17 research outputs found
Study of Cu-Zn and Au/TiO2 Catalysts on Anodized Aluminum Monoliths for Hydrogen Generation and Purification
This work reports the preparation of Cu-Zn and Au/TiO2 catalysts on anodized aluminum monoliths(AAM). The structured catalysts were studied for the generation of H2 by methanol steam reforming (MSR) and its purification by preferential oxidation of CO (CO-PrOx). Initially, it was possible to generate a surface with whiskers and larger surface area by hydrothermal treatment of the AAM. Subsequently, the structured catalysts were synthesized by incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) and ydrothermal synthesis (HS). IWI synthesis allowed for the deposition of a larger amount of catalytic material than HS, with very good adhesion. The TiO2-IWI structured catalyst presented a homogeneous catalytic coating, with the presence of agglomerated particles. On theother hand, Cu-Zn-IWI showed good dispersion of the deposited particles with a homogeneous surface coating. EDX analysis corroborated the presence of Ti, Cu and Zn in all the catalytic surfaces. The incorporation of Au over TiO2-IWI structured catalysts was successfully performed by IWI using a colloidal solution of gold nanoparticles.MSR was studied over the developed metallic monoliths functionalized with Cu-Zn by the IWI method. The samples showed promising results in terms of activity, selectivity, and stability. Both diluted and concentrated methanol + water feeds were assayed. Complete methanol conversion was achieved for the diluted feed. Maximum methanol conversions of 55% with 60% H2 yield were measured when the concentrated feed was selected. Promising results were also achieved for the Au-based structured catalysts in the CO-PrOx in an H2- rich atmosphere. Although CO conversions of approximately 60% were achieved, operating with higher catalyst loadings would be recommended to reach the high CO conversions required for PrOx catalysts.Fil: Adrover, María Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Boldrini, Diego Emmanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Jiménez Divins, Nuria. Universidad Politecnica de Catalunya; EspañaFil: Casanovas Hoste, Adria. Universidad Politecnica de Catalunya; EspañaFil: Tonetto, Gabriela Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Llorca Piqué, Jordi. Universidad Politecnica de Catalunya; Españ
Preparing Phase 4 of the n_TOF/CERN facility
After CERN's Long Shutdown 2, the n_TOF facility infrastructure was largely upgraded. The biggest change is the installation of a new lead spallation target, the performance of which needs to be carefully examined. During Summer 2021, the facility's two flight paths were characterised in terms of neutron beam energy distribution, profile and resolution. In this work, the characterisation of the facility is described and the first results are given
First Results of the Ce(n,γ)Ce Cross-Section Measurement at n_TOF
An accurate measurement of the Ce(n,γ) energy-dependent cross-section was performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This cross-section is of great importance because it represents a bottleneck for the s-process nucleosynthesis and determines to a large extent the cerium abundance in stars. The measurement was motivated by the significant difference between the cerium abundance measured in globular clusters and the value predicted by theoretical stellar models. This discrepancy can be ascribed to an overestimation of the Ce capture cross-section due to a lack of accurate nuclear data. For this measurement, we used a sample of cerium oxide enriched in Ce to 99.4%. The experimental apparatus consisted of four deuterated benzene liquid scintillator detectors, which allowed us to overcome the difficulties present in the previous measurements, thanks to their very low neutron sensitivity. The accurate analysis of the p-wave resonances and the calculation of their average parameters are fundamental to improve the evaluation of the Ce Maxwellian-averaged cross-section
First Results of the Ce(n,γ)Ce Cross-Section Measurement at n_TOF
An accurate measurement of the Ce(n,γ) energy-dependent cross-section was performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This cross-section is of great importance because it represents a bottleneck for the s-process nucleosynthesis and determines to a large extent the cerium abundance in stars. The measurement was motivated by the significant difference between the cerium abundance measured in globular clusters and the value predicted by theoretical stellar models. This discrepancy can be ascribed to an overestimation of the Ce capture cross-section due to a lack of accurate nuclear data. For this measurement, we used a sample of cerium oxide enriched in Ce to 99.4%. The experimental apparatus consisted of four deuterated benzene liquid scintillator detectors, which allowed us to overcome the difficulties present in the previous measurements, thanks to their very low neutron sensitivity. The accurate analysis of the p-wave resonances and the calculation of their average parameters are fundamental to improve the evaluation of the Ce Maxwellian-averaged cross-section
Neutron capture cross section measurement of the heaviest s-process branching Tl and of Tl at CERN n_TOF
Neutron capture cross sections are fundamental in the study of the slow neutron capture process of nucleosynthesis, also known as the s-process, which produces half of the observed solar system abundances of elements heavier than iron. Some nuclei along the nucleosynthesis chain are unstable, and there the capture process competes with the decay process, creating a split in the nucleosynthesis path. The nuclear properties of some of these radionuclides change with the conditions of the stellar environment, a fact that influences the local abundance pattern. Tl is a very interesting branching point, because it is shielded from any contribution from other nucleosynthesis processes. The result is that both Tl and its stable daughter isotope Pb are only produced by the s-process. Hence, by competing with the beta decay, the capture cross section of Tl crucially determines the final abundance of Pb. A faithful prediction of the solar abundances of s-only isotopes, like Pb, is one of the key accuracy tests for modern stellar nucleosynthesis calculations. However, until the present work, due to the challenges of performing a capture measurement on Tl, there was no experimental data of its cross section. Thus, large uncertainties existed in its capture cross section, which hampered a more accurate and precise knowledge of the predicted s-process production of Pb. By affecting the abundance of Pb, the cross section of Tl(n,) also influences the ratio of abundances Pb/Pb. Pb is also produced only by the s-process, and it is radioactive, with a long half-life of 17.2 My. Therefore, the ratio of abundances of Pb/Pb has the potential to be used as a chronometer of the s-process. In the year 2013, a sample enriched up to a few percent in Tl was produced by neutron irradiation of a Tl seed sample at the high thermal neutron flux nuclear reactor of the ILL, in Grenoble (France). Two years later, the Tl enriched sample was employed to measure, for the first time, the capture cross section of Tl at the n TOF time-of-flight facility at CERN. The measurement was possible thanks to the unique features of this facility, in particular, its high instant neutron flux low background levels. The measurement was performed employing the well-established Pulse Height Weighting Technique (PHWT), which offers a very low neutron sensibility, and low levels of background, compared to other methods like the Total Absorption technique. The main challenges for the Tl measurement were the very high background due to the activity of the sample, the very low amount of material, and the limited knowledge of the geometry of the sample. Such difficulties required the adoption of specific solutions during the measurement and the posterior data analysis. Related to this, several sources of systematic error were evaluated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The complications with the Tl sample geometry required to apply an in-sample normalization procedure. For this purpose, an ancillary capture measurement on a Tl sample was also performed in the same experimental campaign. As a stable nuclide, most of the sources of systematic error could be kept under control. This allowed for an accurate R-matrix analysis of the most relevant capture levels in the resolved resonance region of Tl, including the first ever measurement under 3 keV of neutron energy. As a result, the present work has contributed, as well, to improve the Tl stellar capture cross section in the 8 to 25 keV neutron energy range. With the improved Tl(n,) cross section, an R-matrix analysis of several Tl resonances was made possible. These results were employed to experimentally constrain the Tl stellar cross section at low energies, and setting additional limits to the stellar cross section predicted by nuclear data evaluations at s-process temperatures
Experimental setup and procedure for the measurement of the 7Be(n,alpha)alpha reaction at n_TOF
The newly built second experimental area EAR2 of the n_TOF spallation neutron source at CERN allows
to perform (n, charged particles) experiments on short-lived highly radioactive targets. This paper
describes a detection apparatus and the experimental procedure for the determination of the
cross-section of the 7Be(n,a)a reaction, which represents one of the focal points toward the
solution of the cosmological Lithium abundance problem, and whose only measurement, at thermal
energy, dates back to 1963.
The apparently unsurmountable experimental dif¿culties stemming from the huge 7Be ¿-activity, along
with the lack of a suitable neutron beam facility, had so far prevented further measurements. The
detection system is subject to considerable radiation damage, but is capable of disentangling the
rare reaction signals from the very high background. This newly developed setup could likely be
useful also to study other challenging reactions requiring the detectors to be installed directly
in the neutron beam
Exploring new frontiers of neutron inelastic cross section measurements at n\_TOF: testing the performances of a mixed array of HPGe and LaBr(Ce) detectors in beam
Excerpta Botanica Pharmaceutica
Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia, Assignatura: Botànica Farmacèutica, Curs: 2013-2014, Coordinadors: Carles Benedí i Joan SimonEl disseny de l’activitat ha estat a càrrec del Grup d’Innovació Docent de Botànica Aplicada a
les Ciències Farmacèutiques (GIBAF), i s’emmarca en el Projecte d’Innovació Docent «Excerpta
Botanica Pharmaceutica: creació de recursos docents en obert pels propis estudiants com a
nova estratègia d’innovació docent» (codi 2014PID-UB/010) del Programa de Millora i
Innovació Docent (PMID) de la Universitat de Barcelona.Amb el nom genèric d’Excerpta Botanica Pharmaceutica (extracte de Botànica Farmacèutica), agrupem els treballs (guies d’estudi) que han redactat de forma tutorizada els estudiants del grup T3 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica (curs 2013-14). Els objectius específics han estat: aprendre a utilitzar correctament la nomenclatura botànica en la denominació de les espècies, saber redactar ordenadament la descripció d’una espècie amb la terminologia botànica adequada, cercar utilitzar i integrar la informació botànica de referència i proposar-ne d’addicional comentades i fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica. Els objectius transversals han estat: estimular el compromís ètic (imatges incloses de llicència lliure), desenvolupar una capacitat de síntesi escrita i de tenir visions globals integradores (la monografia aportada), mantenir una pulcritud en el treball i compromís per la feina ben feta (responsabilitat en el futur material d'ús docent per als seus companys, dipòsit digital UB) i fomentar la apacitat autocrítica (la seva autoavaluació)
First Results of the 140Ce(n,g)141Ce Cross-Section Measurement at n_TOF
The cerium oxide material for this measurement was provided by T. Katabuchi
of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.An accurate measurement of the 140Ce(n,g) energy-dependent cross-section was performed
at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This cross-section is of great importance because it represents a
bottleneck for the s-process nucleosynthesis and determines to a large extent the cerium abundance in
stars. The measurement was motivated by the significant difference between the cerium abundance
measured in globular clusters and the value predicted by theoretical stellar models. This discrepancy
can be ascribed to an overestimation of the 140Ce capture cross-section due to a lack of accurate
nuclear data. For this measurement, we used a sample of cerium oxide enriched in 140Ce to 99.4%.
The experimental apparatus consisted of four deuterated benzene liquid scintillator detectors, which
allowed us to overcome the difficulties present in the previous measurements, thanks to their very
low neutron sensitivity. The accurate analysis of the p-wave resonances and the calculation of their
average parameters are fundamental to improve the evaluation of the 140Ce Maxwellian-averaged
cross-section