Electrical Conductivity of Sintered Chromia Mixed with TiO_2,CuO and Mn-Oxides

The electrical conductivity of sintered Cr2O3 mixed with 2% and 5% （in molar fraction） TiO2 or CuO was investigated in the temperature range 500-900℃ in air and in At/4 vol. pct H2 atmospheres. The effect of different Mn-oxides on the electrical conductivity of Cr2O3 was also studied under the same conditions. From the conductivity measurements it is established that additions of TiO2 change the defect structure of Cr2O3 and the effect of TiO2 on the electrical conductivity is controlled by TiO2 concentration as well as temperature and O2 partial pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. The conductivity of Cr2O3 increased in air and decreased in the At/H2 atmosphere by CuO additions. The effect of CuO was discussed with possible changes in the defect concentration in Cr2O3. Mixing of Cr2O3 with different Mn-oxides at the same Mn to metal atom fraction decreased the conductivity in air and in Ar/H2 atmospheres. No clear correlation between the spinel fraction and the changes in conductivity could be found.

Geochemistry of core sediments from the southeastern Bay of Bengal:Inferences on weathering and early diagenetic changes

A sediment core(ABP24/05),collected at a water depth of 3520 m from the southeastern Bay of Bengal was studied to determine the change in chemical weathering during the last glacial to deglacial periods and the factors of sedimentary environment which controlled earliest diagenetic changes in the sediment after its deposition.High ratios of K/Rb,Ti/Al and Zr/Rb during~45 to~18 cal kyr B.P.in the core sediments may be attributed to the stronger physical erosion and turbidity currents activity during this period.This might have brought a higher quantity of unaltered minerals to the study area.Low ratios of K/Rb,Zr/Rb,and Ti/Al and increase of SiO_(2)/TiO_(2),Rb/Al and Cs/Al from~18 cal kyr B.P.to present may be indicating an increase in the rate of chemical weathering during this period.The time of increased chemical weathering in the study area is consistent with deglaciation warming in the tropical Indian Ocean and strengthening of river runoff into the Andaman Sea.Climate change during the interglacial period by increased solar insolation thereby strengthened the summer monsoon which might have led to intensified chemical weathering in the source region since~18 cal kyr B.P.The low organic carbon(OC),high Mn/Al,Fe/Al and the Mn-oxides minerals precipitation indicate prevailing of oxic conditions during~11 cal kyr B.P.in the core sediments,which is contradictory to suboxic conditions developed in the deep ocean sediments in the western Bay of Bengal and the equatorial Indian Ocean.The low terrigenous influx and export of less OC to the bottom sediments might have created a favorable condition for the formation of Mn-oxides in the study area during Holocene.

Characterization and reactivity of biogenic manganese oxides for ciprofloxacin oxidation

Biogenic manganese oxides （BioMnOx） were synthesized by the oxidation of Mn（II） with Mn- oxidizing bacteria Pseudomonas sp. G7 under different initial pH values and Mn（II） dosages, and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The crystal structure and Mn oxidation states of BioMnOx depended on the initial pH and Mn（lI） dosages of the medium. The superoxide radical （O2） was observed in Mn-containing （III/IV） BioMnOx suspensions by electron spin resonance measurements. BioMnOx（0.4）-7, with mixed valence of Mn（II/III/IV） and the strongest O^- signals, was prepared in the initial pH 7 and Mn（II） dosage of 0.4 mmol/L condition, and exhibited the highest activity for ciproftoxacin degradation and no Mn（II） release. During the degradation of ciprofloxacin, the oxidation of the Mn（II） formed came from biotic and abiotic reactions in BioMnOx suspensions on the basis of the Mn（II） release and O2- formation from different BioMnOx. The degradation process of ciprofloxacin was shown to involve the cleavage of the hexatomic ring having a secondary amine and carbon-carbon double bond connected to a carboxyl group, producing several compounds containing amine groups as well as small organic acids.