In this paper, AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite photocatalyst is successfully synthesized by microemulsion method and anion in situ substitution method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) are used to study the structural and physicochemical characteristics of the AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite composite. Using rhodamine B (RhB) as a simulated pollutant, the photocatalytic activity and stability of the AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite composite under visible light are evaluated. In the AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite visible light system, RhB is nearly 100 % degraded within 15 minutes. And, after five cycles of operation, the photocatalytic activity of AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite remains at 95 % of the original level, much higher than that of pure Ag3PO4 (40 %). In addition, the mechanism of enhanced catalytic performance is discussed. The high photocatalytic performance of AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite composites can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Ag3PO4, diatomite and AgCl nanoparticles. Free radical trapping experiments are used to show that holes and oxygen are the main active species. This material can quickly react with dye molecules adsorbed on the surface of diatomite to degrade RhB dye to CO2 and H2O. Even more remarkably, AgCl/Ag3PO4/diatomite can maintain above 95 % photo-degradation activity after five cycles.
We propose a novel stripping solution containing acids (HCl and HNO3), an oxidant [(NH4)2S2O8], and complexing agents (NaCl and citric acid) to remove surface passivation layers from 14K gold alloys fabricated using an investment casting process. The optimized solution employing only HCl acid is determined by varying molar fractions of HCl and HNO3 on 14K yellow gold samples. Stripping properties are also identified for red and white gold alloy samples under the optimized stripping conditions. The removal of passivation layers, weight loss, and microstructure evolution are characterized using Raman spectroscopy, a precision scale, and optical microscopy. The proposed stripping solution effectively removes passivation layers more rapidly than conventional cyanide stripping. Weight loss increases linearly for up to 5 min for all 14K gold alloys. Red gold exhibits the greatest weight loss, followed by yellow gold and white gold. The results of microstructural analysis reveal that the conformal stripping occurs according to time. These results imply that the proposed oxidative chloride stripping might replace conventional cyanide stripping.
In the present investigation we show the effect of Al doping on the length, size, shape, morphology, and sensing property of ZnO nanorods. Effect of Al doping ultimately leads to tuning of electrical and optical properties of ZnO nanorods. Undoped and Al-doped well aligned ZnO nanorods are grown on sputtered ZnO/SiO2/Si (100) pre-grown seed layer substrates by hydrothermal method. The molar ratio of dopant (aluminium nitrate) in the solution, [Al/Zn], is varied from 0.1 % to 3 %. To extract structural and microstructural information we employ field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The prepared ZnO nanorods show preferred orientation of ZnO <0001> and are well aligned vertically. The effects of Al doping on the electrical and optical properties are observed by Hall measurement and photoluminescence spectroscopy, respectively, at room temperature. We observe that the diameter and resistivity of the nanorods reach their lowest levels, the carrier concentration becomes high, and emission peak tends to approach the band edge emission of ZnO around 0.5% of Al doping. Sensing behavior of the grown ZnO nanorod samples is tested for H2 gas. The 0.5 mol% Al-doped sample shows highest sensitivity values of ~ 60 % at 250 ˚C and ~ 50 % at 220 ˚C.
SrMoO4:RE3+ (RE=Dy, Sm, Tb, Eu, Dy/Sm) phosphors are prepared by co-precipitation method. The effects of the type and the molar ratio of activator ions on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the phosphor particles are investigated. X-ray diffraction data reveal that all the phosphors have a tetragonal system with a main (112) diffraction peak. The emission spectra of the SrMoO4 phosphors doped with several activator ions indicate different multicolor emissions: strong yellow-emitting light at 573 nm for Dy3+, red light at 643 nm for Sm3+, green light at 545 nm for Tb3+, and reddish orange light at 614 nm for Eu3+ activator ions. The Dy3+ singly-doped SrMoO4 phosphor shows two dominant emission peaks at 479 and 573 nm corresponding to the 4F9/2→6H15/2 magnetic dipole transition and 4F9/2→6H13/2 electric dipole transition, respectively. For Dy3+ and Sm3+ doubly-doped SrMoO4 phosphors, two kinds of emission peaks are observed. The two emission peaks at 479 and 573 nm are attributed to 4F9/2→6H15/2 and 4F9/2→6H13/2 transitions of Dy3+ and two emission bands centered at 599 and 643 nm are ascribed to 4G5/2→6H7/2 and 4G5/2→6H9/2 transitions of Sm3+. As the concentration of Sm3+ increases from 1 to 5 mol%, the intensities of the emission bands of Dy3+ gradually decrease; those of Sm3+ slowly increase and reach maxima at 5 mol% of Sm3+ ions, and then rapidly decrease with increasing molar ratio of Sm3+ ions due to the concentration quenching effect. Fluorescent security inks based on as-prepared phosphors are synthesized and designed to demonstrate an anticounterfeiting application.
Lu3Al5-xGaxO12:Ce3+,Cr3+ powders are prepared using a solid-state reaction method. To determine the crystal structure, Rietveld refinement is performed. The results indicate that Ga3+ ions preferentially occupied tetrahedral rather than octahedral sites. The lattice constant linearly increases, obeying Vegard’s law, despite the strong preference of Ga3+ for the tetrahedral sites. Increasing x led to a blue-shift of the Ce3+ emission band in the green region and a change in the emission intensity. Persistent luminescence is observed from the powders prepared with x = 2–3, occurring through a trapping and detrapping process between Ce3+ and Cr3+ ions. The longest persistent luminescence is achieved for x = 2; its lifetime is at least 30 min. The findings are explained using crystal structure refinement, crystal field splitting, optical band gap, and electron trapping mechanism.
A transparent quantum dot (QD)-based light-emitting diode (LED) with silver nanowire (Ag NW) and indium-tin oxide (ITO) hybrid electrode is demonstrated. The device consists of an Ag NW-ITO hybrid cathode (-), zinc oxide, poly (9- vinylcarbazole) (PVK), CdSe/CdZnS QD, tungsten trioxide, and ITO anode (+). The device shows pure green-color emission peaking at 548 nm, with a narrow spectral half width of 43 nm. Devices with hybrid cathodes show better performances, including higher luminance with higher current density, and lower threshold voltage of 5 V, compared with the reference device with a pure Ag NW cathode. It is worth noting that our transparent device with hybrid cathode exhibits a lifetime 9,300 seconds longer than that of a device with Ag NW cathode. This is the reason that the ITO overlayer can protect against oxidization of Ag NW, and the Ag NW underlayer can reduce the junction resistance and spread the current efficiently. The hybrid cathode for our transparent QD LED can applicable to other quantum structure-based optical devices.
The performance characteristics of a lead acid battery are investigated with the content of Sodium Perborate Tetrahydrate (SPT, NaBO3·4H2O) in a positive plate active material. SPT, which reacts with water to form hydrogen peroxide, is applied as an additive in the positive plate active material to increase adhesion between the substrate (positive plate) and the active material; this phenomenon is caused by a chemical reaction on the surface of substrate. A positive plate with the increasing content of SPT is prepared to compare its properties. It is confirmed that the oxide layer increases at the interface between the substrate and the active material with increasing content of SPT; this is proven to be an oxide layer through EDS analysis. Battery performance is confirmed: when SPT content is 2.0 wt%, the charging acceptance and high rate discharge properties are improved. In addition, the lifetime performance according to the Standard of Battery Association of Japan (SBA) S0101 test is improved with increasing content of SPT.
The relationship between the precipitation of secondary phase and the thermal properties of Al-4.5%Cu alloy (in wt.%) after various heat treatments has been studied. Solid solution treatment of alloy was performed at 808 K for 6 hours, followed by warm water quenching; then, the samples were aged in air at 473 K for different times. The thermal diffusivity of the Al-4.5%Cu alloy changed with the heat treatment conditions of the alloy at temperatures below 523 K. The as-quenched specimen had the lowest thermal diffusivity, and as the artificial aging time increased, the thermal diffusivity of the specimen increased in the temperature range between 298 and 523 K. For the specimen aged for five hours, the thermal conductivity was 12% higher than that of the as-quenched specimens at 298 K. It is confirmed that the thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of the Al-4.5%Cu alloy significantly depend on their thermal history at temperatures below 523 K. The precipitation and dissolution of the Al2Cu phase were confirmed via DSC for the alloys, and the formation of coefficient of thermal expansion peaks in TMA was caused by precipitation. The precipitation of supersaturated solid solution of Al-4.5%Cu alloys had an additional linear expansion of ≈ 0.05 % at 643 K during thermal expansion measurement.