Effect of Hydrogen Bonding on the Surface Tension Properties of Binary Mixture (Acetone-Water) by Raman Spectroscopy

The structure and properties of water and aqueous solutions have always been the focus of attention. The surface tension of acetone aqueous solutions were measured by using Raman spectra in different molecule environments, and the changes of surface tension were analyzed with hydrogen bonding in the mixtures. In this case, OH stretching bands were fitted into three Gaussian components and then assigned to different hydrogen-bonded structures. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the changes of microstructure on the binary mixture solutions exhibited regularly with the additive acetone, indicating that there showed the correlation between surface tension and relative peak intensity. The results show that the strengthening of hydrogen bonding between acetone and water will gradually weaken the surface tension of the solutions. It was confirmed that there showed the relationship between the microstructure and macroscopic properties of the aqueous solutions by the basis experiment data using a spectroscopy method.

Hydrothermal Growth of 1D ZnO Nanorods Thin Films for Hydrogen Gas Production through Water Splitting Reaction

Current study aims to control the growth of vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) arrays on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate with tuneable diameter and length by using hydrothermal method. FESEM result shows that the diameter of NRs are tuneable from 95 nm to 107 nm and its length can be varied from 2.0 μm to 5.0 μm by prolonging the synthesis duration. According to FESEM images, extent the synthesis duration renders denser NRs occupancy. XRD result reveals that the NRs have prefer orientation along 002 direction, which is distinguishly different from relative peak intensity of standard ZnO. The NRs are employed as photocatalyst thin film to produce hydrogen gas (H2) via photocatalytic water splitting reaction.

Certification of Standard Reference Material 1976B

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) certifies a suite of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) to address specific aspects of the performance of X-ray powder diffraction instruments. This report describes SRM 1976b, the third generation of this powder diffraction SRM. SRM 1976b consists of a sintered alumina disc, approximately 25.6 mm in diameter by 2.2 mm in thickness, intended for use in the calibration of X-ray powder diffraction equipment with respect to line position and intensity as a function of 2θ-angle. The sintered form of the SRM eliminates the effect of sample loading procedures on intensity measurements. Certified data include the lattice parameters and relative peak intensity values from 13 lines in the 2θ region between 20° and 145° using CuKα radiation. A NIST-built diffractometer, incorporating many advanced and unique design features was used to make the certification measurements.

Local structure and defects in ultrahigh-temperature materials of borosilicon carbonitride

We have investigated structural changes of amorphous borosilicon carbonitride materials with atomic ratios of B/Si/C of 2/3/6 and 4/3/6 calcined at several temperatures. The boron K-edge x-ray absorption spectra showed that the structures of both hexagonal boron nitride ([BN3] unit) with nitrogen-void defects ([BN2] and [BN1] units) and boron oxide existed in the samples, and the relative peak intensity due to the [BN3] unit became stronger by increasing the calcined temperature. It is thought that the well-developed B–N chain and the borosilicate glass coating lead to the high resistance to oxidation at high temperature. X-ray diffraction and infrared measurements followed the x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy findings.

Elemental Composition of the Developing Inner Ear

The elemental composition of the inner ear fluid-filled compartments has been analyzed using the x-ray energy dispersive technique (CBA mouse). Special attention has been focused on the maturation of endolymph. A few days before and after birth the relative peak intensity of potassium (R k) in the vestibular endolymphatic compartment was slightly surpassing that in the cochlear part of the labyrinth. From the fourth day after birth (DAB) a rapid increase occurred concerning the R k. The highest R k was found in the endolymphatic space in the basal part of the cochlea followed by that in the vestibular endolymph. The lowest R k was measured in endolymph of the apical part of the cochlea. These obvious differences were abandoned already on the sixth DAB. A mature composition of endolymph was reached on the eighth DAB. The present technique does not allow analyses of differences between cochlear and vestibular endolymph with regard to minimal shifts.