Chloride-based fluxes such as NaCl-KCl are used in the refining of Al melt. The vapor pressure of the chloride is one of the fundamental pieces of information required for such processes, and is generally high at elevated temperatures. In order to measure the vapor pressure for chlorides, the apparatus for the transpiration method was assembled in the present study. The vapor pressure of ZnCl2 and FeCl2, which is related with the process of aluminum refining and the recovery of useful elements from iron and steel industry by-products, was also measured. In the measurement of vapor pressure by the transpiration method, the powder of ZnCl2 or FeCl2 in a alumina boat was loaded in the uniform zone of the furnace with a stream of Ar. The weight loss of ZnCl2 and FeCl2 after holding was measured by changing the flow rate of Ar gas (10 sccm -230 sccm), and the partial pressures of ZnCl2 and FeCl2 were calculated. The partial pressures within a certain range were found to be independent of the flow rate of Ar at different temperatures. The vapor pressures were measured in the temperature range of 758-901K for ZnCl2 and 963-983K for FeCl2. The measured results agreed well with those in the literature.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles deposited on different quantitative Fe-treated carbon nanotube (CNT) composites with high photocatalytic activity of visible light were prepared by a modified sol-gel method using TNB as a titanium source. The composites were characterized by BET, XRD, SEM, TEM and EDX, which showed that the BET surface area was related to the adsorption capacity for each composite. From TEM images, surface and structural characterization of for the CNT surface had been carried out. The XRD results showed that the Fe-ACF/TiO2 composite mostly contained an anatase structure with a Fe-mediated compound. EDX results showed the presence of C, O, and Ti with Fe peaks in the Fe-CNT/TiO2 composites. The photocatalytic activity of the composites was examined by degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution under visible light, which was found to depend on the amount of CNT. The highest photocatalytic activity among the different composites was related to the optimal content of CNT in the Fe-CNT/TiO2 composites. In particular, the photocatalytic activity of the Fe-CNT/TiO2 composites under visible light was better than that of the CNT/TiO2 composites due to the introduction of Fe particles.
In this study, Ti powders were fabricated from Ti scrap by the Hydrogenation-Dehydrogenation (HDH) method.The Ti powders were prepared from the spark plasma sintering (SPS) and their microstructure was investigated.Hydrogenation reactions of Ti scrap occurred at near 450oC with a sudden increase in the reaction temperature and thedecreasing pressure of hydrogen gas during the hydrogenation process in the furnace. The dehydrogenation process was alsocarried out at 750oC for 2 hrs in a vacuum of 10-4torr. After the HDH process, deoxidation treatment was carried out withthe Ca (purity: 99.5%) at 700oC for 2 hrs in the vacuum system. It was found that the oxidation content of Ti powder thatwas deoxidized with Ca showed noticeably lower values, compared to the content obtained by the HDH process. In orderto fabricate the Ti compacts, Ti powder was sintered under an applied uniaxial punch pressure of 40 MPa in the range of900-1200oC for 5 min under a vacuum of 10-4torr. The relative density of the compact was 99.5% at 1100oC and the tensilestrength decreased with increasing sintering temperature. After sintering, all of the Ti compacts showed brittle fracturebehavior, which occurred in an elastic range with short plastic yielding up to a peak stress. Ti improved the corrosionresistance of the Ti compacts, and the Pd powders were mixed with the HDH Ti powders.
This study examined the biostability and drug delivery efficiency of g-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles (GMNs) by cytotoxicity tests using various tumor cell lines and normal cell lines. The GMNs, approximately 20 nm in diameter, were prepared using a chemical coprecipitation technique, and coated with two surfactants to obtain a water-based product. The particle size of the GMNs loaded on hangamdan drugs (HGMNs) measured 20-50 nm in diameter. The characteristics of the particles were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-TEM) and Raman spectrometer. The Raman spectrum of the GMNs showed three broad bands at 274, 612 and 771 cm1. A 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed that the GMNs were non-toxic against human brain cancer cells (SH-SY5Y, T98), human cervical cancer cells (Hela, Siha), human liver cancer cells (HepG2), breast cancer cells (MCF-7), colon cancer cells (CaCO2), human neural stem cells (F3), adult mencenchymal stem cells (B10), human kidney stem cells (HEK293 cell), human prostate cancer (Du 145, PC3) and normal human fibroblasts (HS 68) tested. However, HGMNs were cytotoxic at 69.99% against the DU145 prostate cancer cell, and at 34.37% in the Hela cell. These results indicate that the GMNs were biostable and the HGMNs served as effective drug delivery vehicles.
The (1-x)La0.7Sr0.3MnO3(LSMO)/xZnFe2O4(ZFO) (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09) composites were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method. We investigated the structural properties, magnetic properties and electrical transport properties of (1-x)LSMO/xZFO composites using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-cooled dc magnetization and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. The XRD and SEM results indicate that LSMO and ZFO coexist in the composites and the ZFO mostly segregates at the grain boundaries of LSMO, which agreed well with the results of the magnetic measurements. The resistivity of the samples increased by the increase of the ZFO doping level. A clear metal-to-insulator (M-I) transition was observed at 360K in pure LSMO. The introduction of ZFO further downshifted the transition temperature (350K-160K) while the transition disappeared in the sample (x = 0.09) and it presented insulating/semiconducting behavior in the measured temperature range (100K to 400K). The MR was measured in the presence of the 10kOe field. Compared with pure LSMO, the enhancement of low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) was observed in the composites. It was clearly observed that the magnetoresistance effect of x = 0.03 was enhanced at room temperature range. These phenomena can be explained using the double-exchange (DE) mechanism, the grain boundary effect and the intrinsic transport properties together.
Nano-sized BaNd2Ti5O14 powders were prepared by the spray pyrolysis process. Sucrose used as the organic additive enabled the formation of nano-sized BaNd2Ti5O14 powders. The powders prepared from the spray solution without sucrose had a spherical shape, dense structure and micron size before and after calcination. However, the precursor powders prepared from the spray solution with sucrose had a large size, and hollow and porous morphology. The precursor powders had an amorphous crystal structure because of the short residence time of the powders inside the hot wall reactor. The complete decomposition of sucrose did not occur inside the hot wall reactor. Therefore, the precursor powders obtained from the spray solution with sucrose of 0.5M had a carbon content of 39.2wt.%. The powders obtained from the spray solution with sucrose of 0.5M had a slightly aggregated structure of nano-sized primary powders of BaNd2Ti5O14 crystalline phase after calcination at 1000˚C. The calcined powders turned into nano-sized BaNd2Ti5O14 powders after milling. The mean size of the BaNd2Ti5O14 powders was 125 nm.
It is necessary to develop new methods to prevent catastrophic failure of structural material in order to avoid accidents and conserve natural and energy resources. Design of intelligent materials with a self-diagnosing function to prevent fatal fracture of structural materials was achieved by smart composites consisting of carbon fiber tows or carbon powders with a small value of ultimate elongation and glass fiber tows with a large value of ultimate elongation. The changes in electrical resistance of CF-GFRP/GFRP (carbon fiber and glass fiber-reinforced plastics/glass fiber-reinforced plastics) composites increased abruptly with increasing strain, and a tremendous change was seen at the transition point where carbon fiber tows were broken. Therefore, the composites were not to monitor damage from the early stage. On the other hand, the change in electrical resistance of CP-GFRP/GFRP (carbon powder dispersed in glass fiber-reinforced plastics/glass fiber-reinforced plastics) composites increased almost linearly in proportion to strain. CP-GFRP/GFRP composites are superior to CF-GFRP/GFRP composites in terms of their capability to monitor damage by measuring change in electrical resistance from the early stage of damage. However, the former was inferior to the latter as an application because of the difficulties of mass production and high cost. A method based on monitoring damage by measuring changes in the electrical resistance of structural materials is promising for improved reliability of the material.
In this study, we investigated primary biocompatibility and osteogenic gene expression of porous granular BCP bone substitutes with or without strontium (Sr) doping. In vitro biocompatibility was investigated on fibroblasts like L929 cells and osteoblasts like MG-63 cells using a cell viability assay (MTT) and one cell morphological observation by SEM, respectively. MTT results showed a cell viability percent of L929 fibroblasts, which was higher in Sr-BCP granules (98-101%) than in the non-doped granules (92-96%, p< 0.05). Osteoblasts like MG-63 cells were also found to proliferate better on Sr-doped BCP granules (01-111%) than on the non-doped ones (92-99%, p< 0.05) using an MTT assay. As compared with pure BCP granules, SEM images of MG-63 cells grown on sample surfaces confirmed that cellular spreading, adhesion and proliferation were facilitated by Sr doping on BCP. Active filopodial growth of MG-63 cells was also observed on Sr-doped BCP granules. The cells on Sr-doped BCP granules were well attached and spread out. Gene expression of osteonectin, osteopontin and osteoprotegrin were also evaluated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which showed that the mRNA phenotypes of these genes were well maintained and expressed in Sr-doped BCP granules. These results suggest that Sr doping in a porous BCP granule can potentially enhance the biocompatibility and bone ingrowth capability of BCP biomaterials.
The ac, dc conductivity and dielectric properties of DyCoO3 were reported in the temperature range of 77 - 300K and in the frequency range of 20 Hz - 100 kHz. It was observed that at low temperature, ac conductivity is much higher than dc conductivity and the hopping carrier between localized states near the Fermi level was the dominant loss mechanism. A comparison of the measured ac conductivity σ(Ω) was made with some of the models of hopping conductivity of the proposed earlier in the literature. It was observed that in DyCoO3 the measured ac conductivity, over the entire frequency and temperature region, can be explained reasonably well by assuming two contributions σ1(Ω) and σ2(Ω) to the measured σ(Ω). The first, σ1(Ω), which dominates at low temperature, may be due to impurity conduction in a small polaron; the second, σ2(Ω), which dominates at higher temperatures, depending on the frequency of measurements, may be due to the hopping of a small polaron and is reasonable for the dielectric relaxation peak.
In this study, we used activated carbon (AC) and titanium oxysulfate as a titanium precursor to prepare carbon/titania composites. We then mixed it with bentonite in different ratios to make a carbon/titania/bentonite monolith for use in architecture bricks by using Phenolic rosin (PR) as a bonding agent. The physicochemical properties of the prepared composites were analyzed by BET surface area, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), self-cleaning effect and bactericidal tests. The BET surface areas increased as the ratio of carbon/titania composites increased. The SEM microscopy showed that the TiO2 and bentonite were coated on the surface of the AC. The XRD patterns showed a mixture structure of anatase and rutile of TiO2 with a clear SiO2 structure. The EDX spectra of the carbon/titania/bentonite monolith confirmed the presence of various elements, namely C, O, Ti and Si, as well as other, impure elements. Moreover, to determine the self-cleaning effect of the carbon/titania/bentonite monolith, we used methylene blue (MB, C16H18N3S·Cl·3H2O) in an aqueous solution under the irradiation of visible light. Accordingly, all of the samples had excellent degradation of the MB solution. Furthermore, it was observed that the composites with sunlight irradiation had a greater effect on E. coli than any other experimental conditions.