Dissolved metal ion removal by online hollow fiber ultrafiltration for enhanced size characterization of metal-containing nanoparticles with single-particle ICP-MS

Single particle-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) is a powerful tool for size-characterization of metal-containing nanoparticles (MCNs) at environmentally relevant concentrations,however,coexisting dissolved metal ions greatly interfere with the accuracy of particle size analysis.The purpose of this study is to develop an online technique that couples hollow fiber ultrafiltration (HFUF) with SP-ICP-MS to improve the accuracy and size detection limit of MCNs by removing metal ions from suspensions of MCNs.Through systematic optimization of conditions including the type and concentration of surfactant and complexing agent,carrier pH,and ion cleaning time,HFUF completely removes metal ions but retains the MCNs in suspension.The optimal conditions include using a mixture of 0.05 vol.%FL-70 and 0.5 mmol/L Na2S2O_(3)(pH=8.0) as the carrier and 4 min as the ion cleaning time.At these conditions,HFUF-SP-ICP-MS accurately determines the sizes of MCNs,and the results agree with the size distribution determined by transmission electron microscopy,even when metal ions also are present in the sample.In addition,reducing the ionic background through HFUF also lowers the particle size detection limit with SP-ICP-MS (e.g.,from 28.3 to 14.2 nm for gold nanoparticles).This size-based ion-removal principle provided by HFUF is suitable for both cations (e.g.,Ag+) and anions (e.g.,AuCl_(4)^(-)) and thus has good versatility compared to ion exchange purification and promising prospects for the removal of salts and macromolecules before single particle analysis.

Simultaneous size characterization and mass quantification of the in vivo core-biocorona structure and dissolved species of silver nanoparticles

Size characterization of silver nanoparticles with biomolecule corona（AgNP@BCs） and mass quantification of various silver species in organisms are essential for understanding the in vivo transformation of Ag NPs. Herein, we report a versatile method that allows simultaneous determination of the size of AgNP@BCs and mass concentration of various silver species in rat liver. Both particulate and ionic silver were extracted in their original forms from the organs by alkaline digestion, and analyzed by size exclusion chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry（SEC-ICP-MS）. While the silver mass concentrations were quantified by ICP-MS with a detection limit of 0.1 μg/g, the effective diameter of AgNP@BCs was determined based on the retention time in SEC separation with size discrimination of 0.6-3.3 nm. More importantly, we found that the BC thickness of AgNP@BCs is core size independent, and a linear correlation was found between the effective diameter and core diameter of AgNP@BCs in extracted tissues, which was used to calibrate the core diameter with standard deviations in the range of 0.2-1.1 nm. The utility of this strategy was demonstrated through application to rat livers in vivo. Our method is powerful for investigating the transformation mechanism of Ag NPs in vivo.

An improved theoretical procedure for the pore-size analysis of activated carbon by gas adsorption

Amorphous carbon materials play a vital role in adsorbed natural gas(ANG) storage. One of the key issues in the more prevalent use of ANG is the limited adsorption capacity, which is primarily determined by the porosity and surface characteristics of porous materials. To identify suitable adsorbents, we need a reliable computational tool for pore characterization and, subsequently, quantitative prediction of the adsorption behavior. Within the framework of adsorption integral equation(AIE), the pore-size distribution(PSD) is sensitive to the adopted theoretical models and numerical algorithms through isotherm fitting. In recent years, the classical density functional theory(DFT) has emerged as a common choice to describe adsorption isotherms for AIE kernel construction. However,rarely considered is the accuracy of the mean-field approximation(MFA) commonly used in commercial software. In this work, we calibrate four versions of DFT methods with grand canonical Monte Carlo(GCMC) molecular simulation for the adsorption of CH_4 and CO_2 gas in slit pores at 298 K with the pore width varying from 0.65 to 5.00 nm and pressure from 0.2 to 2.0 MPa. It is found that a weighted-density approximation proposed by Yu(WDA-Yu) is more accurate than MFA and other non-local DFT methods. In combination with the trapezoid discretization of AIE, the WDA-Yu method provides a faithful representation of experimental data, with the accuracy and stability improved by 90.0% and 91.2%, respectively, in comparison with the corresponding results from MFA for fitting CO_2 isotherms. In particular, those distributions in the feature pore width range(FPWR)are proved more representative for the pore-size analysis. The new theoretical procedure for pore characterization has also been tested with the methane adsorption capacity in seven activated carbon samples.

Investigation of the Interfacial Transition Zone between Aggregate-Cement Paste by AC Impedance Spectroscopy

Three different types and sizes of coarse aggregate were chosen,and the alternating current（AC） impedance of cement paste samples with and without aggregate was measured at different curing ages.Based on Song’s equivalent circuit model,the electrical properties from the AC impedance results were obtained,and the resistance of connected pores RCCP was used to characterize the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone（ITZ）.The results show that the RCCP of concrete sample with aggregate is lower than that of cement paste sample,which indicates that the introduction of aggregate in cement paste makes the ITZ porous.Furthermore,for the same type of aggregate,an increase in particle size leads to a more porous ITZ,which accounts for the “water effect” and a larger aggregate would accumulate a thicker water film around it.In addition,for the same size of aggregate,the physical interaction between aggregate and cement paste is dominant in early age,and the microstructure of the ITZ around limestone aggregate is denser,which mainly depends on its rough surface and high water absorption.However,the microstructures of the ITZ around granite and basalt aggregates are denser in later age,which may be due to their higher chemical activity,and the chemical interaction between them and cement paste resulting in the generation of more hydrates.AC impedance spectroscopy thus proves to be powerful for evaluation of the microstructure of the ITZ.

Quantifying Design Parameters of Symbology Page for Automotive Head up Display

This paper gives an overview of studies on parameters displayed on the Automotive Head Up Display （A-HUD） including calculation and construction of symbology page based on study results. A study has been made on vital parameters required for car drivers and design calculations have been made based on design parameters like field of view, distance from the design eye position, minimum character size viewable from a distance of 1.5m between driver and the projected image, and optical magnification factor. lhe display format suitable for A-HUD applications depends upon the parameters required to be displayed. The aspect ratio chosen is 4：3. This paper also provides method to design the symbology page embedding six vital parameters with their relative positioning and size considering relative position between display device and optical elements which has been considered with a magnification factor of 2.5. The field of view obtained is 6.7° × 4.8°.

On-line full scan inspection of particle size and shape using digital image processing

An on-line full scan inspection system is developed for particle size analysis. A particle image is first obtained through optical line scan technology and is then analyzed using digital image processing. The system is composed of a particle separation module, an image acquisition module, an image processing module, and an electric control module. Experiments are carried out using non-uniform 0.1 mm particles. The main advantage of this system consists of a full analysis of particles without any overlap or miss, thus improving the Area Scan Charge Coupled Device （CCD） acquisition problems. Particle size distribution, roundness, and sphericity can be obtained using the system with a deviation of repeated precision of around ±1%. The developed system is shown to be also convenient and versatile for any particle size and shape for academic and industrial users.

Preparation and characterization of conducting polymer-coated thermally expandable microspheres

The thermally expandable microspheres（TEMs） were prepared via suspension polymerization with acrylonitrile（AN）, methyl methacrylate（MMA） and methyl acrylate（MA） as monomers and n-hexane as the blowing agent. Meanwhile, a novel type of functional and conductive thermal expandable microsphere was obtained through strongly covering the surface of microsphere by conductive polymers with the mass loading of 1.5%. The optimal conditions to prepare high foaming ratio and equally distributed microcapsules were investigated with AN-MMA-MA in the proportion of 70%/20%/10%（m/m/m）, and 25 wt% of n-hexane in oil phase. The further investigation results showed that the unexpanded TEMs were about 30 μm in diameter and the maximum expansion ratio was nearly 125 times of original volume. The polypyrrole（PPy） was smoothly coated on the surface of the TEMs and the expansion property of PPy-coated TEMs was almost the same as the uncoated TEMs. Moreover, the structure and expanding performance of TEMs and PPy-coated TEMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, laser particle size analyzer and dilatometer（DIL）.

Determination of time-and size-dependent fine particle emission with varied oil heating in an experimental kitchen

Particulate matter（PM） from cooking has caused seriously indoor air pollutant and aroused risk to human health.It is urged to get deep knowledge of their spatial-temporal distribution of source emission characteristics,especially ultrafine particles（UFP ＆lt; 100 nm） and accumulation mode particles（AMP 100-555 nm）.Four commercial cooking oils are auto dipped water to simulate cooking fume under heating to 255℃ to investigate PM emission and decay features between 0.03 and 10 μm size dimension by electrical low pressure impactor（ELPI） without ventilation.Rapeseed and sunflower produced high PM_（2.5） around5.1 mg/m^3,in comparison with those of soybean and corn（5.87 and 4.55 mg/m^3,respectively）at peak emission time between 340 and 450 sec since heating oil,but with the same level of particle numbers 6-9 × 10~5/cm^3.Mean values of PM_（1.0）/PM_（2.5） and PM_（2.5）/PM_（10） at peak emission time are around 0.51-0.55 and 0.23-0.29.After 15 min naturally deposition,decay rates of PM_（1.0）,PM_（2.5） and PM_（10） are 13.3%-29.8%,20.1%-33.9%and 41.2%-54.7%,which manifest that PM_（1.0） is quite hard to decay than larger particles,PM_（2.5） and PM_（1.0）.The majority of the particle emission locates at 43 nm with the largest decay rate at 75%,and shifts to a larger size between137 and 555 nm after 15 min decay.The decay rates of the particles are sensitive to the oil type.

Resonant and nonresonant second-harmonic generation in a single cadmium sulfide nanowire

We experimentally investigate the resonant and nonresonant second-harmonic generation in a single cadmium sulfide（Cd S） nanowire. The second-order susceptibility tensor is determined by analyzing the forward secondharmonic signals of the Cd S nanowire. Our results show that（1） d33∕d31=-2.5 at a nonresonant input wavelength of 1050 nm;（2） d33∕d31=-1.9 at a resonant wavelength of 740 nm. The difference can be attributed to the polarization-dependent resonance.