ZnO-chitosan/Rectorite Nanocomposite Exhibiting High Photocatalytic Activities under Visible-light Irradiation

Chitosan(CS),hydrated zinc acetate,and rectorite(REC) were used as raw materials to prepare CS-embedded zinc oxide(ZnO) nanoparticle by a chemical precipitation process.Hydrogen-bonded REC-loaded ZnO-CS nanoparticle was to form ZnO-CS/REC nanocomposite photocatalyst,its morphology and structure were analyzed by means of FTIR,XRD,TGA,SEM,and TEM.The effects of the catalyst dosage,methyl orange(MO) initial concentration and solution pH on photocatalytic performance were also discussed.The experimental results show that the ZnO-CS/REC nanocomposite has a particle size of 100 nm with good dispersion and uniformity.Under irradiation of visible light,0.6 g/L photocatalyst was used to degrade MO in solution for 90 min at pH 6,then the MO solution(10 mg/L) was decolored by more than 99%,indicating that the ZnO-CS/REC nanocomposite exhibited highly photocatalytic degradation activity.Therefore,the photodegradation kinetic mechanism of MO in aqueous solution is presumed.

The impact of^(60)Co-γirradiation on the chemical constituents of Chuanxiong Rhizoma

Background:In order to clarify the inmpat ofγirradiation on the chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine,this paper carefully choosed Chuanxiong Rhizoma to carry on a demonstration study.Methods:Through a meticulous assessment,a comprehensive comparison was made between the irradiated and unirradiated Chuanxiong Rhizoma samples.The property characteristics were investigated by colorimeter and electronic nose.The changes in chemical structures and contents was analyzed by fourier infrared spectroscopy,high performance liquid chromatography and fingerprinting.In a quest to uncover the presence of any new radiolysis products,cutting-edge techniques like ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were employed.Moreover,the difference of antioxidant activity were investigated.Results:The irradiation doses within 12 kGy had no significant effects on the content of the main chemical components,characteristics and in vitro antioxidant activity of Chuanxiong Rhizoma,while changes in some functional groups and degradation of some volatile oil components containing olefins need further study.Conclusion:This study indicates that^(60)Co-γirradiation is a stable method for sterilization of Chuanxiong Rhizoma.It’s also provide a reference for the establishment of irradiation standards for Chuanxiong Rhizoma and other aromatic medicinal plants.

Recyclable Cu/g-C_(3)N_(4)nanometric semiconductor catalyzed N-formylation of amines via photocatalytic aerobic oxidative C-C bond cleavage of aldehydes under visible-light irradiation

Due to its difficulty and complexity,the cleavage and subsequent functionalization of the C(sp^(3))-C(sp^(3))single bond has received less attention than the C-C bond formation reactions that have been extensively studied.Herein,by utilizing Cu/g-C_(3)N_(4)nanometric semiconductor as a recyclable photocatalyst,an aerobic oxidative C-C bond cleavage of aldehydes was developed with the promotion of amines under visible light irradiation.Based on the reaction,phenylacetaldehyde was selected as a highly efficient formylation reagent for amines.Under blue light irradiation,good to excellent yields of formamides were achieved for various amines in 1 atm oxygen atmosphere at room temperature.This methodology offers a practical,neutral and gentle alternative to the preparation of formamides.

A practical synthesis of α-bromo/iodo/chloroketones from olefins under visible-light irradiation conditions

A practical synthesis of α-bromo/iodo/chloroketones from olefins under visible-light irradiation conditions has been developed.In the presence of PhI(OAc)_(2) as promoter and under ambient conditions,the reactions of styrenes and triiodomethane undergo the transformation smoothly to deliver the corresponding a-iodoketones without additional photocatalyst in good yields under sunlight irradiation.Mea nwhile,the reactions of styrenes with tribromomethane and trichloromethane generate the desiredα-bromoketones and a-chloroketones in high yields by using Ru(bpy)_(3)Cl_(2) as a photocatalyst under blue LED(450-455 nm) irradiation.

Simple synthesis of silver nanocluster composites AgNCs@PE-g-PAA by irradiation method and fluorescence detection of Cr^(3+)

Silver nanoclusters(AgNCs)are a new type of nanomaterials with similar properties to molecules and unique applications.The applications of AgNCs can be significantly expanded by combining them with different matrix materials to obtain AgNC composites.Using irradiation techniques,we developed a simple two-step method for preparing silver nanocluster composites.First,polyacrylic acid(PAA)chains were grafted onto the surface of a PE film as templates(PE-g-PAA).Subsequently,silver ions were reduced in situ on the surface of the template material to obtain the AgNC composites(AgNCs@PE-g-PAA).The degree of AgNC loading on the composite film was easily controlled by adjusting the reaction conditions.The loaded AgNCs were anchored to the carboxyl groups of the PAA and wrapped in the graft chain.The particle size of the AgNCs was only 4.38±0.85 nm,with a very uniform particle size distribution.The AgNCs@PE-g-PAA exhibited fluorescence characteristics derived from the AgNCs.The fluorescence of the AgNCs@PE-g-PAA was easily quenched by Cr^(3+)ions.The composite can be used as a fluorescence test paper to realize visual detection of Cr^(3+).

Surface structure modification of ReSe2 nanosheets via carbon ion irradiation

The effects of C ion irradiation on multilayer ReSe2flakes are studied by utilizing different kinds of technologies. The domain sizes, thickness, morphologies of the multilayer ReSe2flakes on the Al2O3substrates before and after 1.0-MeV C ion irradiation with different fluence rates are studied by atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscopy. The atomic vibrational spectra of multilayer ReSe2flakes are detected by micro-Raman spectra. The redshifts of the Raman modes after 1.0-MeV C ion irradiation are observed from the micro-Raman spectra. The elemental compositions and bonding configurations of the multilayer ReSe2samples before and after irradiation processes are characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The structural properties are also investigated by x-ray diffraction, and it is concluded that after 1.0-MeV C ion irradiation process, multilayer ReSe2samples continue to grow on Al2O3substrates, the increase of crystallite size also reveals that the crystallinity is improved with the increase of the layer number after 1.0-MeV C ion irradiation.

Atomic simulations of primary irradiation damage in U–Mo–Xe system

To shed a light on Xe bubble nucleation in U–Mo fuel from the view of primary irradiation damage,a reported U–Mo–Xe potential under the framework of embedded atom method has been modified within the range of short and intermediate atomic distance.The modified potential can better describe the interactions between energetic particles,and can accurately reproduce the threshold displacement energy surface calculated by the first-principles method.Then,molecular dynamics simulations of primary irradiation damage in U–Mo–Xe system have been conducted under different contents.The raise of Xe concentration brings about a remarkable promotion in residual defect quantity and generates bubbles in more overpressured state,which suggests an acceleration of irradiation damage under the accumulation of the fission gas.Meanwhile,the addition of Mo considerably reduces the residual defect count and hinders irradiation-induced Xe diffusion especially at high contents of Xe,corroborating the importance of high Mo content in mitigation of irradiation damage and swelling behavior in U–Mo fuel.In particular,the variation of irradiation damage with respect to contents suggests a necessity of taking into account the influence of local components on defect evolution in mesoscale simulations.

Effects of specific doses of E-beam irradiation which inactivated SARS-CoV-2 on the nutrition and quality of Atlantic salmon

The contamination of Atlantic salmon with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has impeded the development of the cold-chain food industry and posed possible risks to the population.Electron beam(E-beam)irradiation under 2,4,7,and 10 kGy can effectively inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in cold-chain seafood.However,there are few statistics about the quality changes of salmon exposed to these irradiation dosages.This work demonstrated that E-beam irradiation at dosages capable of killing SARS-CoV-2 induced lipid oxidation,decreased vitamin A content,and increased some amino acids and ash content.In addition,irradiation altered the textural features of salmon,such as its hardness,resilience,cohesiveness,and chewiness.The irradiation considerably affected the L*,a*,and b*values of salmon,with the L*value increasing and a*,b*values decreasing.There was no significant difference in the sensory evaluation of control and irradiated salmon.It was shown that irradiation with 2−7 kGy E-beam did not significantly degrade quality.The inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in salmon is advised at a dose of 2 kGy.

Effects of Strain Channel on Electron Irradiation Tolerance of InP-based HEMT Structures

The introduction of strain In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As channel with high In content increases the confinement of the two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG)and further improves the high-frequency performance of InGaAs/InAlAs/InP HEMTs.The effect of In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As channel with different In contents on electron irradiation tolerance of InP-based HEMT structures in terms of 2DEG mobility and density has been investigated.The experiment results show that,after the same high electron irradiation dose,the 2DEG mobility and density in InP-based HEMT structures with strain In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As(x>0.53)channel decrease more dramatically than that without strain In_(0.53)Ga_(0.47)As channel.Moreover,the degradation of 2DEG mobility and density becomes more severe as the increase of In content and strain in the In_(x)Ga_(1-x)As channel.The research results can provide some suggestions for the design of radiation-resistant InP-based HEMTs.

Investigation of heavy ion irradiation effects on a charge trapping memory capacitor by C-V measurement

Heavy ion irradiation effects on charge trapping memory(CTM)capacitors with TiN/Al_(2)O_(3)/HfO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)/HfO_(2)/SiO_(2)/p-Si structure have been investigated.The ion-induced interface charges and oxide trap charges were calculated and analyzed by capacitance-voltage(C-V)characteristics.The C-V curves shift towards the negative direction after swift heavy ion irradiation,due to the net positive charges accumulating in the trapping layer.The memory window decreases with the increase of ion fluence at high voltage,which results from heavy ion-induced structural damage in the blocking layer.The mechanism of heavy ion irradiation effects on CTM capacitors is discussed in detail with energy band diagrams.The results may help to better understand the physical mechanism of heavy ion-induced degradation of CTM capacitors.

Proton irradiation-induced dynamic characteristics on high performance GaN/AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Dynamic characteristics of the single-crystal Ga N-passivated lateral AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes(SBDs)treated with proton irradiation are investigated.Radiation-induced changes including idealized Schottky interface and slightly degraded on-resistance(RON)are observed under 10-Me V proton irradiation at a fluence of 10^(14)cm^(-2).Because of the existing negative polarization charges induced at GaN/AlGaN interface,the dynamic ON-resistance(RON,dyn)shows negligible degradation after a 1000-s-long forward current stress of 50 mA to devices with and without being irradiated by protons.Furthermore,the normalized RON,dynincreases by only 14%that of the initial case after a 100-s-long bias of-600 V has been applied to the irradiated devices.The high-performance lateral AlGaN/GaN SBDs with tungsten as anode metal and in-situ single-crystal GaN as passivation layer show a great potential application in the harsh radiation environment of space.

On the Development of Spatial/Temporal Solar UV Irradiation Maps: A Case Study in Pernambuco State (Northeast of Brazil)

This work summarizes recently published information on the solar UV broadband irradiation of Pernambuco, Northeast of Brazil. We describe the spatial and temporal distribution of solar UV radiation and its relationship with climatic and geographical conditions. Statistical experimental correlation between solar total irradiation and UV broadband obtained for 03 locations was generalized by the use of Koppen-Geiger Climatic criterium, which was used for mapping the spatial/temporal distribution of broadband UV. The climatological solar radiations used in the correlations were obtained by modeling through satellite and previously verified with terrestrial data. We present one map with the location of the recording stations where the statistical correlations were measured, one annual and 12 monthly contour maps describing monthly daily solar UV radiation levels throughout the territory of Pernambuco. The solar UV irradiation (“broadband”) annual-average daily value in the State of Pernambuco varied from 226 to 268 Wh/m2. Seasonal variation of solar UV irradiation in the State of Pernambuco follows, in general and as expected, the climate, relief and seasons of the year. The highest value of monthly solar UV irradiation was observed in the central south region of the state, more precisely in Belém do São Francisco, Floresta, Ibimirim and Buíque in the month of December (summer), with 311.8 Wh/m2. The lower value was found in the south Agreste region, in Garanhuns and Caruaru, in the month of June (winter), with 162.2 Wh/m2.

Effects of irradiation on superconducting properties of small-grained MgB_(2) thin films

We investigate the effect of ion irradiation on MgB_(2) thin films with small grains of approximately 122 nm and 140 nm.The flux pinning by grain boundaries is insignificant in the pristine MgB_(2) films due to good inter-grain connectivity,but is significantly improved after 120-keV Mn-ion irradiation.The scaling behavior of the flux pinning force density for the ion-irradiated MgB_(2) thin films with nanoscale grains demonstrates the predominance of pinning by grain boundaries,in contrast to the single-crystalline MgB_(2) films where normal point pinning was dominant after low-energy ion irradiation.These results suggest that irradiation-induced defects can accumulate near the grain boundaries in metallic MgB_(2) superconductors.

Evaluation of the Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) on the Ground from the Images of the Second Generation European Meteorological Satellites MSG

The measurement of solar irradiation is still a necessary basis for planning the installation of photovoltaic parks and concentrating solar power systems. The meteorological stations for the measurement of the solar flux at any point of the earth’s surface are still insufficient worldwide;moreover, these measurements on the ground are expensive, and rare. To overcome this shortcoming, the exploitation of images from the European meteorological satellites of the second generation MSG is a reliable solution to estimate the global horizontal irradiance GHI on the ground with a good spatial and temporal coverage. Since 2004, the new generation MSG satellites provide images of Africa and Europe every 15 minutes with a spatial resolution of about 1 km × 1 km at the sub-satellite point. The objective of this work was to apply the Brazil-SR method to evaluate the global horizontal GHI irradiance for the entire Moroccan national territory from the European Meteosat Second Generation MSG satellite images. This bibliographic review also exposed the standard model of calculation of GHI in clear sky by exploiting the terrestrial meteorological measurements.

Proteomic Alterations in Human Dermal Fibroblasts under Photo-Induced Pollution Caused by Excessive Solar Irradiations such as Infra-Red, Blue Light, UVA and UVB

Background: The skin serves as the first line of defense for the human body. Direct sunlight contains damaging radiations that can speed up the ageing process of the skin, resulting in wrinkles, leathery skin, dark patches, and solar elastosis. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of multiple solar irradiation related factors at the protein level in human dermal fibroblast (HDF). The overall effect of individual solar irradiations such as Infrared A (IRA), blue light (BL), UVA, and UVB on HDF cells and the extent of molecular level aberrations to be assessed and compared against each. Methods: Label-free quantitative proteomics (MS/MS) approach has been adopted in this study to observe the protein level changes induced in the HDF cells through various exposures of full light sources. Following that, downstream insilico analysis has been carried out. Results: In this study, it is demonstrated all the four different solar irradiations significantly contribute to the molecular degeneration of skin cells through various mechanisms. This study confirms that BL down-regulates DNA repair proteins and the skin cells-HDF stimulate the histone proteins as a response mechanism to maintain the chromosomal integrity. Conclusions: The proteomics experiment carried out in the current study intends to support the future sun care products based on full light protection technology that can be custom designed to provide complete protection from the solar radiation. Similar technology could enhance the further investigations for deeper understanding of induction, mode of action, and prevention of skin damage from extensive solar irradiation.

Bi-LSTM-Based Deep Stacked Sequence-to-Sequence Autoencoder for Forecasting Solar Irradiation and Wind Speed

Wind and solar energy are two popular forms of renewable energy used in microgrids and facilitating the transition towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.However,they are exceedingly unpredictable since they rely highly on weather and atmospheric conditions.In microgrids,smart energy management systems,such as integrated demand response programs,are permanently established on a step-ahead basis,which means that accu-rate forecasting of wind speed and solar irradiance intervals is becoming increasingly crucial to the optimal operation and planning of microgrids.With this in mind,a novel“bidirectional long short-term memory network”(Bi-LSTM)-based,deep stacked,sequence-to-sequence autoencoder(S2SAE)forecasting model for predicting short-term solar irradiation and wind speed was developed and evaluated in MATLAB.To create a deep stacked S2SAE prediction model,a deep Bi-LSTM-based encoder and decoder are stacked on top of one another to reduce the dimension of the input sequence,extract its features,and then reconstruct it to produce the forecasts.Hyperparameters of the proposed deep stacked S2SAE forecasting model were optimized using the Bayesian optimization algorithm.Moreover,the forecasting performance of the proposed Bi-LSTM-based deep stacked S2SAE model was compared to three other deep,and shallow stacked S2SAEs,i.e.,the LSTM-based deep stacked S2SAE model,gated recurrent unit-based deep stacked S2SAE model,and Bi-LSTM-based shallow stacked S2SAE model.All these models were also optimized and modeled in MATLAB.The results simulated based on actual data confirmed that the proposed model outperformed the alternatives by achieving an accuracy of up to 99.7%,which evidenced the high reliability of the proposed forecasting.

Determination of Timer Error and Evaluation of Its Effect on Dose for OB6, GammaBeam X200 and X-Ray Irradiators at the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory in Nigeria

Timer error as well as its convention is very important for dose accuracy during irradiation. This paper determines the timer error of irradiators at Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL) in Nigeria. The irradiators are Cs-137 OB6 irradiator and X-ray irradiators at the Protection level SSDL;and Co-60 irradiator at the Therapy Level SSDL. PTW UNIDOS electrometer and LS01 Ionization chamber were used at the Protection Level to obtain doses for both Cs-137 OB6 and X-ray irradiators while an IBA farmer type ionization chamber and an IBA DOSE 1 electrometer were used at the Protection Level SSDL. Single/multiple exposure method and graphical method were used in the determination of the timer error for the three irradiators. The timer error obtained for Cs-137 OB6 irradiator was 0.48 ± 0.01 s, the timer error for the X-ray irradiator was 0.09 ± 0.01 s while the timer error obtained for GammaBeam X200 was 1.21 ± 0.04 s. It was observed that the timer error is not affected by source to detector distance. It was also observed that the timer error of Co-60 Gamma X200 irradiator is increasing with the age of the machine. Source to detector distance and field size do not contribute towards the timer error of the irradiators. The timer error of the Co-60 Gamma X200 irradiator (the only irradiator among the irradiators with a pneumatic system) increases with the age of the irradiator.

Ultraviolet‑Irradiated All‑Organic Nanocomposites with Polymer Dots for High‑Temperature Capacitive Energy Storage

Polymer dielectrics capable of operating efficiently at high electric fields and elevated temperatures are urgently demanded by next-generation electronics and electrical power systems.While inorganic fillers have been extensively utilized to improved high-temperature capacitive performance of dielectric polymers,the presence of thermodynamically incompatible organic and inorganic components may lead to concern about the long-term stability and also complicate film processing.Herein,zero-dimensional polymer dots with high electron affinity are introduced into photoactive allyl-containing poly(aryl ether sulfone)to form the all-organic polymer composites for hightemperature capacitive energy storage.Upon ultraviolet irradiation,the crosslinked polymer composites with polymer dots are efficient in suppressing electrical conduction at high electric fields and elevated temperatures,which significantly reduces the high-field energy loss of the composites at 200℃.Accordingly,the ultraviolet-irradiated composite film exhibits a discharged energy density of 4.2 J cm^(−3)at 200℃.Along with outstanding cyclic stability of capacitive performance at 200℃,this work provides a promising class of dielectric materials for robust high-performance all-organic dielectric nanocomposites.

The Influence of Air Pollution Concentrations on Solar Irradiance Forecasting Using CNN-LSTM-mRMR Feature Extraction

Maintaining a steady power supply requires accurate forecasting of solar irradiance,since clean energy resources do not provide steady power.The existing forecasting studies have examined the limited effects of weather conditions on solar radiation such as temperature and precipitation utilizing convolutional neural network(CNN),but no comprehensive study has been conducted on concentrations of air pollutants along with weather conditions.This paper proposes a hybrid approach based on deep learning,expanding the feature set by adding new air pollution concentrations,and ranking these features to select and reduce their size to improve efficiency.In order to improve the accuracy of feature selection,a maximum-dependency and minimum-redundancy(mRMR)criterion is applied to the constructed feature space to identify and rank the features.The combination of air pollution data with weather conditions data has enabled the prediction of solar irradiance with a higher accuracy.An evaluation of the proposed approach is conducted in Istanbul over 12 months for 43791 discrete times,with the main purpose of analyzing air data,including particular matter(PM10 and PM25),carbon monoxide(CO),nitric oxide(NOX),nitrogen dioxide(NO_(2)),ozone(O₃),sulfur dioxide(SO_(2))using a CNN,a long short-term memory network(LSTM),and MRMR feature extraction.Compared with the benchmark models with root mean square error(RMSE)results of 76.2,60.3,41.3,32.4,there is a significant improvement with the RMSE result of 5.536.This hybrid model presented here offers high prediction accuracy,a wider feature set,and a novel approach based on air concentrations combined with weather conditions for solar irradiance prediction.

Synthesis of Ce:YAG Phosphor via Homogeneous Precipitation under Microwave Irradiation

Ultra-fine Ce:YAG phosphors were prepared by homogeneous precipitation under microwave irradiation method. The formation of Ce:YAG was investigated by means of XRD and DTA/TG. The purified YAG crystallized phase was obtained at a lower temperature (1100 ℃). Basically spherical Ce:YAG powders were indicated from TEM images, and the size of the particles is about 80 nm. Two peaks of 436 and 473 nm can be seen from the excitation spectrum in the range of 402～510 nm. A broad emission band located at 480～630 nm shows the phosphors prepared by this method have good emission properties.