Cl^- induced synthesis of submicron cubic copper particles in solution

Submicron copper microcrystal was synthesized by reducing Cu2O with hydrazine hydrate as reducer in aqueous solution,and was characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The shapes of copper microcrystal depend on additives. Cubic copper particles were observed when the inorganic salt containing Cl^-,such as NH4Cl,NaCl,or KCl,was added into the reaction system. By combined use of NH4Cl and polyvinylpyrrolidone （PVP）,the proportion of cubic copper particle number exceeded 90%,and the particle size is 0.1-0.5μrn. While other inorganic salt without Cl^-,such as Na2SO4 or （NH4）2SO4,had little effect on the shapes of the copper particles. The growth mechanism of metallic copper crystal in aqueous solution was analyzed. It is suggested that the formation of cubic copper crystals is ascribed to the selective adsorption of Cl^-on copper crystal （100） faces.

Hydrophobic Poplar Prepared via High Voltage Electric Field(HVEF)with Copper as Electrode Plate

In order to improve hydrophobic characteristics which will affect the service performance of fast-growing poplar due to growing bacteria in the humid environment.In this study,a simple method was proposed to treat poplar via the high voltage electric field(HVEF)with copper as the electrode plate.Scanning electron microscope(SEM),Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray diffraction(XRD)and contact angle tester were adopted to evaluate the surface morphology,surface group of poplar,crystallinity and wettability under HVEF.It was found by SEM that a large number of copper particles were uniformly attached to the surface of poplar.In all three sections,the weight percentage of the Cu element was accounting for more than half.The diffraction peaks of copper-containing compounds appeared in the(XRD).FTIR analysis confirmed that the reaction between copper and poplar took place.The surface contact angle of three sections of poplar increased in the following order:cross section<radial section<tangential section(increased by 34°,45°and 53°,respectively).An environmentfriendly and efficient method of HVEF treating fast-growing wood with copper as the electrode plate can promote its outdoor application.

Kinetics of chemical leaching of chalcopyrite from low grade copper ore: behavior of different size fractions

The kinetics of the chemical leaching of copper from low grade ore in ferric sulfate media was investigated using the constrained least square optimization technique. The experiments were carried out for different particle sizes in both the reactor and column at constant oxidation-reduction potential （Eh）, pH values, and temperature. The main copper mineral was chalcopyrite. About 40% of Cu recovery is obtained after 7 d of reactor leaching at 85℃ using -0.5 mm size fraction, while the same recovery is obtained at 75℃ after 24 d. Also, about 23% of Cu recovery is obtained after 60 d of column leaching for ＋4--8 mm size fraction whereas the Cu recovery is as low as about 15% for ＋8--12.7 and ＋12.7--25 mm size fractions. A 4-stage model for chalcopyrite dissolution was used to explain the observed dissolution behaviors. The results show that thick over-layers of sulphur components cause the parabolic behavior of chalcopyrite dissolution and the precipitation of Fe3＋ plays the main role in chalcopyrite passivation. In the case of coarse particles, transformation from one stage to another takes a longer time, thus only two stages including the initial reaction on fresh surfaces and S0 deposition are observed.

Electroless plating of copper layer on surfaces of urea-formaldehyde microcapsule particles containing paraffin for low infrared emissivity

A copper coating was deposited by electroless plating on the surfaces of urea-formaldehyde microcap- sules containing paraffin （UFP） particles. This composite microcapsule structure had low infrared OR） emissivity and maintained a constant temperature, and could be used in IR stealth applications. The eiectroless copper layer formation and its micro-appearance, and the effect of the copper layer on the IR emissivity and thermal properties of the composite microcapsules were investigated. The IR emissivity of the composite microcapsules at wavelengths of 1-14 μm gradually decreased with increasing copper mass on the surface. After formation of an integrated copper layer, the rate of IR emissivity decrease was lower. This is because the copper coating improves the surface conductivity of the UFP; a high conductivity results in high reflectivity, which leads to a decrease in IR emissivity. The lowest IR emissivity achieved was 0.68. The phase-change enthalpy of the composite microcapsules decreased with increasing amount of copper coated on the surface because of the high density of copper. When the mass increase of the UFP after electroless copper plating was about 300%, the composite microcapsules had low IR emissivity （about 0.8） and a high phase-change enthalpy （80J/g）.

Suppressing Al2O3 nanoparticle coarsening and Cu nanograin growth of milled nanostructured Cu-5vol.%Al2O3 composite powder particles by doping with Ti

Both the coarsening of Al2O3 nanoparticles and the growth of Cu nanograins of mechanically milled nanostructured Cu-5 vol.%Al2O3 composites with, and without, trace amounts of Ti during annealing at973 K for 1 h were investigated. It was found that doping with a small amount of Ti（e.g. 0.2 wt%） in a nanostructured Cu-5 vol.%Al2O3 composite effectively suppressed the coarsening of Al2O3 nanoparticles during exposure at this temperature. Further, the Ti addition also prevented the concomitant abnormal growth of the copper grains normally caused by the coarsening of the Al2O3 nanoparticles. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the Al2O3 nanoparticles in the annealed Cu-5 vol.%Al2 O3-0.2 wt%Ti sample suggested that the Ti atoms either diffused into the Al2O3 nanoparticles or segregated to the Cu/Al2O3 interfaces to form Ti-doped Al2O3 nanoparticles, which was more stable than Ti-free Al2O3 nanoparticles during annealing at high homologous temperatures.

Enhanced hydrogen production from aqueous methanol solution using TiO2/Cu as photocatalysts

The photocatalytic hydrogen production from aqueous methanol solution using titanium dioxide （TiO2） was investigated in the addition of metal particles including copper, lead, tin, and zinc. The results show that only the addition of copper particles enhances the hydrogen production. The copper usage and reaction temperature were further optimized for TiO2/Cu photocatalyts. Under the optimal conditions, the hydrogen production using TiO2/Cu as photocatalysts is approxi- mately 68 times higher than that obtained with only TiO2.