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Sample records for zinc diffused polycrystalline

  1. Diffusion of the 65Zn radiotracer in ZnO polycrystalline ceramics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Auxiliadora das Neves Nogueira

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available Zinc self-diffusion coefficients were measured in polycrystalline ZnO of high density (>99% of the theoretical density and of high purity (> 99.999%. The diffusion experiments were performed from 1006 to 1377 °C, in oxygen atmosphere, for times between 16 and 574 h. The diffusion profiles were established by means of Residual Activity Method using the 65Zn radioactive isotope as zinc tracer. In our experimental conditions, the zinc volume diffusion coefficients can be described by the following Arrhenius relationship: D(cm²/s = 1.57×10-3 exp[(-2.66 ± 0.26 eV/kT]. In the same experimental conditions, the grain-boundary diffusion coefficients are approximately 4 orders of magnitude greater than the volume diffusion coefficients, and can be described by the Arrhenius relation: D'delta (cm³/s = 1.59×10-6 exp[(-2.44 ± 0.45 eV/kT], where D' is the grain-boundary diffusion coefficient and delta is the grain boundary width.

  2. Application of polycrystalline diffusion barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsymbal, V.A.; Kolupaev, I.N.

    2010-01-01

    Degradation of contacts of the electronic equipment at the raised temperatures is connected with active diffusion redistribution of components contact - metalized systems (CMS) and phase production on interphase borders. One of systems diffusion barriers (DB) are polycrystalline silicide a film, in particular silicides of the titan. Reception disilicide the titan (TiSi 2 ) which on the parameters is demanded for conditions of microelectronics from known silicides of system Ti-Si, is possible as a result of direct reaction of a film of the titan and a substrate of silicon, and at sedimentation of layer Ti-Si demanded stoichiometric structure. Simultaneously there is specific problem polycrystalline diffusion a barrier (PDB): the polycrystalline provides structural balance and metastability film disilicide, but leaves in it borders of grains - easy local ways of diffusion. In clause the analysis diffusion permeability polycrystalline and polyphase DB is made and recommendations for practical methods of increase of blocking properties PDB are made.

  3. Arsenic implantation into polycrystalline silicon and diffusion to silicon substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsukamoto, K.; Akasaka, Y.; Horie, K.

    1977-01-01

    Arsenic implantation into polycrystalline silicon and drive-in diffusion to silicon substrate have been investigated by MeV He + backscattering analysis and also by electrical measurements. The range distributions of arsenic implanted into polycrystalline silicon are well fitted to Gaussian distributions over the energy range 60--350 keV. The measured values of R/sub P/ and ΔR/sub P/ are about 10 and 20% larger than the theoretical predictions, respectively. The effective diffusion coefficient of arsenic implanted into polycrystalline silicon is expressed as D=0.63 exp[(-3.22 eV/kT)] and is independent of the arsenic concentration. The drive-in diffusion of arsenic from the implanted polycrystalline silicon layer into the silicon substrate is significantly affected by the diffusion atmosphere. In the N 2 atmosphere, a considerable amount of arsenic atoms diffuses outward to the ambient. The outdiffusion can be suppressed by encapsulation with Si 3 N 4 . In the oxidizing atmosphere, arsenic atoms are driven inward by growing SiO 2 due to the segregation between SiO 2 and polycrystalline silicon, and consequently the drive-in diffusion of arsenic is enhanced. At the interface between the polycrystalline silicon layer and the silicon substrate, arsenic atoms are likely to segregate at the polycrystalline silicon side

  4. Zinc-substituted ZIF-67 nanocrystals and polycrystalline membranes for propylene/propane separation

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Chongqing

    2016-09-09

    Continuous ZIF-67 polycrystalline membranes with effective propylene/propane separation performances were successfully fabricated through the incorporation of zinc ions into the ZIF-67 framework. The separation factor increases from 1.4 for the pure ZIF-67 membrane to 50.5 for the 90% zinc-substituted ZIF-67 membrane.

  5. PROPERTIES AND OPTICAL APPLICATION OF POLYCRYSTALLINE ZINC SELENIDE OBTAINED BY PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Dunaev

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Findings on production technology, mechanical and optical properties of polycrystalline zinc selenide are presented. The combination of its physicochemical properties provides wide application of ZnSe in IR optics. Production technology is based on the method of physical vapor deposition on a heated substrate (Physical Vapor Deposition - PVD. The structural features and heterogeneity of elemental composition for the growth surfaces of ZnSe polycrystalline blanks were investigated using CAMEBAX X-ray micro-analyzer. Characteristic pyramid-shaped crystallites were recorded for all growth surfaces. The measurements of the ratio for major elements concentrations show their compliance with the stoichiometry of the ZnSe compounds. Birefringence, optical homogeneity, thermal conductivity, mechanical and optical properties were measured. It is established that regardless of polycrystalline condensate columnar and texturing, the optical material is photomechanically isotropic and homogeneous. The actual performance of parts made of polycrystalline optical zinc selenide in the thermal spectral ranges from 3 to 5 μm and from 8 to 14 μm and in the CO2 laser processing plants with a power density of 500 W/cm2 is shown. The developed technology gives the possibility to produce polycrystalline optical material on an industrial scale.

  6. Diffusion phenomena in polycrystalline chromium near the upper homological temperature of intercrystalline diffusion manifestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kajgorodov, V.N.; Klothman, S.M.; Kurkin, M.I.; Dyakin, V.V.; Zherebthov, D.V.

    1997-01-01

    A study is made into the temperature dependences of density of states in a zone of intercrystalline diffusion of atomic probes 57 Co in polycrystalline chromium as well as in the temperature dependences of isomer shift and line width in Moessbauer spectra near the upper temperature boundary of manifestation of intercrystalline diffusion. In polycrystalline chromium the release of states in the core of the crystallite conjugation region (CCR) takes place only at high temperatures due to the fact that a stationary zone of high point defect concentration in the vicinity of CCR is conserved up to high temperatures. The atomic probe escape from the core of CCR starts at the temperatures at which the equilibrium vacancy concentration in the bulk of crystallite is equal to that in a stationary zone of high defect concentration

  7. Polycrystalline intrinsic zinc oxide to be used in transparent electronic devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pimentel, A.; Fortunato, E.; Goncalves, A.; Marques, A.; Aguas, H.; Pereira, L.; Ferreira, I.; Martins, R.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we present results of intrinsic/non-doped zinc oxide deposited at room temperature by radio frequency magnetron sputtering able to be used as a semiconductor material on electronic devices, like for example ozone gas sensors, ultra-violet detectors and thin film transistors. These films present a resistivity as high as 2.5x10 8 Ω cm with an optical transmittance of 90%. Concerning the structural properties, these films are polycrystalline presenting a uniform and very smooth surface

  8. Tritium diffusion in polycrystalline lithium tungstate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krutyakov, A.N.; Shadrin, A.A.; Saunin, E.I.; Gromov, V.V.; Shafiev, A.I.

    1984-01-01

    Using radiometric method the investigation of tritium separation from neutron irradiated (neutron flux density 1.2x10 13 n/cm 2 xs) polycrystalline Li 2 WO 4 in the temperature range 200-680 deg C has been carried out. It is established that the use of helium as gas-carrier of flow-type gas-discharge counter permits to conduct continuous stable measurements of concentrations of tritium extracted depending on its chemical state. It is shown that volume diffusion is the process, limiting tritiated particle separation rate from Li 2 WO 4 . It is found that the process of tritium volume diffusion in Li 2 WO 4 corresponds to two different mechanisms respectively in low- (200-300 deg C) and high-temperature (350-680 deg C) ranges. A supposition is made that in the low-temperature range the process of diffusion is conditioned by the dissociation of the radiation defect-tritiated particle complex, which is confirmed by the data on radiation defect annealing in Li 2 WO 4 . The value of activation energy of tritium separation process in the range 350-680 deg C, proved to be equal to 13.3 kJ/mol. Possible role of crystal structure peculiarities of Li 2 WO 4 for diffusion process is pointed out

  9. Diffusion zinc plating of structural steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kazakovskaya, Tatiana; Goncharov, Ivan; Tukmakov, Victor; Shapovalov, Vyacheslav

    2004-01-01

    The report deals with the research on diffusion zinc plating of structural steels when replacing their cyanide cadmium plating. The results of the experiments in the open air, in vacuum, in the inert atmosphere, under various temperatures (300 - 500 deg.C) for different steel brands are presented. It is shown that diffusion zinc plating in argon or nitrogen atmosphere ensures obtaining the qualitative anticorrosion coating with insignificant change of mechanical properties of steels. The process is simple, reliable, ecology pure and cost-effective. (authors)

  10. Trace diffusion of different nuclear reactions products in polycrystalline tantalum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beyer, G.J.; Fromm, W.D.; Novgorodov, A.F.

    1976-07-01

    Measurements of the lattice diffusion coefficients for carrier free isotopes of Hf, Lu, Yb, Tm, Tb, Gd, Eu, Ba, Cs, Y, Sr, Rb and As in polycrystalline tantalum were made over the temperature range 1700 Fsub(As)>Fsub(lanthanides)>Fsub(Sr)>Fsub(Ba)>Fsub(Hf)>Fsub(Rb)>Fsub(Cs). The data indicate, that the Arrhenius relation was obeyed over the entire temperature range. Within the lanthanide-group no differences in the diffusion velocities could be detected, this fact points to a diffusion mechanism of Me 3+ -ions of lanthanides, Me 2+ -ions of earth alkaline elements and Me + -ions of alkaline elements. (author)

  11. Accelerated diffusion controlled creep of polycrystalline materials. Communication 1. Model of diffusion controlled creep acceleration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smirnova, E.S.; Chuvil'deev, V.N.

    1998-01-01

    The model is suggested which describes the influence of large-angle grain boundary migration on a diffusion controlled creep rate in polycrystalline materials (Coble creep). The model is based on the concept about changing the value of migrating boundary free volume when introducing dislocations distributed over the grain bulk into this boundary. Expressions are obtained to calculate the grain boundary diffusion coefficient under conditions of boundary migration and the parameter, which characterized the value of Coble creep acceleration. A comparison is made between calculated and experimental data for Cd, Co and Fe

  12. Counter diffusion of zinc and iron in alluvial soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rattan, R.K.; Deb, D.L.

    1980-01-01

    Half cell technique showed that an increase in moisture tension and CaCO 3 content caused reduction in the counter diffusion coefficients of zinc and iron in an alluvial soil. Increases in bulk density, ambient temperature and concentration of synthetic chelating agents e.g. EDTA and DTPA increased the counter diffusion coefficients of both zinc and iron. (author)

  13. Polycrystalline Silicon Gettered by Porous Silicon and Heavy Phosphorous Diffusion

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIU Zuming(刘祖明); Souleymane K Traore; ZHANG Zhongwen(张忠文); LUO Yi(罗毅)

    2004-01-01

    The biggest barrier for photovoltaic (PV) utilization is its high cost, so the key for scale PV utilization is to further decrease the cost of solar cells. One way to improve the efficiency, and therefore lower the cost, is to increase the minority carrier lifetime by controlling the material defects. The main defects in grain boundaries of polycrystalline silicon gettered by porous silicon and heavy phosphorous diffusion have been studied. The porous silicon was formed on the two surfaces of wafers by chemical etching. Phosphorous was then diffused into the wafers at high temperature (900℃). After the porous silicon and diffusion layers were removed, the minority carrier lifetime was measured by photo-conductor decay. The results show that the lifetime's minority carriers are increased greatly after such treatment.

  14. Thermodynamic model for grain boundary effects on hydrogen solubility, diffusivity and permeability in poly-crystalline tungsten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oda, Takuji, E-mail: oda@snu.ac.kr

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • A thermodynamic model to simulate grain boundary effects on hydrogen behaviors in poly-crystalline W was established. • With this model, the effective solubility, diffusivity and permeability of hydrogen are calculated as a function of grain size. • Grain boundary significantly change the hydrogen behaviors in poly-crystalline W up to around 1000 K. - Abstract: A thermodynamic model to evaluate effects of grain boundary (GB) on hydrogen behaviors in poly-crystalline tungsten is established. With this model, the effective solubility, diffusivity and permeability of hydrogen in tungsten equilibrated with surrounding H{sub 2} gas can be calculated as a function of grain size, temperature and H{sub 2} partial pressure. By setting 1.0 eV to the binding energy of hydrogen to GBs and 0.4 eV to the diffusion barrier of hydrogen along GBs, the model reasonably reproduces some experimental data on the effective diffusivity and permeability. Comparisons between calculation results by the model and available experimental data show that GBs significantly affect the hydrogen behaviors up to around 1000 K or higher in practical materials. Therefore, the effects of GBs need to be considered in analysis of experimental results, for which the present model can be utilized, and in prediction of tritium inventory and leakage in fusion reactors.

  15. Seasonal and spatial variation of diffuse (non-point) source zinc pollution in a historically metal mined river catchment, UK

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gozzard, E., E-mail: emgo@ceh.ac.uk [Hydrogeochemical Engineering Research and Outreach Group, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Mayes, W.M., E-mail: W.Mayes@hull.ac.uk [Hydrogeochemical Engineering Research and Outreach Group, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Potter, H.A.B., E-mail: hugh.potter@environment-agency.gov.uk [Environment Agency England and Wales, c/o Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Jarvis, A.P., E-mail: a.p.jarvis@ncl.ac.uk [Hydrogeochemical Engineering Research and Outreach Group, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom)

    2011-10-15

    Quantifying diffuse sources of pollution is becoming increasingly important when characterising river catchments in entirety - a prerequisite for environmental management. This study examines both low and high flow events, as well as spatial variability, in order to assess point and diffuse components of zinc pollution within the River West Allen catchment, which lies within the northern England lead-zinc Orefield. Zinc levels in the river are elevated under all flow regimes, and are of environmental concern. Diffuse components are of little importance at low flow, with point source mine water discharges dominating instream zinc concentration and load. During higher river flows 90% of the instream zinc load is attributed to diffuse sources, where inputs from resuspension of metal-rich sediments, and groundwater influx are likely to be more dominant. Remediating point mine water discharges should significantly improve water quality at lower flows, but contribution from diffuse sources will continue to elevate zinc flux at higher flows. - Highlights: > Zinc concentrations breach EU quality thresholds under all river flow conditions. > Contributions from point sources dominate instream zinc dynamics in low flow. > Contributions from diffuse sources dominate instream zinc dynamics in high flow. > Important diffuse sources include river-bed sediment resuspension and groundwater influx. > Diffuse sources would still create significant instream pollution, even with point source treatment. - Diffuse zinc sources are an important source of instream contamination to mine-impacted rivers under varying flow conditions.

  16. Effect of EDTA and gypsum on self diffusion coefficient of zinc in alkali soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, G.N.; Deb, D.L.

    1981-01-01

    The effect of EDTA and gypsum application on the rate of zinc diffusion was studied in an alkali soil. Gypsum application at the rate of half gypsum requirement (GR) increased the apparent self diffusion coefficient of zinc (DaZn) and decreased the capacity factor (B) of soil. The higher rates (full GR and double GR) depressed the rate of zinc diffusion and increased the B value. Application of EDTA at the rate of 0.77 μeg -1 of soil produced 1600 and 24 fold increase in DaZn and DpZn values respectively and 100 times drop in B value. Addition of 55 ppm Zn to the soil significantly increased the DaZn and DpZn values. (author)

  17. Photovoltaic cells employing zinc phosphide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Allen M.; Catalano, Anthony W.; Dalal, Vikram L.; Masi, James V.; Meakin, John D.; Hall, Robert B.

    1984-01-01

    A photovoltaic cell having a zinc phosphide absorber. The zinc phosphide can be a single or multiple crystal slice or a thin polycrystalline film. The cell can be a Schottky barrier, heterojunction or homojunction device. Methods for synthesizing and crystallizing zinc phosphide are disclosed as well as a method for forming thin films.

  18. Gallium diffusion in zinc oxide via the paired dopant-vacancy mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sky, T. N.; Johansen, K. M.; Riise, H. N.; Svensson, B. G.; Vines, L.

    2018-02-01

    Isochronal and isothermal diffusion experiments of gallium (Ga) in zinc oxide (ZnO) have been performed in the temperature range of 900-1050 °C. The samples used consisted of a sputter-deposited and highly Ga-doped ZnO film at the surface of a single-crystal bulk material. We use a novel reaction diffusion (RD) approach to demonstrate that the diffusion behavior of Ga in ZnO is consistent with zinc vacancy (VZn) mediation via the formation and dissociation of GaZnVZn complexes. In the RD modeling, experimental diffusion data are fitted utilizing recent density-functional-theory estimates of the VZn formation energy and the binding energy of GaZnVZn. From the RD modeling, a migration energy of 2.3 eV is deduced for GaZnVZn, and a total/effective activation energy of 3.0 eV is obtained for the Ga diffusion. Furthermore, and for comparison, employing the so-called Fair model, a total/effective activation energy of 2.7 eV is obtained for the Ga diffusion, reasonably close to the total value extracted from the RD-modeling.

  19. Synthesis of 1D, 2D, and 3D ZnO Polycrystalline Nanostructures Using the Sol-Gel Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yung-Kuan Tseng

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study employed various polyol solvents to synthesize zinc oxide polycrystalline nanostructures in the form of fibers (1D, rhombic flakes (2D, and spheres (3D. The synthetic process primarily involved the use of zinc acetate dihydrate in polyol solutions, which were used to derive precursors of zinc alkoxides. Following hydrolysis at 160°C, the zinc alkoxide particles self-assembled into polycrystalline nanostructures with different morphologies. Following calcination at 500°C for 1 h, polycrystalline ZnO with good crystallinity was obtained. FE-SEM explored variations in surface morphology; XRD was used to analyze the crystalline structures and crystallinity of the products, which were confirmed as ZnO wurtzite structures. FE-TEM verified that the ZnO nanostructures were polycrystalline. Furthermore, we employed TGA/DSC to observe the phase transition. According to the results of property analyses, we proposed models of the relevant formation mechanisms. Finally, various ZnO structures were applied in the degradation of methylene blue to compare their photocatalytic efficiency.

  20. Mechanisms limiting the performance of large grain polycrystalline silicon solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culik, J. S.; Alexander, P.; Dumas, K. A.; Wohlgemuth, J. W.

    1984-01-01

    The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of large-grain (1 to 10 mm grain diameter) polycrystalline silicon solar cells is determined by the minority-carrier diffusion length within the bulk of the grains. This was demonstrated by irradiating polycrystalline and single-crystal (Czochralski) silicon solar cells with 1 MeV electrons to reduce their bulk lifetime. The variation of short-circuit current with minority-carrier diffusion length for the polycrystalline solar cells is identical to that of the single-crystal solar cells. The open-circuit voltage versus short-circuit current characteristic of the polycrystalline solar cells for reduced diffusion lengths is also identical to that of the single-crystal solar cells. The open-circuit voltage of the polycrystalline solar cells is a strong function of quasi-neutral (bulk) recombination, and is reduced only slightly, if at all, by grain-boundary recombination.

  1. Concentration contours in lattics and grain boundary diffusion in a polycrystalline solid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yong Soo; Jae, Won Mok; El Saied, Usama; Olander, Donald R.

    1995-01-01

    Grain boundary diffusion plays significant role in the fission gas release, which is one of the crucial processes dominating nuclear fuel performance. Gaseous fission products such as Xe and Kr generated inside fuel pellet have to diffuse in the lattice and in the grain boundary before they reach open space in the fuel rod. In the mean time, the grains in the fuel pellet grow and shrink according to grain growth kinetics, especially at elevated temperature at which nuclear reactors are operating. Thus the boundary movement ascribed to the grain growth greatly influences the fission gas release rate by lengthening or shortening the lattice diffusion distance, which is the rate limiting step. Sweeping fission gases by the moving boundary contributes to the increment of the fission gas release as well. Lattice and grain boundary diffusion processes in the fission gas release can be studied by 'tracer diffusion' technique, by which grain boundary diffusivity can be estimated and used directly for low burn up fission gas release analysis. However, even for tracer diffusion analysis, taking both the intragranular grain growth and the diffusion processes simultaneously into consideration is not easy. Only a few models accounting for the both processes are available and mostly handle them numerically. Numerical solutions are limited in the practical use. Here in this paper, an approximate analytical solution of the lattice and stationary grain boundary diffusion in a polycrystalline solid is developed for the tracer diffusion techniques. This short closed form solution is compared to available exact and numerical solutions and turns out to be acceptably accurate. It can be applied to the theoretical modeling and the experimental analysis, especially PIE (post irradiation examination), of low burn up fission gas release

  2. Incorporation, diffusion and segregation of impurities in polycrystalline silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deville, J.P.; Soltani, M.L. (Universite Louis Pasteur, 67 - Strasbourg (France)); Quesada, J. (Laboratoire de Metallurgie-Chimie des Materiaux, E.N.S.A.I.S., 67 - Strasbourg (France))

    1982-01-01

    We studied by means of X-Ray photoelectron Spectroscopy the nature, distribution and, when possible, the chemical bond of impurities at the surface of polycrystalline silicon samples grown on a carbon ribbon. Besides main impurities (carbon and oxygen), always present at concentrations around their limit of solubility in silicon, metal impurities have been found: their nature varies from one sample to another. Their spatial distribution is not random: some are strictly confined at the surface (sodium), whereas others are in the superficial oxidized layer (calcium, magnesium) or localized at the oxide-bulk silicon interface (iron). Metal impurities are coming from the carbon ribbon and are incorporated to silicon during the growth process. It is not yet possible to give a model of diffusion processes of impurities since they are too numerous and interact one with the other. However oxygen seems to play a leading role in the spatial distribution of metal impurities.

  3. Process Research on Polycrystalline Silicon Material (PROPSM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culik, J. S.; Wrigley, C. Y.

    1985-01-01

    Results of hydrogen-passivated polycrysalline silicon solar cell research are summarized. The short-circuit current of solar cells fabricated from large-grain cast polycrystalline silicon is nearly equivalent to that of single-crystal cells, which indicates long bulk minority-carrier diffusion length. Treatments with molecular hydrogen showed no effect on large-grain cast polycrystalline silicon solar cells.

  4. Thermal transport properties of polycrystalline tin-doped indium oxide films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashida, Toru; Miyamura, Amica; Oka, Nobuto; Sato, Yasushi; Shigesato, Yuzo; Yagi, Takashi; Taketoshi, Naoyuki; Baba, Tetsuya

    2009-01-01

    Thermal diffusivity of polycrystalline tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films with a thickness of 200 nm has been characterized quantitatively by subnanosecond laser pulse irradiation and thermoreflectance measurement. ITO films sandwiched by molybdenum (Mo) films were prepared on a fused silica substrate by dc magnetron sputtering using an oxide ceramic ITO target (90 wt %In 2 O 3 and 10 wt %SnO 2 ). The resistivity and carrier density of the ITO films ranged from 2.9x10 -4 to 3.2x10 -3 Ω cm and from 1.9x10 20 to 1.2x10 21 cm -3 , respectively. The thermal diffusivity of the ITO films was (1.5-2.2)x10 -6 m 2 /s, depending on the electrical conductivity. The thermal conductivity carried by free electrons was estimated using the Wiedemann-Franz law. The phonon contribution to the heat transfer in ITO films with various resistivities was found to be almost constant (λ ph =3.95 W/m K), which was about twice that for amorphous indium zinc oxide films

  5. Investigation of the diffusion {proportional_to} brasses using methods depending on the evaporation or condensation of zinc; Etude de la diffusion dans les laitons {proportional_to} au moyen des methodes d'evaporation ou de condensation du zinc

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Accary, A [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France).Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires; Centre d' Etudes de Chimie Metallurgique du CNRS (France)

    1959-07-01

    Diffusion in {alpha} brasses has been investigated using methods involving the evaporation and the condensation of zinc. Having shown that at sufficiently high temperatures intergranular diffusion has no effect, it was then proved that the rate of evaporation or of condensation can only be defined if the mechanical treatment of the test piece before diffusion, the direction of the diffusion and the nature of the impurities present are also defined. The coefficient of diffusion D is then given by the equation D ({pi}/4t){rho}{sup 2}{sub 0} where t is the duration of the diffusion; {rho}{sub 0} is the extrapolated value of {rho} = ({delta}m)/({delta}C) for a zero value of the variation of concentration ({delta}m in is the change in weight of the test piece per unit surface; {delta}C is the difference between the concentration at the surface and the initial concentration of the test piece). This method has been used to study the effect of the direction of the diffusion on the coefficient of diffusion. The coefficient for diffusion which decreases the concentration of zinc is 5 times greater than that for diffusion which increases the quantity of zinc in the metal; an interpretation of this phenomena based on the mechanism of diffusion vacancies in the structure has been proposed. By means of micrographic investigation and by weighing it has been shown that the presence of certain impurities, such as phosphorous, arsenic, antimony, silicon, and aluminium can result in a marked increase of the rate of diffusion: the effect of these impurities on the coefficient of diffusion has been related to their valency and atomic weight. (author) [French] La diffusion dans les laitons {alpha} a ete etudiee au moyen des methodes d'evaporation et de condensafion du zinc. Apres avoir montre qu'aux temperatures suffisamment elevees, la diffusion intergranulaire ne jouait aucun role, l'auteur a prouve que la vitesse d'evaporation ou de condensation n'est definie que dans la mesure ou

  6. Positron diffusion in zinc-blende-type semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, R.P.; Singh, M.

    1992-01-01

    A theory of positron diffusion in the presence of positron scattering with acoustic, piezoelectric-acoustic, and optical phonons in zinc-blende-type semiconductors is developed. The velocity-velocity correlation function is used to calculate the diffusion coefficient and the Green's function is used to calculate the correlation function. In this formulation the relaxation time automatically appears through the imaginary part of the self-energy. The effect of screening is included within the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The theory is used to calculate the energy relaxation time and diffusion length of positrons in GaAs. It is shown that the transverse and longitudinal phonons contribute almost the same amount towards the relaxation time in the piezoelectric-acoustic-phonon scattering of positrons. It is also found that the contribution of piezoelectric-acoustic-phonon scattering is about 10% to that of acoustic-phonon scattering at low temperatures. We obtained a fairly good agreement between our theory and experimental results available to us. It is found that optical-phonon scattering plays an important role in getting good agreement between theory and experiment at high temperatures

  7. CdCl2 passivation of polycrystalline CdMgTe and CdZnTe absorbers for tandem photovoltaic cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, Drew E.; Reich, Carey; Abbas, Ali; Shimpi, Tushar; Liu, Hanxiao; Ponce, Fernando A.; Walls, John M.; Zhang, Yong-Hang; Metzger, Wyatt K.; Sampath, W. S.; Holman, Zachary C.

    2018-05-01

    As single-junction silicon solar cells approach their theoretical limits, tandems provide the primary path to higher efficiencies. CdTe alloys can be tuned with magnesium (CdMgTe) or zinc (CdZnTe) for ideal tandem pairing with silicon. A II-VI/Si tandem holds the greatest promise for inexpensive, high-efficiency top cells that can be quickly deployed in the market using existing polycrystalline CdTe manufacturing lines combined with mature silicon production lines. Currently, all high efficiency polycrystalline CdTe cells require a chloride-based passivation process to passivate grain boundaries and bulk defects. This research examines the rich chemistry and physics that has historically limited performance when extending Cl treatments to polycrystalline 1.7-eV CdMgTe and CdZnTe absorbers. A combination of transmittance, quantum efficiency, photoluminescence, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy clearly reveals that during passivation, Mg segregates and out-diffuses, initially at the grain boundaries but eventually throughout the bulk. CdZnTe exhibits similar Zn segregation behavior; however, the onset and progression is localized to the back of the device. After passivation, CdMgTe and CdZnTe can render a layer that is reduced to predominantly CdTe electro-optical behavior. Contact instabilities caused by inter-diffusion between the layers create additional complications. The results outline critical issues and paths for these materials to be successfully implemented in Si-based tandems and other applications.

  8. Study of cation diffusion in Zn O using 65Zn as radioactive tracer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferraz, Wilmar B.; Correa, Ricardo F.; Nogueira, Maria A.N.; Ramos, Marcelo; Sabioni, Antonio C.S.

    2000-01-01

    Zinc self-diffusion coefficient were measured in polycrystalline Zn O of high purity (99,999%) prepared by conventional sintering at 1393 deg C, 4 h, in oxygen atmosphere. The Zn O samples had high density (>99% of the theoretical density) and grain size of 20 μm. These samples were resintered for 72 h at 1400 deg C in order to increase the grain-size higher than 50 μ m. Samples of 15 x 15 x 2 mm 3 were polished with diamond paste, and pre-annealed under the same conditions of temperature and atmosphere of the diffusion annealing. A thin film of 65 Zn - radioactive tracer - applied to the polished surface was oxidized in oxygen atmosphere for a short time before diffusion annealing. The diffusion experiments were performed between 1002 and 1201 deg C in oxygen atmosphere. The 65 Zn diffusion profiles were measured by sectioning in conjunction with residual-activity measurements. The results of the determination of the zinc in Zn O diffusion coefficients in function of temperature are presented and a comparison of these results obtained by the two radioactive method is showed. (author)

  9. Study of the diffusion of some elements in magnesium; L'etude de la diffusion de quelques elements dans le magnesium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lal, K [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1967-07-01

    In this work the constants characterizing the diffusion of cerium, lanthanum, silver, zinc and indium in polycrystalline magnesium are determined. The constants have been obtained either from experiments on multiple phases (Ce, La) or from infinite dilution measurements using radio-tracers (Ag, Zn, In). The results obtained can be expressed as follows : Cerium: D = 450 exp (- 42000/RT); Lanthanum: D = 2,2.10{sup -2} exp (- 24400/RT); Silver: D = 0,34 exp (- 28500/RT); Zinc: D = 0,41 exp (- 28600/RT); indium: D = 0,052 exp (- 28400/RT). A theoretical interpretation of the results is proposed using elastic and electrostatic models. (author) [French] Dans ce travail nous avons determine les constantes caracterisant la diffusion du cerium, lanthane, argent zinc et indium dans le magnesium polycristallin. Les constantes ont ete obtenues soit a partir d'experiences en phases multiples (Ce, La) ou par des mesures a dilution infinie a l'aide de radiotraceurs (Ag, Zn, In). Les resultats obtenus peuvent etre representes par les expressions suivantes: Cerium: D = 450 exp (- 42000/RT); Lanthane: D = 2,2.10{sup -2} exp (- 24400/RT); Argent: D = 0,34 exp (- 28500/RT); Zinc: D 0,41 exp (- 28600/RT); Indium: D = 0,052 exp (- 28400/RT). Une interpretation theorique des resultats a l'aide des modeles elastiques et electrostatiques est envisagee. (auteur)

  10. Study of Doppler broadened annihilation spectra in zinc and zinc-containing 0.05 at. % iron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Troev, T.; Zolov, R.; Dimova, V.; Levay, B.

    1979-01-01

    The Doppler broadening of annihilation gamma spectra obtained from positron-electron annihilation in pure polycrystalline zinc and zinc-containing 0.05 at. % iron have been investigated. The line shapes were measured by a Ge(Li) detector in coincidence with a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The results are quite consistent with those expected from the trapping model. The positrons are trapped by impurity atoms and vacancy-impurity pairs in zinc containing 0.05 at. % iron. (author)

  11. A MONTÉ CARLO MODEL FOR SIMULATING THE NITROGEN DIFFUSION EFFECT INTO B-LPCVD-NIDOS POLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILMS

    OpenAIRE

    S ALLAG; S MERABET; M BOUKEZZATA

    2012-01-01

    The principal objective of our current work, is to study the influence of different treatment from surface which makes it possible to improve the properties of materials by technique of beam of ions (diffusion – implantation), on the distribution of the particles in a semiconductor the prone polycrystalline Silicon of our study, largely used in micro-electronics.  The interest of this study is related to the ceaseless requirements in industry for increasingly reduced, powerful materials and w...

  12. Study of Nitrogen Effect on the Boron Diffusion during Heat Treatment in Polycrystalline Silicon/Nitrogen-Doped Silicon Thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saci, Lynda; Mahamdi, Ramdane; Mansour, Farida; Boucher, Jonathan; Collet, Maéva; Bedel Pereira, Eléna; Temple-Boyer, Pierre

    2011-05-01

    The present paper studies the boron (B) diffusion in nitrogen (N) doped amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer in original bi-layer B-doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)/in-situ N-doped Si layers (NIDOS) thin films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique. The B diffusion in the NIDOS layer was investigated by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. A new extended diffusion model is proposed to fit the SIMS profile of the bi-layer films. This model introduces new terms which take into account the effect of N concentration on the complex diffusion phenomena of B atoms in bi-layer films. SIMS results show that B diffusion does not exceed one third of NIDOS layer thickness after annealing. The reduction of the B diffusion in the NIDOS layer is due to the formation of complex B-N as shown by infrared absorption measurements. Electrical measurements using four-probe and Hall effect techniques show the good conductivity of the B-doped poly-Si layer after annealing treatment.

  13. Study of the diffusion in the {alpha} brasses, using the evaporation or condensation of zinc - influence of the diffusion sense and of impurities (first and second thesis); Etude de la diffusion dans les laitons {alpha} au moyen des methodes d'evaporation ou de condensation du zinc influence du sens de diffusion et de la presence d'impurete (premiere et deuxieme these)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Accary, A. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1955-12-15

    The author develops a zero concentration extrapolation method for the exact determination of the diffusion coefficient. He applies it to the comparison of the inward and outward diffusion coefficient in {alpha} brasses. In a second part he shows the large influence of traces of some elements such as P, As, Sb, on the diffusion velocity in {alpha} brasses. (author) [French] L'auteur montre comment, au moyen d'une extrapolation a variation de concentration nulle, ces methodes permettent d'atteindre rigoureusement la valeur du coefficient de diffusion. Il les utilise pour comparer la valeur du coefficient de diffusion avec enrichissement en zinc a la valeur du coefficient de diffusion avec appauvrissement en zinc. Dans une seconde partie, il met en evidence la grande influence de traces d'elements tels que le phosphore, l'arsenic, l'antimoine sur la vitesse de diffusion dans les laitons {alpha}. (auteur)

  14. Study of the diffusion in the {alpha} brasses, using the evaporation or condensation of zinc - influence of the diffusion sense and of impurities (first and second thesis); Etude de la diffusion dans les laitons {alpha} au moyen des methodes d'evaporation ou de condensation du zinc influence du sens de diffusion et de la presence d'impurete (premiere et deuxieme these)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Accary, A [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1955-12-15

    The author develops a zero concentration extrapolation method for the exact determination of the diffusion coefficient. He applies it to the comparison of the inward and outward diffusion coefficient in {alpha} brasses. In a second part he shows the large influence of traces of some elements such as P, As, Sb, on the diffusion velocity in {alpha} brasses. (author) [French] L'auteur montre comment, au moyen d'une extrapolation a variation de concentration nulle, ces methodes permettent d'atteindre rigoureusement la valeur du coefficient de diffusion. Il les utilise pour comparer la valeur du coefficient de diffusion avec enrichissement en zinc a la valeur du coefficient de diffusion avec appauvrissement en zinc. Dans une seconde partie, il met en evidence la grande influence de traces d'elements tels que le phosphore, l'arsenic, l'antimoine sur la vitesse de diffusion dans les laitons {alpha}. (auteur)

  15. Self-diffusion of polycrystalline ice Ih under confining pressure: Hydrogen isotope analysis using 2-D Raman imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noguchi, Naoki; Kubo, Tomoaki; Durham, William B.; Kagi, Hiroyuki; Shimizu, Ichiko

    2016-08-01

    We have developed a high-resolution technique based on micro Raman spectroscopy to measure hydrogen isotope diffusion profiles in ice Ih. The calibration curve for quantitative analysis of deuterium in ice Ih was constructed using micro Raman spectroscopy. Diffusion experiments using diffusion couples composed of dense polycrystalline H2O and D2O ice were carried out under a gas confining pressure of 100 MPa (to suppress micro-fracturing and pore formation) at temperatures from 235 K to 245 K and diffusion times from 0.2 to 94 hours. Two-dimensional deuterium profiles across the diffusion couples were determined by Raman imaging. The location of small spots of frost from room air could be detected from the shapes of the Raman bands of OH and OD stretching modes, which change because of the effect of the molar ratio of deuterium on the molecular coupling interaction. We emphasize the validity for screening the impurities utilizing the coupling interaction. Some recrystallization and grain boundary migration occurred in recovered diffusion couples, but analysis of two-dimensional diffusion profiles of regions not affected by grain boundary migration allowed us to measure a volume diffusivity for ice at 100 MPa of (2.8 ± 0.4) ×10-3exp[ -57.0 ± 15.4kJ /mol RT ] m2 /s (R is the gas constant, T is temperature). Based on ambient pressure diffusivity measurements by others, this value indicates a high (negative) activation volume for volume diffusivity of -29.5 cm3/mol or more. We can also constrain the value of grain boundary diffusivity in ice at 100 MPa to be volume diffusivity.

  16. Diffusion Coefficient in the Zinc Coating Shaped on the Surface of Cast Iron and Steel Alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kopyciński D.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the method to assess the diffusion coefficient D in the sub-layer of intermetallic phases formed during hot-dip galvanizing “Armco” iron and ductile cast iron EN-GJS-500-7. Hot-dip galvanizing is one of the most popular forms of long-term protection of Fe-C alloys against corrosion. The process for producing a protective layer of sufficient quality is closely related to diffusion of atoms of zinc and iron. The simulation consist in performed a hot-dip galvanizing in laboratory condition above Fe-C alloys, in the Department of Engineering of Cast Alloys and Composites. Galvanizing time ranged from 15 to 300 seconds. Then metallographic specimens were prepared, intermetallic layers were measured and diffusion coefficient (D were calculated. It was found that the diffusion coefficient obtained during hot-dip galvanizing “Armco” iron and zinc is about two orders of magnitude less than the coefficient obtained on ductile cast iron EN-GJS-500-7.

  17. Assessing the antimicrobial activity of zinc oxide thin films using disk diffusion and biofilm reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gittard, Shaun D.; Perfect, John R.; Monteiro-Riviere, Nancy A.; Wei Wei; Jin Chunming; Narayan, Roger J.

    2009-01-01

    The electronic and chemical properties of semiconductor materials may be useful in preventing growth of microorganisms. In this article, in vitro methods for assessing microbial growth on semiconductor materials will be presented. The structural and biological properties of silicon wafers coated with zinc oxide thin films were evaluated using atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and MTT viability assay. The antimicrobial properties of zinc oxide thin films were established using disk diffusion and CDC Biofilm Reactor studies. Our results suggest that zinc oxide and other semiconductor materials may play a leading role in providing antimicrobial functionality to the next-generation medical devices

  18. A MONTÉ CARLO MODEL FOR SIMULATING THE NITROGEN DIFFUSION EFFECT INTO B-LPCVD-NIDOS POLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S ALLAG

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The principal objective of our current work, is to study the influence of different treatment from surface which makes it possible to improve the properties of materials by technique of beam of ions (diffusion – implantation, on the distribution of the particles in a semiconductor the prone polycrystalline Silicon of our study, largely used in micro-electronics.  The interest of this study is related to the ceaseless requirements in industry for increasingly reduced, powerful materials and with the weakest possible cost price.       We thus have, makes a nitriding in gas phase during the phase of deposit LPCVD of polycrystalline Silicon, then one made an ionic implantation with the Bore ions.  The results obtained, starting from a simulation based on the Monte Carlo method, although they are carried out with amounts much lower than the really introduced amounts, being given the limitation of the machine used, satisfied the predictions established at the beginning and encourage us to continue this study from the point of view of the use of this material in particular in varied fields.

  19. Electrical effect of titanium diffusion on amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Seung-Ha; Jung, Woo-Shik; Park, Jin-Hong

    2012-01-01

    In this work, thermal diffusion phenomenon of Ti into amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (α-IGZO) was carefully investigated with secondary ion mass spectroscopy, I-V, and R s measurement systems and HSC chemistry simulation tool. According to the experimental and simulated results, the diffused Ti atoms were easily oxidized due to its lowest oxidation free energy. Since oxygen atoms were decomposed from the α-IGZO during the oxidation of Ti, the number of oxygen vacancies working as electron-donating sites in α-IGZO was dramatically increased, contributing to the decrease of resistivity (ρ) from 1.96 Ω cm (as-deposited α-IGZO) to 1.33 × 10 −3 Ω cm (350 °C annealed α-IGZO).

  20. Direct imaging of dopant distribution in polycrystalline ZnO films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lorenzo, F.; Aebersold, A.B.; Morales-Masis, M.; Ledinský, Martin; Escrig, S.; Vetushka, Aliaksi; Alexander, D.T.L.; Hessler-Wyser, A.; Fejfar, Antonín; Hébert, C.; Nicolay, S.; Ballif, C.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 9, č. 8 (2017), s. 7241-7248 ISSN 1944-8244 R&D Projects: GA ČR GC16-10429J Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : dopant distribution * film polarity * grain boundaries * NanoSIMS * polycrystalline film * zinc oxide Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 7.504, year: 2016

  1. Comparison of the method of diffusive gels in thin films with conventional extraction techniques for evaluating zinc accumulation in plants and isopods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koster, Marijke [National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven (Netherlands); Open University Netherlands, Heerlen (Netherlands); Reijnders, Lucas [Open University Netherlands, Heerlen (Netherlands); Oost, Nathalie R. van [National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven (Netherlands); Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M. [National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Laboratory for Ecological Risk Assessment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven (Netherlands)]. E-mail: wjgm.peijnenburg@rivm.nl

    2005-01-01

    The measurement of diffusive gels in thin films (DGT) has recently been developed to assess metal bioavailability in soils. The DGT-method is based on diffusion in a porous matrix. To test the predictive capabilities of the method with regard to metal bioavailability, a study was set up with 28 soils having a variety of textures and amounts of zinc salts added. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to compare DGT-extracted zinc levels to zinc concentrations obtained by extraction with 0.01 M CaCl{sub 2} and 0.43 M HNO{sub 3}, digestion with aqua regia and the zinc concentration in pore water. The amount of zinc extracted with CaCl{sub 2} correlated well with DGT-extracted zinc levels in all soils spiked with different amounts of ZnCl{sub 2}. A similar correlation was not found for zinc concentrations in soil samples collected in the field. Experiments were performed to compare zinc content in organisms and in soils. The organisms tested were plants (grass, lettuce and lupine) and the hard bodied soil dwelling isopod Oniscus asellus. Good correlations were found between zinc accumulation in grass and lettuce and the C{sub E} (effective concentration) measured by a DGT-device, CaCl{sub 2} extracted zinc and the zinc content in the pore water of all soils. The correlation with C{sub E} was not significant for lupine, neither for spiked soils, nor for field soils (p {<=} 0.001). Zinc levels in the isopods were not significantly related to any set of zinc measurements. From a synthesis of all results obtained it is concluded that the DGT-methodology does not have an additional value in predicting bioavailability of zinc in terrestrial ecosystems as compared to conventional extraction methods. - Capsule: The newly developed method of diffusive gels in Thin films (DGT) does not have an added value over conventional extraction techniques in predicting zinc uptake by plants and isopods.

  2. Comparison of the method of diffusive gels in thin films with conventional extraction techniques for evaluating zinc accumulation in plants and isopods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koster, Marijke; Reijnders, Lucas; Oost, Nathalie R. van; Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M.

    2005-01-01

    The measurement of diffusive gels in thin films (DGT) has recently been developed to assess metal bioavailability in soils. The DGT-method is based on diffusion in a porous matrix. To test the predictive capabilities of the method with regard to metal bioavailability, a study was set up with 28 soils having a variety of textures and amounts of zinc salts added. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to compare DGT-extracted zinc levels to zinc concentrations obtained by extraction with 0.01 M CaCl 2 and 0.43 M HNO 3 , digestion with aqua regia and the zinc concentration in pore water. The amount of zinc extracted with CaCl 2 correlated well with DGT-extracted zinc levels in all soils spiked with different amounts of ZnCl 2 . A similar correlation was not found for zinc concentrations in soil samples collected in the field. Experiments were performed to compare zinc content in organisms and in soils. The organisms tested were plants (grass, lettuce and lupine) and the hard bodied soil dwelling isopod Oniscus asellus. Good correlations were found between zinc accumulation in grass and lettuce and the C E (effective concentration) measured by a DGT-device, CaCl 2 extracted zinc and the zinc content in the pore water of all soils. The correlation with C E was not significant for lupine, neither for spiked soils, nor for field soils (p ≤ 0.001). Zinc levels in the isopods were not significantly related to any set of zinc measurements. From a synthesis of all results obtained it is concluded that the DGT-methodology does not have an additional value in predicting bioavailability of zinc in terrestrial ecosystems as compared to conventional extraction methods. - Capsule: The newly developed method of diffusive gels in Thin films (DGT) does not have an added value over conventional extraction techniques in predicting zinc uptake by plants and isopods

  3. Effects of crystal structure and grain orientation on the roughness of deformed polycrystalline metals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wouters, Onne; Vellinga, WP; van Tijum, Redmer; De Hosson, JTM

    Surface roughening during tensile deformation of polycrystalline aluminum, iron and zinc is investigated using white light confocal microscopy and orientation imaging microscopy. A height-height correlation technique is used to analyze the data. The surface obeys self-affine scaling on length scales

  4. Spectral response of a polycrystalline silicon solar cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ba, B.; Kane, M.

    1994-10-01

    A theoretical study of the spectral response of a polycrystalline silicon n-p junction solar cell is presented. The case of a fibrously oriented grain structure, involving grain boundary recombination velocity and grain size effects is discussed. The contribution of the base region on the internal quantum efficiency Q int is computed for different grain sizes and grain boundary recombination velocities in order to examine their influence. Suggestions are also made for the determination of base diffusion length in polycrystalline silicon solar cells using the spectral response method. (author). 15 refs, 4 figs

  5. The relative efficiency of zinc carriers on growth and zinc nutrition of corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasad, B.; Sinha, K.

    1981-01-01

    A comparison of different zinc carriers showed that application of Zn-DTPA, Zn-EDTA, Zn-fulvate and ZnSO 4 significantly increased the dry matter yield and zinc uptake by corn over the control treatment where no zinc was applied. The chelates in particular enhanced to a greater extent the uptake of both native and applied sources than that observed with ZnSO 4 as the zinc carrier. Both the dry matter yield and zinc uptake by corn showed a positive and significant relationship with self-diffusion coefficient of zinc showing thereby that diffusion contributed mainly the supply of Zn from the ambient soil matrix to plant roots. The effectiveness of the chelates varied depending on their capacity to retain Zn in a soluble form in the soil solution. It is evident that zinc nutrition of plants in alkaline and calcareous soils can be more effectively regulated by both synthetic and natural chelates or organic manures which contain substantial amount of complexed zinc. (orig.)

  6. Study of cation diffusion in Zn O using {sup 65}Zn as radioactive tracer; Estudo da difusao cationica no Zn O com emprego de tracador radiativo {sup 65}Zn

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferraz, Wilmar B.; Correa, Ricardo F. [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Nogueira, Maria A.N.; Ramos, Marcelo; Sabioni, Antonio C.S. [Ouro Preto Univ., MG (Brazil). Dept de Fisica. Lab. de Difusao em Materiais

    2000-07-01

    Zinc self-diffusion coefficient were measured in polycrystalline Zn O of high purity (99,999%) prepared by conventional sintering at 1393 deg C, 4 h, in oxygen atmosphere. The Zn O samples had high density (>99% of the theoretical density) and grain size of 20 {mu}m. These samples were resintered for 72 h at 1400 deg C in order to increase the grain-size higher than 50 {mu} m. Samples of 15 x 15 x 2 mm{sup 3} were polished with diamond paste, and pre-annealed under the same conditions of temperature and atmosphere of the diffusion annealing. A thin film of {sup 65} Zn - radioactive tracer - applied to the polished surface was oxidized in oxygen atmosphere for a short time before diffusion annealing. The diffusion experiments were performed between 1002 and 1201 deg C in oxygen atmosphere. The {sup 65} Zn diffusion profiles were measured by sectioning in conjunction with residual-activity measurements. The results of the determination of the zinc in Zn O diffusion coefficients in function of temperature are presented and a comparison of these results obtained by the two radioactive method is showed. (author)

  7. Process Research On Polycrystalline Silicon Material (PROPSM). [flat plate solar array project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culik, J. S.

    1983-01-01

    The performance-limiting mechanisms in large-grain (greater than 1 to 2 mm in diameter) polycrystalline silicon solar cells were investigated by fabricating a matrix of 4 sq cm solar cells of various thickness from 10 cm x 10 cm polycrystalline silicon wafers of several bulk resistivities. Analysis of the illuminated I-V characteristics of these cells suggests that bulk recombination is the dominant factor limiting the short-circuit current. The average open-circuit voltage of the polycrystalline solar cells is 30 to 70 mV lower than that of co-processed single-crystal cells; the fill-factor is comparable. Both open-circuit voltage and fill-factor of the polycrystalline cells have substantial scatter that is not related to either thickness or resistivity. This implies that these characteristics are sensitive to an additional mechanism that is probably spatial in nature. A damage-gettering heat-treatment improved the minority-carrier diffusion length in low lifetime polycrystalline silicon, however, extended high temperature heat-treatment degraded the lifetime.

  8. Intrinsic Compressive Stress in Polycrystalline Films is Localized at Edges of the Grain Boundaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasco, Enrique; Polop, Celia

    2017-12-01

    The intrinsic compression that arises in polycrystalline thin films under high atomic mobility conditions has been attributed to the insertion or trapping of adatoms inside grain boundaries. This compression is a consequence of the stress field resulting from imperfections in the solid and causes the thermomechanical fatigue that is estimated to be responsible for 90% of mechanical failures in current devices. We directly measure the local distribution of residual intrinsic stress in polycrystalline thin films on nanometer scales, using a pioneering method based on atomic force microscopy. Our results demonstrate that, at odds with expectations, compression is not generated inside grain boundaries but at the edges of gaps where the boundaries intercept the surface. We describe a model wherein this compressive stress is caused by Mullins-type surface diffusion towards the boundaries, generating a kinetic surface profile different from the mechanical equilibrium profile by the Laplace-Young equation. Where the curvatures of both profiles differ, an intrinsic stress is generated in the form of Laplace pressure. The Srolovitz-type surface diffusion that results from the stress counters the Mullins-type diffusion and stabilizes the kinetic surface profile, giving rise to a steady compression regime. The proposed mechanism of competition between surface diffusions would explain the flux and time dependency of compressive stress in polycrystalline thin films.

  9. The relative contribution of natural zinc complexing agents and ZnSO4 to growth and zinc nutrition of maize

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, M.; Prasad, B.

    1989-01-01

    Relative evaluation of different natural zinc-complexes indicated that application of Zn-FA 2 (PM), Zn-FA 3 (Comp), Zn-FA 1 (BGS), Zn-FA 5 (PR), Zn-FA 4 (SS) and ZnSO 4 significantly enhanced the drymatter yield and zinc uptake by maize. The natural zinc-complexes in particular increased, to a greater extent, the uptake of both native and applied sources than that observed with ZnSO 4 as zinc carrier. Significant positive relationship between self-diffusion coefficient of Zn and drymatter yield and uptake of zinc by maize suggested that diffusion is responsible for the supply of zinc from ambient soil matrix to plant roots. (author). 12 refs., 5 tabs

  10. Nucleation and growth in alkaline zinc electrodeposition An Experimental and Theoretical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, Divyaraj

    The current work seeks to investigate the nucleation and growth of zinc electrodeposition in alkaline electrolyte, which is of commercial interest to alkaline zinc batteries for energy storage. The morphology of zinc growth places a severe limitation on the typical cycle life of such batteries. The formation of mossy zinc leads to a progressive deterioration of battery performance while zinc dendrites are responsible for sudden catastrophic battery failure. The problems are identified as the nucleation-controlled formation of mossy zinc and the transport-limited formation of dendritic zinc. Consequently, this thesis work seeks to investigate and accurately simulate the conditions under which such morphologies are formed. The nucleation and early-stage growth of Zn electrodeposits is studied on carbon-coated TEM grids. At low overpotentials, the morphology develops by aggregation at two distinct length scales: ~5 nm diameter monocrystalline nanoclusters form ~50nm diameter polycrystalline aggregates, and second, the aggregates form a branched network. Epitaxial (0002) growth above a critical overpotential leads to the formation of hexagonal single-crystals. A kinetic model is provided using the rate equations of vapor solidification to simulate the evolution of the different morphologies. On solving these equations, we show that aggregation is attributed to cluster impingement and cluster diffusion while single-crystal formation is attributed to direct attachment. The formation of dendritic zinc is investigated using in-operando transmission X-ray microscopy which is a unique technique for imaging metal electrodeposits. The nucleation density of zinc nuclei is lowered using polyaniline films to cover the active nucleation sites. The effect of overpotential is investigated and the morphology shows beautiful in-operando formation of symmetric zinc crystals. A linear perturbation model was developed to predict the growth and formation of these crystals to first

  11. Nitrogen diffusion in zirconium nitride

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desmaison, J.G.; Smeltzer, W.W.

    1977-01-01

    Nitrogen diffusion in polycrystalline ZrN/sub 0.71-0.79/ spheres, 60 and 90 μm diameter, was studied by the gas-solid exchange technique using 15 N as a tracer at a nitrogen pressure of 220 torr and 1000 to 1200 0 C. These specimens were characterized by chemical analyses, density, lattice parameter, and structural measurements. The tracer diffusion coefficient can be expressed as D* (cm 2 /S) = 3.0 x 10 -10 exp (-23,000/RT). This result, when compared to a previous determination obtained in the same conditions with 254 μm thick plates, confirms that nitrogen transport in this polycrystalline solid at temperatures less than 1200 0 C is associated with a short-circuit diffusion mechanism

  12. Shaping optimal zinc coating on the surface of high-quality ductile iron casting. Part II – Technological formula and value of diffusion coefficient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kopyciński D.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The completed research presented in the first part of the article has allowed linking the manufacturing technology of ductile iron castings with the process of hot dip galvanizing. On the basis of these data simulations were carried out to examine the behaviour of zinc diffusion coefficient D in the galvanized coating. The adopted model of zinc coating growth helped to explain the cases of excessive growth of the intermetallic phases in this type of coating. The paper analyzes covered the relationship between the roughness and phase composition of the top layer of product and the thickness and kinetics of zinc coating growth referred to individual sub-layers of the intermetallic phases.Roughness and phase composition in the surface layer of product were next related to the diffusion coefficient D examined in respective sublayers of the intermetallic phases.

  13. A new computer-aided simulation model for polycrystalline silicon film resistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ching-Yuan Wu; Weng-Dah Ken

    1983-07-01

    A general transport theory for the I-V characteristics of a polycrystalline film resistor has been derived by including the effects of carrier degeneracy, majority-carrier thermionic-diffusion across the space charge regions produced by carrier trapping in the grain boundaries, and quantum mechanical tunneling through the grain boundaries. Based on the derived transport theory, a new conduction model for the electrical resistivity of polycrystalline film resitors has been developed by incorporating the effects of carrier trapping and dopant segregation in the grain boundaries. Moreover, an empirical formula for the coefficient of the dopant-segregation effects has been proposed, which enables us to predict the dependence of the electrical resistivity of phosphorus-and arsenic-doped polycrystalline silicon films on thermal annealing temperature. Phosphorus-doped polycrystalline silicon resistors have been fabricated by using ion-implantation with doses ranged from 1.6 × 10 11 to 5 × 10 15/cm 2. The dependence of the electrical resistivity on doping concentration and temperature have been measured and shown to be in good agreement with the results of computer simulations. In addition, computer simulations for boron-and arsenic-doped polycrystalline silicon resistors have also been performed and shown to be consistent with the experimental results published by previous authors.

  14. Determination of oxygen diffusion kinetics during thin film ruthenium oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coloma Ribera, R., E-mail: r.colomaribera@utwente.nl; Kruijs, R. W. E. van de; Yakshin, A. E.; Bijkerk, F. [MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands)

    2015-08-07

    In situ X-ray reflectivity was used to reveal oxygen diffusion kinetics for thermal oxidation of polycrystalline ruthenium thin films and accurate determination of activation energies for this process. Diffusion rates in nanometer thin RuO{sub 2} films were found to show Arrhenius behaviour. However, a gradual decrease in diffusion rates was observed with oxide growth, with the activation energy increasing from about 2.1 to 2.4 eV. Further exploration of the Arrhenius pre-exponential factor for diffusion process revealed that oxidation of polycrystalline ruthenium joins the class of materials that obey the Meyer-Neldel rule.

  15. Cathodic hydrogen charging of zinc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panagopoulos, C.N.; Georgiou, E.P.; Chaliampalias, D.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: •Incorporation of hydrogen into zinc and formation of zinc hydrides. •Investigation of surface residual stresses due to hydrogen diffusion. •Effect of hydrogen diffusion and hydride formation on mechanical properties of Zn. •Hydrogen embrittlement phenomena in zinc. -- Abstract: The effect of cathodic hydrogen charging on the structural and mechanical characteristics of zinc was investigated. Hardening of the surface layers of zinc, due to hydrogen incorporation and possible formation of ZnH 2 , was observed. In addition, the residual stresses brought about by the incorporation of hydrogen atoms into the metallic matrix, were calculated by analyzing the obtained X-ray diffraction patterns. Tensile testing of the as-received and hydrogen charged specimens revealed that the ductility of zinc decreased significantly with increasing hydrogen charging time, for a constant value of charging current density, and with increasing charging current density, for a constant value of charging time. However, the ultimate tensile strength of this material was slightly affected by the hydrogen charging procedure. The cathodically charged zinc exhibited brittle transgranular fracture at the surface layers and ductile intergranular fracture at the deeper layers of the material

  16. Aluminum-doped Zn O polycrystalline films prepared by co-sputtering of a Zn O-Al target

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becerril, M.; Silva L, H.; Guillen C, A.; Zelaya A, O. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Departamento de Fisica, Apdo. Postal 14-740, 07000 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

    2014-07-01

    Aluminum-doped Zinc oxide polycrystalline thin films (Azo) were grown on 7059 Corning glass substrates at room temperature by co-sputtering from a Zn O-Al target. The target was designed as follows, high purity elemental Aluminum was evaporated onto a Zn O target covering small areas. The structural, optical and electrical properties were analyzed as a function of Al content. The Al doped Zn O polycrystalline films showed an n-type conductivity. It was found that the electrical resistivity drops and the carrier concentration increases as a consequence of Al incorporation within the Zn O lattice. In both cases, the changes are of several orders of magnitude. From the results, we conclude that, using these Zn O-Al targets, n-type Al doped Zn O polycrystalline films with high transmittance and low resistivity can be obtained. The crystalline structure of the films was determined by X-ray diffraction. Atomic Force Microscopy images were obtained with an Auto probe C P (Veeco Metrology Group) Microscope. (Author)

  17. Hydrogen permeation inhibition by zinc-nickel alloy plating on steel XC68

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Hajjami, A.; Gigandet, M.P.; De Petris-Wery, M.; Catonne, J.C.; Duprat, J.J.; Thiery, L.; Raulin, F.; Starck, B.; Remy, P.

    2008-01-01

    The inhibition of hydrogen permeation and barrier effect by zinc-nickel plating was investigated using the Devanathan-Stachurski permeation technique. The hydrogen permeation and hydrogen diffusion for the zinc-nickel (12-15%) plating on steel XC68 is compared with zinc and nickel. Hydrogen permeation and hydrogen diffusion were followed as functions of time at current density applied (cathodic side) and potential permanent (anodic side). The hydrogen permeation inhibition for zinc-nickel is intermediate to that of nickel and zinc. This inhibition was due to nickel-rich layer effects at the Zn-Ni alloy/substrate interface, is shown by GDOES. Zinc-nickel plating inhibited the hydrogen diffusion greater as compared to zinc. This diffusion resistance was due to the barrier effect caused by the nickel which is present at the interface and transformed the hydrogen atomic to Ni 2 H compound, as shown by GIXRD.

  18. Hydrogen permeation inhibition by zinc-nickel alloy plating on steel XC68

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El Hajjami, A. [Institut UTINAM, UMR CNRS 6213, Sonochimie et Reactivite des Surfaces, Universite de Franche-Comte, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besancon Cedex (France); Coventya S.A.S., 51 rue Pierre, 92588 Clichy Cedex (France); Gigandet, M.P. [Institut UTINAM, UMR CNRS 6213, Sonochimie et Reactivite des Surfaces, Universite de Franche-Comte, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besancon Cedex (France)], E-mail: marie-pierre.gigandet@univ-fcomte.fr; De Petris-Wery, M. [Institut Universitaire de Technologie d' Orsay, Universite Paris XI, Plateau de Moulon, 91400 Orsay (France); Catonne, J.C. [Professeur Honoraire du Conservatoire national des arts et metiers (CNAM), Paris (France); Duprat, J.J.; Thiery, L.; Raulin, F. [Coventya S.A.S., 51 rue Pierre, 92588 Clichy Cedex (France); Starck, B.; Remy, P. [Lisi Automotive, 28 faubourg de Belfort, BP 19, 90101 Delle Cedex (France)

    2008-12-30

    The inhibition of hydrogen permeation and barrier effect by zinc-nickel plating was investigated using the Devanathan-Stachurski permeation technique. The hydrogen permeation and hydrogen diffusion for the zinc-nickel (12-15%) plating on steel XC68 is compared with zinc and nickel. Hydrogen permeation and hydrogen diffusion were followed as functions of time at current density applied (cathodic side) and potential permanent (anodic side). The hydrogen permeation inhibition for zinc-nickel is intermediate to that of nickel and zinc. This inhibition was due to nickel-rich layer effects at the Zn-Ni alloy/substrate interface, is shown by GDOES. Zinc-nickel plating inhibited the hydrogen diffusion greater as compared to zinc. This diffusion resistance was due to the barrier effect caused by the nickel which is present at the interface and transformed the hydrogen atomic to Ni{sub 2}H compound, as shown by GIXRD.

  19. Path coefficient analysis of zinc dynamics in varying soil environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rattan, R.K.; Phung, C.V.; Singhal, S.K.; Deb, D.L.; Singh, A.K.

    1994-01-01

    Influence of soil properties on labile zinc, as measured by diethylene-triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) and zinc-65, and self-diffusion coefficients of zinc was assessed on 22 surface soil samples varying widely in their characteristics following linear regression and path coefficient analysis techniques. DTPA extractable zinc could be predicted from organic carbon status and pH of the soil with a highly significant coefficient of determination (R 2 =0.84 ** ). Ninety seven per cent variation in isotopically exchangeable zinc was explained by pH, clay content and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil. The self-diffusion coefficients (DaZn and DpZn) and buffer power of zinc exhibited exponential relationship with soil properties, pH being the most dominant one. Soil properties like organic matter, clay content etc. exhibited indirect effects on zinc diffusion rates via pH only. (author). 13 refs., 6 tabs

  20. Moessbauer study of iron diffusion in beryllium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sepiol, B.; Ruebenbauer, K.; Miczko, B.; Birchall, T.

    1991-01-01

    The broadening of the 14.41 keV Moessbauer line of 57 Fe dure to diffusion of iron atoms in polycrystalline beryllium has been investigated in the temperature range 1123 to 1423 K. The observed broadenings obey the Arrhenius law with activation energy 1.66(10) eV, i.e., lower than that obtained from the corresponding polycrystalline tracer data. The variations of the resonant fraction, second order Doppler shift and quadrupole splitting versus temperature are reported. An average diffusion coefficient has been calculated from the obtained broadenings and compared with the tracer results. (orig.)

  1. Contribution to the study of zinc and cadmium diffusions in InP and In0,97 Ga0,03 As0,08 P0,92 quaternary compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tesser Junior, N.L.

    1986-01-01

    The zinc and cadmium diffusions in In 0,97 Ga 0,03 As 0,08 P 0,92 and InP, using sealed blister method, are studied. The consequences of fick law in diffusion processes are analysed. The diffusion measuring methods and carried out adjustments are described. (M.C.K.) [pt

  2. Vacancy enhancement of diffusion after quenching and during irradiation in silver-zinc alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuele, W.

    1980-01-01

    Quenching and annealing experiments were performed on silver-zinc alloys with 8.14 and 30 at %Zn. From the changes of the electrical resistivity due to an increase of the degree of short-range order, the activation energy of self-diffusion was determined to be Qsub(SD) = 1.60 and Qsub(SD) = 1.38 eV for both alloys, respectively. For the migration energy of vacancies, a value Esub(V)sup(M) = 0.64 eV was found for the alloy with 8.14 at %Zn. Evidence is given that the vacancy migration energy Esub(V)sup(M) of the alloys with 30 at %Zn is smaller than 0.60 eV in agreement with data given by Berry and Orehotsky. The results of measurements of radiation-enhanced diffusion obtained by a Russian and a French group, are reinterpreted. It follows that the increase of the degree of order during irradiation is obtained only be vacancy enhancement of diffusion and that the migration activation energy of self-interstitials is Esub(I)sup(M) approximately 0.46 eV and Esub(I)sup(M) approximately 0.41 eV for the alloys with 8.14 and 30 at %Zn, respectively. (author)

  3. Electrodeposition behavior of nickel and nickel-zinc alloys from the zinc chloride-1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride low temperature molten salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gou Shiping; Sun, I.-W.

    2008-01-01

    The electrodeposition of nickel and nickel-zinc alloys was investigated at polycrystalline tungsten electrode in the zinc chloride-1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride molten salt. Although nickel(II) chloride dissolved easily into the pure chloride-rich 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic melt, metallic nickel could not be obtained by electrochemical reduction of this solution. The addition of zinc chloride to this solution shifted the reduction of nickel(II) to more positive potential making the electrodeposition of nickel possible. The electrodeposition of nickel, however, requires an overpotential driven nucleation process. Dense and compact nickel deposits with good adherence could be prepared by controlling the deposition potential. X-ray powder diffraction measurements indicated the presence of crystalline nickel deposits. Non-anomalous electrodeposition of nickel-zinc alloys was achieved through the underpotential deposition of zinc on the deposited nickel at a potential more negative than that of the deposition of nickel. X-ray powder diffraction and energy-dispersive spectrometry measurements of the electrodeposits indicated that the composition and the phase types of the nickel-zinc alloys are dependent on the deposition potential. For the Ni-Zn alloy deposits prepared by underpotential deposition of Zn on Ni, the Zn content in the Ni-Zn was always less than 50 atom%

  4. Mobility of zinc in the Callovo-Oxfordian clay-stone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Savoye, S.; Fayette, A.; Beaucaire, C. [CEA, DEN, DPC, SECR, L3MR, F-91191 Gif s/Yvette (France); Lacour, J.-L. [CEA, DEN, DPC, SEARS, LANIE, F-91191 Gif s/Yvette (France)

    2013-07-01

    The diffusion of zinc was studied in the Callovo-Oxfordian clay-stone, which is a potential host rock for the retrievable disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. Two in-diffusion laboratory experiments were performed with initial zinc concentrations of 4 10{sup -5} mol L{sup -1} and 8 10{sup -6} mol L{sup -1} (resp.) for 35 days. The zinc rock profile was acquired using an original technique, the μLIBS, with a high resolution (10 μm), calibrated with the abrasive peeling method. The experimental data, i.e. Zn concentration monitoring in the source reservoir and Zn rock profile, were successfully reproduced using a chemical-transport code. In that code, the sorption of Zn was described by a multi-site ion-exchange model, with only the effective diffusion coefficient value being adjusted (De = 8 10{sup -11} m{sup 2} s{sup -1}). This De value, 2 times higher than that of tritiated water, indicates that zinc, like most cations, is also subject to enhanced diffusion in clay rocks. (authors)

  5. Creep cavitation effects in polycrystalline alumina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porter, J.R.; Blumenthal, W.; Evans, A.G.

    1981-01-01

    Fine grained polycrystalline alumina has been deformed in creep at high temperatures, to examine the evolution of cavities at grain boundaries. Cavities with equilibrium and crack-like morphologies have been observed, distributed nonuniformly throughout the material. The role of these cavities during creep has been described. A transition from equilibrium to crack-like morphology has been observed and correlated with a model based on the influence of the surface to boundary diffusivity ratio and the local tensile stress. The contribution of cavitation to the creep rate and total creep strain has been analyzed and excluded as the principal cause of the observed non-linear creep rate

  6. Effect of gypsum, pressmud, fulvic acid and zinc sources on yield and zinc uptake by rice crop in a saline-sodic soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chand, M.

    1980-01-01

    The application of fulvic acid to a saline-sodic soil augmented the solubility of zinc by thousands fold. Zinc fulvate when applied at levels equivalent to that of zinc sulphate was more effective in enhancing diffusion of zinc in the soil. Application of gypsum, zinc sulphate and fulvic acid significantly increased dry matter yield and uptake of zinc by rice crop in a saline-sodic soil. Application of gypsum with pressmud or with fulvic acid and zinc sulphate resulted in significantly higher yield and zinc uptake than in other treatments. (orig.)

  7. Study on the Cross Plane Thermal Transport of Polycrystalline Molybdenum Nanofilms by Applying Picosecond Laser Transient Thermoreflectance Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tingting Miao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Thin metal films are widely used as interconnecting wires and coatings in electronic devices and optical components. Reliable thermophysical properties of the films are required from the viewpoint of thermal management. The cross plane thermal transport of four polycrystalline molybdenum nanofilms with different thickness deposited on glass substrates has been studied by applying the picosecond laser transient thermoreflectance technique. The measurement is performed by applying both front pump-front probe and rear pump-front probe configurations with high quality signal. The determined cross plane thermal diffusivity of the Mo films greatly decreases compared to the corresponding bulk value and tends to increase as films become thicker, exhibiting significant size effect. The main mechanism responsible for the thermal diffusivity decrease of the present polycrystalline Mo nanofilms is the grain boundary scattering on the free electrons. Comparing the cross plane thermal diffusivity and inplane electrical conductivity indicates the anisotropy of the transport properties of the Mo films.

  8. Indium Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Ultrasonic Chemical Spray Technique, Starting from Zinc Acetylacetonate and Indium Chloride

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajesh Biswal

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The physical characteristics of ultrasonically sprayed indium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:In thin films, with electrical resistivity as low as 3.42 × 10−3 Ω·cm and high optical transmittance, in the visible range, of 50%–70% is presented. Zinc acetylacetonate and indium chloride were used as the organometallic zinc precursor and the doping source, respectively, achieving ZnO:In thin films with growth rate in the order of 100 nm/min. The effects of both indium concentration and the substrate temperature on the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical characteristics were measured. All the films were polycrystalline, fitting well with hexagonal wurtzite type ZnO. A switching in preferential growth, from (002 to (101 planes for indium doped samples were observed. The surface morphology of the films showed a change from hexagonal slices to triangle shaped grains as the indium concentration increases. Potential applications as transparent conductive electrodes based on the resulting low electrical resistance and high optical transparency of the studied samples are considered.

  9. High temperature deformation of polycrystalline NiO and CoO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnamachari, V.; Notis, M.R.

    1977-01-01

    High temperature creep of polycrystalline NiO appears to be controlled by oxygen lattice diffusion at temperatures between 1273 and 1373 K and at stress levels from 34.5 to 79.8 MPa (5 to 11 ksi). Experimentally observed creep rates agree well with predictions obtained from deformation maps based on self-diffusion data. TEM examination indicates that dislocations present in crept NiO specimens are predominantly glide-type rather than climb-type dislocations as found in CoO. The difference in creep behavior of these materials is believed to be due to the difference in stacking fault energies and the nature of charge associated with lattice defects. 2 tables. 7 figs., 34 references

  10. Modulation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors by synaptic and tonic zinc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Charles T; Radford, Robert J; Zastrow, Melissa L; Zhang, Daniel Y; Apfel, Ulf-Peter; Lippard, Stephen J; Tzounopoulos, Thanos

    2015-05-19

    Many excitatory synapses contain high levels of mobile zinc within glutamatergic vesicles. Although synaptic zinc and glutamate are coreleased, it is controversial whether zinc diffuses away from the release site or whether it remains bound to presynaptic membranes or proteins after its release. To study zinc transmission and quantify zinc levels, we required a high-affinity rapid zinc chelator as well as an extracellular ratiometric fluorescent zinc sensor. We demonstrate that tricine, considered a preferred chelator for studying the role of synaptic zinc, is unable to efficiently prevent zinc from binding low-nanomolar zinc-binding sites, such as the high-affinity zinc-binding site found in NMDA receptors (NMDARs). Here, we used ZX1, which has a 1 nM zinc dissociation constant and second-order rate constant for binding zinc that is 200-fold higher than those for tricine and CaEDTA. We find that synaptic zinc is phasically released during action potentials. In response to short trains of presynaptic stimulation, synaptic zinc diffuses beyond the synaptic cleft where it inhibits extrasynaptic NMDARs. During higher rates of presynaptic stimulation, released glutamate activates additional extrasynaptic NMDARs that are not reached by synaptically released zinc, but which are inhibited by ambient, tonic levels of nonsynaptic zinc. By performing a ratiometric evaluation of extracellular zinc levels in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, we determined the tonic zinc levels to be low nanomolar. These results demonstrate a physiological role for endogenous synaptic as well as tonic zinc in inhibiting extrasynaptic NMDARs and thereby fine tuning neuronal excitability and signaling.

  11. Modulation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors by synaptic and tonic zinc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Charles T.; Radford, Robert J.; Zastrow, Melissa L.; Zhang, Daniel Y.; Apfel, Ulf-Peter; Lippard, Stephen J.; Tzounopoulos, Thanos

    2015-01-01

    Many excitatory synapses contain high levels of mobile zinc within glutamatergic vesicles. Although synaptic zinc and glutamate are coreleased, it is controversial whether zinc diffuses away from the release site or whether it remains bound to presynaptic membranes or proteins after its release. To study zinc transmission and quantify zinc levels, we required a high-affinity rapid zinc chelator as well as an extracellular ratiometric fluorescent zinc sensor. We demonstrate that tricine, considered a preferred chelator for studying the role of synaptic zinc, is unable to efficiently prevent zinc from binding low-nanomolar zinc-binding sites, such as the high-affinity zinc-binding site found in NMDA receptors (NMDARs). Here, we used ZX1, which has a 1 nM zinc dissociation constant and second-order rate constant for binding zinc that is 200-fold higher than those for tricine and CaEDTA. We find that synaptic zinc is phasically released during action potentials. In response to short trains of presynaptic stimulation, synaptic zinc diffuses beyond the synaptic cleft where it inhibits extrasynaptic NMDARs. During higher rates of presynaptic stimulation, released glutamate activates additional extrasynaptic NMDARs that are not reached by synaptically released zinc, but which are inhibited by ambient, tonic levels of nonsynaptic zinc. By performing a ratiometric evaluation of extracellular zinc levels in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, we determined the tonic zinc levels to be low nanomolar. These results demonstrate a physiological role for endogenous synaptic as well as tonic zinc in inhibiting extrasynaptic NMDARs and thereby fine tuning neuronal excitability and signaling. PMID:25947151

  12. Potentiometric Zinc Ion Sensor Based on Honeycomb-Like NiO Nanostructures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnus Willander

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study honeycomb-like NiO nanostructures were grown on nickel foam by a simple hydrothermal growth method. The NiO nanostructures were characterized by field emission electron microscopy (FESEM, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM and X-ray diffraction (XRD techniques. The characterized NiO nanostructures were uniform, dense and polycrystalline in the crystal phase. In addition to this, the NiO nanostructures were used in the development of a zinc ion sensor electrode by functionalization with the highly selective zinc ion ionophore 12-crown-4. The developed zinc ion sensor electrode has shown a good linear potentiometric response for a wide range of zinc ion concentrations, ranging from 0.001 mM to 100 mM, with sensitivity of 36 mV/decade. The detection limit of the present zinc ion sensor was found to be 0.0005 mM and it also displays a fast response time of less than 10 s. The proposed zinc ion sensor electrode has also shown good reproducibility, repeatability, storage stability and selectivity. The zinc ion sensor based on the functionalized NiO nanostructures was also used as indicator electrode in potentiometric titrations and it has demonstrated an acceptable stoichiometric relationship for the determination of zinc ion in unknown samples. The NiO nanostructures-based zinc ion sensor has potential for analysing zinc ion in various industrial, clinical and other real samples.

  13. Influence of polycrystalline silicon layer on flow through «metal — p-Si» contact

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smyntyna V. A.

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Based on the results of investigations of charge transport in the "metal — p-Si" contacts with different thickness of polycrystalline p-Si layer the mechanisms of charge transport through such structures are shown. It is established that with increasing thickness of the layer of polycrystalline p-Si current transport mechanism changes from a double injection into the drift-diffusion. This change is due to an increase in the drift current component in the space charge zone of "metal — p-Si" contact, which arises as a result of increased surface density of scattering barriers, which are localized at the boundaries of neighboring silicon polycrystals.

  14. Byproduct-free mass production of compound semiconductor nanowires: zinc phosphide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yixi; Polinnaya, Rakesh; Vaddiraju, Sreeram

    2018-05-01

    A method for the mass production of compound semiconductor nanowires that involves the direct reaction of component elements in a chemical vapor deposition chamber (CVD) is presented. This method results in nanowires, without the associated production of any other byproducts such as nanoparticles or three-dimensional (3D) bulk crystals. Furthermore, no unreacted reactants remain mixed with the nanowire product in this method. This byproduct-free nanowire production thus circumvents the need to tediously purify and collect nanowires from a mixture of products/reactants after their synthesis. Demonstration made using zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) material system as an example indicated that the direct reaction of zinc microparticles with phosphorus supplied via the vapor phase results in the production of gram quantities of nanowires. To enhance thermal transport and achieve the complete reaction of zinc microparticles, while simultaneously ensuring that the microparticles do not agglomerate into macroscale zinc particles and partly remain unreacted (owing to diffusion limitations), pellets composed of mixtures of zinc and a sacrificial salt, NH4Cl, were employed as the starting material. The sublimation by decomposition of NH4Cl in the early stages of the reaction leaves a highly porous pellet of zinc composed of only zinc microparticles, which allows for inward diffusion of phosphorus/outward diffusion of zinc and the complete conversion of zinc into Zn3P2 nanowires. NH4Cl also aids in removal of any native oxide layer present on the zinc microparticles that may prevent their reaction with phosphorus. This method may be used to mass produce many other nanowires in a byproduct-free manner, besides Zn3P2.

  15. Meso-microstructural computational simulation of the hydrogen permeation test to calculate intergranular, grain boundary and effective diffusivities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jothi, S., E-mail: s.jothi@swansea.ac.uk [College of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP (United Kingdom); Winzer, N. [Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, Wöhlerstraße 11, 79108 Freiburg (Germany); Croft, T.N.; Brown, S.G.R. [College of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP (United Kingdom)

    2015-10-05

    Highlights: • Characterized polycrystalline nickel microstructure using EBSD analysis. • Development meso-microstructural model based on real microstructure. • Calculated effective diffusivity using experimental electrochemical permeation test. • Calculated intergranular diffusivity of hydrogen using computational FE simulation. • Validated the calculated computation simulation results with experimental results. - Abstract: Hydrogen induced intergranular embrittlement has been identified as a cause of failure of aerospace components such as combustion chambers made from electrodeposited polycrystalline nickel. Accurate computational analysis of this process requires knowledge of the differential in hydrogen transport in the intergranular and intragranular regions. The effective diffusion coefficient of hydrogen may be measured experimentally, though experimental measurement of the intergranular grain boundary diffusion coefficient of hydrogen requires significant effort. Therefore an approach to calculate the intergranular GB hydrogen diffusivity using finite element analysis was developed. The effective diffusivity of hydrogen in polycrystalline nickel was measured using electrochemical permeation tests. Data from electron backscatter diffraction measurements were used to construct microstructural representative volume elements including details of grain size and shape and volume fraction of grains and grain boundaries. A Python optimization code has been developed for the ABAQUS environment to calculate the unknown grain boundary diffusivity.

  16. Structural Evolution and Mechanisms of Fatigue in Polycrystalline Brass

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carstensen, Jesper Vejlø

    The plastic strain controlled fatigue behaviour of polycrystalline Cu-15%Zn and Cu-30%Zn has been investigated with the aim of studying the effect of slip mode modification by the addition of zinc to copper. It has been clearly demonstrated, that true cyclic saturation does not occur in the plastic...... type single slip. This behaviour has been described by the self-consistent Sachs-Eshelby model, which provides estimates of the CSS curve for brass polycrystals. Successive stages of primary hardening, softening and secondary hardening has been observed in the plastic strain controlled fatigue of brass....... It has been found that the primary hardening is attributed to an increase of intergranular stresses whereas the sec-ondary hardening apparently is attributed to an increase of friction stresses. Investigations of the structural evolution show that the softening behaviour can be explained by the presence...

  17. Process Research of Polycrystalline Silicon Material (PROPSM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culik, J. S.

    1984-01-01

    An investigation was begun into the usefulness of molecular hydrogen annealing on polycrystalline solar cells. No improvement was realized even after twenty hours of hydrogenation. Thus, samples were chosen on the basis of: (1) low open circuit voltage; (2) low shunt conductance; and (3) high light generated current. These cells were hydrogenated in molecular hydrogen at 300 C. The differences between the before and after hydrogenation values are so slight as to be negligible. These cells have light generated current densities that indicate long minority carrier diffusion lengths. The open circuit voltage appears to be degraded, and quasi-neutral recombination current enhanced. Therefore, molecular hydrogen is not usful for passivating electrically active defects.

  18. Zinc vanadate nanorods and their visible light photocatalytic activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pei, L.Z.; Lin, N.; Wei, T.; Liu, H.D.; Yu, H.Y.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Zinc vanadate nanorods have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal process. • The size of zinc vanadate nanorods can be controlled by growth conditions. • Zinc vanadate nanorods show good photocatalytic activities of methylene blue under solar light. - Abstract: Zinc vanadate nanorods have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process using zinc acetate and sodium vanadate as the raw materials. The zinc vanadate nanorods have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) and solid UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum. XRD pattern and HRTEM image show that the zinc vanadate nanorods are composed of single crystalline monoclinic Zn 2 V 2 O 7 phase. SEM and TEM observations show that the diameter and length of the zinc vanadate nanorods are 50–100 nm and about 5 μm, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) has an essential role in the formation of zinc vanadate nanorods. The SDS-assisted nucleation and growth process have been proposed to explain the formation and growth of the zinc vanadate nanorods. Solid UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum shows that the zinc vanadate nanorods have a band gap of 2.76 eV. The photocatalytic activities of the zinc vanadate nanorods have been evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under solar light irradiation. The MB with the concentration of 10 mg L −1 can be degraded totally under the solar light irradiation for 4 h. It is suggested that the zinc vanadate nanorods exhibit promising application potential for the degradation of organic pollutants under solar light irradiation

  19. Determination of oxygen diffusion kinetics during thin film ruthenium oxidation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coloma Ribera, R.; van de Kruijs, Robbert Wilhelmus Elisabeth; Yakshin, Andrey; Bijkerk, Frederik

    2015-01-01

    In situ X-ray reflectivity was used to reveal oxygen diffusion kinetics for thermal oxidation of polycrystalline ruthenium thin films and accurate determination of activation energies for this process. Diffusion rates in nanometer thin RuO2 films were found to show Arrhenius behaviour. However, a

  20. Impact of residual elements on zinc quality in the production of zinc oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Luptáková

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on zinc oxide manufacturing process. The present work deals with the character and morphology of the input material for the production of ZnO by the indirect pyrometallurgical process. Undesirable phases in the feedstock can be identified through profound recognition of the source material and the nature of its microstructure. If these compounds diffuse into the lining during thermal processes, they become the cause of stress in metallurgical ceramics. The emergence of these chemical reactions may subsequently affect the entire metallurgical zinc smelting process. The results obtained by analysis are used to minimize waste - zinc slag and to eliminate the conditions which enable the formation of the undesired product, thereby increasing the productivity of the ZnO production.

  1. Structural and Optical Studies of Magnesium Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films

    OpenAIRE

    Arpana Agrawal; Tanveer Ahmad Dar; Pratima Sen

    2013-01-01

    The paper describes the structural and optical properties of Magnesium doped Zinc Oxide (Mg  3.5 %, 6 %, 9 %, 12 % by weight) thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction technique, Ultra-violet visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction results reveal the polycrystalline nature of samples with no impurity or secondary phase formation. Ultra-violet visible absorption spectroscopy studies...

  2. Zinc toxicosis in a free-flying trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, J.W.; Andrews, G.A.; Beyer, W.N.

    2004-01-01

    A trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) was observed near it mill pond in Picher, Oklahoma. USA. It became weakened and emaciated after about 1 mo, was captured with little resistance, and taken into captivity for medical care. Serum chemistry results were consistent with hepatic, renal, and muscular damage. Serum zinc concentration was elevated at 11.2 parts per million (ppm). The swan was treated for suspected heavy-metal poisoning, but died overnight. Gross postmortem findings were emaciation and pectoral muscle atrophy. Histopathologic lesions in the pancreas included mild diffuse disruption of acinar architecture, severe diffuse depletion or absence of zymogen granules, occasional apoptotic bodies ics in acinar epithelial cells, and mild interstitial and capsular fibrosis. Zinc concentration in pancreas was 3,200 ppm wet weight, and was similar to that reported in the pancreases of waterfowl known to be killed by zinc toxicity. Zinc concentrations in liver (154 ppm) and kidneys (145 ppm) also were elevated. Acute tubular necrosis of the collecting tubules of the kidneys was also possibly due to zinc toxicity. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first confirmed case of zinc poisoning in a trumpeter swan associated with mining wastes..

  3. Percolation Diffusion into Self-Assembled Mesoporous Silica Microfibres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Canning

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Percolation diffusion into long (11.5 cm self-assembled, ordered mesoporous microfibres is studied using optical transmission and laser ablation inductive coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS. Optical transmission based diffusion studies reveal rapid penetration (<5 s, D > 80 μm2∙s−1 of Rhodamine B with very little percolation of larger molecules such as zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP observed under similar loading conditions. The failure of ZnTPP to enter the microfibre was confirmed, in higher resolution, using LA-ICP-MS. In the latter case, LA-ICP-MS was used to determine the diffusion of zinc acetate dihydrate, D~3 × 10−4 nm2∙s−1. The large differences between the molecules are accounted for by proposing ordered solvent and structure assisted accelerated diffusion of the Rhodamine B based on its hydrophilicity relative to the zinc compounds. The broader implications and applications for filtration, molecular sieves and a range of devices and uses are described.

  4. Effect of chemical redox on Gd-doped ceria mass diffusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ni, De Wei; de Florio, D.Z.; Marani, Debora

    2015-01-01

    The valence and size of cations influence mass diffusion and oxygen defects in ceria. Here we show that reduction of Ce4+ to Ce3+, at high temperatures and low oxygen activity, activates fast diffusion mechanisms which depend on the aliovalent cation concentration. As a result, polycrystalline so...... solid solutions with enhanced electrochemical properties are formed....

  5. Porous silicon-based passivation and gettering in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimassi, W.; Bouaiecha, M.; Saadoun, M.; Bessaies, B.; Ezzaouia, H.; Bennaceur, R.

    2002-01-01

    In this work, we report on the effect of introducing a superficial porous silicon (PS) layer on the electrical characteristics of polycrystalline silicon solar cells. The PS layer was formed using a vapour etching (VE)-based method. In addition to its known anti-reflecting action, the forming hydrogen-rich PS layer acts as a passivating agent for the surface of the cell. As a result we found an improvement of the I-V characteristics in dark conditions and AM1 illumination. We show that when the formation of a superficial PS layer is followed by a heat treatment, gettering of impurities from the polycrystalline silicon material is possible. After the removal of the PS layer and the formation of the photovoltaic (PV) structure, we observed an increase of the light-beam-induced-current (LBIC) for treatment temperatures not exceeding 900 deg. C. An improvement of the bulk minority carrier diffusion length and the grain boundary (GB) recombination velocity were observed as the temperature rises, although a global decrease of the LBIC current was observed for temperatures greater than 900 deg. C

  6. Thin polycrystalline diamond films protecting zirconium alloys surfaces: From technology to layer analysis and application in nuclear facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ashcheulov, P. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Škoda, R.; Škarohlíd, J. [Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technická 4, Prague 6, CZ-160 07 (Czech Republic); Taylor, A.; Fekete, L.; Fendrych, F. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Vega, R.; Shao, L. [Texas A& M University, Department of Nuclear Engineering TAMU-3133, College Station, TX TX 77843 (United States); Kalvoda, L.; Vratislav, S. [Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, CZ-115 19, Prague 1 (Czech Republic); Cháb, V.; Horáková, K.; Kůsová, K.; Klimša, L.; Kopeček, J. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Sajdl, P.; Macák, J. [University of Chemistry and Technology, Power Engineering Department, Technická 3, Prague 6, CZ-166 28 (Czech Republic); Johnson, S. [Nuclear Fuel Division, Westinghouse Electric Company, 5801 Bluff Road, Hopkins, SC 29209 (United States); Kratochvílová, I., E-mail: krat@fzu.cz [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, CZ-115 19, Prague 1 (Czech Republic)

    2015-12-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • In this work we showed that films prepared by MW-LA-PECVD technology can be used as anticorrosion protective layer for Zircaloy2 nuclear fuel claddings at elevated temperatures (950 °C) when α phase of zirconium changes to β phase (more opened for oxygen/hydrogen diffusion). Quality of PCD films was examined by Raman spectroscopy, XPS, SEM, AFM and SIMS analysis. • The polycrystalline diamond films were of high quality - without defects and contaminations. After hot steam oxidation (950 °C) a high level of structural integrity of PCD layer was observed. Both sp{sup 2} and sp{sup 3} C phases were present in the protective PCD layer. Higher resistance and a lower degree of impedance dispersion was found in the hot steam oxidized PCD coated Zircaloy2 samples, which may suggest better protection of the Zircaloy2 surface. The PCD layer blocks the hydrogen diffusion into the Zircaloy2 surface thus protecting the material from degradation. • Hot steam oxidation tests confirmed that PCD coated Zircaloy2 surfaces were effectively protected against corrosion. Presented results demonstrate that the PCD anticorrosion protection can significantly prolong service life of Zircaloy2 nuclear fuel claddings in nuclear reactors even at elevated temperatures. - Abstract: Zirconium alloys can be effectively protected against corrosion by polycrystalline diamond (PCD) layers grown in microwave plasma enhanced linear antenna chemical vapor deposition apparatus. Standard and hot steam oxidized PCD layers grown on Zircaloy2 surfaces were examined and the specific impact of polycrystalline Zr substrate surface on PCD layer properties was investigated. It was found that the presence of the PCD coating blocks hydrogen diffusion into the Zircaloy2 surface and protects Zircaloy2 material from degradation. PCD anticorrosion protection of Zircaloy2 can significantly prolong life of Zircaloy2 material in nuclear reactors even at temperatures above Zr

  7. Dielectric and conducting behaviour of polycrystalline holmium octa-molybdate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Want, Basharat; Zahoor Ahmad, Bhat; Hamid Bhat, Bilal

    2014-01-01

    Polycrystalline holmium octa-molybdate spherulites have been obtained by using gel diffusion technique and characterized by different physio-chemical techniques. The surfaces of these spherulites are composed of nano-rod with an average diameter of about 80 nm. At room temperature the initial crystal structure is triclinic, space group P1. Thermal studies suggested a phase transition occurring in holmium octa-molybdate crystals at about 793 K. The electrical properties of the system have been studied as a function of frequency and temperature in the ranges of 20 Hz–3 MHz and 290–570 K, respectively. A giant dielectric constant and two loss peaks have been observed in the permittivity formalism. The conducting behaviour of the material is also discussed. The conductivity was found to be 1572 μ Ω −1 m −1 at room temperature and 3 MHz frequency. The conductivity of the polycrystalline material was attributed to the fact that it arises due to the migration of defects on the oxygen sub-lattice. Impedance studies were also performed in the frequency domain to infer the bulk and grain boundary contributions to the overall electric response of the material. The electrical responses have been attributed to the grain, grain-boundary, and interfacial effects. (paper)

  8. Self- and zinc diffusion in gallium antimonide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicols, Samuel Piers

    2002-01-01

    The technological age has in large part been driven by the applications of semiconductors, and most notably by silicon. Our lives have been thoroughly changed by devices using the broad range of semiconductor technology developed over the past forty years. Much of the technological development has its foundation in research carried out on the different semiconductors whose properties can be exploited to make transistors, lasers, and many other devices. While the technological focus has largely been on silicon, many other semiconductor systems have applications in industry and offer formidable academic challenges. Diffusion studies belong to the most basic studies in semiconductors, important from both an application as well as research standpoint. Diffusion processes govern the junctions formed for device applications. As the device dimensions are decreased and the dopant concentrations increased, keeping pace with Moore's Law, a deeper understanding of diffusion is necessary to establish and maintain the sharp dopant profiles engineered for optimal device performance. From an academic viewpoint, diffusion in semiconductors allows for the study of point defects. Very few techniques exist which allow for the extraction of as much information of their properties. This study focuses on diffusion in the semiconductor gallium antimonide (GaSb). As will become clear, this compound semiconductor proves to be a powerful one for investigating both self- and foreign atom diffusion. While the results have direct applications for work on GaSb devices, the results should also be taken in the broader context of III-V semiconductors. Results here can be compared and contrasted to results in systems such as GaAs and even GaN, indicating trends within this common group of semiconductors. The results also have direct importance for ternary and quaternary semiconductor systems used in devices such as high speed InP/GaAsSb/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBT

  9. Transformation of Leaf-like Zinc Dendrite in Oxidation and Reduction Cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakata, Akiyoshi; Murayama, Haruno; Fukuda, Katsutoshi; Yamane, Tomokazu; Arai, Hajime; Hirai, Toshiro; Uchimoto, Yoshiharu; Yamaki, Jun-ichi; Ogumi, Zempachi

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Leaf-like zinc dendrites change to leaf-like residual oxides at high oxidation current density (10 mA cm −2 ) whereas it completely dissolves at low oxidation current density (1 mA cm −2 ). • Leaf-like residual oxide products is transformed to zinc deposits with particulate morphology, resulting in good rechargeability. • The residual zinc oxide provides sufficient zincate on its reduction, preventing the diffusion-limited condition that causes leaf-like dendrite formation. - Abstract: Zinc is a promising negative electrode material for aqueous battery systems whereas it shows insufficient rechargeability for use in secondary batteries. It has been reported that leaf-like dendrite deposits are often the origin of cell-failure, however, their nature and behavior on discharge (oxidation) - charge (reduction) cycling have been only poorly understood. Here we investigate the transformation of the leaf-like zinc dendrites using ex-situ scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computational tomography and in-situ X-ray diffraction. It is shown that the leaf-like zinc dendrites obtained under diffusion-limited conditions are nearly completely dissolved at a low oxidation current density of 1 mA cm −2 and cause re-evolution of the zinc dendrites. Oxidation at a high current density of 10 mA cm −2 leads to the formation of leaf-like zinc oxide residual products that result in particulate zinc deposits in the following reduction process, enabling good rechargeability. The reaction behavior of this oxide residue is detailed and discussed for the development of long-life zinc electrodes

  10. Zinc injection method and device in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maehara, Kazumi; Negishi, Itaru; Deguchi, Tatsuya; Ino, Takao; Sasaki, Noriyuki; Yotsuyanagi, Tadashi; Tobara, Hirotaka.

    1996-01-01

    The present invention concerns a method of injecting zinc into reactor water, and it can supply a solution of zinc at a high concentration by improving the solubility of zinc. Namely, zinc is used as a solute and is dissolved in an aqueous solution containing an electrolyte such as carbonic acid. The resultant zinc solution at a high concentration is injected to reactor water. In the device of the present invention, (1) a dissolution vessel for dissolving zinc comprises a zinc supply means at an upper portion thereof and a carbonic acid gas supply means at a lower portion, (2) an injection means supplies the solution in which zinc is dissolved at a high concentration to reactor water. An aqueous solution saturated with a carbonic acid gas is used as a solvent for dissolving zinc into reactor water at a high concentration. The dissolution vessel has a gas diffusion pipe at the bottom for introducing the carbonic acid gas and has a stirrer in the inside. Zinc is supplied continuously or discontinuously. Raw material zinc may be in the form of a plate, rod, granule, or powder, however, powdery zinc is preferably used. (I.S.)

  11. Helium diffusion in nickel at high temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Philipps, V.

    1980-09-01

    Helium has been implanted at certain temperatures between 800 and 1250 0 C into single and polycrystalline Ni-samples with implantation depths between 15 and 90 μm. Simultaneously the helium reemission from the sample is measured by a mass-spectrometer. It has been shown that the time dependence of the observed reemission rate is governed by volume diffusion of the helium. Measuring this time dependence as a function of temperature the helium diffusion constant has been determined. The He-diffusion is interpreted as a interstitial diffusion hindered by thermal vacancies. Depending on the implantation depth more or less of the implanted helium remains in the sample and forms large helium bubbles. (orig./GSCH)

  12. Thermal and optical properties of polycrystalline CdS thin films deposited by the gradient recrystallization and growth (GREG) technique using photoacoustic methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albor-Aguilera, M.L.; Gonzalez-Trujillo, M.A.; Cruz-Orea, A.; Tufino-Velazquez, M.

    2009-01-01

    In this work we report the study of the thermal and optical properties of polycrystalline CdS thin films deposited by the gradient recrystallization and growth technique. CdS films were grown on pyrex glass substrates. These studies were carried out using an open photoacoustic cell made out of an electret microphone. From X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope and photoluminescence measurements we observed polycrystalline CdS films with good morphology and crystalline quality. We obtained a thermal diffusivity coefficient of our samples with values ranging from 3.15 to 3.89 x 10 -2 cm 2 /s. For comparison, we measured a value of 1.0 x 10 -2 cm 2 /s for the thermal diffusivity coefficient of a CdS single crystal. We measured an energy gap value of 2.42 eV for our samples by using a photoacoustic spectroscopy system

  13. Helium generation and diffusion in graphite and some carbides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holt, J.B.; Guinan, M.W.; Hosmer, D.W.; Condit, R.H.; Borg, R.J.

    1976-01-01

    The cross section for the generation of helium in neutron irradiated carbon was found to be 654 mb at 14.4 MeV and 744 mb at 14.9 MeV. Extrapolating to 14.1 MeV (the fusion reactor spectrum) gives 615 mb. The diffusion of helium in dense polycrystalline graphite and in pyrographite was measured and found to be D = 7.2 x 10 -7 m 2 s -1 exp (-80 kJ/RT). It is assumed that diffusion is primarily in the basal plane direction in crystals of the graphite. In polycrystalline graphite the path length is a factor of √2 longer than the measured distance due to the random orientation mismatch between successive grains. Isochronal anneals (measured helium release as the specimen is steadily heated) were run and maximum release rates were found at 200 0 C in polycrystalline graphite, 1000 0 C in pyrographite, 1350 0 C in boron carbide, and 1350 0 and 2400 0 C (two peaks) in silicon carbide. It is concluded that in these candidates for curtain materials in fusion reactors the helium releases can probably occur without bubble formation in graphites, may occur in boron carbide, but will probably cause bubble formation in silicon carbide. 7 figures

  14. Zinc-zincate electrochemical behaviour in NaOH medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pessine, E.J.

    1984-01-01

    The reaction mechanism of zinc/NaOH-zincate system was investigated with the rotating disk electrode technique, using both the surfaces of mercury film and zinc in 1M NaOH concentration and 25 0 C temperature. It was found that, at the mercury surface, the zincate ion deposition reaction occurs by two steps with one electron each, with comparable rates, with b sup(-) sub(K1) = (132+ -20)mV/decade and b sup(-) sub(K2) = (74 + - 9)mV/decade cathodic Tafel slopes. At the zinc surface the mechanism of the anodic and cathodic reactions is the same and is by two steps with one electron each. The rate-determining step is the first reaction in the cathodic direction. The exchange current density was found to be between 1.00 and 6.00mA/cm 2 , with b sup(-) sub(K) = (95+ -3)mV/decade cathodic and b sup(-) sub(a) = (61+ -5)mV/decade anodic Tafel slopes. The mechanism of passivation of zinc occurs as a result of the two reactions, the adsorption of the dissolved species of zinc II and the precipitation of the zincate ions over the electrode active sites. It has been verified that of all the chemical species studied namely the zincate, chloride, benzoate, silicate ions and the benzotriazole that affect the zinc anodic reaction the silicate ion is the one that change the reaction rate. However, for all the species studied we have the same anodic reaction mechanism (active dissolution). The deposition reaction mechanism of the zincate ion on zinc electrode is the same with NaOH plus benzoate or chloride. The diffusion coefficient found for the diffusion of the zincate ion in 1M NaOH with the mercury film RDE is D sup(-) = (4,90+ -0,20) x 10 -6 cm 2 s -1 . (Author) [pt

  15. Study on indium leaching from mechanically activated hard zinc residue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao J.H.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, changes in physicochemical properties and leachability of indium from mechanically activated hard zinc residue by planetary mill were investigated. The results showed that mechanical activation increased specific surface area, reaction activity of hard zinc residue, and decreased its particle size, which had a positive effect on indium extraction from hard zinc residue in hydrochloric acid solution. Kinetics of indium leaching from unmilled and activated hard zinc residue were also investigated, respectively. It was found that temperature had an obvious effect on indium leaching rate. Two different kinetic models corresponding to reactions which are diffusion controlled, [1-(1- x1/3]2=kt and (1-2x/3-(1-x2/3=kt were used to describe the kinetics of indium leaching from unmilled sample and activated sample, respectively. Their activation energies were determined to be 17.89 kJ/mol (umilled and 11.65 kJ/mol (activated within the temperature range of 30°C to 90°C, which is characteristic for a diffusion controlled process. The values of activation energy demonstrated that the leaching reaction of indium became less sensitive to temperature after hard zinc residue mechanically activated by planetary mill.

  16. Thermal diffusivity of diamond films using a laser pulse technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albin, S.; Winfree, W.P.; Crews, B.S.

    1990-01-01

    Polycrystalline diamond films were deposited using a microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. A laser pulse technique was developed to measure the thermal diffusivity of diamond films deposited on a silicon substrate. The effective thermal diffusivity of a diamond film on silicon was measured by observing the phase and amplitude of the cyclic thermal waves generated by laser pulses. An analytical model is presented to calculate the effective inplane (face-parallel) diffusivity of a two-layer system. The model is used to reduce the effective thermal diffusivity of the diamond/silicon sample to a value for the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of the diamond film

  17. Diffusion of 51Cr along high-diffusivity paths in Ni-Fe alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cermak, J.

    1990-01-01

    Penetration profiles of 51 Cr in polycrystalline alloys Ni-xFe (x = 0, 20, 40, and 60 wt.% Fe) after diffusion anneals at temperatures between 693 and 1473 K are studied. Sectioning of diffusion zones of samples annealed above 858 K is carried out by grinding, at lower temperatures by DC glow discharge sputtering. The concentration of 51 Cr in depth x is assumed to be proportional to relative radioactivity of individual sections. With help of volume and pipe self-diffusion data taken from literature, the temperature dependence of product P = δD g (δ and D g are grain boundary width and grain boundary diffusion coefficient, respectively) is obtained: P = (2.68 - 0.88 +1.3 ) x 10 -11 exp [-(221.3 ± 3.0) kJ/mol/RT]m 3 /s. This result agrees well with the previous measurements of 51 Cr diffusivity in Fe-18 Cr-12 Ni and Fe-21 Cr-31 Ni. It indicates that the mean chemical composition of Fe-Cr-Ni ternary alloys is not a dominant factor affecting the grain boundary diffusivity of Cr in these alloys. (author)

  18. Zinc electrodeposition from flowing alkaline zincate solutions: Role of hydrogen evolution reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dundálek, Jan; Šnajdr, Ivo; Libánský, Ondřej; Vrána, Jiří; Pocedič, Jaromír; Mazúr, Petr; Kosek, Juraj

    2017-12-01

    The hydrogen evolution reaction is known as a parasitic reaction during the zinc electrodeposition from alkaline zincate solutions and is thus responsible for current efficiency losses during the electrolysis. Besides that, the rising hydrogen bubbles may cause an extra convection within a diffusion layer, which leads to an enhanced mass transport of zincate ions to an electrode surface. In this work, the mentioned phenomena were studied experimentally in a flow through electrolyzer and the obtained data were subsequently evaluated by mathematical models. The results prove the indisputable influence of the rising hydrogen bubbles on the additional mixing of the diffusion layer, which partially compensates the drop of the current efficiency of the zinc deposition at higher current flows. Moreover, the results show that the current density ratio (i.e., the ratio of an overall current density to a zinc limiting current density) is not suitable for the description of the zinc deposition, because the hydrogen evolution current density is always involved in the overall current density.

  19. Lattice location of diffused Zn atoms in GaAs and InP single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, L.Y.; Yu, K.M.; Ben-Tzur, M.; Haller, E.E.; Jaklevic, J.M.; Walukiewicz, W.; Hanson, C.M.

    1991-01-01

    We have investigated the saturation phenomenon of the free carrier concentration in p-type GaAs and InP single crystals doped by zinc diffusion. The free hole saturation occurs at 10 20 cm -3 for GaAs, but the maximum concentration for InP appears at mid 10 18 cm -3 . The difference in the saturation hole concentrations for these materials is investigated by studying the incorporation and the lattice location of the impurity zinc, an acceptor when located on a group III atom site. Zinc is diffused into the III-V wafers in a sealed quartz ampoule. Particle-induced x-ray emission with ion-channeling techniques are employed to determine the exact lattice location of the zinc atoms. We have found that over 90% of all zinc atoms occupy Ga sites in the diffused GaAs samples, while for the InP case, the zinc substitutionality is dependent on the cooling rate of the sample after high-temperature diffusion. For the slowly cooled sample, a large fraction (∼90%) of the zinc atoms form random precipitates of Zn 3 P 2 and elemental Zn. However, when rapidly cooled only 60% of the zinc forms such precipitates while the rest occupies specific sites in the InP. We analyze our results in terms of the amphoteric native defect model. We show that the difference in the electrical activity of the Zn atoms in GaAs and InP is a consequence of the different location of the Fermi level stabilization energy in these two materials

  20. Quadrupole interaction in zinc metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vetterling, W.T.; Pound, R.V.

    1977-01-01

    To allow measurement of the quadrupole interaction in zinc metal, the enriched ZnO was reduced to zinc metal powder and compressed into a pill of thickness 1.4 gm/cm 2 . Sources were made by diffusing 20 mCi of 67 Ga into sintered copper pills. The transducer was based on a cylinder of PZT-4 with 1 / 2 -inch length and could cover linearly a velocity range of +-100 μ/s at 200 Hz. The multiscalar was a modified Northern model NS600, with a minimum dwell time of 20 μs, and with a 10-count buffer at the input to eliminate deadtime from memory cycling

  1. Cyclic voltammetric response of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide on a polycrystalline gold electrode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiaoxia; Yang Nianjun; Wan Qijin

    2006-01-01

    The oxidation of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide on a polycrystalline gold electrode occurred at almost same potentials but their reduction did at different peak potentials. The redox reaction mechanisms of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide were rationalized by the formation/disappearance of the new nitrogen-oxygen bonds in the pyridine rings by means of cyclic voltammetry and bulk electrolysis. The anodic currents of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide were controlled by diffusion, while the cathodic ones by adsorption. The difference in the cathodic peak potentials of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide on the polycrystalline gold electrode is attributed to the effect of the electron densities of remote substituents on the pyridine rings. The cathodic peak currents at about 0.20 V were linear with their concentrations in the range of 2.4 mM to 2.7 μM and 2.4 mM to 3.3 μM with detection limits of 0.27 and 0.33 μM for nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, respectively. Voltammetry was then adopted for the selective monitoring the content of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide in pharmaceuticals

  2. Three dimensional simulated modelling of diffusion capacitance of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A three dimensional (3-D) simulated modelling was developed to analyse the excess minority carrier density in the base of a polycrystalline bifacial silicon solar cell. The concept of junction recombination velocity was ado-pted to quantify carrier flow through the junction, and to examine the solar cell diffusion capacitance for ...

  3. Lattice dynamical investigations on Zn diffusion in zinc oxide

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    diffusion and that too by single vacancy mechanism. The results are compared with the .... Instantaneous relative displacement of the diffusing atom with respect to the neigh- bours in the diffusion ring is given as a reaction coordinate,. X =.

  4. Friction Stir Welding-assisted Diffusion Bond of Al/Zn/Mg Lap Joint

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JIN Yu-hua

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Dissimilar materials welding between 2mm-thick AZ31B Mg alloy and 6061 Al alloy plates in overlap form was performed using the friction stir-induced diffusion bond with zinc foil as the interlayer. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al/Zn/Mg lap joints were analyzed by means of SEM, EPMA, XRD, tensile experiment and Vickers hardness test. The results show that diffusion layer consists of Al enrichment zone, Al5Mg11Zn4 layer and Mg-Zn eutectic zone at proper rotation speed; however, when rotation speed is low, the residual zinc interlayer remains in the diffusion layer; when rotation speed is high, the Al-Mg intermetallic compounds are present again. Due to the existence of intermetallic compounds in diffusion layer, its microhardness is significantly higher than that of base metal. The addition of zinc foil can improve the mechanical properties of Al/Mg lap joints. According to analysis on the fracture, joint failure occurs in the diffusion layer near to Al side.

  5. Serum zinc, senile plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles: findings from the Nun Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tully, C L; Snowdon, D A; Markesbery, W R

    1995-11-13

    Zinc appears to have a role in binding amyloid precursor protein in vitro, but it is not known whether zinc plays a role in senile plaque formation in vivo in humans. Serum zinc concentrations were available from 12 sisters who died in the Nun Study, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease. Fasting serum zinc concentrations, determined approximately 1 year before death, showed moderate to strong negative correlations with senile plaque counts in seven brain regions. In all brain regions combined, the age-adjusted negative correlations with serum zinc were statistically significant for total senile plaques and diffuse plaques, and suggestive for neuritic plaques. Thus serum zinc in the normal range may be associated with low senile plaque counts in the elderly.

  6. Two-dimensional discrete dislocation models of deformation in polycrystalline thin metal films on substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartmaier, Alexander; Buehler, Markus J.; Gao, Huajian

    2005-01-01

    The time-dependent irreversible deformation of polycrystalline thin metal films on substrates is investigated using two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics models incorporating essential parameters determined from atomistic studies. The work is focused on the mechanical properties of uncapped films, where diffusive processes play an important role. The simulations incorporate dislocation climb along the grain boundary as well as conservative glide. Despite of severe limitations of the two-dimensional dislocation models, the simulation results are found to largely corroborate experimental findings on different dominant deformation mechanisms at different film thicknesses

  7. Effect of localized polycrystalline silicon properties on solar cell performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, D.; Iles, P. A.; Hyland, S.; Kachare, A.

    1984-01-01

    Several forms of polycrystalline silicon, mostly from cast ingots, (including UCP, SILSO and HEM) were studied. On typical slices, localized properties were studied in two ways. Small area (about 2.5 sq mm) mesa diodes were formed, and localized photovoltaic properties were measured. Also a small area (about .015 sq mm) light spot was scanned across the cells; the light spot response was calibrated to measure local diffusion length directly. Using these methods, the effects of grain boundaries, or of intragrain imperfections were correlated with cell performance. Except for the fine grain portion of SILSO, grain boundaries played only a secondary role in determining cell performance. The major factor was intra-grain material quality and it varied with position in ingots and probably related to solidification procedure.

  8. Effects of deep impurities and structural defects in polycrystalline silicon for photovoltaic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galluzzi, F.; Scafe, E.; Beghi, M.; Fossati, S.; Tincani, M.; Pizzini, S.

    1985-01-01

    An extensive experimental study of minority carrier recombination in CZ grown polycrystalline silicon intentionally doped with metallic impurities (Ti, V, Fe, Cr, Zr) is reported. Experimental values of average diffusion lengths have been compared with values calculated by a simple model of carrier recombination, taking into account the effects of impurities, grain boundaries and intragrain crystal defects. The results are fairly consistent and allow the determination of threshold densities for structural defects and deep impurities. The author's analysis gives a simple quantitative description of recombination processes in solar-grade silicon, as far as the average behaviour is concerned

  9. Investigation of radiation-enhanced oxygen diffusion in Li-Ti ferrites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surzhikov, A.P.; Pritulov, A.M.; Gyngazov, S.A.; Lysenko, E.N.

    1999-01-01

    The radiation-enhanced oxygen diffusion in polycrystalline Li-Ti ferrites was investigated. The electron accelerator ELV-6 (Institute of Nuclear Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences) was used to generate the radiothermal annealing. The radiation effects were established by comparison of diffusion profiles of the samples, which were radiothermally treated, and data obtained during the thermal annealing in the resistance furnace. It was discovered that there was an increase of numerical values of Ed (activation diffusion energy) and Do (preexponential factor) during the radiothermal annealing, if compared with the thermal one. The investigations were financed by the Russian Fundamental Research Fund

  10. Preparation and spectroscopic analysis of zinc oxide nanorod thin films of different thicknesses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mia Nasrul Haque

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Zinc oxide thin films with different thicknesses were prepared on microscopic glass slides by sol-gel spin coating method, then hydrothermal process was applied to produce zinc oxide nanorod arrays. The nanorod thin films were characterized by various spectroscopic methods of analysis. From the images of field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM, it was observed that for the film thickness up to 200 nm the formed nanorods with wurtzite hexagonal structure were uniformly distributed over the entire surface substrate. From X-ray diffraction analysis it was revealed that the thin films had good polycrystalline nature with highly preferred c-axis orientation along (0 0 2 plane. The optical characterization done by UV-Vis spectrometer showed that all the films had high transparency of 83 % to 96 % in the visible region and sharp cut off at ultraviolet region of electromagnetic spectrum. The band gap of the films decreased as their thickness increased. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS showed the presence of zinc and oxygen elements in the films and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR revealed the chemical composition of ZnO in the film.

  11. Antibacterial activity of zinc oxide-coated nanoporous alumina

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skoog, S.A. [Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University, Box 7115, Raleigh, NC 27695-7115 (United States); Bayati, M.R. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Box 7907, Raleigh, NC 27695-7907 (United States); Petrochenko, P.E. [Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University, Box 7115, Raleigh, NC 27695-7115 (United States); Division of Biology, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993 (United States); Stafslien, S.; Daniels, J.; Cilz, N. [Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering, North Dakota State University, 1805 Research Park Drive, Fargo, ND 58102 (United States); Comstock, D.J.; Elam, J.W. [Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Narayan, R.J., E-mail: roger_narayan@msn.com [Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University, Box 7115, Raleigh, NC 27695-7115 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Box 7907, Raleigh, NC 27695-7907 (United States)

    2012-07-25

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Atomic layer deposition was used to deposit ZnO on nanoporous alumina membranes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Scanning electron microscopy showed continuous coatings of zinc oxide nanocrystals. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Activity against B. subtilis, E. coli, S. aureus, and S. epidermidis was shown. - Abstract: Nanoporous alumina membranes, also known as anodized aluminum oxide membranes, are being investigated for use in treatment of burn injuries and other skin wounds. In this study, atomic layer deposition was used for coating the surfaces of nanoporous alumina membranes with zinc oxide. Agar diffusion assays were used to show activity of zinc oxide-coated nanoporous alumina membranes against several bacteria found on the skin surface, including Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. On the other hand, zinc oxide-coated nanoporous alumina membranes did not show activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans. These results suggest that zinc oxide-coated nanoporous alumina membranes have activity against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that are associated with skin colonization and skin infection.

  12. The study of zinc ions binding to casein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomastowski, P; Sprynskyy, M; Buszewski, B

    2014-08-01

    The presented research was focused on physicochemical study of casein properties and the kinetics of zinc ions binding to the protein. Moreover, a fast and simple method of casein extraction from cow's milk has been proposed. Casein isoforms, zeta potential (ζ) and particle size of the separated caseins were characterized with the use of capillary electrophoresis, zeta potential analysis and field flow fractionation (FFF) technique, respectively. The kinetics of the metal-binding process was investigated in batch adsorption experiments. Intraparticle diffusion model, first-order and zero-order kinetic models were applied to test the kinetic experimental data. Analysis of changes in infrared bands registered for casein before and after zinc binding was also performed. The obtained results showed that the kinetic process of zinc binding to casein is not homogeneous but is expressed with an initial rapid stage with about 70% of zinc ions immobilized by casein and with a much slower second step. Maximum amount of bound zinc in the experimental conditions was 30.04mgZn/g casein. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. The latent fingerprint in mass transport of polycrystalline materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thirunavukarasu, Gopinath; Kundu, Sukumar; Chatterjee, Subrata

    2016-02-01

    Herein, a systematic investigation was carried out to reach a rational understanding and to provide information concerning the possible causes for a significant influence of pressure variation in the underlying processes of mass transport in polycrystalline materials. The authors focused their research in solid-state diffusion, a part of the subject "Mass Transport in Solids". Theories on diffusion are the subject by itself which exists as a latent fingerprint in every text of higher learning in interdisciplinary science. In this research, authors prepared sandwich samples of titanium alloy and stainless steel using nickel as an intermediate metal. The samples were processed at three different levels of bonding pressure (3, 4 and 5 MPa) while bonding temperature and bonding time was maintained at 750 °C and 1 h, respectively, throughout the experiments. It was observed that the net flux of atomic diffusion of nickel atoms into Ti-alloy at TiA/Ni interface increased by ~63 % with the rise in the bonding pressure from 3 to 4 MPa, but decreased by ~40 % with the rise in the bonding pressure from 4 to 5 MPa. At the same time, the net flux of atomic diffusion of nickel atoms into stainless steel at Ni/SS interface increased by ~19 % with the rise in the bonding pressure from 3 to 4 MPa, but increased by ~17 % with the rise in the bonding pressure from 4 to 5 MPa. Here authors showed that the pressure variations have different effects at the TiA/Ni interface and Ni/SS interface, and tried to explain the explicit mechanisms operating behind them. In general for sandwich samples processed irrespective of bonding pressure chosen, the net flux of Ni-atoms diffused into SS is greater than that of the net flux of Ni-atoms diffused in Ti-alloy matrix by four orders of magnitude. The calculated diffusivity of Ni-atoms into Ti-alloy reaches its highest value of ~5.083 × 10-19 m2/s for the sandwich sample processed using 4-MPa bonding-pressure, whereas the diffusivity of Ni

  14. The Role of Stress-Effected Subgrain Size Distribution in Anelastic Recovery: An Experimental Study on Polycrystalline Ice-Ih

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caswell, T. E.; Goldsby, D. L.; Cooper, R. F.; Prior, D. J.

    2013-12-01

    Anelasticity, or time-dependent and recoverable strain, is the source of attenuation at seismic and sub-seismic frequencies, yet the processes governing anelastic recovery are poorly resolved. Numerous experimental studies [e.g., 1-3] have demonstrated that anelasticity occurs via diffusion-effected relaxation along grain boundaries, which leads to a significant grain size sensitivity. Similar studies, however, conducted on deformed single crystals [e.g. 4], coarse-grained metals deforming in dislocation creep [e.g., 5] and polycrystalline ice deforming via a dislocation-accommodated mechanism [6] demonstrate the same frequency dependence, consistent with the grain boundary mechanism, but with no sensitivity to grain size. We postulate that it is the deformation-effected distribution of subgrains, which possesses unique diffusive properties relative to a defect-free lattice, that dominates attenuation in these situations. To test this idea we are conducting creep and stress-drop experiments on polycrystalline ice-Ih with concurrent high-resolution microstructural analysis conducted via Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) [7] to characterize the relationship between subgrain size distribution and diffusion-effected anelasticity. Our experiments establish the subgrain size distribution in steady-state creep of fine-grained ice-1h at compressional stresses between 0.1-4 MPa, which for the grain sizes and temperatures of our experiments places the rheology squarely within the regime of grain boundary sliding that is accommodated by basal dislocation slip [8]. We then explore the dynamics of the established microstructure, which includes subgrain formation [cf. 9], via stress-drop experiments [e.g. 10]. Experiments of this type allow the characterization of microstructural 'hardness,' i.e., the viscosity of the polycrystalline solid as effected by finite strain, from which we can discern the diffusive kinetics of subgrain boundaries [11, 12]. We are currently

  15. Zinc fingers, zinc clusters, and zinc twists in DNA-binding protein domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vallee, B.L.; Auld, D.S.; Coleman, J.E.

    1991-01-01

    The authors recognize three distinct motifs of DNA-binding zinc proteins: (i) zinc fingers, (ii) zinc clusters, and (iii) zinc twists. Until very recently, x-ray crystallographic or NMR three-dimensional structure analyses of DNA-binding zinc proteins have not been available to serve as standards of reference for the zinc binding sites of these families of proteins. Those of the DNA-binding domains of the fungal transcription factor GAL4 and the rat glucocorticoid receptor are the first to have been determined. Both proteins contain two zinc binding sites, and in both, cysteine residues are the sole zinc ligands. In GAL4, two zinc atoms are bound to six cysteine residues which form a zinc cluster akin to that of metallothionein; the distance between the two zinc atoms of GAL4 is ∼3.5 angstrom. In the glucocorticoid receptor, each zinc atom is bound to four cysteine residues; the interatomic zinc-zinc distance is ∼13 angstrom, and in this instance, a zinc twist is represented by a helical DNA recognition site located between the two zinc atoms. Zinc clusters and zinc twists are here recognized as two distinctive motifs in DNA-binding proteins containing multiple zinc atoms. For native zinc fingers, structural data do not exist as yet; consequently, the interatomic distances between zinc atoms are not known. As further structural data become available, the structural and functional significance of these different motifs in their binding to DNA and other proteins participating in the transmission of the genetic message will become apparent

  16. Atomistic modeling of mechanical properties of polycrystalline graphene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortazavi, Bohayra; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio

    2014-05-30

    We performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the mechanical properties of polycrystalline graphene. By constructing molecular models of ultra-fine-grained graphene structures, we studied the effect of different grain sizes of 1-10 nm on the mechanical response of graphene. We found that the elastic modulus and tensile strength of polycrystalline graphene decrease with decreasing grain size. The calculated mechanical proprieties for pristine and polycrystalline graphene sheets are found to be in agreement with experimental results in the literature. Our MD results suggest that the ultra-fine-grained graphene structures can show ultrahigh tensile strength and elastic modulus values that are very close to those of pristine graphene sheets.

  17. Erbium diffusion in titanium dioxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise Basse

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The diffusivity of erbium in the anatase phase of titanium dioxide (TiO2 has been studied for various temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 1, 000 °C. Samples of TiO2, with a 10 nm thick buried layer containing 0.5 at% erbium, were fabricated by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and subsequently heat treated. The erbium concentration profiles were measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry, allowing for determination of the temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients. These were found to follow an Arrhenius law with an activation energy of ( 2.1 ± 0.2 eV. X-ray diffraction revealed that the TiO2 films consisted of polycrystalline grains of size ≈ 100 nm.

  18. Grain boundary and triple junction diffusion in nanocrystalline copper

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wegner, M., E-mail: m.wegner@uni-muenster.de; Leuthold, J.; Peterlechner, M.; Divinski, S. V., E-mail: divin@uni-muenster.de [Institut für Materialphysik, Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, D-48149, Münster (Germany); Song, X., E-mail: xysong@bjut.edu.cn [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 100124 Beijing (China); Wilde, G. [Institut für Materialphysik, Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, D-48149, Münster (Germany); Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, 200444 Shanghai (China)

    2014-09-07

    Grain boundary and triple junction diffusion in nanocrystalline Cu samples with grain sizes, 〈d〉, of ∼35 and ∼44 nm produced by spark plasma sintering were investigated by the radiotracer method using the {sup 63}Ni isotope. The measured diffusivities, D{sub eff}, are comparable with those determined previously for Ni grain boundary diffusion in well-annealed, high purity, coarse grained, polycrystalline copper, substantiating the absence of a grain size effect on the kinetic properties of grain boundaries in a nanocrystalline material at grain sizes d ≥ 35 nm. Simultaneously, the analysis predicts that if triple junction diffusion of Ni in Cu is enhanced with respect to the corresponding grain boundary diffusion rate, it is still less than 500⋅D{sub gb} within the temperature interval from 420 K to 470 K.

  19. Atomistic modeling of mechanical properties of polycrystalline graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mortazavi, Bohayra; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio

    2014-01-01

    We performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the mechanical properties of polycrystalline graphene. By constructing molecular models of ultra-fine-grained graphene structures, we studied the effect of different grain sizes of 1–10 nm on the mechanical response of graphene. We found that the elastic modulus and tensile strength of polycrystalline graphene decrease with decreasing grain size. The calculated mechanical proprieties for pristine and polycrystalline graphene sheets are found to be in agreement with experimental results in the literature. Our MD results suggest that the ultra-fine-grained graphene structures can show ultrahigh tensile strength and elastic modulus values that are very close to those of pristine graphene sheets. (papers)

  20. Boron-enhanced diffusion of boron from ultralow-energy boron implantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, A.; Eaglesham, D.J.; Gossmann, H.J.; Pelaz, L.; Herner, S.B.; Jacobson, D.C.

    1998-01-01

    The authors have investigated the diffusion enhancement mechanism of BED (boron enhanced diffusion), wherein the boron diffusivity is enhanced three to four times over the equilibrium diffusivity at 1,050 C in the proximity of a silicon layer containing a high boron concentration. It is shown that BED is associated with the formation of a fine-grain polycrystalline silicon boride phase within an initially amorphous Si layer having a high B concentration. For 0.5 keV B + , the threshold implantation dose which leads to BED lies between 3 x 10 14 and of 1 x 10 15 /cm -2 . Formation of the shallowest possible junctions by 0.5 keV B + requires that the implant dose be kept lower than this threshold

  1. Oxygen depth profiling in Kr+-implanted polycrystalline alpha titanium by means of 16O(α,α)16O resonance scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nsengiyumva, S.; Riviere, J.P.; Raji, A.T.; Comrie, C.M.; Britton, D.T.; Haerting, M.

    2011-01-01

    The 16 O(α,α) 16 O resonance scattering was applied to study the effects of ion implantation on the oxygen distribution in the near surface region of polycrystalline titanium implanted with 180 keV krypton ions at fluences, ranging between 1 x 10 14 and 5 x 10 15 Kr + /cm 2 . Two sample sets were chosen: as-received polycrystalline titanium discs rolled and annealed in half-hard condition which had a thick oxygen layer and similar samples in which this surface layer was removed by polishing. An increase of the mean oxygen concentration observed in both unpolished and polished samples at low fluence suggests a knock-on implantation of surface oxygen atoms. At high fluence, an overall decrease in the mean oxygen concentration and mean oxygen depth suggests an out-diffusion of near-surface oxygen atoms.

  2. Zinc Electrodeposition from Chloride Solutions onto Glassy Carbon Electrode

    OpenAIRE

    Mendoza-Huízar, Luis Humberto; Rios-Reyes, Clara Hilda; Gómez-Villegas, María Guadalupe

    2009-01-01

    An electrochemical study of zinc deposition was carried out in baths containing 0.5 M ZnCl2 and 0.4 M H3BO3. From the voltammetric study it was found that, in our experimental conditions, zinc electrodeposition is quasi-reversible and occurs under charge transfer control. The average coefficient diffusion calculated was D = 7.14 × 10-6 cm²s-1 while the standard constant at electrode charge was 8.78 × 10-3 cms-1. The nucleation and growth parameters determined from the potentiostatic study sho...

  3. Abstracts of AF Materials Laboratory Reports

    Science.gov (United States)

    1975-09-01

    8217»2 ALLOWABLE rrs ALPHA-BETA ALTERNATE ALUHINOH POLYCRYSTALLINE ZINC SELENIOE FOR HIGH POWER LASER APPLICATIONS THE COLLECTION...OPTICAL PROCESSING OF ALKALI HALIOES AND "OLYCRYSTALLINE ZINC SELENIOE FOR HIGH POWER LASER APPLICATIONS CHEMICALLY...PROCESSING OF ALKALI HALIOES AND POLYCRYSTALLINE ZINC SELENIOE FOR HIGH POME? LASER APOLICATIONS EXPLORATORY DEVELOPMENT ON LASER ANÖ"OPTICAL

  4. Zinc electrodeposition from alkaline zincate solution by pulsating overpotentials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MILOS V. SIMICIC

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that smooth zinc deposits cannot be obtained from alkaline zincate using constant overpotential and current rate. During prolonged metal deposition, spongy and dendritic deposits are formed. It has been shown that the deposits are less agglomerated in the case of square-wave pulsating overpotentials regime than the ones obtained in case of constant overpotential regime. This is explained in a semiquantitative way by two phenomena: selective anodic dissolution during overpotentials “off” period and decreasing diffusion control. These effects is more pronounced at higher pause-to-pulse ratio. Increasing the pause-to-pulse ratio causes a reduction of the ratio between diffusion and activation overpotential, resulting in a more compact deposit. Confirmation of the proposed semiquantitative mathematical model was obtained by zinc electrodeposition onto a copper wire from a 0.1 M zincate solution in 1.0 M KOH at room temperature.

  5. Preparation and structural characterization of vulcanized natural rubber nanocomposites containing nickel-zinc ferrite nanopowders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellucci, F S; Salmazo, L O; Budemberg, E R; da Silva, M R; Rodríguez-Pérez, M A; Nobre, M A L; Job, A E

    2012-03-01

    Single-phase polycrystalline mixed nickel-zinc ferrites belonging to Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 were prepared on a nanometric scale (mean crystallite size equal to 14.7 nm) by chemical synthesis named the modified poliol method. Ferrite nanopowder was then incorporated into a natural rubber matrix producing nanocomposites. The samples were investigated by means of infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and magnetic measurements. The obtained results suggest that the base concentration of nickel-zinc ferrite nanoparticles inside the polymer matrix volume greatly influences the magnetic properties of nanocomposites. A small quantity of nanoparticles, less than 10 phr, in the nanocomposite is sufficient to produce a small alteration in the semi-crystallinity of nanocomposites observed by X-ray diffraction analysis and it produces a flexible magnetic composite material with a saturation magnetization, a coercivity field and an initial magnetic permeability equal to 3.08 emu/g, 99.22 Oe and 9.42 x 10(-5) respectively.

  6. Giant 1/f noise in two-dimensional polycrystalline media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snarskii, A.; Bezsudnov, I.

    2008-01-01

    The behaviour of excess (1/f noise) in two-dimensional polycrystalline media is investigated. On the base of current trap model, it is shown that there exists a certain anisotropy value of conductivity tensor for polycrystalline media when the amplitude of 1/f noise becomes giant

  7. Zinc-deficiency acrodermatitis in a patient with chronic alcoholism and gastric bypass: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dariush Shahsavari

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Acquired adult-onset zinc deficiency is occasionally reported in patients with malnutrition states, such as alcoholism, or malabsorptive states, such as post-bariatric surgery. The defining symptoms of hypozincemia include a classic triad of necrolytic dermatitis, diffuse alopecia, and diarrhea. We report a case of zinc deficiency in a 39-year-old man with history of gastric bypass surgery and alcoholism. For this patient, severe hypozincemia confirmed acrodermatitis, and zinc supplementation was met with gradual improvement.

  8. Anelasticity of polycrystalline indium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sapozhnikov, K., E-mail: k.sapozhnikov@mail.ioffe.ru [A.F.Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, 194021 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Golyandin, S. [A.F.Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, 194021 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Kustov, S. [Dept. de Fisica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Cra Valldemossa km 7.5, E 07122 Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

    2009-09-15

    Mechanisms of anelasticity of polycrystalline indium have been studied over wide ranges of temperature (7-320 K) and strain amplitude (2 x 10{sup -7}-3.5 x 10{sup -4}). Measurements of the internal friction and Young's modulus have been performed by means of the piezoelectric resonant composite oscillator technique using longitudinal oscillations at frequencies of about 100 kHz. The stages of the strain amplitude dependence of the internal friction and Young's modulus defect, which can be attributed to dislocation - point defect and dislocation - dislocation interactions, have been revealed. It has been shown that thermal cycling gives rise to microplastic straining of polycrystalline indium due to the anisotropy of thermal expansion and to appearance of a 'recrystallization' internal friction maximum in the temperature spectra of amplitude-dependent anelasticity. The temperature range characterized by formation of Cottrell's atmospheres of point defects around dislocations has been determined from the acoustic data.

  9. Wavelength-tunable waveguides based on polycrystalline organic-inorganic perovskite microwires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ziyu; Liu, Jingying; Xu, Zai-Quan; Xue, Yunzhou; Jiang, Liangcong; Song, Jingchao; Huang, Fuzhi; Wang, Yusheng; Zhong, Yu Lin; Zhang, Yupeng; Cheng, Yi-Bing; Bao, Qiaoliang

    2016-03-01

    Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have emerged as new photovoltaic materials with impressively high power conversion efficiency due to their high optical absorption coefficient and long charge carrier diffusion length. In addition to high photoluminescence quantum efficiency and chemical tunability, hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites also show intriguing potential for diverse photonic applications. In this work, we demonstrate that polycrystalline organic-inorganic perovskite microwires can function as active optical waveguides with small propagation loss. The successful production of high quality perovskite microwires with different halogen elements enables the guiding of light with different colours. Furthermore, it is interesting to find that out-coupled light intensity from the microwire can be effectively modulated by an external electric field, which behaves as an electro-optical modulator. This finding suggests the promising applications of perovskite microwires as effective building blocks in micro/nano scale photonic circuits.

  10. Long-term surveillance of zinc implant in murine artery: Surprisingly steady biocorrosion rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drelich, Adam J; Zhao, Shan; Guillory, Roger J; Drelich, Jaroslaw W; Goldman, Jeremy

    2017-08-01

    Metallic zinc implanted into the abdominal aorta of rats out to 6months has been demonstrated to degrade while avoiding responses commonly associated with the restenosis of vascular implants. However, major questions remain regarding whether a zinc implant would ultimately passivate through the production of stable corrosion products or via a cell mediated fibrous encapsulation process that prevents the diffusion of critical reactants and products at the metal surface. Here, we have conducted clinically relevant long term in vivo studies in order to characterize late stage zinc implant biocorrosion behavior and products to address these critical questions. We found that zinc wires implanted in the murine artery exhibit steady corrosion without local toxicity for up to at least 20months post-implantation, despite a steady buildup of passivating corrosion products and intense fibrous encapsulation of the wire. Although fibrous encapsulation was not able to prevent continued implant corrosion, it may be related to the reduced chronic inflammation observed between 10 and 20months post-implantation. X-ray elemental and infrared spectroscopy analyses confirmed zinc oxide, zinc carbonate, and zinc phosphate as the main components of corrosion products surrounding the Zn implant. These products coincide with stable phases concluded from Pourbaix diagrams of a physiological solution and in vitro electrochemical impedance tests. The results support earlier predictions that zinc stents could become successfully bio-integrated into the arterial environment and safely degrade within a time frame of approximately 1-2years. Previous studies have shown zinc to be a promising candidate material for bioresorbable endovascular stenting applications. An outstanding question, however, is whether a zinc implant would ultimately passivate through the production of stable corrosion products or via a cell mediated tissue encapsulation process that prevented the diffusion of critical

  11. Diffusion-induced grain boundary migration during ion beam mixing of Au/Cu bilayers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, D.E.; Baldo, P.M.; Rehn, L.E.

    1992-09-01

    Experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of 1.5 MeV Kr irradiation on diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM) in Au/Cu bilayers in the temperature range of 300≤T≤050K. The experimental results were consistent with DIGM occurring in bilayers both during irradiation and during annealing treatments. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry showed a nearly uniform distribution of Cu present through the entire thickness of appropriately prepared polycrystalline Au films irradiated or annealed at temperatures ≥400K. No parallel effect was seen in similarly treated single-crystal films. In each polycrystalline sample studied, irradiation resulted in greater amounts of Cu present uniformly in the Au compared to annealing-only. The magnitudes of measured Cu compositions were substantially greater than that expected solely from grain boundary diffusion. A simple analysis of the process indicated that ion irradiation affects DIGM by increasing the composition of Cu present in alloyed zones and/or by increasing the grain boundary velocity in the Au

  12. Multilayer TiC/TiN diffusion barrier films for copper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoganand, S.N.; Raghuveer, M.S.; Jagannadham, K.; Wu, L.; Karoui, A.; Rozgonyi, G.

    2002-01-01

    TiC/TiN thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on Si (100) substrates were investigated by transmission electron microscopy for microstructure and by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) for diffusion barrier against copper. TiN thin films deposited on Si substrates at a substrate temperature of 600 deg. C were textured, and TiC thin films deposited at the same temperature were polycrystalline. TiC/TiN multilayer films also showed the same characteristics with the formation of an additional interaction layer. The diffusion barrier characteristics of the TiC/TiN/Si were determined by DLTS and the results showed that the films completely prevented diffusion of copper into Si

  13. The development of a micropatterned electrode for studies of zinc electrodeposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sutija, Dave P. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Muller, Rolf H. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Tobias, Charles W. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    1986-12-01

    A micropatterned electrode was prepared for the study of electrocrystallization. Using microphotolithography, in conjunction with evaporation and pulse electrodeposition of thin films, a set of artificially roughened electrodes with hemispherical surface features five microns in diameter was developed. Voltammetric studies were conducted to determine the best electrode material. Gold, platinum, and various carbon surfaces were evaluated for zinc nucleation density and hydrogen overpotential. Surface homogeneity was examined by both light and scanning electron microscopy. Gold was determined to possess the best combination of material properties: chemical inertness, low melting point, and a high work function allowing underpotential deposition of zinc which reduces the rate of hydrogen evolution. Stripping coulometry was employed to determine zinc limiting currents, and evaluate effective diffusion coefficients in concentrated zinc chloride solutions. Although the method worked well for dilute zinc chloride and copper sulfate solutions, it failed at higher current densities; the emergence of surface roughness obscured actual limiting current plateaus.

  14. Properties of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Activity Against Microbes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddiqi, Khwaja Salahuddin; ur Rahman, Aziz; Tajuddin; Husen, Azamal

    2018-05-01

    Zinc oxide is an essential ingredient of many enzymes, sun screens, and ointments for pain and itch relief. Its microcrystals are very efficient light absorbers in the UVA and UVB region of spectra due to wide bandgap. Impact of zinc oxide on biological functions depends on its morphology, particle size, exposure time, concentration, pH, and biocompatibility. They are more effective against microorganisms such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium, Staphylococcus aureus, Sarcina lutea, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas vulgaris, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. Mechanism of action has been ascribed to the activation of zinc oxide nanoparticles by light, which penetrate the bacterial cell wall via diffusion. It has been confirmed from SEM and TEM images of the bacterial cells that zinc oxide nanoparticles disintegrate the cell membrane and accumulate in the cytoplasm where they interact with biomolecules causing cell apoptosis leading to cell death.

  15. Polycrystalline strengthening

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Niels

    1985-01-01

    for the understanding of polycrystalline strengthening is obtained mainly from surface relief patterns and from bulk structures observed by transmission electron microscopy of thin foils. The results obtained by these methods are discussed and correlations are proposed. A number of features characterizing the deformed...... structure are summarized and the behavior of a number of metals and alloys is reviewed with emphasis on the structural changes in the interior of the grains and in the vicinity of the grain boundaries. The models for strain accommodation during deformation are discussed on the basis of the microstructures...

  16. Kinetic Aspects of Leaching Zinc from Waste Galvanizing Zinc by Using Hydrochloric Acid Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sminčáková, Emília; Trpčevská, Jarmila; Pirošková, Jana

    2017-10-01

    In this work, the results of acid leaching of flux skimmings coming from two plants are presented. Sample A contained two phases, Zn(OH)Cl and NH4Cl. In sample B, the presence of three phases, Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O, (NH4)2(ZnCl4) and ZnCl2(NH3)2, was proved. The aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid and distilled water was used as the leaching medium. The effects of the leaching time, temperature and concentration of the leaching medium on the zinc extraction were investigated. The apparent activation energy, E a = 4.61 kJ mol-1, and apparent reaction order n = 0.18 for sample A, and the values E a = 6.28 kJ mol-1 and n = 0.33 for sample B were experimentally determined. Zinc leaching in acid medium is a diffusion-controlled process.

  17. Electromigration-Induced Surface Drift and Slit Propagation in Polycrystalline Interconnects: Insights from Phase-Field Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Arnab; Ankit, Kumar; Selzer, Michael; Nestler, Britta

    2018-04-01

    We employ the phase-field method to assess electromigration (EM) damage in wide polycrystalline interconnects due to grain-boundary grooving. An interplay of surface and grain-boundary diffusion is shown to drastically influence the mode of progressive EM damage. Rapid atomic transport along the surface leads to shape-preserving surface drift reminiscent of Blech drift-velocity experiments. On the other hand, a comparatively faster grain-boundary transport localizes the damage, resulting in the proliferation of intergranular slits with a shape-preserving tip. At steady state, the two regimes exhibit exponents of 1 and 3 /2 , respectively, in Black's law. While surface drift obeys an inverse scaling with grain size, slits exhibit a direct relationship at small sizes, with the dependence becoming weaker at larger ones. Furthermore, we explain the influence of curvature- or EM-mediated healing fluxes running along the surface on groove replenishment. Insights derived from phase-field simulations of EM in bicrystals are extended to investigate the multiphysics of mixed-mode damage of a polycrystalline interconnect line that is characterized by a drift of small grain surfaces, slit propagation, and coarsening. The triple and quadruple junctions are identified as prominent sites of failure.

  18. Thermoluminescence dosimetric characteristics of thulium doped ZnB2O4 phosphor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Annalakshmi, O.; Jose, M.T.; Madhusoodanan, U.; Subramanian, J.; Venkatraman, B.; Amarendra, G.; Mandal, A.B.

    2014-01-01

    Polycrystalline powder samples of rare earth doped Zinc borates were synthesized by high temperature solid state diffusion technique. Dosimetric characteristics of the phosphor like thermoluminescence glow curve, TL emission spectra, dose–response, fading studies, reproducibility and reusability studies were carried out on the synthesized phosphors. Among the different rare earth doped phosphors, thulium doped zinc borate was found to have a higher sensitivity. Hence detailed dosimetric characteristics of this phosphor were carried out. It is observed that the dose–response is linear from 10 mGy to 10 3 Gy in this phosphor. EPR measurements were carried out on unirradiated, gamma irradiated and annealed phosphors to identify the defect centers responsible for thermoluminescence. A TL model is proposed based on the EPR studies in these materials. Kinetic parameters were evaluated for the dosimetric peaks using various methods. The experimental results show that this phosphor can have potential applications in radiation dosimetry applications. -- Highlights: • Polycrystalline powder samples of rare earth doped zinc borates were synthesized. • Thulium was observed to be the most efficient dopant in ZnB 2 O 4 lattice. • TL intensity of the dosimetric peak is around 20 times that of TLD-100. • Based on EPR studies a TL mechanism is proposed in zinc borate. • Deconvolution of the glow curve carried out

  19. Thermoluminescence dosimetric characteristics of thulium doped ZnB{sub 2}O{sub 4} phosphor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Annalakshmi, O. [Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam-603102 (India); Jose, M.T., E-mail: mtj@igcar.gov.in [Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam-603102 (India); Madhusoodanan, U. [Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam-603102 (India); Subramanian, J. [Central Leather Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Chennai (India); Venkatraman, B. [Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam-603102 (India); Amarendra, G. [Materials Physics Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam-603102 (India); Mandal, A.B. [Central Leather Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Chennai (India)

    2014-02-15

    Polycrystalline powder samples of rare earth doped Zinc borates were synthesized by high temperature solid state diffusion technique. Dosimetric characteristics of the phosphor like thermoluminescence glow curve, TL emission spectra, dose–response, fading studies, reproducibility and reusability studies were carried out on the synthesized phosphors. Among the different rare earth doped phosphors, thulium doped zinc borate was found to have a higher sensitivity. Hence detailed dosimetric characteristics of this phosphor were carried out. It is observed that the dose–response is linear from 10 mGy to 10{sup 3} Gy in this phosphor. EPR measurements were carried out on unirradiated, gamma irradiated and annealed phosphors to identify the defect centers responsible for thermoluminescence. A TL model is proposed based on the EPR studies in these materials. Kinetic parameters were evaluated for the dosimetric peaks using various methods. The experimental results show that this phosphor can have potential applications in radiation dosimetry applications. -- Highlights: • Polycrystalline powder samples of rare earth doped zinc borates were synthesized. • Thulium was observed to be the most efficient dopant in ZnB{sub 2}O{sub 4} lattice. • TL intensity of the dosimetric peak is around 20 times that of TLD-100. • Based on EPR studies a TL mechanism is proposed in zinc borate. • Deconvolution of the glow curve carried out.

  20. Symptomatic zinc deficiency in experimental zinc deprivation.

    OpenAIRE

    Taylor, C M; Goode, H F; Aggett, P J; Bremner, I; Walker, B E; Kelleher, J

    1992-01-01

    An evaluation of indices of poor zinc status was undertaken in five male subjects in whom dietary zinc intake was reduced from 85 mumol d-1 in an initial phase of the study to 14 mumol d-1. One of the subjects developed features consistent with zinc deficiency after receiving the low zinc diet for 12 days. These features included retroauricular acneform macullo-papular lesions on the face, neck, and shoulders and reductions in plasma zinc, red blood cell zinc, neutrophil zinc and plasma alkal...

  1. Investigation of zinc chromatation Part II. Electrochemical impedance techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabrielli, C.; Keddam, M.; Minouflet-Laurent, F.; Ogle, K.; Perrot, H.

    2003-01-01

    A mechanism to explain the formation of a chromate layer on zinc is proposed. It assumes that a ZnO inner film blocks the zinc surface on which the chromate layer grows. This layer has gel-like properties. The diffusion of the protons across the chromate layer and across the solution is supposed to be the kinetically limiting steps. This model was derived and experimentally tested in terms of impedance. The influences of the immersion time, mass transport, and pH of the chromatation solution were examined. A rather good agreement was found between the predictions of the model and the experimental results

  2. Study on density distribution and diffusion of deuterons in mono- and polycrystalline Ni absorbers using the nuclear reaction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heintze, V.

    1976-01-01

    Irradiation experiments with cooled poly- and monocrystalline Ni absorbers are reported on. A very complex irradiation apparatus was set up, and a nuclear physics method was tested which enables an alignment of low-index crystal directions of monocrystalline absorbers in the target chamber with an exactness of at least 0.1 0 with regard to the ion beam. The nuclear reaction technique for the D(d,p)T reaction was developed far enough to enable a non-destructive determination of deuteron density distributions by analyzing proton spectra of this reaction. At low incorporation doses, there was no dose dependence of density distributions in monocrystalline Ni samples. Profile changes interpreted by a 'blurring' of the incident angle α due to an arching of the surface were only observed at doses Qsub(w) approximately > 3 x 10 18 deuterons/cm 2 . Furthermore, in polycrystalline Ni absorbers, there was a dependence of deuteron distributions on the angle between the beam and the absorber surface, which may be interpreted as a picture of a certain deposition, probability of single ions. In monocrystalline absorbers, range distributions for each of the low-index crystal directions were measured and compared with similar profiles of the polycrystalline absorber which had been measured at the same incident angle α. (orig.) [de

  3. Structural and electrical characterization of zinc oxide doped with antimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Juárez Díaz

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In this work we report the results of structural and electrical characterization realized on zinc oxide single crystal samples with (001 orientation, which were doped with antimony. Doping was carried out by antimony thermal diffusion at 1000 °C for periods of 1 and 2 hours under nitrogen environment from a solid source formed by antimony oxide. Electrical characterization by I-V curves and Hall effect shown an increase in acceptor concentration which demonstrates that doping is effective and create holes in zinc oxide samples.

  4. Deformation localization and cyclic strength in polycrystalline molybdenum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sidorov, O.T.; Rakshin, A.F.; Fenyuk, M.I.

    1983-06-01

    Conditions of deformation localization and its interrelation with cyclic strength in polycrystalline molybdenum were investigated. A fatigue failure of polycrystalline molybdenum after rolling and in an embrittled state reached by recrystallization annealing under cyclic bending at room temperature takes place under nonuniform distribution of microplastic strain resulting in a temperature rise in separate sections of more than 314 K. More intensive structural changes take place in molybdenum after rolling than in recrystallized state.

  5. Determination of the cationic self-diffusion coefficient in ThO2-5%UO2 nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabioni, A.C.S.

    1984-01-01

    The cation self-diffusion coefficient for the ThO 2 -5%UO 2 by means of the densification model developed by Assmann and Stehle was determined. The experimental data of the fuel densification, used in the calculations, were obtained from thermal resinter tests. Our result is comparable to previously published values for U and Th diffusion in polycrystalline ThO 2 and (Th, U)O 2 . (Author) [pt

  6. Zinc

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Consumer Datos en español Health Professional Other Resources Zinc Fact Sheet for Consumers Have a question? Ask ... find out more about zinc? Disclaimer What is zinc and what does it do? Zinc is a ...

  7. Diffusion of alloying elements in liquid nickel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ershov, G.S.; Majboroda, V.P.; Permyakova, T.V.

    1990-01-01

    Values of diffusion coefficients for chromium, vanadium, zinc, silicon, tin, antimony, lead and zirconium in liquid nickel are determined within 1500-1700 deg C temperature range using annular gap technique. The data obtained are explained concerning microheterogeneous structure of metallic melts

  8. Surface damages of polycrystalline W and La2O3-doped W induced by high-flux He plasma irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lu; Li, Shouzhe; Liu, Dongping; Benstetter, Günther; Zhang, Yang; Hong, Yi; Fan, Hongyu; Ni, Weiyuan; Yang, Qi; Wu, Yunfeng; Bi, Zhenhua

    2018-04-01

    In this study, polycrystalline tungsten (W) and three oxide dispersed strengthened W with 0.1 vol %, 1.0 vol % and 5.0 vol % lanthanum trioxide (La2O3) were irradiated with low-energy (200 eV) and high-flux (5.8 × 1021 or 1.4 × 1022 ions/m2ṡs) He+ ions at elevated temperature. After He+ irradiation at a fluence of 3.0 × 1025/m2, their surface damages were observed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-electron backscatter diffraction, and conductive atomic force microscopy. Micron-sized holes were formed on the surface of W alloys after He+ irradiation at 1100 K. Analysis shows that the La2O3 grains doped in W were sputtered preferentially by the high-flux He+ ions when compared with the W grains. For irradiation at 1550 K, W nano-fuzz was formed at the surfaces of both polycrystalline W and La2O3-doped W. The thickness of the fuzz layers formed at the surface of La2O3-doped W is 40% lower than the one of polycrystalline W. The presence of La2O3 could suppress the diffusion and coalescence of He atoms inside W, which plays an important role in the growth of nanostructures fuzz.

  9. Magnetic resonance diffusion and relaxation characterization of water in the unfrozen vein network in polycrystalline ice and its response to microbial metabolic products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Jennifer R.; Brox, Timothy I.; Vogt, Sarah J.; Seymour, Joseph D.; Skidmore, Mark L.; Codd, Sarah L.

    2012-12-01

    Polycrystalline ice, as found in glaciers and the ice sheets of Antarctica, is a low porosity porous media consisting of a complicated and dynamic pore structure of liquid-filled intercrystalline veins within a solid ice matrix. In this work, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance measurements of relaxation rates and molecular diffusion, useful for probing pore structure and transport dynamics in porous systems, were used to physically characterize the unfrozen vein network structure in ice and its response to the presence of metabolic products produced by V3519-10, a cold tolerant microorganism isolated from the Vostok ice core. Recent research has found microorganisms that can remain viable and even metabolically active within icy environments at sub-zero temperatures. One potential mechanism of survival for V3519-10 is secretion of an extracellular ice binding protein that binds to the prism face of ice crystals and inhibits ice recrystallization, a coarsening process resulting in crystal growth with ice aging. Understanding the impact of ice binding activity on the bulk vein network structure in ice is important to modeling of frozen geophysical systems and in development of ice interacting proteins for biotechnology applications, such as cryopreservation of cell lines, and manufacturing processes in food sciences. Here, we present the first observations of recrystallization inhibition in low porosity ice containing V3519-10 extracellular protein extract as measured with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

  10. Zinc oxide nanoparticles as novel alpha-amylase inhibitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhobale, Sandip; Thite, Trupti; Laware, S. L.; Rode, C. V.; Koppikar, Soumya J.; Ghanekar, Ruchika-Kaul; Kale, S. N.

    2008-11-01

    Amylase inhibitors, also known as starch blockers, contain substances that prevent dietary starches from being absorbed by the body via inhibiting breakdown of complex sugars to simpler ones. In this sense, these materials are projected as having potential applications in diabetes control. In this context, we report on zinc oxide nanoparticles as possible alpha-amylase inhibitors. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized using soft-chemistry approach and 1-thioglycerol was used as a surfactant to yield polycrystalline nanoparticles of size ˜18 nm, stabilized in wurtzite structure. Conjugation study and structural characterization have been done using x-ray diffraction technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Cytotoxicity studies on human fibrosarcoma (HT-1080) and skin carcinoma (A-431) cell lines as well as mouse primary fibroblast cells demonstrate that up to a dose of 20 μg/ml, ZnO nanoparticles are nontoxic to the cells. We report for the first time the alpha-amylase inhibitory activity of ZnO nanoparticles wherein an optimum dose of 20 μg/ml was sufficient to exhibit 49% glucose inhibition at neutral pH and 35 °C temperature. This inhibitory activity was similar to that obtained with acarbose (a standard alpha-amylase inhibitor), thereby projecting ZnO nanoparticles as novel alpha-amylase inhibitors.

  11. Nucleation and growth of polycrystalline SiC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaiser, M.; Schimmel, S.; Jokubavicius, V.

    2014-01-01

    The nucleation and bulk growth of polycrystalline SiC in a 2 inch PVT setup using isostatic and pyrolytic graphite as substrates was studied. Textured nucleation occurs under near-thermal equilibrium conditions at the initial growth stage with hexagonal platelet shaped crystallites of 4H, 6H and 15......R polytypes. It is found that pyrolytic graphite results in enhanced texturing of the nucleating gas species. Reducing the pressure leads to growth of the crystallites until a closed polycrystalline SiC layer containing voids with a rough surface is developed. Bulk growth was conducted at 35 mbar Ar...

  12. Investigation of the Anisotropic Thermoelectric Properties of Oriented Polycrystalline SnSe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulong Li

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Polycrystalline SnSe was synthesized by a melting-annealing-sintering process. X-ray diffraction reveals the sample possesses pure phase and strong orientation along [h00] direction. The degree of the orientations was estimated and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties are characterized. The polycrystalline sample shows a low electrical conductivity and a positive and large Seebeck coefficient. The low thermal conductivity is also observed in polycrystalline sample, but slightly higher than that of single crystal. The minimum value of thermal conductivity was measured as 0.3 W/m·K at 790 K. With the increase of the orientation factor, both electrical and thermal conductivities decrease, but the thermopowers are unchanged. As a consequence, the zT values remain unchanged in the polycrystalline samples despite the large variation in the degree of orientation.

  13. Diffusion of implanted sodium in iron and AISI 316 Ti stainless steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kehrel, A.; Lieb, K.P.; Scapellato, N.; Uhrmacher, M.

    1990-01-01

    Samples of polycrystalline iron and austenitic stainless steel were implanted with 250 keV Na + ions to a dose of 1.5x10 17 ions/cm 2 . The Na content was depth-profiled with the resonant nuclear reaction 23 Na(p,γ) 24 Mg, after the samples had been isochronally annealed between room temperature and 1060deg C. In both matrices a diffusion process of Na atoms towards the surface was observed which is discussed in the light of results on Na diffusion in other metals (Cr, Ni and Mo). (orig.)

  14. Polycrystalline thin films : A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valvoda, V [Charles Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Faculty of Mathematics and Physics

    1996-09-01

    Polycrystalline thin films can be described in terms of grain morphology and in terms of their packing by the Thornton`s zone model as a function of temperature of deposition and as a function of energy of deposited atoms. Grain size and preferred grain orientation (texture) can be determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. A review of XRD analytical methods of texture analysis is given with main attention paid to simple empirical functions used for texture description and for structure analysis by joint texture refinement. To illustrate the methods of detailed structure analysis of thin polycrystalline films, examples of multilayers are used with the aim to show experiments and data evaluation to determine layer thickness, periodicity, interface roughness, lattice spacing, strain and the size of diffraction coherent volumes. The methods of low angle and high angle XRD are described and discussed with respect to their complementary information content.

  15. Diffraction by disordered polycrystalline fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stroud, W.J.; Millane, R.P.

    1995-01-01

    X-ray diffraction patterns from some polycrystalline fibers show that the constituent microcrystallites are disordered. The relationship between the crystal structure and the diffracted intensities is then quite complicated and depends on the precise kind and degree of disorder present. The effects of disorder on diffracted intensities must be included in structure determinations using diffraction data from such specimens. Theory and algorithms are developed here that allow the full diffraction pattern to be calculated for a disordered polycrystalline fiber made up of helical molecules. The model accommodates various kinds of disorder and includes the effects of finite crystallite size and cylindrical averaging of the diffracted intensities from a fiber. Simulations using these methods show how different kinds, or components, of disorder produce particular diffraction effects. General properties of disordered arrays of helical molecules and their effects on diffraction patterns are described. Implications for structure determination are discussed. (orig.)

  16. Determination of uranium self-diffusion coefficients in the U O2 nuclear fuel by secondary ion mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferraz, Wilmar Barbosa

    1998-01-01

    This study of uranium self-diffusion in UO 2 presents a great technological interest because its knowledge is necessary to interpret the mechanism of many important processes like, for example, sintering, creep, grain growth, in-reactor densification and others. The present work deals with new measurements of uranium diffusion in UO 2 single crystals and polycrystals through an original mythology based on the utilization of 235 U as tracer and depth profiling by secondary ions mass spectrometry (SIMS). The diffusion experiments were performed between 1498 and 1697 deg C, in H 2 atmosphere. In our experimental conditions, the uranium volume diffusion coefficients measured in UO 2 single crystals can be described by the following Arrhenius relation: D(cm 2 /s) = 8.54x10 -7 exp[-4.4(eV)/K T]. The uranium grain-boundary diffusion experiments performed in UO 2 polycrystals corresponded to the type-B diffusion. In this case, it was possible to determine the product D'δ, where D is the grain-boundary diffusion and is the width of the grain-boundary. In our experimental conditions, the product D'δ can be described by the following relation: D'δ (cm 3 /s) = 1.62x10 -5 exp[-5.6(eV)/K T]. These results that the uranium volume diffusion coefficients, measured in UO 2 single crystals, are 5 orders of magnitude lower than the uranium grain boundary diffusion coefficients measured in UO 2 polycrystalline pellets, in the same experimental conditions. This large difference between these two types of diffusivities indicates that the grain boundary is a preferential via for uranium diffusion in UO 2 polycrystalline pellet. (author)

  17. The three-dimensional microstructure of polycrystalline materials unravelled by synchrotron light

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ludwig, W.; King, A.; Herbig, M.

    2011-01-01

    The three-dimensional microstructure of polycrystalline materials unravelled by synchrotron light Synchrotron radiation X-ray imaging and diffraction techniques offer new possibilities for non-destructive bulk characterization of polycrystalline materials. Minute changes in electron density (diff...

  18. Effective polycrystalline sensor of ultraviolet radiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.Yu. Pavelets

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Deposition of special thin layers with high and low resistance in space charge region of surface barrier photoconverters based on the p-Cu1.8S/n-CdS structure leads to a sufficient increase in photosensitivity and decrease in dark tunneling-recombination current. Highly efficient and stable polycrystalline photoconverters of ultraviolet radiation based on polycrystalline CdS have been obtained. Electrical and photoelectric properties have been investigated, and the main operational parameters of ultraviolet sensors have been adduced. The reasons for high stability of the parameters inherent to the p-Cu1.8S/n-CdS sensors are as follows: the absence of impurity components additionally doped to the barrier structure and stability of the photocurrent photoemission component.

  19. Diffusion in semiconductors, other than silicon compilation

    CERN Document Server

    Fisher, David J

    2011-01-01

    Review from Book News Inc.: Summary reports of 337 experiments provide information on the diffusion of matter and heat in 31 materials used in semiconductors. Most of the compounds are based on cadmium, gallium, indium, lead, and zinc. Mercury telluride is included however, as is silicon carbide for some reason. Each article is thoroughly referenced to the authors and publication number, date, and page. The arrangement is alphabetical by semiconductor material. Indexes cover authors, hosts, and diffusants.

  20. Polycrystalline diamond detectors with three-dimensional electrodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lagomarsino, S., E-mail: lagomarsino@fi.infn.it [University of Florence, Department of Physics, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); INFN Firenze, Via B. Rossi 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Bellini, M. [INO-CNR Firenze, Largo E. Fermi 6, 50125 Firenze (Italy); Brianzi, M. [INFN Firenze, Via B. Rossi 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Carzino, R. [Smart Materials-Nanophysics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova (Italy); Cindro, V. [Joseph Stefan Institute, Jamova Cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Corsi, C. [University of Florence, Department of Physics, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); LENS Firenze, Via N. Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Morozzi, A.; Passeri, D. [INFN Perugia, Perugia (Italy); Università degli Studi di Perugia, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia (Italy); Sciortino, S. [University of Florence, Department of Physics, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); INFN Firenze, Via B. Rossi 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Servoli, L. [INFN Perugia, Perugia (Italy)

    2015-10-01

    The three-dimensional concept in diamond detectors has been applied, so far, to high quality single-crystal material, in order to test this technology in the best available conditions. However, its application to polycrystalline chemical vapor deposited diamond could be desirable for two reasons: first, the short inter-electrode distance of three-dimensional detectors should improve the intrinsically lower collection efficiency of polycrystalline diamond, and second, at high levels of radiation damage the performances of the poly-crystal material are not expected to be much lower than those of the single crystal one. We report on the fabrication and test of three-dimensional polycrystalline diamond detectors with several inter-electrode distances, and we demonstrate that their collection efficiency is equal or higher than that obtained with conventional planar detectors fabricated with the same material. - Highlights: • Pulsed laser fabrication of polycristalline diamond detectors with 3D electrodes. • Measurement of the charge collection efficiency (CCE) under beta irradiation. • Comparation between the CCE of 3D and conventional planar diamond sensors. • A rationale for the behavior of three-dimensional and planar sensors is given.

  1. Zinc sulfide and zinc selenide immersion gratings for astronomical high-resolution spectroscopy: evaluation of internal attenuation of bulk materials in the short near-infrared region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, Yuji; Kobayashi, Naoto; Kondo, Sohei; Yasui, Chikako; Kuzmenko, Paul J.; Tokoro, Hitoshi; Terada, Hiroshi

    2009-08-01

    We measure the internal attenuation of bulk crystals of chemical vapor deposition zinc selenide (CVD-ZnS), chemical vapor deposition zinc sulfide (CVD-ZnSe), Si, and GaAs in the short near-infrared (sNIR) region to evaluate the possibility of astronomical immersion gratings with those high refractive index materials. We confirm that multispectral grade CVD-ZnS and CVD-ZnSe are best suited for the immersion gratings, with the smallest internal attenuation of αatt=0.01 to 0.03 cm-1 among the major candidates. The measured attenuation is roughly in proportion to λ-2, suggesting it is dominated by bulk scattering due to the polycrystalline grains rather than by absorption. The total transmittance in the immersion grating is estimated to be at least >80%, even for the spectral resolution of R=300,000. Two potential problems, the scattered light by the bulk material and the degradation of the spectral resolution due to the gradient illumination in the diffracted beam, are investigated and found to be negligible for usual astronomical applications. Since the remaining problem, the difficulty of cutting grooves on CVD-ZnS and CVD-ZnSe, has recently been overcome by the nanoprecision fly-cutting technique, ZnS and ZnSe immersion gratings for astronomy can be technically realized.

  2. Dietary phytate, zinc and hidden zinc deficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandstead, Harold H; Freeland-Graves, Jeanne H

    2014-10-01

    Epidemiological data suggest at least one in five humans are at risk of zinc deficiency. This is in large part because the phytate in cereals and legumes has not been removed during food preparation. Phytate, a potent indigestible ligand for zinc prevents it's absorption. Without knowledge of the frequency of consumption of foods rich in phytate, and foods rich in bioavailable zinc, the recognition of zinc deficiency early in the illness may be difficult. Plasma zinc is insensitive to early zinc deficiency. Serum ferritin concentration≤20μg/L is a potential indirect biomarker. Early effects of zinc deficiency are chemical, functional and may be "hidden". The clinical problem is illustrated by 2 studies that involved US Mexican-American children, and US premenopausal women. The children were consuming home diets that included traditional foods high in phytate. The premenopausal women were not eating red meat on a regular basis, and their consumption of phytate was mainly from bran breakfast cereals. In both studies the presence of zinc deficiency was proven by functional responses to controlled zinc treatment. In the children lean-mass, reasoning, and immunity were significantly affected. In the women memory, reasoning, and eye-hand coordination were significantly affected. A screening self-administered food frequency questionnaire for office might help caregiver's identify patients at risk of zinc deficiency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  3. Polycrystalline Materials as a Cold Neutron and Gamma Radiation Filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habib, N.

    2009-01-01

    The total neutron cross-section of polycrystalline beryllium, graphite and iron has been calculated beyond their cut-off wavelength using a general formula. The computer Cold Filter code was developed in order to provide the required calculations. The code also permits the calculation of attenuation of reactor gamma radiation, The calculated neutron transmissions through polycrystalline Be graphite and iron at different temperatures were compared with the experimental data measured at the ETRR-1 reactor using two TOF spectrometers. An overall agreement is obtained between the formula fits and experimental data at different temperatures. A feasibility study is carried on using polycrystalline Be, graphite and iron an efficient filter for cold neutrons and gamma radiation.

  4. Method for producing polycrystalline boron nitride

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexeevskii, V.P.; Bochko, A.V.; Dzhamarov, S.S.; Karpinos, D.M.; Karyuk, G.G.; Kolomiets, I.P.; Kurdyumov, A.V.; Pivovarov, M.S.; Frantsevich, I.N.; Yarosh, V.V.

    1975-01-01

    A mixture containing less than 50 percent of graphite-like boron nitride treated by a shock wave and highly defective wurtzite-like boron nitride obtained by a shock-wave method is compressed and heated at pressure and temperature values corresponding to the region of the phase diagram for boron nitride defined by the graphite-like compact modifications of boron nitride equilibrium line and the cubic wurtzite-like boron nitride equilibrium line. The resulting crystals of boron nitride exhibit a structure of wurtzite-like boron nitride or of both wurtzite-like and cubic boron nitride. The resulting material exhibits higher plasticity as compared with polycrystalline cubic boron nitride. Tools made of this compact polycrystalline material have a longer service life under impact loads in machining hardened steel and chilled iron. (U.S.)

  5. Laser induced single-crystal transition in polycrystalline silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vitali, G.; Bertolotti, M.; Foti, G.; Rimini, E.

    1978-01-01

    Transition to single crystal of polycrystalline Si material underlying a Si crystal substrate of 100 orientation was obtained via laser irradiation. The changes in the structure were analyzed by reflection high energy electron diffraction and by channeling effect technique using 2.0 MeV He Rutherford scattering. The power density required to induce the transition in a 4500 A thick polycrystalline layer is about 70 MW/cm 2 (50ns). The corresponding amorphous to single transition has a threshold of about 45 MW/cm 2 . (orig.) 891 HPOE [de

  6. Electromechanical Response of Polycrystalline Barium Titanate Resolved at the Grain Scale

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Majkut, Marta; Daniels, John E.; Wright, Jonathan P.

    2017-01-01

    critical for understanding bulk polycrystalline ferroic behavior. Here, three-dimensional X-ray diffraction is used to reconstruct a 3D grain map (grain orientations and neighborhoods) of a polycrystalline barium titanate sample and track the grain-scale non-180° ferroelectric domain switching strains...

  7. A comparative study of transport properties in polycrystalline and epitaxial chromium nitride films

    KAUST Repository

    Duan, X. F.

    2013-01-08

    Polycrystalline CrNx films on Si(100) and glass substrates and epitaxial CrNx films on MgO(100) substrates were fabricated by reactive sputtering with different nitrogen gas flow rates (fN2). With the increase of fN2, a lattice phase transformation from metallic Cr2N to semiconducting CrN appears in both polycrystalline and epitaxial CrNx films. At fN2= 100 sccm, the low-temperature conductance mechanism is dominated by both Mott and Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping in either polycrystalline or epitaxial CrN films. In all of the polycrystalline and epitaxial films, only the polycrystalline CrNx films fabricated at fN2 = 30 and 50 sccm exhibit a discontinuity in ρ(T) curves at 260-280 K, indicating that both the N-vacancy concentration and grain boundaries play important roles in the metal-insulator transition. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

  8. Influence of Temperature on the Performance of Photovoltaic Polycrystalline Silicon Module in the Bruneian Climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Q. Malik

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The influence of working temperature for  a  polysilicon module has been investigated in Brunei Darussalam for a period of two years.  The rise in temperature produces thermal agitation which not only increases the dark current but also enhances the losses of free carriers in a polycrystalline module. The efficiency and the output power decreases with an increase in the working temperature. A maximum decline in the output power of 97% has been measured under a dominated diffused radiation environment. The temperature coefficients have been obtained and equations are developed to evaluate the change in the rating of module at any working temperature with reference to their values at STC.

  9. Thermal diffusion through amalgam and cement base: comparison of in vitro and in vivo measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tibbetts, V R; Schnell, R J; Swartz, M L; Phillips, R W

    1976-01-01

    Thermal diffusion was measured in vitro and in vivo through amalgam and amalgam underlaid with bases of zinc phosphate, zinc oxide-eugenol, and calcium hydroxide cements. Although the magnitudes differed, there generally was good agreement between in vitro and in vivo data with respect to the relative rates of thermal diffusivity through amalgam restorations underlaid with bases of each of the three materials. In all tests, both in vitro and in vivo, the zinc oxide-eugenol base proved to be the best thermal insulator. Calcium hydroxide was the next best thermal barrier and was followed by zinc phosphate cement. In vitro tests indicated dentin to be a better thermal insulator than zinc phosphate cement but inferior to the zinc oxide-eugenol and calcium hydroxide base materials used here. Although a method has been presented here for the in vivo assessment of the efficacy of thermal insulating bases and a number of in vivo experiments were conducted, much research remains to be done in this area. Additional investigation is needed to better define the parameters of thermal change beneath various types of restoratives and also to establish more exactly the role of base thickness in providing thermal protection beneath clinical metallic restorations.

  10. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of CO2 reaction with polycrystalline uranium surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Kezhao; Yu Yong; Zhou Juesheng; Wu Sheng; Wang Xiaolin; Fu Yibei

    1999-10-01

    The adsorption of CO 2 on 'clean' depleted polycrystalline uranium metal surface has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) at 300 K. The 'clean' surface were prepared by Ar + ion sputtering under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) condition with a base pressure 6.7 x 10 -8 Pa. The result s shows that adsorption of CO 2 on 'clean' uranium metal took place in total dissociation, and leads to the formation of uranium dioxide, uranium carbides and free carbon. The total dissociation of CO 2 produced carbon, oxygen species, CO 2 2- and CO 3 2- species. The diffusion tendency of carbon was much stronger than that of oxygen, and led to form a carbide in oxide-metal interface while the oxygen remained on their surface as an oxide

  11. The solubility and diffusion coefficient of helium in uranium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakajima, Kunihisa; Serizawa, Hiroyuki; Shirasu, Noriko; Haga, Yoshinori; Arai, Yasuo

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: ► The solubility and diffusivity of He in single-crystal UO 2 were determined. ► The determined He solubility lay within the scatter of the available data. ► The determined He diffusivity was in good agreement with recent experimental data. ► The He behavior was analyzed in terms of a simple interstitial diffusion mechanism. ► The experimental diffusivity was much lower than that analyzed theoretically. - Abstract: The solubility and diffusion coefficient of helium in the single-crystal UO 2 samples were determined by a Knudsen-effusion mass-spectrometric method. The measured helium solubilities were found to lie within the scatter of the available data, but to be much lower than those for the polycrystalline samples. The diffusion analysis was conducted based on a hypothetical equivalent sphere model and the simple Fick’s law. The helium diffusion coefficient was determined by using the pre-exponential factor and activation energy as the fitting parameters for the measured and calculated fractional releases of helium. The optimized diffusion coefficients were in good agreement with those obtained by a nuclear reaction method reported in the past. It was also found that the pre-exponential factors of the determined diffusion coefficients were much lower than those analyzed in terms of a simple interstitial diffusion mechanism.

  12. Polycrystalline silicon availability for photovoltaic and semiconductor industries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferber, R. R.; Costogue, E. N.; Pellin, R.

    1982-01-01

    Markets, applications, and production techniques for Siemens process-produced polycrystalline silicon are surveyed. It is noted that as of 1982 a total of six Si materials suppliers were servicing a worldwide total of over 1000 manufacturers of Si-based devices. Besides solar cells, the Si wafers are employed for thyristors, rectifiers, bipolar power transistors, and discrete components for control systems. An estimated 3890 metric tons of semiconductor-grade polycrystalline Si will be used in 1982, and 6200 metric tons by 1985. Although the amount is expected to nearly triple between 1982-89, research is being carried out on the formation of thin films and ribbons for solar cells, thereby eliminating the waste produced in slicing Czolchralski-grown crystals. The free-world Si production in 1982 is estimated to be 3050 metric tons. Various new technologies for the formation of polycrystalline Si at lower costs and with less waste are considered. New entries into the industrial Si formation field are projected to produce a 2000 metric ton excess by 1988.

  13. Oxygen depth profiling in Kr{sup +}-implanted polycrystalline alpha titanium by means of {sup 16}O({alpha},{alpha}){sup 16}O resonance scattering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nsengiyumva, S., E-mail: schadnse@hotmail.com [Department of Physics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701 (South Africa); Department of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140 (South Africa); Department of Physics, Kigali Institute of Education, P.O. Box 5039 Kigali (Rwanda); Riviere, J.P. [Laboratoire de Physique des Materiaux UMR6630-CNRS, 86960 (France); Raji, A.T.; Comrie, C.M.; Britton, D.T.; Haerting, M. [Department of Physics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701 (South Africa)

    2011-07-15

    The {sup 16}O({alpha},{alpha}){sup 16}O resonance scattering was applied to study the effects of ion implantation on the oxygen distribution in the near surface region of polycrystalline titanium implanted with 180 keV krypton ions at fluences, ranging between 1 x 10{sup 14} and 5 x 10{sup 15} Kr{sup +}/cm{sup 2}. Two sample sets were chosen: as-received polycrystalline titanium discs rolled and annealed in half-hard condition which had a thick oxygen layer and similar samples in which this surface layer was removed by polishing. An increase of the mean oxygen concentration observed in both unpolished and polished samples at low fluence suggests a knock-on implantation of surface oxygen atoms. At high fluence, an overall decrease in the mean oxygen concentration and mean oxygen depth suggests an out-diffusion of near-surface oxygen atoms.

  14. Equilibrium shapes of polycrystalline silicon nanodots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korzec, M. D., E-mail: korzec@math.tu-berlin.de; Wagner, B., E-mail: bwagner@math.tu-berlin.de [Department of Mathematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 136, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Roczen, M., E-mail: maurizio.roczen@physik.hu-berlin.de [Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Schade, M., E-mail: martin.schade@physik.uni-halle.de [Zentrum für Innovationskompetenz SiLi-nano, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Karl-Freiherr-von-Fritsch-Straße 3, 06120 Halle (Germany); Rech, B., E-mail: bernd.rech@helmholtz-berlin.de [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics, Kekuléstraße 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

    2014-02-21

    This study is concerned with the topography of nanostructures consisting of arrays of polycrystalline nanodots. Guided by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements of crystalline Si (c-Si) nanodots that evolved from a “dewetting” process of an amorphous Si (a-Si) layer from a SiO{sub 2} coated substrate, we investigate appropriate formulations for the surface energy density and transitions of energy density states at grain boundaries. We introduce a new numerical minimization formulation that allows to account for adhesion energy from an underlying substrate. We demonstrate our approach first for the free standing case, where the solutions can be compared to well-known Wulff constructions, before we treat the general case for interfacial energy settings that support “partial wetting” and grain boundaries for the polycrystalline case. We then use our method to predict the morphologies of silicon nanodots.

  15. Nanopores creation in boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene: A molecular dynamics study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izadifar, Mohammadreza; Abadi, Rouzbeh; Nezhad Shirazi, Ali Hossein; Alajlan, Naif; Rabczuk, Timon

    2018-05-01

    In the present paper, molecular dynamic simulations have been conducted to investigate the nanopores creation on 10% of boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene by silicon and diamond nanoclusters. Two types of nanoclusters based on silicon and diamond are used to investigate their effect for the fabrication of nanopores. Therefore, three different diameter sizes of the clusters with five kinetic energies of 10, 50, 100, 300 and 500 eV/atom at four different locations in boron or nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene nanosheets have been perused. We also study the effect of 3% and 6% of boron doped polycrystalline graphene with the best outcome from 10% of doping. Our results reveal that the diamond cluster with diameter of 2 and 2.5 nm fabricates the largest nanopore areas on boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene, respectively. Furthermore, the kinetic energies of 10 and 50 eV/atom can not fabricate nanopores in some cases for silicon and diamond clusters on boron doped polycrystalline graphene nanosheets. On the other hand, silicon and diamond clusters fabricate nanopores for all locations and all tested energies on nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene. The area sizes of nanopores fabricated by silicon and diamond clusters with diameter of 2 and 2.5 nm are close to the actual area size of the related clusters for the kinetic energy of 300 eV/atom in all locations on boron doped polycrystalline graphene. The maximum area and the average maximum area of nanopores are fabricated by the kinetic energy of 500 eV/atom inside the grain boundary at the center of the nanosheet and in the corner of nanosheet with diameters of 2 and 3 nm for silicon and diamond clusters on boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene.

  16. Temperature Dependence of the Seebeck Coefficient in Zinc Oxide Thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noori, Amirreza; Masoumi, Saeed; Hashemi, Najmeh

    2017-12-01

    Thermoelectric devices are reliable tools for converting waste heat into electricity as they last long, produce no noise or vibration, have no moving elements, and their light weight makes them suitable for the outer space usage. Materials with high thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) have the most important role in the fabrication of efficient thermoelectric devices. Metal oxide semiconductors, specially zinc oxide has recently received attention as a material suitable for sensor, optoelectronic and thermoelectric device applications because of their wide direct bandgap, chemical stability, high-energy radiation endurance, transparency and acceptable zT. Understanding the thermoelectric properties of the undoped ZnO thin films can help design better ZnO-based devices. Here, we report the results of our experimental work on the thermoelectric properties of the undoped polycrystalline ZnO thin films. These films are deposited on alumina substrates by thermal evaporation of zinc in vacuum followed by a controlled oxidation process in air carried out at the 350-500 °C temperature range. The experimental setup including gradient heaters, thermometry system and Seebeck voltage measurement equipment for high resistance samples is described. Seebeck voltage and electrical resistivity of the samples are measured at different conditions. The observed temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient is discussed.

  17. Photocatalytic self-cleaning properties of cellulosic fibers modified by nano-sized zinc oxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moafi, Hadi Fallah; Shojaie, Abdollah Fallah, E-mail: a.f.shojaie@guilan.ac.ir; Zanjanchi, Mohammad Ali

    2011-03-31

    Nano-sized zinc oxide was synthesized and deposited onto cellulosic fibers using the sol-gel process at ambient temperature. The prepared materials were characterized using several techniques including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. X-ray diffraction studies of the ZnO-coated fiber indicate formation of the hexagonal crystal phase which was satisfactory crystallized on the fiber surface. The electron micrographs show formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles within 10-15 nm in size which have been homogeneously dispersed on the fiber surface. The prepared materials show significant photocatalytic self-cleaning activity, which was monitored by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photoactivity was studied upon measuring the photodegradation of methylene blue and eosin yellowish under UV-Vis irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the treated fabrics was fully maintained performing several cycles of photodegradation.

  18. Photocatalytic self-cleaning properties of cellulosic fibers modified by nano-sized zinc oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moafi, Hadi Fallah; Shojaie, Abdollah Fallah; Zanjanchi, Mohammad Ali

    2011-01-01

    Nano-sized zinc oxide was synthesized and deposited onto cellulosic fibers using the sol-gel process at ambient temperature. The prepared materials were characterized using several techniques including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. X-ray diffraction studies of the ZnO-coated fiber indicate formation of the hexagonal crystal phase which was satisfactory crystallized on the fiber surface. The electron micrographs show formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles within 10-15 nm in size which have been homogeneously dispersed on the fiber surface. The prepared materials show significant photocatalytic self-cleaning activity, which was monitored by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photoactivity was studied upon measuring the photodegradation of methylene blue and eosin yellowish under UV-Vis irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the treated fabrics was fully maintained performing several cycles of photodegradation.

  19. Self-diffusion of Er and Hf inpure and HfO2-doped polycrystalline Er2O3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheidecker, R.W.

    1979-01-01

    Using a tracer technique, self-diffusion of Er and Hf was measured over the approximate temperature interval of 1600 to 1970 0 C in pure and HfO 2 -doped polycryatalline Er 2 O 3 . Up to about 10 m/o HfO 2 dopant level, the Er self-diffusion coefficients followed a relationship based on cation vacancies. Above 10 m/o HfO 2 , deviation from this relationship occurred, apparently due to clustering of cation vacancies and oxygen interstitials around the dopant hafnia ion. The activation energy for the self-diffusion of Er in pure Er 2 O 3 was 82.2 Kcal/mole and increased with the HfO 2 dopant level present. Self-diffusion of Hf was measured in pure Er 2 O 3 having two impurity levels, and a separation of the grain boundary. The volume diffusion of Hf showed both extrinsic and intrinsic behavior with the transition temperature increasing with the impurity level present in Er 2 O 3 . The activation energy for Hf volume diffusion in the intrinsic region was high, i.e. 235 -+ 9.5 Kcal/mole. The grain boundary diffusion was apparently extrinsic over the entire temperature interval Very low Hf self diffusion rates were found in both pure and HfO 2 doped Er 2 O 3 compositions. Despite a clustering effect, the HfO 2 dopant increased the Hf volume diffusion coefficients

  20. Physical characterization of plakophilin 1 reconstituted with and without zinc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, I; Mücke, N; Reed, J; Herrmann, H; Langowski, J

    2000-07-01

    Plakophilin 1 (PKP1) belongs to the arm-repeat protein family which is characterized by the presence of a conserved 42-amino-acid motif. Despite individual members of the family containing a similar type of structural domain, they exhibit diverse cellular functions. PKP1 is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues and, depending on the type of cell, found prominently in the karyoplasm and/or in desmosomes. In surface plasmon resonance detection experiments, we noticed that PKP1 specifically bound zinc but not calcium or magnesium. Therefore we have used circular dichroism spectroscopy, limited proteolysis, analytical ultracentrifugation, electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering to establish the physical properties of recombinant PKP1 depending on the presence or absence of zinc. The alpha helix content of PKP1 was considerably higher when reconstituted with zinc than without. By atomic absorption spectroscopy 7.3 atoms zinc were shown to be tightly associated with one molecule of wild-type PKP1. The zinc-reconstituted protein formed globular particles of 21.9 +/- 8.4 nm diameter, as measured by electron microscopy after glycerol spraying/rotary metal shadowing. In parallel, the average sedimentation coefficient (s20, w) for zinc-containing PKP1 was 41S and its diffusion coefficient, as obtained by dynamic light scattering, 1.48 x 10-7 cm2.s-1. The molecular mass of 2.44 x 106 obtained from s and D yields an average stoichiometry of 30 for the PKP1 oligomer. In contrast, PKP1, reconstituted without zinc, contained no significant amount of zinc, sedimented with 4.6S, and was present in monomeric form as determined by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation.

  1. Synthesis and nonlinear optical property of polycrystalline MnTeMoO_6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Chengguo

    2017-01-01

    Polycrystalline MnTeMoO_6 powder has been synthesized by a new approach that MnO_2 is used as the manganese source. The transformation mechanism of manganese ions in the new approach has been discussed. The nonlinear optical property of polycrystalline MnTeMoO_6 has been investigated, and compared with single-crystalline samples. The transformation Mn"4"+ → Mn"2"+ may be formed directly without stable intermediates, and TeO_2 may serve as catalyst. The SHG response of polycrystalline MnTeMoO_6 powder is worse than that of single-crystalline powder in the same particle size distribution as its pseudo-size. The results indicate that it should pay special attention with the pseudo-size of polycrystalline powder when the potential nonlinear optical materials are screened by powder second harmonic generation measurements. (orig.)

  2. Modeling and simulation of the deposition/relaxation processes of polycrystalline diatomic structures of metallic nitride films

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, M. F.; Restrepo-Parra, E.; Riaño-Rojas, J. C.

    2015-05-01

    This work develops a model that mimics the growth of diatomic, polycrystalline thin films by artificially splitting the growth into deposition and relaxation processes including two stages: (1) a grain-based stochastic method (grains orientation randomly chosen) is considered and by means of the Kinetic Monte Carlo method employing a non-standard version, known as Constant Time Stepping, the deposition is simulated. The adsorption of adatoms is accepted or rejected depending on the neighborhood conditions; furthermore, the desorption process is not included in the simulation and (2) the Monte Carlo method combined with the metropolis algorithm is used to simulate the diffusion. The model was developed by accounting for parameters that determine the morphology of the film, such as the growth temperature, the interacting atomic species, the binding energy and the material crystal structure. The modeled samples exhibited an FCC structure with grain formation with orientations in the family planes of , and . The grain size and film roughness were analyzed. By construction, the grain size decreased, and the roughness increased, as the growth temperature increased. Although, during the growth process of real materials, the deposition and relaxation occurs simultaneously, this method may perhaps be valid to build realistic polycrystalline samples.

  3. Quantification of Ionic Diffusion in Lead Halide Perovskite Single Crystals

    KAUST Repository

    Peng, Wei

    2018-05-25

    Lead halide perovskites are mixed electronic/ionic semiconductors that have recently revolutionized the photovoltaics field. The physical characterization of the ionic conductivity has been rather elusive due to the highly intermixing of ionic and electronic current. In this work the synthesis of low defect density monocrystalline MAPbBr3 (MA=Methyl ammonium) solar cells free of hole transport layer (HTL) suppresses the effect of electronic current. Impedance spectroscopy reveals the characteristic signature of ionic diffusion (the Warburg element and transmission line equivalent circuit) and ion accumulation at the MAPbBr3/Au interface. Diffusion coefficients are calculated based on a good correlation between thickness of MAPbBr3 and characteristic diffusion transition frequency. In addition, reactive external interfaces are studied by comparison of polycrystalline MAPbBr3 devices prepared either with or without a HTL. The low frequency response in IS measurements is correlated with the chemical reactivity of moving ions with the external interfaces and diffusion into the HTL.

  4. Haemolytic anaemia and acute pancreatitis associated with zinc toxicosis in a dog.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blundell, R; Adam, F

    2013-01-05

    We describe a case of zinc toxicity in a 14-month-old, female, neutered, Cavalier King Charles spaniel with a 48-hour history of haematochezia, icterus and collapse. Regenerative anaemia with a packed-cell volume of 7 per cent was seen. Prior to referral, radiography had revealed a gastric, metallic foreign body which was removed at exploratory laparotomy. On presentation, the dog was comatose, hypothermic and bradycardic - resuscitation was performed successfully, but the dog then displayed marked abdominal pain. The dog died 12 hours after presentation. At postmortem examination, the animal showed severe icterus. Both kidneys were diffusely dark red; the pancreas was diffusely pale and nodular. Histopathological examination revealed evidence of intravascular haemolysis with blood vessel lumens containing haemoglobin. The renal tubules also contained large amounts of intraluminal haemoglobin with haemoglobin crystals scattered throughout the cortex and medulla. The pancreas exhibited multifocal coagulative necrosis, surrounded by a neutrophil-dominated inflammatory infiltrate. Zinc levels were markedly increased above the normal reference range in both liver and kidney. This report describes the clinical and pathological findings of a case of acute zinc toxicity in a dog following ingestion of a metallic object which resulted in marked haemolytic anaemia and acute pancreatitis.

  5. [Improvement in zinc nutrition due to zinc transporter-targeting strategy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kambe, Taiho

    2016-07-01

    Adequate intake of zinc from the daily diet is indispensable to maintain health. However, the dietary zinc content often fails to fulfill the recommended daily intake, leading to zinc deficiency and also increases the risk of developing chronic diseases, particularly in elderly individuals. Therefore, increased attention is required to overcome zinc deficiency and it is important to improve zinc nutrition in daily life. In the small intestine, the zinc transporter, ZIP4, functions as a component that is essential for zinc absorption. In this manuscript, we present a brief overview regarding zinc deficiency. Moreover, we review a novel strategy, called "ZIP4-targeting", which has the potential to enable efficient zinc absorption from the diet. ZIP4-targeting strategy is possibly a major step in preventing zinc deficiency and improving human health.

  6. Zinc content of selected tissues and taste perception in rats fed zinc deficient and zinc adequate rations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boeckner, L.S.; Kies, C.

    1986-01-01

    The objective of the study was to determine the effects of feeding zinc sufficient and zinc deficient rations on taste sensitivity and zinc contents of selected organs in rats. The 36 Sprague-Dawley male weanling rats were divided into 2 groups and fed zinc deficient or zinc adequate rations. The animals were subjected to 4 trial periods in which a choice of deionized distilled water or a solution of quinine sulfate at 1.28 x 10 -6 was given. A randomized schedule for rat sacrifice was used. No differences were found between zinc deficient and zinc adequate rats in taste preference aversion scores for quinine sulfate in the first three trial periods; however, in the last trial period rats in the zinc sufficient group drank somewhat less water containing quinine sulfate as a percentage of total water consumption than did rats fed the zinc deficient ration. Significantly higher zinc contents of kidney, brain and parotid salivary glands were seen in zinc adequate rats compared to zinc deficient rats at the end of the study. However, liver and tongue zinc levels were lower for both groups at the close of the study than were those of rats sacrificed at the beginning of the study

  7. Characteristic Studies of Micron Zinc Particle Hydrolysis in a Fixed Bed Reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lv Ming

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Zinc fuel is considered as a kind of promising energy sources for marine propeller. As one of the key steps for zinc marine energy power system, zinc hydrolysis process had been studied experimentally in a fixed bed reactor. In this study, we focus on the characteristics of micron zinc particle hydrolysis. The experimental results suggested that the steam inner diffusion is the controlling step of accumulative zinc particles hydrolysis reaction at a relative lower temperature and a relative higher water partial pressure. In other conditions, the chemical reaction kinetics was the controlling step. And two kinds of chemical reaction kinetics appeared in experiments: the surface reaction and the gas-gas reaction. The latter one occurs usually for larger zinc particles and high reaction temperature. Temperature seems to be one of the most important parameters for the dividing of different reaction mechanisms. Several parameters of the hydrolysis process including heating rate, water partial pressure, the particle size and temperature were also studied in this paper. Results show that the initial reaction temperature of zinc hydrolysis in fixed bed is about 410°C. And the initial reaction temperature increases as the heating rate increases and as the water partial pressure decreases. The total hydrogen yield increases as the heating rate decreases, as the water partial pressure increases, as the zinc particle size decreases, and as the reaction temperature increases. A hydrogen yield of more than 81.5% was obtained in the fixed bed experiments.

  8. Diffusion of zinc into an unpassivated surface of indium phosphide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budko, T.O.; Gushchinskaya, E.V.; Emelyanenko, Yu.S.; Malyshev, S.A.

    1989-01-01

    Peculiarities are studied of the diffusion of Zn into an unpassivated surface of InP in an open gasflow system. In the region where the carrier concentration profile is described by an erfc (error function compliment), the diffusion coefficient and activation energy are determined. It is shown that thermal processes cause changes in the charge state of Zn in InP which result in a variation of the carrier profile in the semiconductor. (author)

  9. Laser-beam-induced current mapping evaluation of porous silicon-based passivation in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rabha, M. Ben; Bessais, B. [Laboratoire de Nanomateriaux et des Systemes pour l' Energie, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie - Technopole de Borj-Cedria BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Dimassi, W.; Bouaicha, M.; Ezzaouia, H. [Laboratoire de photovoltaique, des semiconducteurs et des nanostructures, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie - Technopole de Borj-Cedria BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia)

    2009-05-15

    In the present work, we report on the effect of introducing a superficial porous silicon (PS) layer on the performance of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) solar cells. Laser-beam-induced current (LBIC) mapping shows that the PS treatment on the emitter of pc-Si solar cells improves their quantum response and reduce the grain boundaries (GBs) activity. After the porous silicon treatment, mapping investigation shows an enhancement of the LBIC and the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), due to an improvement of the minority carrier diffusion length and the passivation of recombination centers at the GBs as compared to the reference substrate. It was quantitatively shown that porous silicon treatment can passivate both the grains and GBs. (author)

  10. Effect of Zinc Phosphate on the Corrosion Behavior of Waterborne Acrylic Coating/Metal Interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Hongxia; Song, Dongdong; Li, Xiaogang; Zhang, Dawei; Gao, Jin; Du, Cuiwei

    2017-06-14

    Waterborne coating has recently been paid much attention. However, it cannot be used widely due to its performance limitations. Under the specified conditions of the selected resin, selecting the function pigment is key to improving the anticorrosive properties of the coating. Zinc phosphate is an environmentally protective and efficient anticorrosion pigment. In this work, zinc phosphate was used in modifying waterborne acrylic coatings. Moreover, the disbonding resistance of the coating was studied. Results showed that adding zinc phosphate can effectively inhibit the anode process of metal corrosion and enhance the wet adhesion of the coating, and consequently prevent the horizontal diffusion of the corrosive medium into the coating/metal interface and slow down the disbonding of the coating.

  11. Influence of pH on optoelectronic properties of zinc sulphide thin films prepared using hydrothermal and spin coating method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choudapur, V. H.; Bennal, A. S.; Raju, A. B.

    2018-04-01

    The ZnS nanomaterial is synthesized by hydrothermal method under optimized conditions using Zinc acetate and sodium sulphide as precursors. The Zinc Sulphide thin films are obtained by simple spin coating method with high optical transmittance. The prepared thin films are adhesive and uniform. The x-ray diffraction analysis showed that the films are polycrystalline in cubic phase with the preferred orientation along (111) direction. Current-voltage curves were recorded at room temperature using Keithley 617 programmable electrometer and conductivity is calculated for the film coated on ITO by two probe method. The pH of the solution is varied by using ammonia and hydrochloric acid. The comparative studies of effect of pH on the morphology, crystallanity and optoelectronic properties of the films are studied. It is observed that the pH of the solution has large influence on optoelectronic properties. The thin film prepared with neutral pH has higher crystallanity, bandgap and conductivity as compared to the samples prepared in acidic or basic solutions.

  12. Zinc oxide films impurified with Ti and prepared by the Sol-gel method; Peliculas de oxido de zinc impurificadas con Ti y preparadas por el metodo Sol-gel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tirado G, S. [ESFM-IPN, 07738 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); Cazares R, J.M.; Maldonado, A. [CINVESTAV-IPN, A.P. 14-740, 07000 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

    2006-07-01

    Titanium-doped zinc oxide thin films have been prepared on silicon substrate using the Sol-Gel technique. The structural, morphology, electrical and optical properties of such thin films were studied as a function of titanium concentration (0.5, 1 and 1.5 %) and the thin films thickness. Zinc acetate dihydrate and titanium (VI)-oxy acetylacetonate were used as precursor materials, using 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine as via. The X-ray diffraction spectra show polycrystalline films in all the cases. It can see for all the thin films a preferential growth along the (002) planes where the titanium concentration and also the thin films thickness play an important rule. No structural changes are observed at all. The surface morphology studied shows as the grain size decreases when thin thickness is increases. For titanium concentration of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 % values the grains size increase also. The thin films thickness for titanium concentration of 1.5 % was 500 nm (4v), 400 nm (3v), 180 nm (2v) and 130 nm (1v), values obtained from cross-section micrographs. Highly resistive samples are obtained for substrate soda-lime even showing high transmittance. Better physical properties are required for gas sensors or semitransparent electrodes and other possible applications. (Author)

  13. Impact of graphene polycrystallinity on the performance of graphene field-effect transistors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiménez, David; Chaves, Ferney [Departament d' Enginyeria Electrònica, Escola d' Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra (Spain); Cummings, Aron W.; Van Tuan, Dinh [ICN2, Institut Català de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain); Kotakoski, Jani [Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090 Wien (Austria); Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 43, 00014 University of Helsinki (Finland); Roche, Stephan [ICN2, Institut Català de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) (Spain); ICREA, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, 08070 Barcelona (Spain)

    2014-01-27

    We have used a multi-scale physics-based model to predict how the grain size and different grain boundary morphologies of polycrystalline graphene will impact the performance metrics of graphene field-effect transistors. We show that polycrystallinity has a negative impact on the transconductance, which translates to a severe degradation of the maximum and cutoff frequencies. On the other hand, polycrystallinity has a positive impact on current saturation, and a negligible effect on the intrinsic gain. These results reveal the complex role played by graphene grain boundaries and can be used to guide the further development and optimization of graphene-based electronic devices.

  14. Impact of graphene polycrystallinity on the performance of graphene field-effect transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiménez, David; Chaves, Ferney; Cummings, Aron W.; Van Tuan, Dinh; Kotakoski, Jani; Roche, Stephan

    2014-01-01

    We have used a multi-scale physics-based model to predict how the grain size and different grain boundary morphologies of polycrystalline graphene will impact the performance metrics of graphene field-effect transistors. We show that polycrystallinity has a negative impact on the transconductance, which translates to a severe degradation of the maximum and cutoff frequencies. On the other hand, polycrystallinity has a positive impact on current saturation, and a negligible effect on the intrinsic gain. These results reveal the complex role played by graphene grain boundaries and can be used to guide the further development and optimization of graphene-based electronic devices

  15. Ultrathin polycrystalline 6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Min-Cherl; Zhang, Dongrong; Nikiforov, Gueorgui O.; Lee, Michael V.; Qi, Yabing, E-mail: Yabing.Qi@oist.jp [Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit (EMSS), Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495 (Japan); Joo Shin, Tae; Ahn, Docheon; Lee, Han-Koo; Baik, Jaeyoon; Shin, Hyun-Joon [Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-03-15

    Ultrathin (<6 nm) polycrystalline films of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-P) are deposited with a two-step spin-coating process. The influence of spin-coating conditions on morphology of the resulting film was examined by atomic force microscopy. Film thickness and RMS surface roughness were in the range of 4.0–6.1 and 0.6–1.1 nm, respectively, except for small holes. Polycrystalline structure was confirmed by grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements. Near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure measurements suggested that the plane through aromatic rings of TIPS-P molecules was perpendicular to the substrate surface.

  16. High vacuum tribology of polycrystalline diamond coatings

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Polycrystalline diamond coatings; hot filament CVD; high vacuum tribology. 1. Introduction .... is a characteristic of graphite. We mark the (diamond ... coefficient of friction due to changes in substrate temperature. The average coefficient of.

  17. Structure and magnetoresistive properties of current-perpendicular-to-plane pseudo-spin valves using polycrystalline Co2Fe-based Heusler alloy films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakatani, T.M.; Du, Ye; Takahashi, Y.K.; Furubayashi, T.; Hono, K.

    2013-01-01

    We report current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance (CPP–GMR) of pseudo-spin valves (PSVs) with polycrystalline Co 2 Fe(Al 0.5 Si 0.5 ) (CFAS) and Co 2 Fe(Ga 0.5 Ge 0.5 ) (CFGG) Heusler alloy films. Strongly [0 1 1] textured polycrystalline Heusler alloy films grew on the Ta/Ru/Ag underlayer. Relatively large CPP–GMR values of ΔRA up to 4 mΩ μm 2 and ΔR/R up to 10% were obtained with 5 nm thick Heusler alloy films and Ag spacer layer by annealing CFAS PSV at 450 °C and CFGG PSV at 350 °C. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a flat and sharp interface between the [0 1 1] textured CFAS layers and the [1 1 1] textured Ag spacer layer. Annealing above an optimal temperature for each PSV led to reductions in MR values as a result of the thickening of the spacer layer induced by the Ag diffusion from the outer Ag layers

  18. Does the oral zinc tolerance test measure zinc absorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valberg, L.S.; Flanagan, P.R.; Brennan, J.; Chamberlain, M.J.

    1985-01-01

    Increases in plasma zinc concentration were compared with radiozinc absorption after oral test doses. Ten healthy, fasting subjects were each given 385 mumol zinc chloride (25 mg Zn) labelled with 0.5 muCi /sup 65/ZnCl/sub 2/ and a non-absorbed marker, /sup 51/CrCl/sub 3/, dissolved in 100 ml of water; another 10 persons were given 354 mumol zinc chloride and 125 g of minced turkey containing 31 mumol zinc also labelled with /sup 65/Zn and /sup 51/Cr. Measurements were made of plasma zinc concentration at hourly intervals for 5 hours, radiozinc absorption by stool counting of unabsorbed radioactivity 12-36 hours later, and radiozinc retention by whole body counting at 7 days. The mean percentage of radiozinc absorbed and retained in the body from the two test meals was found to be identical (42%). In contrast the increased area under the plasma zinc curve up to 5 hours after the turkey meal, 28 +/- 9 mumol/L (mean +/- SD) was significantly less than that for zinc chloride alone, 47 +/- 15 mumol/L, p less than 0.005. Despite this difference, a good correlation was found between the area under the plasma zinc curve and /sup 65/Zn absorption in individual subjects after each meal. The discrepancy between the results of zinc absorption derived from the plasma zinc curve and /sup 65/Zn absorption for the liquid and solid test meals was most likely explained by binding of zinc to food and delayed gastric emptying of the solid meal. With a test meal of turkey meat at least this dampened the plasma appearance of zinc but did not affect its overall absorption.

  19. Does the oral zinc tolerance test measure zinc absorption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valberg, L.S.; Flanagan, P.R.; Brennan, J.; Chamberlain, M.J.

    1985-01-01

    Increases in plasma zinc concentration were compared with radiozinc absorption after oral test doses. Ten healthy, fasting subjects were each given 385 mumol zinc chloride (25 mg Zn) labelled with 0.5 muCi 65 ZnCl 2 and a non-absorbed marker, 51 CrCl 3 , dissolved in 100 ml of water; another 10 persons were given 354 mumol zinc chloride and 125 g of minced turkey containing 31 mumol zinc also labelled with 65 Zn and 51 Cr. Measurements were made of plasma zinc concentration at hourly intervals for 5 hours, radiozinc absorption by stool counting of unabsorbed radioactivity 12-36 hours later, and radiozinc retention by whole body counting at 7 days. The mean percentage of radiozinc absorbed and retained in the body from the two test meals was found to be identical (42%). In contrast the increased area under the plasma zinc curve up to 5 hours after the turkey meal, 28 +/- 9 mumol/L (mean +/- SD) was significantly less than that for zinc chloride alone, 47 +/- 15 mumol/L, p less than 0.005. Despite this difference, a good correlation was found between the area under the plasma zinc curve and 65 Zn absorption in individual subjects after each meal. The discrepancy between the results of zinc absorption derived from the plasma zinc curve and 65 Zn absorption for the liquid and solid test meals was most likely explained by binding of zinc to food and delayed gastric emptying of the solid meal. With a test meal of turkey meat at least this dampened the plasma appearance of zinc but did not affect its overall absorption

  20. Influence of DNA-methylation on zinc homeostasis in myeloid cells: Regulation of zinc transporters and zinc binding proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessels, Jana Elena; Wessels, Inga; Haase, Hajo; Rink, Lothar; Uciechowski, Peter

    2016-09-01

    The distribution of intracellular zinc, predominantly regulated through zinc transporters and zinc binding proteins, is required to support an efficient immune response. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation are involved in the expression of these genes. In demethylation experiments using 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (AZA) increased intracellular (after 24 and 48h) and total cellular zinc levels (after 48h) were observed in the myeloid cell line HL-60. To uncover the mechanisms that cause the disturbed zinc homeostasis after DNA demethylation, the expression of human zinc transporters and zinc binding proteins were investigated. Real time PCR analyses of 14 ZIP (solute-linked carrier (SLC) SLC39A; Zrt/IRT-like protein), and 9 ZnT (SLC30A) zinc transporters revealed significantly enhanced mRNA expression of the zinc importer ZIP1 after AZA treatment. Because ZIP1 protein was also enhanced after AZA treatment, ZIP1 up-regulation might be the mediator of enhanced intracellular zinc levels. The mRNA expression of ZIP14 was decreased, whereas zinc exporter ZnT3 mRNA was also significantly increased; which might be a cellular reaction to compensate elevated zinc levels. An enhanced but not significant chromatin accessibility of ZIP1 promoter region I was detected by chromatin accessibility by real-time PCR (CHART) assays after demethylation. Additionally, DNA demethylation resulted in increased mRNA accumulation of zinc binding proteins metallothionein (MT) and S100A8/S100A9 after 48h. MT mRNA was significantly enhanced after 24h of AZA treatment also suggesting a reaction of the cell to restore zinc homeostasis. These data indicate that DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism affecting zinc binding proteins and transporters, and, therefore, regulating zinc homeostasis in myeloid cells. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  1. Mesoscopic approach to modeling elastic-plastic polycrystalline material behaviour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovac, M.; Cizelj, L.

    2001-01-01

    Extreme loadings during severe accident conditions might cause failure or rupture of the pressure boundary of a reactor coolant system. Reliable estimation of the extreme deformations can be crucial to determine the consequences of such an accident. One of important drawbacks of classical continuum mechanics is idealization of inhomogenous microstructure of materials. This paper discusses the mesoscopic approach to modeling the elastic-plastic behavior of a polycrystalline material. The main idea is to divide the continuum (e.g., polycrystalline aggregate) into a set of sub-continua (grains). The overall properties of the polycrystalline aggregate are therefore determined by the number of grains in the aggregate and properties of randomly shaped and oriented grains. The random grain structure is modeled with Voronoi tessellation and random orientations of crystal lattices are assumed. The elastic behavior of monocrystal grains is assumed to be anisotropic. Crystal plasticity is used to describe plastic response of monocrystal grains. Finite element method is used to obtain numerical solutions of strain and stress fields. The analysis is limited to two-dimensional models.(author)

  2. Sorption Kinetics for the Removal of Cadmium and Zinc onto Palm Kernel Shell Based Activated Carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Muhammad

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The kinetics and mechanism of cadmium and zinc adsorption on palm kernel shell based activated carbons (PKSAC have been studied. A series of batch laboratory studies were conducted in order to investigate the suitability of palm kernel shell based activated carbon (PKSAC for the removal of cadmium (cadmium ions and zinc (zinc ions from their aqueous solutions. All batch experiments were carried out at pH 7.0 and a constant temperature of 30+-1°C using an incubator shaker that operated at 150 rpm. The kinetics investigated includes the pseudo first order, the pseudo-second order and the intraparticle diffusion models. The pseudo-second order model correlate excellently the experimental data, suggesting that chemisorption processes could be the rate-limiting step. Keywords: adsorption, cadmium, kinetics, palm kernel shell, zinc

  3. Double diffusivity model under stochastic forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattopadhyay, Amit K.; Aifantis, Elias C.

    2017-05-01

    The "double diffusivity" model was proposed in the late 1970s, and reworked in the early 1980s, as a continuum counterpart to existing discrete models of diffusion corresponding to high diffusivity paths, such as grain boundaries and dislocation lines. It was later rejuvenated in the 1990s to interpret experimental results on diffusion in polycrystalline and nanocrystalline specimens where grain boundaries and triple grain boundary junctions act as high diffusivity paths. Technically, the model pans out as a system of coupled Fick-type diffusion equations to represent "regular" and "high" diffusivity paths with "source terms" accounting for the mass exchange between the two paths. The model remit was extended by analogy to describe flow in porous media with double porosity, as well as to model heat conduction in media with two nonequilibrium local temperature baths, e.g., ion and electron baths. Uncoupling of the two partial differential equations leads to a higher-ordered diffusion equation, solutions of which could be obtained in terms of classical diffusion equation solutions. Similar equations could also be derived within an "internal length" gradient (ILG) mechanics formulation applied to diffusion problems, i.e., by introducing nonlocal effects, together with inertia and viscosity, in a mechanics based formulation of diffusion theory. While being remarkably successful in studies related to various aspects of transport in inhomogeneous media with deterministic microstructures and nanostructures, its implications in the presence of stochasticity have not yet been considered. This issue becomes particularly important in the case of diffusion in nanopolycrystals whose deterministic ILG-based theoretical calculations predict a relaxation time that is only about one-tenth of the actual experimentally verified time scale. This article provides the "missing link" in this estimation by adding a vital element in the ILG structure, that of stochasticity, that takes into

  4. Hydrogen-induced structural changes in polycrystalline silicon as revealed by positron lifetime spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arole, V.M.; Takwale, M.G.; Bhide, V.G.

    1989-01-01

    Hydrogen passivation of polycrystalline silicon wafer is carried out in order to reduce the deleterious effects of grain boundaries. A systematic variation is made in the process parameters implemented during hydrogen passivation and the results of room temperature resistivity measurements are reported. As an efficient tool to study the structure change, positron lifetime spectroscopic measurements are performed on original and hydrogenated polycrystalline silicon wafers and a systematic correlation is sought between the changes that take place in the electrical and structural properties of polycrystalline silicon wafer, brought about by hydrogen passivation. (author)

  5. Studies of protonic self-diffusion and conductivity in 12-tungstophophoric acid hydrates by pulsed field gradient 1H NMR and ac Conductivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slade, R.C.; Pressman, H.A.; Barker, J.; Strange, J.H.

    1988-01-01

    Temperature dependent protonic conductivities σ and 1/H self-diffusion coefficients, D, are reported for polycrystalline hydrates of 12-tungstophosphoric acid (TPA). Conductivities were measured using ac admittane spectrometry and diffusion coefficients by the pulsed field gradient NMR technique. Conductivities for the hydrates TPA.nH 2 O (n=6, 14, 21) increase with n. Examination of σ and D values and of activation techniques shows self-diffusion and conduction to occur by different mechanisms in the higher hydrates. 25 refs.; 14 figs.; 1 table

  6. Surface Potential of Polycrystalline Hematite in Aqueous Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tajana Preočanin

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The surface potential of polycrystalline hematite in aqueous sodium perchlorate environment as a function of pH was examined. Surface potential of hematite was obtained from measured electrode potential of a nonporous polycrystalline hematite electrode. Acidic solution was titrated with base, and the backward titration with acid was performed. Substantial hysteresis was obtained which enabled location of the point of zero potential and equilibrium values of surface potentials. The theoretical interpretation of the equilibrium data was performed by applying the surface complexation model and the thermodynamic equilibrium constants for the first and the second step of surface protonation was obtained as logK1∘=11.3;logK2∘=2.8.

  7. Method of capturing or trapping zinc using zinc getter materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunyadi Murph, Simona E.; Korinko, Paul S.

    2017-07-11

    A method of trapping or capturing zinc is disclosed. In particular, the method comprises a step of contacting a zinc vapor with a zinc getter material. The zinc getter material comprises nanoparticles and a metal substrate.

  8. Nanofrictional behavior of amorphous, polycrystalline and textured Y-Cr-O films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gervacio-Arciniega, J.J.; Flores-Ruiz, F.J.; Diliegros-Godines, C.J.; Broitman, E.; Enriquez-Flores, C.I.; Espinoza-Beltrán, F.J.; Siqueiros, J.; Cruz, M.P.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Friction coefficient (μ) of ferroelectric textured and polycrystalline YCrO_3 films. • A simple method to evaluate μ from a single AFM image is presented. • The AFM-cantilever spring constant was determined from its dynamic response. • Polycrystalline and amorphous films have a lower μ than textured samples. - Abstract: Differences in friction coefficients (μ) of ferroelectric YCrO_3, textured and polycrystalline films, and non-ferroelectric Y-Cr-O films are analyzed. The friction coefficient was evaluated by atomic force microscopy using a simple quantitative procedure where the dependence of friction force with the applied load is obtained in only one topographical image. A simple code was developed with the MATLAB"® software to analyze the experimental data. The code includes a correction of the hysteresis in the forward and backward scanning directions. The quantification of load exerted on the sample surface was obtained by finite element analysis of the AFM cantilever starting from its experimental dynamic information. The results show that the ferroelectric YCrO_3 film deposited on a Pt(150 nm)/TiO_2(30 nm)/SiO_2/Si (100) substrate is polycrystalline and has a lower friction coefficient than the deposited on SrTiO_3 (110), which is highly textured. From a viewpoint of industrial application in ferroelectric memories, where the writing process is electrical or mechanically achieved by sliding AFM tips on the sample, polycrystalline YCrO_3 films seem to be the best candidates due to their lower μ.

  9. Nanofrictional behavior of amorphous, polycrystalline and textured Y-Cr-O films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gervacio-Arciniega, J.J. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Flores-Ruiz, F.J., E-mail: fcojfloresr@gmail.com [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Diliegros-Godines, C.J. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Broitman, E. [Thin Film Physics Division, IFM, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping (Sweden); Enriquez-Flores, C.I.; Espinoza-Beltrán, F.J. [CINVESTAV Unidad Querétaro, Lib. Norponiente 2000, Real de Juriquilla, 76230 Querétaro, Qro. (Mexico); Siqueiros, J.; Cruz, M.P. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico)

    2016-08-15

    Highlights: • Friction coefficient (μ) of ferroelectric textured and polycrystalline YCrO{sub 3} films. • A simple method to evaluate μ from a single AFM image is presented. • The AFM-cantilever spring constant was determined from its dynamic response. • Polycrystalline and amorphous films have a lower μ than textured samples. - Abstract: Differences in friction coefficients (μ) of ferroelectric YCrO{sub 3}, textured and polycrystalline films, and non-ferroelectric Y-Cr-O films are analyzed. The friction coefficient was evaluated by atomic force microscopy using a simple quantitative procedure where the dependence of friction force with the applied load is obtained in only one topographical image. A simple code was developed with the MATLAB{sup ®} software to analyze the experimental data. The code includes a correction of the hysteresis in the forward and backward scanning directions. The quantification of load exerted on the sample surface was obtained by finite element analysis of the AFM cantilever starting from its experimental dynamic information. The results show that the ferroelectric YCrO{sub 3} film deposited on a Pt(150 nm)/TiO{sub 2}(30 nm)/SiO{sub 2}/Si (100) substrate is polycrystalline and has a lower friction coefficient than the deposited on SrTiO{sub 3} (110), which is highly textured. From a viewpoint of industrial application in ferroelectric memories, where the writing process is electrical or mechanically achieved by sliding AFM tips on the sample, polycrystalline YCrO{sub 3} films seem to be the best candidates due to their lower μ.

  10. Zinc concentration effect on structural, optical and electrical properties of Cd{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}Se thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akaltun, Yunus [Department of Electrical and Electronic, Engineering Faculty, Erzincan University, Erzincan (Turkey); Yıldırım, M. Ali, E-mail: mayildirim@erzincan.edu.tr [Department of Physics, Science and Art Faculty, Erzincan University, Erzincan (Turkey); Ateş, Aytunç [Department of Material Engineering, Engineering and Natural Sciences Faculty, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara (Turkey); Yıldırım, Muhammet [Department of Physics, Science Faculty, Atatürk University, Erzurum (Turkey)

    2012-11-15

    Highlights: ► Cd{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}Se thin films were deposited using SILAR method. ► The electron effective mass, refractive index, dielectric constant values were calculated by using the energy bandgap values as a function of the zinc concentration (x). ► The resistivity and activation energy changed as a function of the zinc concentration (x). -- Abstract: Cd{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}Se thin films with different compositions (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) were deposited on glass substrates using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method at room temperature and ambient pressure. The zinc concentration (x) effect on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of Cd{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}Se thin films were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed that all the films exhibited polycrystalline nature and were covered well on glass substrates. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis confirmed nearly stoichiometric deposition of the films. The energy bandgap values were changed from 1.99 to 2.82 eV depending on the zinc concentration. Bowing parameter was calculated as 0.08 eV. The electron effective mass (m{sub e}*/m{sub o}), refractive index (n), optical static and high frequency dielectric constants (ε{sub o}, ε{sub ∞}) values were calculated by using the energy bandgap values as a function of the zinc concentration. The resistivity values of the films changed between 10{sup 5} and 10{sup 7} Ω cm with increasing zinc concentration at room temperature.

  11. Structural, optoelectronic, luminescence and thermal properties of Ga-doped zinc oxide thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinde, S.S.; Shinde, P.S.; Oh, Y.W.; Haranath, D.; Bhosale, C.H.; Rajpure, K.Y.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The ecofriendly deposition of Ga-doped zinc oxide. ► Influence of Ga doping onto physicochemical properties in aqueous media. ► Electron–phonon coupling by Raman. ► Chemical bonding structure and valence band analysis by XPS. - Abstract: Ga-doped ZnO thin films are synthesized by chemical spray pyrolysis onto corning glass substrates in aqueous media. The influence of gallium doping on to the photoelectrochemical, structural, Raman, XPS, morphological, optical, electrical, photoluminescence and thermal properties have been investigated in order to achieve good quality films. X-ray diffraction study depicts the films are polycrystalline and fit well with hexagonal (wurtzite) crystal structure with strong orientations along the (0 0 2) and (1 0 1) planes. Presence of E 2 high mode in Raman spectra indicates that the gallium doping does not change the wurtzite structure. The coupling strength between electron and LO phonon has experimentally estimated. In order to understand the chemical bonding structure and electronic states of the Ga-doped ZnO thin films XPS analysis have been studied. SEM images shows the films are adherent, compact, densely packed with hexagonal flakes and spherical grains. Optical transmittance and reflectance measurements have been carried out. Room temperature PL spectra depict violet, blue and green emission in deposited films. The specific heat and thermal conductivity study shows the phonon conduction behavior is dominant in these polycrystalline films.

  12. Physics of grain boundaries in polycrystalline photovoltaic semiconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, Yanfa, E-mail: yanfa.yan@utoledo.edu; Yin, Wan-Jian; Wu, Yelong; Shi, Tingting; Paudel, Naba R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, The University of Toledo, Ohio 43606 (United States); Li, Chen [Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Poplawsky, Jonathan [The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Wang, Zhiwei [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, The University of Toledo, Ohio 43606 (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States); Moseley, John; Guthrey, Harvey; Moutinho, Helio; Al-Jassim, Mowafak M. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States); Pennycook, Stephen J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States)

    2015-03-21

    Thin-film solar cells based on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) and CdTe photovoltaic semiconductors have reached remarkable laboratory efficiencies. It is surprising that these thin-film polycrystalline solar cells can reach such high efficiencies despite containing a high density of grain boundaries (GBs), which would seem likely to be nonradiative recombination centers for photo-generated carriers. In this paper, we review our atomistic theoretical understanding of the physics of grain boundaries in CIGS and CdTe absorbers. We show that intrinsic GBs with dislocation cores exhibit deep gap states in both CIGS and CdTe. However, in each solar cell device, the GBs can be chemically modified to improve their photovoltaic properties. In CIGS cells, GBs are found to be Cu-rich and contain O impurities. Density-functional theory calculations reveal that such chemical changes within GBs can remove most of the unwanted gap states. In CdTe cells, GBs are found to contain a high concentration of Cl atoms. Cl atoms donate electrons, creating n-type GBs between p-type CdTe grains, forming local p-n-p junctions along GBs. This leads to enhanced current collections. Therefore, chemical modification of GBs allows for high efficiency polycrystalline CIGS and CdTe thin-film solar cells.

  13. Hall measurements and grain-size effects in polycrystalline silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, A.K.; Rose, A.; Maruska, H.P.; Eustace, D.J.; Feng, T.

    1980-01-01

    The effects of grain size on Hall measurements in polycrystalline silicon are analyzed and interpreted, with some modifications, using the model proposed by Bube. This modified model predicts that the measured effective Hall voltage is composed of components originating from the bulk and space-charge regions. For materials with large grain sizes, the carrier concentration is independent of the intergrain boundary barrier, whereas the mobility is dependent on it. However, for small grains, both the carrier density and mobility depend on the barrier. These predictions are consistent with experimental results of mm-size Wacker and μm-size neutron-transmutation-doped polycrystalline silicon

  14. Friction and dynamically dissipated energy dependence on temperature in polycrystalline silicon MEMS devices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gkouzou, A.; Kokorian, J.; Janssen, G.C.A.M.; van Spengen, W.M.

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we report on the influence of capillary condensation on the sliding friction of sidewall surfaces in polycrystalline silicon micro-electromechanical
    systems (MEMS). We developed a polycrystalline silicon MEMS tribometer, which is a microscale test device with two components

  15. Determination of diffusion profiles in thin film couples by means of X-ray-diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagendristel, A.

    1975-01-01

    An X-ray method for the determination of concentration profiles in thin film diffusion couples is presented. This method is based on the theory of Fourier analysis of X-ray diffraction profiles which is generalized to polycrystalline samples showing non-uniform lattice parameter. A Fourier synthesis of the concentration spectrum is possible when the influences of the particle size and the strain in the sample as well as the instrumental function are eliminated from the measured diffraction profile. This can be done by means of reference profiles obtained from layers of the diffusion components. Absorption of the radiation in the sample is negligible when diffusion couples of symmetrical sandwich structure are used. The method is tested experimentally in the system Au-Cu. (orig.) [de

  16. Synthesis and nonlinear optical property of polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Chengguo [Yibin University, Key Laboratory of Computational Physics of Sichuan Province, Yibin (China); Yibin University, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Yibin (China)

    2017-04-15

    Polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} powder has been synthesized by a new approach that MnO{sub 2} is used as the manganese source. The transformation mechanism of manganese ions in the new approach has been discussed. The nonlinear optical property of polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} has been investigated, and compared with single-crystalline samples. The transformation Mn{sup 4+} → Mn{sup 2+} may be formed directly without stable intermediates, and TeO{sub 2} may serve as catalyst. The SHG response of polycrystalline MnTeMoO{sub 6} powder is worse than that of single-crystalline powder in the same particle size distribution as its pseudo-size. The results indicate that it should pay special attention with the pseudo-size of polycrystalline powder when the potential nonlinear optical materials are screened by powder second harmonic generation measurements. (orig.)

  17. The bioavailability of four zinc oxide sources and zinc sulphate in broiler chickens

    OpenAIRE

    Veldkamp, T.; Diepen, van, J.T.M.; Bikker, P.

    2014-01-01

    Zinc is an essential trace element for all farm animal species. It is commonly included in animal diets as zinc oxide, zinc sulphate or organically bound zinc. Umicore Zinc Chemicals developed zinc oxide products with different mean particle sizes. Umicore Zinc Chemicals requested Wageningen UR Livestock Research to determine the bioavailability of four zinc oxide sources and zinc sulphate in broiler chickens. A precise estimate of the bioavailability of zinc sources is required both for fulf...

  18. Two-scale characterization of deformation-induced anisotropy of polycrystalline metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Ikumu; Terada, Kenjiro

    2004-01-01

    The anisotropic macro-scale mechanical behavior of polycrystalline metals is characterized by incorporating the micro-scale constitutive model of single crystal plasticity into the two-scale modeling based on the mathematical homogenization theory. The two-scale simulations are conducted to analyze the macro-scale anisotropy induced by micro-scale plastic deformation of the polycrystalline aggregate. In the simulations, the micro-scale representative volume element (RVE) of a polycrystalline aggregate is uniformly loaded in one direction, unloaded to macroscopically zero stress in a certain stage of deformation and then re-loaded in the different directions. The last re-loading calculations provide different macro-scale responses of the RVE, which can be the appearance of material anisotropy. We then try to examine the effects of the intergranular and intragranular behaviors on the anisotropy by means of various illustrations of plastic deformation process in stead of the use of pole figures for the change of crystallographic orientations

  19. Diffusion of Ag, Au and Cs implants in MAX phase Ti3SiC2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Weilin; Henager, Charles H.; Varga, Tamas; Jung, Hee Joon; Overman, Nicole R.; Zhang, Chonghong; Gou, Jie

    2015-05-16

    MAX phases (M: early transition metal; A: elements in group 13 or 14; X: C or N), such as titanium silicon carbide (Ti3SiC2), have a unique combination of both metallic and ceramic properties, which make them attractive for potential nuclear applications. Ti3SiC2 has been considered as a possible fuel cladding material. This study reports on the diffusivities of fission product surrogates (Ag and Cs) and a noble metal Au (with diffusion behavior similar to Ag) in this ternary compound at elevated temperatures, as well as in dual-phase nanocomposite of Ti3SiC2/3C-SiC and polycrystalline CVD 3C-SiC for behavior comparisons. Samples were implanted with Ag, Au or Cs ions and characterized with various methods, including x-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, helium ion microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that in contrast to immobile Ag in 3C-SiC, there is a significant outward diffusion of Ag in Ti3SiC2 within the dual-phase nanocomposite during Ag ion implantation at 873 K. Similar behavior of Au in polycrystalline Ti3SiC2 was also observed. Cs out-diffusion and release from Ti3SiC2 occurred during post-implantation thermal annealing at 973 K. This study suggests caution and further studies in consideration of Ti3SiC2 as a fuel cladding material for advanced nuclear reactors operating at very high temperatures.

  20. Zinc oxide films impurified with Ti and prepared by the Sol-gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tirado G, S.; Cazares R, J.M.; Maldonado, A.

    2006-01-01

    Titanium-doped zinc oxide thin films have been prepared on silicon substrate using the Sol-Gel technique. The structural, morphology, electrical and optical properties of such thin films were studied as a function of titanium concentration (0.5, 1 and 1.5 %) and the thin films thickness. Zinc acetate dihydrate and titanium (VI)-oxy acetylacetonate were used as precursor materials, using 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine as via. The X-ray diffraction spectra show polycrystalline films in all the cases. It can see for all the thin films a preferential growth along the (002) planes where the titanium concentration and also the thin films thickness play an important rule. No structural changes are observed at all. The surface morphology studied shows as the grain size decreases when thin thickness is increases. For titanium concentration of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 % values the grains size increase also. The thin films thickness for titanium concentration of 1.5 % was 500 nm (4v), 400 nm (3v), 180 nm (2v) and 130 nm (1v), values obtained from cross-section micrographs. Highly resistive samples are obtained for substrate soda-lime even showing high transmittance. Better physical properties are required for gas sensors or semitransparent electrodes and other possible applications. (Author)

  1. Tracer concentration contours in grain lattice and grain boundary diffusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Y. S.; Olander, D. R.

    1997-01-01

    Grain boundary diffusion plays a significant role in fission gas release, which is one of the crucial processes dominating nuclear fuel performance. Gaseous fission products such as Xe and Kr generated during nuclear fission have to diffuse in the grain lattice and the boundary inside fuel pellets before they reach the open spaces in a fuel rod. These processes can be studied by 'tracer diffusion' techniques, by which grain boundary diffusivity can be estimated and directly used for low burn-up fission gas release analysis. However, only a few models accounting for the both processes are available and mostly handle them numerically due to mathematical complexity. Also the numerical solution has limitations in a practical use. In this paper, an approximate analytical solution in case of stationary grain boundary in a polycrystalline solid is developed for the tracer diffusion techniques. This closed-form solution is compared to available exact and numerical solutions and it turns out that it makes computation not only greatly easier but also more accurate than previous models. It can be applied to theoretical modelings for low burn-up fission gas release phenomena and experimental analyses as well, especially for PIE (post irradiation examination). (author)

  2. Zinc electrode - its behaviour in the nickel oxide-zinc accumulator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1984-01-01

    Certain aspects of zinc electrode reaction and behavior are investigated in view of their application to batteries. The properties of the zinc electrode in a battery system are discussed, emphasizing porous structure. Shape change is emphasized as the most important factor leading to limited battery cycle life. It is shown that two existing models of shape change based on electroosmosis and current distribution are unable to consistently describe observed phenomena. The first stages of electrocrystallization are studied and the surface reactions between the silver substrate and the deposited zinc layer are investigated. The reaction mechanism of zinc and amalgamated zinc in an alkaline electrolyte is addressed, and the batter system is studied to obtain information on cycling behavior and on the shape change phenomenon. The effect on cycle behavior of diferent amalgamation techniques of the zinc electrode and several additives is addressed. Impedance measurements on zinc electrodes are considered, and battery behavior is correlated with changes in the zinc electrode during cycling. 193 references.

  3. Polycrystalline silicon semiconducting material by nuclear transmutation doping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleland, John W.; Westbrook, Russell D.; Wood, Richard F.; Young, Rosa T.

    1978-01-01

    A NTD semiconductor material comprising polycrystalline silicon having a mean grain size less than 1000 microns and containing phosphorus dispersed uniformly throughout the silicon rather than at the grain boundaries.

  4. The bioavailability of four zinc oxide sources and zinc sulphate in broiler chickens

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veldkamp, T.; Diepen, van J.T.M.; Bikker, P.

    2014-01-01

    Zinc is an essential trace element for all farm animal species. It is commonly included in animal diets as zinc oxide, zinc sulphate or organically bound zinc. Umicore Zinc Chemicals developed zinc oxide products with different mean particle sizes. Umicore Zinc Chemicals requested Wageningen UR

  5. Extremal Overall Elastic Response of Polycrystalline Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendsøe, Martin P; Lipton, Robert

    1997-01-01

    Polycrystalline materials comprised of grains obtained from a single anisotropic material are considered in the framework of linear elasticity. No assumptions on the symmetry of the polycrystal are made. We subject the material to independent external strain and stress fields with prescribed mean...

  6. Thickness dependent growth of low temperature atomic layer deposited zinc oxide films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montiel-González, Z.; Castelo-González, O.A.; Aguilar-Gama, M.T.; Ramírez-Morales, E.; Hu, H.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Polycrystalline columnar ZnO thin films deposited by ALD at low temperatures. • Higher deposition temperature leads to a greater surface roughness in the ALD ZnO films. • Higher temperature originates larger refractive index values of the ALD ZnO films. • ZnO thin films were denser as the numbers of ALD deposition cycles were larger. • XPS analysis revels mayor extent of the DEZ reaction during the ALD process. - Abstract: Zinc oxide films are promising to improve the performance of electronic devices, including those based on organic materials. However, the dependence of the ZnO properties on the preparation conditions represents a challenge to obtain homogeneous thin films that satisfy specific applications. Here, we prepared ZnO films of a wide range of thicknesses by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at relatively low temperatures, 150 and 175 °C. From the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry it is concluded that the polycrystalline structure of the wurtzite is the main phase of the ALD samples, with OH groups on their surface. Ellipsometry revealed that the temperature and the deposition cycles have a strong effect on the films roughness. Scanning electron micrographs evidenced such effect, through the large pyramids developed at the surface of the films. It is concluded that crystalline ZnO thin films within a broad range of thickness and roughness can be obtained for optic or optoelectronic applications.

  7. Intracellular HIV-1 Gag localization is impaired by mutations in the nucleocapsid zinc fingers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muriaux Delphine

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein (NC is formed of two CCHC zinc fingers flanked by highly basic regions. HIV-1 NC plays key roles in virus structure and replication via its nucleic acid binding and chaperoning properties. In fact, NC controls proviral DNA synthesis by reverse transcriptase (RT, gRNA dimerization and packaging, and virion assembly. Results We previously reported a role for the first NC zinc finger in virion structure and replication 1. To investigate the role of both NC zinc fingers in intracellular Gag trafficking, and in virion assembly, we generated series of NC zinc fingers mutations. Results show that all Zinc finger mutations have a negative impact on virion biogenesis and maturation and rendered defective the mutant viruses. The NC zinc finger mutations caused an intracellular accumulation of Gag, which was found either diffuse in the cytoplasm or at the plasma membrane but not associated with endosomal membranes as for wild type Gag. Evidences are also provided showing that the intracellular interactions between NC-mutated Gag and the gRNA were impaired. Conclusion These results show that Gag oligomerization mediated by gRNA-NC interactions is required for correct Gag trafficking, and assembly in HIV-1 producing cells and the release of infectious viruses.

  8. Characterization of electrochemically modified polycrystalline platinum surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krebs, L.C.; Ishida, Takanobu.

    1991-12-01

    The characterization of electrochemically modified polycrystalline platinum surfaces has been accomplished through the use of four major electrochemical techniques. These were chronoamperometry, chronopotentiommetry, cyclic voltammetry, and linear sweep voltammetry. A systematic study on the under-potential deposition of several transition metals has been performed. The most interesting of these were: Ag, Cu, Cd, and Pb. It was determined, by subjecting the platinum electrode surface to a single potential scan between {minus}0.24 and +1.25 V{sub SCE} while stirring the solution, that the electrocatalytic activity would be regenerated. As a consequence of this study, a much simpler method for producing ultra high purity water from acidic permanganate has been developed. This method results in water that surpasses the water produced by pyrocatalytic distillation. It has also been seen that the wettability of polycrystalline platinum surfaces is greatly dependent on the quantity of oxide present. Oxide-free platinum is hydrophobic and gives a contact angle in the range of 55 to 62 degrees. We have also modified polycrystalline platinum surface with the electrically conducting polymer poly-{rho}-phenylene. This polymer is very stable in dilute sulfuric acid solutions, even under applied oxidative potentials. It is also highly resistant to electrochemical hydrogenation. The wettability of the polymer modified platinum surface is severely dependent on the choice of supporting electrolyte chosen for the electrochemical polymerization. Tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate produces a film that is as hydrophobic as Teflon, whereas tetraethylammonium perchlorate produces a film that is more hydrophilic than oxide-free platinum.

  9. Characterization of electrochemically modified polycrystalline platinum surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krebs, Leonard C. [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, NY (United States); Ishida, Takanobu [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, NY (United States)

    1991-12-01

    The characterization of electrochemically modified polycrystalline platinum surfaces has been accomplished through the use of four major electrochemical techniques. These were chronoamperometry, chronopotentiommetry, cyclic voltammetry, and linear sweep voltammetry. A systematic study on the under-potential deposition of several transition metals has been performed. The most interesting of these were: Ag, Cu, Cd, and Pb. It was determined, by subjecting the platinum electrode surface to a single potential scan between -0.24 and +1.25 VSCE while stirring the solution, that the electrocatalytic activity would be regenerated. As a consequence of this study, a much simpler method for producing ultra high purity water from acidic permanganate has been developed. This method results in water that surpasses the water produced by pyrocatalytic distillation. It has also been seen that the wettability of polycrystalline platinum surfaces is greatly dependent on the quantity of oxide present. Oxide-free platinum is hydrophobic and gives a contact angle in the range of 55 to 62 degrees. We have also modified polycrystalline platinum surface with the electrically conducting polymer poly-ρ-phenylene. This polymer is very stable in dilute sulfuric acid solutions, even under applied oxidative potentials. It is also highly resistant to electrochemical hydrogenation. The wettability of the polymer modified platinum surface is severely dependent on the choice of supporting electrolyte chosen for the electrochemical polymerization. Tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate produces a film that is as hydrophobic as Teflon, whereas tetraethylammonium perchlorate produces a film that is more hydrophilic than oxide-free platinum.

  10. A Power Case Study for Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline Solar Panels in Bursa City, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayşegül Taşçıoğlu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available It was intended to reveal the time dependent power generation under different loads for two different solar panels under the conditions of Bursa province in between August 19 and 25, 2014. The testing sets include solar panels, inverter, multimeter, accumulator, regulator, pyranometer, pyrheliometer, temperature sensor, and datalogger. The efficiency of monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels was calculated depending on the climatic data’s measurements. As the result of the study, the average performances of monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels are 42.06 and 39.80 Wh, respectively. It was seen that 87.14 W instantaneous power could be obtained from monocrystalline solar panel and that 80.17 W instantaneous power could be obtained from polycrystalline solar panel under maximum total radiation (1001.13 W/m2. Within this frame, it was determined that monocrystalline solar panel is able to operate more efficiently under the conditions of Bursa compared to polycrystalline solar panel. When the multivariate correlations coefficients were examined statistically, a significant relationship in positive direction was detected between total and direct radiation and ambient temperature on energy generation from monocrystalline and polycrystalline panel.

  11. Effect of consuming zinc-fortified bread on serum zinc and iron status of zinc-deficient women: A double blind, randomized clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akbar Badii

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available After iron deficiency, zinc deficiency is the major micronutrient deficiency in developing countries, and staple food fortification is an effective strategy to prevent and improve it among at-risk-populations. No action has been taken to reduce zinc deficiency via flour fortification so far in Iran, and little is known about the influence of zinc fortification of flour on serum zinc and the iron status, and also about the optimum and effective amount of zinc compound that is used in food fortification. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of consuming zinc-fortified breads on the zinc and iron status in the blood serum. In this study, three types of bread were prepared from non-fortified and fortified flours, with 50 and 100 ppm elemental zinc in the form of sulfate. Eighty zinc-deficient women aged 19 to 49 years were randomly assigned to three groups; The volunteers received, daily, (1 a non-fortified bread, (2 a high-zinc bread, and (3 a low-zinc bread for one month. Serum zinc and iron were measured by Atomic Absorption before and after the study. Results showed a significant increase in serum zinc and iron levels in all groups (p 0.05. Absorption of zinc and iron in the group that consumed high-zinc bread was significantly greater than that in the group that received low-zinc bread (p < 0.01. It was concluded that fortification of flour with 50-100 ppm zinc was an effective way to achieve adequate zinc intake and absorption in zinc-deficient people. It also appeared that consuming zinc-fortified bread improved iron absorption.

  12. Oceanic corrosion test of bare and zinc-protected aluminum alloys for seawater heat exchangers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasscer, D. S.; Morgan, T. O.; Rivera, C.; Ernst, R.; Scott, A. C.; Summerson, T. J.

    1982-01-01

    Bare 3004 tubes, 7072 Alclad 3004 tubes, and bare and zinc diffusion treated 3003 extrusions from a brazed aluminum, plate-fin heat exchanger were exposed to 1.8 m/sec flowing seawater aboard an open ocean test facility moored 3.4 km off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. After six months exposure, the average corrosion rates for most varieties of aluminum materials converged to a low value of 0.015 mm/yr (0.6 mils/yr). Pitting did not occur in bare 3003 and 3004 samples during the six month test. Pitting did occur to varying degrees in the Alclad and zinc diffusion treated material, but did not penetrate to the base metal. Biofouling countermeasures (intermittent chlorination and brushing) did not affect the corrosion rates to any significant extent. Intermittent chlorination at a level of 0.5 ppm for 28 minutes daily controlled microbiofouling of the samples but did not prevent the development of a macrobiofouling community in areas of the plumbing with low flow.

  13. Electrical properties of grain boundaries in polycrystalline materials under intrinsic or low doping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chowdhury, M H; Kabir, M Z

    2011-01-01

    An analytical model is developed to study the electrical properties (electric field and potential distributions, potential energy barrier height and polarization phenomenon) of polycrystalline materials at intrinsic or low doping for detector and solar cell applications by considering an arbitrary amount of grain boundary charge and a finite width of grain boundary region. The general grain boundary model is also applicable to highly doped polycrystalline materials. The electric field and potential distributions are obtained by solving Poisson's equation in both depleted grains and grain boundary regions. The electric field and potential distributions across the detector are analysed under various doping, trapping and applied biases. The electric field collapses, i.e. a nearly zero-average electric field region exists in some part of the biased detector at high trapped charge densities at the grain boundaries. The model explains the conditions of existence of a zero-average field region, i.e. the polarization mechanisms in polycrystalline materials. The potential energy barrier at the grain boundary exists if the electric field changes its sign at the opposite side of the grain boundary. The energy barrier does not exist in all grain boundaries in the low-doped polycrystalline detector and it never exists in intrinsic polycrystalline detectors under applied bias condition provided that there is no charge trapping in the grain.

  14. Influence of indium doping on the properties of zinc tin oxide films and its application to transparent thin film transistors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Mu Hee; Ma, Tae Young, E-mail: tyma@gnu.ac.kr

    2014-01-01

    In this study, the effects of indium (In) doping on the properties of zinc tin oxide (ZTO) films are reported. ZTO films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering followed by In layer deposition, for use as the diffusion source. In order to protect the In layer from peeling, a second ZTO film was deposited on the In film. The annealing at 400 °C for 30 min was carried out to diffuse In atoms into the ZTO films. The structural, optical, and elemental properties of the annealed ZTO/In/ZTO films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, UV/vis spectrophotometry, and X-ray photoluminescence spectroscopy, respectively. The ZTO transparent thin film transistors employing the ZTO/In/ZTO films as the source/drain were prepared, and the effects of the In doped source/drain on the threshold voltage and mobility were characterized and analyzed. - Highlights: • We successfully doped zinc tin oxide (ZTO) films using In as a diffusion source. • Indium (In) was diffused in both directions with the diffusion coefficient of ∼ 4.3 × 10{sup −16} cm{sup 2}/s. • The mobility of ZTO thin film transistor was increased 1.6-times by adopting the In-diffused source/drain.

  15. Self-oriented Ag-based polycrystalline cubic nanostructures through polymer stabilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso, Amanda; Vigués, Núria; Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Rosalía; Borrisé, Xavier; Muñoz, María; Muraviev, Dmitri N.; Mas, Jordi; Muñoz-Berbel, Xavier

    2016-10-01

    This paper presents the study of the dynamics of the formation of polymer-assisted highly-orientated polycrystalline cubic structures (CS) by a fractal-mediated mechanism. This mechanism involves the formation of seed Ag@Co nanoparticles by InterMatrix Synthesis and subsequent overgrowth after incubation at a low temperature in chloride and phosphate solutions. These ions promote the dissolution and recrystallization in an ordered configuration of pre-synthetized nanoparticles initially embedded in negatively-charged polymeric matrices. During recrystallization, silver ions aggregate in AgCl@Co fractal-like structures, then evolve into regular polycrystalline solid nanostructures (e.g. CS) in a single crystallization step on specific regions of the ion exchange resin (IER) which maintain the integrity of polycrystalline nanocubes. Here, we study the essential role of the IER in the formation of these CS for the maintenance of their integrity and stability. Thus, this synthesis protocol may be easily expanded to the composition of other nanoparticles providing an interesting, cheap and simple alternative for cubic structure formation and isolation.

  16. Combined measurement of surface, grain boundary and lattice diffusion coefficients on olivine bi-crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marquardt, Katharina; Dohmen, Ralf; Wagner, Johannes

    2014-05-01

    Diffusion along interface and grain boundaries provides an efficient pathway and may control chemical transport in rocks as well as their mechanical strength. Besides the significant relevance of these diffusion processes for various geologic processes, experimental data are still very limited (e.g., Dohmen & Milke, 2010). Most of these data were measured using polycrystalline materials and the formalism of LeClaire (1951) to fit integrated concentration depth profiles. To correctly apply this formalism, certain boundary conditions of the diffusion problem need to be fulfilled, e.g., surface diffusion is ignored, and furthermore the lattice diffusion coefficient has to be known from other studies or is an additional fitting parameter, which produces some ambiguity in the derived grain boundary diffusion coefficients. We developed an experimental setup where we can measure the lattice and grain boundary diffusion coefficients simultaneously but independent and demonstrate the relevance of surface diffusion for typical grain boundary diffusion experiments. We performed Mg2SiO4 bicrystal diffusion experiments, where a single grain boundary is covered by a thin-film of pure Ni2SiO4 acting as diffusant source, produced by pulsed laser deposition. The investigated grain boundary is a 60° (011)/[100]. This specific grain boundary configuration was modeled using molecular dynamics for comparison with the experimental observations in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). Both, experiment and model are in good agreement regarding the misorientation, whereas there are still some disagreements regarding the strain fields along the grain boundary that are of outmost importance for the strengths of the material. The subsequent diffusion experiments were carried out in the temperature range between 800° and 1450° C. The inter diffusion profiles were measured using the TEMs energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer standardized using the Cliff-Lorimer equation and EMPA

  17. Production of zinc pellets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, J.F.

    1996-11-26

    Uniform zinc pellets are formed for use in batteries having a stationary or moving slurry zinc particle electrode. The process involves the cathodic deposition of zinc in a finely divided morphology from battery reaction product onto a non-adhering electrode substrate. The mossy zinc is removed from the electrode substrate by the action of gravity, entrainment in a flowing electrolyte, or by mechanical action. The finely divided zinc particles are collected and pressed into pellets by a mechanical device such as an extruder, a roller and chopper, or a punch and die. The pure zinc pellets are returned to the zinc battery in a pumped slurry and have uniform size, density and reactivity. Applications include zinc-air fuel batteries, zinc-ferricyanide storage batteries, and zinc-nickel-oxide secondary batteries. 6 figs.

  18. High surface area carbon for bifunctional air electrodes applied in zinc-air batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arai, H [on leave from NTT Laboratories (Japan); Mueller, S; Haas, O [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1999-08-01

    Bifunctional air electrodes with high surface area carbon substrates showed low reduction overpotential, thus are promising for enhancing the energy efficiency and power capability of zinc-air batteries. The improved performance is attributed to lower overpotential due to diffusion of the reaction intermediate, namely the peroxide ion. (author) 1 fig., 2 refs.

  19. Mobile trap algorithm for zinc detection using protein sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inamdar, Munish V.; Lastoskie, Christian M.; Fierke, Carol A.; Sastry, Ann Marie

    2007-01-01

    We present a mobile trap algorithm to sense zinc ions using protein-based sensors such as carbonic anhydrase (CA). Zinc is an essential biometal required for mammalian cellular functions although its intracellular concentration is reported to be very low. Protein-based sensors like CA molecules are employed to sense rare species like zinc ions. In this study, the zinc ions are mobile targets, which are sought by the mobile traps in the form of sensors. Particle motions are modeled using random walk along with the first passage technique for efficient simulations. The association reaction between sensors and ions is incorporated using a probability (p 1 ) upon an ion-sensor collision. The dissociation reaction of an ion-bound CA molecule is modeled using a second, independent probability (p 2 ). The results of the algorithm are verified against the traditional simulation techniques (e.g., Gillespie's algorithm). This study demonstrates that individual sensor molecules can be characterized using the probability pair (p 1 ,p 2 ), which, in turn, is linked to the system level chemical kinetic constants, k on and k off . Further investigations of CA-Zn reaction using the mobile trap algorithm show that when the diffusivity of zinc ions approaches that of sensor molecules, the reaction data obtained using the static trap assumption differ from the reaction data obtained using the mobile trap formulation. This study also reveals similar behavior when the sensor molecule has higher dissociation constant. In both the cases, the reaction data obtained using the static trap formulation reach equilibrium at a higher number of complex molecules (ion-bound sensor molecules) compared to the reaction data from the mobile trap formulation. With practical limitations on the number sensors that can be inserted/expressed in a cell and stochastic nature of the intracellular ionic concentrations, fluorescence from the number of complex sensor molecules at equilibrium will be the measure

  20. Study and simulations of quick diffusion in Zr-based alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corvalán, C., E-mail: corvalan@cnea.gov.ar [UNTREF (Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero), General Enrique Mosconi 2736, B1674AHF, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Gerencia de Materiales, CAC, Comisión de Energía Atómica, Av. del Libertador 8250, C1429BNP Buenos Aires (Argentina); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina); Lucía, A. [UNTREF (Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero), General Enrique Mosconi 2736, B1674AHF, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Instituto Sabato, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Iribarren, M. [Gerencia de Materiales, CAC, Comisión de Energía Atómica, Av. del Libertador 8250, C1429BNP Buenos Aires (Argentina); Instituto Sabato, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Servant, C. [Laboratoire de Physicochimie de l' Etat Solide, UMR 8182, ICMMO, Université de Paris-Sud XI, 91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Costa e Silva, A. [Universidade Federal Fluminense, Volta Redonda, RJ (Brazil)

    2015-11-15

    Zirconium and its alloys are widely used in the nuclear industry. Under normal conditions, Zr-alloys are polycrystalline and contain a high density of grain and interphase boundaries. These boundaries function as paths for accelerated matter movement. The movement of fast diffusing elements (Co, Fe, Cr, Ni) in Zr alloys along boundaries produces technologically important changes in the materials in nuclear reactors at normal temperatures (∼550 K) e.g.: segregation, phase precipitation, hydrogen absorption, etc. In this work, diffusion parameters for fast diffusion in Zr at low temperature were assessed for Co and Cr. An improved database for DICTRA (DIffusion-Controlled-TRAnsformation) software for fast diffusion was obtained. The diffusion parameters in grain boundaries of α-Zr for Cr and Co were used from a particular kinetic diffusion model [1]. Simulated profiles were compared with previous experimental work [2]. The results of the comparison and the adequacy of the improved database are discussed. Diffusion profiles on grain boundaries in α-Zr for Cr and Co are presented in the temperature range of 380–460 K. - Highlights: • An improved database for fast diffusion paths was obtained. • The diffusion parameters in type C kinetic on fast paths in α-Zr for Cr and Co were used. • Simulated diffusion profiles were compared with previous experimental results. This comparison and the adequacy of the improved database are discussed. • Diffusion parameters for fast diffusion paths in Zr at low temperature were assessed for Co and Cr. • Diffusion profiles on grain boundaries in α-Zr for Cr and Co are presented in the temperature range of 380–460 K.

  1. Study and simulations of quick diffusion in Zr-based alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corvalán, C.; Lucía, A.; Iribarren, M.; Servant, C.; Costa e Silva, A.

    2015-01-01

    Zirconium and its alloys are widely used in the nuclear industry. Under normal conditions, Zr-alloys are polycrystalline and contain a high density of grain and interphase boundaries. These boundaries function as paths for accelerated matter movement. The movement of fast diffusing elements (Co, Fe, Cr, Ni) in Zr alloys along boundaries produces technologically important changes in the materials in nuclear reactors at normal temperatures (∼550 K) e.g.: segregation, phase precipitation, hydrogen absorption, etc. In this work, diffusion parameters for fast diffusion in Zr at low temperature were assessed for Co and Cr. An improved database for DICTRA (DIffusion-Controlled-TRAnsformation) software for fast diffusion was obtained. The diffusion parameters in grain boundaries of α-Zr for Cr and Co were used from a particular kinetic diffusion model [1]. Simulated profiles were compared with previous experimental work [2]. The results of the comparison and the adequacy of the improved database are discussed. Diffusion profiles on grain boundaries in α-Zr for Cr and Co are presented in the temperature range of 380–460 K. - Highlights: • An improved database for fast diffusion paths was obtained. • The diffusion parameters in type C kinetic on fast paths in α-Zr for Cr and Co were used. • Simulated diffusion profiles were compared with previous experimental results. This comparison and the adequacy of the improved database are discussed. • Diffusion parameters for fast diffusion paths in Zr at low temperature were assessed for Co and Cr. • Diffusion profiles on grain boundaries in α-Zr for Cr and Co are presented in the temperature range of 380–460 K.

  2. Obtaining of polycrystalline silicon for semiconductor industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukashev, F.; Nauryzbaev, M.; Kolesnikov, B.; Ivanov, Y.

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of the project is to create pilot equipment and optimize the process of obtaining polycrystalline silicon on semi-industrial level. In the past several decades, the historical experience in the developing countries has shown that one of the most promising ways to improve the economy,of a country is to establish semiconductor industry. First of all, the results can help increase defense, national security and create industrial production. The silane method, which has been traditionally' used for obtaining technical and polycrystalline silicon, is to obtain and then to pyrolyzed mono-and poly silanes. Although the traditional methods of obtaining silicon hydrides have specific advantages, such as utilizing by-products, they also have clear shortcomings, i.e. either low output of the ultimate product ( through hydrolysis of Mg 2 Si) or high contents of by-products in it or high contents of dissolving vapors (through decomposing Mg 2 Si in non-water solutions)

  3. Inelastic x-ray scattering from polycrystalline materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, I.

    2008-09-01

    Inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) is a tool to determine the phonon dispersion along high symmetry directions in single crystals. However, novel materials and crystals under extreme conditions are often only available in form of polycrystalline samples. Thus the investigation is limited to orientation-averaged properties. To overcome these limitations, a methodology to extract the single crystal phonon dispersion from polycrystalline materials was developed. The approach consists of recording IXS spectra over a large momentum transfer region and confront them with a Born - von Karman model calculation. A least-square refinement of the model IXS spectra then provides the single crystal dispersion scheme. In this work the method is developed on the test case Be. Further studies were performed on more and more complex systems, in order to explore the limitations. This novel application of IXS promises to be a valuable tool in cases where single crystalline materials are not available. (author)

  4. Cysteine-rich intestinal protein binds zinc during transmucosal zinc transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hempe, J.M.; Cousins, R.J.

    1991-01-01

    The mechanism of zinc absorption has not been delineated, but kinetic studies show that both passive and carrier-mediated processes are involved. The authors have identified a low molecular mass zinc-binding protein in the soluble fraction of rat intestinal mucosa that could function as an intracellular zinc carrier. The protein was not detected in liver or pancreas, suggesting a role specific to the intestine. The protein binds zinc during transmucosal zinc transport and shows signs of saturation at higher luminal zinc concentrations, characteristics consistent with a role in carrier-mediated zinc absorption. Microsequence analysis of the protein purified by gel-filtration HPCL and SDS/PAGE showed complete identity within the first 41 N-terminal amino acids with the deduced protein sequence of cysteine-rich intestinal protein. These investigators showed that the gene for this protein is developmentally regulated in neonates during the suckling period, conserved in many vertebrate species, and predominantly expressed in the small intestine. Cysteine-rich intestinal protein contains a recently identified conserved sequence of histidine and cysteine residues, the LIM motif, which our results suggest confers metal-binding properties that are important for zinc transport and/or functions of this micronutrient

  5. Zinc Signals and Immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maywald, Martina; Wessels, Inga; Rink, Lothar

    2017-10-24

    Zinc homeostasis is crucial for an adequate function of the immune system. Zinc deficiency as well as zinc excess result in severe disturbances in immune cell numbers and activities, which can result in increased susceptibility to infections and development of especially inflammatory diseases. This review focuses on the role of zinc in regulating intracellular signaling pathways in innate as well as adaptive immune cells. Main underlying molecular mechanisms and targets affected by altered zinc homeostasis, including kinases, caspases, phosphatases, and phosphodiesterases, will be highlighted in this article. In addition, the interplay of zinc homeostasis and the redox metabolism in affecting intracellular signaling will be emphasized. Key signaling pathways will be described in detail for the different cell types of the immune system. In this, effects of fast zinc flux, taking place within a few seconds to minutes will be distinguish from slower types of zinc signals, also designated as "zinc waves", and late homeostatic zinc signals regarding prolonged changes in intracellular zinc.

  6. A study of diffusion and grain boundaries in ionic compounds by the molecular dynamic method; Etude par dynamique moleculaire de la diffusion et des joints de grains dans les composes ioniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karakasidis, T

    1995-11-13

    In the first part, we present a model of variable cationic charges based on a rigid ion potential. In order to implement the model we performed static and dynamic simulations in calcium fluoride. The structural properties do not depend on the way the model is adjusted but the anion diffusion and the high frequency dielectric constant do. These results allowed to specify the criteria to adjust the variable charge model. As indicated by the behaviour of optical phonons this model introduced a supplementary polarisation mechanism to the rigid ion model. In the second part of this work, we studied the structural and diffusional behaviour of a high angle tilt grain boundary in NiO by molecular dynamics, using a usual rigid ion model. We examined structures with and without point defects between 0 K and 2500 K. The structure without defects presents always the lowest potential energy. In the others structures the defects can cluster and sometimes cause local changes in the boundary. Computer simulated images of high resolution electron microscopy, produced using these structures, present a similarity with the experimental ones. We calculated in the same boundary the diffusion coefficient of a doubly charged nickel vacancy between 2250 k and 2650 K. The atomic trajectories reveal the existence of preferential migration paths for the vacancy. The grain boundary diffusion is slightly anisotropic which is in agreement with an extrapolation of experimental results. A similar study in the volume reveals a migration energy higher than in the grain boundary. The calculated quantities allow for an estimation of the nickel diffusion acceleration due to the boundary. This acceleration is significant, but lower than the one measured by certain authors in polycrystalline, NiO; other authors studying bicrystals have not observed any certain authors in polycrystalline, NiO; other authors studying bicrystals have not observed any acceleration. (author) 118 refs.

  7. Zinc in Cellular Regulation: The Nature and Significance of "Zinc Signals".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maret, Wolfgang

    2017-10-31

    In the last decade, we witnessed discoveries that established Zn 2+ as a second major signalling metal ion in the transmission of information within cells and in communication between cells. Together with Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ , Zn 2+ covers biological regulation with redox-inert metal ions over many orders of magnitude in concentrations. The regulatory functions of zinc ions, together with their functions as a cofactor in about three thousand zinc metalloproteins, impact virtually all aspects of cell biology. This article attempts to define the regulatory functions of zinc ions, and focuses on the nature of zinc signals and zinc signalling in pathways where zinc ions are either extracellular stimuli or intracellular messengers. These pathways interact with Ca 2+ , redox, and phosphorylation signalling. The regulatory functions of zinc require a complex system of precise homeostatic control for transients, subcellular distribution and traffic, organellar homeostasis, and vesicular storage and exocytosis of zinc ions.

  8. Effect of Consuming Zinc-fortified Bread on Serum Zinc and Iron Status of Zinc-deficient Women: A Double Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badii, Akbar; Nekouei, Niloufar; Fazilati, Mohammad; Shahedi, Mohammad; Badiei, Sajad

    2012-03-01

    After iron deficiency, zinc deficiency is the major micronutrient deficiency in developing countries, and staple food fortification is an effective strategy to prevent and improve it among at-risk-populations. No action has been taken to reduce zinc deficiency via flour fortification so far in Iran, and little is known about the influence of zinc fortification of flour on serum zinc and the iron status, and also about the optimum and effective amount of zinc compound that is used in food fortification. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of consuming zinc-fortified breads on the zinc and iron status in the blood serum. In this study, three types of bread were prepared from non-fortified and fortified flours, with 50 and 100 ppm elemental zinc in the form of sulfate. Eighty zinc-deficient women aged 19 to 49 years were randomly assigned to three groups; The volunteers received, daily, (1) a non-fortified bread, (2) a high-zinc bread, and (3) a low-zinc bread for one month. Serum zinc and iron were measured by Atomic Absorption before and after the study. Results showed a significant increase in serum zinc and iron levels in all groups (p 0.05). Absorption of zinc and iron in the group that consumed high-zinc bread was significantly greater than that in the group that received low-zinc bread (p bread improved iron absorption.

  9. Polycrystalline indium phosphide on silicon by indium assisted growth in hydride vapor phase epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Metaferia, Wondwosen; Sun, Yan-Ting, E-mail: yasun@kth.se; Lourdudoss, Sebastian [Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials, Department of Materials and Nano Physics, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, 164 40 Kista (Sweden); Pietralunga, Silvia M. [CNR-Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, P. Leonardo da Vinci, 32 20133 Milano (Italy); Zani, Maurizio; Tagliaferri, Alberto [Department of Physics Politecnico di Milano, P. Leonardo da Vinci, 32 20133 Milano (Italy)

    2014-07-21

    Polycrystalline InP was grown on Si(001) and Si(111) substrates by using indium (In) metal as a starting material in hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) reactor. In metal was deposited on silicon substrates by thermal evaporation technique. The deposited In resulted in islands of different size and was found to be polycrystalline in nature. Different growth experiments of growing InP were performed, and the growth mechanism was investigated. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy for morphological investigation, Scanning Auger microscopy for surface and compositional analyses, powder X-ray diffraction for crystallinity, and micro photoluminescence for optical quality assessment were conducted. It is shown that the growth starts first by phosphidisation of the In islands to InP followed by subsequent selective deposition of InP in HVPE regardless of the Si substrate orientation. Polycrystalline InP of large grain size is achieved and the growth rate as high as 21 μm/h is obtained on both substrates. Sulfur doping of the polycrystalline InP was investigated by growing alternating layers of sulfur doped and unintentionally doped InP for equal interval of time. These layers could be delineated by stain etching showing that enough amount of sulfur can be incorporated. Grains of large lateral dimension up to 3 μm polycrystalline InP on Si with good morphological and optical quality is obtained. The process is generic and it can also be applied for the growth of other polycrystalline III–V semiconductor layers on low cost and flexible substrates for solar cell applications.

  10. Sensitivity enhancement of polysilicon piezo-resistive pressure sensors with phosphorous diffused resistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sivakumar, K; Dasgupta, N; Bhat, K N; Natarajan, K

    2006-01-01

    It is generally accepted that the piezo-resistive coefficient in single crystal silicon is higher when P-type impurities such as boron are used for doping the resistors. In this paper we demonstrate that the sensitivity of polycrystalline silicon piezo-resistive pressure sensors can be enhanced considerably when phosphorus diffusion source is used instead of boron dopant for realizing the piezo-resistors. Pressure sensors have been designed and fabricated with the polycrystalline piezo-resistors connected in the form of a Wheatstone bridge and laid out on thermal oxide grown on membranes obtained with a Silicon On Insulator (SOI) approach. The SOI wafers required for this purpose have been realized in-house by Silicon Fusion Bonding (SFB) and etch back technique in our laboratory. This approach provides excellent isolation between the resistors and enables zero temperature coefficient of the polysilicon resistor. The results obtained in our laboratory have clearly demonstrated that by optimizing the phosphorus diffusion temperature and duration, it is possible to achieve sensitivities in excess of 20mV /Bar for bridge input voltage of 10V, with linearity within 1% over a differential pressure range up to 10Bar (10 6 Pascal), and burst pressure in excess of 50 Bar as compared to the 10mV /Bar sensitivity obtained with boron doped polysilicon piezo-resistors. This enhancement is attributed to grain boundary passivation by phosphorous atoms

  11. Zinc

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Some early research suggests that zinc supplementation increases sperm count, testosterone levels, and pregnancy rates in infertile men with low testosterone levels. Other research suggests that taking zinc can improve sperm shape in men with moderate enlargement of a ...

  12. Relationship between maternal serum zinc, cord blood zinc and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Adequate in utero supply of zinc is essential for optimal fetal growth because of the role of zinc in cellular division, growth and differentiation. Low maternal serum zinc has been reported to be associated with low birth weight and the later is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in newborns.

  13. Software optimization for electrical conductivity imaging in polycrystalline diamond cutters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bogdanov, G.; Ludwig, R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd, Worcester, MA 01609 (United States); Wiggins, J.; Bertagnolli, K. [US Synthetic, 1260 South 1600 West, Orem, UT 84058 (United States)

    2014-02-18

    We previously reported on an electrical conductivity imaging instrument developed for measurements on polycrystalline diamond cutters. These cylindrical cutters for oil and gas drilling feature a thick polycrystalline diamond layer on a tungsten carbide substrate. The instrument uses electrical impedance tomography to profile the conductivity in the diamond table. Conductivity images must be acquired quickly, on the order of 5 sec per cutter, to be useful in the manufacturing process. This paper reports on successful efforts to optimize the conductivity reconstruction routine, porting major portions of it to NVIDIA GPUs, including a custom CUDA kernel for Jacobian computation.

  14. CVD-graphene growth on different polycrystalline transition metals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. P. Lavin-Lopez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The chemical vapor deposition (CVD graphene growth on two polycrystalline transition metals (Ni and Cu was investigated in detail using Raman spectroscopy and optical microscopy as a way to synthesize graphene of the highest quality (i.e. uniform growth of monolayer graphene, which is considered a key issue for electronic devices. Key CVD process parameters (reaction temperature, CH4/H2flow rate ratio, total flow of gases (CH4+H2, reaction time were optimized for both metals in order to obtain the highest graphene uniformity and quality. The conclusions previously reported in literature about the performance of low and high carbon solubility metals in the synthesis of graphene and their associated reaction mechanisms, i.e. surface depositionand precipitation on cooling, respectively, was not corroborated by the results obtained in this work. Under the optimal reaction conditions, a large percentage of monolayer graphene was obtained over the Ni foil since the carbon saturation was not complete, allowing carbon atoms to be stored in the bulk metal, which could diffuse forming high quality monolayer graphene at the surface. However, under the optimal reaction conditions, the formation of a non-uniform mixture of few layers and multilayer graphene on the Cu foil was related to the presence of an excess of active carbon atoms on the Cu surface.

  15. Characterization of the ZAT1p zinc transporter from Arabidopsis thaliana in microbial model organisms and reconstituted proteoliposomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloss, Tanja; Clemens, Stephan; Nies, Dietrich H

    2002-03-01

    The ZAT1p zinc transporter from Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. is a member of the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) protein family. When heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, ZAT1p bound zinc in a metal blot. Binding of zinc occurred mainly to the hydrophilic amino acid region from H182 to H232. A ZAT1p/ZAT1p*Delta(M1-I25) protein mixture was purified and reconstituted into proteoliposomes. Uptake of zinc into the proteoliposomes did not require a proton gradient across the liposomal membrane. ZAT1p did not transport cobalt, and transported cadmium at only 1% of the zinc transport rate. ZAT1p functioned as an uptake system for 65Zn2+ in two strains of the Gram-negative bacterium Ralstonia metallidurans, which were different in their content of zinc-efflux systems. The ZAT1 gene did not rescue increased zinc sensitivity of a Delta ZRC1single-mutant strain or of a Delta ZRC1 Delta COT1 double-mutant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but ZAT1 complemented this phenotype in a Delta SpZRC1 mutant strain of Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

  16. Tunable band structures of polycrystalline graphene by external and mismatch strains

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jiang-Tao Wu; Xing-Hua Shi; Yu-Jie Wei

    2012-01-01

    Lacking a band gap largely limits the application of graphene in electronic devices.Previous study shows that grain boundaries (GBs) in polycrystalline graphene can dramatically alter the electrical properties of graphene.Here,we investigate the band structure of polycrystalline graphene tuned by externally imposed strains and intrinsic mismatch strains at the GB by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.We found that graphene with symmetrical GBs typically has zero band gap even with large uniaxial and biaxial strain.However,some particular asymmetrical GBs can open a band gap in graphene and their band structures can be substantially tuned by external strains.A maximum band gap about 0.19 eV was observed in matched-armchair GB (5,5) | (3,7) with a misorientation of θ =13° when the applied uniaxial strain increases to 9%.Although mismatch strain is inevitable in asymmetrical GBs,it has a small influence on the band gap of polycrystalline graphene.

  17. Strong trapping and slow diffusion of helium in a tungsten grain boundary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Xin-Xin [Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Niu, Liang-Liang, E-mail: nliangli@umich.edu [Department of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Wang, Shaoqing [Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China)

    2017-04-15

    We have investigated the segregation, trapping and diffusion of He in a ∑3<110>{111} W grain boundary (GB) using combined techniques of ab initio and classical atomistic simulations. We show that, with an average segregation energy of −3.20 eV, the strong He trapping can be attributed to a GB interstitial trapping or a vacancy trapping mechanism, while an average energy barrier of 1.97 eV leads to a slow diffusion of He in the GB plane. We further reveal by molecular dynamics simulations that the He diffusion will be dictated by GB migration through the motion of GB disconnections. Interestingly, we also observe a He-induced GB structural transition in classical simulations. The present work suggests that the GB does not provide fast transport channel for He, providing useful reference for the possible application of polycrystalline W under He irradiation in advanced nuclear fusion reactors.

  18. Influence de la phosphatation au zinc sur la résistance a la ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Zinc phosphatation influence on the resistance to corrosion of a carbonbased steel in marine medium. In the frame of the present investigation, we have showed that the profile of the cathodic curves of a non phosphated metal, plead in favour to a kinetic profile essentially monitored by a pure diffusion. The corrosion rate ...

  19. Acoustic emission from polycrystalline graphites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ioka, I.; Yoda, S.; Oku, T.; Miyamoto, Y.

    1987-01-01

    Acoustic emission was monitored from polycrystalline graphites with different microstructure (pore size and pore volume) subjected to compressive loading. The graphites used in this study comprised five brands, that is, PGX, ISEM-1, IG-11, IG-15, and ISO-88. A root mean square (RMS) voltage and event counts of acoustic emission for graphites were measured during compressive loading. The acoustic emission was measured using a computed-based data acquisition and analysis system. The graphites were first deformed up to 80 % of the average fracture stress, then unloaded and reloaded again until the fracture occured. During the first loading, the change in RMS voltage for acoustic emission was detected from the initial stage. During the unloading, the RMS voltage became zero level as soon as the applied stress was released and then gradually rose to a peak and declined. The behavior indicated that the reversed plastic deformation occured in graphites. During the second loading, the RMS voltage gently increased until the applied stress exceeded the maximum stress of the first loading; there is no Kaiser effect in the graphites. A bicrystal model could give a reasonable explanation of this results. The empirical equation between the ratio of σ AE to σ f and σ f was obtained. It is considered that the detection of microfracture by the acoustic emission technique is effective in macrofracture prediction of polycrystalline graphites. (author)

  20. BWR zinc addition Sourcebook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, Susan E.; Giannelli, Joseph F.; Jarvis, Alfred J.

    2014-01-01

    Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) have been injecting zinc into the primary coolant via the reactor feedwater system for over 25 years for the purpose of controlling primary system radiation fields. The BWR zinc injection process has evolved since the initial application at the Hope Creek Nuclear Station in 1986. Key transitions were from the original natural zinc oxide (NZO) to depleted zinc oxide (DZO), and from active zinc injection of a powdered zinc oxide slurry (pumped systems) to passive injection systems (zinc pellet beds). Zinc addition has continued through various chemistry regimes changes, from normal water chemistry (NWC) to hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) and HWC with noble metals (NobleChem™) for mitigation of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of reactor internals and primary system piping. While past reports published by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) document specific industry experience related to these topics, the Zinc Sourcebook was prepared to consolidate all of the experience gained over the past 25 years. The Zinc Sourcebook will benefit experienced BWR Chemistry, Operations, Radiation Protection and Engineering personnel as well as new people entering the nuclear power industry. While all North American BWRs implement feedwater zinc injection, a number of other BWRs do not inject zinc. This Sourcebook will also be a valuable resource to plants considering the benefits of zinc addition process implementation, and to gain insights on industry experience related to zinc process control and best practices. This paper presents some of the highlights from the Sourcebook. (author)

  1. Zinc at glutamatergic synapses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paoletti, P; Vergnano, A M; Barbour, B; Casado, M

    2009-01-12

    It has long been known that the mammalian forebrain contains a subset of glutamatergic neurons that sequester zinc in their synaptic vesicles. This zinc may be released into the synaptic cleft upon neuronal activity. Extracellular zinc has the potential to interact with and modulate many different synaptic targets, including glutamate receptors and transporters. Among these targets, NMDA receptors appear particularly interesting because certain NMDA receptor subtypes (those containing the NR2A subunit) contain allosteric sites exquisitely sensitive to extracellular zinc. The existence of these high-affinity zinc binding sites raises the possibility that zinc may act both in a phasic and tonic mode. Changes in zinc concentration and subcellular zinc distribution have also been described in several pathological conditions linked to glutamatergic transmission dysfunctions. However, despite intense investigation, the functional significance of vesicular zinc remains largely a mystery. In this review, we present the anatomy and the physiology of the glutamatergic zinc-containing synapse. Particular emphasis is put on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the putative roles of zinc as a messenger involved in excitatory synaptic transmission and plasticity. We also highlight the many controversial issues and unanswered questions. Finally, we present and compare two widely used zinc chelators, CaEDTA and tricine, and show why tricine should be preferred to CaEDTA when studying fast transient zinc elevations as may occur during synaptic activity.

  2. Influence of ammonia flow rate for improving properties of polycrystalline GaN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariff, A.; Ahmad, M. A.; Hassan, Z.; Zainal, N.

    2018-06-01

    Post-annealing treatment in ammonia ambient is widely accepted for GaN material, but less works have been done to investigate the influence of the ammonia (NH3) flow rate for reducing the N-deficiency as well as improving the quality of the material. In this work, we investigated the influence of NH3 flow rate at 1, 2, 3, and 4 slm in improving properties of a ∼1 μm thick polycrystalline GaN layer. Our simulation work suggested that the uniformity of temperature and pressure gradient of the NH3 gas did not lead to the reduction of N-deficiency of the polycrystalline GaN layer. Instead, it was found that the mitigation of the N-deficiency was strongly influenced by the fluid velocity of the NH3 gas, which had passed over the layer. Either at lower or higher fluid velocity, the chance for the active N atoms to incorporate into the GaN lattice structure was low. Therefore, the N-deficiency on the polycrystalline GaN layer could not be minimized under these conditions. As measured by EDX, the N atoms incorporation was the most effective when the NH3 flow rate at 3 slm, suggesting the flow rate significantly improved the N-deficiency of the polycrystalline GaN layer. Furthermore, it favored the formation of larger hexagonal faceted grains, with the smallest FWHM of XRD peaks from the GaN diffractions in (10 1 bar 0), (0002) and (10 1 bar 1) orientations, while allowing the polycrystalline GaN layer to show sharp and intense emissions peak of NBE in a PL spectrum.

  3. Tritium diffusion in nonmetallic solids of interest for fusion reactors. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elleman, T.

    1979-01-01

    Tritium diffusion measurements have been conducted in Al 2 O 3 , BeO, Y 2 O 3 , SiC, B 4 C, Si 3 N 4 and pyrolytic carbon as a basis for evaluating these materials as potential tritium barriers in fusion reactors. Deuterium solubility measurements were conducted with Al 2 O 3 , SiC and pyrolytic carbon to establish the pressure and temperature dependence of solubility and to identify solubility ranges. Hydrogen permeability measurements on commercially available Al 2 O 3 and SiC materials were used as a check on calculated permeabilities and to provide data on hydrogen permeation rates in polycrystalline materials. The diffusion, solubility and permeation results are presented and discussed in terms of fusion reactor applications

  4. Tracing of Zinc Nanocrystals in the Anterior Pituitary of Zinc-Deficient Wistar Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuldeep, Anjana; Nair, Neena; Bedwal, Ranveer Singh

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to trace zinc nanocrystals in the anterior pituitary of zinc-deficient Wistar rats by using autometallographic technique. Male Wistar rats (30-40 days of age, pre-pubertal period) of 40-50 g body weight were divided into the following: the ZC (zinc control) group-fed with 100 ppm zinc in diet, the ZD (zinc-deficient) group-fed with zinc-deficient (1.00 ppm) diet and the PF (pair-fed) group-received 100 ppm zinc in diet. The experiments were set for 2 and 4 weeks. Pituitary was removed and processed for the autometallographic technique. The control and pair-fed groups retained their normal morphological features. However, male Wistar rats fed on zinc-deficient diet for 2 and 4 weeks displayed a wide range of symptoms such as significant (P zinc nanocrystals in the nuclei. The present findings suggest that the dietary zinc deficiency causes decreased intensity of zinc nanocrystals localization and their distribution in the pituitary thereby contributing to the dysfunction of the pituitary of the male Wistar rats. The severity of zinc deficiency symptoms progressed after the second week of the experiment. Decreased intensity of zinc nanocrystals attenuates the pituitary function which would exert its affect on other endocrine organs impairing their functions indicating that the metabolic regulation of pituitary is mediated to a certain extent by zinc and/or hypothalamus-hypophysial system which also reflects its essentiality during the period of growth.

  5. Evolution of the degradation mechanism of pure zinc stent in the one-year study of rabbit abdominal aorta model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hongtao; Wang, Cong; Liu, Chaoqiang; Chen, Houwen; Wu, Yifan; Han, Jintao; Jia, Zichang; Lin, Wenjiao; Zhang, Deyuan; Li, Wenting; Yuan, Wei; Guo, Hui; Li, Huafang; Yang, Guangxin; Kong, Deling; Zhu, Donghui; Takashima, Kazuki; Ruan, Liqun; Nie, Jianfeng; Li, Xuan; Zheng, Yufeng

    2017-11-01

    In the present study, pure zinc stents were implanted into the abdominal aorta of rabbits for 12 months. Multiscale analysis including micro-CT, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and histological stainings was performed to reveal the fundamental degradation mechanism of the pure zinc stent and its biocompatibility. The pure zinc stent was able to maintain mechanical integrity for 6 months and degraded 41.75 ± 29.72% of stent volume after 12 months implantation. No severe inflammation, platelet aggregation, thrombosis formation or obvious intimal hyperplasia was observed at all time points after implantation. The degradation of the zinc stent played a beneficial role in the artery remodeling and healing process. The evolution of the degradation mechanism of pure zinc stents with time was revealed as follows: Before endothelialization, dynamic blood flow dominated the degradation of pure zinc stent, creating a uniform corrosion mode; After endothelialization, the degradation of pure zinc stent depended on the diffusion of water molecules, hydrophilic solutes and ions which led to localized corrosion. Zinc phosphate generated in blood flow transformed into zinc oxide and small amounts of calcium phosphate during the conversion of degradation microenvironment. The favorable physiological degradation behavior makes zinc a promising candidate for future stent applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Front buried metallic contacts and thin porous silicon combination for efficient polycrystalline silicon solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben Rabha, M.; Boujmil, M.F.; Meddeb, N.; Saadoun, M.; Bessais, B.

    2006-01-01

    We investigate the impacts of achieving buried grid metallic contacts (BGMC), with and without application of a front porous silicon (PS) layer, on the photovoltaic properties of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) solar cells. A grooving method based on Chemical Vapor Etching (CVE) was used to perform buried grid contacts on the emitter of pc-Si solar cells. After realizing the n + /p junction using a phosphorus diffusion source, BGMCs were realized using the screen printing technique. We found that the buried metallic contacts improve the short circuit current from 16 mA/cm 2 (for reference cell without buried contacts) to about 19 mA/cm 2 . After application of a front PS layer on the n + emitter, we observe an enhancement of the short circuit current from 19 to 24 mA/cm 2 with a decrease of the reflectivity by about 40% of its initial value. The dark I-V characteristics of the pc-Si cells with PS-based emitter show an important reduction of the reverse current together with an improvement of the rectifying behaviour. Spectral response measurements performed at a wavelength range of 400-1100 nm showed a significant increase in the quantum efficiency, particularly at shorter wavelength (400-650 nm). These results indicate that the BGMCs improve the carrier collection and that the PS layer acts as an antireflective coating that reduces reflection losses and passivates the front surface. This low cost and simple technology based on the CVE technique could enable preparing efficient polycrystalline silicon solar cells

  7. Electrochemical Reduction of Zinc Phosphate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Chang Hwan; Lee, Jung Hyun; Shin, Woon Sup

    2010-01-01

    We demonstrated first that the electrochemical reduction of zinc phosphate in neutral phosphate buffer is possible and potentially applicable to bio-compatible rechargeable battery. The actual redox component is Zn(s)/Zn phosphate(s) and the future research about the control of crystal formation for the better cyclability is required. In lead-acid battery, the electrochemical redox reaction of Pb (s) /PbSO 4(s) is used by reducing Pb(II) and oxidizing Pb(0) in sulfate rich solution. Since both reduced form and oxidized form are insoluble, they cannot diffuse to the opposite electrodes and react. It is a very common strategy to make a stable battery electrode that a metal element is reduced and oxidized in solution containing an abundance of anion readily precipitating with the metal ion. For the application of this strategy to construction of rechargeable battery using bio-compatible electrode materials and electrolytes, the use of phosphate ion can be considered as anion readily precipitating with metal ions. If phosphate buffer with neutral pH is used as electrolyte, the better bio-compatibility will be achieved than most of rechargeable battery using strong acid, strong base or organic solvent as electrolyte solution. There are many metal ions readily precipitating with phos-phate ion, and zinc is one of them

  8. Steady-state growth of NiO scales on ceria-coated polycrystalline nickel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Czerwinski, F.; Szpunar, J.A.; Smeltzer, W.W.

    1996-01-01

    The effect of CeO 2 ceramic coatings with thicknesses in the range of 14 to 42 nm on the oxidation of high purity polycrystalline nickel at 973 K in 1 atm O 2 has been studied. The ceria coatings decrease the Ni oxidation rate after 125 h by a factor up to 45, which is significantly higher than the reduction achieved during early stages. Growth features, including oxide thickness, surface morphology, and the texture for both the pure and CeO 2 modified NiO, demonstrate a definite dependence on the crystallographic orientation of the Ni substrate. Oxides with thicknesses of up to 1 microm developed on CeO 2 -coated Ni consisted of three sublayers. The Ce-rich part, composed of small NiO grains and CeO 2 particles, was located inside the scale and shifted deeper into the scale with increased oxidation time. The growth kinetics and microstructural evolutions of modified NiO are discussed in terms of the mechanism of inhibition of grain boundary diffusion in NiO by Ce +4 ions

  9. Development of surface relief on polycrystalline metals due to sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voitsenya, V.S. [IPP NSC KIPT, 61108 Kharkov (Ukraine); Balden, M. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, EURATOM Association, Garching (Germany); Bardamid, A.F. [Taras Shevchenko National University, 01033 Kiev (Ukraine); Bondarenko, V.N. [IPP NSC KIPT, 61108 Kharkov (Ukraine); Davis, J.W., E-mail: jwdavis@starfire.utias.utoronto.ca [University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, 4925 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON, Canada M3H5T6 (Canada); Konovalov, V.G.; Ryzhkov, I.V.; Skoryk, O.O.; Solodovchenko, S.I. [IPP NSC KIPT, 61108 Kharkov (Ukraine); Zhang-jian, Zhou [University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100 083 (China)

    2013-05-01

    The characteristics of surface microrelief that appear in sputtering experiments with polycrystalline metals of various grain sizes have been studied. Specimens with grain sizes varying from 30–70 nm in the case of crystallized amorphous alloys, to 1–3 μm for technical tungsten grade and 10–100 μm for recrystallized tungsten were investigated. A model is proposed for the development of roughness on polycrystalline metals which is based on the dependence of sputtering rate on crystal orientation. The results of the modeling are in good agreement with experiments showing that the length scale of roughness is much larger than the grain size.

  10. Estimation of the exchange current density and comparative analysis of morphology of electrochemically produced lead and zinc deposits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolić Nebojša D.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The processes of lead and zinc electrodeposition from the very dilute electrolytes were compared by the analysis of polarization characteristics and by the scanning electron microscopic (SEM analysis of the morphology of the deposits obtained in the galvanostatic regime of electrolysis. The exchange current densities for lead and zinc were estimated by comparison of experimentally obtained polarization curves with the simulated ones obtained for the different the exchange current density to the limiting diffusion current density ratios. Using this way for the estimation of the exchange current density, it is shown that the exchange current density for Pb was more than 1300 times higher than the one for Zn. In this way, it is confirmed that the Pb electrodeposition processes are considerably faster than the Zn electrodeposition processes. The difference in the rate of electrochemical processes was confirmed by a comparison of morphologies of lead and zinc deposits obtained at current densities which corresponded to 0.25 and 0.50 values of the limiting diffusion current densities. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 172046

  11. PREPARATION OF ZINC ENRICHED YEAST (SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE BY CULTIVATION WITH DIFFERENT ZINC SALTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ľuboš Harangozo

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the best known microorganism and therefore widely used in many branches of industry. This study aims to investigate the accumulation of three inorganic zinc salts. Our research presents the ability of this yeast to absorb zinc from liquid medium and such enriched biomass use as a potential source of microelements in animal and/or human nutrition. It was found that the addition of different zinc forms, i.e. zinc nitrate, zinc sulphate and zinc chloride in fixed concentrations of 0, 25, 50 and 100 mg.100 ml-1 did not affect the amount of dry yeast biomass yielded, i.e. 1.0 – 1.2 g of yeast cells from 100 ml of cultivation medium, while higher presence of zinc solutions caused significantly lower yield of yeast biomass. The highest amount of zinc in yeast cells was achieved when added in the form of zinc nitrate in concentration of 200 mg.100 ml-1 YPD medium. The increment of intracellular zinc was up to 18.5 mg.g-1 of yeast biomass.

  12. Synthesis and characterization of polycrystalline brownmillerite cobalt doped Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 5}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dhankhar, Suchita; Baskar, K.; Singh, Shubra, E-mail: shubra6@gmail.com [Crystal Growth Centre, Anna University, Chennai-600 025 (India); Bhalerao, Gopal [UGC-DAE CSR Kalpakkam node, Kalpakkam-603104 (India)

    2016-05-23

    Brownmillerite compounds with general formula A{sub 2}BB’O{sub 5} (BB’ = Mn, Al, Fe, Co) have attracted attention in wide range of applications such as in solid oxide fuel cell, oxygen separation membrane and photocatalysis. Brownmillerite compounds have unique structure with alternate layers of BO{sub 6} octahedral layers and BO{sub 4} tetrahedral layers. Presence of dopants like Co in place of Fe increases oxygen vacancies. In the present work we have synthesized polycrystalline Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 5} and Ca{sub 2}Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}O{sub 5} (x = 0.01, 0.03) by citrate combustion route. The as prepared samples were characterized by XRD using PANalytical X’Pert System, DRS (Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy) and SEM (Scanning electron microscopy).

  13. The study and microstructure analysis of zinc and zinc oxide

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Luptáková, Natália; Pešlová, F.; Kliber, J.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 54, č. 1 (2015), s. 43-46 ISSN 0543-5846 Grant - others:KEGA(SK) KEGA 007 TnUAD-4/2013 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : zinc * production of zinc oxide * microstructure * chemical composition * zinc slag Subject RIV: JG - Metal lurgy Impact factor: 0.959, year: 2014

  14. In vitro study of color stability of polycrystalline and monocrystalline ceramic brackets

    OpenAIRE

    de Oliveira, Cibele Braga; Maia, Luiz Guilherme Martins; Santos-Pinto, Ary; Gandini J?nior, Luiz Gonzaga

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this in vitro study was to analyze color stability of monocrystalline and polycrystalline ceramic brackets after immersion in dye solutions. METHODS: Seven ceramic brackets of four commercial brands were tested: Two monocrystalline and two polycrystalline. The brackets were immersed in four dye solutions (coffee, red wine, Coke and black tea) and in artificial saliva for the following times: 24 hours, 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively. Color changes were measured by a...

  15. Zinc Biochemistry: From a Single Zinc Enzyme to a Key Element of Life12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maret, Wolfgang

    2013-01-01

    The nutritional essentiality of zinc for the growth of living organisms had been recognized long before zinc biochemistry began with the discovery of zinc in carbonic anhydrase in 1939. Painstaking analytical work then demonstrated the presence of zinc as a catalytic and structural cofactor in a few hundred enzymes. In the 1980s, the field again gained momentum with the new principle of “zinc finger” proteins, in which zinc has structural functions in domains that interact with other biomolecules. Advances in structural biology and a rapid increase in the availability of gene/protein databases now made it possible to predict zinc-binding sites from metal-binding motifs detected in sequences. This procedure resulted in the definition of zinc proteomes and the remarkable estimate that the human genome encodes ∼3000 zinc proteins. More recent developments focus on the regulatory functions of zinc(II) ions in intra- and intercellular information transfer and have tantalizing implications for yet additional functions of zinc in signal transduction and cellular control. At least three dozen proteins homeostatically control the vesicular storage and subcellular distribution of zinc and the concentrations of zinc(II) ions. Novel principles emerge from quantitative investigations on how strongly zinc interacts with proteins and how it is buffered to control the remarkably low cellular and subcellular concentrations of free zinc(II) ions. It is fair to conclude that the impact of zinc for health and disease will be at least as far-reaching as that of iron. PMID:23319127

  16. The importance of stress percolation patterns in rocks and other polycrystalline materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnley, P C

    2013-01-01

    A new framework for thinking about the deformation behavior of rocks and other heterogeneous polycrystalline materials is proposed, based on understanding the patterns of stress transmission through these materials. Here, using finite element models, I show that stress percolates through polycrystalline materials that have heterogeneous elastic and plastic properties of the same order as those found in rocks. The pattern of stress percolation is related to the degree of heterogeneity in and statistical distribution of the elastic and plastic properties of the constituent grains in the aggregate. The development of these stress patterns leads directly to shear localization, and their existence provides insight into the formation of rhythmic features such as compositional banding and foliation in rocks that are reacting or dissolving while being deformed. In addition, this framework provides a foundation for understanding and predicting the macroscopic rheology of polycrystalline materials based on single-crystal elastic and plastic mechanical properties.

  17. An experimental study of the retention of zinc, zinc-cadmium mixture and zinc-65 in the presence of cadmium in Anguilla anguilla (L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pally, Monique; Foulquier, Luc

    1976-07-01

    Zinc uptake was studied in eels in fresh water, using stable zinc, a zinc-cadmium mixture, and zinc 65 in the presence of small amounts of cadmium. The zinc content in the eel began to increase after 45 days only, and reached approximately 85 ppm after 76 days in water initially containing 5ppm of zinc. At the conclusion of the experiment (76 days), the body organs could be classified in decreasing order in zinc content (in ppm): kidneys (152), skeleton (133), skin (129), muscles (89), head (80), gills (78), digestive tract (77), liver (63) spleen-heart-air bladder (32), and mucus (15). A comparison of experimental results obtained with the zinc-cadmium mixture and cadmium alone showed that zinc decreased the cadmium content of all organs except the gills. The presence of cadmium in water did not inhibit zinc uptake. As cadmium content in water increased, then zinc content in the digestive tract and the kidneys decreased and in all cases remained lower than when zinc alone was present. In the presence of cadmium the percentage of zinc in the kidneys was always lower than the value obtained for zinc alone, and that of the digestive tract did not increase. Contamination of eels treated with 18 and 50ppb of cadmium for 29 days, then contaminated by zinc-65 (5μCi/l) while maintaining the same low cadmium content, showed no significant difference in zinc 65 uptake in the two groups. The same applied to the body organs, and particularly the digestive tract and kidneys, where the highest activity levels were observed. By weight, muscles represented approximately 30% of the total contamination after 45 days [fr

  18. Influence of wavelength on transient short-circuit current in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ba, B.; Kane, M.

    1993-10-01

    The influence of the wavelength of a monochromatic illumination on transient short-circuit current in an n/p polycrystalline silicon part solar cell junction is investigated. A wavelength dependence in the initial part of the current decay is observed in the case of cells with moderate grain boundary effects. This influence is attenuated in polycrystalline cells with strong grain boundary activity. (author). 10 refs, 6 figs

  19. Effect of zinc sources on yield and utilization of zinc in rice-wheat sequence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deb, D.L.

    1990-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted on an inceptisol of Delhi to evaluate three sources of zinc, namely, zinc sulphate, zincated urea and zinc oxide on yield and utilization of zinc in rice-wheat sequence. Results indicated that, amongst the three zinc sources, zinc sulphate and zincated urea gave the best performance in increasing the grain yield of rice whereas zinc oxide depressed the grain yield of wheat significantly when compared to other treatments. The highest Zn derived from fertilizer and its utilization was obtained with zinc sulphate for both rice and wheat crops. (author). 9 refs., 4 tabs

  20. Zinc blotting assay for detection of zinc binding prolamin in barley (Hordeum vulgare) grain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uddin, Mohammad Nasir; Nielsen, Ane Langkilde-Lauesen; Vincze, Eva

    2014-01-01

    In plants, zinc is commonly found bound to proteins. In barley (Hordeum vulgare), major storage proteins are alcohol-soluble prolamins known as hordeins, and some of them have the potential to bind or store zinc. 65Zn overlay and blotting techniques have been widely used for detecting zinc......-binding protein. However, to our knowledge so far this zinc blotting assay has never been applied to detect a prolamin fraction in barley grains. A radioactive zinc (65ZnCl2) blotting technique was optimized to detect zinc-binding prolamins, followed by development of an easy-to-follow nonradioactive colorimetric...... zinc blotting method with a zinc-sensing dye, dithizone. Hordeins were extracted from mature barley grain, separated by SDS-PAGE, blotted on a membrane, renatured, overlaid, and probed with zinc; subsequently, zinc-binding specificity of certain proteins was detected either by autoradiography or color...

  1. Palladium assisted silver transport in polycrystalline SiC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neethling, J.H., E-mail: Jan.Neethling@nmmu.ac.za [Physics Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa); O' Connell, J.H.; Olivier, E.J. [Physics Department, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

    2012-10-15

    The transport of silver in polycrystalline 3C-SiC and hexagonal 6H-SiC has been investigated by annealing the SiC samples in contact with a Pd-Ag compound at temperatures of 800 and 1000 Degree-Sign C and times of 24 and 67 h. The Pd was added in an attempt to improve the low wetting of SiC by Ag and further because Pd is produced in measurable concentrations in coated particles during reactor operation. Pd is also known to coalesce at the IPyC-SiC interface and to chemically attack the SiC layer. SEM, TEM and EDS were used to show that the Ag penetrates polycrystalline SiC along grain boundaries together with Pd. It is suggested that Ag transport in SiC takes place along grain boundaries in the form of moving nodules consisting of a Ag-Pd mixture. It is assumed that the nodules move along grain boundaries by dissolving the SiC at the leading edge followed by the reprecipitation of SiC at the trailing edge. Since the solubility of Cs in Ag and Pd is extremely low, it is unlikely that Cs will penetrate the SiC together with the Ag-Pd compound if present at the IPyC-SiC interface. If it is assumed that the dominant transport mechanism of Ag in intact polycrystalline SiC is indeed the Pd assisted mechanism, then the stabilization of Pd (and other metallic fission products) in the kernel could be a way of mitigating Ag release from TRISO-coated particles.

  2. Palladium assisted silver transport in polycrystalline SiC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neethling, J.H.; O’Connell, J.H.; Olivier, E.J.

    2012-01-01

    The transport of silver in polycrystalline 3C-SiC and hexagonal 6H-SiC has been investigated by annealing the SiC samples in contact with a Pd–Ag compound at temperatures of 800 and 1000 °C and times of 24 and 67 h. The Pd was added in an attempt to improve the low wetting of SiC by Ag and further because Pd is produced in measurable concentrations in coated particles during reactor operation. Pd is also known to coalesce at the IPyC–SiC interface and to chemically attack the SiC layer. SEM, TEM and EDS were used to show that the Ag penetrates polycrystalline SiC along grain boundaries together with Pd. It is suggested that Ag transport in SiC takes place along grain boundaries in the form of moving nodules consisting of a Ag–Pd mixture. It is assumed that the nodules move along grain boundaries by dissolving the SiC at the leading edge followed by the reprecipitation of SiC at the trailing edge. Since the solubility of Cs in Ag and Pd is extremely low, it is unlikely that Cs will penetrate the SiC together with the Ag–Pd compound if present at the IPyC–SiC interface. If it is assumed that the dominant transport mechanism of Ag in intact polycrystalline SiC is indeed the Pd assisted mechanism, then the stabilization of Pd (and other metallic fission products) in the kernel could be a way of mitigating Ag release from TRISO-coated particles.

  3. Neodymium conversion layers formed on zinc powder for improving electrochemical properties of zinc electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Liqun; Zhang Hui; Li Weiping; Liu Huicong

    2008-01-01

    Zinc powder, as active material of secondary alkaline zinc electrode, can greatly limit the performance of zinc electrode due to corrosion and dendritic growth of zinc resulting in great capacity-loss and short cycle life of the electrode. This work is devoted to modification study of zinc powder with neodymium conversion films coated directly onto it using ultrasonic immersion method for properties improvement of zinc electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy and other characterization techniques are applied to prove that neodymium conversion layers are distributing on the surface of modified zinc powder. The electrochemical performance of zinc electrodes made of such modified zinc powder is investigated through potentiodynamic polarization, potentiostatic polarization and cyclic voltammetry. The neodymium conversion films are found to have a significant effect on inhibition corrosion capability of zinc electrode in a beneficial way. It is also confirmed that the neodymium conversion coatings can obviously suppress dendritic growth of zinc electrode, which is attributed to the amelioration of deposition state of zinc. Moreover, the results of cyclic voltammetry reveal that surface modification of zinc powder enhances the cycle performance of the electrode mainly because the neodymium conversion films decrease the amounts of ZnO or Zn(OH) 2 dissolved in the electrolyte

  4. Calculation of Debye-Scherrer diffraction patterns from highly stressed polycrystalline materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MacDonald, M. J., E-mail: macdonm@umich.edu [Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); Vorberger, J. [Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Gamboa, E. J.; Glenzer, S. H.; Fletcher, L. B. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); Drake, R. P. [Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Applied Physics, and Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States)

    2016-06-07

    Calculations of Debye-Scherrer diffraction patterns from polycrystalline materials have typically been done in the limit of small deviatoric stresses. Although these methods are well suited for experiments conducted near hydrostatic conditions, more robust models are required to diagnose the large strain anisotropies present in dynamic compression experiments. A method to predict Debye-Scherrer diffraction patterns for arbitrary strains has been presented in the Voigt (iso-strain) limit [Higginbotham, J. Appl. Phys. 115, 174906 (2014)]. Here, we present a method to calculate Debye-Scherrer diffraction patterns from highly stressed polycrystalline samples in the Reuss (iso-stress) limit. This analysis uses elastic constants to calculate lattice strains for all initial crystallite orientations, enabling elastic anisotropy and sample texture effects to be modeled directly. The effects of probing geometry, deviatoric stresses, and sample texture are demonstrated and compared to Voigt limit predictions. An example of shock-compressed polycrystalline diamond is presented to illustrate how this model can be applied and demonstrates the importance of including material strength when interpreting diffraction in dynamic compression experiments.

  5. Zinc in human serum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiilerich, S.

    1987-01-01

    The zinc ion is essential for the living organism. Many pathological conditions have been described as a consequence of zinc deficiency. As zinc constitutes less than 0.01 per cent of the body weight, it conventionally belongs to the group of trace elements. The method of atomic absorption spectrophotometry is used to measure the concentration of zinc in serum and urine from healthy persons. The assumptions of the method is discussed. The importance of proteinbinding, diet and the diurnal variation of serum zinc concentration is presented. Serum versus plasma zinc concentration is discussed. Reference serum zinc values from 104 normal subjects are given. Zinc in serum is almost entirely bound to proteins. A preliminary model for the estimation of the distribution of zinc between serum albumin and α 2 -macroglobulin is set up. This estimate has been examined by an ultracentrufugation method. The binding of zinc to a α 2 -macroglobulin in normal persons is appoximately 7 per cent, in patients with cirrhosis of the liver of alcoholic origin approximately 6 per cent, in patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus approximately 5 per cent, and in patients with chronic renal failure approximately 2 per cent. It is concluded, therefore, that for clinical purposes it is sufficient to use the concentration of total serum zinc corrected for the concentration of serum albumin. (author)

  6. Direct growth of transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO2 polycrystalline films on glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Naoomi; Kasai, Junpei; Hitosugi, Taro; Hoang, Ngoc Lam Huong; Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2009-01-01

    This paper proposes a novel sputter-based method for the direct growth of transparent conducting Ti 1-x Nb x O 2 (TNO) polycrystalline films on glass, without the need for any postdeposition treatments, by the use of an initial seed-layer. Anatase TNO epitaxial films grown on LaAlO 3 (100) substrates under a reducing atmosphere exhibited a low resistivity (ρ) of (3-6)x10 -4 Ω cm. On glass, however, highly resistive rutile phase polycrystalline films (ρ∼100 Ω cm) formed preferentially under the same conditions. These results suggest that epitaxial stabilization of the oxygen-deficient anatase phase occurs on lattice-matched substrates. To produce a similar effect on a glass surface, we deposited a seed-layer of anatase TNO with excellent crystallinity under an increased oxygen atmosphere. As a result, anatase phase TNO polycrystalline films could be grown even under heavily reducing atmospheres. An optimized film exhibited ρ=1.1x10 -3 Ω cm and optical absorption lower than 10% in the visible region. This ρ value is more than one order of magnitude lower than values reported for directly deposited TNO polycrystalline films. This indicates that the seed-layer method has considerable potential for producing transparent conducting TNO polycrystalline films on glass.

  7. Fluorescence quenching of 9-cyanoanthracene in presence of zinc tetraphenylporphyrin in a polar liquid medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandal, Paulami; Tiwari, Sanat Kumar; Ganguly, Tapan; Sinha, Subrata

    2009-01-01

    Steady-state and time-resolved techniques are used to study photoinduced electron and/or excitational energy transfer processes involved within a novel donor (zinc tetraphenylporphyrin)-acceptor (9-cyanoanthracene) system in a polar liquid medium (acetonitrile) at the ambient temperature (300 K). After photoexcitation of 9-cyanoanthracene, its fluorescence emission as well as lifetime are found to be quenched in presence of zinc tetraphenylporphyrin. The fluorescence quenching is ascribed to be due to the combined effect of electron transfer from zinc tetraphenylporphyrin to 9-cyanoanthracene and energy transfer (radiative as well as non-radiative) from 9-cyanoanthracene to zinc tetraphenylporphyrin. The highly exergonic values of Gibbs free energy change for both forward electron transfer reaction (-1.15 eV) and charge recombination reaction (-1.94 eV) indicate the possibilities of occurrences of these two processes in the Marcus inverted region. The fluorescence quenching rate due to photoinduced electron transfer reaction is found to be close to the diffusion-controlled limit within the present donor-acceptor system upon excitation of the acceptor molecules.

  8. Impact of residual elements on zinc quality in the production of zinc oxide

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Luptáková, Natália; Dymáček, Petr; Pešlová, F.; Jurkovič, Z.; Barborák, O.; Stodola, J.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 55, č. 3 (2016), s. 407-410 ISSN 0543-5846 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : zinc * metallography * microstructure of zinc * zinc oxide * production of zinc oxide Subject RIV: JG - Metallurgy Impact factor: 0.959, year: 2014

  9. EPR of gamma-irradiated polycrystalline alanine-in-glass dosimeter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Karmi, Anan M.; Morsy, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    This study attempts to overcome some of the reported discrepancies in alanine-EPR reproducibility that may be related to alanine dosimeter preparation and/or EPR spectrometer settings. The dosimeters were prepared by packing pure polycrystalline L-α-alanine directly as supplied by the manufacturer in glass tubes. This dosimeter production scheme avoids any possible contribution to the EPR signal from a binding material. The dosimeters were irradiated with gamma ray to low-dose ranges typical for medical therapy (0-20 Gy). Special attention has been paid to the study of minimum detectable dose, measurement repeatability and reproducibility, and post-irradiation stability. The dosimeter exhibited a linear dose response in the dose range from 0.1 to 20 Gy. These positive properties favor the polycrystalline alanine-in-glass tube as a radiation dosimeter

  10. Cyclic AMP Pathway Activation and Extracellular Zinc Induce Rapid Intracellular Zinc Mobilization in Candida albicans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kjellerup, Lasse; Winther, Anne-Marie L.; Wilson, Duncan; Fuglsang, Anja T.

    2018-01-01

    Zinc is an essential micronutrient, required for a range of zinc-dependent enzymes and transcription factors. In mammalian cells, zinc serves as a second messenger molecule. However, a role for zinc in signaling has not yet been established in the fungal kingdom. Here, we used the intracellular zinc reporter, zinbo-5, which allowed visualization of zinc in the endoplasmic reticulum and other components of the internal membrane system in Candida albicans. We provide evidence for a link between cyclic AMP/PKA- and zinc-signaling in this major human fungal pathogen. Glucose stimulation, which triggers a cyclic AMP spike in this fungus resulted in rapid intracellular zinc mobilization and this “zinc flux” could be stimulated with phosphodiesterase inhibitors and blocked via inhibition of adenylate cyclase or PKA. A similar mobilization of intracellular zinc was generated by stimulation of cells with extracellular zinc and this effect could be reversed with the chelator EDTA. However, zinc-induced zinc flux was found to be cyclic AMP independent. In summary, we show that activation of the cyclic AMP/PKA pathway triggers intracellular zinc mobilization in a fungus. To our knowledge, this is the first described link between cyclic AMP signaling and zinc homeostasis in a human fungal pathogen. PMID:29619016

  11. Reactivation in vitro of zinc-requiring apo-enzymes by rat liver zinc-thionein

    OpenAIRE

    Udom, Albert O.; Brady, Frank O.

    1980-01-01

    The ability of rat liver zinc-thionein to donate its metal to the apo-enzymes of the zinc enzymes horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, yeast aldolase, thermolysin, Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase and bovine erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase was investigated. Zinc-thionein was as good as, or better than, ZnSO4, Zn(CH3CO2)2 or Zn(NO3)2 in donating its zinc to these apo-enzymes. Apo-(alcohol dehydrogenase) could not be reactivated by zinc salts or by zinc-thionein. Incubation of the other apo-e...

  12. The adhesion and tribology analysis of polycrystalline diamond coated on Si3N4 substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamzah, E.; Purniawan, A.

    2007-01-01

    Cauliflower and octahedral structure of polycrystalline diamond was deposited on silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) substrate by microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (MPACVD). In our earlier work, the effects of deposition parameters namely, % Methane (CH 4 ) diluted in hydrogen (H 2 ), microwave power and chamber pressure on surface morphology were studied. In the present work the polycrystalline diamond coating adhesion and tribology behaviour were investigated. Rockwell C hardness tester and pin-on-disk tribometer were used to determine the adhesion and tribology properties on diamond coating, respectively. The morphology of the diamond before and after indentation was observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Based on the adhesion analysis results, it was found that octahedral morphology has better adhesion than cauliflower structure. It was indicated by few cracks and less peel-off than cauliflower structure of polycrystalline diamond after indentation. Based on tribology analysis, polycrystalline diamond coated on substrate has better tribology properties than uncoated substrate. (author)

  13. Diffusion of Ag, Au and Cs implants in MAX phase Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Weilin, E-mail: weilin.jiang@pnnl.gov [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA (United States); Henager, Charles H.; Varga, Tamas; Jung, Hee Joon; Overman, Nicole R. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA (United States); Zhang, Chonghong; Gou, Jie [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou (China)

    2015-07-15

    MAX phases (M: early transition metal; A: elements in group 13 or 14; X: C or N), such as titanium silicon carbide (Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2}), have a unique combination of both metallic and ceramic properties, which make them attractive for potential nuclear applications. Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} has been considered as a possible fuel cladding material. This study reports on the diffusivities of fission product surrogates (Ag and Cs) and a noble metal Au (with diffusion behavior similar to Ag) in this ternary compound at elevated temperatures, as well as in dual-phase nanocomposite of Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2}/3C-SiC and polycrystalline CVD 3C-SiC for behavior comparisons. Samples were implanted with Ag, Au or Cs ions and characterized with various methods, including X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, helium ion microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that in contrast to immobile Ag in 3C-SiC, there is a significant outward diffusion of Ag in Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} within the dual-phase nanocomposite during Ag ion implantation at 873 K. Similar behavior of Au in polycrystalline Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} was also observed. Cs out-diffusion and release from Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} occurred during post-implantation thermal annealing at 973 K. This study suggests caution and further studies in consideration of Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} as a fuel cladding material for advanced nuclear reactors operating at very high temperatures.

  14. Transformation of zinc hydroxide chloride monohydrate to crystalline zinc oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moezzi, Amir; Cortie, Michael; McDonagh, Andrew

    2016-04-25

    Thermal decomposition of layered zinc hydroxide double salts provides an interesting alternative synthesis for particles of zinc oxide. Here, we examine the sequence of changes occurring as zinc hydroxide chloride monohydrate (Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O) is converted to crystalline ZnO by thermal decomposition. The specific surface area of the resultant ZnO measured by BET was 1.3 m(2) g(-1). A complicating and important factor in this process is that the thermal decomposition of zinc hydroxide chloride is also accompanied by the formation of volatile zinc-containing species under certain conditions. We show that this volatile compound is anhydrous ZnCl2 and its formation is moisture dependent. Therefore, control of atmospheric moisture is an important consideration that affects the overall efficiency of ZnO production by this process.

  15. Influence of soil zinc concentrations on zinc sensitivity and functional diversity of microbial communities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lock, K.; Janssen, C.R.

    2005-01-01

    Pollution induced community tolerance (PICT) is based on the phenomenon that toxic effects reduce survival of the most sensitive organisms, thus increasing community tolerance. Community tolerance for a contaminant is thus a strong indicator for the presence of that contaminant at the level of adverse concentrations. Here we assessed PICT in 11 soils contaminated with zinc runoff from galvanised electricity pylons and 11 reference soils sampled at 10 m distance from these pylons. Using PICT, the influence of background concentration and bioavailability of zinc on zinc sensitivity and functional diversity of microbial communities was assessed. Zinc sensitivity of microbial communities decreased significantly with increasing zinc concentrations in pore water and calcium chloride extracted fraction while no significant relationship was found with total zinc concentration in the soil. It was also found that functional diversity of microbial communities decreased with increasing zinc concentrations, indicating that increased tolerance is indeed an undesirable phenomenon when environmental quality is considered. The hypothesis that zinc sensitivity of microbial communities is related to background zinc concentration in pore water could not be confirmed. - Zinc sensitivity of microbial communities and functional diversity decrease with increasing zinc concentration in the pore water

  16. Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of zinc carbonate and zinc oxide nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pourmortazavi, Seied Mahdi; Marashianpour, Zahra; Karimi, Meisam Sadeghpour; Mohammad-Zadeh, Mohammad

    2015-11-01

    Zinc oxide and its precursor i.e., zinc carbonate is widely utilized in various fields of industry, especially in solar energy conversion, optical, and inorganic pigments. In this work, a facile and clean electrodeposition method was utilized for the synthesis of zinc carbonate nanoparticles. Also, zinc oxide nanoparticles were produced by calcination of the prepared zinc carbonate powder. Zinc carbonate nanoparticles with different sizes were electrodeposited by electrolysis of a zinc plate as anode in the solution of sodium carbonate. It was found that the particle size of zinc carbonate might be tuned by process parameters, i.e., electrolysis voltage, carbonate ion concentration, solvent composition and stirring rate of the electrolyte solution. An orthogonal array design was utilized to identify the optimum experimental conditions. The experimental results showed that the minimum size of the electrodeposited ZnCO3 particles is about 24 nm whereas the maximum particle size is around 40 nm. The TG-DSC studies of the nanoparticles indicated that the main thermal degradation of ZnCO3 occurs in two steps over the temperature ranges of 150-250 and 350-400 °C. The electrosynthesized ZnCO3 nanoparticles were calcined at the temperature of 600 °C to prepare ZnO nanoparticles. The prepared ZnCO3 and ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and FT-IR techniques.

  17. Statistic derivation of Taylor factors for polycrystalline metals with application to pure magnesium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, J.H.; Li, Y.L.; Wei, Q.

    2013-01-01

    We have investigated the Taylor factors of textured as well as texture-free polycrystalline aggregates. We begin with examining the Schmid factors of single crystals. A statistical model is then introduced to describe the distribution of grain orientations as well as the Schmid factor of individual grains of the polycrystalline system. The grains are classified into “soft” and “hard” ones. Based on this, a model is proposed for the derivation of the Taylor factors of textured as well as texture-free polycrystalline metals, and as a case study it is applied to polycrystalline magnesium. The model predictions are in very good agreement with the available experimental results. No free parameters have been involved in the development of this model, and the physical processes are clearly defined. Based on the fundamental assumption that grains can be classified into “soft” and “hard” in metals, this model should also be applicable to other hexagonal close packed metals such as α-titanium, beryllium and zirconium, as well as metals of other lattice structures such as face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic. It will also be interesting to see if this model can be incorporated into existing crystal plasticity models for the prediction of texture evolution under mechanical loading

  18. Grain boundary diffusion and segregation of Ni in Cu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Divinski, Sergiy; Ribbe, Jens; Schmitz, Guido; Herzig, Christian

    2007-01-01

    Grain boundary (GB) diffusion of 63 Ni in polycrystalline Cu was investigated by the radiotracer technique in an extended temperature interval from 476 to 1156K. The independent measurements in Harrison's C and B kinetic regimes resulted in direct data of the GB diffusivity D gb and of the so-called triple product P=s.δ.D gb (s and δ are the segregation factor and the diffusional GB width, respectively). Arrhenius-type temperature dependencies for both the D gb and P values were measured, resulting in the pre-exponential factors D gb 0 =6.93x10 -7 m 2 s -1 and P 0 =1.89x10 -16 m 3 s -1 and the activation enthalpies of 90.4 and 73.8kJmol -1 , respectively. Although Ni is completely soluble in Cu, it reveals a distinct but still moderate ability to segregate copper GBs with a segregation enthalpy of about -17kJmol -1

  19. Zinc triggers microglial activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauppinen, Tiina M; Higashi, Youichirou; Suh, Sang Won; Escartin, Carole; Nagasawa, Kazuki; Swanson, Raymond A

    2008-05-28

    Microglia are resident immune cells of the CNS. When stimulated by infection, tissue injury, or other signals, microglia assume an activated, "ameboid" morphology and release matrix metalloproteinases, reactive oxygen species, and other proinflammatory factors. This innate immune response augments host defenses, but it can also contribute to neuronal death. Zinc is released by neurons under several conditions in which microglial activation occurs, and zinc chelators can reduce neuronal death in animal models of cerebral ischemia and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we show that zinc directly triggers microglial activation. Microglia transfected with a nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) reporter gene showed a severalfold increase in NF-kappaB activity in response to 30 microm zinc. Cultured mouse microglia exposed to 15-30 microm zinc increased nitric oxide production, increased F4/80 expression, altered cytokine expression, and assumed the activated morphology. Zinc-induced microglial activation was blocked by inhibiting NADPH oxidase, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), or NF-kappaB activation. Zinc injected directly into mouse brain induced microglial activation in wild-type mice, but not in mice genetically lacking PARP-1 or NADPH oxidase activity. Endogenous zinc release, induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, likewise induced a robust microglial reaction, and this reaction was suppressed by the zinc chelator CaEDTA. Together, these results suggest that extracellular zinc triggers microglial activation through the sequential activation of NADPH oxidase, PARP-1, and NF-kappaB. These findings identify a novel trigger for microglial activation and a previously unrecognized mechanism by which zinc may contribute to neurological disorders.

  20. Effects of dietary supplementation with tribasic zinc sulfate or zinc sulfate on growth performance, zinc content and expression of zinc transporters in young pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Bo; Zhou, Xihong; Wu, Jie; Long, Ciming; Yao, Yajun; Peng, Hongxing; Wan, Dan; Wu, Xin

    2017-10-01

    An experiment was conducted to compare the effects of zinc sulfate (ZS) and tribasic zinc sulfate (TBZ) as sources of supplemental zinc on growth performance, serum zinc (Zn) content and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of Zn transporters (ZnT1/ZnT2/ZnT5/ZIP4/DMT1) of young growing pigs. A total of 96 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire pigs were randomly allotted to two treatments and were fed a basal diet supplemented with 100 mg/kg Zn from either ZS or TBZ for 28 days. Feed : gain ratio in pigs fed TBZ were lower (P zinc transporter in either duodenum or jejunum of pigs fed TBZ were higher (P < 0.05) than pigs fed ZS. These results indicate that TBZ is more effective in serum Zn accumulation and intestinal Zn absorption, and might be a potential substitute for ZS in young growing pigs. © 2017 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  1. Zero and low coefficient of thermal expansion polycrystalline oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skaggs, S.R.

    1977-09-01

    Polycrystalline oxide systems with zero to low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) investigated by the author include hafnia-titania and hafnia. The CTE for 30 to 40 mol% TiO 2 in HfO 2 is less than or equal to 1 x 10 -6 / 0 C, while for other compositions in the range 25 to 60 mol% it is approximately 4 x 10 -6 / 0 C. An investigation of the CTE of 99.999% HfO 2 yielded a value of 4.6 x 10 -6 / 0 C from room temperature to 1000 0 C. Correlation with data on HfO 2 by other investigators shows a definite relationship between the CTE and the amount of ZrO 2 present. Data are listed for comparison of the CTE of several other polycrystalline oxides investigated by Holcombe at Oak Ridge

  2. Zero and low coefficient of thermal expansion polycrystalline oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skaggs, S.R.

    1977-01-01

    Polycrystalline oxide systems with zero to low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) investigated by the author include hafnia-titania and hafnia. The CTE for 30 to 40 mol percent TiO 2 in HfO 2 is less than or equal to 1 x 10 -6 / 0 C, while for other compositions in the range 25 to 60 mol percent approximately 4 x 10 -6 / 0 C. An investigation of the CTE of 99.999 percent HfO 2 yielded a value of 4.6 x 10 -6 / 0 C from room temperature to 1000 0 C. Correlation with data on HfO 2 by other investigators shows a definite relationship between the CTE and the amount of ZrO 2 present. Data are listed for comparison of the CTE of several other polycrystalline oxides investigated by Holcombe at Oak Ridge

  3. Availability of native and fertilizer zinc in some Indian soils: studies with 65Zinc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhury, J.; Deb, D.L.

    1979-01-01

    Isotopically exchangeable zinc (Et values) was determined by different methods in some soils having pH(H 2 O) varying from 3.05 to 8.40 using 65 Zn. The Et values obtained using different extractants showed significant correlation with available zinc, organic carbon and soil pH. The recovery of applied zinc in the aqueous phase was less than one percent in most of the soils having pH higher than 7.0. Application of zinc with complexing agents like DTPA and EDTA increased the recovery of applied zinc in the solution to about 95 percent. Soil pH, organic C and DTPA extractable zinc showed significant relationship with the recovery of applied zinc under different treatments. Use of EDTA and DTPA extractants reduced the zinc buffering capacity of soil to a value less than one, irrespective of the initial pH of the soil, whereas the values were comparatively higher in presence of different levels of zinc carrier. (auth.)

  4. 65Zinc and endogenous zinc content and distribution in islets in relationship to insulin content

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Figlewicz, D.P.; Forhan, S.E.; Hodgson, A.T.; Grodsky, G.M.

    1984-01-01

    Uptake of 65 Zn and distribution of 65 Zn, total zinc, and insulin were measured in rat islets and islet granules under different conditions of islet culture. Specific activity of islet zinc ( 65 Zn/zinc) was less than 15% that of extracellular zinc even after 48 h. In contrast, once in the islet, 65 Zn approached 70% of equilibrium with granular zinc in 24 h and apparent equilibrium by 48 h. During a 24-h culture, at either high or low glucose, reduction of both islet zinc and insulin occurred. However, zinc depletion was greater than that predicted if zinc loss was proportional to insulin depletion and occurred only from the granular compartment, which represents only one third of the total islet zinc. Extension of culture to 48 h caused additional insulin depletion, but islet zinc was unchanged. Omission of calcium during the 48-h culture caused a predicted increase in insulin retention, presumably by inhibiting secretion; however, zinc retention was not increased proportionately. Pretreatment of rats with tolbutamide caused a massive depletion of insulin stored in isolated islets, with little change in total islet zinc; subsequent culture of these islets resulted in a greater loss of granular zinc than predicted from the small loss of granular insulin. None of the conditions tested affected the percentage of either 65 Zn or total zinc that was distributed in the islet granules. Results show that zinc exists in a metabolically labile islet compartment(s) as well as in secretory granules; and extra-granular zinc, although not directly associated with insulin storage, may act as a reservoir for granular zinc and may regulate insulin synthesis, storage, and secretion in ways as yet unknown

  5. The Potential for Zinc Stable Isotope Techniques and Modelling to Determine Optimal Zinc Supplementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cuong D. Tran

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available It is well recognised that zinc deficiency is a major global public health issue, particularly in young children in low-income countries with diarrhoea and environmental enteropathy. Zinc supplementation is regarded as a powerful tool to correct zinc deficiency as well as to treat a variety of physiologic and pathologic conditions. However, the dose and frequency of its use as well as the choice of zinc salt are not clearly defined regardless of whether it is used to treat a disease or correct a nutritional deficiency. We discuss the application of zinc stable isotope tracer techniques to assess zinc physiology, metabolism and homeostasis and how these can address knowledge gaps in zinc supplementation pharmacokinetics. This may help to resolve optimal dose, frequency, length of administration, timing of delivery to food intake and choice of zinc compound. It appears that long-term preventive supplementation can be administered much less frequently than daily but more research needs to be undertaken to better understand how best to intervene with zinc in children at risk of zinc deficiency. Stable isotope techniques, linked with saturation response and compartmental modelling, also have the potential to assist in the continued search for simple markers of zinc status in health, malnutrition and disease.

  6. The Potential for Zinc Stable Isotope Techniques and Modelling to Determine Optimal Zinc Supplementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Cuong D.; Gopalsamy, Geetha L.; Mortimer, Elissa K.; Young, Graeme P.

    2015-01-01

    It is well recognised that zinc deficiency is a major global public health issue, particularly in young children in low-income countries with diarrhoea and environmental enteropathy. Zinc supplementation is regarded as a powerful tool to correct zinc deficiency as well as to treat a variety of physiologic and pathologic conditions. However, the dose and frequency of its use as well as the choice of zinc salt are not clearly defined regardless of whether it is used to treat a disease or correct a nutritional deficiency. We discuss the application of zinc stable isotope tracer techniques to assess zinc physiology, metabolism and homeostasis and how these can address knowledge gaps in zinc supplementation pharmacokinetics. This may help to resolve optimal dose, frequency, length of administration, timing of delivery to food intake and choice of zinc compound. It appears that long-term preventive supplementation can be administered much less frequently than daily but more research needs to be undertaken to better understand how best to intervene with zinc in children at risk of zinc deficiency. Stable isotope techniques, linked with saturation response and compartmental modelling, also have the potential to assist in the continued search for simple markers of zinc status in health, malnutrition and disease. PMID:26035248

  7. Three-dimensional structure of porcine pancreatic carboxypeptidase B with an acetate ion and two zinc atoms in the active site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akparov, V. Kh., E-mail: valery@akparov.ru [State Research Institute for Genetics and Selection of Industrial Microorganisms (Russian Federation); Timofeev, V. I., E-mail: tostars@mail.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics” (Russian Federation); Maghsoudi, N. N., E-mail: maghsudi@yahoo.com [Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Research Center (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kuranova, I. P. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics” (Russian Federation)

    2017-03-15

    Crystals of porcine pancreatic carboxypeptidase B (CPB) were grown by the capillary counter-diffusion method in the presence of polyethylene glycol and zinc acetate. The three-dimensional structure of CPB was determined at 1.40 Å resolution using the X-ray diffraction data set collected from the crystals of the enzyme at the SPring 8 synchrotron facility and was refined to R{sub fact} = 17.19%, R{sub free} = 19.78%. The structure contains five zinc atoms, two of which are present in the active site of the enzyme, and an acetate ion. The arrangement of an additional zinc atom in the active site and the acetate ion is different from that reported by Yoshimoto et al.

  8. Effect of zinc from zinc sulfate on trace mineral concentrations of milk ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PRECIOUS

    2009-11-16

    Nov 16, 2009 ... It suggests that supplementation of ewes diet with zinc sulfate could be an effective way to increase zinc ... alkaline phosphates activity. Zinc supplements were .... Similar results have been reported previously when dairy cows.

  9. Preparation and study of the properties of indium phosphide thin films impregnated with cadmium and zinc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moutinho, H.R.

    1984-01-01

    Indium phosphide thin films were deposited by vacuum evaporation of indium and phosphorous, using the three-temperature method. The effects of the introduction of cadmium and zinc, group II impurities, on the properties of these films were studied. The introduction of cadmium was achieved by coevaporation of this element during the film deposition. The introduction of zinc was done by diffusion of this element in intrinsic films. Analyses of these films were carried out by the study of the composition, morphology, structure, optical properties and electrical properties. The introduction of cadmium led to the reduction of grain size and increase in the bandgap and in certain cases, even change in morphology. Phases of CdP2 and β-CdP2 were detected and the resistivity increased by some orders of magnitude. The introduction of zinc did not change the morphology, crystalline structure and bandgap. However, a new energy level corresponding to the zinc acceptor level was found and the resistivity increased by some orders of magnitude. (Author) [pt

  10. Shear strength of shock-loaded polycrystalline tungsten

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asay, J.R.; Chhabildas, L.C.; Dandekar, D.P.

    1980-01-01

    Previous experiments have suggested that tungsten undergoes a significant loss of shear strength when shock loaded to stresses greater than 7 GPa. In order to investigate this effect in more detail, a series of experiments was conducted in which polycrystalline tungsten was first shock loaded to approximately 10 GPa and then either unloaded or reloaded from the shocked state. Analysis of measured time-resolved wave profiles indicates that during initial compression to 9.7 GPa, the shear stress in polycrystalline tungsten increases to a maximum value of 1.1 GPA near a longitudinal stress of 5 GPa, but decreases to a final value of 0.8 GPa for stresses approaching 10 GPa. During reloading from a longitudinal stress of 9.7 GPa to a final value of approx.14 GPa, the shear stress increases to a peak value of 1.2 GPa and softens to 1.0 GPa in the final state. During unloading from the shocked state, the initial response is elastic with a strong Baushinger effect. Examination of a recovered sample shows evidence for both deformation slipping and twinning, which may be responsible for the observed softening

  11. Characterization of Polycrystalline Materials Using Synchrotron X-ray Imaging and Diffraction Techniques

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ludwig, Wolfgang; King, A.; Herbig, M.

    2010-01-01

    The combination of synchrotron radiation x-ray imaging and diffraction techniques offers new possibilities for in-situ observation of deformation and damage mechanisms in the bulk of polycrystalline materials. Minute changes in electron density (i.e., cracks, porosities) can be detected using...... propagation based phase contrast imaging, a 3-D imaging mode exploiting the coherence properties of third generation synchrotron beams. Furthermore, for some classes of polycrystalline materials, one may use a 3-D variant of x-ray diffraction imaging, termed x-ray diffraction contrast tomography. X-ray...

  12. Unexpected pressure induced ductileness tuning in sulfur doped polycrystalline nickel metal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng Guo

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The sulfur induced embrittlement of polycrystalline nickel (Ni metal has been a long-standing mystery. It is suggested that sulfur impurity makes ductile Ni metal brittle in many industry applications due to various mechanisms, such as impurity segregation and disorder-induced melting etc. Here we report an observation that the most ductile measurement occurs at a critical sulfur doping concentration, 14 at.% at pressure from 14 GPa up to 29 GPa through texture evolution analysis. The synchrotron-based high pressure texturing measurements using radial diamond anvil cell (rDAC X-ray diffraction (XRD techniques reveal that the activities of slip systems in the polycrystalline nickel metal are affected by sulfur impurities and external pressures, giving rise to the changes in the plastic deformation of the nickel metal. Dislocation dynamics (DD simulation on dislocation density and velocity further confirms the pressure induced ductilization changes in S doped Ni metal. This observation and simulation suggests that the ductilization of the doped polycrystalline nickel metal can be optimized by engineering the sulfur concentration under pressure, shedding a light on tuning the mechanical properties of this material for better high pressure applications.

  13. Unexpected pressure induced ductileness tuning in sulfur doped polycrystalline nickel metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Cheng; Yang, Yan; Tan, Liuxi; Lei, Jialin; Guo, Shengmin; Chen, Bin; Yan, Jinyuan; Yang, Shizhong

    2018-02-01

    The sulfur induced embrittlement of polycrystalline nickel (Ni) metal has been a long-standing mystery. It is suggested that sulfur impurity makes ductile Ni metal brittle in many industry applications due to various mechanisms, such as impurity segregation and disorder-induced melting etc. Here we report an observation that the most ductile measurement occurs at a critical sulfur doping concentration, 14 at.% at pressure from 14 GPa up to 29 GPa through texture evolution analysis. The synchrotron-based high pressure texturing measurements using radial diamond anvil cell (rDAC) X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques reveal that the activities of slip systems in the polycrystalline nickel metal are affected by sulfur impurities and external pressures, giving rise to the changes in the plastic deformation of the nickel metal. Dislocation dynamics (DD) simulation on dislocation density and velocity further confirms the pressure induced ductilization changes in S doped Ni metal. This observation and simulation suggests that the ductilization of the doped polycrystalline nickel metal can be optimized by engineering the sulfur concentration under pressure, shedding a light on tuning the mechanical properties of this material for better high pressure applications.

  14. σ and η Phase formation in advanced polycrystalline Ni-base superalloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Antonov, Stoichko, E-mail: santonov@hawk.iit.edu [Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 W. 32nd Street, Chicago, IL 60616 (United States); Huo, Jiajie; Feng, Qiang [State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Isheim, Dieter; Seidman, David N. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Northwestern University Center for Atom Probe Tomography (NUCAPT), 2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Helmink, Randolph C.; Sun, Eugene [Rolls-Royce Corporation, 450 S. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46225 (United States); Tin, Sammy [Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 W. 32nd Street, Chicago, IL 60616 (United States)

    2017-02-27

    In polycrystalline Ni-base superalloys, grain boundary precipitation of secondary phases can be significant due to the effects they pose on the mechanical properties. As new alloying concepts for polycrystalline Ni-base superalloys are being developed to extend their temperature capability, the effect of increasing levels of Nb alloying additions on long term phase stability and the formation of topologically close packed (TCP) phases needs to be studied. Elevated levels of Nb can result in increased matrix supersaturation and promote the precipitation of secondary phases. Long term thermal exposures on two experimental powder processed Ni-base superalloys containing various levels of Nb were completed to assess the stability and precipitation of TCP phases. It was found that additions of Nb promoted the precipitation of η-Ni{sub 6}AlNb along the grain boundaries in powder processed, polycrystalline Ni-base superalloys, while reduced Nb levels favored the precipitation of blocky Cr and Mo – rich σ phase precipitates along the grain boundary. Evaluation of the thermodynamic stability of these two phases in both alloys using Thermo-calc showed that while σ phase predictions are fairly accurate, predictions of the η phase are limited.

  15. Structural evolution and mechanisms of fatigue in polycrystalline brass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vejloe Carstensen, J.

    1998-03-01

    The plastic strain controlled fatigue behaviour of polycrystalline Cu-15%Zn and Cu-30%Zn has been investigated with the aim of studying the effect of slip mode modification by the addition of zinc to copper. It has been clearly demonstrated, that true cyclic saturation does not occur in the plastic strain controlled fatigue of brass. This complicates the contstruction of a cyclic stress-strain (CSS) curve and thus the comparison with copper. A method to overcome this complication has been suggested. Surface observations on fatigued brass specimens show that individual grains tend to deform by Sachs type single slip. This behaviour has been described by the self-consistent Sachs-Eshelby model, which provides estimates of the CSS curve for brass polycrystals. Successive stages of primary hardening, softening and secondary hardening has been observed in the plastic strain controlled fatigue of brass. It has been found that the primary hardening is attributed to an increase of intergranular stresses whereas the secondary hardening apparently is attributed to an increase of friction stresses. Investigations of the structural evolution show that the softening behaviour can be explained by the presence of short-range order (SRO). SRO promote the formation of extended dipole arrays which hardens the material. The formation of intense shear bands destroy the dipole arrays, which explains the cyclic softening. The present results reveal that Cu-30%Zn in a pure planar slip alloy, while Cu-15%Zn displays both planar and wavy slip. The mechanical and structural behaviour observed in brass resembles recent observations in 316L austenitic stainless steels, and the present results reveal that Cu-30%Zn and 316L have approximately the same fatigue life curve. This emphasizes brass as being a convenient model system for the industrially important austenitic steels. (au)

  16. Influence of Nd3+ substitution on structural and magnetic properties of Zinc ferrite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Nidhi; Kumar, Sushil; Aghamkar, Praveen

    2013-01-01

    Zinc ferrite samples, ZnFe 2-x Nd x O 4 (where x= 0.05, 0.075, 0.1), have been synthesized by coprecipitation technique and then heat treated at different temperatures. The structural and magnetic studies have been conducted by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy and Vibrating sample magnetometer. X-ray diffraction shows the polycrystalline nature and spinel structure of samples. The average particle sizes of 28-32 nm are obtained through TEM images, which are in good agreement with the XRD results. The lattice constant has been found to increase with increase in Nd 3+ content in the sample. FTIR transmission spectra show two strong absorption bands in the frequency range 400-600 cm -1 , which are respectively attributed to the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of spinel structure. Magnetic properties such as coercivity, retentivity, as demonstrated in hysteresis curve of samples recorded by VSM, display super paramagnetic behaviour at 800℃. (author)

  17. Evolution of the zinc compound nanostructures in zinc acetate single-source solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Ying; Li Yinhua; Zhou Zhengzhi; Zu Xihong; Deng Yulin

    2011-01-01

    A series of nanostructured zinc compounds with different nanostructures such as nanobelts, flake-like, flower-like, and twinning crystals was synthesized using zinc acetate (Zn(Ac) 2 ) as a single-source. The evolution of the zinc compounds from layered basic zinc acetate (LBZA) to bilayered basic zinc acetate (BLBZA) and twinned ZnO nano/microcrystal was studied. The low-angle X-ray diffraction spectra indicate the layered spacing is 1.34 and 2.1 nm for LBZA and BLBZA, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra results confirmed that the bonding force of acetate anion with zinc cations decreases with the phase transformation from Zn(Ac) 2 to BLBZA, and finally to LBZA. The OH − groups gradually replaced the acetate groups coordinated to the matrix zinc cation, and the acetate groups were released completely. Finally, the Zn(OH) 2 and ZnO were formed at high temperature. The conversion process from Zn(Ac) 2 to ZnO with release of acetate anions can be described as Zn(Ac) 2 → BLBZA → LBZA → Zn(OH) 2 → ZnO.

  18. Effects of dietary zinc status on seizure susceptibility and hippocampal zinc content in the El (epilepsy) mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukahori, M; Itoh, M

    1990-10-08

    The effects of dietary zinc status on the development of convulsive seizures, and zinc concentrations in discrete hippocampal areas and other parts of the limbic system were studied in the El mouse model receiving zinc-adequate, zinc-deficient or zinc-loaded diets. Seizure susceptibility of the El mouse was increased by zinc deficiency, and decreased by zinc loading, while an adequate diet had no effect. Zinc loading was accompanied by a marked increase in hippocampal zinc content in the El mouse. Conversely, hippocampal zinc content declined in the El mouse fed a zinc-deficient diet. These results suggest that zinc may have a preventive effect on the development of seizures in the El mouse, and hippocampal zinc may play an important role in the pathophysiology of convulsive seizures of epilepsy.

  19. Intestinal absorption and excretion of zinc in streptozotocin-diabetic rats as affected by dietary zinc and protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, W.T.; Canfield, W.K.

    1985-01-01

    65 Zn was used to examine the effects of dietary zinc and protein on true zinc absorption and intestinal excretion of endogenous zinc by an isotope dilution technique in streptozotocin-diabetic and control rats. Four groups each of diabetic and control rats were fed diets containing 20 ppm Zn, 20% egg white protein (HMHP); 20 ppm Zn, 10% egg white protein (HMLP); 10 ppm Zn, 20% egg white protein (LMHP); and 10 ppm Zn, 10% egg white protein (LMLP). Measurement of zinc balance was begun 9 d after an i.m. injection of 65 Zn. True zinc absorption and the contribution of endogenous zinc to fecal zinc excretion were calculated from the isotopically labeled and unlabeled zinc in the feces, duodenum and kidney. Results from the isotope dilution study indicated that diabetic rats, but not control rats, absorbed more zinc from 20 ppm zinc diets than from 10ppm zinc diets and that all rats absorbed more zinc from 20% protein diets than from 10% protein diets. Furthermore, all rats excreted more endogenous zinc from their intestines when dietary zinc and protein levels resulted in greater zinc absorption. In diabetic and control rats, consuming equivalent amounts of zinc, the amount of zinc absorbed was not significantly different, but the amount of zinc excreted by the intestine was less in the diabetic rats. Decreased intestinal excretion of endogenous zinc may be a homeostatic response to the increased urinary excretion of endogenous zinc in the diabetic rats and may also lead to the elevated zinc concentrations observed in some organs of the diabetic rats

  20. Fate of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Coated onto Macronutrient Fertilizers in an Alkaline Calcareous Soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milani, Narges; Hettiarachchi, Ganga M.; Kirby, Jason K.; Beak, Douglas G.; Stacey, Samuel P.; McLaughlin, Mike J.

    2015-01-01

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles may provide a more soluble and plant available source of Zn in Zn fertilizers due to their greater reactivity compared to equivalent micron- or millimetre-sized (bulk) particles. However, the effect of soil on solubility, spatial distribution and speciation of ZnO nanoparticles has not yet been investigated. In this study, we examined the diffusion and solid phase speciation of Zn in an alkaline calcareous soil following application of nanoparticulate and bulk ZnO coated fertilizer products (monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and urea) using laboratory-based x-ray techniques and synchrotron-based μ-x-ray fluorescence (μ–XRF) mapping and absorption fine structure spectroscopy (μ–XAFS). Mapping of the soil-fertilizer reaction zones revealed that most of the applied Zn for all treatments remained on the coated fertilizer granule or close to the point of application after five weeks of incubation in soil. Zinc precipitated mainly as scholzite (CaZn2(PO4)2.2H2O) and zinc ammonium phosphate (Zn(NH4)PO4) species at the surface of MAP granules. These reactions reduced dissolution and diffusion of Zn from the MAP granules. Although Zn remained as zincite (ZnO) at the surface of urea granules, limited diffusion of Zn from ZnO-coated urea granules was also observed for both bulk and nanoparticulate ZnO treatments. This might be due to either the high pH of urea granules, which reduced solubility of Zn, or aggregation (due to high ionic strength) of released ZnO nanoparticles around the granule/point of application. The relative proportion of Zn(OH)2 and ZnCO3 species increased for all Zn treatments with increasing distance from coated MAP and urea granules in the calcareous soil. When coated on macronutrient fertilizers, Zn from ZnO nanoparticles (without surface modifiers) was not more mobile or diffusible compared to bulk forms of ZnO. The results also suggest that risk associated with the presence of ZnO NPs in calcareous soils would be the

  1. Extremal Overall Elastic Response of Polycrystalline Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendsøe, Martin P; Lipton, Robert

    1996-01-01

    Polycrystalline materials comprised of grains obtained froma single anisotropic material are considered in the frameworkof linear elasticity. No assumptions on the symmetry of thepolycrystal are made. We subject the material to independentexternal strain and stress fields with prescribed mean...... values.We show that the extremal overall elastic response is alwaysachieved by a configuration consisting of a single properlyoriented crystal. This result is compared to results for isotropicpolycrystals....

  2. Hydrogen solubility in polycrystalline - and nonocrystalline niobium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishikawa, T.T.; Silva, J.R.G. da

    1981-01-01

    Hydrogen solubility in polycrystalline and monocrystalline niobium was measured in the range 400 0 C to 1000 0 C at one atmosphere hydrogen partial pressure. The experimental technique consists of saturation of the solvent metal with hydrogen, followed by quenching and analysis of the solid solution. It is presented solubility curves versus reciprocal of the absolute doping temperature, associated with their thermodynamical equation. (Author) [pt

  3. Lead, zinc and copper fine powder with controlled size and shape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud A Rabah

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study describes the preparation of lead, zinc and copper powders by hydrometallurgy from secondary resources. Chloride, sulphate and acetate salts of zinc, copper and lead were prepared. The powders were prepared by reducing the ionic species of these metals by hydrazine hydrate or ascorbic acid. The effect of addition of some water soluble polar organic solvents to the aqueous salt solutions on the morphology and particle size of the prepared powder was studied. Findings were explained on the basis of the transition state theory and according to the Hughes and Ingold’s rule. Aqueous solutions alone produce metal powder having different size and irregular shape. The presence of polar organic solvents with high molecular weight and polarity produce powders having controlled size and regular morphology. The reason was because solvent polarity enhances the rate of red-ox reactions between metal ions and the reducing agent. The mean particle size of the powder was 60 um with zinc, 80 um with copper, and 90 um with lead. The extent of productivity was ≥98%. Results highlighted that the chemical reduction of the ionic species took place in a sequence steps. The first is a diffusion of the reactants across a boundary layer established at the polar site of the organic solvent molecules. The next step is the direct contact of the reactants. The third step involved reduction to yield powder. The last is the backward diffusion of the powder outside the boundary layer. Results showed that addition of water-miscible solvents having high dielectric constant increased the polarity of the medium. This energizes and enhances the one or more t step of the model to be more rapid to yield particles with small size and symmetrical shape.

  4. Chelators for investigating zinc metalloneurochemistry

    OpenAIRE

    Radford, Robert John; Lippard, Stephen J.

    2013-01-01

    The physiology and pathology of mobile zinc signaling has become an important topic in metalloneurochemistry. To study the action of mobile zinc effectively, specialized tools are required that probe the temporal and positional changes of zinc ions within live tissue and cells. In the present article we describe the design and implementation of selective zinc chelators as antagonists to interrogate the function of mobile zinc, with an emphasis on the pools of vesicular zinc in the terminals o...

  5. Electrical Transport Properties of Polycrystalline Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-14

    Lou, Sina Najmaei, Matin Amani, Matthew L. Chin, Zheng Se. TASK NUMBER Liu Sf. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAMES AND ADDRESSES 8...Transport Properties of Polycrystalline Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide Sina Najmaei,t.§ Matin Ama ni,M Matthew L. Chin,* Zhe ng liu/ ·"·v: A. Gle n

  6. Vaporization and diffusion studies on the stability of doped lanthanum gallates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanislowski, M.; Singheiser, L.; Hilpert, K. [Research Center Juelich, Institute for Materials and Processes in Energy Systems, IWV-2, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Peck, D.H.; Woo, S.K. [Korea Institute of Energy Research, 71-2 Jang-Dong, Yuseong, 305-343 Daejeon (Korea); Schulz, O.; Martin, M. [RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen (Germany)

    2006-07-15

    Vaporization and diffusion determine the stability of doped lanthanum gallates under SOFC operating conditions. Systematic vaporization studies of Ga and other elements were carried out using the vapor transpiration method. It was shown that the Ga vaporization is controlled by diffusion from the bulk to the surface. Diffusion coefficients D{sub Ga} and vaporization coefficients {alpha}{sub Ga} were determined by fitting the measured vaporization data to a vaporization model. Secondary phases formed as a result of the vaporization were detected. The influence of different doping levels of Sr, Mg and Fe on the Ga vaporization was elucidated. Moreover, cation self-diffusion of {sup 139}La, {sup 84}Sr and {sup 25}Mg as well as cation impurity diffusion of {sup 144}Nd, {sup 89}Y and {sup 56}Fe in polycrystalline samples of doped lanthanum gallate were directly determined for the composition La{sub 0.9}Sr{sub 0.1}Ga{sub 0.9}Mg{sub 0.1}O{sub 2.9} as an example, from diffusion profiles determined by SIMS. It was found that diffusion occurs by means of bulk and grain boundaries. The bulk diffusion coefficients are similar for all cations with activation energies which are strongly dependent on temperature. The results are explained by a frozen-in defect structure at low temperatures in the ABO{sub 3} perovskite lattice and by proposing a defect cluster containing cation vacancies in the A and B sublattices, as well as oxygen vacancies. (Abstract Copyright [2006], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  7. Shock-induced fast reactions of zinc nanoparticles and RDX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xue Mian; Wu Jinghe; Ye Song; Yang Xiangdong; Hu Dong; Wang Yanping; Zhu Wenjun; Li Chengbing

    2008-01-01

    Fast reactions of zinc nanoparticles and RDX were investigated in normal incident shock waves. The emergence time and emission spectra intensity of partial products such as NO 2 , H, C 2 , O, CO, CH 2 O, CO 2 , H 2 O and ZnO were observed by a TDS5054 oscilloscope. The results indicate that NO 2 appears first in each experiment, which is in agreement with the theoretical results. The addition of zinc nanoparticles to RDX can not only shorten the ignition delay time by 20% but also double the shockwave diffusion velocity to 2180 ± 50 m s -1 and triple the temperature to 2020 ± 60 K. The emergence time of products shortens by around 10-40% and the emission spectra intensity of H 2 O and CH 2 O rises by about three times and one times, respectively. CO 2 , H 2 O and O 2 in various concentrations were introduced into the zinc-RDX reaction, respectively, which indicate that O 2 made the ignition delay time shorten by over 30%, the effect of H 2 O was not prominent while CO 2 made the ignition delay time lag by around 30%. The results indicate that the Zn-O 2 reaction mainly occurs in O 2 , CO 2 and H 2 O

  8. Zinc and gastrointestinal disease

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Sonja; Skrovanek; Katherine; DiGuilio; Robert; Bailey; William; Huntington; Ryan; Urbas; Barani; Mayilvaganan; Giancarlo; Mercogliano; James; M; Mullin

    2014-01-01

    This review is a current summary of the role that both zinc deficiency and zinc supplementation can play in the etiology and therapy of a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases. The recent literature describing zinc action on gastrointestinal epithelial tight junctions and epithelial barrier function is described. Zinc enhancement of gastrointestinal epithelial barrier function may figure prominently in its potential therapeutic action in several gastrointestinal diseases.

  9. Tracking performance of a single-crystal and a polycrystalline diamond pixel-detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menasce, D.; et al.

    2013-06-01

    We present a comparative characterization of the performance of a single-crystal and a polycrystalline diamond pixel-detector employing the standard CMS pixel readout chips. Measurements were carried out at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility, FTBF, using protons of momentum 120 GeV/c tracked by a high-resolution pixel telescope. Particular attention was directed to the study of the charge-collection, the charge-sharing among adjacent pixels and the achievable position resolution. The performance of the single-crystal detector was excellent and comparable to the best available silicon pixel-detectors. The measured average detection-efficiency was near unity, ε = 0.99860±0.00006, and the position-resolution for shared hits was about 6 μm. On the other hand, the performance of the polycrystalline detector was hampered by its lower charge collection distance and the readout chip threshold. A new readout chip, capable of operating at much lower threshold (around 1 ke$-$), would be required to fully exploit the potential performance of the polycrystalline diamond pixel-detector.

  10. Zinc species distribution in EDTA-extract residues of zinc-contaminated soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, S.-H.; Wei, Y.-L.; Wang, H. Paul

    2007-01-01

    Soil sample from a site heavily contaminated with >10 wt.% zinc is sampled and extracted with aqueous solutions of ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) that is a reagent frequently used to extract heavy metals in soil remediation. Three liquid/soil ratios (5/1, 20/1, and 100/1) were used in the extracting experiment. The molecular environment of the residual Zn in the EDTA-extract residues of zinc-contaminated soil is investigated with XANES technique. The results indicate that EDTA does not show considerable preference of chelating for any particular Zn species during the extraction. Zn species distribution in the sampled soil is found to resemble that in all EDTA-extract residues; Zn(OH) 2 is determined as the major zinc species (60-70%), seconded by organic zinc (21-26%) and zinc oxide (9-14%)

  11. Innovative uses for zinc in dermatology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Yoon Soo; Hill, Nikki D; Bibi, Yuval; Dreiher, Jacob; Cohen, Arnon D

    2010-07-01

    Severe zinc deficiency states, such as acrodermatitis enteropathica, are associated with a variety of skin manifestations, such as perioral, acral, and perineal dermatitis. These syndromes can be reversed with systemic zinc repletion. In addition to skin pathologies that are clearly zinc-dependent, many dermatologic conditions (eg, dandruff, acne, and diaper rash) have been associated and treated with zinc. Success rates for treatment with zinc vary greatly depending on the disease, mode of administration, and precise zinc preparation used. With the exception of systemic zinc deficiency states, there is little evidence that convincingly demonstrates the efficacy of zinc as a reliable first-line treatment for most dermatologic conditions. However, zinc may be considered as an adjunctive treatment modality. Further research is needed to establish the indications for zinc treatment in dermatology, optimal mode of zinc delivery, and best type of zinc compound to be used. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Numerical modelling of intergranular fracture in polycrystalline materials and grain size effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Wriggers

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the phenomenon of intergranular fracture in polycrystalline materials is investigated using a nonlinear fracture mechanics approach. The nonlocal cohesive zone model (CZM for finite thickness interfaces recently proposed by the present authors is used to describe the phenomenon of grain boundary separation. From the modelling point of view, considering the dependency of the grain boundary thickness on the grain size observed in polycrystals, a distribution of interface thicknesses is obtained. Since the shape and the parameters of the nonlocal CZM depend on the interface thickness, a distribution of interface fracture energies is obtained as a consequence of the randomness of the material microstructure. Using these data, fracture mechanics simulations are performed and the homogenized stress-strain curves of 2D representative volume elements (RVEs are computed. Failure is the result of a diffuse microcrack pattern leading to a main macroscopic crack after coalescence, in good agreement with the experimental observation. Finally, testing microstructures characterized by different average grain sizes, the computed peak stresses are found to be dependent on the grain size, in agreement with the trend expected according to the Hall-Petch law.

  13. Simple biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using nature's source, and it's in vitro bio-activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zare, Elham; Pourseyedi, Shahram; Khatami, Mehrdad; Darezereshki, Esmaeel

    2017-10-01

    Nanoparticles with antimicrobial activity, especially as a new class of biomedical materials for use in increasing the level of public health in daily life have emerged. In this study, green synthesis of zinc oxide) ZnO(nanoparticles was studied by Cuminum cyminum (cumin) as novel natural source and zinc nitrate [Zn(NO3)2] as Zn2+ source. The results showed that parameters such as concentration, time, temperature and pH have a direct impact on the synthesis of zinc nanoparticles and change in any of the factors causing the change in the process of synthesis. The properties of synthesized nanoparticles were examined by UV-visible Spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The UV-visible spectroscopy presented the absorption peak in the range of 370 nm. Transmission electron microscopy images of synthesized nanoparticles are mainly spherical or oval with an average size of about 7 nm. The effect of antimicrobial nanoparticles calculated using disk diffusion method and broth MIC and MBC in different strains of bacteria, which showed that gram positive and negative were sensitive to zinc oxide nanoparticles. The sensitivity of gram-negative bacteria was more.

  14. Effect of resveratrol and zinc on intracellular zinc status in normal human prostate epithelial cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    To evaluate the influence of resveratrol on cellular zinc status, normal human prostate epithelial (NHPrE) cells were treated with 6 levels of resveratrol (0, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 microM) and 4 levels of zinc [0, 4, 16, and 32 microM for zinc-deficient (ZD), zinc-normal (ZN), zinc-adequate (ZA), an...

  15. Sulfidation of zinc plating sludge with Na2S for zinc resource recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuchar, D.; Fukuta, T.; Onyango, M.S.; Matsuda, H.

    2006-01-01

    A high amount of zinc disposed in the landfill sites as a mixed-metal plating sludge represents a valuable zinc source. To recover zinc from the plating sludge, a sulfidation treatment is proposed in this study, while it is assumed that ZnS formed could be separated by flotation. The sulfidation treatment was conducted by contacting simulated zinc plating sludge with Na 2 S solution at S 2- to Zn 2+ molar ratio of 1.5 for a period of 1-48 h, while changing the solid to liquid (S:L) ratio from 0.25:50 to 1.00:50. The conversion of zinc compounds to ZnS was determined based on the consumption of sulfide ions. The reaction products formed by the sulfidation of zinc were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). As a result, it was found that the conversion of zinc compounds to ZnS increased with an increase in S:L ratio. A maximum conversion of 0.809 was obtained at an S:L ratio of 1.00:50 after 48 h. However, when the zinc sludge treated at S:L ratio of 1.00:50 for 48 h was subjected to XRD analyses, only ZnS was identified in the treated zinc sludge. The result suggested that the rest of zinc sludge remained unreacted inside the agglomerates of ZnS. The formation behavior of ZnS was predicted by Elovich equation, which was found to describe the system satisfactorily indicating the heterogeneous nature of the sludge

  16. Electrostrain in excess of 1% in polycrystalline piezoelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayan, Bastola; Malhotra, Jaskaran Singh; Pandey, Rishikesh; Yaddanapudi, Krishna; Nukala, Pavan; Dkhil, Brahim; Senyshyn, Anatoliy; Ranjan, Rajeev

    2018-05-01

    Piezoelectric actuators transform electrical energy into mechanical energy, and because of their compactness, quick response time and accurate displacement, they are sought after in many applications. Polycrystalline piezoelectric ceramics are technologically more appealing than single crystals due to their simpler and less expensive processing, but have yet to display electrostrain values that exceed 1%. Here we report a material design strategy wherein the efficient switching of ferroelectric-ferroelastic domains by an electric field is exploited to achieve a high electrostrain value of 1.3% in a pseudo-ternary ferroelectric alloy system, BiFeO3-PbTiO3-LaFeO3. Detailed structural investigations reveal that this electrostrain is associated with a combination of several factors: a large spontaneous lattice strain of the piezoelectric phase, domain miniaturization, a low-symmetry ferroelectric phase and a very large reverse switching of the non-180° domains. This insight for the design of a new class of polycrystalline piezoceramics with high electrostrains may be useful to develop alternatives to costly single-crystal actuators.

  17. Grain-boundary unzipping by oxidation in polycrystalline graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexandre, Simone; Lucio, Aline; Nunes, Ricardo

    2011-03-01

    The need for large-scale production of graphene will inevitably lead to synthesis of the polycrystalline material [1,2]. Understanding the chemical, mechanical, and electronic properties of grain boundaries in graphene polycrystals will be crucial for the development of graphene-based electronics. Oxidation of this material has been suggested to lead to graphene ribbons, by the oxygen-driven unzipping mechanism. A cooperative-strain mechanism, based on the formation of epoxy groups along lines of parallel bonds in the hexagons of graphene's honeycomb lattice, was proposed to explain the unzipping effect in bulk graphene In this work we employ ab initio calculations to study the oxidation of polycrystalline graphene by chemisorption of oxygen at the grain boundaries. Our results indicate that oxygen tends to segregate at the boundaries, and that the unzipping mechanism is also operative along the grain boundaries, despite the lack of the parallel bonds due to the presence of fivefold and sevenfold carbon rings along the boundary core. We acknowledge support from the Brazilian agencies: CNPq, Fapemig, and INCT-Materiais de Carbono.

  18. Stress-strain relationship and XRD line broadening in [0001] textured hexagonal polycrystalline materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokoyama, Ryouichi

    2011-01-01

    Stress analysis with X-ray diffraction (XRD) for hexagonal polycrystalline materials in the Laue classes 6/mmm and 6/m has been studied on the basis of the crystal symmetry of the constituent crystallites which was proposed by R. Yokoyama and J. Harada ['Re-evaluation of formulae for X-ray stress analysis in polycrystalline specimens with fibre texture', Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol.42, pp.185-191 (2009)]. The relationship between the stress and strain observable by XRD in a hexagonal polycrystalline material with [0001] fibre texture was formulated in terms of the elastic compliance defined for its single crystal. As a result, it was shown that the average strains obtained in the crystallites for both symmetries of 6/mmm and 6/m are different from each other under the triaxial or biaxial stress field. Then, it turned out that the line width of XRD changes depending on the measurement direction. (author)

  19. Interaction Between Yeasts and Zinc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicola, Raffaele De; Walker, Graeme

    Zinc is an essential trace element in biological systems. For example, it acts as a cellular membrane stabiliser, plays a critical role in gene expression and genome modification and activates nearly 300 enzymes, including alcohol dehydrogenase. The present chapter will be focused on the influence of zinc on cell physiology of industrial yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with special regard to the uptake and subsequent utilisation of this metal. Zinc uptake by yeast is metabolism-dependent, with most of the available zinc translocated very quickly into the vacuole. At cell division, zinc is distributed from mother to daughter cells and this effectively lowers the individual cellular zinc concentration, which may become zinc depleted at the onset of the fermentation. Zinc influences yeast fermentative performance and examples will be provided relating to brewing and wine fermentations. Industrial yeasts are subjected to several stresses that may impair fermentation performance. Such stresses may also impact on yeast cell zinc homeostasis. This chapter will discuss the practical implications for the correct management of zinc bioavailability for yeast-based biotechnologies aimed at improving yeast growth, viability, fermentation performance and resistance to environmental stresses

  20. Mn-implanted, polycrystalline indium tin oxide and indium oxide films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scarlat, Camelia; Vinnichenko, Mykola; Xu Qingyu; Buerger, Danilo; Zhou Shengqiang; Kolitsch, Andreas; Grenzer, Joerg; Helm, Manfred; Schmidt, Heidemarie

    2009-01-01

    Polycrystalline conducting, ca. 250 nm thick indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium oxide (IO) films grown on SiO 2 /Si substrates using reactive magnetron sputtering, have been implanted with 1 and 5 at.% of Mn, followed by annealing in nitrogen or in vacuum. The effect of the post-growth treatment on the structural, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties has been studied. The roughness of implanted films ranges between 3 and 15 nm and XRD measurements revealed a polycrystalline structure. A positive MR has been observed for Mn-implanted and post-annealed ITO and IO films. It has been interpreted by considering s-d exchange. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to prove the existence of midgap electronic states in the Mn-implanted ITO and IO films reducing the transmittance below 80%.

  1. Iron and zinc concentrations and 59Fe retention in developing fetuses of zinc-deficient rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogers, J.M.; Loennerdal, B.H.; Hurley, L.S.; Keen, C.L.

    1987-01-01

    Because disturbances in iron metabolism might contribute to the teratogenicity of zinc deficiency, we examined the effect of zinc deficiency on fetal iron accumulation and maternal and fetal retention of 59 Fe. Pregnant rats were fed from mating a purified diet containing 0.5, 4.5 or 100 micrograms Zn/g. Laparotomies were performed on d 12, 16, 19 and 21 of gestation. Maternal blood and concepti were analyzed for zinc and iron. Additional groups of dams fed 0.5 or 100 micrograms Zn/g diet were gavaged on d 19 with a diet containing 59 Fe. Six hours later maternal blood and tissues, fetuses and placentas were counted for 59 Fe. Maternal plasma zinc, but not iron, concentration was affected by zinc deficiency on d 12. Embryo zinc concentration on d 12 increased with increasing maternal dietary zinc, whereas iron concentration was not different among groups. On d 16-21 plasma iron was higher in dams fed 0.5 micrograms Zn/g diet than in those fed 4.5 or 100 micrograms/g, whereas plasma zinc was lower in dams fed 0.5 or 4.5 micrograms Zn/g than in those fed 100 micrograms Zn/g diet. On d 19 zinc concentration in fetuses from dams fed 0.5 micrograms/g zinc was not different from that of those fed 4.5 micrograms/g zinc, and iron concentration was higher in the 0.5 microgram Zn/g diet group. The increase in iron concentration in zinc-deficient fetuses thus occurs too late to be involved in major structural teratogenesis. Although whole blood concentration of 59 Fe was not different in zinc-deficient and control dams, zinc-deficient dams had more 59 Fe in the plasma fraction

  2. Chloroquine is a zinc ionophore.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Xue

    Full Text Available Chloroquine is an established antimalarial agent that has been recently tested in clinical trials for its anticancer activity. The favorable effect of chloroquine appears to be due to its ability to sensitize cancerous cells to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and induce apoptosis. The present study investigated the interaction of zinc ions with chloroquine in a human ovarian cancer cell line (A2780. Chloroquine enhanced zinc uptake by A2780 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, as assayed using a fluorescent zinc probe. This enhancement was attenuated by TPEN, a high affinity metal-binding compound, indicating the specificity of the zinc uptake. Furthermore, addition of copper or iron ions had no effect on chloroquine-induced zinc uptake. Fluorescent microscopic examination of intracellular zinc distribution demonstrated that free zinc ions are more concentrated in the lysosomes after addition of chloroquine, which is consistent with previous reports showing that chloroquine inhibits lysosome function. The combination of chloroquine with zinc enhanced chloroquine's cytotoxicity and induced apoptosis in A2780 cells. Thus chloroquine is a zinc ionophore, a property that may contribute to chloroquine's anticancer activity.

  3. [Advances in the research of zinc deficiency and zinc supplementation treatment in patients with severe burns].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, X X; Zhang, M J; Li, X B

    2018-01-20

    Zinc is one of the essential trace elements in human body, which plays an important role in regulating acute inflammatory response, glucose metabolism, anti-oxidation, immune and gastrointestinal function of patients with severe burns. Patients with severe burns may suffer from zinc deficiency because of insufficient amount of zinc intake from the diet and a large amount of zinc lose through wounds and urine. Zinc deficiency may affect their wound healing process and prognosis. This article reviews the characteristics of zinc metabolism in patients with severe burns through dynamic monitoring the plasma and urinary concentration of zinc. An adequate dosage of zinc supplemented to patients with severe burns by an appropriate method can increase the level of zinc in plasma and skin tissue and improve wound healing, as well as reduce the infection rates and mortality. At the same time, it is important to observe the symptoms and signs of nausea, dizziness, leukopenia and arrhythmia in patients with severe burns after supplementing excessive zinc.

  4. Determination of the zincate diffusion coefficient and its application to alkaline battery problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, C. E.; Kautz, H. E.

    1978-01-01

    The diffusion coefficient for the zincate ion at 24 C was found to be 9.9 x 10 to the -7th power sq cm/sec + or - 30% in 45% potassium hydroxide and 1.4 x 10 to the -7th power sq cm/sec + or - 25% in 40% sodium hydroxide. Comparison of these values with literature values at different potassium hydroxide concentrations show that the Stokes-Einstein equation is obeyed. The diffusion coefficient is characteristic of the zincate ion (not the cation) and independent of its concentration. Calculations with the measured value of the diffusion coefficient show that the zinc concentration in an alkaline zincate half-cell becomes uniform throughout in tens of hours by diffusion alone. Diffusion equations are derived which are applicable to finite-size chambers. Details and discussion of the experimental method are also given.

  5. Enhanced thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline Bi2Te3 core fibers with preferentially oriented nanosheets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Sun

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Bi2Te3-based materials have been reported to be one of the best room-temperature thermoelectric materials, and it is a challenge to substantially improve their thermoelectric properties. Here novel Bi2Te3 core fibers with borosilicate glass cladding were fabricated utilizing a modified molten core drawing method. The Bi2Te3 core of the fiber was found to consist of hexagonal polycrystalline nanosheets, and polycrystalline nanosheets had a preferential orientation; in other words, the hexagonal Bi2Te3 lamellar cleavage more tended to be parallel to the symmetry axis of the fibers. Compared with a homemade 3-mm-diameter Bi2Te3 rod, the polycrystalline nanosheets’ preferential orientation in the 89-μm-diameter Bi2Te3 core increased its electrical conductivity, but deduced its Seebeck coefficient. The Bi2Te3 core exhibits an ultrahigh ZT of 0.73 at 300 K, which is 232% higher than that of the Bi2Te3 rod. The demonstration of fibers with oriented nano-polycrystalline core and the integration with an efficient fabrication technique will pave the way for the fabrication of high-performance thermoelectric fibers.

  6. Microdamage in polycrystalline ceramics under dynamic compression and tension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, K.S.; Zhang, D.; Feng, R.; Wu, M.S.

    2005-01-01

    In-grain microplasticity and intergranular microdamage in polycrystalline hexagonal-structure ceramics subjected to a sequence of dynamic compression and tension are studied computationally using the Voronoi polycrystal model, by which the topological heterogeneity and material anisotropy of the crystals are simulated explicitly. The constitutive modeling considers crystal plasticity by basal slip, intergranular shear damage during compression, and intergranular mode-I cracking during tension. The model parameters are calibrated with the available shock compression and spall strength data on polycrystalline α-6H silicon carbide. The numerical results show that microplasticity is a more plausible micromechanism for the inelastic response of the material under shock compression. On the other hand, the spallation behavior of the shocked material can be well predicted by intergranular mode-I microcracking during load reversal from dynamic compression to tension. The failure process and the resulting spall strength are, however, affected strongly by the intensity of local release heterogeneity induced by heterogeneous microplasticity, and by the grain-boundary shear damage during compression

  7. Microscopic gate-modulation imaging of charge and field distribution in polycrystalline organic transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuoka, Satoshi; Tsutsumi, Jun'ya; Kamata, Toshihide; Hasegawa, Tatsuo

    2018-04-01

    In this work, a high-resolution microscopic gate-modulation imaging (μ-GMI) technique is successfully developed to visualize inhomogeneous charge and electric field distributions in operating organic thin-film transistors (TFTs). We conduct highly sensitive and diffraction-limit gate-modulation sensing for acquiring difference images of semiconducting channels between at gate-on and gate-off states that are biased at an alternate frequency of 15 Hz. As a result, we observe unexpectedly inhomogeneous distribution of positive and negative local gate-modulation (GM) signals at a probe photon energy of 1.85 eV in polycrystalline pentacene TFTs. Spectroscopic analyses based on a series of μ-GMI at various photon energies reveal that two distinct effects appear, simultaneously, within the polycrystalline pentacene channel layers: Negative GM signals at 1.85 eV originate from the second-derivative-like GM spectrum which is caused by the effect of charge accumulation, whereas positive GM signals originate from the first-derivative-like GM spectrum caused by the effect of leaked gate fields. Comparisons with polycrystalline morphologies indicate that grain centers are predominated by areas with high leaked gate fields due to the low charge density, whereas grain edges are predominantly high-charge-density areas with a certain spatial extension as associated with the concentrated carrier traps. Consequently, it is reasonably understood that larger grains lead to higher device mobility, but with greater inhomogeneity in charge distribution. These findings provide a clue to understand and improve device characteristics of polycrystalline TFTs.

  8. Loss of shear strength in polycrystalline tungsten under shock compression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dandekar, D.P.

    1976-01-01

    A reexamination of existing data on shock compression of polycrystalline tungsten at room temperature indicates that tungsten may be an exception to the common belief that metals do not behave like elastic-isotropic solids under shock compression

  9. Zinc bioavailability in the chick

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hempe, J.M.

    1987-01-01

    Methods for assessing zinc bioavailability were evaluated in the chick. A low-zinc chick diet was developed using rehydrated, spray-dried egg white autoclaved at 121 C for 30 min as the primary protein source. The relative bioavailability of zinc from soy flour and beef was determined by whole-body retention of extrinsic 65 Zn, and in slope ratio assays for growth rate and tissue zinc. Compared to zinc carbonate added to an egg white-based diet, all methods gave similar estimates of approximately 100% zinc bioavailability for beef but estimates for soy flour varied widely. The slope ratio assay for growth rate gave the best estimate of zinc bioavailability for soy flour. True absorption, as measured by percent isotope retention from extrinsically labeled soy flour, was 47%

  10. Efficiency limitations of polycrystalline thin film solar cells: case of Cu(In,Ga)Se2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Werner, Juergen H.; Mattheis, Julian; Rau, Uwe

    2005-01-01

    Small-area Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin film solar cells have reached more than 19% efficiencies. Compared to other polycrystalline materials this efficiency value is remarkable. Nevertheless, the 19% for Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 range more than 6% (absolute) below the world's best single-crystalline Si cells and almost 14% below the upper theoretical limit of 33% for an ideal black body cell with infinitely large mobility and radiative recombination only. About 4% out of the 14% are of optical nature, additional 3% stem from the limited mobility/diffusion length and from band gap fluctuations with a standard deviation no. sigmano. g no. approxno. 50 meV due to spatial variations of composition and stoichiometry of the quaternary compound Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 . Thus, about 26% efficiency would be possible if there were only these band gap fluctuations. Additional, voltage-dependent electrostatic potential fluctuations push down the efficiency further to 19%: The polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 which is unavoidably structurally inhomogeneous due to dislocations, grain boundaries, point defects, etc. is also electrostatically inhomogeneous because of charged defects. Electrostatic potential fluctuations at the valence and conduction band edge may be not only responsible for a high saturation current density but also for the ideality factor in the current/voltage curve. The band gap and electrostatic potential fluctuations make the effective band gap which controls the intrinsic carrier density smaller than the average optical gap. The (zero bias) electrostatic potential fluctuations are here derived from the ideality factors of the current/voltage curve. The ideality factor reflects the voltage-induced electrostatic homogenization of the sample. For the world's best Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 cells with an ideality factor of n id =1.5, we estimate zero bias electrostatic potential fluctuations with a standard deviation no. sigmano. elec no. approxno. 140 meV

  11. Zinc and zinc transporters in macrophages and their roles in efferocytosis in COPD.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rhys Hamon

    Full Text Available Our previous studies have shown that nutritional zinc restriction exacerbates airway inflammation accompanied by an increase in caspase-3 activation and an accumulation of apoptotic epithelial cells in the bronchioles of the mice. Normally, apoptotic cells are rapidly cleared by macrophage efferocytosis, limiting any secondary necrosis and inflammation. We therefore hypothesized that zinc deficiency is not only pro-apoptotic but also impairs macrophage efferocytosis. Impaired efferocytic clearance of apoptotic epithelial cells by alveolar macrophages occurs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, cigarette-smoking and other lung inflammatory diseases. We now show that zinc is a factor in impaired macrophage efferocytosis in COPD. Concentrations of zinc were significantly reduced in the supernatant of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with COPD who were current smokers, compared to healthy controls, smokers or COPD patients not actively smoking. Lavage zinc was positively correlated with AM efferocytosis and there was decreased efferocytosis in macrophages depleted of Zn in vitro by treatment with the membrane-permeable zinc chelator TPEN. Organ and cell Zn homeostasis are mediated by two families of membrane ZIP and ZnT proteins. Macrophages of mice null for ZIP1 had significantly lower intracellular zinc and efferocytosis capability, suggesting ZIP1 may play an important role. We investigated further using the human THP-1 derived macrophage cell line, with and without zinc chelation by TPEN to mimic zinc deficiency. There was no change in ZIP1 mRNA levels by TPEN but a significant 3-fold increase in expression of another influx transporter ZIP2, consistent with a role for ZIP2 in maintaining macrophage Zn levels. Both ZIP1 and ZIP2 proteins were localized to the plasma membrane and cytoplasm in normal human lung alveolar macrophages. We propose that zinc homeostasis in macrophages involves the coordinated action of ZIP1 and ZIP2

  12. Computer studies of the scattering of low energy hydrogen ions from polycrystalline solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oen, O.S.; Robinson, M.T.

    1976-02-01

    Reflection of 50 eV to 10 keV H atoms from polycrystalline Cu, Nb and Au targets has been calculated using the binary collision cascade program MARLOWE. The fractions of particles and energy reflected (backscattered) increase with increasing atomic number of the target and decrease with increasing incident energy. The results indicate that the effects of polycrystallinity are modest, reducing the amorphous reflection coefficients by about 25 percent. The calculations agree quite well with the experimental data for Cu and Au, but are about a factor of two larger than is observed for Nb

  13. Radiation induced structural changes in alpha-copper-zinc alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuele, W.; Gieb, M.

    1991-01-01

    During irradiation of alpha-copper-zinc alloys with high energy electrons and protons a decrease of the electrical resistivity due to an increase of the degree of short range order is observed through radiation enhanced diffusion followed by an increase of the electrical resistivity through the formation of radiation induced interstitial clusters. The initial formation rate of interstitial clusters increases about linearly with the displacement rate for electron and proton irradiation. The largest initial formation rate is found between 60 and 130 0 C becoming negligibly small above 158 0 C and decreases drastically below 60 0 C. The dynamic steady state interstitial cluster concentration increases with decreasing irradiation temperature in the investigated temperature range between 158 and 40 0 C. Above 158 0 C the formation rate of interstitial clusters is negligibly small. Thus the transition temperature for radiation induced interstitial cluster formation is 158 0 C, depending mainly on the migration activation energy of vacancies. The radiation induced interstitial clusters are precipitates in those alloys in which the diffusion rate of the undersized component atoms via an interstitialcy diffusion mechanism is larger than that of the other atoms

  14. Hydrogenation of polycrystalline silicon thin films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Honda, Shinya; Mates, Tomáš; Knížek, Karel; Ledinský, Martin; Fejfar, Antonín; Kočka, Jan; Yamazaki, T.; Uraoka, Y.; Fuyuki, T.

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 501, - (2006), s. 144-148 ISSN 0040-6090 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ME 537; GA MŽP(CZ) SM/300/1/03; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010316; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010413; GA ČR(CZ) GA202/03/0789 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : polycrystalline silicon * atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition * hydrogen passivation * photoluminescence * Raman spectroscopy * Si-H 2 bonding * hydrogen molecules Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.666, year: 2006

  15. ttm-1 encodes CDF transporters that excrete zinc from intestinal cells of C. elegans and act in a parallel negative feedback circuit that promotes homeostasis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun Cheol Roh

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Zinc is an essential metal involved in a wide range of biological processes, and aberrant zinc metabolism is implicated in human diseases. The gastrointestinal tract of animals is a critical site of zinc metabolism that is responsible for dietary zinc uptake and distribution to the body. However, the role of the gastrointestinal tract in zinc excretion remains unclear. Zinc transporters are key regulators of zinc metabolism that mediate the movement of zinc ions across membranes. Here, we identified a comprehensive list of 14 predicted Cation Diffusion Facilitator (CDF family zinc transporters in Caenorhabditis elegans and demonstrated that zinc is excreted from intestinal cells by one of these CDF proteins, TTM-1B. The ttm-1 locus encodes two transcripts, ttm-1a and ttm-1b, that use different transcription start sites. ttm-1b expression was induced by high levels of zinc specifically in intestinal cells, whereas ttm-1a was not induced by zinc. TTM-1B was localized to the apical plasma membrane of intestinal cells, and analyses of loss-of-function mutant animals indicated that TTM-1B promotes zinc excretion into the intestinal lumen. Zinc excretion mediated by TTM-1B contributes to zinc detoxification. These observations indicate that ttm-1 is a component of a negative feedback circuit, since high levels of cytoplasmic zinc increase ttm-1b transcript levels and TTM-1B protein functions to reduce the level of cytoplasmic zinc. We showed that TTM-1 isoforms function in tandem with CDF-2, which is also induced by high levels of cytoplasmic zinc and reduces cytoplasmic zinc levels by sequestering zinc in lysosome-related organelles. These findings define a parallel negative feedback circuit that promotes zinc homeostasis and advance the understanding of the physiological roles of the gastrointestinal tract in zinc metabolism in animals.

  16. Bioavailability of Zinc in Wistar Rats Fed with Rice Fortified with Zinc Oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Della Lucia, Ceres Mattos; Santos, Laura Luiza Menezes; Rodrigues, Kellen Cristina da Cruz; Rodrigues, Vivian Cristina da Cruz; Martino, Hércia Stampini Duarte; Pinheiro Sant’Ana, Helena Maria

    2014-01-01

    The study of zinc bioavailability in foods is important because this mineral intake does not meet the recommended doses for some population groups. Also, the presence of dietary factors that reduce zinc absorption contributes to its deficiency. Rice fortified with micronutrients (Ultra Rice®) is a viable alternative for fortification since this cereal is already inserted into the population habit. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioavailability of zinc (Zn) in rice fortified with zinc oxide. During 42 days, rats were divided into four groups and fed with diets containing two different sources of Zn (test diet: UR® fortified with zinc oxide, or control diet: zinc carbonate (ZnCO3)), supplying 50% or 100%, respectively, of the recommendations of this mineral for animals. Weight gain, food intake, feed efficiency ratio, weight, thickness and length of femur; retention of zinc, calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the femur and the concentrations of Zn in femur, plasma and erythrocytes were evaluated. Control diet showed higher weight gain, feed efficiency ratio, retention of Zn and Zn concentration in the femur (p 0.05) for dietary intake, length and thickness of the femur, erythrocyte and plasmatic Zn between groups. Although rice fortified with zinc oxide showed a lower bioavailability compared to ZnCO3, this food can be a viable alternative to be used as a vehicle for fortification. PMID:24932657

  17. Associations between Dietary Iron and Zinc Intakes, and between Biochemical Iron and Zinc Status in Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Lim

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Iron and zinc are found in similar foods and absorption of both may be affected by food compounds, thus biochemical iron and zinc status may be related. This cross-sectional study aimed to: (1 describe dietary intakes and biochemical status of iron and zinc; (2 investigate associations between dietary iron and zinc intakes; and (3 investigate associations between biochemical iron and zinc status in a sample of premenopausal women aged 18–50 years who were recruited in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Usual dietary intakes were assessed using a 154-item food frequency questionnaire (n = 379. Iron status was assessed using serum ferritin and hemoglobin, zinc status using serum zinc (standardized to 08:00 collection, and presence of infection/inflammation using C-reactive protein (n = 326. Associations were explored using multiple regression and logistic regression. Mean (SD iron and zinc intakes were 10.5 (3.5 mg/day and 9.3 (3.8 mg/day, respectively. Median (interquartile range serum ferritin was 22 (12–38 μg/L and mean serum zinc concentrations (SD were 12.6 (1.7 μmol/L in fasting samples and 11.8 (2.0 μmol/L in nonfasting samples. For each 1 mg/day increase in dietary iron intake, zinc intake increased by 0.4 mg/day. Each 1 μmol/L increase in serum zinc corresponded to a 6% increase in serum ferritin, however women with low serum zinc concentration (AM fasting < 10.7 μmol/L; AM nonfasting < 10.1 μmol/L were not at increased risk of depleted iron stores (serum ferritin <15 μg/L; p = 0.340. Positive associations were observed between dietary iron and zinc intakes, and between iron and zinc status, however interpreting serum ferritin concentrations was not a useful proxy for estimating the likelihood of low serum zinc concentrations and women with depleted iron stores were not at increased risk of impaired zinc status in this cohort.

  18. Effects of zinc supplementation and zinc chelation on in vitro β-cell function in INS-1E cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nygaard, Sanne Bjørn; Larsen, Agnete; Knuhtsen, Astrid

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Zinc is essential for the activities of pancreatic β-cells, especially insulin storage and secretion. Insulin secretion leads to co-release of zinc which contributes to the paracrine communication in the pancreatic islets. Zinc-transporting proteins (zinc-regulated transporter, iron......-regulated transporter-like proteins [ZIPs] and zinc transporters [ZnTs]) and metal-buffering proteins (metallothioneins, MTs) tightly regulate intracellular zinc homeostasis. The present study investigated how modulation of cellular zinc availability affects β-cell function using INS-1E cells. RESULTS: Using INS-1E...... cells, we found that zinc supplementation and zinc chelation had significant effects on insulin content and insulin secretion. Supplemental zinc within the physiological concentration range induced insulin secretion. Insulin content was reduced by zinc chelation with N,N,N',N-tektrakis(2-pyridylmethyl...

  19. Nutritional assessment methods for zinc supplementation in prepubertal non-zinc-deficient children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcia Marília Gomes Dantas Lopes

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Zinc is an essential nutrient that is required for numerous metabolic functions, and zinc deficiency results in growth retardation, cell-mediated immune dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. Objective: This study evaluated nutritional assessment methods for zinc supplementation in prepubertal non-zinc-deficient children. Design: We performed a randomised, controlled, triple-blind study. The children were divided into a control group (10% sorbitol, n=31 and an experimental group (10 mg Zn/day, n=31 for 3 months. Anthropometric and dietary assessments as well as bioelectrical measurements were performed in all children. Results: Our study showed (1 an increased body mass index for age and an increased phase angle in the experimental group; (2 a positive correlation between nutritional assessment parameters in both groups; (3 increased soft tissue, and mainly fat-free mass, in the body composition of the experimental group, as determined using bioelectrical impedance vector analysis; (4 increased consumption of all nutrients, including zinc, in the experimental group; and (5 an increased serum zinc concentration in both groups (p<0.0001. Conclusions: Given that a reference for body composition analysis does not exist for intervention studies, longitudinal studies are needed to investigate vector migration during zinc supplementation. These results reinforce the importance of employing multiple techniques to assess the nutritional status of populations.

  20. Leptin, NPY, Melatonin and Zinc Levels in Experimental Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism: The Relation to Zinc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltaci, Abdulkerim Kasım; Mogulkoc, Rasim

    2017-06-01

    Since zinc mediates the effects of many hormones or is found in the structure of numerous hormone receptors, zinc deficiency leads to various functional impairments in the hormone balance. And also thyroid hormones have important activity on metabolism and feeding. NPY and leptin are affective on food intake and regulation of appetite. The present study is conducted to determine how zinc supplementation and deficiency affect thyroid hormones (free and total T3 and T4), melatonin, leptin, and NPY levels in thyroid dysfunction in rats. The experiment groups in the study were formed as follows: Control (C); Hypothyroidism (PTU); Hypothyroidism+Zinc (PTU+Zn); Hypothyroidism+Zinc deficient; Hyperthyroidism (H); Hyperthyroidism+Zinc (H+Zn); and Hyperthyroidism+Zinc deficient. Thyroid hormone parameters (FT 3 , FT 4 , TT 3 , and TT 4 ) were found to be reduced in hypothyroidism groups and elevated in the hyperthyroidism groups. Melatonin values increased in hyperthyroidism and decreased in hypothyroidism. Leptin and NPY levels both increased in hypo- and hyperthyroidism. Zinc levels, on the other hand, decreased in hypothyroidism and increased in hyperthyroidism. Zinc supplementation, particularly when thyroid function is impaired, has been demonstrated to markedly prevent these changes.

  1. Hydrogen-related complexes in Li-diffused ZnO single crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corolewski, Caleb D.; Parmar, Narendra S.; Lynn, Kelvin G.; McCluskey, Matthew D.

    2016-07-01

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap semiconductor and a potential candidate for next generation white solid state lighting applications. In this work, hydrogen-related complexes in lithium diffused ZnO single crystals were studied. In addition to the well-known Li-OH complex, several other hydrogen defects were observed. When a mixture of Li2O and ZnO is used as the dopant source, zinc vacancies are suppressed and the bulk Li concentration is very high (>1019 cm-3). In that case, the predominant hydrogen complex has a vibrational frequency of 3677 cm-1, attributed to surface O-H species. When Li2CO3 is used, a structured blue luminescence band and O-H mode at 3327 cm-1 are observed at 10 K. These observations, along with positron annihilation measurements, suggest a zinc vacancy-hydrogen complex, with an acceptor level ˜0.3 eV above the valence-band maximum. This relatively shallow acceptor could be beneficial for p-type ZnO.

  2. Hydrogen-related complexes in Li-diffused ZnO single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corolewski, Caleb D.; Parmar, Narendra S.; Lynn, Kelvin G.; McCluskey, Matthew D.

    2016-01-01

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap semiconductor and a potential candidate for next generation white solid state lighting applications. In this work, hydrogen-related complexes in lithium diffused ZnO single crystals were studied. In addition to the well-known Li-OH complex, several other hydrogen defects were observed. When a mixture of Li_2O and ZnO is used as the dopant source, zinc vacancies are suppressed and the bulk Li concentration is very high (>10"1"9" cm"−"3). In that case, the predominant hydrogen complex has a vibrational frequency of 3677 cm"−"1, attributed to surface O-H species. When Li_2CO_3 is used, a structured blue luminescence band and O-H mode at 3327 cm"−"1 are observed at 10 K. These observations, along with positron annihilation measurements, suggest a zinc vacancy–hydrogen complex, with an acceptor level ∼0.3 eV above the valence-band maximum. This relatively shallow acceptor could be beneficial for p-type ZnO.

  3. Tailoring of in-plane magnetic anisotropy in polycrystalline cobalt thin films by external stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Dileep, E-mail: dkumar@csr.res.in [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientic Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Singh, Sadhana [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientic Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Vishawakarma, Pramod [School of Nanotechnology, RGPV, Bhopal 462036 (India); Dev, Arun Singh; Reddy, V.R. [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientic Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Gupta, Ajay [Amity Center for Spintronic Materials, Amity University, Sector 125, Noida 201303 (India)

    2016-11-15

    Polycrystalline Co films of nominal thickness ~180 Å were deposited on intentionally curved Si substrates. Tensile and compressive stresses of 100 MPa and 150 MPa were induced in the films by relieving the curvature. It has been found that, within the elastic limit, presence of stress leads to an in-plane magnetic anisotropy in the film and its strength increases with increasing stress. Easy axis of magnetization in the films is found to be parallel/ transverse to the compressive /tensile stresses respectively. The origin of magnetic anisotropy in the stressed films is understood in terms of magneto- elastic coupling, where the stress try to align the magnetic moments in order to minimize the magneto-elastic as well as anisotropy energy. Tensile stress is also found to be responsible for the surface smoothening of the films, which is attributed to the movement of the atoms associated with the applied stress. The present work provides a possible way to tailor the magnetic anisotropy and its direction in polycrystalline and amorphous films using external stress. - Highlights: • Tensile and compressive stresses were induced in Co films by removing the bending force from the substrates after film deposition. • Controlled external mechanical stress is found to be responsible for magnetic anisotropies in amorphous and polycrystalline thin films, where crystalline anisotropy is absent. • Tensile stress leads to surface smoothening of the polycrystalline Co films.

  4. Zinc as a Gatekeeper of Immune Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inga Wessels

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available After the discovery of zinc deficiency in the 1960s, it soon became clear that zinc is essential for the function of the immune system. Zinc ions are involved in regulating intracellular signaling pathways in innate and adaptive immune cells. Zinc homeostasis is largely controlled via the expression and action of zinc “importers” (ZIP 1–14, zinc “exporters” (ZnT 1–10, and zinc-binding proteins. Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of zinc have long been documented, however, underlying mechanisms are still not entirely clear. Here, we report molecular mechanisms underlying the development of a pro-inflammatory phenotype during zinc deficiency. Furthermore, we describe links between altered zinc homeostasis and disease development. Consequently, the benefits of zinc supplementation for a malfunctioning immune system become clear. This article will focus on underlying mechanisms responsible for the regulation of cellular signaling by alterations in zinc homeostasis. Effects of fast zinc flux, intermediate “zinc waves”, and late homeostatic zinc signals will be discriminated. Description of zinc homeostasis-related effects on the activation of key signaling molecules, as well as on epigenetic modifications, are included to emphasize the role of zinc as a gatekeeper of immune function.

  5. Uptake and partitioning of zinc in Lemnaceae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahive, Elma; O'Callaghan, Michael J A; Jansen, Marcel A K; O'Halloran, John

    2011-11-01

    Macrophytes provide food and shelter for aquatic invertebrates and fish, while also acting as reservoirs for nutrients and trace elements. Zinc accumulation has been reported for various Lemnaceae species. However, comparative accumulation across species and the link between zinc accumulation and toxicity are poorly understood. Morphological distribution and cellular storage, in either bound or soluble form, are important for zinc tolerance. This study shows differences in the uptake and accumulation of zinc by three duckweed species. Landoltia punctata and Lemna minor generally accumulated more zinc than Lemna gibba. L. minor, but not L. gibba or L. punctata, accumulated greater concentrations of zinc in roots compared to fronds when exposed to high levels of zinc. The proportion of zinc stored in the bound form relative to the soluble-form was higher in L. minor. L. punctata accumulated greater concentrations of zinc in fronds compared to roots and increased the proportion of zinc it stored in the soluble form, when exposed to high zinc levels. L. gibba is the only species that significantly accumulated zinc at low concentrations, and was zinc-sensitive. Overall, internal zinc concentrations showed no consistent correlation with toxic effect. We conclude that relationships between zinc toxicity and uptake and accumulation are species specific reflecting, among others, zinc distribution and storage. Differences in zinc distribution and storage are also likely to have implications for zinc bioavailability and trophic mobility.

  6. Synthesis and characterization of silicon-doped polycrystalline GaN ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Silicon-doped polycrystalline GaN films were successfully deposited at temperatures ranging from 300 to 623 K on fused silica and silicon substrates by radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering at a system pressure of ~ 5 Pa. The films were characterized by optical as well as microstructural measurements. The optical ...

  7. Shock-induced fast reactions of zinc nanoparticles and RDX

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xue Mian; Wu Jinghe; Ye Song; Yang Xiangdong [Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065 (China); Hu Dong; Wang Yanping; Zhu Wenjun; Li Chengbing [National Key Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research, Institute of Fluid Physics, CAEP, Mianyang 621900 (China)], E-mail: mi-anxue@163.com

    2008-02-21

    Fast reactions of zinc nanoparticles and RDX were investigated in normal incident shock waves. The emergence time and emission spectra intensity of partial products such as NO{sub 2}, H, C{sub 2}, O, CO, CH{sub 2}O, CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O and ZnO were observed by a TDS5054 oscilloscope. The results indicate that NO{sub 2} appears first in each experiment, which is in agreement with the theoretical results. The addition of zinc nanoparticles to RDX can not only shorten the ignition delay time by 20% but also double the shockwave diffusion velocity to 2180 {+-} 50 m s{sup -1} and triple the temperature to 2020 {+-} 60 K. The emergence time of products shortens by around 10-40% and the emission spectra intensity of H{sub 2}O and CH{sub 2}O rises by about three times and one times, respectively. CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O and O{sub 2} in various concentrations were introduced into the zinc-RDX reaction, respectively, which indicate that O{sub 2} made the ignition delay time shorten by over 30%, the effect of H{sub 2}O was not prominent while CO{sub 2} made the ignition delay time lag by around 30%. The results indicate that the Zn-O{sub 2} reaction mainly occurs in O{sub 2}, CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O.

  8. Polycrystalline Diamond Schottky Diodes and Their Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Ganming

    In this work, four-hot-filament CVD techniques for in situ boron doped diamond synthesis on silicon substrates were extensively studied. A novel tungsten filament shape and arrangement used to obtain large-area, uniform, boron doped polycrystalline diamond thin films. Both the experimental results and radiative heat transfer analysis showed that this technique improved the uniformity of the substrate temperature. XRD, Raman and SEM studies indicate that large area, uniform, high quality polycrystalline diamond films were obtained. Schottky diodes were fabricated by either sputter deposition of silver or thermal evaporation of aluminum or gold, on boron doped diamond thin films. High forward current density and a high forward-to-reverse current ratio were exhibited by silver on diamond Schottky diodes. Schottky barrier heights and the majority carrier concentrations of both aluminum and gold contacted diodes were determined from the C-V measurements. Furthermore, a novel theoretical C-V-f analysis of deep level boron doped diamond Schottky diodes was performed. The analytical results agree well with the experimental results. Compressive stress was found to have a large effect on the forward biased I-V characteristics of the diamond Schottky diodes, whereas the effect on the reverse biased characteristics was relatively small. The stress effect on the forward biased diamond Schottky diode was attributed to piezojunction and piezoresistance effects. The measured force sensitivity of the diode was as high as 0.75 V/N at 1 mA forward bias. This result shows that CVD diamond device has potential for mechanical transducer applications. The quantitative photoresponse characteristics of the diodes were studied in the spectral range of 300 -1050 nm. Semi-transparent gold contacts were used for better photoresponse. Quantum efficiency as high as 50% was obtained at 500 nm, when a reverse bias of over 1 volt was applied. The Schottky barrier heights between either gold or

  9. Robust TaNx diffusion barrier for Cu-interconnect technology with subnanometer thickness by metal-organic plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, H.; Detavenier, C.; Straten, O. van der; Rossnagel, S.M.; Kellock, A.J.; Park, D.-G.

    2005-01-01

    TaN x diffusion barriers with good barrier properties at subnanometer thickness were deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) from pentakis(dimethylamino)Ta. Hydrogen and/or nitrogen plasma was used as reactants to produce TaN x thin films with a different nitrogen content. The film properties including the carbon and oxygen impurity content were affected by the nitrogen flow during the process. The deposited film has nanocrystalline grains with hydrogen-only plasma, while the amorphous structure was obtained for nitrogen plasma. The diffusion barrier properties of deposited TaN films for Cu interconnects have been studied by thermal stress test based on synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The results indicate that the PE-ALD TaN films are good diffusion barriers even at a small thickness as 0.6 nm. Better diffusion barrier properties were obtained for higher nitrogen content. Based on a diffusion kinetics analysis, the nanocrystalline microstructure of the films was responsible for the better diffusion barrier properties compared to polycrystalline PE-ALD TaN films deposited from TaCl 5

  10. Zinc oxide overdose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinc oxide is an ingredient in many products. Some of these are certain creams and ointments used ... prevent or treat minor skin burns and irritation. Zinc oxide overdose occurs when someone eats one of ...

  11. Laser properties of Fe2+:ZnSe fabricated by solid-state diffusion bonding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balabanov, S. S.; Firsov, K. N.; Gavrishchuk, E. M.; Ikonnikov, V. B.; Kazantsev, S. Yu; Kononov, I. G.; Kotereva, T. V.; Savin, D. V.; Timofeeva, N. A.

    2018-04-01

    The characteristics of an Fe2+:ZnSe laser at room temperature and its active elements with undoped faces were studied. Polycrystalline elements with one or two diffusion-doped internal layers were obtained by the solid-state diffusion bonding technique applied to chemical vapor deposition grown ZnSe plates preliminary doped with Fe2+ ions in the process of hot isostatic pressing. A non-chain electric-discharge HF laser was used to pump the crystals. It was demonstrated that increasing the number of doped layers allows increasing the maximum diameter of the pump radiation spot and the pump energy without the appearance of transversal parasitic oscillation. For the two-layer-doped active element with a diameter of 20 mm an output energy of 480 mJ was achieved with 37% total efficiency with respect to the absorbed energy. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of the developed technology for fabrication of active elements by the solid-state diffusion bonding technique combined with the hot isostatic pressing treatment for efficient IR lasers based on chalcogenides doped with transition metal ions.

  12. Zinc terephthalates ZnC_8H_4O_4 as anodes for lithium ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Liping; Zou, Jian; Chen, Shulin; Yang, Jingyi; Qing, Fangzhu; Gao, Peng; Li, Jingze

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Both of well-crystalline and amorphous zinc terephthalates ZnC_8H_4O_4 are synthesized and amorphous structure demonstrates a higher capacity and better cycling performance. - Highlights: • Crystalline and amorphous ZnC_8H_4O_4 are obtained. • Both crystalline and amorphous ZnC_8H_4O_4 have σ_e of 10"−"7 S m"−"1. • Lithium ion diffusion is the rate-determine process. • Amorphous has a high capacity and durable performance. • Amorphous ZnC_8H_4O_4 has a high apparent lithium ion diffusion coefficient. - Abstract: Organic materials offer the advantages of cost-effective, environmental benignity, and molecular structural diversity as applications of electrode materials for lithium ion batteries. In fact, their lithium storage behaviors in terms of dynamics and kinetics intrinsically lie in ion migration in solids. Thus the solid forms including crystalline and amorphous states are crucial for the properties. In this study, a conventional carbonyl type organic material, namely zinc terephthalate (ZnC_8H_4O_4), is obtained in both well-crystalline and amorphous forms and applied as anodes for lithium ion batteries. ZnC_8H_4O_4 with amorphous structure shows higher lithium storage capacity and better capacity retention compared with that of crystalline one. It is ascribed that the amorphous phase provides a higher lithium ion diffusion coefficient than the crystalline one under the conditions of similar electronic conductivity.

  13. Influence of lattice distortion on phase transition properties of polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Tiegui [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Langping, E-mail: aplpwang@hit.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Yufen [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Yu, Yonghao, E-mail: yhyu@hit.edu.cn [Academy of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

    2016-08-30

    Highlights: • Polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin films were fabricated by high power impulse magnetron sputtering. • The reported lowest phase transition temperature for undoped polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film was reduced to 32 °C by this research. • XRD patterns at varied temperatures revealed that the main structual change was a gradual shift in interplanar spacing with temperature. - Abstract: In this work, high power impulse magnetron sputtering was used to control the lattice distortion in polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film. SEM images revealed that all the VO{sub 2} thin films had crystallite sizes of below 20 nm, and similar configurations. UV–vis-near IR transmittance spectra measured at different temperatures showed that most of the as-deposited films had a typical metal–insulator transition. Four-point probe resistivity results showed that the transition temperature of the films varied from 54.5 to 32 °C. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the as-deposited films revealed that most were polycrystalline monoclinic VO{sub 2}. The XRD results also confirmed that the lattice distortions in the as-deposited films were different, and the transition temperature decreased with the difference between the interplanar spacing of the as-deposited thin film and standard rutile VO{sub 2}. Furthermore, a room temperature rutile VO{sub 2} thin film was successfully synthesized when this difference was small enough. Additionally, XRD patterns measured at varied temperatures revealed that the phase transition process of the polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film was a coordinative deformation between grains with different orientations. The main structural change during the phase transition was a gradual shift in interplanar spacing with temperature.

  14. Polycrystalline Silicon: a Biocompatibility Assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pecheva, E.; Fingarova, D.; Pramatarova, L.; Hikov, T.; Laquerriere, P.; Bouthors, Sylvie; Dimova-Malinovska, D.; Montgomery, P.

    2010-01-01

    Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) layers were functionalized through the growth of biomimetic hydroxyapatite (HA) on their surface. HA is the mineral component of bones and teeth and thus possesses excellent bioactivity and biocompatibility. MG-63 osteoblast-like cells were cultured on both HA-coated and un-coated poly-Si surfaces for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days and toxicity, proliferation and cell morphology were investigated. The results revealed that the poly-Si layers were bioactive and compatible with the osteoblast-like cells. Nevertheless, the HA coating improved the cell interactions with the poly-Si surfaces based on the cell affinity to the specific chemical composition of the bone-like HA and/or to the higher HA roughness.

  15. Study of twist boundaries in aluminium. Structure and intergranular diffusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemuet, Daniel

    1981-01-01

    This research thesis addresses the study of grain boundaries in oriented crystals, and more particularly the systematic calculation of intergranular structures and energies of twist boundaries of <001> axis in aluminium, the determination of intergranular diffusion coefficients of zinc in a set of twist bi-crystals of same axis encompassing a whole range of disorientations, and the search for a correlation between these experimental results and calculated structures

  16. Electroreduction of CO on Polycrystalline Copper at Low Overpotentials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bertheussen, Erlend; Vagn Hogg, Thomas; Abghoui, Younes

    2018-01-01

    C uis the only monometallic electrocatalyst to produce highly reduced products from CO2 selectively because of its intermediate binding of CO. We investigate the performance of polycrystalline Cu for the electroreduction of CO in alkaline media (0.1 M KOH) at low overpotentials (−0.4 to −0.6 V vs...

  17. Photoluminescence of epitactical and polycrystalline CuInS2 layers for thin-film solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eberhardt, J.

    2007-01-01

    The present thesis deals with one- and polycrystalline CuInS 2 absorber layers for thin-film solar cells and especially with their optical and structural characterization. By means of detailed temperature- and power-dependent photoluminescence measurements in epitactical and polycrystalline absorber layers different radiative transitions could be analyzed and identified. The spectra were dominated by broad luminescence bands of deep perturbing levels. The implantation of hydrogen at low energies led to a passivation of these perturbing levels. On the base of the optical studies on epitactical and polycrystalline absorber layers a new improved defect model for CuInS 2 could be developed. The model contains two donor and two acceptor levels with following ionization energies: D-1=46 meV, D-2=87 meV, A-1=70 meV, and A-2=119 meV

  18. Creep and stress relaxation induced by interface diffusion in metal matrix composites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yinfeng; Li, Zhonghua

    2013-03-01

    An analytical solution is developed to predict the creep rate induced by interface diffusion in unidirectional fiber-reinforced and particle reinforced composites. The driving force for the interface diffusion is the normal stress acting on the interface, which is obtained from rigorous Eshelby inclusion theory. The closed-form solution is an explicit function of the applied stress, volume fraction and radius of the fiber, as well as the modulus ratio between the fiber and the matrix. It is interesting that the solution is formally similar to that of Coble creep in polycrystalline materials. For the application of the present solution in the realistic composites, the scale effect is taken into account by finite element analysis based on a unit cell. Based on the solution, a closed-form solution is also given as a description of stress relaxation induced by interfacial diffusion under constant strain. In addition, the analytical solution for the interface stress presented in this study gives some insight into the relationship between the interface diffusion and interface slip. This work was supported by the financial support from the Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 10932007), the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2010CB631003/5), and the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (No. 20100073110006).

  19. A study of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation on polycrystalline Ni ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    tion of Fe3O4 particles at 800°C. Industrial grade particles of Ni and Zn oxides were ..... domain wall movements, which leads to electronic migrations: this can ... properties of polycrystalline Mn–Zn Ferrites, Ph.D. Thesis,. Osmania University ...

  20. Influence of hydrogen on high cycle fatigue of polycrystalline vanadium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, D.W.; Lee, K.S.; Stoloff, N.S.

    1977-02-01

    The room temperature fatigue behavior of several polycrystalline V-H 2 alloys is described. Hydrogen extends the life of unnotched vanadium but has a deleterious effect in notched materials. Crack propagation data are correlated with tensile yield stress and cyclic strain hardening data

  1. Polycrystalline diamond film UV detectors for excimer lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ralchenko, V G; Savel'ev, A V; Konov, Vitalii I; Mazzeo, G; Spaziani, F; Conte, G; Polyakov, V I

    2006-01-01

    Photoresistive metal-semiconductor-metal detectors based on polycrystalline diamond films are fabricated for recording cw and pulsed UV radiation. The detectors have a high spectral selectivity (the UV-to-VIS response ratio is ∼10 5 ) and a temporal resolution of the order of 10 9 s. 'Solar-blind' photostable diamond detectors are promising for applications in UV lithography, laser micromachining, medicine, and space research. (letters)

  2. The X-ray sensitivity of semi-insulating polycrystalline CdZnTe thick films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Won, Jae Ho; Kim, Ki Hyun; Suh, Jong Hee; Cho, Shin Hang; Cho, Pyong Kon; Hong, Jin Ki; Kim, Sun Ung

    2008-01-01

    The X-ray sensitivity is one of the important parameters indicating the detector performance. The X-ray sensitivity of semi-insulating polycrystalline CdZnTe:Cl thick films was investigated as a function of electric field, mean photon energy, film thickness, and charge carrier transport parameters and, compared with another promising detector materials. The X-ray sensitivities of the polycrystalline CdZnTe films with 350 μm thickness were about 2.2 and 6.2 μC/cm 2 /R in the ohmic-type and Schottky-type detector at 0.83 V/μm, respectively

  3. Effect of zinc gluconate, sage oil on inflammatory patterns and hyperglycemia in zinc deficient diabetic rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elseweidy, Mohamed M; Ali, Abdel-Moniem A; Elabidine, Nabila Zein; Mursey, Nada M

    2017-11-01

    The relationship between zinc homeostasis and pancreatic function had been established. In this study we aimed firstly to configure the inflammatory pattern and hyperglycemia in zinc deficient diabetic rats. Secondly to illustrate the effect of two selected agents namely Zinc gluconate and sage oil (Salvia Officinalis, family Lamiaceae). Rats were fed on Zinc deficient diet, deionized water for 28days along with Zinc level check up at intervals to achieve zinc deficient state then rats were rendered diabetic through receiving one dose of alloxan monohydrate (120mg/kg) body weight, classified later into 5 subgroups. Treatment with sage oil (0.042mg/kg IP) and Zinc gluconate orally (150mg/kg) body weight daily for 8 weeks significantly reduced serum glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP), Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α), interleukins-6 1 β, inflammatory8 (IFN ȣ), pancreatic 1L1-β along with an increase in serum Zinc and pancreatic Zinc transporter 8 (ZNT8). Histopathological results of pancreatic tissues showed a good correlation with the biochemical findings. Both sage oil and zinc gluconate induced an improvement in the glycemic and inflammatory states. This may be of value like the therapeutic agent for diabetes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. Daya antibakteri obat kumur chlorhexidine, povidone iodine, fluoride suplementasi zinc terhadap, Streptococcus mutans dan Porphyromonas gingivalis (Antibacterial effect of mouth washes containing chlorhexidine, povidone iodine, fluoride plus zinc on Strep

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Betadion Rizki Sinaredi

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Dental Caries and periodontal disease prevalence in Indonesian children are still high. Some efforts can be done to overcome the problem; one of them is the use of mouthwash to decrease pathogen microorganisms. The mouthwashes that commercially available in market are chlorhexidine, povidone Iodine and Fluoride with Zinc supplementation. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the anti bacterial effect of the mouthwashes chlorhexidine, povidone iodine and fluoride with zinc supplementation against mix bacteria that found in the plaque, Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Methods: The antibacterial effect was measured using disk diffusion test. The bacteria samples (plaque polybacteria, S.mutans and P. gingivalis were inoculated and spread in the petridish containing MHA. Paper discs containing the mouthwashes were placed in the petridish and incubated for 24 hours at 37oC (anaerobe for P. gingivalis, aerobe for S. mutans and polybacteria. The diameter of inhibition zone surrounding the paper discs were measured and compared between each active ingredient contained in mouthwash. Results: Chlorhexidine had the strongest antibacterial effect than povidone iodine and fluoride. Chlorhexidine was more effective to inhibited the growth of S. mutans than to polybacteria or P.Gingivalis, while Povidone iodine and fluoride were more effective to inhibited the growth of polybacteria. Conclusion: The mouthwash chlorhexidine was more effective to inhibit the growth of plaque polybacteria, Streptoccous mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis compared with povidone iodine and fluoride with zinc supplementation.Latar belakang: Prevalensi karies gigi dan penyakit periodontal masih tinggi pada anak Indonesia. Usaha mengatasi hal tersebut antara lain melalui melalui penggunaan obat kumur untuk mengurangi jumlah kuman pathogen. Kandungan obat kumur yang beredar di pasar diantaranya adalah chlorhexidine, povidone iodine dan fluoride

  5. Effect of Grain Boundaries on the Performance of Thin-Film-Based Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: A Numerical Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhetri, Nikita; Chatterjee, Somenath

    2018-01-01

    Solar cells/photovoltaic, a renewable energy source, is appraised to be the most effective alternative to the conventional electrical energy generator. A cost-effective alternative of crystalline wafer-based solar cell is thin-film polycrystalline-based solar cell. This paper reports the numerical analysis of dependency of the solar cell parameters (i.e., efficiency, fill factor, open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density) on grain size for thin-film-based polycrystalline silicon (Si) solar cells. A minority carrier lifetime model is proposed to do a correlation between the grains, grain boundaries and lifetime for thin-film-based polycrystalline Si solar cells in MATLAB environment. As observed, the increment in the grain size diameter results in increase in minority carrier lifetime in polycrystalline Si thin film. A non-equivalent series resistance double-diode model is used to find the dark as well as light (AM1.5) current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for thin-film-based polycrystalline Si solar cells. To optimize the effectiveness of the proposed model, a successive approximation method is used and the corresponding fitting parameters are obtained. The model is validated with the experimentally obtained results reported elsewhere. The experimentally reported solar cell parameters can be found using the proposed model described here.

  6. Absence of translational energy accomodation of O2 on clean and oxidized tungsten, specularly and diffusely scattered

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auerbach, D.; Becker, C.; Cowin, J.; Wharton, L.

    1977-01-01

    The authors have determined by a direct molecular beam velocity measurement that translational energy accomodation of O 2 molecules scattered from a reactive hot polycrystalline tungsten target is very inefficient. Translational energy accomodation is inefficient whether the surface is clean or covered with oxygen atoms to a varying extent, even though in the latter case the scattering is diffuse. On a clean tungsten surface the scattering of the O 2 is specular. The results shows directly that diffuse scattering does not imply or require large energy accomodation. They also show that this surface covered with atoms matching the incoming beam atoms is not an efficient energy accomodator. Thus a diminished role for mass matching in energy transfer is apparent. (Auth.)

  7. Enhanced diffusion due to electrons, protons and quenching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuele, W.

    1987-01-01

    Results of investigations of radiation enhanced diffusion in copper -30% zinc alloys using 17.65 MeV protons are reported and compared with results obtained for 2 MeV electrons. The activation energy of diffusion decreases considerably from 0.35 eV to 0.26 eV for displacement rates increasing from 3x10 -12 dpa.s -1 to 1.2x10 -8 dpa.s -1 , i.e. the migration activation energy of interstitials decreases for this dpa.s -1 range from 0.70 eV to 0.52 eV. Results of electron irradiations obtained for 0.050 and 0.10 mm thick specimens are compared. It is found that the diffusion rates increase considerably in the presence of dislocations and that the diffusion rates decrease for very low electron fluxes and high irradiation temperatures in the 0.050 mm thick specimens in comparison to the rates obtained in 0.10 mm thick specimens. A value of 0.95 eV was determined for the activation energy of the ordering rate after quenching from 250 0 C in water. This was attributed to the migration activation energy of vacancies

  8. Impact of anode substrates on electrodeposited zinc over cycling in zinc-anode rechargeable alkaline batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Xia; Desai, Divyaraj; Yadav, Gautam G.; Turney, Damon E.; Couzis, Alexander; Banerjee, Sanjoy

    2016-01-01

    Electrochemical behavior of Ag, Bi, Cu, Fe, Ni and Sn substrates on zinc deposition was evaluated over battery cycling by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The effect of Bi, Cu, Ni, and Sn substrates on zinc electrodeposition during battery cycling was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The corrosion behavior of each metal in 9 M KOH and the corrosion rates of zinc plated on each substrate were analyzed by Tafel extrapolation method from the potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Although the charge-transfer resistance (R_c_t) of zinc electrodeposition is lowest on Sn, Sn eventually corrodes on cycling in alkaline media. Use of Ni as a substrate causes zinc to deteriorate on account of rapid hydrogen evolution. Bi and Cu substrates are more suitable for use as current collectors in zinc-anode alkaline rechargeable batteries because of their low corrosion rate and compact zinc deposition over battery cycling.

  9. Immersion autometallography: histochemical in situ capturing of zinc ions in catalytic zinc-sulfur nanocrystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danscher, Gorm; Stoltenberg, Meredin; Bruhn, Mikkel; Søndergaard, Chris; Jensen, Dorete

    2004-12-01

    In the mid-1980s, two versions of Timm's original immersion sulfide silver method were published. The authors used immersion of tissue in a sulfide solution as opposed to Timm, who used immersion of tissue blocks in hydrogen sulfide-bubbled alcohol. The autometallography staining resulting from the "sulfide only immersion" was not particularly impressive, but the significance of this return to an old approach became obvious when Wenzel and co-workers presented their approach in connection with introduction by the Palmiter group of zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3). The Wenzel/Palmiter pictures are the first high-resolution, high-quality pictures taken from tissues in which free and loosely bound zinc ions have been captured in zinc-sulfur nanocrystals by immersion. The trick was to place formalin-fixed blocks of mouse brains in a solution containing 3% glutaraldehyde and 0.1% sodium sulfide, ingredients used for transcardial perfusion in the zinc-specific NeoTimm method. That the NeoTimm technique results in silver enhancement of zinc-sulfur nanocrystals has been proved by proton-induced X-ray multielement analyses (PIXE) and in vivo chelation with diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDTC). The aims of the present study were (a) to make the immersion-based capturing of zinc ions in zinc-sulfur nanocrystals work directly on sections and slices of fixed brain tissue, (b) to work out protocols that ensure zinc specificity and optimal quality of the staining, (c) to apply "immersion autometallography" (iZnSAMG) to other tissues that contain zinc-enriched (ZEN) cells, and (d) to make the immersion approach work on unfixed fresh tissue.

  10. Effect of Initial Iron Content in a Zinc Bath on the Dissolution Rate of Iron During a Hot Dip Galvanizing Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sang Myung; Lee, Suk Kyu; Paik, Doo-Jin; Park, Joo Hyun

    2017-04-01

    The mechanism of iron dissolution and the effect of initial Fe content in a Zn bath on the dissolution rate of iron were investigated using a finger rotating method (FRM). When the initial iron content, [Fe]°, in the zinc bath was less than the solubility limit, the iron content in the zinc bath showed a rapid increase, whereas a moderate increase was observed when [Fe]° was close to the solubility limit. Based on Eisenberg's kinetic model, the mass transfer coefficient of iron in the present experimental condition was calculated to be k M = 1.2 × 10-5 m/s, which was similar to the results derived by Giorgi et al. under industrial practice conditions. A dissolution of iron occurred even when the initial iron content in the zinc bath was greater than the solubility limit, which was explained by the interfacial thermodynamics in conjunction with the morphology of the surface coating layer. By analyzing the diffraction patterns using TEM, the outermost dendritic-structured coating layer was confirmed as FeZn13 ( ζ). In order to satisfy the local equilibrium based on the Gibbs-Thomson equation, iron in the dendrite-structured phase spontaneously dissolved into the zinc bath, resulting in the enrichment of iron in front of the dendrite tip. Through the diffusion boundary layer in front of the dendritic-structured layer, dissolved Fe atoms diffused out and reacted with Zn and small amounts of Al, resulting in the formation of dross particles such as FeZn10Al x ( δ). It was experimentally confirmed that the smaller the difference between the initial iron content in the zinc bath and the iron solubility limit at a given temperature, the lower the number of formed dross particles.

  11. Quantitative mapping of zinc fluxes in the mammalian egg reveals the origin of fertilization-induced zinc sparks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Que, Emily L.; Bleher, Reiner; Duncan, Francesca E.; Kong, Betty Y.; Gleber, Sophie C.; Vogt, Stefan; Chen, Si; Garwin, Seth A.; Bayer, Amanda R.; Dravid, Vinayak P.; Woodruff, Teresa K.; O' Halloran, Thomas V.

    2014-12-15

    Fertilization of a mammalian egg initiates a series of 'zinc sparks' that are necessary to induce the egg-to-embryo transition. Despite the importance of these zinc-efflux events little is known about their origin. To understand the molecular mechanism of the zinc spark we combined four physical approaches that resolve zinc distributions in single cells: a chemical probe for dynamic live-cell fluorescence imaging and a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence microscopy and three-dimensional elemental tomography for high-resolution elemental mapping. We show that the zinc spark arises from a system of thousands of zinc-loaded vesicles, each of which contains, on average, 10(6) zinc atoms. These vesicles undergo dynamic movement during oocyte maturation and exocytosis at the time of fertilization. The discovery of these vesicles and the demonstration that zinc sparks originate from them provides a quantitative framework for understanding how zinc fluxes regulate cellular processes

  12. The fabrication of YBCO superconductor polycrystalline powder by CCSO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martirosyan, K S; Luss, D; Galstyan, E; Xue, Y Y

    2008-01-01

    We present a novel, cost-effective and simple method to produce polycrystalline superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) powder by a self-sustaining one-step process called carbon combustion synthesis of oxides (CCSO). In this process the exothermic oxidation of carbon nanoparticles generates a thermal wave that propagates at a velocity of about 1 mm s -1 through the solid yttrium, barium, and copper precursors, converting them rapidly (in the order of seconds) to polycrystalline YBCO. The carbon is not incorporated in the product and is emitted as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the sample, generating a highly porous (∼70%) and friable product. Most of the grains have a plate-like shape, are well connected, and have a size of between 1 and 3 μm. The concentration of the residual carbon was less than 0.06 wt%. The magnetization of as-synthesized samples (without external post-annealing in oxygen), as determined by a SQUID magnetometer, showed an onset of the superconducting (SC) transition at ∼91 K, with a 44% shielding fraction of the -1/(4π) value

  13. Systematic study of polycrystalline flow during tension test of sheet 304 austenitic stainless steel at room temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muñoz-Andrade, Juan D.

    2013-01-01

    By systematic study the mapping of polycrystalline flow of sheet 304 austenitic stainless steel (ASS) during tension test at constant crosshead velocity at room temperature was obtained. The main results establish that the trajectory of crystals in the polycrystalline spatially extended system (PCSES), during irreversible deformation process obey a hyperbolic motion. Where, the ratio between the expansion velocity of the field and the velocity of the field source is not constant and the field lines of such trajectory of crystals become curved, this accelerated motion is called a hyperbolic motion. Such behavior is assisted by dislocations dynamics and self-accommodation process between crystals in the PCSES. Furthermore, by applying the quantum mechanics and relativistic model proposed by Muñoz-Andrade, the activation energy for polycrystalline flow during the tension test of 304 ASS was calculated for each instant in a global form. In conclusion was established that the mapping of the polycrystalline flow is fundamental to describe in an integral way the phenomenology and mechanics of irreversible deformation processes

  14. Systematic study of polycrystalline flow during tension test of sheet 304 austenitic stainless steel at room temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muñoz-Andrade, Juan D., E-mail: jdma@correo.azc.uam.mx [Departamento de Materiales, División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Azcapotzalco, Av. San Pablo No. 180, Colonia Reynosa Tamaulipas, C.P. 02200, México Distrito Federal (Mexico)

    2013-12-16

    By systematic study the mapping of polycrystalline flow of sheet 304 austenitic stainless steel (ASS) during tension test at constant crosshead velocity at room temperature was obtained. The main results establish that the trajectory of crystals in the polycrystalline spatially extended system (PCSES), during irreversible deformation process obey a hyperbolic motion. Where, the ratio between the expansion velocity of the field and the velocity of the field source is not constant and the field lines of such trajectory of crystals become curved, this accelerated motion is called a hyperbolic motion. Such behavior is assisted by dislocations dynamics and self-accommodation process between crystals in the PCSES. Furthermore, by applying the quantum mechanics and relativistic model proposed by Muñoz-Andrade, the activation energy for polycrystalline flow during the tension test of 304 ASS was calculated for each instant in a global form. In conclusion was established that the mapping of the polycrystalline flow is fundamental to describe in an integral way the phenomenology and mechanics of irreversible deformation processes.

  15. Green synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticle using insulin plant (Costus pictus D. Don) and investigation of its antimicrobial as well as anticancer activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suresh, Joghee; Pradheesh, Ganeshan; Alexramani, Vincent; Sundrarajan, Mahalingam; Hong, Sun Ig

    2018-03-01

    In this work we aim to synthesize biocompatible ZnO nanoparticles from the zinc nitrate via green process using leaf extracts of the Costus pictus D. Don medicinal plant. FTIR studies confirm the presence of biomolecules and metal oxides. X-ray diffraction (XRD) structural analysis reveals the formation of pure hexagonal phase structures of ZnO nanoparticles. The surface morphologies of ZnO nanoparticles observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) suggest that most ZnO crystallites are hexagonal. EDX analysis confirms the presence of primarily zinc and oxygen. TEM images show that biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles are hexagonal and spherical. The plausible formation mechanisms of zinc oxide nanoparticles are also predicted. The biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibit strong antimicrobial behavior against bacterial and fungal species when employing the agar diffusion method. Synthesized ZnO nanoparticles exhibit anticancer activity against Daltons lymphoma ascites (DLA) cells as well as antimicrobial activity against some bacterial and fungal strains.

  16. Structure evolution of zinc oxide thin films deposited by unbalance DC magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aryanto, Didik, E-mail: didi027@lipi.go.id [Research Center for Physics, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Serpong 15314, Tangerang Selatan (Indonesia); Materials Research Group, Physics Department, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Gunungpati, Semarang 50229 Jawa Tengah (Indonesia); Marwoto, Putut; Sugianto [Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Gunungpati, Semarang 50229 Jawa Tengah (Indonesia); Materials Research Group, Physics Department, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Gunungpati, Semarang 50229 Jawa Tengah (Indonesia); Sudiro, Toto [Research Center for Physics, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Serpong 15314, Tangerang Selatan (Indonesia); Birowosuto, Muhammad D. [Research Center for Physics, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Serpong 15314, Tangerang Selatan (Indonesia); CINTRA UMI CNRS/NTU/THALES 3288 Research Techno Plaza, 50 Nanyang Drive, Border X Block, level 6, 637553 (Singapore); Sulhadi [Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Gunungpati, Semarang 50229 Jawa Tengah (Indonesia)

    2016-04-19

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films are deposited on corning glass substrates using unbalanced DC magnetron sputtering. The effect of growth temperature on surface morphology and crystallographic orientation of ZnO thin film is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The surface morphology and crystallographic orientation of ZnO thin film are transformed against the increasing of growth temperature. The mean grain size of film and the surface roughness are inversely and directly proportional towards the growth temperature from room temperature to 300 °C, respectively. The smaller grain size and finer roughness of ZnO thin film are obtained at growth temperature of 400 °C. The result of AFM analysis is in good agreement with the result of XRD analysis. ZnO thin films deposited in a series of growth temperatures have hexagonal wurtzite polycrystalline structures and they exhibit transformations in the crystallographic orientation. The results in this study reveal that the growth temperature strongly influences the surface morphology and crystallographic orientation of ZnO thin film.

  17. Clinical Aspects of Trace Elements: Zinc in Human Nutrition – Zinc Deficiency and Toxicity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle M Pluhator

    1996-01-01

    Full Text Available Available evidence suggests that trace elements, such as zinc, once thought to have no nutritional relevance, are possibly deficient in large sections of the human population. Conditioned deficiencies have been reported to result from malabsorption syndromes, acrodermatitis enteropathica, alcoholism, gastrointestinal disease, thermal injury, chronic diseases (eg, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, and in total parenteral nutrition therapy. Awareness that patients with these problems are at risk has led health professionals to focus increasingly on the importance of zinc therapy in the prevention and treatment of deficiency. More recently zinc toxicity and its role in human nutrition and well-being have come under investigation. Reports have focused on the role of zinc toxicity in causes of copper deficiency, changes in the immune system and alterations in blood lipids. As the numerous challenges presented by the study of zinc in human nutrition are met, more appropriate recommendations for dietary and therapeutic zinc intake are being made.

  18. Evaluation of leaching behavior and immobilization of zinc in cement-based solidified products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krolo Petar

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study has examined leaching behavior of monolithic stabilized/solidified products contaminated with zinc by performing modified dynamic leaching test. The effectiveness of cement-based stabilization/solidification treatment was evaluated by determining the cumulative release of Zn and diffusion coefficients, De. The experimental results indicated that the cumulative release of Zn decreases as the addition of binder increases. The values of the Zn diffusion coefficients for all samples ranged from 1.210-8 to 1.1610-12 cm2 s-1. The samples with higher amounts of binder had lower De values. The test results showed that cement-based stabilization/solidification treatment was effective in immobilization of electroplating sludge and waste zeolite. A model developed by de Groot and van der Sloot was used to clarify the controlling mechanisms. The controlling leaching mechanism was found to be diffusion for samples with small amounts of waste material, and dissolution for higher waste contents.

  19. Zinc in Infection and Inflammation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gammoh, Nour Zahi; Rink, Lothar

    2017-06-17

    Micronutrient homeostasis is a key factor in maintaining a healthy immune system. Zinc is an essential micronutrient that is involved in the regulation of the innate and adaptive immune responses. The main cause of zinc deficiency is malnutrition. Zinc deficiency leads to cell-mediated immune dysfunctions among other manifestations. Consequently, such dysfunctions lead to a worse outcome in the response towards bacterial infection and sepsis. For instance, zinc is an essential component of the pathogen-eliminating signal transduction pathways leading to neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) formation, as well as inducing cell-mediated immunity over humoral immunity by regulating specific factors of differentiation. Additionally, zinc deficiency plays a role in inflammation, mainly elevating inflammatory response as well as damage to host tissue. Zinc is involved in the modulation of the proinflammatory response by targeting Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB), a transcription factor that is the master regulator of proinflammatory responses. It is also involved in controlling oxidative stress and regulating inflammatory cytokines. Zinc plays an intricate function during an immune response and its homeostasis is critical for sustaining proper immune function. This review will summarize the latest findings concerning the role of this micronutrient during the course of infections and inflammatory response and how the immune system modulates zinc depending on different stimuli.

  20. Diffusion of iron in β-iron telluride (Fe1.12Te) by Moessbauer spectroscopy and tracer method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magara, Masaaki; Tsuji, Toshihide; Naito, Keiji

    1993-01-01

    The diffusion coefficient of iron in a β-iron telluride (Fe 1.12 Te) polycrystalline sample was measured by Moessbauer diffusional line broadening method which relates to the collapse of coherence in gamma-ray photon by the atomic jump at local sites. The diffusion coefficient of iron along the c-axis in nearly single crystal of β-iron telluride was also measured by tracer technique which shows the results of an atom transport in long distance. The activation energies for the diffusion of iron in Fe 1.12 Te obtained by the Moessbauer spectroscopy and the tracer method were 91.5±5.4 and 106±23 kJ/mol, respectively. The diffusion coefficients of iron in β-iron telluride obtained by Moessbauer line broadening are in fair agreement with the values averaged from that along c-axis obtained by tracer method and that along a- and b-axes obtained from reaction rate constant between iron and tellurium by the previous study of the present authors. (orig.)

  1. Influence of usual zinc intake and zinc in a meal on 65Zn retention and turnover in the rat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunt, J.R.; Johnson, P.E.; Swan, P.B.

    1987-01-01

    The influences of zinc in a meal and usual zinc intake on zinc retention and turnover were investigated in 7-wk-old male rats fed diets containing 12-151 mg Zn/kg for 3 wk before and after consuming a 65 Zn-labeled meal containing ZnCl 2 . Retention corrected to zero time and turnover rate were determined by whole-body counting. Percent zinc retention was inversely proportional to the natural logarithm of the meal zinc, between 0.09 and 26 mumol. In comparison to lower doses, higher doses resulted in lower percent retention but greater amounts of zinc retained. Although the latter relationship was slightly curvilinear, there was no indication of a limited capacity for zinc retention with high doses. However, doses above 4 mumol resulted in higher turnover rates in rats accustomed to lower zinc intakes. Percent retention and the reciprocal of the turnover rate were proportional to the reciprocal of the dietary zinc concentration. The greatest differences in retention and turnover occurred between 12 and 26 mg Zn/kg diet. The zinc dose in a meal and the usual dietary zinc separately influenced percent zinc retention. These factors also interacted, such that greater dose effects were observed at lower zinc intakes and greater dietary zinc effects were observed at lower doses

  2. Interdependence of free zinc changes and protein complex assembly - insights into zinc signal regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocyła, Anna; Adamczyk, Justyna; Krężel, Artur

    2018-01-24

    Cellular zinc (Zn(ii)) is bound with proteins that are part of the proteomes of all domains of life. It is mostly utilized as a catalytic or structural protein cofactor, which results in a vast number of binding architectures. The Zn(ii) ion is also important for the formation of transient protein complexes with a Zn(ii)-dependent quaternary structure that is formed upon cellular zinc signals. The mechanisms by which proteins associate with and dissociate from Zn(ii) and the connection with cellular Zn(ii) changes remain incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to examine how zinc protein domains with various Zn(ii)-binding architectures are formed under free Zn(ii) concentration changes and how formation of the Zn(ii)-dependent assemblies is related to the protein concentration and reactivity. To accomplish these goals we chose four zinc domains with different Zn(ii)-to-protein binding stoichiometries: classical zinc finger (ZnP), LIM domain (Zn 2 P), zinc hook (ZnP 2 ) and zinc clasp (ZnP 1 P 2 ) folds. Our research demonstrated a lack of changes in the saturation level of intraprotein zinc binding sites, despite various peptide concentrations, while homo- and heterodimers indicated a concentration-dependent tendency. In other words, at a certain free Zn(ii) concentration, the fraction of a formed dimeric complex increases or decreases with subunit concentration changes. Secondly, even small or local changes in free Zn(ii) may significantly affect protein saturation depending on its architecture, function and subcellular concentration. In our paper, we indicate the importance of interdependence of free Zn(ii) availability and protein subunit concentrations for cellular zinc signal regulation.

  3. Polycrystalline Mg2Si thin films: A theoretical investigation of their electronic transport properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balout, H.; Boulet, P.; Record, M.-C.

    2015-01-01

    The electronic structures and thermoelectric properties of a polycrystalline Mg 2 Si thin film have been investigated by first-principle density-functional theory (DFT) and Boltzmann transport theory calculations within the constant-relaxation time approximation. The polycrystalline thin film has been simulated by assembling three types of slabs each having the orientation (001), (110) or (111) with a thickness of about 18 Å. The effect of applying the relaxation procedure to the thin film induces disorder in the structure that has been ascertained by calculating radial distribution functions. For the calculations of the thermoelectric properties, the energy gap has been fixed at the experimental value of 0.74 eV. The thermoelectric properties, namely the Seebeck coefficient, the electrical conductivity and the power factor, have been determined at three temperatures of 350 K, 600 K and 900 K with respect to both the energy levels and the p-type and n-type doping levels. The best Seebeck coefficient is obtained at 350 K: the S yy component of the tensor amounts to about ±1000 μV K −1 , depending on the type of charge carriers. However, the electrical conductivity is much too small which results in low values of the figure of merit ZT. Structure–property relationship correlations based on directional radial distribution functions allow us to tentatively draw some explanations regarding the anisotropy of the electrical conductivity. Finally, the low ZT values obtained for the polycrystalline Mg 2 Si thin film are paralleled with those recently reported in the literature for bulk chalcogenide glasses. - Graphical abstract: Structure of the polycrystalline thin film of Mg 2 Si. - Author-Highlights: • Polycrystalline Mg 2 Si film has been modelled by DFT approach. • Thermoelectric properties have been evaluated by semi-classical Boltzmann theory. • The structure was found to be slightly disordered after relaxation. • The highest value of Seebeck

  4. COMPOSITE MATERIALS BASED ON ZINC SULFIDE AND ZINC OXIDE: STRUCTURAL AND BIOCIDAL PROPERTIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukhodub L.B

    2016-12-01

    study of the sensitivity of the above listed microorganisms to the experimental samples was carried out by the method of diffusion in Agar in the modification of the wells. The crystallinity and structure of precipitates were examined using an X-ray diffractometer DRON 3. The elemental composition of synthesized samples was studied by an X ray fluorescence (XRF analysis using ElvaX Light SDD spectrometer. Results and discussion. X-ray structural analysis indicate that in the composite material, synthesized both in the presence of sodium alginate (ZnS-ZnO-Alg and without sodium alginate adding (ZnS-ZnO exist two phases: ZnS and ZnO. Based on RFA calculations show that ZnS-ZnO sample contains up to 50 wt. % zinc oxide. Zinc oxide content in the ZnS-ZnO-Alg is about 25 wt.%. The MBC was determined by above described method placing the liquid from each tube with a sample on a Mueller-Hinton solid culture medium. MBC of ZnS- ZnO-Alg samples against all studied microorganism strains was 1,25 mg/ml. MBC of ZnS- ZnO samples ranged from 5 mg/ml for C. albicans to 12.5 mg/ml for E. coli. It is possible that due to small sample solubility in experimental conditions and small ion diffusion of the active substance there was no full contact with the whole bacterial cell volume. As ZnS-ZnO-Alg samples differe from ZnS- ZnO samples by smaller crystallite size and greater solubility, they exhibit a marked antimicrobial effect. At the same time in direct contact of the entire surface of the sample with bacterial cells under condition of the modifying method of diffusion into agar, both types of samples showed high antimicrobial activity. Obtained data can be explained by two major mechanisms of the antimicrobial action ZnO and ZnS: a toxic effects of zinc ions in the cell membrane of bacteria; b toxicity ROS (reactive oxygen spices, formed with the participation of ZnO and ZnS, on components of the bacterial cell. Antibacterial activity is the result of the formation such ROS, as

  5. Resistivity and morphology of TiSi2 formed on Xe+-implanted polycrystalline silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuwano, H.; Phillips, J.R.; Mayer, J.W.

    1990-01-01

    Xe ion irradiation of polycrystalline silicon before Ti deposition is found to affect subsequent silicide formation. Silicide films were prepared by implanting 60, 100, or 240 keV Xe + ions into 500-nm-thick undoped polycrystalline silicon before depositing Ti and annealing in vacuum. Preimplantation altered the subsequent silicide resistivity, x-ray diffraction patterns, and morphology as compared to films prepared on unimplanted polycrystalline Si substrates. We found that minimal TiSi 2 resistivities were achieved at lower temperatures with preimplantation, indicating that the Xe-implanted substrate promotes a lower temperature transition from the metastable C49 phase to the low-resistivity equilibrium C54 phase of TiSi 2 . X-ray diffraction results confirmed the lower temperature formation of the C54 phase with preimplantation. Low-temperature annealing (650 degree C, 30 min) of 6x10 16 cm -2 , 240 keV Xe + -implanted samples yielded low-resistivity (∼22 μΩ cm) silicide films, while simultaneously annealed samples without preimplantation had resistivity five times higher. Lower doses were effective at lower implant energies, with low resistivity achieved after 725 degree C, 30 min annealing for 2x10 15 cm -2 , 60 keV Xe + preimplantation

  6. Fast diffusion and nucleation of the amorphous phase in Ni--Zr films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehrhart, P.; Averback, R.S.; Hahn, H.; Yadavalli, S.; Flynn, C.P.

    1988-01-01

    The nucleation of the amorphous phase by solid-state reactions has been investigated on single-crystal Zr films grown by molecular beam epitaxy and covered in situ with either polycrystalline Ni, amorphous (a-) NiZr, or single-crystalline Zr 99 N 01 films. Interfacial reactions were investigated by backscattering analysis or secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The amorphizing reaction occurred only in the specimen with the a-NiZr overlayer, although fast Ni diffusion through the single-crystalline Zr layer was observed in all three specimens. The nucleation behavior of a-NiZr is attributed to the combination of high-Ni and low-Zr mobility in crystalline Zr

  7. CdTe polycrystalline films on Ni foil substrates by screen printing and their photoelectric performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao, Huizhen; Ma, Jinwen; Mu, Yannan; Su, Shi; Lv, Pin; Zhang, Xiaoling; Zhou, Liying; Li, Xue; Liu, Li; Fu, Wuyou; Yang, Haibin

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The sintered CdTe polycrystalline films by a simple screen printing. • The flexible Ni foil was chose as substrates to reduce the weight of the electrode. • The compact CdTe film was obtained at 550 °C sintering temperature. • The photoelectric activity of the CdTe polycrystalline films was excellent. - Abstract: CdTe polycrystalline films were prepared on flexible Ni foil substrates by sequential screen printing and sintering in a nitrogen atmosphere for the first time. The effect of temperature on the quality of the screen-printed film was investigated in our work. The high-quality CdTe films were obtained after sintering at 550 °C for 2 h. The properties of the sintered CdTe films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction pattern and UV–visible spectroscopy. The high-quality CdTe films have the photocurrent was 2.04 mA/cm 2 , which is higher than that of samples prepared at other temperatures. Furthermore, CdCl 2 treatment reduced the band gap of the CdTe film due to the larger grain size. The photocurrent of photoelectrode based on high crystalline CdTe polycrystalline films after CdCl 2 treatment improved to 2.97 mA/cm 2 , indicating a potential application in photovoltaic devices

  8. Structural evolution and mechanisms of fatigue in polycrystalline brass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vejloe Carstensen, J

    1998-03-01

    The plastic strain controlled fatigue behaviour of polycrystalline Cu-15%Zn and Cu-30%Zn has been investigated with the aim of studying the effect of slip mode modification by the addition of zinc to copper. It has been clearly demonstrated, that true cyclic saturation does not occur in the plastic strain controlled fatigue of brass. This complicates the contstruction of a cyclic stress-strain (CSS) curve and thus the comparison with copper. A method to overcome this complication has been suggested. Surface observations on fatigued brass specimens show that individual grains tend to deform by Sachs type single slip. This behaviour has been described by the self-consistent Sachs-Eshelby model, which provides estimates of the CSS curve for brass polycrystals. Successive stages of primary hardening, softening and secondary hardening has been observed in the plastic strain controlled fatigue of brass. It has been found that the primary hardening is attributed to an increase of intergranular stresses whereas the secondary hardening apparently is attributed to an increase of friction stresses. Investigations of the structural evolution show that the softening behaviour can be explained by the presence of short-range order (SRO). SRO promote the formation of extended dipole arrays which hardens the material. The formation of intense shear bands destroy the dipole arrays, which explains the cyclic softening. The present results reveal that Cu-30%Zn in a pure planar slip alloy, while Cu-15%Zn displays both planar and wavy slip. The mechanical and structural behaviour observed in brass resembles recent observations in 316L austenitic stainless steels, and the present results reveal that Cu-30%Zn and 316L have approximately the same fatigue life curve. This emphasizes brass as being a convenient model system for the industrially important austenitic steels. (au) 9 tabs., 94 ills., 177 refs.; The thesis is also available as DCAMM-R-S80 and as an electronic document on http://www.risoe.dk/rispubl

  9. Field performance of a polycrystalline silicon module

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adegboyega, G.A.; Kuku, T.A.; Salau, A.A.M.

    1985-12-01

    The field performance of a polycrystalline silicon module is reported. The recorded data include the ambient temperature, solar insolation and the module output power. The module has given efficiencies in the range of 2-4% and has demonstrated good stability over a ten month period. From the field data, equations that could be used to predict performance for various seasons of the year for this location have been developed and the fit between predicted and actual performance has been found to be quite good. (author)

  10. Numerical simulation of large deformation polycrystalline plasticity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inal, K.; Neale, K.W.; Wu, P.D.; MacEwen, S.R.

    2000-01-01

    A finite element model based on crystal plasticity has been developed to simulate the stress-strain response of sheet metal specimens in uniaxial tension. Each material point in the sheet is considered to be a polycrystalline aggregate of FCC grains. The Taylor theory of crystal plasticity is assumed. The numerical analysis incorporates parallel computing features enabling simulations of realistic models with large number of grains. Simulations have been carried out for the AA3004-H19 aluminium alloy and the results are compared with experimental data. (author)

  11. Weak antilocalization and low-temperature characterization of sputtered polycrystalline bismuth selenide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, Protyush; Chen, Jun-Yang; Myers, Jason C.; Wang, Jian-Ping

    2018-03-01

    We report a thorough crystal and transport characterization of sputtered polycrystalline BixSe1 -x (20 nm), grown on a thermally oxidized silicon substrate. The crystal and grain structures of the sample are characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Selected-area electron diffraction shows a highly polycrystalline structure. Transport measurements suggest semiconducting behavior of the BixSe1 -x film with a very high carrier concentration (˜1020 cm3) and low mobility [˜8 cm2/(V s)]. High-field magnetoresistance measurements reveal weak antilocalization, to which both the low mobility and the angular dependence suggest an impurity-dominated contribution. Fitting parameters are obtained from 2D magnetoconductivity using the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka equation. The variation of the phase coherence length with temperature suggests electron-electron scattering for phase decoherence. Electron-electron interaction theory is used to analyze the low-temperature conductivity.

  12. The three-dimensional microstructure of polycrystalline materials unravelled by synchrotron light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ludwig, W.; Herbig, M.; Ludwig, W.; King, A; Reischig, P.; Marrow, J.; Babout, L.; Mejdal Lauridsen, E.; Proudhon, H.

    2011-01-01

    Synchrotron radiation X-ray imaging and diffraction techniques offer new possibilities for non-destructive bulk characterization of polycrystalline materials. Minute changes in electron density (different crystallographic phases, cracks, porosities) can be detected using 3D imaging modes exploiting Fresnel diffraction and the coherence properties of third generation synchrotron beams. X-ray diffraction contrast tomography, a technique based on Bragg diffraction imaging, provides access to the 3D shape, orientation and elastic strain state of the individual grains from polycrystalline sample volumes containing several hundred up to a few thousand grains. Combining both imaging modalities allows a comprehensive description of the microstructure of the material at the micrometer length scale. Repeated observations during (interrupted) mechanical tests provide unprecedented insight into crystallographic and grain microstructure related aspects of polycrystal deformation and degradation mechanisms in materials, fulfilling some conditions on grain size and deformation state. (authors)

  13. Oxygen deficiency in MoO{sub 3} polycrystalline nanowires and nanotubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varlec, Ana, E-mail: ana.varlec@ijs.si [Condensed Matter Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Arčon, Denis [Condensed Matter Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska cesta 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Škapin, Srečo D. [Advanced Materials Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Remškar, Maja [Condensed Matter Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

    2016-02-15

    We report on the synthesis of polycrystalline molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub 3}) nanowires via oxidation of molybdenum-sulfur-iodine (Mo{sub 6}S{sub 2}I{sub 8}) nanowires. This unique synthesis route results in an interesting morphology comprising porous nanowires and nanotubes. We found the nanowires to have the orthorhombic MoO{sub 3} structure. The structure is slightly oxygen deficient which results in the appearance of a new resonant Raman band (1004 cm{sup −1}) and paramagnetic defects (Mo{sup 5+}) of both the point and crystallographic shear plane nature. - Highlights: • Polycrystalline MoO{sub 3} nanowires were obtained via oxidation of Mo{sub 6}S{sub 2}I{sub 8} nanowires. • Nanowires are porous and tubular with either filled or empty interior. • Nanowires are slightly oxygen deficient which leads to a new Raman band.

  14. Effects of Foliar Application of Nano Zinc Chelate and Zinc Sulfate on Zinc Content, Pigments and Photosynthetic Indices of Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum(

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Moghimi pour

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Holy basil is a perennial plant belongs to Lamiaceae family. The plant is a perennial and thrives well in the hot and humid climate. Its aerial parts have been in use for food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and perfumery industries. Leaves contain 0.5-1.5% essential oil and main oil components are eugenol, methyl eugenol, carvacrol, methyl chavicol and1,8-cineole. A balanced fertilization program with macro and micronutrients is very important in producing high quality yield. Zinc is involved in IAA production, chlorophyll biosynthesis, carbon assimilation, saccharids accumulation, reactive oxygen radicals scavenging and finally carbon utilization in volatile oil biosynthesis. Material and methods: In order to evaluate the effect on zinc foliar application on zinc content of leaves, photosynthetic indices and pigments of holy basil, an experiment was carried out in 2013 at a research farm of Horticultural Science, Shahid Chamran University (31°20'N latitude and 48°40'E longitude and 22.5 m mean sea level, Ahvaz (Iran, a region characterized by semi-dry climate. The experiment was arranged based on Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD with six treatments and three replications. The treatments were nano zinc chelate (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g.l-1 and zinc sulfate (1 and 1.5 g.l-1 fertilizers. Land preparation includes disking and the formation of raising beds (15cm high and 45cm wide across the top using a press-pan-type bed shaper. Holy basil seeds were sown on two rows on each bed, with 15 cm in-row and 40 cm between-row spacing. The plants were irrigated weekly as needed. Foliar application of zinc fertilizers was done at six-eight leaf stage and were repeated with interval 15 days until full bloom stage. Zinc content, stomata conductance (gs, CO2 under stomata (Ci, transpiration rate (E, net photosynthesis (Pn, light use efficiency (LUE, water use efficiency (WUE and also chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a+b and carotenoid

  15. Deficiencia de zinc y sus implicaciones funcionales Zinc deficiency and its functional implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JORGE L ROSADO

    1998-03-01

    Full Text Available El presente trabajo tiene por objeto revisar los aspectos teóricos y los estudios realizados en México que sugieren la existencia de la deficiencia moderada de zinc en niños de población rural, así como algunas de las consecuencias de dicha deficiencia en la salud. El zinc es un nutrimento indispensable para el organismo de los humanos y juega un papel importante en una serie de procesos metabólicos: participa en el sitio catalítico de varios sistemas enzimáticos; participa como ion estructural en membranas biológicas, y guarda una estrecha relación con la síntesis de proteínas, entre otras cosas. Es por esto que la deficiencia de zinc está asociada con consecuencias importantes en la salud y la funcionalidad de los individuos, especialmente durante las primeras etapas de la vida. De relevancia para México es la existencia de una deficiencia moderada de zinc en los niños y las consecuencias que ésta pueda tener en la salud de los mismos. Los estudios realizados sugieren que la deficiencia moderada de zinc se presenta asociada con la ingestión de dietas basadas en alimentos de origen vegetal, las cuales contienen cantidades importantes de inhibidores de la absorción de zinc. Este tipo de dietas se consume habitualmente en las zonas rurales y en la población marginal de las ciudades en el país. Entre las consecuencias más importantes de esta deficiencia se encontró un aumento en la presencia de enfermedades infecciosas, especialmente de diarrea, y posibles alteraciones en el desarrollo de la capacidad cognoscitiva.The purpose of this article is to review theoretical aspects and research performed in Mexico suggesting the existence of marginal zinc deficiency in rural children and its consequences on health. Zinc is an indispensable nutrient for humans since it plays an important role in several metabolic pathways: it participates in the catalytic site of several enzymes, as a structural ion of biological membranes and is

  16. Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD) for the numerical simulation of polycrystalline aggregates under cyclic loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasri, Mohamed Aziz; Robert, Camille; Ammar, Amine; El Arem, Saber; Morel, Franck

    2018-02-01

    The numerical modelling of the behaviour of materials at the microstructural scale has been greatly developed over the last two decades. Unfortunately, conventional resolution methods cannot simulate polycrystalline aggregates beyond tens of loading cycles, and they do not remain quantitative due to the plasticity behaviour. This work presents the development of a numerical solver for the resolution of the Finite Element modelling of polycrystalline aggregates subjected to cyclic mechanical loading. The method is based on two concepts. The first one consists in maintaining a constant stiffness matrix. The second uses a time/space model reduction method. In order to analyse the applicability and the performance of the use of a space-time separated representation, the simulations are carried out on a three-dimensional polycrystalline aggregate under cyclic loading. Different numbers of elements per grain and two time increments per cycle are investigated. The results show a significant CPU time saving while maintaining good precision. Moreover, increasing the number of elements and the number of time increments per cycle, the model reduction method is faster than the standard solver.

  17. Zinc in Infection and Inflammation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nour Zahi Gammoh

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Micronutrient homeostasis is a key factor in maintaining a healthy immune system. Zinc is an essential micronutrient that is involved in the regulation of the innate and adaptive immune responses. The main cause of zinc deficiency is malnutrition. Zinc deficiency leads to cell-mediated immune dysfunctions among other manifestations. Consequently, such dysfunctions lead to a worse outcome in the response towards bacterial infection and sepsis. For instance, zinc is an essential component of the pathogen-eliminating signal transduction pathways leading to neutrophil extracellular traps (NET formation, as well as inducing cell-mediated immunity over humoral immunity by regulating specific factors of differentiation. Additionally, zinc deficiency plays a role in inflammation, mainly elevating inflammatory response as well as damage to host tissue. Zinc is involved in the modulation of the proinflammatory response by targeting Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB, a transcription factor that is the master regulator of proinflammatory responses. It is also involved in controlling oxidative stress and regulating inflammatory cytokines. Zinc plays an intricate function during an immune response and its homeostasis is critical for sustaining proper immune function. This review will summarize the latest findings concerning the role of this micronutrient during the course of infections and inflammatory response and how the immune system modulates zinc depending on different stimuli.

  18. Repletion of zinc in zinc-deficient cells strongly up-regulates IL-1β-induced IL-2 production in T-cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daaboul, Doha; Rosenkranz, Eva; Uciechowski, Peter; Rink, Lothar

    2012-10-01

    Mild zinc deficiency in humans negatively affects IL-2 production resulting in declined percentages of cytolytic T cells and decreased NK cell lytic activity, which enhances the susceptibility to infections and malignancies. T-cell activation is critically regulated by zinc and the normal physiological zinc level in T-cells slightly lies below the optimal concentration for T-cell functions. A further reduction in zinc level leads to T-cell dysfunction and autoreactivity, whereas high zinc concentrations (100 μM) were shown to inhibit interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced IL-1 receptor kinase (IRAK) activation. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism by which zinc regulates the IL-1β-induced IL-2 expression in T-cells. Zinc supplementation to zinc-deficient T-cells increased intracellular zinc levels by altering the expression of zinc transporters, particularly Zip10 and Zip12. A zinc signal was observed in the murine T-cell line EL-4 6.1 after 1 h of stimulation with IL-1β, measured by specific zinc sensors FluoZin-3 and ZinPyr-1. This signal is required for the phosphorylation of MAPK p38 and NF-κB subunit p65, which triggers the transcription of IL-2 and strongly increases its production. These results indicate that short-term zinc supplementation to zinc-deficient T-cells leads to a fast rise in zinc levels which subsequently enhance cytokine production. In conclusion, low and excessive zinc levels might be equally problematic for zinc-deficient subjects, and stabilized zinc levels seem to be essential to avoid negative concentration-dependent zinc effects on T-cell activation.

  19. The study and microstructure analysis of zinc and zinc oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Luptáková

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The given paper is closely connected with the process of the manufacturing of ZnO. The purity of the metal zinc has crucial influence on the quality of ZnO. ZnO can be produced by pyrometallurgical combustion of zinc and hard zinc. But this mentioned method of preparation leads to the creation of the enormous amount of waste including chemical complexes. On the basis of the occurrence of the residual content of other elements, it is possible to make prediction about the material behavior in the metallographic process. The input and finally materials were investigated and this investigation was done from the aspect of structural and chemical composition of the materials.

  20. Role of interfacial defect creation-annihilation processes at grain boundaries on the diffusional creep of polycrystalline alumina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikuma, Y.; Gordon, R.S.

    1981-01-01

    It is generally assumed in the diffusional creep of a polycrystalline solid that grain boundaries act as perfect sources and sinks for lattice defects. However, if this assumption is not valid, then diffusional creep can become rate limited by interfacial defect reactions at grain boundaries. Steady state diffusional creep data will be presented at 1450 to 1500 0 C for polycrystalline alumina doped with Ti and a Mg-Ti co-dopant, which are consistent with interfacial controlled kinetics over an intermediate grain size range. A new type of creep deformation map will be presented which reveals the range of grain sizes and impurity concentrations over which interfacial defect creation and/or annihilation processes are important in the steady state creep of polycrystalline alumina

  1. Grain boundary imaging, gallium diffusion and the fracture behavior of Al-Zn Alloy - An in situ study

    CERN Document Server

    Tsai, W L; Chen, C H; Chang, L W; Je, J H; Lin, H M; Margaritondo, G

    2003-01-01

    Phase contrast radiology using unmonochromatic synchrotron X-ray successfully imaged the grain boundaries of Al and AlZn alloy without contrast agent. Combining the high penetration of X-ray and the possibility of 3D reconstruction by tomorgraphy or stereography method, this approach can be very used for nondestructive characterization of polycrystalline materials. By examine the images with 3D perspective, we were able locate the observed void-like defects which lies exclusively on the grain boundary and identify their origin from last stage of the rolling process. We studied the Ga Liquid metal diffusion in the AlZn alloy, under different temperature and stress conditions. High resolution images, approx 2 mu m, of Ga liquid metal diffusion in AlZn were obtained in real time and diffusion paths alone grain boundaries and surfaces were clearly identified. Embrittled AlZn responses to the tensile stress and fractures in a drastic different manner than the pure AlZn. These results, although very much expected f...

  2. A concentrated electrolyte for zinc hexacyanoferrate electrodes in aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, D.; Lee, C.; Jeong, S.

    2018-01-01

    In this study, a concentrated electrolyte was applied in an aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion battery system with a zinc hexacyanoferrate (ZnHCF) electrode to improve the electrochemical performance by changing the hydration number of the zinc ions. To optimize the active material, ZnHCF was synthesized using aqueous solutions of zinc nitrate with three different concentrations. The synthesized materials exhibited some differences in structure, crystallinity, and particle size, as observed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, these well-structured materials were applied in electrochemical tests. A more than two-fold improvement in the charge/discharge capacities was observed when the concentrated electrolyte was used instead of the dilute electrolyte. Additionally, the cycling performance observed in the concentrated electrolyte was superior to that in the dilute electrolyte. This improvement in the electrochemical performance may result from a decrease in the hydration number of the zinc ions in the concentrated electrolyte.

  3. Zinc-mediated Allosteric Inhibition of Caspase-6*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velázquez-Delgado, Elih M.; Hardy, Jeanne A.

    2012-01-01

    Zinc and caspase-6 have independently been implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders. Depletion of zinc intracellularly leads to apoptosis by an unknown mechanism. Zinc inhibits cysteine proteases, including the apoptotic caspases, leading to the hypothesis that zinc-mediated inhibition of caspase-6 might contribute to its regulation in a neurodegenerative context. Using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, we observed that caspase-6 binds one zinc per monomer, under the same conditions where the zinc leads to complete loss of enzymatic activity. To understand the molecular details of zinc binding and inhibition, we performed an anomalous diffraction experiment above the zinc edge. The anomalous difference maps showed strong 5σ peaks, indicating the presence of one zinc/monomer bound at an exosite distal from the active site. Zinc was not observed bound to the active site. The zinc in the exosite was liganded by Lys-36, Glu-244, and His-287 with a water molecule serving as the fourth ligand, forming a distorted tetrahedral ligation sphere. This exosite appears to be unique to caspase-6, as the residues involved in zinc binding were not conserved across the caspase family. Our data suggest that binding of zinc at the exosite is the primary route of inhibition, potentially locking caspase-6 into the inactive helical conformation. PMID:22891250

  4. Environmental risk limits for zinc

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bodar CWM; SEC

    2007-01-01

    Environmental Riks Limits (ERLs) were derived for zinc. ERLs serve as advisory values to set environmental quality standards in the Netherlands. The ERLs for zinc closely follow the outcomes of earlier discussions on zinc within the Water Framework Directive and EC Regulation 793/93. The ERLs

  5. Environmental risk limits for zinc

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bodar CWM; SEC

    2007-01-01

    Environmental Riks Limits (ERLs) were derived for zinc. ERLs serve as advisory values to set environmental quality standards in the Netherlands. The ERLs for zinc closely follow the outcomes of earlier discussions on zinc within the Water Framework Directive and EC Regulation 793/93. The ERLs refer

  6. Hydrogen-related complexes in Li-diffused ZnO single crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corolewski, Caleb D. [Materials Science and Engineering Program, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-2814 (United States); Parmar, Narendra S.; Lynn, Kelvin G. [Center for Materials Research, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-2814 (United States); McCluskey, Matthew D., E-mail: mattmcc@wsu.edu [Materials Science and Engineering Program, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-2814 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-2814 (United States)

    2016-07-21

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap semiconductor and a potential candidate for next generation white solid state lighting applications. In this work, hydrogen-related complexes in lithium diffused ZnO single crystals were studied. In addition to the well-known Li-OH complex, several other hydrogen defects were observed. When a mixture of Li{sub 2}O and ZnO is used as the dopant source, zinc vacancies are suppressed and the bulk Li concentration is very high (>10{sup 19 }cm{sup −3}). In that case, the predominant hydrogen complex has a vibrational frequency of 3677 cm{sup −1}, attributed to surface O-H species. When Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3} is used, a structured blue luminescence band and O-H mode at 3327 cm{sup −1} are observed at 10 K. These observations, along with positron annihilation measurements, suggest a zinc vacancy–hydrogen complex, with an acceptor level ∼0.3 eV above the valence-band maximum. This relatively shallow acceptor could be beneficial for p-type ZnO.

  7. Crystallite-conjugation regions in polycrystalline transition and noble metals. 1. Composition and properties of point defects in the cores of crystallite-conjugation regions in polycrystalline Cr, Ta and W

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klotsman, S.M.; Kajgorodov, V.N.; Ermakov, A.V.; Rudenko, V.K.

    2004-01-01

    With the use of available results of theoretical investigations on structure and properties of crystallite conjugation regions (CCR) the types and relaxation volumes of point defects arising in a core of the CCR of polycrystalline Ta, W and Cr after vacuum annealing (10 -6 - 10 -5 torr) are determined. Temperature dependences are studied for isomer shifts δ 1 and δ 2 of -1 and -2 components of emission spectra of NGR-irradiation 57 Co( 57 Fe) atomic probes localized in a core of the CCR and in adjacent zones of the lattice of polycrystalline solid solutions of O(Ta), O(W) and O(Cr). A comparison of the dependences obtained is carried and the specific features observed are explained for O(Cr) [ru

  8. Synthesis and optical properties of polycrystalline Li{sub 2}Al{sub 2}B{sub 2}O{sub 7} (LABO)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dagdale, S. R., E-mail: shiva.dagdale68@gmail.com; Muley, G. G., E-mail: gajananggm@yahoo.co.in [Department of Physics Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati, Maharashtra, India-444602 (India)

    2016-05-06

    A polycrystalline lithium aluminum borate (Li{sub 2}Al{sub 2}B{sub 2}O{sub 7}, LABO) has been synthesized by using simple solid-state technique. The obtained LABO polycrystalline was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction; Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency measurement. The functional groups were identified using the FT-IR spectroscopic data. The SHG efficiency of the polycrystalline material was obtained by the classic Kurtz powder technique using a fundamental wavelength 1064 nm of Nd:YAG laser and it is found to be 1.4 times that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP).

  9. Zinc-The key to preventing corrosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kropschot, S.J.; Doebrich, Jeff L.

    2011-01-01

    Centuries before it was identified as an element, zinc was used to make brass (an alloy of zinc and copper) and for medicinal purposes. Metallic zinc and zinc oxide were produced in India sometime between the 11th and 14th centuries and in China in the 17th century, although the discovery of pure metallic zinc is credited to the German chemist Andreas Marggraf, who isolated the element in 1746. Refined zinc metal is bluish-white when freshly cast; it is hard and brittle at most temperatures and has relatively low melting and boiling points. Zinc alloys readily with other metals and is chemically active. On exposure to air, it develops a thin gray oxide film (patina), which inhibits deeper oxidation (corrosion) of the metal. The metal's resistance to corrosion is an important characteristic in its use.

  10. Dietary Zinc Intake and Plasma Zinc Concentrations in Children with Short Stature and Failure to Thrive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yazbeck, Nadine; Hanna-Wakim, Rima; El Rafei, Rym; Barhoumi, Abir; Farra, Chantal; Daher, Rose T; Majdalani, Marianne

    2016-01-01

    The burden of zinc deficiency on children includes an increased incidence of diarrhea, failure to thrive (FTT) and short stature. The aim of this study was to assess whether children with FTT and/or short stature have lower dietary zinc intake and plasma zinc concentrations compared to controls. A case-control study conducted at the American University of Beirut Medical Center included 161 subjects from 1 to 10 years of age. Cases had a statistically significant lower energy intake (960.9 vs. 1,135.2 kcal for controls, p = 0.010), lower level of fat (30.3 vs. 36.5 g/day, p = 0.0043) and iron intake (7.4 vs. 9.1 mg/day, p = 0.034). There was no difference in zinc, copper, carbohydrate and protein intake between the 2 groups. The plasma zinc concentration did not differ between the cases and controls (97.4 vs. 98.2 μg/dl, p = 0.882). More cases had mild-to-moderate zinc deficiency when compared to controls with 10.3 vs. 3.6%, p = 0.095. Our study did not show statistically significant difference in dietary zinc intake and plasma zinc concentrations between children with FTT and/or short stature compared to healthy controls. A prospective study is planned to assess the effect of zinc supplementation on growth parameters in FTT children. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  11. Considerations for improved polycrystalline cuprate superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinde, S.L.; Shaw, T.M.

    1990-01-01

    Polycrystalline cuprate superconductors exhibit two-stage superconducting transitions, that are characteristic of granular systems. This behaviour suggests approaches involving improvements in intra and inter-grain properties in order to improve the technologically important superconducting properties such as the magnetic remanent moment and transport critical current density. This paper reports results of our studies on oxygenation, twin density control through grain size and changes in flux pinning within the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ matrix with Ag substitution under the heading of intra-grain properties and the detrimental effect of grain boundary phases and the effect of Ag substitution on grain boundary pinning under the heading of inter-grain properties

  12. Radioactive zinc in soil-plant relationship studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karimian, N.

    1986-01-01

    Zinc is one of the elements whose essentiality for plant growth and development has been proved beyond any doubt. Plant life and consequently the crop yield is impossible without zinc. The results of chemical, greenhouse, and field experiments on soils of Shiraz show that their level of available zinc for some crops is inadequate, despite the fact that the total amount of zinc in these soils may be relatively high. Obtaining the maximum yield, therefore, requires that either supplemental zinc be applied as chemical fertilizers or make the endogenous zinc more available to plants through some management practices. One of the isotopes of zinc, i.e. 65 Zn, is radioactive and has a detectable radiation which makes it suitable for tracer studies of zinc in soil, water, plant and animal. These studies help in understanding the soil plant relationships of zinc which in turn help to determine the optimum conditions of obtaining maximum yield. This paper presents and analyzes the results of some selected experiments to show different techniques of using radioactive zinc in understanding the behavior of zinc in soil and plant. Suggestions are also made of using this radioisotope in understanding the reactions of zinc in soils of Iran

  13. The effect of oral zinc loading on the absorption of 65Zinc in the rat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoyer, H.; Weismann, K.

    1979-01-01

    Seven groups of 8 rats each were orally loaded with zinc, the daily dose varying from 1.8 to 58 mg, corresponding to about 3 to 100 times of their estimated daily intake of zinc. To record the absorption of zinc, the rats were given a single dose of 65 Zn. The rentention of the isotope was measured in a whole animal counter at regular intervals. The dose of 58mg was obviously toxis, since half of the animals died within 5 days. The net absorption of zinc in the remaining experimental groups was found to vary from about 7% in the group receiving the smallest loading dose to 1.8% in the group receiving the highest dose. From the absorption values, as determined by extrapolation of semilog retention curves, the total amount of absorbed zinc was estimated. It was found to differ from about 170μg to about 530μg zinc daily, increasing three times as the loading dose was increased 16 times. This discrepancy suggests the existence of regulatory mechanisms of the absorption of zinc from the intestine. (orig.) [de

  14. Medicago truncatula Zinc-Iron Permease6 provides zinc to rhizobia-infected nodule cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abreu, Isidro; Saéz, Ángela; Castro-Rodríguez, Rosario; Escudero, Viviana; Rodríguez-Haas, Benjamín; Senovilla, Marta; Larue, Camille; Grolimund, Daniel; Tejada-Jiménez, Manuel; Imperial, Juan; González-Guerrero, Manuel

    2017-11-01

    Zinc is a micronutrient required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. It has been proposed that in model legume Medicago truncatula, zinc is delivered by the root vasculature into the nodule and released in the infection/differentiation zone. There, transporters must introduce this element into rhizobia-infected cells to metallate the apoproteins that use zinc as a cofactor. MtZIP6 (Medtr4g083570) is an M. truncatula Zinc-Iron Permease (ZIP) that is expressed only in roots and nodules, with the highest expression levels in the infection/differentiation zone. Immunolocalization studies indicate that it is located in the plasma membrane of nodule rhizobia-infected cells. Down-regulating MtZIP6 expression levels with RNAi does not result in any strong phenotype when plants are fed mineral nitrogen. However, these plants displayed severe growth defects when they depended on nitrogen fixed by their nodules, losing of 80% of their nitrogenase activity. The reduction of this activity was likely an indirect effect of zinc being retained in the infection/differentiation zone and not reaching the cytosol of rhizobia-infected cells. These data are consistent with a model in which MtZIP6 would be responsible for zinc uptake by rhizobia-infected nodule cells in the infection/differentiation zone. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Adhesion strength of nickel and zinc coatings with copper base electroplated in conditions of external stimulation by laser irradiance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Dudkina

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The investigation of laser irradiance influence on the adhesion strength of nickel and zinc coatings with copper base and the research of initial stages of crystallization for nickel and zinc films. Methodology. Electrodeposition of nickel and zinc films from the standard sulphate electrolyte solutions was carried out on the laser-electrolytic installations, built on the basis of gas discharge CO2-laser and solid ruby laser KVANT-12. The adhesion strength of metal coatings with copper base are defined not only qualitatively using the method of meshing and by means of multiple bending, but also quantitatively by means of indention of diamond pyramid into the border line between coating and base of the side section. Spectrum microanalysis of the element composition of the border line “film and base” is carried out using the electronic microscope REMMA-102-02. Findings. Laser irradiance application of the cathode region in the process of electroplating of metal coatings enables the adhesion strength improvement of coating with the base. Experimental results of adhesive strength of the films and the spectrum analysis of the element composition for the border line between film and base showed that during laser-assisted electroplating the diffusion interaction between coating elements and the base metal surface takes place. As a result of this interaction the coating metal diffuses into the base metal, forming transition diffused layer, which enhances the improvement of adhesion strength of the coatings with the base. Originality. It is found out that ion energy increase in the double electric layer during interaction with laser irradiance affects cathode supersaturation at the stage of crystallization. Hence, it also affects the penetration depth of electroplated material ions into the base metal, which leads to the adhesion strength enhancement. Practical value. On the basis of research results obtained during the laser

  16. Visible and ultraviolet emission from pulse irradiated amorphous and polycrystalline H2O ice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freeman, C.G.; Quickenden, T.I.; Litjens, R.A.J.; Sangster, D.F.

    1984-01-01

    Luminescence peaking at 405 nm was observed when thin films of amorphous or polycrystalline ice at 97 K were irradiated with a pulsed beam of 0.53 MeV electrons. These emissions differed from the luminescence emitted by crystalline ice in that memory effects were not observed; the peak wavelengths were red shifted by approx.20 nm; and the half-lives were 6--9 ns instead of approx.400 ns. The emission spectra of polycrystalline ice samples produced by rapid deposition or by annealing amorphous ice were similar, but both had substantially lower intensities than amorphous ice spectra

  17. Effective hydrogenation and surface damage induced by MW-ECR plasma of fine-grained polycrystalline silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madi, D. [Institut d' Electronique du Solide et des Systemes (InESS)-CNRS/UdS, Strasbourg (France); Universite de Jijel, Laboratoire d' Etudes et de Modelisation en Electrotechnique (LAMEL), Faculte des Sciences de l' Ingenieur, Jijel (Algeria); Prathap, P.; Focsa, A.; Slaoui, A. [Institut d' Electronique du Solide et des Systemes (InESS)-CNRS/UdS, Strasbourg (France); Birouk, B. [Universite de Jijel, Laboratoire d' Etudes et de Modelisation en Electrotechnique (LAMEL), Faculte des Sciences de l' Ingenieur, Jijel (Algeria)

    2010-06-15

    This work reports the investigations on the effects of the hydrogenation process of thin film polycrystalline n{sup +}pp{sup +} mesa silicon cells using MW-ECR plasma in a conventional PECVD system. Different operating parameters such as MW-ECR power, annealing temperature and the doping level of the emitter region were varied. The n{sup +}-type emitter regions were obtained by phosphorus diffusion in a conventional furnace using an oxide doping source containing phosphorus (P507 or P509 solutions, from Filmtronics Inc.). The MW hydrogenation was carried out at a sample temperature of 400 C for 60 min. Both types of emitters formed from P507 and P509 showed V{sub oc} of 155 mV and 206 mV, which increased linearly to 305 mV and 331 mV, respectively, after hydrogenation when the MW power varied from 200 to 650 W. However, the sheet resistances of the n{sup +} emitter region showed a slight increase depending upon hydrogenation power because of its etching. In a further study, hydrogenated samples were annealed in neutral or forming gas (FG) and we observed interesting results on V{sub oc} in the presence of FG. The FG annealing temperature study revealed a strong dependence of V{sub oc} on MW power, which affected the etching level of emitter and emitter dopant concentration, which controls the diffusion of hydrogen ions during post-hydrogenation step. The results were explained in detail by combining the effects of MW power and dopant level of the emitter. (orig.)

  18. Enhanced Generic Phase-field Model of Irradiation Materials: Fission Gas Bubble Growth Kinetics in Polycrystalline UO2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Yulan; Hu, Shenyang Y.; Montgomery, Robert O.; Gao, Fei; Sun, Xin

    2012-05-30

    Experiments show that inter-granular and intra-granular gas bubbles have different growth kinetics which results in heterogeneous gas bubble microstructures in irradiated nuclear fuels. A science-based model predicting the heterogeneous microstructure evolution kinetics is desired, which enables one to study the effect of thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the system on gas bubble microstructure evolution kinetics and morphology, improve the understanding of the formation mechanisms of heterogeneous gas bubble microstructure, and provide the microstructure to macroscale approaches to study their impact on thermo-mechanical properties such as thermo-conductivity, gas release, volume swelling, and cracking. In our previous report 'Mesoscale Benchmark Demonstration, Problem 1: Mesoscale Simulations of Intra-granular Fission Gas Bubbles in UO2 under Post-irradiation Thermal Annealing', we developed a phase-field model to simulate the intra-granular gas bubble evolution in a single crystal during post-irradiation thermal annealing. In this work, we enhanced the model by incorporating thermodynamic and kinetic properties at grain boundaries, which can be obtained from atomistic simulations, to simulate fission gas bubble growth kinetics in polycrystalline UO2 fuels. The model takes into account of gas atom and vacancy diffusion, vacancy trapping and emission at defects, gas atom absorption and resolution at gas bubbles, internal pressure in gas bubbles, elastic interaction between defects and gas bubbles, and the difference of thermodynamic and kinetic properties in matrix and grain boundaries. We applied the model to simulate gas atom segregation at grain boundaries and the effect of interfacial energy and gas mobility on gas bubble morphology and growth kinetics in a bi-crystal UO2 during post-irradiation thermal annealing. The preliminary results demonstrate that the model can produce the equilibrium thermodynamic properties and the morphology of gas

  19. In situ analysis of foliar zinc absorption and short-distance movement in fresh and hydrated leaves of tomato and citrus using synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Yumei; Kopittke, Peter M.; Noller, Barry N.; James, Simon A.; Harris, Hugh H.; Xu, Zhi Ping; Li, Peng; Mulligan, David R.; Huang, Longbin

    2015-01-01

    Background and Aims Globally, zinc deficiency is one of the most important nutritional factors limiting crop yield and quality. Despite widespread use of foliar-applied zinc fertilizers, much remains unknown regarding the movement of zinc from the foliar surface into the vascular structure for translocation into other tissues and the key factors affecting this diffusion. Methods Using synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (µ-XRF), absorption of foliar-applied zinc nitrate or zinc hydroxide nitrate was examined in fresh leaves of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and citrus (Citrus reticulatus). Key Results The foliar absorption of zinc increased concentrations in the underlying tissues by up to 600-fold in tomato but only up to 5-fold in citrus. The magnitude of this absorption was influenced by the form of zinc applied, the zinc status of the treated leaf and the leaf surface to which it was applied (abaxial or adaxial). Once the zinc had moved through the leaf surface it appeared to bind strongly, with limited further redistribution. Regardless of this, in these underlying tissues zinc moved into the lower-order veins, with concentrations 2- to 10-fold higher than in the adjacent tissues. However, even once in higher-order veins, the movement of zinc was still comparatively limited, with concentrations decreasing to levels similar to the background within 1–10 mm. Conclusions The results advance our understanding of the factors that influence the efficacy of foliar zinc fertilizers and demonstrate the merits of an innovative methodology for studying foliar zinc translocation mechanisms. PMID:25399024

  20. BWR fuel experience with zinc injection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levin, H.A.; Garcia, S.E.

    1995-01-01

    In 1982 a correlation between low primary recirculation system dose rates in BWR's and the presence of ionic zinc in reactor water was identified. The source of the zinc was primarily from Admiralty brass condensers. Plants with brass condensers are called ''natural zinc'' plants. Brass condensers were also a source of copper that was implicated in crude induced localized corrosion (CILC) fuel failures. In 1986 the first BWR intentionally injected zinc for the benefits of dose rate control. Although zinc alone was never implicated in fuel degradation of failures, a comprehensive fuel surveillance program was initiated to monitor fuel performance. Currently there are 14 plants that are injecting zinc. Six of these plants are also on hydrogen water chemistry. This paper describes the effect on both Zircaloy corrosion and the cruding characteristics as a result of these changes in water chemistry. Fuel rod corrosion was found to be independent of the specific water chemistry of the plants. The corrosion behavior was the same with the additions of zinc alone or zinc plus hydrogen and well within the operating experience for fuel without either of these additions. No change was observed in the amounts of crude deposited on the fuel rods, both for the adherent and loosely held deposits. One of the effects of the zinc addition was the trend to form more of the zinc rich iron spinel in the fuel deposits rather than the hematite deposits that are predominantly formed with non additive water chemistry

  1. Comparative effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles and dissolved zinc on zebrafish embryos and eleuthero-embryos: Importance of zinc ions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brun, N.R.; Lenz, M.; Wehrli, B.; Fent, K.

    2014-01-01

    The increasing use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) and their associated environmental occurrence make it necessary to assess their potential effects on aquatic organisms. Upon water contact, nZnO dissolve partially to zinc (Zn(II)). To date it is not yet completely understood, whether effects of

  2. Endogenous zinc excretion in relation to various levels of dietary zinc intake in the mink (Mustela vison)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mejborn, H.

    1990-01-01

    Endogenous zinc excretion was studied in adult male mink fed experimental diets for 73 d, including a collection period from d 69 to 73. Dietary zinc levels were 2.8, 26 or 121 mg/kg wet weight. In accordance with the results of a methodological study, also reported here, the animals had an intramuscular injection of 65ZnCl2 12 d before the start of the collection period. Total fecal (endogenous + unabsorbed) zinc excretion for d 69-73 in the three groups was 2.3, 20.4 and 91.0 mg. The endogenous zinc excretion was 1.3, 2.0 and 6.4 mg, corresponding to 80.8, 10.6 and 6.4% of the zinc intake. Thus, the endogenous excretion was mainly important for the zinc homeostasis at low zinc intake, whereas at high intake the homeostasis was regulated via absorption from the digestive tract. The overall conclusion of the experiment was that mink are comparable to other species (including man) in regard to mechanisms controlling zinc homeostasis

  3. Fracture properties of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3Ox

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, R.F.; Shaw, T.M.; Duncombe, P.R.

    1987-01-01

    Polycrystalline YBa 2 Cu 3 O x has been prepared by sintering pre-reacted powder in oxygen to yield a material with 15 μm grain size, 86% relative density and which superconducts above liquid nitrogen temperatures. Indentation crack length measurements give a toughness K c = 1.3 ± 0.2 MPa m 1/2 , above a threshold contact load for radial crack initiation of approximately 5 N (compared with 1.1 MPa m 1/2 and < 0.1 N, respectively, for single crystals). The increased toughness and threshold contact load are controlled by the deviation of cracks from the plane of maximum driving force for fracture by weak grain boundaries and preferred fracture planes within grains. Optical microscopy of indentation cracks and scanning electron microscopy of fracture surfaces reveals approximately 50% intergranular fracture. The hardness of the polycrystal was H = 2.0 ± 0.5 GPa (compared with 8.7 GPa for single crystals). The decreased hardness arises from the porosity of the polycrystalline material and grain boundary sliding under the indentation contact. Time dependent growth of lateral cracks at the indentation contacts suggests that these materials are susceptible to moisture controlled non-equilibrium crack growth

  4. Liquid phase diffusion bonding of A1070 by using metal formate coated Zn sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozawa, K.; Koyama, S.; shohji, I.

    2017-05-01

    Aluminium alloy have high strength and easily recycle due to its low melting point. Therefore, aluminium is widely used in the manufacturing of cars and electronic devices. In recent years, the most common way for bonding aluminium alloy is brazing and friction stir welding. However, brazing requires positional accuracy and results in the formation of voids by the flax residue. Moreover, aluminium is an excellent heat radiating and electricity conducting material; therefore, it is difficult to bond together using other bonding methods. Because of these limitations, liquid phase diffusion bonding is considered to the suitable method for bonding aluminium at low temperature and low bonding pressure. In this study, the effect of metal formate coating processing of zinc surface on the bond strength of the liquid phase diffusion bonded interface of A1070 has been investigated by SEM observation of the interfacial microstructures and fractured surfaces after tensile test. Liquid phase diffusion bonding was carried out under a nitrogen gas atmosphere at a bonding temperature of 673 K and 713 K and a bonding load of 6 MPa (bonding time: 15 min). As a result of the metal formate coating processing, a joint having the ultimate tensile strength of the base aluminium was provided. It is hypothesized that this is because metallic zinc is generated as a result of thermal decomposition of formate in the bonded interface at lower bonding temperatures.

  5. Improved colorimetric determination of serum zinc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, D J; Djuh, Y Y; Bruton, J; Williams, H L

    1977-07-01

    We show how zinc may easily be quantified in serum by first using an optimum concentration of guanidine hydrochloride to cause release of zinc from proteins, followed by complexation of released metals with cyanide. The cyanide complex of zinc is preferentially demasked with chloral hydrate, followed by a colorimetric reaction between zinc and 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol. This is a sensitive water-soluble ligand; its complex with zinc has an absorption maximum at 497 nm. Values found by this technique compare favorably with those obtained by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

  6. Phase-Field Modeling of Polycrystalline Solidification: From Needle Crystals to Spherulites—A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gránásy, László; Rátkai, László; Szállás, Attila; Korbuly, Bálint; Tóth, Gyula I.; Környei, László; Pusztai, Tamás

    2014-04-01

    Advances in the orientation-field-based phase-field (PF) models made in the past are reviewed. The models applied incorporate homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation of growth centers and several mechanisms to form new grains at the perimeter of growing crystals, a phenomenon termed growth front nucleation. Examples for PF modeling of such complex polycrystalline structures are shown as impinging symmetric dendrites, polycrystalline growth forms (ranging from disordered dendrites to spherulitic patterns), and various eutectic structures, including spiraling two-phase dendrites. Simulations exploring possible control of solidification patterns in thin films via external fields, confined geometry, particle additives, scratching/piercing the films, etc. are also displayed. Advantages, problems, and possible solutions associated with quantitative PF simulations are discussed briefly.

  7. On elastic moduli and elastic anisotropy in polycrystalline martensitic NiTi

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qiu, S.; Clausen, B.; Padula, S.A.; Noebe, R.D.; Vaidyanathan, R.

    2011-01-01

    A combined experimental and computational effort was undertaken to provide insight into the elastic response of B19' martensitic NiTi variants as they exist in bulk, polycrystalline aggregate form during monotonic tensile and compressive loading. The experimental effort centered on using in situ neutron diffraction during loading to measure elastic moduli in several directions along with an average Young's modulus and a Poisson's ratio. The measurements were compared with predictions from a 30,000 variant, self-consistent polycrystalline deformation model that accounted for the elastic intergranular constraint, and also with predictions of single crystal behavior from previously published ab initio studies. Variant conversion and detwinning processes that influenced the intergranular constraint occurred even at stresses where the macroscopic stress-strain response appeared linear. Direct evidence of these processes was revealed in changes in texture, which were captured in inverse pole figures constructed from the neutron diffraction measurements.

  8. ZINC-INDUCED HYPERLEPTINEMIA IN RATS RELATED TO THE AMELIORATION OF SUCROSE-INDUCED OBESITY WITH ZINC REPLETION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    HEIBASHY, M.I.; EL-NAHLA, A.M.; ASHOUR, I.; SALEH, SH.Y.A.

    2008-01-01

    Thirty adult albino rats (Rattus rattus) at 6 weeks of age were divided into three groups (ten for each). The first group was fed a standard laboratory diet for 8 weeks (control). The second group was made obese by giving them 32% sucrose solution in addition to the standard laboratory diet .The third group was received zinc supplementation (50 mg zinc acetate/ litre) with their sucrose solution. Body weight of all rats was measured weekly for 8 weeks. At 14 weeks of age, rats were killed and fasting blood samples were obtained. Serum glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglyceride, leptin, tumour necrosis factor-α and zinc were measured.Results showed remarkable changes in body weights in sucrose fed rats only when compared to control and supplemented zinc rats group. Serum glucose, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly increased in sucrose fed rats than both control and sucrose with zinc group. Serum leptin showed significant increase in sucrose fed rats than control and also showed higher significant value in sucrose fed rats supplemented with zinc comparing with sucrose fed rats and control ones. Tumour necrosis factor-? did not show any significant difference between all groups. Serum zinc concentration was decreased significantly in sucrose fed rats as compared to control. On the other hand, it was increased significantly in sucrose fed rats supplemented with zinc than other both groups. It could be concluded that zinc supplementation induced hyperleptinemia caused ameliorating effects in obese rats

  9. Studies on frequency dependent electrical and dielectric properties of sintered zinc oxide pellets: effects of Al-doping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tewari, S.; Ghosh, A.; Bhattacharjee, A.

    2016-11-01

    Sintered pellets of zinc oxide (ZnO), both undoped and Al-doped are prepared through a chemical process. Dopant concentration of Aluminium in ZnO [Al/Zn in weight percentage (wt%)] is varied from 0 to 3 wt%. After synthesis structural characterisation of the samples are performed with XRD and SEM-EDAX which confirm that all the samples are of ZnO having polycrystalline nature with particle size from 108.6 to 116 nm. Frequency dependent properties like a.c. conductivity, capacitance, impedance and phase angle are measured in the frequency range 10 Hz to 100 kHz as a function of temperature (in the range 25-150 °C). Nature of a.c. conductivity in these samples indicates hopping type of conduction arising from localised defect states. The frequency and temperature dependent properties under study are found to be as per correlated barrier hoping model. Dielectric and impedance properties studied in the samples indicate distributed relaxation, showing decrease of relaxation time with temperature.

  10. The effects of Zinc supplementation on serum zinc, alkaline phosphatase activity and fracture healing of bones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadighi, A.; Moradi, A.; Roshan, Marjan M.; Ostadrahimi, A.

    2009-01-01

    Objective was to determine the effect of zinc supplementation on callus information, serum zinc and alkaline phosphatase activity in humans. This randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients with traumatic bone fracture referred to Shohada Hospital of Tabriz, Iran from August to December 2007. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups: cases (n=30), receiving one capsule of zinc sulfate consists of 50 mg zinc each day and the controls (n=30), receiving placebo for 60 days. Individual and clinical information was determined by a questionnaire: nutritional intake by 3 days food records at the beginning and the end of trial. Serum zinc and alkaline phosphatase was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy and by enzymatic method. Callus information during fracture healing was evaluated by radiography of the bone. There was no significant difference in physical activity, gender, age, type of fractures and nutrient intake, between the 2 groups. The administration of zinc caused a significant elevation of serum zinc and alkaline phosphatase activity. Assessment of bone x-rays showed a significant progress in callus formation in cases compared to the controls. This study shows that zinc supplementation can stimulate fracture healing, however, it needs further study. (author)

  11. Electrodeposition of zinc--nickel alloys coatings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dini, J W; Johnson, H R

    1977-10-01

    One possible substitute for cadmium in some applications is a zinc--nickel alloy deposit. Previous work by others showed that electrodeposited zinc--nickel coatings containing about 85 percent zinc and 15 percent nickel provided noticeably better corrosion resistance than pure zinc. Present work which supports this finding also shows that the corrosion resistance of the alloy deposit compares favorably with cadmium.

  12. Zinc and immunity: An essential interrelation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maares, Maria; Haase, Hajo

    2016-12-01

    The significance of the essential trace element zinc for immune function has been known for several decades. Zinc deficiency affects immune cells, resulting in altered host defense, increased risk of inflammation, and even death. The micronutrient zinc is important for maintenance and development of immune cells of both the innate and adaptive immune system. A disrupted zinc homeostasis affects these cells, leading to impaired formation, activation, and maturation of lymphocytes, disturbed intercellular communication via cytokines, and weakened innate host defense via phagocytosis and oxidative burst. This review outlines the connection between zinc and immunity by giving a survey on the major roles of zinc in immune cell function, and their potential consequences in vivo. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. High-pressure-assisted synthesis of high-volume ZnGeP2 polycrystalline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Changbao; Wu, Haixin; Xiao, Ruichun; Chen, Shijing; Ma, Jiaren

    2018-06-01

    The pnictide and chalcogenide semiconductors are promising materials for the applications in the field of photoelectric. High-purity and high-volume polycrystalline required in the real-world applications is hard to be synthesized due to the high vapor pressure of phosphorus and sulfur components at high temperature. A new high-pressure-resisted method was used to investigate the synthesis of the nonlinear-optical semiconductor ZnGeP2. The high-purity ZnGeP2 polycrystalline material of approximately 500 g was synthesized in one run, which enables the preparation of nominally stoichiometric material. Since increasing internal pressure resistance of quartz crucible and reducing the reaction space, the high-pressure-resisted method can be used to rapidly synthesize other pnictide and chalcogenide semiconductors and control the components ratio.

  14. Diffusion and phase transformation behavior in poly-synthetically-twinned (PST) titanium-aluminum/titanium diffusion couple

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Ling

    Motivated by the great potential applications of gamma titanium aluminide based alloys and the important effect of diffusion on the properties of gamma-TiAl/alpha2-Ti3Al two-phase lamellar structure, we conduct this thesis research to explore the microstructural evolution and interdiffusion behavior, and their correlations in multi-phase solid state diffusion couples made up of pure titanium and polysynthetically-twinned (PST) Ti-49.3 at.% Al "single" crystal, in the temperature range of 973--1173 K. The diffusion couples are prepared by high vacuum hot-pressing, with the diffusion direction parallel to the lamellar planes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) are employed to observe the microstructure at various interfaces/interphases. A reaction zone (RZ) of polycrystalline alpha 2-Ti3Al phase forms along the PST Ti-Al/Ti bonding interface having a wavy interface with the PST crystal and exhibits deeper penetration in alpha2 lamellae, consisting of many fine alpha2 and secondary gamma laths, than in primary gamma lamellae. Direct measurement of the RZ thickness on SEM back-scattered electron images reveals a parabolic growth of the RZ, indicating a macroscopically diffusion-controlled growth. Concentration profiles from Ti, through the RZ, into the alpha2 lamellae of the PST crystal are measured by quantitative energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). A plateau of composition adjacent to the RZ/(mixed alpha2 lath in PST) interface forms in the deeply penetrated RZ grains, implying a diffusion barrier crossing the interface and some extent of interface control in the RZ grain growth. The interdiffusion coefficient is evaluated both independent of composition and as a function of composition. No significant concentration dependence of the interdiffusion coefficients is observed using Boltzmann-Matano analysis

  15. Ferromagnetic clusters in polycrystalline BaCoO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Botta, P.M.; Pardo, V.; Calle, C. de la; Baldomir, D.; Alonso, J.A.; Rivas, J.

    2007-01-01

    Polycrystalline BaCoO 3 was synthesized by a citrate technique using thermal treatments at high oxygen pressure. Magnetic susceptibility measurements on the compound were carried out under AC conditions. The magnetic properties of the material at low temperatures were found to be determined by the appearance of nanoscale ferromagnetic (FM) regions and not by a true magnetic phase transition. These clusters have a mean size of about 1 nm in diameter and obey an Arrhenius-like thermal relaxation

  16. Electron confinement at diffuse ZnMgO/ZnO interfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maddison L. Coke

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Abrupt interfaces between ZnMgO and ZnO are strained due to lattice mismatch. This strain is relaxed if there is a gradual incorporation of Mg during growth, resulting in a diffuse interface. This strain relaxation is however accompanied by reduced confinement and enhanced Mg-ion scattering of the confined electrons at the interface. Here we experimentally study the electronic transport properties of the diffuse heteroepitaxial interface between single-crystal ZnO and ZnMgO films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The spatial extent of the interface region is controlled during growth by varying the zinc flux. We show that, as the spatial extent of the graded interface is reduced, the enhancement of electron mobility due to electron confinement more than compensates for any suppression of mobility due to increased strain. Furthermore, we determine the extent to which scattering of impurities in the ZnO substrate limits the electron mobility in diffuse ZnMgO–ZnO interfaces.

  17. Electron confinement at diffuse ZnMgO/ZnO interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coke, Maddison L.; Kennedy, Oscar W.; Sagar, James T.; Warburton, Paul A.

    2017-01-01

    Abrupt interfaces between ZnMgO and ZnO are strained due to lattice mismatch. This strain is relaxed if there is a gradual incorporation of Mg during growth, resulting in a diffuse interface. This strain relaxation is however accompanied by reduced confinement and enhanced Mg-ion scattering of the confined electrons at the interface. Here we experimentally study the electronic transport properties of the diffuse heteroepitaxial interface between single-crystal ZnO and ZnMgO films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The spatial extent of the interface region is controlled during growth by varying the zinc flux. We show that, as the spatial extent of the graded interface is reduced, the enhancement of electron mobility due to electron confinement more than compensates for any suppression of mobility due to increased strain. Furthermore, we determine the extent to which scattering of impurities in the ZnO substrate limits the electron mobility in diffuse ZnMgO-ZnO interfaces.

  18. Use of fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud as a liner material for the disposal of hazardous zinc leach residue waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coruh, Semra; Ergun, Osman Nuri

    2010-01-15

    Increasing amounts of residues and waste materials coming from industrial activities in different processes have become an increasingly urgent problem for the future. The release of large quantities of heavy metals into the environment has resulted in a number of environmental problems. The present study investigated the safe disposal of the zinc leach residue waste using industrial residues such as fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud. In the study, leachability of heavy metals from the zinc leach residue has been evaluated by mine water leaching procedure (MWLP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Zinc removal from leachate was studied using fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud. The adsorption capacities and adsorption efficiencies were determined. The adsorption rate data was analyzed according to the pseudo-second-order kinetic, Elovich kinetic and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. The pseudo-second-order kinetic was the best fit kinetic model for the experimental data. The results show that addition of fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud to the zinc leach residue drastically reduces the heavy metal content in the leachate and could be used as liner materials.

  19. Characterization of two cation diffusion facilitators NpunF0707 and NpunF1794 in Nostoc punctiforme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudek, L; Pearson, L; Michalczyk, A A; Bräu, L; Neilan, B A; Ackland, M L

    2015-11-01

    To characterize genes involved in maintaining homeostatic levels of zinc in the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme. Metal efflux transporters play a central role in maintaining homeostatic levels of trace elements such as zinc. Sequence analyses of the N. punctiforme genome identified two potential cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) metal efflux transporters, Npun_F0707 (Cdf31) and Npun_F1794 (Cdf33). Deletion of either Cdf31or Cdf33 resulted in increased zinc retention over 3 h. Interestingly, Cdf31(-) and Cdf33(-) mutants showed no change in sensitivity to zinc exposure in comparison with the wild type, suggesting some compensatory capacity for the loss of each other. Using qRT-PCR, a possible interaction was observed between the two cdf's, where the Cdf31(-) mutant had a more profound effect on cdf33 expression than Cdf33(-) did on cdf31. Over-expression of Cdf31 and Cdf33 in ZntA(-) - and ZitB(-) -deficient Escherichia coli revealed function similarities between the ZntA and ZitB of E. coli and the cyanobacterial transporters. The data presented shed light on the function of two important transporters that regulate zinc homeostasis in N. punctiforme. This study shows for the first time the functional characterization of two cyanobacterial zinc efflux proteins belonging to the CDF family. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  20. Factors affecting the hot-dip zinc coatings structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sere, P.R.; Cuclcasi, J.D.; Elsner, C.I.; Sarli, A.R.

    1997-01-01

    Coating solidification during hot-dip galvanizing is a very complex process due to Al-Fe, Al-Fe-Zn and Fe-Zn intermetallic compounds development . Fe-Zn intermetallics are brittle and detrimental for the coating ductility, while the diffusion towards the surface of a segregated insoluble alloying such as antimonium causes the sheet darkness. Steel of different roughness were hot-dip galvanized under different operation conditions using a laboratory scale simulator. The effect of steel roughness and process parameters upon coating characteristics were analysed. Experimental results showed that the steel roughness affects the coating thickness, zinc grain size and texture as well as the out-bursts development, while the process parameters affects the Fe 2 Al 5 morphology and antimonium segregation. (Author) 11 refs

  1. Zinc Status of Vegetarians during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies and Meta-Analysis of Zinc Intake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Meika; Herulah, Ursula Nirmala; Prasad, Ashlini; Petocz, Peter; Samman, Samir

    2015-06-05

    Pregnant women are vulnerable to a low zinc status due to the additional zinc demands associated with pregnancy and foetal development. The present systematic review explores the relationship between habitual vegetarian diets and dietary zinc intake/status during pregnancy. The association between vegetarian diets and functional pregnancy outcome also is considered. A literature search was conducted of MEDLINE; PubMed; Embase; the Cochrane Library; Web of Science; and Scopus electronic databases up to September 2014. Six English-language observational studies qualified for inclusion in the systematic review. A meta-analysis was conducted that compared the dietary zinc intake of pregnant vegetarian and non-vegetarian (NV) groups; the zinc intake of vegetarians was found to be lower than that of NV (-1.38 ± 0.35 mg/day; p vegetarian nor NV groups met the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for zinc. In a qualitative synthesis; no differences were found between groups in serum/plasma zinc or in functional outcomes associated with pregnancy. In conclusion; pregnant vegetarian women have lower zinc intakes than NV control populations and both groups consume lower than recommended amounts. Further information is needed to determine whether physiologic adaptations in zinc metabolism are sufficient to meet maternal and foetal requirements during pregnancy on a low zinc diet.

  2. 3D ductile crack propagation within a polycrystalline microstructure using XFEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beese, Steffen; Loehnert, Stefan; Wriggers, Peter

    2018-02-01

    In this contribution we present a gradient enhanced damage based method to simulate discrete crack propagation in 3D polycrystalline microstructures. Discrete cracks are represented using the eXtended finite element method. The crack propagation criterion and the crack propagation direction for each point along the crack front line is based on the gradient enhanced damage variable. This approach requires the solution of a coupled problem for the balance of momentum and the additional global equation for the gradient enhanced damage field. To capture the discontinuity of the displacements as well as the gradient enhanced damage along the discrete crack, both fields are enriched using the XFEM in combination with level sets. Knowing the crack front velocity, level set methods are used to compute the updated crack geometry after each crack propagation step. The applied material model is a crystal plasticity model often used for polycrystalline microstructures of metals in combination with the gradient enhanced damage model. Due to the inelastic material behaviour after each discrete crack propagation step a projection of the internal variables from the old to the new crack configuration is required. Since for arbitrary crack geometries ill-conditioning of the equation system may occur due to (near) linear dependencies between standard and enriched degrees of freedom, an XFEM stabilisation technique based on a singular value decomposition of the element stiffness matrix is proposed. The performance of the presented methodology to capture crack propagation in polycrystalline microstructures is demonstrated with a number of numerical examples.

  3. Fortification of staple foods with zinc for improving zinc status and other health outcomes in the general population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Dheeraj; Sachdev, Harshpal S; Gera, Tarun; De-Regil, Luz Maria; Peña-Rosas, Juan Pablo

    2016-06-09

    Zinc deficiency is a global nutritional problem, particularly in children and women residing in settings where diets are cereal based and monotonous. It has several negative health consequences. Fortification of staple foods with zinc may be an effective strategy for preventing zinc deficiency and improving zinc-related health outcomes. To evaluate the beneficial and adverse effects of fortification of staple foods with zinc on health-related outcomes and biomarkers of zinc status in the general population. We searched the following databases in April 2015: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, Issue 3 of 12, 2015, the Cochrane Library), MEDLINE & MEDLINE In Process (OVID) (1950 to 8 April 2015), EMBASE (OVID) (1974 to 8 April 2015), CINAHL (1982 to April 2015), Web of Science (1900 to 9 April 2015), BIOSIS (1969 to 9 April 2015), POPLINE (1970 to April 2015), AGRICOLA, OpenGrey, BiblioMap, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), besides regional databases (April 2015) and theses. We also searched clinical trial registries (17 March 2015) and contacted relevant organisations (May 2014) in order to identify ongoing and unpublished studies. We included randomised controlled trials, randomised either at the level of the individual or cluster. We also included non-randomised trials at the level of the individual if there was a concurrent comparison group. We included non-randomised cluster trials and controlled before-after studies only if there were at least two intervention sites and two control sites. Interventions included fortification (central/industrial) of staple foods (cereal flours, edible fats, sugar, condiments, seasonings, milk and beverages) with zinc for a minimum period of two weeks. Participants were members of the general population who were over two years of age (including pregnant and lactating women) from any country. Two review authors independently assessed the eligibility of studies for inclusion

  4. Diffusion of .sup.65./sup.Zn in AZ91 and QE22 alloys with Saffil reinforcement – Influence of interfaces matrix/Saffil

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Stloukal, Ivo; Čermák, Jiří

    289-292, - (2009), s. 145-152 ISSN 1012-0386. [DIMAT 2008, International Conference on Diffusion in Materials /7./. Lanzarote, Canary Islands , 28.10.2008-31.10.2008] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA106/05/2115 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20410507 Keywords : magnesium * metal-matrix composites * zinc diffusion Subject RIV: BJ - Thermodynamics http://www.scientific.net/DDF.289-292.145/

  5. Status of zinc injection in PWRs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bergmann, C.A. [Westinghouse Electric Co., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    1995-03-01

    Based on laboratory and other studies, it was concluded that zinc addition in a PWR primary coolant should result in reduced Alloy 600 PWSCC and general corrosion rates of the materials of construction. Because of these positive results, a Westinghouse Owner`s Subgroup, EPRI, and Westinghouse provided funds to continue the development and application of zinc in an operating plant. As part of the program, Southern Operating Nuclear Company agreed to operate the Farley 2 plant with zinc addition as a demonstration test of the effectiveness of zinc. Since zinc is incorporated in the corrosion oxide film on the primary system surfaces and Farley 2 is a mature plant, it was estimated that about 10 kgs of zinc would be needed to condition the plant before an equilibrium value in the coolant would be reached. The engineered aspects of a Zinc Addition and Monitoring System (ZAMS) considered such items as the constitutents, location, sizing and water supply of the ZAMS. Baseline data such as the PWSCC history of the Alloy 600 steam generator tubing, fuel oxide thickness, fuel crud deposits, radiation levels, and RCP seal leak-off rates were obtained before zinc addition is initiated. This presentation summarizes some of the work performed under the program, and the status of zinc injection in the Farley 2 plant.

  6. Further studies on selective radioprotection by organic zinc salts and synergism of zinc aspartate with WR 2721

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Floersheim, G.L.; Bieri, A.

    1990-01-01

    Protection of the haematocrit and thrombocytes by small doses of the aminothiol radioprotector WR 2721 was markedly improved by the concomitant administration of small doses of zinc aspartate. Zinc aspartate was the only one of the tested zinc salts not inhibiting the regression induced by radiotherapy of human tumours grown as xenografts in immunosuppressed mice. This also applied to zinc aspartate with WR 2721. A dose of zinc aspartate which afforded synergistic haematological protection did not enhance the toxicity of WR 2721. The synergism of zinc aspartate with WR 2721 and the differential radioprotection of the combined protocol may make it possible in clinical cancer radiotherapy to obtain selective radioprotection at a lower toxicity giving an improved therapeutic ratio compared with WR 2721 alone. (author)

  7. Analysis of twelve-month degradation in three polycrystalline photovoltaic modules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, T.; Potter, B. G.; Simmons-Potter, K.

    2016-09-01

    Polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules have the advantage of lower manufacturing cost as compared to their monocrystalline counterparts, but generally exhibit both lower initial module efficiencies and more significant early-stage efficiency degradation than do similar monocrystalline PV modules. For both technologies, noticeable deterioration in power conversion efficiency typically occurs over the first two years of usage. Estimating PV lifetime by examining the performance degradation behavior under given environmental conditions is, therefore, one of continual goals for experimental research and economic analysis. In the present work, accelerated lifecycle testing (ALT) on three polycrystalline PV technologies was performed in a full-scale, industrial-standard environmental chamber equipped with single-sun irradiance capability, providing an illumination uniformity of 98% over a 2 x 1.6m area. In order to investigate environmental aging effects, timedependent PV performance (I-V characteristic) was evaluated over a recurring, compressed day-night cycle, which simulated local daily solar insolation for the southwestern United States, followed by dark (night) periods. During a total test time of just under 4 months that corresponded to a year equivalent exposure on a fielded module, the temperature and humidity varied in ranges from 3°C to 40°C and 5% to 85% based on annual weather profiles for Tucson, AZ. Removing the temperature de-rating effect that was clearly seen in the data enabled the computation of normalized efficiency degradation with time and environmental exposure. Results confirm the impact of environmental conditions on the module long-term performance. Overall, more than 2% efficiency degradation in the first year of usage was observed for all thee polycrystalline Si solar modules. The average 5-year degradation of each PV technology was estimated based on their determined degradation rates.

  8. Influence of copper foil polycrystalline structure on graphene anisotropic etching

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Kamal P. [Department of Frontier Materials, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555 (Japan); Mahyavanshi, Rakesh D. [Department of Physical Science and Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555 (Japan); Kalita, Golap, E-mail: kalita.golap@nitech.ac.jp [Department of Frontier Materials, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555 (Japan); Department of Physical Science and Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555 (Japan); Tanemura, Masaki [Department of Frontier Materials, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555 (Japan); Department of Physical Science and Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555 (Japan)

    2017-01-30

    Graphical abstract: Hexagonal hole formation with anisotropic etching independent of the stripes and wrinkles in the synthesized graphene. We also observed variation in etched pattern of the graphene depending on the base Cu grain orientations, attributing to difference in nucleation and growth process. - Highlights: • Reveal the influence of copper polycrystalline structure on anisotropic etching of graphene. • Hexagonal hole formation with etching is observed to be independent of stripes and wrinkles in graphene. • Variation in etched pattern of graphene depending on the base Cu grain is confirmed. • This finding will help to understand the nature of microscopic etched pattern in graphene. - Abstract: Anisotropic etching of graphene and other two dimensional materials is an important tool to understand the growth process as well as enabling fabrication of various well-defined structures. Here, we reveal the influence of copper foil polycrystalline structure on anisotropic etching process of as-synthesized graphene. Graphene crystals were synthesized on the polycrystalline Cu foil by a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system. Microscopic analysis shows difference in shape, size and stripes alignment of graphene crystals with dissimilar nucleation within closure vicinity of neighboring Cu grains. Post-growth etching of such graphene crystals also significantly affected by the crystallographic nature of Cu grains as observed by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis. Hexagonal hole formation with anisotropic etching is observed to be independent of the stripes and wrinkles in the synthesized graphene. We also observed variation in etched pattern of the graphene depending on the base Cu grain orientations, attributing to difference in nucleation and growth process. The findings can facilitate to understand the nature of microscopic etched pattern depending on metal

  9. Influence of copper foil polycrystalline structure on graphene anisotropic etching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Kamal P.; Mahyavanshi, Rakesh D.; Kalita, Golap; Tanemura, Masaki

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Hexagonal hole formation with anisotropic etching independent of the stripes and wrinkles in the synthesized graphene. We also observed variation in etched pattern of the graphene depending on the base Cu grain orientations, attributing to difference in nucleation and growth process. - Highlights: • Reveal the influence of copper polycrystalline structure on anisotropic etching of graphene. • Hexagonal hole formation with etching is observed to be independent of stripes and wrinkles in graphene. • Variation in etched pattern of graphene depending on the base Cu grain is confirmed. • This finding will help to understand the nature of microscopic etched pattern in graphene. - Abstract: Anisotropic etching of graphene and other two dimensional materials is an important tool to understand the growth process as well as enabling fabrication of various well-defined structures. Here, we reveal the influence of copper foil polycrystalline structure on anisotropic etching process of as-synthesized graphene. Graphene crystals were synthesized on the polycrystalline Cu foil by a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system. Microscopic analysis shows difference in shape, size and stripes alignment of graphene crystals with dissimilar nucleation within closure vicinity of neighboring Cu grains. Post-growth etching of such graphene crystals also significantly affected by the crystallographic nature of Cu grains as observed by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis. Hexagonal hole formation with anisotropic etching is observed to be independent of the stripes and wrinkles in the synthesized graphene. We also observed variation in etched pattern of the graphene depending on the base Cu grain orientations, attributing to difference in nucleation and growth process. The findings can facilitate to understand the nature of microscopic etched pattern depending on metal

  10. Hydrogen retention properties of polycrystalline tungsten and helium irradiated tungsten

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hino, T.; Koyama, K.; Yamauchi, Y.; Hirohata, Y.

    1998-01-01

    The hydrogen retention properties of a polycrystalline tungsten and tungsten irradiated by helium ions with an energy of 5 keV were examined by using an ECR ion irradiation apparatus and a technique of thermal desorption spectroscopy, TDS. The polycrystalline tungsten was irradiated at RT with energetic hydrogen ions, with a flux of 10 15 H cm -2 and an energy of 1.7 keV up to a fluence of 5 x 10 18 H cm -2 . Subsequently, the amount of retained hydrogen was measured by TDS. The heating temperature was increased from RT to 1000 C, and the heating rate was 50 C min -1 . Below 1000 C, two distinct hydrogen desorption peaks were observed at 200 C and 400 C. The retained amount of hydrogen was observed to be five times smaller than that of graphite, but the concentration in the implantation layer was comparable with that of graphite. Also, the polycrystalline tungsten was irradiated with 5 keV helium ions up to a fluence of 1.4 x 10 18 He cm -2 , and then re-irradiated with 1.7 keV hydrogen ions. The amount of retained hydrogen in this later experiment was close to the value in the case without prior helium ion irradiation. However, the amount of hydrogen which desorbed around the low temperature peak, 200 C, was largely enhanced. The desorption amount at 200 C saturated for the helium fluence of more than 5 x 10 17 He cm -2 . The present data shows that the trapping state of hydrogen is largely changed by the helium ion irradiation. Additionally, 5 keV helium ion irradiation was conducted on a sample pre-implanted with hydrogen ions to simulate a helium ion impact desorption of hydrogen retained in tungsten. The amount of the hydrogen was reduced as much as 50%. (orig.)

  11. Serum zinc levels in gestational diabetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahimi Sharbaf F

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available "nBackground: Maternal zinc deficiency during pregnancy has been related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Most studies in which pregnant women have been supplemented with zinc to examine its effects on the outcome of the pregnancy have been carried out in industrialized countries and the results have been inconclusive. It has been shown that women with gestational diabetes (GDM have lower serum zinc levels than healthy pregnant women, and higher rates of macrosomia. Zinc is required for normal glucose metabolism, and strengthens the insulin-induced transportation of glucose into cells by its effect on the insulin signaling pathway. The purpose of this study was to assess the serum zinc levels of GDM patients and evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation. "nMethods: In the first stage of this prospective controlled study, we enrolled 70 women who were 24-28 weeks pregnant at the Prenatal Care Center of Mirza Kochak Khan Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The serum zinc level of each subject was determined. In the second stage, among these 70 subjects, the diabetics receiving insulin were divided into two groups, only one of which received a zinc supplement and the other group was the control group. Birth weight of neonates and insulin dosages were recorded. "nResults: The mean serum zinc level in the GDM group was lower than that of the control group (94.83 vs. 103.49mg/dl, respectively and the mean birth weight of neonates from the GDM women who received the zinc supplement was lower than that of the control group (3849g vs. 4136g. The rate of macrosomia was lower in the zinc supplemented group (20% vs. 53%. The mean of increase of insulin after receiving the zinc supplement was lower (8.4u vs. 13.53. "nConclusion: Maternal insulin resistance is associated with the accumulation of maternal fat tissue during early stages of pregnancy and greater fetoplacental nutrient availability in later stages, when 70% of fetal growth occurs, resulting in macrosomia. In

  12. Zinc phosphate conversion coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugama, Toshifumi

    1997-01-01

    Zinc phosphate conversion coatings for producing metals which exhibit enhanced corrosion prevention characteristics are prepared by the addition of a transition-metal-compound promoter comprising a manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, or copper compound and an electrolyte such as polyacrylic acid, polymethacrylic acid, polyitaconic acid and poly-L-glutamic acid to a phosphating solution. These coatings are further improved by the incorporation of Fe ions. Thermal treatment of zinc phosphate coatings to generate .alpha.-phase anhydrous zinc phosphate improves the corrosion prevention qualities of the resulting coated metal.

  13. First Principles Investigation of Zinc-anode Dissolution in Zinc-air Batteries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siahrostami, Samira; Tripkovic, Vladimir; Lundgård, Keld Troen

    2013-01-01

    With surging interest in high energy density batteries, much attention has recently been devoted to metal-air batteries. The zinc-air battery has been known for more than hundred years and is commercially available as a primary battery, but recharging has remained elusive; in part because...... the fundamental mechanisms still remain to be fully understood. Here, we present a density functional theory investigation of the zinc dissolution (oxidation) on the anode side in the zinc-air battery. Two models are envisaged, the most stable (0001) surface and a kink surface. The kink model proves to be more....... The applied methodology provides new insight into computational modelling and design of secondary metal-air batteries....

  14. The effect of severe zinc deficiency and zinc supplement on spatial learning and memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahmasebi Boroujeni, S; Naghdi, N; Shahbazi, M; Farrokhi, A; Bagherzadeh, F; Kazemnejad, A; Javadian, M

    2009-07-01

    Zinc deficiency during pregnancy and during lactation has been shown to impair cognitive function and motor activity in offspring rats. In the present study, the effect of zinc deficiency and zinc supplement on spatial learning and memory in Morris Water Maze (MWM) and motor activity in open field were investigated. Pregnant rats after mating were divided to three groups. Control group fed a standard diet and a zinc deficient (ZnD) group fed a diet deficient in zinc (0.5-1.5 ppm) and a zinc supplement (ZnS) group fed a standard diet and enhanced zinc in the drinking water (10 ppm). All the diets were exposed during the last trisemester of pregnancy and during lactation. Rat's offspring in these groups were tested for spatial learning and memory in MWM at post natal day (PND) 56 and were tested for motor activity in open field at PND 66.The Escape Latency (EL) and Traveled Distance (TD) in the ZnD group were increased but Percentage of Time Spent in the target quadrant (PTS) was decreased compared to the control group. In addition, these were no significant differences in EL and TD, but PTS had significant increase in ZnS compared to the control group. In the open field, Total Distance Moved (TDM) and Time of Motor Activity (TMA) for the ZnD were decreased compared to the control group, but there were no significant differences in TDM and TMA between control and ZnS groups. These findings suggest that zinc deficiency during the last trimester of pregnancy and during lactation impaired spatial learning and memory in their offsprings and has also negative effect on motor activity. In addition, ZnS has a significant effect on spatial learning and memory but no effect on motor activity in their offsprings.

  15. Effect of zinc supplementation on body mass index and serum levels of zinc and leptin in pediatric hemodialysis patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    El-Shazly AN

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Ahmed Nabih El-Shazly,1 Soha Abd El-Hady Ibrahim,1 Ghada Mohamed El-Mashad,2 Jehan H Sabry,3 Nashwa Said Sherbini11Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Banha, 2Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shibin Al Kawm, 3Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Banha, Egypt Introduction: Zinc is an essential trace element for human nutrition, and its deficiency is associated with anorexia, poor food efficiency, growth retardation, and impaired neurological and immune systems. The zinc-deficiency rate is particularly high in many disease states, such as with end-stage renal disease patients undertaking hemodialysis. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of zinc supplementation on body mass index (BMI and serum levels of zinc and leptin in pediatric hemodialysis patients. Patients and methods: This was a prospective clinical trial study in which 60 hemodialysis patients were randomly divided into two groups: group I received 50–100 mg zinc sulfate (equivalent to 11–22 mg elemental zinc according to age, sex, and nutritional status of the child; and group II received placebo (cornstarch twice daily for 90 days. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and serum zinc and leptin levels were determined by colorimetric test with 5-Br-3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively, at days 0 and 90 of the study. Results: Zinc supplementation resulted in a significant increase in mean serum zinc level and BMI. Serum leptin decreased significantly after supplementation in children under hemodialysis. A significant negative correlation was observed between serum zinc and leptin levels as a result of zinc supplementation. Conclusion: There was an increase in serum zinc level and BMI and decreased serum leptin after zinc supplementation in children under hemodialysis. Keywords: serum zinc, serum leptin

  16. Construction and application of a zinc-specific biosensor for assessing the immobilization and bioavailability of zinc in different soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Pulin; Huang Qiaoyun; Chen Wenli

    2012-01-01

    The inducibility and specificity of different czcRS operons in Pseudomonas putida X4 were studied by lacZ gene fusions. The data of β-glycosidase activity confirmed that the czcR3 promoter responded quantitatively to zinc. A zinc-specific biosensor, P. putida X4 (pczcR3GFP), was constructed by fusing a promoterless enhanced green fluorescent protein (egfp) gene with the czcR3 promoter in the chromosome of P. putida X4. In water extracts of four different soils amended with zinc, the reporter strain detected about 90% of the zinc content of the samples. Both the bioavailability assessment and the sequential extraction analysis demonstrated that the immobilization of zinc was highly dependent on the physico-chemical properties of soils. The results also showed that the lability of zinc decreased over time. It is concluded that the biosensor constitutes an alternative system for the convenient evaluation of zinc toxicity in the environment. - Highlights: ► A zinc-specific bacterial biosensor was developed. ► Four spiked soils were used to test the application of this biosensor. ► The bioavailable zinc in soil-water extracts decreased due to aging. ► The immobilization and speciation of zinc were highly dependent on the soil type. - The immobilization and bioavailability of zinc in soil were investigated as a function of soil type and aging by a newly constructed zinc-specific biosensor coupled with chemical analysis.

  17. Characterisation of electrodeposited polycrystalline uranium dioxide thin films on nickel foil for industrial applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adamska, A.M.; Bright, E. Lawrence; Sutcliffe, J.; Liu, W.; Payton, O.D.; Picco, L.; Scott, T.B.

    2015-01-01

    Polycrystalline uranium dioxide thin films were grown on nickel substrates via aqueous electrodeposition of a precursor uranyl salt. The arising semiconducting uranium dioxide thin films exhibited a tower-like morphology, which may be suitable for future application in 3D solar cell applications. The thickness of the homogenous, tower-like films reached 350 nm. Longer deposition times led to the formation of thicker (up to 1.5 μm) and highly porous films. - Highlights: • Electrodeposition of polycrystalline UO_2 thin films • Tower-like morphology for 3D solar cell applications • Novel technique for separation of heavy elements from radioactive waste streams

  18. IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY OF POLYCRYSTALLINE TIN DIOXIDE FILMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. V. Adamchuck

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work is the analysis of the influence of annealing in an inert atmosphere on the electrical properties and structure of non-stoichiometric tin dioxide films by means of impedance spectroscopy method. Non-stoichiometric tin dioxide films were fabricated by two-step oxidation of metallic tin deposited on the polycrystalline Al2O3 substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. In order to modify the structure and stoichiometric composition, the films were subjected to the high temperature annealing in argon atmosphere in temperature range 300–800 °С. AC-conductivity measurements of the films in the frequency range 20 Hz – 2 MHz were carried out. Variation in the frequency dependencies of the real and imaginary parts of the impedance of tin dioxide films was found to occur as a result of high-temperature annealing. Equivalent circuits for describing the properties of films with various structure and stoichiometric composition were proposed. Possibility of conductivity variation of the polycrystalline tin dioxide films as a result of аnnealing in an inert atmosphere was demonstrated by utilizing impedance spectroscopy. Annealing induces the recrystallization of the films, changing in their stoichiometry as well as increase of the sizes of SnO2 crystallites. Variation of electrical conductivity and structure of tin dioxide films as a result of annealing in inert atmosphere was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Analysis of the impedance diagrams of tin dioxide films was found to be a powerful tool to study their electrical properties. 

  19. Inhibitory zinc-enriched terminals in mouse spinal cord

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danscher, G; Jo, S M; Varea, E

    2001-01-01

    The ultrastructural localization of zinc transporter-3, glutamate decarboxylase and zinc ions in zinc-enriched terminals in the mouse spinal cord was studied by zinc transporter-3 and glutamate decarboxylase immunohistochemistry and zinc selenium autometallography, respectively.The distribution...

  20. Factors influencing zinc status of apparently healthy indians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agte, Vaishali V; Chiplonkar, Shashi A; Tarwadi, Kirtan V

    2005-10-01

    To identify dietary, environmental and socio-economic factors associated with mild zinc deficiency, three zinc status indices; erythrocyte membrane zinc (RBCMZn), plasma zinc and super oxide dismutase (SOD) were assessed in free living and apparently healthy Indian population. Dietary patterns of 232 men and 223 women (20-65 yr) from rural, industrial and urban regions of Western India were evaluated by food frequency questionnaire. RBCMZn was estimated using atomic absorption spectrometry, hemoglobin and serum ceruloplasmin by spectrophotometer. On a sub sample (48 men and 51 women) plasma zinc and SOD were also assessed. Mean RBCMZn was 0.5 +/- 0.1 micromols/g protein with 46% individuals showing zinc deficiency. Mean plasma zinc was 0.98 +/- 0.12 microg/mL with 25% men and 2.5% women having values below normal range. Mean SOD was 0.97 +/- 0.1 (u/mL cells). A significant positive correlation was observed between intakes of green leafy vegetables, other vegetables and milk products with RBCMZn status (p plasma zinc (p > 0.2). Cereal and legume intakes were negatively correlated with RBCMZn (p plasma zinc (p 0.2). Fruit and other vegetable intake were positively correlated with SOD (p Plasma zinc indicated positive association with zinc, thiamin and riboflavin intakes (p plasma zinc and SOD. Prominent determinants of zinc status were intakes of beta-carotene and zinc along with environmental conditions and family size.

  1. Studies on the polycrystalline silicon/SiO2 stack as front surface field for IBC solar cells by two-dimensional simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Shuai; Jia Rui; Tao Ke; Hou Caixia; Sun Hengchao; Li Yongtao; Yu Zhiyong

    2017-01-01

    Interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells can achieve a very high efficiency due to its less optical losses. But IBC solar cells demand for high quality passivation of the front surface. In this paper, a polycrystalline silicon/SiO 2 stack structure as front surface field to passivate the front surface of IBC solar cells is proposed. The passivation quality of this structure is investigated by two dimensional simulations. Polycrystalline silicon layer and SiO 2 layer are optimized to get the best passivation quality of the IBC solar cell. Simulation results indicate that the doping level of polycrystalline silicon should be high enough to allow a very thin polycrystalline silicon layer to ensure an effective passivation and small optical losses at the same time. The thickness of SiO 2 should be neither too thin nor too thick, and the optimal thickness is 1.2 nm. Furthermore, the lateral transport properties of electrons are investigated, and the simulation results indicate that a high doping level and conductivity of polycrystalline silicon can improve the lateral transportation of electrons and then the cell performance. (paper)

  2. Zinc absorption in inflammatory bowel disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valberg, L.S.; Flanagan, P.R.; Kertesz, A.; Bondy, D.C.

    1986-01-01

    Zinc absorption was measured in 29 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and a wide spectrum of disease activity to determine its relationship to disease activity, general nutritional state, and zinc status. Patients with severe disease requiring either supplementary oral or parenteral nutrition were excluded. The mean 65ZnCl2 absorption, in the patients, determined using a 65Zn and 51Cr stool-counting test, 45 +/- 17% (SD), was significantly lower than the values, 54 +/- 16%, in 30 healthy controls, P less than 0.05. Low 65ZnCl2 absorption was related to undernutrition, but not to disease activity in the absence of undernutrition or to zinc status estimated by leukocyte zinc measurements. Mean plasma zinc or leukocyte zinc concentrations in patients did not differ significantly from controls, and only two patients with moderate disease had leukocyte zinc values below the 5th percentile of normal. In another group of nine patients with inflammatory bowel disease of mild-to-moderate severity and minimal nutritional impairment, 65Zn absorption from an extrinsically labeled turkey test meal was 31 +/- 10% compared to 33 +/- 7% in 17 healthy controls, P greater than 0.1. Thus, impairment in 65ZnCl2 absorption in the patients selected for this study was only evident in undernourished persons with moderate or severe disease activity, but biochemical evidence of zinc deficiency was uncommon, and clinical features of zinc depletion were not encountered

  3. On elastic moduli and elastic anisotropy in polycrystalline martensitic NiTi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, S. [Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC), Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816 (United States); Clausen, B. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Padula, S.A.; Noebe, R.D. [NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135 (United States); Vaidyanathan, R., E-mail: raj@mail.ucf.edu [Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPAC), Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816 (United States)

    2011-08-15

    A combined experimental and computational effort was undertaken to provide insight into the elastic response of B19' martensitic NiTi variants as they exist in bulk, polycrystalline aggregate form during monotonic tensile and compressive loading. The experimental effort centered on using in situ neutron diffraction during loading to measure elastic moduli in several directions along with an average Young's modulus and a Poisson's ratio. The measurements were compared with predictions from a 30,000 variant, self-consistent polycrystalline deformation model that accounted for the elastic intergranular constraint, and also with predictions of single crystal behavior from previously published ab initio studies. Variant conversion and detwinning processes that influenced the intergranular constraint occurred even at stresses where the macroscopic stress-strain response appeared linear. Direct evidence of these processes was revealed in changes in texture, which were captured in inverse pole figures constructed from the neutron diffraction measurements.

  4. In vitro study of color stability of polycrystalline and monocrystalline ceramic brackets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Cibele Braga; Maia, Luiz Guilherme Martins; Santos-Pinto, Ary; Gandini Junior, Luiz Gonzaga

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this in vitro study was to analyze color stability of monocrystalline and polycrystalline ceramic brackets after immersion in dye solutions. Seven ceramic brackets of four commercial brands were tested: Two monocrystalline and two polycrystalline. The brackets were immersed in four dye solutions (coffee, red wine, Coke and black tea) and in artificial saliva for the following times: 24 hours, 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively. Color changes were measured by a spectrophotometer. Data were assessed by Multivariate Profile Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multiple Comparison Tests of means. There was a perceptible change of color in all ceramic brackets immersed in coffee (ΔE* Allure = 7.61, Inspire Ice = 6.09, Radiance = 6.69, Transcend = 7.44), black tea (ΔE* Allure = 6.24, Inspire Ice = 5.21, Radiance = 6.51, Transcend = 6.14) and red wine (ΔE* Allure = 6.49, Inspire Ice = 4.76, Radiance = 5.19, Transcend = 5.64), but no change was noticed in Coke and artificial saliva (ΔE brackets undergo color change when exposed to solutions of coffee, black tea and red wine. However, the same crystalline structure, either monocrystalline or polycrystalline, do not follow the same or a similar pattern in color change, varying according to the bracket fabrication, which shows a lack of standardization in the manufacturing process. Coffee dye produced the most marked color changes after 21 days of immersion for most ceramic brackets evaluated.

  5. A multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework to modeling stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jamshidian, M., E-mail: jamshidian@cc.iut.ac.ir [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Institute of Structural Mechanics, Bauhaus-University Weimar, Marienstrasse 15, 99423 Weimar (Germany); Thamburaja, P., E-mail: prakash.thamburaja@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600 (Malaysia); Rabczuk, T., E-mail: timon.rabczuk@tdt.edu.vn [Division of Computational Mechanics, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam)

    2016-12-15

    A previously-developed finite-deformation- and crystal-elasticity-based constitutive theory for stressed grain growth in cubic polycrystalline bodies has been augmented to include a description of excess surface energy and grain-growth stagnation mechanisms through the use of surface effect state variables in a thermodynamically-consistent manner. The constitutive theory was also implemented into a multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field computational framework. With the material parameters in the constitutive theory suitably calibrated, our three-dimensional numerical simulations show that the constitutive model is able to accurately predict the experimentally-determined evolution of crystallographic texture and grain size statistics in polycrystalline copper thin films deposited on polyimide substrate and annealed at high-homologous temperatures. In particular, our numerical analyses show that the broad texture transition observed in the annealing experiments of polycrystalline thin films is caused by grain growth stagnation mechanisms. - Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Developing a theory for stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films. • Implementation into a multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework. • Quantitative reproduction of the experimental grain growth data by simulations. • Revealing the cause of texture transition to be due to the stagnation mechanisms.

  6. The zinc-myoglobin relationships in porcine muscles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fogd Joergensen, P.; Wegger, I.

    1976-01-01

    Zinc and myoglobin content in muscles from pigs were studied under various conditions. Zinc concentration was considerably higher in red than in white muscles. In muscles, where the metabolic pattern changes from glycolytic to oxidative during the period from birth to weaning, a simultaneous increase in zinc content was seen. A significant positive correlation exists between myoglobin and zinc content under normal conditions. However, while myoglobin concentration decreases due to iron deficiency anaemia no changes occur in zinc content. It is concluded that no functional link seems to exist between zinc metabolism and myoglobin synthesis in porcine muscles. (author)

  7. Predicting intragranular misorientation distributions in polycrystalline metals using the viscoplastic self-consistent formulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zecevic, Miroslav; Pantleon, Wolfgang; Lebensohn, Ricardo A.

    2017-01-01

    In a recent paper, we reported the methodology to calculate intragranular fluctuations in the instantaneous lattice rotation rates in polycrystalline materials within the mean-field viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) model. This paper is concerned with the time integration and subsequent use......, we calculate intragranular misorientations in face-centered cubic polycrystals deformed in tension and plane-strain compression. These predictions are tested by comparison with corresponding experiments for polycrystalline copper and aluminum, respectively, and with full-field calculations....... It is observed that at sufficiently high strains some grains develop large misorientations that may lead to grain fragmentation and/or act as driving forces for recrystallization. The proposed VPSC-based prediction of intragranular misorientations enables modeling of grain fragmentation, as well as a more...

  8. Elasticity and hardness of nano-polycrystalline boron nitrides: The apparent Hall-Petch effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagakubo, A.; Ogi, H.; Hirao, M.; Sumiya, H.

    2014-01-01

    Nano-polycrystalline boron nitride (BN) is expected to replace diamond as a superhard and superstiff material. Although its hardening was reported, its elasticity remains unclear and the as-measured hardness could be significantly different from the true value due to the elastic recovery. In this study, we measured the longitudinal-wave elastic constant of nano-polycrystalline BNs using picosecond ultrasound spectroscopy and confirmed the elastic softening for small-grain BNs. We also measured Vickers and Knoop hardness for the same specimens and clarified the relationship between hardness and stiffness. The Vickers hardness significantly increased as the grain size decreased, while the Knoop hardness remained nearly unchanged. We attribute the apparent increase in Vickers hardness to the elastic recovery and propose a model to support this insight.

  9. Anomalous Hall effect in polycrystalline Ni films

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Zaibing

    2012-02-01

    We systematically studied the anomalous Hall effect in a series of polycrystalline Ni films with thickness ranging from 4 to 200 nm. It is found that both the longitudinal and anomalous Hall resistivity increased greatly as film thickness decreased. This enhancement should be related to the surface scattering. In the ultrathin films (46 nm thick), weak localization corrections to anomalous Hall conductivity were studied. The granular model, taking into account the dominated intergranular tunneling, has been employed to explain this phenomenon, which can explain the weak dependence of anomalous Hall resistivity on longitudinal resistivity as well. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Appropriate materials and preparation techniques for polycrystalline-thin-film thermophotovoltaic cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhere, Neelkanth G.

    1997-03-01

    Polycrystalline-thin-film thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells have excellent potential for reducing the cost of TPV generators so as to address the hitherto inaccessible and highly competitive markets such as self-powered gas-fired residential warm air furnaces and energy-efficient electric cars, etc. Recent progress in polycrystalline-thin-film solar cells have made it possible to satisfy the diffusion length and intrinsic junction rectification criteria for TPV cells operating at high fluences. Continuous ranges of direct bandgaps of the ternary and pseudoternary compounds such as Hg1-xCdxTe, Pb1-xCdxTe, Hg1-xZnxTe, and Pb1-xZnxS cover the region of interest of 0.50-0.75 eV for efficient TPV conversion. Other ternary and pseudoternary compounds which show direct bandgaps in most of or all of the 0.50-0.75 eV range are Pb1-xZnxTe, Sn1-xCd2xTe2, Pb1-xCdxSe, Pb1-xZnxSe, and Pb1-xCdxS. Hg1-xCdxTe (with x~0.21) has been studied extensively for infrared detectors. PbTe and Pb1-xSnxTe have also been studied for infrared detectors. Not much work has been carried out on Hg1-xZnxTe thin films. Hg1-xCdxTe and Pb1-xCdxTe alloys cover a wide range of cut-off wavelengths from the far infrared to the near visible. Acceptors and donors are introduced in these materials by excess non-metal (Te) and excess metal (Hg and Pb) respectively. Extrinsic acceptor impurities are Cu, Au, and As while and In and Al are donor impurities. Hg1-xCdxTe thin films have been deposited by isothermal vapor-phase epitaxy (VPE), liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), hot-wall metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), electrodeposition, sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), laser-assisted evaporation, and vacuum evaporation with or without hot-wall enclosure. The challenge in the preparation of Hg1-xCdxTe is to provide excess mercury incidence rate, to optimize the deposition parameters for enhanced mercury incorporation, and to achieve the requisite stoichiometry, grain size, and doping. MBE and MOCVD

  11. Effect of hydrogen passivation on polycrystalline silicon thin films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Honda, Shinya; Mates, Tomáš; Ledinský, Martin; Oswald, Jiří; Fejfar, Antonín; Kočka, Jan; Yamazaki, T.; Uraoka, Y.; Fuyuki, T.

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 487, - (2005), s. 152-156 ISSN 0040-6090 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010316; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010413; GA ČR(CZ) GD202/05/H003 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : hydrogen passivation * polycrystalline silicon * photoluminescence * Raman spectroscopy * Si-H 2 * hydrogen molecules Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.569, year: 2005

  12. Non-Chromate Passivation of Zinc

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tang, Peter Torben; Bech-Nielsen, G.

    1993-01-01

    Phos). The treatments are within the same concentration region, and they have a mutual pat-ent pending. Although some tests still need to be conducted, the following aspects are clear at the present time: The general appearance of the passivated zinc surface is very similar to a standard yellow chromate treatment...... successfully. The corrosion resistance against white rust on zinc and zinc alloys is just as good as that of yellow chromate, although the result de-pends on the corrosion test method as well as on the nature of the zinc substrate pas-sivated. The passivation procedure is simply a dip for approxi-mately 2...

  13. Effects of serum zinc level on tinnitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkiten, Güler; Kumral, Tolgar Lütfi; Yıldırım, Güven; Salturk, Ziya; Uyar, Yavuz; Atar, Yavuz

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess zinc levels in tinnitus patients, and to evaluate the effects of zinc deficiency on tinnitus and hearing loss. One-hundred patients, who presented to an outpatient clinic with tinnitus between June 2009 and 2014, were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups according to age: Group I (patients between 18 and 30years of age); Group II (patients between 31 and 60years of age); and Group III (patients between 61 and 78years of age). Following a complete ear, nose and throat examination, serum zinc levels were measured and the severity of tinnitus was quantified using the Tinnitus Severity Index Questionnaire (TSIQ). Patients were subsequently asked to provide a subjective judgment regarding the loudness of their tinnitus. The hearing status of patients was evaluated by audiometry and high-frequency audiometry. An average hearing sensitivity was calculated as the mean value of hearing thresholds between 250 and 20,000Hz. Serum zinc levels between 70 and 120μg/dl were considered normal. The severity and loudness of tinnitus, and the hearing thresholds of the normal zinc level and zinc-deficient groups, were compared. Twelve of 100 (12%) patients exhibited low zinc levels. The mean age of the zinc-deficient group was 65.41±12.77years. Serum zinc levels were significantly lower in group III (p<0.01). The severity and loudness of tinnitus were greater in zinc-deficient patients (p=0.011 and p=0.015, respectively). Moreover, the mean thresholds of air conduction were significantly higher in zinc-deficient patients (p=0.000). We observed that zinc levels decrease as age increases. In addition, there was a significant correlation between zinc level and the severity and loudness of tinnitus. Zinc deficiency was also associated with impairments in hearing thresholds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Absorbed zinc and exchangeable zinc pool size are significantly greater in Pakistani infants receiving traditional complementary foods with zinc fortified micronutrient powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ariff, Shabina; Soofi, Sajid; Bhutta, Zulfiqar; Krebs, Nancy; Westcott, Jamie

    2014-01-01

    Full text: Adequacy of zinc intake from breast milk alone becomes marginal in relation to infant requirements by around six months of age. Simple and cost effective strategies are needed at population level to ensure adequate intakes of zinc in infants and toddlers in populations at risk of zinc deficiency. We determined the amount of absorbed zinc (AZ) from a micronutrient powder (MNP) without and with 10 mg of zinc (MNP, MNP+Zn, respectively) added to local complementary foods used in Pakistan, and the impact on the exchangeable zinc pool (EZP) size. As a nested study within a large prospective cluster randomized trial, 6 month old infants were randomized to receive MNP or MNP+Zn. Stable isotope methodology was applied after ~ 3 and 9 months of use to measure AZ from MNP-fortified test meals of rice-lentils (khitchri) and EZP. Nineteen infants per group completed the first metabolic studies; 14 and 17 infants in MNP and MNP+Zn groups, completed the follow-up studies. Mean (±SD) AZs were 0.1± 0.1 and 1.2±0.5 mg at the first point for the MNP and MNP+Zn groups, respectively (p <0.001); results were nearly identical at the follow-up measurement. EZP did not differ between groups at the first measurement but was less in the MNP group (3.7±0.6 mg/kg) than in the MNP+Zn group (4.5±1.0 mg/kg) at the second measurement (P = 0.01). These data confirm that the MNP+Zn in khitchri were well absorbed, and after a year of home fortification, zinc status assessed by EZP was significantly better for the MNP+Zn group. Additional field studies may be necessary to ascertain the adequacy of this dose for infants at high risk of deficiency. (author)

  15. Effect of irrigation water salinity and zinc application on yield, yield components and zinc accumulation of wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohamad ahmadi

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Salinity stress is one of the most important problems of agriculture in crop production in arid and semi arid regions. Under these conditions, in addition to management strategies, proper and adequate nutrition also has an important role in crop improvement. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of 4 different irrigation water salinities (blank, 4, 8 and 12 dS m-1, prepared with 1:1 molar ratio of chlorides of calcium and sodium and magnesium sulphate salts. and 5 different zinc applications (0, 10, 20, 30 mg Kg-1 soil and foliar application of salt of zinc sulphate on yield, yield components and zinc concentration of wheat, using a completely randomized design, factorial with three replications. Plant height, spike length, 1000 grain weight, number of grain per spike, grain and straw yield was decreased by Irrigation water salinity. And all of these parameters were improved by zinc application except 1000 grain weight. Zinc absorption and concentration in straw and grain was decreased by Saline water compared to blank. And concentration of zinc significantly was increased in straw and grain by increase zinc application. The results indicated that, zinc application under low to medium salinity conditions improved growth and yield of wheat due to decreasing the impacts salinity.

  16. Micro/nanostructures formation by femtosecond laser surface processing on amorphous and polycrystalline Ni{sub 60}Nb{sub 40}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peng, Edwin, E-mail: edwin.peng@huskers.unl.edu [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Tsubaki, Alfred; Zuhlke, Craig A. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Wang, Meiyu [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Bell, Ryan [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Lucis, Michael J. [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Anderson, Troy P.; Alexander, Dennis R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Gogos, George; Shield, Jeffrey E. [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • Femtosecond laser processing of glass-forming Ni{sub 60}Nb{sub 40} produce surface structures. • Cross sectioning, imaging, & TEM sample preparation with dual-beam SEM. • Low laser fluence surface structures’ form by ablation. • High laserfluence surface structures form by ablation and fluid flow. - Abstract: Femtosecond laser surface processing is a technology that can be used to functionalize many surfaces, imparting specialized properties such as increased broadband optical absorption or superhydrophilicity/superhydrophobicity. In this study, two unique classes of surface structures, below surface growth (BSG) and above surface growth (ASG) mounds, were formed by femtosecond laser surface processing on amorphous and polycrystalline Ni{sub 60}Nb{sub 40} with two different grain sizes. Cross sectional imaging of these mounds revealed thermal evidence of the unique formation processes for each class of surface structure. BSG mounds formed on all three substrates using the same laser parameters had similar surface morphology. The microstructures in the mounds were unaltered compared with the substrate before laser processing, suggesting their formation was dominated by preferential valley ablation. ASG mounds had similar morphology when formed on the polycrystalline Ni{sub 60}Nb{sub 40} substrates with 100 nm and 2 μm grain size. However, the ASG mounds had significantly wider diameter and higher peak-to-valley heights when the substrate was amorphous Ni{sub 60}Nb{sub 40}. Hydrodynamic melting was primarily responsible for ASG mound formation. On amorphous Ni{sub 60}Nb{sub 40} substrates, the ASG mounds are most likely larger due to lower thermal diffusivity. There was clear difference in growth mechanism of femtosecond laser processed BSG and ASG mounds, and grain size does not appear to be a factor.

  17. Zinc Status of Vegetarians during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies and Meta-Analysis of Zinc Intake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meika Foster

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Pregnant women are vulnerable to a low zinc status due to the additional zinc demands associated with pregnancy and foetal development. The present systematic review explores the relationship between habitual vegetarian diets and dietary zinc intake/status during pregnancy. The association between vegetarian diets and functional pregnancy outcome also is considered. A literature search was conducted of MEDLINE; PubMed; Embase; the Cochrane Library; Web of Science; and Scopus electronic databases up to September 2014. Six English-language observational studies qualified for inclusion in the systematic review. A meta-analysis was conducted that compared the dietary zinc intake of pregnant vegetarian and non-vegetarian (NV groups; the zinc intake of vegetarians was found to be lower than that of NV (−1.38 ± 0.35 mg/day; p < 0.001; and the exclusion of low meat eaters from the analysis revealed a greater difference (−1.53 ± 0.44 mg/day; p = 0.001. Neither vegetarian nor NV groups met the recommended dietary allowance (RDA for zinc. In a qualitative synthesis; no differences were found between groups in serum/plasma zinc or in functional outcomes associated with pregnancy. In conclusion; pregnant vegetarian women have lower zinc intakes than NV control populations and both groups consume lower than recommended amounts. Further information is needed to determine whether physiologic adaptations in zinc metabolism are sufficient to meet maternal and foetal requirements during pregnancy on a low zinc diet.

  18. Zinc Deficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cediel, Gustavo; Olivares, Manuel; Brito, Alex; Cori, Héctor; López de Romaña, Daniel

    2015-06-01

    Zinc deficiency affects multiple vital functions in the life cycle, especially growth. Limited information is available on the magnitude of zinc deficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean. To examine the latest available information on both the prevalence of zinc deficiency and the risk of zinc deficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean. The prevalence of zinc deficiency was identified through a systematic review looking for the latest available data on serum zinc concentrations from surveys or studies with national representativeness conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean. The risk of zinc deficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean was estimated based on dietary zinc inadequacy (according to the 2011 National Food Balance Sheets) and stunting in children under 5 years of age. Only four countries had available national biochemical data. Mexican, Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Guatemalan children under 6 years of age and women 12 to 49 years of age had a high prevalence of zinc deficiency (19.1% to 56.3%). The countries with the highest risk of zinc deficiency (estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake > 25% plus prevalence of stunting > 20%) were Belize, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Zinc dietary inadequacy was directly correlated with stunting (r = 0.64, p zinc deficiency in children under 6 years of age and women 12 to 49 years of age. High rates of both estimated zinc dietary inadequacy and stunting were also reported in most Latin America and Caribbean countries.

  19. Zinc-enriched boutons in rat spinal cord

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schrøder, H D; Danscher, G; Jo, S M

    2000-01-01

    The rat spinal cord reveals a complex pattern of zinc-enriched (ZEN) boutons. As a result of in vivo exposure to selenide ions, nanosized clusters of zinc selenide are created in places where zinc ions are present, including the zinc-containing synaptic vesicles of ZEN boutons. The clusters can...

  20. Improved age-diffusion model for low-energy electron transport in solids. II. Application to secondary emission from aluminum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubus, A.; Devooght, J.; Dehaes, J.C.

    1987-01-01

    The ''improved age-diffusion'' model for secondary-electron transport is applied to aluminum. Electron cross sections for inelastic collisions with the free-electron gas using the Lindhard dielectric function and for elastic collisions with the randomly distributed ionic cores are used in the calculations. The most important characteristics of backward secondary-electron emission induced by low-energy electrons on polycrystalline Al targets are calculated and compared to experimental results and to Monte Carlo calculations. The model appears to predict the electronic yield, the energy spectra, and the spatial dependence of secondary emission with reasonable accuracy