Enhanced Removal of Mercury and Lead by a Novel and Efficient Surface-functionalized Imogolite with Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron Material

A novel hybrid nanomaterial, nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI)-grafted imogolite nanotubes (Imo), was synthesized via a fast and straightforward chemical procedure. The as-obtained nanomaterial (Imo-nZVI) was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrophoretic mobility (EM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The prepared Imo-nZVI was superparamagnetic at room temperature and could be easily separated by an external magnetic field. Sorption batch experiments were performed in single- and multicomponent system and showed that Hg2+ and Pb2+ could be quantitatively adsorbed at pH 4.0 with maximum adsorption capacities of 62.3 and 73.8 mg·g− 1, respectively. It was observed that the functional groups in Imo-nZVI interact preferentially with analytes according to Misono Softness parameter. The higher performance of Imo-nZVI compared with Imo and nZVI is related to the increased adsorption sites in the functionalized nanomaterial. The sorption equilibrium data obeyed the Langmuir model, while kinetic studies demonstrated that the sorption processes of Hg2+ and Pb2+ followed the pseudo-second-order model. This study suggests that the Imo-nZVI composite can be used as a promising sorbent and provides a simple and fast separation method for the removal of Hg and Pb ions from contaminated water.

Computational Design Method to Control Touch Feeling of Mattress With Geometric Surface-Shape

Foam material is one of the ingredients that are frequently used for controlling of touch feeling on the contacting part of various products like bed mattresses. For better sleep, it is necessary to design to control the touch feeling of the mattresses. Touch feeling depends on various properties of the foam material, and the shape characteristics of the contact part also give humans various and complicated feelings. According to previous studies, it was possible to easily quantify the physical properties of foam materials by using indentation test. Furthermore, it is necessary to analyze the change in touch feeling due to the shape of contact part of foams for better mattress design. Therefore, in this report, the purpose is to analyze the contact problem including the material property and the shape property of the foam material. A new softness parameter was created by analyzing the contact problem using FEM analysis. Specifically, it is report a design technology based on multiple parameters of tactile sensation that change depending on the shape of the contact part of the foam material.

Examination of phenomenological formulae in superdeformed bands of A ∼ 190,150 mass regions

The rotational energy formulae viz. VMI model, ab-formula, Harris [Formula: see text] expansion, Exponential model with pairing attenuation and Nuclear softness formula are employed to the superdeformed bands of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mass regions in order to test the validity of various rotational energy formulae in describing the general nature of superdeformed bands. These formulae are used to deduce the band-head spins of the nine superdeformed bands in [Formula: see text] mass region and two superdeformed bands of [Formula: see text] mass region. The band-head spins of these superdeformed bands have been established experimentally and hence they prove to be excellent candidates to examine the adequacy of rotational energy formulae in superdeformed bands. The least-squares fitting of [Formula: see text]-transition energies is performed to calculate the model parameters such as the band-head moment of inertia, the effective pairing gap parameter and the softness parameter, and a careful analysis of these parameters is made. For the first time, we have performed a systematic study of the rotational energy formulae to establish which formula gives the best estimate of spin in [Formula: see text] mass regions.

Amidoxime Functionalization of Algal/Polyethyleneimine Beads for the Sorption of Sr(II) from Aqueous Solutions

There is a need for developing new sorbents that incorporate renewable resources for the treatment of metal-containing solutions. Algal-polyethyleneimine beads (APEI) (reinforced with alginate) are functionalized by grafting amidoxime groups (AO-APEI). Physicochemical characteristics of the new material are characterized using FTIR, XPS, TGA, SEM, SEM-EDX, and BET. AO-APEI beads are tested for the recovery of Sr(II) from synthetic solutions after pH optimization (≈ pH 6). Uptake kinetics is fast (equilibrium ≈ 60–90 min). Sorption isotherm (fitted by the Langmuir equation) shows remarkable sorption capacity (≈ 189 mg Sr g−1). Sr(II) is desorbed using 0.2 M HCl/0.5 M CaCl2 solution; sorbent recycling over five cycles shows high stability in terms of sorption/desorption performances. The presence of competitor cations is studied in relation to the pH; the selectivity for Sr(II) is correlated to the softness parameter. Finally, the recovery of Sr(II) is carried out in complex solutions (seawater samples): AO-APEI is remarkably selective over highly concentrated metal cations such as Na(I), K(I), Mg(II), and Ca(II), with weaker selectivity over B(I) and As(V). AO-APEI appears to be a promising material for selective recovery of strontium from complex solutions (including seawater).

SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF NUCLEAR SOFTNESS OF SUPERDEFORMED BANDS IN A = 190 MASS REGION

A four parameter formula has been applied to obtain the nuclear softness parameter (σ) for all the superdeformed (SD) bands observed in A = 190 mass region. The nuclear softness parameter values of most of the SD bands are found to be smaller than those of the normal deformed bands, implying more rigidity. The results of this work includes the variation of nuclear softness parameter against the gamma ray energy ratio R(I) = Eγ(I→(I-2))/Eγ((I-2)→(I-4)) of SD bands in A = 190 mass region. The variation of R(I) and the nuclear softness parameter of these SD bands are studied with the product of valence proton and neutron numbers (NpNn). The systematics also includes the variation of σ with the neutron number N. It is also found that the value of softness parameter of signature partner SD bands observed in A = 190 mass region is also the same. We present for the first time the study of softness parameter of SD bands with NpNn scheme.

DAMAGE AS Γ-LIMIT OF MICROFRACTURES IN ANTI-PLANE LINEARIZED ELASTICITY

A homogenization result is given for a material having brittle inclusions arranged in a periodic structure. According to the relation between the softness parameter and the size of the microstructure, three different limit models are deduced via Γ-convergence. In particular, damage is obtained as limit of periodically distributed microfractures.

The Metal Abundances of Circumnuclear Star Forming Regions in Early Type Spirals

We present a spectrophotometric study of circumnuclear star forming regions (CNSFR) in the galaxies: NGC 2903, NGC 3351 and NGC 3504, all of them of over solar metallicity according to standard empirical calibrations. A detailed determination of their abundances is made after careful subtraction of the prominent underlying stellar absorption. It is found that most regions show the highest abundances in HII region-like objects. It is also shown that CNSFR, as a class, segregate from the disk HII region family, clustering around smaller η' values, and therefore higher ionizing temperatures.From [Sii],λλ 6717,6731 Å lines, we have derived an electron density range from 180 to 650 −3, with average values of around 350 cm−3, higher than that found in Giant Extragalactic HII Regions (GEHR). The very low intensity of the [Oiii] lines (λλ 4959, 5007 Å implies high metallicity. Measurement of line temperature of [Oiii] (t[Oiii]) requires detection of auroral [Oiii]λ 4363 Å lines a few percent of [Oiii]λ 5007 Å which is impossible.Therefore, abundances for most of the regions require the use of empirical methods. CNSFRs show values of O23 (=([Oii]3727+[Oiii]4959, 5007)/Hβ; Pagel et al., 1979. MNRAS.189.95) which indicate oversolar metallicities, but the actual values are difficult to estimate since O23 levels off. At times [Oiii] lines are very difficult to measure. The combined parameter S23/O23 (S23 = ([Sii]6717, 6731+[Siii]9069, 9532)/Hβ; Vílchez & Esteban, 1996. MNRAS.280.720) yields values of the oxygen abundances higher than twice solar. Also the N2 parameter (log([Nii]/Hβ; Denicoló, Terlevich & Terlevich, 2002. MNRAS.330.69) renders oversolar abundances. Furthermore, the CNSFRs of our sample show the highest values of the ratio N/O known for the HII region-like objects.When we study the relation between the metallicity and the ionisation degree parametrized by the ratio [Sii]6717, 6731[Siii]9069, 9532 we find that the CNSFRs of our sample are among the HII region-like objects with the lowest ionisation parameter. Moreover, we estimate that the S23 parameter is, in this case, better than N2 to discriminate between different metallicities.The temperature of the ionising stars can be parametrized by the “softness parameter” η' (=([Oii]3727/[Oiii]4959, 5007)/([Sii]6717, 6731/[Siii]9069, 9532); Vílchez & Pagel, 1988. MNRAS.231.257). This parameter can be used as an ionising temperature indicator. Analysing N2 vs. η' we find that the CNSFR of our sample have, in general, lower values of η' than those of the GEHRs, implying higher temperatures. In an Eta Prime Plot (log([Oii]3727/[Oiii]4959, 5007) vs. log([Sii]6717, 6731/[Siii]9069, 9532)) we can see that the CNSFRs follow the behaviour of HII galaxies rather than that of GEHR implying, again, higher temperatures.Some general conclusions are: CNSFR spectra are difficult to analyse; they show prominent underlying stellar populations so a careful subtraction of the absorption spectrum can be critical; abundance determination mostly comes from empirical calibrations. Furthermore, some conclusions derived from line diagnostics are that CNSFR can show very high metal abundances and N/O overabundances too; they show indications of low ionization parameter; regarding the temperature of ionizing stars, CNSFRs seem to share more properties with HII galaxies than with disk GEHR, which is puzzling.