Upper-rim-modified thioether thiacalix[4]arene used for liquid-liquid extraction of Au(Ⅲ)and Pd(Ⅱ)in hydrochloric acid medium

Gold(Au)and palladium(Pd)play an increasing role in the production and human life;Therefore,it is of great significance to study their recovery.A 5,11,17,23-tetra-ethylthio-25,26,27,28-tetra-hydroxyl thiacalix[4]arene(TCAET)was synthesized specifically for the capture of Au(Ⅲ)and Pd(Ⅱ)from HCl medium by liquid-liquid extraction.In a 0.1 mol·L^(-1)HCl medium,the transfer of Au(Ⅲ)and Pd(Ⅱ)from the aqueous phase to the organic phase was highly efficient,with a transfer ratio of 100%for Au(Ⅲ)and 98%for Pd(Ⅱ).Furthermore,the extraction equilibrium time for Au(Ⅲ)was just 5 min.Job's method data demonstrated that TCAET formed complexes with Au(Ⅲ)and Pd(Ⅱ)in a ratio of 2:3 and 1:1,respectively,during the extraction process.TCAET showed high selectivity toward Pd(Ⅱ)and Au(Ⅲ)over other competing metal ions.Moreover,both Au(Ⅲ)and Pd(Ⅱ)could be successfully stripped from the loaded organic phases with a 1.0 mol·L^(-1)thiourea in 0.5 mol·L^(-1)HCl and 0.5 mol·L^(-1)thiourea in 0.5 mol·L^(-1)HCl,respectively.Results obtained from five consecutive extraction-stripping cycles showed good reusability of TCAET toward Au(Ⅲ)and Pd(Ⅱ)recovery.The conclusion can provide a certain reference for thiacalixarene in the recovery of precious metal species.

Four-channel catalytic micro-reactor based on alumina hollow fiber membrane for efficient catalytic oxidation of CO

The traditional automotive catalytic converter using commercial ceramic honeycomb carriers has many problems such as high back pressure,low engine efficiency,and high usage of precious metals.This study proposes a four-channel catalytic micro-reactor based on alumina hollow fiber membrane,which uses phase inversion method for structural molding and regulation.Due to the advantages of its carrier,it can achieve lower ignition temperature under low noble metal loading.With Pd/CeO_(2) at a loading rate of 2.3%(mass),the result showed that the reaction ignition temperature is even less than 160℃,which is more than 90℃ lower than the data of commercial ceramic substrates under similar catalyst loading and airspeed conditions.The technology in turn significantly reduces the energy consumption of the reaction.And stability tests were conducted under constant conditions for 1000 h,which proved that this catalytic converter has high catalytic efficiency and stability,providing prospects for the design of innovative catalytic converters in the future.

RuO_(2)/CoMO_(2)O_(x) Catalyst with Low Ruthenium Loading for Long-Term Acidic Oxygen Evolution

We must urgently synthesize highly efficient and stable oxygen-evolution reaction(OER) catalysts for acidic media. Herein, we constructed a series of Ti mesh(TM)-supported RuO_(2)/CoMo_(y)O_(x) catalysts(RuO_(2)/CoMo_(y)O_(x)/TM) with heterogeneous structures. By optimizing the ratio of Co to Mo, RuO_(2)/CoMO_(2)O_(x)/TM with low Ru loading(0.079 mg/cm^(2)) achieves remarkable OER performance(η = 243 mV at 10 mA/cm^(2)) and high stability(300 h @ 10 mA/cm^(2)) in 0.5 mol/L H_(2)SO_(4) electrolyte. The activity of RuO_(2)/CoMo_yO_x/TM can be maintained for 50 h at 100 mA/cm^(2), and a water electrolyzer with RuO_(2)/CoMO_(2)O_(x)/TM as anode can operate for 40 h at 100 mA/cm~2, suggesting the remarkable OER durability of RuO_(2)/CoMo__(y)O__(x)/TM in acidic electrolyte. Owing to the heterogeneous interface between CoMO_(2)O_(x) and RuO_(2), the electronic structure of Ru atoms was optimized and electron-rich Ru was formed. With modulated electronic properties, the dissociation energy of H_(2)O is weakened, and the OER barrier is lowered. This study provides the design of low-cost noble metal catalysts with long-term stability in an acidic environment.

Archaeological Marvels The remarkable achievements of Shaanxi’s archaeologists

Shaanxi Province is rich in archaeological heritage.Its capital,Xi’an,was the capital of 13 dynasties up until the end of the Tang Dynasty(618-907),nine of which were stable,united,multiethnic societies that created rich cultures and left behind an abundance of precious relics.

Bonding for a Better Tomorrow Youth festival serves as precious avenue for Chinese and African youth to understand each other, develop lasting relationships

The 8th China-Africa Youth Festival was a precious opportunity to not only learn about Chinese culture but also to explore the rich tapestry of cultures of different African countries.Participants had the chance to talk to young leaders from across the continent,fostering new bonds and connections that can potentially benefit everyone involved in the future.This cultural exchange not only broadened our understanding but also paved the way for collaboration and enduring friendships that could be good for personal development.

Dynamic interacting relationships among international oil prices, macroeconomic variables and precious metal prices

From the perspective of long-term and short-term, the methods of TY causality test, generalized impulse response function, variance decomposition were used to investigate the impacts of international oil prices and macroeconomic variables on Chinese gold, silver and platinum prices, but also the feedback effects of Chinese precious metal prices under this impact. The results show that international oil prices play an important role in precious metal price variation both in long-term and short-term, and exchange rate only has an effect in short-term, while interest rate is ineffective in predicting precious metal prices. In addition, precious metal prices have some feedback effects on international oil prices and interest rate in short-term.

Precious Fossil-Bearing Beds of the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in Western Liaoning Province, China

Based on the subdivision into three members of the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning, this paper deals mainly with the division and correlation of precious fossil birdand reptile-bearing beds of the formation in the Dachengzi, Chaoyang, Dapingfang.Meileyingzi and Fuxin-Yixian basins. Among them, the precious fossil-bearing beds in the Dachengzi Basin may be recognized as the Xidagou Bed of the second member and the Yangcaogoudonggou Bed of the third member; those in the Chaoyang Basin may be confirmed as the Shangheshou Bed of the second member and the Dongpochi Bed of the third member; those in the Dapingfang-Meileyingzi Basin are as the Lamagou Bed of the second member, the Huanghuagou Bed of the lower third member and the Yuanjiawa Bed of the upper third member; and those in the Fuxin-Yixian Basin are listed as the Tuanshanzi Bed of the second member and the Pijiagou Bed of the third member. Since these basins are distinctly separated and the bird and reptile fossils are mostly new genera and species, we have to use the associated fossil ostracod assemblages as index to correlate the Xidagou Bed with the Shangheshou Bed and the Lamagou Bed, and to correlate the Yuanjiawa Bed with the Yangcaogoudonggou Bed and the Pijiagou Bed. Primarily, we established the sequence of the precious fossil-bearing beds of the Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning. They are represented by, in ascending order, the Xidagou Bed of the second member, the Huanghuagou Bed of the lower third member, and the Yuanjiawa Bed of the upper third member. Obviously, this work has significance for the study on the time-space distribution and radiation of birds and dinosaurs during the period of the middle Early Cretaceous.

Process mineralogy characteristics of acid leaching residue produced in low-temperature roasting-acid leaching pretreatment process of refractory gold concentrates

To provide a theoretical basis for a suitable process to extract gold from refractory gold concentrates, process mineralogy on the acid leaching residue of gold calcine was studied by chemical composition, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-energy spectrum, and mineral dissociation analysis. The results showed that the acid leaching residue contained Au 68.22 g/t, Ag 92.71 g/t, Fe 0.44%, As 0.10%, and S 0.55%. Gold and silver minerals existed as native gold, argentite, and proustite. Quartz, the main gangue mineral, accounted for 78.33 wt/%. The dissociation degree analysis showed that the proportions of monomer and exposed gold in acid leaching residue were 96.66 wt%. The cyanidation results showed that the cyanide gold leaching rate of acid leaching residues was close to 100 wt%. However, the maximum cyanide gold leaching rate of gold calcine was only 85.31 wt%. This suggests that acid leaching can increase the gold dissolution rate in the cyanide process.

Selective extraction and conversion of lignin in actual biomass to monophenols: A review

Our over dependency on the fossil resource for industrial chemicals and fuels faces great challenges. Recently, the production of monophenols from lignin in lignocellulosic biomass is regarded as a promising process for sustainable biofuels. This article discusses the conversion of lignin in actual biomass directly to monophenols. The two step way including extraction of lignin from biomass and further degradation of the lignin oligomers to monophenols is especially discussed. The obtained monophenols can also be converted to chemicals with low-oxygen content via hydrodeoxygenation process. For extraction of lignin, co-solvent system is the most adopted for hydrolysis or solvolysis of lignin assisted by acid or alkaline catalysts. The structure of the obtained oligomers derived from lignin is discussed in detail. For lignin depolymerization, hydrogenolysis is an efficient method with the use of gaseous hydrogen or alcohols as hydrogen source. At the meantime, depolymerization mechanism and the route for repolymerization of the reaction intermediates are presented here. In hydrodeoxygenation process, metal catalysts, especially noble metal catalysts are required. The precise effects of the reaction solvents and catalysts on extraction and degradation of lignin need to be further investigated, and this will benefit to design more efficient strategies for lignin utilization. © 2016 Science Press

Oxygen Storage Capacity of Pt-, Pd-, Rh/CeO_2-Based Oxide Catalyst

CZO （CeO2-ZrO2） and CZYO （CeO2-ZrO2-Y2O3） series of mixed oxides were prepared by coprecipitaion, and a part of these oxides were loaded with precious metals （PM）. XRD, BET, and oxygen storage capacity （OSC） investigations were performed on samples aged at 750, 900, and 1050 ℃. It was observed that BET surface area and OSC showed a marked decrease in CeO2 aged at high temperature, and the erystallite size showed an obvious increase. The CZO samples consist of cubic- and tetragonal crvstal phases, and their crystallite size increase rapidly when aged at high temperature. The CZYO samples consist of single crystal phase when the content of Y exceeds 0.15 mol, and their erystallite size increases slowly during high-temperature aging. It is concluded that additive Y can stabilize the performance of CZYO oxides. In the aged CZO and CZYO mixed-oxide systems, addition of a small amount of precious metals （Pt, Pd, Rh） increased the rate of reduction and led to an obvious improvement in OSC. OSC of CZO and CZYO with precious metals are related to their composition and the type of precious metal.

Progress in Microwave Technology Applied to the Recovery of Precious Metals from the Secondary Resources

The recovery of precious metals from the secondary resources by microwave technology has emerged in recent years. Microwave technology as a new method for the recovery of precious metals has shown significant advantages against the conventional recovery procedures. This paper presents a review of the advances in microwave technology applied to the recovery of precious metals from the secondary resources. Many different applications are considered, including microwave-assisted leaching, microwave augmented ashing and microwave pyrolysis. In general, microwave enhanced recovery of precious metals from secondary resources.

General approach for atomically dispersed precious metal catalysts toward hydrogen reaction

As a carbon-free energy carrier,hydrogen has become the pivot for future clean energy,while efficient hydrogen production and combustion still require precious metal-based catalysts.Single-atom catalysts(SACs)with high atomic utilization open up a desirable perspective for the scale applications of precious metals,but the general and facile preparation of various precious metal-based SACs remains challenging.Herein,a general movable printing method has been developed to synthesize various precious metal-based SACs,such as Pd,Pt,Rh,Ir,and Ru,and the features of highly dispersed single atoms with nitrogen coordination have been identified by comprehensive characterizations.More importantly,the synthesized Pt-and Ru-based SACs exhibit much higher activities than their corresponding nanoparticle counterparts for hydrogen oxidation reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).In addition,the Pd-based SAC delivers an excellent activity for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.Especially for the superior mass activity of Ru-based SACs toward HER,density functional theory calculations confirmed that the adsorption of the hydrogen atom has a significant effect on the spin state and electronic structure of the catalysts.

A data processing method for MAPR hydrothermal plume turbidity data and its application in the Precious Stone Mountain hydrothermal field

Hydrothermal plume is an important constituent of seabed hydrothermal circulation and is also one of the characteristics of active hydrothermal vents. Portable Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorders （MAPR） attached to a towed deep-sea instrument was used to search for hydrothermal plumes and hydrothermal vents. We introduced the basic principle of MAPR based on deep towing technology to detect plumes, then analyzed the factors affecting the quality of the MAPR data and presented a data correction method for MAPR, including instrument location correction, noise reduction processing, system error elimination and seawater background reduction. Finally we applied the method to analyze MAPR data obtained during the Chinese DY115-21 cruise on R/VDayang Iin the “Precious Stone Mountain” hydrothermal field on the Gala-pagos Microplate. The results provided a better understanding of the distribution of the hydrothermal activ-ity in this field, indicating the presence of a new hydrothermal vent.

Induced growth of Fe-N_x active sites using carbon templates

Highly active Fe-N_x sites that effectively improve the performance of non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions（ORRs） are desirable. Herein, we propose a strategy for introducing a carbon template into a melamine/Fe-salt mixture to inductively generate highly active Fe-N_x sites for ORR. Using 57 Fe M？sbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, we studied the structural composition of the Fe and N co-doped carbon catalysts.Interestingly, the results showed that this system not only converted inactive Fe and Fe-carbides into active Fe-N_4 and other Fe-nitrides, but also improved their intrinsic activities.

Fe,N,S-doped porous carbon as oxygen reduction reaction catalyst in acidic medium with high activity and durability synthesized using CaCl_2 as template

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells suffer from the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and the high cost of Pt catalysts.In the present work,a high‐performance ORR catalystbased on Fe,N,S‐doped porous carbon(FeNS‐PC)was synthesized using melamine formaldehyderesin as C and N precursors,Fe(SCN)3as Fe and S precursors,and CaCl2as a template via a two‐stepheat treatment without a harsh template removal step.The results show that the catalyst treated at900℃(FeNS‐PC‐900)had a high surface area of775m2/g,a high mass activity of10.2A/g in anacidic medium,and excellent durability;the half‐wave potential decreased by only20mV after10000potential cycles.The FeNS‐PC‐900catalyst was used as the cathode in a proton exchangemembrane fuel cell and delivered a peak power density of0.49W/cm2.FeNS‐PC‐900therefore hasgood potential for use in practical applications.

Recovery of Gold, Silver, Copper and Niobium from Printed Circuit Boards Using Leaching Column Technique

Nowadays, over 300 tons of Au are used in electronic equipment each year with other precious and strategic metals such as Ag, Pt, Pd, Cu, Nb, Ta, etc.. After the use-phase, the electronic devices become electronic waste （e-waste）; consequently it is important to consider e-waste as a secondary supply for the recovery of these metals. This paper presents the recovery ofAu, Ag, Cu and Nb from PCBs （printed circuit boards） of discarded computers using leaching column technique. The PCBs were crushed with a hammer mill until reaching a particle size between 3.33 mm to 0.43 mm, Then, it was leached with a sodium cyanide solution in a glass column using the following conditions： sodium cyanide concentration 4 g/L, flux 20 L/d kg PCBs day, pH between 10.5 to 11 and leaching time 15 days. Every day, after leaching, the pregnant solutions passed through a column with activated carbon to complete the closed loop system. The following recoveries were obtained： Au 46.6%, Ag 51.3%, Nb 47.2% and Cu 62.3%. A preliminary technical-economic study shows the feasibility to create a small-scale PCBs recycling plant. The initial investment is on the order of USS155,639, considering the recovered metals from the loaded carbon. The internal rate of return for a 10 years period IRR （internal rate of return） and NPV （net present value） estimated are 27% and US$105,926 respectively.

大大小小的“孩子”

《大学英语》第三册第七单元课文中,著名剧作家Rod Serling在刻画一位来自德国的Weiss时,有意在他的台词中编入了这样一句话:“I’ve got a three-month-oldinfant.”(我有个三个月大的婴儿。)用来表现他的英语不地道,是个外国人,而紧接着美国人Mrs.Henderson则说:“…is yourbaby’S life any more precious than our kids?”

Deselenization and detellurization of precious-metal ore concentrates by swelling oxidizing roasting and successive alkaline leaching

A new technique of swelling oxidizing roasting and alkaline leaching was proposed for deselenization and detellurization of pre- cious-metal ore concentrates. Alkali-metal and alkaline-earth-metal chlorides and carbonates were preliminarily selected as swelling agents. The roasting removal rate and alkaline leaching rate of selenium and tellurium were investigated, and NaCl was selected as an appropriate swelling agent. Furthermore, the effects of various factors on the selenium gasification rate and leaching rate of selenium and tellurium were investigated. The results show that the selenium gasification rate reaches 88.41% after swelling oxidizing roasting for 2 h at 510~C using an NaC1 dosage coefficient of 100 and a sulfuric acid dosage coefficient of 1.3; the amorphous elemental tellurium is completely transformed into TeO2. The roasted product is subjected to alkaline leaching using a 100 g/L NaOH solution, which results in a selenium leaching rate of 10.51%, a total selenium removal rate of 98.92%, and a tellurium leaching rate of 97.64%. In the alkaline leaching residue, the contents of selenium, tellurium, gold, platinum, and palladium are 0.7825%, 5.492%, 8.333%, 0.2587%, and 1.113%, respectively; the precious metals are enriched approximately sixfold.

Influence of Ce_(0.35)Zr_(0.55)Y_(0.10) Solid Solution on Performance of Pt-Rh Three-Way Catalysts

Ce0.35Zr0.55Y0. 10 solid solution was prepared by co-precipitation technique and characterized by specific surface area measurements （BET） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. Ce0.35Zr0.55Y0.10 was used to prepare low Pt-Rh threeway catalyst （TWC）, and its influence on the performance of TWC was investigated. The results revealed that Ce0.35 Zr0.55Y0.10 had a cubic structure similar to Ce0.50Zr0.50O2 and its specific surface area can maintain higher than Ce0.50 Zr0.50O2 after 1000 ℃ calcination for 5 h. Being hydrothermal aged at 1000 ℃ for 5 h, the catalyst containing Ce0.35 Zr0.55Y0.10 still exhibited higher conversion of C3H8, CO and NO and lower light-off temperature in comparison with Ce0.50Zr0.50O2 TWC.

Early Cretaceous precious fossil-bearing beds in Weijialing—Yaolugou of Jianchang Basin,western Liaoning

The Jianchang Basin is one of the main localities of the precious fossils of Jehol Biota in western Liaoning.The fossil-bearing horizons are mainly in the Yixian-and Jiufotang formations.In the Weijialing--Yaolugou of southwest Jianchang Basin,many precious fossils have been found at Luojiagou Bed of the 2nd Member of the Yixian Formation and at Xidian Bed of the 1st member of the Jiufotang Formation.The geologic setting,sedimentary environment and paleogeography of the precious fossil-bearing beds were also studied.