Study of barium bismuth titanate prepared by mechanochemical synthesis

Barium-bismuth titanate, BaBi4Ti4O15 (BBT), a member of Aurivillius bismuth-based layer-structure perovskites, was prepared from stoichiometric amounts of barium titanate and bismuth titanate obtained via mechanochemical synthesis. Mechanochemical synthesis was performed in air atmosphere in a planetary ball mill. The reaction mechanism of BaBi4Ti4O15 and the preparation and characteristics of BBT ceramic powders were studied using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, particle analysis and SEM. The Bi-layered perovskite structure of BaBi4Ti4O15 ceramic forms at 1100 °C for 4 h without a pre-calcination step. The microstructure of BaBi4Ti4O15 exhibits plate-like grains typical for the Bi-layered structured material and spherical and polygonal grains. The Ba2+ addition leads to changes in the microstructure development, particularly in the change of the average grain size

Discocotyle ohridana n. Sp. (monogenea: Discocotylidae) on the gills of ohrid belvica salmothymus ohridanus (pisces: Salmonidae) from the lake ohrid, macedonia

Discocotyle ohridana n.sp. is described from the gills of Ohrid belvica Salmothymus ohridanus Steindachner, 1892; (syn. Acantholingua ohridana Hadzisce, 1961) from the Lake Ohrid, Macedonia. According our investigation the new species D. ohridana n.sp. differs 56.47% of observed S. ohridanus have been infected and average intensity of infestation is 2.84

Butler-volmer current equation and fractal nature correction in electrochemical energy

The Global Energy Crisis necessitated improving research into new, renewable and alternative energy sources. Due to that, our focus is on the area of some phenomena and applications where different synthetic methods and microstructure property optimization achieved significant improvement in the electro physical properties of output materials and components. This is especially important for higher energy efficiency and electricity production (batteries and battery systems, fuel cells, and hydrogen energy). The improvement of energy storage tank capacity is one of the most important development issues in the energy sphere too. It is because of this very promising research and application area that we are expanding the knowledge on these phenomena through fractal nature analysis. So, the results obtained in the field of electrochemical energy sources, especially in electrolyte development, are taken into account the analysis of fractal nature optimization. Based on the research field of fractal material science, particularly electronic materials, we conducted research in micro-structure fractal influence in the area of electrochemistry. We investigated the consolidation parameters of Fe2O3 redox processes. The influence of activation energy, fundamental thermodynamic parameters, and also the fractal correction of electrode surface area through complex fractal dimension with recognized grains and pores, and the Brownian motion of particles is introduced. Finally, the electrochemical Butler-Volmer equation fractalization is obtained. These results practically open new frontiers in electrochemical energy processes performed through the Arrhenius equation within electrolyte bulk and electrode relations and more complete and precise energy generation

Interplay between surface chemistry and performance of rutile-type catalysts for halogen production

Catalytic HBr oxidation is an integral step in the bromine-mediated functionalisation of alkanes to valuable chemicals. This study establishes the relationships between the mechanism of HBr oxidation over rutile-type oxides (RuO2, IrO2, TiO2) and their apparent catalytic performance. Comparison with the well-studied HCl oxidation revealed distinct differences in surface chemistry between HBr and HCl oxidation that impact the stability and activity of the catalysts. The kinetic fingerprints of both oxidation reactions over the three rutile-type oxides investigated are compared using temporal analysis of products, which substantiates the energy profiles derived from density functional theory. The quantitative determination of the halogen uptake under operando conditions using prompt gamma activation analysis demonstrates that RuO2 suffers from extensive subsurface bromination upon contact with hydrogen bromide, particularly at low temperature and low O2 : HBr ratios, which negatively affects the stability of the catalyst. TiO2 exhibits intrinsically low halogen coverage (30–50%) under all the conditions investigated, due to its unique defect-driven mechanism that renders it active and stable for Br2 production. On the contrary, for HCl oxidation TiO2 is inactive, and the chlorination of the highly active RuO2 is limited to the surface. Differences in the extent of surface halogenation of the materials were also confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and explained by the DFT calculations. These insights into the molecular-level processes taking place under working conditions pave the way for the design of the next generation catalysts for bromine production

Phonon Investigations in YVO4: Eu3+ Nanopowders

In this work two methods of preparation of yttrium orthovanadate nanopowders were presented: Solid State Reaction (top – down approach) and Solution Combustion Synthesis (bottom – up approach). For starting structural characterization, X – Ray Powder Diffraction (XPRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) were used. We report the change in reflection spectra in europium doped YVO4 nanopowders with comparison to its bulk analog. In UV – Vis reflection spectra we consider the change in values of band gap in these structures, after resizing it from bulk to nanomaterial. In Far – Infrared (FIR) reflection spectra, we registered the existence of Surface Optical Phonon (SOP) and different multi – phonon processes which alter the reflection spectra of bulk YVO4 . The influence of Eu ions is reflected through multi – phonon processes that occur and are connected with energy transfer from YVO4 lattice to Eu ions. All IR spectra were modeled using classical oscillator model with Drude part added which takes into account the free carrier contribution. Since our samples are distinctively inhomogeneous materials, we use Effective Medium theory in Maxwell Garnett approximation to model its effective dieletric function.IX Serbian Ceramic Society Conference - Advanced Ceramics and Application : new frontiers in multifunctional material science and processing : program and the book of abstracts; September 20-21, 2021; Belgrad

Natural mycobiota and aflatoxin B1 presence in bee pollen collected in Serbia

Total fungal count, incidence of fungi and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) concentration were studied in 33 samples of bee pollen randomly collected from beekeepers in Serbia. The total number of fungi was determined by dilution method whereas AFB1 was detected using the Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA). The mycological estimation showed the presence of nine genera of fungi as followed: Acremonium, Alternaría, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Epiccocum, Fusarium, Mucor, Pénicillium and Rhizopus, with total number ranging from 1 x 103 to 1 x 105 CFU g-1. The results have shown the predominance of the fungi from the genera Aspergillus and Alternaria. Among Aspergillus species it was observed that the most frequent species was A. flavus with incidence of 27.27 %. Mycotoxin AFB1 was detected as 100% positive in all samples (100%) with an average concentration of 8.61 μg kg-1. The obtained results indicated that honey bee pollen must be strictly controlled during its manipulation in the harvesting and manufacturing. Therefore, the implementation of good manufacturing (beekeeping) practice to define procedures for honeybee products could be crucial to reduce the risk of possible contamination and provide natural and safety product without risk on the human health