In all geodisposal scenarios it is key to understand the interaction of radionuclides with mineral particles during their formation/recrystallisation. Studying processes at the molecular scale provides insight into long-term radionuclide behaviour. Uranium is a significant radionuclide in higher activity wastes destined for geological disposal, and iron (oxyhydr) oxides (e.g. goethite, 􀟙-FeOOH). are ubiquitous in and around these systems, formed via processes including metal corrosion and microbially induced reactions. There are numerous reports of uranium-incorporation into iron (oxyhydr) oxides, therefore it has been suggested that they may be a barrier to uranium migration in geodisposal systems. However, long-term stability of these phases during environmental perturbations are unexplored. Specifically, U-incorporated iron (oxyhydr) oxide phases may interact with Fe(II) and sulphide from biological or geological origin. Firstly, electron transfer occurs between adsorbed Fe(II) and iron oxyhydroxides, with potential for changes in the speciation of incorporated uranium e.g. oxidation state changes and/or release. Secondly, on exposure to aqueous sulfide, iron (oxyhydr) oxides undergo reductive dissolution and recrystallisation to iron sulphides. Understanding the fate of incorporated uranium during these process in key to understanding its long term behaviour in subsurface systems. A series of experimental studies were undertaken where U(VI)-goethite was synthesized then reacted with either aqueous Fe(II) or S(-II), and the system monitored over time using geochemical analysis and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques e.g. U LIII-edge and MIV-edge HERFD-XANES. Reaction with aqueous Fe(II) resulted in electron transfer between Fe(II) and U(VI)-goethite, with > 50% U(VI) reduced to U(V). XAS analysis revealed that U remained within the goethite structure, and electron transfer only occurred within the outermost atomic layers of goethite. which led to U reduction. Rapid reductive dissolution of U(VI)-goethite occurred on reaction with sulfide at pH7. A transient release of aqueous U was observed during the first day, likely due to uranyl(VI)-persulfide species. However, U was retained in the solid phase in the longer term. In contrast, the sulfidation of U adsorbed to ferrihydrite at pH 12.2 led to the immediate release of U (< 10% Utotal) associated with a colloidal erdite (NaFeS2·2H2O) phase. Moreover, in the bulk phase the surface of ferrihydrite was passivated by sulfide, and U was found to have been trapped within surface associated erdite-like fibres. Overall, these studies further understanding of the long-term behaviour of U-incorporated iron (oxyhydr)oxides supporting the overarching concept of iron (oxyhydr) oxides acting as a barrier to U migration.

The ultrasonic method is an alternative to the conventional route to produce structured carbon materials, offering the advantages of synthesis in a short period of time under room temperature. The main objective of this work is to synthesize a sulfonated mesoporous carbon catalyst from a phenolic resin composed of phloroglucinol and formaldehyde. The synthesis was performed by the soft-template method in an ultrasonic processor and the product was subsequently carbonized and sulfonated for application in the esterification model reaction. Functionalization with sulfuric acid of MCS5-6 h sample brought about a decrease in porosity but simultaneously resulted in the generation of functional groups of an acidic nature. The MCS5-6 h catalyst with a sulfonic density of 1.6 mmol g− 1, surface area of 402 m2 g− 1 and pore diameter of 10.6 nm maintained in mesoporous even after acid treatment. MCS5-6 h showed excellent activity in the esterification reaction with 95% oleic acid conversion. The recyclability of MCS5-6 h was satisfactory during five reaction cycles. The present work addressed a promising alternative for the synthesis of carbon catalysts using ultrasound irradiation, thus providing an alternative with a lower cost of time and energy for large-scale production.

The biocarbon (SKPH) was obtained from Sargassum spp., and it was evaluated electrochemically as support for the CO2 reduction. The biocarbon was synthesized and activated with KOH, obtaining a high surface area (1600 m2 g− 1) due to the activation process. Graphitic carbon formation after pyrolysis was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The XRD results show that SKPH has an amorphous structure with peaks corresponding to typical amorphous carbonaceous materials. FTIR was used to determine the chemical structure of SKPH. The bands at 3426, 2981, 2851, and 1604 cm− 1 correspond to O–H, C-H, and C-O stretching vibrations, respectively. Then, it compares SKPH films with different carbon films using two electrolytic systems with and without charge transfer. The SKPH film showed a capacitive behavior in the KOH, H2SO4, and, KCl systems; in the acid medium, the presence of a redox couple associated with carbon functional groups was shown. Likewise, in the [Fe(CN)6]−3 and Cu(II) systems, the charge transfer process coupled with a capacitive behavior was described, and this effect is more noticeable in the [Fe(CN)6]−3 system. Electrodeposition of copper on SKPH film showed two stages Cu(NH 3)2+ 4 /Cu(NH 3)+ 2 and Cu(NH 3)+ 2 ∕Cu in ammonia media. Hydrogen formation and the activity of CO2 are observed on SKPH film and are favored by the carbon’s surface chemistry. Cu/SKPH electrocatalyst has a catalytic effect on electrochemical reduction of CO2 and inhibition of hydrogen formation. This study showed that the SKPH film electrode responds as a capacitive material that can be used as an electrode for energy storage or as metal support.

Even in an era where 8-meter class telescopes are common, small telescopes are considered very valuable research facilities since they are available for rapid follow-up or long term monitoring observations. To maximize the usefulness of small telescopes in Korea, we established the SomangNet, a network of 0.4{1.0 m class optical telescopes operated by Korean institutions, in 2020. Here, we give an overview of the project, describing the current participating telescopes, its scientic scope and operation mode, and the prospects for future activities. SomangNet currently includes 10 telescopes that are located in Australia, USA, and Chile as well as in Korea. The operation of many of these telescopes currently relies on operators, and we plan to upgrade them for remote or robotic operation. The latest SomangNet science projects include monitoring and follow-up observational studies of galaxies, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, symbiotic stars, solar system objects, neutrino/gravitational-wave sources, and exoplanets.

Processing and characterization of graphene (Gr)-reinforced aluminium alloy 7075 (AA7075) microcomposites and nanocomposites are reported in this work. Composites are fabricated by mechanical alloying process at wet conditions. The bulk composites are prepared by uniaxial die pressing to get higher densification and sintered in an inert atmosphere. Density of the nanocomposites is higher than the microcomposites due to the reduction of grain size by increased milling time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms graphene interaction with the AA7075 matrix lattice spaces. The effective distribution of graphene with aluminium alloy is further confirmed by the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis. The hardness of the composites proportionally increases with the graphene addition owing to grain refinement. Wear morphology is characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Microcomposites reveal abrasive and ploughing wear mechanism of material removal from the surface. Nanocomposites show adhesive wear with delamination and particle pull-out from the material surface.

Intensive Monitoring Survey of Nearby Galaxies (IMSNG) is a high cadence observation program monitoring nearby galaxies with high probabilities of hosting supernovae (SNe). IMSNG aims to constrain the SN explosion mechanism by inferring sizes of SN progenitor systems through the detection of the shock-heated emission that lasts less than a few days after the SN explosion. To catch the signal, IMSNG utilizes a network of 0.5-m to 1-m class telescopes around the world and monitors the images of 60 nearby galaxies at distances D < 50 Mpc to a cadence as short as a few hours. The target galaxies are bright in near-ultraviolet (NUV) with MNUV < - 18.4 AB mag and have high probabilities of hosting SNe (0.06 SN yr-1 per galaxy). With this strategy, we expect to detect the early light curves of 3.4 SNe per year to a depth of R  19:5 mag, enabling us to detect the shock-heated emission from a progenitor star with a radius as small as 0.1 R. The accumulated data will be also useful for studying faint features around the target galaxies and other science projects. So far, 18 SNe have occurred in our target fields (16 in IMSNG galaxies) over 5 years, confirming our SN rate estimate of 0.06 SN yr-1 per galaxy.

Date palm leaflets were used as a precursor to prepare dehydrated carbon (DC) via phosphoric acid treatment at 150°C. DC, acidified with H3PO4, was converted to activated carbon (AC) at 500°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. DC shows very low surface area (6.1 m2/g) while AC possesses very high surface area (829 m2/g). The removal of lisinopril (LIS) and chlorpheniramine (CP) from an aqueous solution was tested at different pH, contact time, concentration, and temperature on both carbons. The optimal initial pH for LIS removal was 4.0 and 5.0 for DC and AC, respectively. However, for CP, initial pH 9.0 showed maximum adsorption on both carbons. Adsorption kinetics showed faster removal on AC than DC with adsorption data closely following the pseudo second order kinetic model. Adsorption increases with temperature (25°C–45°C) and activation energy (Ea) is in a range of 19–25 kJ mol/L. Equilibrium studies show higher adsorption on AC than DC. Thermodynamic parameters show that drug removal is endothermic and spontaneous with physical adsorption dominating the adsorption process. Column adsorption data show good fitting to the Thomas model. Despite its very low surface area, DC shows ~70% of AC drug adsorption capacity in addition of being inexpensive and easily prepared.

Polarbear is a ground-based experiment located in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. The experiment is designed to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background B-mode polarization at several arcminute resolution. The CMB B-mode polarization on degree angular scales is a unique signature of primordial gravitational waves from cosmic in ation and B-mode signal on sub-degree scales is induced by the gravitational lensing from large-scale structure. Science observations began in early 2012 with an array of 1,274 polarization sensitive antenna-couple Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers at 150 GHz. We published the first CMB-only measurement of the B-mode polarization on sub-degree scales induced by gravitational lensing in December 2013 followed by the first measurement of the B-mode power spectrum on those scales in March 2014. In this proceedings, we review the physics of CMB B-modes and then describe the Polarbear experiment, observations, and recent results.

The Eclipsing Binaries Minima (BIMA) Monitoring Project is a CCD-based photometric observational program initiated by Bosscha Observatory - Lembang, Indonesia in June 2012. Since December 2012 the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) has joined the BIMA Project as the main partner. This project aims to build an open-database of eclipsing binary minima and to establish the orbital period of each system and its variations. The project is conducted on the basis of multisite monitoring observations of eclipsing binaries with magnitudes less than 19 mag. Dierential photometry methods have been applied throughout the observations. Data reduction was performed using IRAF. The observations were carried out in BVRI bands using three dierent small telescopes situated in Indonesia, Thailand, and Chile. Computer programs have been developed for calculating the time of minima. To date, more than 140 eclipsing binaries have been observed. From them 71 minima have been determined. We present and discuss the O-C diagrams for some eclipsing binary systems.

Amorphous agglomerates of carbon nanospheres (CNS) with a diameter range of 10-50 nm were synthesized using the solution combustion method. High-resolution transmission elec-tron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed a densely packed high surface area of SP2-hybridized carbon; however, there were no crystalline structural components, as can be seen from the scanning electron microscopy, HRTEM, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and ther-mal gravimetric analyses. Electrochemical and thermo catalytic decomposition study results show that the material can be used as a potential electrode candidate for the fabrication of energy storage devices and also for the production of free hydrogen if such devices are used in a fluidized bed reactor loaded with the as-prepared CNS as the catalyst bed.

In this study, synthetic viscose rayon fabric has been used for preparing activated carbon fabric (ACF), impregnated with different concentrations of H3PO4. The effect of H3PO4 im-pregnation on the weight yield, surface area, pore volume, chemical composition and mor-phology of ACF were studied. Experimental results revealed that both Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and micropore volume increased with increasing H3PO4 concentration; however, the weight yield and microporosity (%) decreased. It was observed that samples impregnated at 70°C (AC-70) give higher yield and higher microporosity as compared to 30°C (AC-30). The average pore size of the ACF also gradually increases from 18.2 to 19 and 16.7 to 20.4 Å for 30°C and 70°C, respectively. The pore size distribution of ACF was also studied. It is also concluded that the finalACF strength is dependent on the concentra-tion of impregnant.

Recently, the mineral resource protection policies and regulations in production countries of natural resources including rare metals are becoming more stringent. Such environment makes which market has malfunction. In other word, those are not perfect or pure market. Therefore because each market of natural resources have special or unique characters, it is difficult to forecast their market prices. In this study, we constructed several models to estimate prices of natural resources using ARIMA and their business indices. And for examples, Indium and Coal were introduced.