644 research outputs found
Mercury removal in wastewater by iron oxide nanoparticles
Mercury is one of the persistent pollutants in wastewater; it is becoming a severe environmental and public health problem, this is why nowadays its removal is an obligation. Iron oxide nanoparticles are receiving much attention due to their properties, such as: great biocompatibility, ease of separation, high relation of surface-area to volume, surface modifiability, reusability, excellent magnetic properties and relative low cost. In this experiment, Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized using iron salts and NaOH as precipitation agents, and Aloe Vera as stabilizing agent; then these nanoparticles were characterized by three different measurements: first, using a Zetasizer Nano ZS for their size estimation, secondly UV-visible spectroscopy which showed the existence of resonance of plasmon at λmax∼360 nm, and lastly by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to determine nanoparticles form. The results of this characterization showed that the obtained Iron oxides nanoparticles have a narrow size distribution (∼100nm). Mercury removal of 70% approximately was confirmed by atomic absorption spectroscopy measurements
Lifetime of d-holes at Cu surfaces: Theory and experiment
We have investigated the hole dynamics at copper surfaces by high-resolution
angle-resolved photoemission experiments and many-body quasiparticle GW
calculations. Large deviations from a free-electron-like picture are observed
both in the magnitude and the energy dependence of the lifetimes, with a clear
indication that holes exhibit longer lifetimes than electrons with the same
excitation energy. Our calculations show that the small overlap of d- and
sp-states below the Fermi level is responsible for the observed enhancement.
Although there is qualitative good agreement of our theoretical predictions and
the measured lifetimes, there still exist some discrepancies pointing to the
need of a better description of the actual band structure of the solid.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Wear Behavior of a Ni/Co Bilayer Coating by Physical Vapor Deposition on AISI 1045 Steel
Coatings by physical vapor deposition (PVD) have become highly relevant due to their wide range of applications and the rapid rate of coating formation. In this work, AISI steel 1045 was coated with two layers, Ni and Co using the PVD technique. Each coating was deposited with a thickness of 1 μm. After applying the coatings, a post-treatment was applied in an AC plasma reactor using a boron nitride blank in an Ar atmosphere at a pressure of 3 Torr, 0.3 A, and 460 V at 4, 8, and 12h. The post-treatment was characterized by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) in a range of 200-1100 nm. The main species observed by OES were Ar+, N2, N2+, and B+. The coatings on 1045 steel and posttreatment were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Also, were subjected to tribological tests to analyze wear resistance, using the Pin-on-Disk technique. The coatings on steel 1045 present remarkably better wear properties than the uncoated 1045 steel, being the sample post-treated at 4h that showed a lower wear rate
Anomalous Quasiparticle Lifetime in Graphite: Band Structure Effects
We report ab initio calculation of quasiparticle lifetimes in graphite, as
determined from the imaginary part of the self-energy operator within the GW
aproximation. The inverse lifetime in the energy range from 0.5 to 3.5 eV above
the Fermi level presents significant deviations from the quadratic behavior
naively expected from Fermi liquid theory. The deviations are explained in
terms of the unique features of the band structure of this material. We also
discuss the experimental results from different groups and make some
predictions for future experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted PR
Small and medium enterprises in Russia and other countries
The aim of the study was a comparative analysis of the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises in Russia and foreign countries. The article presents the principles and concepts of entrepreneurship. The distribution of small and medium-sized enterprises by types of economic activity is considered. Data of continuous surveys of activity of entrepreneurship of Russia in 2010 and 2015 were used as initial data. A comparison of the share of small and medium-sized enterprises in the economy of Russia and foreign countries is presented. The results of the study can be used by the departments of regional and municipal authorities engaged in the formation of projects and programs for the development of entrepreneurship, including the development of entrepreneurship in those regions and municipalities. The study is able to provide the government with information on ways to increase the contribution of enterprises to the national economy
Study of H2/N2Mixture Plasma Treatment on the AISI 1045
In the present work, we analyzed the effect of the plasma treatment of 80% H2/20% N2 mixture plasma over the AISI 1045 steel. To produce the plasma, an AC discharge of 0.1 A at 350 V was produced at a total pressure of 3.0 Torr. The mixture plasma was analyzed using optical emission spectroscopy (OES), in the wavelength range of 200 to 1100 nm. The principal species observed in the plasma were NH, N2, N2+, H2, and Hα. The electron temperature and ion density have been measured using a double Langmuir probe. The samples of steel were treated by plasma at different discharge times, between 3 and 12 h, at the same pressure and AC parameters (0.1 A and 350 V). The treated samples were characterized using X-ray analysis, finding the phases gamma and epsilon of iron nitride. The thickness of the nitrided layers was measured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). From the images obtained, it is possible to appreciate the interphase between the nitrided layer and the steel matrix. The relationship between the morphology of the surface of nitrided steel and the wetting was analyzed by measuring the contact angle between the surface and a drop of 5 μL of distilled water. The contact angle of the drop increased with the increase of plasma treatment time. The control sample without treatment presented a smaller angle, and after the treatment the surfaces of the steel became hydrophobic. This may be related to the morphology change of the steel surface produced by plasma treatment
Hole dynamics in noble metals
We present a detailed analysis of hole dynamics in noble metals (Cu and Au),
by means of first-principles many-body calculations. While holes in a
free-electron gas are known to live shorter than electrons with the same
excitation energy, our results indicate that d-holes in noble metals exhibit
longer inelastic lifetimes than excited sp-electrons, in agreement with
experiment. The density of states available for d-hole decay is larger than
that for the decay of excited electrons; however, the small overlap between d-
and sp-states below the Fermi level increases the d-hole lifetime. The impact
of d-hole dynamics on electron-hole correlation effects, which are of relevance
in the analysis of time-resolved two-photon photoemission experiments, is also
addressed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
On Multi-Index Filtrations Associated to Weierstraß Semigroups
This paper is a survey on the main techniques involved in the computation of the Weierstraß semigroup at several points of curves defined over perfect fields, with special emphasis on the case of two points. Some hints about the usage of some packages of the computer algebra software Singular are also given; these are however only valid for curves defined over Fp with p a prime number
Artificially decreasing cortical tension generates aneuploidy in mouse oocytes
Human and mouse oocytes’ developmental potential can be predicted by their mechanical
properties. Their development into blastocysts requires a specific stiffness window. In this
study, we combine live-cell and computational imaging, laser ablation, and biophysical
measurements to investigate how deregulation of cortex tension in the oocyte contributes to
early developmental failure. We focus on extra-soft cells, the most common defect in a
natural population. Using two independent tools to artificially decrease cortical tension, we
show that chromosome alignment is impaired in extra-soft mouse oocytes, despite normal
spindle morphogenesis and dynamics, inducing aneuploidy. The main cause is a cytoplasmic
increase in myosin-II activity that could sterically hinder chromosome capture. We describe
here an original mode of generation of aneuploidies that could be very common in oocytes
and could contribute to the high aneuploidy rate observed during female meiosis, a leading
cause of infertility and congenital disorders
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