Ionization State Research Articles

Evolution of structural, magnetic and transport properties of 3d-5d based double perovskites Nd2–xSrxCoIrO6

The evolution of the structural, magnetic and transport properties of the intermediate compounds Nd2-xSrxCoIrO6withx= 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1 and 1.5 have been studied to establish important roles of sizes and oxidation states of cations on various phases. The replacement of Nd3+by Sr2+primarily influences the oxidation states of Co (Co2+→Co3+) and Ir (Ir4+→Ir5+) ions to maintain the charge neutrality in the entire system. The Sr dopants give rise to an increasing Co/Ir antisite disorder (ASD) to accommodate the variation of charge state and ionic radius of Co and Ir. The nature of magnetic interaction induced by Sr changes from being a ferrimagnetic (FIM) to a more dominant antiferromagnetic. The suppression of the second magnetic transition below 30 K in samples forx>0.2 is entirely due to dilution of the Nd-Nd magnetic interaction. The combined effects of ASD and mixed oxidation state of Co and Ir ions generate various types of magnetic exchange pathways and create competitive magnetic interactions to stabilize a particular magnetic ground state. In the middle compound NdSrCoIrO6, a Griffith like phase in the temperature region 65-150 K and exchange bias field of 658 Oe at 2.3 K under a cooling field of 50 kOe has been observed. The compounds show an insulating kind of behaviour, and with hole doping the value of room temperature resistivity drastically decreases. The nature of conduction is found to follow three dimensional Mott's variable range hopping process.

Relationship between Molecular Structure and Surface Activity of Ionic Surfactants.

A new model is developed to quantify the surface tension of ionic surfactants from surface affinity and ionization equilibrium. The model successfully predicts two important molecular structure-surface activity factors: the length of single-branch homologues and the nature of counterions. The modeling results also clarify the underlying mechanisms of the two processes. Changing the counterion only affects the ionization, not the affinity. On the other hand, increasing carbon length dramatically increases the affinity while having a small effect on ionization. The modeling framework consistently resolves structure-activity observations, some of which have been reported since the 19th century. The model can be extended for surfactants with more than one ionic state and surfactant/electrolyte mixtures.

HOW LIGANDS MODULATE THE GASTRIC H,K-ATPASE ACTIVITY AND ITS INHIBITION BY TEGOPRAZAN.

The introduction of potassium-competitive acid blockers (P-CABs) has been a major innovation in gastric H,K-ATPase inhibition and many laboratories are actively engaged in the development of novel molecules within this class. This work investigates the interaction between H,K-ATPase and tegoprazan, a representative of the P-CABs group, in terms of K+ and H+ binding, through functional and structural analyses. First, by studying the H,K-ATPase activity we found a model to describe the non-Michaelis Menten kinetics through a "ping-pong" mechanism that explains a stoichiometry of 1 H+, 1 K+, and 1 ATP molecule, but also considering the influence of H+ on the ionization states of the protein. A kinetic evaluation of the inhibition of tegoprazan denotes the binding to two different intermediates states with apparent Kd (μM) 0.56 ± 0.04 and 2.70 ± 0.24 at pH 7.2. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed important changes in the interactions of tegoprazan with the transmembrane residues depending on whether the site contains K+ or not. This explains the decrease in affinity as a function of K+ concentration observed in the kinetic experiments. On the other hand, the structures predict that the protonation of tegoprazan is responsible for the change in its dihedral angle. The rotation of the benzimidazole ring allows the inhibitor to be positioned further into the luminal cavity, a situation compatible with the higher inhibition affinity of H,K-ATPase measured at low pH. Results presented herein will provide a basis for the rational design of novel P-CABs ligands.

Time-dependent metal ionization and the persistence of collisionally excited emission lines in the diffuse ionized gas of star forming galaxies

Abstract We extend our time-dependent hydrogen ionization simulations of diffuse ionized gas to include metals important for collisional cooling and diagnostic emission lines. The combination of heating from supernovae and time-dependent collisional and photoionization from midplane OB stars produces emission line intensities (and emission line ratios) that follow the trends observed in the Milky Way and other edge-on galaxies. The long recombination times in low density gas result in persistent large volumes of ions with high ionization potentials, such as O iii and Ne iii. In particular, the vertically extended layers of Ne iii in our time-dependent simulations result in [Ne III] 15μm/[Ne II] 12μm emission line ratios in agreement with observations of the edge-on galaxy NGC 891. Simulations adopting ionization equilibrium do not allow for the persistence of ions with high ionization states and therefore cannot reproduce the observed emission lines from low density gas at high altitudes.

The influence of continuum lowering on the equilibrium composition of plasma: case study of laser-induced plasma on a WC–Cu target

Abstract Composition of plasma obtained by laser ablation of cermet WC-Cu is calculated under the assumption of local thermodynamical equilibrium. Special attention is paid to the effect of lowering the ionization potential, the influence of which in the Saha equations is reflected both through the exponential Boltzmann term and through the partition functions of atomic and ionic species present in the plasma. The effect on these two terms are separated and quantified. It has been shown that the correction of the partition functions due to the reduction of the ionization potential is of greater importance than the correction of Boltzmann term, at higher temperatures for atomic species. It is thus necessary for the precise determination of the plasma composition, especially at higher temperatures. The effect of lowering the ionization potential on different types of atoms as well as on different ionic states is analyzed. Тhe change of the partition function due to the lowering of ionization energy affects also the concentration of single charged ions in an amount comparable to the correction of the Boltzmann term.

Enhanced and Efficient Predictions of Dynamic Ionization through Constant-pH Adiabatic Free Energy Dynamics.

Dynamic or structurally induced ionization is a critical aspect of many physical, chemical, and biological processes. Molecular dynamics (MD) based simulation approaches, specifically constant pH MD methods, have been developed to simulate ionization states of molecules or proteins under experimentally or physiologically relevant conditions. While such approaches are now widely utilized to predict ionization sites of macromolecules or to study physical or biological phenomena, they are often computationally expensive and require long simulation times to converge. In this article, using the principles of adiabatic free energy dynamics, we introduce an efficient technique for performing constant pH MD simulations within the framework of the adiabatic free energy dynamics (AFED) approach. We call the new approach pH-AFED. We show that pH-AFED provides highly accurate predictions of protein residue pKa values, with a MUE of 0.5 pKa units when coupled with driven adiabatic free energy dynamics (d-AFED), while reducing the required simulation times by more than an order of magnitude. In addition, pH-AFED can be easily integrated into most constant pH MD codes or implementations and flexibly adapted to work in conjunction with enhanced sampling algorithms that target collective variables. We demonstrate that our approaches, with both pH-AFED standalone as well as pH-AFED combined with collective variable based enhanced sampling, provide promising predictive accuracy, with a MUE of 0.6 and 0.5 pKa units respectively, on a diverse range of proteins and enzymes, ranging up to 186 residues and 21 titratable sites. Lastly, we demonstrate how this approach can be utilized to understand the in vivo performance engineered antibodies for immunotherapy.

P-Orbital Ferromagnetism Arising from Unconventional O- Ionic State in a New Semiconductor Sr2AlO4 with Insufficiently Bonded Oxygen.

Oxygen in solids usually exists in an O2- ionic state. As a result, it loses its magnetic nature of a single atom, wherein two unpaired electrons exist in its outer 2p orbitals. Here, it is shown that an unconventional stable ionic state of O- is realized in a new semiconductor material Sr2AlO4, leading to an intrinsic p-orbital ferromagnetism stable until ≈900K. Experimental and theoretical investigations have clarified that one-fourth of the oxygen atoms in Sr2AlO4 are insufficiently bonded in the crystal structure, resulting in a unique O--state and p-orbital ferromagnetism. To date, the O- state is reported to exist only in non-equilibrium conditions, and p-orbital magnetism is only suggested in impurity bands with small ferromagnetic moments. The present work provides a new route for creating ferromagnetism in semiconductors and exploring new p-orbital physics and chemistry. In addition, the material shows elastic-mechanoluminescence that may enable unprecedented mechano-photonic-spintronics.

Ferromagnetic ferroelectricity due to the Kugel-Khomskii mechanism of orbital ordering assisted by atomic Hund's second rule effects

The exchange interactions in insulators depend on the orbital state of magnetic ions, obeying certain phenomenological principles, known as Goodenough-Kanamori-Anderson rules. Particularly, the ferro order of alike orbitals tends to stabilize antiferromagnetic interactions, while the antiferro order of unlike orbitals favors ferromagnetic interactions. The Kugel-Khomskii theory provides a universal view on such coupling between spin and orbital degrees of freedom, based on the superexchange processes: namely, for a given magnetic order, the occupied orbitals tend to arrange in a way to further minimize the exchange energy. Then, if two magnetic sites are connected by the spatial inversion, the antiferro orbital order should lead to the ferromagnetic coupling break the inversion symmetry. This constitutes the basic idea of our work, which provides a pathway for designing ferromagnetic ferroelectrics: the rare but fundamentally and practically important multiferroic materials. After illustrating the basic idea on toy-model examples, we propose that such behavior can be indeed realized in the van der Waals ferromagnet VI3, employing for this analysis the realistic model derived from first-principles calculations for magnetic 3d bands. We argue that the intra-atomic interactions responsible for Hund's second rule, acting against the crystal field, tend to restore the orbital degeneracy of the ionic d2 state in VI3 and, thus, provide a necessary flexibility for activating the Kugel-Khomskii mechanism of the orbital ordering. In the honeycomb lattice, this orbital ordering breaks the inversion symmetry, stabilizing the ferromagnetic-ferroelectric ground state. The symmetry breaking leads to the canting of magnetization, which can be further controlled by the magnetic field, producing a huge change of electric polarization. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Tailoring breakdown strength and energy-storage performance of silicon-integrated lead-free epitaxial BZT thin films through multi-element B-site substitutions

Developing high-temperature dielectric thin films with high-performance energy-storage properties for harsh environment applications has received increased attention. Herein, a multi-element co-doping strategy is proposed to enhance the breakdown strength and energy storage properties of lead-free BaTiO3-based thin films, which were deposited on silicon substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Due to the difference in ionic radii and valence states between the multi-dopants and host Ti-cations, the local lattice distortion and local charged defects are induced, which results in the reduction in the size of polar nanoregions (PNRs) and weakened coupling interactions between these PNRs, thus achieving stronger breakdown strength (EBD). Accordingly, owing to an enhanced EBD of 7.8 MV/cm and a delayed polarization saturation, a superior recoverable energy-storage density (Ur) of 140.8 J/cm3 along with an excellent energy efficiency (η) of 93.2 % were achieved at room temperature in the multi-element doped Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.2Mn0.2Nb0.2Sm0.2)O3 (BZTMNS) thin film. Moreover, the BZTMNS thin film also exhibits an excellent Ur of 102.6 J/cm3, a good η of 86.4 %, and a high EBD of 6.6 MV/cm at an operating temperature of 200 °C. Additionally, a small fluctuation of Ur (-6.1 %) and η (-11.7 %) values can also be observed in BZTMNS thin film in high cycling endurance, up to 1010 cycles, even when operated at an elevated temperature of 200 °C. These findings in the BZTMNS thin film demonstrate a feasible way to design high-temperature capacitors for modern electronic devices for hybrid vehicles and underground oil/gas explorations.

The new fate of MCLR revealed by dialysis equilibrium and theoretical calculations: Influence from DOM and Fe(II)/Mn(II)

Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is a highly toxic pollutant widely distributed in eutrophic waters. The interplay between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and metal ions has been extensively reported; however, the impact of DOM-metal complexes on MCLR remains to be thoroughly studied. In this research, equilibrium dialysis was employed to study the kinetics and isotherms of MCLR adsorption by DOM, meanwhile the Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided insights into the theoretical mechanisms of Fe(II)/Mn(II) involvement in the adsorption process. The adsorption kinetics revealed that the process is physicochemical, with chemisorption being the critical factor controlling the adsorption rate. The adsorption isotherms confirmed that Fe(II) alters the spatial arrangement of adsorption sites on the superficies of DOM, with the complexes of Fe(II) and DOM from the macrophyte-dominated regions of Lake Taihu (MDR-Fe(II)) showing the uppermost adsorption capacity of 6193.965 µg/g among all combinations. The influence of different cations (K+, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+) on the adsorption of MCLR to DOM is divergent, with metals either reducing MCLR adsorption through competition for adsorption sites or increasing it by forming ternary complexes. The pH decrease reduced the affinity of DOM to metal ions while simultaneously enhancing MCLR adsorption through changes in its ionization state. DFT calculations demonstrated that Fe(II)/Mn(II) reduces the resistance to interaction between functional groups on DOM and MCLR, with carboxyl-Fe(II)-carboxyl interactions showing the highest binding energy (ΔG = −7.253 eV). Overall, Fe(II)/Mn(II) enhances the adsorption of MCLR via altering the structure and surface electrostatic potential distribution of DOM. This research indicates that the ultimate fate of MCLR in aquatic ecosystems is affected by DOM and metal ions.

Measurements of the thermal and ionization state of the intergalactic medium during the cosmic afternoon

Abstract We perform the first measurement of the thermal and ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) across 0.9 < z < 1.5 using 301 Lyα absorption lines fitted from 12 archival HST STIS quasar spectra. We employ the machine-learning-based inference method that uses joint Doppler parameter - column density ($b-N_{{\rm {H\,{\small I}}}{}}$) distributions obtained from Lyα forest decomposition. Our results show that the H i photoionization rates, $\Gamma _{{\rm{H\,{\small I}}}{}}$, agree with recent UV background synthesis models, with $\log (\Gamma _{{\rm{H\,{\small I}}}}/\text{s}^{-1})={-11.79}^{+0.18}_{-0.15}$, ${-11.98}^{+0.09}_{-0.09}$, and ${-12.32}^{+0.10}_{-0.12}$ at z = 1.4, 1.2, and 1 respectively. We obtain the IGM temperature at the mean density, T0, and the adiabatic index, γ, as [log (T0/K), γ] = [${4.13}^{+0.12}_{-0.10}$, ${1.34}^{+0.10}_{-0.15}$], $[{3.79}^{+0.11}_{-0.11}$, ${1.70}^{+0.09}_{-0.09}]$ and $[{4.12}^{+0.15}_{-0.25}$, ${1.34}^{+0.21}_{-0.26}]$ at z = 1.4, 1.2 and 1. Our measurements of T0 at z = 1.4 and 1.2 are consistent with the trend predicted from previous z < 3 temperature measurements and theoretical expectations, where the IGM cools down after He ii reionization in the absence of any non-standard heating. However, our T0 measurement at z = 1 shows unexpectedly high IGM temperature. Given the relatively large uncertainty in these measurements, where $\sigma _{T_0} \sim 5000$ K, mostly emanating from the limited size of our dataset, we can not conclude whether the IGM cools down as expected. Lastly, we generate mock datasets to test the constraining power of future measurement with larger datasets. The results demonstrate that, with redshift pathlength Δz ∼ 2 for each redshift bin, three times the current dataset, we can constrain the T0 of IGM within 1500K, which would be sufficient to constrain the IGM thermal history at z < 1.5 conclusively.

Synthesis of α‐NiS Decorated Fe3S4 Nanohybrid Composite and Its Heterogeneous Fenton Catalysis for Dye Degradation

AbstractGreigite (Fe3S4) and millerite (NiS) are important transition metal sulfides that exhibit light‐driven Fenton catalytic activity. In absence of light, they show limited activity. To utilize these properties without relying on light, we synergized these sulfides to prepare a composite Fe3S4–NiS (FSNS). Under fixed reaction conditions, the composite demonstrated excellent Fenton activity, degrading 93% of fast green dye (FG) and 98.1% of eriochrome black T dye (EBT) within a short reaction time. The mechanism involves electron transfer from the reduced sulfur state (S2−) in both NiS and Fe3S4 to the higher oxidation states of the metal ions viz. Fe3+and Ni3+ to facilitate the redox cyclization in the Fenton process. The catalyst showed high stability for five cyclical tests by recovering it from solution with an external magnet.

Structural and optical properties of Eu-doped ZnO epitaxial thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

Pulsed-laser deposition was utilized to fabricate Eu-doped ZnO epitaxial films on c-plane sapphire substrates with Eu concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4.0 at. %. The structural properties were analyzed using x-ray diffraction surface normal radial scans and azimuthal cone scans, which confirmed the epitaxy of the film samples. Reciprocal space mapping was performed on ZnO(101̄1) to visualize the effect of Eu incorporation. X-ray fluorescence mapping confirmed the homogeneous distribution of Zn and Eu, and x-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra directly confirmed the trivalent state of Eu ions. The optical properties were assessed using temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL). Various defects were identified. With increasing Eu dopant concentration, PL emissions from defects and the Eu 4f-intraband transitions gradually became the predominant features in the PL spectra at low temperatures. Furthermore, PL analysis suggested that Eu ions substituted Zn, occupying sites with lower C3v symmetry due to the distortion caused by Eu incorporation.

The Galaxy Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS)

This study analyses JWST MIRI/MRS observations of the infrared (IR) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) bands in the nuclear (∼0.4″ at 11 μm; ∼75 pc) and circumnuclear regions (inner ∼kpc) of local active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Galactic Activity, Torus, and Outflow Survey (GATOS). We examine the PAH properties in the circumnuclear regions of AGNs and the projected direction of AGN-outflows and compare them to those in star-forming regions and the innermost regions of AGNs. This study employs 4.9–28.1 μm sub-arcsecond angular resolution data to investigate the properties of PAHs in three nearby sources (DL ∼ 30 − 40 Mpc). Our findings are aligned with previous JWST studies, demonstrating that the central regions of AGNs display a larger fraction of neutral PAH molecules (i.e. elevated 11.3/6.2 and 11.3/7.7 μm PAH ratios) in comparison to star-forming galaxies. We find that AGNs might affect not only the PAH population in the innermost region, but also in the extended regions up to ∼kpc scales. By comparing our observations to PAH diagnostic diagrams, we find that, in general, regions located in the projected direction of the AGN-outflow occupy similar positions on the PAH diagnostic diagrams as those of the innermost regions of AGNs. Star-forming regions that are not affected by the AGNs in these galaxies share the same part of the diagram as star-forming galaxies. We also examined the potential of the PAH-H2 diagram to disentangle AGN-versus-star-forming activity. Our results suggest that in Seyfert-like AGNs, the illumination and feedback from the AGN might affect the PAH population at nuclear and kpc scales, particularly with respect to the ionisation state of the PAH grains. However, PAH molecular sizes are rather similar. The carriers of the ionised PAH bands (6.2 and 7.7 μm) are less resilient than those of neutral PAH bands (11.3 μm), which might be particularly important for strongly AGN-host coupled systems. Therefore, caution must be applied when using PAH bands as star-formation rate indicators in these systems even at kpc scales, with the effects of the AGN being more important for ionised ones.

Spectral reconstruction for radiation hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy evolution

Radiation from stars and active galactic nuclei (AGN) plays an important role in galaxy formation and evolution, and profoundly transforms the intergalactic, circumgalactic, and interstellar medium (IGM, CGM, and ISM). On-the-fly radiative transfer (RT) has started being incorporated in cosmological simulations, but the complex evolving radiation spectra are often crudely approximated with a small number of broad bands with piece-wise constant intensity and a fixed photo-ionisation cross-section. Such a treatment is unable to capture the changes to the spectrum as light is absorbed while it propagates through a medium with non-zero opacity. This can lead to large errors in photo-ionisation and heating rates. In this work we present a novel approach of discretising the radiation field at discrete photon energies, at the edges of the typically used photo-ionising bands, in order to capture the power-law slope of the radiation field. In combination with power-law approximations for the photo-ionisation cross-sections, this model allows us to self-consistently combine radiation from sources with different spectra and accurately follow the ionisation states of primordial and metal species through time. The method is implemented in GASOLINE2 in connection with TREVR2, a fast reverse ray tracing algorithm with 𝒪(Nactive log2 N) scaling. We compare our new piece-wise power-law reconstruction to the piece-wise constant method in calculating the primordial chemistry photo-ionisation and heating rates under an evolving UV background (UVB) and stellar spectrum, and find that our method reduces errors significantly, by up to two orders of magnitude in the case of HeII ionisation. We apply our new spectral reconstruction method in RT post-processing of a cosmological zoom-in simulation, MUGS2 g1536, including radiation from stars and a live UVB, and find a significant increase in total neutral hydrogen (HI) mass in the ISM and the CGM due to shielding of the UVB and a low escape fraction of the stellar radiation. This demonstrates the importance of RT and an accurate spectral approximation in simulating the CGM-galaxy ecosystem.

The State of Solar Wind Heavy Ions in Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection–Driven Geomagnetic Storms

During geomagnetic storms, which are the primary periods for heavy ions from the solar wind to enter Earth’s magnetospheric space, the charge state of solar wind heavy ions during these storms has significant implications for studying the distribution and effects of heavy ions in the magnetosphere. We analyzed the states and variations of heavy ions during 158 interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME)–driven geomagnetic storm events using data from the Advanced Composition Explorer satellite and examined four of these events in detail. We found that the increase in the average charge state of heavy ions such as O, Mg, Si, and Fe is positively correlated with the intensity of the geomagnetic storm. Regarding the abundance ratio of heavy ions such as Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe relative to oxygen ions, the rate and magnitude of increase in abundance ratios during extreme geomagnetic storms (Kp = 9) triggered by ICME events are significantly higher than those during other levels of geomagnetic storms. Additionally, we observed that although the average charge states of heavy ions such as O and Fe are correlated with the geomagnetic storm intensity induced by ICMEs, there are significant individual differences in the charge state variations of heavy ions.

TriPoD: Tri-Population size distributions for Dust evolution

Context. Dust coagulation and fragmentation impact the structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks and set the initial conditions for planet formation. Dust grains dominate the opacities, they determine the cooling times of the gas via thermal accommodation in collisions, they influence the ionization state of the gas, and the available grain surface area is an important parameter for the chemistry in protoplanetary disks. Therefore, dust evolution is an effect that should not be ignored in numerical studies of protoplanetary disks. Available dust coagulation models are, however, too computationally expensive to be implemented in large-scale hydrodynamic simulations. This limits detailed numerical studies of protoplanetary disks, including these effects, mostly to one-dimensional models. Aims. We aim to develop a simple – yet accurate – dust coagulation model that can be easily implemented in hydrodynamic simulations of protoplanetary disks. Our model shall not significantly increase the computational cost of simulations and provide information about the local grain size distribution. Methods. The local dust size distributions are assumed to be truncated power laws. Such distributions can be fully characterized by only two dust fluids (large and small grains) and a maximum particle size, truncating the power law. We compare our model to state- of-the-art dust coagulation simulations and calibrate it to achieve a good fit with these sophisticated numerical methods. Results. Running various parameter studies, we achieved a good fit between our simplified three-parameter model and DustPy, a state-of-the-art dust coagulation software. Conclusions. We present TriPoD, a sub-grid dust coagulation model for the PLUTO code. With TriPoD, we can perform twodimensional, vertically integrated dust coagulation simulations on top of a hydrodynamic simulation. Studying the dust distributions in two-dimensional vortices and planet-disk systems is thus made possible.

Chemical information from XPS: Theory and experiment for Ni(OH)2.

The features and the electronic character of the states for the Ni 2p x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of Ni(OH)2 were analyzed. This detailed analysis is based on abinitio molecular orbital wavefunctions for a cluster model of Ni(OH)2. The theory is validated by comparison with experiment. Then, advanced methods are used to explain and contrast the properties of different groups of ionic states. An important conclusion is that in most cases, the ionic states cannot be described with a single configuration or determinant. Despite this essential many-body character of the XPS, we demonstrate that it is possible to understand the origin of the main and satellite XPS features in terms of their orbital character.

Stepwise extraction of Cu, Co, and Ni from hazardous waste: A novel process based on ammonia leaching and 2-((4-butylphenoxy)methyl)pyridine (BMPY) extraction system

The extraction of Cu, Co, and Ni from spent batteries and spent catalysts is crucial for resource recovery and environmental pollution reduction. Ammonia leaching offers a promising alternative in the hydrometallurgical treatment of these hazardous waste due to its selective leaching properties. However, the development of this method has been impeded by the lack of efficient extractants. In this work, an efficient extractant, 2-((4-butylphenoxy)methyl)pyridine (BMPY), was designed and synthetized. Utilizing the high affinity of BMPY for Cu, Co, and Ni and exploiting the different ionic association states of these metals at different pH levels, an effective process for separating Cu, Co, and Ni from ammonia leach solution was proposed, producing CuSO4, CoSO4, and NiSO4 with over 99.9 % purity. Mechanism investigations and pilot-scale experimental validation have demonstrated that the ammonia leaching-BMPY extraction process is a viable method for extracting Cu, Co, and Ni from hazardous waste, with significant potential for industrial application.

Collisions Between Dark Matter Confined High Velocity Clouds and Magnetized Galactic Disks: The Smith Cloud. II.

We present high-resolution simulations of high velocity clouds (HVCs) colliding with the outer part of the Galactic disk. All of the simulations include a 3 × 108 M ⊙ dark matter subhalo. Three simulations model a dark matter subhalo without a gaseous component, while eight simulations model a dark matter subhalo accompanied by a gaseous cloud of mass 2–8 × 106 M ⊙. Half of the simulations include the coherent component of the Galaxy's magnetic field. Each simulation spans ∼40 million years before the collision and ∼40 million years after the collision. The collisions between the gas cloud and disk splash gas into the halo, punch half-kiloparsec-size holes in the disk, and form long-lived, multi-kiloparsec-size shells. Each shell encloses a bubble of relatively cool gas. Holes and shells of these scales would be observable, and some have been observed in the past. We determine the fate of the HVC gas, temperature, composition, and ionization state of the bubble and shell gas, size and longevity of the holes, and effects of cloud density. Simulations show that the clouds do not survive the chaos of passage through the disk, but instead become part of the splash, bubble, and shell. Some dark matter clouds may appear to carry material with them long after the collision, but this material is shell gas that was captured by the dark matter subhalo. These results have ramifications for the Smith Cloud and other clouds hypothesized to have hit the Galactic disk.