In this study, four different samples of Se60Ge40-xBix chalcogenides glasses were synthesized by heating the melt for 18 h in vacuum Pyrex ampoules (under a 10-4 Torre vacuum), each with a different concentration (x = 0, 10, 15, and 20) of high purity starting materials. The results of direct current (DC) electrical conductivity measurements against a 1,000/T plot for all chalcogenide samples revealed two linear areas at medium and high temperatures, each with a different slope and with different activation energies (E1 and E2). In other words, these samples contain two electrical conduction mechanisms: a localized conduction at middle temperatures and extended conduction at high temperatures. The results showed the local and extended state parameters changed due to the effective partial substitution of germanium by bismuth. The density of extended states N(Eext) and localized states N(Eloc) as a function of bismuth concentration was used to gauge this effect. While the density of the localized states decreased from 1.6 × 1014 to 4.2 × 1012 (ev-1 cm-3) as the bismuth concentration increased from 0 to 15, the density of the extended states generally increased from 3.552 × 1021 to 5.86 × 1021 (ev-1 cm-3), indicating a reduction in the mullet’s randomness. This makes these alloys more widely useful in electronic applications due to the decrease in the cost of manufacturing.

This study focuses on how the partial substitution of copper by nickel nanoparticles affects the electrical and structural properties of the Bi2Ba2Ca2Cu2.9Ni0.1O10+δ, Bi2Ba2Ca2Cu2.8Ni0.2O10+δ and Bi2Ba2Ca2Cu2.6Ni0.4O10+δ compounds. Approximate values of crystallization size and crystallization percentage for the three compounds were calculated using the Scherer, modified Scherer, and Williamson-Hall methods. A great similarity was observed in the crystal size values from the Scherer method, 243.442 nm, and the Williamson-Hall method, 243.794 nm for the second sample. At the same time this sample exhibited the highest crystal size value for the three methods. In the examination of electrical properties, the sample with 0.1 partial substitution, Bi2Ba2Ca2Cu2.9Ni0.1O10+δ was determined to be the best with a critical temperature of 100 K and an energy gap of 6.57639 × 10-21 MeV. Using the SEM technique to analyze the structural morphology of the three phases, it was discovered that the size of the granular forms exceeds 25 nm. It was determined that the samples’ shapes alter when nickel concentration rises. The patterns that reveal the distribution of the crystal structure also exhibit clear homogeneity.

The thermoelectric effect, which converts waste heat into electricity, holds promise as a renewable energy technology. Recently, bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3)-based alloys are being recognized as important materials for practical applications in the temperature range from room temperature to 500 K. However, conventional sintering processes impose limitations on shape-changeable and tailorable Bi2Te3 materials. To overcome these issues, three-dimensional (3D) printing (additive manufacturing) is being adopted. Although some research results have been reported, relatively few studies on 3D printed thermoelectric materials are being carried out. In this study, we utilize extrusion 3D printing to manufacture n-type Bi1.7Sb0.3Te3 (N-BST). The ink is produced without using organic binders, which could negatively influence its thermoelectric properties. Furthermore, we introduce graphene oxide (GO) at the crystal interface to enhance the electrical properties. The formed N-BST composites exhibit significantly improved electrical conductivity and a higher Seebeck coefficient as the GO content increases. Therefore, we propose that the combination of the extrusion 3D printing process (Direct Ink Writing, DIW) and the incorporation of GO into N-BST offers a convenient and effective approach for achieving higher thermoelectric efficiency.

Plastic scintillators can be used to find radioactive sources for portal monitoring due to their advantages such as faster decay time, non-hygroscopicity, relatively low manufacturing cost, robustness, and easy processing. However, plastic scintillators have too low density and effective atomic number, and they are not appropriate to be used to identify radionuclides directly. In this study, we devise the radiation sensor using a plastic scintillator with holes filled with bismuth nanoparticles to make up for the limitations of plastic materials. We use MCNP (Monte Carlo N-particle) simulating program to confirm the performance of bismuth nanoparticles in the plastic scintillators. The photoelectric peak is found in the bismuth-loaded plastic scintillator by subtracting the energy spectrum from that of the standard plastic scintillator. The height and diameter of the simulated plastic scintillator are 3 and 5 cm, respectively, and it has 19 holes whose depth and diameter are 2.5 and 0.2 cm, respectively. As a gamma-ray source, Cs-137 which emits 662 keV energy is used. The clear energy peak is observed in the subtracted spectrum, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the energy resolution are calculated to evaluate the performance of the proposed radiation sensor. The FWHM of the peak and the energy resolution are 61.18 keV and 9.242% at 662 keV, respectively.

This study provides an assessment on a proposed method for separation of cesium, strontium, and barium using electrochemical reduction at a liquid bismuth cathode in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt, investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). CV studies were performed at temperatures of 723-823 K and concentrations of the target species up to 4.0wt%. Redox reactions occurring during potential sweeps were observed. Concentration of BaCl2 in the salt did not seem to influence the diffusivity in the studied concentration range up to 4.0wt%. The presence of strontium in the system affected the redox reaction of lithium; however, there were no distinguishable redox peaks that could be measured. Impedance spectra obtained from EIS methods were used to calculate the exchange current densities of the electroactive active redox couple at the bismuth cathode. Results show the rate-controlling step in deposition to be the mass transport of Cs+ ions from the bulk salt to the cathode surface layer. Results from SEM-EDS suggest that Cs-Bi and Sr-Bi intermetallics from LiCl-KCl salt are not thermodynamically favorable.

The effects of an excess of Bi on the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of 0.60Bi1+xFeO3-0.40BaTiO3 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07) were investigated. The ceramics were processed through a conventional solid state reaction method and then quenched after sintering at different temperatures in the range of 980~1070 oC. A single perovskite structure without any secondary phase was confirmed for all compositions and temperatures. It was found that excess Bi reduced the sintering temperatures, acted as a sintering aid and enhanced the properties in combination with quenching. Curie temperature (TC) was found to slightly increase due to the presence of excess Bi; electrical properties were also improved by quenching. At x = 0.03 and 1030 oC, remnant polarization (2Pr) was as high as 45.4 μC/cm2 and strain at 40 kV/cm was up to 0.176 %.

Graphene oxide (GO) powder processed by Hummer's method is mixed with p-type Bi2Te3 based thermoelectric materials by a high-energy ball milling process. The synthesized GO-dispersed p-type Bi2Te3 composite powder has a composition of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (BSbT), and the powder is consolidated into composites with different contents of GO powder by using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. It is found that the addition of GO powder significantly decreases the thermal conductivity of the pure BSbT material through active phonon scattering at the newly formed interfaces. In addition, the electrical properties of the GO/BSbT composites are degraded by the addition of GO powder except in the case of the 0.1 wt% GO/BSbT composite. It is found that defects on the surface of GO powder hinder the electrical transport properties. As a result, the maximum thermoelectric performance (ZT value of 0.91) is achieved from the 0.1% GO/BSbT composite at 398 K. These results indicate that introducing GO powder into thermoelectric materials is a promising method to achieve enhanced thermoelectric performance due to the reduction in thermal conductivity.

In this study, mammography was conducted with Lorad Selenia from HOLOGIC. The phantoms used were Female rando phantom from THE PHANTOM LABORATORY and ACR phantom from GAMMEX RMI. The dosimeters used were the glass dosimeter reader FDG1000 and PLD from CHIYODA TECHNOL. The shielding used to compare and determine the amount of scattered ray in this study were lead shielding gear with a thickness of 0.25mm from INFAB and a customized bismuth shielding with a thickness of 0.2mm(2 layers of 0.1mm). The conditions were 28kVp, 65mAs for CC view and 30kVp, 85mAs for MLO view. The exposure dose by scattered ray were measured from thyroid, breast on the opposite side and gonad (hereafter called critical organs) without any shieldings for the first experiment, then measured four times each with lead shielding for the next experiment, and measured four times each with bismuth shielding for the third experiment. The average dose for each critical organ without shieldings were 135.75μGy, 649.67μGy and 546.25μGy, With lead shielding, the numbers were 0μGy, 63μGy and 1.5μGy, and 6.25μGy, 12.25μGy and 26.5μGy with bismuth shielding. Therefore, the lead and bismuth shielding have reduced 95.364% and 93.550% of exposure dose. Use of shielding s during mammography reduces the exposure dose on critical organs and other organs of the patient, and despite the similar shielding rate, the new shielding using bismuth is useful in shielding thyroid and gonad considering the mobility of the patient, light weight and thickness of the shielding.

Bismuth antimony telluride (BiSbTe) thermoelectric materials were successfully prepared by a spark plasma sintering process. Crystalline BiSbTe ingots were crushed into small pieces and then attrition milled into fine powders of about 300 nm ~ 2μm size under argon gas. Spark plasma sintering was applied on the BiSbTe powders at 240, 320, and 380˚C, respectively, under a pressure of 40 MPa in vacuum. The heating rate was 50˚C/min and the holding time at the sintering temperature was 10 min. At all sintering temperatures, high density bulk BiSbTe was successfully obtained. The XRD patterns verify that all samples were well matched with the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3. Seebeck coefficient (S), electric conductivity (σ) and thermal conductivity (k) were evaluated in a temperature range of 25~300˚C. The thermoelectric properties of BiSbTe were evaluated by the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT (ZT = S2σT/k). The grain size and electric conductivity of sintered BiSbTe increased as the sintering temperature increased but the thermal conductivity was similar at all sintering temperatures. Grain growth reduced the carrier concentration, because grain growth reduced the grain boundaries, which serve as acceptors. Meanwhile, the carrier mobility was greatly increased and the electric conductivity was also improved. Consequentially, the grains grew with increasing sintering temperature and the figure of merit was improved.

We report the structural characterization of BixZn1-xO thin films grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. By increasing the Bi flux during the growth process, BixZn1-xO thin films with various Bi contents (x = 0~13.17 atomic %) were prepared. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed the formation of Bi-oxide phase in (Bi)ZnO after increasing the Bi content. However, it was impossible to determine whether the formed Bi-oxide phase was the monoclinic structure α-Bi2O3 or the tetragonal structure β-Bi2O3 by means of XRD θ-2θ measurements, as the observed diffraction peaks of the 2θ value at ~28 were very close to reflection of the (012) plane for the monoclinic structure α-Bi2O3 at 28.064 and the reflection of the (201) plane for the tetragonal structure β-Bi2O3 at 27.946. By means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using a diffraction pattern analysis and a high-resolution lattice image, it was finally determined as the monoclinic structure α-Bi2O3 phase. To investigate the distribution of the Bi and Bi-oxide phases in BiZnO films, elemental mapping using energy dispersive spectroscopy equipped with TEM was performed. Considering both the XRD and the elemental mapping results, it was concluded that hexagonal-structure wurtzite BixZn1-xO thin films were grown at a low Bi content (x = ~2.37 atomic %) without the formation of α-Bi2O3. However, the increased Bi content (x = 4.63~13.17 atomic %) resulted in the formation of the α-Bi2O3 phase in the wurtzite (Bi)ZnO matrix.

In the present work, bismuth nanopowders with various particle size distributions were synthesized by controlling argon (Ar) gas flow rate and chamber pressure of a gas condensation (GC) apparatus. From the analyses of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images and nitrogen gas adsorption results, it was found that as Ar gas flow rate increased, the specific surface area of bismuth increased and the average particles size decreased. On the other hand, as the chamber pressure increased, the specific surface area of bismuth decreased and the average particles size increased. The optimum gas flow rate and chamber pressure for the maximized electrochemical active surface area were determined to be 8 L/min and 50 torr, respectively. The bismuth nanopowders synthesized at the above condition exhibit 13.47 of specific surface area and 45.6 nm of average particles diameter.

The magneto-transport properties of an individual single crystalline Bi nanowire grown by aspontaneous growth method are reported. A four-terminal device based on an individual 400-nm-diameternanowire was successfully fabricated using a plasma etching technique that removed an oxide layer that hadformed on the surface of the nanowire. Large transverse ordinary magnetoresistance (1401%) and negativelongitudinal ordinary magnetoresistance (−38%) were measured at 2K. It was observed that the period ofShubnikov-de Haas oscillations in transverse geometry was 0.074T−1, 0.16T−1 and 0.77T−1, which is in goodagreement with those of bulk Bi. However, it was found that the period of SdH oscillation in longitudinalgeometry is 0.24T−1, which is larger than the value of 0.16T−1 reported for bulk Bi. The deviation is attributableto the spatial confinement arising from scattering at the nanowire surface boundary.

The aim of t his study was to investigate the cytotoxic and ni t ric oxide (NO)-inducing effects of bismuth oxide (Bi203)-containi ng Portland cement (BPC) on human dental pulp cells. We also assessed whether heme oxygenase-l (HO-l) is involved in BPC-induced cytotox.icity in dental pulp cells Cytotoxicity and NO production induced by BPC were higher than those induced by Portland cement (PC) at 12 and 24 hours, and the former grad ua lly decreased to the level observed for PC. HO- l and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expressions in the BPC group showed maximal increase at 24 hours. and it gradually decreased with increasing cultivation tlme Hemin treatment reversed the BPC-induced cytotoxicity ‘ whereas zinc protoporphyrin IX treatment increased the cytotoxicity. These results suggested that NO production by BPC correlates with HO-l exp1'ession in dental pulp cells Moreover ‘ BPC- induced HO-l expression in dental pulp cells plays a protective 1'ole against the cytotox.ic effects of BPC.

뇌신경계 인터벤션 시술은 장시간의 시술로 인해 피부의 수포, 탈모, 홍반 등의 방사선 피폭으로 인한 위해가 빈번히 보고되고 있다. 인체공학적으로 제작된 Bismuth (원자번호 83;Bi) 차폐체를 뇌혈관계 인터벤션 시술에 적용함으로써 의료방사선 피폭으로부터 두피 및 수정체의 방사선 피폭을 최소화하고자 하였다. 측정 부위는 4부위로 후두부(9 points), 양쪽 측두부(12 points), 양쪽 수정체부(6 points), 코 끝부(6 points)이며, 측정 소자는 광자극 형광 선량계(Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimeter: OSLD)를 각 지점(points)에 측 정기를 부착 후 자체 제작된 Bismuth차폐 기구를 사용 전(A그룹)과 후(B그룹)를 측정한 후 피부표면선량(en trance surface dose)을 비교 분석하였다. A 그룹(Bismuth unshield)과 B 그룹(Bismuth shield)의 피부선량 평균은 A 그룹은 92.44 mGy였고, B 그룹 은 67.55 mGy로 측정되었다. A 그룹에 비해 B 그룹에서 평균 26.92% 감소되었다. 후두부의 피부선량 평균은 A 그룹(9 point)은 146.08 mGy, B 그룹(9 point)은 103.23 mGy로 측정되었고 A 그룹에 비해 B 그룹에서 평균 29.32 % 감소하였다. 측두부의 피부선량 평균은 A 그룹(6 point)은 101.90 mGy, B 그룹(6 point)은 72.69 mGy로 측정되었고 A 그룹에 비해 B 그룹에서 평균 28.67% 감소하였다. 수정체부의 피부선량 평균은 A 그룹(3 point)은 27.51 mGy, B 그룹(3 point)은 21.39 mGy로 측정되었고 A 그룹에 비해 B 그룹에서 평균 22.26% 감소하였다. Bismuth 차폐체의 사용은 뇌혈관 중재적 시술 후 나타날 수 있는 일시적 탈모 및 기타 확률적 영향에 따른 방사선 장해를 감소시킬 수 있는 대안이 될 것으로 사료된다.

Brain Perfusion CT는 시간적 제약을 많이 받는 허혈성 급성뇌경색 환자의 관류 상태에 대한 정보를 정확하고 신속하게 제공함으로써 적절한 치료를 하는데 유용한 촬영 기법으로 임상에서 많이 촬영되고 있다. 그러나 이런 장점에도 불구하고 수정체의 피폭선량이 아주 많다는 단점이 있다. 본 연구에서는 Brain Perfusion CT 검사 시 수정체 피폭선량을 최대한 감소시키기 위한 방법으로 Bismuth 차폐체와 Position의 변화를 통하여 수정체 피폭선량의 최소화 방안을 알아보기 위한 목적으로 본 실험을 진행하였다. 팬텀(PBU-50)을 사용하여 양쪽 수정체에 TLD(TLD-100)를 올려두고 IOML에 평행, IOML에 평행(Bismuth 차폐), SOML에 평행, SOML에 평행(Bismuth 차폐)의 총 4가지 Position으로 각각 5회씩 Brain Perfusion scan을 실시하여 수정체의 선량을 측정하였다. 그리고 각각의 Position에 따른 화질 변화를 측정하기 위해 4군데에 관심영역을 정하여 CT Number와 Noise의 변화를 측정하여 비교하였다. 측정된 선량을 일원배치 분산분석한 결과 유의확률 0.000으로 Position에 따라 수정체의 피폭선량에 차이가 있다고 나타났으며, Duncan 사후검정결과에서 IOML에 평행 scan을 기준으로 SOML에 평행 scan과 SOML에 평행 scan(Bismuth 차폐)에서 각각 89.16%, 89.66%로 수정체 선량이 많이 감소하였으며, IOML에 평행 scan(Bismuth 차폐) 에서 37.12%순으로 감소하여 나타났다. 연구 결과 피폭선량은 SOML에 평행한 scan과 Bismuth를 차폐하여 SOML에 평행한 scan이 동일하게 감쇠효과가 가장 크게 나타났다. 수정체의 등가선량 선량한도와 비교하여 IOML에 평행한 scan에서 종사자와 공중의 선량을 기준으로 비교하면 각각 39.47%, 394.73%로 나타났으나, Bismuth를 차폐하여 SOML에 평행한 scan에서 각각 4.08%, 40.8%로 현저하게 줄어 들었다. 화질평가에서 모든 영상의 CT Number와 Noise측정에서 팬텀 영상검사 평가기준에 적합하게 나타났다. Brain Perfusion CT 촬영 시 차폐체를 사용하고 수정체가 조사야에 들어오지 않도록 환자의 position을 조절하는 것이 수정체 피폭을 줄이는 가장 유용한 방법이라 사료된다.

현재 의료용 엑스선 장비는 기존의 아날로그 방식의 필름, 카세트를 대신하여 디지털 방식인 CR, DR 이 널리 사용 되며 그에 관한 연구개발이 활발히 진행되고 있다. 본 연구 에서는 디지털 엑스선 장비의 변환물질로 BiI3(Bismuth tri-iodide)를 적용하여 실험하였으며 기존 선행연구에 비해 만족할만한 결과 값은 얻을 수 없었지만 현재 가장 많이 사용되고 있는 a-Se(Amorphous Selenium)의 단점인 고전압인가와 제작방식의 어려움을 보완할 수 있는 새로운 가 능성을 제시해 주었다. 본 연구에서 사용되어진 변환 물질은 순도 99.99%의 BiI3가 이용되었으며 3cm × 3cm의 크기 와 200um의 두께를 가지는 변환물질 층이 제작되었다. 변환 물질의 상하부에는 Magnetron Sputtering system장비를 이용한 ITO 전극이 형성된다. 형성된 BiI3 엑스선 변환 물질의 특성 평가를 위해 구조적 분석과 전기적 분석이 이루어 졌다. SEM 측정을 통해 제작된 필름의 표면 및 단면적, 구성 성분을 관찰하였고, 전기적 분석을 위해서는 누설전류, 엑스선에 대한 신호량 및 잡음 대 신호비의 관찰이 이루어졌다. 실험 결과 BiI3는 1.6 nA/㎠의 누설전류와 0.629 nC/㎠ 의 신호량을 측정할 수 있었으며, 이렇게 Screen print method로 제작된 엑스선 검출 물질은 PVD방법을 이용해 제작 된 물질과 비슷하거나 더 나은 전기적 특성을 가지고 있었고 이는 제작 방법의 간소화 및 수율을 향상 시킬 수 있어 BiI3도 a-Se를 대체하기 위한 변환물질로 적합하다고 사료된다.

A bismuth-coated carbon fiber microelectrode was prepared using cyclic voltammetry (CV). An analytical application was performed for the copper analysis with Square Wave Stripping Voltammetry (SWSV). Gallic acid n-propyl ester (PG) was used for the complex formation with a copper ion, and electrochemical measurements were performed with a pre-amplifier of a low-current module for nano amper detection. The effects of various parameters on the response were optimized. Analytical working ranges of 0.03-25.9 μgl-1 and 0-25 mgl-1 Cu(II) were obtained. The relative standard deviation at 13 mgl-1 Cu was 0.9% (n = 12) in optimum conditions. The detection limit was found to have been 0.019 μgl-1, with a 30-sec accumulation time. The developed methods were applied to a copper assay in water samples.