Experimental investigation of pre-irradiation effect on radiation sensitivity of temperature sensing fiber Bragg gratings

The effect of pre-irradiation on radiation sensitivity of fiber Bragg gratings （FBGs） is verified experimentally. FBGs are fabricated in photosensitive optical fibers and single mode fibers with Ce-concentration in a range from 3 mol% to 23.37 mol% in the core. In experiments, the FBGs are subjected to twice v-radiation exposures to a Co^60 source at a dose-rate of 0.1 Gy/s up to a total dose of 50 kGy. Pre-irradiation treatment can reduce the temperature sensitivity variation of FBGs by 18.12%-35.91%, as well as Bragg wavelength shift （BWS） by 8%-27.08 %. Our research demonstrates that pre-irradiation treatment is a feasible method to improve the radiation tolerance of FBGs.

Grafting Copolymerization of Styrene and Acrylic Acid onto Pre-irradiated Polypropylene Fabric

Grafting copolymerization of styrene and acrylic acid onto polypropylene fabric had been studied by using a pre-irradiation technique. The polypropylene fabric Samples were irradiated by Y-ray and electron beam under the conditions of air and nitrogen gas, respectively. The effect of absorbed dose, monomer concentration in solvent, reaction temperature and reaction time on the degree of grafting were determined. The effects of metallic salts and sulphuric acid on the grafting yield of acrylic acid were also examined. The samples irradiated by electron beam give a much higher degree of grafting than those by Y -ray when styrene was grafted to polypropylene fabric. However, the grafting yield of acrylic acid on polypropylene fabric in the presence of metallic salts and sultric acid showed the opposite results from the case of styrene. This effect is reasonably interpreted by assuming that the grafting is dominated by trapped radicals and peroxides in pre-irradiated polypropylene.

Preparation of amidoxime-based PE/PP fibers for extraction of uranium from aqueous solution

A novel amidoxime-based fibrous adsorbent,denoted as PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO), was prepared by preirradiation grafting of acrylic acid and acrylonitrile onto polyethylene-coated polypropylene skin-core(PE/PP)fibers using 60 Co γ-ray irradiation, followed by amidoximation. The original and modified PE/PP fibers were characterized by a series of characterization methods to demonstrate the attachment of amidoxime groups onto the PE/PP fibers. Breaking strength tests confirmed that the fibrous adsorbent could maintain good mechanical properties. The adsorption capacity of the PE/PP-g-(PAAc-coPAO) fibers was investigated in simulated seawater with an initial uranium concentration of 330 μg/L. The uranium adsorption capacity was 2.27 mg/g-adsorbent after 24 h in simulated seawater, and the equilibrium data were well described by the Freundlich isotherm model. The PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO) adsorbent exhibited good regeneration and recyclability during five adsorption-desorption cycles.The adsorption test was also performed in simulated radioactive effluents with uranium concentrations of 10 and100 μg/L. The effect of the pH value on the adsorption capacity was also studied. At a very low initial concentration 10 μg/L solution, the PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO)fiber could remove as much as 93.0% of the uranium, and up to 71.2% of the uranium in the simulated radioactive effluent. These results indicated that the PE/PP-g-(PAAcco-PAO) adsorbent could be used in radioactive effluents over a wide range of pH values. Therefore, the PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO) fibers, with their high uranium selectivity,good regeneration and recyclability,good mechanical properties, and low cost, are promising adsorbents for extracting uranium from aqueous solutions.

Synthesis of Amine-type Adsorbents with Emulsion Graft Polymerization of 4-hydroxybutyl Acrylate Glycidylether

Radiation induced graft polymerization on polymeric matrix followed by functionalization is widely accepted for the preparation of metal adsorbents. In this paper, a pre-irradiation method was used for emulsion graft polymerization of 4-hydroxybutyl acrylate glycidylether (4-HB) onto polyethylene/polypropylene (PE/PP) nonwoven fabric. The degree of grafting (Dg) which can be calculated by weight increment was determined as a function of reaction time, irradiation dose, and monomer concentration. After 30 kGy irradiation, with 4-HB concentration of 5%, surfactant Span 20 of 0.5% at 40°C for 2 h, the trunk polymer was made grafted at a Dg of 135%. 4-HB-grafted PE/PP nonwoven fabric was modified by ethylenediamine (EDA) in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as a solvent at 60°C. With a Dg of 135%, the amine group density of the adsorbent is 2.8 mmol/g. The adsorption test was carried out by batch experiment in several metal ion solutions, and the removal ratio from the EDA modified adsorbent of the metal ions is in the order of Cu2+ > Pb2+ > Zn2+ > Ni2+ > Li+. Compared with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) which is a typical functional monomer for graft polymerization, 4-HB-grafted adsorbent exhibited not only better mechanical property but also higher adsorption capacity of Cu2+ and Pb2+.

Review:Development of Non-Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Temperature is a crucial factor that is intrinsically related to fuel cell performances and categorizes the proton exchange membranes(PEM)into high and low temperature(HT,LT)types.With water as proton conductor,working temperature of LT-PEM is limited below 100℃.PEM fuel cell with an elevated temperature(HT-PEMFC,>120℃)thus attracts much research attention on account of the significant benefits,such as simpler water management,faster electrode kinetics,improved CO tolerance of platinum catalyst,and heat recovery.As a well-known concept,numerous polymer membranes with doping phosphoric acid(PA)have been investigated for HT-PEMFC.In this review,the development trend for the most advanced technology of HT-PEM polybenzimidazole(PBI)membrane,other hydrocarbon-based membrane,and fluorinated membrane produced via pre-irradiation induced grafting with respect to their synthesis,properties,critical issues,and corresponding solutions is presented.