rapid degradation of Mg.Unfortunately,its long-term anti-corrosion capability and bioactivity are inadequate.To address these issues,polydopamine(PDA)-modified zeolitic imidazolate framework-8(PZIF-8)bioactive nanoparticles are fabricated and incorporated into the PCL coating.The PZIF-8 particles,featuring catechol motifs,can enhance the compactness of the PCL coating,reduce its defects,and possess biomineralization ability,thereby effectively improving its anti-corrosive and bioactive properties.Moreover,the active substances released from the degradation of the PZIF-8 particles such as Zn^(2+)and PDA are beneficial for osteogenesis.The corrosion tests indicate that the corrosion current density of PCL-treated sample decreases by more than one order of magnitude and the amount of H_(2)released decreases from 0.23±0.12 to 0.08±0.08 ml cm^(-2)after doping with the PZIF-8.Furthermore,the improved corrosion resistance and released PDA and Zn^(2+)from the coating can promote osteogenic differentiation by up-regulating the expression of alkaline phosphatase activity,related osteogenic genes,and proteins.In addition,in vivo implantation experiments in rabbit femur defects further offer strong evidence that the doping of PZIF-8 nanoparticles accelerates bone reconstruction of the PCL coating.In summary,this work implies a new strategy to fabricate a PCL-based coating on Mg-based implants by introducing the PZIF-8 particles for orthopedic applications.

Enhanced recovery of high-purity Fe powder from iron-rich electrolytic manganese residue by slurry electrolysis

Iron-rich electrolytic manganese residue(IREMR)is an industrial waste produced during the processing of electrolytic metal manganese,and it contains certain amounts of Fe and Mn resources and other heavy metals.In this study,the slurry electrolysis technique was used to recover high-purity Fe powder from IREMR.The effects of IREMR and H2SO4 mass ratio,current density,reaction temper-ature,and electrolytic time on the leaching and current efficiencies of Fe were studied.According to the results,high-purity Fe powder can be recovered from the cathode plate,and the slurry electrolyte can be recycled.The leaching efficiency,current efficiency,and purity of Fe reached 92.58%,80.65%,and 98.72wt%,respectively,at a 1:2.5 mass ratio of H2SO4 and IREMR,reaction temperature of 60℃,electric current density of 30 mA/cm^(2),and reaction time of 8 h.In addition,vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM)analysis showed that the coercivity of electrolytic iron powder was 54.5 A/m,which reached the advanced magnetic grade of electrical pure-iron powder(DT4A coercivity standard).The slurry electrolytic method provides fundamental support for the industrial application of Fe resource recovery in IRMER.

Artificial neural network-based method for discriminating Compton scattering events in high-purity germaniumγ-ray spectrometer

To detect radioactive substances with low activity levels,an anticoincidence detector and a high-purity germanium(HPGe)detector are typically used simultaneously to suppress Compton scattering background,thereby resulting in an extremely low detection limit and improving the measurement accuracy.However,the complex and expensive hardware required does not facilitate the application or promotion of this method.Thus,a method is proposed in this study to discriminate the digital waveform of pulse signals output using an HPGe detector,whereby Compton scattering background is suppressed and a low minimum detectable activity(MDA)is achieved without using an expensive and complex anticoincidence detector and device.The electric-field-strength and energy-deposition distributions of the detector are simulated to determine the relationship between pulse shape and energy-deposition location,as well as the characteristics of energy-deposition distributions for fulland partial-energy deposition events.This relationship is used to develop a pulse-shape-discrimination algorithm based on an artificial neural network for pulse-feature identification.To accurately determine the relationship between the deposited energy of gamma(γ)rays in the detector and the deposition location,we extract four shape parameters from the pulse signals output by the detector.Machine learning is used to input the four shape parameters into the detector.Subsequently,the pulse signals are identified and classified to discriminate between partial-and full-energy deposition events.Some partial-energy deposition events are removed to suppress Compton scattering.The proposed method effectively decreases the MDA of an HPGeγ-energy dispersive spectrometer.Test results show that the Compton suppression factors for energy spectra obtained from measurements on ^(152)Eu,^(137)Cs,and ^(60)Co radioactive sources are 1.13(344 keV),1.11(662 keV),and 1.08(1332 keV),respectively,and that the corresponding MDAs are 1.4%,5.3%,and 21.6%lower,respectively.

Use of various MgO resources for high-purity Mg metal production through molten salt electrolysis and vacuum distillation

A green and effective electrolytic process was developed to produce high-purity Mg metal using primary and secondary resources containing Mg O as a feedstock. The electrolysis of various Mg O resources was conducted using a Cu cathode in MgF2– LiF – KCl molten salt at 1043 K by applying an average current of 1.44 A for 12.5 h. The electrolysis of calcined North Korean magnesite and seawater Mg O clinker yielded Mg alloys of MgCu2and(Cu) phases with current efficiencies of 89.6–92.4%. The electrolysis of oxidized Mg O-C refractory brick, aged ferronickel slag, and ferronickel slag yielded Mg alloys of MgCu2and(Cu) phases with current efficiencies of 59.3–92.3%. The vacuum distillation of Mg alloys obtained was conducted at 1300 K for 10 h to produce high-purity Mg metal. After vacuum distillation, Mg metal with a purity of above 99.994% was obtained. Therefore, this study demonstrates the feasibility of the production of high-purity Mg metal from various Mg O resources using a novel electrolytic process with a Cu cathode, followed by vacuum distillation.

超声引导下PTCD应用于BismuthⅢ型胆道梗阻患者临床对照研究

目的探讨超声引导下的经皮肝穿刺胆道引流术(PTCD)应用于BismuthⅢ、Ⅳ型胆道梗阻患者的临床疗效。方法将95例恶性胆道梗阻患者中的BismuthⅢ型患者65例设为Ⅲ型组,BismuthⅣ型患者30例设为Ⅳ型组。比较两组患者手术时间、临床疗效及术后并发症发生情况,比较治疗前后肝功能指标[丙氨酸氨基转移酶(ALT)、天门冬氨酸氨基转移酶(AST)、谷氨酰转肽酶(GGT)、碱性磷酸酶(ALP)、总胆红素(TBIL)和直接胆红素(DBIL)]水平及癌症患者生命质量测定量表(QLQ-C30)评分。结果Ⅲ型组患者手术时间短于Ⅳ型组,治疗总有效率高于Ⅳ型组(P<0.05或0.01)。治疗后两组患者血清ALT、AST、GGT、ALP、TBIL和DBIL水平均较治疗前降低,且Ⅲ型组低于Ⅳ型组(P<0.05或0.01)。治疗后两组患者QLQ-C30的总体健康状况、躯体功能、角色功能、情绪功能、认知功能、社会功能、疲乏、恶心呕吐、疼痛、呼吸困难、睡眠障碍、食欲丧失、便秘维度评分均较治疗前改善,Ⅲ型组患者QLQ-C30的总体健康状况、躯体功能、情绪功能、社会功能维度评分高于Ⅳ型组,而疲乏、恶心呕吐、疼痛、呼吸困难、睡眠障碍、食欲丧失、便秘维度评分低于Ⅳ型组(P<0.05或0.01)。Ⅲ型组患者术后并发症发生率低于Ⅳ型组,但差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论相较于BismuthⅣ型胆道梗阻,超声引导下的PTCD应用于BismuthⅢ型胆道梗阻患者有较好的疗效,可以改善患者肝功能和生存质量。

Solid Bi_(2)O_(3)-derived nanostructured metallic bismuth with high formate selectivity for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO_(2)

CO_(2) electrochemical reduction(CO_(2)ER)is an important research area for carbon neutralization.However,available catalysts for CO_(2) reduction are still characterized by limited stability and activity.Recently,metallic bismuth(Bi)has emerged as a promising catalyst for CO_(2) ER.Herein,we report the solid cathode electroreduction of commercial micronized Bi2O3as a straightforward approach for the preparation of nanostructured Bi.At-1.1 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in a KHCO3aqueous electrolyte,the resulting nanostructure Bi delivers a formate current density of~40 mA·cm^(-2) with a current efficiency of~86%,and the formate selectivity reaches97.6% at-0.78 V.Using nanosized Bi2O3as the precursor can further reduce the primary particle sizes of the resulting Bi,leading to a significantly increased formate selectivity at relatively low overpotentials.The high catalytic activity of nanostructured Bi is attributable to the ultrafine and interconnected Bi nanoparticles in the nanoporous structure,which exposes abundant active sites for CO_(2) electrocatalytic reduction.

Minimizing pest aluminum in magnesium for the production of high-purity titanium

It is practically difficult to find titanium sponges with low and stable aluminum impurities on the market even though it is the precondition to prepare high-purity titanium. Analysis indicates that almost all the aluminum impurities in the titanium sponge are inherited from the magnesium used to reduce titanium tetrachloride. However, it remains elusive for decades why magnesium produced through the silicothermic reduction method contains a high content of aluminum impurities with large fluctuations. By recourse to thermodynamic calculations and comparative experiments, we demonstrate that fluorite, a material used as a catalyst in the silicothermic reduction method to produce magnesium, is the chief culprit for the pest aluminum and propose a mechanism to rationalize the observed phenomena. Our findings indicate that one practical way to produce qualified magnesium for the production of high-purity titanium is to abandon fluorite during the production of magnesium with the silicothermic reduction method.

Production of high-purity Mg metal from dolomite through novel molten salt electrolysis and vacuum distillation

In this study,a novel Mg production process for producing high-purity Mg metal from dolomite was developed.When the electrolysis of calcined dolomite was conducted using Cu cathode and C anode in MgF_(2)–LiF molten salt at 1083–1173 K by applying an average current of 1.42–1.46 A for 9.50–21.0 h,the current efficiency of 66.4–88.6%was obtained.The produced Mg alloys consisted of MgCu_(2)and Cu(Mg)or MgCu_(2)and CuMg_(2)phases,depending on the Mg concentration in the Mg alloy.When the electrolysis of calcined dolomite was conducted in MgF_(2)–LiF–CaF_(2)molten salt at 1083 K,the current efficiency was 40.9–71.4%,owing to undesired reactions such as electroreduction of Ca^(2+)or/and CO_(3)^(2−)ions.Meanwhile,the current efficiency increased from 40.9%to 63.2%by utilizing a Pt anode,because the occurrence of CO_(3)^(2−)ions in the molten salt was prevented.After vacuum distillation of the obtained Mg alloys at 1300 K for 10 h,Mg metal with a purity of 99.9996–99.9998%was produced.Therefore,the feasibility of this novel process for the production of high-purity Mg metal from dolomite was demonstrated.

Soil Profile Concentration Distributions of Antimony and Bismuth across Southeastern Missouri (USA)

Recent research has suggested that increased industrial and technological utilization of antimony and bismuth necessitates greater research to determine the soil and water chemistry and the environmental risks associated with these elements. The near-total soil profile concentrations of antimony and bismuth were determined for key soil series across southeastern Missouri. The antimony concentrations ranged from 0.65 to 0.08 mg kg−1, whereas the bismuth soil profile concentrations ranged from 0.92 to 0.03 mg kg−1. Most pedons showed antimony concentrations ranging from 20 to 30 mg kg−1, whereas bismuth concentrations were commonly 10 to 20 mg kg−1. For soils having argillic horizons, antimony and bismuth concentrations were greater for the illuvial horizons than the eluvial horizons, whereas Entisols, Inceptisols, and one Vertisol showed rather uniform antimony and bismuth concentrations, features paralleling the soil texture distribution. Both antimony and bismuth showed significant correlations with iron.

Probing the Nucleation and Growth Kinetics of Bismuth Nanoparticles via In-situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

The nucleation and growth mechanism of nanoparticles is an important theory,which can guide the preparation of nanomaterials.However,it is still lacking in direct observation on the details of the evolution of intermediate state structure during nucleation and growth.In this work,the evolution process of bismuth nanoparticles induced by electron beam was revealed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy(TEM)at atomic scale.The experimental results demonstrate that the size,stable surface and crystallographic defect have important influences on the growth of Bi nanoparticles.Two non-classical growth paths including single crystal growth and polycrystalline combined growth,as well as,corresponding layer-by-layer growth mechanism along{012}stable crystal plane of Bi nanoparticles with dodecahedron structure were revealed by in-situ TEM directly.These results provide important guidance and a new approach for in-depth understanding of the nucleation and growth kinetics of nanoparticles.

Plasma-assisted synthesis of porous bismuth nanosheets for electrocatalytic CO_(2)-to-formate reduction

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction(eCO_(2)RR)to formate,driven by clean energy,is a promising approach for producing renewable chemicals and high-value fuels.Despite its potential,further development faces challenges due to limitations in electrocatalytic activity and durability,especially for nonnoble metal-based catalysts.Here,naturally abundant bismuth-based nanosheets that can effectively drive CO_(2)-to-formate electrocatalytic reduction are prepared using the plasma-activated Bi_(2)Se_(3) followed by a reduction process.Thus-obtained plasma-activated Bi nanosheets(P-BiNS)feature ultrathin structures and high surface areas.Such nanostructures ensure the P-BiNS with outstanding eCO_(2)RR catalytic performance,highlighted by the current density of over 80 mA cm^(-2) and a formate Faradic efficiency of>90%.Furthermore,P-BiNS catalysts demonstrate excellent durability and stability without deactivation following over 50h of operation.The selectivity for formate production is also studied by density functional theory(DFT)calculations,validating the importance and efficacy of the stabilization of intermediates(^(*)OCHO)on the P-BiNS surfaces.This study provides a facile plasma-assisted approach for developing high-performance and low-cost electrocatalysts.

Kinetic-boosted CO_(2) electroreduction to formate via synergistic electric-thermal field on hierarchical bismuth with amorphous layer

Electrocatalytic converting CO_(2) into chemical products has emerged as a promising approach to achieving carbon neutrality.Herein,we report a bismuth-based catalyst with high curvature terminal and amorphous layer which fabricated via two-step electrodeposition achieves stable formate output in a wide voltage window of 600 mV.The Faraday efficiency(FE) of formate reached up to 99.4% at-0.8 V vs.RHE and it remained constant for more than 92 h at-15 mA cm^(-2).More intriguingly,FE formate of95.4% can be realized at a current density of industrial grade(-667.7 mA cm^(-2)) in flow cell.The special structure promoted CO_(2) adsorption and reduced its activation energy and enhanced the electric-thermal field and K^(+) enrichment which accelerated the reaction kinetics.In situ spectroscopy and theoretical calculation further confirmed that the introduction of amorphous structure is beneficial to adsorpting CO_(2)and stabling*OCHO intermediate.This work provides special insights to fabricate efficient electrocatalysts by means of structural and crystal engineering and makes efforts to realize the industrialization of bismuth-based catalysts.

In situ observation of the phase transformation kinetics of bismuth during shock release

A time-resolved x-ray diffraction technique is employed to monitor the structural transformation of laser-shocked bismuth.Results reveal a retarded transformation from the shock-induced Bi-Ⅴphase to a metastable Bi-Ⅳphase during the shock release,instead of the thermodynamically stable Bi-Ⅲphase.The emergence of the metastable Bi-Ⅳphase is understood by the competitive interplay between two transformation pathways towards the Bi-Ⅳand Bi-Ⅲ,respectively.The former is more rapid than the latter because the Bi-Ⅴto B-Ⅳtransformation is driven by interaction between the closest atoms while the Bi-Ⅴto B-Ⅲtransformation requires interaction between the second-closest atoms.The nucleation time for the Bi-Ⅴto Bi-Ⅳtransformation is determined to be 5.1±0.9 ns according to a classical nucleation model.This observation demonstrates the importance of the formation of the transient metastable phases,which can change the phase transformation pathway in a dynamic process.

Valence states, impurities and electrocrystallization behaviors during molten salt electrorefining for preparation of high-purity titanium powder from sponge titanium

High-purity titanium powder was prepared by molten salt electrorefining from sponge titanium in NaCl-KCl-TiClx salts. The titanium valence, purity and electrocrystallization during electrolysis process were studied. The XPS analysis showed that the titanium valences are mainly ＋4, ＋3 and ＋2 at the earlier, medium and later stages of electrolysis, respectively. During the electrolysis process, the contents of impurities Si, Cr, Mn, Al vary little, and the contents of impurities Fe, Cu, Ni decrease markedly, while the contents of impurities O, N, H increase obviously. The residual impurities are usually distributed in small tunnel of dendritic crystals. Enhancing the electrolysis temperature and prolonging the electrolysis time can increase the titanium particle size. The TEM analysis showed that the electrodeposited titanium is not a single crystal, but contains many nanostructured grains and subgrains, with grain size of 100-500 nm. The electrolysis mechanisms were also discussed.

Timing of granite pegmatite-type high-purity quartz deposit in the Eastern Qinling,China:constraints from in-situ LA-ICP-MS trace analyses of quartz and monazite U–Pb dating

Eastern Qinling,China is one of the important rare metal metallogenic provinces with extensively distributed granite pegmatite dikes.The No.5 granite pegmatite intruded into the granitic gneiss of the Qinling Group,and the major minerals are quartz(39.8%),K-feldspar(18.8%),albite(36.3%),muscovite(3.4%),and garnet(1.1%).Monazite U–Pb isotopic dating indicates that the No.5 pegmatite from the Eastern Qinling was emplaced at ca.420.2±2.2 Ma,which confirms that highpurity quartz mineralization probably formed during the Early Devonian.In-situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of quartz show that quartz samples from Eastern Qinling have total trace element concentrations(Al,Ti,Sc,Li,B,Cr,Mn,and Fe)ranging from 23.2 to 52.8 ppm,slightly higher than the quartz(impurity element content from 13.4 to 25.9 ppm)of the Spruce Pine high-purity quartz deposit in western North Carolina.The No.5 pegmatite of Eastern Qinling could be defined as one high-purity quartz deposit of China.

Preparing high-purity iron by direct reduction?smelting separation of ultra-high-grade iron concentrate

A new process for preparing high-purity iron(HPI)was proposed,and it was investigated by laboratory experiments and pilot tests.The results show that under conditions of a reduced temperature of 1075°C,reduced time of 5 h,and CaO content of 2.5wt%,a DRI with a metallization rate of 96.5%was obtained through coal-based direct reduction of ultra-high-grade iron concentrate.Then,an HPI with a Fe purity of 99.95%and C,Si,Mn,and P contents as low as 0.0008wt%,0.0006wt%,0.0014wt%,and 0.0015wt%,respectively,was prepared by smelting separation of the DRI using a smelting temperature of 1625°C,smelting time of 45 min,and CaO content of 9.3wt%.The product of the pilot test with a scale of 0.01 Mt/a had a lower impurity content than the Chinese industry standard.An HPI with a Fe purity of 99.98wt%can be produced through the direct reduction?smelting separation of ultra-high-grade iron concentrate at relatively low cost.The proposed process shows a promising prospect for application in the future.

The Status Quo and Development Trend of High-purity Gold Sputtering Targets

This article gives a brief introduction to manufacturers and markets of sputtering targets as well as the manufacturing technology thereof. Then, it analyzes the application of high-purity gold sputtering targets in the fields of integrated circuit, information storage, flat panel display, etc. Based on the above, the article analyzes the processing development trend for the high-purity gold sputtering targets in aspects of ultra-high purity, manufacturing technology, analysis and testing technologies.

Flow stress behavior of high-purity Al-Cu-Mg alloy and microstructure evolution

The flow stress behavior of high-purity Al-Cu-Mg alloy under hot deformation conditions was studied by Gleeble-1500,with the deformation temperature range from 300 to 500 °C and the strain rate range from 0.01 to 10 s-1. From the true stress-true strain curve, the flow stress increases with the increasing of strain and tends to be constant after a peak value, showing dynamic recover, and the peak value of flow stress increases with the decreasing of deformation temperature and the increasing of strain rate.When the strain rate is 10 s-1 and the deformation temperature is higher than 400 °C, the flow stress shows dynamic recrystallization characteristic. TEM micrographs were used to reveal the evolution of microstructures. According to the processing map at true strain of 0.7, the feasible deformation conditions are high strain rate(>0.5 s-1) or 440-500 °C and 0.01-0.02 s-1.