Effect of interfacial properties on mechanical stability of ash deposit

The paper presents a study on the cohesion of volcanic ash particles using surface free energy determination and zeta potential analyses.This is a subject of great interest in physical volcanology,as many researches on volcanic particle aggregation are frequently reported.In this case,special attention is paid to the role of structural or hydration forces between hydrophilic surfaces,which are a consequence of the electron-donor/electron-acceptor character of the interface.From this point of view,the results are potentially interesting as they could give valuable insights into this process.The results are presented in terms of the total energy of interaction between dispersed particles,computed from the extended DLVO theory.Contributions to the total free energy of interaction were determined from the zeta potential and surface free energy of ash,measured under different experimental conditions.Two samples of basaltic volcanic ash(black and white)with silica contents of 44% and 63% respectively are studied.The surface free energy and zeta potential were analysed for ashes immersed in different electrolytes(NaCl,CaCl,FeCl).The presence of electrolytes changes the surface properties of the solid materials.The analysis of total interaction energy between the ash particles in aqueous medium shows that soil cohesion strongly depends on ash surface properties,chemical nature,the adsorbed cation on the surface,and p H value.

The Effect of Oxygen Partial Pressure during Active Layer Deposition on Bias Stability of a-InGaZnO TFTs

The effect of oxygen partial pressure （Po2） during the channel layer deposition on bias stability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide （a-IGZO） thin film transistors （TFTs） is investigated. As Po2 increases from 10% to 30%, it is found that the device shows enhanced bias stress stability with significantly reduced threshold voltage drift under positive gate bias stress. Based on the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement, the concentration of oxygen vacancies （Or） within the a-IGZO layer is suppressed by increasing Po2. Meanwhile, the low-frequency noise analysis indicates that the average trap density near the channel/dielectric interface continuously drops with increasing Po2. Therefore, the improved interface quality with increasing Po2 during the channel layer deposition can be attributed to the reduction of interface Ov-related defects, which agrees with the enhanced bias stress stability of the a-IGZO TFTs.

Lanthanum incorporated in MCM-41 and its application as a support for a stable Ni-based methanation catalyst

Herein, lanthanum was incorporated via hydrothermal synthesis into a MCM-41 framework structure with La/Si molar ratios from 0.01 to 0.1. Samples of NiO supported on LaMCM-41 were prepared using the impregnation method. The catalyst performance was evaluated using a fixed bed CO methanation reactor. A Ni/LaMCM-41 catalyst with La/Si = 0.1 shows the best catalytic performance with a CO conversion of almost 100% and a CH4 selectivity of 89.5% at 250 ℃ under a pressure of 1.5 MPa and at an airspeed of 36,000 mL/（g·h）. Compared with Ni-La/MCM-41（La/Si = 0.1） and Ni/MCM-41 prepared via the impregnation method, Ni/LaMCM-41（La/Si = 0.1） shows a higher CO conversion and CH4 selectivity.In a 100 h stability test, the Ni/LaMCM-41（La/Si = 0.1） catalyst shows excellent stability; furthermore, the CO conversion is always greater than 98.0%, which is significantly better than the results for Ni/MCM-41.We experimentally demonstrate that elemental La enters the framework of MCM-41. The Ni/LaMCM-41 catalyst performs well because the La reduces the average particle size of the NiO particles and enhances the interaction between NiO and MCM-41; moreover, the introduction of La significantly inhibits the sintering of the catalyst and the formation of carbon deposits.