Electrocaloric effect in La-doped BNT-6BT relaxor ferroelectric ceramics

Relaxor [(Bi1/2Na1/2)0.94Ba0.06](1-1.5x)LaxTiO3 (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) ceramics (La-doped BNT-6BT) with composition close to the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were successfully prepared by using the conventional solid state reaction method. All samples present almost a pure perovskite phase with the coexistence of tetragonal and rhombohedral. With the increase of La doping content, the degree of the dielectric relaxor dispersion around the dielectric peak which is close to the room temperature increases, and also the transition temperature of ferroelectric-to-relaxor (TF-R) shifts 120 K towards a lower temperature at x = 0.09. The maximum value of the temperature change (ΔT) of the electrocaloric (EC) effect decreases sharply from 1.1 K at x = 0–0.064 K at x = 0.09. A large positive EC effect (maximum ΔT ~ 0.44 K) in a broad temperature range (~ 90 K) close to room temperature is achieved at x = 0.03, indicating that it is a promising lead-free material for application in solid state cooling system. Moreover, it is found that the Maxwell relationship can be well used to assess the EC effects of the La-doped BNT-6BT ceramics when the operating temperature is higher than that of the TF-R, indicating that these relaxor ceramics would perform as an ergodic

Review on risk assessments of dammed lakes

As one type of natural disaster, dammed lakes pose a serious threat to the safety of lives and properties downstream. Scientific risk assessments of dammed lakes are key for pre-disaster prevention and post-disaster rescue. However, due to the lack of basic information and uncertainty surrounding materials and loads, risk assessments of dammed lakes are more complex than those of artificial reservoir dams, and comprehensive assessment methods are lacking. Based on the evolution of dammed lake hazard chains, starting with the concept of a dammed lake risk assessment, this paper focused on six aspects: worldwide dammed lake databases, hazard assessments for landslide dams, breach mechanisms and breach processes, flood routing after landslide dam breaching, loss assessments, and risk mitigation measures. A comprehensive review was conducted on the qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods around the world, as well as future outlooks

Water-Borne Perovskite Quantum Dot-Loaded, Polystyrene Latex Ink

Highly lipophilic nanocrystals (NCs) of cesium lead halides were successfully embedded in polystyrene (PS) particles by deliberately controlling the swelling of the PS particles in the mixtures of good and bad organic solvents. The resulting composite particles were readily transferred into water via simple stepwise solvent exchange, which yielded water-borne perovskite NC-based inks with outstanding structural and chemical stability in aqueous media. Minimal change in the photoluminescence (PL) of the NCs loaded in the PS particles was visible after 1 month of incubation of the composite particles in water in a broad pH range from 1 to 14, which could otherwise be hardly realized. Loading into the PS particles also made the NCs highly stable against polar organic solvents, such as ethanol, intense light irradiation, and heat. The NC PL intensity slightly changed after the composite particles were heated at 75°C and under irradiation of strong blue light (@365 nm) for 1 h. Furthermore, the PS matrices could effectively inhibit the exchange of halide anions between two differently sized perovskite NCs loaded therein, thereby offering a considerable technical advantage in the application of multiple perovskite NCs for multicolor display in the future

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Chinese surface waters: A review

The contamination of surface waters in China with Per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFASs) has been extensively studied in recent decades, however, almost all studies have been conducted in small areas and/or limited samples, which are not representative of the nationwide contamination of surface water environments with PFASs. In this study, attempt was made to provide a comprehensive report about PFASs pollution in Chinese surface water based on the PRISMA. By analyzing 111 papers published between 2006 and 2022, we provide a systematic review of the pollution of PFASs in surface water environments in China. The results show that 26 PFASs contaminants were detected at least once in China's surface water environment and were mainly concentrated in the eastern part of China. Most surface water environments in China had mean PFASs concentrations below 100 ng/L. The most polluted place was the Xiaoqing River, where sampling results in 2020 showed PFASs concentrations as high as 25,429 ng/L, followed by the Tangxun Lake, the Xi River, the Daling River, the Majia River, the Baiyangdian Lake, the Liuxi River, the Jiaolai River, the Tuo River and the Zhimai River. The Xiaoqing River also has the highest concentration of the novel pollutant, with concentrations of HFPO-TA and HFPO-DA as high as 1039 ng/L and 164 ng/L. Based on the source analysis, fluoropolymer manufacturing plants are the main source of PFASs pollutants in surface water. The results of the base risk analysis using risk quotients value (RQ) method show that the RQ values of the Xiaoqing River, the surface water near Bohai Bay, the Majia River and the Tuo River PFOA are 36.9, 7.7, 3.6 and 2.1 respectively, which are high risk areas and require enhanced control. This study provides information on surface waters contaminated by PFASs nationwide, and the results can be used as a reference for the development of pollution control and management strategies for PFASs in surface waters in China

14 C‐dating model for groundwater affected by CO 2 inputs from deep underground formations

Groundwater age, defined as the time since recharge, is useful for estimating groundwater renewal rates. Radiocarbon (C) activity has been widely applied for groundwater age dating since the 1950s. However, this approach can be complicated by other C-free carbon sources, which dilute the C content at the time of groundwater recharge. Several corrective models have been introduced to determine the dilution factor using carbon isotopes and chemical mass balances, but these models do not account for the influence of deep crust and/or mantle (endogenic) carbon sources and are hence not applicable for dating groundwater affected by endogenic CO. Therefore, we developed a new C groundwater dating model including three carbon end-members (biogenically derived sedimentary carbon, carbonate carbon, and deep crust and/or mantle carbon) to quantify the dilution factor. This model was tested by age dating groundwater samples from the United States that were influenced by endogenic carbon (based on their δC value), showing that the conventional method overestimated the C apparent age by ~19% on average. The average uncertainty for the conventional and new method is approximately 1.58% and 11.2%, respectively. The new method proposed here can be applied to groundwater age dating in other regions where aquifers are influenced by endogenic CO. However, its application requires a priori identification of local geological, hydrogeological, and geochemical conditions

Discussion on recharge source of groundwater in Subei Basin

Analyzing and comparing the concentration of bicarbonate in groundwater and surface water, the author of this paper presumed that the release of deep CO2 causes the dead carbon in the carbon stock to be mixed into underground water, suggesting that the 14C dating method is not suitable for groundwater dating in the Subei Basin. The cycle of groundwater determined by tritium analysis is about 40a, and the hydrogen and oxygen isotopes also do not support the hypothesis that the groundwater originates from lateral recharge of groundwater from the Yangtze River. Combined with the evidence of hydrogeology, it is concluded that confined groundwater in the Subei Basin is probably recharged by deep circulation groundwater and the concealed craters and faults may act as the paths for groundwater discharge

Influence of montmorillonite hydration and delamination on coal flotation

In this study, the influence of montmorillonite (MT) hydration and delamination on coal flotation was investigated through flotation tests using coal-MT mixtures. MT particles were subjected to hydration at different time intervals. The Fuerstenau upgrading curve was plotted to evaluate the change in overall flotation selectivity. The zeta potential and particle size distribution were used to characterize the delamination behavior of MT in deionized water at natural pH level. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) (colloidal probe) was used to analyze the interaction force between coal and MT particles. It was found that smaller particles (individual silicate layers or thin packets of layers) with higher zeta potentials appeared gradually, and their volume proportion increased with increasing hydration time. AFM results showed that a monotonous repulsive force was detected consistently throughout the separation distance between coal and these emerging smaller MT particles. The decrease of these MT coating on coal surface was responsible for the higher flotation recovery and better selectivity. A jump-into-contact phenomenon was observed in coal and MT interaction when MT hydrated incompletely. It showed that heterocoagulation between coal and MT occurred and MT coating on the coal surface was responsible for the depression of flotation

An entropy-based analysis method of precipitation isotopes revealing main moisture transport corridors globally

The hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δO) isotopic compositions in the water molecule have been widely used as tracers for studying the global water cycle. In 1961, the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) was established to measure D and O isotopes contents in precipitation around the world. However, on the spatial scale, the long-term arithmetic and/or long-term precipitation weighted mean δD and δO have been most commonly used to interpret the GNIP isotope data for over sixty years. The spatial distributions of mean δD and δO depict well the regional moisture transport, but they vary predominantly with latitude on the global scale, especially over continental areas, obscuring the continental and circulation effects. We developed a new method of using the entropy concept to reanalyze precipitation isotopic compositions data from GNIP. Calculated entropies of isotopic compositions in precipitation at GNIP stations around the world strongly correlate in a linear fashion with a slope coefficient close to unity. The spatial distributions of both isotopic compositions entropies generally reveal oceanic sources of water vapor and main moisture transport pathways from oceans to continents globally, with different patterns between summer and winter seasons. Although these results have mostly been reported in previous studies, they provide the verification of this new analysis method. The entropy method proposed here is expected to provide a new tool for data interpretation of water isotopic compositions, with implications for tracing global hydrological processes