Separation and estimation of nanofiltration membrane transport parameters for cerium and neodymium

Lanthanides are widely used in various commercial applications, which results in public exposure to them, and it is a matter of concern. Many methods were used to remove lanthanides from wastewaters generated from their commercial use. In the present work, nanofiltration membrane process was used to remove the cerium and neodymium from their respective feed solutions. The feed and permeates were analyzed for solute concentration by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. Irreversible thermodynamics Spiegler-Kedem model, in combination with the film theory, was used to estimate the membrane transport parameters, viz., reflection coefficient of membrane and solute permeability, and mass transfer coefficient to study their dependence on feed solute concentration.

Efficient in-situ end-functionalization of polydienes by isothiocyanate via neodymium mediated coordinative chain transfer polymerization system

End-functionalization of polydiene rubbers can not only improve its compatibility with inorganic fillers,but also enhance the overall mechanical properties.Nevertheless,for traditional neodymium(Nd)diene polymerization systems,it is highly challenging to achieve such end-functionalizations,because most of polydienyl chains are capped withη3-allyl-Nd moiety during the end of polymerization,which shows very poor reactivity with nucleophile compounds.We launched a new diene polymerization strategy calling coordinative chain transfer polymerization(CCTP)[1].In such a system,all the polydienyl chains are capped withη1-allyl-Al moieties,which reveal greater reactivity with cyclic esters and epoxide compounds,providing an effective manner to prepare polydiene-polyester amphiphilic block copolymers.Inspired by such findings,we now show herein how such types of chain-ends react with isot-hiocyanate to demonstrate an efficient in-situ manner to access end-functionalized polydienes by using CCTP.

Phase composition,conductivity,and sensor properties of cerium-doped indium oxide

The hydrothermal synthesis of In_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2)–In_(2)O_(3)is investigated as well as the properties of sensor layers based on these compounds.During the synthesis of In_(2)O_(3),intermediate products In(OH)_(3)and InOOH are formed,which are the precursors of stable cubic(c-In_(2)O_(3))and metastable rhombohedral(rh-In_(2)O_(3))phases,respectively.A transition from c-In_(2)O_(3)to rh-In_(2)O_(3)is observed with the addition of CeO_(2).The introduction of cerium into rh-In_(2)O_(3)results in a decrease in the sensor response to hydrogen,while it increases in composites based on c-In_(2)O_(3).The data on the sensor activity of the composites correlate with XPS results in which CeO_(2)causes a decrease in the concentrations of chemisorbed oxygen and oxygen vacancies in rh-In_(2)O_(3).The reverse situation is observed in composites based on c-In_(2)O_(3).Compared to In_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2)–In_(2)O_(3)obtained by other methods,the synthesized composites demonstrate maximum response to H_(2)at low temperatures by 70–100℃,and have short response time(0.2–0.5 s),short recovery time(6–7 s),and long-term stability.A model is proposed for the dependence of sensitivity on the direction of electron transfer between In_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2).

Artificial Neural Network and Fuzzy Logic Based Techniques for Numerical Modeling and Prediction of Aluminum-5%Magnesium Alloy Doped with REM Neodymium

In this study, the mechanical properties of aluminum-5%magnesium doped with rare earth metal neodymium were evaluated. Fuzzy logic (FL) and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to model the mechanical properties of aluminum-5%magnesium (0-0.9 wt%) neodymium. The single input (SI) to the fuzzy logic and artificial neural network models was the percentage weight of neodymium, while the multiple outputs (MO) were average grain size, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength elongation and hardness. The fuzzy logic-based model showed more accurate prediction than the artificial neutral network-based model in terms of the correlation coefficient values (R).

Corrosion resistance of cerium-doped zinc calcium phosphate chemical conversion coatings on AZ31 magnesium alloy

Zinc calcium phosphate （Zn-Ca-P） coating and cerium-doped zinc calcium phosphate （Zn-Ca-Ce-P） coating were prepared on AZ31 magnesium alloy. The chemical compositions, morphologies and corrosion resistance of coatings were investigated through energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, electron probe micro-analysis （EPMA） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） together with hydrogen volumetric and electrochemical tests. The results indicate that both coatings predominately contain crystalline hopeite （Zn3（PO4）2·4H2O）, Mg3（PO4）2 and Ca3（PO4）2, and traces of non-crystalline MgF2 and CaF2. The Zn-Ca-Ce-P coating is more compact than the Zn-Ca-P coating due to the formation of CePO4, and displays better corrosion resistance than the Zn-Ca-P coating. Both coatings protect the AZ31 Mg substrate only during an initial immersion period. The micro-galvanic corrosion between the coatings and their substrates leads to an increase of hydrogen evolution rate （HER） with extending the immersion time. The addition of Ce promotes the homogenous distribution of Ca and formation of hopeite. The Zn-Ca-Ce-P coating has the potential for the primer coating on magnesium alloys.

Co-doping of Iron and Cerium in Titanium Dioxide: Observation of a Cooperative Effect

The co-doping of iron and cerium into TiO2 was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, when separately doping via the sol-gel method, iron was introduced in the fralnework of anatase TiO2 whereas cerium was not; interestingly, both iron and cerium were introduced in tile framework when co-doping by the sol-gel method. The co-doped TiO2 behaves much more intense surface hydroxyl concentration than the separately-doped and pure TiO2. This observation demonstrates for the first time a cooperative effect in the co-doping of transitional metals in the framework of TiO2.

Effects of neodymium addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of near-eutectic Al-12Si alloys

The microstructure and mechanical properties of near-eutectic Al-12 Si alloys modified with 0-0.4% Nd（mass fraction） were investigated. The results indicate that a submicro- or nano-sized Al2 Nd phase is observed in the modified alloy with 0.3% Nd. The morphology of the α（Al） phase is significantly refined in the Nd-modified alloys. The primary Si morphology simultaneously changes into a fine, particle-like morphology, and the morphology of eutectic Si becomes fine-fibrous instead of coarse-acicular. Relatively few growth twins are observed on the surface of the Si plate in the Al-12Si-0.3Nd alloy at the optimal modification level. The mechanical property test results confirm that the mechanical properties of the as-cast Al-12 Si alloys are enhanced after the Nd addition, with optimal ultimate tensile strength（UTS） of 252 MPa and elongation（EL） of 13% at an Nd content of 0.3%. The improved mechanical properties are attributed to the refined morphology of Si phase and the formation of the Al2 Nd phase.

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of neodymium doping titania loaded to silicon dioxide

Neodymium doping titania was loaded to silicon dioxide to prepare Nd/TiO2-SiO2 by sol-gel method and Nd/TiO2-SiO2 was characterized by X-ray diffractometry （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR） and diffuse reflectance spectra （DRS）. Photocatalytic activities of Nd/TiO2-SiO2 with different neodymium contents were evaluated by degradation of methyl orange. The light absorption of Nd/TiO2-SiO2 increased with increasing doping neodymium in a visible light range of 388-619 nm, and Nd doping was in favor of decreasing the recombination of photo-generated electrons with holes. Nd and SiO2 improved the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The optimal molar fraction of Nd to Ti was 0.1%, and the optimum calcination temperature was 600 ℃. The highest degradation rate of methyl orange was 82.9% after irradiation for 1 h.

Effect of cerium ion(Ⅲ) on corrosion resistance of organic-inorganic hybrid coating on surface of aluminum-tube used in refrigeration equipment

Organic?inorganic hybrid coating on the surface of aluminum-tube used in refrigeration equipment using cerium ion (III) as the additive was fabricated by sol?gel method, and the structure of the coating was confirmed by FT-IR. The results of the characterization show that the corrosion resistance of the coating with 1.5 mmol/L cerium ion (III) gains significant improvement, in which the colour retention time of CuSO4 extends to 500 s, the anti-acid and alkali corrosion rates reduce by 67% and 70% compared with the blank one, respectively, and the salt spray tests also show good corrosion resistance. The electrochemical tests demonstrate that the self-corrosion current density and potential of the sample with hybrid coating are about 2.877×10?7 A/cm2 and?0.550 V, respectively. The metallographic and SEM images show that the hybrid coating is uniform and dense, and the EDS analysis confirms that the coating is mainly composed of Al, Si and Ce elements.

Direct fabrication of cerium oxide hollow nanofibers by electrospinning

Electrospinning technique was used to fabricate PVP/Ce（NO3）3 composite microfibers. Different morphological CeO2 nanofibers were obtained by calcination of the PVP/Ce（NO3）3 composite microfibers and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, thermal gravimetric and differential thermal analysis （TG-DTA）, and （FTIR）. SEM micrographs indicated that the surface of the composite fibers was smooth and became coarse with the increase of calcination temperatures. The diameters of CeO2 hollow nanofibers （300 nm at 600 ℃ and 600 nm at 800 ℃ ） were smaller than those of PVP/Ce（NO3）3 composite fibers （1-2 um ）. CeO2 hollow nanofibers were obtained at 600 ℃ and CeO2 hollow and porous nanofibers formed by nanoparti- cles were obtained at 800 ℃. The length of the CeO2 hollow nanofibers was greater than 50 um. XRD analysis revealed that the composite microfibers were amorphous in structure and CeO2 nanofibers were cubic in structure with space group O^5H - FM3m when calcination tem- peratures were 600-800 ℃. TG-DTA and FTIR revealed that the formation of CeO2 nanofibers was largely influenced by the calcination temperatures. Possible formation mechanism of CeO2 hollow nanofibers was proposed.

Post treatment of silane and cerium salt as chromate replacers on galvanized steel

A complex film on hot-dip galvanized steel sheet（HDG） was prepared by immersing the sheet in 0.1wt.% Ce（NO3）3 solution and 5vol.% silane solution in turn.The corrosion protection of the complex film was evaluated by potentiodynamic linear polarization（LPR）, electrochemical impendence spectra（EIS） and natural salt spray（NSS） tests and compared with that of single cerium film and silane film.The results showed that, the presence of these films on the zinc coating hindered corrosion reaction by reducing the rate of both anodic and cathodic reaction in the corrosion process, and the corrosion protection of the complex film was much better than that of single cerium film or silane film and closed to that of chromate film, because the polarization resistance Rp and electrochemical impendence were increased markedly.Microstructure and chemical composition of these pretreated films were also investigated by scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and AES.

Study on corrosion resistance of the BTESPT silane cooperating with rare earth cerium on the surface of aluminum-tube

Bis-3-(triethoxysilyl)propyltetrasulfide(BTESPT) silane-rare earth cerium composite coatings on aluminum-tube were prepared at 60 °C by immersion method.The performance of composite coatings to protect the aluminum-tube against corrosion was investigated with potentiodynamic polarization curves,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS),and salt spray test(SST).The results of potentiodynamic polarization curves and EIS indicated that the self-corrosion current decreased by two orders of magnitude and the i...

Behaviors of Lanthanum and Cerium on Grain Boundaries in Carbon Manganese Clean Steel

The behaviors of La and Ce on gram boundaries in carbon manganese clean steel were investigated by high-reso- lution transmission elecetron microscope （HRTEM）, scanning elecetron microscopy（SEM ）, energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS） and X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis. The existing forms of rare earths （RE） in clean steel were as follows： dissolved in sohd solution, forming inclusion or second phase containing RE （RE-Fe-P, La-P, Fe-La eutectic and Fe-Ce phase）. The dissolved La or Ce segregated at grain boundaries. The segregation of both S and P at gram boundaries was reduced with suitable RE content. The impact toughness of the steel was improved obviously. La and Ce had effecets on purifying molten steel and modifying inclusions in clean steel, whereas with excessive La or Ce, La-Fe-P, La-P and Fe-La eutecetic phase or Ce-Fe-P and Fe-Ce intermetallic compound would form along grain boundaries, causing the impact energy to decrease significantly.

Preparation of Nano-TiO_2 Doped with Cerium and Its Photocatalytic Activity

Cerium-doped titanium dioxide nano-powders were prepared through the sol-gel method and the compound sampies were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectra （DRS）. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of phenol in water. The results of XRD, TEM, and DRS show that pure TiO2 and Ce-doped TiO2 powder crystallines are a mixture of anatase and rutile ; the doping can retard the development of the grain size of TiO2 and decrease the diameter of TiO2 from more than 20 nm of pure TiO2 to about 10 nm; the doped TiO2 can improve the light absorption of TiO2 and suitable doping content tends to move the DRS spectrum of TiO2 towards visible light, but too much doping is not good for the light absorption ability. The results of the photocatalytic experiments show that doping with Ce content of 0.08% -0.4% can increase the photocatalytic activity of TiO2; however, doping with Ce content of 0.5% -2.5% can significantly decrease the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The favorite doping content is 0.4% in the range of our experiments.

Equivalent Activity Coefficient Phenomenon of Cerium Reacting with Lead or Bismuth in Ag, Cu and Zn Alloy

The relation between contents of cerium and impurity lead or bismuth to their activity coefficient in Ag, Cu and Zn-base alloy was calculated and analyzed by using the ternary system Chou model. The thermodynamic calculation results show that the 'equivalent activity coefficient phenomenon' emerges among the activity coefficient of solute in a certain range of cerium (or at a certain point) for the Ce-Pb-X and Ce-Bi-X (X=Ag, Cu or Zn) ternary alloy system. Under this condition, the activity coefficient of solute has nothing to do with its own concentration. The preliminary theoretical analysis to this phenomenon was also made.

Ion imprinted polymer particles of neodymium:synthesis,characterization and selective recognition

Neodymium ion imprinted polymer（Nd^3＋-IIP） particles for selective solid-phase extraction of Nd^3＋ were prepared and determined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry（ICP-AES）.The unleached Nd^3＋-IIP particles were prepared by the copoly-merization of Nd^3＋-5,7-dichloroquinoline-8-ol-4-vinylpyridine ternary complex with styrene and divinyl benzene, then Nd^3＋ was leached to obtain Nd^3＋-IIP particles.The adsorption capacity of the Nd3＋-IIP was 35.18 mg/g.The largest selectivity coefficient for Nd3＋ in the presence of competitive ions such as La^3＋, Ce^3＋, Pr^3＋ and Sm^3＋ was over 110.The proposed method was validated by analyzing two certified reference materials（GBW07301a sediment and GBW07401 soil） and the determined values were in a good agreement with standard values.The method was convenient, selective, sensitive and applicable to the determination of trace Nd^3＋ in environmental samples with complicated matrix.

Cerium-tannic acid passivation treatment on galvanized steel

A novel cerium-tannic acid passivation treatment was performed on galvanized steel. The corrosion resistance of cerium-tannic passivated samples was tested by dropping test with 0.5 wt.% CuSO4 aqueous solution. The mass loss per unit area of passivated samples was measured after the corrosion in 0.5 mol/L NaCl ＋ 0.005 mol/L H2SO4 at room temperature for 96 h. The electrochemical behaviors of cerium, tannic acid, and cerium-tannic acid passivated samples on galvanized steel in 0.5 mol/L NaCl solution were investigated by polarization curves and electrochemical impendence spectra. The corrosion equivalent circuit was established according to the impedance characteristics. The results show that cerium-tannic acid treated samples exhibit better corrosion resistance than the sole cerium or tannic acid treated samples under the same condition. The mechanism of synergistic effect for cerium-tannic acid passivation on galvanized steel was discussed.

CHEMICAL BEHAVIOR OF CERIUM ELEMENT IN ROCK WEATHERING SYSTEM

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A study of phosphate adsorption by different temperature treated hydrous cerium oxides

An alkaline precipitation method was introduced to produce hydrous cerium oxides.The prepared powder was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller（BET） nitrogen adsorption-desorption,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,Fourier transform infrared（FTIR） spectrometry,and thermal gravimetry（TG） approaches.The adsorbent has a chemical formula of CeO2·nH2O（n 2） and a cubic fluorite-type structure after high temperature treatment.Adsorption capacity of different temperature treated hydrous cerium oxides does not directly correlate with BET specific surface area.Phosphate adsorption isotherms follow the Langmuir equation below the treatment temperature of 800°C.Phosphate adsorption causes no change on the structure of a hydrous cerium oxides,and no signs of CePO4 precipitates are found.The ion-exchanging structure of hydrous cerium oxide plays a fundamental role in phosphate adsorption.The structure is highly temperature resistant and forms adsorption sites which adsorb both water and some anions.Complete loss of adsorption ability cannot be achieved unless the treatment temperature is higher than 1200°C.Mechanism study shows that the adsorption of phosphates is mainly an anion-exchange process.

Toxic Effects of Lanthanum, Cerium, Chromium and Zinc on Potamogeton Malaianus

The toxic effects of rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium and heavy metal elements such as chromium, zinc on Potamogeton malaianus Miq. were studied. The results show that the contents of chlorophyll and soluble protein increase to a certain degree and then decrease under La3+ Ce3+ Zn2+ stress, while there is a constantly dropping tendency under Cr6+ stress. The four ions have different effects on protective enzyme systems of Potamogeton malaianus. They can induce rises of the activities of catalase (CAT) and peroxides (POD) at lower concentration, however, with the increase of ions concentration, the activities decline. The change of SOD activity is exactly opposite to that of CAT and POD activity. It falls at first and rises later. An increasing tendency of MDA content appears with the increasing concentration. The toxicities of La3+, Zn2+, Ce3+ and Cr6+ become more serious in the order. The lethal concentration of Cr6+ to Potamogeton malaianus ranges from 0.5 to I mg(-1) that of Ce3+ and Zn2+ ranges from 3 to 5 mg(-1) and that of La3+ ranges from 7 to 10 mg(.)L(-1). The toxic mechanism of La3 + and Ce3+ is similar to that of Cr6+ and Zn2+.