The development of Y Ba2Cu3Ox thin films using a fluorine-free sol–gel approach for coated conductors

Despite great success in the TFA methods of depositing Y Ba2Cu3Ox (YBCO) thin films for coated conductors, critical issues involved in removing BaCO3 have not entirely been settled. There could be other possible ways of dealing with carbon that remains in the film. We have recently developed a fluorine-free sol–gel synthesis with several important advantages including precursor solution stability, improved film density, and elimination of HF during processing. With this approach, high-quality YBCO films have been developed on single crystal substrates with the transport Jc s up to 106 A cm−2. In this study, the precursor solution stoichiometry was altered and its effects on superconducting properties were studied. The fluorine-free sol–gel-derived films on the LaAlO3 (LAO) substrate exhibited epitaxial growth with excellent in- and out-of-plane texture. Experimental details are reported on the sol–gel synthesis chemistry and XRD and TEM characterization of the YBCO thin films. Also discussed is the underlying formation mechanism of the YBCO phase during the synthesis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48992/2/sust4_12_011.pd

Transgenic plants of Petunia hybrida harboring the CYP2E1 gene efficiently remove benzene and toluene pollutants and improve resistance to formaldehyde

The CYP2E1 protein belongs to the P450 enzymes family and plays an important role in the metabolism of small molecular and organic pollutants. In this study we generated CYP2E1 transgenic plants of Petunia using Agrobacterium rhizogenes K599. PCR analysis confirmed that the regenerated plants contained the CYP2E1 transgene and the rolB gene of the Ri plasmid. Southern blotting revealed the presence of multiple copies of CYP2E1 in the genome of transgenic plants. Fluorescent quantitative PCR revealed exogenous CYP2E1 gene expression in CYP2E1 transgenic plants at various levels, whereas no like expression was detected in either GUS transgenic plants or wild-types. The absorption of benzene and toluene by transgenic plants was analyzed through quantitative gas chromatography. Transgenic plants with high CYP2E1 expression showed a significant increase in absorption capacity of environmental benzene and toluene, compared to control GUS transgenic and wild type plants. Furthermore, these plants also presented obvious improved resistance to formaldehyde. This study, besides being the first to reveal that the CYP2E1 gene enhances plant resistance to formaldehyde, also furnishes a new method for reducing pollutants, such as benzene, toluene and formaldehyde, by using transgenic flowering horticultural plants

Optical Properties of GaSb Nanofibers

Amorphous GaSb nanofibers were obtained by ion beam irradiation of bulk GaSb single-crystal wafers, resulting in fibers with diameters of ~20 nm. The Raman spectra and photoluminescence (PL) of the ion irradiation-induced nanofibers before and after annealing were studied. Results show that the Raman intensity of the GaSb LO phonon mode decreased after ion beam irradiation as a result of the formation of the amorphous nanofibers. A new mode is observed at ~155 cm-1 both from the unannealed and annealed GaSb nanofiber samples related to the A1g mode of Sb–Sb bond vibration. Room temperature PL measurements of the annealed nanofibers present a wide feature band at ~1.4–1.6 eV. The room temperature PL properties of the irradiated samples presents a large blue shift compared to bulk GaSb. Annealed nanofibers and annealed nanofibers with Au nanodots present two different PL peaks (400 and 540 nm), both of which may originate from Ga or O vacancies in GaO. The enhanced PL and new band characteristics in nanostructured GaSb suggest that the nanostructured fibers may have unique applications in optoelectronic devices

The oyster genome reveals stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas belongs to one of the most species-rich but genomically poorly explored phyla, the Mollusca. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the oyster genome using short reads and a fosmid-pooling strategy, along with transcriptomes of development and stress response and the proteome of the shell. The oyster genome is highly polymorphic and rich in repetitive sequences, with some transposable elements still actively shaping variation. Transcriptome studies reveal an extensive set of genes responding to environmental stress. The expansion of genes coding for heat shock protein 70 and inhibitors of apoptosis is probably central to the oyster's adaptation to sessile life in the highly stressful intertidal zone. Our analyses also show that shell formation in molluscs is more complex than currently understood and involves extensive participation of cells and their exosomes. The oyster genome sequence fills a void in our understanding of the Lophotrochozoa. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Mechanism of Irradiation Assisted Cracking of Core Components in Light Water Reactors

The overall goal of the project is to determine the mechanism of irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC). IASCC has been linked to hardening, microstructural and microchemical changes during irradiation. Unfortunately, all of these changes occur simultaneously and at similar rates during irradiation, making attribution of IASCC to any one of these features nearly impossible to determine. The strategy set forth in this project is to develop means to separate microstructural from microchemical changes to evaluate each separately for their effect on IASCC. In the first part, post irradiation annealing (PIA) treatments are used to anneal the irradiated microstructure, leaving only radiation induced segregation (RIS) for evaluation for its contribution to IASCC. The second part of the strategy is to use low temperature irradiation to produce a radiation damage dislocation loop microstructure without radiation induced segregation in order to evaluate the effect of the dislocation microstructure alone. A radiation annealing model was developed based on the elimination of dislocation loops by vacancy absorption. Results showed that there were indeed, time-temperature annealing combinations that leave the radiation induced segregation profile largely unaltered while the dislocation microstructure is significantly reduced. Proton irradiation of 304 stainless steel irradiated with 3.2 MeV protons to 1.0 or 2.5 dpa resulted in grain boundary depletion of chromium and enrichment of nickel and a radiation damaged microstructure. Post irradiation annealing at temperatures of 500 � 600°C for times of up to 45 min. removed the dislocation microstructure to a greater degree with increasing temperatures, or times at temperature, while leaving the radiation induced segregation profile relatively unaltered. Constant extension rate tensile (CERT) experiments in 288°C water containing 2 ppm O2 and with a conductivity of 0.2 mS/cm and at a strain rate of 3 x 10-7 s-1 showed that the IASCC susceptibility, as measured by the crack length per unit strain, decreased with very short anneals and was almost completely removed by an anneal at 500°C for 45 min. This annealing treatment removed about 15% of the dislocation microstructure and the irradiation hardening, but did not affect the grain boundary chromium depletion or nickel segregation, nor did it affect the grain boundary content of other minor impurities. These results indicate that RIS is not the sole controlling feature of IASCC in irradiated stainless steels in normal water chemistry. The isolation of the irradiated microstructure was approached using low temperature irradiation or combinations of low and high temperature irradiations to achieve a stable, irradiated microstructure without RIS. Experiments were successful in achieving a high degree of irradiation hardening without any evidence of RIS of either major or minor elements. The low temperature irradiations to doses up to 0.3 dpa at T<75°C were also very successful in producing hardening to levels considerably above that for irradiations conducted under nominal conditions of 1 dpa at 360°C. However, the microstructure consisted of an extremely fine dispersion of defect clusters of sizes that are not resolvable by either transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The microstructure was not stable at the 288°C IASCC test temperature and resulted in rapid reduction of hardening and presumably, annealing of the defect clusters at this temperature as well. Nevertheless, the annealing studies showed that treatments that resulted in significant decreases in the hardening produced small changes in the dislocation microstructure that were confined to the elimination of the finest of loops (~1 nm). These results substantiate the importance of the very fine defect microstructure in the IASCC process. The results of this program provide the first definitive evidence that RIS is not the sole controlling factor in the irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steels in normal water chemistry. Earlier research has suggested that RIS may not play the dominant role it has recently been afforded, but the results of this program are the first to definitively establish this role. The program has also shown that the fine defect structure is implicated in the IASCC process and likely plays a role in the observed cracking of core components. The results of this project provide the basis and the motivation for further investigation into the mechanism of IASCC in which fine defect clusters may play a crucial, if not a defining role