Non-magnetic Materials Research Articles

Concentration study of a specularite ore via shaking table, reverse flotation, and microwave-assisted magnetic separation

Despite the difficulties in pelletizing specularite-type refractory iron ores, the utilization of these resources is indispensable for the steel industry due to the increasing need for iron. This study investigated Fe recovery from a refractory iron ore using gravity separation, reverse flotation, and two-stage magnetic separation. Tilt angle and particle size had a significant effect on the grade and recovery of concentrates in shaking table tests. Gravity concentration at optimum conditions resulted in an iron concentrate with 64.47% Fe grade and 90.73% Fe recovery. In the reverse flotation tests, the frother and depressant substantially affected the Fe grade of concentrates while the collector influenced the Fe recovery. A 90% Fe recovery with 64.69% Fe grade was obtained within optimum flotation conditions. The Fe grades were raised to >67.5% in products after the first magnetic separation. The tailings of the first magnetic separation were subjected to the second magnetic separation after microwave-assisted roasting to increase the magnetic susceptibility. In the second magnetic separation, a concentrate containing 66.06% Fe was separated from the microwave-roasted non-magnetic material with 82.23% Fe recovery. To the best of our knowledge, the microwave-roasting method has been applied to a specularite-type refractory iron ore for the first time.

Magnetic ion imprinting techniques for the separation and analysis of elemental speciation

Metal and metalloid elements have various possible isotopic compositions and oxidation states and often form coordination or covalent compounds with inorganic and organic small molecules or biological macromolecules, resulting in complex elemental speciation. Different species of the same element often have different properties, which dictate their behavior. Thus, elemental speciation analysis is vital for comprehensively and accurately assessing an element's environmental and biological effects and the corresponding risks. Because elemental speciation determines the behavior of an element in different environmental and biological processes, the analysis of elemental species has, in recent years, been important in various subjects, including analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, geochemistry, ecology, agronomy, and biomedicine. The complexity of environmental and biological sample matrices, as well as the multiformity, low levels, and lability of chemical forms pose severe challenges in elemental speciation analysis. Therefore, the highly selective identification and efficient separation of native species is necessary for conducting the identification, quantification, ecotoxicity evaluation, and physiological function study of elemental speciation. Sample pretreatment by solid-phase extraction is an effective solution to the aforementioned problems, but the existing methods do not meet the requirements of current research. The transition of the target species from pre-processing to the detection device includes both on- and off-line arrangements. Compared with the on-line approach, the off-line approach requires more manual participation, increasing the analysis workload. However, the off-line approach can improve the analysis efficiency through high-throughput pretreatment when large batches of samples are encountered, meaning the off-line approach is still an effective model. Ion imprinting technology has been developed based on existing molecular imprinting technology, with four main steps present in the synthesis of ion imprinted polymers. First, ion imprinting technology uses metal ions as templates. Then, these templates are combined with the functional monomers through coordination, electrostatic or hydrogen bonding. The functional monomers simultaneously surround and fix the templates, after which the cross-linkers and functional monomers polymerize to prepare ion-imprinted polymers with a specific structure and composition. Finally, the imprinted holes are created in the polymers by eluting the template ions. Therefore, the template molecules, functional monomers, and cross-linkers are three precursors necessary for synthesizing ion-imprinted polymers. These polymers can specifically bind to the imprinted metal ions with accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability. In recent years, they have been widely used in separating, enriching, analyzing, and detecting elemental species. During solid-phase extraction, the non-magnetic adsorbent materials dispersed in the sample solution need to be separated by centrifugation or filtration, which is time-consuming and laborious. Because an external magnetic field can be used for rapid magnetic solid-phase extraction, it has become a potential method for separating and enriching elemental species. This review systematically summarizes the latest progress in ion-imprinting technology, including its principle and the preparation methods of ion-imprinted polymers. The challenges faced by ion imprinting technology are analyzed in the context of the development of ion-imprinting magnetic solid-phase extraction in elemental speciation analysis. Finally, the direction of future development and the strategies of ion imprinting technology in elemental speciation analysis are proposed. It is important to exploit novel organic-inorganic hybrid polymerization-based multifunctional ion-imprinted magnetic nanocomposites for the magnetic solid-phase extraction and separation of elemental species. By establishing the pretreatment protocols with high recognition selectivity, strong separation ability, large adsorption capacity, and good speciation stability, we expect to achieve the research objectives of simultaneously separating and enriching the multiple-species of typical metal/metalloid elements in environmental and biological samples.

Finite-element dynamic-matrix approach for propagating spin waves: Extension to mono- and multi-layers of arbitrary spacing and thickness

In our recent work [Körber et al., AIP Adv. 11, 095006 (2021)], we presented an efficient numerical method to compute dispersions and mode profiles of spin waves in waveguides with translationally invariant equilibrium magnetization. A finite-element method (FEM) allowed to model two-dimensional waveguide cross sections of arbitrary shape but only finite size. Here, we extend our FEM propagating-wave dynamic-matrix approach from finite waveguides to the important cases of infinitely extended mono- and multi-layers of arbitrary spacing and thickness. To obtain the mode profiles and frequencies, the linearized equation of the motion of magnetization is solved as an eigenvalue problem on a one-dimensional line-trace mesh, defined along the normal direction of the layers. Being an important contribution to multi-layer systems, we introduce interlayer exchange into our FEM approach. With the calculation of dipolar fields being the main focus, we also extend the previously presented plane-wave Fredkin–Koehler method to calculate the dipolar potential of spin waves in infinite layers. The major benefit of this method is that it avoids the discretization of any non-magnetic material such as non-magnetic spacers in multilayers. Therefore, the computational effort becomes independent of the spacer thicknesses. Furthermore, it keeps the resulting eigenvalue problem sparse, which, therefore, inherits a comparably low arithmetic complexity. As a validation of our method (implemented into the open-source finite-element micromagnetic package TETRAX), we present results for various systems and compare them with theoretical predictions and with established finite-difference methods. We believe this method offers an efficient and versatile tool to calculate spin-wave dispersions in layered magnetic systems.

Analysis of Electromagnetic–Mechanical Characteristics according to Shaft Materials of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor

In this paper, an analysis of electromagnetic–mechanical characteristics according to the shaft materials of a permanent magnet synchronous motor was performed. In general, the shaft of an electric motor rotating at high speed uses various materials, considering the mechanical rigidity and electromagnetic characteristics. However, because the material of the shaft has a significant influence on the electromagnetic performance according to the characteristics of the non-magnetic and magnetic materials, electromagnetic characteristics analysis was performed according to the material of the shaft. In addition, because the machine rotating at a high speed entails mechanical problems owing to the centrifugal force, the mechanical stability was secured through critical speed characteristic analysis according to each material after performing the von Mises stress analysis of the permanent magnet and sleeve.

FEM simulation‐based development of a new tunable non‐magnetic RF high voltage capacitor for the new generation of MRI

Using Radio Frequency (RF) waves, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems can make detailed images of human organs for accurate diagnostic processes and disease detection. The overhaul of certain electronic components has become necessary to keep up with the progress of MRI systems. Among the components responsible for image quality, the adjustable non-magnetic capacitors, also called trimmers, are of great importance. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new design of a trimmer using non-magnetic materials, able to hold a high voltage ( >3 kV) and reach a resonance frequency above 100 MHz. Constructional analysis performed on existing commercial trimmers, combined with the electrical Finite Element Method, were carried out to propose a prototype matching the desired specifications. A dielectric shield surrounding the electrodes was sized to ensure voltage withstand. Moreover, the rotor and the worm-and-gear set were joined together to combat the vibrations generated by the MRI system. The present study includes the modelling step of the component by numerical simulation, the manufacturing, the electrical performance characterization, and the mechanical solution for tuning capacitance. The final prototype combines electrical performance corresponding to the required specifications in particular a high breakdown voltage (39.7 kV) and a resonance frequency (130 MHz).

The Nature of Ferromagnetism in a System of Self-Ordered α-FeSi2 Nanorods on a Si(111)-4° Vicinal Surface: Experiment and Theory.

In this study, the appearance of magnetic moments and ferromagnetism in nanostructures of non-magnetic materials based on silicon and transition metals (such as iron) was considered experimentally and theoretically. An analysis of the related literature shows that for a monolayer iron coating on a vicinal silicon surface with (111) orientation after solid-phase annealing at 450–550 °C, self-ordered two-dimensional islands of α-FeSi2 displaying superparamagnetic properties are formed. We studied the transition to ferromagnetic properties in a system of α-FeSi2 nanorods (NRs) in the temperature range of 2–300 K with an increase in the iron coverage to 5.22 monolayers. The structure of the NRs was verified along with distortions in their lattice parameters due to heteroepitaxial growth. The formation of single-domain grains in α-FeSi2 NRs with a cross-section of 6.6 × 30 nm2 was confirmed by low-temperature and field studies and FORC (first-order magnetization reversal curves) diagrams. A mechanism for maintaining ferromagnetic properties is proposed. Ab initio calculations in freestanding α-FeSi2 nanowires revealed the formation of magnetic moments for some surface Fe atoms only at specific facets. The difference in the averaged magnetic moments between theory and experiments can confirm the presence of possible contributions from defects on the surface of the NRs and in the bulk of the α-FeSi2 NR crystal lattice. The formed α-FeSi2 NRs with ferromagnetic properties up to 300 K are crucial for spintronic device development within planar silicon technology.

A Coreless Current Probe for Multicore Cables

To measure the current on each conductor in a three-phase three-core cable or a three-phase four-core cable without an armor or the armor that is made of nonmagnetic material, one has to remove its sheath/armor and applies a traditional device, such as a current transformer (CT) to each conductor, which is invasive and inconvenient. In this article, a Coreless current probe, composed of a tunnel-magnetoresistance (TMR)-based magnetic sensor array, is presented to nondestructively achieve current measurement for multicore cables. The conductor positions, incline angles, and current phasors of a multicore cable are simultaneously identified by solving a nonlinear least square (NLLS) problem. The current waveforms are reconstructed in real time through a real-valued matrix multiplication using the measured time-domain TMR sensor voltage signals. Both simulation and experiment are performed to validate the feasibility of the proposed method. The simulation study is first conducted and demonstrates that a maximum relative current amplitude error of less than 5% and a maximum phase error of lower than 4° can be achieved, and three-phase current waveforms with many harmonics are also successfully reconstructed by simulation. A prototype Coreless current probe is designed and fabricated. The experimental study involving fundamental current phasor measurement and current waveform reconstruction is subsequently performed on a three-phase three-core cable. The experimental results indicate that the maximum relative current amplitude error and phase error, respectively, have average values of 5.44% and 2.58°. Meanwhile, three-phase current waveforms with many harmonics generated by three types of appliances are also successfully reconstructed.

Ultra-light 3D bamboo-like SiC nanowires felt for efficient microwave absorption in the low-frequency region

Nonmagnetic ceramics are ideal microwave absorbing materials used in high-temperature and oxidizing environments. However, low-frequency absorbing properties of this material are rarely reported because low-frequency absorbing requires nonmagnetic materials to have much higher permittivity. In this research, a series of three-dimensional architectures formed by SiC nanowires with different microstructures felt were fabricated to address this issue. The morphology of the SiCnw (linear, bamboo-shaped, and worm-like) dominated by the VLS growth mechanism can be manipulated by the silicon vapor concentration, which is governed by the vaporization temperature of the mixed silicon source (Si and SiO2) in different sintering processes. The spontaneously overlapped bamboo-shaped SiC nanowires in these felt enhance the permittivity and conductivity loss and produce multiple scattering effects on the incident EM waves, thus increasing the low-frequency wave absorption ability. The RLmin of the bamboo-shaped SiCnw felt reaches −44.3 dB at 3.85 GHz with the corresponding EAB of 0.64 GHz (3.6–4.24 GHz) at a thickness of 3.5 mm. The density of the SiCnw felt is as low as 0.022 g/cm3 due to the high porosity (99.3%) of 3D networks, which fulfills lightweight requirements and highly efficient electromagnetic wave absorption.

Recent Progress in Research on Ferromagnetic Rhenium Disulfide.

Since long-range magnetic ordering was observed in pristine Cr2Ge2Te6 and monolayer CrCl3, two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials have gradually become an emerging field of interest. However, it is challenging to induce and modulate magnetism in non-magnetic (NM) materials such as rhenium disulfide (ReS2). Theoretical research shows that defects, doping, strain, particular phase, and domain engineering may facilitate the creation of magnetic ordering in the ReS2 system. These predictions have, to a large extent, stimulated experimental efforts in the field. Herein, we summarize the recent progress on ferromagnetism (FM) in ReS2. We compare the proposed methods to introduce and modulate magnetism in ReS2, some of which have made great experimental breakthroughs. Experimentally, only a few ReS2 materials exhibit room-temperature long-range ferromagnetic order. In addition, the superexchange interaction may cause weak ferromagnetic coupling between neighboring trimers. We also present a few potential research directions for the future, and we finally conclude that a deep and thorough understanding of the origin of FM with and without strain is very important for the development of basic research and practical applications.

Gate modulation of the spin current in graphene/WSe2 van der Waals heterostructure at room temperature

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors owning a large intrinsic spin-orbit coupling (SOC) are considered the best candidates to generate, detect and manipulate the spin currents. The SOC defines the interconversion of spin and charge currents via Rashba Edelstein effect (spin Hall effect) and its reciprocal as inverse Rashba Edelstein effect (inverse spin Hall effect). However, the spin signal originated in low dimensional materials because of Rashba Edelstein effect or spin Hall effect yet needed to be addressed with distinguishable measurement technique. Here, we demonstrate experimentally the room temperature interconversion of spin and charge currents in Graphene/WSe 2 van der Waals heterostructure which is induced by proximity effect. Remarkably, the spin currents induced by Rashba Edelstein effect and spin Hall effect are discriminated and extracted individually via external magnetic field, respectively. The magnitude of spin transport and their corresponding spin efficiencies ( α RE E = 1.47 ± 0.03 % ) and (θ SHE = = 4.5 ± 0.07 % ) are modulated via applied electric field and temperature. Such electric, and magnetic field tunability of the spin transport through the non-magnetic materials may provide a new approach to fabricate the fast and low-power spintronic devices for quantum scale applications. • Experimental demonstration of interconversion of spin and charge currents in Graphene/WSe 2 van der Waals heterostructure, induced by proximity of WSe 2 , at room temperature. • Remarkably, the spin currents induced by Rashba Edelstein effect and spin Hall effect are discriminated and their corresponding spin efficiencies are extracted individually via external magnetic field, respectively.

Resistive Sheet Boundary Condition-Based Nonconformal Domain Decomposition FE-BI-MLFMA for Electromagnetic Scattering From Inhomogeneous Objects With Honeycomb Structures

A flexible and efficient resistive sheet boundary condition (RSBC)-based hybrid finite element-boundary integral-multilevel fast multipole algorithm (FE-BI-MLFMA) is presented for computing electromagnetic scattering from inhomogeneous objects with microwave-absorbing honeycomb structures. In the proposed algorithm, each nonmagnetic and high lossy material coated unit cell wall of the honeycomb is first approximated by the multilayered RSBC as a zero-thickness resistive sheet to eliminate the computational burden due to the extremely thin and multilayered characteristics of the coated unit cell wall. Then, the RSBC is incorporated into the FE-part of the FE-BI-MLFMA formulation. To further reduce the burden of meshing complicated objects involving cellular structures after RSBC approximation, the hybrid conformal and nonconformal domain decomposition method (DDM) of the FE-BI-MLFMA, which integrates the nonconformal Schwarz DDM-FE and the simplified discontinuous Galerkin (S-DG), is employed to bring significant flexibility and versatility in geometry modeling and mesh generating. An effective block low-rank multifrontal solver-based domain decomposition finite-element method (FEM)-absorbing boundary condition (ABC) preconditioner is constructed to speed up the solution of the FE-BI equations using locally approximated integral operators for the BI part. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the accuracy, capability, and performance of the proposed algorithm, including a high-definition complicated fighter model with antenna array, multilayer dielectric radome, and microwave-absorbing honeycomb structures.

Magneto-plasticity in micro-cutting of single-crystal copper

• Magneto-plasticity can be induced by a weak magnetic field in micro-cutting. • Cutting force, chip and machined surface are affected by magneto-plasticity. • Magneto-plasticity shows anisotropy with magnetic field direction. • Directional dislocation flow results in anisotropic magneto-plasticity. The plasticity of metals can be significantly affected by the application of a magnetic field, otherwise known as the magneto-plastic effect. This paper investigates the magneto-plastic effect in the micro-cutting of a non-magnetic ductile material, single-crystal copper, under a weak magnetic field and reports the influence of the phenomenon on the cutting forces and machined surface quality. A softening effect was observed from the large reduction in cutting forces from 3.2 N to 1.5 N under the magnetic field. As compared to the magnetic field intensity and polarity, the variation in magnetic field orientations with respect to the cutting direction exhibited a stronger influence on the cutting force, chip morphology, machined surface texture, subsurface microstructure, surface roughness, and machined surface microhardness of the copper sample. An analytical model was developed based on the geometry of the cutting chips to correlate the orientation-dependent influence of the magnetic field on the cutting forces. On the surface quality, excessive folds with four different types of morphology produced under magnetic-free cutting were suppressed after applying the magnetic field with the most significant improvement achieved with the 90° magnetic field direction. The magnetic-assisted changes in machined surface morphology also led to the reduction in machined surface roughness and microhardness. The optimistic micro-cutting outcomes in this work establish a greater understanding of the magneto-plastic effect and demonstrate the applicability of magneto-plasticity in ultraprecision manufacturing.

Gradient-field pulsed eddy current imaging of hidden corrosion in layered conductors via Sparse Bayesian Learning alongside Baseline Estimation and Denoising with Sparsity

Layered structures of nonmagnetic materials such as the aluminium alloy are broadly used in the engineering field such as aerospace, energy, etc. Whereas, the corrosive environment leaves in-service layered structures inevitably prone to the subsurface corrosion which poses a severe threat to the structural integrity. Therefore, it is indispensable to quantitatively evaluate corrosion via non-destructive evaluation techniques. Gradient-field Pulsed Eddy Current technique (GPEC) has been found to be advantageous for high-sensitivity inspection of hidden corrosion. In this paper a Planar Current Sheet (PCS) probe of GPEC is proposed with the optimised trace layout for implementation of high degree of field uniformity. Following the acquisition of the raw corrosion image with the optimised GPEC probe, an image processing algorithm integrating the Sparse Bayesian Learning (SBL) with Baseline Estimation and Denoising with Sparsity (BEADS) has been proposed for reproduction of corrosion images conceiving the information regarding the corrosion-depth profile. The investigation via simulations and experiments reveals that through the 2D scanning of the proposed PCS probe of GPEC, the raw corrosion images and reproduced images derived by using the proposed SBL-BEADS algorithm simultaneously gives the comprehensive evaluation of the subsurface corrosion hidden within the layered structures in terms of the corrosion-opening and corrosion-depth profiles, respectively.

Calculated Estimation of Relative Permittivity of Conductive Non-Magnetic Materials under the Action of Alternating Current

The results are given of approximate calculations of the relative permittivity εr of conductive unmagnetic materials (metals and alloys) for a special case when the of conductivity and displacement currents are equal in a homogeneous unmagnetic medium. The above mentioned materials are widely used in the electric power engineering and high-voltage pulse engineering in conditions when alternating (pulse) electric currents and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) with different peak-temporal parameters are acting on them. It is demonstrated that in the studied case the examined materials for low frequencies f0 of the current and EMF (at the frequencies about 102 Hz) within the range of very long electromagnetic waves (EW) are characterized by very high values of the electrophysical parameter εr (about 1015). For the very high frequencies f0 of the current and EMFs (at the frequencies about 51013 Hz) from the range of infrared radiation the indicated conducting materials are characterized by the εr values of the order of (102–104) and according to the electro-physical parameter εr they will approach to solid dielectrics and ferroelectrics.

Grain boundary infiltration in HDDR processed Nd2Fe14B magnets

We investigate the grain boundary infiltration process of various low melting eutectic alloys for the coercivity enhancement of hydrogenation disproportionation desorption recombination (HDDR) processed Nd-Fe-B powders. Nd-based as well as heavy rare earth (Tb) and light rare earth (La, Ce) containing alloys were systematically studied: Nd70Cu30, Nd90Al10, Nd80Ga15Cu5, Nd62Fe14Ga20Cu4, Nd60Tb10Cu30, La71Cu29 and Ce72Cu28. Moreover, the Fe content in the quaternary Nd-Fe-Ga-Cu system was varied to investigate the effect of grain boundary phase magnetism on the resultant coercivity.The largest coercivity enhancement, from 0.42 T in the as-HDDR powder to 1.88 T after infiltration was observed in the case of ternary Nd80Ga15Cu5 composition. Furthermore, it also shows the best temperature stability with the infiltrated sample still exhibiting a coercivity of 0.58 T at 200 °C. Infiltration of light rare earth (La, Ce) based alloy did not increase coercivities due to poor wetting at the grain boundaries. Adding Fe to the grain boundary alloys was shown to enhance magnetization up to a certain extent without significant loss in coercivity. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of grain boundary infiltration in HDDR-processed magnets without using heavy rare earths. The infiltration with non-magnetic material strongly decreases the intergranular interaction, reflected in a different magnetic domain evolution during the magnetization reversal process.

Ferroelectric control of charge-to-spin conversion in WTe2

Ferroelectric materials hold great potential for alternative memories and computing, but several challenges need to be overcome before bringing the ideas to applications. In this context, the recently discovered link between electric polarization and spin textures in some classes of ferroelectrics expands the perspectives of the design of devices that could simultaneously benefit from ferroelectric and spintronic properties. Here, we explore the concept of non-volatile ferroelectric control of charge-to-spin conversion in semimetallic WTe$_2$, which may provide a way for non-destructive read-out of the polar state. Based on the first-principles simulations, we show that the Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE) that converts electric currents into spin accumulation switches its sign upon the reversal of the electric polarization. The numerical values of REE, calculated for the first time for both bulk and bilayer WTe$_2$, demonstrate that the conversion is sizable, and may remain large even at room temperature. The ferroelectric control of spin transport in non-magnetic materials provides functionalities similar to multiferroics and allows the design of memories or logic-in-memory devices that combine ferroelectric writing of information at low power with the spin-orbit read-out of state.

Ferromagnetism in defective yttria-stabilized zirconia

Significant research attention has been devoted to identifying and synthesizing new magnetic materials via doping of non-magnetic materials. The material defects offer an approach to stabilize ferromagnetism in non-magnetic materials such as oxygen-deficient HfO2 and oxygen-deficient ZrO2. In this study, we demonstrated room-temperature ferromagnetism via nitrogen ion implantation on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single crystals. The results of structural and chemical analyses indicate the formation of a distinct surface layer through the implantation of nitrogen ions and potential oxygen vacancies. The lattice constant in this surface layer increased by 0.6% compared to the bulk value. Nitrogen ions were observed in this region, and their concentration was estimated to be 2.32 atoms per unit cell. In contrast to the lack of magnetic hysteresis in a YSZ single crystal, ferromagnetic hysteresis was observed in the ion-implanted YSZ crystals, owing to defects—nitrogen ions and oxygen vacancies in the surface layer.

Understanding the Re-entrant Phase Transition in a Non-magnetic Scheelite.

The stereochemical activity of lone pair electrons plays a central role in determining the structural and electronic properties of both chemically simple materials such as H2O, as well as more complex condensed phases such as photocatalysts or thermoelectrics. TlReO4 is a rare example of a non-magnetic material exhibiting a re-entrant phase transition and emphanitic behavior in the long-range structure. Here, we describe the role of the Tl+ 6s2 lone pair electrons in these unusual phase transitions and illustrate its tunability by chemical doping, which has broad implications for functional materials containing lone pair bearing cations. First-principles density functional calculations clearly show the contribution of the Tl+ 6s2 in the valence band region. Local structure analysis, via neutron total scattering, revealed that changes in the long-range structure of TlReO4 occur due to changes in the correlation length of the Tl+ lone pairs. This has a significant effect on the anion interactions, with long-range ordered lone pairs creating a more densely packed structure. This resulted in a trade-off between anionic repulsions and lone pair correlations that lead to symmetry lowering upon heating in the long-range structure, whereby lattice expansion was necessary for the Tl+ lone pairs to become highly correlated. Similarly, introducing lattice expansion through chemical pressure allowed long-range lone pair correlations to occur over a wider temperature range, demonstrating a method for tuning the energy landscape of lone pair containing functional materials.

Improved mechanically induced synthesis of nanocrystalline gadolinium oxymolybdate

A simple one-step mechanically induced route was used for synthesis of Gd2MoO6 (GMO). Single-phase with disordered structure was obtained after 12 ​h of milling. Elemental analysis revealed continuous decomposition of ammonium orthomolybdate. SEM-EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry) analysis confirmed a homogeneous distribution of Gd, Mo, and O with the atomic ratio 22.2:8.6:69.2% corresponding to Gd1.998Mo0.774O6.228. Aside from conventional X-ray diffraction, we here paid an effort to obtain the information about the local structure of our GMO by 155Gd ​Mössbauer spectroscopy. The analysis of temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility and field dependence of magnetization of GMO was confirmed to be similar to those of the mechano/thermally synthesized Gd2MoO6 mentioned in our previous study (Tóthová et al., 2019) [1]. Small deviations suggest the presence of nonmagnetic unreacted materials in the starting mixture used in the present mechanosynthesis. We would like to emphasize that the present simplified synthesis without annealing steps leads to GMO with very good quality in the terms of magnetic properties.

Synthesis and characterization of magnetic organic montmorillonite: efficient adsorption of hexavalent chromium.

This research compared two potential adsorbents for the efficient adsorption of toxic hexavalent chromium. The non-magnetic material STAC-Mt and the magnetic material FeSO4-STAC-Mt were synthesized by a simple impregnation method using montmorillonite (Mt), octadearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (STAC) and ferrous sulfate as raw materials. The structural and morphological characteristics of both adsorbents were investigated by BET, XRD, FTIR, Zeta, VSM, TEM, SEM and XPS techniques. SEM and TEM results clearly revealed that FeSO4-STAC-Mt had a more loosely curled structure than STAC-Mt and the existence of well dispersed diamond-shaped magnetic particles. The saturation magnetization intensity of 17.949 emu/g obtained by VSM further confirmed the presence of magnetite particles in FeSO4-STAC-Mt. Due to the superparamagnetic properties of magnetite, the adsorption performance of FeSO4-STAC-Mt was better than STAC-Mt. FeSO4-STAC-Mt adsorbed up to 43.98 mg/g of Cr(VI), meanwhile it was easily separated from the reaction mixture by an external magnetic field. Intermittent adsorption studies at pH, adsorbent dosage and time revealed a rapid Cr(VI) adsorption process. In combination with response surface optimization analysis, a removal rate of 98.03% of Cr(VI) was obtained at pH 5-6. The adsorption process was properly described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation and the Langmuir equation, and the adsorption process was chemisorption and single molecular layer adsorption. In addition, the removal of Cr(VI) reached 72.68% after five cycles, demonstrating the good stability of the FeSO4-STAC-Mt.