Micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) was applied to obtain three-dimensional images of the microstructure of cement paste (water-to-cement mass ratio of 0.5) at different ages. By using the Amira software, component p...Micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) was applied to obtain three-dimensional images of the microstructure of cement paste (water-to-cement mass ratio of 0.5) at different ages. By using the Amira software, component phases of the cement paste such as pores, hydration products, and unhydrated clinker particles were segmented from each other based on their 3D image grey levels; their relative contents were also calculated with the software, and the data are 61.2%, 0% and 38.8% at the beginning of hydration and 11.8%, 78.5% and 9.7% at 28 d age, respectively. The hydration degree of cement paste at different ages was compared with the experimental data acquired by loss on ignition (LOI) tests. The results show that the calculated and measured data reasonably agree with each other, which indicates that micro-CT is a useful and reliable approach to characterize the micro structure evolution of hydrating cement paste.展开更多
Nitrate is the leading cause of eutrophication worldwide and is one of the most challenging pollutants for restoration of polluted surface waters such as lakes, rivers and reservoirs. We report herein a new architectu...Nitrate is the leading cause of eutrophication worldwide and is one of the most challenging pollutants for restoration of polluted surface waters such as lakes, rivers and reservoirs. We report herein a new architecture of iron nanoparticles for high-efficiency denitrification by selective reduction of nitrate (NO3-) to dinitrogen (N2). The iron nanoparticles are doped with nitrogen (FeN) and encapsulated within a thin layer of nitride-carbon (NC). The nanoparticles have high pyrrolic N content (17.4 at.%) and large specific surface area (2040 m2/g). Laboratory experiments demonstrated high N2selectivity (91%) and nitrate removal capacity (6004 mg N/g Fe) for treatment of nitrate-containing water. This iron-based nanomaterial overcomes shortcomings of conventional catalysts by eliminating the use of precious and toxic heavy metals (e.g., Pd, Pt, Cu, Ni) and minimizing the generation of undesirable byproducts (e.g., ammonia) from the reactions with nanoscale zero-valent iron (n ZVI). The multiple electron transfers process from NO3- to N2can be fine-tuned by adjusting the NC shell thickness. Superior electrocatalytic perfor- mance, low cost and minimal environmental impact of the iron-derived nanocatalyst offer promising prospects for water purification, waste treatment and environmental remediation.展开更多
Porosity is one of the most important parameters for cement-based materials,which influences the mechanical property,transport property,and durability.The spatial and frequency distributions of local porosity of cemen...Porosity is one of the most important parameters for cement-based materials,which influences the mechanical property,transport property,and durability.The spatial and frequency distributions of local porosity of cement pastes are characterized using X-ray micro-tomography data and treating methods.The 3D spatial distributions for three cement paste specimens with different water cement(w/c)ratios show reasonable heterogeneity.The probability analysis also reveals this heterogeneity:the representative volume element(RVE)size based on porosity maps decreases with w/c ratio firstly,then increases with w/c ratio;and the heterogeneity on the characterized probe size or on the RVE size increases with w/c ratio.Average porosities obtained using the CT method are further compared with those by traditional methods.展开更多
基金Project(2009CB623201) supported by the National Basic Research Program of ChinaProjects(50902106, 51272193) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(NCET-10-0660) supported by New Century Excellent Talents in Universities of China
文摘Micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) was applied to obtain three-dimensional images of the microstructure of cement paste (water-to-cement mass ratio of 0.5) at different ages. By using the Amira software, component phases of the cement paste such as pores, hydration products, and unhydrated clinker particles were segmented from each other based on their 3D image grey levels; their relative contents were also calculated with the software, and the data are 61.2%, 0% and 38.8% at the beginning of hydration and 11.8%, 78.5% and 9.7% at 28 d age, respectively. The hydration degree of cement paste at different ages was compared with the experimental data acquired by loss on ignition (LOI) tests. The results show that the calculated and measured data reasonably agree with each other, which indicates that micro-CT is a useful and reliable approach to characterize the micro structure evolution of hydrating cement paste.
基金This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51978488,41772243 and 41673096).
文摘Nitrate is the leading cause of eutrophication worldwide and is one of the most challenging pollutants for restoration of polluted surface waters such as lakes, rivers and reservoirs. We report herein a new architecture of iron nanoparticles for high-efficiency denitrification by selective reduction of nitrate (NO3-) to dinitrogen (N2). The iron nanoparticles are doped with nitrogen (FeN) and encapsulated within a thin layer of nitride-carbon (NC). The nanoparticles have high pyrrolic N content (17.4 at.%) and large specific surface area (2040 m2/g). Laboratory experiments demonstrated high N2selectivity (91%) and nitrate removal capacity (6004 mg N/g Fe) for treatment of nitrate-containing water. This iron-based nanomaterial overcomes shortcomings of conventional catalysts by eliminating the use of precious and toxic heavy metals (e.g., Pd, Pt, Cu, Ni) and minimizing the generation of undesirable byproducts (e.g., ammonia) from the reactions with nanoscale zero-valent iron (n ZVI). The multiple electron transfers process from NO3- to N2can be fine-tuned by adjusting the NC shell thickness. Superior electrocatalytic perfor- mance, low cost and minimal environmental impact of the iron-derived nanocatalyst offer promising prospects for water purification, waste treatment and environmental remediation.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51008072)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.2242014R30014)State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials(Grant No.2012CEM008)
文摘Porosity is one of the most important parameters for cement-based materials,which influences the mechanical property,transport property,and durability.The spatial and frequency distributions of local porosity of cement pastes are characterized using X-ray micro-tomography data and treating methods.The 3D spatial distributions for three cement paste specimens with different water cement(w/c)ratios show reasonable heterogeneity.The probability analysis also reveals this heterogeneity:the representative volume element(RVE)size based on porosity maps decreases with w/c ratio firstly,then increases with w/c ratio;and the heterogeneity on the characterized probe size or on the RVE size increases with w/c ratio.Average porosities obtained using the CT method are further compared with those by traditional methods.
