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Sample records for copper mercury silver

  1. Selective extraction of copper, mercury, silver and palladium ionsfrom water using hydrophobic ionic liquids.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papaiconomou, Nicolas; Lee, Jong-Min; Salminen, Justin; VonStosch, Moritz; Prausnitz, John M.

    2007-06-25

    Extraction of dilute metal ions from water was performed near room temperature with a variety of ionic liquids. Distribution coefficients are reported for fourteen metal ions extracted with ionic liquids containing cations 1-octyl-4-methylpyridinium [4MOPYR]{sup +}, 1-methyl-1-octylpyrrolidinium [MOPYRRO]{sup +} or 1-methyl-1-octylpiperidinium [MOPIP]{sup +}, and anions tetrafluoroborate [BF{sub 4}]{sup +}, trifluoromethyl sulfonate [TfO]{sup +} or nonafluorobutyl sulfonate [NfO]{sup +}. Ionic liquids containing octylpyridinium cations are very good for extracting mercury ions. However, other metal ions were not significantly extracted by any of these ionic liquids. Extractions were also performed with four new task-specific ionic liquids. Such liquids containing a disulfide functional group are efficient and selective for mercury and copper, whereas those containing a nitrile functional group are efficient and selective for silver and palladium.

  2. Copper and silver halates

    CERN Document Server

    Woolley, EM; Salomon, M

    2013-01-01

    Copper and Silver Halates is the third in a series of four volumes on inorganic metal halates. This volume presents critical evaluations and compilations for halate solubilities of the Group II metals. The solubility data included in this volume are those for the five compounds, copper chlorate and iodate, and silver chlorate, bromate and iodate.

  3. Exposure to mercury and silver during removal of amalgam restorations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brune, D.; Hensten-Pettersen, A.; Beltesbrekke, H.

    1980-01-01

    The content of particulate matter and mercury vapor in dentist breathing air during removal of amalgam restorations was assessed. Mercury and silver were quantitatively assayed by nuclerar chemical analysis, and the mercury vapor concentration was measured with a sniffer. When the water spray was not used, the short time threshold limit values for exposure to mercury and silver were exceeded about 10 times. With water spray the mercury content was reduced to a level considerably lower that the threshold limit value, whereas the silver concentration slightly exceeded the corresponding limit. (author)

  4. Exposure to mercury and silver during removal of amalgam restorations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brune, D.; Hensten-Pettersen, A.; Beltesbrekke, H.

    1980-01-01

    The content of particulate matter and mercury vapor in dentist breathing air during removal of amalgam restorations was assessed. Mercury and silver were quantitatively assayed by nuclear chemical analysis, and the mercury vapor concentration was measured with a sniffer. When the water spray was not used, the short time threshold limit values for exposure to mercury and silver were exceeded about 10 times. With water spray the mercury content was reduced to a level considerably lower than the threshold limit value, whereas the silver concentration slightly exceeded the corresponding limit. (author)

  5. Sensitive detection of mercury and copper ions by fluorescent DNA/Ag nanoclusters in guanine-rich DNA hybridization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Jun; Ling, Jian; Zhang, Xiu-Qing; Bai, Hui-Ping; Zheng, Liyan; Cao, Qiu-E; Ding, Zhong-Tao

    2015-02-25

    In this work, we designed a new fluorescent oligonucleotides-stabilized silver nanoclusters (DNA/AgNCs) probe for sensitive detection of mercury and copper ions. This probe contains two tailored DNA sequence. One is a signal probe contains a cytosine-rich sequence template for AgNCs synthesis and link sequence at both ends. The other is a guanine-rich sequence for signal enhancement and link sequence complementary to the link sequence of the signal probe. After hybridization, the fluorescence of hybridized double-strand DNA/AgNCs is 200-fold enhanced based on the fluorescence enhancement effect of DNA/AgNCs in proximity of guanine-rich DNA sequence. The double-strand DNA/AgNCs probe is brighter and stable than that of single-strand DNA/AgNCs, and more importantly, can be used as novel fluorescent probes for detecting mercury and copper ions. Mercury and copper ions in the range of 6.0-160.0 and 6-240 nM, can be linearly detected with the detection limits of 2.1 and 3.4 nM, respectively. Our results indicated that the analytical parameters of the method for mercury and copper ions detection are much better than which using a single-strand DNA/AgNCs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Irradiation of silver and agar/silver nanoparticles with argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma, and mercury lamp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Mahmoud M; Abdel-Wahab, Essam A; El-Maaref, A A; Rawway, Mohammed; Shaaban, Essam R

    2014-01-01

    The irradiation effect of argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma, and mercury lamp on silver and agar/silver nanoparticle samples is studied. The irradiation time dependence of the synthesized silver and agar/silver nanoparticle absorption spectra and their antibacterial effect are studied and compared. In the agar/silver nanoparticle sample, as the irradiation time of argon glow discharge plasma or mercury lamp increases, the peak intensity and the full width at half maximum, FWHM, of the surface plasmon resonance absorption band is increased, however a decrease of the peak intensity with oxygen glow plasma has been observed. In the silver nanoparticle sample, as the irradiation time of argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma or mercury lamp increases, the peak intensity of the surface plasmon resonance absorption band is increased, however, there is no significant change in the FWHM of the surface plasmon resonance absorption band. The SEM results for both samples showed nanoparticle formation with mean size about 50 nm and 40 nm respectively. Throughout the irradiation time with the argon, oxygen glow discharge plasma or mercury lamp, the antibacterial activity of several kinds of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria has been examined.

  7. Recovery of Silver and Gold from Copper Anode Slimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ailiang; Peng, Zhiwei; Hwang, Jiann-Yang; Ma, Yutian; Liu, Xuheng; Chen, Xingyu

    2015-02-01

    Copper anode slimes, produced from copper electrolytic refining, are important industrial by-products containing several valuable metals, particularly silver and gold. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the development of the extraction processes for recovering silver and gold from conventional copper anode slimes. Existing processes, namely pyrometallurgical processes, hydrometallurgical processes, and hybrid processes involving the combination of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical technologies, are discussed based in part on a review of the form and characteristics of silver and gold in copper anode slimes. The recovery of silver and gold in pyrometallurgical processes is influenced in part by the slag and matte/metal chemistry and related characteristics, whereas the extraction of these metals in hydrometallurgical processes depends on the leaching reagents used to break the structure of the silver- and gold-bearing phases, such as selenides. By taking advantage of both pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical techniques, high extraction yields of silver and gold can be obtained using such combined approaches that appear promising for efficient extraction of silver and gold from copper anode slimes.

  8. Antimicrobial electrospun silver-, copper- and zinc-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone nanofibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quirós, Jennifer; Borges, João P.; Boltes, Karina; Rodea-Palomares, Ismael; Rosal, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanofibers containing silver, copper, and zinc. • Antimicrobial effect for the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. • Silver strongly reduced colony forming units and bacterial viability. • Silver, copper, and zinc led to a significant increase of non-viable cells on mats. - Abstract: The use of electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanofibers containing silver, copper, and zinc nanoparticles was studied to prepare antimicrobial mats using silver and copper nitrates and zinc acetate as precursors. Silver became reduced during electrospinning and formed nanoparticles of several tens of nanometers. Silver nanoparticles and the insoluble forms of copper and zinc were dispersed using low molecular weight PVP as capping agent. High molecular weight PVP formed uniform fibers with a narrow distribution of diameters around 500 nm. The fibers were converted into an insoluble network using ultraviolet irradiation crosslinking. The efficiency of metal-loaded mats against the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was tested for different metal loadings by measuring the inhibition of colony forming units and the staining with fluorescent probes for metabolic viability and compromised membranes. The assays included the culture in contact with mats and the direct staining of surface attached microorganisms. The results indicated a strong inhibition for silver-loaded fibers and the absence of significant amounts of viable but non-culturable microorganisms. Copper and zinc-loaded mats also decreased the metabolic activity and cell viability, although in a lesser extent. Metal-loaded fibers allowed the slow release of the soluble forms of the three metals.

  9. Antimicrobial electrospun silver-, copper- and zinc-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone nanofibers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quirós, Jennifer [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Borges, João P. [CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Boltes, Karina [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies of Water (IMDEA Agua), Parque Científico Tecnológico, E-28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Rodea-Palomares, Ismael [Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid (Spain); Rosal, Roberto [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies of Water (IMDEA Agua), Parque Científico Tecnológico, E-28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain)

    2015-12-15

    Highlights: • Electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanofibers containing silver, copper, and zinc. • Antimicrobial effect for the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. • Silver strongly reduced colony forming units and bacterial viability. • Silver, copper, and zinc led to a significant increase of non-viable cells on mats. - Abstract: The use of electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanofibers containing silver, copper, and zinc nanoparticles was studied to prepare antimicrobial mats using silver and copper nitrates and zinc acetate as precursors. Silver became reduced during electrospinning and formed nanoparticles of several tens of nanometers. Silver nanoparticles and the insoluble forms of copper and zinc were dispersed using low molecular weight PVP as capping agent. High molecular weight PVP formed uniform fibers with a narrow distribution of diameters around 500 nm. The fibers were converted into an insoluble network using ultraviolet irradiation crosslinking. The efficiency of metal-loaded mats against the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was tested for different metal loadings by measuring the inhibition of colony forming units and the staining with fluorescent probes for metabolic viability and compromised membranes. The assays included the culture in contact with mats and the direct staining of surface attached microorganisms. The results indicated a strong inhibition for silver-loaded fibers and the absence of significant amounts of viable but non-culturable microorganisms. Copper and zinc-loaded mats also decreased the metabolic activity and cell viability, although in a lesser extent. Metal-loaded fibers allowed the slow release of the soluble forms of the three metals.

  10. Copper-silver ionization at a US hospital: interaction of treated ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tap water sampling and surface analysis of copper pipe/bathroom porcelain were performed to explore the fate of copper and silver during the first nine months of copper-silver ionization (CSI) applied to cold and hot water at a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ions dosed by CSI into the water at its point of entry to the hospital were inadvertently removed from hot water by a cation-exchange softener in one building (average removal of 72% copper and 51% silver). Copper at the tap was replenished from corrosion of the building’s copper pipes but was typically unable to reach 200 µg/L in first-draw and flushed hot and cold water samples. Unlike copper, silver solubility was not restricted by the incoming water’s high pH of 8.5. Cold water lines had >20 µg/L silver at most of the taps that were sampled, which further increased after flushing. However, silver plating onto copper pipe surfaces (particularly in the hot water line) prevented reaching 20 µg/L silver in hot water of many taps. Aesthetically displeasing purple/grey stains in bathroom porcelain were attributed to chlorargyrite [AgCl(s)], an insoluble precipitate that formed when CSI-dosed Ag+ ions combined with Cl- ions that were present in the incoming water. Overall, CSI aims to control Legionella bacteria in drinking water, but plumbing material interactions, aesthetics and other implications also deserve consideration to holistically evaluate in-building drinking water disinfection. To inform the

  11. Colloidal silver ingestion with copper and caeruloplasmin deficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepien, Karolina M; Taylor, Andrew

    2012-05-01

    The copper concentration in serum can be affected by the presence of other trace elements such as silver. Low serum copper may result in decreased caeruloplasmin synthesis. We report the case of a 59-year-old woman, who was admitted to hospital with acute psychosis and who had been ingesting chronically, colloidal silver.

  12. A Facile Fabrication of Silver-Coated Copper Nanowires by Galvanic Replacement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin He

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We demonstrated a general strategy to fabricate silver-coated copper nanowires by a galvanic replacement, which is guided by the chemical principle that metal ions (silver ions with a relatively high reduction potential can galvanically etch nanostructure made from a less metal (copper. Well-dispersed and high-yielded copper nanowires were initially synthesized and then introduced into silver-ammonia solution for the growth of silver nanocrystals on the nanowire surfaces under vigorous oscillation. The results of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope revealed that the silver nanocrystals were uniformly distributed on the copper nanowire surfaces to form Cu-Ag heterostructures. The concentration of silver-ammonia solution and the time of replacement reaction determine the size and density of the silver nanocrystals. Our investigation might pave the way to the synthesis of other bimetallic nanostructures via a facile, fast, and economical route.

  13. Mercury Production and Use in Colonial Andean Silver Production: Emissions and Health Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagan, Nicole A.

    2012-01-01

    Background: Colonial cinnabar mining and refining began in Huancavelica, Peru, in 1564. With a local source of mercury, the amalgamation process was adopted to refine silver in Potosí, Bolivia, in the early 1570s. As a result, large quantities of mercury were released into the environment. Objectives: We used archival, primary, and secondary sources to develop the first estimate of mercury emissions from cinnabar refining in Huancavelica and to revise previous estimates of emissions from silver refining in Potosí during the colonial period (1564–1810). Discussion: Although other estimates of historical mercury emissions have recognized Potosí as a significant source, Huancavelica has been overlooked. In addition, previous estimates of mercury emissions from silver refining under-estimated emissions because of unrecorded (contra-band) production and volatilization of mercury during processing and recovery. Archival descriptions document behavioral and health issues during the colonial period that are consistent with known effects of mercury intoxication. Conclusions: According to our calculations, between 1564 and 1810, an estimated 17,000 metric tons of mercury vapor were emitted from cinnabar smelting in Huancavelica, and an estimated 39,000 metric tons were released as vapor during silver refining operations in Potosí. Huancavelica and Potosí combined contributed > 25% of the 196,000 metric tons of mercury vapor emissions in all of Latin America between 1500 and 1800. The historical record is laden with evidence of mercury intoxication consistent with effects recognized today. Our estimates serve as the foundation of investigations of present-day contamination in Huancavelica and Potosí resulting from historical emissions of mercury. PMID:22334094

  14. Magnetic and Structural Properties of Electrodeposited Iron on Copper and Silver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koempe, K.; Kuehl, E.; Nagorny, K.

    2002-01-01

    Electrodeposition of iron on copper or silver leads to the formation of bcc-iron or amorphous iron. Thermal annealing usually results in soluted iron (also γ-iron and clusters) in copper. On silver the insolubility of iron never causes the formation of bcc-iron. Instead on copper as well as on silver fcc-iron states are formed, especially at relatively low temperatures with short times of annealing. Moessbauer spectroscopy accompanied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) are applied for characterisation of the iron states.

  15. Gastrointestinal and in vitro release of copper, cadmium, indium, mercury and zinc from conventional and copper-rich amalgams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brune, D.; Gjerdet, N.; Paulsen, G.

    1983-01-01

    Particles of a conventional lathe-cut, a spherical non-gamma 2 and a copper amalgam have been gastrointestinally administered to rats for the purpose of evaluation of the dissolution resistance. The animals were sacrificed after 20 hrs. The contents of copper, cadmium, indium, mercury and zinc in kidney, liver, lung or blood were measured using nuclear tracer techniques. From a copper amalgam an extreme release of copper was demonstrated. This study simulates the clinical conditions of elemental release from swallowed amalgam particles after amalgam insertion or after removal of old amalgam fillings. Specimens of the same types of amalgams were also exposed to artificial saliva for a period of 10 days. The amounts of copper and mercury released were measured with flame and flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry respectively. The levels of copper and mercury released from the copper amalgam were approximately 50 times those of the two other amalgam types studied. (author)

  16. Kinetic formation of silver-copper nanoparticles and its characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zulkafi, Nurul Hikmah; Idrus, Nor Faeqah; Jai, Junaidah; Hadi, Abdul

    2017-12-01

    A study of the kinetic formation of silver-copper nanoparticles in aqueous medium on the basis of size distribution and its characterization has been carried out and reported in this paper. The Ag-Cu nanoparticles were synthesized through polyol method that using Ethylene Glycol (H2C6O12) as a reduction agent and solvent and Polyoxyethylene-(80)-Sorbitan Monooleate (Tween 80) as a stabilizer. The kinetic formation of Ag-Cu nanoparticles was observed using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and characterized by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The XRD analysis results confirmed that size distribution was strongly dependent on molarity of precursors of silver (AgNO3) and copper (Cu(NO3)2.3H2O). The FESEM and TEM analysis indicated the existence of Ag and Cu nanoparticles in the core-shell shape. The silver-copper nanoparticles were spherical and uniform particles size with the average size of about 28 nm and 38 nm for silver and copper, respectively. DLS observation showed the growth of nanoparticles at the temperature of 140°C as the effect of reaction time at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 hours.

  17. Graphene-protected copper and silver plasmonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kravets, V. G.; Jalil, R.; Kim, Y. J.

    2014-01-01

    suitable for plasmonic applications. To this end, there has been a continuous search for alternative plasmonic materials that are also compatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology. Here we show that copper and silver protected by graphene are viable candidates. Copper films covered...... with one to a few graphene layers show excellent plasmonic characteristics. They can be used to fabricate plasmonic devices and survive for at least a year, even in wet and corroding conditions. As a proof of concept, we use the graphene-protected copper to demonstrate dielectric loaded plasmonic...

  18. Investigation of the mechanism of mercury removal from a silver dental amalgam alloy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. DJURDJEVIC

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available An investigation of silver dental amalgam decomposition and the mercury removal mechanism was performed. The decomposition process was analysed during thermal treatment in the temperature interval from 400 °C to 850 °C and for times from 0.5 to 7.5 h. The chemical compositions of the silver dental amalgam alloy and the treated alloy were tested and microstructure analysis using optical and scanning electron microscopy was carried out. The phases were identified using energy disperse electron probe microanalysis. A mechanism for the mercury removal process from silver dental amalgam alloy is suggested.

  19. Laser cladding of stainless steel with a copper-silver alloy to generate surfaces of high antimicrobial activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hans, Michael; Támara, Juan Carlos; Mathews, Salima; Bax, Benjamin; Hegetschweiler, Andreas; Kautenburger, Ralf; Solioz, Marc; Mücklich, Frank

    2014-11-01

    Copper and silver are used as antimicrobial agents in the healthcare sector in an effort to curb infections caused by bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. While the bactericidal potential of copper and silver alone are well documented, not much is known about the antimicrobial properties of copper-silver alloys. This study focuses on the antibacterial activity and material aspects of a copper-silver model alloy with 10 wt% Ag. The alloy was generated as a coating with controlled intermixing of copper and silver on stainless steel by a laser cladding process. The microstructure of the clad was found to be two-phased and in thermal equilibrium with minor Cu2O inclusions. Ion release and killing of Escherichia coli under wet conditions were assessed with the alloy, pure silver, pure copper and stainless steel. It was found that the copper-silver alloy, compared to the pure elements, exhibited enhanced killing of E. coli, which correlated with an up to 28-fold increased release of copper ions. The results show that laser cladding with copper and silver allows the generation of surfaces with enhanced antimicrobial properties. The process is particularly attractive since it can be applied to existing surfaces.

  20. Chelation therapy in intoxications with mercury, lead and copper

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cao, yang; Skaug, Marit Aralt; Andersen, Ole

    2015-01-01

    In the present review we provide an update of the appropriate use of chelating agents in the treatment of intoxications with compounds of mercury, lead and copper. The relatively new chelators meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and 2,3-dimercapto-propanesulphonate (DMPS) can effectively...... mobilize deposits of mercury as well as of lead into the urine. These drugs can be administered orally and have relatively low toxicity compared to the classical antidote dimercaptopropanol (BAL). d-Penicillamine has been widely used in copper overload, although 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid...

  1. Indirect potentiometric titration of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical preparations using copper based mercury film electrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdul Kamal Nazer, Meeran Mohideen; Hameed, Abdul Rahman Shahul; Riyazuddin, Patel

    2004-01-01

    A simple and rapid potentiometric method for the estimation of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical dosage forms has been developed. The method is based on treating ascorbic acid with iodine and titration of the iodide produced equivalent to ascorbic acid with silver nitrate using Copper Based Mercury Film Electrode (CBMFE) as an indicator electrode. Interference study was carried to check possible interference of usual excipients and other vitamins. The precision and accuracy of the method was assessed by the application of lack-of-fit test and other statistical methods. The results of the proposed method and British Pharmacopoeia method were compared using F and t-statistical tests of significance.

  2. An Approach to Microanalysis and Conservation of Silver - Copper Object in Agriculture Museum, Cairo, Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    prof.ABEER Gharib

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This research dealt examining, analysis and treatment of a silver - copper belt, it exhibited in Agriculture Museum in Cairo. This research aims to study the ancient silver alloy; because of the successful examination and analysis helps in the treatment of old metal objects and then maintain them. The analysis of archaeological objects requires simultaneously non-destructive (the objects are unique and precious, versatile (samples with different geometry, sensitive (trace elements are often important and multi-elemental methods. In this paper, scanning electron microscopy (SEM employed to diagnose the characteristic morphology and environmental effects of the silver-copper object. X- Ray diffraction (XRD used to identify the mineralogical composition of samples, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP used to determine the accurate elemental composition of the silver-copper object. The results obtained by this research showed that the alloy containing about 22% silver, 65% copper, and it covered with copper corrosion products, these results represent the correct diagnosis, which will help us to understand the fabrication of ancient silver-copper alloy, which is still needed more studies.

  3. Synthesis and characterization of silver-copper core-shell nanoparticles using polyol method for antimicrobial agent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hikmah, N.; Idrus, N. F.; Jai, J.; Hadi, A.

    2016-06-01

    Silver and copper nanoparticles are well-known as the good antimicrobial agent. The nano-size of particles influences in enhancing the antimicrobial activity. This paper discusses the effect of molarity on the microstructure and morphology of silver-copper core-shell nanoparticles prepared by a polyol method. In this study, silver-copper nanoparticles are synthesized through the green approach of polyol method using ethylene glycol (EG) as green solvent and reductant, and polyoxyethylene-(80)-sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80) as a nontoxic stabilizer. The phase and morphology of silver-copper nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results XRD confirm the pure crystalline of silver and copper nanoparticles with face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. FESEM and TEM analysis confirm the existence of Ag and Cu nanoparticles in core-shell shape.

  4. Carboxylate and amino group coated silver nanoparticles as joining materials for copper-to-copper silver joints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oestreicher, A; Röhrich, T; Lerch, M

    2012-12-01

    Organic silver complexes are introduced where silver is linked either with a carboxyl group or with an amino group. Upon heating, nanoparticles are generated if the respective ligands are long enough to act as stabilizing agents in the nanoparticulate regime. With decomposition and volatilization of the organic material, the sintering of silver occurs. The thermal characteristics of the carboxylates silver-n-octanoate, silver-n-decanoate, and AgOOC(CH2OCH2)2CH2OCH3 are compared with silver-n-alkylamines (n = 8, 9, and 12), and their thermal behavior is discussed based on thermogravimetry (TG) measurements. The consecutive stages of a metallization process are addressed based on the properties of AgOOC(CH2OCH2)2CH2OCH3, and the usable effects of the individual phases of this metal organic compound are analyzed by cross-sectional scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of silver joints. Selection criteria are addressed based on the thermal behavior. A mechanism for the joining process is proposed, considering formation and sintering of the nanoparticles. It was found that the bulk material can be used for low-temperature joining processes. Strong adherence to copper as a basic material can be achieved.

  5. Silver surface enrichment of silver-copper alloys: a limitation for the analysis of ancient silver coins by surface techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beck, L.; Bosonnet, S.; Reveillon, S.; Eliot, D.; Pilon, F.

    2004-01-01

    The surface enrichment of archaeological silver-copper alloys has been recognized for many years. However, the origin of this enrichment is not well defined and many hypotheses have been put forward to account for this behaviour: segregation of the components during casting, deliberate thermal and/or chemical post-treatment, abrasion or corrosion. Among the hypotheses mentioned above, we have focused our study on the first step of coin manufacturing. Replications of silver-copper standards of various compositions ranging from 30% to 80% Ag, reflecting the composition of silver blanks, have been produced. Metallographic examination, PIXE and SEM-EDS have been used for the characterization of each sample. A model of the direct enrichment has been established. This model allows us to propose a relationship between the surface composition and the silver content of the core. Comparison with data of Roman coins from the Roman site of Cha-hat teaubleau (France) and from the literature and consequences for the analyses of ancient coins by surface methods are presented

  6. Removal of mercury vapor from ambient air of dental clinics using an air cleaning system based on silver nanoparticles

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    Chiman Saeidi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Background & objective: Mercury is a toxic and bio-accumulative pollutant that has adverse effects on environmental and human health. There have been a number of attempts to regulate mercury emissions tothe atmosphere. Silver nanoparticles are a number of materials that have highly potential to absorb mercury and formation of mercury amalgam.The aim of this study is removal of mercury vapors in the dental clinic using a n a ir cleaning system based on silver nanoparticles. Methods: In this study, silver nanoparticles coated on the bed of foam and chemical and structural properties were determined using a number of methods such as UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM connected the X-ray Emission Spectroscopy Energy (EDS. The a ir cleaning system efficiency to remove of the mercury vapor in simulated conditions in the laboratory and real conditions in the dental clinicwere measured by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (CVAAS. Results: The images of SEM, showed that average sizeof silver nanoparticles in colloidal solution was ∼ 30nm and distribution of silver nanoparticles coated on foam was good. EDS spectrum confirmed associated the presence of silver nanoparticles coated on foam. The significantly difference observed between the concentration of mercury vapor in the off state (9.43 ± 0.342 μg.m-3 and on state (0.51 ± 0.031μg.m-3 of the a ir cleaning system. The mercury vapor removal efficiencyof the a ir cleaning system was calculated 95%. Conclusion : The air cleaning system based on foam coated by silver nanoparticles, undertaken to provide the advantages such as use facilitating, highly efficient operational capacity and cost effective, have highly sufficiency to remove mercury vapor from dental clinics.

  7. Effects of copper, organic mercury and a mixture of the two on glycerol lysis of erythrocytes.

    OpenAIRE

    宮地,芳之

    1987-01-01

    The effects of copper, organic mercury and a mixture of the two on glycerol lysis of erythrocytes were examined. Copper ion and organic mercury (EMP; ethylmercury phosphate, and PCMB; sodium p-chloromercuricbenzoate) inhibited glycerol lysis of erythrocytes. The inhibitory effects was dependent on the incubation period. An equimolor solution of copper ion and EMP showed between copper ion and EMP. Similar results were obtained with copper and PCMB.

  8. The biological properties of the silver- and copper-doped ceramic biomaterial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lysenko, Oleksandr; Dubok, Oleksii; Borysenko, Anatolii; Shinkaruk, Oleksandr

    2015-01-01

    The biological properties of nanostructured bioactive ceramic composite (BCC) granules doped with 0.1–10 at.% silver and 0.05–5 at.% copper have been investigated both in vitro and in vivo to develop effective alloplastic material for infected bone defect substitute. It is assumed that the granules consisting of biphasic calcium phosphate and bioactive glass ceramics due to their nanoscale (15–40 nm) and multiphase structure, bioelement placement in different ceramic phases as well as antimicrobial effect should improve osteogenic properties and biocompatibility. Tests in vitro have been conducted with multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and test strains of microorganisms. The same biocomposite has been used in vivo to study the repair of bone defects in animal model. The findings indicate that doped BCC leads to antimicrobial activity. Inhibition of MSCs growth has been observed for granules doped with ions of more than 1 at.% silver and 0.5 at.% copper. The results of the in vivo study reveal that BCC implantation significantly improves bone reparation. Differences between bone repair with undoped and doped, with 1 at.% silver and 0.5 at.% copper, ceramic samples were not observed. The BCC doped within 0.5–1 at.% silver and 0.25–0.5 at.% copper stimulates bone tissue repair and has satisfactory biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties

  9. The biological properties of the silver- and copper-doped ceramic biomaterial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lysenko, Oleksandr, E-mail: dr.alex.lysenko@gmail.com [Bogomolets National Medical University, Department of Therapeutic Stomatology (Ukraine); Dubok, Oleksii [Institute for Problems of Material Science NASU, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Functional Ceramics (Ukraine); Borysenko, Anatolii [Bogomolets National Medical University, Department of Therapeutic Stomatology (Ukraine); Shinkaruk, Oleksandr [Institute for Problems of Material Science NASU, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Functional Ceramics (Ukraine)

    2015-04-15

    The biological properties of nanostructured bioactive ceramic composite (BCC) granules doped with 0.1–10 at.% silver and 0.05–5 at.% copper have been investigated both in vitro and in vivo to develop effective alloplastic material for infected bone defect substitute. It is assumed that the granules consisting of biphasic calcium phosphate and bioactive glass ceramics due to their nanoscale (15–40 nm) and multiphase structure, bioelement placement in different ceramic phases as well as antimicrobial effect should improve osteogenic properties and biocompatibility. Tests in vitro have been conducted with multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and test strains of microorganisms. The same biocomposite has been used in vivo to study the repair of bone defects in animal model. The findings indicate that doped BCC leads to antimicrobial activity. Inhibition of MSCs growth has been observed for granules doped with ions of more than 1 at.% silver and 0.5 at.% copper. The results of the in vivo study reveal that BCC implantation significantly improves bone reparation. Differences between bone repair with undoped and doped, with 1 at.% silver and 0.5 at.% copper, ceramic samples were not observed. The BCC doped within 0.5–1 at.% silver and 0.25–0.5 at.% copper stimulates bone tissue repair and has satisfactory biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties.

  10. Analysis of impurities in silver matrix by atomic absorption spectrophotometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, R.; Ishaque, M.; Mohammad, D.

    1999-01-01

    A procedure for the analysis of aluminium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc mainly using flame lens atomic absorption spectrophotometry has been described. The results depict that the presence of silver does not introduce any significant interference, when standards are prepared in matching silver matrix solutions. The calibration curves obey the straight-line equations passing through the origin. Thus the separation of silver matrix from the analyte solutions is not necessary. The method has successfully been applied for the analysis of silver foils, wires, battery grade silver oxides and silver nitrate samples containing analyte elements in the concentration range 2 to 40 ppm. (author)

  11. Silver and copper nanoclusters in the lustre decoration of Italian Renaissance pottery: an EXAFS study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padovani, S.; Borgia, I.; Brunetti, B.; Sgamellotti, A.; Giulivi, A.; D'Acapito, F.; Mazzoldi, P.; Sada, C.; Battaglin, G.

    Lustre is one of the most important decorative techniques of the Medieval and Renaissance pottery of the Mediterranean basin, capable of producing brilliant metallic reflections and iridescence. Following the recent finding that the colour of lustre decorations is mainly determined by copper and silver nanoclusters dispersed in the glaze layer, the local environment of copper and silver atoms has been studied by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy on original samples of gold and red lustre. It has been found that, in gold lustre, whose colour is attributed mainly to the silver nanocluster dispersion, silver is only partially present in the metallic form and copper is almost completely oxidised. In the red lustre, whose colour is attributed mainly to the copper nanocluster dispersion, only a fraction of copper is present in the metallic form. EXAFS measurements on red lustre, carried out in the total electron yield mode to probe only the first 150 nm of the glaze layer, indicated that in some cases lustre nanoclusters may be confined in a very thin layer close to the surface.

  12. Modelling the effect of temperature and free acid, silver, copper and lead concentrations on silver electrorefining electrolyte conductivity

    OpenAIRE

    Aji, Arif T.; Kalliomäki, Taina; Wilson, Benjamin P.; Aromaa, Jari; Lundström, Mari

    2016-01-01

    Conductivity is one of the key physico-chemical properties of electrolyte in silver electrorefining since it affects the energy consumption of the process. As electrorefining process development trends towards high current density operation, having electrolytes with high conductivities will greatly reduce the energy consumption of the process. This study outlines investigations into silver electrorefining electrolyte conductivity as a function of silver, free acid, copper and lead concentrati...

  13. The effects of silver ions on copper metabolism in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilyechova, E Yu; Saveliev, A N; Skvortsov, A N; Babich, P S; Zatulovskaia, Yu A; Pliss, M G; Korzhevskii, D E; Tsymbalenko, N V; Puchkova, L V

    2014-10-01

    The influence of short and prolonged diet containing silver ions (Ag-diet) on copper metabolism was studied. Two groups of animals were used: one group of adult rats received a Ag-diet for one month (Ag-A1) and another group received a Ag-diet for 6 months from birth (Ag-N6). In Ag-A1 rats, the Ag-diet caused a dramatic decrease of copper status indexes that was manifested as ceruloplasmin-associated copper deficiency. In Ag-N6 rats, copper status indexes decreased only 2-fold as compared to control rats. In rats of both groups, silver entered the bloodstream and accumulated in the liver. Silver was incorporated into ceruloplasmin (Cp), but not SOD1. In the liver, a prolonged Ag-diet caused a decrease of the expression level of genes, associated with copper metabolism. Comparative spectrophotometric analysis of partially purified Cp fractions has shown that Cp from Ag-N6 rats was closer to holo-Cp by specific enzymatic activities and tertiary structure than Cp from Ag-A1 rats. However, Cp of Ag-N6 differs from control holo-Cp and Cp of Ag-A1 in its affinity to DEAE-Sepharose and in its binding properties to lectins. In the bloodstream of Ag-N6, two Cp forms are present as shown in pulse-experiments on rats with the liver isolated from circulation. One of the Cp isoforms is of hepatic origin, and the other is of extrahepatic origin; the latter is characterized by a faster rate of secretion than hepatic Cp. These data allowed us to suggest that the disturbance of holo-Cp formation in the liver was compensated by induction of extrahepatic Cp synthesis. The possible biological importance of these effects is discussed.

  14. Method for extracting copper, silver and related metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyer, Bruce A.; McDowell, W. J.

    1990-01-01

    A process for selectively extracting precious metals such as silver and gold concurrent with copper extraction from aqueous solutions containing the same. The process utilizes tetrathiamacrocycles and high molecular weight organic acids that exhibit a synergistic relationship when complexing with certain metal ions thereby removing them from ore leach solutions.

  15. Copper-silver ionization at a US hospital: interaction of treated drinking water with plumbing materials, aesthetics and other considerations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tap water sampling and surface analysis of copper pipe/bathroom porcelain were performed to explore the fate of copper and silver during the first nine months of copper-silver ionization (CSI) applied to cold and hot water at a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ions dosed by CSI into...

  16. Fabrication of dendritic silver-coated copper powders by galvanic displacement reaction and their thermal stability against oxidation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Yu-Seon; An, Chang Yong; Kannan, Padmanathan Karthick; Seo, Nary; Zhuo, Kai; Yoo, Tae Kyong; Chung, Chan-Hwa

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The dendritic silver-coated copper powders with high specific surface area have been prepared using a simple wet chemical reduction process at room temperature. • It is found that the Cu starts to be oxidized into Cu_2O followed by CuO at elevated temperatures. • The more amount of Ag-coating provides the less oxidation, which confirms that the Ag-shell prevents the Cu-core from oxidation. • The resistivity of dendritic 33.27 wt.% Ag-coated Cu powders was measured to 25.67 μΩ cm after the annealing at 150 °C for 30 min. - Abstract: Two steps of wet chemical processes have been developed for the preparation of core-shell nanostructures of copper and silver, which is a facile and low cost method for the production of large quantity of dendritic powders. First step involves a galvanic displacement reaction with hydrogen evolution which is the motive force of spontaneous electrochemical reaction. To achieve the core-shell structure, silver has been coated on the dendritic copper using the galvanic displacement reaction. The dendritic silver-coated copper powders exhibit high surface-area, excellent conductivity, and good oxidation resistance. It has been found that silver-coated copper powders maintain the electrical conductivity even after annealing at 150 °C for several to tens of minutes, thus it is a promising material and an alternative to pure silver powders in printed electronics application.

  17. Fabrication of dendritic silver-coated copper powders by galvanic displacement reaction and their thermal stability against oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Yu-Seon [School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Farad Materials Co., Ltd., Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); An, Chang Yong; Kannan, Padmanathan Karthick; Seo, Nary [School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Zhuo, Kai [School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Farad Materials Co., Ltd., Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Tae Kyong [School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Chung, Chan-Hwa, E-mail: chchung@skku.edu [School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Farad Materials Co., Ltd., Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • The dendritic silver-coated copper powders with high specific surface area have been prepared using a simple wet chemical reduction process at room temperature. • It is found that the Cu starts to be oxidized into Cu{sub 2}O followed by CuO at elevated temperatures. • The more amount of Ag-coating provides the less oxidation, which confirms that the Ag-shell prevents the Cu-core from oxidation. • The resistivity of dendritic 33.27 wt.% Ag-coated Cu powders was measured to 25.67 μΩ cm after the annealing at 150 °C for 30 min. - Abstract: Two steps of wet chemical processes have been developed for the preparation of core-shell nanostructures of copper and silver, which is a facile and low cost method for the production of large quantity of dendritic powders. First step involves a galvanic displacement reaction with hydrogen evolution which is the motive force of spontaneous electrochemical reaction. To achieve the core-shell structure, silver has been coated on the dendritic copper using the galvanic displacement reaction. The dendritic silver-coated copper powders exhibit high surface-area, excellent conductivity, and good oxidation resistance. It has been found that silver-coated copper powders maintain the electrical conductivity even after annealing at 150 °C for several to tens of minutes, thus it is a promising material and an alternative to pure silver powders in printed electronics application.

  18. Flotation of traces of silver and copper(II) ions with a methyl cellosolve solution of dithizone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiraide, M; Mizuike, A

    1975-06-01

    Microgram quantities of silver and copper(II) ions in aqueous solutions are collected on dithizone precipitates, which are then floated with the aid of small nitrogen bubbles. This separation technique has been successfully applied to the atomic-absorption spectrophotometric determination of down to a tenth ppm of silver and copper in high-purity lead and zinc metals.

  19. Water treatment with exceptional virus inactivation using activated carbon modified with silver (Ag) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimabuku, Quelen Letícia; Arakawa, Flávia Sayuri; Fernandes Silva, Marcela; Ferri Coldebella, Priscila; Ueda-Nakamura, Tânia; Fagundes-Klen, Márcia Regina; Bergamasco, Rosangela

    2017-08-01

    Continuous flow experiments (450 mL min -1 ) were performed in household filter in order to investigate the removal and/or inactivation of T4 bacteriophage, using granular activated carbon (GAC) modified with silver and/or copper oxide nanoparticles at different concentrations. GAC and modified GAC were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, specific surface area, pore size and volume, pore average diameter, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The antiviral activity of the produced porous media was evaluated by passing suspensions of T4 bacteriophage (∼10 5  UFP/mL) through filters. The filtered water was analyzed for the presence of the bacteriophage and the release of silver and copper oxide. The porous media containing silver and copper oxide nanoparticles showed high inactivation capacity, even reaching reductions higher than 3 log. GAC6 (GAC/Ag0.5%Cu1.0%) was effective in the bacteriophage inactivation, reaching 5.53 log reduction. The levels of silver and copper released in filtered water were below the recommended limits (100 ppb for silver and 1000 ppb for copper) in drinking water. From this study, it is possible to conclude that activated carbon modified with silver and copper oxide nanoparticles can be used as a filter for virus removal in the treatment of drinking water.

  20. Efficacy of thermal treatment and copper-silver ionization for controlling Legionella pneumophila in high-volume hot water plumbing systems in hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mietzner, S; Schwille, R C; Farley, A; Wald, E R; Ge, J H; States, S J; Libert, T; Wadowsky, R M; Miuetzner, S

    1997-12-01

    Thermal treatment and copper-silver ionization are often used for controlling Legionella pneumophila in high-volume hospital plumbing systems, although the comparative efficacies of these measures in high-volume systems are unknown. Thermal treatment of a hot water circuit was accomplished by flushing hot water (> 60 degrees C) through distal fixtures for 10 minutes. Copper-silver ionization was conducted in three circuits by installing units into return lines immediately upstream from hot water tanks. Recovery rates of L. pneumophila were monitored by culturing swab samples from faucets. Concentrations of copper and silver in water samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Four heat-flush treatments failed to provide long-term control of L. pneumophila. In contrast, ionization treatment reduced the rate of recovery of L. pneumophila from 108 faucets from 72% to 2% within 1 month and maintained effective control for at least 22 months. Only three samples (1.9%) of hot water from faucets exceeded Environmental Protection Agency standards for silver, and none exceeded the standards for copper. Of 24 samples obtained from hot water tanks, 42% and 50% exceeded the silver and copper standards, respectively. Copper-silver ionization effectively controls L. pneumophila in high-volume plumbing systems and is superior to thermal treatment; however, high concentrations of copper and silver can accumulate at the bottom of hot water tanks.

  1. Distribution of copper, silver and gold during thermal treatment with brominated flame retardants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oleszek, Sylwia; Grabda, Mariusz; Shibata, Etsuro; Nakamura, Takashi

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Copper, silver and gold during thermal treatment with brominated flame retardants. • Distribution of copper, silver and gold during thermal processing. • Thermodynamic considerations of the bromination reactions. - Abstract: The growing consumption of electric and electronic equipment results in creating an increasing amount of electronic waste. The most economically and environmentally advantageous methods for the treatment and recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) are the thermal techniques such as direct combustion, co-combustion with plastic wastes, pyrolysis and gasification. Nowadays, this kind of waste is mainly thermally treated in incinerators (e.g. rotary kilns) to decompose the plastics present, and to concentrate metals in bottom ash. The concentrated metals (e.g. copper, precious metals) can be supplied as a secondary raw material to metal smelters, while the pyrolysis of plastics allows the recovery of fuel gases, volatilising agents and, eventually, energy. Indeed, WEEE, such as a printed circuit boards (PCBs) usually contains brominated flame retardants (BFRs). From these materials, hydrobromic acid (HBr) is formed as a product of their thermal decomposition. In the present work, the bromination was studied of copper, silver and gold by HBr, originating from BFRs, such as Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and Tetrabromobisphenol A-Tetrabromobisophenol A diglycidyl ether (TTDE) polymer; possible volatilization of the bromides formed was monitored using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and a laboratory-scale furnace for treating samples of metals and BFRs under an inert atmosphere and at a wide range of temperatures. The results obtained indicate that up to about 50% of copper and silver can evolve from sample residues in the form of volatile CuBr and AgBr above 600 and 1000 °C, respectively. The reactions occur in the molten resin phase simultaneously with the decomposition of the brominated resin. Gold is

  2. The Extracellular Domain of Human High Affinity Copper Transporter (hNdCTR1), Synthesized by E. coli Cells, Chelates Silver and Copper Ions In Vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sankova, Tatiana P; Orlov, Iurii A; Saveliev, Andrey N; Kirilenko, Demid A; Babich, Polina S; Brunkov, Pavel N; Puchkova, Ludmila V

    2017-11-03

    There is much interest in effective copper chelators to correct copper dyshomeostasis in neurodegenerative and oncological diseases. In this study, a recombinant fusion protein for expression in Escherichia coli cells was constructed from glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and the N-terminal domain (ectodomain) of human high affinity copper transporter CTR1 (hNdCTR1), which has three metal-bound motifs. Several biological properties of the GST-hNdCTR1 fusion protein were assessed. It was demonstrated that in cells, the protein was prone to oligomerization, formed inclusion bodies and displayed no toxicity. Treatment of E. coli cells with copper and silver ions reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cells expressing GST-hNdCTR1 protein demonstrated resistance to the metal treatments. These cells accumulated silver ions and formed nanoparticles that contained AgCl and metallic silver. In this bacterial population, filamentous bacteria with a length of about 10 µm were often observed. The possibility for the fusion protein carrying extracellular metal binding motifs to integrate into the cell's copper metabolism and its chelating properties are discussed.

  3. Electrical wire explosion process of copper/silver hybrid nano-particle ink and its sintering via flash white light to achieve high electrical conductivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Wan-Ho; Hwang, Yeon-Taek; Lee, Seung-Hyun; Kim, Hak-Sung

    2016-05-20

    In this work, combined silver/copper nanoparticles were fabricated by the electrical explosion of a metal wire. In this method, a high electrical current passes through the metal wire with a high voltage. Consequently, the metal wire evaporates and metal nanoparticles are formed. The diameters of the silver and copper nanoparticles were controlled by changing the voltage conditions. The fabricated silver and copper nano-inks were printed on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate and sintered at room temperature via a flash light process, using a xenon lamp and varying the light energy. The microstructures of the sintered silver and copper films were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). To investigate the crystal phases of the flash-light-sintered silver and copper films, x-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed. The absorption wavelengths of the silver and copper nano-inks were measured using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis). Furthermore, the resistivity of the sintered silver and copper films was measured using the four-point probe method and an alpha step. As a result, the fabricated Cu/Ag film shows a high electrical conductivity (4.06 μΩcm), which is comparable to the resistivity of bulk copper (1.68 μΩcm). In addition, the fabricated Cu/Ag nanoparticle film shows superior oxidation stability compared to the Cu nanoparticle film.

  4. The effect of silver (Ag) addition to mechanical and electrical properties of copper alloy (Cu) casting product

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felicia, Dian M.; Rochiem, R.; Laia, Standley M.

    2018-04-01

    Copper have good mechanical properties and good electrical conductivities. Therefore, copper usually used as electrical components. Silver have better electrical conductivities than copper. Female contact resistor is one of the electrical component used in circuit breaker. This study aims to analyze the effect of silver addition to hardness, strength, and electric conductivity properties of copper alloy. This study uses variation of 0; 0.035; 0.07; 0.1 wt. % Ag (silver) addition to determine the effect on mechanical properties and electrical properties of copper alloy through sand casting process. Modelling of thermal analysis and structural analysis was calculated to find the best design for the sand casting experiments. The result of Cu-Ag alloy as cast will be characterized by OES test, metallography test, Brinell hardness test, tensile test, and LCR meter test. The result of this study showed that the addition of silver increase mechanical properties of Cu-Ag. The maximum hardness value of this alloy is 83.1 HRB which is Cu-0.01 Ag and the lowest is 52.26 HRB which is pure Cu. The maximum strength value is 153.2 MPa which is Cu-0.07 Ag and the lowest is 94.6 MPa which is pure Cu. Silver addition decrease electrical properties of this alloy. The highest electric conductivity is 438.98 S/m which is pure Cu and the lowest is 52.61 S.m which is Cu-0.1 Ag.

  5. Mercury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercury is an element that is found in air, water and soil. It has several forms. Metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white, odorless liquid. If ... with other elements to form powders or crystals. Mercury is in many products. Metallic mercury is used ...

  6. Alternative Silver Production by Environmental Sound Processing of a Sulfo Salt Silver Mineral Found in Bolivia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Birich

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Very often, the production of silver causes devastating environmental issues, because of the use of toxic reagents like cyanide and mercury. Due to severe environmental damage caused by humans in the last decades, the social awareness regarding the sustainable production processes is on the rise. Terms like “sustainable” and “green” in product descriptions are becoming more and more popular and producers are forced to satisfy the rising environmental awareness of their customers. Within this work, an alternative environmental sound silver recovery process was developed for a vein type silver ore from Mina Porka, Bolivia. A foregoing characterization of the input material reveals its mineral composition. In the following mineral processing, around 92.9% silver was concentrated by separating 59.5 wt. % of non-silver minerals. Nitric acid leaching of the generated concentrate enabled a silver recovery of up to 98%. The dissolved silver was then separated via copper cementation to generate a metallic silver product of >99% purity. Summarizing all process steps, a silver yield of 87% was achieved in lab scale. A final upscaling trial was conducted to prove the process’ robustness. Within this trial, almost 4 kg of metallic silver with a purity of higher than 99.5 wt. % was produced.

  7. Significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, K.R.; DeYoung, J.H.; Ludington, S.

    2000-01-01

    Approximately 99 percent of past production and remaining identified resources of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States are accounted for by deposits that originally contained at least 2 metric tonnes (t) gold, 85 t silver, 50,000 t copper, 30,000 t lead, or 50,000 t zinc. The U.S. Geological Survey, beginning with the 1996 National Mineral Resource Assessment, is systematically compiling data on these deposits, collectively known as 'significant' deposits. As of December 31, 1996, the significant deposits database contained 1,118 entries corresponding to individual deposits or mining districts. Maintaining, updating and analyzing a database of this size is much easier than managing the more than 100,000 records in the Mineral Resource Data System and Minerals Availability System/Minerals Industry Location System, yet the significant deposits database accounts for almost all past production and remaining identified resources of these metals in the United States. About 33 percent of gold, 22 percent of silver, 42 percent of copper, 39 percent of lead, and 46 percent of zinc are contained in or were produced from deposits discovered after World War II. Even within a database of significant deposits, a disproportionate share of past production and remaining resources is accounted for by a very small number of deposits. The largest 10 producers for each metal account for one third of the gold, 60 percent of the silver, 68 percent of the copper, 85 percent of the lead, and 75 percent of the zinc produced in the United States. The 10 largest deposits in terms of identified remaining resources of each of the five metals contain 43 percent of the gold, 56 percent of the silver, 48 percent of the copper, 94 percent of the lead, and 72 percent of the zinc. Identified resources in significant deposits for each metal are less than the mean estimates of resources in undiscovered deposits from the 1996 U.S. National Mineral Resource Assessment. Identified

  8. Acute toxicity and bio-accumulation of mercury and copper in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The acute toxicity of Mercury and Copper on C. africanus and T. fuscatus and the bio-accumulation potentials of the metals were investigated in laboratory experiments employing standard bio–assay techniques. On the basis of LC50 values, both metals had similar magnitudes of toxicity against C. africanus. However ...

  9. Mercury localization in mouse kidney over time: autoradiography versus silver staining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodier, P.M.; Kates, B.; Simons, R.

    1988-01-01

    Several methods of silver staining have been employed to localize mercury in tissue, under the assumption that the techniques represent total Hg, but recent reports have suggested that these stains are specific for a limited fraction of the Hg present in some samples. Magos et al. hypothesized that the stains actually vary with inorganic mercury content. The purpose of the present study was to compare localization by radiolabeling to localization by one silver stain, the photoemulsion histochemical technique, in tissues prepared to contain a range of levels of total Hg and a range of levels of inorganic Hg. Mice dosed with 8 mg Hg/kg as MeHg were killed 24 hr, 1 week, or 2 weeks after exposure, to allow a decrease in total Hg and an increase in the proportion of demethylated Hg over time. Mice dosed with 4 mg Hg/kg as HgCl 2 provided samples in which all the Hg present was in the inorganic form. Atomic absorption of kidneys of mice dosed with MeHg showed that total Hg fell from 55 micrograms/g to 39 to 25 over 2 weeks, while the inorganic fraction climbed from about 2 to 27 to 35%. Grain counts from autoradiographs of 203 Hg-labeled sections correlated with total Hg content at +0.88, but silver staining was correlated with inorganic Hg content, appearing only at late termination times in MeHg-exposed animals, but soon after dosing in mice exposed to inorganic Hg. The photoemulsion histochemical technique revealed a substance strictly localized in the proximal tubules, while autoradiographs and grain counts showed total Hg to be present throughout the kidney tissue. These results support the contention that silver stains are selective for inorganic Hg

  10. The Extracellular Domain of Human High Affinity Copper Transporter (hNdCTR1, Synthesized by E. coli Cells, Chelates Silver and Copper Ions In Vivo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana P. Sankova

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available There is much interest in effective copper chelators to correct copper dyshomeostasis in neurodegenerative and oncological diseases. In this study, a recombinant fusion protein for expression in Escherichia coli cells was constructed from glutathione-S-transferase (GST and the N-terminal domain (ectodomain of human high affinity copper transporter CTR1 (hNdCTR1, which has three metal-bound motifs. Several biological properties of the GST-hNdCTR1 fusion protein were assessed. It was demonstrated that in cells, the protein was prone to oligomerization, formed inclusion bodies and displayed no toxicity. Treatment of E. coli cells with copper and silver ions reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cells expressing GST-hNdCTR1 protein demonstrated resistance to the metal treatments. These cells accumulated silver ions and formed nanoparticles that contained AgCl and metallic silver. In this bacterial population, filamentous bacteria with a length of about 10 µm were often observed. The possibility for the fusion protein carrying extracellular metal binding motifs to integrate into the cell’s copper metabolism and its chelating properties are discussed.

  11. Amalgamation based optical and colorimetric sensing of mercury(II) ions with silver graphene oxide nanocomposite materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamali, Khosro Zangeneh; Pandikumar, Alagarsamy; Jayabal, Subramaniam; Huang, Nay Ming; Ramaraj, Ramasamy; Lim, Hong Ngee; Ong, Boon Hoong; Bien, Chia Sheng Daniel; Kee, Yeh Yee

    2016-01-01

    The article describes a facile method for the preparation of a conjugate composed of silver nanoparticles and graphene oxide (Ag GO) via chemical reduction of silver precursors in the presence of graphene oxide (GO) while sonicating the solution. The Ag GO was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The nanocomposite undergoes a color change from yellow to colorless in presence of Hg(II), and this effect is based on the disappearance of the localized surface plasmon resonance absorption of the AgNPs due to the formation of silver-mercury amalgam. The presence of GO, on the other hand, prevents the agglomeration of the AgNPs and enhances the stability of the nanocomposite material in solution. Hence, the probe represents a viable optical probe for the determination of mercury(II) ions in that it can be used to visually detect Hg(II) concentrations as low as 100 μM. The instrumental LOD is 338 nM. (author)

  12. Creep of OFHC and silver copper at simulated final repository canister-service conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auerkari, P.; Leinonen, H.; Sandlin, S.

    1991-07-01

    Result of high-resolution creep rate measurements are described for estimating very long term creep life of copper and silver alloyed copper at room temperature and at stresses approaching the expected service conditions of final repository canisters. The aim was to assess the limiting service stress levels for potential canister wall materials. The 0.1 % silver alloyed copper showed minimum creep rates of 10 - 9 to 10 - 10 l/h, corresponding to 1 % strain in about 1000 to 10000 years, at room temperature and uniaxial stress level of 50 to 75 MPa. The predicted time to 1 % strain, when extrapolated from literature data, was at least one order of magnitude shorter. From the results of the present work, the 1 % creep life for OFHC copper was at most a few hundreds of years at 50 MPa stress level. The technique developed and used in this work for measuring very low strain rates appears useful for assessing low temperature creep life of practical structures essentially without accelerating the test from the service conditions

  13. Creep of OFHC and silver copper at simulated final repository canister-service conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auerkari, P.; Leinonen, H.; Sandlin, S.

    1991-09-01

    Results of high-resolution creep rate measurements are described for estimating very long term creep life of copper and silver alloyed copper at room temperature and at stresses approaching the expected service conditions of final repository canisters. The aim was to assess the limiting service stress levels for potential canister wall materials. The 0.1% silver alloyed copper showed minimum creep rates of 10 -9 to 10 -10 l/h, corresponding to 1 % strain in about 1000 to 10000 years, at room temperature and uniaxial stress level of 50 to 75 MPa. The predicted time to 1 % strain, when extrapolated from literature data, was at least one order of magnitude shorter. From the results of the present work, the 1 % creep life for OFHC copper was at most a few hundreds of years at 50 MPa stress level. The technique developed and used in this work for measuring very low strain rates appears useful for assessing low temperature creep life of practical structures essentially without accelerating the test from the service conditions. (au)

  14. Using silver nano particles for sampling of toxic mercury vapors from industrial air sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Osanloo

    2014-05-01

    .Conclusion: The presented adsorbent is very useful for sampling of the trace amounts of mercury vapors from air. Moreover, it can be regenerated easily is suitable or sampling at 25 to 70 °C. Due to oxidation of silver and reduction in uptake of nanoparticles, oven temperature of 245 °C is used for the recovery of metallic silver. Low amount of adsorbent, high absorbency, high repeatability for sampling, low cost and high accuracy are of the advantages of the presented method.

  15. Thiosulphate leaching of gold-, silver-, copper flotation concentrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samikhov, Sh.R.; Zinchenko, Z.A.

    2015-01-01

    Present article is devoted to thiosulphate leaching of gold-, silver-, copper flotation concentrates. For the purpose to improve the process of thiosulphate leaching the ore samples were calcined at temperature 600 ℃ during two hours. During the calcination process of gold-sulphide ores and concentrates the minerals pyrite and arsenopyrite oxidize which lead to opening of gold contains in them. It was defined that thiosulphate leaching can be recommended as an alternative to cyanic process.

  16. [Structure-functional organization of eukaryotic high-affinity copper importer CTR1 determines its ability to transport copper, silver and cisplatin].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skvortsov, A N; Zatulovskiĭ, E A; Puchkova, L V

    2012-01-01

    It was shown recently, that high affinity Cu(I) importer eukaryotic protein CTR1 can also transport in vitro abiogenic Ag(I) ions and anticancer drug cisplatin. At present there is no rational explanation how CTR1 can transfer platinum group, which is different by coordination properties from highly similar Cu(I) and Ag(I). To understand this phenomenon we analyzed 25 sequences of chordate CTR1 proteins, and found out conserved patterns of organization of N-terminal extracellular part of CTR1 which correspond to initial metal binding. Extracellular copper-binding motifs were qualified by their coordination properties. It was shown that relative position of Met- and His-rich copper-binding motifs in CTR1 predisposes the extracellular CTR1 part to binding of copper, silver and cisplatin. Relation between tissue-specific expression of CTR1 gene, steady-state copper concentration, and silver and platinum accumulation in organs of mice in vivo was analyzed. Significant positive but incomplete correlation exists between these variables. Basing on structural and functional peculiarities of N-terminal part of CTR1 a hypothesis of coupled transport of copper and cisplatin has been suggested, which avoids the disagreement between CTR1-mediated cisplatin transport in vitro, and irreversible binding of platinum to Met-rich peptides.

  17. Understanding the mercury reduction issue: the impact of mercury on the environment and human health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Richard T; Dault, Scott; Pichay, Teresa

    2004-07-01

    Mercury has been used in both medicine and dentistry for centuries. Recent media attention regarding the increased levels of mercury in dietary fish, high levels of mercury in air emissions, and conjecture that certain diseases may be caused by mercury exposure has increased public awareness of the potential adverse health effects of high doses of mercury. Dentistry has been criticized for its continued use of mercury in dental amalgam for both public health and environmental reasons. To address these concerns, dental professionals should understand the impact of the various levels and types of mercury on the environment and human health. Mercury is unique in its ability to form amalgams with other metals. Dental amalgam--consisting of silver, copper, tin, and mercury--has been used as a safe, stable, and cost-effective restorative material for more than 150 years. As a result of this use, the dental profession has been confronted by the public on two separate health issues concerning the mercury content in amalgam. The first issue is whether the mercury amalgamated with the various metals to create dental restorations poses a health issue for patients. The second is whether the scraps associated with amalgam placement and the removal of amalgam restorations poses environmental hazards which may eventually have an impact on human health. Despite the lack of scientific evidence for such hazards, there is growing pressure for the dental profession to address these health issues. In this article, the toxicology of mercury will be reviewed and the impact of amalgam on health and the environment will be examined.

  18. Study on the Effect of Heat Treatment on Physical Properties of Poplar and Beech Woods Impregnated with Nano-Copper and Nano-Silver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Siahposht

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Present study conducted to review effects of heat treatment on weight loss, water adsorption, and thickness swelling of poplar (Populus nigra and beech (Fagus oreintalis woods impregnated with nano-copper and nano-silver. Specimens werepressur (2.5 bar impregnated with 400 PPM water-based solution of nano-copper and nano-silver particles in a pressure vessel. For heat treatment, nano-cupper,  nano-silver impregnated and control specimens, were heat treated at 145°C temperature for 24 hours. Water absorption and thickness swelling decreased in heat treated and nano-heat treated specimens and this decrease in specimens impregnated with nano-copper and nano-silver was more obvious than in heat treated control specimens. The reasons were the degradation in crystal sections of celluloses chains and the ink variation of wood polymers. On the other hand, a comparison between heat treated and nano- heat treated specimens has shown weight loss further in nano-heat treated specimens. This shows that retent nano-copper and nano-silver by impregnation facilitates heat transfer in wood; and it may increase the process of degradation and pyrolysis of wood structures in inner parts of specimens.

  19. Ag2CuMnO4: A new silver copper oxide with delafossite structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munoz-Rojas, David; Subias, Gloria; Oro-Sole, Judith; Fraxedas, Jordi; Martinez, Benjamin; Casas-Cabanas, Montse; Canales-Vazquez, Jesus; Gonzalez-Calbet, Jose; Garcia-Gonzalez, Ester; Walton, Richard I.; Casan-Pastor, Nieves

    2006-01-01

    The use of hydrothermal methods has allowed the synthesis of a new silver copper mixed oxide, Ag 2 CuMnO 4 , the first example of a quaternary oxide containing both elements. It crystallizes with the delafossite 3R structure, thus being the first delafossite to contain both Ag and Cu. Synthesis conditions affect the final particle size (30-500nm). Powder X-ray diffraction Rietveld refinement indicates a trigonal structure (R3-bar m) and cell parameters a=2.99991A and c=18.428A, where Cu and Mn are disordered within the octahedral B positions in the plane and linearly coordinated Ag occupies de A position between layers. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) for copper and manganese, and XPS for silver evidence +2, +4, and +1 oxidation states. The microstructure consists of layered particles that may form large twins showing 5nm nanodomains. Finally, magnetic measurements reveal the existence of ferromagnetic coupling yielding in-plane moments that align antiferromagnetically at lower temperatures. The singularity of the new phase resides on the fact that is an example of a bidimensional arrangement of silver and copper in an oxide that also shows clear bidimensionality in its physical properties. That is of special relevance to the field of high T c superconducting oxides, while the ferromagnetic coupling in a bidimensional system deserves itself special attention

  20. Copper-silver-titanium filler metal for direct brazing of structural ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorhead, Arthur J.

    1987-01-01

    A method of joining ceramics and metals to themselves and to one another is described using a brazing filler metal consisting essentially of 35 to 50 atomic percent copper, 15 to 50 atomic percent silver and 10 to 45 atomic percent titanium. This method produces strong joints that can withstand high service temperatures and oxidizing environments.

  1. Growth graphene on silver-copper nanoparticles by chemical vapor deposition for high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiumei; Xu, Shicai; Jiang, Shouzhen; Wang, Jihua; Wei, Jie; Xu, Shida; Gao, Shoubao; Liu, Hanping; Qiu, Hengwei; Li, Zhen; Liu, Huilan; Li, Zhenhua; Li, Hongsheng

    2015-10-01

    We present a graphene/silver-copper nanoparticle hybrid system (G/SCNPs) to be used as a high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. The silver-copper nanoparticles wrapped by a monolayer graphene layer are directly synthesized on SiO2/Si substrate by chemical vapor deposition in a mixture of methane and hydrogen. The G/SCNPs shows excellent SERS enhancement activity and high reproducibility. The minimum detected concentration of R6G is as low as 10-10 M and the calibration curve shows a good linear response from 10-6 to 10-10 M. The date fluctuations from 20 positions of one SERS substrate are less than 8% and from 20 different substrates are less than 10%. The high reproducibility of the enhanced Raman signals could be due to the presence of an ultrathin graphene layer and uniform morphology of silver-copper nanoparticles. The use of G/SCNPs for detection of nucleosides extracted from human urine demonstrates great potential for the practical applications on a variety of detection in medicine and biotechnology field.

  2. Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry of Cysteine Using Silver and Copper Solid Amalgam Electrodes

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Josypčuk, Bohdan; Novotný, Ladislav

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 56, č. 5 (2002), s. 971-976 ISSN 0039-9140 R&D Projects: GA ČR GV204/97/K084 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4040901 Keywords : silver or copper solid amalgam electrode * cysteine * voltammetry Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 2.054, year: 2002

  3. Determination of mercury in discharge water from plastic manufactory by neutron activation analysis and copper powder adsorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Houng-Huei, L [National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu, Taiwan (Republic of China)

    1979-02-28

    Through copper powder adsorption, neutron activation analysis was used to determine the mercury in discharge water from a plastic manufactory where the water samples were taken from various discharge ditches. The experimental results showed that waste water from mercury cells contained 1.7x10/sup -9/ approximately 8.19x10/sup -6/ g Hg/ml while water samples taken from other areas did not show significant mercury level and were below the limit of detection.

  4. Effect of KNO3 to remove silver interferences in the determination of mercury(II: Application in milk and breast milk samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Farahi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Mercury determination was performed at rotating silver electrode (RSE using square wave voltammetry (SWV in electrolytic mixture of HCl (0.1 mol L−1 and KNO3 (0.2 mol L−1. The reproducibility, sensitivity and accuracy are good, provided the proper instrumental parameters and supporting electrolyte are used. The relationship between the peak current of mercury(II and its concentration is linear with regression equation: I(μA = 0.784 [Hg(II] + 49.5 (r2 = 0.9878 in the dynamic range from 1.0 × 10−7 to 8.0 × 10−4 mol L−1. The detection limit (DL,3σ and quantification limit (QL,10σ were 4.61 × 10−8 mol L−1 and 15.3 × 10−8 mol L−1, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD for seven replicate analysis of a solution containing 5.0 × 10−5 mol L−1 was 2.19%. Possible effects of Cu, Co, Fe, MnO4, Zn, were investigated but did not cause any significant interferences. Immobilization of mercury(II on the surface of rotating silver electrode obeyed to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The calculated ΔG°ads value showed that the interaction between mercury and silver electrodes is mainly controlled by a chemisorption process. This methodology was potentially applied for mercury determination in milk and breast milk samples.

  5. Chitosan-stabilized Silver Nanoparticles for Colorimetric Assay of Mercury (II) Ions in aqueous system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarlaida, Fitri; Adlim, M.; Syukri Surbakti, M.; Fairuz Omar, Ahmad

    2018-05-01

    Mercury is considered as dangerous pollutant. Among the many form of mercury, the most stable and soluble in water is mercury (II) ions which it cause threat to human health and surroundings. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) used in this method were prepared by chitosan (chi) which act as stabilizing agent. The Chi-AgNPs has good dispersity with size ranging from 2.50 to 6.00 nm as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and it is stable for 3 months. Color of Chi-AgNPs fades from brownish-yellow to colorless only with Hg2+ ions, but it shows no significant changes upon addition of other metal ions such as Al3+, Ba2+, Ca2+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Co2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, K+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Na+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+. The detection limit for Hg2+ ions by bare-eye is estimated to be ∼1µM. This method can be used for sensing mercury(II) ions in numerous water samples.

  6. The effect of boron implantation on the corrosion behaviour, microhardness and contact resistance of copper and silver surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henriksen, O.; Johnson, E.; Johansen, A.; Sarholt-Kristensen, L.

    1986-01-01

    In order to investigate the influence of boron implantation on the corrosion resistance of electrical contacts, a number of pure copper, pure silver and copper edge connector samples have been implanted with boron (40 keV) to fluences of 5.10 20 m -2 and 2.10 21 m -2 . Atmospheric corrosion tests of the implanted species were conducted using the following exposures: H 2 S (12.5 ppm, 4 days), SO 2 (25 ppm, 21 days), saltfog (5% NaCl, 1 day), moist air (93% RH, 56 days), and hot/dry air (70 C, 56 days). The boron implantations lead to a significant reduction in the sulphidation rate of copper and silver. The corrosive film formed during exposure in H 2 S and SO 2 atmospheres is confined to pitted regions on the implanted areas, while a thick and relatively uniform film formation is observed on the unimplanted samples. The corrosion resistance of copper and silver in saltfog atmosphere is somewhat improved by boron implantation, whilst the results from exposures to moist air or hot/dry air are inconclusive. The improved corrosion behaviour is accompanied by an increase in the contact resistance and in the microhardness of the implanted samples. (orig.)

  7. Mechanism of silver nanoparticles action on insect pigmentation reveals intervention of copper homeostasis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Najealicka Armstrong

    Full Text Available Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs, like almost all nanoparticles, are potentially toxic beyond a certain concentration because the survival of the organism is compromised due to scores of pathophysiological abnormalities past that concentration. However, the mechanism of AgNP toxicity remains undetermined. Instead of applying a toxic dose, we attempted to monitor the effects of AgNPs at a nonlethal concentration on wild type Drosophila melanogaster by exposing them throughout their development. All adult flies raised in AgNP doped food showed that up to 50 mg/L concentration AgNP has no negative influence on median survival; however, these flies appeared uniformly lighter in body color due to the loss of melanin pigments in their cuticle. Additionally, fertility and vertical movement ability were compromised due to AgNP feeding. Determination of the amount of free ionic silver (Ag(+ led us to claim that the observed biological effects have resulted from the AgNPs and not from Ag(+. Biochemical analysis suggests that the activity of copper dependent enzymes, namely tyrosinase and Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase, are decreased significantly following the consumption of AgNPs, despite the constant level of copper present in the tissue. Consequently, we propose a mechanism whereby consumption of excess AgNPs in association with membrane bound copper transporter proteins cause sequestration of copper, thus creating a condition that resembles copper starvation. This model also explains the cuticular demelanization effect resulting from AgNP since tyrosinase activity is essential for melanin biosynthesis. Finally, we claim that Drosophila, an established genetic model system, can be well utilized for further understanding of the biological effects of nanoparticles.

  8. Atomic-absorption determination of mercury in geological materials by flame and carbon-rod atomisation after solvent extraction and using co-extracted silver as a matrix modifier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanzolone, R.F.; Chao, T.T.

    1983-01-01

    Based on modifications and expansion of the original Tindall's solvent extraction flame atomic-absorption procedure, an atomic-absorption spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of mercury in geological materials. The sample is digested with nitric and hydrochloric acids in a boiling water-bath. The solution is made ammoniacal and potassium iodide and silver nitrate are added. The mercury is extracted into isobutyl methyl ketone as the tetraiodomercurate(ll). Added silver is co-extracted with mercury and serves as a matrix modifier in the carbon-rod atomiser. The mercury in the isobutyl methyl ketone extract may be determined by either the flame- or the carbon-rod atomisation method, depending on the concentration level. The limits of determination are 0.05-10 p.p.m. of mercury for the carbon-rod atomisation and 1 -200 p.p.m. of mercury for the flame atomisation. Mercury values for reference samples obtained by replicate analyses are in good agreement with those reported by other workers, with relative standard deviations ranging from 2.3 to 0.9%. Recoveries of mercury spiked at two levels were 93-106%. Major and trace elements commonly found in geological materials do not interfere.

  9. Simultaneous determination of trace-levels of alloying zinc and copper by semi-mercury-free potentiometric stripping analysis with chemometric data treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jens Enevold Thaulov; Hansen, Elo Harald

    1998-01-01

    Assays of copper and zinc in brass samples were performed by Semi-Mercury Free Potentiometric Stripping Analysis (S-MF PSA) using a thin-film mercury covered glassy-carbon working electrode and dissolved oxygen as oxidizing agent during the stripping step. The stripping peak transients were...... resolved by chemometrics which enabled simultaneous determination of both the copper and the zinc concentrations, thereby eliminating the conventional necessary pretreatment of the sample solution, such as initial addition of Ga(III) or solvent extraction of copper. The brass samples were diluted...... by factors in the range 2.104 - 5.105 which resulted in quantification of the copper and of zinc contents comparable to the specified values within 10%. On the basis of the chemometric treatment, an empirical expression is deduced relating the stripping time to the recorded potential....

  10. Copper-silver-titanium-tin filler metal for direct brazing of structural ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorhead, Arthur J.

    1988-04-05

    A method of joining ceramics and metals to themselves and to one another at about 800.degree. C. is described using a brazing filler metal consisting essentially of 35 to 50 at. % copper, 40 to 50 at. % silver, 1 to 15 at. % titanium, and 2 to 8 at. % tin. This method produces strong joints that can withstand high service temperatures and oxidizing environments.

  11. Old tree with new shoots: silver nanoparticles for label-free and colorimetric mercury ions detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Shuyan; Jia Xiaoxia; Chen Yanli

    2013-01-01

    Mercury in the environment from global mercury emissions as well as various forms of contamination poses severe threats to both human health and the environment. Long-term exposure to high levels of Hg-based toxins results in serious and irreversible damage of the central nervous system and other organs. Therefore, the development of effective sensing systems for mercury detection becomes an increasing demand. In this article, a yogurt-mediated silver nanostructure is reported to be unprecedentedly used in the naked-eye and label-free detection of mercury. The method relies on the redox reaction resulting from the electrode potential difference between Ag + /Ag (0.7996 V) and Hg 2+ /Hg 2 2+ (0.920 V) that makes colorless Hg 2+ ions which oxidize colored silver nanoparticle (AgNP) to colorless Ag+. The labor-intensive modification of AgNPs and expensive labeling are avoided, and the traditional AuNPs are substituted by AgNPs in this Hg 2+ ions sensing platform, which makes it facile, low-cost, and particularly useful for home, clinic, or field applications as well as resource-limited conditions. This sensing system achieves a detection limit as low as 10 nM, lower than the toxicity level of Hg 2+ ions in drinking water (30 nM) defined by World Health Organization, and exhibits excellent selectivity, largely free from the matrix effect of the real water samples. This visual label-free Hg 2+ ions sensing motif shows great promise for sensing Hg 2+ ions in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, cost, and maneuverability. It is also a good example for the organic combination of green chemistry and functional materials, which may trigger interest in furthering biosystems for environmental science applications.

  12. Old tree with new shoots: silver nanoparticles for label-free and colorimetric mercury ions detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao Shuyan, E-mail: shuyangao@htu.cn; Jia Xiaoxia; Chen Yanli [Henan Normal University, College of Chemistry and Environmental Science (China)

    2013-01-15

    Mercury in the environment from global mercury emissions as well as various forms of contamination poses severe threats to both human health and the environment. Long-term exposure to high levels of Hg-based toxins results in serious and irreversible damage of the central nervous system and other organs. Therefore, the development of effective sensing systems for mercury detection becomes an increasing demand. In this article, a yogurt-mediated silver nanostructure is reported to be unprecedentedly used in the naked-eye and label-free detection of mercury. The method relies on the redox reaction resulting from the electrode potential difference between Ag{sup +}/Ag (0.7996 V) and Hg{sup 2+}/Hg{sub 2}{sup 2+} (0.920 V) that makes colorless Hg{sup 2+} ions which oxidize colored silver nanoparticle (AgNP) to colorless Ag+. The labor-intensive modification of AgNPs and expensive labeling are avoided, and the traditional AuNPs are substituted by AgNPs in this Hg{sup 2+} ions sensing platform, which makes it facile, low-cost, and particularly useful for home, clinic, or field applications as well as resource-limited conditions. This sensing system achieves a detection limit as low as 10 nM, lower than the toxicity level of Hg{sup 2+} ions in drinking water (30 nM) defined by World Health Organization, and exhibits excellent selectivity, largely free from the matrix effect of the real water samples. This visual label-free Hg{sup 2+} ions sensing motif shows great promise for sensing Hg{sup 2+} ions in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, cost, and maneuverability. It is also a good example for the organic combination of green chemistry and functional materials, which may trigger interest in furthering biosystems for environmental science applications.

  13. Old tree with new shoots: silver nanoparticles for label-free and colorimetric mercury ions detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Shuyan; Jia, Xiaoxia; Chen, Yanli

    2013-01-01

    Mercury in the environment from global mercury emissions as well as various forms of contamination poses severe threats to both human health and the environment. Long-term exposure to high levels of Hg-based toxins results in serious and irreversible damage of the central nervous system and other organs. Therefore, the development of effective sensing systems for mercury detection becomes an increasing demand. In this article, a yogurt-mediated silver nanostructure is reported to be unprecedentedly used in the naked-eye and label-free detection of mercury. The method relies on the redox reaction resulting from the electrode potential difference between Ag+/Ag (0.7996 V) and Hg2+/Hg2 2+ (0.920 V) that makes colorless Hg2+ ions which oxidize colored silver nanoparticle (AgNP) to colorless Ag+. The labor-intensive modification of AgNPs and expensive labeling are avoided, and the traditional AuNPs are substituted by AgNPs in this Hg2+ ions sensing platform, which makes it facile, low-cost, and particularly useful for home, clinic, or field applications as well as resource-limited conditions. This sensing system achieves a detection limit as low as 10 nM, lower than the toxicity level of Hg2+ ions in drinking water (30 nM) defined by World Health Organization, and exhibits excellent selectivity, largely free from the matrix effect of the real water samples. This visual label-free Hg2+ ions sensing motif shows great promise for sensing Hg2+ ions in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, cost, and maneuverability. It is also a good example for the organic combination of green chemistry and functional materials, which may trigger interest in furthering biosystems for environmental science applications.

  14. Surface functionalization of copper via oxidative graft polymerization of 2,2'-bithiophene and immobilization of silver nanoparticles for combating biocorrosion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Dong; Yuan, Shaojun; Neoh, K G; Kang, E T

    2010-06-01

    An environmentally benign approach to surface modification was developed to impart copper surface with enhanced resistance to corrosion, bacterial adhesion and biocorrosion. Oxidative graft polymerization of 2,2'-bithiophene from the copper surface with self-assembled 2,2'-bithiophene monolayer, and subsequent reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the surface, give rise to a homogeneous bithiophene polymer (PBT) film with densely coupled Ag NPs on the copper surface (Cu-g-PBT-Ag NP surface). The immobilized Ag NPs were found to significantly inhibit bacterial adhesion and enhance the antibacterial properties of the PBT modified copper surface. The corrosion inhibition performance of the functionalized copper substrates was evaluated by Tafel polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Arising from the chemical affinity of thiols for the noble and coinage metals, the copper surface functionalized with both PBT brushes and Ag NPs also exhibits long-term stability, and is thus potentially useful for combating the combined problems of corrosion and biocorrosion in harsh marine and aquatic environments.

  15. Colorimetric determination of copper ions based on the catalytic leaching of silver from the shell of silver-coated gold nanorods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xiaokun; Chen, Lingxin; Chen, Ling

    2014-01-01

    We have developed a method for the colorimetric determination of copper ions (Cu 2+ ) that is based on the use of silver-coated gold nanorods (Au–Ag NRs). Its outstanding selectivity and sensitivity result from the catalytic leaching process that occurs between Cu 2+ , thiosulfate (S 2 O 3 2− ), and the surface of the Au–Ag NRs. The intrinsic color of the Au–Ag NRs changes from bright red to bluish green with decreasing thickness of the silver coating. The addition of Cu 2+ accelerates the leaching of silver from the shell caused in the presence of S 2 O 3 2− . This result in a decrease in the thickness of the silver shell which is accompanied a change in color and absorption spectra of the colloidal solution. The shifts in the absorption maxima are linearly related to the concentrations of Cu 2+ over the 3–1,000 nM concentration range (R = 0.996). The method is cost effective and was applied to the determination of Cu 2+ in real water samples. (author)

  16. Electrochemical Oxidation of Silver and Copper in Aqueous Basic Media and in Fused Hydroxide Electrolytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tejada-Rosales, E. M.

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available The anodic oxidations of copper and silver electrodes in basic media are reported. Experiments were conducted both in aqueous NaOH solutions and in a flux of molten NaOH/KOH eutectic. The oxidation processes were studied by means of cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometries and the phases obtained were systematically characterized by x-ray diffraction. The ranges of stability of each phase in the different media studied are reported. In addition to known oxides of copper or silver, a new silver oxide was isolated.

    En este trabajo se describe la oxidación anódico de electrodos de plata y de cobre en medios básicos. Se han utilizado tanto medios acuosos como hidróxidos fundidos (eutéctico NaOH/KOH. Los procesos de oxidación se han estudiado mediante voltametría cíclica y cronoamperometría, y las fases resultantes han sido caracterizadas por difracción de Rayos X. Los rangos de estabilidad encontrados para cada uno dependen del medio utilizado. Además de óxidos conocidos de cobre y de plata, se ha aislado un nuevo óxido de plata.

  17. Extracellular Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Ralstonia sp. SM8 Isolated from the Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morahem Ashengroph

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The biological synthesis of nanoparticles has gained enormous importance due to the development of clean and environmentally-friendly processes. Silver is highly toxic to microbial cells, Nevertheless, it has been reported that several microorganisms are silver resistance and corroborate the microbial reduction of water soluble Ag+ to Ag0 nanoparticles. In this study, native strains of bacteria screen for use as biocatalysts for extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Materials and methods: Eight different strains of bacteria exhibiting high silver tolerance were isolated from collecting soil samples from copper and gold mines and characterized using morphological observations and preliminary biochemical tests. The bacterial strains in the presence of 1 g/l Ag+ solution at pH 7 were incubated at 28º C for 48 h in an orbital shaker. The silver nanoparticles formation was investigated by visual observations (changing the color of the reaction solution, spectroscopic techniques and microscopic observations. Results: Among the 8 strains giving high Ag+ tolerance, the strain SM8, isolated from the Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine, Kerman, showed the capability of promoting the formation extracellular Ag nanoparticles. The strain was selected and identified as Ralstonia sp. SM8 (GenBank accession number KF264453 based on morphological and biochemical characteristics and its molecular phylogenetic analysis. Results obtained by visual observations, spectral data achieved from UV–vis, XRD spectrum and SEM micrographs revealed the extracellular formation of spherical silver nanoparticles in the size range of 20-50 nm with the culture supernatants of Ralstonia sp. SM8. Discussion and conclusion: Based on the results obtained, fast and extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles, without the need for complicated extraction steps, can be taken by using the culture supernatants of Ralstonia sp. SM8. The current study is the first report

  18. The effect of copper and silver on the properties of Au-ZnO catalyst and its activity in glycerol oxidation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaskow, Iveta; Decyk, Piotr; Sobczak, Izabela

    2018-06-01

    The goal of this work was to use ZnO as a support for gold and copper (Au-Cu system) or gold and silver (Au-Ag system) and comparison of the effect of copper and silver on the properties of gold and its activity in glycerol oxidation with oxygen in the liquid phase. The samples prepared were fully characterized by XRD, TEM techniques and UV-vis, XPS, ESR spectroscopic methods. It was found that the introduction of copper and silver changed the electronic state of gold loaded on ZnO by the electron transfer between metals. Three different metallic gold species were identified in calcined catalysts: (Au°)δ- (Au-ZnO), (Au°)η- (AuCu-ZnO) and (Au°)γ- (AuAg-ZnO), where δ-,η-,γ- indicate a different partial negative charge on metallic gold and γ > δ > η. The results showed that (Au°)η- centers (metallic gold with the lowest negative charge) formed on AuCu-ZnO were the most active in glycerol oxidation. The increase in the negative charge on metallic gold loaded on AuAg-ZnO reduced the gold activity in silver containing sample. The glyceric acid adsorption and desorption rate influenced the selectivity of the catalysts.

  19. Basic Information about Mercury

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... or metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white metal and is liquid at room temperature. It is ... releases can happen naturally. Both volcanoes and forest fires send mercury into the atmosphere. Human activities, however, ...

  20. Effect of natural phosphate to remove silver interference in the detection of mercury(II in aquatic algae and seawater samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Lahrich

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A silver particles impregnated onto natural phosphate (Ag/NP was synthesized using reaction in solid state. The obtained powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The (Ag/NP was used as modifier of carbon paste electrode (CPE to determine mercury by square wave voltammetry. The calibration graph obtained is linear from 1.0 × 10−8 mol·L−1 to 1.0 × 10−5 mol·L−1 at preconcentration time of 5 min, percentage loading of 7%, with correlation coefficient of 0.993. The limits of detection (DL,3σ and quantification (QL,10σ were 5.8 × 10−9 mol·L−1 and 19.56 × 10−9 mol·L−1 respectively. The repeatability of the method expressed as relative standard deviation (R.S.D. is 2.1% (n = 8. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine mercury(II in aquatic algae and seawater samples. Keywords: Natural phosphate, Square wave voltammetry, Silver, Mercury, Aquatic algae, Seawater

  1. High temperature behaviour of copper and silver in presence of gaseous carbon and of chlorine-water vapor mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beloucif, Luisa

    1986-01-01

    This research thesis reports the study of the effects of gaseous chlorine, in various conditions, on two metals, copper and silver, the chlorides of which can be precisely characterized and dosed by using different methods. After an overview of different aspects of corrosion of metals by halogens, and of copper and silver behaviour in chloride environment, the author reports and discusses results of tests performed in dry chlorine at high temperature, and the establishment of temperature-pressure semi-thermodynamic diagrams. The next part reports and discusses tests performed in a controlled atmosphere in presence of humidity. For all these tests, the author notably comments and discusses the nature of formed products, sample aspect, reaction progress, and influence of temperature or humidity

  2. Heavy metals (copper, cadmium, lead, mercury) in mute swans from Denmark

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elvestad, K.; Karlog, O.; Clausen, B.

    1982-03-01

    During the severe winter of 1978-79, large numbers of mute swans died in coastal areas of Denmark. Of these, 2111 were collected for examination. The analyses confirm previous findings of relatively high copper levels in mute swans (mean for 178 livers was 2680 mg/kg dry weight (Dw) and for 110 kidneys 34 mg/kg Dw) (Table I, Fig. 1). The copper content was not related to sex or age (Table II). The highest liver levels of copper were found in swans from Western Jutland. Cadmium was found at the same relatively low levels as recorded for waterfowl elsewhere (mean for 178 livers was 12 mg/kg Dw, for 110 kidneys 24 mg/kg Dw) (Table I, Fig. 2). The cadmium content was not sex-related, but it increased with age (Table II). The mean mercury content (liver) was 1.4 mg/kg Dw in the 10 birds analysed (Table I). The mean lead content was 15 mg/kg Dw in the 178 livers analysed and 31 mg/kg Dw in 110 sternum (Table I and Fig. 3). The lead content was not sex-related. In sternum, but not in livers, it was related to age (Table II). One third of the swans were found lead-contaminated probably after ingestion of lead pellets. None of the swans carried high levels of both copper, cadmium, and lead (Table III).

  3. Cytochemical demonstration of mercury deposits in trout liver and kidney following methyl mercury intoxication: differentiation of two mercury pools by selenium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baatrup, E; Danscher, G

    1988-01-01

    and the selected organs were determined by measuring the uptake of 203Hg-labeled MeHg. Spleen, liver, and kidney had the highest concentrations after both experimental periods, while the largest relative increases were found in brain, muscle, and kidney. The subcellular distribution of mercury accumulations...... was demonstrated cytochemically in liver and kidney using the silver enhancement method by which accumulations of mercury-sulfides and/or mercury-selenides are made visible for light and electron microscopy. When sections prepared from the liver and kidney from fish, injected with selenium 2 hr prior to being...... pronounced in the kidney. The HgSe pool, supposed to represent methyl mercury, was shown by the presence of silver deposits at new locations as well as by an increase in the amount of deposits within lysosomes. The new locations included (1) secretory-like vesicles and the bile canaliculi of the liver...

  4. Influence of silver and copper doping on luminescent properties of zinc-phosphate glasses after x-ray irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murashov, Alexander A.; Sidorov, Alexander I.; Shakhverdov, Teimur A.; Stolyarchuk, Maxim V.

    2017-11-01

    It is shown, experimentally, that in silver- and copper-containing zinc-phosphate glasses, metal molecular clusters are formed during the glass synthesis. X-ray irradiation of these glasses led to the considerable increase of its luminescence in visible spectral range. This effect is caused by the transformation of the charged metal molecular clusters into the neutral state. Luminescence and excitation spectra of the glass, doped with silver and copper simultaneously, change significantly in comparison with the spectra of glasses doped with one metal. The reason for this can be the formation of hybrid AgnCum molecular clusters. The computer simulation of the structure and optical properties of such clusters by the time-dependent density functional theory method is presented. It is shown that the optimal luminescent material for photonics application, in comparison with other studied materials, is glass, containing hybrid molecular clusters.

  5. Long term creep strength of silver alloyed copper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auerkari, P.; Sandlin, S.

    1988-12-01

    The long term creep strength of silver alloyed copper has been estimated using literature creep data for materials with less than 0.1% Ag. The available data was very limited, and it was necessary to test the differences between various data sets and extrapolation methods. Assuming constant stress level and constant or changing temperature, the creep behaviour has been assessed using mainly Larson-Miller and theta-projection approaches. The calculations indicate that the different extrapolation methods and data sources can yield strongly different life estimates. With the available incomplete data the theta projection method may give the conservative life predictions, whereas the Larson-Miller approach grossly overestimates creep life. It is recommended that supplementary data is acquired to better assess the long term creep properties of canisters in repository conditions

  6. Antibacterial and Antimycotic Activity of Cotton Fabrics, Impregnated with Silver and Binary Silver/Copper Nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eremenko, A. M.; Petrik, I. S.; Smirnova, N. P.; Rudenko, A. V.; Marikvas, Y. S.

    2016-01-01

    Effective method of obtaining of the bactericidal bandage materials by impregnation of cotton fabric by aqueous solutions of silver and copper salts followed by a certain regime of heat treatment is developed. The study of obtained materials by methods of optical spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray phase analysis showed the formation of crystalline silver nanoparticles (NPs) and bimetallic Ag/Cu composites with the corresponding surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands in the absorption spectra. High antimicrobial and antimycotic properties of tissues with low concentrations of Ag and Ag/Cu nanoparticles (Ag/Cu NPs) (in the range 0.06-0.25 weight percent (wt%) for Ag and 0.015-0.13 wt% for Ag/Cu) is confirmed in experiments with a wide range of multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi: Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans yeasts, and micromycetes . Textile materials with Ag NPs demonstrate high antibacterial activity, while fabrics doped with bimetallic composite Ag/Cu have pronounced antimycotic properties. Bactericidal and antifungal properties of the obtained materials do not change after a washing. Production of such materials is extremely fast, convenient, and cost-effective.

  7. Determination of silver, gold, zinc and copper in mineral samples by various techniques of instrumental neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez R, N. I.; Rios M, C.; Pinedo V, J. L.; Yoho, M.; Landsberger, S.

    2015-09-01

    Using the method of instrumental neutron activation analysis, mineral exploration samples were analyzed in order to determine the concentrations of silver, gold, zinc and copper; these minerals being the main products of benefit of Tizapa and Cozamin mines. Samples were subjected to various techniques, where the type of radiation and counting methods were chosen based on the specific isotopic characteristics of each element. For calibration and determination of concentrations the comparator method was used, certified standards were subjected to the same conditions of irradiation and measurement that the prospecting samples. The irradiations were performed at the research reactor TRIGA Mark II of the University of Texas at Austin. The silver concentrations were determined by Cyclical Epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis. This method in combination with the transfer pneumatic system allowed a good analytical precision and accuracy in prospecting for silver, from photo peak measurement 657.7 keV of short half-life radionuclide 110 Ag. For the determination of gold and zinc, Epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis was used, the photo peaks analyzed corresponded to the energies 411.8 keV of radionuclide 199 Au and 438.6 keV of metastable radionuclide 69m Zn. On the other hand, copper quantification was based on the photo peak analysis of 1039.2 keV produced by the short half-life radionuclide 66 Cu, by Thermal Neutron Activation Analysis. The photo peaks measurement corresponding to gold, zinc and copper was performed using a Compton suppression system, which allowed an improvement in the signal to noise relationship, so that better detection limits and low uncertainties associated with the results were obtained. Comparing elemental concentrations the highest values in silver, zinc and copper was for samples of mine Tizapa. Regarding gold values were found in the same range for both mines. To evaluate the precision and accuracy of the methods used, various geological

  8. Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Matricaria recutita (Babunah plant extract and its study as mercury ions sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imran Uddin

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Silver (Ag nanoparticles comprise a highly selective approach for development of nanosensors for the detection of Hg2+ ions. When Ag nanoparticles mixes with Hg2+ ions, loses its UV–Vis absorption intensity. Here, green synthesis of Ag nanoparticles was done using plant extract of Matricaria recutita (Babunah under ambient conditions. Biosynthesized Ag nanoparticles are well-dispersed having quasi-spherical shape and average particle size of 11nm. XRD, SAED and HRTEM analysis showed that nanoparticles are well crystalline in nature and having cubic phase of geometry. We report here highly selective colorimetric detection of mercury ions (Hg2+ using biosynthesized Ag nanoparticles. Keywords: Herbal extract, Nanosensor, Biosynthesis, Matricaria recutita, Silver nanoparticles

  9. Mercury dispersion in soils of an abandoned lead-zinc-silver mine, San Quintín (Spain)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esbrí, José Maria; Martín-Crespo, T.; Gómez-Ortiz, D.; Monescillo, C. I.; Lorenzo, S.; Higueras, P.

    2010-05-01

    The mine considered on this work, namely San Quintín, is a filonian field with hydrothermal ores exploited during almost fifty years (1887-1934), producing 550.000Tm of galena, 550Tm of silver and 5.000 of sphalerite. Some rewashing works of tailings muds was achieved in recent times (1973-1985), including flotation tests of cinnabar ore from Almadén mines. The main problems remaining on the site are an active acid mine drainage (with pH ~ 2) and heavy metal dispersion on soils including gaseous mercury emissions. We present here results of a survey including soils sampling with mercury analysis and other pedological parameters, as well as determinations of mercury inmission in the atmosphere, using a common sampling grid. Analysis of soils samples has been carried out using an atomic absorption spectrometer AMA254, while air determinations were made by the same technique, using a Lumex RA-915+. The maps have been obtained by means of SURFER 8 software, as well as by ArcGIS software, and puts forward dispersion of mercury from cinnabar ore dump (108 ?g×g-1) to nearby soils (0.3 ?g×g-1 at 700 m of distance). The dispersion of mercury vapor exceed WHO level for chronic exposure (200 ng×m-3) in a small area (250 meters from cinnabar dump).

  10. Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessment of Copper, Molybdenum, Gold, and Silver in Undiscovered Porphyry Copper Deposits in the Andes Mountains of South America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Charles G.; Zappettini, Eduardo O.; Vivallo S., Waldo; Celada, Carlos Mario; Quispe, Jorge; Singer, Donald A.; Briskey, Joseph A.; Sutphin, David M.; Gajardo M., Mariano; Diaz, Alejandro; Portigliati, Carlos; Berger, Vladimir I.; Carrasco, Rodrigo; Schulz, Klaus J.

    2008-01-01

    Quantitative information on the general locations and amounts of undiscovered porphyry copper resources of the world is important to exploration managers, land-use and environmental planners, economists, and policy makers. This publication contains the results of probabilistic estimates of the amounts of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), gold (Au), and silver (Ag) in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in the Andes Mountains of South America. The methodology used to make these estimates is called the 'Three-Part Form'. It was developed to explicitly express estimates of undiscovered resources and associated uncertainty in a form that allows economic analysis and is useful to decisionmakers. The three-part form of assessment includes: (1) delineation of tracts of land where the geology is permissive for porphyry copper deposits to form; (2) selection of grade and tonnage models appropriate for estimating grades and tonnages of the undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in each tract; and (3) estimation of the number of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in each tract consistent with the grade and tonnage model. A Monte Carlo simulation computer program (EMINERS) was used to combine the probability distributions of the estimated number of undiscovered deposits, the grades, and the tonnages of the selected model to obtain the probability distributions for undiscovered metals in each tract. These distributions of grades and tonnages then can be used to conduct economic evaluations of undiscovered resources in a format usable by decisionmakers. Economic evaluations are not part of this report. The results of this assessment are presented in two principal parts. The first part identifies 26 regional tracts of land where the geology is permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits of Phanerozoic age to a depth of 1 km below the Earth's surface. These tracts are believed to contain most of South America's undiscovered resources of copper. The

  11. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PVA NANOFIBER TEXTILES WITH INCORPORATED NANODIAMONDS, COPPER AND SILVER IONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kateřina Indrová

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The unique properties of nanotextiles based on poly(vinyl-alcohol (PVA manufactured using electrospinning method have been known and exploited for many years. Recently, the enrichment of nanofiber textiles with nanoparticles, such as ions or nanodiamond particles (NDP, has become a popular way to modify the textile mechanical, chemical and physical properties. The aim of our study is to investigate the macromechanical properties of PVA nanotextiles enriched with NDP, silver (Ag and copper (Cu ions. The nanofiber textiles of a various surface weight were prepared from 16% PVA solution, while glyoxal and phosphoric acid were used as cross-linking agents. The copper and silver ions were diluted in aqueous solution and NDP were dispersed into the fibers by ultrasound homogenization. All but one set of samples were exposed to the temperature of 140 °C for 10 minutes. The samples without thermal stabilization exhibited significantly lower elastic stiffness and tensile strength. Moreover, the results of tensile testing indicate that the addition of dispersed nanoparticles has a minor effect on the mechanical properties of textiles and contributes rather to their reinforcement. On the other hand, the lack of thermal stabilization results in a poor interconnection of individual nanofiber layers and the non-stabilized textiles exhibit a lower elastic stiffness and reduced tensile strength.

  12. Green synthesis of silver and copper nanoparticles using ascorbic acid and chitosan for antimicrobial applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zain, N Mat; Stapley, A G F; Shama, G

    2014-11-04

    Silver and copper nanoparticles were produced by chemical reduction of their respective nitrates by ascorbic acid in the presence of chitosan using microwave heating. Particle size was shown to increase by increasing the concentration of nitrate and reducing the chitosan concentration. Surface zeta potentials were positive for all nanoparticles produced and these varied from 27.8 to 33.8 mV. Antibacterial activities of Ag, Cu, mixtures of Ag and Cu, and Ag/Cu bimetallic nanoparticles were tested using Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Of the two, B. subtilis proved more susceptible under all conditions investigated. Silver nanoparticles displayed higher activity than copper nanoparticles and mixtures of nanoparticles of the same mean particle size. However when compared on an equal concentration basis Cu nanoparticles proved more lethal to the bacteria due to a higher surface area. The highest antibacterial activity was obtained with bimetallic Ag/Cu nanoparticles with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 0.054 and 0.076 mg/L against B. subtilis and E. coli, respectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Fragmentation of a single molten copper and silver droplets penetrating a sodium pool with solid crust

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wataru Itagaki; Ken-ichiro Sugiyama; Satoshi Nishimura; Izumi Kinoshita

    2005-01-01

    As a basic study of molten fuel-coolant interaction in liquid metal fast cooled reactors, we carried out a series of experiments for the fragmentation of molten copper droplet penetrating sodium pool at instantaneous contact interface temperatures below its freezing point. A single molten copper droplet with 5g in weight and with superheating varied from 0 degree C to 131 degree C was dropped into a sodium pool in a wide range of ambient Weber numbers 24 to 228. In addition to the experiment of molten copper droplet, molten silver droplet with 5gs in weight and with superheating varied from 3 degree C to 174 degree C was dropped into the sodium pool at an ambient Weber number of about 80. From the observation of the cross section of solidified silver droplet without fragmentation, it was clearly confirmed that sodium micro jet is driven into the inside from the upper surface of molten droplet keeping liquid phase, which is clear evidence for the thermal fragmentation mechanism proposed in the previous paper. Large scattering in the values of dimensionless mass median diameter observed in the present experimental study is recognized to be dependent on whether latent heat instantaneously released due to the injection of sodium micro jet can be effectively utilized for fragmentation. (authors)

  14. Silver(I), Copper(I) and Copper(II) Complex of the New N,Se-Chelate Ligand 2-Phenylselenomethyl-1H-benzimidazole: Electrochemistry and Structure

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Leboschka, M.; Sieger, M.; Sarkar, B.; Niemeyer, M.; Schurr, T.; Fiedler, Jan; Záliš, Stanislav; Kaim, W.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 635, 6-7 (2009), s. 1001-1007 ISSN 0044-2313 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN100400702; GA MŠk OC 139 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : copper compounds * solid-state structures * electrochemistry * selenother ligand * silver complex Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.226, year: 2009

  15. Residual mercury content and leaching of mercury and silver from used amalgam capsules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, M E; Pederson, E D; Cohen, M E; Ragain, J C; Karaway, R S; Auxer, R A; Saluta, A R

    2002-06-01

    The objective of this investigation was to carry out residual mercury (Hg) determinations and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) analysis of used amalgam capsules. For residual Hg analysis, 25 capsules (20 capsules for one brand) from each of 10 different brands of amalgam were analyzed. Total residual Hg levels per capsule were determined using United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Method 7471. For TCLP analysis, 25 amalgam capsules for each of 10 brands were extracted using a modification of USEPA Method 1311. Hg analysis of the TCLP extracts was done with USEPA Method 7470A. Analysis of silver (Ag) concentrations in the TCLP extract was done with USEPA Method 6010B. Analysis of the residual Hg data resulted in the segregation of brands into three groups: Dispersalloy capsules, Group A, retained the most Hg (1.225 mg/capsule). These capsules were the only ones to include a pestle. Group B capsules, Valliant PhD, Optaloy II, Megalloy and Valliant Snap Set, retained the next highest amount of Hg (0.534-0.770 mg/capsule), and were characterized by a groove in the inside of the capsule. Group C, Tytin regular set double-spill, Tytin FC, Contour, Sybraloy regular set, and Tytin regular set single-spill retained the least amount of Hg (0.125-0.266 mg/capsule). TCLP analysis of the triturated capsules showed Sybraloy and Contour leached Hg at greater than the 0.2 mg/l Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) limit. This study demonstrated that residual mercury may be related to capsule design features and that TCLP extracts from these capsules could, in some brands, exceed RCRA Hg limits, making their disposal problematic. At current RCRA limits, the leaching of Ag is not a problem.

  16. Reduction and aggregation of silver, copper and cadmium ions in aqueous solutions of gelatin and carboxymethyl cellulose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kapoor, S.; Gopinathan, C.

    1998-01-01

    Radiolytic reduction of silver, copper and cadmium ions and the subsequent formation of their clusters was studied in aqueous gelatin or carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) solutions. Presence of gelatin or CMC in the solution affects the early processes. The rate of reduction by hydrated electron reduces due to complexation. However, when the ratio of silver ions to monomeric chains decreases over a certain limit the process of reduction inhibits completely. The effect of ionic strength or pH and the reducing radical on the rate of formation of colloidal Cu and Cd is also discussed

  17. 50 K anomalies in superconducting MgB{sub 2} wires in copper and silver tubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Majoros, M [Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Superconductivity, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Glowacki, B A [Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Superconductivity, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Vickers, M E [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

    2002-02-01

    In situ and ex situ MgB{sub 2} wires were prepared by the powder-in-tube method. Copper and silver tubes were used as a cladding material. AC susceptibility measurements revealed a small anomalous decrease with onset around 50 K. This effect persisted also when the wires were ground into powders. Electron microscopy and x-ray studies were performed on copper clad samples. Spectroscopic measurements in a SEM showed that regions contained either Cu or Mg and B. X-ray diffraction gave the major crystalline phases as Cu, MgCu{sub 2} and MgB{sub 2}. Diffraction evidence for Cu substituting in the Mg position was inconclusive. (author)

  18. Ion beam analysis and AMS dating of the silver coin hoard of Preuschdorf (Alsace, France)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Lucile; Alloin, Elise; Vigneron, Anaïs; Caffy, Ingrid; Klein, Ulrich

    2017-09-01

    The hoard of Preuschdorf is a monetary deposit discovered in Alsace (France) in 2005. This find was composed of 7327 silver-copper coins. They seem to have been struck over more than one century, between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 17th century. This hoard is an exceptional find composed of a large quantity of coins from various periods, areas and contexts. It is also remarkable by the presence of counterfeit coins. IBA was used to analyze the silver content of the official coins by combining PIXE and RBS. The fineness was found to be between 20 and 42% according to the mint place and an unexpected subdivision of the values has been revealed. For the counterfeit coins, the analyses were able to bring to light different elaboration processes: amalgam silvering with two various contents of mercury and application of a thin layer of pure silver. Finally, linen fibers attached to the coins have been dated by AMS radiocarbon dating. The radiocarbon calibrated dates perfectly match with the chronological range given by the coins.

  19. Bile secretion of cadmium, silver, zinc and copper in the rat. Involvement of various transport systems.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Havinga, R; Vonk, RJ; Kuipers, F

    1996-01-01

    In the present study we compared, in vivo in rats, the hepatobiliary transport of monovalent (silver:Ag) and divalent metals (zinc:Zn; cadmium:Cd) with that of copper (Cu). Cu can have two oxidation states in vivo, i.e. Cu(I) and Cu(II). Studies were performed in normal Wistar (NW) rats and mutant

  20. Silver copper fluoride: A novel perovskite cathode for lithium batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Wei; Amatucci, Glenn G.

    2017-09-01

    An electrochemically active nanostructured silver copper fluoride (SCF) perovskite, AgCuF3, was synthesized via a mechanochemical reaction between AgF and CuF2 precursors. Phase composition and electrochemical properties of the SCF perovskites produced under various synthetic parameters were studied. The optimum SCF perovskite sample exhibited an appreciable electrochemical performance through the use of conductive carbon matrix in a primary lithium half cell. A high specific capacity of 270 mAh g-1 was achieved at a cutoff voltage of 2 V with 190 mAh g-1 above 3 V, leading to a total volumetric energy density of 3666 Wh L-1 at >3 V and 4848 Wh L-1 at >2 V.

  1. The antimicrobial effect of silicon nanowires decorated with silver and copper nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fellahi, Ouarda; Marcon, Lionel; Coffinier, Yannick; Boukherroub, Rabah; Sarma, Rupak K; Saikia, Ratul; Das, Manash R; Hadjersi, Toufik; Maamache, Mustapha

    2013-01-01

    The paper reports on the preparation and antibacterial activity of silicon nanowire (SiNW) substrates coated with Ag or Cu nanoparticles (NPs) against Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The substrates are easily prepared using the metal-assisted chemical etching of crystalline silicon in hydrofluoric acid/silver nitrate (HF/AgNO 3 ) aqueous solution. Decoration of the SiNWs with metal NPs is achieved by simple immersion in HF aqueous solutions containing silver or copper salts. The SiNWs coated with Ag NPs are biocompatible with human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line A549 while possessing strong antibacterial properties to E. coli. In contrast, the SiNWs decorated with Cu NPs showed higher cytotoxicity and slightly lower antibacterial activity. Moreover, it was also observed that leakage of sugars and proteins from the cell wall of E. coli in interaction with SiNWs decorated with Ag NPs is higher compared to SiNWs modified with Cu NPs. (paper)

  2. Green engineered biomolecule-capped silver and copper nanohybrids using Prosopis cineraria leaf extract: Enhanced antibacterial activity against microbial pathogens of public health relevance and cytotoxicity on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jinu, U; Gomathi, M; Saiqa, I; Geetha, N; Benelli, G; Venkatachalam, P

    2017-04-01

    This research focused on green engineering and characterization of silver (PcAgNPs) and copper nanoparticles (PcCuNPs) using Prosopis cineraria (Pc) leaf extract prepared by using microwave irradiation. We studied their enhanced antimicrobial activity on human pathogens as well as cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Biofabricated silver and copper nanoparticles exhibited UV-Visible absorbance peaks at 420 nm and 575 nm, confirming the bioreduction and stabilization of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, FESEM, and EDX analysis. FTIR results indicated the presence of alcohols, alkanes, aromatics, phenols, ethers, benzene, amines and amides that were possibly involved in the reduction and capping of silver and copper ions. XRD analysis was performed to confirm the crystalline nature of the silver and copper nanoparticles. FESEM analysis suggested that the nanoparticles were hexagonal or spherical in shape with size ranging from 20 to 44.49 nm and 18.9-32.09 nm for AgNPs and CuNPs, respectively. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of silver and copper elemental signals in the nanoparticles. The bioengineered silver and copper nanohybrids showed enhanced antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative MDR human pathogens. MTT assay results indicated that CuNPs show potential cytotoxic effect followed by AgNPs against MCF-7 cancer cell line. IC 50 were 65.27 μg/ml, 37.02 μg/ml and 197.3 μg/ml for PcAgNPs, PcCuNPs and P. cineraria leaf extracts, respectively, treated MCF-7 cells. The present investigation highlighted an effective protocol for microwave-assisted synthesis of biomolecule-loaded silver and copper nanoparticles with enhanced antibacterial and anticancer activity. Results strongly suggested that bioengineered AgNPs and CuNPs could be used as potential tools against microbial pathogens and cancer cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Mineral commodity profiles: Silver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butterman, W.C.; Hilliard, Henry E.

    2005-01-01

    Overview -- Silver is one of the eight precious, or noble, metals; the others are gold and the six platinum-group metals (PGM). World mine production in 2001 was 18,700 metric tons (t) and came from mines in 60 countries; the 10 leading producing countries accounted for 86 percent of the total. The largest producer was Mexico, followed by Peru, Australia, and the United States. About 25 percent of the silver mined in the world in 2001 came from silver ores; 15 percent, from gold ores and the remaining 60 percent, from copper, lead, and zinc ores. In the United States, 14 percent of the silver mined in 2001 came from silver ores; 39 percent, from gold ores; 10 percent, from copper and copper-molybdenum ores; and 37 percent, from lead, zinc, and lead-zinc ores. The precious metal ores (gold and silver) came from 30 lode mines and 10 placer mines; the base-metal ores (copper, lead, molybdenum, and zinc) came from 24 lode mines. Placer mines yielded less than 1 percent of the national silver production. Silver was mined in 12 States, of which Nevada was by far the largest producer; it accounted for nearly one-third of the national total. The production of silver at domestic mines generated employment for about 1,100 mine and mill workers. The value of mined domestic silver was estimated to be $290 million. Of the nearly 27,000 t of world silver that was fabricated in 2001, about one-third went into jewelry and silverware, one-fourth into the light-sensitive compounds used in photography, and nearly all the remainder went for industrial uses, of which there were 7 substantial uses and many other small-volume uses. By comparison, 85 percent of the silver used in the United States went to photography and industrial uses, 8 percent to jewelry and silverware, and 7 percent to coins and medals. The United States was the largest consumer of silver followed by India, Japan, and Italy; the 13 largest consuming countries accounted for nearly 90 percent of the world total. In the

  4. Autometallography: tissue metals demonstrated by a silver enhancement kit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danscher, G; Nørgaard, J O; Baatrup, E

    1987-01-01

    , primarily intended for the amplification of colloidal gold particles, has been used to demonstrate these catalytic tissue metals. Sections from animals exposed intravitally to aurothiomalatate, silver lactate, mercury chloride, sodium selenite or perfused with sodium sulphide were subjected to a commercial......In biological tissue, minute accumulations of gold, silver, mercury and zinc can be visualized by a technique whereby metallic silver is precipitated on tiny accumulations of the two noble metals, or on selenites or sulphides of all four metals. In the present study a silver enhancement kit...... silver enhancement kit (IntenSE, Janssen Pharmaceutica). It was found that the kit performs adequately to the silver lactate gum arabic developer and to the photographic emulsion technique. The kit can be used as a silver enhancement medium for the demonstration of zinc by the Neo-Timm and selenium...

  5. Determination of silver, bismuth, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in geologic materials by atomic absorption spectrometry with tricaprylylmethylammonium chloride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viets, J.G.

    1978-01-01

    Interferences commonly encountered in the determination of silver, bismuth, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc at crustal abundance levels are effectively eliminated using a rapid, sensitive, organic extraction technique. A potassium chlorate-hydrochloric acid digestion solubilizes the metals not tightly bound in the silicate lattice of rocks, soils, and stream sediments. The six metals are selectively extracted into a 10% Aliquat 336-MIBK organic phase in the presence of ascorbic acid and potassium iodide. Metals in the organic extract are determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry to the 0.02-ppm level for silver, cadmium, copper, and zinc and to the 0.2-ppm level for bismuth and lead with a maximum relative standard deviation of 18.8% for known reference samples. An additional hydrofluoric acid digestion may be used to determine metals substituted in the silicate lattice.

  6. Study of high levels indoor air mercury contamination from mercury amalgam use in dentistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khwaja, M.A.; Abbasi, M.S.; Mehmood, F.; Jahangir, S.

    2014-01-01

    In 2005, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that 362 tonnes of dental mercury are consumed annually worldwide. Dental mercury amalgams also called silver fillings and amalgam fillings are widely done. These fillings gave off mercury vapours. Estimated average absorbed concentrations of mercury vapours from dental fillings vary from 3,000 to 17,000 ng Hg. Mercury (Hg) also known as quick silver is an essential constituent of dental amalgam. It is a toxic substance of global concern. A persistent pollutant, mercury is not limited to its source but it travels, on time thousands of kilometers away from the source. Scientific evidence, including, UNEP Global Mercury report, establishes mercury as an extremely toxic substance, which is a major threat to wildlife, ecosystem and human health, at a global scale. Children are more at risk from mercury poisoning which affects their neurological development and brain. Mercury poisoning diminishes memory, attention, thinking and sight. In the past, a number of studies at dental sites in many countries have been carried out and reported which have been reviewed and briefly described. This paper describes and discusses the recent investigations, regarding mercury vapours level in air, carried out at 18 dental sites in Pakistan and other countries. It is evident from the data of 42 dental sites in 17 countries, including, selected dental sites in five main cities of Pakistan, described and discussed in this paper that at most dental sites in many countries including Pakistan, the indoor mercury vapours levels exceed far above the permissible limit, recommended for safe physical and mental health. At these sites, public, in general, and the medical, paramedical staff and vulnerable population, in particular, are at most serious risk to health resulting from exposure to toxic and hazardous mercury. (author)

  7. D-penicillamine-templated copper nanoparticles via ascorbic acid reduction as a mercury ion sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shu Min; Geng, Shuo; Li, Na; Li, Nian Bing; Luo, Hong Qun

    2016-05-01

    Mercury ion is one of the most hazardous metal pollutants that can cause deleterious effects on human health and the environment even at low concentrations. It is necessary to develop new mercury detection methods with high sensitivity, specificity and rapidity. In this study, a novel and green strategy for synthesizing D-penicillamine-capped copper nanoparticles (DPA-CuNPs) was successfully established by a chemical reduction method, in which D-penicillamine and ascorbic acid were used as stabilizing agent and reducing agent, respectively. The as-prepared DPA-CuNPs showed strong red fluorescence and had a large Stoke's shift (270nm). Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry were utilized to elucidate the possible fluorescence mechanism, which could be aggregation-induced emission effect. Based on the phenomenon that trace mercury ion can disperse the aggregated DPA-CuNPs, resulting in great fluorescence quench of the system, a sensitive and selective assay for mercury ion in aqueous solution with the DPA-CuNPs was developed. Under optimum conditions, this assay can be applied to the quantification of Hg(2+) in the 1.0-30μM concentration range and the detection limit (3σ/slope) is 32nM. The method was successfully applied to determine Hg(2+) in real water samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Dispersion of silver particles in aqueous solutions visualized by polarography/voltammetry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Korshunov, A.; Heyrovský, Michael

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 54, č. 26 (2009), s. 6264-6268 ISSN 0013-4686 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA400400806 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : silver ions * silver particles * drop ping mercury electrode * hanging mercury drop electrode Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 3.325, year: 2009

  9. 40 CFR 444.12 - Monitoring Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... ASTM Standards, for determination of arsenic, cadmium, chromium (total), copper, lead, silver, and zinc... pollutants (arsenic, cadmium, chromium (total), copper, pH, lead, mercury, TSS, silver, titanium, and zinc... 136.3(a), Table IB, you may also use EPA Method 200.8, “Determination of Trace Elements in Water and...

  10. Synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial activity of silver(I) and copper(II) complexes of phosphate derivatives of pyridine and benzimidazole.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalinowska-Lis, Urszula; Szewczyk, Eligia M; Chęcińska, Lilianna; Wojciechowski, Jakub M; Wolf, Wojciech M; Ochocki, Justyn

    2014-01-01

    Two silver(I) complexes--[Ag(4-pmOpe)]NO₃}(n) and [Ag(2-bimOpe)₂]NO₃--and three copper(II) complexes--[Cu₄Cl₆O(2-bimOpe)₄], [CuCl₂(4-pmOpe)₂], and [CuCl₂(2-bis(pm)Ope]--were synthesized by reaction of silver(I) nitrate or copper(II) chloride with phosphate derivatives of pyridine and benzimidazole, namely diethyl (pyridin-4-ylmethyl)phosphate (4-pmOpe), 1H-benzimidazol-2-ylmethyl diethyl phosphate (2-bimOpe), and ethyl bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)phosphate (2-bis(pm)Ope). These compounds were characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, and ³¹P NMR as well as IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and ESIMS spectrometry. Additionally, molecular and crystal structures of {[Ag(4-pmOpe)]NO₃}n and [Cu₄Cl₆O(2-bimOpe)₄] were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The antimicrobial profiles of synthesized complexes and free ligands against test organisms from the ATCC and clinical sources were determined. Silver(I) complexes showed good antimicrobial activities against Candida albicans strains (MIC values of ∼19 μM). [Ag(2-bimOpe)₂]NO₃ was particularly active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis, with MIC values of ∼5 and ∼10 μM, respectively. Neither copper(II) complexes nor the free ligands inhibited the growth of test organisms at concentrations below 500 μg mL⁻¹. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Effect of Silver or Copper Nanoparticles-Dispersed Silane Coatings on Biofilm Formation in Cooling Water Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogawa, Akiko; Kanematsu, Hideyuki; Sano, Katsuhiko; Sakai, Yoshiyuki; Ishida, Kunimitsu; Beech, Iwona B.; Suzuki, Osamu; Tanaka, Toshihiro

    2016-01-01

    Biofouling often occurs in cooling water systems, resulting in the reduction of heat exchange efficiency and corrosion of the cooling pipes, which raises the running costs. Therefore, controlling biofouling is very important. To regulate biofouling, we focus on the formation of biofilm, which is the early step of biofouling. In this study, we investigated whether silver or copper nanoparticles-dispersed silane coatings inhibited biofilm formation in cooling systems. We developed a closed laboratory biofilm reactor as a model of a cooling pipe and used seawater as a model for cooling water. Silver or copper nanoparticles-dispersed silane coating (Ag coating and Cu coating) coupons were soaked in seawater, and the seawater was circulated in the laboratory biofilm reactor for several days to create biofilms. Three-dimensional images of the surface showed that sea-island-like structures were formed on silane coatings and low concentration Cu coating, whereas nothing was formed on high concentration Cu coatings and low concentration Ag coating. The sea-island-like structures were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy to estimate the components of the biofilm. We found that both the Cu coating and Ag coating were effective methods to inhibit biofilm formation in cooling pipes. PMID:28773758

  12. Silver nanoparticles sintering at low temperature on a copper substrate: In situ characterisation under inert atmosphere and air

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sopoušek, J.; Buršík, Jiří; Zálešák, J.; Pešina, Z.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 48, /1/ B (2012), s. 63-71 ISSN 1450-5339 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA106/09/0700; GA ČR GD106/09/H035 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20410507 Keywords : silver * copper * DSC Subject RIV: JG - Metallurgy Impact factor: 1.435, year: 2012

  13. Long-Term Management Strategy for Dredged Material Disposal for Naval Facilities at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Phase II - Evaulation of Alternatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-03-01

    phytoremediation , or soil amendments. The levels of uptake pose insignificant environmental concern during the service life of the facility because plant growth...adsorption, degradation, dilution, or other means. Ammonia, copper, lead, mercury , nickel, silver, DDT, dieldrin, and PCB-1 260 exceed the Hawaii...0.755 Copper 2.9 588 44.7 15.4 Lead 5.6 150 209. 37.4 Mercury 0.025 1.18 1.65 65.8 Nickel 8.3 74.3 21.9 2.64 Selenium 71 2.0 9.6 0.135 Silver 0.92 1.87

  14. New evidence on the composition of mineral grains of native gold

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erasmus, C.S.; Sellschop, J.P.F.; Watterson, J.I.W.

    1987-01-01

    The nuclear analytical techniques of instrumental neutron activation and radiochemical neutron activation have been applied to the analysis of native gold from the Precambrian Witwatersrand Sequence and from the Archaen deposits in the Barberton Mountain Land, Murchison Range and Pietersburg region in South Africa. A total of 15 elements were determined in the samples of native gold, namely: scandium, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, zirconium, silver, antimony, tellurium, cerium, europium, ytterbium, mercury and thorium. Of these the silver and mercury were determined by the instrumental procedure and the copper was determined after extraction with diethyl dithiocarbamate. The other elements were determined from long-lived isotopes after the removal of silver by dissolution of the gold and precipitation of the silver as silver iodide. The most significant result of this work is the discovery that mercury occurs at the percentage level in native gold from the Witwatersrand (between 1 and 5%), demonstrating the power of the nuclear method in comparison with conventional methods such as optical spectroscopy and the electron microprobe, which had failed to make this discovery. (author)

  15. Secondary poisoning of cadmium, copper and mercury: implications for the Maximum Permissible Concentrations and Negligible Concentrations in water, sediment and soil

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smit CE; Wezel AP van; Jager T; Traas TP; CSR

    2000-01-01

    The impact of secondary poisoning on the Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MPCs) and Negligible Concentrations (NCs) of cadmium, copper and mercury in water, sediment and soil have been evaluated. Field data on accumulation of these elements by fish, mussels and earthworms were used to derive

  16. Intentional intravenous mercury injection

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Elemental mercury is the well-known silver liquid and usually causes pulmonary, neurological and ... suicidal ideation or features of major depression. Clinically the patient was .... medically at this stage and consider surgical intervention later.

  17. Adsorption characteristics of Copper (Ⅱ), Zinc (Ⅱ) and Mercury (Ⅱ) by four kinds of immobilized fungi residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xia; Zhang, Dan; Sheng, Fei; Qing, Hui

    2018-01-01

    This study investigated the adsorption characteristics of Copper (Ⅱ), Zinc (Ⅱ) and Mercury (Ⅱ) by immobilized Flammulina velutipes, Auricularia polytricha, Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ostreatus residues. Lagergren model, elovich and intraparticle diffusion model were used to present the adsorption kinetics, and it was proved that Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second order kinetics are the best suitable model with high correlation coefficient to characterize the adsorption process of Copper (Ⅱ), Zinc (Ⅱ) and Mercury (Ⅱ). The results showed that adsorption process finished in 120min at pH 6.0. The adsorption rate of Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and Hg 2+ were reached to 53.8-84.1% of total in the initial 60min, and finished in 120min. Ion exchange and complexation of F. velutipes were the main mechanisms for adsorption of metal ions by characterizations of Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). In addition the functional group of cell walls such as hydroxyl, amide, carbonyl, phosphoric played a critical role in ions adsorption of edible mushroom residues. Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and Hg 2+ in wastewater could be efficiently removed by F. velutipes residue with removal ratio of 73.11%, 66.67% and 69.35%, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Histochemical demonstration of two mercury pools in trout tissues: mercury in kidney and liver after mercuric chloride exposure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baatrup, E; Nielsen, M G; Danscher, G

    1987-01-01

    Juvenile rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were exposed to 100 ppb mercury (as HgCl2) in the water for 14 days. Concentrations of mercury in water and fish organs were monitored using radiolabeled mercury. Tissues from kidney and liver were fixed, and sections were developed by autometallography......, a method whereby accumulations of mercury sulfides and/or mercury selenides are silver amplified. In the kidney, mercury was found within lysosomes and extracellularly in the basal lamina of proximal tubules. In the liver, mercury was found within lysosomes of the hepatocytes. Additional groups of mercury......-exposed trout were subjected to selenium (as Na2SeO3), administered intraperitoneally 2 hr before fixation. Following this treatment, additional mercury could be visualized in the kidney circulatory system, including glomeruli, and in the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum of liver cells. It is suggested...

  19. Antibacterial effect of silk treated with silver and copper nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in distilled water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baruah, Prahlad K.; Raman, Moghe A.; Chakrabartty, Ishani; Rangan, Latha; Sharma, Ashwini K.; Khare, Alika

    2018-05-01

    The antibacterial activity of three kinds of silks viz. Eri, Pat and Muga treated with silver and copper nanoparticles is reported in this paper. The nanoparticles have been synthesized by pulsed laser ablation of the respective metal targets in distilled water. Treatment of the silk pellets with the synthesized nanoparticles exhibited definite antibacterial activity whereas no such activity is observed in the untreated silk pellets.

  20. Alkyne-Azide Cycloaddition Catalyzed by Silver Chloride and “Abnormal” Silver N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aldo I. Ortega-Arizmendi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A library of 1,2,3-triazoles was synthesized from diverse alkynes and azides using catalytic amounts of silver chloride instead of copper compounds. In addition, a novel “abnormal” silver N-heterocyclic carbene complex was tested as catalyst in this process. The results suggest that the reaction requires only 0.5% of silver complex, affording 1,2,3-triazoles in good yields.

  1. Histochemical demonstration of two mercury pools in trout tissues: mercury in kidney and liver after mercuric chloride exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baatrup, E.; Nielsen, M.G.; Danscher, G.

    1986-01-01

    Juvenile rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were exposed to 100 ppb mercury (as HgCl 2 ) in the water for 14 days. Concentrations of mercury in water and fish organs were monitored using radiolabeled mercury. Tissues from kidney and liver were fixed, and sections were developed by autometallography, a method whereby accumulations of mercury sulfides and/or mercury selenides are silver amplified. In the kidney, mercury was found within lysosomes and extracellularly in the basal lamina of proximal tubules. In the liver, mercury was found within lysosomes of the hepatocytes. Additional groups of mercury-exposed trout were subjected to selenium (as Na 2 SeO 3 ), administered intraperitoneally 2 hr before fixation. Following this treatment, additional mercury could be visualized in the kidney circulatory system, including glomeruli, and in the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum of liver cells. It is suggested that the mercury visualized prior to selenium treatment represents inorganic mercury, while additional mercury visualized after selenium administration represents an organic form

  2. Preparation of silver-cuprous oxide/stearic acid composite coating with superhydrophobicity on copper substrate and evaluation of its friction-reducing and anticorrosion abilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Peipei [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Chen, Xinhua [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xuchang University, Xuchang 461000 (China); Yang, Guangbin; Yu, Laigui [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Zhang, Pingyu, E-mail: pingyu@henu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China)

    2014-01-15

    A simple two-step solution immersion process was combined with surface-modification by stearic acid to prepare superhydrophobic coatings on copper substrates so as to reduce friction coefficient, increase wear resistance and improve the anticorrosion ability of copper. Briefly, cuprous oxide (Cu{sub 2}O) crystal coating with uniform and compact tetrahedron structure was firstly created by immersing copper substrate in 2 mol L{sup −1} NaOH solution. As-obtained Cu{sub 2}O coating was then immersed in 0.33 mmol L{sup −1} AgNO{sub 3} solution to incorporate silver nanoparticles, followed by modification with stearic acid (denoted as SA) coating to achieve hydrophobicity. The surface morphology and chemical composition of silver-cuprous oxide/stearic acid (denoted as Ag-Cu{sub 2}O/SA) composite coating were investigated using a scanning electron microscope and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS); and its phase structure was examined with an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Moreover, the contact angle of water on as-prepared Ag-Cu{sub 2}O/SA composite coating was measured, and its friction-reducing and anticorrosion abilities were evaluated. It was found that as-prepared Ag-Cu{sub 2}O/SA composite coating has a water contact angle of as high as 152.4{sup o} and can provide effective friction-reducing, wear protection and anticorrosion protection for copper substrate, showing great potential for surface-modification of copper.

  3. Ab initio study of the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of copper and silver clusters and their alloys with one palladium atom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. J Hashemifar

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of two- to nine-atom copper and silver clusters and their alloys with one palladium atom are investigated by using full-potential all-electron density functional computations. After calculating minimized energy of several structural isomers of every nanocluster, it is argued that the small size nanoclusters (up to size of 6, ‎ prefer planar structures, while by increasing size a 2D-3D structural transformation is observed. The structural transformation of pure and copper-palladium clusters occurs in the size of seven and that of silver-palladium cluster in happens at the size of six. The calculated second difference and dissociation energies confirm that the two- and eight- atom pure clusters and three- and seven- atom alloyed clusters are magic clusters. The electronic and magnetic properties of stable isomers are calculated and considered after applying many body based GW correction.

  4. Plated copper front side metallization on printed seed-layers for silicon solar cells

    OpenAIRE

    Kraft, Achim

    2015-01-01

    A novel copper front side metallization architecture for silicon solar cells based on a fine printed silver seed-layer, plated with nickel, copper and silver, is investigated. The work focuses on the printing of fine seed-layers with low silver consumption, the corrosion of the printed seed-layers by the interaction with electrolyte solutions and the encapsulation material on module level and on the long term stability of the cells due to copper migration. The investigation of the correlation...

  5. Final disposal options for mercury/uranium mixed wastes from the Oak Ridge Reservation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorin, A.H.; Leckey, J.H.; Nulf, L.E.

    1994-01-01

    Laboratory testing was completed on chemical stabilization and physical encapsulation methods that are applicable (to comply with federal and state regulations) to the final disposal of both hazardous and mixed hazardous elemental mercury waste that is in either of the following categories: (1) waste generated during decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) activities on mercury-contaminated buildings, such as Building 9201-4 at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, or (2) waste stored and regulated under either the Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement or the Federal Facilities Compliance Act. Methods were used that produced copper-mercury, zinc-mercury, and sulfur-mercury materials at room temperature by dry mixing techniques. Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) results for mercury on batches of both the copper-mercury and the sulfur-mercury amalgams consistently produced leachates with less than the 0.2-mg/L Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulatory limit for mercury. The results clearly showed that the reaction of mercury with sulfur at room temperature produces black mercuric sulfide, a material that is well suited for land disposal. The results also showed that the copper-mercury and zinc-mercury amalgams had major adverse properties that make them undesirable for land disposal. In particular, they reacted readily in air to form oxides and liberate elemental mercury. Another major finding of this study is that sulfur polymer cement is potentially useful as a physical encapsulating agent for mercuric sulfide. This material provides a barrier in addition to the chemical stabilization that further prevents mercury, in the form of mercuric sulfide, from migrating into the environment

  6. Electrometallurgy of copper refinery anode slimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, J. D.

    1990-08-01

    High-selenium copper refinery anode slimes form two separate and dynamically evolving series of compounds with increasing electrolysis time. In one, silver is progressively added to non-stoichiometric copper selenides, both those originally present in the anode and those formed subsequently in the slime layer, and in the other, silver-poor copper selenides undergo a dis-continuous crystallographic sequence of anodic-oxidative transformations. The silver-to-selenium molar ratio in the as-cast anode and the current density of electrorefining can be used to construct predominance diagrams for both series and, thus, to predict the final bulk “mineralogy” of the slimes. Although totally incorrect in detail, these bulk data are sufficiently accurate to provide explanations for several processing problems which have been experienced by Kidd Creek Division, Falconbridge Ltd., in its commercial tankhouse. They form the basis for a computer model which predicts final cathode quality from chemical analyses of smelter feed.

  7. Possibilities of radioisotopic fluorescence analysis application in copper industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parus, J.; Kierzek, J.

    1983-01-01

    The main applications of X-ray fluorescence analysis in copper industry such as: copper ores and other materials from flotation analysis, lead and silver determination in blister copper, analysis of metallurgic dusts and copper base alloys analysis are presented. (A.S.)

  8. Current and historic mercury deposition to New Haven Harbor (CT, USA): Implications for industrial coastal environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, Heather F.; Benoit, Gaboury

    2009-01-01

    This study quantifies historic and current mercury contamination in New Haven Harbor (New Haven, Connecticut, USA) through the analysis of sediment cores. The mercury concentration measured in surface sediment ranged from 320 to 1640 μg kg -1 with an average of 530 μg kg -1 . The harbor is relatively small in area (6.6 km 2 ) but displays a large range in concentrations, illustrating the important methodological issue that a large number of samples may be necessary to capture the variability in even a small area. Depth profiles of mercury reflect sedimentation over a range of 20 to 200 years and indicate a complex history of contamination. Mercury depth profiles were compared with lead, copper, cadmium, and silver concentrations and the metals generally covary. This trend indicates that the sources of mercury and heavy metals are linked and that regionally specific sources dominate the historic input of metals rather than large-scale atmospheric deposition patterns. Results also show there are large differences in absolute concentrations of metals among sites in the harbor. Differences in the abundance of Fe-rich, fine-grained sediment likely control the level of metals in various parts of the harbor. Proximity to current sources and the long, diverse industrial history of the harbor also influence the distribution pattern. All of the cores can be modeled as mixing between pre-industrial sediments and either one or two pollution endmembers. This study demonstrates the importance of riverine sources in the mass balance of mercury delivered to coastal areas and of watershed management to preserve coastal ecosystems.

  9. Brush-Painting and Photonic Sintering of Copper Oxide and Silver Inks on Wood and Cardboard Substrates to Form Antennas for UHF RFID Tags

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erja Sipilä

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Additive deposition of inks with metallic inclusions provides compelling means to embed electronics into versatile structures. The need to integrate electronics into environmentally friendly components and structures increases dramatically together with the increasing popularity of the Internet of Things. We demonstrate a novel brush-painting method for depositing copper oxide and silver inks directly on wood and cardboard substrates and discuss the optimization of the photonic sintering process parameters for both materials. The optimized parameters were utilized to manufacture passive ultra high frequency (UHF radio frequency identification (RFID tag antennas. The results from wireless testing show that the RFID tags based on the copper oxide and silver ink antennas on wood substrate are readable from ranges of 8.5 and 11 meters, respectively, and on cardboard substrate from read ranges of 8.5 and 12 meters, respectively. These results are well sufficient for many future wireless applications requiring remote identification with RFID.

  10. In situ QCM and TM-AFM investigations of the early stages of degradation of silver and copper surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kleber, Ch.; Hilfrich, U.; Schreiner, M.

    2007-01-01

    The early stages of atmospheric corrosion of pure copper and pure silver specimens were investigated performing in situ tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM), in situ quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The information obtained by TM-AFM is the change of the topography of the sample surfaces with emphasis on the shape and lateral distribution of the corrosion products grown within the first hours of weathering. The simultaneously performed in situ QCM measurements are indicating the mass changes due to possibly occurring corrosive processes on the surface during weathering and are therefore a valuable tool for the determination of corrosion rates. Investigations were carried out in synthetic air at different levels of relative humidity (RH) with and without addition of 250 ppb SO 2 as acidifying agent. On a polished copper surface the growth of corrosion products could be observed by TM-AFM analysis at 60% RH without any addition of acidifying gases [M. Wadsak, M. Schreiner, T. Aastrup, C. Leygraf, Surf. Sci. 454-456 (2000) 246-250]. On a weathered copper surface the addition of SO 2 to the moist air stream leads to the formation of additional features as already described in the literature [M. Wadsak, M. Schreiner, T. Aastrup, C. Leygraf, Surf. Sci. 454-456 (2000) 246-250; Ch. Kleber, J. Weissenrieder, M. Schreiner, C. Leygraf, Appl. Surf. Sci. 193 (2002) 245-253]. Exposing a silver specimen to humidity leads to the degradation of the surface structure as well as to a formation of corrosion products, which could be detected by in situ QCM measurements. After addition of 250 ppb SO 2 to the moist gas stream an increase of the formed feature's volume on the silver surface could be observed by TM-AFM measurements. The results obtained additionally from the in situ QCM measurements confirm the influence of SO 2 due to a further increase of the mass of the formed corrosion layer (and therefore an increase of the

  11. Mercury Amalgam Diffusion in Human Teeth Probed Using Femtosecond LIBS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bello, Liciane Toledo; da Ana, Patricia Aparecida; Santos, Dário; Krug, Francisco José; Zezell, Denise Maria; Vieira, Nilson Dias; Samad, Ricardo Elgul

    2017-04-01

    In this work the diffusion of mercury and other elements from amalgam tooth restorations through the surrounding dental tissue (dentin) was evaluated using femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (fs-LIBS). To achieve this, seven deciduous and eight permanent extracted human molar teeth with occlusal amalgam restorations were half-sectioned and analyzed using pulses from a femtosecond laser. The measurements were performed from the amalgam restoration along the amalgam/dentin interface to the apical direction. It was possible to observe the presence of metallic elements (silver, mercury, copper and tin) emission lines, as well as dental constituent ones, providing fingerprints of each material and comparable data for checking the consistence of the results. It was also shown that the elements penetration depth values in each tooth are usually similar and consistent, for both deciduous and permanent teeth, indicating that all the metals diffuse into the dentin by the same mechanism. We propose that this diffusion mechanism is mainly through liquid dragging inside the dentin tubules. The mercury diffused further in permanent teeth than in deciduous teeth, probably due to the longer diffusion times due to the age of the restorations. It was possible to conclude that the proposed femtosecond-LIBS system can detect the presence of metals in the dental tissue, among the tooth constituent elements, and map the distribution of endogenous and exogenous chemical elements, with a spatial resolution that can be brought under 100 µm.

  12. Printed silver nanowire antennas with low signal loss at high-frequency radio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komoda, Natsuki; Nogi, Masaya; Suganuma, Katsuaki; Kohno, Kazuo; Akiyama, Yutaka; Otsuka, Kanji

    2012-05-01

    Silver nanowires are printable and conductive, and are believed to be promising materials in the field of printed electronics. However, the resistivity of silver nanowire printed lines is higher than that of metallic particles or flakes even when sintered at high temperatures of 100-400 °C. Therefore, their applications have been limited to the replacement of transparent electrodes made from high-resistivity materials, such as doped metallic oxides, conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes, or graphenes. Here we report that using printed silver nanowire lines, signal losses obtained in the high-frequency radio were lower than those obtained using etched copper foil antennas, because their surfaces were much smoother than those of etched copper foil antennas. This was the case even though the resistivity of silver nanowire lines was 43-71 μΩ cm, which is much higher than that of etched copper foil (2 μΩ cm). When printed silver nanowire antennas were heated at 100 °C, they achieved signal losses that were much lower than those of silver paste antennas comprising microparticles, nanoparticles, and flakes. Furthermore, using a low temperature process, we succeeded in remotely controlling a commercialized radio-controlled car by transmitting a 2.45 GHz signal via a silver nanowire antenna printed on a polyethylene terephthalate film.Silver nanowires are printable and conductive, and are believed to be promising materials in the field of printed electronics. However, the resistivity of silver nanowire printed lines is higher than that of metallic particles or flakes even when sintered at high temperatures of 100-400 °C. Therefore, their applications have been limited to the replacement of transparent electrodes made from high-resistivity materials, such as doped metallic oxides, conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes, or graphenes. Here we report that using printed silver nanowire lines, signal losses obtained in the high-frequency radio were lower than those

  13. Processing of copper anodic-slimes for extraction of valuable metals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amer, A M

    2003-01-01

    This work focuses on processing of anodic slimes obtained from an Egyptian copper electrorefining plant. The anodic slimes are characterized by high concentrations of copper, lead, tin and silver. The proposed hydrometallurgical process consists of two leaching stages for the extraction of copper (H(2)SO(4)-O(2)) and silver (thiourea-Fe3+), and pyrometallurgical treatment of the remaining slimes for production of Pb-Sn soldering alloy. Factors affecting both the leaching and smelting stages were studied.

  14. Apparatus and method for removing mercury vapor from a gas stream

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganesan, Kumar [Butte, MT

    2008-01-01

    A metallic filter effectively removes mercury vapor from gas streams. The filter captures the mercury which then can be released and collected as product. The metallic filter is a copper mesh sponge plated with a six micrometer thickness of gold. The filter removes up to 90% of mercury vapor from a mercury contaminated gas stream.

  15. Determination of sub-parts per billion levels of copper in complex matrices by adsorptive string voltammetry on a mercury electrode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahbaazi, H.R.; Shahbaazi, H.R.; Safavi, A.; Maleki, N.

    2008-01-01

    The voltammetric characteristics of Cu(II)-SSA complex at the mercury electrode were investigated. An analytical method that based on the adsorptive accumulation of Cu(II)-SSA complex followed by the reduction of the complexed copper was developed for the copper determination in complex matrices in presence of the large amount of foreign ions. Adsorptive voltammetry determination showed that the Cu(II)-SSA complex behaves irreversibly exchanging two electrons on the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). Factor affecting on the complextion, accumulation and stripping steps were studied and a procedure was developed. The instrumental parameters in the measurement step were also tested. The optimum conditions of pH, SSA concentration, accumulation potential and accumulation time were studied. Under optimal conditions (pH=12.9 glycin Buffer, 7 x 10 - '3 M SSA and accumulation potential -100 mV vs. Ag/ AgCl), a linear calibration graph in the range 1.25 μg L -1 to 42.5 μg L'- 1 and a detection limit of 0.8 μ L -1 were obtained. The average relative standard deviation (RSD) for seven determinations was calculated as 7 %, 5.5 % and 3 % for the concentrations between 3, 15 and 23 μg L'- 1 . The effect of foreign ions and surfactants on the peak height of Cu(II)-SSA complex was evaluated. The method was applied for the determination of the copper in different real samples such as crude oil, crude oil tank button sludge, waste water and tap water samples. The accuracy of the results was checked by ICP. (author)

  16. Absolute determination of copper and silver in ancient coins using 14 MeV neutrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalouhi, Ch.; Hourani, E.; Loos, R.; Melki, S.

    1982-09-01

    A method for absolute determination of copper and silver in ancient coins is described. Activation analysis by 14 MeV neutrons is performed. In the experimental procedure emphasis is placed on corrections for neutrons and gamma attenuation. In the analytical procedure, a multi linear-regression calculation is used to separate different contributions to the 511 keV gamma peak. The precision in the absolute determination of Cu and Ag is better than 2% in recent coins of definite shapes, whereas it is a somewhat lower in ancient coins of irregular shapes. The method was applied to ancient coins provided by the Museum of the American University of Beirut. Overall consistency and suitability of the method were obtained.

  17. Absolute determination of copper and silver in ancient coins using 14 MeV neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chalouhi, C.; Hourani, E.; Loos, R.; Melki, S.

    1982-01-01

    A method for absolute determination of copper and silver in ancient coins is described. Activation analysis by 14 MeV neutrons is performed. In the experimental procedure emphasis is placed on corrections for neutrons and gamma attenuation. In the analytical procedure, a multi linear-regression calculation is used to separate different contributions to the 511 keV gamma peak. The precision in the absolute determination of Cu and Ag is better than 2% in recent coins of definite shapes, whereas it is a somewhat lower in ancient coins of irregular shapes. The method was applied to ancient coins provided by the Museum of the American University of Beirut. Overall consistency and suitability of the method were obtained. (orig.)

  18. Absolute determination of copper and silver in ancient coins using 14 MeV neutrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chalouhi, C.; Hourani, E.; Loos, R.; Melki, S. (Faculty of Science, Beirut (Lebanon))

    1982-09-15

    A method for absolute determination of copper and silver in ancient coins is described. Activation analysis by 14 MeV neutrons is performed. In the experimental procedure emphasis is placed on corrections for neutrons and gamma attenuation. In the analytical procedure, a multi linear-regression calculation is used to separate different contributions to the 511 keV gamma peak. The precision in the absolute determination of Cu and Ag is better than 2% in recent coins of definite shapes, whereas it is a somewhat lower in ancient coins of irregular shapes. The method was applied to ancient coins provided by the Museum of the American University of Beirut. Overall consistency and suitability of the method were obtained.

  19. Low-silver radiographic detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Troitskii, V.A.; Novikov, I.A.; Nikitin, V.F.; Krasnyi-Admoni, L.V.; Valevich, M.I.; Belyi, N.G.; Grom, V.S.

    1988-01-01

    X-ray films and screens with low silver content for use in weld radiography are reviewed and tested. Properties examined include image graininess, brightness, and sensitivity to x radiation. Results are given for radiography of steel 08Kh18N10T, St20, AMG-6, copper, and titanium welds. Processing techniques for low-silver films are discussed. It is established that films and screens containing little silver can replace many x-ray films containing much more silver. Monitoring methods were developed for the new materials to cover items in classes 3-7 on GOST 23075-78 when used with equipment of RUP-150/300-10 type or classes 4-7 with pulsed x-ray equipment

  20. Advanced mercury removal from gold leachate solutions prior to gold and silver extraction: a field study from an active gold mine in Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matlock, Matthew M; Howerton, Brock S; Van Aelstyn, Mike A; Nordstrom, Fredrik L; Atwood, David A

    2002-04-01

    Mercury contamination in the Gold-Cyanide Process (GCP) is a serious health and environmental problem. Following the heap leaching of gold and silver ores with NaCN solutions, portions of the mercury-cyano complexes often adhere to the activated carbon (AC) used to extract the gold. During the electrowinning and retorting steps, mercury can be (and often is) emitted to the air as a vapor. This poses a severe health hazard to plant workers and the local environment. Additional concerns relate to the safety of workers when handling the mercury-laden AC. Currently, mercury treatment from the heap leach solution is nonexistent. This is due to the fact that chelating ligands which can effectively work under the adverse pH conditions (as present in the heap leachate solutions) do not exist. In an effort to economically and effectively treat the leachate solution prior to passing over the AC, a dipotassium salt of 1,3-benzenediamidoethanethiol (BDET2-) has been developed to irreversibly bind and precipitate the mercury. The ligand has proven to be highly effective by selectively reducing mercury levels from average initial concentrations of 34.5 ppm (parts per million) to 0.014 ppm within 10 min and to 0.008 ppm within 15 min. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), Raman, and infrared (IR) spectroscopy demonstrate the formation of a mercury-ligand compound, which remains insoluble over pH ranges of 0.0-14.0. Leachate samples from an active gold mine in Peru have been analyzed using cold vapor atomic fluorescence (CVAF) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for metal concentrations before and after treatment with the BDET2- ligand.

  1. Autometallographic tracing of mercury in frog liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loumbourdis, N.S.; Danscher, G.

    2004-01-01

    The distribution of mercury in the liver of the frog Rana ridibunda with the autometallographic method was investigated. The mercury specific autometallographic (HgS/Se AMG ) technique is a sensitive histochemical approach for tracing mercury in tissues from mercury-exposed organisms. Mercury accumulates in vivo as mercury sulphur/mercury selenium nanocrystals that can be silver-enhanced. Thus, only a fraction of the Hg can be visualized. Six animals were exposed for one day and another group of six animals for 6 days in 1 ppm mercury (as HgCI 2 ) dissolved in fresh water. A third group of six animals, served as controls, were sacrificed the day of arrival at the laboratory. First, mercury appears in the blood plasma and erythrocytes. Next, mercury moves to hepatocytes and in the apical part of the cells, that facing bile canaliculi. In a next step, mercury appears in the endothelial and Kupffer cells. It seems likely that, the mercury of hepatocytes moves through bile canaliculi to the gut, most probably bound to glutathione and/or other similar ligands. Most probably, the endothelial and Kupffer cells comprise the first line of defense against metal toxicity. - Frogs can be good bioindicators of mercury

  2. Mercury in the South African environment

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Matooane, M

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available ? Mercury, also known as quick silver, is ubiquitous in the environment ? Uses - Medical: medicines, thermometers, dental amalgam, etc. - Manufacturing industry: batteries, gold mining, chlorine production, cement production, etc. - Personal care.../day - Adult: >18 yrs - Child: 10 yrs Mercury Health Risks ? Freshwater Fish WMA Species Hazard Quotient Adult Child Berg Silverfish, Catfish; Yellowfish 1.44 ? 2.34 (0.03 ? 0.35) 1.27 ? 13.67 (1.20 ? 1.95) Upper Vaal Yellow fish Banded Tilapia 0...

  3. 40 CFR 437.44 - Effluent limitations attainable by the application of the best available technology economically...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Lead Mercury Nickel Silver Tin Titanium Vanadium Zinc (2) The in-plant limitations that apply to metal... Pyridine 2,4,6-trichlorophenol Metal parameters Arsenic Cadmium Chromium Cobalt Copper Lead Mercury Tin...-Cresol p-Cresol n-Decane Fluoranthene n-Octadecane Phenol Pyridine 2,4,6-trichlorophenol Metal parameters...

  4. Effectiveness of using pure copper and silver coupon corrosivity monitoring (CCM) metal strips to measure the severity levels of air pollutants in indoor and outdoor atmospheres

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Foax, LJ

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Severity levels of air pollutants rich in oxides, chlorides and sulphides were successfully measured in indoor and outdoor atmospheres using pure copper and silver coupon corrosivity monitoring (CCM) metal strips when the maximum exposure periods...

  5. Radioisotope application to studies of copper electrolytic refining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shul'ts, U.; Lange, Kh.; Gajdel', B.

    1976-01-01

    Silver and selenium behaviour was studied using sup(110m)Ag and 75 Se radioisotopes in the copper electrolysis process. sup(110m)Ag and 75 Se distribution in the electrorefining products was also studied. It was found that Ag/Se mass ratio affected greatly the silver content in the copper cathode. It was found that the tracer technique made it possible to determine 0,1gSe/tCu and 1gAg/t Cu simultaneously and accurately with small material and time expenses. Using sup(110m)Ag radioisotope, the reduction in electrolyte silver content dependent on time may be determined quickly and accurately

  6. Effect of natural phosphate to remove silver interference in the detection of mercury(II) in aquatic algae and seawater samples

    OpenAIRE

    S. Lahrich; H. Hammani; W. Boumya; A. Loudiki; El Bouabi; R. Elmoubarki; A. Farahi; M. Achak; M. Bakasse; M.A. El Mhammedi

    2016-01-01

    A silver particles impregnated onto natural phosphate (Ag/NP) was synthesized using reaction in solid state. The obtained powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The (Ag/NP) was used as modifier of carbon paste electrode (CPE) to determine mercury by square wave voltammetry. The calibration graph obtained is linear from 1.0 × 10−8 mol·L−1 to 1.0 × 10−5 mol·L−1 at preconcentration time of 5 min, percentage loading of 7%, with correla...

  7. On the ''memory'' effect and its relation to the mechanism of formation of mercury-graphite electrode in inversion voltammetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nejman, E.Ya.; Petrova, L.G.; Dolgopolova, G.M.; Ignatov, V.I.

    1977-01-01

    Simultaneous discharge ionization of lead-copper and cadmium-copper systems on the surface of mercury-plated graphite and graphite electrodes has been studied. A model is suggested of the preparation process of a mercury-plated graphite electrode obtained in simultaneous electroposition of mercury and elements determined as microimpurities. Processes, which occur on the electrode during relaxation time between electrolysis beginning and formation of the mercury phase, may be probable reasons for mutual effects of elements of the mercury-plated graphite electrode

  8. Release of silver and copper nanoparticles from polyethylene nanocomposites and their penetration into Listeria monocytogenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamayo, L.A., E-mail: laura.tamayo@usach.cl [Departamento de Química de los Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. L. B. O' Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago (Chile); Zapata, P.A. [Departamento de Química de los Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. L. B. O' Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago (Chile); Grupo de Polímeros, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. L. B. O' Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago (Chile); Vejar, N.D.; Azócar, M.I.; Gulppi, M.A. [Departamento de Química de los Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. L. B. O' Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago (Chile); Zhou, X.; Thompson, G.E. [Corrosion and Protection Centre, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL England (United Kingdom); Rabagliati, F.M. [Departamento de Química de los Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. L. B. O' Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago (Chile); Grupo de Polímeros, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. L. B. O' Higgins 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33, Santiago (Chile); and others

    2014-07-01

    Since infection is a major cause of death in a patient whose immune responses have been compromised (immunocompromised patient), considerable attention has been focused on developing materials for the prevention of infections. This has been directed primarily at suppressing or eliminating the host's endogenous microbial burden and decreasing the acquisition of new organisms. In this study, the antibacterial properties of two nanocomposites, polyethylene modified with silver nanoparticles (PE-AgNps) or copper nanoparticles (PE-CuNps), against Listeria monocytogenes have been investigated. In order to elucidate the antibacterial mechanism, specifically whether this mechanism corresponds to bactericidal or bacteriolytic activities, we have determined the extent of release of metal ions (Ag{sup +} and Cu{sup 2+}) and, also, the morphology of the bacteria. The metal ion release from nanocomposites was followed by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry and the morphology of the bacteria was revealed through examination of ultramicrotomed sections of bacteria in a transmission electron microscope. The study of metal ion release from the nanocomposites shows that for both nanocomposites the amount of ions released varies with time, which initially displays a linear behavior until an asymptotic behavior is reached. Further, TEM images show that silver nanoparticles (AgNps) and copper nanoparticles (CuNps), which are released from the nanocomposites, can penetrate to the cell wall and the plasma membrane of bacteria. Resulting morphological changes involve separation of the cytoplasmic membrane from the cell wall, which is known to be an effect of plasmolysis. It was revealed that the antibacterial abilities of the two nanocomposites against L. monocytogenes are associated with both bactericidal and bacteriolytic effects. - Highlights: • Nanocomposites showed excellent antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes. • The biocide abilities of nanocomposites

  9. Synthesis and characterization of Eichhornia-mediated copper oxide ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In this paper, we report the biosynthesis and characterization of copper oxide nanoparticles ... copper oxide nanoparticles by simple, cost-effective and ecofriendly method as an alternative to other available ... Currently, zinc oxide, gold, silver.

  10. Fast sono assisted ferrofluid mediated silver super - Adsorption over magnesium ferrite-copper sulfide chalcogenide with the aid of multivariate optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezaei, Ali Asghar; Hossein Beyki, Mostafa; Shemirani, Farzaneh

    2017-07-01

    This research focuses on the development of a fast ultrasonic assisted ferrofluid mediated methodology to obtain the optimum conditions for silver adsorption from aqueous solutions. For this purpose magnesium ferrite-copper sulfide chalcogenide was synthesized and employed as an efficient nanosorbent. The sorbent was characterized with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and vibrational sample magnetometry (VSM) techniques. For obtaining the optimal operating conditions of silver adsorption, response surface methodology (RSM) was used. Tests were performed by Box-Behnken design (BBD). The value of optimum conditions for silver adsorption include pH=2.5, adsorbent dosage=10.0mg, sonicating time=1min and ionic strength=2.2%. According optimum conditions, percentage of removal should be 99.34%. With replication of similar experiment (n=6) average percentage of 100±0.95% was obtained for Ag + adsorption which shows good agreement between predicted and experimental results. Silver ion adsorption follow Langmuir model with maximum sorption capacity of 2113mgg -1 . Ultrasonic power helped to prepare ferrofluid and demonstrated that had an important role in better dispersing of it in solution and efficient adsorption of analyte. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Colloidal copper in aqueous solutions: radiation-chemical reduction, mechanism of formation and properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ershov, B.G.

    1994-01-01

    Colloidal copper was obtained upon γ-irradiation of aqueous solutions of divalent copper perchlorate in the presence of alcohol and polyethyleneimine (PEI). The sols were in the form of spherical particles 4 nm in diameter, which were promptly oxidized by oxygen or other oxidants. The copper ions were reduced on the surface of silver sols. The optical parameters of the obtained bimetallic particles were studied. The copper ions led to the broadening and shift of the absorption bands of the silver sols to the UV region

  12. The direct determination, by differential pulse anodic-stripping voltammetry at the thin mercury-film electrode, of cadmium, lead and copper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, A.F.

    1981-01-01

    This report describes the development and application of a voltammetric procedure for the direct, simultaneous determination of cadmium, lead, and copper in three SAROC reference materials (carbonatite, magnesite, and quartz). The electrolyte was a mixture of 1 M ammonium chloride, 0,1 M citric acid, and 0,025 M ascorbic acid. No interferences were encountered from Fe(III), As(III), Sb(V), Tl(I), or In(III) at the concentrations present in the samples. Intermetallic interferences were eliminated by the use of thin mercury-film electrodes not less than 80nm thick. Limits of detection were determined by the degree to which the supporting electrolyte could be purified, and were estimated to be 10ng/g, 250ng/g, and 150ng/g for cadmium, lead, and copper respectively

  13. Effect of nanosecond UV laser irradiation on luminescence and absorption in silver- and copper-containing phosphate glasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murashov, A. A.; Sidorov, A. I.; Stoliarchuk, M. V.

    2018-03-01

    Experimental evidence is presented that nanosecond UV laser irradiation of silver- and copper-containing barium phosphate glasses leads to luminescence quenching in the visible range. Subsequent heat treatment induces an absorption in the range 350–500 nm. These effects are due to the ionisation and fragmentation of subnanometre molecular clusters by laser radiation and subsequent (heat treatment-induced) formation of nanoparticles possessing plasmon resonance. Our numerical modelling results demonstrate the feasibility of producing stable AgnCum hybrid molecular clusters in glass. Local modification of the optical properties of glass by laser light can be used for optical information recording.

  14. Wetting of refractory metals with copper base alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anikeev, E.F.; Kostikov, V.I.; Chepelenko, V.N.; Batov, V.M.

    1978-01-01

    The effect is studied of phosphorus upon the wetting of molybdenum, niobium and tantalum by an alloy of the system copper-silver (10%) as a function of contact time and phosphorus concentration. Experiments have been conducted in vacuum of 5x10 -4 mm Hg at 900 deg C. It is established that the introduction of phosphorus into a copper-silver alloy improves the wetting of molybdenum, niobium and tantalum. Formation of intermetallic compounds on the alloy-refractory metal interface can be avoided by adjusting the time of contact of the solder with molybdenum, niobium and tantalum. As a solder with 2.9% phosphorus spreads well over copper, it is suggested to use said solder for brazing copper and the investigated refractory metals in items intended for service at temperatures of up to 600 deg C

  15. Summary of Available Guidance and Best Practices for Determining Suitability of Dredged Material for Beneficial Uses

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-11-01

    Metals = arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, silver , nickel, and zinc. Use EPA 1986 Method 245.6 for mercury determinations. Methods...contaminated sediment. USEPA (1994c) evaluated grain size separation, magnetic separation, gravity separation, attrition scrubbing, and froth flotation for...Potential applications of magnetic separation at Indiana Harbor, and froth flotation at Saginaw River, showed limited application. Francingues and

  16. A Hoard of Silver Currency from Achaemenid Babylon

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reade, Julian

    1986-01-01

    Analytical appendix by M.J. Hughes and M.R. Cowell of some 25 silver items, both sheets and coins, from the hoard, includes analysis by x-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption spectroscopy. All items are of fairly good silver, with one or two parts of copper, and substantial traces of gold and a...

  17. Effect of zinc, copper and mercury on Channa marulius (Hamilton)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khangarot, B.S.

    1981-01-01

    Static bioassay acute toxicity tests of zinc, copper and mercury were conducted to determine the median lethal concentrations (LC/sub 50/S) of a freshwater telcost Channa marulius (HAM.) The 96 h LC/sub 50/ for Zn/sup 2 +/ were 25.61 mg/l; 0.90 mg/l for Cu/sup 2 +/ and 0.314 mg/l for Hg/sup 2 +/. However, these values decreased at 240 h of exposure and were: 21.09 mg Zn/sup 2 +//l; 0.66 mg Cu/sup 2 +//l; and 0.31 mg Hg/sup 2 +//l. The relative potency ratio of Zn/Hg, Zn/Cu and Cu/Hg suggests that fish were most sensitive to Hg, followed by Cu and Zn ions. The acute toxicities of mixtures of Zn/sup 2 +/-Cu/sup 2 +/; Zn/sup 2 +/-Hg/sup 2 +/; Cu/sup 2 +/-Hg/sup 2 +/ and Zu/sup 2 +/-Cu/sup 2 +/-Hg/sup 2 +/ up to 48 h of exposure were also investigated. The additive index and ranges for Zn/sup 2 +/-Cu/sup 2 +/ were -0.241 for Zn-Hg; 0.285 for Cu-Hg; and -0.542 for Zn-Cu-Hg. All the mixtures tested showed a greater than additive toxicity because index ranges overlapped zero.

  18. 1D polymeric copper(I) and dinuclear silver(I) complexes of a bidentate Schiff base ligand: synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and thermal studies

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Khalaji, A.D.; Peyghoun, S.J.; Akbari, A.; Feizi, N.; Dušek, Michal; Eigner, Václav

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 119, Sep (2016), s. 429-433 ISSN 0277-5387 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-12653S; GA MŠk LO1603 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) CZ.2.16/3.1.00/24510 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : one-dimensional polymer * copper(I) * di-nuclear complex * silver(I) * crystal structure analysis Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.926, year: 2016

  19. Surface investigation of naturally corroded gilded copper-based objects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ingo, G.M., E-mail: gabriel.ingo@ismn.cnr.it [Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISMN—CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR Roma1-Montelibretti, via Salaria Km 29.3, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo, Rome (Italy); Riccucci, C. [Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISMN—CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR Roma1-Montelibretti, via Salaria Km 29.3, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo, Rome (Italy); Lavorgna, M.; Salzano de Luna, M. [Istituto per i Polimeri, Compositi e Biomateriali—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IPCB—CNR), P.le E. Fermi 1, 80050 Portici, Napoli (Italy); Pascucci, M. [Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISMN—CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR Roma1-Montelibretti, via Salaria Km 29.3, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo, Rome (Italy); Di Carlo, G., E-mail: gabriella.dicarlo@ismn.cnr.it [Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati—Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISMN—CNR), Area della Ricerca del CNR Roma1-Montelibretti, via Salaria Km 29.3, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo, Rome (Italy)

    2016-11-30

    Highlights: • Naturally corroded Au and Ag coated Cu-based objects studied by XPS, SEM + EDS and OM. • The main degrading agents are Cl, S and P species from surrounding environment. • Metal galvanic coupling enhances corrosion phenomena. • Corrosion forms a layered patina of noble metal remains, soil components and Cu{sub 2}O. • Useful information to tailor safe cleaning and reliable conservation strategies. - Abstract: Gold and silver coated copper-based artefacts subjected to long-term natural corrosion phenomena were studied by means of the combined use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM + EDS), and optical microscopy (OM). The results allowed the identification of the chemistry and structure of the Au or Ag layers deposited by fire-gilding or mercury-silvering and the determination of the corrosion products formed due to interaction with the surrounding environment. Different degradation phenomena of the noble metal layer and copper substrate are induced by the presence of chlorine, sulphur and phosphorous and they are boosted by the metal galvanic coupling which makes gilded-metal art works unstable from a chemico-physical point of view. The SEM + EDS and OM results also suggest that particular care must be used during the removal of the encrustations and of the external corrosion products to avoid the loss of the remains of the noble layer often floating or embedded in the corrosion products. Furthermore, in order to avoid the reaction between nantokite (CuCl) and moisture the use no or low toxic inhibitors is suggested to avoid further severe degradation phenomena enhancing the long-lasting chemico-physical stability of these precious artefacts and giving them a greater chance of survival.

  20. Solvothermal syntheses and characterization of three new silver(I)/copper(I)-thioarsenates based on As{sup 2+}/As{sup 3+} ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yao, Hua-Gang, E-mail: hgyao@gdpu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458 (China); Guangdong Cosmetics Engineering & Technology Research Center, Zhongshan 528458 (China); Tang, Cheng-Fei [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458 (China); An, Yong-Lin [Department of Chemistry, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Ou, Zi-Jian; Wu, Guo-Hao; Lan, Pei; Zheng, Yi-Long [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458 (China)

    2017-02-15

    Three new silver(I)/copper(I)-thioarsenates KAgAs{sup II}S{sub 2} (1), RbCu{sub 2}As{sup III}S{sub 3} (2) and RbCu{sub 4}As{sup III}S{sub 4} (3) have been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. 1 exhibits a two-dimensional anionic network built up by As−As bond connecting the left- and right-handed helical [AgS{sub 2}]{sup 4−} chains, and represents the first examples of thioarsenates(II). The structure of 2 consists of two kinds of helical [Cu{sub 2}S{sub 3}]{sup 4–} chains linked by the arsenic atoms to form double layers with rubidium ions between the layers. Compound 3 is built up of infinite [Cu{sub 2}S{sub 2}]{sup 2–} chain and layered [Cu{sub 6}As{sub 2}S{sub 6}] linked to form a three-dimensional anionic framework, [Cu{sub 4}AsS{sub 4}]{sup –}, and containing channels in which the rubidium cations reside. The optical properties of 1–3 have been investigated by UV–vis spectroscopy. - Graphical abstract: Three new silver(I)/copper(I)-thioarsenates have been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. 1 represents the first examples of thioarsenates(II) while compounds 2 and 3 possess noncondensed pyramidal AsS{sub 3}{sup 3–} unit.

  1. Determination of mercury in food by neutron activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, S.J.S.

    1976-01-01

    Determination of mercury in food samples has been carried out by neutron activation followed by chemical separation to remove the interfering activities of copper, zinc etc. Chemical separation was carried out using anion exchange resin (DOWEX 1x8). Mercury was determined by counting 77 keV γ-rays of 197 Hg on a NaI(Tl) crystal in conjunction with a 400-channel pulse-height analyser. Levels of mercury in the following foods are tabulated: rice, wheat, pulses, millets, leafy vegetables, flower, carrot, potato, tomato, onion, chilli powder, sugar, tea leaves, milk. (T.I.)

  2. Determination of mercury in food by neutron activation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anand, S J.S. [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India). Air Monitoring Section

    1976-01-01

    Determination of mercury in food samples has been carried out by neutron activation followed by chemical separation to remove the interfering activities of copper, zinc etc. Chemical separation was carried out using anion exchange resin (DOWEX 1x8). Mercury was determined by counting 77 keV ..gamma..-rays of /sup 197/Hg on a NaI(Tl) crystal in conjunction with a 400-channel pulse-height analyser. Levels of mercury in the following foods are tabulated: rice, wheat, pulses, millets, leafy vegetables, flower, carrot, potato, tomato, onion, chilli powder, sugar, tea leaves, milk.

  3. Brazing of molybdenum- and tungsten based refractory materials with copper and graphite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boutes, J.; Falbriard, P.; Rochette, P.; Nicolas, G.

    1989-01-01

    Molybdenum and Tungsten base refractory metals and alloys have been brazed 1. to copper between 800 0 C and 900 0 C with silver base metal; 2. to graphite, with CVD coatings between 800 0 C and 900 0 C with silver base metal and between 1100 0 C and 1200 0 C with copper base metal; 3. to graphite between 800 0 C and 1100 0 C with silver or nickel base metal. The brazed joints have been characterized by micrographic observations before and after bending tests from room temperature to 800 0 C. 2 tabs., 9 figs. (Author)

  4. Mercury, arsenic and cadmium in the unfried and fried fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, S.J.S.

    1978-01-01

    Determination of mercury, arsenic and cadmium in unfried and fried fish samples has been carried out by neutron activation followed by chemical separation to remove the interfering activies of copper, zinc etc. This paper presents results of finding on losses of mercury, arsenic and cadmium in the unfried and fried fish. (author)

  5. ATP7B detoxifies silver in ciliated airway epithelial cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibricevic, Aida; Brody, Steven L.; Youngs, Wiley J.; Cannon, Carolyn L.

    2010-01-01

    Silver is a centuries-old antibiotic agent currently used to treat infected burns. The sensitivity of a wide range of drug-resistant microorganisms to silver killing suggests that it may be useful for treating refractory lung infections. Toward this goal, we previously developed a methylated caffeine silver acetate compound, SCC1, that exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against clinical strains of bacteria in vitro and when nebulized to lungs in mouse infection models. Preclinical testing of high concentrations of SCC1 in primary culture mouse tracheal epithelial cells (mTEC) showed selective ciliated cell death. Ciliated cell death was induced by both silver- and copper-containing compounds but not by the methylated caffeine portion of SCC1. We hypothesized that copper transporting P-type ATPases, ATP7A and ATP7B, play a role in silver detoxification in the airway. In mTEC, ATP7A was expressed in non-ciliated cells, whereas ATP7B was expressed only in ciliated cells. The exposure of mTEC to SCC1 induced the trafficking of ATP7B, but not ATP7A, suggesting the presence of a cell-specific silver uptake and detoxification mechanisms. Indeed, the expression of the copper uptake protein CTR1 was also restricted to ciliated cells. A role of ATP7B in silver detoxification was further substantiated when treatment of SCC1 significantly increased cell death in ATP7B shRNA-treated HepG2 cells. In addition, mTEC from ATP7B -/- mice showed enhanced loss of ciliated cells compared to wild type. These studies are the first to demonstrate a cell type-specific expression of the Ag + /Cu + transporters ATP7A, ATP7B, and CTR1 in airway epithelial cells and a role for ATP7B in detoxification of these metals in the lung.

  6. Environmental legacy of copper metallurgy and Mongol silver smelting recorded in Yunnan Lake sediments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillman, Aubrey L; Abbott, Mark B; Yu, JunQing; Bain, Daniel J; Chiou-Peng, TzeHuey

    2015-03-17

    Geochemical measurements on well-dated sediment cores from Lake Er (Erhai) are used to determine the timing of changes in metal concentrations over 4500 years in Yunnan, a borderland region in southwestern China noted for rich mineral deposits but with inadequately documented metallurgical history. Our findings add new insight into the impacts and environmental legacy of human exploitation of metal resources in Yunnan history. We observe an increase in copper at 1500 BC resulting from atmospheric emissions associated with metallurgy. These data clarify the chronological issues related to links between the onset of Yunnan metallurgy and the advent of bronze technology in adjacent Southeast Asia, subjects that have been debated for nearly half a century. We also observe an increase from 1100 to 1300 AD in a number of heavy metals including lead, silver, zinc, and cadmium from atmospheric emissions associated with silver smelting. Culminating during the rule of the Mongols, known as the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), these metal concentrations approach levels three to four times higher than those from industrialized mining activity occurring within the catchment today. Notably, the concentrations of lead approach levels at which harmful effects may be observed in aquatic organisms. The persistence of this lead pollution over time created an environmental legacy that likely contributes to known issues in modern day sediment quality. We demonstrate that historic metallurgical production in Yunnan can cause substantial impacts on the sediment quality of lake systems, similar to other paleolimnological findings around the globe.

  7. The development of a graphite to copper joint for injector diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, D.

    1975-09-01

    A successful method of joining soft graphite to copper, to achieve a high thermal conductivity joint, is described, together with initial attempts and the difficulties experienced. The graphite, after an initial treatment, was flame sprayed with copper. The main copper-to-graphite joint was of silver solder. (U.K.)

  8. Silver surface enrichment controlled by simultaneous RBS for reliable PIXE analysis of ancient coins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beck, L.; Alloin, E.; Berthier, C.; Reveillon, S.; Costa, V.

    2008-01-01

    Evidence of silver surface enrichment of ancient silver-copper coins has been pointed out in the past years. Surface enrichment can be fortuitous or intentional. In this paper, we have investigated the cleaning procedures usually performed after excavation or in museums. We have shown that chemicals or commercial products routinely used dissolve preferentially the copper phase and consequently contribute to the silver surface enrichment. As a result, surface analyses such as PIXE or XRF can be strongly affected by this effect. By using simultaneously RBS and PIXE, it is possible to check through the silver surface enrichment and then select the reliable measurements, characteristic of the bulk composition. Results on coins recently discovered and mechanically or chemically cleaned are presented

  9. Silver(I) and copper(I) complexes with the closo-decaborate anion B10H102- as a ligand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinina, E.A.; Zhizhin, K.Yu.; Polyakova, I.N.; Lisovskij, M.V.; Kuznetsov, N.T.

    2002-01-01

    Studying the process of silver(I) and copper(I) complexing with closo-borate anion B 10 H 10 2- it is determined that the last can to play a role of intraspherical ligand forming stable coordination compounds of two types: Cat[MB 10 H 10 ] and [M 2 B 10 H 10 ] (M=Ag(I), Cu(I)). In these compounds the bond metal-boron skeleton is realized by means of formation of three-center bonds M-H-B. Structure of the complexes Cs[AgB 10 H 10 ] and [(C 2 H 5 ) 3 NH][AgB 10 H 10 ] and possible mechanism of their formation are discussed [ru

  10. Dispersion of silver particles in aqueous solutions visualized by polarography/voltammetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korshunov, Andrey [Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk (Russian Federation); Heyrovsky, Michael [J.Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejskova 3, 182 23 Prague (Czech Republic)], E-mail: heyrovsk@jh-inst.cas.cz

    2009-11-01

    The State of silver particles in aqueous dispersions and the course of their coagulation can be followed on voltammetric curves recorded with hanging mercury drop electrode. Sharp irregular cathodic current peaks produced by partial electroreduction of the species adsorbed on the surface of silver particles during their fortuitous impingements upon the electrode surface appear in time sequence on the curves. A change in the electrochemical behavior of silver sols in the time course of particles aggregation and growth was interpreted in agreement with the data of UV-vis spectroscopy and electron microscopy observations.

  11. Determination of microquantities of silver in platinum by isotope dilution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yedinakova, V.; Sladkovska, Y.

    1980-01-01

    A method is described for determining microquantities of silver in platinum. It is based on isotope dilution by means of substoichiometric extraction of dithizonates with carbon tetrachloride. The determination of silver according to this technique is not interfered by zinc or gold in quantities exceeding the silver content by one order of magnitude nor by a great excess of platinum. In the presence of copper the addition of complexon is necessary. (author)

  12. Mixed moderate thermophilic bioleaching of Cu, Mo and Re from molybdenite concentrate: effects of silver ion, medium and energy sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Abdollahi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluates the effects of different additives such as silver ion, medium and energy sources on the efficiency of mixed moderate thermophilic bioleaching approach to extract Cu, Mo and Re from molybdenite concentrate containing 0.98% Cu, 1.56% Fe, 53.84% Mo, and 0.055% Re. Molybdenite was the major phase of Mo-bearing mineral and chalcopyrite, covellite and pyrite were distinguished as minor phases. The higher copper extraction was obtained in tests with silver additives in all types and quantities rather than tests without silver ion. Kinetic of copper dissolution varied in these experiments and depended on the types and amounts of silver, and other supplemented additives such as ferric ion. There was no clear difference in the copper extraction by various culture media and 100% of Cu was dissolved after 30 days of treatment, using 50 mg/L of silver nitrate as additives. In the best condition and without silver additives, maximum 60% of copper was extracted even in the presence of energy sources such as sulfur, ferrous and ferric ions. In the most effective test with initial pH 1.57, 50 mg/L silver nitrate, and 50 g/L ferric sulfate, 100% of copper was dissolved in less than a week with highest kinetics rate. Molybdenum and rhenium extraction had the same tends with redox potential graph. By increasing the redox potential to the 550-600mV, molybdenite started to dissolve and finally, molybdenum and rhenium were extracted 2% and 9.53% in the best condition; respectively.

  13. Copper welding in solid phase; Svarka medi v tverdoj faze

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avagyan, V Sh

    1993-12-31

    An analysis of the publications on the technology of diffusion welding of copper in solid phase is carried out. The aspects of diffusion welding of copper with silver, aluminium, nickels, chromium, titanium, stainless steel and refractory metals are considered 35 refs.

  14. Recycling of copper used in fusion power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forty, C.B.A.; Butterworth, G.J.; Turner, A.D.; Junkison, A.J.

    1997-04-01

    One of the major safety and environmental advantages of fusion power is a limited waste management burden on future generations. In this connection, the ability to recycle end-of-service materials from fusion power plant is beneficial both in terms of the conservation of natural resources and the minimisation of the volumes of activated wastes. After 100 years, the residual activity of near-plasma copper components exceeds that permitted for free release or contact handling. The presence of silver as a common impurity in copper may exacerbate this problem, through generation of 108m Ag. Removal of the silver impurity in a separate refining step prior to use of the copper in a fusion plant obviates the problems associated with formation of 108m Ag. Two alternative desilveration processes have been demonstrated; one involving the segregation of silver as AgBr and the other the absorption of Ag + by ion exchange. The present study demonstrates that conventional electrorefining techniques can be adapted to recover used copper in a single refining stage, with sufficient decontamination to permit its reuse in fusion power plants or, with a second stage, unrestricted release. Shielding requirements for the processing of scrap copper in conventional hot cells indicate a decay storage period of 50-100 years. To maximise the cost of savings of reclamation over direct geological disposal, the activation products may be separated out and disposed of in a metallic form. A substantial reduction in the overall volume of active waste should thus be achievable, especially if supercompaction can be applied to the product. (Author)

  15. Recycling of copper used in fusion power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butterworth, G.J.; Forty, C.B.A.

    1998-01-01

    One of the major safety and environmental advantages of fusion power is a limited waste management burden on future generations. In this connection, the ability to recycle end-of-service materials from fusion power plants is beneficial both in terms of the conservation of natural resources and the minimisation of the volume of activated wastes. After 100 years, the residual activity of near-plasma copper components exceeds that permitted for free release or contact handling. The presence of silver as a common impurity in copper may exacerbate this problem, through generation of 108m Ag. Removal of the silver impurity in a separate refining step prior to use of the copper in a fusion plant obviates the problems associated with formation of 108m Ag. Two alternative desilverisation processes have been demonstrated; one involving the segregation of silver as AgBr and the other the absorption of Ag + by ion exchange. The present study demonstrates that conventional electrorefining techniques can be adapted to recover used copper in a single refining stage, with sufficient decontamination to permit its reuse in fusion power plants or, with a second stage, unrestricted release. Shielding requirements for the processing of scrap copper in conventional hot cells indicate a decay storage period of 50-100 years. To maximise the cost savings of reclamation over direct geological disposal, the activation products may be separated out and disposed of in a metallic form. A substantial reduction in the overall volume of active waste should thus be achievable, especially if supercompaction can be applied to the product. (orig.)

  16. Polarographic determination of selenium and tellurium in silver-gold alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gornostaeva, T.D.; Shmargun, S.V.

    1986-01-01

    The determination of selenium and tellurium is of importance in monitoring the composition of silver-gold alloys (SGA) since these elements are harmful impurities in the pure metals. Tellurium is determined in silver alloys by atomic absorption and atomic emmission methods; selenium determination is made by atomic absorption methods. This paper examines the polarographic determination of silver and tellurium in SGA containing platinum metals and copper. Copper and the bulk of the platinum and palladium were removed by precipitating selenium and tellurium with potassium hypophosphite in the elementary state from 6 M HC1. The results of an analysis of samples of SGA according to the proposed method were compared with the results obtained by the atomic absorption method. the relative deviation in the determination of 0.02-1.0% by weight selenium and tellurium does not exceed 0.12 (n = 5)

  17. The mineralogical characterization of tellurium in copper anodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, T. T.; Dutrizac, J. E.

    1993-12-01

    A mineralogical study of a «normal» commercial copper anode and six tellurium-rich copper anodes from the CCR Refinery of the Noranda Copper Smelting and Refining Company was carried out to identify the tellurium carriers and their relative abundances. In all the anodes, the major tellurium carrier is the Cu2Se-Cu2Te phase which occurs as a constituent of complex inclusions at the copper grain boundaries. In tellurium-rich anodes, the molar tellurium content of the Cu2Se-Cu2Te phase can exceed that of selenium. Although >85 pct of the tellurium occurs as the Cu2Se-Cu2Te phase, minor amounts are present in Cu-Pb-As-Bi-Sb oxide, Cu-Bi-As oxide, and Cu-Te-As oxide phases which form part of the grain-boundary inclusions. About 1 pct of the tellurium content of silver-rich anodes occurs in various silver alloys, but gold tellurides were never detected. Surprising is the fact that 2 to 8 pct of the total tellurium content of the anodes occurs in solid solution in the copper-metal matrix, and presumably, this form of tellurium dissolves at the anode interface during electrorefining.

  18. Solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire anodes for organic solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Ian E.; Rathmell, Aaron R.; Yan, Liang; Ye, Shengrong; Flowers, Patrick F.; You, Wei; Wiley, Benjamin J.

    2014-05-01

    This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%.This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01024h

  19. Principles for prevention of toxic effects from metals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Landrigan, Philip J.; Kotelchuk, David; Grandjean, Philippe

    2007-01-01

    of the Toxic Effects of Metals Aluminum Antimony Arsenic Barium Beryllium Bismuth Cadmium Chromium Cobalt Copper Gallium and Semiconductor Compounds Germanium Indium Iron Lead Manganese Mercury Molybdenum Nickel Palladium Platinum Selenium Silver Tellurium Thallium Tin Titanium Tungsten Uranium Vanadium Zinc...

  20. Electrical properties of polyimides containing a near-surface deposit of silver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rancourt, J. D.; Porta, G. M.; Taylor, L. T.

    1987-01-01

    Films containing a surface or near-surface deposit of palladium, gold or copper metal as well as tin, cobalt, copper, or lithium oxides have been prepared by dissolving appropriate metal salts into poly(amide-acid)/N,N-dimethylacetamide solutions and curing the solvent cast films to temperatures up to 300 C. This preparation technique has been extended to evaluate the thermal, spectroscopic, and electrical characteristics of condensation polyimide films modified with silver nitrate. A near-surface deposit of metallic silver results but the reflective surface has high electrical resistivity (sheet resistivity) due to a polymer coating or overlayer above the metal. Details pertaining to the silver nitrate modified condensation polyimides are presented. Also, the applicability of the structural model and electrical model previously proposed for the cobalt oxide system are assessed.

  1. Laser-Induced, Local Oxidation of Copper Nanoparticle Films During Raman Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hight Walker, Angela R.; Cheng, Guangjun; Calizo, Irene

    2011-03-01

    The optical properties of gold and silver nanoparticles and their films have been thoroughly investigated as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates and chemical reaction promoters. Similar to gold and silver nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles exhibit distinct plasmon absorptions in the visible region. The work on copper nanoparticles and their films is limited due to their oxidization in air. However, their high reactivity actually provides an opportunity to exploit the laser-induced thermal effect and chemical reactions of these nanoparticles. Here, we present our investigation of the local oxidation of a copper nanoparticle film induced by a visible laser source during Raman spectroscopic measurements. The copper nanoparticle film is prepared by drop-casting chemically synthesized copper colloid onto silicon oxide/silicon substrate. The local oxidation induced by visible lasers in Raman spectroscopy is monitored with the distinct scattering peaks for copper oxides. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been used to characterize the laser-induced morphological changes in the film. The results of this oxidation process with different excitation wavelengths and different laser powers will be presented.

  2. Photochemical Synthesis and Properties of Colloidal Copper, Silver and Gold Adsorbed on Quartz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loginov, Anatoliy V.; Gorbunova, Valentina V.; Boitsova, Tatiana B.

    2002-01-01

    Original methods for the photochemical production of stable copper, silver and gold colloids in the form of films on quartz, and dispersion in liquids were devised. It is shown that photochemical synthesis of colloidal metals is a difficult multiphase process, and includes the formation of low-valence forms of Cu(I), Au(I) and nonmetal clusters, colloidal particles and their agglomerates. Cluster stabilization and further growth to colloidal particles are achieved by adsorption onto the solid surface (quartz) or by increasing the viscosity of photolyte. In the absence of these methods of stabilization, the processes of intermediate reoxidation to Cu(II) and Au(III) and agglomeration of Ag and Au colloids proceed in a photolyte. Adsorption and the rate of cluster growth on a quartz surface are speeded up by the action of monochromatic UV light. Experimental models of the mechanism of colloidal formation are suggested. The dependence of the growth rate and the properties of the colloids on conditions of the photochemical procedure (energy and light intensity, concentration of initial complex) has been established

  3. Mercury content in amalgam tattoos of human oral mucosa and its relation to local tissue reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forsell, M.; Larsson, B.; Ljungqvist, A.; Carlmark, B.; Johansson, O

    1998-02-01

    Mucosal biopsies from 48 patients with and 9 without amalgam tattoos were analysed with respect to their mercury content, distribution of mercury in the tissue, and histological tissue reactions. The distribution of mercury was assessed by auto-metallography (AMG), a silver amplification technique. The mercury content was determined by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), a multielemental analysis. Mercury was observed in connective tissue where it was confined to fibroblasts and macrophages, in vessel walls and in structures with the histological character of nerve fibres. A correlation was found between the histopathological tissue reaction, the type of mercury deposition, the intensity of the AMG reaction, and the mercury content. Mercury was also found in patients with amalgam dental fittings but without amalgam tattoos. (au) 24 refs.

  4. Mercury content in amalgam tattoos of human oral mucosa and its relation to local tissue reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forsell, M.; Larsson, B.; Ljungqvist, A.; Carlmark, B.; Johansson, O.

    1998-01-01

    Mucosal biopsies from 48 patients with and 9 without amalgam tattoos were analysed with respect to their mercury content, distribution of mercury in the tissue, and histological tissue reactions. The distribution of mercury was assessed by auto-metallography (AMG), a silver amplification technique. The mercury content was determined by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), a multielemental analysis. Mercury was observed in connective tissue where it was confined to fibroblasts and macrophages, in vessel walls and in structures with the histological character of nerve fibres. A correlation was found between the histopathological tissue reaction, the type of mercury deposition, the intensity of the AMG reaction, and the mercury content. Mercury was also found in patients with amalgam dental fittings but without amalgam tattoos. (au)

  5. Colorimetric detection of trace copper ions based on catalytic leaching of silver-coated gold nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Tingting; Chen, Lingxin; Chen, Zhaopeng; Wang, Yunqing; Chen, Ling; Li, Jinhua

    2011-11-01

    A colorimetric, label-free, and nonaggregation-based silver coated gold nanoparticles (Ag/Au NPs) probe has been developed for detection of trace Cu(2+) in aqueous solution, based on the fact that Cu(2+) can accelerate the leaching rate of Ag/Au NPs by thiosulfate (S(2)O(3)(2-)). The leaching of Ag/Au NPs would lead to dramatic decrease in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption as the size of Ag/Au NPs decreased. This colorimetric strategy based on size-dependence of nanoparticles during their leaching process provided a highly sensitive (1.0 nM) and selective detection toward Cu(2+), with a wide linear detection range (5-800 nM) over nearly 3 orders of magnitude. The cost-effective probe allows rapid and sensitive detection of trace Cu(2+) ions in water samples, indicating its potential applicability for the determination of copper in real samples.

  6. Sensitive voltammetric method for determination of herbicide triasulfuron using silver solid amalgam electrode

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bandžuchová, L.; Šelešovská, R.; Navrátil, Tomáš; Chýlková, J.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 113, DEC 2013 (2013), s. 1-8 ISSN 0013-4686 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP208/12/1645 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0021 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : Triasulfuron * Hanging mercury drop electrode * Mercury meniscus modified silver solid amalgam electrode Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 4.086, year: 2013

  7. On the mechanical and electrical properties of copper-silver and copper-silver-zirconium alloys deposits manufactured by cold spray

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coddet, Pierre, E-mail: pierre-laurent.coddet@univ-orleans.fr [Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses (LNCMI – CNRS-UPS-INSA-UJF), 25 Rue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble (France); Verdy, Christophe; Coddet, Christian [UTBM, Site de Sévenans, 90010 Belfort Cedex (France); Debray, François [Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses (LNCMI – CNRS-UPS-INSA-UJF), 25 Rue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble (France)

    2016-04-26

    In this work, several copper alloy deposits were manufactured by cold spray with helium as accelerating and carrier gas. Electrical conductivity was measured to establish the potential of cold spray as a manufacturing process for high strength (>500 MPa) and high conductivity (>90% IACS) copper alloys. The deposits which are characterized by a low oxygen content (<200 ppm) and a low porosity level (<0.1%) present yield strength values up to about 700 MPa and electrical conductivity values up to 58.2 MS/m (100.3% IACS). Results show that, even if a compromise has to be made between the properties according to the objectives of the application, this additive manufacturing route appears suitable for the production of large copper alloys parts with high mechanical properties and high electrical and thermal conductivity. The role of alloy composition and post heat treatments on the strength and conductivity of the deposits was especially considered in this work. Cold spray deposits properties were finally compared with those obtained with other manufacturing routes.

  8. On the mechanical and electrical properties of copper-silver and copper-silver-zirconium alloys deposits manufactured by cold spray

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coddet, Pierre; Verdy, Christophe; Coddet, Christian; Debray, François

    2016-01-01

    In this work, several copper alloy deposits were manufactured by cold spray with helium as accelerating and carrier gas. Electrical conductivity was measured to establish the potential of cold spray as a manufacturing process for high strength (>500 MPa) and high conductivity (>90% IACS) copper alloys. The deposits which are characterized by a low oxygen content (<200 ppm) and a low porosity level (<0.1%) present yield strength values up to about 700 MPa and electrical conductivity values up to 58.2 MS/m (100.3% IACS). Results show that, even if a compromise has to be made between the properties according to the objectives of the application, this additive manufacturing route appears suitable for the production of large copper alloys parts with high mechanical properties and high electrical and thermal conductivity. The role of alloy composition and post heat treatments on the strength and conductivity of the deposits was especially considered in this work. Cold spray deposits properties were finally compared with those obtained with other manufacturing routes.

  9. Thermal cycling tests of actively cooled beryllium copper joints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roedig, M.; Duwe, R.; Linke, J.; Schuster, A.; Wiechers, B. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany)

    1998-01-01

    Screening tests (steady state heating) and thermal fatigue tests with several kinds of beryllium-copper joints have been performed in an electron beam facility. Joining techniques under investigation were brazing with silver containing and silver-free braze materials, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and diffusion bonding (hot pressing). Best thermal fatigue performance was found for the brazed samples. (author)

  10. Ethylene Receptor 1 (ETR1) Is Sufficient and Has the Predominant Role in Mediating Inhibition of Ethylene Responses by Silver in Arabidopsis thaliana*

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Brittany K.; Binder, Brad M.

    2012-01-01

    Ethylene influences many processes in Arabidopsis thaliana through the action of five receptor isoforms. All five isoforms use copper as a cofactor for binding ethylene. Previous research showed that silver can substitute for copper as a cofactor for ethylene binding activity in the ETR1 ethylene receptor yet also inhibit ethylene responses in plants. End-point and rapid kinetic analyses of dark-grown seedling growth revealed that the effects of silver are mostly dependent upon ETR1, and ETR1 alone is sufficient for the effects of silver. Ethylene responses in etr1-6 etr2-3 ein4-4 triple mutants were not blocked by silver. Transformation of these triple mutants with cDNA for each receptor isoform under the promoter control of ETR1 revealed that the cETR1 transgene completely rescued responses to silver while the cETR2 transgene failed to rescue these responses. The other three isoforms partially rescued responses to silver. Ethylene binding assays on the binding domains of the five receptor isoforms expressed in yeast showed that silver supports ethylene binding to ETR1 and ERS1 but not the other isoforms. Thus, silver may have an effect on ethylene signaling outside of the ethylene binding pocket of the receptors. Ethylene binding to ETR1 with silver was ∼30% of binding with copper. However, alterations in the Kd for ethylene binding to ETR1 and the half-time of ethylene dissociation from ETR1 do not underlie this lower binding. Thus, it is likely that the lower ethylene binding activity of ETR1 with silver is due to fewer ethylene binding sites generated with silver versus copper. PMID:22692214

  11. Effects of combinative surface modification on the stability and conductivity of the copper particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, Yike; Li, Tongtong; Fu, Ming; Jiang, Shenglin; Zhang, Guangzu

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A combinative method is used to improve the performance of the copper powder. • The method integrates passivation, silver-coating, and coupling agent treatment. • The stability of the copper powder has been improved after the modification. • The sheet resistance of the conductive film is reduced to 15 mΩ. -- Abstract: The specific goal of the present study is to evaluate the surface performance of the copper particles and get excellent copper powder by surface modification. This paper proposes a combinative modification method integrating passivation, silver-coated, and coupling agent. As a result, after 600 h at room temperature the copper powder has the stabilization improved and is well combined with organic matters, and the sheet resistance of the film fabricated by the copper conductive filler is reduced to 15 mΩ. The performance of the copper powder has been greatly enhanced by the combinative modification, and the cost of the copper conductive filler is decreased significantly by this method. The results indicate that the combinative surface modification method can be used for practical electronic application

  12. Biological Mechanism of Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Najealicka Nicole

    Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), like almost all nanoparticles, are potentially toxic beyond a certain concentration because the survival of the organism is compromised due to scores of pathophysiological abnormalities above that concentration. However, the mechanism of AgNP toxicity remains undetermined. Instead of applying a toxic dose, these investigations were attempted to monitor the effects of AgNPs at a non-lethal concentration on wild type Drosophila melanogaster by exposing them to nanoparticles throughout their development. All adult flies raised in AgNP doped food indicated that of not more than 50 mg/L had no negative influence on median survival; however, these flies appeared uniformly lighter in body color due to the loss of melanin pigments in their cuticle. Additionally, fertility and vertical movement ability were compromised after AgNP feeding. The determination of the amount of free ionic silver (Ag+) indicated that the observed biological effects had resulted from the AgNPs and not from Ag+. Biochemical analysis suggests that the activity of copper dependent enzymes, namely tyrosinase and Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase, were decreased significantly following the consumption of AgNPs, despite the constant level of copper present in the tissue. Furthermore, copper supplementation restored the loss of AgNP induced demelanization, and the reduction of functional Ctr1 in Ctr1 heterozygous mutants caused the flies to be resistant to demelanization. Consequently, these studies proposed a mechanism whereby consumption of excess AgNPs in association with membrane bound copper transporter proteins cause sequestration of copper, thus creating a condition that resembles copper starvation. This model also explained the cuticular demelanization effect resulting from AgNP since tyrosinase activity is essential for melanin biosynthesis. Finally, these investigations demonstrated that Drosophila, an established genetic model system, can be well utilized for further

  13. Technical feasibility of using silver and copper ions electro generated in the microbiological control of cooling systems; Factibilidad tecnica para emplear iones plata y cobre electrogenerados en el control microbiologico de los sistemas de enfriamiento

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Susana M; Martinez Meza, Esteban; Alvarez Gallegos, Alberto [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Temixco, Morelos (Mexico)

    2001-07-01

    The objective of this work is to determine the technical feasibility of replacing the chlorine use by another biocida (ionization of silver or copper) non dangerous in cooling waters. This technique of ionization could be used to treat the water of industrial processes in general. The used water came from the make up water of the cooling system of the Thermoelectric Power Station of Valle de Mexico (CTEVM) and residual water of the treatment plants of the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua (IMTA) (Mexican Institute of WaterTechnology) and the Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas (IIE). The three types of water used have similar physical, chemical and biological characteristics. The used methodology was the jar tests and by continuous system. The bacteriological analysis is indicated reaching the conclusion. The metallic systems studied in the establishment of the microbiological control in the residual water and make up water are silver, silver/copper and copper in the concentration intervals of 200 mg/l to 3000 mg/l of silver and 200 mg/l to 1200 mg/l of copper. The experiments performed in the jar tests (closed system) were carried out at two temperatures (25 {+-} 0.5 and 32 {+-} 0.5 ) without pH control; whereas in the continuous system the pH was maintained in the pH interval of 7 to 8 by means of the sulfuric acid addition and a delta temperature of 10 was maintained (27 {+-} 5 ). The pH, the conductivity and the temperature were continuously measured. Graphs are shown on the effect silver/copper ions on the annihilation of total coliform bacteria and fecal coliforms the effect of the concentration of the silver metallic ion is given as a figure on the annihilation of bacteria related to iron. It is possible to conclude that the plant systems studied of silver/copper and copper turned out to be a good alternative with a minimum environmental impact to replace chlorine in the cooling systems. These systems managed microbiologically to lower the

  14. Certification of Trace Elements and Methyl Mercury Mass Fractions in IAEA-470 Oyster Sample

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-01-01

    This publication describes the production of the IAEA-470 certified reference material, which was produced following ISO Guide 34:2009, General Requirements for the Competence of Reference Materials Producers. A sample of approximately 10 kg of dried oysters was taken from oysters collected, dissected and freeze-dried by the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute, and was further processed at the IAEA Environment Laboratories to produce a certified reference material. The sample contained certified mass fractions for arsenic, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, methyl mercury, rubidium, selenium, silver, sodium, strontium, vanadium and zinc. The produced vials containing the processed oyster sample were carefully capped and stored for further certification studies. Between-unit homogeneity and stability during dispatch and storage were quantified in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006, Reference Materials - General and Statistical Principles for Certification. The material was characterized by laboratories with demonstrated competence and adhering to ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Uncertainties of the certified values were calculated in compliance with the guide to the Expression of Uncerdainty in Measurement (JCGM 100:2008), including uncertainty associated with heterogeneity and instability of the material, and with the characterization itself. The material is intended for the quality control and assessment of method performance. As with any reference material, it can also be used for control charts or validation studies

  15. Determination of 5-nitroindazole using silver solid amalgam electrode

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Nováková, Kateřina; Hrdlička, V.; Navrátil, Tomáš; Vyskočil, V.; Barek, J.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 146, č. 5 (2015), s. 761-769 ISSN 0026-9247 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP208/12/1645 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : 5-nitroindazole * hanging mercury drop electrode * silver sold amalgam electrode Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 1.131, year: 2015

  16. On the problem of soldering refractory metals with silver-containing solders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anikeev, E.F.; Andryushchenko, V.I.; Chepelenko, V.N.; Batov, V.M.

    1981-01-01

    The processes of wetting, spreading and interphase interactions of copper-silver liquid alloys alloyed with Ni and Si, with niobium, tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, 12Kh18N10T steel and nickel are studied. It has been determined that Ni or Si additions into the copper-silver solder improve the wetting and adhesion. When soldering with the alloy containing Ni additions, the strength of a soldered Joint grows with the increase of soldering duration while soldering with the alloy containing Si additions, the strength decreases. That is why Ni-containing solders are preferable for soldering thick-walled structures, and Si-containing solders - for thin-walled structures [ru

  17. Biological recovery of metals, sulfur and water in the mining and metallurgical industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weijma, J.; Copini, C.F.M.; Buisman, C.J.N.; Schultz, C.E.

    2002-01-01

    Metals of particular interest in acid mine drainage and industrial wastewaters include copper, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, manganese, aluminum, lead, nickel, silver, mercury, chromium, uranium and iron, in a concentration that can range from 106 to 102 g/l. The composition of such wastewater reflects

  18. The wealth of Tajikistan bowels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baratov, R.

    1989-01-01

    There are more than 350 deposits discover and explore now on the territory of Tajikistan, about 100 from which develop by industry. There are 36 kinds of minerals are mining. The Tajikistan bowels have lead, zinc, copper, antimony, mercury, gold, silver, tungsten, molybdenum, bismuth, iron

  19. Millennial mercury records derived from ornithogenic sediment on Dongdao Island, South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hong; Wang, Yuhong; Cheng, Wenhan; Sun, Liguang

    2011-01-01

    Two ornithogenic sediment cores, which have a time span of 1000 years and are influenced by red-footed booby (Sula sula), were collected from Dongdao Islands, South China Sea. The determined mercury concentrations of the two cores show similar and substantial fluctuations during the past millennium, and the fluctuations are most likely caused by the changes in mercury level of the ocean environment and in anthropogenic Hg emission. For the past 500 years, the mercury concentration in the red-footed booby excrement has a striking association with global anthropogenic mercury emission. The mercury concentration increased rapidly after AD 1600 in corresponding to beginning of the unparalleled gold and silver mining in South Central America that left a large volume of anthropogenic mercury pollution. Since the Industrial Revolution, the mercury level has increased at a fast pace, very likely caused by modern coal combustion, chlor-alkali and oil refining industries. The comparison of mercury profiles from different places on earth suggested that anthropogenic mercury pollution after the Industrial Revolution is more severe in Northern Hemisphere than in Antarctica.

  20. Characterization of copper resistant ciliates: Potential candidates for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-08-17

    Aug 17, 2011 ... algae (Rehman and Shakoori, 2001), yeast (Shakoori et al., 2005) ... organisms, this study was undertaken to determine the efficiency of ...... copper, mercury and zinc to ciliates from activated sludge plants. Bull. Environ.

  1. Interaction of Silver Nanopowder with Cooper Substrate

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sopoušek, J.; Buršík, Jiří; Zálešák, J.; Buršíková, V.; Brož, P.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 43, - (2011), s. 33-38 ISSN 0350-820X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA106/09/0700 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20410507 Keywords : silver * copper * sintering Subject RIV: JG - Metallurgy Impact factor: 0.274, year: 2011

  2. Optical Properties and Microstructure of Silver-Copper Nanoparticles Synthesized by Pulsed Laser Deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirai, Makoto; Kumar, Ashok

    2007-12-01

    Utilizing a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, silver-copper (Ag-Cu) nanoparticles have been synthesized by changing the surface area ratio of the target ( S R = S Cu/( S Ag + S Cu)) from 0 to 30%. The peak absorption attributed to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) increased when increasing S R up to 15%, above which it decreased. The peak shifts seem to be induced by the changes in the conductivity and morphology of the Ag-Cu nanoparticles. Additionally, the interplanar spacings of the Ag-Cu nanoparticles prepared at S R = 15% corresponded to the Ag {111}, {200}, {220}, and Cu {111} planes. However, since the interplanar spacings attributed to the Cu {200} and {220} planes were not detected, the Ag-Cu nanoparticles were believed to possess a lattice constant ( a) close not to the Cu phase ( a = 3.615 Å) but to the Ag phase ( a = 4.086 Å). Moreover, confirming the presence of Cu atoms in the nanoparticles using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra, Ag-Cu nanoparticles may be a solid solution in which Cu atoms partially replace Ag atoms in the fcc structure.

  3. Multifunctional nanocomposites of chitosan, silver nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes for water treatment: Antimicrobial characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morsi, Rania E; Alsabagh, Ahmed M; Nasr, Shimaa A; Zaki, Manal M

    2017-04-01

    Multifunctional nanocomposites of chitosan with silver nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes either as bi- or multifunctional nanocomposites were prepared. Change in the overall morphology of the prepared nanocomposites was observed; carbon nanotubes, Ag NPs and Cu NPs are distributed homogeneously inside the polymer matrix individually in the case of the bi-nanocomposites while a combination of different dimensional shapes; spherical NPs and nanotubes was observed in the multifunctional nanocomposite. Multifunctional nanocomposites has a higher antimicrobial activity, in relative short contact times, against both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria; E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus; respectively in addition to the fungal strain; Aspergillus flavus isolated from local wastewater sample. The nanocomposites are highly differentiable at the low contact time and low concentration; 1% concentration of the multifunctional nanocomposite is very effective against the tested microbes at contact time of only 10min. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Microstructure stability of silver electrodeposits at room temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hansen, Karsten; Pantleon, Karen

    2008-01-01

    In situ quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis was used to investigate the kinetics of microstructure evolution at room temperature (self-annealing) in an electrodeposited silver layer. As a function of time at room temperature the as-deposited nanocrystalline microstructure evolved considerably: orientation-dependent grain growth and changes of the preferred grain orientation occurred. It is demonstrated for the first time that self-annealing occurs for electrodeposited silver layers and, hence, is not a unique feature of copper as often suggested

  5. Mercury removal sorbents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alptekin, Gokhan

    2016-03-29

    Sorbents and methods of using them for removing mercury from flue gases over a wide range of temperatures are disclosed. Sorbent materials of this invention comprise oxy- or hydroxyl-halogen (chlorides and bromides) of manganese, copper and calcium as the active phase for Hg.sup.0 oxidation, and are dispersed on a high surface porous supports. In addition to the powder activated carbons (PACs), this support material can be comprised of commercial ceramic supports such as silica (SiO.sub.2), alumina (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), zeolites and clays. The support material may also comprise of oxides of various metals such as iron, manganese, and calcium. The non-carbon sorbents of the invention can be easily injected into the flue gas and recovered in the Particulate Control Device (PCD) along with the fly ash without altering the properties of the by-product fly ash enabling its use as a cement additive. Sorbent materials of this invention effectively remove both elemental and oxidized forms of mercury from flue gases and can be used at elevated temperatures. The sorbent combines an oxidation catalyst and a sorbent in the same particle to both oxidize the mercury and then immobilize it.

  6. Design of Automatic Electroplating of Copper with Silver%铜件镀银生产线电机自动驱动系统设计

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    贾宇向; 张磊

    2017-01-01

    The traditional semi-automatic electroplating line in processing copper-based parts has low degree of automation,low time control precision,uneven thickness of silver coating,low density,conductivity and brightness.Automatic driving system of copper-based silver plating process was designed.Various factors were set up including different activation,silver leaching,silver plating and passivation time,respectively.Different extraction time were controlled by the thickness of silver coating,conductivity and brightness.The optimized control time was used as basis for the system hardware and automatic parameters.Software process mainly adopted combined intelligent PID and single neuron control algorithm.The experimental results show that the proposed linear motor drive system design can accurately control the time and precise positioning and improve the conductivity of the coating and the level of light intensity.%传统半自动电镀生产线在铜件表面镀银过程中,由于自动化程度较低,对各工艺环节的时间控制精度差,导致银镀层厚度、致密度、电导率和光亮度指标不稳定.设计一种铜件镀银生产线中直线电机自动驱动系统,首先设定不同的活化、浸银和电镀银等工序的时间,进行实验,提取不同时间下银镀层的厚度、电导率和光亮度指标;通过对比,选取各工序最优的控制时间,作为直线电机自动驱动系统硬件和参数设定的依据;软件流程采用智能PLC与单神经元控制相结合的算法,实现铜件表面镀银过程的自动化控制.实验证明,该设计系统能够精确的控制时间并精准定位,改善银镀层电导率和光亮度.

  7. Determination of silver, gold, zinc and copper in mineral samples by various techniques of instrumental neutron activation analysis; Determinacion de plata, oro, zinc y cobre en muestras minerales mediante diversas tecnicas de analisis por activacion de neutrones instrumental

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodriguez R, N. I.; Rios M, C.; Pinedo V, J. L. [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Estudios Nucleares, Cipres No. 10, Fracc. La Penuela, 98068 Zacatecas, Zac. (Mexico); Yoho, M.; Landsberger, S., E-mail: neisla126@hotmail.com [University of Texas at Austin, Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory, Austin 78712, Texas (United States)

    2015-09-15

    Using the method of instrumental neutron activation analysis, mineral exploration samples were analyzed in order to determine the concentrations of silver, gold, zinc and copper; these minerals being the main products of benefit of Tizapa and Cozamin mines. Samples were subjected to various techniques, where the type of radiation and counting methods were chosen based on the specific isotopic characteristics of each element. For calibration and determination of concentrations the comparator method was used, certified standards were subjected to the same conditions of irradiation and measurement that the prospecting samples. The irradiations were performed at the research reactor TRIGA Mark II of the University of Texas at Austin. The silver concentrations were determined by Cyclical Epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis. This method in combination with the transfer pneumatic system allowed a good analytical precision and accuracy in prospecting for silver, from photo peak measurement 657.7 keV of short half-life radionuclide {sup 110}Ag. For the determination of gold and zinc, Epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis was used, the photo peaks analyzed corresponded to the energies 411.8 keV of radionuclide {sup 199}Au and 438.6 keV of metastable radionuclide {sup 69m}Zn. On the other hand, copper quantification was based on the photo peak analysis of 1039.2 keV produced by the short half-life radionuclide {sup 66}Cu, by Thermal Neutron Activation Analysis. The photo peaks measurement corresponding to gold, zinc and copper was performed using a Compton suppression system, which allowed an improvement in the signal to noise relationship, so that better detection limits and low uncertainties associated with the results were obtained. Comparing elemental concentrations the highest values in silver, zinc and copper was for samples of mine Tizapa. Regarding gold values were found in the same range for both mines. To evaluate the precision and accuracy of the methods used

  8. Incorporation of copper nanoparticles into paper for point-of-use water purification

    OpenAIRE

    Dankovich, Theresa A.; Smith, James A.

    2014-01-01

    As a cost-effective alternative to silver nanoparticles, we have investigated the use of copper nanoparticles in paper filters for point-of-use water purification. This work reports an environmentally benign method for the direct in situ preparation of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) in paper by reducing sorbed copper ions with ascorbic acid. Copper nanoparticles were quickly formed in less than 10 minutes and were well distributed on the paper fiber surfaces. Paper sheets were characterized by ...

  9. 46 CFR 151.50-34 - Vinyl chloride (vinyl chloride monomer).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Vinyl chloride (vinyl chloride monomer). 151.50-34... chloride (vinyl chloride monomer). (a) Copper, aluminum, magnesium, mercury, silver, and their alloys shall... equipment that may come in contact with vinyl chloride liquid or vapor. (b) Valves, flanges, and pipe...

  10. Metal chelates of phosphonate-containing ligands-III Analytical applications of N,N,N',N'-ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic) acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaki, M T; Rizkalla, E N

    1980-05-01

    N,N*,N',N'-Ethylenediaminetetra(methylenephosphonic) acid is used as a titrant for the direct determination of Cu, Co and Ni, with murexide as indicator. Indirect titrimetric procedures are suggested for the determination of silver, mercury, zinc and cyanide and both direct and indirect methods are applied for the analysis of binary mixtures of silver (or mercury) and copper (cobalt or nickel). The stoichiometry of the reaction, interferences of some metal ions and the pH effects on the complexation reactions are discussed. The values of the equilibrium constants of the protonated CuH(n)L (n = 1, 2, 3 and 4) as well as the unprotonated CuL chelates have been measured.

  11. Practical limitations of ITS-90 from the mercury triple point to the silver freeze point

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tavener, J. P.; Tavener, S. J.; Tavener, I. F.; Davies, N.

    2013-01-01

    The NPL published a forward to the ITS-90 text as follows:- 'The purpose of the ITS is to define procedures by which certain specified practical thermometers of the required quality can be calibrated in such a way that the values of temperature obtained from them can be precise and reproducible, while at the same time closely approximating the corresponding thermodynamic values.' [1]. The paper investigates the properties of thirty four lots of 6N pure metal used to make cells conforming to ITS-90 from mercury through silver over a period of twenty years. Three hundred individual cells are analysed by the impurities listed and supplied with each lot, melt and freeze curve slopes are also summarised for each lot and depressions calculated. These are then compared to the slopes and depressions suggested in the Supplementary Information for the ITS-90 and in CCT/2000-13 'Optimal Realizations'. Results are summarised, tabulated and discussed. Three lots of the thirty four were found to produce cells outside 6N expectations; however the remaining thirty one lots no matter how well or badly the accompanying certification was presented produced cells that conformed to 6N expectations as suggested in Supplementary Information to ITS-90 and CCT/2000-13

  12. Compatibility of copper-electroplated cells with Metal Wrap Through module materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bennett, I.J.; Geerligs, L.J.; Olson, C.L.; Goris, M.J.A.A. [ECN Solar Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

    2013-10-16

    As part of the European FP7 RandD project 'Cu-PV', the compatibility of copper-electroplated metal wrapthrough (MWT) cells with conductive adhesives has been investigated. The objectives of this project include to reduce, by the use of copper plating, the amount of silver utilized in cell manufacturing, and to demonstrate the compatibility of high-power n-type back-contact module technology with copper-plated cells. The overall goal is to reduce the impact on the environment of cell and module manufacture. MWT module technology as developed by ECN uses conductive adhesive to make the interconnection between cells and a conductive backsheet foil. These adhesives have been proved to result in very reliable modules in the case of cells with fired silver metallization. To determine the compatibility of conductive adhesive with copper-plated cells, component tests were performed, followed by the manufacture of modules with copperplated cells and conductive adhesive interconnections. Climate chamber testing of these modules showed that the adhesive is compatible with the copper-plated cells. The next steps include further optimization of the plating process and additional testing at the module level.

  13. Electrochemical characterization of anode passivation mechanisms in copper electrorefining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moats, Michael Scott

    Anode passivation can decrease productivity and quality while increasing costs in modern copper electrorefineries. This investigation utilized electrochemical techniques to characterize the passivation behavior of anode samples from ten different operating companies. It is believed that this collection of anodes is the most diverse set ever to be assembled to study the effect of anode composition on passivation. Chronopotentiometry was the main electrochemical technique, employing a current density of 3820 A m-2. From statistical analysis of the passivation characteristics, increasing selenium, tellurium, silver, lead and nickel were shown to accelerate passivation. Arsenic was the only anode impurity that inhibited passivation. Oxygen was shown to accelerate passivation when increased from 500 to 1500 ppm, but further increases did not adversely affect passivation. Nine electrolyte variables were also examined. Increasing the copper, sulfuric acid or sulfate concentration of the electrolyte accelerated passivation. Arsenic in the electrolyte had no effect on passivation. Chloride and optimal concentrations of thiourea and glue delayed passivation. Linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance spectroscopy provided complementary information. Analysis of the electrochemical results led to the development of a unified passivation mechanism. Anode passivation results from the formation of inhibiting films. Careful examination of the potential details, especially those found in the oscillations just prior to passivation, demonstrated the importance of slimes, copper sulfate and copper oxide. Slimes confine dissolution to their pores and inhibit diffusion. This can lead to copper sulfate precipitation, which blocks more of the surface area. Copper oxide forms because of the resulting increase in potential at the interface between the copper sulfate and anode. Ultimate passivation occurs when the anode potential is high enough to stabilize the oxide film in

  14. ISSN 2073-9990 East Cent. Afr. J. 0 East Cent. Afr. J. 0 East Cent ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    dell

    2014-04-01

    Apr 1, 2014 ... Disk or button batteries are small, coin shaped batteries used in hearing aids, watches, and calculators. The danger of batteries is that they contain mercury, silver, zinc, manganese, cadmium, lithium, sulfur oxide, copper & sodium or potassium hydroxide. If the battery is lodged in the gastrointestinal tract it.

  15. SERS and in situ SERS spectroscopy of riboflavin adsorbed on silver, gold and copper substrates. Elucidation of variability of surface orientation based on both experimental and theoretical approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dendisová-Vyškovská, Marcela; Kokaislová, Alžběta; Ončák, Milan; Matějka, Pavel

    2013-04-01

    Surface-enhanced Raman scattering and in situ surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectra have been collected to study influences of (i) used metal and (ii) applied electrode potential on orientation of adsorbed riboflavin molecules. Special in situ SERS spectroelectrochemical cell was used to obtain in situ SERS spectra of riboflavin adsorbed on silver, gold and copper nanostructured surfaces. Varying electrode potential was applied in discrete steps forming a cycle from positive values to negative and backward. Observed spectral features in in situ SERS spectra, measured at alternate potentials, have been changing very significantly and the spectra have been compared with SERS spectra of riboflavin measured ex situ. Raman spectra of single riboflavin molecule in the vicinity to metal (Ag, Au and Cu) clusters have been calculated for different mutual positions. The results demonstrate significant changes of bands intensities which can be correlated with experimental spectra measured at different potentials. Thus, the orientation of riboflavin molecules adsorbed on metal surfaces can be elucidated. It is influenced definitely by the value of applied potential. Furthermore, the riboflavin adsorption orientation on the surface depends on the used metal. Adsorption geometries on the copper substrates are more diverse in comparison with the orientations on silver and gold substrates.

  16. The experiment of the elemental mercury was removed from natural gas by 4A molecular sieve

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Cong; Chen, Yanhao

    2018-04-01

    Most of the world's natural gas fields contain elemental mercury and mercury compounds, and the amount of mercury in natural gas is generally 1μg/m3 200μg/m3. This paper analyzes the mercury removal principle of chemical adsorption process, the characteristics and application of mercury removal gent and the factors that affect the efficiency of mercury removal. The mercury in the natural gas is adsorbed by the mercury-silver reaction of the 4 molecular sieve after the manned treatment. The limits for mercury content for natural gas for different uses and different treatment processes are also different. From the environmental protection, safety and other factors, it is recommended that the mercury content of natural gas in the pipeline is less than 28μg / m3, and the mercury content of the raw material gas in the equipment such as natural gas liquefaction and natural gas condensate recovery is less than 0.01μg/m3. This paper mainly analyzes the existence of mercury in natural gas, and the experimental research process of using 4A molecular sieve to absorb mercury in natural gas.

  17. Mercury accumulation and its distribution to metallothionein in mouse brain after sub-chronic pulse exposure to mercury vapor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yasutake, A. [Biochemistry Section, National Institute for Minamata Disease, Minamata, Kumamoto 867-0008 (Japan); Sawada, M.; Shimada, A. [Department of Veterinary Pathology, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyamacho, Minami, Tottori 680-0945 (Japan); Satoh, M. [Department of Hygienics, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 5-6-1 Mitahora-higashi, Gifu 502-8585 (Japan); Tohyama, C. [Environmental Health Sciences Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 (Japan)

    2004-09-01

    Previously we found that exposure to mercury vapor effectively induced metallothionein (MT) biosynthesis in rat brain. Although the induction of not only MT-I/II but also MT-III was evident, the induction rate of the latter was much lower than that of the former. The brain of an MT-null mouse lacks MT-I/II, but has MT-III. Here we examined the effects of sub-chronic pulse exposure to mercury vapor on the brain MT in MT-null mice and their wild type controls. MT-null and wild type mice were preliminarily exposed to mercury vapor for 2 weeks at 0.1 mg Hg/m{sup 3} for 1 h/day for 3 days a week, and then exposed for 11 weeks at 4.1 mg Hg/m{sup 3} for 30 min/day for 3 days a week. This exposure caused no toxic signs such as abnormal behavior or loss of body weight gain in the mice of either strain throughout the experimental period. Twenty-four hours after the termination of the exposure, mice were sacrificed and brain samples were subjected to mercury analysis, MT assay, and pathological examination. The MT-null mice showed lower accumulation of mercury in the brain than the wild type mice. Mercury exposure resulted in a 70% increase of brain MT in the wild type mice, which was mostly accounted for by the increase in MT-I/II. On the other hand, the brain MT in the MT-null mice increased by 19%, suggesting less reactivity of the MT-III gene to mercury vapor. Although histochemical examination revealed silver-mercury grains in the cytoplasm of nerve cells and glial cells throughout the brains of both strains, no significant difference was observed between the two strains. (orig.)

  18. Voltammetric Determination of 4-Nitrophenol and 5-Nitrobenzimidazole Using Different Types of Silver Solid Amalgam Electrodes - A Comparative Study

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Deýlová, D.; Josypčuk, Bohdan; Vyskočil, V.; Barek, J.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 23, č. 7 (2011), s. 1548-1555 ISSN 1040-0397 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06063; GA AV ČR IAA400400806 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : voltammetry * polished silver solid amalgam electrode * Mercury meniscus modified silver solid amalgam electrode Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 2.872, year: 2011

  19. Isotope investigation of anodic slime movements in copper electrorefining baths

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Urbanski, T.; Kohman, L.; Strzelecki, M.; Chojecki, M.; Kaczynska, R.; Wieclaw, B.

    1975-01-01

    A method was developed and introduced for monitoring the movement of silver-containing anodic slimes in copper electrorefining baths. Radioactive 111 Ag was used as tracer and copper plates labelled with the tracer were inserted into the anodes. During electrorefining the slime produced was continuously marked by the tracer. The activity of 111 Ag was measured at various points inside the bath by sampling and continuously registered with the aid of integrators. It was found that more than 99 percent of the slime slipped to the bottom of the bath close to the anode surface and did not migrate even at highest electrolyte flow rates. Small quantities of suspended slime contained an insignificant concentration of silver and should not be a source of cathode contamination. (author)

  20. A search for long-lived radionuclides produced by fast-neutron irradiations of copper, silver, europium, terbium, and hafnium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meadows, J.W.; Smith, D.L.; Ikeda, Y.; Konno, C.

    1990-01-01

    Identical sample packets, each containing samples of elemental copper, silver, europium, terbium, and hafnium, as well as titanium, iron and nickel as dosimeters, have been irradiated in three distinct accelerator neutron fields (at Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory in the U.S.A., and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Japan) as part of an interlaboratory research collaboration to search for the production of long-lived radionuclides for fusion waste disposal applications. This paper is a progress report on this project. To date, we have detected the following activities, and have obtained preliminary experimental cross section values for several of these: Ag-106m,108m,110m; Eu-150m,152g,154; Tb-158,160; and Hf-175,178m2,179m2,181. (author). 11 refs, 1 fig., 4 tabs

  1. A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study for Silver Electroplating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Anmin; Ren, Xuefeng; An, Maozhong; Zhang, Jinqiu; Yang, Peixia; Wang, Bo; Zhu, Yongming; Wang, Chong

    2014-01-01

    A novel method combined theoretical and experimental study for environmental friendly silver electroplating was introduced. Quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were employed for predicting the behaviour and function of the complexing agents. Electronic properties, orbital information, and single point energies of the 5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DMH), nicotinic acid (NA), as well as their silver(I)-complexes were provided by quantum chemical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Adsorption behaviors of the agents on copper and silver surfaces were investigated using MD simulations. Basing on the data of quantum chemical calculations and MD simulations, we believed that DMH and NA could be the promising complexing agents for silver electroplating. The experimental results, including of electrochemical measurement and silver electroplating, further confirmed the above prediction. This efficient and versatile method thus opens a new window to study or design complexing agents for generalized metal electroplating and will vigorously promote the level of this research region.

  2. A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study for Silver Electroplating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Anmin; Ren, Xuefeng; An, Maozhong; Zhang, Jinqiu; Yang, Peixia; Wang, Bo; Zhu, Yongming; Wang, Chong

    2014-01-01

    A novel method combined theoretical and experimental study for environmental friendly silver electroplating was introduced. Quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were employed for predicting the behaviour and function of the complexing agents. Electronic properties, orbital information, and single point energies of the 5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DMH), nicotinic acid (NA), as well as their silver(I)-complexes were provided by quantum chemical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). Adsorption behaviors of the agents on copper and silver surfaces were investigated using MD simulations. Basing on the data of quantum chemical calculations and MD simulations, we believed that DMH and NA could be the promising complexing agents for silver electroplating. The experimental results, including of electrochemical measurement and silver electroplating, further confirmed the above prediction. This efficient and versatile method thus opens a new window to study or design complexing agents for generalized metal electroplating and will vigorously promote the level of this research region. PMID:24452389

  3. 49 CFR 173.323 - Ethylene oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Ethylene oxide. 173.323 Section 173.323... SHIPMENTS AND PACKAGINGS Gases; Preparation and Packaging § 173.323 Ethylene oxide. (a) For packaging ethylene oxide in non-bulk packagings, silver mercury or any of its alloys or copper may not be used in any...

  4. Spatial Patterns of Mercury Bioaccumulation in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin, MT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staats, M. F.; Langner, H.; Moore, J. N.

    2010-12-01

    The Upper Clark Fork River Basin (UCFRB) in Montana has a legacy of historic gold/silver mine waste that contributes large quantities of mercury into the watershed. Mercury bioaccumulation at higher levels of the aquatic food chain, such as the mercury concentration in the blood of pre-fledge osprey, exhibit an irregular spatial signature based on the location of the nests throughout the river basin. Here we identify regions with a high concentration of bioavailable mercury and the major factors that allow the mercury to bioaccumulate within trophic levels. This identification is based on the abundance of mercury sources and the potential for mercury methylation. To address the source term, we did a survey of total mercury in fine sediments along selected UCFRB reaches, along with the assessment of environmental river conditions (percentage of backwaters/wetlands, water temperature and pH, etc). In addition, we analyzed the mercury levels of a representative number of macroinvertebrates and fish from key locations. The concentration of total mercury in sediment, which varies from reach to reach (tributaries of the Clark Fork River, 5mg/kg) affects the concentration of mercury found at various trophic levels. However, reaches with a low supply of mine waste-derived mercury can also yield substantial concentrations of mercury in the biota, due to highly favorable conditions for mercury methylation. We identify that the major environmental factor that affects the methylation potential in the UCFRB is the proximity and connectivity of wetland areas to the river.

  5. Adding silver and copper to hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid in the disinfection of an advanced primary treatment effluent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orta De Velásquez, M T; Yáñez-Noguez, I; Jiménez-Cisneros, B; Luna Pabello, V M

    2008-11-01

    This paper evaluates the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide (HP) and peracetic acid (PAA) in the disinfection of an Advanced Primary Treatment (APT) effluent, and how said disinfection capacities can be enhanced by combining the oxidants with copper (Cu2+) and silver (Ag). The treatment sequence consisted of APT (adding chemicals to water to remove suspended solids by coagulation and flocculation), followed by disinfection with various doses of HP, HP+Cu2+, HP+Ag, PAA and PAA+Ag. Microbiological quality was determined by monitoring concentrations of fecal coliforms (FC), pathogenic bacteria (PB) and helminth eggs (HE) throughout the sequence. The results revealed that APT effluent still contains very high levels of bacteria as the treatment only removes 1-2 log of FC and PB, but the reduction in the number of viable helminth eggs was 83%. Subsequent disinfection stages demonstrated that both HP+Cu2+ and HP+Ag have a marked disinfection capacity for bacteria (3.9 and 3.4 log-inactivation, respectively). Peracetic acid on its own was already extremely efficient at disinfecting for bacteria, and the effect was enhanced when combining PAA with silver (PAA+Ag). The best result for HE removal was achieved by combining PAA with silver (PAA+Ag) at doses of 20 + 2.0 mg l(-1), respectively. The study concluded that the PAA+Ag and HP+Ag combinations were good alternatives for APT effluent disinfection, because the disinfected effluents met the standards in NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996, Mexico's regulation governing the microbiological quality required in treated wastewater destined for unrestricted reuse in agricultural irrigation (disinfection treatments with a primary method such as APT, therefore, offers an effective and practical way of reducing the health risks normally associated with the reuse of wastewaters.

  6. Study of copper and purine-copper complexes on modified carbon electrodes by cyclic and elimination voltammetry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Trnková, L.; Zerzánková, L.; Dyčka, F.; Mikelová, R.; Jelen, František

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 1 (2008), s. 429-444 ISSN 1424-8220 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA100040602; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA400040804 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040507; CEZ:AV0Z50040702 Keywords : copper-purine complexes * paraffin-impregnated graphite electrode * mercury-film electrode Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 1.870, year: 2008

  7. Vapor-phase elemental mercury adsorption by Ca(OH){sub 2} impregnated with MnO{sub 2} and Ag in fixed-bed system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Y.J. Wang; Y.F. Duan; Z.J. Huang; S.L. Meng; L.G. Yang; C.S. Zhao [Southeast University, Nanjing (China). School of Energy and Environment

    2010-05-15

    The ability of three sorbents (untreated Ca(OH){sub 2}, MnO{sub 2}-impregnated Ca(OH){sub 2} and Ag-impregnated Ca(OH){sub 2}) removing the elemental mercury had been studied using a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor at 80{sup o}C under simulated fuel gas conditions. The adsorption performance of the three sorbents was compared by mercury removal efficiency and adsorption capacity. The effect of acid gases such as HCl and SO{sub 2} on the mercury removal was investigated and presented in this article. The results showed that the mercury removal by Ca(OH){sub 2} was mainly controlled by physical mechanisms. In the case of Ca(OH){sub 2}, the presence of both SO{sub 2} and HCl promoted the Hg{sup 0} removal, and compared HCl with SO{sub 2}, HCl had a higher mercury removal than SO{sub 2}. Ca(OH){sub 2} impregnated with MnO{sub 2} had a slightly higher mercury removal than the original Ca(OH){sub 2}, but it was beneficial for mercury speciation. The presence of both SO{sub 2} and HCl promotes the Hg0 removal greatly, which was adsorbed by Ca(OH){sub 2} impregnated with MnO{sub 2}. The Ca(OH){sub 2} impregnated with MnO{sub 2} adsorbed more than 50% total Hg due to the occurrence of chemisorptions. The mercury removal by Ca(OH){sub 2} impregnated with Ag was the highest. This may be because mercury integrated with silver easily that could produce silver amalgam alloy.

  8. 40 CFR 437.47 - Pretreatment standards for new sources (PSNS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ...: Pretreatment Standards (PSNS) Regulatedparameter Maximum daily 1 Maximum monthly avg. 1 Metal Parameters... Copper 0.500 0.242 Lead 0.350 0.160 Mercury 0.00234 0.000739 Nickel 3.95 1.45 Silver 0.120 0.0351 Tin 0... (ppm). (2) The following in-plant limitations apply to metal-bearing wastewater containing cyanide: In...

  9. Proactive mining system in potosi silver mines : new information from re-evaluation of historical materials regarding the fifth viceroy toledo’s various policies on environment

    OpenAIRE

    Miyoshi, Emako; Anezaki, Shoji

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the proactive mining system introduced by the fifth viceroy, Francisco de Toledo (1569–1581) to the Potosi Silver Mine is clarified on the facts found in the historical documents. Main policies in Toledo’s mining business are followings, the application of mercury-amalgamation to extract silver from ores, the construction of the hydraulic-powered system for silver-ore crashing with cascading uses, the recycle system included the extraction of silver from waste ores and collecti...

  10. Thermal Stability of Silver Paste Sintering on Coated Copper and Aluminum Substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Chun; Chen, Chuantong; Suganuma, Katsuaki; Fu, Guicui

    2018-01-01

    The thermal stability of silver (Ag) paste sintering on coated copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) substrates has been investigated. Instead of conventional zincating or nickel plating, magnetron sputtering was used to achieve coating with titanium (Ti) and Ag. Silicon (Si) chips were bonded to coated Cu and Al substrates using a mixture of submicron Ag flakes and particles under 250°C and 0.4 MPa for 30 min. The joints were then subject to aging testing at 250°C for duration of 200 h, 500 h, and 1000 h. Two types of joints exhibited satisfactory initial shear strength above 45 MPa. However, the shear strength of the joints on Al substrate decreased to 28 MPa after 1000 h of aging, while no shear strength decline was detected for the joints on Cu substrate. Fracture surface analysis revealed that the vulnerable points of the two types of joints were (1) the Ag layer and (2) the interface between the Ti layer and Cu substrate. Based on the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and simulations, cracks in the Ag layer were identified as the cause of the shear strength degradation in the joints on Al substrate. The interface evolution of the joints on Cu substrate was ascribed to Cu migration and discontinuity points that initialized in the Ti layer. This study reveals that Al exhibited superior thermal stability with sintered Ag paste.

  11. Silver-Copper Nanoalloy Catalyst Layer for Bifunctional Air Electrodes in Alkaline Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xiaoqiang; Chen, Fuyi; Jin, Yachao; Zhang, Nan; Johnston, Roy L

    2015-08-19

    A carbon-free and binder-free catalyst layer composed of a Ag-Cu nanoalloy on Ni foam was used as the air cathode in a zinc-air battery for the first time. The Ag-Cu catalyst was prepared using pulsed laser deposition. The structures of the catalysts were found to consist of crystalline Ag-Cu nanoalloy particles with an average size of 2.58 nm embedded in amorphous Cu films. As observed in the X-ray photoelectron spectra, the Ag 3d core levels shifted to higher binding energies, whereas the Cu 2p core levels shifted to lower binding energies, indicating alloying of the silver and copper. Rotating disk electrode measurements indicated that the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) proceeded through a four-electron pathway on the Ag50Cu50 and Ag90Cu10 nanoalloy catalysts in alkaline solution. Moreover, the catalytic activity of Ag50Cu50 in the ORR is more efficient than that of Ag90Cu10. By performing charge and discharge cycling measurements, the Ag50Cu50 catalyst layer was confirmed to have a maximum power density of approximately 86.3 mW cm(-2) and an acceptable cell voltage at 0.863 V for current densities up to 100 mA cm(-2) in primary zinc-air batteries. In addition, a round-trip efficiency of approximately 50% at a current density of 20 mA cm(-2) was also obtained in the test.

  12. Development of low-silver radiographic detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Troitskij, V.A.; Novikov, I.A.; Nikitin, V.F.; Krasnyj-Admoni, L.V.; Valevich, M.I.; Belyj, N.G.; Grom, V.S.

    1988-01-01

    The results of investigations on radiographic testing of welded joints of St20, 08Kh18N10T steels, the AMG-6 alloy, copper, titanium using radiographic detectors with the low silver content are presented. The roentgenographic and photographic paper, as well as the samples of experimental films with heavy elements in the photolayer are tested using intensifying screens of different types. Experimental films containing silver 2 times as less as standard X-ray films are shown to provide the similar sensitivity of testing under equal conditions, but the exposure time is two times higher. Prints on the radiophotographic paper in quality and exposure time approach to prints obtained on the RT-1 film containing silver 10 times less than that in the roentgenographic film. The exposure time of the radiographic paper is several times less than that of the ''unibrom'' contrast paper. The testing sensitivity decreases to some extent in this case

  13. In situ investigation of the surface silvering of late Roman coins by combined use of high energy broad-beam and low energy micro-beam X-ray fluorescence techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romano, F.P., E-mail: romanop@lns.infn.it [IBAM, CNR, Via Biblioteca 4, 95124 Catania (Italy); LNS, INFN, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Garraffo, S. [ITABC, CNR, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00016 Monterotondo, Roma (Italy); Pappalardo, L. [IBAM, CNR, Via Biblioteca 4, 95124 Catania (Italy); LNS, INFN, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Rizzo, F. [LNS, INFN, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123 Catania (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universita di Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy)

    2012-07-15

    The compositional analysis of archeological metals performed with the X-ray Fluorescence technique (XRF) provides information on the ancient technology. One of the most interesting case-study concerns the techniques used by Romans for silvering the surface of coins. Different metallurgical processes have been suggested in previous studies. Recently the investigation has been addressed to the mercury-silvering and to its possible use in the mass-production of coins minted during the late period (after 294 AD). In the present paper the non-destructive investigation of the silvering process used for manufacturing the Roman nummi - the important typology of coin introduced by Diocletian in his monetary reform - is approached by the combined use of the standard X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and the low energy micro-X-Ray Fluorescence (LE-{mu}XRF) portable methods. The research was focused on the systematic determination of the mercury presence in a large number of samples and on its correlation with silver in the surface of the coins. 1041 Roman nummi belonging to the Misurata Treasure were analyzed in situ, at the Leptis Magna Museum (Al Khums, Libya). The treasure, composed of about 108 thousand silvered coins, gives the unique opportunity to study the Roman coinage in a wide interval of time (about 40 years in the period 294-333 AD) and in almost all the imperial mints operating in the Roman world. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Custom-building of a high energy broad-beam and a low energy micro-beam XRF Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In situ analysis of the silvering methods in late Roman nummi with plated surfaces Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The broad-beam XRF was applied for the detection of mercury traces in the coin alloy. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The low energy micro-XRF was used to scan the surface patina of the coins. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The correlation between mercury and silver at the coin surface was evidenced.

  14. Comparison of mercury mass loading in streams to atmospheric deposition in watersheds of Western North America: Evidence for non-atmospheric mercury sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domagalski, Joseph L.; Majewski, Michael S.; Alpers, Charles N.; Eckley, Chris S.; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Schenk, Liam N.; Wherry, Susan

    2016-01-01

    Annual stream loads of mercury (Hg) and inputs of wet and dry atmospheric Hg deposition to the landscape were investigated in watersheds of the Western United States and the Canadian-Alaskan Arctic. Mercury concentration and discharge data from flow gauging stations were used to compute annual mass loads with regression models. Measured wet and modeled dry deposition were compared to annual stream loads to compute ratios of Hg stream load to total Hg atmospheric deposition. Watershed land uses or cover included mining, undeveloped, urbanized, and mixed. Of 27 watersheds that were investigated, 15 had some degree of mining, either of Hg or precious metals (gold or silver), where Hg was used in the amalgamation process. Stream loads in excess of annual Hg atmospheric deposition (ratio > 1) were observed in watersheds containing Hg mines and in relatively small and medium-sized watersheds with gold or silver mines, however, larger watersheds containing gold or silver mines, some of which also contain large dams that trap sediment, were sometimes associated with lower load ratios (watersheds with natural vegetation tended to have low ratios of stream load to Hg deposition (watersheds (Mackenzie and Yukon Rivers) had a relatively elevated ratio of stream load to atmospheric deposition (0.27 and 0.74), possibly because of melting glaciers or permafrost releasing previously stored Hg to the streams. Overall, our research highlights the important role of watershed characteristics in determining whether a landscape is a net source of Hg or a net sink of atmospheric Hg.

  15. Electrochemical Detection of Ultratrace (Picomolar) Levels of Hg2+ Using a Silver Nanoparticle-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suherman, Alex L; Ngamchuea, Kamonwad; Tanner, Eden E L; Sokolov, Stanislav V; Holter, Jennifer; Young, Neil P; Compton, Richard G

    2017-07-05

    Ultratrace levels of Hg 2+ have been quantified by undertaking linear sweep voltammetry with a silver nanoparticle-modified glassy carbon electrode (AgNP-GCE) in aqueous solutions containing Hg 2+ . This is achieved by monitoring the change in the silver stripping peak with Hg 2+ concentration resulting from the galvanic displacement of silver by mercury: Ag(np) + 1/2Hg 2+ (aq) → Ag + (aq) + 1/2Hg(l). This facile and reproducible detection method exhibits an excellent linear dynamic range of 100.0 pM to 10.0 nM Hg 2+ concentration with R 2 = 0.982. The limit of detection (LoD) based on 3σ is 28 pM Hg 2+ , while the lowest detectable level for quantification purposes is 100.0 pM. This method is appropriate for routine environmental monitoring and drinking water quality assessment since the guideline value set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inorganic mercury in drinking water is 0.002 mg L -1 (10 nM).

  16. Copper atomic-scale transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Fangqing; Kavalenka, Maryna N; Röger, Moritz; Albrecht, Daniel; Hölscher, Hendrik; Leuthold, Jürgen; Schimmel, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    We investigated copper as a working material for metallic atomic-scale transistors and confirmed that copper atomic-scale transistors can be fabricated and operated electrochemically in a copper electrolyte (CuSO 4 + H 2 SO 4 ) in bi-distilled water under ambient conditions with three microelectrodes (source, drain and gate). The electrochemical switching-on potential of the atomic-scale transistor is below 350 mV, and the switching-off potential is between 0 and -170 mV. The switching-on current is above 1 μA, which is compatible with semiconductor transistor devices. Both sign and amplitude of the voltage applied across the source and drain electrodes ( U bias ) influence the switching rate of the transistor and the copper deposition on the electrodes, and correspondingly shift the electrochemical operation potential. The copper atomic-scale transistors can be switched using a function generator without a computer-controlled feedback switching mechanism. The copper atomic-scale transistors, with only one or two atoms at the narrowest constriction, were realized to switch between 0 and 1 G 0 ( G 0 = 2e 2 /h; with e being the electron charge, and h being Planck's constant) or 2 G 0 by the function generator. The switching rate can reach up to 10 Hz. The copper atomic-scale transistor demonstrates volatile/non-volatile dual functionalities. Such an optimal merging of the logic with memory may open a perspective for processor-in-memory and logic-in-memory architectures, using copper as an alternative working material besides silver for fully metallic atomic-scale transistors.

  17. Determination of arsenic, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, copper, lead, molybdenum, silver and zinc in geological materials by atomic-absorption spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viets, J.G.; O'Leary, R. M.; Clark, Robert J.

    1984-01-01

    Arsenic, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, copper, lead, molybdenum, silver and zinc are very useful elements in geochemical exploration. In the proposed method, geological samples are fused with potassium pyrosulphate and the fusate is dissolved in a solution of hydrochloric acid, ascorbic acid and potassium iodide. When this solution is shaken with a 10% V/V Aliquat 336 - isobutyl methyl ketone organic phase, the nine elements of interest are selectively partitioned in the organic phase. All nine elements can then be determined in the organic phase using flame atomic-absorption spectrometry. The method is rapid and allows the determination of Ag and Cd at levels down to 0.1 p.p.m., Cu, Mo, and Zn down to 0.5 p.p.m., Pb, Bi and Sb down to 1 p.p.m. and As down to 5 p.p.m. in geological materials.

  18. The concentration of heavy metals: zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, mercury, iron and calcium in head hair of a randomly selected sample of Kenyan people

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wandiga, S.O.; Jumba, I.O.

    1982-01-01

    An intercomparative analysis of the concentration of heavy metals:zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, mercury, iron and calcium in head hair of a randomly selected sample of Kenyan people using the techniques of atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPAS) has been undertaken. The percent relative standard deviation for each sample analysed using either of the techniques show good sensitivity and correlation between the techniques. The DPAS was found to be slightly sensitive than the AAs instrument used. The recalculated body burden rations of Cd to Zn, Pb to Fe reveal no unusual health impairement symptoms and suggest a relatively clean environment in Kenya.(author)

  19. Critical parameters in the dump and heap leaching of gold, silver, copper and uranium: permeability, solution delivery and solution recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lastra, M.K.; Chase, C.K.

    1984-02-01

    Critical to successful dump and heap leaching for gold, silver, copper and uranium are factors such as permeability, solution delivery to the ore, and solution recovery. This paper deals with possible techniques for successful accomplishment of these three factors. New developments as well as older techniques are discussed, together with rationals for use of some techniques in reference to others. The authors hope to present a checklist so that the ideal application to individual mine situations can be achieved. This involves a discussion of the merits of each different method and the situations for most logical application. It is hoped that such discussion will broaden the geographic areas where dump and heap leaching can be applied to include greater winter cold and tropical regions of large amounts of rainfall.

  20. Critical parameters in the dump and heap leaching of gold, silver, copper and uranium: permeability, solution delivery and solution recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lastra, M.K.; Chase, C.K.

    1984-01-01

    Critical to successful dump and heap leaching for gold, silver, copper and uranium are factors such as permeability, solution delivery to the ore, and solution recovery. This paper deals with possible techniques for successful accomplishment of these three factors. New developments as well as older techniques are discussed, together with rationals for use of some techniques in reference to others. The authors hope to present a checklist so that the ideal application to individual mine situations can be achieved. This involves a discussion of the merits of each different method and the situations for most logical application. It is hoped that such discussion will broaden the geographic areas where dump and heap leaching can be applied to include greater winter cold and tropical regions of large amounts of rainfall

  1. Recycling and refining of copper for electrical application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dablement Sébastien

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Copper is, after silver, the best electrical conductor. All residual impurities inside the matrix have high consequences on these properties. Thus, the Nexans factory in Lens “purifies” the copper scraps by a fire refining in order to remove all the internal pollutant. This process, unique in France, is complementary to a traditional process using an electrolytic cathode. It allows, first, to diversify the raw material and, second, to increase the ecological balance compare to the traditional way of scrap treatment for electrical application.

  2. The pages of the history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baratov, R.

    1989-01-01

    In this part of book author give information about results of archaeological dig. Data of literary sources and remains of ancient mines, situated on the territory of Tajikistan evidence that people from this territory in extreme antiquity can elaborate ores of many metals and extract from them copper, lead, gold, silver, mercury, iron and precious stones (lapis lazuli, turquoise)

  3. Sunlight mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles using redox phytoprotein and their application in catalysis and colorimetric mercury sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Khan Behlol Ayaz; Senthilnathan, Rajendran; Megarajan, Sengan; Anbazhagan, Veerappan

    2015-10-01

    Owing to the benign nature, plant extracts mediated green synthesis of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is rapidly expanding. In this study, we demonstrated the successful green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by utilizing natural sunlight and redox protein complex composed of ferredoxin-NADP(+) reductase (FNR) and ferredoxin (FD). The capping and stabilization of the AgNPs by the redox protein was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Light and redox protein is the prerequisite factor for the formation of AgNPs. The obtained result shows that the photo generated free radicals by the redox protein is responsible for the reduction of Ag(+) to Ag(0). Transmission electron microscopy revealed the formation of spherical AgNPs with size ranging from 10 to 15 nm. As-prepared AgNPs exhibit excellent catalytic activity toward the degradation of hazardous organic dyes, such as methylene blue, methyl orange and methyl red. These bio-inspired AgNPs is highly sensitive and selective in sensing hazardous mercury ions in the water at micromolar concentration. In addition, FNR/FD extract stabilized AgNPs showed good antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. CO2 laser direct writing of silver lines on epoxy resin from solid film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, J.G.; Chen, C.H.; Zheng, J.S.; Huang, J.Y.

    2005-01-01

    A technique of CO 2 laser direct writing from solid film was proposed in this paper. Patterns of silver lines were locally deposited on the non-conductive substrate using a preset layer of silver compound solid film, which was irradiated by focused CO 2 laser beam. The deposits were analyzed by XPS and EPMA. Results showed that metallic silver was dominant with an even distribution on the surface of the substrate, and part of the deposited silver had diffused into the substrate interior. The deposits had catalytic activity for the further electroless copper plating and had strong adhesion to the substrate. At last, the deposition mechanism and the dependence of the width of silver lines on the laser power and scan speed were roughly explored

  5. Quantitative Analysis of Copper Impurity in Silver Jewellery by Laser-Ablation Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy%银饰品中铜杂质含量的激光剥离-激光诱导击穿光谱定量分析

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    陈钰琦; 磨俊宇; 周奇; 楼洋; 李润华

    2015-01-01

    High spectral analysis sensitivity can be achieved with orthogonal dual-wavelength dual-pulse laser-ablation laser-in-duced breakdown spectroscopy under minimal sample ablation.Therefore,the contradiction between spatial resolution and ana-lytical sensitivity existed in single-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy can be resolved fundamentally in this technique. In order to eliminate the influence of different experimental parameters to the signal intensities and final results of quantitative analysis,the correlation between copper atomic emission and silver atomic emission was studied experimentally in this technique for silver jewellery samples.It was demonstrated that the intensity of atomic emission of copper at 324.75 nm and that of silver at 328.07 nm was linearly correlated with high correlation coefficient.Therefore,it was possible to eliminate the influence of different experimental parameters,such as geometrical arrangement and pulse energy of the ablation laser to the signal of copper atomic emission by selecting 328.07 nm line of silver as internal standard.A quantitative analysis of copper impurity in silver jewellery can be realized by using orthogonal dual-wavelength dual-pulse laser-ablation laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.A calibration curve of copper was successfully built based on internal standard method while selecting 328.07 nm line of silver as in-ternal standard.The limit of detection of copper in silver matrix was determined to be 44 ppm in this technique when the crater’ s diameter was about 17 μm under current experimental condition.%正交双波长双脉冲的激光剥离—激光诱导击穿光谱技术能够在较少样品烧蚀的前提下获得高的光谱分析灵敏度,因此该技术可以从根本上解决在单脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱技术中空间分辨本

  6. Laser sintering of copper nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zenou, Michael; Saar, Amir; Ermak, Oleg; Kotler, Zvi

    2014-01-01

    Copper nanoparticle (NP) inks serve as an attractive potential replacement to silver NP inks in functional printing applications. However their tendency to rapidly oxidize has so far limited their wider use. In this work we have studied the conditions for laser sintering of Cu-NP inks in ambient conditions while avoiding oxidation. We have determined the regime for stable, low-resistivity copper (< ×3 bulk resistivity value) generation in terms of laser irradiance and exposure duration and have indicated the limits on fast processing. The role of pre-drying conditions on sintering outcome has also been studied. A method, based on spectral reflectivity measurements, was used for non-contact monitoring of the sintering process evolution. It also indicates preferred spectral regions for sintering. Finally, we illustrated how selective laser sintering can generate high-quality, fine line (<5 µm wide) and dense copper circuits. (paper)

  7. Determination of mercury in drinking water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, S.J.S.

    1976-01-01

    Determination of mercury in drinking water samples have been carried out by neutron activation followed by chemical separation. The chemical analysis is necessary as the levels of mercury in these samples are quite low and activities of sodium, copper etc. interfere in its determination by direct spectroscopy. Solvent extraction separation offers speed and complete separation from interfering activities. Some of drinking water samples collected at Trombay have been analysed and their result are given in this paper. The procedure was checked with 197 Hg tracer and the reproducibility of the procedure is within 5%. It was free from contamination due to the activities of Cu, Na etc. The time of analysis was 15 minutes, and upto 5 samples could be analysed conveniently at a time. The average chemical yield was 72%. (T.I.)

  8. Mercury and Silver in Clinic Wastewater Goodfellow AFB, Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    1989-07-01

    SE(JrTY CLASSIFICATION 1b RESTRICTIVE MARINGSuncfassi I ed N/A 2a SCRITY CLASSIFICATION AUTHORITY 3 DISTRIBUTION / AVAiLABILIT OF REPORT N/A Approved...Material suctioned from teeth restoration are collected in a central separator/collection tank. The tank is automatically cleaned by rinsing it with water ...insoluble or sparingly soluble in water . In neutral or alkaline solutions, mercury is oxidized directly to the mercuric state with the formatin of

  9. Active screen cage pulsed dc discharge for implanting copper in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaka-ul-Islam, Mujahid; Naeem, Muhammad; Shafiq, Muhammad; Sitara; Jabbar Al-Rajab, Abdul; Zakaullah, Muhammad

    2017-07-01

    Polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are widely used in artificial organs where long-term anti-bacterial properties are required to avoid bacterial proliferation. Copper or silver ion implantation on the polymer surface is known as a viable method to generate long-term anti-bacterial properties. Here, we have tested pulsed DC plasma with copper cathodic cage for the PTFE surface treatment. The surface analysis of the treated specimens suggests that the surface, structural properties, crystallinity and chemical structure of the PTFE have been changed, after the plasma treatment. The copper release tests show that copper ions are released from the polymer at a slow rate and quantity of the released copper increases with the plasma treatment time.

  10. Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry for Mercury Determination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vereștiuc Paul C.

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In the present work voltammetric investigations have been performed on HgCl2 aqueous solutions prepared from a Cz 9024 reagent. Carbon paste electrode (CPE, eriochrome black T modified carbon paste electrode (MCPE/EBT and KCl 1M as background electrolyte, were involved within the experimental procedures. Cyclic voltammetry (CV has been performed in order to compare the behaviour of the two electrodes in both K3[Fe(CN6] and mercury calibration aqueous solution. Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV was used to determine the most suitable parameters for mercury determination. All experiments were performed at 25 ± 1 ℃, using an electrochemical cell with three-electrodes connected to an Autolab PG STAT 302N (Metrohm-Autolab potentiostat that is equipped with Nova 1.11 software. The measured potential values were generated by using the silver chloride electrode (AgClE as reference and a platinum wire electrode as auxiliary. A series of time depending equations for the pre-concentration and concentration steps were established, with the observation that a higher sensitivity can be obtained while increasing the pre-concentration time. DPASV were drawn using the CPE in 11.16 % coriander, as mercury complex, the voltamograms signals indicating mercury oxidation, with signal intensity increasing in time.

  11. Analysis of metals with luster: Roman brass and silver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fajfar, H., E-mail: helena.fajfar@ijs.si [Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Rupnik, Z. [Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Šmit, Ž. [Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

    2015-11-01

    Non-destructive PIXE analysis using in-air proton beam was used for the studies of earliest brass coins issued during the 1st century BC by Greek cities in Asia Minor, Romans and Celts, and for the studies of plated low grade silver coins of the 3rd century AD. The analysis determined the levels of zinc and important trace elements, notably selenium, which confirms spread of selenium-marked copper from the east. For plating, combined tinning and silvering was identified by the mapping technique for the mid 3rd century AD, which evolved into mere plating by 270 AD.

  12. Analysis of metals with luster: Roman brass and silver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fajfar, H.; Rupnik, Z.; Šmit, Ž.

    2015-01-01

    Non-destructive PIXE analysis using in-air proton beam was used for the studies of earliest brass coins issued during the 1st century BC by Greek cities in Asia Minor, Romans and Celts, and for the studies of plated low grade silver coins of the 3rd century AD. The analysis determined the levels of zinc and important trace elements, notably selenium, which confirms spread of selenium-marked copper from the east. For plating, combined tinning and silvering was identified by the mapping technique for the mid 3rd century AD, which evolved into mere plating by 270 AD.

  13. Modelling the physico-chemical effect of silver electrorefining as effect of temperature, free acid, silver, copper and lead concentrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aji, Arif T.; Kalliomäki, Taina; Wilson, Benjamin P.; Aromaa, Jari; Lundström, Mari

    2017-01-01

    The study of electrolyte bath properties is essential for the improvement of silver electrolysis based processes. The paper outlines investigations into suitable models for the calculation of physico-chemical properties with the emphasis placed on conductivity, density and viscosity. Measurements were conducted within the industrial operation parameters used for silver electrolytes and the results indicate that these type of industrial electrolytes have an operating conductivity within the range of 60-140 mS/cm, density of 1.05-1.14 g/cm3 and a viscosity of 0.75-0.91 mm2/s. A representative model for each of these properties was proposed in order to calculate the conductivity, density and viscosity of silver electrolyte. From the evaluation of models, it was determined that all models have R2 (accuracy of fit) and Q2 (accuracy of prediction) values above 0.9 and thus can be regarded as excellent models.

  14. Technologies for forgeries of greek silver drachmas analysed by xrf and pixe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Constantinescu, B.

    2002-01-01

    The analyses of source materials combined with analyses of archaeological objects could distinguish from pieces produced in different regions and periods. For coins, chemical differences that occur during preparation of alloys will affect the elemental composition and could be used for the identification of technologies and workshops and also to distinguish between originals and counterfeits. We illustrate with the case of Greek Apollonia and Dyrrhachium silver drachmas emitted by these old cities for Pompejus during the First Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompejus, coins found on the actual territory of Romania (ancient Dacia), probably used as bursaries to pay the Dacian mercenaries allied with Pompejus. To analyze the chemical composition of these coins, we used two methods: Am-241 gamma source based X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and in vacuum 3 MeV protons Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE). XRF measurements were done with a spectrometer consisting of a 30 mCi Am-241 annular source, a vertical Si(Li) detector and a conventional electronic chain. For PIXE, we used 3 MeV protons (15-20 nA intensity on the sample using a pile-up rejector system) accelerated at Bucharest 8 MV High Voltage Tandem, a horizontal HPGE detector placed perpendicularly on the beam direction and a conventional electronic chain. Some special measurements on the edge of some coins (to identify plated exemplaires) were done using the ATOMKI Debrecen Van de Graaf 2 MeV protons microprobe, in the frame of European Action COST G1. We analysed approx. 300 drachmas. Five main categories were found: - original coins (similar to drachms emitted before the Civil War) with 97-99 percent silver, low (1-2 percent) copper content, -debased coins with silver content down to 70 percent and copper content from 5 to 25 percent, probably emitted due to inflation problem, normal phenomenon for an economy in war, -official (original dies) counterfeits from bronze (70 percent copper and 30 percent tin

  15. Extraction of gold and silver from geothermal fluid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, K.L.; Roberts, P.J. (Geothermal Research Center, Wairakei (New Zealand); Spectrum Resources Ltd., Auckland (New Zealand))

    1988-11-10

    This paper describes the results of five experiments of the extraction of gold and silver from hydrothermal fluids with a experimental vessel settled up at KA35 well at the Kawerau geothermal field in New Zealand. The experimental vessel was designed to absorb the fluids from orifice plate controlled to be low pressure and had a chamber having within many collecting plates. The first experiment is a fundamental one in which a mild steel was used as metal collector plate. The rates of deposition of gold and silver on the plate were estimated. The second experiment showed that the rate on deposition of gold on the mild steel plate was controlled by the flux rate of hydrothermal fluid. The third experiment showed that a mild steel seemed to be better for the collection plate of gold and silver than copper and aluminium. The fourth experiment clarified that the activated charcoal was not suitable for the collector plate for gold and silver. The fifth experiment showed that a mild steel was better for metal collector than activated charcoal. 1 ref., 4 figs.

  16. Removal of brownish-black tarnish on silver–copper alloy objects with sodium glycinate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cura D’Ars de Figueiredo, João, E-mail: joaoc@ufmg.br; Asevedo, Samara Santos, E-mail: samaranix@hotmail.com; Barbosa, João Henrique Ribeiro, E-mail: joaohrb@yahoo.com.br

    2014-10-30

    Highlights: • The use of glycinate to remove brownish-black tarnish on silver–copper alloy objects is studied. • The method is easy to use and harmless. It is based in the coordination of Ag and Cu in tarnish with glycinate. • The surface of corroded silver objects and products of reaction were studied and glycinate showed to be very selective for Ag(I) and Cu(II). The selectivity for Ag(I) was studied by means of quantum chemical calculations. - Abstract: This article has the principal aim of presenting a new method of chemical cleaning of tarnished silver–copper alloy objects. The chemical cleaning must be harmless to the health, selective to tarnish removal, and easy to use. Sodium glycinate was selected for the study. The reactions of sodium glycinate with tarnish and the silver–copper alloy were evaluated. Products of the reaction, the lixiviated material, and the esthetics of silver–copper alloy coins (used as prototypes) were studied to evaluate if the proposed method can be applied to the cleaning of silver objects. Silver–copper alloys can be deteriorated through a uniform and superficial corrosion process that produces brownish-black tarnish. This tarnish alters the esthetic of the object. The cleaning of artistic and archeological objects requires more caution than regular cleaning, and it must take into account the procedures for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. There are different methods for cleaning silver–copper alloy objects, chemical cleaning is one of them. We studied two chemical cleaning methods that use sodium glycinate and sodium acetylglycinate solutions. Silver–copper alloy coins were artificially corroded in a basic thiourea solution and immersed in solutions of sodium glycinate and sodium acetylglycinate. After immersion, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the surfaces were studied. The sodium glycinate solution was shown to be very efficient in removing the brownish

  17. Removal of brownish-black tarnish on silver–copper alloy objects with sodium glycinate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cura D’Ars de Figueiredo, João; Asevedo, Samara Santos; Barbosa, João Henrique Ribeiro

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The use of glycinate to remove brownish-black tarnish on silver–copper alloy objects is studied. • The method is easy to use and harmless. It is based in the coordination of Ag and Cu in tarnish with glycinate. • The surface of corroded silver objects and products of reaction were studied and glycinate showed to be very selective for Ag(I) and Cu(II). The selectivity for Ag(I) was studied by means of quantum chemical calculations. - Abstract: This article has the principal aim of presenting a new method of chemical cleaning of tarnished silver–copper alloy objects. The chemical cleaning must be harmless to the health, selective to tarnish removal, and easy to use. Sodium glycinate was selected for the study. The reactions of sodium glycinate with tarnish and the silver–copper alloy were evaluated. Products of the reaction, the lixiviated material, and the esthetics of silver–copper alloy coins (used as prototypes) were studied to evaluate if the proposed method can be applied to the cleaning of silver objects. Silver–copper alloys can be deteriorated through a uniform and superficial corrosion process that produces brownish-black tarnish. This tarnish alters the esthetic of the object. The cleaning of artistic and archeological objects requires more caution than regular cleaning, and it must take into account the procedures for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. There are different methods for cleaning silver–copper alloy objects, chemical cleaning is one of them. We studied two chemical cleaning methods that use sodium glycinate and sodium acetylglycinate solutions. Silver–copper alloy coins were artificially corroded in a basic thiourea solution and immersed in solutions of sodium glycinate and sodium acetylglycinate. After immersion, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the surfaces were studied. The sodium glycinate solution was shown to be very efficient in removing the brownish

  18. Effect of oxygen potential on sulphur dioxide activation of oil sands fluid coke and characteristics of activated coke in mercury adsorption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, E.A.; Jia, C.Q.; Tong, S.

    2007-01-01

    A sulphur-impregnated activated carbon (SIAC) technology was modified for use in copper smelters in order to mitigate mercury and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions. Elemental sulphur was captured as a co-product. The study examined the feasibility of reducing levels of SO 2 using fluid coke in the copper smelter flue. SIAC properties were optimized in order to capture vapour phase mercury. Raw fluid coke samples were used to measure SO 2 flow rates. Gas composition was varied to mimic concentrations found during normal operation of copper converters. Gas chromatography was used to analyze reactions products and to prove the hypothesis that mercury capacity is influenced by the oxygen potential of the activation gas due to changes in surface sulphur types developed from reduced sulphur species. Results of the study showed that oxygen levels at 5 per cent did not play a significant role in pore development. It was concluded that increased residence times contributed to reductions in SO 2 and elemental S yields. 13 refs., 1 tab., 7 figs

  19. Electrochemical study of the interaction between dsDNA and copper(I) using carbon paste and hanging mercury drop electrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanić, Z; Girousi, S

    2008-06-30

    The interaction of copper(I) with double-stranded (ds) calf thymus DNA was studied in solution and at the electrode surface by means of transfer voltammetry using a carbon paste electrode (CPE) as working electrode in 0.2 M acetate buffer solution (pH 5.0). As a result of the interaction of Cu(I) between the base pairs of the dsDNA, the characteristic peaks of dsDNA, due to the oxidation of guanine and adenine, increased and after a certain concentration of Cu(I) a new peak at +1.37 V appeared, probably due to the formation of a purine-Cu(I) complex (dsDNA-Cu(I) complex). Accordingly, the interaction of copper(I) with calf thymus dsDNA was studied in solution as well as at the electrode surface using hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) by means of alternating current voltammetry (AC voltammetry) in 0.3 M NaCl and 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 8.5) as supporting electrolyte. Its interaction with DNA is shown to be time dependent. Significant changes in the characteristic peaks of dsDNA were observed after addition of higher concentration of Cu(I) to a solution containing dsDNA, as a result of the interaction between Cu(I) and dsDNA. All the experimental results indicate that Cu(I) can bind to DNA by electrostatic binding and form an association complex.

  20. Experiments on the contact angle of n-propanol on differently prepared silver substrates at various temperatures and implications for the properties of silver nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinterich, T.; Winkler, P. M.; Vrtala, A. E.; Wagner, P. E.

    2011-08-01

    In this paper we present the results of contact angle measurements between n-propanol and silver substrates in the temperature range from -10 °C to 30 °C. The interest in a potential temperature dependence of contact angles originates from recent experiments by S. Schobesberger et al. (Schobesberger S., Strange temperature dependence observed for heterogeneous nucleation of n-propanol vapor on NaCl particles. Master's thesis, University of Vienna, 2008; Schobesberger S. et al., Experiments on the temperature dependence of heterogeneous nucleation on NaCl and Ag particles. In preparation.) investigating the temperature dependence for heterogeneous nucleation of n-propanol vapour on NaCl and on silver particles. We determined dynamic advancing θ a and receding θ r angles on variously prepared silver probes. The Dynamic Wilhelmy method (Wilhelmy L., Über die Abhängigkeit der Capillaritäts-Constanten des Alkohols von Substanz und Gestalt des benetzten festen Körpers. Ann. Phys. Chem., 199:177-217, 1863) was applied using a Krüss K12 Tensiometer, with a refrigerated double-walled glass top. With respect to its potential influence on heterogeneous nucleation mainly the advancing angle is of interest. The uniform probe geometry required was achieved by accurate cutting and by multiple polishing stages up to the accomplishment of a 0.04 μm grain size. The original probes consist of 925 sterling silver including a 7.5% copper content. Additional coating with silver pro Analysi (p.A.) was applied making use of pure silver powder evaporation process via Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD). Results show that a surface contamination by copper cannot be neglected for the specification of contact angles. It turned out that additional PVD coatings not only change the values of θa but also their temperature dependence. With increasing the number of coatings of a plate the contact angle decreases and its temperature dependence inverts. Since the contact angle hysteresis

  1. Changing patterns in the use, recycling, and material substitution of mercury in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilburn, David R.

    2013-01-01

    Environmental concerns have led to numerous regulations that have dramatically decreased the reported production and use of mercury in the United States since the 1980s. Government legislation and subsequent industry actions have led to increased collection of mercury-containing materials and the recovery of mercury through recycling. Mercury emissions have been reduced and effective alternatives to mercury products have been developed for many applications. This study updates and quantifies the changes in demand, supply, use, and material flow for mercury in various sectors in the United States that have taken place since 1996. Nearly all primary mercury produced in the United States is derived as a byproduct of processing of gold and silver ore in Nevada. Since 2001, annual production of mercury from gold and silver mining in Nevada has decreased by 22 percent overall because ore from greater depths containing low grade mercury is recovered, and mercury emissions from this source have decreased by 95 percent as a result of increased regulation and improved collection and suppression technology. The distribution of consumption of mercury in the United States has changed as a result of regulation (elimination of large-scale mercury use in the paint and battery sectors), reduction by consumers (decommissioning of mercury-cell chloralkali manufacturing capacity), and technological advances (improvements in dental, lighting, and wiring sectors). Mercury use in the chloralkali sector, the leading end-use sector in the United States in 1996, has declined by 98 percent from 136 metric tons (t) in 1996 to about 0.3 t in 2010 because of increased processing and recycling efficiencies and plant closures or conversion to other technologies. As plants were closed, mercury recovered from the infrastructure of decommissioned plants has been exported, making the United States a net exporter of mercury, even though no mercury has been produced as the primary product from mines in

  2. Copper(I), silver(I) and gold(I) halide complexes with the dithioformamidinium dihalides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peyronel, Giorgio; Malavasi, Wanda; Pignedoli, Anna

    Some copper(I), silver(I) and gold(I) halide complexes with the dithioformamidinium dihalides (Tu 2X 2) were prepared and studied by infrared spectroscopy and conductometry: 3CuX.2Tu 2X 2(XCl,I), CuBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4CuBr.3.5Tu 2Br 2.MeOH, 2CuBr.Tu 2Br 2.0.66EtOH, 3CuI.2Tu 2I 2, 2AgCl.2.5Tu 2Cl 2, 3AgCl.2Tu 2Cl 2.0.5EtOH, 3AgCl.Tu 2Cl 2, 2AgBr.2Tu 2Br 2.0.5Tu 2(NO 3) 2.H 2O, AgBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4AgBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4AgI.0.5Tu 2I 2.EtOH, AuCl.1.5Tu 2Cl 2, 4AuCl.3.5Tu 2Cl 2.2DMF, AuBr.4Tu 2Br 2, AuBr.2Tu 2Br 2.1.5DMF, AuI.5Tu 2I 2, AuI.Tu 2I 2. A decrease of the ν(NH), δ(NH 2) and ν(CN 2) frequencies and an increase of the ν(CS) frequencies indicate an N-coordination of the dithioformamidinium cation to the metal ions; ν(MN) and ν(MX) frequencies are tentatively assigned in the far-infrared spectra.

  3. The evidence for synthesis of truncated triangular silver nanoplates in the presence of CTAB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Xin; Zhao Xiujian; Chen Yunxia; Feng Jinyang

    2008-01-01

    Truncated triangular silver nanoplates were prepared by a solution-phase approach, which involved the seed-mediated growth of silver nanoparticles in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) at 40 deg. C. The result of X-ray diffraction indicates that the as-prepared nanoparticles are made of pure face centered cubic silver. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy studies show that the truncated triangular silver nanoplates, with edge lengths of 50 ± 5 nm and thicknesses of 27 ± 3 nm, are oriented differently on substrates of a copper grid and a fresh mica flake. The corners of these nanoplates are round. The selected area electron diffraction analysis reveals that the silver nanoplates are single crystals with an atomically flat surface. We determine the holistic morphology of truncated triangular silver nanoplates through the above measurements with the aid of computer-aided 3D perspective images

  4. [A comparative study of cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic, selenium, manganese, copper and zinc in brown rice and fish by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption spectrometry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oshima, Harumi; Ueno, Eiji; Saito, Isao; Matsumoto, Hiroshi

    2004-10-01

    A study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of ICP-MS techniques for determination of metals in brown rice and fish. Cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic, selenium, manganese, copper and zinc were determined by this method. An open digestion with nitric acid (Method A) and a rapid open digestion with nitric acid and hydrochloric acid (Method B) were used to solubilize analytes in samples, and these procedures were followed by ICP-MS analysis. Recovery of certified elements from standard reference materials by Method A and Method B ranged from 92 to 110% except for mercury (70 to 100%). Analytical results of brown rice and fish samples obtained by this ICP-MS agreed with those obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The results of this study demonstrate that quadrupole ICP-MS provides precise and accurate measurements of the elements tested in brown rice and fish samples.

  5. Adhesion of metals to LaCrO3 by copper sulphide method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebata, Yoshihiro; Toibana, Yasuo; Uetsuki, Tsuneo; Kose, Saburo; Kataoka, Nagamasa

    1979-01-01

    A method of adhering metallic copper to LaCrO 3 was researched using mixtures of copper sulphide and kaolin as the coponent of metalliser to obtain optimum condition for the adhesion. As a maximum adhesive strength, 300 kg/cm 2 has been attained with the metallised intermediate layer which was composed of 70 wt% copper sulphide and 30 wt% kaolin, and fired at 1000 0 C. The adhesive strength was not affected by soaking the specimen into 48% KOH solution at 70 0 C for 70 hr. Electric resistance of the desirable specimen metallised with Cu 2 S- kaolin layer and silver-paint was 1.4 times higher than that of the one coated with silver-paint only. Investigating into the fired intermediate layer by means of X-ray diffraction and EPMA, it has been confirmed that the layer partly transformed to a phase of spinel of Al 2 O 3 with CuO. Thickness of the layer penetrated into the LaCrO 3 substratum was about 50 - 60 μm. (author)

  6. Size Control Technology of Silver Nanoparticles Using Electron Beam Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Hyun Suk; Kim, Byungnam; Kim, Hye Won; Koo, Yong Hwan; Lee, Byung Cheol; Park, Ji Hyun; Bae, Hyung Bin; Park, Changmoon

    2013-01-01

    The manufacturing of silver nanoparticles using an electron beam is easy, fast, and highly productive, and it is possible at room temperature with no chemical residuals. Its various advantages therefore make this an important method for manufacturing nanoparticles such as silver, copper, and platinum. In particular, despite the use of electron beam irradiation, the results show that this method makes it possible to produce silver nanoparticles at low cost since low beam energy and low doses are used. This means that middle and high-energy electron beam accelerators are very expensive, but a low-energy electron beam accelerator has a relatively low cost of around 4-5 times, and mass production for a flow reaction without the need for extra radiation shielding is possible. Silver nanoparticles are of great interest to many researchers owing to their ability to be used in many applications such as catalysis, nanoelectronics, optical filters, electromagnetic interference shielding, surface Raman scattering, medical supplies, fabrics, cosmetics, hygiene and kitchen supplies, and electric home appliances

  7. Size Control Technology of Silver Nanoparticles Using Electron Beam Irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Hyun Suk; Kim, Byungnam; Kim, Hye Won; Koo, Yong Hwan; Lee, Byung Cheol [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ji Hyun [Univ. of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Hyung Bin [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Changmoon [Chungnam National Univ., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-12-15

    The manufacturing of silver nanoparticles using an electron beam is easy, fast, and highly productive, and it is possible at room temperature with no chemical residuals. Its various advantages therefore make this an important method for manufacturing nanoparticles such as silver, copper, and platinum. In particular, despite the use of electron beam irradiation, the results show that this method makes it possible to produce silver nanoparticles at low cost since low beam energy and low doses are used. This means that middle and high-energy electron beam accelerators are very expensive, but a low-energy electron beam accelerator has a relatively low cost of around 4-5 times, and mass production for a flow reaction without the need for extra radiation shielding is possible. Silver nanoparticles are of great interest to many researchers owing to their ability to be used in many applications such as catalysis, nanoelectronics, optical filters, electromagnetic interference shielding, surface Raman scattering, medical supplies, fabrics, cosmetics, hygiene and kitchen supplies, and electric home appliances.

  8. Characterization of ancient coins with the use of total reflection x-ray fluorescence spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostachowicz, B.; Holynska, B.; Ostachowicz, J.; Haczewska, B.

    2000-01-01

    In this work the composition of silver coins from XI-XII centuries and a metal gorget from XVIII century have been studied. The beginnings of denarii (Sachsenpfennige) coinage might be linked with Saxony, whereas the end period of the production of those coins i.e. the last quarter of the XI th and beginning of the XII th centuries is connected also with Polish mints. The studied coins bearing the chivalric cross upon the reverse were minted by Wladyslaw Herman a Polish prince and his palatine Sieciech. Some of the coins were original ones, some other were forged, however the provenance of both types of coins was probably the same. The forged coins contained copper core covered with silver alloy. The TXRF module with molybdenum x-ray tube operated at 55 kV and 40 mA has been used for analysis of both types of coins. A quartz reflector was rubbed against a coin and then analyzed. Several metals were found and determined in the coins namely: zinc, copper, iron, lead and also trace concentrations of gold and mercury. A small piece of silver coin was also dissolved in nitric acid and a solution was analyzed by TXRF. The results showed good agreement with the data obtained by rubbing a coin. The gorget was made of gilded copper and decorated by paintings presenting a Holy Mary and Jesus Christ. The metal parts of the gorget was rubbed against quartz reflectors and analyzed. The concentration of major and minor elements in metal gives an important information for historian of art about technology of production and decoration of gorgets. The traces of mercury were found in the golden layer. This suggested that making Au-Hg amalgam followed by heating was used for covering a copper gorget with the layer of gold. (author)

  9. Silver distribution in crystals and intercrystalline space of YBa2Cu3O7-σ-Ag composite materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozakov, A.T.; Klevtsov, A.N.; Shevtsova, S.I.; Razumovskaya, O.N.

    1991-01-01

    Chemical and phase composition is investigated of the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-σ -Ag composite obtained by means of Ag diffusion in high-temperature superconductor and by sintering yttrium, barium and copper with Ag or Ag 2 O. In composite samples, obtained by sintering at 900 deg C during 24 h in air and oxygen, is found silver not only in intercrystalline gaps in the form of single formations with dimensions of 1-20 μm at small content of copper, but in the crystallite composition. In samples, obtained by Ag diffusion into high-density ceramics, are found conglomerates of silver, uniformly distributed in the all volume

  10. Determination of mercury concentration in biological materials by neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munoz, L.; Gras, N.; Cortes, E.; Cassorla, V.

    1983-01-01

    The objective of this work was to obtain a confident analytical method for measuring the mercury concentration in biological materials. Destructive neutron activation analysis was used for this purpose and a radiochemical separation method was studied to isolate the mercury from its main interferences: sodium and phosphorus, because these elements in biological materials are in high concentrations. The method developed was based on the copper amalgamation under controlled conditions. Yield and reproductibility studies were performed using 203 Hg as radioactive tracer. Finally, food samples of regular consumption were analyzed and the results were compared with those recommended by FAO/WHO. (Author)

  11. Mercury contamination in vicinity of secondary copper smelters in Fuyang, Zhejiang Province, China: Levels and contamination in topsoils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yin Xuebin; Yao Chunxia; Song Jing; Li Zhibo; Zhang Changbo; Qian Wei; Bi De; Li Chenxi; Teng Ying; Wu Longhua; Wan Hongdong; Luo Yongming

    2009-01-01

    In the present study, we aim to investigate the extent of soil contamination by Hg, particularly by anthropogenic Hg, and tentatively estimate the total Hg (Hg T ) accumulation in topsoils (0-15 cm) in Fuyang, Zhejiang Province-a secondary Cu smelter of China. The results show that the levels of soil Hg in the vicinity of the smelters have been substantially elevated following local smelting activities. The spatial distribution of soil Hg in this area reveals a rapid decrease as the distance from the smelter reaches 1.5 km, which is probably due to the quick deposition process of particulate Hg and reactive gaseous Hg emitted from the smelters. The total accumulation of Hg T in the topsoils of the study area of 10.9 km 2 is approximately 365-561 kg and of which 346-543 kg might be contributed by anthropogenic emission alone with an annual emission of 17.3-27.2 kg Hg to the topsoils. - Secondary copper smelters in Fuyang release a considerable amount of mercury into topsoils.

  12. An x-ray standing wave study of silver nano-wires on Cu(110)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stampfl, A.P.J.; Nyberg, G.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: The growth of Ag on Cu(110) is a well characterised adsorption system. At low coverages (under 1 ML), several reconstructions have been reported. Silver is believed to occupy the troughs of the Cu(110) surface, forming one-dimensional linear chains. We have carried out X-ray standing wave measurements especially in the low coverage limit (< 0.5 ML) using the [200], [220] and [111] Bragg reflection planes of copper and several core and auger lines. The usual dipole approximation analysis scheme was replaced by a more accurate description of the standing wave process which allowed use of the intense high energy core levels. We show that Ag does indeed sit along the troughs of the copper surface: the coherent fraction of the silver increased with decreasing coverage, its position being nearly the same as the bulk lattice at low coverages

  13. Mercury and other Mining-Related Contaminants in Ospreys along the Upper Clark Fork River, MT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langner, H.; Domenech, R.; Greene, E.; Staats, M. F.

    2010-12-01

    Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are widely recognized as bio-indicators of the health of aquatic ecosystems. Until the time of fledging, nestlings feed exclusively on fish caught within a few kilometers of the nest. Therefore, tissues of these young birds may reflect the level of contamination of local fish and more generally, the contamination status of the aquatic ecosystem they inhabit. Nests can often be accessed with a boom truck and obtaining small blood samples from the flightless chicks is fairly noninvasive. Ospreys are nesting along the Upper Clark Fork River, Montana, which is heavily contaminated with wastes left from a century of copper and precious metals mining. We have been monitoring the levels of priority pollutants (arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, mercury and selenium) in Osprey chicks along a 250 km section of the river for four years. Objectives are to establish current contaminant status, pinpoint pollution hotspots, and assess the success of restoration efforts. Our results suggest that of highest concern may be the bioaccumulation of mercury with blood levels of up to 0.7 mg/L in the growing chicks. These concentrations are expected to increase many fold upon fledging as feather growth stops, which acts as the major sink for mercury. Interestingly, we found mercury levels increased in downstream direction, in contrast to concentrations of other pollutants. Reasons may be the different origin of mercury versus other contaminants and the distribution of wetlands where mercury can be transformed into highly bioavailable methylmercury. Blood levels of selenium are also elevated throughout the Upper Clark Fork River drainage. We discuss the implications for restoration and remediation of the Clark Fork River.

  14. Volatilization from borosilicate glass melts of simulated Savannah River Plant waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilds, G.W.

    1979-01-01

    Laboratory scale studies determined the rates at which the semivolatile components sodium, boron, lithium, cesium, and ruthenium volatilized from borosilicate glass melts that contained simulated Savannah River Plant waste sludge. Sodium and boric oxides volatilize as the thermally stable compound sodium metaborate, and accounted for approx. 90% of the semivolatiles that evolved. The amounts of semivolatiles that evolved increased linearly with the logarithm of the sodium content of the glass-forming mixture. Cesium volatility was slightly suppressed when titanium dioxide was added to the melt, but was unaffected when cesium was added to the melt as a cesium-loaded zeolite rather than as a cesium carbonate solution. Volatility of ruthenium was not suppressed when the glass melt was blanketed with a nonoxidizing atmosphere. Trace quantities of mercury were removed from vapor streams by adsorption onto a silver-exchanged zeolite. A bed containing silver in the ionic state removed more than 99.9% of the mercury and had a high chemisorption capacity. Beds of lead-, copper-, and copper sulfide-exchanged zeolite-X and also an unexchanged zeolite-X were tested. None of these latter beds had high removal efficiency and high chemisorption capacity

  15. Volatilization from borosilicate glass melts of simulated Savannah River Plant waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilds, G.W.

    1978-01-01

    Laboratory scale studies determined the rates at which the semivolatile components sodium, boron, lithium, cesium, and ruthenium volatilized from borosilicate glass melts that contained simulated Savannah River Plant waste sludge. Sodium and boric oxides volatilize as the thermally stable compound sodium metaborate, and accounted for approx. 90% of the semivolatiles that evolved. The amounts of semivolatiles that evolved increased linearly with the logarithm of the sodium content of the glass-forming mixture. Cesium volatility was slightly suppressed when titanium dioxide was added to the melt, but was unaffected when cesium was added to the melt as a cesium-loaded zeolite rather than as a cesium carbonate solution. Volatility of ruthenium was not suppressed when the glass melt was blanketed with a nonoxidizing atmosphere. Trace quantities of mercury were removed from vapor streams by adsorption onto a silver-exchanged zeolite. A bed containing silver in the ionic state removed more than 99.9% of the mercury and had a high chemisorption capacity. Beds of lead-, copper-, and copper sulfide-exchanged zeolite-X and also an unexchanged zeolite-X were tested. None of these latter beds had high removal efficiency and high chemisorption capacity

  16. Mercury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vilas, F.; Chapman, C.R.; Matthews, M.S.

    1988-01-01

    Papers are presented on future observations of and missions to Mercury, the photometry and polarimetry of Mercury, the surface composition of Mercury from reflectance spectrophotometry, the Goldstone radar observations of Mercury, the radar observations of Mercury, the stratigraphy and geologic history of Mercury, the geomorphology of impact craters on Mercury, and the cratering record on Mercury and the origin of impacting objects. Consideration is also given to the tectonics of Mercury, the tectonic history of Mercury, Mercury's thermal history and the generation of its magnetic field, the rotational dynamics of Mercury and the state of its core, Mercury's magnetic field and interior, the magnetosphere of Mercury, and the Mercury atmosphere. Other papers are on the present bounds on the bulk composition of Mercury and the implications for planetary formation processes, the building stones of the planets, the origin and composition of Mercury, the formation of Mercury from planetesimals, and theoretical considerations on the strange density of Mercury

  17. One-pot Sonochemical Synthesis of Hg-Ag Alloy Microspheres from Liquid Mercury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harika, Villa Krishna; Kumar, Vijay Bhooshan; Gedanken, Aharon

    2018-01-01

    Metallic mercury has always attracted much attention in various fields because of its unique characteristic of forming amalgams. Here, different phases of pure crystalline Hg-Ag amalgam microspheres are synthesized by ultrasonically reacting liquid mercury with an aqueous solution of silver nitrate. Sonicating different molar ratios of liquid metallic Hg with AgNO 3 results in the formation of pure crystalline phases of solid silver amalgams with uniform morphology. The resulting Hg-Ag amalgams from various compositions after sonication are physically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The XRD of the amalgams obtained from the molar ratios of Hg:Ag (1:1.5) and Hg:Ag (1.5:1 and 2:1) match the Schachnerite and Moschellandbergite phases, respectively, whereas the Hg-Ag amalgam prepared from a 1:1Hg:Ag molar ratio results in a mixture of the Schachnerite and Moschellandbergite phases. The obtained amalgam microspheres are between 6 and 10µm in size. The detailed thermal and chemical behaviour of the Ag-Hg systems is also investigated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Study of sorption of platinum metals, gold and silver by phosphonium hydroxide antonite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khudaybergenov, U.; Tajibaev, D.; Yuldasheva, K.T.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of the work was to study and to use a phosphonium hydroxide anionite for concentrating of trace amounts of platinum metals, gold and silver from the mixed solutions composed of copper, nickel, cobalt, iron and zinc. The experiments were done using radionuclides of determined and interfered elements. Conditions for sorption concentrating of the noble metals by phosphonium hydroxide were determined by the selectivity of the phosphonium hydroxide to the noble metals from acid solutions. A noble metal sorption degree was observed from the experiments to be rather high at the acid concentration level of 0.1-0.5 M. At higher than 0.5 M acid concentration sorption activity decreased. With increase of chlorine acid-concentration sorption of palladium was observed to considerably decrease, while iridium sorption was increased. The latter fact can be caused by lowering of hydration of iridium ions. A considerable decrease of capability of the noble metal sorption from nitric acid solutions was observed. It is possible that HNO 3 anions are strongly bound with the anionite functional group. Thus, nitric acid reduces sorption of the noble metals in the following order: Ir>Ru>Pd>Pt>Os, and it does not have effect on the sorption activity of Au and Ag. Increase of H 2 SO 4 concentration in the solution has slightly reduced noble metal sorption activity. Copper, nickel, iron and other metals accompanying the noble metals, at concentration ratio of 1:1000 have resulted in decrease of sorption activity of the noble metals, although sorption of iridium was increased in the presence of copper, silver and nickel. We suggest that copper, silver and nickel have formed the complex functional compounds, which can probably undergo an anion exchange

  19. Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode as a Tool for Monitoring the Electrochemical Reduction of Hydroxocobalamin

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bandžuchová, L.; Šelešovská, R.; Navrátil, Tomáš; Chýlková, J.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 25, č. 1 (2013), s. 213-222 ISSN 1040-0397 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP206/11/1638; GA ČR(CZ) GAP208/12/1645 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : cobalamin * hanging mercury drop electrode * silver solid amalgam electrode Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 2.502, year: 2013

  20. Increased sensitivity of anodic stripping voltammetry at the hanging mercury drop electrode by ultracathodic deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, José A; Rodrigues, Carlos M; Almeida, Paulo J; Valente, Inês M; Gonçalves, Luís M; Compton, Richard G; Barros, Aquiles A

    2011-09-09

    An improved approach to the anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) determination of heavy metals, using the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), is reported. It was discovered that using very cathodic accumulation potentials, at which the solvent reduction occurs (overpotential deposition), the voltammetric signals of zinc(II), cadmium(II), lead(II) and copper(II) increase. When compared with the classical methodology a 5 to 10-fold signal increase is obtained. This effect is likely due to both mercury drop oscillation at such cathodic potentials and added local convection at the mercury drop surface caused by the evolution of hydrogen bubbles. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Diffusion bonding and brazing of high purity copper for linear collider accelerator structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. W. Elmer

    2001-05-01

    Full Text Available Diffusion bonding and brazing of high purity copper were investigated to develop procedures for joining precision machined copper components for the Next Linear Collider (NLC. Diffusion bonds were made over a range of temperatures from 400 °C to 1000 °C, under two different loading conditions [3.45 kPa (0.5 psi and 3.45 MPa (500 psi], and on two different diamond machined surface finishes. Brazes were made using pure silver, pure gold, and gold-nickel alloys, and different heating rates produced by both radiation and induction heating. Braze materials were applied by both physical vapor deposition (PVD and conventional braze alloy shims. Results of the diffusion bonding experiments showed that bond strengths very near that of the copper base metal could be made at bonding temperatures of 700 °C or higher at 3.45 MPa bonding pressure. At lower temperatures, only partial strength diffusion bonds could be made. At low bonding pressures (3.45 kPa, full strength bonds were made at temperatures of 800 °C and higher, while no bonding (zero strength was observed at temperatures of 700 °C and lower. Observations of the fracture surfaces of the diffusion bonded samples showed the effects of surface finish on the bonding mechanism. These observations clearly indicate that bonding began by point asperity contact, and flatter surfaces resulted in a higher percentage of bonded area under similar bonding conditions. Results of the brazing experiments indicated that pure silver worked very well for brazing under both conventional and high heating rate scenarios. Similarly, pure silver brazed well for both the PVD layers and the braze alloy shims. The gold and gold-containing brazes had problems, mainly due to the high diffusivity of gold in copper. These problems led to the necessity of overdriving the temperature to ensure melting, the presence of porosity in the joint, and very wide braze joints. Based on the overall findings of this study, a two

  2. Comparison of mercury mass loading in streams to atmospheric deposition in watersheds of Western North America: Evidence for non-atmospheric mercury sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domagalski, Joseph L.; Majewski, Michael S.; Alpers, Charles N.; Eckley, Chris S.; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Schenk, Liam N.; Wherry, Susan

    2016-01-01

    Annual stream loads of mercury (Hg) and inputs of wet and dry atmospheric Hg deposition to the landscape were investigated in watersheds of the Western United States and the Canadian-Alaskan Arctic. Mercury concentration and discharge data from flow gauging stations were used to compute annual mass loads with regression models. Measured wet and modeled dry deposition were compared to annual stream loads to compute ratios of Hg stream load to total Hg atmospheric deposition. Watershed land uses or cover included mining, undeveloped, urbanized, and mixed. Of 27 watersheds that were investigated, 15 had some degree of mining, either of Hg or precious metals (gold or silver), where Hg was used in the amalgamation process. Stream loads in excess of annual Hg atmospheric deposition (ratio > 1) were observed in watersheds containing Hg mines and in relatively small and medium-sized watersheds with gold or silver mines, however, larger watersheds containing gold or silver mines, some of which also contain large dams that trap sediment, were sometimes associated with lower load ratios (< 0.2). In the non-Arctic regions, watersheds with natural vegetation tended to have low ratios of stream load to Hg deposition (< 0.1), whereas urbanized areas had higher ratios (0.34–1.0) because of impervious surfaces. This indicated that, in ecosystems with natural vegetation, Hg is retained in the soil and may be transported subsequently to streams as a result of erosion or in association with dissolved organic carbon. Arctic watersheds (Mackenzie and Yukon Rivers) had a relatively elevated ratio of stream load to atmospheric deposition (0.27 and 0.74), possibly because of melting glaciers or permafrost releasing previously stored Hg to the streams. Overall, our research highlights the important role of watershed characteristics in determining whether a landscape is a net source of Hg or a net sink of atmospheric Hg.

  3. Mercury adsorption to gold nanoparticle and thin film surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Todd Ashley

    Mercury adsorption to gold nanoparticle and thin film surfaces was monitored by spectroscopic techniques. Adsorption of elemental mercury to colloidal gold nanoparticles causes a color change from wine-red to orange that was quantified by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The wavelength of the surface plasmon mode of 5, 12, and 31 nm gold particles blue-shifts 17, 14, and 7.5 nm, respectively, after a saturation exposure of mercury vapor. Colorimetric detection of inorganic mercury was demonstrated by employing 2.5 nm gold nanoparticles. The addition of low microgram quantities of Hg 2+ to these nanoparticles induces a color change from yellow to peach or blue. It is postulated that Hg2+ is reduced to elemental mercury by SCN- before and/or during adsorption to the nanoparticle surface. It has been demonstrated that surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPRS) is sensitive to mercury adsorption to gold and silver surfaces. By monitoring the maximum change in reflectivity as a function of amount of mercury adsorbed to the surface, 50 nm Ag films were shown to be 2--3 times more sensitive than 50 nm Au films and bimetallic 15 nm Au/35 nm Ag films. In addition, a surface coverage of ˜40 ng Hg/cm2 on the gold surface results in a 0.03° decrease in the SPR angle of minimum reflectivity. SPRS was employed to follow Hg exposure to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au. The data indicate that the hydrophilic or hydrophobic character of the SAM has a significant effect on the efficiency of Hg penetration. Water adsorbed to carboxylic acid end group of the hydrophilic SAMs is believed to slow the penetration of Hg compared to methyl terminated SAMs. Finally, two protocols were followed to remove mercury from gold films: immersion in concentrated nitric acid and thermal annealing up to 200°C. The latter protocol is preferred because it removes all of the adsorbed mercury from the gold surface and does not affect the morphology of the gold surface.

  4. Metal components analysis of metallothionein-III in the brain sections of metallothionein-I and metallothionein-II null mice exposed to mercury vapor with HPLC/ICP-MS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kameo, Satomi; Nakai, Kunihiko; Kurokawa, Naoyuki; Satoh, Hiroshi [Tohoku University, Graduate School of Medicine, Aoba-ku, Sendai (Japan); Kanehisa, Tomokazu; Naganuma, Akira [Tohoku University, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sendai (Japan)

    2005-04-01

    Mercury vapor is effectively absorbed via inhalation and easily passes through the blood-brain barrier; therefore, mercury poisoning with primarily central nervous system symptoms occurs. Metallothionein (MT) is a cysteine-rich metal-binding protein and plays a protective role in heavy-metal poisoning and it is associated with the metabolism of trace elements. Two MT isoforms, MT-I and MT-II, are expressed coordinately in all mammalian tissues, whereas MT-III is a brain-specific member of the MT family. MT-III binds zinc and copper physiologically and is seemed to have important neurophysiological and neuromodulatory functions. The MT functions and metal components of MTs in the brain after mercury vapor exposure are of much interest; however, until now they have not been fully examined. In this study, the influences of the lack of MT-I and MT-II on mercury accumulation in the brain and the changes of zinc and copper concentrations and metal components of MTs were examined after mercury vapor exposure by using MT-I, II null mice and 129/Sv (wild-type) mice as experimental animals. MT-I, II null mice and wild-type mice were exposed to mercury vapor or an air stream for 2 h and were killed 24 h later. The brain was dissected into the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, and the hippocampus. The concentrations of mercury in each brain section were determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentrations of mercury, copper, and zinc in each brain section were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The mercury accumulated in brains after mercury vapor exposure for MT-I, II null mice and wild-type mice. The mercury levels of MT-I, II null mice in each brain section were significantly higher than those of wild-type mice after mercury vapor exposure. A significant change of zinc concentrations with the following mercury vapor exposure for MT-I, II null mice was observed only in the cerebellum analyzed by two-way analysis of

  5. The determination of sulphur in copper, nickel and aluminium alloys by proton activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandecasteele, C.; Dewaele, J.; Esprit, M.; Goethals, P.

    1981-01-01

    The 34 S(p,n) 34 sup(m)Cl reaction, induced by 13 MeV protons is used for the determination of sulphur in copper, nickel and aluminium alloys. The 34 sup(m)Cl is separated by repeated precipitation as silver chloride. The results obtained were resp. 3.08 +- 0.47, 1.47 +- 0.17 and -1 for copper, nickel and aluminium alloys. (orig.)

  6. Graywater Discharges from Vessels

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-01

    metals (e.g., cadmium, chromium, lead, copper , zinc, silver, nickel, and mercury), solids, and nutrients (USEPA, 2008b; USEPA 2010). Wastewater from... flotation ), and disinfection (using ultraviolet light) as compared to traditional Type II MSDs that use either simple maceration and chlorination, or...Coliform Naval Vessels Oceanographic Vessels Small Cruise Ships 25a Vendor 2 Hamann AG Biological Treatment with Dissolved Air Flotation and

  7. Biologic assessment of copper-containing amalgams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mjor, I A; Eriksen, H M; Haugen, E; Skogedal, O

    1977-12-01

    In order to reduce creep and avoid marginal fractures in amalgam restorations, new alloys containing higher proportions of copper have been introduced. Fillings of these materials were placed in cavities prepared in the deciduous teeth of monkeys or placed in polyethylene tubes and implanted subcutaneously in rats. Conventional silver/tin alloys and zinc oxide eugenol cement were used as reference materials. Despite limitations due to the varying depths of cavities and the small number of animals involved it was concluded that the high copper alloys caused more severe pulp damage than the other materials studied. In the implantation studies many of the high copper specimens were exfoliated before the end of the experimental period. It is concluded that in deep cavities these materials require the use of a non-toxic base or lining material although as they are commonly used in young children's teeth the placement of linings and the isolation of the cavity pose problems.

  8. The effect of biologically and chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on biofilm formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chojniak, Joanna; Biedroń, Izabela; Mendrek, Barbara; Płaza, Grażyna

    2017-11-01

    Bionanotechnology has emerged up as integration between biotechnology and nanotechnology for developing biosynthetic and environmental-friendly technology for synthesis of nanomaterials. Different types of nanomaterials like copper, zinc, titanium, magnesium, gold, and silver have applied in the various industries but silver nanoparticles have proved to be most effective against bacteria, viruses and eukaryotic microorganisms. The antimicrobial property of silver nanoparticles are widely known. Due to strong antibacterial property silver nanoparticles are used, e.g. in clothing, food industry, sunscreens, cosmetics and many household and environmental appliances. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized biologically and chemically on the biofilm formation. The biofilm was formed by the bacteria isolated from the water supply network. The commonly used crystal violet assay (CV) was applied for biofilm analysis. In this study effect of biologically synthesized Ag-NPs on the biofilm formation was evaluated.

  9. Porphyry copper assessment of western Central Asia: Chapter N in Global mineral resource assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Byron R.; Mars, John L.; Denning, Paul; Phillips, Jeffrey D.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Zientek, Michael L.; Dicken, Connie L.; Drew, Lawrence J.; with contributions from Alexeiev, Dmitriy; Seltmann, Reimar; Herrington, Richard J.

    2014-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an assessment of resources associated with porphyry copper deposits in the western Central Asia countries of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan and the southern Urals of Kazakhstan and Russia as part of a global mineral resource assessment. The purpose of the study was to (1) delineate permissive areas (tracts) for undiscovered porphyry copper deposits; (2) compile a database of known porphyry copper deposits and significant prospects; (3) where data permit, estimate numbers of undiscovered deposits within those permissive tracts; and (4) provide probabilistic estimates the amounts of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), gold (Au), and silver (Ag) that could be contained in those undiscovered deposits.

  10. The influence of silver content on structure and properties of Sn–Bi–Ag solder and Cu/solder/Cu joints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Šebo, P. [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Račianska 75, 831 02 Bratislava 3 (Slovakia); Švec, P. Sr., E-mail: Peter.Svec@savba.sk [Institute of Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 11 Bratislava 45 (Slovakia); Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Slovak University of Technology, J. Bottu 25, 917 24 Trnava (Slovakia); Janičkovič, D.; Illeková, E. [Institute of Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 11 Bratislava 45 (Slovakia); Zemánková, M. [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Račianska 75, 831 02 Bratislava 3 (Slovakia); Plevachuk, Yu. [Ivan Franko National University, Department of Metal Physics, 79005 Lviv (Ukraine); Sidorov, V. [Ural State Pedagogical University, Cosmonavtov 26, 620017 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation); Švec, P. [Institute of Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 11 Bratislava 45 (Slovakia)

    2013-06-01

    The effect of silver content on structure and properties of Sn{sub 100−x}Bi{sub 10}Ag{sub x} (x=3–10 at%) lead-free solder and Cu–solder–Cu joints was investigated. The microstructure of the solder in both bulk and rapidly solidified ribbon forms was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction. The peculiarities in melting kinetic, studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and silver influence on it are described and discussed. The wetting of a copper substrate was examined by the sessile drop method in the temperature range of 553–673 K in air and deoxidizing gas (N{sub 2}+10%H{sub 2}) at atmospheric pressure. Cu–solder–Cu joints were also prepared in both atmospheres, and their shear strength was measured by the push-off method. The produced solders consisted of tin, bismuth and Ag{sub 3}Sn phases. The product of the interaction between the solder and the copper substrate consists of two phases: Cu{sub 3}Sn, which is adjacent to the substrate, and a Cu{sub 6}Sn{sub 5} phase. The wetting angle in air increased slightly as the silver concentration in the solder increased. Wetting of the copper substrate in N{sub 2}+10H{sub 2} gas shows the opposite tendency: the wetting angle slightly decreased as the silver content in the solder increased. The shear strength of the joints prepared in air (using flux) tends to decrease with increasing production temperature and increasing silver content in the solder. The equivalent decrease in the shear strength of the joints prepared in N{sub 2}+10H{sub 2} is more apparent.

  11. Deposition and Characterization of Silver Oxide from Solution of Silver, Cassava and Sugarcane Juice Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uche E. Ekpunobi

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Silver oxide was deposited on metallic substrates (zinc and lead from silver solution with different additives at a pH of 5, dc current of 0.2A, 4V for 20seconds at 25°C. The additives were cassava solution and sugarcane juice. The metallic substrates served as cathode while a copper electrode serves as the anode. Compositions of the electrolytes were 50ml AgNO3, 50ml AgNO3 and 50ml of cassava solution or 50ml of sugarcane juice. Structural and textural characterizations were carried out on the deposits. The result showed that deposition using zinc substrate gave a better result than that of lead in that the deposits were pure without impurities. Using cassava solution as additive, a pure Ag2O3 deposit was obtained while sugarcane juice gave a pure intergrowth of Ag2O3 and Ag3O4 deposits both on zinc substrates.

  12. Determination of mercury (II) ions based on silver-nanoparticles-assisted growth of gold nanostructures: UV-Vis and surface enhanced Raman scattering approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jun-Liang; Yang, Pei-Chia; Wu, Tsunghsueh; Lin, Yang-Wei

    2018-06-01

    Innovative dual detection methods for mercury(II) ions (Hg(II)) have been developed based on the formation of gold nanostructures (AuNSs) following the addition of mercury-containing solution to a mixture containing an optimized amount of Au(III), H2O2, HCl, and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). In the absence of Hg(II), the addition of Au(III), H2O2, and HCl to the AgNP solution changes the solution's color from yellow to red, and the absorption peak shifts from 400 to 526 nm, indicating the dissolution of AgNPs and the formation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Because of the spontaneous redox reaction of Hg(II) toward AgNPs, the change in the amount of remaining AgNP seed facilitates the generation of irregular AuNSs, resulting in changes in absorption intensity and shifting the peak within the range from 526 to 562 nm depending on the concentration of Hg(II). Under optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) for Hg(II) at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3 was 0.3 μM. We further observed that AgNP-assisted catalytic formation of Au nanomaterials deposited on a surface enhanced Raman scattering active substrate significantly reduced the Raman signal of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid, dependent on the Hg(II) concentration. A linear relationship was observed in the range 0.1 nM-100 μM with a LOD of 0.05 nM (S/N 3.0). As a simple, accurate and precise method, this SERS-based assay has demonstrated its success in determining levels of Hg(II) in real water samples.

  13. Synthesis and characterization of copper nanoparticles by using the exploding wire method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Rashmita; Das, Basanta Kumar; Shyam, Anurag

    2012-01-01

    During the past few years, the synthesis of copper nanoparticles has attracted much attention because of their huge potential for replacing the expensive nano silver inks utilized in conductive printing. This opens a new possibility in printed electronics. Copper-based inkjet inks can be used to form various devices such as solar cells, RF identification tags and electroluminescence devices. This paper describes controlled synthesis of pure copper nanoparticles, mainly by using the exploding wire method. A wire of 0.26 mm in diameter was exploded in a nitrogen environment. The sample was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). XRD revealed the presence of pure copper and AFM revealed the presence of nanoparticles with an average size of 55 nm.

  14. Selective adsorption of silver(I) ions over copper(II) ions on a sulfoethyl derivative of chitosan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, Yulia S; Pestov, Alexandr V; Usoltseva, Maria K; Neudachina, Ludmila K

    2015-12-15

    This study presents a simple and effective method of preparation of N-(2-sulfoethyl) chitosan (NSE-chitosan) that allows obtaining a product with a degree of modification up to 1.0. The chemical structure of the obtained polymers was confirmed by FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopies. Cross-linking of N-(2-sulfoethyl) chitosans by glutaraldehyde allows preparation of sorbents for removal and concentration of metal ions. Capacity of sorbents towards hydroxide ions was determined depending on the degree of sulfoethylation under static and dynamic conditions. Dissociation constants of functional amino groups of the analyzed sorbents were determined by potentiometric titration. It was shown that basicity of the amino groups decreased (wherein pKa decreased from 6.53 to 5.67) with increase in degree of sulfoethylation. It explains the significant influence of sulfo groups on selectivity of sorption of metal ions on N-(2-sulfoethyl) chitosan-based sorbents. The investigated substances selectively remove copper(II) and silver(I) ions from solutions of complex composition. Wherein the selectivity coefficient KAg/Cu increased to 20 (pH 6.5, ammonium acetate buffer solution) with increase in degree of sulfoethylation of the sorbent up to 1.0. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Determination of Zinc, Cadmium, Lead, Copper and Silver Using a Carbon Paste Electrode and a Screen Printed Electrode Modified with Chromium(III Oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Koudelkova

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the preparation and electrochemical application of a chromium(III oxide modified carbon paste electrode (Cr-CPE and a screen printed electrode (SPE, made from the same material and optimized for the simple, cheap and sensitive simultaneous determination of zinc, cadmium, lead, copper and the detection of silver ions, is described. The limits of detection and quantification were 25 and 80 µg·L−1 for Zn(II, 3 and 10 µg·L−1 for Cd(II, 3 and 10 µg·L−1 for Pb(II, 3 and 10 µg·L−1 for Cu(II, and 3 and 10 µg·L−1 for Ag(I, respectively. Furthermore, this promising modification was transferred to the screen-printed electrode. The limits of detection for the simultaneous determination of zinc, cadmium, copper and lead on the screen printed electrodes were found to be 350 µg·L−1 for Zn(II, 25 µg·L−1 for Cd(II, 3 µg·L−1 for Pb(II and 3 µg·L−1 for Cu(II. Practical usability for the simultaneous detection of these heavy metal ions by the Cr-CPE was also demonstrated in the analyses of wastewaters.

  16. Determination of Zinc, Cadmium, Lead, Copper and Silver Using a Carbon Paste Electrode and a Screen Printed Electrode Modified with Chromium(III) Oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koudelkova, Zuzana; Syrovy, Tomas; Ambrozova, Pavlina; Moravec, Zdenek; Kubac, Lubomir; Hynek, David; Richtera, Lukas; Adam, Vojtech

    2017-08-09

    In this study, the preparation and electrochemical application of a chromium(III) oxide modified carbon paste electrode (Cr-CPE) and a screen printed electrode (SPE), made from the same material and optimized for the simple, cheap and sensitive simultaneous determination of zinc, cadmium, lead, copper and the detection of silver ions, is described. The limits of detection and quantification were 25 and 80 µg·L -1 for Zn(II), 3 and 10 µg·L -1 for Cd(II), 3 and 10 µg·L -1 for Pb(II), 3 and 10 µg·L -1 for Cu(II), and 3 and 10 µg·L -1 for Ag(I), respectively. Furthermore, this promising modification was transferred to the screen-printed electrode. The limits of detection for the simultaneous determination of zinc, cadmium, copper and lead on the screen printed electrodes were found to be 350 µg·L -1 for Zn(II), 25 µg·L -1 for Cd(II), 3 µg·L -1 for Pb(II) and 3 µg·L -1 for Cu(II). Practical usability for the simultaneous detection of these heavy metal ions by the Cr-CPE was also demonstrated in the analyses of wastewaters.

  17. Neurotoxicity of dental amalgam is mediated by zinc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobner, D; Asrari, M

    2003-03-01

    The use of dental amalgam is controversial largely because it contains mercury. We tested whether amalgam caused toxicity in neuronal cultures and whether that toxicity was caused by mercury. In this study, we used cortical cell cultures to show for the first time that amalgam causes nerve cell toxicity in culture. However, the toxicity was not blocked by the mercury chelator, 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate (DMPS), but was blocked by the metal chelator, calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (CaEDTA). DMPS was an effective mercury chelator in this system, since it blocked mercury toxicity. Of the components that comprise amalgam (mercury, zinc, tin, copper, and silver), only zinc neurotoxicity was blocked by CaEDTA. These results indicate that amalgam is toxic to nerve cells in culture by releasing zinc. While zinc is known to be neurotoxic, ingestion of zinc is not a major concern because zinc levels in the body are tightly regulated.

  18. Co-Bioleaching of Chalcopyrite and Silver-Bearing Bornite in a Mixed Moderately Thermophilic Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Congren Yang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Chalcopyrite and bornite are two important copper minerals, and they often coexist. In this study, the co-bioleaching of chalcopyrite and silver-bearing bornite by mixed moderately thermophilic culture at 50 °C was investigated. The bioleaching results show that the extraction percentage of Cu for co-bioleaching of chalcopyrite (Ccp and silver-bearing bornite (Bn (Ccp/Bn = 3:1 was 94.6%. Compared to bioleaching of chalcopyrite or silver-bearing bornite alone, the Cu extraction percentage was greatly enhanced when they were bioleached together. The leaching residues were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. Silver-bearing bornite dissolved preferentially compared to chalcopyrite, due to galvanic interactions. Simultaneously, Ag+ was released from the silver-bearing bornite into solution. Ag2S formed on the surface because Cu and Fe in the chalcopyrite were replaced by Ag+, accelerating chalcopyrite dissolution and enrichment of Ag on the surface of the chalcopyrite.

  19. Improvements mineral dressing and extraction processes of gold-silver ores from San Pedro Frio Mining District, Colombia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanez Traslavina, J. J.; Vargas Avila, M. A.; Garcia Paez, I. H.; Pedraza Rosas, J. E.

    2005-01-01

    The San Pedro Frio district mining, Colombia, is a rich region production gold-silver ores. Nowadays, the extraction processes used are amalgamation, percolation cyanidation and precipitation with zinc wood. Due to the ignorance of the ore characteristics, gold and silver treatment processes are inadequate and not efficient. In addition the inappropriate use of mercury and cyanide cause environmental contamination. In this research the ore characterization was carried out obtained fundamental parameters for the technical selection of more efficient gold and silver extraction processes. Experimental work was addressed to the study of both processes the agitation cyanidation and the adsorption on activated carbon in pulp. As a final result proposed a flowsheet to improve the precious metals recovery and reduce the environment contamination. (Author)

  20. Alloying behavior of iron, gold and silver in AlCoCrCuNi-based equimolar high-entropy alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, U.S.; Hung, U.D.; Yeh, J.W.; Chen, S.K.; Huang, Y.S.; Yang, C.C.

    2007-01-01

    High-entropy alloys are newly developed alloys that are composed, by definition, of at least five principal elements with concentrations in the range of 5-35 at.%. Therefore, the alloying behavior of any given principal element is significantly affected by all the other principal elements present. In order to elucidate this further, the influence of iron, silver and gold addition on the microstructure and hardness of AlCoCrCuNi-based equimolar alloys has been examined. The as-cast AlCoCrCuNi base alloy is found to have a dendritic structure, of which only solid solution FCC and BCC phases can be observed. The BCC dendrite has a chemical composition close to that of the nominal alloy, with a deficiency in copper however, which is found to segregate and form a FCC Cu-rich interdendrite. The microstructure of the iron containing alloys is similar to that of the base alloy. It is found that both of these aforementioned alloys have hardnesses of about 420 HV, which is equated to their similar microstructures. The as-cast ingot forms two layers of distinct composition with the addition of silver. These layers, which are gold and silver in color, are determined to have a hypoeutectic Ag-Cu composition and a multielement mixture of the other principal elements, respectively. This indicates the chemical incompatibility of silver with the other principal elements. The hardnesses of the gold (104 HV) and silver layers (451 HV) are the lowest and highest of the alloy systems studied. This is attributed to the hypoeutectic Ag-Cu composition of the former and the reduced copper content of the latter. Only multielement mixtures, i.e. without copper segregation, form in the gold containing alloy. Thus, it may be said that gold acts as a 'mixing agent' between copper and the other elements. Although several of the atom pairs in the gold containing alloy have positive enthalpies, thermodynamic considerations show that the high entropy contribution is sufficient to counterbalance

  1. Environmental assessment of mercury pollution in urban tailings from gold mining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiva, Manuel A G; Morales, Sandra

    2013-04-01

    It is well-known that small-scale artisanal mining is a source of mercury emissions into the environment, mainly from the use of rudimentary technologies that use mercury amalgamation in the extraction process. Mines near Andacollo, which is located in the Coquimbo region of Chile, use primitive methods to mine gold and copper. In this study, we determined the mercury content of gold mining wastes from Andacollo. At each site, we randomly sampled the soil at the surface and at a depth of 2 m following the ISO 10381 guidelines. Mercury analysis was performed with a direct mercury analyzer. At least one site was contaminated at a mercury concentration of 13.6±1.4 mg kg(-1), which was above the international recommendations that were set by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment's soil quality guidelines (CA-SQG) and the Dutch guidelines (NL-RIVM). At least four of the fourteen sites in this study were within the control and tolerance levels of these recommendations. Better characterization of these sites is required to establish whether they represent a risk to the local community. Based on the US-EPA recommendations, which have a higher tolerance limit, none of the fourteen sites should pose a risk to humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Application of PIXE to study ancient Iranian silver coins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hajivaliei, M.; Mohammadifar, Y.; Ghiyasi, K.; Jaleh, B.; Lamehi-Rachti, M.; Oliaiy, P.

    2008-01-01

    A number of ancient Iranian silver coins belonging to Khosrau II (592-626 A.D.) minted during Sasanians dynasty were analyzed using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique. The 2 MeV proton beam with a current of 2-3 nA from AEOI, Van de Graaff accelerator was used to bombard the coins. The characteristic X-rays emitted from the samples, were detected by a Si(Li) detector from ORTEC with an energy resolution of 170 eV at 5.9 keV. The detector was placed in the beam direction at 135 deg. The elements Cl, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Au and Pb were observed in the coins along with the major component silver. The percentage of silver varied between 85.87 and 93.39%. The possible correlation between the composition of coins and the minting time or the minting location of coins was the prime goal. There was a negative correlation between copper and silver. The weight of coins varied between 4.02 and 4.30 g. Going through the results, it seems that the local mines were used to die-strike the coins. The obtained results are in good agreement with archaeological records

  3. Application of PIXE to study ancient Iranian silver coins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hajivaliei, M. [Department of Physics, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: mhaji65@yahoo.com; Mohammadifar, Y. [Department of Archaeology, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ghiyasi, K.; Jaleh, B. [Department of Physics, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Lamehi-Rachti, M.; Oliaiy, P. [Van de Graaff Laboratory, AEOI, P.O. Box 11365-8486, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2008-04-15

    A number of ancient Iranian silver coins belonging to Khosrau II (592-626 A.D.) minted during Sasanians dynasty were analyzed using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique. The 2 MeV proton beam with a current of 2-3 nA from AEOI, Van de Graaff accelerator was used to bombard the coins. The characteristic X-rays emitted from the samples, were detected by a Si(Li) detector from ORTEC with an energy resolution of 170 eV at 5.9 keV. The detector was placed in the beam direction at 135 deg. The elements Cl, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Au and Pb were observed in the coins along with the major component silver. The percentage of silver varied between 85.87 and 93.39%. The possible correlation between the composition of coins and the minting time or the minting location of coins was the prime goal. There was a negative correlation between copper and silver. The weight of coins varied between 4.02 and 4.30 g. Going through the results, it seems that the local mines were used to die-strike the coins. The obtained results are in good agreement with archaeological records.

  4. Application of PIXE to study ancient Iranian silver coins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajivaliei, M.; Mohammadifar, Y.; Ghiyasi, K.; Jaleh, B.; Lamehi-Rachti, M.; Oliaiy, P.

    2008-04-01

    A number of ancient Iranian silver coins belonging to Khosrau II (592-626 A.D.) minted during Sasanians dynasty were analyzed using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique. The 2 MeV proton beam with a current of 2-3 nA from AEOI, Van de Graaff accelerator was used to bombard the coins. The characteristic X-rays emitted from the samples, were detected by a Si(Li) detector from ORTEC with an energy resolution of 170 eV at 5.9 keV. The detector was placed in the beam direction at 135°. The elements Cl, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Au and Pb were observed in the coins along with the major component silver. The percentage of silver varied between 85.87 and 93.39%. The possible correlation between the composition of coins and the minting time or the minting location of coins was the prime goal. There was a negative correlation between copper and silver. The weight of coins varied between 4.02 and 4.30 g. Going through the results, it seems that the local mines were used to die-strike the coins. The obtained results are in good agreement with archaeological records.

  5. RECYCLING OF PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS AIMING SILVER RECOVERY: A HYDROMETALLURGICAL ROUTE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Paulo Kohler Caldas

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is characterize printed circuit board of computers and propose a hydrometallurgical route for silver recovery present in its composition. Initially, the printed circuit board was comminuted in both knife and hammer mills. The comminuted material was characterized by sieve analysis, chemical analysis by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES and loss on ignition. Leaching tests were conducted in sulfuric acid, sulfuric acid in an oxidizing medium and nitric acid. The results indicated that the printed circuit board is mainly composed of copper (19.42%. Silver content of 0.045% was found. The route for silver recovery was leaching in sulfuric acid at 75°C for 18 hours. Then, leaching in sulfuric acid at 75°C in an oxidizing medium for 6 hours and nitric acid leaching at room temperature for 2 hours. Through of this route, 96.6% of silver was recovered.

  6. Radiation stability of colloidal metals in aqueous solutions: silver and other metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ershov, B.G.

    1998-01-01

    The effect of accelerated electrons and γ-rays of 60N i on the stability of aqueous solutions of colloidal silver was studied. The threshold of absorbed dose, at which the stability dramatically decreases and coagulation of the metal occurs, was found. This critical dose corresponds to the reduction of silver ions determining the electrical potential of the sols. Radiation neutralization was also found for cadmium was not observed in the case of thallium, copper and platinum. A mechanism of the effect of radiation, taking into account the electrostatic factor in the stability of metal sols, was considered. (author)

  7. Human exposure assessment of silver and copper migrating from an antimicrobial nanocoated packaging material into an acidic food simulant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannon, Joseph Christopher; Kerry, Joseph P; Cruz-Romero, Malco; Azlin-Hasim, Shafrina; Morris, Michael; Cummins, Enda

    2016-09-01

    To examine the human exposure to a novel silver and copper nanoparticle (AgNP and CuNP)/polystyrene-polyethylene oxide block copolymer (PS-b-PEO) food packaging coating, the migration of Ag and Cu into 3% acetic acid (3% HAc) food simulant was assessed at 60 °C for 10 days. Significantly lower migration was observed for Ag (0.46 mg/kg food) compared to Cu (0.82 mg/kg food) measured by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). In addition, no distinct population of AgNPs or CuNPs were observed in 3% HAc by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The predicted human exposure to Ag and Cu was used to calculate a margin of exposure (MOE) for ionic species of Ag and Cu, which indicated the safe use of the food packaging in a hypothetical scenario (e.g. as fruit juice packaging). While migration exceeded regulatory limits, the calculated MOE suggests current migration limits may be conservative for specific nano-packaging applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Copper Homeostasis in Escherichia coli and Other Enterobacteriaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rensing, Christopher; Franke, Sylvia

    2007-04-01

    An interesting model for studying environmental influences shaping microbial evolution is provided by a multitude of copper resistance and copper homeostasis determinants in enteric bacteria. This review describes these determinants and tries to relate their presence to the habitat of the respective organism, as a current hypothesis predicts that the environment should determine an organism's genetic makeup. In Escherichia coli there are four regulons that are induced in the presence of copper. Two, the CueR and the CusR regulons, are described in detail. A central component regulating intracellular copper levels, present in all free-living enteric bacteria whose genomes have so far been sequenced, is a Cu(I)translocating P-type ATPase. The P-type ATPase superfamily is a ubiquitous group of proteins involved in the transport of charged substrates across biological membranes. Whereas some components involved in copper homeostasis can be found in both anaerobes and aerobes, multi-copper oxidases (MCOs) implicated in copper tolerance in E. coli, such as CueO and the plasmid-based PcoA, can be found only in aerobic organisms. Several features indicate that CueO, PcoA, and other related MCOs are specifically adapted to combat copper-mediated oxidative damage. In addition to these well-characterized resistance operons, there are numerous other genes that appear to be involved in copper binding and trafficking that have not been studied in great detail. SilE and its homologue PcoE, for example, are thought to effect the periplasmic binding and sequestration of silver and copper, respectively.

  9. Risk factors for mercury exposure of children in a rural mining town in northern Chile.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johan Ohlander

    Full Text Available Traditional gold mining is associated with mercury exposure. Especially vulnerable to its neurotoxic effects is the developing nervous system of a child. We aimed to investigate risk factors of mercury exposure among children in a rural mining town in Chile.Using a validated questionnaire distributed to the parents of the children, a priori mercury risk factors, potential exposure pathways and demographics of the children were obtained. Mercury levels were measured through analyzing fingernail samples. Logistic regression modeling the effect of risk factors on mercury levels above the 75(th percentile were made, adjusted for potential confounders.The 288 children had a mean age of 9.6 years (SD = 1.9. The mean mercury level in the study population was 0.13 µg/g (SD 0.11, median 0.10, range 0.001-0.86 µg/g. The strongest risk factor for children's odds of high mercury levels (>75(th percentile, 0.165 µg/g was to play inside a house where a family member worked with mercury (OR adjusted 3.49 95% CI 1.23-9.89. Additionally, children whose parents worked in industrial gold mining had higher odds of high mercury levels than children whose parents worked in industrial copper mining or outside mining activities.Mercury exposure through small-scale gold mining might affect children in their home environments. These results may further help to convince the local population of banning mercury burning inside the households.

  10. Copper nanorod array assisted silicon waveguide polarization beam splitter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sangsik; Qi, Minghao

    2014-04-21

    We present the design of a three-dimensional (3D) polarization beam splitter (PBS) with a copper nanorod array placed between two silicon waveguides. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of a metal nanorod array selectively cross-couples transverse electric (TE) mode to the coupler waveguide, while transverse magnetic (TM) mode passes through the original input waveguide without coupling. An ultra-compact and broadband PBS compared to all-dielectric devices is achieved with the LSPR. The output ports of waveguides are designed to support either TM or TE mode only to enhance the extinction ratios. Compared to silver, copper is fully compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology.

  11. Deposition of corrosion products from dowels on human dental root surfaces measured with proton microprobe technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brune, D.; Brunell, G.; Lindh, U.

    1982-01-01

    Distribution of copper, mercury and zinc on human teeth root surfaces adjacent to dowels of gold alloy or brass as well as dowels of brass in conjunction with an amalgam crown has been measured with a proton microprobe using PIXE techniques. Upper limits of the contents of gold and silver on the root surfaces were established. Pronounced concentration profiles of copper and zinc were observed on the root surfaces of teeth prepared with dowels of brass. The dowel of gold alloy revealed only zinc deposition. The major part of copper on the root surfaces is assumed to arise from corrosion of the dowels, and has been transported to the surface by diffusion through the dential tubuli. Zinc in the volume analysed is a constituent of dentin tissue as well as a corrosion product of the brass dowel. Part of the zinc level could also be ascribed to erosion of the zinc phosphate cement matrix. The volumes analysed were (25 x 25 x 25)μm 3 . The levels of copper, mercury and zinc on the tooth root surfaces attained values up to about 200, 20 and 600 ppm, respectively. (orig.)

  12. Deposition of corrosion products from dowels on human dental root surfaces measured with proton microprobe technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brune, D.; Brunell, G.; Lindh, U.

    1982-06-01

    Distribution of copper, mercury and zinc on human teeth root surfaces adjacent to dowels of gold alloy or brass as well as dowels of brass in conjunction with an amalgam crown has been measured with a proton microprobe using PIXE techniques. Upper limits of the contents of gold and silver on the root surfaces were established. Pronounced concentration profiles of copper and zinc were observed on the root surfaces of teeth prepared with dowels of brass. The dowel of gold alloy revealed only zinc deposition. The major part of copper on the root surfaces is assumed to arise from corrosion of the dowels, and has been transported to the surface by diffusion through the dential tubuli. Zinc in the volume analysed is a constituent of dentin tissue as well as a corrosion product of the brass dowel. Part of the zinc level could also be ascribed to erosion of the zinc phosphate cement matrix. The volumes analysed were (25×25×25)μm 3. The levels of copper, mercury and zinc on the tooth root surfaces attained values up to about 200, 20 and 600 ppm, respectively.

  13. Mercury Report-Children's exposure to elemental mercury

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... gov . Mercury Background Mercury Report Additional Resources Mercury Report - Children's Exposure to Elemental Mercury Recommend on Facebook ... I limit exposure to mercury? Why was the report written? Children attending a daycare in New Jersey ...

  14. Silver-free Metallization Technology for Producing High Efficiency, Industrial Silicon Solar Cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Michaelson, Lynne M [Technic Inc; Munoz, Krystal [Technic Inc.; Karas, Joseph [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States); Bowden, Stuart [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States); Rand, James A; Gallegos, Anthony [Technic Inc.; Tyson, Tom [Technic Inc.; Buonassisi, Tonio [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

    2018-03-30

    The goal of this project is to provide a commercially viable Ag-free metallization technology that will both reduce cost and increase efficiency of standard silicon solar cells. By removing silver from the front grid metallization and replacing it with lower cost nickel, copper, and tin metal, the front grid direct materials costs will decrease. This reduction in material costs should provide a path to meeting the Sunshot 2020 goal of $1 / WDC. As of today, plated contacts are not widely implemented in large scale manufacturing. For organizations that wish to implement pilot scale manufacturing, only two equipment choices exist. These equipment manufacturers do not supply plating chemistry. The main goal of this project is to provide a chemistry and equipment solution to the industry that enables reliable manufacturing of plated contacts marked by passing reliability results and higher efficiencies than silver paste front grid contacts. To date, there have been several key findings that point to plated contacts performing equal to or better than the current state of the art silver paste contacts. Poor adhesion and reliability concerns are a few of the hurdles for plated contacts, specifically plated nickel directly on silicon. A key finding of the Phase 1 budget period is that the plated contacts have the same adhesion as the silver paste controls. This is a huge win for plated contacts. With very little optimization work, state of the art electrical results for plated contacts on laser ablated lines have been demonstrated with efficiencies up to 19.1% and fill factors ~80% on grid lines 40-50 um wide. The silver paste controls with similar line widths demonstrate similar electrical results. By optimizing the emitter and grid design for the plated contacts, it is expected that the electrical performance will exceed the silver paste controls. In addition, cells plated using Technic chemistry and equipment pass reliability testing; i.e. 1000 hours damp heat and 200

  15. X-ray diffraction analysis of LiCu2O2 crystals with additives of silver atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sirotinkin, V. P.; Bush, A. A.; Kamentsev, K. E.; Dau, H. S.; Yakovlev, K. A.; Tishchenko, E. A.

    2015-01-01

    Silver-containing LiCu 2 O 2 crystals up to 4 × 8 × 8 mm in size were grown by the crystallization of 80(1-x)CuO · 20 x AgNO 3 · 20Li 2 CO 3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) mixture melt. According to the X-ray spectral and Rietveld X-ray diffraction data, the maximum amount of silver incorporated in the LiCu 2 O 2 structure is about 4 at % relative to the copper content. It was established that silver atoms occupy statistically crystallographic positions of lithium atoms. The incorporation of silver atoms is accompanied by a noticeable increase in parameter c of the LiCu 2 O 2 rhombic unit cell, a slight increase in parameter a, and a slight decrease in parameter b

  16. The interaction of copper ions with Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli: an X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanzen, Ulrike; Bovenkamp-Langlois, Lisa; Klysubun, Wantana; Hormes, Josef; Prange, Alexander

    2018-04-01

    The antimicrobial properties of copper ions have been known for a long time. However, the exact mechanism of action of the transition metal on microorganisms has long been unclear. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy at the Cu K edge allows the determination of copper speciation in Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that have been treated with Cu(II) and Cu(I) solutions. The death/inactivation of the bacteria was observed using plate counting and light microscopy. The Cu K-XANES spectra of the two Gram-negative bacteria are different than those of the Gram-positive strain. The results clearly show that the Cu + -S bond contributes to the antibacterial activity of copper, as in the case of silver. The detailed evaluation of the differentiated absorption spectra shows that Cu + (not Cu 2+ ) is the dominant ion that binds to the bacteria. Because Cu + is not the most common copper ion, copper is not as effective an antibacterial agent as silver, whose common valency is actually + 1. Any reaction of copper with phosphorus from the bacteria can be excluded after the evaluation of the absorption spectra.

  17. Electro-recovery of gold and silver from a cyanide leaching solution using a three-dimensional reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reyes-Cruz, V.; Gonzalez, I.; Oropeza, M.T

    2004-10-01

    The selective electro-recovery of gold and silver values from cyanide leaching solutions containing copper was accomplished in a three-dimensional (3D) electrochemical reactor. This case let to contrast three different points of view when dealing with a composed metallic solution: First, the thermodynamic predictions; second, the microelectrolysis approach and finally, the macroelectrolysis experiments. Standard electrode potentials for the study solution would indicate a tendency for gold to deposit first. However, microelectrolysis studies of the three-metallic solution indicated that gold and silver are co-deposited onto a Vitreous carbon (VC) electrode without copper interference in a narrow potential range. Mass balances during the macroelectrolysis experiments (batch model assuming mass transfer control) indicated a preferential deposition of silver during the first ten minutes, even if gold deposition also occurred. On the other hand, values of Stanton (St) for different linear flow velocity corroborated that metals concentration gradients may establish a limit to make profitable the fluid velocity increase in an electrochemical flow cell. Electrolysis experiments were carried out under potentiostatic (at -1400 mV versus SCE) and galvanostatic (at -3.9 Am{sup -2}) conditions in the FM-01 LC flow cell.

  18. Electro-recovery of gold and silver from a cyanide leaching solution using a three-dimensional reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes-Cruz, V.; Gonzalez, I.; Oropeza, M.T.

    2004-01-01

    The selective electro-recovery of gold and silver values from cyanide leaching solutions containing copper was accomplished in a three-dimensional (3D) electrochemical reactor. This case let to contrast three different points of view when dealing with a composed metallic solution: First, the thermodynamic predictions; second, the microelectrolysis approach and finally, the macroelectrolysis experiments. Standard electrode potentials for the study solution would indicate a tendency for gold to deposit first. However, microelectrolysis studies of the three-metallic solution indicated that gold and silver are co-deposited onto a Vitreous carbon (VC) electrode without copper interference in a narrow potential range. Mass balances during the macroelectrolysis experiments (batch model assuming mass transfer control) indicated a preferential deposition of silver during the first ten minutes, even if gold deposition also occurred. On the other hand, values of Stanton (St) for different linear flow velocity corroborated that metals concentration gradients may establish a limit to make profitable the fluid velocity increase in an electrochemical flow cell. Electrolysis experiments were carried out under potentiostatic (at -1400 mV versus SCE) and galvanostatic (at -3.9 Am -2 ) conditions in the FM-01 LC flow cell

  19. Determination of high content of copper lead zinc silver in Geo-logical Samples by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry%火焰原子吸收法测定地质样品中高含量的铜铅锌银

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    文双辉

    2014-01-01

    This paper deals with the method of non sensitive line determination of high content of copper lead zinc silver in Geological Samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry, The optimum condi-tions for determination of each component are determined through ex-periment The working curve range 0-125 ug g/ ml,Determination of values and standard values,Component relative standard deviation (n=11) were lower than 1%, suitable for the determination of copper lead zinc silver in the range of 1%-15% samples.%本文研究了采用非灵敏线火焰原子吸收法测定地质样中较高含量的铜铅锌银的方法,通过实验确定了各组分测定的最佳条件。工作曲线范围0-125微克/毫升,测定值与标准值相吻合,各组分相对标准差(n=11)均低于1%,适合地质样品中较高含量铜铅锌银的测定。

  20. Increased sensitivity of anodic stripping voltammetry at the hanging mercury drop electrode by ultracathodic deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodrigues, Jose A.; Rodrigues, Carlos M.; Almeida, Paulo J.; Valente, Ines M.; Goncalves, Luis M. [Requimte - Departamento de Quimica e Bioquimica, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, no. 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Compton, Richard G. [Department of Chemistry, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ (United Kingdom); Barros, Aquiles A., E-mail: ajbarros@fc.up.pt [Requimte - Departamento de Quimica e Bioquimica, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, no. 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal)

    2011-09-09

    Highlights: {yields} At very cathodic accumulation potentials (overpotential deposition) the voltammetric signals of Zn{sup 2+}, Cd{sup 2+}, Pb{sup 2+} and Cu{sup 2+} increase. {yields} 5 to 10-fold signal increase is obtained. {yields} This effect is likely due to mercury drop oscillation at such cathodic potentials. {yields} This effect is also likely due to added local convection at the mercury drop surface caused by the evolution of hydrogen bubbles. - Abstract: An improved approach to the anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) determination of heavy metals, using the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), is reported. It was discovered that using very cathodic accumulation potentials, at which the solvent reduction occurs (overpotential deposition), the voltammetric signals of zinc(II), cadmium(II), lead(II) and copper(II) increase. When compared with the classical methodology a 5 to 10-fold signal increase is obtained. This effect is likely due to both mercury drop oscillation at such cathodic potentials and added local convection at the mercury drop surface caused by the evolution of hydrogen bubbles.

  1. Were mercury emission factors for Chinese non-ferrous metal smelters overestimated? Evidence from onsite measurements in six smelters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Lei; Wang Shuxiao; Wu Qingru; Meng Yang; Yang Hai; Wang Fengyang; Hao Jiming

    2012-01-01

    Non-ferrous metal smelting takes up a large proportion of the anthropogenic mercury emission inventory in China. Zinc, lead and copper smelting are three leading sources. Onsite measurements of mercury emissions were conducted for six smelters. The mercury emission factors were 0.09–2.98 g Hg/t metal produced. Acid plants with the double-conversion double-absorption process had mercury removal efficiency of over 99%. In the flue gas after acid plants, 45–88% was oxidized mercury which can be easily scavenged in the flue gas scrubber. 70–97% of the mercury was removed from the flue gas to the waste water and 1–17% to the sulfuric acid product. Totally 0.3–13.5% of the mercury in the metal concentrate was emitted to the atmosphere. Therefore, acid plants in non-ferrous metal smelters have significant co-benefit on mercury removal, and the mercury emission factors from Chinese non-ferrous metal smelters were probably overestimated in previous studies. - Highlights: ► Acid plants in smelters provide significant co-benefits for mercury removal (over 99%). ► Most of the mercury in metal concentrates for smelting ended up in waste water. ► Previously published emission factors for Chinese metal smelters were probably overestimated. - Acid plants in smelters have high mercury removal efficiency, and thus mercury emission factors for Chinese non-ferrous metal smelters were probably overestimated.

  2. Study on solid phase extraction and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of nickel, silver, cobalt, copper, cadmium and lead with MCI GEL CHP 20Y as sorbent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Guangyu; Fen Weibo; Lei Chun; Xiao Weilie; Sun Handong

    2009-01-01

    A solid phase extraction and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) for the determination of nickel, silver, cobalt, copper, cadmium and lead with MCI GEL CHP 20Y as sorbent was studied. Trace amounts of chromium, nickel, silver, cobalt, copper, cadmium and lead were reacted with 2-(2-quinolinil-azo)-4-methyl-1,3-dihydroxidobenzene (QAMDHB) followed by adsorption onto MCI GEL CHP 20Y solid phase extraction column, and 1.0 mol L -1 HNO 3 was used as eluent. The metal ions in 300 mL solution can be concentrated to 1.0 mL, representing an enrichment factor of 300 was achieved. The recoveries of analytes at pH 8.0 with 1.0 g of resin were greater than 95% without interference from alkaline, earth alkaline and some metal ions. When detected with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, the detection limits in the original samples were 1.4 ng L -1 for Cr(III), 1.0 ng L -1 for Ni(II), 0.85 ng L -1 for Ag(I), 1.2 ng L -1 for Co(II), 1.0 ng L -1 for Cu(II), 1.2 ng L -1 for Cd(II) and 1.3 ng L -1 for Pb(II). The validation of the procedure was performed by the analysis of the certified standard reference materials, and the presented procedure was applied to the determination of analytes in biological, water and soil samples with good results (recoveries range from 89 to 104%, and R.S.D.% lower than 3.2%. The results agreed with the standard value or reference method)

  3. Nickel–copper hybrid electrodes self-adhered onto a silicon wafer by supersonic cold-spray

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jong-Gun; Kim, Do-Yeon; Kang, Byungjun; Kim, Donghwan; Song, Hee-eun; Kim, Jooyoung; Jung, Woonsuk; Lee, Dukhaeng; Al-Deyab, Salem S.; James, Scott C.; Yoon, Sam S.

    2015-01-01

    High-performance electrodes are fabricated through supersonic spraying of nickel and copper particles. These electrodes yield low specific resistivities, comparable to electrodes produced by screen-printed silver paste and light-induced plating. The appeal of this fabrication method is the low cost of copper and large area scalability of supersonic spray-coating techniques. The copper and nickel electrode was fabricated in the open air without any pre- or post-treatment. The spray-coated copper–nickel electrode was characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Although both SEM and TEM images confirmed voids trapped between flattened particles in the fabricated electrode, this electrode’s resistivity was order 10 −6 Ω cm, which is comparable to the bulk value for pure copper

  4. SERS and DFT study of copper surfaces coated with corrosion inhibitor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio Muniz-Miranda

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Azole derivatives are common inhibitors of copper corrosion due to the chemical adsorption occurring on the metal surface that gives rise to a protective film. In particular, 1,2,4-triazole performs comparable to benzotriazole, which is much more widely used, but is by no means an environmentally friendly agent. In this study, we have analyzed the adsorption of 1,2,4-triazole on copper by taking advantage of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS effect, which highlights the vibrational features of organic ligand monolayers adhering to rough surfaces of some metals such as gold, silver and copper. To ensure the necessary SERS activation, a roughening procedure was implemented on the copper substrates, resulting in nanoscale surface structures, as evidenced by microscopic investigation. To obtain sufficient information on the molecule–metal interaction and the formation of an anticorrosive thin film, the SERS spectra were interpreted with the aid of theoretical calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT approach.

  5. Extraction chromatography of trace concentrations of mercury(II)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smejkal, Z.; Zepla, Z.; Tauferova, J.

    1984-01-01

    The separation of trace amounts of mercury(II) from aqueous solutions has been studied in mixtures of other metal ions (concentration Hg(II) 10 μg/100 ml). The Hg(II) separation was carried out in glass columns filled with Synachrom E-5 carrier impregnanted with a solution of bis(diethyldithiocarbamate)-copper(II) in a mixture of 1.2-dichlorbenzene and cyclohexane (1:1). Trapped Hg(II) was eluted by HCl. The course of the chromatographic process was followed by gamma spectroscopy. Separation yields of Hg(II) were about 90%. (author)

  6. Crystallic silver amalgam--a novel electrode material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danhel, Ales; Mansfeldova, Vera; Janda, Pavel; Vyskocil, Vlastimil; Barek, Jiri

    2011-09-21

    A crystallic silver amalgam was found to be a suitable working electrode material for voltammetric determination of electrochemically reducible organic nitro-compounds. Optimum conditions for crystal growth were found, the crystal surface was investigated by atomic force microscopy in tapping mode and single crystals were used for the preparation of quasi-cylindrical single crystal silver amalgam electrode (CAgAE). An electrochemical behavior of this alternative electrode material was investigated in aqueous media by direct current voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) using 4-nitrophenol as a model compound. Applicable potential windows of the CAgAE were found comparable with those obtained at a hanging mercury drop electrode, providing high hydrogen overpotential, and polished silver solid amalgam electrode. Thanks to the smooth single crystal electrode surface, the effect of the passivation is not too pronounced, direct DPV determination of 100 μmol l(-1) of 4-nitrophenol at CAgAEs in 0.2 mol l(-1) acetate buffer pH 4.8 provides a RSD around 1.5% (n = 15). DPV calibration curves of 4-nitrophenol are linear in the whole concentration range 1-100 μmol l(-1) with a limit of quantification of 1.5 μmol l(-1). The attempt to increase sensitivity by application of AdSV was not successful. The mechanism of 4-nitrophenol reduction at CAgAE was investigated by CV.

  7. Got Mercury?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyers, Valerie E.; McCoy, J. Torin; Garcia, Hector D.; James, John T.

    2009-01-01

    Many of the operational and payload lighting units used in various spacecraft contain elemental mercury. If these devices were damaged on-orbit, elemental mercury could be released into the cabin. Although there are plans to replace operational units with alternate light sources, such as LEDs, that do not contain mercury, mercury-containing lamps efficiently produce high quality illumination and may never be completely replaced on orbit. Therefore, exposure to elemental mercury during spaceflight will remain possible and represents a toxicological hazard. Elemental mercury is a liquid metal that vaporizes slowly at room temperature. However, it may be completely vaporized at the elevated operating temperatures of lamps. Although liquid mercury is not readily absorbed through the skin or digestive tract, mercury vapors are efficiently absorbed through the respiratory tract. Therefore, the amount of mercury in the vapor form must be estimated. For mercury releases from lamps that are not being operated, we utilized a study conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Quality to calculate the amount of mercury vapor expected to form over a 2-week period. For longer missions and for mercury releases occurring when lamps are operating, we conservatively assumed complete volatilization of the available mercury. Because current spacecraft environmental control systems are unable to remove mercury vapors, both short-term and long-term exposures to mercury vapors are possible. Acute exposure to high concentrations of mercury vapors can cause irritation of the respiratory tract and behavioral symptoms, such as irritability and hyperactivity. Chronic exposure can result in damage to the nervous system (tremors, memory loss, insomnia, etc.) and kidneys (proteinurea). Therefore, the JSC Toxicology Group recommends that stringent safety controls and verifications (vibrational testing, etc.) be applied to any hardware that contains elemental mercury that could yield

  8. Some metallurgical aspects of ancient silver coins discovered in romania (original and imitations) - provenance, destination and commercial networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Constantinescu, Bogdan; Cojocaru, Viorel; Bugoi, Roxana

    2007-01-01

    The analyses of source materials combined with analyses of archaeological objects could distinguish from pieces produced in different regions and periods. For coins, chemical differences that occur during preparation of alloys will affect the elemental composition and could be used for the identification of technologies and workshops and also to distinguish between originals and counterfeits. We illustrate with the case of Geto-Dacian coins (Thassos and Macedonian - Phillip II, Alexander the Greek and Phillip III 'barbarized' tetradrachms) and with Greek Apollonia and Dyrrhachium silver drachms emitted by these old cities for Pompejus during the First Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompejus, coins found on the actual territory of Romania (ancient Dacia), probably used as bursaries to pay the Dacian mercenaries allied with Pompejus. To analyze the chemical composition of these coins, we used two methods: Am-241 and Pu-238 gamma sources based X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and in vacuum 3 MeV protons Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE). Some special measurements on the edge of some coins (to identify plated exemplaires) were done using the ATOMKI Debrecen Van de Graaf 2 MeV protons microprobe, in the frame of European Action COST G1. Concerning the Geto-Dacian coins, we observed: - There is a reduction of the fineness in time that is specific to almost every coin issue. - Tin concentration in coins increased in time; at the beginning of the coinage (250 - 150 B.C.) this was more or less proportionally to copper. This could suggest that bronze was used in alloying silver coins instead of copper. A very high correlation is not expected because the ratio Sn/Cu in ancient bronzes is far to be a constant. A value of the Cu/Sn ratio close to 1 is not surprising because such objects were common in antiquity. In the last issues (150-50 B.C.) seems that Sn replaced partially Cu. - It seems that tin alloying appeared first time in Transylvania around 150 BC and then

  9. Histochemical demonstration of mercury in the olfactory system of salmon (Salmo salar L.) following treatments with dietary methylmercuric chloride and dissolved mercuric chloride

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baatrup, E; Døving, K B

    1991-01-01

    The deposition of organic and inorganic mercury compounds was studied histochemically in the salmon (Salmo salar L.) olfactory system. One group of salmon was given fodder pellets containing methylmercuric chloride (CH3HgCl, 99 micrograms Hg/g) for 4 weeks. Other groups of fish were exposed...... to dissolved mercuric chloride (HgCl2, 270 micrograms Hg/liter) for 2, 6, and 12 hr, respectively. In both series of experiments, the radioisotope 203Hg was included in order to determine the accumulation of mercury in the olfactory system. Gamma-spectrometry showed that both mercury compounds accumulated...... in the olfactory rosettes and their nerves. Tissue sections from the rosettes and olfactory nerves were subjected to autometallographic silver enhancement, thereby rendering mercury deposits visible for light and electron microscopy. Microscopic analysis demonstrated an intense and comprehensive Hg deposition...

  10. Florida seagrass habitat evaluation: A comparative survey for chemical quality

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, Michael A. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 (United States)]. E-mail: lewis.michael@epa.gov; Dantin, Darrin D. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 (United States); Chancy, Cynthia A. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 (United States); Abel, Kathryn C. [Department of Biological Sciences, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514 (United States); Lewis, Christopher G. [Department of Water and Soil Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32103 (United States)

    2007-03-15

    Contaminant concentrations were determined for media associated with 13 Florida seagrass beds. Concentrations of 10 trace metals were more commonly detected in surface water, sediment and two seagrass species than PAHs, pesticides and PCBs. Concentrations of copper and arsenic in surface water exceeded Florida aquatic life criteria more frequently than other trace elements. Total organic carbon, mercury, chromium, zinc, total chlordane, total PAHs, total PCBs, DDD and DDE were significantly greater in seagrass-rooted sediments than adjacent non-vegetated sediments. Total DDT, DDD, DDE, total chlordane, arsenic, copper and nickel exceeded proposed sediment quality guidelines at six of 13 grass beds. Pesticides, PAHs, and PCBs were below detection in seagrass tissues. Mercury, cadmium, nickel, lead and silver were detected in 50% or more of the tissues for Thalassia testudinum (turtle grass) and Halodule wrightii (shoal grass). Spatial, interspecific and tissue differences were usually an order of magnitude or less. - Some anthropogenic contaminants were prevalent in seagrass and their rooted sediments but the biological significance is unknown.

  11. Dose of radiation enhancement, using silver nanoparticles in a human tissue equivalent gel dosimeter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Muhammad; Waheed, Muhammad Mohsin; Anjum, Muhammad Naeem

    2016-01-01

    To quantify the radiation dose enhancement in a human tissue-equivalent polymer gel impregnated with silver nanoparticles. The case-control study was conducted at the Bahawalpur Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, in January 2014. Silver nanoparticles used in this study were prepared by wet chemical method. Polymer gel was prepared by known quantity of gelatine, methacrylic acid, ascorbic acid, copper sulphate pentahydrate, hydroquinone and water. Different concentrations of silver nanoparticles were added to the gel during its cooling process. The gel was cooled in six plastic vials of 50ml each. Two vials were used as a control sample while four vials were impregnated with silver nanoparticles. After 22 hours, the vials were irradiated with gamma rays by aCobalt-60 unit. Radiation enhancement was assessed by taking magnetic resonance images of the vials. The images were analysed using Image J software. The dose enhancement factor was 24.17% and 40.49% for 5Gy and 10Gy dose respectively. The dose enhancement factor for the gel impregnated with 0.10mM silver nanoparticles was 32.88% and 51.98% for 5Gy and 10Gy dose respectively. The impregnation of a tissue-equivalent gel with silver nanoparticles resulted in dose enhancement and this effect was magnified up to a certain level with the increase in concentration of silver nanoparticles.

  12. Neutron diffraction experiments on ordered silver nuclei at Picokelvin temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Annila, A.J.; Hakonen, P.J.; Lounasmaa, O.V.; Nummila, K.K.; Oja, A.S.; Tuoriniemi, J.T.; Clausen, K.N.; Lindgaard, P.-A.; Siemensmeyer, K.; Steiner, M.; Weinfurter, H.; Viertioe, H.E.

    1990-08-01

    Nuclear spins in silver constitute an ideal antiferromagnetic spin - 1/2 model system in an fcc lattice. The nuclei are well localized and the interactions coupling the spins can be calculated from first principles. Strong quantum effects are expected owing to spin - 1/2. The magnetic phase diagram of the system has been investigated by several theoretical methods. In the present study the feasibility of neutron diffraction experiments on nuclear magnetic order in silver is discussed. The requirements for cryogenics and for neutron equipment are based on experience with current NMR measurements on sivler and with neutron diffraction work on copper. It is concluded that an experiment using an isotopically enriched specimen of either 107 Ag or 109 Ag is feasible but difficult. (author) 1 tab., 16 ills., 38 refs

  13. Optimization of silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell for sensing applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirzaditabar, Farzad; Saliminasab, Maryam

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, resonance light scattering (RLS) properties of a silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell, based on quasi-static approach and plasmon hybridization theory, are investigated. Scattering spectrum of silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell has two intense and clearly separated RLS peaks and provides a potential for biosensing based on surface plasmon resonance and surface-enhanced Raman scattering. The two RLS peaks in silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell are optimized by tuning the geometrical dimensions. In addition, the optimal geometry is discussed to obtain the high sensitivity of silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell. As the silver core radius increases, the sensitivity of silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell decreases whereas increasing the middle dielectric thickness increases the sensitivity of silver-dielectric-silver nanoshell

  14. Sustainable colloidal-silver-impregnated ceramic filter for point-of-use water treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyanedel-Craver, Vinka A; Smith, James A

    2008-02-01

    Cylindrical colloidal-silver-impregnated ceramic filters for household (point-of-use) water treatment were manufactured and tested for performance in the laboratory with respect to flow rate and bacteria transport. Filters were manufactured by combining clay-rich soil with water, grog (previously fired clay), and flour, pressing them into cylinders, and firing them at 900 degrees C for 8 h. The pore-size distribution of the resulting ceramic filters was quantified by mercury porosimetry. Colloidal silver was applied to filters in different quantities and ways (dipping and painting). Filters were also tested without any colloidal-silver application. Hydraulic conductivity of the filters was quantified using changing-head permeability tests. [3H]H2O water was used as a conservative tracer to quantify advection velocities and the coefficient of hydrodynamic dispersion. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was used to quantify bacterial transport through the filters. Hydraulic conductivity and pore-size distribution varied with filter composition; hydraulic conductivities were on the order of 10(-5) cm/s and more than 50% of the pores for each filter had diameters ranging from 0.02 to 15 microm. The filters removed between 97.8% and 100% of the applied bacteria; colloidal-silver treatments improved filter performance, presumably by deactivation of bacteria. The quantity of colloidal silver applied per filter was more important to bacteria removal than the method of application. Silver concentrations in effluent filter water were initially greater than 0.1 mg/L, but dropped below this value after 200 min of continuous operation. These results indicate that colloidal-silver-impregnated ceramic filters, which can be made using primarily local materials and labor, show promise as an effective and sustainable point-of-use water treatment technology for the world's poorest communities.

  15. Evidence of transboundary mercury and other pollutants in the Puyango-Tumbes River basin, Ecuador-Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Bruce G; Veiga, Marcello M; Kaplan, Robert J; Adler Miserendino, Rebecca; Schudel, Gary; Bergquist, Bridget A; Guimarães, Jean R D; Sobral, Luis G S; Gonzalez-Mueller, Carolina

    2018-04-25

    In Portovelo in southern Ecuador, 87 gold processing centers along the Puyango-Tumbes River produce an estimated 6 tonnes of gold per annum using a combination of mercury amalgamation and/or cyanidation and processing poly-metallic ores. We analysed total Hg, Hg isotopes, total arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in water and sediment along the Puyango in 2012-2014. The highest total mercury (THg) concentrations in sediments were found within a 40 km stretch downriver from the processing plants, with levels varying between 0.78-30.8 mg kg-1 during the dry season and 1.80-70.7 mg kg-1 during the wet season, with most concentrations above the CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment) Probable Effect Level (PEL) of 0.5 mg kg-1. Data from mercury isotopic analyses support the conclusion that mercury use during gold processing in Portovelo is the source of Hg pollution found downstream in the Tumbes Delta in Peru, 160 km away. The majority of the water and sediment samples collected from the Puyango-Tumbes River had elevated concentrations of, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc exceeding the CCME thresholds for the Protection of Aquatic Life. At monitoring points immediately below the processing plants, total dissolved concentrations of these metals exceeded the thresholds by 156-3567 times in surface waters and by 19-740 times in sediment. The results illustrate a significant transboundary pollution problem involving Hg and other toxic metals, amplified by the fact that the Puyango-Tumbes River is the only available water source in the semi-arid region of northern Peru.

  16. Electrochemical stripping determination of traces of copper, lead, cadmium and zinc in zirconium metal and zirconium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stulik, K.; Beran, P.; Dolezal, J.; Opekar, F.

    1978-01-01

    Procedures have been developed for the determination of copper, lead, cadmium and zinc in zirconium metal and zirconium dioxide, at concentrations of 1ppm or less. Zirconium metal was dissolved in sulphuric acid, and zirconium dioxide decomposed under pressure with hydrofluoric acid. Sample solutions were prepared in dilute sulphuric acid. For the stripping determination, the sample solution was either mixed with a complexing tartrate base electrolyte or the pre-electrolysis was carried out in acid solution, with the acid solution being exchanged for a pure base electrolyte (e.g. an acetate buffer) for the stripping step. The stripping step was monitored by d.c., differential pulse and Kalousek commutator voltammetry and the three methods were compared. A stationary mercury-drop electrode can generally be used for all the methods, whereas a mercury-film electrode is suitable only for the d.c. voltammetric determination of copper, lead and cadmium, as pulse measurements with films are poorly reproducible and the electrodes are easily damaged. The relative standard deviation does not exceed 20%. Some samples contained relatively large amounts of copper, which is best separated by electrodeposition on a platinum electrode. (author)

  17. Certification of a copper metal reference material for neutron dosimetry. (EC nuclear reference material 522)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ingelbrecht, C.; Pauwels, J.; Lievens, F.

    1993-01-01

    Copper metal of ≥ 99.995% nominal purity in the form of 0.1 and 1.0 mm thick foil and 0.5 and 1.0 mm diameter wire has been certified for its cobalt and silver mass fractions. The certified values are -1 and 0.95 ± 0.04 mg.kg -1 respectively, based on 66 results for cobalt and 88 results for silver obtained by nine laboratories using three methods. This reference material, EC-NRM 522, is intended for reactor neutron dosimetry. (authors). 14 refs., 1 annexe, 10 tabs., 2 figs

  18. Book review: Hollowed ground—Copper mining and community building on Lake Superior, 1840s–1990s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Klaus J.

    2010-01-01

    In 1843, six years before the Forty-niners headed west for the goldfields of California, the United States’ first great mineral rush began to a land that was, as Patrick Henry told Congress, “beyond the most distant wilderness and remote as the moon.” He was referring to the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan. This rush was not for gold or silver, but for copper. And not just any copper, but native copper, so pure it required little refining before use. The early horde of fortune-seekers came with visions of finding mountains of solid copper, spurred on by stories of large masses of “float copper” that included the famous Ontonagon Boulder, a large mass of native copper originally found lying 32 km up the steep and rugged valley of the Ontonagon River (and now gathering dust in the Smithsonian Museum).

  19. A natural analogue for copper waste canisters: The copper-uranium mineralised concretions in the Permian mudrocks of south Devon, United Kingdom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milodowski, A.E.; Styles, M.T.; Hards, V.L.

    2000-08-01

    This report presents the results of a small-scale pilot study of the mineralogy and alteration characteristics of unusual sheet-like native copper occurring together with uraniferous and vanadiferous concretions in mudstones and siltstones of the Permian Littleham Mudstone Formation, at Littleham Cove, south Devon, England. The host mudstones and siltstones are smectitic and have been compacted through deep Mesozoic burial. The occurrence of native copper within these rocks represents a natural analogue for the long-term behaviour of copper canisters, sealed in a compacted clay (bentonite) backfill, that will be used for the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste by the SKB. The study was undertaken by the British Geological Survey (BGS) on behalf of SKB between November 1999 and June 2000. The study was based primarily on archived reference material collected by the BGS during regional geological and mineralogical surveys of the area in the 1970's and 1980's. However, a brief visit was made to Littleham Cove in January 2000 to try to examine the native copper in situ and to collect additional material. Unfortunately, recent landslips and mudflows obscured much of the outcrop, and only one new sample of native copper could be collected. The native copper occurs as thin plates, up to 160 mm in diameter, which occur parallel to bedding in the Permian Littleham Mudstone Formation at Littleham Cove (near Budleigh Salterton) in south Devon. Each plate is made up of composite stacks of individual thin copper sheets each 1-2 mm thick. The copper is very pure (>99.4% Cu) but is accompanied by minor amounts of native silver (also pure - >99%) which occurs as small inclusions within the native copper. Detailed mineralogical and petrological studies of the native copper sheets, using optical petrography, backscattered scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and electron probe microanalytical techniques, reveal a complex history of

  20. A natural analogue for copper waste canisters: The copper-uranium mineralised concretions in the Permian mudrocks of south Devon, United Kingdom

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milodowski, A.E.; Styles, M.T.; Hards, V.L. [Natural Environment Research Council (United Kingdom). British Geological Survey

    2000-08-01

    This report presents the results of a small-scale pilot study of the mineralogy and alteration characteristics of unusual sheet-like native copper occurring together with uraniferous and vanadiferous concretions in mudstones and siltstones of the Permian Littleham Mudstone Formation, at Littleham Cove, south Devon, England. The host mudstones and siltstones are smectitic and have been compacted through deep Mesozoic burial. The occurrence of native copper within these rocks represents a natural analogue for the long-term behaviour of copper canisters, sealed in a compacted clay (bentonite) backfill, that will be used for the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste by the SKB. The study was undertaken by the British Geological Survey (BGS) on behalf of SKB between November 1999 and June 2000. The study was based primarily on archived reference material collected by the BGS during regional geological and mineralogical surveys of the area in the 1970's and 1980's. However, a brief visit was made to Littleham Cove in January 2000 to try to examine the native copper in situ and to collect additional material. Unfortunately, recent landslips and mudflows obscured much of the outcrop, and only one new sample of native copper could be collected. The native copper occurs as thin plates, up to 160 mm in diameter, which occur parallel to bedding in the Permian Littleham Mudstone Formation at Littleham Cove (near Budleigh Salterton) in south Devon. Each plate is made up of composite stacks of individual thin copper sheets each 1-2 mm thick. The copper is very pure (>99.4% Cu) but is accompanied by minor amounts of native silver (also pure - >99%) which occurs as small inclusions within the native copper. Detailed mineralogical and petrological studies of the native copper sheets, using optical petrography, backscattered scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and electron probe microanalytical techniques, reveal a complex history of

  1. Crack Growth in Mercury Embrittled Aluminum Alloys under Cyclic and Static Loading Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-03-01

    STATEMENT (ol the abalract entered In Block 20, It dlHerent from Report) 18. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES This was a thesis in partial fulfillment of...argued that the strengthening that occurs from cold rolling suppresses crack nucleation at the surface under monotonlc loading. Under cyclic loading...precracking. Copper was chosen because It can be easily electrodeposited on aluminum, easily wet with mercury, and remains wet almost indefinitely

  2. Determination of mercury and copper in water samples by activation analysis using preconcentration on emission spectroscopic carbon powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagatsuka, Sumiko; Tanizaki, Yoshiyuki

    1978-01-01

    A simple preconcentration procedure for mercury and copper was examined in the activation analysis of water samples. The preconcentration using pure activated carbon has been reported in several papers. The authors found that the carbon powder for emission spectroscopic analysis showed the high purity equivalent to pure activated carbon. The influence of various parameters in adsorption conditions was studied by radioactive tracers 197 Hg and 64 Cu. It was confirmed that 100% of these elements were adsorbed on carbon powders as pyrrolidine dithiocarbonate complexes at an acidity of pH 6 - 8, the temperature of 50 0 C and the stirring time of 30 minutes. This method was applied to the activation analysis of the river water samples taken from the upper stream area of the Arakawa river and the ground water samples taken from the wells of the environs of Tokyo Megalopolis. The carbon powders which adsorbed these elements were filtered, dried and analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The Hg concentrations of 0.01 - 0.1 ppb in river water and 0.03 - 1.4 ppb in ground water were obtained as well as the Cu concentrations of 0.3 - 3.0 ppb in ground water. The limits of determination of this method are 0.01 ppb Hg and 0.2 ppb Cu in the case of 1.1 sample of fresh water. (auth.)

  3. Manufacture and Characterization of Silver-free Braze Material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baffie, T.; Calapez, J.; Chabrol, C. [DRT/LITEN/DTH, CEA/GRENOBLE, 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); De Vito, E. [UTEN/DTH/LCPEM, CEA/GRENOBLE, 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble (France); Portra, T. [DRT/LITEN/DTH, CEA/GRENOBLE, 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble CEDEX 9 (France); Peacock, A. [EFDA-Close Support Unit, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstrasse, 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Rigal, E. [CEA Grenoble, DRT/LITEN, F-38054 Grenoble (France)

    2007-07-01

    Full text of publication follows: Induction brazing is one of the most successful techniques for joining Beryllium (Be) armour tiles to CuCrZr heat sink material, used as High Heat Flux Components for ITER. In the early days of the development for Fusion, silver based brazes were used because of their appropriate liquidus and solidus temperatures and their wide application in different industrial fields. However, it is known that the use of silver containing brazes could have a negative impact on the vacuum systems in ITER because of the transmutation of silver into cadmium. Copper (Cu) based brazes were produced in ribbons form using melt spinning technique. Several compositions in the Cu-Sn-In-Ni-Mn system were elaborated and characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). All the ribbons obtained are micro crystallized. Foils are 8 mm wide and their thickness is between 60 and 90 {mu}m. Among the compositions studied, two were selected for Be/CuCrZr mock-ups brazing tests; their ribbons can be easily manipulated and their last transformations are close to 740 deg. C. The results of the braze trials on the mock-ups are also reported here. (authors)

  4. Planet Mercury

    Science.gov (United States)

    1974-01-01

    Mariner 10's first image of Mercury acquired on March 24, 1974. During its flight, Mariner 10's trajectory brought it behind the lighted hemisphere of Mercury, where this image was taken, in order to acquire important measurements with other instruments.This picture was acquired from a distance of 3,340,000 miles (5,380,000 km) from the surface of Mercury. The diameter of Mercury (3,031 miles; 4,878 km) is about 1/3 that of Earth.Images of Mercury were acquired in two steps, an inbound leg (images acquired before passing into Mercury's shadow) and an outbound leg (after exiting from Mercury's shadow). More than 2300 useful images of Mercury were taken, both moderate resolution (3-20 km/pixel) color and high resolution (better than 1 km/pixel) black and white coverage.

  5. Recent results for bonding S-65C grade Be to copper alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dombrowski, D.W.

    1995-01-01

    Novel processes for bonding beryllium to copper alloys without the use of a silver bonding aid have been developed at Brush Wellman. Tensile strength results will be presented at room temperature and elevated temperatures. A comparison will be made between bond strengths derived from rectangular tensile specimens and reduced section tensile specimens. Failure modes of the specimens at various temperatures will be shown

  6. Voltammetric study of adenine complex with copper on mercury electrode

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jelen, František; Kouřilová, Alena; Hasoň, Stanislav; Kizek, R.; Trnková, L.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 21, 3-5 (2009), s. 439-444 ISSN 1040-0397 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA100040602; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA400040804; GA AV ČR(CZ) KAN200040651 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040507; CEZ:AV0Z50040702 Keywords : cyclic voltammetry * elimination voltammetry * copper-adenine complex Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 2.630, year: 2009

  7. Nonenzymatic glucose sensing based on deposited palladium nanoparticles on epoxy-silver electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutes, Albert; Carraro, Carlo; Maboudian, Roya

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → New nonenzymatic glucose sensor material. → Modified epoxy-silver electrodes with palladium nanoparticles. → Simple electroless surface modification. → Wide linear response range. → Easy implementation. - Abstract: A new approach for nonenzymatic glucose sensing, based on a simple modification of epoxy-silver surfaces deposited on the tip of commercial copper electric wires, is presented. Palladium was galvanically displaced on the surface of the epoxy-silver surface in order to obtain metal nanoparticles that act as catalyst for the direct oxidation of glucose. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of the metal nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the metallic nature of the formed nanostructures on the surface. Electrochemical characterization and calibration of the palladium-modified epoxy-silver electrode is reported, obtaining a linear range of 1-20 mM for the detection of glucose with low interference of ascorbic acid and uric acid. A simple 3-step coulometry was used as the detection technique. The developed sensing material is believed to be a great candidate for integration in small devices for clinical essays, due to the simplicity and cost effectiveness of the presented approach, compared to the state-of-the-art devices reported recently in the literature. Simplicity in the coulometry determinations makes these Pd-modified epoxy-silver sensors a good candidate for easy glucose determinations.

  8. Solid state bonding of beryllium to copper and vanadium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Floyd, D.R.; Liby, A.L.; Weaver, W.

    1993-01-01

    The intent of this effort was to demonstrate that ingot metallurgy (IM) beryllium (Be) can be bonded to dissimilar metals such as copper (Cu) or vanadium (V) at low temperatures by using silver (Ag) as a bonding aid. It is hoped that success at the coupon stage will stimulate more extensive studies of the mechanical and thermal integrity of such joints, leading ultimately to use of this technology to fabricate first wall structures for ITER. (orig.)

  9. Measurement of labile copper in wine by medium exchange stripping potentiometry utilising screen printed carbon electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Andrew C; Kontoudakis, Nikolaos; Barril, Celia; Schmidtke, Leigh M; Scollary, Geoffrey R

    2016-07-01

    The presence of copper in wine is known to impact the reductive, oxidative and colloidal stability of wine, and techniques enabling measurement of different forms of copper in wine are of particular interest in understanding these spoilage processes. Electrochemical stripping techniques developed to date require significant pretreatment of wine, potentially disturbing the copper binding equilibria. A thin mercury film on a screen printed carbon electrode was utilised in a flow system for the direct analysis of labile copper in red and white wine by constant current stripping potentiometry with medium exchange. Under the optimised conditions, including an enrichment time of 500s and constant current of 1.0μA, the response range was linear from 0.015 to 0.200mg/L. The analysis of 52 red and white wines showed that this technique generally provided lower labile copper concentrations than reported for batch measurement by related techniques. Studies in a model system and in finished wines showed that the copper sulfide was not measured as labile copper, and that loss of hydrogen sulfide via volatilisation induced an increase in labile copper within the model wine system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Review of reasearch and technical development focused

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slavkovský Marián

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available Treatment of flotation tetrahedrite concentrates produced from the of ore mined in the Rudňany and Rožňava ore deposits is a very complex technological problem. This problem has not been solved succesfuly so far. The presence and quality of undesired metal components such as antimony and mercury in the product of a wet ore dressing is a limiting factor for subsequent metalurgical process to obtain pure metal copper and/or silver in copper smelter plants. This factor has been the principal reason of a great effort provided in this respects by both, manufacturers and reaserchers mainly in the last 25 years. This article is focused on the summary of mentioned activities.

  11. Mercury

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, Irma

    2017-01-01

    Mercury is a naturally occurring metal that exists in several physical and chemical forms. Inorganic mercury refers to compounds formed after the combining of mercury with elements such as chlorine, sulfur, or oxygen. After combining with carbon by covalent linkage, the compounds formed are called

  12. Diffusion of 64Cu in copper-containing chalcogenide glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlasov, Yu.G.; Bychkov, E.A.; Bolotov, A.M.; Tsegel'nik, V.S.; Gavrilov, Yu.A.

    1996-01-01

    Diffusion experiments with 64 Cu radioactive tracer for a number of copper-containing chalcogenide glasses CuI-As 2 Se 3 , Cu-SbI 3 -As 2 Se 3 , CuI-PbI 2 -As 2 Se 3 , CuI-PbI 2 -SbI 3 -As 2 Se 3 and Cu 2 Se-As 2 Se 3 are carried out for the first time. The results of diffusion and electrodiffusion measurements are in correspondence with information on electroconductivity and diffusion in a limited space (cage diffusion) from the Moessbauer spectroscopy on 124 I. It is shown for the first time that the Cheivin factor index for copper-conducting glasses in by 2-3 times higher as compared to silver-conducting glasses with approximate diffusion coefficients indices. 27 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  13. X-ray diffraction analysis of LiCu{sub 2}O{sub 2} crystals with additives of silver atoms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sirotinkin, V. P., E-mail: irotinkin.vladimir@mail.ru; Bush, A. A.; Kamentsev, K. E. [Moscow State Technical University of Radio Engineering, Electronics, and Automation (Russian Federation); Dau, H. S. [People’s Friendship University of Russia (Russian Federation); Yakovlev, K. A. [Moscow State Technical University of Radio Engineering, Electronics, and Automation (Russian Federation); Tishchenko, E. A. [People’s Friendship University of Russia (Russian Federation)

    2015-09-15

    Silver-containing LiCu{sub 2}O{sub 2} crystals up to 4 × 8 × 8 mm in size were grown by the crystallization of 80(1-x)CuO · 20{sub x}AgNO{sub 3} · 20Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) mixture melt. According to the X-ray spectral and Rietveld X-ray diffraction data, the maximum amount of silver incorporated in the LiCu{sub 2}O{sub 2} structure is about 4 at % relative to the copper content. It was established that silver atoms occupy statistically crystallographic positions of lithium atoms. The incorporation of silver atoms is accompanied by a noticeable increase in parameter c of the LiCu{sub 2}O{sub 2} rhombic unit cell, a slight increase in parameter a, and a slight decrease in parameter b.

  14. Reconnaissance and economic geology of Copper Mountain metamorphic complex, Owl Creek Mountains, Wyoming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hausel, W.D.

    1983-01-01

    The Copper Mountain metamorphic complex lies within a westerly trending belt of Precambrian exposures known as the Owl Creek Mountains uplift. The metamorphic complex at Copper Mountain is part of a larger complex known as the Owl Creek Mountains greenstone belt. Until more detailed mapping and petrographic studies can be completed, the Copper Mountain area is best referred to as a complex, even though it has some characteristics of a greestone belt. At least three episodes of Precambrian deformation have affected the supracrustals, and two have disturbed the granites. The final Precambrian deformation event was preceded by a weak thermal event expressed by retrogressive metamorphism and restricted metasomatic alteration. During this event, a second phase of pegmatization was accompanied by hydrothermal solutions. During the Laramide orogeny, Copper Mountain was again modified by deformation. Laramide deformation produced complex gravity faults and keystone grabens. Uranium deposits were formed following major Laramide deformation. The genesis of these deposits is attributable to either the leaching of granites or the leaching of overlying tuffaceous sediments during the Tertiary. Production of metals and industrial minerals has been limited, although some gold, copper, silver, tungsten, beryl, feldspar, and lithium ore have been shipped from Copper Mountain. A large amount of uranium was produced from the Copper Mountain district in the 1950s

  15. Controllable synthesis of silver and silver sulfide nanocrystals via selective cleavage of chemical bonds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Aiwei; Wang Yu; Ye Haihang; Zhou Chao; Yang Chunhe; Li Xu; Peng Hongshang; Zhang Fujun; Hou Yanbing; Teng Feng

    2013-01-01

    A one-step colloidal process has been adopted to prepare silver (Ag) and silver sulfide (Ag 2 S) nanocrystals, thus avoiding presynthesis of an organometallic precursor and the injection of a toxic phosphine agent. During the reaction, a layered intermediate compound is first formed, which then acts as a precursor, decomposing into the nanocrystals. The composition of the as-obtained products can be controlled by selective cleavage of S–C bonds or Ag–S bonds. Pure Ag 2 S nanocrystals can be obtained by directly heating silver acetate (Ag(OAc)) and n-dodecanethiol (DDT) at 200 ° C without any surfactant, and pure Ag nanocrystals can be synthesized successfully if the reaction temperature is reduced to 190 ° C and the amount of DDT is decreased to 1 ml in the presence of a non-coordinating organic solvent (1-octadecene, ODE). Otherwise, the mixture of Ag and Ag 2 S is obtained by directly heating Ag(OAc) in DDT by increasing the reaction temperature or in a mixture of DDT and ODE at 200 ° C. The formation mechanism has been discussed in detail in terms of selective S–C and Ag–S bond dissociation due to the nucleophilic attack of DDT and the lower bonding energy of Ag–S. Interestingly, some products can easily self-assemble into two- or three-dimensional (2D or 3D) highly ordered superlattice structures on a copper grid without any additional steps. The excess DDT plays a key role in the superlattice structure due to the bundling and interdigitation of the thiolate molecules adsorbed on the as-obtained nanocrystals. (paper)

  16. Strategies for the engineered phytoremediation of toxic element pollution: mercury and arsenic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meagher, Richard B; Heaton, Andrew C P

    2005-12-01

    Plants have many natural properties that make them ideally suited to clean up polluted soil, water, and air, in a process called phytoremediation. We are in the early stages of testing genetic engineering-based phytoremediation strategies for elemental pollutants like mercury and arsenic using the model plant Arabidopsis. The long-term goal is to develop and test vigorous, field-adapted plant species that can prevent elemental pollutants from entering the food-chain by extracting them to aboveground tissues, where they can be managed. To achieve this goal for arsenic and mercury, and pave the way for the remediation of other challenging elemental pollutants like lead or radionucleides, research and development on native hyperaccumulators and engineered model plants needs to proceed in at least eight focus areas: (1) Plant tolerance to toxic elementals is essential if plant roots are to penetrate and extract pollutants efficiently from heterogeneous contaminated soils. Only the roots of mercury- and arsenic-tolerant plants efficiently contact substrates heavily contaminated with these elements. (2) Plants alter their rhizosphere by secreting various enzymes and small molecules, and by adjusting pH in order to enhance extraction of both essential nutrients and toxic elements. Acidification favors greater mobility and uptake of mercury and arsenic. (3) Short distance transport systems for nutrients in roots and root hairs requires numerous endogenous transporters. It is likely that root plasma membrane transporters for iron, copper, zinc, and phosphate take up ionic mercuric ions and arsenate. (4) The electrochemical state and chemical speciation of elemental pollutants can enhance their mobility from roots up to shoots. Initial data suggest that elemental and ionic mercury and the oxyanion arsenate will be the most mobile species of these two toxic elements. (5) The long-distance transport of nutrients requires efficient xylem loading in roots, movement through the

  17. 49 CFR 173.164 - Mercury (metallic and articles containing mercury).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... ounces) of mercury per package; (iv) Tubes which are completely jacketed in sealed leakproof metal cases... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Mercury (metallic and articles containing mercury... Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.164 Mercury (metallic and articles containing mercury). (a) For...

  18. Electrochemical Comparison of the Interaction of 5-Nitrouracil with Single- or Double-Stranded DNA at mercury and glassy carbon electrodes

    OpenAIRE

    Ibrahim, Mohamed Sayed; Ibrahim, Hossieny Sameh Mohamed; Kamal, Moustafa Mohamed; Temerk, Yassin Mohamed

    2014-01-01

    The interaction of the 5-Nitrouracil (5NU), with ss-, and ds-DNA was investigated electrochemically in absence and presence of copper ions by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) at hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) and glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surfaces. It was found that, in absence of copper ions, the addition of ss- or ds-DNA to a buffered solution of 5NU results in a decrease on the 5NU redox peak current with a remarkable change in th...

  19. Recovery of mercury from mercury compounds via electrolytic methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, Mark W.; George, William A.

    1988-01-01

    A process for electrolytically recovering mercury from mercury compounds is provided. In one embodiment, Hg is recovered from Hg.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 employing as the electrolyte solution a mixture of HCl and H.sub.2 O. In another embodiment, Hg is electrolytically recovered from HgO wherein the electrolyte solution is comprised of glacial acetic acid and H.sub.2 O. Also provided is an apparatus for producing isotopically enriched mercury compounds in a reactor and then transporting the dissolved compounds into an electrolytic cell where mercury ions are electrolytically reduced and elemental mercury recovered from the mercury compounds.

  20. Liquid-Mercury Free Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode - Tool for Electroanalysis of Organic Compounds

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šelešovská-Fadrná, R.; Navrátil, Tomáš; Vlček, Milan

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 52, č. 6 (2007), s. 911-929 ISSN 0009-2223 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/07/1195; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06035 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503; CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : ascorbic acid * solid silver amalgam electrodes * cysteine * voltammetry Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 0.529, year: 2007

  1. Heavy metals modulate the activity of the purinergic P2X4 receptor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coddou, Claudio; Lorca, Ramon A.; Acuna-Castillo, Claudio; Grauso, Marta; Rassendren, Francois; Huidobro-Toro, J.Pablo

    2005-01-01

    To further characterize the nature of the regulatory metal-binding sites of the rat P2X 4 receptor, several transition heavy metals were tested to examine their ability to mimic the facilitator action of zinc or the inhibitory action of copper. cDNA coding for the rat P2X 4 receptor was injected into Xenopus laevis oocytes; the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique was used to measure and quantify the ATP-evoked currents in the absence or presence of the metals. Cadmium facilitated the ATP-gated currents in a reversible and voltage-independent manner; maximal potentiation occurred within less than 1 min. Cadmium displaced leftward, in a concentration-dependent manner, the ATP concentration-response curve. In contrast, mercury reduced the ATP-gated currents in a reversible, time, and concentration manner. Maximal inhibition occurred after about 5 min of metal application. Cobalt also augmented the ATP-evoked currents, but its action was long lasting and did not reverse even after 45 min of metal washout. Other metals such as lead, nickel, manganese, silver, or gallium did not significantly alter the ATP-gated currents. The co-application of cadmium plus zinc or mercury plus copper caused additive effects. Mutation of H140 by alanine (H140A) augmented both the cadmium-induced facilitation and the mercury-induced inhibition. In contrast, the H241A mutant showed characteristics indistinguishable from the wild type. The H286A mutant showed a normal cadmium-induced potentiation, but an increased mercury inhibition. Out of the metals examined, only cadmium mimicked closely the action of zinc, evidencing commonalities. While mercury mimicked the action of copper, both metals apparently interact at distinct metal-binding sites. The present findings allow us to infer that heavy metals modulate the P2X 4 receptor by acting in at least three separate metal-binding sites

  2. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and silver colloidal solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen Thi Phuong Phong; Ngo Hoang Minh; Ngo Vo Ke Thanh; Dang Mau Chien

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, silver colloidal solutions have been synthesized rapidly in green conditions by using microwave irradiation and non-toxic chemistry substances (acid oxalic, silver nitrate, polyvinyl pyrolidone (PVP; Mw = 55 000)). The particle size and morphology of these solutions can be controlled by altering several factors like the time, the power of microwave exposure, and the ratio of silver oxalate and PVP etc. The silver nanoparticles were fabricated by thermal decomposition of silver oxalate. The synthesized silver colloidal solutions and silver nanoparticles were characterized by several analytical techniques like UV- VIS, XRD, TEM, FESEM/EDS and ICP-AAS studies. Finally, we used the synthesized silver colloidal solutions for antibacterial purpose. The obtained results showed that the synthesized silver colloidal solutions, even at very low concentrations, have highly efficient anti-bacterial property.

  3. High-concentration copper nanoparticles synthesis process for screen-printing conductive paste on flexible substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tam, Sze Kee; Ng, Ka Ming

    2015-01-01

    This study presents a method for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles, which are poised to replace silver nanoparticles in some application areas of printed electronics. This method offers three advantages. Firstly, copper loading in the synthesis reaction can be as high as 1 M, offering high productivity in large-scale production. Secondly, the size of the copper nanoparticles can be controlled from 12 to 99 nm. Thirdly, the surface polarity of the particles can be modified. Thus, a tailor-made product can be synthesized. The synthesis of copper nanoparticles coated with various capping agents, including dodecanethiol, lauric acid, nonanoic acid, polyacrylic acid, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, was demonstrated. The nonanoic acid-coated copper nanoparticles were formulated as a screen-printing conductive paste. The particles were readily dispersed in terpineol, and the paste could be screen printed onto flexible polyester. The electrical resistivity of patterns after a low-temperature (120 °C) sintering treatment was around 5.8 × 10 −5  Ω cm.Graphical Abstract

  4. High-concentration copper nanoparticles synthesis process for screen-printing conductive paste on flexible substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tam, Sze Kee; Ng, Ka Ming, E-mail: kekmng@ust.hk [The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Hong Kong)

    2015-12-15

    This study presents a method for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles, which are poised to replace silver nanoparticles in some application areas of printed electronics. This method offers three advantages. Firstly, copper loading in the synthesis reaction can be as high as 1 M, offering high productivity in large-scale production. Secondly, the size of the copper nanoparticles can be controlled from 12 to 99 nm. Thirdly, the surface polarity of the particles can be modified. Thus, a tailor-made product can be synthesized. The synthesis of copper nanoparticles coated with various capping agents, including dodecanethiol, lauric acid, nonanoic acid, polyacrylic acid, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, was demonstrated. The nonanoic acid-coated copper nanoparticles were formulated as a screen-printing conductive paste. The particles were readily dispersed in terpineol, and the paste could be screen printed onto flexible polyester. The electrical resistivity of patterns after a low-temperature (120 °C) sintering treatment was around 5.8 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm.Graphical Abstract.

  5. Determination of copper and mercury in phosphate fertilizers employing direct solid sampling analysis and high resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira Souza, Sidnei; François, Luciane Luiza; Borges, Aline Rocha; Vale, Maria Goreti Rodrigues; Araujo, Rennan Geovanny Oliveira

    2015-12-01

    The present study proposes the determination of copper and mercury in phosphate fertilizers by direct solid sampling analysis (SS) employing high resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS GF AAS). For Cu determination, two analytical lines were used: 327.3960 nm and 249.2146 nm. Hg determination was carried out on the line 253.6521 nm and 100 μg KMnO4 was used as chemical modifier. The optimal pyrolysis temperature for Cu determination was 1300 °C. Atomization temperatures for Cu and Hg were 2400 and 1100 °C, respectively. External calibration with aqueous standard solutions was adopted for both elements. The limits of quantification (LoQs) and characteristic mass (m0) obtained for Cu determination were 0.4 μg g- 1 and 1.12 ng, respectively, on line 249.2146 nm, and 64 μg g- 1 and 25 pg on 327.3960 nm. For mercury, LoQ and m0 were 4.8 ng g- 1 and 39 pg, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed methods was confirmed by the analysis of standard reference material (SRM) of Trace Elements in Multi-Nutrient Fertilizer (SRM NIST 695). The precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), was better than 8.2% for Hg and 7.7% for the Cu (n = 5), considered satisfactory for microanalysis in solid sample. Four fertilizer samples acquired in commercial establishments in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, were analyzed. The optimized analytical methods were simple, fast, accurate, precise and free of spectral interferences for the determination of Cu and Hg in phosphate fertilizer samples by SS-HR-CS GF AAS, avoiding the dissolution of the sample, the use of harmful reagents and the generation of residues.

  6. The role of subcutaneous adipose tissue in supporting the copper balance in rats with a chronic deficiency in holo-ceruloplasmin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ekaterina Y Ilyechova

    Full Text Available We have previously shown that (1 an acute deficiency in blood serum holo-ceruloplasmin (Cp developed in rats that were fed fodder containing silver ions (Ag-fodder for one month and (2 the deficiency in holo-Cp was compensated by non-hepatic holo-Cp synthesis in rats that were chronically fed Ag-fodder for 6 months (Ag-rats. The purpose of the present study is to identify the organ(s that compensate for the hepatic holo-Cp deficiency in the circulation. This study was performed on rats that were fed Ag-fodder (40 mg Ag·kg-1 body mass daily for 6 months. The relative expression levels of the genes responsible for copper status were measured by RT-PCR. The in vitro synthesis and secretion of [14C]Cp were analyzed using a metabolic labeling approach. Oxidase activity was determined using a gel assay with o-dianisidine. Copper status and some hematological indexes were measured. Differential centrifugation, immunoblotting, immunoelectrophoresis, and atomic absorption spectrometry were included in the investigation. In the Ag-rats, silver accumulation was tissue-specific. Skeletal muscles and internal (IAT and subcutaneous (SAT adipose tissues did not accumulate silver significantly. In SAT, the mRNAs for the soluble and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored ceruloplasmin isoforms were expressed, and their relative levels were increased two-fold in the Ag-rats. In parallel, the levels of the genes responsible for Cp metallation (Ctr1 and Atp7a/b increased correspondingly. In the SAT of the Ag-rats, Cp oxidase activity was observed in the Golgi complex and plasma membrane. Moreover, full-length [14C]Cp polypeptides were released into the medium by slices of SAT. The possibilities that SAT is part of a system that controls the copper balance in mammals, and it plays a significant role in supporting copper homeostasis throughout the body are discussed.

  7. Copper-polymer nanocomposites: An excellent and cost-effective biocide for use on antibacterial surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamayo, Laura; Azócar, Manuel; Kogan, Marcelo; Riveros, Ana; Páez, Maritza

    2016-12-01

    The development of polymer nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties has been a key factor for controlling or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and preventing foodborne diseases and nosocomial infections. Commercially available antibacterial products based on silver-polymer are the most widely used despite the fact that copper is considerably less expensive. The incorporation of copper nanoparticles as antibacterial agents in polymeric matrices to generate copper-polymer nanocomposites have presented excellent results in inhibiting the growth of a broad spectrum of microorganisms. The potential applications in food packaging, medical devices, textiles and pharmaceuticals and water treatment have generated an increasing number of investigations on preparing copper based nanocomposites and alternative polymeric matrices, as potential hosts of nano-modifiers. This review presents a comprehensive compilation of previous published work on the subject, mainly related to the antimicrobial activity of copper polymer nanocomposites. Within all the phenomenology associated to antibacterial effects we highlight the possible mechanisms of action. We discuss the differences in the susceptibility of Gram negative and positive bacteria to the antibacterial activity of nanocomposites, and influencing factors. As well, the main applications of copper polymer-metal nanocomposites are described, considering their physical and chemical characteristics. Finally, some commercially available copper-polymer nanocomposites are described. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Trace elements in Antarctic fish species and the influence of foraging habitats and dietary habits on mercury levels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goutte, Aurélie, E-mail: aurelie.goutte@ephe.sorbonne.fr [École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), SPL, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7619 METIS, F-75005, 4 place Jussieu, Paris (France); Cherel, Yves [Centre d' Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois (France); Churlaud, Carine [Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266, CNRS-Université de la Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle (France); Ponthus, Jean-Pierre [École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), SPL, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7619 METIS, F-75005, 4 place Jussieu, Paris (France); Massé, Guillaume [Unité Mixte Internationale Takuvik, Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, Université Laval, QC, Québec (Canada); Bustamante, Paco [Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266, CNRS-Université de la Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle (France)

    2015-12-15

    This study aims at describing and interpreting concentration profiles of trace elements in seven Antarctic fish species (N = 132 specimens) off Adélie Land. Ichthyofauna plays a key role in the Antarctic ecosystem, as they occupy various ecological niches, including cryopelagic (ice-associated), pelagic, and benthic habitats. Firstly, trace element levels in the studied specimens were similar to those previously observed in fish from the Southern Ocean. Apart from manganese and zinc, concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, mercury (Hg), nickel, selenium and silver differed among fish species. Muscle δ{sup 13}C and δ{sup 15}N values were determined to investigate whether the fish foraging habitats and dietary habits could explain Hg levels. Species and foraging habitat (δ{sup 13}C) were strong predictors for variations of Hg concentrations in muscle tissues. The highest Hg contamination was found in shallow benthic fish compared to cryopelagic and pelagic fish. This pattern was likely due to the methylation of Hg in the coastal sediment and the photodemethylation by ultraviolet radiation in surface waters. - Highlights: • Trace elements and stable isotopes were analyzed in seven Antarctic fish species. • Levels of trace elements in liver and in muscle differed among species. • Hg load was higher in benthic fish than in cryopelagic and pelagic fish. • These findings could be due to the high methylation rate of Hg in the sediment.

  9. Trace elements in Antarctic fish species and the influence of foraging habitats and dietary habits on mercury levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goutte, Aurélie; Cherel, Yves; Churlaud, Carine; Ponthus, Jean-Pierre; Massé, Guillaume; Bustamante, Paco

    2015-01-01

    This study aims at describing and interpreting concentration profiles of trace elements in seven Antarctic fish species (N = 132 specimens) off Adélie Land. Ichthyofauna plays a key role in the Antarctic ecosystem, as they occupy various ecological niches, including cryopelagic (ice-associated), pelagic, and benthic habitats. Firstly, trace element levels in the studied specimens were similar to those previously observed in fish from the Southern Ocean. Apart from manganese and zinc, concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, mercury (Hg), nickel, selenium and silver differed among fish species. Muscle δ"1"3C and δ"1"5N values were determined to investigate whether the fish foraging habitats and dietary habits could explain Hg levels. Species and foraging habitat (δ"1"3C) were strong predictors for variations of Hg concentrations in muscle tissues. The highest Hg contamination was found in shallow benthic fish compared to cryopelagic and pelagic fish. This pattern was likely due to the methylation of Hg in the coastal sediment and the photodemethylation by ultraviolet radiation in surface waters. - Highlights: • Trace elements and stable isotopes were analyzed in seven Antarctic fish species. • Levels of trace elements in liver and in muscle differed among species. • Hg load was higher in benthic fish than in cryopelagic and pelagic fish. • These findings could be due to the high methylation rate of Hg in the sediment.

  10. Silver ion recognition using potentiometric sensor based on recently synthesized isoquinoline-1,3-dione derivatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AJAR KAMAL

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The four derivatives of isoquinoline-1,3-dione based on β-lactum (I-IV, have been explored as neutral ionophores for preparing poly(vinylchloride based polymeric membrane electrodes (PME selective to silver(I ions. The addition of sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB and dioctylsebacate (DOS as a plasticizer was found to improve the performance of ion selective electrodes. The best performance was obtained with PME-1 based on ionophore I having composition: ionophore (9.2 mg, PVC (100.1 mg, DOS (201.1 mg and NaTPB (1.5 mg in 5 mL tetrahydrofuran. The electrode response was linear with Nernstian slope of 58.44 mV/decade in the concentration range of 1.0 x 10-1 M to 5.0 x 10-6 M and detection limit of 5.83 x 10-6 M. It performs satisfactorily over wide pH range of 1.0-5.5. The proposed sensor can be used over a period of more than three months without any significant drift in potential and shows good selectivity to silver(I ion over a number of cations especially with no interference of mercury(II ions. Sharp end point was obtained when the sensor was used as an indicator electrode for the potentiometric titration of silver(I ions with chloride ions and therefore this electrode (PME-1 could be used for quantitative determination of silver(I ion in synthetic water, silver foil and dental amalgam samples.

  11. Comparison of Some Mechanical and Physical Methods for Measurement of Residual Stresses in Brush-Plated Nickel Hardened Gold and Silver Coatings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harri LILLE

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Hard gold and silver are applied in coating owing to their high hardness, good wear and corrosion resistance for engineering application (e.g. on generators slip rings, sliding contacts and small machine parts and are typically plated on copper (mostly, brass and bronze. The studied nickel-hardened gold and silver coatings were brush plated on open thin-walled copper ring substrates. Residual stresses in the coatings were calculated from the curvature changes of the substrates. Biaxial intrinsic residual stresses were also determined by nanoindentation testing and by the X-ray technique. The values of the residual stresses represented tensile stresses and when determined by the techniques used they were comparable within a maximum limit of measurement uncertainty. These stresses relax; the dependence of relaxation time was approximated by a linear-fractional function.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.22.1.7439

  12. Preconcentration of silver as silver xanthate on activated carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramadevi, P.; Naidu, U.V.; Naidu, G.R.K.

    1988-01-01

    Silver from aqueous solution was preconcentrated by adsorption on activated carbon as silver xanthate. Factors influencing the adsorption of silver were studied. Optimum conditions for the preconcentration of silver were established. (author) 9 refs.; 3 tabs

  13. Mercury and Your Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... the Risk of Exposure to Mercury Learn About Mercury What is Mercury What is Metallic mercury? Toxicological Profile ToxFAQs Mercury Resources CDC’s National Biomonitoring Program Factsheet on Mercury ...

  14. Gas-phase copper and silver complexes with phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides investigated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mustapha, Adetayo M; Pasilis, Sofie P

    2015-01-01

    Efforts to improve agricultural productivity have led to a growing dependency on organophosphorus pesticides. Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides are organophosphorus pesticide subclasses with widespread application for the control of insects feeding on vegetables and fruits. However, even low doses of these pesticides can cause neurological problems in humans; thus, their determination and monitoring in agricultural foodstuffs is important for human health. Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides may be poorly ionized during electrospray, adversely affecting limits of detection. These pesticides can form complexes with Cu(2+) and Ag(+) , however, potentially improving ionization. In the present work, we used electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) to study fenitrothion, parathion, diazinon, and malathion coordination complexes with silver and copper ions. Stable 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 metal/pesticide complexes were detected. Mass spectra acquired from pesticide solutions containing Ag(+) or Cu(2+) showed a significant increase in signal-to-background ratio over those acquired from solutions containing only the pesticides, with Ag(+) improving detection more effectively than Cu(2+). Addition of Ag(+) to a pesticide solution improved the limit of detection by ten times. The relative affinity of each pesticide for Ag(+) was related to complex stability, following the order diazinon > malathion > fenitrothion > parathion. The formation of Ag(+)-pesticide complexes can significantly improve the detection of phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides using ESI/MS. The technique could potentially be used in reactive desorption electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry to detect phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides on fruit and vegetable skins. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Silver Films with Hierarchical Chirality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Liguo; Cao, Yuanyuan; Duan, Yingying; Han, Lu; Che, Shunai

    2017-07-17

    Physical fabrication of chiral metallic films usually results in singular or large-sized chirality, restricting the optical asymmetric responses to long electromagnetic wavelengths. The chiral molecule-induced formation of silver films prepared chemically on a copper substrate through a redox reaction is presented. Three levels of chirality were identified: primary twisted nanoflakes with atomic crystal lattices, secondary helical stacking of these nanoflakes to form nanoplates, and tertiary micrometer-sized circinates consisting of chiral arranged nanoplates. The chiral Ag films exhibited multiple plasmonic absorption- and scattering-based optical activities at UV/Vis wavelengths based on their hierarchical chirality. The Ag films showed chiral selectivity for amino acids in catalytic electrochemical reactions, which originated from their primary atomic crystal lattices. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Evaluation of the Content of Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic, Tin, Copper and Zinc during the Production Process Flow of Tomato Broth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corina Andrei

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Heavy metals are among the largest contaminants of food products. Once metals are present in vegetables, their concentrations are rarely modified by industrial processing techniques, although in some cases washing may decrease the metal content. The main objective of this study was to quantify the effect of industrial processing on the content of lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, tin, copper and zinc in tomatoes and products resulting on flow technology of tomato broth. For the determination of essential elements and/or potentially toxic was use atomic absorption spectrometry. The analytical results for quantitative evaluation the concentrations of the investigated elements on the samples of tomatoes taken from the technological process of the production of tomato broth indicated the presence of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn but with a level of concentration that significantly decreased in the finished product and the absence of metals Hg and As in all investigated samples. Effect of industrial processing on the content of tin in tomato samples analyzed was characterized by fluctuations in the residual content that led to a significant increase in concentration of 0.100 ± 0.041 mg kg-1 (tomatoes - unprocessed to 0.200 ± 0.041 mg kg-1 (tomato broth.

  17. Tin-silver and tin-copper alloys for capillarity joining-soft soldering-of copper piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duran, J.; Amo, J. M.; Duran, C. M.

    2001-01-01

    It is studied the influence of the type of alloy used as filling material on the defects of the soldering joints in copper piping installations, which induce the fluid leak of the systems. The different eutectic temperatures and solidus-liquidus ranges of these alloys, require the setting of the soldering heat input in each case to obtain the suitable capillarity features and alloying temperatures to achieve for the correct formation of the bonding. Most defects in the joints are demonstrated to be generated by bad dossification of thermal inputs, which led depending on the filler alloy used to variations in its fluidity that may produce penetration failures in the bonds or insufficient consistency for the filling of the joints. (Author) 7 refs

  18. Rethinking mercury: the role of selenium in the pathophysiology of mercury toxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiller, Henry A

    2018-05-01

    There is increasing evidence that the pathophysiological target of mercury is in fact selenium, rather than the covalent binding of mercury to sulfur in the body's ubiquitous sulfhydryl groups. The role of selenium in mercury poisoning is multifaceted, bidirectional, and central to understanding the target organ toxicity of mercury. An initial search was performed using Medline/PubMed, Toxline, Google Scholar, and Google for published work on mercury and selenium. These searches yielded 2018 citations. Publications that did not evaluate selenium status or evaluated environmental status (e.g., lake or ocean sediment) were excluded, leaving approximately 500 citations. This initial selection was scrutinized carefully and 117 of the most relevant and representative references were selected for use in this review. Binding of mercury to thiol/sulfhydryl groups: Mercury has a lower affinity for thiol groups and higher affinity for selenium containing groups by several orders of magnitude, allowing for binding in a multifaceted way. The established binding of mercury to thiol moieties appears to primarily involve the transport across membranes, tissue distribution, and enhanced excretion, but does not explain the oxidative stress, calcium dyshomeostasis, or specific organ injury seen with mercury. Effects of mercury on selenium and the role this plays in the pathophysiology of mercury toxicity: Mercury impairs control of intracellular redox homeostasis with subsequent increased intracellular oxidative stress. Recent work has provided convincing evidence that the primary cellular targets are the selenoproteins of the thioredoxin system (thioredoxin reductase 1 and thioredoxin reductase 2) and the glutathione-glutaredoxin system (glutathione peroxidase). Mercury binds to the selenium site on these proteins and permanently inhibits their function, disrupting the intracellular redox environment. A number of other important possible target selenoproteins have been identified

  19. Antibacterial activity and toxicity of silver - nanosilver versus ionic silver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kvitek, L; Panacek, A; Prucek, R; Soukupova, J; Vanickova, M; Zboril, R; Kolar, M

    2011-01-01

    The in vitro study of antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles (NPs), prepared via modified Tollens process, revealed high antibacterial activity even at very low concentrations around several units of mg/L. These concentrations are comparable with concentrations of ionic silver revealing same antibacterial effect. However, such low concentrations of silver NPs did not show acute cytotoxicity to mammalian cells - this occurs at concentrations higher than 60 mg/L of silver, while the cytotoxic level of ionic silver is much more lower (approx. 1 mg/L). Moreover, the silver NPs exhibit lower acute ecotoxicity against the eukaryotic organisms such as Paramecium caudatum, Monoraphidium sp. and D. melanogaster. The silver NPs are toxic to these organisms at the concentrations higher than 30 mg/L of silver. On contrary, ionic silver retains its cytoxicity and ecotoxicity even at the concentration equal to 1 mg/L. The performed experiments demonstrate significantly lower toxicity of silver NPs against the eukaryotic organisms than against the prokaryotic organisms.

  20. Antibacterial activity and toxicity of silver - nanosilver versus ionic silver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kvitek, L; Panacek, A; Prucek, R; Soukupova, J; Vanickova, M; Zboril, R [Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. Listopadu 12, 77146 Olomouc (Czech Republic); Kolar, M, E-mail: ales.panacek@upol.cz [Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Hnevotinska 3, 77520 Olomouc (Czech Republic)

    2011-07-06

    The in vitro study of antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles (NPs), prepared via modified Tollens process, revealed high antibacterial activity even at very low concentrations around several units of mg/L. These concentrations are comparable with concentrations of ionic silver revealing same antibacterial effect. However, such low concentrations of silver NPs did not show acute cytotoxicity to mammalian cells - this occurs at concentrations higher than 60 mg/L of silver, while the cytotoxic level of ionic silver is much more lower (approx. 1 mg/L). Moreover, the silver NPs exhibit lower acute ecotoxicity against the eukaryotic organisms such as Paramecium caudatum, Monoraphidium sp. and D. melanogaster. The silver NPs are toxic to these organisms at the concentrations higher than 30 mg/L of silver. On contrary, ionic silver retains its cytoxicity and ecotoxicity even at the concentration equal to 1 mg/L. The performed experiments demonstrate significantly lower toxicity of silver NPs against the eukaryotic organisms than against the prokaryotic organisms.

  1. Mercury and Mining Produc­tion in New Spain (1810-1821

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Eugenia Romero Sotelo

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents results of research on financing, transporta­tion and allotment of quicksilver in New Spain's mining industry during 1810-1821. The author points out that the  war of lnde­pendence was the main cause of the mining crisis, describes the effect of this conflict on production organization and distribu­tion of colonial silver industry, and claims that one of the strongest blows on mining was the Spanish government's credit with­ drawal. Furthermore, the study offers data on amounts of mercury available for mining, costs of its transportation, and details of its allotment and distribution to royal mines.

  2. Mercury Quick Facts: Health Effects of Mercury Exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... 2012 What are the Health Effects of Mercury Exposure? The health effects that can be caused by breathing mercury depend ... they breathe faster and have smaller lungs. Health effects caused by long-term exposure to mercury vapors • • Anxiety • • Excessive shyness • • Anorexia • • Sleeping ...

  3. Mercury balance analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maag, J.; Lassen, C.; Hansen, E.

    1996-01-01

    A detailed assessment of the consumption of mercury, divided into use areas, was carried out. Disposal and emissions to the environment were also qualified. The assessment is mainly based on data from 1992 - 1993. The most important source of emission of mercury to air is solid waste incineration which is assessed in particular to be due to the supply of mercury in batteries (most likely mercury oxide batteries from photo equipment) and to dental fillings. The second most important source of mercury emission to air is coal-fired power plants which are estimated to account for 200-500 kg of mercury emission p.a. Other mercury emissions are mainly related to waste treatment and disposal. The consumption of mercury is generally decreasing. During the period from 1982/83 - 1992-93, the total consumption of mercury in Denmark was about halved. This development is related to the fact that consumption with regard to several important use areas (batteries, dental fillings, thermometers etc.) has been significantly reduced, while for other purposes the use of mercury has completely, or almost disappeared, i.e. (fungicides for seed, tubes etc.). (EG)

  4. Mercury Phase II Study - Mercury Behavior in Salt Processing Flowsheet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, V.; Shah, H.; Wilmarth, W. R.

    2016-01-01

    Mercury (Hg) in the Savannah River Site Liquid Waste System (LWS) originated from decades of canyon processing where it was used as a catalyst for dissolving the aluminum cladding of reactor fuel. Approximately 60 metric tons of mercury is currently present throughout the LWS. Mercury has long been a consideration in the LWS, from both hazard and processing perspectives. In February 2015, a Mercury Program Team was established at the request of the Department of Energy to develop a comprehensive action plan for long-term management and removal of mercury. Evaluation was focused in two Phases. Phase I activities assessed the Liquid Waste inventory and chemical processing behavior using a system-by-system review methodology, and determined the speciation of the different mercury forms (Hg+, Hg++, elemental Hg, organomercury, and soluble versus insoluble mercury) within the LWS. Phase II activities are building on the Phase I activities, and results of the LWS flowsheet evaluations will be summarized in three reports: Mercury Behavior in the Salt Processing Flowsheet (i.e. this report); Mercury Behavior in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Flowsheet; and Mercury behavior in the Tank Farm Flowsheet (Evaporator Operations). The evaluation of the mercury behavior in the salt processing flowsheet indicates, inter alia, the following: (1) In the assembled Salt Batches 7, 8 and 9 in Tank 21, the total mercury is mostly soluble with methylmercury (MHg) contributing over 50% of the total mercury. Based on the analyses of samples from 2H Evaporator feed and drop tanks (Tanks 38/43), the source of MHg in Salt Batches 7, 8 and 9 can be attributed to the 2H evaporator concentrate used in assembling the salt batches. The 2H Evaporator is used to evaporate DWPF recycle water. (2) Comparison of data between Tank 21/49, Salt Solution Feed Tank (SSFT), Decontaminated Salt Solution Hold Tank (DSSHT), and Tank 50 samples suggests that the total mercury as well as speciated

  5. Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Scattering and Visible Extinction Spectroscopy of Copper Chlorophyllin: An Upper Level Chemistry Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnitzer, Cheryl S.; Reim, Candace Lawson; Sirois, John J.; House, Paul G.

    2010-01-01

    Advanced chemistry students are introduced to surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) by studying how sodium copper chlorophyllin (CuChl) adsorbs onto silver colloids (CuChl/Ag) as a function of pH. Using both SERRS and visible extinction spectroscopy, the extent of CuChl adsorption and colloidal aggregation are monitored. Initially at…

  6. Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles in Ethylene Glycol by Chemical Reduction with Vanadium (+2 Salts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Pietro Reverberi

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Copper nanoparticles have been synthesized in ethylene glycol (EG using copper sulphate as a precursor and vanadium sulfate as an atypical reductant being active at room temperature. We have described a technique for a relatively simple preparation of such a reagent, which has been electrolytically produced without using standard procedures requiring an inert atmosphere and a mercury cathode. Several stabilizing agents have been tested and cationic capping agents have been discarded owing to the formation of complex compounds with copper ions leading to insoluble phases contaminating the metallic nanoparticles. The elemental copper nanoparticles, stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS, have been characterized for composition by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, and for size by dynamic light scattering (DLS, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM, giving a size distribution in the range of 40–50 nm for both stabilizing agents. From a methodological point of view, the process described here may represent an alternative to other wet-chemical techniques for metal nanoparticle synthesis in non-aqueous media based on conventional organic or inorganic reductants.

  7. Roman sophisticated surface modification methods to manufacture silver counterfeited coins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingo, G. M.; Riccucci, C.; Faraldi, F.; Pascucci, M.; Messina, E.; Fierro, G.; Di Carlo, G.

    2017-11-01

    By means of the combined use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) the surface and subsurface chemical and metallurgical features of silver counterfeited Roman Republican coins are investigated to decipher some aspects of the manufacturing methods and to evaluate the technological ability of the Roman metallurgists to produce thin silver coatings. The results demonstrate that over 2000 ago important advances in the technology of thin layer deposition on metal substrates were attained by Romans. The ancient metallurgists produced counterfeited coins by combining sophisticated micro-plating methods and tailored surface chemical modification based on the mercury-silvering process. The results reveal that Romans were able systematically to chemically and metallurgically manipulate alloys at a micro scale to produce adherent precious metal layers with a uniform thickness up to few micrometers. The results converge to reveal that the production of forgeries was aimed firstly to save expensive metals as much as possible allowing profitable large-scale production at a lower cost. The driving forces could have been a lack of precious metals, an unexpected need to circulate coins for trade and/or a combinations of social, political and economic factors that requested a change in money supply. Finally, some information on corrosion products have been achieved useful to select materials and methods for the conservation of these important witnesses of technology and economy.

  8. Distribution and retention of organic and inorganic mercury in methyl mercury-treated neonatal rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, D.J.; Fisher, H.L.; Sumler, M.R.; Hall, L.L.; Mushak, P.

    1988-01-01

    Seven-day-old Long Evans rats received one mumol of 203 Hg-labeled methyl mercury/kg sc and whole body retention and tissue distribution of organic and inorganic mercury were examined for 32 days postdosing. Neonates cleared mercury slowly until 10 days postdosing when the clearance rate abruptly increased. During the interval when whole body clearance of mercury was extremely slow, methyl mercury was metabolized to inorganic mercury. Peak concentration of mercury in kidney occurred at 2 days postdosing. At 32 days postdosing, 8% of mercury in kidney was in an organic from. Liver mercury concentration peaked at 2 days postdosing and organic mercury accounted for 38% at 32 days postdosing. Brain concentrations of mercury peaked at 2 days postdosing. At 10 days postdosing, organic mercury accounted for 86% of the brain mercury burden, and, at 32 days postdosing, for 60%. The percentage of mercury body burden in pelt rose from 30 to 70% between 1 and 10 days postdosing. At 32 days postdosing pelt contained 85% of the body burden of mercury. At all time points, about 95% of mercury in pelt was in an organic form. Compartmental analysis of these data permitted development of a model to describe the distribution and excretion of organic and inorganic mercury in methyl mercury-treated neonatal rats

  9. Study of the Behavior of the Mercury on Diverse Microelectrodes with Cell of Continuous Flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cruz Valldeperas, F

    2001-01-01

    A comparative study of six types of microelectrodes in two different support electrolytes was developed using a new analytic technique for analysis of mercury in liquid samples in the ambit of parts by million. For it, a new system of cell of continuous flow and platinum microelectrodes and of platinum with gold film was implemented using volt-amperemetry of anodized spoil with square wave. In a preliminary study, some parameters that characterize the analysis with this new cell were optimized, for example the sample's speed flow and the time of electrodeposition. The calibration curves were made for the different types of microelectrode that were used in an ambit of concentrations of 1-10 ppm. According to the obtained results, the microelectrode that better works is the platinum disk for possessing bigger superficial area exposed to the dissolution, which increases the analite's currents of pick. And as a support electrolyte, potassium tiocianato is recommended because of its effectiveness to solve the analytic sign of the mercury. Studies of answer of the current of mercury regarding the quantity of the placed sample and studies of interferences of the analysis with this type of microelectrode were also carried out. With regard to the study of the quantity of sample, it was obtained that the electrochemical answer of the cell is directly proportional to the concentration of the analite placed in it. In the study of interference, it was found that the copper, lead, and zinc ions affect the analysis of mercury in concentrations of 0.1 ppm and on in the case of the microelectrode of platinum disk. And in case that the same microelectrode is used recovered with gold, it only affects the copper in concentrations over 5 ppm, for what is necessary to take into account a previous treatment of the sample in the event of containing some of the interfering ions [es

  10. Performance characterization of screen printed radio frequency identification antennas with silver nanopaste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Dong-Youn; Lee, Yongshik; Kim, Chung Hwan

    2009-01-01

    The era of wireless communication has come and it is going to flourish in the form of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The employment of RFID tags in daily commodities, however, is constrained due to the manufacturing cost. Therefore, industries in the field have sought for alternative manufacturing methods at an ultra low cost and various printing processes have been considered such as inkjet, gravure, flexo, off-set and screen. Although such printing processes are age-old, their applications have been mainly limited to graphic arts and design rules for electronic appliances have not been fully established yet. In this paper, the selection of ink and printing process to fabricate RFID antennas is discussed. The developed silver nanopaste in the range of 20 to 50 nm without the inclusion of microparticles and flakes was sintered at 120 o C for 1 min, which is lower than that of conventional silver paste with microparticles and flakes, and its resistivity was found to be approximately 3 μΩ cm. The radiation performances of various screen printed RFID antennas with silver nanopaste were found comparable to those of copper etched ones.

  11. Performance characterization of screen printed radio frequency identification antennas with silver nanopaste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, Dong-Youn, E-mail: dongyoun.shin@gmail.co [Nanomachine Research Division, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, 171 Jang-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Yongshik, E-mail: yongshik.lee@yonsei.ac.k [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University, 134 Sinchon-Dong, Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul, 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Chung Hwan, E-mail: chkim@kimm.re.k [Nanomachine Research Division, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, 171 Jang-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-343 (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-09-01

    The era of wireless communication has come and it is going to flourish in the form of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The employment of RFID tags in daily commodities, however, is constrained due to the manufacturing cost. Therefore, industries in the field have sought for alternative manufacturing methods at an ultra low cost and various printing processes have been considered such as inkjet, gravure, flexo, off-set and screen. Although such printing processes are age-old, their applications have been mainly limited to graphic arts and design rules for electronic appliances have not been fully established yet. In this paper, the selection of ink and printing process to fabricate RFID antennas is discussed. The developed silver nanopaste in the range of 20 to 50 nm without the inclusion of microparticles and flakes was sintered at 120 {sup o}C for 1 min, which is lower than that of conventional silver paste with microparticles and flakes, and its resistivity was found to be approximately 3 {mu}{Omega} cm. The radiation performances of various screen printed RFID antennas with silver nanopaste were found comparable to those of copper etched ones.

  12. Oral toxicity of silver ions, silver nanoparticles and colloidal silver--a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadrup, Niels; Lam, Henrik R

    2014-02-01

    Orally administered silver has been described to be absorbed in a range of 0.4-18% in mammals with a human value of 18%. Based on findings in animals, silver seems to be distributed to all of the organs investigated, with the highest levels being observed in the intestine and stomach. In the skin, silver induces a blue-grey discoloration termed argyria. Excretion occurs via the bile and urine. The following dose-dependent animal toxicity findings have been reported: death, weight loss, hypoactivity, altered neurotransmitter levels, altered liver enzymes, altered blood values, enlarged hearts and immunological effects. Substantial evidence exists suggesting that the effects induced by particulate silver are mediated via silver ions that are released from the particle surface. With the current data regarding toxicity and average human dietary exposure, a Margin of Safety calculation indicates at least a factor of five before a level of concern to the general population is reached. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Method for removal and stabilization of mercury in mercury-containing gas streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broderick, Thomas E.

    2005-09-13

    The present invention is directed to a process and apparatus for removing and stabilizing mercury from mercury-containing gas streams. A gas stream containing vapor phase elemental and/or speciated mercury is contacted with reagent, such as an oxygen-containing oxidant, in a liquid environment to form a mercury-containing precipitate. The mercury-containing precipitate is kept or placed in solution and reacts with one or more additional reagents to form a solid, stable mercury-containing compound.

  14. Adhesion mechanisms of nanoparticle silver to substrate materials: identification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joo, Sungchul; Baldwin, Daniel F

    2010-01-01

    Nanoparticle silver (NPS) conductors are increasingly being investigated for printed electronics applications. However, the adhesion mechanism of the nanoparticle silver to substrate materials has not been identified yet. In particular, the adhesion of NPS to organic materials such as the widely used polyimide Kapton HN and Kapton FPC dry films is concerned with low adhesion strength because the processed polymer surface is chemically inert. Moreover, its adhesion to substrate materials such as benzocyclobutene (BCB), copper and aluminum was found to be very weak. Therefore, in this paper, the mechanisms of NPS adhesion to organic and inorganic materials are identified as the first step in improving NPS adhesion strength. Improving the adhesion strength of NPS will be the key issue for printed electronics applications. The adhesion of NPS to substrate materials was found to be mainly attributed to van der Waals forces based on particle adhesion mechanisms. This finding provides the initiative of developing an adhesion prediction model of NPS to substrate materials in order to provide guidelines for improving the NPS adhesion strength to the substrate materials used in printed electronics.

  15. Oral toxicity of silver ions, silver nanoparticles and colloidal silver – a review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hadrup, Niels; Lam, Henrik Rye

    2014-01-01

    Orally administered silver has been described to be absorbed in a range of 0.4-18% in mammals with a human value of 18%. Based on findings in animals, silver seems to be distributed to all of the organs investigated, with the highest levels being observed in the intestine and stomach. In the skin......, silver induces a blue-grey discoloration termed argyria. Excretion occurs via the bile and urine. The following dose-dependent animal toxicity findings have been reported: death, weight loss, hypoactivity, altered neurotransmitter levels, altered liver enzymes, altered blood values, enlarged hearts...... and immunological effects. Substantial evidence exists suggesting that the effects induced by particulate silver are mediated via silver ions that are released from the particle surface. With the current data regarding toxicity and average human dietary exposure, a Margin of Safety calculation indicates at least...

  16. Mercury-impacted scrap metal: Source and nature of the mercury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finster, Molly E; Raymond, Michelle R; Scofield, Marcienne A; Smith, Karen P

    2015-09-15

    The reuse and recycling of industrial solid wastes such as scrap metal is supported and encouraged both internationally and domestically, especially when such wastes can be used as substitutes for raw material. However, scrap metal processing facilities, such as mini-mills, have been identified as a source of mercury (Hg) emissions in the United States. This research aims to better define some of the key issues related to the source and nature of mercury in the scrap metal waste stream. Overall, it is difficult to pinpoint the key mercury sources feeding into scrap metal recycling facilities, quantify their associated mercury concentrations, or determine which chemical forms are most significant. Potential sources of mercury in scrap metal include mercury switches from discarded vehicles, electronic-based scrap from household appliances and related industrial systems, and Hg-impacted scrap metal from the oil and gas industry. The form of mercury associated with scrap metal varies and depends on the source type. The specific amount of mercury that can be adsorbed and retained by steel appears to be a function of both metallurgical and environmental factors. In general, the longer the steel is in contact with a fluid or condensate that contains measurable concentrations of elemental mercury, the greater the potential for mercury accumulation in that steel. Most mercury compounds are thermally unstable at elevated temperatures (i.e., above 350 °C). As such, the mercury associated with impacted scrap is expected to be volatilized out of the metal when it is heated during processing (e.g., shredding or torch cutting) or melted in a furnace. This release of fugitive gas (Hg vapor) and particulates, as well as Hg-impacted bag-house dust and control filters, could potentially pose an occupational exposure risk to workers at a scrap metal processing facility. Thus, identifying and characterizing the key sources of Hg-impacted scrap, and understanding the nature and extent

  17. Mercury contamination extraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuhrmann, Mark [Silver Spring, MD; Heiser, John [Bayport, NY; Kalb, Paul [Wading River, NY

    2009-09-15

    Mercury is removed from contaminated waste by firstly applying a sulfur reagent to the waste. Mercury in the waste is then permitted to migrate to the reagent and is stabilized in a mercury sulfide compound. The stable compound may then be removed from the waste which itself remains in situ following mercury removal therefrom.

  18. Global Trends in Mercury Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Kyunghee

    2012-01-01

    The United Nations Environmental Program Governing Council has regulated mercury as a global pollutant since 2001 and has been preparing the mercury convention, which will have a strongly binding force through Global Mercury Assessment, Global Mercury Partnership Activities, and establishment of the Open-Ended Working Group on Mercury. The European Union maintains an inclusive strategy on risks and contamination of mercury, and has executed the Mercury Export Ban Act since December in 2010. The US Environmental Protection Agency established the Mercury Action Plan (1998) and the Mercury Roadmap (2006) and has proposed systematic mercury management methods to reduce the health risks posed by mercury exposure. Japan, which experienced Minamata disease, aims vigorously at perfection in mercury management in several ways. In Korea, the Ministry of Environment established the Comprehensive Plan and Countermeasures for Mercury Management to prepare for the mercury convention and to reduce risks of mercury to protect public health. PMID:23230466

  19. "Life-like" assessment of antimicrobial surfaces by a new touch transfer assay displays strong superiority of a copper alloy compared to silver containing surfaces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johannes Karl-Mark Knobloch

    Full Text Available Transmission of bacteria from inanimate surfaces in healthcare associated environments is an important source of hospital acquired infections. A number of commercially available medical devices promise to fulfill antibacterial activity to reduce environmental contamination. In this study we developed a touch transfer assay modeling fingerprint transmission to investigate the antibacterial activity of surfaces, with confirmed antibacterial activity by a modified ISO 22196 (JIS Z 2801 assay to test such surfaces under more realistic conditions. Bacteria were taken up from a dry standardized primary contaminated surface (PCS with disinfected fingers or fingers covered with sterile and moistened cotton gloves. Subsequently, bacteria were transferred by pressing on secondary contaminated surfaces (SCS with or without potential antibacterial activity and the relative reduction rate was determined after 24 h. A stable transmission rate between PCS and SCS was observed using moistened sterile gloves. A copper containing alloy displayed at least a tenfold reduction of the bacterial load consistently reaching less than 2.5 cfu/cm2. In contrast, no significant reduction of bacterial contamination by silver containing surfaces and matured pure silver was observed in the touch transfer assay. With the touch transfer assay we successfully established a new reproducible method modeling cross contamination. Using the new method we were able to demonstrate that several surfaces with confirmed antimicrobial activity in a modified ISO 22196 (JIS Z 2801 assay lacked effectiveness under defined ambient conditions. This data indicate that liquid based assays like the ISO 22196 should be critically reviewed before claiming antibacterial activity for surfaces in the setting of contamination of dry surfaces by contact to the human skin. We suggest the newly developed touch transfer assay as a new additional tool for the assessment of potential antimicrobial surfaces

  20. Silver nanoplate-decorated copper wire for the on-site microextraction and detection of perchlorate using a portable Raman spectrometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Sha; Zhang, Xiaoli; Cui, Jingcheng; Shi, Yu-E; Jiang, Xiaohong; Liu, Zhen; Zhan, Jinhua

    2015-04-21

    Perchlorate, which causes health concerns because of its effects on the thyroid function, is highly soluble and mobile in the environment. In this study, diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC)-modified silver nanoplates were fabricated on a copper wire to perform the on-site microextraction and detection of perchlorate. This fiber could be inserted into water or soil to extract perchlorate through electrostatic interaction and then can be detected by a portable Raman spectrometer, owing to its surface-enhanced Raman (SERS) activity. A relatively stable vibrational mode (δ(HCH)(CH3), (CH2)) of DDTC at 1273 cm(-1) was used as an internal standard, which was negligibly influenced by the absorption of ClO4(-). The DDTC-modified Ag/Cu fiber showed high uniformity, good reusability and temporal stability under continuous laser radiation each with an RSD lower than 10%. The qualitative and quantitative detection of perchlorate were also realized. A log-log plot of the normalized SERS intensity against perchlorate concentration showed a good linear relationship. The fiber could be also directly inserted into the perchlorate-polluted soil, and the perchlorate could thereby be detected on site. The detection limit in soil reached 0.081 ppm, which was much lower than the EPA-published safety standard. The recovery of the detection was 105% and comparable with the ion chromatography. This hyphenated method of microextraction with direct SERS detection may find potential application for direct pollutant detection free from complex sample pretreatment.

  1. Pollution by Arsenic, Mercury and other Heavy Metals in Sunchulli mining district of Apolobamba (Bolivia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terán Mita, Tania; Faz Cano, Angel; Muñoz, Maria Angeles; Millán Gómez, Rocio; Chincheros Paniagua, Jaime

    2010-05-01

    In Bolivia, metal mining activities since historical times have been one of the most important sources of environmental pollution. This is the case of the National Area of Apolobamba Integrated Management (ANMIN of Apolobamba) in La Paz, Bolivia, where intense gold mining activities have been carried out from former times to the present, with very little gold extraction and very primitive mineral processing technology; in fact, mercury is still being used in the amalgam processes of the gold concentration, which is burned outdoors to recover the gold. Sunchullí is a representative mining district in ANMIN of Apolobamba where mining activity is mainly gold extraction and its water effluents go to the Amazonian basin; in this mining district the productivity of extracted mineral is very low but the processes can result in heavy-metal contamination of the air, water, soils and plants. Due to its high toxicity, the contamination by arsenic and mercury create the most critical environmental problems. In addition, some other heavy metals may also be present such as lead, copper, zinc and cadmium. These heavy metals could be incorporated in the trophic chain, through the flora and the fauna, in their bio-available and soluble forms. Inhabitants of this area consume foodcrops, fish from lakes and rivers and use the waters for the livestock, domestic use, and irrigation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the heavy metals pollution by gold mining activities in Sunchullí area. In Sunchullí two representative zones were distinguished and sampled. Zone near the mining operation site was considered as affected by mineral extraction processes, while far away zones represented the non affected ones by the mining operation. In each zone, 3 plots were established; in each plot, 3 soil sampling points were selected in a random manner and analysed separately. In each sampling point, two samples were taken, one at the surface, from 0-5 cm depth (topsoil), and the other between 5

  2. Complex investigation of several silver-less brazed Be/CuCrZr joints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Komarov, A.; Gervash, A.; Komarov, V.; Mazul, I.; Litounovski, N. [Efremov Inst., St Petersburg (Russian Federation); Fedotov, V.; Sevrukov, O. [Moscow Physical Engineering Inst. (Russian Federation); Ganenko, A. [CRISM Prometey, St Petersburg (Russian Federation)

    1998-07-01

    One of the main problems for ITER divertor target technology is to provide a reliable joint between Be as armour material and copper alloy as heat-sink structure. Such joints should satisfy the different requirements. In particular, these joints should successfully withstand cyclic heat fluxes and should have good properties under neutron irradiation. To study such complex of problems several investigation stages were planned in Russia. This paper presents the results of complex investigation of several silver-less brazed Be/CuCrZr joint candidates. (author)

  3. Complex investigation of several silver-less brazed Be/CuCrZr joints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komarov, A.; Gervash, A.; Komarov, V.; Mazul, I.; Litounovski, N.; Fedotov, V.; Sevrukov, O.; Ganenko, A.

    1998-01-01

    One of the main problems for ITER divertor target technology is to provide a reliable joint between Be as armour material and copper alloy as heat-sink structure. Such joints should satisfy the different requirements. In particular, these joints should successfully withstand cyclic heat fluxes and should have good properties under neutron irradiation. To study such complex of problems several investigation stages were planned in Russia. This paper presents the results of complex investigation of several silver-less brazed Be/CuCrZr joint candidates. (author)

  4. Human health and ecological toxicity potentials due to heavy metal content in waste electronic devices with flat panel displays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Seong-Rin; Schoenung, Julie M.

    2010-01-01

    Display devices such as cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions and computer monitors are known to contain toxic substances and have consequently been banned from disposal in landfills in the State of California and elsewhere. New types of flat panel display (FPD) devices, millions of which are now purchased each year, also contain toxic substances, but have not previously been systematically studied and compared to assess the potential impact that could result from their ultimate disposal. In the current work, the focus is on the evaluation of end-of-life toxicity potential from the heavy metal content in select FPD devices with the intent to inform material selection and design-for-environment (DfE) decisions. Specifically, the metals antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, vanadium, and zinc in plasma TVs, LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, LCD computer monitors and laptop computers are considered. The human health and ecotoxicity potentials are evaluated through a life cycle assessment perspective by combining data on the respective heavy metal contents, the characterization factors in the U.S. EPA Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts (TRACI), and a pathway and impact model. Principal contributors to the toxicity potentials are lead, arsenic, copper, and mercury. Although the heavy metal content in newer flat panel display devices creates less human health toxicity potential than that in CRTs, for ecological toxicity, the new devices are worse, especially because of the mercury in LCD TVs and the copper in plasma TVs.

  5. Mercurial poisoning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gorton, B

    1924-01-01

    Cats which had been kept in a thermometer factory to catch rats were afflicted with mercury poisoning. So were the rats they were supposed to eat. The symptoms of mercury poisoning were the same in both species. The source of mercury for these animals is a fine film of the metal which coats floors, a result of accidental spills during the manufacturing process.

  6. Atmospheric mercury in Changbai Mountain area, northeastern China II. The distribution of reactive gaseous mercury and particulate mercury and mercury deposition fluxes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Qi; Feng, Xinbin; Lu, Julia; Zheng, Wei; Song, Xinjie; Li, Ping; Han, Shijie; Xu, Hao

    2009-08-01

    Reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) and particulate mercury (Hgp) concentrations in ambient air from a remote site at Changbai Mountain area in northeastern China were intermittently monitored from August 2005 to July 2006 totaling 93 days representing fall, winter-spring and summer season, respectively. Rainwater and snow samples were collected during a whole year, and total mercury (THg) in rain samples were used to calculate wet depositional flux. A throughfall method and a model method were used to estimate dry depositional flux. Results showed mean concentrations of RGM and Hgp are 65 and 77 pg m(-3). Compared to background concentrations of atmospheric mercury species in Northern Hemisphere, RGM and Hgp are significantly elevated in Changbai area. Large values for standard deviation indicated fast reactivity and a low residence time for these mercury species. Seasonal variability is also important, with lower mercury levels in summer compared to other seasons, which is attributed to scavenging by rainfall and low local mercury emissions in summer. THg concentrations ranged from 11.5 to 15.9 ng L(-1) in rainwater samples and 14.9-18.6 ng L(-1) in throughfall samples. Wet depositional flux in Changbai area is calculated to be 8.4 microg m(-2) a(-1), and dry deposition flux is estimated to be 16.5 microg m(-2) a(-1) according to a throughfall method and 20.2 microg m(-2) a(-1) using a model method.

  7. Fundamentals and applications of neutron imaging. Applications part 8. Application of neutron imaging to inspection of art objects and ancient artifacts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsubayashi, Masahito; Masuzawa, Fumitake

    2007-01-01

    Neutron radiography is an imaging technique which provides images similar to X-ray radiography and is often used to study ancient artifacts and art objects because the measurements are non-destructive. While metallic elements contained in ancient artifacts, namely gold, silver, mercury, copper, tin, lead, or iron, have X-ray mass attenuation coefficient much higher than light elements composing organic substances, for neutron attenuation the coefficient values are entirely opposite. The method is particularly useful for examination of the internal structure and composition of cultural object made of organic materials inside the metallic vessel. Here some of the research results using JAEA-JRR3M facility are presented: sutras in a cylindrical copper tube, the interior structure of Buddha statues, bone materials in metallic bottles, bronze mirrors, ancient jars and textiles. (S. Ohno)

  8. Mercury accumulation plant Cyrtomium macrophyllum and its potential for phytoremediation of mercury polluted sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xun, Yu; Feng, Liu; Li, Youdan; Dong, Haochen

    2017-12-01

    Cyrtomium macrophyllum naturally grown in 225.73 mg kg -1 of soil mercury in mining area was found to be a potential mercury accumulator plant with the translocation factor of 2.62 and the high mercury concentration of 36.44 mg kg -1 accumulated in its aerial parts. Pot experiments indicated that Cyrtomium macrophyllum could even grow in 500 mg kg -1 of soil mercury with observed inhibition on growth but no obvious toxic effects, and showed excellent mercury accumulation and translocation abilities with both translocation and bioconcentration factors greater than 1 when exposed to 200 mg kg -1 and lower soil mercury, indicating that it could be considered as a great mercury accumulating species. Furthermore, the leaf tissue of Cyrtomium macrophyllum showed high resistance to mercury stress because of both the increased superoxide dismutase activity and the accumulation of glutathione and proline induced by mercury stress, which favorited mercury translocation from the roots to the aerial parts, revealing the possible reason for Cyrtomium macrophyllum to tolerate high concentration of soil mercury. In sum, due to its excellent mercury accumulation and translocation abilities as well as its high resistance to mercury stress, the use of Cyrtomium macrophyllum should be a promising approach to remediating mercury polluted soils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Toward a Unified Understanding of Mercury and Methylated Mercury from the World's Oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNutt, M. K.; Krabbenhoft, D. P.; Landing, W. M.; Sunderland, E. M.

    2012-12-01

    Marine fish and shellfish are the main source of toxic methylmercury exposure for humans. As recently as decade ago, very limited aqueous methylated mercury data were available from marine settings, resulting in a generally poor understanding of the processes controlling mercury in pelagic marine food webs. Recent oceanographic cruises have significantly improved availability of reliable measurements of methylated mercury and total mercury in seawater. This presentation will focus on vertical seawater profiles collected to depths 1000 m from three recent sampling efforts in collaboration with the CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography Program sponsored by NOAA including: 1) the northeastern Pacific (P16N cruise from Honolulu, Hawaii to Kodiak, Alaska); (2) the southern Indian Ocean (I5 cruise from Cape Town, South Africa, to Fremantle, Australia); and, (3) the Southern Ocean cruise (S4P from McMurdo, Antarctica, to Punta Arenas, Chile). Analytical results presented were all derived from the USGS Mercury Research Lab (http://wi.water.usgs.gov/mercury-lab). Supporting data derived from these cruises on water mass ages, nutrients, carbon and dissolved oxygen provide an opportunity to develop a stronger understanding of the biogeochemical factors controlling oceanic distributions of mercury and methylated mercury. Whole-water, median total mercury, and methylated mercury concentrations for the northern Pacific, southern Indian, and Southern Ocean were 1.10, 0.80, and 1.65 pM, , and 0.11, 0.08, and 0.32 pM, respectively. For all three oceans, vertical profiles of total mercury generally show the lowest concentrations in the surface mixed layer, and concentration maxima at the 700-1000 m depths. Surface depletion of total mercury is attributed to photo-chemical reduction and evasion of gaseous elemental mercury as well as scavenging by settling particulate matter, the main vector of transport to the subsurface ocean. Methylated mercury in all the ocean profiles reveal distinct mid

  10. Antimicrobial effects of silver zeolite, silver zirconium phosphate silicate and silver zirconium phosphate against oral microorganisms

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Sirikamon Saengmee-anupharb; Toemsak Srikhirin; Boonyanit Thaweboon; Sroisiri Thaweboon; Taweechai Amornsakchai; Surachai Dechkunakorn; Theeralaksna Suddhasthira

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial activities of silver inorganic materials, including silver zeolite (AgZ), silver zirconium phosphate silicate (AgZrPSi) and silver zirconium phosphate (AgZrP), against oral microorganisms. In line with this objective, the morphology and structure of each type of silver based powders were also investigated. Methods: The antimicrobial activities of AgZ, AgZrPSi and AgZrP were tested against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus casei, Candidaalbicans and Staphylococcus aureus using disk diffusion assay as a screening test. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) were determined using the modified membrane method. Scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the morphology and structure of these silver materials. Results: All forms of silver inorganic materials could inhibit the growth of all test microorganisms. The MIC of AgZ, AgZrPSi and AgZrP was 10.0 g/L whereas MLC ranged between 10.0-60.0 g/L. In terms of morphology and structure, AgZrPSi and AgZrP had smaller sized particles (1.5-3.0 µm) and more uniformly shaped than AgZ. Conclusions: Silver inorganic materials in the form of AgZ, AgZrPSi and AgZrP had antimicrobial effects against all test oral microorganisms and those activities may be influenced by the crystal structure of carriers. These results suggest that these silver materials may be useful metals applied to oral hygiene products to provide antimicrobial activity against oral infection.

  11. Antimicrobial effects of silver zeolite,silver zirconium phosphate silicate and silver zirconium phosphate against oral microorganisms

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Sirikamon; Saengmee-anupharb; Toemsak; Srikhirin; Boonyanit; Thaweboon; Sroisiri; Thaweboon; Taweechai; Amornsakchai; Surachai; Dechkunakorn; Theeralaksna; Suddhasthira

    2013-01-01

    Objective:To evaluate the antimicrobial activities of silver inorganic materials,including silver zeolite(AgZ),silver zirconium phosphate silicate(AgZrPSi)and silver zirconium phosphate(AgZrp),against oral microorganisms.In line with this objective,the morphology and structure of each type of silver based powders were also investigated.Methods:The antimicrobial activities of AgZ,AgZrPSi and AgZrP were tested against Streptococcus mutans,Lactobacillus casei,Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus using disk diffusion assay as a screening test.The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)and minimum lethal concentration(MLC)were determined using the modified membrane method.Scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the morphology and structure of these silver materials.Results:All forms of silver inorganic materials could inhibit the growth of all test microorganisms.The MIC of AgZ,AgZrPSi and AgZrP was 10.0 g/L whereas MLC ranged between 10.0-60.0 g/L.In terms of morphology and structure.AgZrPSi and AgZrP had smaller sized particles(1.5-3.0μm)and more uniformly shaped than AgZ.Conclusions:Silver inorganic materials in the form of AgZ,AgZrPSi and AgZrP had antimicrobial effects against all test oral microorganisms and those activities may be influenced by the crystal structure of carriers.These results suggest that these silver materials may be useful metals applied to oral hygiene products to provide antimicrobial activity against oral infection.

  12. Excretion and distribution of mercury in rats, antidotes for mercury and effects of egg production and fertility of hens after mercury administration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ulfvarson, U

    1973-01-01

    The results of investigations of the distribution and excretion of organic and inorganic mercury compounds in albino rats and white leghorn hens conducted over a period of ten years are surveyed. The storage of mercury in eggs as well as its effects on the egg-lay-frequency and hatchability of the eggs have also been studied. All investigated mercury compounds were labelled with the radioactive mercury isotope /sup 203/Hg and the mercury level was measured with a scintillation technique. Since antidotes used in the treatment of mercury poisoning influence not only the excretion of mercury, but also its distribution in the body, the effects of nine antidotes on the metabolism of different mercury compounds were also investigated. The results of the survey are presented graphically. 6 references, 15 figures, 1 table.

  13. Neutron production from 40 GeV/c mixed proton/pion beam on copper, silver and lead targets in the angular range 30-135 degree

    CERN Document Server

    Agosteo, S; Dimovasili, E; Foglio-Para, A; Silari, M; Ulrici, L; Vincke, H

    2005-01-01

    The neutron emission from 50 mm thick copper, silver and lead targets bombarded by a mixed proton/pion beam with momentum of 40 GeV/c were measured at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The neutron yield and spectral fluence per incident particle on target were measured with an extended range Bonner sphere spectrometer in the angular range 30-135 degree with respect to the beam direction. Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code were performed to provide a priori information for the unfolding of the experimental data. The spectral fluences show two peaks, an isotropic evaporation component centred at 3 MeV and a high-energy peak sitting around 100-150 MeV. The experimental neutron yields are given in four energy bins: less than 100 keV, 0.1-20 MeV, 20-500 MeV and 0.5-2 GeV. The total yields show a systematic discrepancy of 30-50%, with a peak of 70% at the largest angles, with respect to the results of the Monte Carlo simulations, which it is believed to be mainly due to uncertainties in the beam normaliza...

  14. CODcr在线监测废液中银的回收%The Recycling of Silver in Wastewater CODcr On-line Monitoring Instrument

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    汤爱华; 黄现统; 曹洪涛

    2012-01-01

    在线监测废液中含有大量的金属银,也含有对环境污染严重的汞及六价铬。文章探讨了一种简单的实验室法回收金属银,在氨-pH9.182的标准缓冲溶液体系中,实现银的还原,得到高纯度的银粉。对废液进行了还原、沉淀、中和、吸附一系列处理后,水质达到国家排放标准。%In the online monitoring waste liquid includes the massive metal silver, also contains mercury and hexavalent chromium serious environmental pollution. The paper discussed a simple laboratory method to recover metallic silver, in ammonia-pH 9.182 standard buffer solution system, restore silver to obtain high-purity silver. As to liquid waste, reduction, precipitation, neutralization and adsorption are used. Passing through a series of processing, the water quality achieves the national emission standard.

  15. Dental amalgam: effects of alloy/mercury mixing ratio, uses and waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kefi, I.; Maria, A.; Sana, J.; Afreen, J.; Adel, S.; Iftikhar, A.; Yawer, A.; Kaleem, M.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Silver dental amalgam is one of the oldest filling materials used in dentistry. The American Dental Association (ADA) has estimated that billions of amalgam restorations have been placed in patients in the last 150 years. Due to the presence of mercury and mishandling during the filling make it more controversial. The objective of this study was to conduct a survey of the use of different brands and to assess any deviations in practice from the hand mixing manual method of elemental mercury and alloy in a pestle/mortar and encapsulated form. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 250 of randomly selected dental practitioner in various localities of Karachi. Data was analysed to record the specified brands used along with their powder/liquid (P/L) ratio and the different methods for disposing off mercury in this study. Results: The most commonly used form of dispensing method was hand mixing (57%) and only 30% of the dentists followed the manufacturer instruction for hand mixing ratio. Eighty-seven percent of dental amalgam restoration was performed and 13% removed by the dentist per month and the method of disposing the amalgam wastage that 55%, 25%, and 20% dentists were used the sink, bin and other methods respectively in their dental clinics. Conclusion: Amalgam restoration is still popular filling material in the posterior region of the mouth but we need to create awareness among the dentists who do not follow the ADA specifications. (author)

  16. Mercury's exosphere: observations during MESSENGER's First Mercury flyby.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClintock, William E; Bradley, E Todd; Vervack, Ronald J; Killen, Rosemary M; Sprague, Ann L; Izenberg, Noam R; Solomon, Sean C

    2008-07-04

    During MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby, the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer measured Mercury's exospheric emissions, including those from the antisunward sodium tail, calcium and sodium close to the planet, and hydrogen at high altitudes on the dayside. Spatial variations indicate that multiple source and loss processes generate and maintain the exosphere. Energetic processes connected to the solar wind and magnetospheric interaction with the planet likely played an important role in determining the distributions of exospheric species during the flyby.

  17. The ecologic biogeochemistry of mercury in the Republic Buryatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovalevskii, A. L.

    Our mercury-biogeochemical researches of 1966-2001 have established, that natural sources of natural geological contamination of plants Hg are ore-bearing and mineralized geological structures and zones of tectonic faults - especially of deep mantle faults. The reason is the rather high intensity of an absorption by plants of the gaseous forms Hg. The example of biogeochemical provinces with high concentration Hg (and Cd) in plants with close to background or insignificantly increased contents Hg in soils and soils-forming rocks is Ozernoye, binded with the same name of ore knot in Eravna district of Buryatia. It has remained uncountered, since in livers and kidneys of sheep near lakes Gunda and Issinga in Eravna hollow high contents exceeding the Limit of Permissible Concentration (LPC) of Hg and Cd were revealed. These unexpected data testify probable prolongation of Ozernoye ore knot on east. Two others, not contoured mercury-biogeochemical provinces are connected with silver-bearing Gil'bera zone of deep faults in Ivolga district and to Monostoi anomalous biogeochemical field in Selenga district of Buryatia. On this anomalous field Hg was not determined, but its areal anomalies are rather probable, since Cd, Zn, Pb mineralization by our data is always accompanied by anomalies of Hg in plants. It is rather interesting that Ozernoye, Gil'bera and Monostoi mercury-biogeochemical provinces are characterized by high concentrations of Cd in plants, i.e. they complex cadmium-mercury. The extensive territory with the increased contents Hg in ashes of plants was revealed by P.I. Radchenko in the average current of river Chikoi in the eastern part of Kyakhta and in the southern part of Bichura region of Buryatia. This anomal field of Hg in plants can be called the Chikoi mercury-biogeochemical province. One more such province we predict on the territory of the Kholodnoe polymetal deposit in Severobaikal'sk region of Buryatia. Mentioned 5 mercury-biogeochemical provinces

  18. Recovery of aluminium, nickel-copper alloys and salts from spent fluorescent lamps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabah, Mahmoud A

    2004-01-01

    This study explores a combined pyro-hydrometallurgical method to recover pure aluminium, nickel-copper alloy(s), and some valuable salts from spent fluorescent lamps (SFLs). It also examines the safe recycling of clean glass tubes for the fluorescent lamp industry. Spent lamps were decapped under water containing 35% acetone to achieve safe capture of mercury vapour. Cleaned glass tubes, if broken, were cut using a rotating diamond disc to a standard shorter length. Aluminium and copper-nickel alloys in the separated metallic parts were recovered using suitable flux to decrease metal losses going to slag. Operation variables affecting the quality of the products and the extent of recovery with the suggested method were investigated. Results revealed that total loss in the glass tube recycling operation was 2% of the SFLs. Pure aluminium meeting standard specification DIN 1712 was recovered by melting at 800 degrees C under sodium chloride/carbon flux for 20 min. Standard nickel-copper alloys with less than 0.1% tin were prepared by melting at 1250 degrees C using a sodium borate/carbon flux. De-tinning of the molten nickel-copper alloy was carried out using oxygen gas. Tin in the slag as oxide was recovered by reduction using carbon or hydrogen gas at 650-700 degrees C. Different valuable chloride salts were also obtained in good quality. Further research is recommended on the thermodynamics of nickel-copper recovery, yttrium and europium recovery, and process economics.

  19. Recovery of aluminium, nickel-copper alloys and salts from spent fluorescent lamps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabah, Mahmoud A.

    2004-01-01

    This study explores a combined pyro-hydrometallurgical method to recover pure aluminium, nickel-copper alloy(s), and some valuable salts from spent fluorescent lamps (SFLs). It also examines the safe recycling of clean glass tubes for the fluorescent lamp industry. Spent lamps were decapped under water containing 35% acetone to achieve safe capture of mercury vapour. Cleaned glass tubes, if broken, were cut using a rotating diamond disc to a standard shorter length. Aluminium and copper-nickel alloys in the separated metallic parts were recovered using suitable flux to decrease metal losses going to slag. Operation variables affecting the quality of the products and the extent of recovery with the suggested method were investigated. Results revealed that total loss in the glass tube recycling operation was 2% of the SFLs. Pure aluminium meeting standard specification DIN 1712 was recovered by melting at 800 deg. C under sodium chloride/carbon flux for 20 min. Standard nickel-copper alloys with less than 0.1% tin were prepared by melting at 1250 deg. C using a sodium borate/carbon flux. De-tinning of the molten nickel-copper alloy was carried out using oxygen gas. Tin in the slag as oxide was recovered by reduction using carbon or hydrogen gas at 650-700 deg. C. Different valuable chloride salts were also obtained in good quality. Further research is recommended on the thermodynamics of nickel-copper recovery, yttrium and europium recovery, and process economics

  20. X-ray Fluorescence analytical criteria to assess the fineness of ancient silver coins: Application on Ptolemaic coinage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kantarelou, Vasiliki, E-mail: kantarelou@inp.demokritos.gr [Institute of Nuclear Physics, NCSR ' Demokritos' , Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, 153 10 (Greece); Ager, Francisco Jose, E-mail: fjager@us.es [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada I, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla (Spain); Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Avda. Thomas A. Edison, 7. E-41092 Sevilla (Spain); Eugenidou, Despoina [Numismatic Museum, Athens (NMA), Athens (Greece); Chaves, Francisca [Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueologia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla (Spain); Andreou, Alexandros; Kontou, Elena; Katsikosta, Niki [Numismatic Museum, Athens (NMA), Athens (Greece); Respaldiza, Miguel Angel [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada I, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla (Spain); Serafin, Patrizia [Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Musica e Spettacolo, Universita degli Studi di Roma ' Tor Vergata' , Roma (Italy); Sokaras, Dimosthenis [Institute of Nuclear Physics, NCSR ' Demokritos' , Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, 153 10 (Greece); Zarkadas, Charalambos [PANalytical B.V., 7600 AA Almelo (Netherlands); Polikreti, Kyriaki, E-mail: kpolykreti@culture.gr [Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Directorate of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments, Dept. of Applied Research, Pireos 81, 105 53, Athens (Greece); Karydas, Andreas Germanos, E-mail: A.Karydas@iaea.org [Institute of Nuclear Physics, NCSR ' Demokritos' , Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, 153 10 (Greece); Nuclear Spectrometry and Applications Laboratory, IAEA, Seibersdorf (Austria)

    2011-09-15

    The application of X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis in a non-invasive manner on ancient silver coins may not provide reliable bulk compositional data due to possible presence of a surface, silver enriched layer. The present work proposes a set of three complementary analytical methodologies to assess and improve the reliability of XRF data in such cases: a) comparison of XRF data on original and cleaned micro-spots on coin surface, b) Ag K/L ratio test and c) comparison of experimental and theoretically simulated intensities of the Rayleigh characteristic radiation emitted from the anode. The proposed methodology was applied on 82 silver coins from the collection of Ioannes Demetriou, donated to the Numismatic Museum of Athens in the 1890s. The coins originate from different mints and are attributed to the first five Ptolemaic kings' reign (321-180 B.C.). They were analyzed in-situ by using a milli-probe XRF spectrometer. The presence of an Ag-enriched layer was excluded for the majority of them. The silver fineness was found to be high, with very low concentrations of copper and lead. The composition data provide important information about possible sources of silver during the Ptolemaic period and indications of a gradual coinage debasement after 270 B.C. due to economic or technical reasons.

  1. X-ray Fluorescence analytical criteria to assess the fineness of ancient silver coins: Application on Ptolemaic coinage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kantarelou, Vasiliki; Ager, Francisco José; Eugenidou, Despoina; Chaves, Francisca; Andreou, Alexandros; Kontou, Elena; Katsikosta, Niki; Respaldiza, Miguel Angel; Serafin, Patrizia; Sokaras, Dimosthenis; Zarkadas, Charalambos; Polikreti, Kyriaki; Karydas, Andreas Germanos

    2011-01-01

    The application of X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis in a non-invasive manner on ancient silver coins may not provide reliable bulk compositional data due to possible presence of a surface, silver enriched layer. The present work proposes a set of three complementary analytical methodologies to assess and improve the reliability of XRF data in such cases: a) comparison of XRF data on original and cleaned micro-spots on coin surface, b) Ag K/L ratio test and c) comparison of experimental and theoretically simulated intensities of the Rayleigh characteristic radiation emitted from the anode. The proposed methodology was applied on 82 silver coins from the collection of Ioannes Demetriou, donated to the Numismatic Museum of Athens in the 1890s. The coins originate from different mints and are attributed to the first five Ptolemaic kings' reign (321–180 B.C.). They were analyzed in-situ by using a milli-probe XRF spectrometer. The presence of an Ag-enriched layer was excluded for the majority of them. The silver fineness was found to be high, with very low concentrations of copper and lead. The composition data provide important information about possible sources of silver during the Ptolemaic period and indications of a gradual coinage debasement after 270 B.C. due to economic or technical reasons.

  2. A mercury transport and fate model (LM2-mercury) for mass budget assessment of mercury cycling in Lake Michigan

    Science.gov (United States)

    LM2-Mercury, a mercury mass balance model, was developed to simulate and evaluate the transport, fate, and biogeochemical transformations of mercury in Lake Michigan. The model simulates total suspended solids (TSS), disolved organic carbon (DOC), and total, elemental, divalent, ...

  3. Mercury Emission Measurement in Coal-Fired Boilers by Continuous Mercury Monitor and Ontario Hydro Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yanqun; Zhou, Jinsong; He, Sheng; Cai, Xiaoshu; Hu, Changxin; Zheng, Jianming; Zhang, Le; Luo, Zhongyang; Cen, Kefa

    2007-06-01

    The mercury emission control approach attaches more importance. The accurate measurement of mercury speciation is a first step. Because OH method (accepted method) can't provide the real-time data and 2-week time for results attained, it's high time to seek on line mercury continuous emission monitors(Hg-CEM). Firstly, the gaseous elemental and oxidized mercury were conducted to measure using OH and CEM method under normal operation conditions of PC boiler after ESP, the results between two methods show good consistency. Secondly, through ESP, gaseous oxidized mercury decrease a little and particulate mercury reduce a little bit, but the elemental mercury is just the opposite. Besides, the WFGD system achieved to gaseous oxidized mercury removal of 53.4%, gaseous overall mercury and elemental mercury are 37.1% and 22.1%, respectively.

  4. Voltametric Determination of Adenine, Guanine and DNA Using Liquid Mercury Free Polished Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Fadrná, Renata; Josypčuk, Bohdan; Fojta, Miroslav; Navrátil, Tomáš; Novotný, Ladislav

    2004-01-01

    Roč. 37, č. 3 (2004), s. 399-413 ISSN 0003-2719 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KSK4040110 Grant - others:GIT(AR) 101/02/U111/CZ Keywords : voltammetry * DNA * polished silver solid amalgam electrode Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 1.165, year: 2004

  5. Biomarkers of mercury exposure at a mercury recycling facility in Ukraine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibb, H.J.; Kozlov, K.; Buckley, J.P.; Centeno, J.; Jurgenson, V.; Kolker, A.; Conko, K.; Landa, E.; Panov, B.; Panov, Y.; Xu, H.

    2008-01-01

    This study evaluates biomarkers of occupational mercury exposure among workers at a mercury recycling operation in Gorlovka, Ukraine. The 29 study participants were divided into three occupational categories for analysis: (1) those who worked in the mercury recycling operation (Group A, n = 8), (2) those who worked at the facility but not in the yard where the recycling was done (Group B, n = 14), and (3) those who did not work at the facility (Group C, n = 7). Urine, blood, hair, and nail samples were collected from the participants, and a questionnaire was administered to obtain data on age, gender, occupational history, smoking, alcohol consumption, fish consumption, tattoos, dental amalgams, home heating system, education, source of drinking water, and family employment in the former mercury mine/smelter located on the site of the recycling facility. Each factor was tested in a univariate regression with total mercury in urine, blood, hair, and nails. Median biomarker concentrations were 4.04 ??g/g-Cr (urine), 2.58 ??g/L (blood), 3.95 ??g/g (hair), and 1.16 ??g/g (nails). Occupational category was significantly correlated (p < 0.001) with both blood and urinary mercury concentrations but not with hair or nail mercury. Four individuals had urinary mercury concentrations in a range previously found to be associated with subtle neurological and subjective symptoms (e.g., fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability), and one worker had a urinary mercury concentration in a range associated with a high probability of neurological effects and proteinuria. Comparison of results by occupational category found that workers directly involved with the recycling operation had the highest blood and urinary mercury levels. Those who worked at the facility but were not directly involved with the recycling operation had higher levels than those who did not work at the facility. Copyright ?? 2008 JOEH, LLC.

  6. Concentration of mercury in wheat samples stored with mercury tablets as preservative

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lalit, B.Y.; Ramachandran, T.V.

    1977-01-01

    Tablets consisting of mercury in the form of a dull grey powder made by triturating mercury with chalk and sugar are used in Indian household for storing food-grains. The contamination of wheat samples by mercury, when stored with mercury tablets for period of upto four years has been assessed by using non-destructive neutron activation analysis. The details of the analytical procedure used have also been briefly described. The concentration of mercury in wheat increases with storage period. Loss of weight of mercury tablet is proportional to the storage period to a first approximation. In the present experiment, the average weight loss at the and end of first year was 0.009716 g corresponding to 6 ppm in wheat. (T.G.)

  7. Mercury Flow Through the Mercury-Containing Lamp Sector of the Economy of the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goonan, Thomas G.

    2006-01-01

    Introduction: This Scientific Investigations Report examines the flow of mercury through the mercury-containing lamp sector of the U.S. economy in 2001 from lamp manufacture through disposal or recycling. Mercury-containing lamps illuminate commercial and industrial buildings, outdoor areas, and residences. Mercury is an essential component in fluorescent lamps and high-intensity discharge lamps (high-pressure sodium, mercury-vapor, and metal halide). A typical fluorescent lamp is composed of a phosphor-coated glass tube with electrodes located at either end. Only a very small amount of the mercury is in vapor form. The remainder of the mercury is in the form of either liquid mercury metal or solid mercury oxide (mercury oxidizes over the life of the lamp). When voltage is applied, the electrodes energize the mercury vapor and cause it to emit ultraviolet energy. The phosphor coating absorbs the ultraviolet energy, which causes the phosphor to fluoresce and emit visible light. Mercury-containing lamps provide more lumens per watt than incandescent lamps and, as a result, require from three to four times less energy to operate. Mercury is persistent and toxic within the environment. Mercury-containing lamps are of environmental concern because they are widely distributed throughout the environment and are easily broken in handling. The magnitude of lamp sector mercury emissions, estimated to be 2.9 metric tons per year (t/yr), is small compared with the estimated mercury losses of the U.S. coal-burning and chlor-alkali industries, which are about 70 t/yr and about 90 t/yr, respectively.

  8. Geological structure and prospects of noble metal ore mineralization of the Khayrkhan gabbroid massif (Western Mongolia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurumshieva, K. R.; Gertner, I. F.; Tishin, P. A.

    2017-12-01

    An analysis of the distribution of noble metals in zones of sulfide mineralization makes it possible to justify the isolation of four ore-bearing horizons with a specific geochemical zonation. A rise in the gold content relative to palladium and platinum is observed from the bottom upwards along the section of the stratified series of gabbroids. The study of the mineral phases of sulphides and the noble minerals itself indicates the evolution of hydrothermal solutions, which determines the different activity and mobility of the fluid (mercury, tellurium, sulfur) and ore (copper, nickel, iron, platinum, gold and silver) components.

  9. Electrically Conductive Silver Paste Obtained by Use of Silver Neodecanoate as Precursor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Longguang; Liu, Jianguo; Zeng, Xiaoyan; Ren, Zhao

    2015-02-01

    An electrically conductive silver paste has been prepared from an organometallic compound, silver neodecanoate, as silver precursor. The precursor was highly soluble in organic solvents and decomposed into metallic silver at low sintering temperatures (writing process, enabling production of silver lines on a substrate. The electrical resistivity of the silver lines was 9 × 10-6 Ω cm after sintering at 115°C for 60 min, 5.8 × 10-6 Ω cm when sintered at 150°C for 60 min, and 3 × 10-6 Ω cm when sintered above 300°C, values which are similar to those of bulk silver. Hence, the prepared paste can be successfully used on flexible substrates such as polymers.

  10. Disposal and improvement of contaminated by waste extraction of copper mining in chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naranjo Lamilla, Pedro; Blanco Fernández, David; Díaz González, Marcos; Robles Castillo, Marcelo; Decinti Weiss, Alejandra; Tapia Alvarez, Carolina; Pardo Fabregat, Francisco; Vidal, Manuel Miguel Jordan; Bech, Jaume; Roca, Nuria

    2016-04-01

    This project originated from the need of a mining company, which mines and processes copper ore. High purity copper is produced with an annual production of 1,113,928 tons of concentrate to a law of 32%. This mining company has generated several illegal landfills and has been forced by the government to make a management center Industrial Solid Waste (ISW). The forecast volume of waste generated is 20,000 tons / year. Chemical analysis established that the studied soil has a high copper content, caused by nature or from the spread of contaminants from mining activities. Moreover, in some sectors, soil contamination by mercury, hydrocarbons and oils and fats were detected, likely associated with the accumulation of waste. The waters are also impacted by mining industrial tasks, specifically copper ores, molybdenum, manganese, sulfates and have an acidic pH. The ISW management center dispels the pollution of soil and water and concentrating all activities in a technically suitable place. In this center the necessary guidelines for the treatment and disposal of soil contamination caused by uncontrolled landfills are given, also generating a leachate collection system and a network of fluid monitoring physicochemical water quality and soil environment. Keywords: Industrial solid waste, soil contamination, Mining waste

  11. Estimating mercury emissions from a zinc smelter in relation to China's mercury control policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, S.X.; Song, J.X.; Li, G.H.; Wu, Y.; Zhang, L.; Wan, Q.; Streets, D.G.; Chin, Conrad K.; Hao, J.M.

    2010-01-01

    Mercury concentrations of flue gas at inlet/outlet of the flue gas cleaning, electrostatic demister, reclaiming tower, acid plant, and mercury contents in zinc concentrate and by-products were measured in a hydrometallurgical zinc smelter. The removal efficiency of flue gas cleaning, electrostatic demister, mercury reclaiming and acid plant was about 17.4%, 30.3%, 87.9% and 97.4% respectively. Flue gas cleaning and electrostatic demister captured 11.7% and 25.3% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate, respectively. The mercury reclaiming tower captured 58.3% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate. About 4.2% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate was captured by the acid plant. Consequently, only 0.8% of the mercury in the zinc concentrate was emitted to the atmosphere. The atmospheric mercury emission factor was 0.5 g t -1 of zinc produced for the tested smelter, indicating that this process offers the potential to effectively reduce mercury emissions from zinc smelting. - Modern scale production equipped with acid plant and Hg reclaiming tower will significantly reduce Hg emissions from zinc smelters in China.

  12. Leaching of Silver from Silver-Impregnated Food Storage Containers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauri, James F.; Niece, Brian K.

    2011-01-01

    The use of silver in commercial products has proliferated in recent years owing to its antibacterial properties. Food containers impregnated with micro-sized silver promise long food life, but there is some concern because silver can leach out of the plastic and into the stored food. This laboratory experiment gives students the opportunity to…

  13. Silver niobates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanirbergenov, B.; Rozhenko, S.P.

    1979-01-01

    By means of determination of residual concentrations and pH measurements investigated are the AgNO 3 -KNbO 3 -H 2 O, AgNO 3 -K 3 NbO 4 -H 2 O, AgNO 3 -K 8 Nb 16 O 19 -H 2 O systems and established is formation of meta-, ortho-and hexaniobates of silver. AgNbO 3 x H 2 O, Ag 8 Nb 6 O 19 x 6H 2 O and Ag 3 NbO 3 x 2.5H 2 O are separated from aqueous solution. Using the methods of differential-thermal, thermogravimetric and X-ray-phase analyses it is shown that silver metaniobate transforms into the crystal state at 530 deg C. Ortho- and hexaniobate of silver decompose at 500 deg C with formation of silver metaniobate and metal silver

  14. Diversity and role of plasmids in adaptation of bacteria inhabiting the Lubin copper mine in Poland, an environment rich in heavy metals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukasz eDziewit

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The Lubin underground mine, is one of three mining divisions in the Lubin-Glogow Copper District in Lower Silesia province (Poland. It is the source of polymetallic ore that is rich in copper, silver and several heavy metals. Black shale is also significantly enriched in fossil organic matter in the form of long-chain hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organic acids, esters, thiophenes and metalloporphyrins. Biological analyses have revealed that this environment is inhabited by extremophilic bacteria and fungi. Kupfershiefer black shale and samples of water, bottom and mineral sediments from the underground (below 600 m Lubin mine were taken and twenty bacterial strains were isolated and characterized. All exhibited multi-resistant and hypertolerant phenotypes to heavy metals. We analyzed the plasmidome of these strains in order to evaluate the diversity and role of mobile DNA in adaptation to the harsh conditions of the mine environment. Experimental and bioinformatic analyses of 11 extrachromosomal replicons were performed. Three plasmids, including a broad-host-range replicon containing a Tn3 family transposon, carried genes conferring resistance to arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, mercury and zinc. Functional analysis revealed that the resistance modules exhibit host specificity, i.e. they may increase or decrease tolerance to toxic ions depending on the host strain. The other identified replicons showed diverse features. Among them we identified a catabolic plasmid encoding enzymes involved in the utilization of histidine and vanillate, a putative plasmid-like prophage carrying genes responsible for NAD biosynthesis, and two repABC-type plasmids containing virulence-associated genes. These findings provide an unique molecular insight into the pool of extrachromosomal replicons and highlight their role in the biology and adaptation of extremophilic bacteria inhabiting terrestrial deep subsurface.

  15. Spatial variation of mercury bioaccumulation in bats of Canada linked to atmospheric mercury deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chételat, John; Hickey, M Brian C; Poulain, Alexandre J; Dastoor, Ashu; Ryjkov, Andrei; McAlpine, Donald; Vanderwolf, Karen; Jung, Thomas S; Hale, Lesley; Cooke, Emma L L; Hobson, Dave; Jonasson, Kristin; Kaupas, Laura; McCarthy, Sara; McClelland, Christine; Morningstar, Derek; Norquay, Kaleigh J O; Novy, Richard; Player, Delanie; Redford, Tony; Simard, Anouk; Stamler, Samantha; Webber, Quinn M R; Yumvihoze, Emmanuel; Zanuttig, Michelle

    2018-06-01

    Wildlife are exposed to neurotoxic mercury at locations distant from anthropogenic emission sources because of long-range atmospheric transport of this metal. In this study, mercury bioaccumulation in insectivorous bat species (Mammalia: Chiroptera) was investigated on a broad geographic scale in Canada. Fur was analyzed (n=1178) for total mercury from 43 locations spanning 20° latitude and 77° longitude. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in fur were positively correlated with concentrations in internal tissues (brain, liver, kidney) for a small subset (n=21) of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), validating the use of fur to indicate internal mercury exposure. Brain methylmercury concentrations were approximately 10% of total mercury concentrations in fur. Three bat species were mainly collected (little brown bats, big brown bats, and northern long-eared bats [M. septentrionalis]), with little brown bats having lower total mercury concentrations in their fur than the other two species at sites where both species were sampled. On average, juvenile bats had lower total mercury concentrations than adults but no differences were found between males and females of a species. Combining our dataset with previously published data for eastern Canada, median total mercury concentrations in fur of little brown bats ranged from 0.88-12.78μg/g among 11 provinces and territories. Highest concentrations were found in eastern Canada where bats are most endangered from introduced disease. Model estimates of atmospheric mercury deposition indicated that eastern Canada was exposed to greater mercury deposition than central and western sites. Further, mean total mercury concentrations in fur of adult little brown bats were positively correlated with site-specific estimates of atmospheric mercury deposition. This study provides the largest geographic coverage of mercury measurements in bats to date and indicates that atmospheric

  16. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles by silver mirror reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, Yongzheng; Li, Yajing; Zhang, Jianfeng; Yu, Zhongzhen; Yang, Dongzhi

    2015-01-01

    The silver mirror reaction (SMR) method was selected in this paper to modify electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, and these nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles showed excellent antibacterial properties. PAN nanofibers were first pretreated in AgNO 3 aqueous solution before the SMR process so that the silver nanoparticles were distributed evenly on the outer surface of the nanofibers. The final PAN nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), TEM-selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). SEM, TEM micrographs and SAED patterns confirmed homogeneous dispersion of the silver nanoparticles which were composed of monocrystals with diameters 20–30 nm. EDS and XRD results showed that these monocrystals tended to form face-centered cubic single silver. TGA test indicated that the nanoparticles loaded on the nanofibers reached above 50 wt.%. This material was also evaluated by the viable cell-counting method. The results indicated that PAN nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli), gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and the fungus Monilia albicans. Thus, this material had many potential applications in biomedical fields. - Highlights: • Silver mirror reaction was used to prepare nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles. • The SAED patterns demonstrated the monocrystallinity of silver nanocrystals. • The XRD results showed nanoparticles tended to be face-centered cubic single silver. • The material showed excellent antimicrobial activities against bacteria and fungi

  17. Metallic mercury recycling. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beck, M.A.

    1994-07-01

    Metallic mercury is known to be a hazardous material and is regulated as such. The disposal of mercury, usually by landfill, is expensive and does not remove mercury from the environment. Results from the Metallic Mercury Recycling Project have demonstrated that metallic mercury is a good candidate for reclamation and recycling. Most of the potential contamination of mercury resides in the scum floating on the surface of the mercury. Pinhole filtration was demonstrated to be an inexpensive and easy way of removing residues from mercury. The analysis method is shown to be sufficient for present release practices, and should be sufficient for future release requirements. Data from tests are presented. The consistently higher level of activity of the filter residue versus the bulk mercury is discussed. Recommendations for the recycling procedure are made.

  18. Metallic mercury recycling. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beck, M.A.

    1994-01-01

    Metallic mercury is known to be a hazardous material and is regulated as such. The disposal of mercury, usually by landfill, is expensive and does not remove mercury from the environment. Results from the Metallic Mercury Recycling Project have demonstrated that metallic mercury is a good candidate for reclamation and recycling. Most of the potential contamination of mercury resides in the scum floating on the surface of the mercury. Pinhole filtration was demonstrated to be an inexpensive and easy way of removing residues from mercury. The analysis method is shown to be sufficient for present release practices, and should be sufficient for future release requirements. Data from tests are presented. The consistently higher level of activity of the filter residue versus the bulk mercury is discussed. Recommendations for the recycling procedure are made

  19. Mercury(II) and methyl mercury speciation on Streptococcus pyogenes loaded Dowex Optipore SD-2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuzen, Mustafa; Uluozlu, Ozgur Dogan; Karaman, Isa; Soylak, Mustafa

    2009-01-01

    A solid phase extraction procedure based on speciation of mercury(II) and methyl mercury on Streptococcus pyogenes immobilized on Dowex Optipore SD-2 has been established. Selective and sequential elution with 0.1 mol L -1 HCl for methyl mercury and 2 mol L -1 HCl for mercury(II) were performed at pH 8. The determination of mercury levels was performed by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS). Optimal analytical conditions including pH, amounts of biosorbent, sample volumes, etc., were investigated. The influences of the some alkaline and earth alkaline ions and some transition metals on the recoveries were also investigated. The capacity of biosorbent for mercury(II) and methyl mercury was 4.8 and 3.4 mg g -1 . The detection limit (3 sigma) of the reagent blank for mercury(II) and methyl mercury was 2.1 and 1.5 ng L -1 . Preconcentration factor was calculated as 25. The relative standard deviations of the procedure were below 7%. The validation of the presented procedure is performed by the analysis of standard reference material (NRCC-DORM 2 Dogfish Muscle). The procedure was successfully applied to the speciation of mercury(II) and methyl mercury in natural water and environmental samples.

  20. Mercury(II) and methyl mercury speciation on Streptococcus pyogenes loaded Dowex Optipore SD-2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuzen, Mustafa, E-mail: m.tuzen@gmail.com [Gaziosmanpasa University, Faculty of Science and Arts, Chemistry Department, 60250 Tokat (Turkey); Uluozlu, Ozgur Dogan [Gaziosmanpasa University, Faculty of Science and Arts, Chemistry Department, 60250 Tokat (Turkey); Karaman, Isa [Gaziosmanpasa University, Faculty of Science and Arts, Biology Department, 60250 Tokat (Turkey); Soylak, Mustafa [Erciyes University, Faculty of Science and Arts, Chemistry Department, 38039 Kayseri (Turkey)

    2009-09-30

    A solid phase extraction procedure based on speciation of mercury(II) and methyl mercury on Streptococcus pyogenes immobilized on Dowex Optipore SD-2 has been established. Selective and sequential elution with 0.1 mol L{sup -1} HCl for methyl mercury and 2 mol L{sup -1} HCl for mercury(II) were performed at pH 8. The determination of mercury levels was performed by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS). Optimal analytical conditions including pH, amounts of biosorbent, sample volumes, etc., were investigated. The influences of the some alkaline and earth alkaline ions and some transition metals on the recoveries were also investigated. The capacity of biosorbent for mercury(II) and methyl mercury was 4.8 and 3.4 mg g{sup -1}. The detection limit (3 sigma) of the reagent blank for mercury(II) and methyl mercury was 2.1 and 1.5 ng L{sup -1}. Preconcentration factor was calculated as 25. The relative standard deviations of the procedure were below 7%. The validation of the presented procedure is performed by the analysis of standard reference material (NRCC-DORM 2 Dogfish Muscle). The procedure was successfully applied to the speciation of mercury(II) and methyl mercury in natural water and environmental samples.

  1. Thiosulphate assisted phytoextraction of mercury contaminated soils at the Wanshan Mercury Mining District, Southwest China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Wang

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Wanshan, known as the “Mercury Capital” of China, is located in the Southwest of China. Due to the extensive mining and smelting works in the Wanshan area, the local ecosystem has been serious contaminated with mercury. In the present study, a number of soil samples were taken from the Wanshan mercury mining area and the mercury fractionations in soils were analyzed using sequential extraction procedure technique. The obtained results showed that the dominate mercury fractions (represent 95% of total mercury were residual and organic bound mercury. A field trial was conducted in a mercury polluted farmland at the Wanshan mercury mine. Four plant species Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var. ASKYC (ASKYC, Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var.DPDH (DPDH, Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var.CHBD(CHBD, Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var.LDZY (LDZY were tested their ability to extract mercury from soil with thiosulphate amendment. The results indicated that the mercury concentration in the roots and shoots of the four plants were significantly increased with thiosulphate treatment. The mercury phytoextraction yield of ASKYC, DPDH, CHBD and LDZY were 92, 526, 294 and 129 g/ha, respectively

  2. Thiosulphate assisted phytoextraction of mercury contaminated soils at the Wanshan Mercury Mining District, Southwest China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Wang

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Wanshan, known as the “Mercury Capital” of China, is located in the Southwest of China. Due to the extensive mining and smelting works in the Wanshan area, the local ecosystem has been serious contaminated with mercury. In the present study, a number of soil samples were taken from the Wanshan mercury mining area and the mercury fractionations in soils were analyzed using sequential extraction procedure technique. The obtained results showed that the dominate mercury fractions (represent 95% of total mercury were residual and organic bound mercury. A field trial was conducted in a mercury polluted farmland at the Wanshan mercury mine. Four plant species Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var. ASKYC (ASKYC, Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var.DPDH (DPDH, Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var.CHBD(CHBD, Brassica juncea Czern. et Coss.var.LDZY (LDZY were tested their ability to extract mercury from soil with thiosulphate amendment. The results indicated that the mercury concentration in the roots and shoots of the four plants were significantly increased with thiosulphate treatment. The mercury phytoextraction yield of ASKYC, DPDH, CHBD and LDZY were 92, 526, 294 and 129 g/ha, respectively.

  3. Mercury CEM Calibration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    John Schabron; Joseph Rovani; Mark Sanderson

    2008-02-29

    Mercury continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) are being implemented in over 800 coal-fired power plant stacks. The power industry desires to conduct at least a full year of monitoring before the formal monitoring and reporting requirement begins on January 1, 2009. It is important for the industry to have available reliable, turnkey equipment from CEM vendors. Western Research Institute (WRI) is working closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to facilitate the development of the experimental criteria for a NIST traceability protocol for dynamic elemental mercury vapor generators. The generators are used to calibrate mercury CEMs at power plant sites. The Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) which was published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2005 requires that calibration be performed with NIST-traceable standards (Federal Register 2007). Traceability procedures will be defined by EPA. An initial draft traceability protocol was issued by EPA in May 2007 for comment. In August 2007, EPA issued an interim traceability protocol for elemental mercury generators (EPA 2007). The protocol is based on the actual analysis of the output of each calibration unit at several concentration levels ranging initially from about 2-40 {micro}g/m{sup 3} elemental mercury, and in the future down to 0.2 {micro}g/m{sup 3}, and this analysis will be directly traceable to analyses by NIST. The document is divided into two separate sections. The first deals with the qualification of generators by the vendors for use in mercury CEM calibration. The second describes the procedure that the vendors must use to certify the generator models that meet the qualification specifications. The NIST traceable certification is performance based, traceable to analysis using isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry performed by NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. The

  4. Synthesis of polymer-stabilized monometallic Cu and bimetallic Cu/Ag nanoparticles and their surface-enhanced Raman scattering properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Danhui; Liu, Xiaoheng

    2013-03-01

    The present study demonstrates a facile process for the production of spherical-shaped Cu and Ag nanoparticles synthesized and stabilized by hydrazine and gelatin, respectively. Advantages of the synthetic method include its production of water dispersible copper and copper/silver nanoparticles at room temperature under no inert atmosphere. The resulting nanoparticles (copper or copper/silver) are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanometallic dispersions were characterized by surface plasmon absorbance measuring at 420 and 572 nm for Ag and Cu nanoparticles, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy showed the formation of nanoparticles in the range of ˜10 nm (silver), and ˜30 nm (copper). The results also demonstrate that the reducing order of Cu2+/Ag+ is important for the formation of the bimetallic nanoparticles. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering effects of copper and copper/silver nanoparticles were also displayed. It was found that the enhancement ability of copper/silver nanoparticles was little higher than the copper nanoparticles.

  5. Accumulation of mercury in selected plant species grown in soils contaminated with different mercury compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Yi; Han, Fengxiang; Shiyab, Safwan; Chen, Jian; Monts, David L.

    2007-01-01

    The objective of our research is to screen and search for suitable plant species for phyto-remediation of mercury-contaminated soil. Currently our effort is specifically focused on mercury removal from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites, where mercury contamination is a major concern. In order to cost effectively implement mercury remediation efforts, it is necessary now to obtain an improved understanding of biological means of removing mercury and mercury compounds.. Phyto-remediation is a technology that uses various plants to degrade, extract, contain, or immobilize contaminants from soil and water. In particular, phyto-extraction is the uptake of contaminants by plant roots and translocation within the plants to shoots or leaves. Contaminants are generally removed by harvesting the plants. We have investigated phyto-extraction of mercury from contaminated soil by using some of the known metal-accumulating plants since no natural plant species with mercury hyper-accumulating properties has yet been identified. Different natural plant species have been studied for mercury uptake, accumulation, toxicity and overall mercury removal efficiency. Various mercury compounds, such as HgS, HgCl 2 , and Hg(NO 3 ) 2 , were used as contaminant sources. Different types of soil were examined and chosen for phyto-remediation experiments. We have applied microscopy and diffuse reflectance spectrometry as well as conventional analytical chemistry to monitor the phyto-remediation processes of mercury uptake, translocation and accumulation, and the physiological impact of mercury contaminants on selected plant species. Our results indicate that certain plant species, such as beard grass (Polypogon monospeliensis), accumulated a very limited amount of mercury in the shoots ( 2 powder, respectively; no visual stress symptoms were observed. We also studied mercury phyto-remediation using aged soils that contained HgS, HgCl 2 , or Hg(NO 3 ) 2 . We have found that up to hundreds

  6. Preparation of Conductive Organometallic Complexes and Their Pastes or Inks Using the Electron Beam Apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu, Ja Min; Lee, Hyosun; Lee, Byung Cheol; Park, Ji Hyun

    2011-01-01

    We have synthesized the silver and copper complexes using the ligands, amine derivatives Ν-methylhydantoin amine, Ν-triethanol amine, the copper complexes are prepared depending on the equivalents of starting materials, however the silver complexes failed. In case of terephthalic acid, glutaric acid, we have synthesized silver and copper complexes successfully. We have measured conductivity of silver and copper complexes paste and ink themselves by thermal reduction using PULSE UV method. A couple of synthesized copper complex's paste have shown some resistance which is not enough for the conductive materials. Commercially silver pastes composed of silver oxide and silver salt of carboxylic acid, applied to the printed transistor circuits with suitable process, i. e. thermal reduction. This process substituted for electron beam brings a simplification of process, economical, environmental friendly process and a development of in the application of flexible substrate

  7. Adsorptive stripping voltammetric behaviour of copper complexes of some heterocyclic azo compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farias, P A; Ferreira, S L; Ohara, A K; Bastos, M B; Goulart, M S

    1992-10-01

    Controlled adsorptive accumulation of copper complexed with TAN, TAC, TAR and TAM (heterocyclic azo-compounds) on a static mercury drop electrode provides the basis for the direct stripping measurement of this element in the nanomolar concentration level. The ligand TAN exhibited great sensitivity and better separation of the peak current of the ligand in relation to the complex. The reduction current of adsorbed complex ions of copper is measured by linear scan cathodic stripping voltammetry, preceded by a period of accumulation of a few minutes. The peak potential is at approximately -0.37 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Optimal experimental parameters were found to be a TAN concentration of 1 x 10(-5)M, an accumulation potential of -0.22 V, and a solution pH of 3.7 (acetate buffer). The detection limit is 0.8nM after a 5-min accumulation with a stirred solution, and the response is linear up to 50 mug/l. Many common cations and anions do not interfere in the determination of copper. The interference of titanium is eliminated by addition of fluoride ion. Results are reported for a fresh water sample.

  8. Determination of copper in whole blood by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tarik Attar

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available A selective and sensitive method for determination of copper in blood by adsorptive differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry is presented. The method is based on adsorptive accumulation of the complexes of Cu (II ions with benzenesulfonyl hydrazide onto hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE, followed by the reduction of the adsorbed species by differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry. The effect of various parameters such as supporting electrolyte, concentration of benzenesulfonyl hydrazide, accumulation potential, accumulation time and stirring rate on the selectivity and sensitivity were studied. The optimum conditions for determination of copper include perchloric acid 0.03 M, concentration of benzenesulfonyl hydrazide 7.5×10-5 M, the accumulation potential of -350 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl, the accumulation time of 50 s, and the scan rate of 50 mV s-1. Under optimized conditions, linear calibration curves were established for the concentration of Cu (II in the range of 0.62-275 ng mL-1, with detection limit of 0.186 ng mL-1 for Cu (II. The procedure was successfully applied to the determination of copper ion in whole blood samples.

  9. Methyl mercury, but not inorganic mercury, associated with higher blood pressure during pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Ellen M; Herbstman, Julie B; Lin, Yu Hong; Hibbeln, Joseph R; Halden, Rolf U; Witter, Frank R; Goldman, Lynn R

    2017-04-01

    Prior studies addressing associations between mercury and blood pressure have produced inconsistent findings; some of this may result from measuring total instead of speciated mercury. This cross-sectional study of 263 pregnant women assessed total mercury, speciated mercury, selenium, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in umbilical cord blood and blood pressure during labor and delivery. Models with a) total mercury or b) methyl and inorganic mercury were evaluated. Regression models adjusted for maternal age, race/ethnicity, prepregnancy body mass index, neighborhood income, parity, smoking, n-3 fatty acids and selenium. Geometric mean total, methyl, and inorganic mercury concentrations were 1.40µg/L (95% confidence interval: 1.29, 1.52); 0.95µg/L (0.84, 1.07); and 0.13µg/L (0.10, 0.17), respectively. Elevated systolic BP, diastolic BP, and pulse pressure were found, respectively, in 11.4%, 6.8%, and 19.8% of mothers. In adjusted multivariable models, a one-tertile increase of methyl mercury was associated with 2.83mmHg (0.17, 5.50) higher systolic blood pressure and 2.99mmHg (0.91, 5.08) higher pulse pressure. In the same models, an increase of one tertile of inorganic mercury was associated with -1.18mmHg (-3.72, 1.35) lower systolic blood pressure and -2.51mmHg (-4.49, -0.53) lower pulse pressure. No associations were observed with diastolic pressure. There was a non-significant trend of higher total mercury with higher systolic blood pressure. We observed a significant association of higher methyl mercury with higher systolic and pulse pressure, yet higher inorganic mercury was significantly associated with lower pulse pressure. These results should be confirmed with larger, longitudinal studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles by silver mirror reaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, Yongzheng; Li, Yajing; Zhang, Jianfeng; Yu, Zhongzhen; Yang, Dongzhi, E-mail: yangdz@mail.buct.edu.cn

    2015-06-01

    The silver mirror reaction (SMR) method was selected in this paper to modify electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, and these nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles showed excellent antibacterial properties. PAN nanofibers were first pretreated in AgNO{sub 3} aqueous solution before the SMR process so that the silver nanoparticles were distributed evenly on the outer surface of the nanofibers. The final PAN nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), TEM-selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). SEM, TEM micrographs and SAED patterns confirmed homogeneous dispersion of the silver nanoparticles which were composed of monocrystals with diameters 20–30 nm. EDS and XRD results showed that these monocrystals tended to form face-centered cubic single silver. TGA test indicated that the nanoparticles loaded on the nanofibers reached above 50 wt.%. This material was also evaluated by the viable cell-counting method. The results indicated that PAN nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli), gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and the fungus Monilia albicans. Thus, this material had many potential applications in biomedical fields. - Highlights: • Silver mirror reaction was used to prepare nanofibers loaded with silver nanoparticles. • The SAED patterns demonstrated the monocrystallinity of silver nanocrystals. • The XRD results showed nanoparticles tended to be face-centered cubic single silver. • The material showed excellent antimicrobial activities against bacteria and fungi.

  11. An Investigation of Low Biofouling Copper-charged Membranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asapu, Sunitha

    Water is essential for the survival of life on Earth, but pollutants in water can cause dangerous diseases and fatalities. The need for purified water has been increasing with increasing world population; however, natural sources of water such as rivers, lakes and streams, are progressively falling shorter and shorter of meeting water needs. The provision of clean, drinkable water to people is a key factor for the development of novel and alternative water purification technologies, such as membrane separations. Nanofiltration (NF) is a membrane separations technology that purifies water from lower quality sources, such as brackish water, seawater and wastewater. During the filtration of such sources, materials that are rejected by the membrane may accumulate on the surface of the membrane to foul it. Such materials include organic and inorganic matter, colloids, salts and microorganisms. The former four can often be controlled via pretreatment; however, the accumulation of microorganisms is more problematic to membranes. Biofouling is the accumulation and growth of microorganisms on the surface of membranes and on feed spacers. After attachment, microorganisms excrete extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which form a matrix around the organism's outer surface as biofilm. These biofilms are detrimental and result in irreversible membrane fouling. Copper and silver ions inactivate the bacterial cells and prevent the DNA replication in microbial cells. Previous studies using copper-charged feed spacers have shown the ability of copper to control biofouling without a significant amount of copper leaching from copper-charged polypropylene (PP) feed spacers during crossflow filtration. Also, filtration using unmodified speed facers experienced almost 70% flux decline, while filtration using copper-charged feed spacers displayed only 25% flux decline. These intriguing results led to the hypothesis that the polymer chemistry could be extrapolated to produce membranes

  12. Mercury and halogens in coal--Their role in determining mercury emissions from coal combustion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolker, Allan; Quick, Jeffrey C.; Senior, Connie L.; Belkin, Harvey E.

    2012-01-01

    Mercury is a toxic pollutant. In its elemental form, gaseous mercury has a long residence time in the atmosphere, up to a year, allowing it to be transported long distances from emission sources. Mercury can be emitted from natural sources such as volcanoes, or from anthropogenic sources, such as coal-fired powerplants. In addition, all sources of mercury on the Earth's surface can re-emit it from land and sea back to the atmosphere, from which it is then redeposited. Mercury in the atmosphere is present in such low concentrations that it is not considered harmful. Once mercury enters the aquatic environment, however, it can undergo a series of biochemical transformations that convert a portion of the mercury originally present to methylmercury, a highly toxic organic form of mercury that accumulates in fish and birds. Many factors contribute to creation of methylmercury in aquatic ecosystems, including mercury availability, sediment and nutrient load, bacterial influence, and chemical conditions. In the United States, consumption of fish with high levels of methylmercury is the most common pathway for human exposure to mercury, leading the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue fish consumption advisories in every State. The EPA estimates that 50 percent of the mercury entering the atmosphere in the United States is emitted from coal-burning utility powerplants. An EPA rule, known as MATS (for Mercury and Air Toxics Standards), to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from powerplants, was signed in December 2011. The rule, which is currently under review, specifies limits for mercury and other toxic elements, such as arsenic, chromium, and nickel. MATS also places limits on emission of harmful acid gases, such as hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid. These standards are the result of a 2010 detailed nationwide program by the EPA to sample stack emissions and thousands of shipments of coal to coal-burning powerplants. The United

  13. Modeling Mercury in Proteins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Jeremy C [ORNL; Parks, Jerry M [ORNL

    2016-01-01

    Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that is released into the biosphere both by natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Although its reduced, elemental form Hg(0) is relatively non-toxic, other forms such as Hg2+ and, in particular, its methylated form, methylmercury, are toxic, with deleterious effects on both ecosystems and humans. Microorganisms play important roles in the transformation of mercury in the environment. Inorganic Hg2+ can be methylated by certain bacteria and archaea to form methylmercury. Conversely, bacteria also demethylate methylmercury and reduce Hg2+ to relatively inert Hg(0). Transformations and toxicity occur as a result of mercury interacting with various proteins. Clearly, then, understanding the toxic effects of mercury and its cycling in the environment requires characterization of these interactions. Computational approaches are ideally suited to studies of mercury in proteins because they can provide a detailed picture and circumvent issues associated with toxicity. Here we describe computational methods for investigating and characterizing how mercury binds to proteins, how inter- and intra-protein transfer of mercury is orchestrated in biological systems, and how chemical reactions in proteins transform the metal. We describe quantum chemical analyses of aqueous Hg(II), which reveal critical factors that determine ligand binding propensities. We then provide a perspective on how we used chemical reasoning to discover how microorganisms methylate mercury. We also highlight our combined computational and experimental studies of the proteins and enzymes of the mer operon, a suite of genes that confers mercury resistance in many bacteria. Lastly, we place work on mercury in proteins in the context of what is needed for a comprehensive multi-scale model of environmental mercury cycling.

  14. Development kinetics of silver clusters on silver halides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grzesiak, S.; Belloni, J.; Marignier, J.-L.

    2008-01-01

    Silver nuclei are produced by pulse radiolysis at the surface of AgCl nanocrystallites in the presence of an electron donor, the methyl viologen, which induces the growth of silver nuclei. The experimental results observed on the increase of the silver atom concentration and on the decay of the donor concentration during this process, which is similar to the photographic development by an electron donor, are compared with the kinetics obtained from numerical simulation. The model assumes that the formation of silver clusters with a supercritical nuclearity is required before the start of an electron transfer reaction from the two reduced forms of the donor methyl viologen to the silver clusters. The reaction is controlled by the access of the donor to the surface sites of the AgCl crystallite. The rate constant values of the successive steps of the mechanism are derived from the adjustment of calculated kinetics to experimental signals under various conditions, using a single set of parameters which are fairly suitable under all conditions studied

  15. Mercury is Moon's brother

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ksanfomalifi, L.V.

    1976-01-01

    The latest information on Mercury planet is presented obtained by studying the planet with the aid of radar and space vehicles. Rotation of Mercury about its axis has been discovered; within 2/3 of its year it executes a complete revolution about its axis. In images obtained by the ''Mariner-10'' Mercurys surface differs little from that of the Moon. The ''Mariner-10'' has also discovered the Mercurys atmosphere, which consists of extremely rarefied helium. The helium is continuously supplied to the planet by the solar wind. The Mercury's magnetic field has been discovered, whose strength is 35 x 10 -4 at the Equator and 70 x 10 -4 E at the poles. The inclination of the dipole axis to the Mercury's rotation axis is 7 deg

  16. Russell-Silver syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver-Russell syndrome; Silver syndrome; RSS; Russell-Silver syndrome ... One in 10 children with this syndrome has a problem involving chromosome 7. In other people with the syndrome, it may affect chromosome 11. Most of the time, it ...

  17. Mercury nano-trap for effective and efficient removal of mercury(II) from aqueous solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Baiyan; Zhang, Yiming; Ma, Dingxuan; Shi, Zhan; Ma, Shengqian

    2014-11-01

    Highly effective and highly efficient decontamination of mercury from aqueous media remains a serious task for public health and ecosystem protection. Here we report that this task can be addressed by creating a mercury ‘nano-trap’ as illustrated by functionalizing a high surface area and robust porous organic polymer with a high density of strong mercury chelating groups. The resultant porous organic polymer-based mercury ‘nano-trap’ exhibits a record-high saturation mercury uptake capacity of over 1,000 mg g-1, and can effectively reduce the mercury(II) concentration from 10 p.p.m. to the extremely low level of smaller than 0.4 p.p.b. well below the acceptable limits in drinking water standards (2 p.p.b.), and can also efficiently remove >99.9% mercury(II) within a few minutes. Our work therefore presents a new benchmark for mercury adsorbent materials and provides a new perspective for removing mercury(II) and also other heavy metal ions from contaminated water for environmental remediation.

  18. Distribution of silver in rats following 28 days of repeated oral exposure to silver nanoparticles or silver acetate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Löschner, Katrin; Hadrup, Niels; Qvortrup, Klaus

    2011-01-01

    Background: The study investigated the distribution of silver after 28 days repeated oral administration of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver acetate (AgAc) to rats. Oral administration is a relevant route of exposure because of the use of silver nanoparticles in products related to food...... and food contact materials. Results: AgNPs were synthesized with a size distribution of 14 ± 4 nm in diameter (90% of the nanoparticle volume) and stabilized in aqueous suspension by the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The AgNPs remained stable throughout the duration of the 28-day oral toxicity study...... in rats. The organ distribution pattern of silver following administration of AgNPs and AgAc was similar. However the absolute silver concentrations in tissues were lower following oral exposure to AgNPs. This was in agreement with an indication of a higher fecal excretion following administration of Ag...

  19. Synchronous determination of mercury (II) and copper (II) based on quantum dots-multilayer film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Qiang; Ha Enna; Yang Fengping; Su Xingguang

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: We developed a sensitive sensor for synchronous detection of Hg (II) and Cu (II) based on the quenchedand recovered PL intensity of QDs-multilayer films. Solutions containing Hg (II) or Cu (II) were used to quench the fluorescence of the QDs-multilayer films firstly. Then, glutathione (GSH) was used to remove Hg (II) or Cu (II) from the QDs-multilayer films due to stronger affinity of GSH-metal ions than that of QDs metal ions. Thus, the fluorescence of QDs-multilayer films was recovered. Highlights: → QDs-multilayer films were developed for synchronous detection of Hg (II) and Cu (II). → Hg (II) and Cu (II) could quench the photoluminescence of the QDs-multilayer films. → Glutathione was used to remove metal ions and recovery photoluminescence of QDs-multilayer films. - Abstract: A sensitive sensor for mercury (II) and copper (II) synchronous detection was established via the changed photoluminescence of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) multilayer films in this work. QDs were deposited on the quartz slides to form QDs-multilayer films by electrostatic interactions with poly(dimethyldiallyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA). Hg 2+ or Cu 2+ could quench the photoluminescence of the QDs-multilayer films, and glutathione (GSH) was used to remove Hg 2+ or Cu 2+ from QDs-multilayer films due to strong affinity of GSH-metal ions, which resulted in the recovered photoluminescence of QDs-multilayer films. There are good linear relationships between the metal ions concentration and the photoluminescence intensity of QDs in the quenched and recovered process. It was found that the Stern-Volmer constants for Hg 2+ are higher than that for Cu 2+ . Based on different quenching and recovery constant between Hg 2+ and Cu 2+ , the synchronous detection of Hg 2+ and Cu 2+ can be achieved. The linear ranges of this assay were obtained from 0.005 to 0.5 μM for Hg 2+ and from 0.01 to 1 μM for Cu 2+ , respectively. And the artificial water samples were determined by this

  20. Synthesis of silver nanoparticles stabilized with C-phycocyanin and for fluorimetric detection of copper ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Nana; Hou, Yanhua; Lu, Zongbao; Yu, Huatong; Wang, Quanfu

    2018-01-01

    In this study, C-phycocyanin as protective agent, AgNO3 as raw material and NaBH4 as reducing agent synthesized C-phycocyanin-Ag nanoparticles (PC-AgNPs). The synthesis conditions of PC-AgNPs were determined by optimization. The maximum UV absorption peak of PC-AgNPs at 400 nm. The fluorescence excitation wavelength was 580 nm and the emission wavelength was 625 nm. PC-AgNPs was spherical in transmission electron microscope and the particles sizes were about 10-25 nm. In addition, fluorescence quenching was observed after adding copper ions to PC-AgNPs, which indicated that PC-AgNPs has potential applications in the detection of copper ions in diverse water environment.

  1. Silver matrix composites reinforced with galvanically silvered particles

    OpenAIRE

    J. Śleziona; J. Wieczorek,

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The paper presents the possibility of the application of metalic layers drifted with the use of the galvanic methods on the ceramic particles surface. The application of the layers was aimed at obtaining the rewetting of the reinforcing particles with the liquid silver in the course of the producing of silver matrix composites with the use of mechanical stirring method. To enable introducing of the iron powder and glass carbon powder to liquid silver the solution of covering the powd...

  2. Pure and Oxidized Copper Materials as Potential Antimicrobial Surfaces for Spaceflight Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, C.; Hans, M.; Hein, C.; Mancinelli, R. L.; Mücklich, F.; Wirth, R.; Rettberg, P.; Hellweg, C. E.; Moeller, R.

    2017-12-01

    Microbial biofilms can lead to persistent infections and degrade a variety of materials, and they are notorious for their persistence and resistance to eradication. During long-duration space missions, microbial biofilms present a danger to crew health and spacecraft integrity. The use of antimicrobial surfaces provides an alternative strategy for inhibiting microbial growth and biofilm formation to conventional cleaning procedures and the use of disinfectants. Antimicrobial surfaces contain organic or inorganic compounds, such as antimicrobial peptides or copper and silver, that inhibit microbial growth. The efficacy of wetted oxidized copper layers and pure copper surfaces as antimicrobial agents was tested by applying cultures of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus cohnii to these metallic surfaces. Stainless steel surfaces were used as non-inhibitory control surfaces. The production of reactive oxygen species and membrane damage increased rapidly within 1 h of exposure on pure copper surfaces, but the effect on cell survival was negligible even after 2 h of exposure. However, longer exposure times of up to 4 h led to a rapid decrease in cell survival, whereby the survival of cells was additionally dependent on the exposed cell density. Finally, the release of metal ions was determined to identify a possible correlation between copper ions in suspension and cell survival. These measurements indicated a steady increase of free copper ions, which were released indirectly by cells presumably through excreted complexing agents. These data indicate that the application of antimicrobial surfaces in spaceflight facilities could improve crew health and mitigate material damage caused by microbial contamination and biofilm formation. Furthermore, the results of this study indicate that cuprous oxide layers were superior to pure copper surfaces related to the antimicrobial effect and that cell density is a significant factor that influences the time dependence of

  3. Optimization of copper electroplating process applied for microfabrication on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le, Nguyen Ngan; Hue Phan, Thi Cam; Le, Anh Duy; Dung Dang, Thi My; Dang, Mau Chien

    2015-01-01

    Electroplating is an important step in microfabrication in order to increase thickness of undersized parts up to a few micrometers with a low-cost, fast method that is easy to carry out, especially for metals such as copper, nickel, and silver. This important step promotes the development of the fabrication technology of electronic devices on a flexible substrate, also known as flexible electronic devices. Nevertheless, this technology has some disadvantages such as low surface uniformity and high resistivity. In this paper, parameters of copper electroplating were studied, such as the ratio of copper (II) sulfate (CuSO_4) concentration to sulfuric acid (H_2SO_4) concentration and electroplating current density, in order to obtain low resistivity and high surface uniformity of the copper layer. Samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), four-point probe, and surface profiler. The results showed that the sample resistivity could be controlled from about 2.0 to about 3.5 μΩ · cm, and the lowest obtained resistivity was 1.899 μΩ · cm. In addition, surface uniformity of the electroplated copper layer was also acceptable. The thickness of the copper layer was about 10 μm with an error of about 0.5 μm. The most suitable conditions for the electroplating process were CuSO_4 concentration of 0.4 mol l"−"1, H_2SO_4 concentration of 1.0 mol l"−"1, and low electroplating current density of 10–20 mA cm"−"2. All experiments were performed on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. (paper)

  4. Mercury flow experiments. 4th report: Measurements of erosion rate caused by mercury flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinoshita, Hidetaka; Kaminaga, Masanori; Haga, Katsuhiro; Hino, Ryutaro

    2002-06-01

    The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) are promoting a construction plan of the Material-Life Science Facility, which is consisted of a Muon Science Facility and a Neutron Scattering Facility, in order to open up the new science fields. The Neutron Scattering Facility will be utilized for advanced fields of Material and Life science using high intensity neutron generated by the spallation reaction of a 1 MW pulsed proton beam and mercury target. Design of the spallation mercury target system aims to obtain high neutron performance with high reliability and safety. Since the target system is using mercury as the target material and contains large amount of radioactive spallation products, it is necessary to estimate reliability for strength of instruments in a mercury flow system during lifetime of the facility. Piping and components in the mercury flow system would be damaged by erosion with mercury flow, since these components will be weak by thickness decreasing. This report presents experimental results of wall thickness change by erosion using a mercury experimental loop. In the experiments, an erosion test section and coupons were installed in the mercury experimental loop, and their wall thickness was measured with an ultra sonic thickness gage after every 1000 hours. As a result, under 0.7 m/s of mercury velocity condition which is slightly higher than the practical velocity in mercury pipelines, the erosion is about 3 μm in 1000 hours. The wall thickness decrease during facility lifetime of 30 years is estimated to be less than 0.5 mm. According to the experimental result, it is confirmed that the effect of erosion on component strength is extremely small. Moreover, a measurement of residual mercury on the piping surface was carried out. As a result, 19 g/m 2 was obtained as the residual mercury for the piping surface. According to this result, estimated amount of residual mercury for

  5. Concentration of mercury in wheat samples stored with mercury tablets as preservative. [Neutrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lalit, B Y; Ramachandran, T V [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India). Air Monitoring Section

    1977-01-01

    Tablets consisting of mercury in the form of a dull grey powder made by triturating mercury with chalk and sugar are used in Indian household for storing food-grains. The contamination of wheat samples by mercury, when stored with mercury tablets for period of upto four years has been assessed by using non-destructive neutron activation analysis. The details of the analytical procedure used have also been briefly described. The concentration of mercury in wheat increases with storage period. Loss of weight of mercury tablet is proportional to the storage period to a first approximation. In the present experiment, the average weight loss at the and end of first year was 0.009716 g corresponding to 6 ppm in wheat.

  6. Photochemical Study of Silver Nanoparticles Formed from the Reduction of Silver Ions by Humic Acid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leslie, Renee M.

    This study focuses on the ability of silver ions and humic acid to form silver nanoparticles in the presence of UV and visible light. Silver nanoparticles have a number of industrial applications due primarily to their antimicrobial properties, but these properties pose an environmental threat. Silver nanoparticles can directly disrupt sensitive ecosystems by harming bacteria. Consumption of silver nanoparticles results in silver ions and silver nanoparticles entering waterways; the presence of silver ions raises the question of whether nanoparticles can reform in environmental waters. As our data show, silver nanoparticles can form from the reduction of silver ions by humic acid after irradiation with UV and visible light. In order to better understand the mechanism of these naturally synthesized silver nanoparticles, we investigated the effects of reactant concentration, experimental conditions and presence of ions/reactive species. We monitored silver nanoparticle growth with UV-visible spectroscopy. The evolution in time of nanoparticle size was monitored by dynamic light scattering (DLS).

  7. Improvements mineral dressing and extraction processes of gold-silver ores from San Pedro Frio Mining District, Colombia; Mejora de los procesos de beneficio y extraccion de minerales auroargentiferos del asentamiento minero de San Pedro Frio, Colombia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yanez Traslavina, J. J.; Vargas Avila, M. A.; Garcia Paez, I. H.; Pedraza Rosas, J. E.

    2005-07-01

    The San Pedro Frio district mining, Colombia, is a rich region production gold-silver ores. Nowadays, the extraction processes used are amalgamation, percolation cyanidation and precipitation with zinc wood. Due to the ignorance of the ore characteristics, gold and silver treatment processes are inadequate and not efficient. In addition the inappropriate use of mercury and cyanide cause environmental contamination. In this research the ore characterization was carried out obtained fundamental parameters for the technical selection of more efficient gold and silver extraction processes. Experimental work was addressed to the study of both processes the agitation cyanidation and the adsorption on activated carbon in pulp. As a final result proposed a flowsheet to improve the precious metals recovery and reduce the environment contamination. (Author)

  8. Radioactive mercury distribution in biological fluids and excretion in human subjects after inhalation of mercury vapor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cherian, M.G.; Hursh, J.B.; Clarkson, T.W.; Allen, J.

    1978-01-01

    The distribution of mercury in red blood cells (RBCs) and plasma, and its excretion in urine and feces are described in five human subjects during the first 7 days following inhalation of radioactive mercury vapor. A major portion (98%) of radioactive mercury in whole blood is initially accumulated in the RBCs and is transferred partly to the plasma compartment until the ratio of mercury in RBCs to plasma is about 2 within 20 h. The cumulative urinary and fecal excretion of mercury for 7 days is about 11.6% of the retained dose, and is closely related to the percent decline in body burden of mercury. There is little correlation between either the urinary excretion and plasma radioactivity of mercury, or the specific activities of urine and plasma mercury, suggesting a mechanism other than a direct glomerular filtration involved in the urinary excretion of recently exposed mercury. These studies suggest that blood mercury levels can be used as an index of recent exposure, while urinary levels may be an index of renal concentration of mercury. However, there is no reliable index for mercury concentration in the brain

  9. Solubility of helium in mercury for bubbling technology of the spallation neutron mercury target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, S.; Naoe, T.; Futakawa, M.

    2010-01-01

    The pitting damage of mercury target container that originates in the pressure wave excited by the proton beam incidence becomes a large problem to reach the high-power neutron source in JSNS and SNS. The lifetime of mercury container is decreased remarkably by the pitting damage. As one of solutions, the pressure wave is mitigated by injecting the helium micro bubbles in mercury. In order to inject the helium micro bubbles into mercury, it is important to understand the characteristic of micro bubbles in mercury. The solubility of mercury-helium system is a key factor to decide bubbling conditions, because the disappearance behavior, i.e. the lifetime of micro bubbles, depends on the solubility. In addition, the bubble generation method is affected by it. Moreover, the experimental data related to the solubility of helium in mercury hardly exist. In this work, the solubility was obtained experimentally by measuring precisely the pressure drop of the gas that is facing to mercury surface. The pressure drop was attributed to the helium dissolution into mercury. Based on the measured solubility, the lifetime of micro bubbles and the method of the bubble generation is estimated using the solubility data.

  10. Characterization of the silver coins of the Hoard of Beçin by X-ray based methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues, M.; Schreiner, M.; Melcher, M.; Guerra, M.; Salomon, J.; Radtke, M.; Alram, M.; Schindel, N.

    2011-01-01

    Four hundred sixteen silver coins stemming from the Ottoman Empire (16th and 17th centuries) were analyzed in order to confirm the fineness of the coinage as well as to study the provenance of the alloy used for the coins. As most of the coins showed the typical green patina on their surfaces due to corrosion processes which have led to the depletion of copper in the near-surface domains of the silver coins in comparison to their core composition, small samples by cutting splinters from the coins had to be taken, embedded in synthetic resin and cross-sectioned in order to investigate the true-heart metal composition. The type of the alloy was investigated as well as if coins minted in different locations demonstrated homogeneous traits concerning the predominant impurities which could suggest a common ore. Several X-ray based techniques (μ-XRF, μ-SRXRF and μ-PIXE) could be applied in order to determine the silver contents as well as the minor and trace elements. Finally, SEM/EDX was applied in order to study the homogeneity/heterogeneity of the coins and the presence of surface enrichments. In general, the silver content of the analyzed specimen varies between 90% and 95%. These outcomes have not supported the historical interpretations, which predict that during the period studied a debasement of approximately 44% of the silver content of the coins should have occurred.

  11. Characterization of the silver coins of the Hoard of Beçin by X-ray based methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, M.; Schreiner, M.; Melcher, M.; Guerra, M.; Salomon, J.; Radtke, M.; Alram, M.; Schindel, N.

    2011-12-01

    Four hundred sixteen silver coins stemming from the Ottoman Empire (16th and 17th centuries) were analyzed in order to confirm the fineness of the coinage as well as to study the provenance of the alloy used for the coins. As most of the coins showed the typical green patina on their surfaces due to corrosion processes which have led to the depletion of copper in the near-surface domains of the silver coins in comparison to their core composition, small samples by cutting splinters from the coins had to be taken, embedded in synthetic resin and cross-sectioned in order to investigate the true-heart metal composition. The type of the alloy was investigated as well as if coins minted in different locations demonstrated homogeneous traits concerning the predominant impurities which could suggest a common ore. Several X-ray based techniques (μ-XRF, μ-SRXRF and μ-PIXE) could be applied in order to determine the silver contents as well as the minor and trace elements. Finally, SEM/EDX was applied in order to study the homogeneity/heterogeneity of the coins and the presence of surface enrichments. In general, the silver content of the analyzed specimen varies between 90% and 95%. These outcomes have not supported the historical interpretations, which predict that during the period studied a debasement of approximately 44% of the silver content of the coins should have occurred.

  12. Mercury CEM Calibration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    John F. Schabron; Joseph F. Rovani; Susan S. Sorini

    2007-03-31

    The Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) which was published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2005, requires that calibration of mercury continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) be performed with NIST-traceable standards. Western Research Institute (WRI) is working closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to facilitate the development of the experimental criteria for a NIST traceability protocol for dynamic elemental mercury vapor generators. The traceability protocol will be written by EPA. Traceability will be based on the actual analysis of the output of each calibration unit at several concentration levels ranging from about 2-40 ug/m{sup 3}, and this analysis will be directly traceable to analyses by NIST using isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ID ICP/MS) through a chain of analyses linking the calibration unit in the power plant to the NIST ID ICP/MS. Prior to this project, NIST did not provide a recommended mercury vapor pressure equation or list mercury vapor pressure in its vapor pressure database. The NIST Physical and Chemical Properties Division in Boulder, Colorado was subcontracted under this project to study the issue in detail and to recommend a mercury vapor pressure equation that the vendors of mercury vapor pressure calibration units can use to calculate the elemental mercury vapor concentration in an equilibrium chamber at a particular temperature. As part of this study, a preliminary evaluation of calibration units from five vendors was made. The work was performed by NIST in Gaithersburg, MD and Joe Rovani from WRI who traveled to NIST as a Visiting Scientist.

  13. Analysis of corrosion layers in ancient Roman silver coins with high resolution surface spectroscopic techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keturakis, Christopher J.; Notis, Ben; Blenheim, Alex; Miller, Alfred C.; Pafchek, Rob; Notis, Michael R.; Wachs, Israel E.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Five ancient silver alloy coins (225 BCE–244 CE) were analyzed using surface characterization techniques. • Both destructive and non-destructive surface characterization methods were developed. • Alloying with copper, even in small amounts, leads to the formation of an outer Cu 2 O corrosion layer. - Abstract: Determination of the microchemistry of surface corrosion layers on ancient silver alloy coins is important both in terms of understanding the nature of archaeological environmental conditions to which these ancient coins were exposed and also to help in their conservation. In this present study, five ancient silver alloy coins (225 BCE–244 CE) were used as test vehicles to measure their immediate surface microchemistry and evaluate the appropriateness and limitations of High Sensitivity-Low Energy Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (HS-LEIS, 0.3 nm depth analysis), High Resolution-X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HR-XPS, 1–3 nm depth analysis) and High Resolution-Raman Spectroscopy (HR-Raman, ∼1000 nm depth analysis). Additional information about the deeper corrosion layers, up to ∼300–1000 nm, was provided by dynamic HS-LEIS and HR-Raman spectroscopy. While not archeologically significant, the use of these coins of small commercial value provides data that is more representative of the weaker signals typically obtained from ancient corroded objects, which can be in stark contrast to pristine data often obtained from carefully prepared alloys of known composition. The oldest coins, from 225 to 214 BCE, possessed an outermost surface layer containing Cu 2 O, Na, Al, Pb, and adsorbed hydrocarbons, while the more recent coins, from 98 to 244 CE, contained Cu 2 O, Ag, N, F, Na, Al, S, Cl, and adsorbed hydrocarbons in similar corresponding surface layers. It thus appears that alloying with copper, even in small amounts, leads to the formation of an outer Cu 2 O layer. Depth profiling revealed the presence of K, Na, Cl, and S as key

  14. Mercury Exposure and Heart Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genchi, Giuseppe; Sinicropi, Maria Stefania; Carocci, Alessia; Lauria, Graziantonio; Catalano, Alessia

    2017-01-01

    Environmental contamination has exposed humans to various metal agents, including mercury. It has been determined that mercury is not only harmful to the health of vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children, but is also toxic to ordinary adults in various ways. For many years, mercury was used in a wide variety of human activities. Nowadays, the exposure to this metal from both natural and artificial sources is significantly increasing. Recent studies suggest that chronic exposure, even to low concentration levels of mercury, can cause cardiovascular, reproductive, and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. Possible biological effects of mercury, including the relationship between mercury toxicity and diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction, are being studied. As heart rhythm and function are under autonomic nervous system control, it has been hypothesized that the neurotoxic effects of mercury might also impact cardiac autonomic function. Mercury exposure could have a long-lasting effect on cardiac parasympathetic activity and some evidence has shown that mercury exposure might affect heart rate variability, particularly early exposures in children. The mechanism by which mercury produces toxic effects on the cardiovascular system is not fully elucidated, but this mechanism is believed to involve an increase in oxidative stress. The exposure to mercury increases the production of free radicals, potentially because of the role of mercury in the Fenton reaction and a reduction in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase. In this review we report an overview on the toxicity of mercury and focus our attention on the toxic effects on the cardiovascular system. PMID:28085104

  15. Mercury Exposure and Heart Diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genchi, Giuseppe; Sinicropi, Maria Stefania; Carocci, Alessia; Lauria, Graziantonio; Catalano, Alessia

    2017-01-12

    Environmental contamination has exposed humans to various metal agents, including mercury. It has been determined that mercury is not only harmful to the health of vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children, but is also toxic to ordinary adults in various ways. For many years, mercury was used in a wide variety of human activities. Nowadays, the exposure to this metal from both natural and artificial sources is significantly increasing. Recent studies suggest that chronic exposure, even to low concentration levels of mercury, can cause cardiovascular, reproductive, and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. Possible biological effects of mercury, including the relationship between mercury toxicity and diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction, are being studied. As heart rhythm and function are under autonomic nervous system control, it has been hypothesized that the neurotoxic effects of mercury might also impact cardiac autonomic function. Mercury exposure could have a long-lasting effect on cardiac parasympathetic activity and some evidence has shown that mercury exposure might affect heart rate variability, particularly early exposures in children. The mechanism by which mercury produces toxic effects on the cardiovascular system is not fully elucidated, but this mechanism is believed to involve an increase in oxidative stress. The exposure to mercury increases the production of free radicals, potentially because of the role of mercury in the Fenton reaction and a reduction in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase. In this review we report an overview on the toxicity of mercury and focus our attention on the toxic effects on the cardiovascular system.

  16. Mercury Exposure and Heart Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Genchi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Environmental contamination has exposed humans to various metal agents, including mercury. It has been determined that mercury is not only harmful to the health of vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children, but is also toxic to ordinary adults in various ways. For many years, mercury was used in a wide variety of human activities. Nowadays, the exposure to this metal from both natural and artificial sources is significantly increasing. Recent studies suggest that chronic exposure, even to low concentration levels of mercury, can cause cardiovascular, reproductive, and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. Possible biological effects of mercury, including the relationship between mercury toxicity and diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction, are being studied. As heart rhythm and function are under autonomic nervous system control, it has been hypothesized that the neurotoxic effects of mercury might also impact cardiac autonomic function. Mercury exposure could have a long-lasting effect on cardiac parasympathetic activity and some evidence has shown that mercury exposure might affect heart rate variability, particularly early exposures in children. The mechanism by which mercury produces toxic effects on the cardiovascular system is not fully elucidated, but this mechanism is believed to involve an increase in oxidative stress. The exposure to mercury increases the production of free radicals, potentially because of the role of mercury in the Fenton reaction and a reduction in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase. In this review we report an overview on the toxicity of mercury and focus our attention on the toxic effects on the cardiovascular system.

  17. Silver Flakes and Silver Dendrites for Hybrid Electrically Conductive Adhesives with Enhanced Conductivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Hongru; Li, Zhuo; Tian, Xun; Yan, Shaocun; Li, Zhe; Guo, Xuhong; Ma, Yanqing; Ma, Lei

    2018-03-01

    Silver dendrites were prepared by a facile replacement reaction between silver nitrate and zinc microparticles of 20 μm in size. The influence of reactant molar ratio, reaction solution volume, silver nitrate concentration, and reaction time on the morphology of dendrites was investigated systematically. It was found that uniform tree-like silver structures are synthesized under the optimal conditions. Their structure can be described as a trunk, symmetrical branches, and leaves, which length scales of 5-10, 1-2 μm, and 100-300 nm, respectively. All features were systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, and x-ray powder diffraction. A hybrid fillers system using silver flakes and dendrites as electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) exhibited excellent overall performance. This good conductivity can be attributed mainly to the synergy between the silver microflakes (5-20 μm sized irregular sheet structures) and dendrites, allowing more conductive pathways to be formed between the fillers. In order to further optimize the overall electrical conductivity, various mixtures of silver microflakes and silver dendrites were tested in ECAs, with results indicating that the highest conductivity was shown when the amounts of silver microflakes, silver dendrites and the polymer matrix were 69.4 wt.% (20.82 vol.%), 0.6 wt.% (0.18 vol.%), and 30.0 wt.% (79.00 vol.%), respectively. The corresponding mass ratio of silver flakes to silver dendrites was 347:3. The resistivity of ECAs reached as low as 1.7 × 10-4 Ω cm.

  18. Dinuclear Silver(I) and Copper(II) Complexes of Hexadentate Macrocyclic Ligands Containing p-Xylyl Spacers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McKenzie, Christine J.; Nielsen, Lars Preuss; Søtofte, Inger

    1998-01-01

    The cyclocondensation of terephthalic aldehyde with N,N-bis(3-aminopropyl)-methylamine in the presence of silver(I) gives the dinuclear tetramine Schiff base macrocyclic complex, [Ag2L1](NO3)2 (L1=7,22-N,N'-dimethyl-3,7,11,18, 22,26-hexaazatricyclo[26.2.21.18.213.16]-tetratricosa-2,11,13,15,1 7...

  19. Neutron production from 40 GeV/c mixed proton/pion beam on copper, silver and lead targets in the angular range 30-135 deg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agosteo, S. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Nucleare, Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milan (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan (Italy); Birattari, C. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan (Italy); Universita degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Fisica, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan (Italy); Dimovasili, E. [CERN, 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Foglio Para, A. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Nucleare, Politecnico di Milano, via Ponzio 34/3, 20133 Milan (Italy); Silari, M. [CERN, 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland)]. E-mail: marco.silari@cern.ch; Ulrici, L. [CERN, 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Vincke, H. [CERN, 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland)

    2005-02-01

    The neutron emission from 50 mm thick copper, silver and lead targets bombarded by a mixed proton/pion beam with momentum of 40 GeV/c were measured at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The neutron yield and spectral fluence per incident particle on target were measured with an extended range Bonner sphere spectrometer in the angular range 30-135 deg with respect to the beam direction. Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code were performed to provide a priori information for the unfolding of the experimental data. The spectral fluences show two peaks, an isotropic evaporation component centred at 3 MeV and a high-energy peak sitting around 100-150 MeV. The experimental neutron yields are given in four energy bins: <100 keV, 0.1-20 MeV, 20-500 MeV and 0.5-2 GeV. The total yields show a systematic discrepancy of 30-50%, with a peak of 70% at the largest angles, with respect to the results of the Monte Carlo simulations, which it is believed to be mainly due to uncertainties in the beam normalization factor. Analytic expressions are given for the variation of the integral yield as a function of emission angle and of target mass number.

  20. Neutron production from 40 GeV/c mixed proton/pion beam on copper, silver and lead targets in the angular range 30-135 deg

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agosteo, S.; Birattari, C.; Dimovasili, E.; Foglio Para, A.; Silari, M.; Ulrici, L.; Vincke, H.

    2005-01-01

    The neutron emission from 50 mm thick copper, silver and lead targets bombarded by a mixed proton/pion beam with momentum of 40 GeV/c were measured at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The neutron yield and spectral fluence per incident particle on target were measured with an extended range Bonner sphere spectrometer in the angular range 30-135 deg with respect to the beam direction. Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code were performed to provide a priori information for the unfolding of the experimental data. The spectral fluences show two peaks, an isotropic evaporation component centred at 3 MeV and a high-energy peak sitting around 100-150 MeV. The experimental neutron yields are given in four energy bins: <100 keV, 0.1-20 MeV, 20-500 MeV and 0.5-2 GeV. The total yields show a systematic discrepancy of 30-50%, with a peak of 70% at the largest angles, with respect to the results of the Monte Carlo simulations, which it is believed to be mainly due to uncertainties in the beam normalization factor. Analytic expressions are given for the variation of the integral yield as a function of emission angle and of target mass number

  1. Neutron production from 40 GeV/c mixed proton/pion beam on copper, silver and lead targets in the angular range 30-135°

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agosteo, S.; Birattari, C.; Dimovasili, E.; Foglio Para, A.; Silari, M.; Ulrici, L.; Vincke, H.

    2005-02-01

    The neutron emission from 50 mm thick copper, silver and lead targets bombarded by a mixed proton/pion beam with momentum of 40 GeV/c were measured at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The neutron yield and spectral fluence per incident particle on target were measured with an extended range Bonner sphere spectrometer in the angular range 30-135° with respect to the beam direction. Monte Carlo simulations with the FLUKA code were performed to provide a priori information for the unfolding of the experimental data. The spectral fluences show two peaks, an isotropic evaporation component centred at 3 MeV and a high-energy peak sitting around 100-150 MeV. The experimental neutron yields are given in four energy bins: <100 keV, 0.1-20 MeV, 20-500 MeV and 0.5-2 GeV. The total yields show a systematic discrepancy of 30-50%, with a peak of 70% at the largest angles, with respect to the results of the Monte Carlo simulations, which it is believed to be mainly due to uncertainties in the beam normalization factor. Analytic expressions are given for the variation of the integral yield as a function of emission angle and of target mass number.

  2. Sexual differences in the excretion of organic and inorganic mercury by methyl mercury-treated rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, D.J.; Fisher, H.L.; Sumler, M.R.; Mushak, P.; Hall, L.L.

    1987-01-01

    Adult male and female Long Evans rats received 1 mumole of methyl ( 203 Hg) mercuric chloride per kilogram sc. Whole-body retention of mercury and excretion of organic and inorganic mercury in urine and feces were monitored for 98 days after dosing. Females cleared mercury from the body more rapidly than did males. The major route of mercury excretion was feces. By 98 days after dosing, cumulative mercury excretion in feces accounted for about 51% of the dose in males and about 54% of the dose in females. For both sexes, about 33% of the dose was excreted in feces as inorganic mercury. Cumulative excretion of organic mercury in feces accounted for about 18 and 21% of the dose in males and females, respectively. Urinary excretion of mercury was quantitatively a smaller route for mercury clearance but important sexual differences in loss by this route were found. Over the 98-day experimental period, males excreted in urine about 3.2% of the dose and females excreted 7.5%. Cumulative organic Hg excretion in urine accounted for 1.8% of the dose in males and 5.3% of the dose in females. These sexual differences in urinary and fecal excretion of organic and inorganic mercury following methyl mercury treatment were consistent with previous reports of sexual differences in mercury distribution and retention in methyl mercury-treated rats, particularly sexual differences in organic mercury uptake and retention in the kidney. Relationships between body burdens of organic or inorganic Hg and output of these forms of Hg in urine and feces were also found to be influenced by the interval after MeHg treatment and by sex. Relationship between concentration of Hg in liver and feces and in kidney and urine differed for organic and inorganic Hg and depended upon sexual status and interval after MeHg treatment

  3. Iodometric determination of peroxydiphosphate in the presence of copper(II) or iron(II) as catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapoor, S; Sharma, P D; Gupta, Y K

    1975-09-01

    Peroxydiphosphate can be determined iodometrically in the presence of a large excess of potassium iodide with copper(II) or iron(II) as catalyst through the operation of the Cu(II)/Cu(I) or Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle. The method is applicable in HClO(4), H(2)SO(4), HCl and CH(3)COOH acid media in the range 0.1-1.0M studied. Nickel, manganese(II), cobalt(II), silver, chloride and phosphate are without effect.

  4. 76 FR 13851 - National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mercury Emissions From Mercury Cell...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-14

    ... National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mercury Emissions From Mercury Cell Chlor-Alkali...-5] RIN 2060-AN99 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mercury Emissions From Mercury Cell Chlor-Alkali Plants AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Supplemental...

  5. Mercury in Nordic ecosystems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Munthe, John; Waengberg, Ingvar (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Inst., Stockholm (SE)); Rognerud, Sigurd; Fjeld, Eirik (Norwegian Inst. for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo (Norway)); Verta, Matti; Porvari, Petri (Finnish Environment Inst. (SYKE), Helsinki (Finland)); Meili, Markus (Inst. of Applied Environmental Research (ITM), Stockholm (Sweden))

    2007-12-15

    This report provides a first comprehensive compilation and assessment of available data on mercury in air, precipitation, sediments and fish in the Nordic countries. The main conclusion is that mercury levels in Nordic ecosystems continue to be affected by long-range atmospheric transport. The geographical patterns of mercury concentrations in both sediments and fish are also strongly affected by ecosystem characteristics and in some regions possibly by historical pollution. An evaluation of geographical variations in mercury concentrations in precipitation indicates that the influence from anthropogenic sources from Central European areas is still significant. The annual variability of deposition is large and dependant of precipitation amounts. An evaluation of data from stations around the North Sea has indicated a significant decrease in mercury concentrations in precipitation indicating a continuous decrease of emissions in Europe (Waengberg et al., 2007). For mercury in air (TGM), the geographical pattern is less pronounced indicating the influence of mercury emissions and distribution over a larger geographical area (i.e. hemispherical transport). Comparison of recent (surficial) and historical lake sediments show significantly elevated concentrations of mercury most likely caused by anthropogenic atmospheric deposition over the past century. The highest pollution impact was observed in the coastal areas of southern Norway, in south western Finland and in Sweden from the coastal areas in the southwest across the central parts to the north-east. The general increase in recent versus old sediments was 2-5 fold. Data on mercury in Nordic freshwater fish was assembled and evaluated with respect to geographical variations. The fish data were further compared with temporal and spatial trends in mercury deposition and mercury contamination of lake sediments in order to investigate the coupling between atmospheric transport and deposition of mercury and local mercury

  6. Use of polished and mercury film-modified silver solid amalgam electrodes in electrochemical analysis of DNA

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Fadrná, Renata; Cahová, Kateřina; Havran, Luděk; Josypčuk, Bohdan; Fojta, Miroslav

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 17, 5-6 (2005), s. 452-459 ISSN 1040-0397 R&D Projects: GA MPO 1H-PK/42; GA ČR GA203/04/1325; GA AV ČR KJB4004302 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503; CEZ:AV0Z50040507 Keywords : DNA electrochemistry * solid amalgam electrodes * mercury film electrodes * DNA damage Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 2.189, year: 2005

  7. Direct observation of the formation of silver precipitations by means of electron diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benz, V.; Ostwald, R.; Weil, K.G.

    1976-01-01

    Thin films (20-1,000 A) of copper (I)-, silver, and lead(II)-halides were prepared by evaporation onto silver (III), gold (III), and PbTe (III)-surfaces. These films were irradiated in vacuo with 40 kV-electrons, in some cases also with the light of a Xenon-lamp. At the same time the diffraction pattern, produced by the electron beam at glancing incidence, was observed and registered photographically. Silver precipitates could be detected by their diffraction pattern, when the crystallites had grown to a size of about 50 A. From all materials investigated silveriodide showed maximum sensitivity. The precipitates formed show no orientation with respect to the host crystal. From the temperature dependence of the sensitivity an activation energy of 0.12 eV can be deduced leading to interstitial ion migration as rate determining step. Pure silverchloride can not been radiolyzed by 40 kV-electrons. After doping it with 0.3 mol% CaCl 2 or MgCl 2 it becomes very sensitive. The precipitate showes orientation with respect to the host lattice. Also pure CuJ is resistant against the electron beam. Mixed crystals (Ag, Cu)J with xsub(AgJ) > 0.5 behave similar as pure AgJ. Pb(II)-halides show no sensitivity, but the compounds AgBr x 2 PbBr 2 and 5 AgJ x PbJ 2 are readily radiolyzed, forming polycrystalline silver precipitates. The mechanism of radiolysis, its dependency on temperature and film thickness is discussed. (orig.) [de

  8. Dinuclear Silver(I) and Copper(II) Complexes of Hexadentate Macrocyclic Ligands Containing p-Xylyl Spacers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McKenzie, Christine J.; Nielsen, Lars Preuss; Søtofte, Inger

    1998-01-01

    The cyclocondensation of terephthalic aldehyde with N,N-bis(3-aminopropyl)-methylamine in the presence of silver(I) gives the dinuclear tetramine Schiff base macrocyclic complex, [Ag2L1](NO3)2 (L1=7,22-N,N'-dimethyl-3,7,11,18, 22,26-hexaazatricyclo[26.2.21.18.213.16]-tetratricosa-2,11,13,15,1 7......,26,28,30,31,33-decaene). [Ag2L1](NO3)2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c, with a=14.153(6), b=12.263(4), c=9.220(2) Å, beta=97.52(3) Å and Z=2. The silver ions are strongly coordinated at each end of the macrocycle by the two imine nitrogen atoms [2.177(3) and 2.182(3) Å] with close interatomic...... interactions to an oxygen atom of a nitrate ion and an amine nitrogen atom [2.580(2) and 2.690(2) Å]. The Ag...Ag distance is 6.892(3) Å. The free tetraimine macrocycle, L1, was obtained by treatment of [Ag2L1](NO3)2 with an excess of iodide, and the reduced derivative 7,22-N,N'-dimethyl-3...

  9. Measurement of the isotope effect of the diffusion of silver and gold in gold and of silver in silver-gold alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolter, D.

    1974-01-01

    The silver isotopes Ag 105 and Agsup(110m) and the gold isotopes Au 195 and Au 199 were used for isotope effect measurements. The isotope effect of the gold self-diffusion was measured on four monocrystals samples at about 850 0 C, that of silver in gold monocrystals at five different temperatures between 731 0 C and 1050 0 C. Furthermore, the isotope effect for silver at 904 0 C was measured on seven silver-gold alloys of varying silver concentration. The correlation factor was determined from the measurements. (HPOE/LH) [de

  10. Chemical Form Matters: Differential Accumulation of Mercury Following Inorganic and Organic Mercury Exposures in Zebrafish Larvae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korbas, Malgorzata; MacDonald, Tracy C.; Pickering, Ingrid J.; George, Graham N.; Krone, Patrick H. (Saskatchewan)

    2013-04-08

    Mercury, one of the most toxic elements, exists in various chemical forms each with different toxicities and health implications. Some methylated mercury forms, one of which exists in fish and other seafood products, pose a potential threat, especially during embryonic and early postnatal development. Despite global concerns, little is known about the mechanisms underlying transport and toxicity of different mercury species. To investigate the impact of different mercury chemical forms on vertebrate development, we have successfully combined the zebrafish, a well-established developmental biology model system, with synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence imaging. Our work revealed substantial differences in tissue-specific accumulation patterns of mercury in zebrafish larvae exposed to four different mercury formulations in water. Methylmercury species not only resulted in overall higher mercury burdens but also targeted different cells and tissues than their inorganic counterparts, thus revealing a significant role of speciation in cellular and molecular targeting and mercury sequestration. For methylmercury species, the highest mercury concentrations were in the eye lens epithelial cells, independent of the formulation ligand (chloride versus L-cysteine). For inorganic mercury species, in absence of L-cysteine, the olfactory epithelium and kidney accumulated the greatest amounts of mercury. However, with L-cysteine present in the treatment solution, mercuric bis-L-cysteineate species dominated the treatment, significantly decreasing uptake. Our results clearly demonstrate that the common differentiation between organic and inorganic mercury is not sufficient to determine the toxicity of various mercury species.

  11. Disulphide linkage: To get cleaved or not? Bulk and nano copper based SERS of cystine

    Science.gov (United States)

    P. J., Arathi; Seemesh, Bhaskar; Rajendra Kumar Reddy, G.; Suresh Kumar, P.; Ramanathan, V.

    2018-05-01

    Different nano-structures of noble metals have been the conventional substrates for carrying out Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). In this paper we examine electrodeposited copper (Cu) nano-structures on pencil graphite as novel substrate to carry out SERS measurements by considering L-cystine (Cys-Cys) (dimer of the amino acid cysteine) as the probe. The formation of monolayer of the probe molecule on the substrates was confirmed using cyclic voltammetric measurements. Mode of adsorption of Cys-Cys was observed to be different on bulk Cu (taken in the wire form) and nano-structured Cu on pencil graphite. Whereas in the former the disulphide bond of Cys-Cys remained intact, it got cleaved when Cys-Cys was adsorbed on electrodeposited copper indicating the activated nature of the nano-structure compared to bulk copper. Csbnd S stretching mode of vibration underwent blue shift in Cys-Cys adsorbed on Cu on pencil graphite vis-à-vis Cys-Cys adsorbed on Cu wire. Further evidence on the cleavage of the Csbnd S bond on an activated substrate was obtained by considering a bimetallic substrate comprising of silver on copper which was electrodeposited on pencil graphite. Our studies have demonstrated that nano-copper surface is an excellent substrate for SERS giving 200 μM as lower detection limit for Cys-Cys.

  12. Cooperative effect of silver in copper-catalyzed trifluoromethylation of aryl iodides using Me3SiCF3

    KAUST Repository

    Weng, Zhiqiang

    2011-06-13

    An effective model of cooperative effect of silver for the coppercatalyzed trifluoromethylation of activated and unactivated aryl iodides to trifluoromethylated arenes using Me3SiCF3 was achieved with a broad substrate scope. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  13. Indirect spectrophotometric determination of trace cyanide with cationic porphyrins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishii, H; Kohata, K

    1991-05-01

    Three highly sensitive methods for the determination of cyanide have been developed, based on the fact that the complexation of silver ions with three cationic porphyrins, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(1-methyl-2-pyridinio)porphine [T(2-MPy)P], 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methyl-3-pyridinio)porphine [T(3-MPy)P] and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methyl-4-pyridinio)porphine [T(4-MPy)P], in alkaline media is inhibited by cyanide and the decrease in absorbance of the silver(II) complex is proportional to the cyanide concentration. Sensitivities of the procedures developed are 0.133, 0.126 and 0.234 ng/cm(2), respectively for an absorbance of 0.001. Cadmium(II), copper(II), mercury(II), zinc(II), iodide and sulfide interfere with the cyanide determination. One of the proposed methods was applied to the determination of cyanide in waste-water samples, with satisfactory results.

  14. Getting Mercury out of Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999

    This guide was prepared while working with many Massachusetts schools to remove items that contain mercury and to find suitable alternatives. It contains fact sheets on: mercury in science laboratories and classrooms, mercury in school buildings and maintenance areas, mercury in the medical office and in medical technology classrooms in vocational…

  15. Highly efficient silver patterning without photo-resist using simple silver precursors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byun, Younghun; Hwang, Eoc-Chae; Lee, Sang-Yun; Lyu, Yi-Yeol; Yim, Jin-Heong; Kim, Jin-Young; Chang, Seok; Pu, Lyong Sun; Kim, Ji Man

    2005-01-01

    Highly efficient method for silver patterning without photo-resist was developed by using high photosensitive organo-silver precursors, which were prepared by a simple reaction of silver salts and excess of amines. The FT-IR and GC-MS spectra were recorded depending on UV exposure time, for (n-PrNH 2 )Ag(NO 3 ).0.5MeCN and (n-PrNH 2 )Ag(NO 2 ).0.5MeCN, to understand the photolysis mechanism. The results indicate not only dissociation of coordinated amine and acetonitrile, but also decomposition of corresponding anion upon UV irradiation. When a precursor thin film was exposed to broadband UV irradiation, a partially reduced and insoluble silver species were formed within several minutes. After development, the irradiated areas were treated with a reducing agent to obtain pure metallic patterns. Subsequently, annealing step was followed at 100-350 deg. C to increase the adhesion of interface and cohesion of silver particles. The line resolution of 5 μm was obtained by the present silver precursors. Film thickness was also controllable from 50 to 250 nm by repetition of the above procedure. The average electrical conductivity was in the range of 3-43 Ω cm, measured by four-point probe technique. AES depth profile of the silver pattern thus obtained showed carbon and oxygen contents are less than 1% through the whole range. Even though sulfur contaminant exists on the surface, it was believed that nearly pure silver pattern was generated

  16. Ecotoxicological assessment of solar cell leachates: Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) cells show higher activity than organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brun, Nadja Rebecca; Wehrli, Bernhard; Fent, Karl

    2016-02-01

    Despite the increasing use of photovoltaics their potential environmental risks are poorly understood. Here, we compared ecotoxicological effects of two thin-film photovoltaics: established copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Leachates were produced by exposing photovoltaics to UV light, physical damage, and exposure to environmentally relevant model waters, representing mesotrophic lake water, acidic rain, and seawater. CIGS cell leachates contained 583 μg L(-1) molybdenum at lake water, whereas at acidic rain and seawater conditions, iron, copper, zinc, molybdenum, cadmium, silver, and tin were present up to 7219 μg L(-1). From OPV, copper (14 μg L(-1)), zinc (87 μg L(-1)) and silver (78 μg L(-1)) leached. Zebrafish embryos were exposed until 120 h post-fertilization to these extracts. CIGS leachates produced under acidic rain, as well as CIGS and OPV leachates produced under seawater conditions resulted in a marked hatching delay and increase in heart edema. Depending on model water and solar cell, transcriptional alterations occurred in genes involved in oxidative stress (cat), hormonal activity (vtg1, ar), metallothionein (mt2), ER stress (bip, chop), and apoptosis (casp9). The effects were dependent on the concentrations of cationic metals in leachates. Addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid protected zebrafish embryos from morphological and molecular effects. Our study suggests that metals leaching from damaged CIGS cells, may pose a potential environmental risk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles from (bis)alkylamine silver carboxylate precursors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uznanski, Pawel, E-mail: puznansk@cbmm.lodz.pl; Zakrzewska, Joanna [Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, PAS (Poland); Favier, Frederic, E-mail: fredf@univ-montp2.fr [Université Montpellier II, ICGM - UMR5253- Equipe AIME (France); Kazmierski, Slawomir; Bryszewska, Ewa [Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, PAS (Poland)

    2017-03-15

    A comparative study of amine and silver carboxylate adducts [R{sub 1}COOAg-2(R{sub 2}NH{sub 2})] (R{sub 1} = 1, 7, 11; R{sub 2} = 8, 12) as a key intermediate in NPs synthesis is carried out via differential scanning calorimetry, solid-state FT-infrared spectroscopy, {sup 13}C CP MAS NMR, powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and various solution NMR spectroscopies ({sup 1}H and {sup 13}C NMR, pulsed field gradient spin-echo NMR, and ROESY). It is proposed that carboxyl moieties in the presence of amine ligands are bound to silver ions via chelating bidentate type of coordination as opposed to bridging bidentate coordination of pure silver carboxylates resulting from the formation of dimeric units. All complexes are packed as lamellar bilayer structures. Silver carboxylate/amine complexes show one first-order melting transition. The evidence presented in this study shows that phase behavior of monovalent metal carboxylates are controlled, mainly, by head group bonding. In solution, insoluble silver salt is stabilized by amine molecules which exist in dynamic equilibrium. Using (bis)amine-silver carboxylate complex as precursor, silver nanoparticles were fabricated. During high-temperature thermolysis, the (bis)amine-carboxylate adduct decomposes to produce silver nanoparticles of small size. NPs are stabilized by strongly interacting carboxylate and trace amounts of amine derived from the silver precursor interacting with carboxylic acid. A corresponding aliphatic amide obtained from silver precursor at high-temperature reaction conditions is not taking part in the stabilization. Combining NMR techniques with FTIR, it was possible to follow an original stabilization mechanism.

  18. Environmental Mercury and Its Toxic Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin M. Rice

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Mercury exists naturally and as a man-made contaminant. The release of processed mercury can lead to a progressive increase in the amount of atmospheric mercury, which enters the atmospheric-soil-water distribution cycles where it can remain in circulation for years. Mercury poisoning is the result of exposure to mercury or mercury compounds resulting in various toxic effects depend on its chemical form and route of exposure. The major route of human exposure to methylmercury (MeHg is largely through eating contaminated fish, seafood, and wildlife which have been exposed to mercury through ingestion of contaminated lower organisms. MeHg toxicity is associated with nervous system damage in adults and impaired neurological development in infants and children. Ingested mercury may undergo bioaccumulation leading to progressive increases in body burdens. This review addresses the systemic pathophysiology of individual organ systems associated with mercury poisoning. Mercury has profound cellular, cardiovascular, hematological, pulmonary, renal, immunological, neurological, endocrine, reproductive, and embryonic toxicological effects.

  19. Silver distribution and release from an antimicrobial denture base resin containing silver colloidal nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteiro, Douglas Roberto; Gorup, Luiz Fernando; Takamiya, Aline Satie; de Camargo, Emerson Rodrigues; Filho, Adhemar Colla Ruvolo; Barbosa, Debora Barros

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate a denture base resin containing silver colloidal nanoparticles through morphological analysis to check the distribution and dispersion of these particles in the polymer and by testing the silver release in deionized water at different time periods. A Lucitone 550 denture resin was used, and silver nanoparticles were synthesized by reduction of silver nitrate with sodium citrate. The acrylic resin was prepared in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions, and silver nanoparticle suspension was added to the acrylic resin monomer in different concentrations (0.05, 0.5, and 5 vol% silver colloidal). Controls devoid of silver nanoparticles were included. The specimens were stored in deionized water at 37°C for 7, 15, 30, 60, and 120 days, and each solution was analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Silver was not detected in deionized water regardless of the silver nanoparticles added to the resin and of the storage period. Micrographs showed that with lower concentrations, the distribution of silver nanoparticles was reduced, whereas their dispersion was improved in the polymer. Moreover, after 120 days of storage, nanoparticles were mainly located on the surface of the nanocomposite specimens. Incorporation of silver nanoparticles in the acrylic resin was evidenced. Moreover, silver was not detected by the detection limit of the atomic absorption spectrophotometer used in this study, even after 120 days of storage in deionized water. Silver nanoparticles are incorporated in the PMMA denture resin to attain an effective antimicrobial material to help control common infections involving oral mucosal tissues in complete denture wearers. © 2011 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

  20. Distribution of mercury in guinea pig offspring after in utero exposure to mercury vapor during late gestation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoshida, Minoru; Yamamura, Yukio; Sataoh, Hiroshi

    1986-04-01

    Organ distribution of mercury after in utero mercury vapor exposure was investigated in neonatal guinea pigs. Mother guinea pigs in late gestation were exposed to 0.2-0.3 mg/m/sup 3/ mercury vapor 2 h per day until giving birth. Mercury concentrations in neonatal brain, lungs, heart, kidneys, plasma and erythrocytes were much lower than those of maternal organs and tissues. Neonatal liver, however, showed a mercury concentration twice as high as maternal liver. Mercury concentration ratios of erythrocytes to plasma in offspring were quite different from those of mothers, being 0.2-0.4 for offspring, and 1.3-3.0 for mothers. These results suggested that mercury vapor metabolism in fetuses was quite different from that in their mothers. This may be due to the different blood circulation, as mercury vapor transferred through the placental barrier would be rapidly oxidized into ionic mercury in fetal liver and accumulated in the organ. The different mercury vapor metabolism may prevent fetal brain, which is rapidly developing, and thus vulnerable, from being exposed to excessive mercury vapor.