Artículos SCI

Abstract

Colour analysis appears to be a robust technique for characterizing vitamin E doping and gamma irradiation of medical grade polyethylene samples. The analysis procedure described in this paper is of great interest because it can easily distinguish between polyethylene samples with differences in vitamin E (α-tocopherol) doping of about 0.1 wt% and gamma irradiation doses of 30 kGy. It is found that the colour differences (with respect to untreated samples) induced by gamma irradiation and/or vitamin E doping add-up linearly. This method for detecting the presence of vitamin E is fast, simple and non-destructive.

Abstract

Prof. Andrés Ortega passed away on last January after a painful and long illness. He was Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Seville (Spain) and was an outstanding researcher in the field of solid state reaction kinetics, an area to which he devoted his entire career since 1983, when he submitted his PhD thesis entitled ‘Critical study of non-isothermal methods for the kinetic analysis of solid-state reactions’. During his post doc stage and collaboration with Prof. Jean Rouquerol, his interest was raised by the Sample Controlled Thermal Analysis (SCTA) technique and its application to the kinetic study of solid state reactions, this latter one developed in Seville along with Prof. José Manuel Criado. A paper from this period should be highlighted: ‘Correlation between the shape of controlled-rate thermal analysis curves and the kinetics of solid-state reactions’ [Thermochimica Acta 157 (1990) 171], the most cited one in his research career. Most of his scientific production was published in Thermochimica Acta and in the Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry. A tireless professional, he remained active until a few weeks before dying. Being seriously ill he developed a method for the kinetic analysis of reactions with variable activation energies that notably simplifies the previous one proposed by Vyazovkin. The results were published in Thermochimica Acta under the title ‘A simple and precise linear integral method for isoconversional data’ [Thermochim. Acta 474 (2008) 81]. The high number of citations of this article – according to the ISI WEB of Knowledge – in spite of the short time elapsed since it was published reveals its impact within the scientific community.

He was also very much involved in teaching duties, developing new subjects and applying new teaching methodologies. He chaired two important academic positions at the University of Seville related to his works on teaching and educational sciences, as Director of the Institute of Educational Science and as Chairman of the Committee on Education of the University.

Though he sometimes appeared to be reserved, Andrés was a kind man, always ready to help in any problem that was presented to him. With a critical attitude and many cultural interests, he had a vast knowledge and a great ability to interpret the most diverse questions, frequently presenting a reasoning alternative to those commonly established. This was a continuous source of enrichment for both his friends and colleagues, who never will forget him.

Abstract

The sorption of La and Lu mixtures was examined in two bentonites after incubation for three months at 20 and 80 °C with Fe(0), as a laboratory approach to evaluate the effects of waste canister corrosion in a deep repository on the performance of clay engineered barriers. The sorption/desorption parameters were determined from batch tests in two ionic media: deionized water and, to consider the additional effect of cement leachates, 0.02 mol L− 1 Ca.

Results from XRD analyses showed the formation of crystalline FeO(OH), goethite, in a few samples and the degradation of the bentonites due to Fe(0) oxidation during incubation. Moreover, the EDX spectra showed that the lanthanides were sorbed primarily at smectite sites, although sorption onto goethite was also observed, whereas Fe(0) particles did not contribute to lanthanide sorption. The formation of goethite could explain the high Kd values measured in a few scenarios (e.g., those with single solutions or mixtures with the lowest initial concentration of the competitive lanthanide in which high affinity sites governed sorption), with up to 3-fold increases over the values obtained without Fe incubation. However, at higher lanthanide concentration, Kd values decreased or remained constant compared to the samples without Fe incubation, which could be explained by bentonite degradation. In the Ca medium, as much as 5 times lower Kd values were obtained, because of the competitive effect of the Ca ions, especially for Lu in the MX80 bentonite. This indicated that the small number of high affinity sites had been diminished.

The sorption data were satisfactorily fitted to a two-solute Langmuir model. In addition, Kd values correlated well with desorption data, which showed that the larger the decrease in Kd, the larger the increase in sorption reversibility. It is suggested that corrosion products from the metal canister might compromise the long-term radionuclide retention of the clay-engineered barriers.

Abstract

A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics study of the steam methane reforming (SMR) in microreactors is presented. Emphasis has been made on investigating the effects of the characteristic dimension (d: 0.35, 0.70, 1.40, and 2.80 mm) on the performance of two microreactor geometries: square microchannels and microslits. Results have shown that for both geometries the SMR conversion decreases markedly as d increases. Conversely, the microchannels provide a methane conversion slightly higher than that of the microslits. The different performance of the microreactors is only partially due to the different surface-to-volume ratio. Pronounced transverse temperature and concentration gradients develop as the characteristic dimension increases especially for microslits in the first half of the reactor. Therefore, external transport limitations can affect the performance of microreactors for SMR, although the characteristic dimensions are of the order of very few millimeters.

Abstract

This work reports on the porosity and refraction index of TiO2 thin films as a function of the film thickness. Samples were fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in a microwave electron cyclotron resonance (MW-ECR) reactor at room temperature using titanium tetra-isopropoxide (MP) as precursor. Experimental parameters such as plasma gas composition (pure oxygen and argon/oxygen mixtures) and pressure (either ECR conditions or "normal" pressure, i.e. 10(-4) or 10(-3) torrs correspondently) were varied. The evolution of the thin film microstructure, porosity and optical properties is critically studied by AFM, SEM, water adsorption isotherms, ellipsometry and UV-Vis transmittance and the existence of a certain critical thickness (t(c)) demonstrated. The porosity of the films with thicknesses ranging from several tens of nanometers up to half a micrometer is evaluated by QCM-isotherms at room temperature. The dependency of this critical thickness with the plasma conditions is evaluated experimental and theoretically. Thus, the microstructure change at t(c) is attributed to a transition from a surface diffused dominated growth mechanism for t < t(c) to another where shadowing is predominant. Dynamic scaling analysis of the two regimes and their Monte Carlo simulation complete the reported study.

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles are emerging as a powerful tool in bioimaging applications owing to their unique plasmonic properties i.e., extremely high molar extinction coefficients, resonant Rayleigh scattering and enhanced local electromagnetic fields. Through the optimization of these properties, by controlling composition, size, shape, and interparticle spacing of nanoparticles and their assemblies, highly enhanced local electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of nanoparticles are achievable giving rise to IR, Raman and fluorescence surface enhanced spectroscopies (SEIRS, SERS and MEF, respectively).

Abstract

Dye solar cells consisting of mesoporous TiO ₂ nanocolumnar films sensitized with a highly absorptive indoline dye were studied to estimate the charge collection efficiency provided by porous 1-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures in combination with viscous, fast-recombining electrolytes. The TiO ₂ mesoporous nanostructured films were prepared by physical vapor deposition at glancing incidence (GLAD-PVD). Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) in the dark was utilized to extract the transport and recombination properties of the fabricated devices. Due to their high porosity, the TiO ₂ nanocolumnar electrodes incorporated a dye amount similar to that admitted by nanoparticulated electrodes with higher thickness. This fact, together with the longer lifetimes of electrons obtained for the GLAD-PVD electrodes, lead to an overall improvement of the charge collection and photovoltaic properties with respect to randomly packed electrodes. Measured diffusion lengths were improved by a factor between 2 and 3 with respect to the disordered nanostructure. The present results demonstrate the capability of partially ordered nanostructures to improve charge collection in devices constructed with fast-recombining electrolytes.

Abstract

Phase transitions in LaYSi ₂O ₇ have been investigated as a function of temperature using XRD, NMR and TEM. Previously described empirical crystal structure guidelines based on average cation radius in rare-earth RE ₂Si ₂O ₇-type disilicates predict a stable tetragonal A-LaYSi ₂O ₇ polymorph at temperatures below 1500°C. This study demonstrates that A-LaYSi ₂O ₇ is not thermodynamically stable at these temperatures and suggests that guidelines based on average cation size do not accurately describe the equilibrium behaviour of this silicate system. The A to G-type polymorph transition is extremely sluggish; complete transformation requires ~250h at 1200°C, and more than 3 weeks of calcination at 1100°C. This observation is important when this type of material is used as environmental barrier coating (EBC) of advanced ceramics. Analysis of XRD and TEM data reveal complete substitution of Y and La on the rare-earth cation sites in both LaYSi ₂O ₇ polymorphs, but indicate preferential site occupancies in the G-type polymorph.

Abstract

The production of hydrogen by glycerol steam reforming was studied using CeZr(Co, CoRh) catalysts. The effect of Co and Rh presence on the properties of the mixed oxides and the effect on the catalytic behavior were considered. The catalysts were characterized before and after testing by XRD, Raman, TPR, H ₂-TPD, TPD-TPO and HRTEM. It was observed that the presence of Co allowed the selective H ₂ production related with the presence of a metallic phase at the beginning of the reaction. The presence of Rh favored even more the H ₂ production and also increased the stability of the catalyst. For CeZrCoRh, the presence of both metals enhanced the catalyst reduction capacity, a characteristic that significantly improved the catalytic behavior for glycerol steam reforming. The selective H ₂ production was related to the capacity of the catalyst to activate H ₂O under the reaction conditions. The progressive loss of this capacity decreases the production of H ₂, and glycerol decomposition is actually favored over glycerol steam reforming. According to the initial distribution of products, and its evolution with time on stream, two main reaction pathways were proposed.

Abstract

At room temperature diluted TiCl4 and CCl4 were reduced by sodium particles and mixed with a polycarbomethylsilane (PCS) solution to yield a precursor. It was dried and subsequently annealed at 1300 °C, 1400 °C and 1450 °C in a tube furnace using argon with 10 ppm N2. After the 1450 °C annealing a nanocrystalline powder of TiC0.5N0.5–SiC polyhedron and elongated crystals was obtained. At the low nitrogen concentration during annealing a gradual nitration is proposed. It is promoted by carbon gaseous species, precursor oxidation, a sufficient temperature and a summarised nitrogen surplus compared to the titanium and carbon amount.

Abstract

The study investigates the influence of nickel and magnesium additions to AA1050 aluminium alloy on the alloy electrochemical behaviour in sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric solutions under conditions relevant to industries that use alkaline etching as a standard surface treatment procedure and to the lithographic and electronic industries where surface convolution is assisted by pitting in hydrochloric acid. Scanning and transmission electron microscopes were used to characterize the intermetallic particles, and scanning Kelvin probe microscopy was utilised in monitoring the surface potential. Nickel is shown to be incorporated into second phase particles, which mostly consisted of Al3Fe and α-(AlFeSi) phases, resulting in enhanced cathodic activity on the aluminium surface. Consequently, the dissolution rates of the superpure aluminium, alloys without nickel addition and alloy with nickel addition are increased respectively in sodium hydroxide, and increased pitting is respectively promoted in hydrochloric acid. In contrast, the addition of magnesium to the alloy had negligible influence on the etching and pitting behaviour.

Abstract

Aluminum incorporation into TiO ₂ has been studied in the TiO ₂-Al ₂O ₃ system as a function of pressure at temperatures of 900 and 1300 °C using commercial Al ₂TiO ₅ nanopowder as starting material. A new orthorhombic TiO ₂ polymorph with the CaCl ₂ structure has been observed in the recovered samples synthesized from 4.5 to 7 GPa and 900 °C and from 2.5 to 7 GPa at 1300 °C. The phase transition to the α-PbO ₂ type TiO ₂ phase takes place between 7 and 10 GPa at both temperatures. Two mechanisms of Al incorporation in TiO ₂ rutile have been observed in the recovered samples. The substitution of Ti ⁴⁺ by Al ³⁺ on normal octahedral sites is dominant at lower pressures. High pressure induces the incorporation of Al ³⁺ into octahedral interstices of the rutile structure, which is responsible for an orthorhombic distortion of the TiO ₂ rutile structure and gives rise to a (110) twinned CaCl ₂ type structure. This phase is probably a result of temperature quench at high pressure. Aluminum solubility in TiO ₂ increases with increasing pressure. TiO ₂ is able to accommodate up to 9.8 wt% Al ₂O ₃ at 7 GPa and 1300 °C. Temperature has a large effect on the aluminum incorporation in TiO ₂, especially at higher pressures. High pressure has a strong effect on both the chemistry and the microstructure of Al-doped TiO ₂. Enhanced aluminum concentration in TiO ₂ rutile as well as TiO ₂ grains with a microstructure consisting of twins are a clear indication of high-pressure conditions.

Abstract

Here we analyze the effect of two relevant aspects related to cell preparation on quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) performance: the architecture of the TiO ₂ nanostructured electrode and the growth method of quantum dots (QD). Particular attention is given to the effect on the photovoltage, V _oc, since this parameter conveys the main current limitation of QDSCs. We have analyzed electrodes directly sensitized with CdSe QDs grown by chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). We have carried out a systematic study comprising structural, optical, photophysical and photoelectrochemical characterization in order to correlate the material properties of the photoanodes with the functional performance of the manufactured QDSCs. The results show that the correspondence between photovoltaic conversion efficiency and the surface area of TiO ₂ depends on the QDs deposition method. Higher V _oc values are systematically obtained for TiO ₂ morphologies with decreasing surface area and for cells using CBD growth method. This is systematically correlated to a higher recombination resistance of CBD sensitized electrodes. Electron injection kinetics from QDs into TiO ₂ also depends on both the TiO ₂ structure and the QDs deposition method, being systematically faster for CBD. Only for electrodes prepared with small TiO ₂ nanoparticles SILAR method presents better performance than CBD, indicating that the small pore size disturb the CBD growth method. These results have important implications for the optimization of QDSCs.Elect

Abstract

Single wall carbon nanotube reinforced yttria stabilized zirconia ceramic materials have been obtained by means of spark plasma sintering technique. Single wall carbon nanotubes were treated in an acid solution before mixing with zirconia powders to obtain a uniform distribution of both powders. This method allows obtaining ceramic materials with a grain size between 200 nanometers and 1 micron and with a grain size distribution which depends on processing conditions. This new route opens a new perspective for new ceramic composites tailoring with enhanced mechanical properties as structural materials

Abstract

This paper reports an improved procedure for synthesis of silicon carbide nanopowders from silica by carbothermic reduction under fast microwave-induced heating. The powders have been prepared by direct solid-state reaction in a 2.45 GHz microwave field in nitrogen atmosphere after 40 h milling. For the first time, the formation of silicon carbide (beta-SiC) as a major phase can be achieved at 1200 degrees C in 5 min of microwave exposure, resulting in nano sized particles ranging from 10 to 40 nm under optimized synthesis condition. The Rietveld quantitative phase-composition analysis confirmed that the major SiC polytype is cubic SiC (beta-SiC) with 98.5(4) weight fraction and the remained is minor hexagonal SiC polytypic (alpha-SiC) phases. Therefore this method is the most efficient one for SiC powder synthesis in terms of energy and time saving as well as preparation of SiC nano powders.

Abstract

Biomass is an alternative to replace the use of fossil fuels. Glycerol, a byproduct in the biodiesel production, can be used for obtaining hydrogen. The most efficient method for obtaining hydrogen from glycerol is the steam reforming (SR). So far all the published papers report the use of conventional catalyst. In this paper, a structured catalyst has been prepared and compared with the conventional ones (powder and spherical pellets). Results show that the structured catalyst (monolith) is more stable as formation of coke was not observed.

Abstract

(Ti,Ta)(C,N) solid solution-based cermets with cobalt as the binder phase were synthesised by a two-step milling process. The titanium-tantalum carbonitride solid solution (the ceramic phase) was obtained via a mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction (MSR) process from stoichiometric elemental Ti, Ta, and graphite powder blends in a nitrogen atmosphere. Elemental Co (the binder phase) was added to the ceramic phase, and the mixture was homogenised by mechanical milling (MM). The powdered cermet was then sintered in a tubular furnace at temperatures ranging from 1400°C to 1600°C in an inert atmosphere. The chemical composition and microstructure of the sintered cermets were characterised as ceramic particles grown via a coalescence process and embedded in a complex (Ti,Ta)-Co intermetallic matrix. The absence of the typical core-rim microstructure was confirmed.

Abstract

Chromium incorporation into TiO ₂ up to 3 GPa at 1300 °C and 900 °C has been studied by XRD as well as TEM. A CaCl ₂ type TiO ₂ polymorph has been observed in the quenched samples from high pressure. Two different mechanisms of solubility occur in the recovered samples. Chromium replaces titanium on normal octahedral sites but it also occupies interstitial octahedral sites, especially in the samples recovered from higher pressures. Interstitial chromium is responsible for an orthorhombic distortion of the TiO ₂ rutile structure in the quenched samples and gives rise to a (1 1 0) twinned CaCl ₂-structured polymorph. This phase is very likely the result of temperature quench at high pressure. The formation of this phase is directly related to the chromium content of the TiO ₂ grains. Chromium solubility in TiO ₂ increases with increasing the synthesis pressure. TiO ₂ is able to accommodate up to 15.3 wt% Cr ₂O ₃ at 3 GPa and 1300 °C, compared to 5.7 wt% at atmospheric pressure at the same temperature.

Abstract

Nanoscale resolution electron microscopy analysis combined with ion beam assisted techniques are presented here, to give answers to full characterization of morphology, growth mode, phase formation, and compositional distribution in nanocomposite TiAlSiN coatings deposited under different energetic conditions. Samples were prepared by magnetron sputtering, and the effects of substrate temperature and bias were investigated. The nanocomposite microstructure was demonstrated by the formation of a face-centered cubic (Ti,Al)N phase, obtained by substitution of Al in the cubic titanium nitride (c-TiN) phase, and an amorphous matrix at the column boundary regions mainly composed of Si, N (and O for the samples with higher oxygen contents). Oxygen impurities, predicted as the principal responsible for the degradation of properties, were identified, particularly in nonbiased samples and confirmed to occupy preferentially nitrogen positions at the column boundaries, being mainly associated to silicon forming oxynitride phases. It has been found that the columnar growth mode is not the most adequate to improve mechanical properties. Only the combination of moderate bias and additional substrate heating was able to reduce the oxygen content and eliminate the columnar microstructure leading to the nanocomposite structure with higher hardness (>30 GPa).