Relative Ion Concentrations Research Articles

Durability of Nano-Reinforced Recycled Aggregate Concrete under Load and Chloride Ingress.

The improved performance of recycled aggregate has an important impact on its use in engineering. In this study, to improve the weak surface properties, recycled aggregates were treated by nano-silica slurry and applied to concrete beam specimens. Under the action of cracks caused by continuous load and drying-wetting cycles with chloride ingress, the effects of different recycled aggregate additions, nano-silica contents and crack widths on the self-healing performance of cracks and the resistance to chloride ingress of the recycled concrete beams were investigated. It was found that the self-healing rate of cracks increased first and then decreased with increased nano-silica content, reaching a maximum when the content reached 0.4%. Greater amounts of additive in the recycled aggregate increased the concentration of free chloride ions in cracks. However, this concentration was found to be weakened in nano-reinforced aggregate. From a comprehensive perspective, the relative chloride ion concentration can be effectively reduced by controlling the crack width to be smaller than 0.12 mm and using improved recycled aggregates treated with 0.2% nano-silica material. This study provides a reference for the application of recycled aggregate concrete under severe environmental and load conditions.

Harvesting Water‐Evaporation‐Induced Electricity Based on Liquid–Solid Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Harvesting energy from natural water evaporation has been proposed as a promising alternative to supply power for self‐powered and low‐power devices and systems, owing to its spontaneous, ubiquitous, and sustainability. Herein, an approach is presented for harvesting water‐evaporation‐induced electricity based on liquid–solid triboelectric nanogenerators (LS‐TENGs), which has various advantages of easy preparation, substrate needless, and robustness. This developed harvester with porous Al2O3 ceramic sheet can generate a continuous and stable direct current of ≈0.3 µA and voltage of ≈0.7 V by optimizing the sheet physical dimensions and ambient parameters such as relative humidity, temperature, wind velocity, and ion concentration. The output power also can be improved significantly by series or parallel connection the harvesters, which has superior electrical compatibility and environmental suitability. The development of the water‐evaporation‐induced electricity harvesting shows many application prospects including power supply for digital calculator and charging capacitor. This research provides an in‐depth experimental study on water‐evaporation‐induced electricity harvesting based on LS‐TENGs and an efficient approach to supply electricity for low‐power devices.

Electrostatic Ion-cyclotron Wave Excitation by a Gyrating Ion Beam in a Magnetized Plasma Containing Heavy Positive Ions

In the present paper, we have developed a theoretical model of cylindrical magnetized plasma column consisting of electrons, ions & heavy positive ion species. A gyrating ion beam of potassium having radius ~1.5 cm and energy 10eV is launched through one end of the cylinder parallel to the static magnetic field and the electrostatic ion cyclotron wave is assumed to propagate nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field. The presence of heavy positive ions in the collisionless magnetized plasma decreases the critical drift for the excitation of EIC waves and hence the injected beam drives the electrostatic ion cyclotron (EIC) waves to instability through Cerenkov interaction. Therefore, the plasma is observed to contains two excited EIC wave modes; a (light positive) ion mode and a (heavy positive) ion mode. The frequencies and growth rates for both the positive unstable modes are worked out using fluid theory for the typical existing experimental parameters which are found to increase with the increase in ion beam energy and beam density. It is also observed that the unstable wave frequency and growth rate for both the modes increases with the increase in relative ion concentration of and heavy positive ions respectively. Magnetic field is also one of the important factors which influence the plasma instabilities appreciably. As the magnetic field increases, the frequency of both the ion modes increases linearly.

Determining the salinity sources of the Barme Jamal karstic spring, Meydavod, Iran

The Barme Jamal is an important karstic spring with mean discharge of 1.3 m3/s, located in the Meydavod county southwestern of Iran. Its outlet appeared in the Asmari limestone formation and drains the karstic limbs of Kuhe-Safid anticline. Naturally, the spring water salinity is more than expected for a karstic spring with EC about 2100 ms/cm. The spring water contains high concentration of SO4 and Cl with Ca–SO4 water type. Therefore, hydrogeochemical studies have conducted to determine the factors controlling the spring water salinity using hydrochemical techniques such as time series of chemical parameters, relative ion concentrations, Br/Cl ratios, TOC and mixing diagrams. The potential salinity sources such as mixing of karst freshwater with evaporites formation water and oil-field brine were investigated to determine the role of each source in the spring water salinity. The results reveal that the mixing of saline waters from evaporite formations is the main source of groundwater salinity. The hydrochemical time series illustrate that EC and Na–Cl are increasing in the spring water with almost constant rate throughout the studying period suggested the evaporites karst development in the spring catchment area and extension of dissolution conduits in the contact of limestone and evaporites formations.

The influence of deposit composition controlled by changing the relative Fe ion concentration on properties of electroplated nanocrystalline Co-Fe-Cu ternary thin films

The influence of deposit composition controlled by changing the relative Fe ion concentration on properties of electroplated nanocrystalline Co-Fe-Cu ternary thin films

Identification of osmoadaptive strategies in the halophile, heterotrophic ciliate Schmidingerothrix salinarum.

Hypersaline environments pose major challenges to their microbial residents. Microorganisms have to cope with increased osmotic pressure and low water activity and therefore require specific adaptation mechanisms. Although mechanisms have already been thoroughly investigated in the green alga Dunaliella salina and some halophilic yeasts, strategies for osmoadaptation in other protistan groups (especially heterotrophs) are neither as well known nor as deeply investigated as for their prokaryotic counterpart. This is not only due to the recent awareness of the high protistan diversity and ecological relevance in hypersaline systems, but also due to methodological shortcomings. We provide the first experimental study on haloadaptation in heterotrophic microeukaryotes, using the halophilic ciliate Schmidingerothrix salinarum as a model organism. We established three approaches to investigate fundamental adaptation strategies known from prokaryotes. First, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy was used for the detection, identification, and quantification of intracellular compatible solutes. Second, ion-imaging with cation-specific fluorescent dyes was employed to analyze changes in the relative ion concentrations in intact cells. Third, the effect of salt concentrations on the catalytic performance of S. salinarum malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) was determined. 1H-NMR spectroscopy identified glycine betaine (GB) and ectoine (Ect) as the main compatible solutes in S. salinarum. Moreover, a significant positive correlation of intracellular GB and Ect concentrations and external salinity was observed. The addition of exogenous GB, Ect, and choline (Ch) stimulated the cell growth notably, indicating that S. salinarum accumulates the solutes from the external medium. Addition of external 13C2-Ch resulted in conversion to 13C2-GB, indicating biosynthesis of GB from Ch. An increase of external salinity up to 21% did not result in an increase in cytoplasmic sodium concentration in S. salinarum. This, together with the decrease in the catalytic activities of MDH and ICDH at high salt concentration, demonstrates that S. salinarum employs the salt-out strategy for haloadaptation.

An experimental study of interaction between pure water and alkaline feldspar at high temperatures and pressures

Due to the important scientific significance of the interaction between alkaline feldspar and high-temperature and high-pressure fluids. We have conducted a series of autoclave experiments of feldspar dissolution and secondary mineral precipitation in conditions of 250–500 °C, 8–50 MPa, and pH = 3.0 and 5.5. Based on the interaction experiments between alkaline feldspar and fluid of high-temperatures and high-pressures, we get the main results as follows: (1) The law that people have grasped below the critical point about the influence of temperature, pressure, and pH value on the alkaline feldspar dissolution behavior is still held above the critical point. (2) Due to the experimental techniques of autoclave flip 180°—sharp quenching and based on electron microprobe analysis of mineral new formed, theoretical analysis has determined that the new altered minerals distributed on the island dissolution surface of feldspar are products of precipitation on a feldspar surface after saturation of the relative ion concentration in water fluid.

Etching with atomic precision by using low electron temperature plasma

There has been a steady increase in sub-nm precision requirement for many critical plasma etching processes in the semiconductor industry. In addition to high selectivity and low controllable etch rate, an important requirement of atomic precision etch processes is no (or minimal) damage to the remaining material surface. It has traditionally not been possible to avoid damage in conventional radio-frequency (RF) plasma processing systems, even during layer-by-layer or ‘atomic layer’ etch. To meet these increasingly stringent requirements, it is necessary to have an accurate control over ion energy and ion/radical composition during plasma processing. In this work, a new plasma etch system designed to facilitate atomic precision plasma processing is presented. An electron sheet beam parallel to the substrate surface is used to produce a plasma in this system. This plasma has a significantly lower electron temperature Te ~ 0.3 eV and ion energy Ei < 3 eV (without applied bias) compared to inductively and capacitively coupled RF plasmas. Electron beam plasmas also have a higher ion–to–radical ratio compared to RF plasmas, so this plasma etch system employs an independent radical source for accurate control over relative ion and radical concentrations. A low frequency RF bias capability that allows control of ion energy in the 2–50 eV range is another important component of this plasma etch system. The results of etching of a variety of materials and structures in this low-electron temperature plasma system are presented in this study: (1) layer-by-layer etching of p-Si at Ei ~ 25–50 eV using electrical and gas cycling is demonstrated; (2) continuous etching of epi-grown µ-Si in Cl2-based plasmas is performed, showing that surface damage can be minimized by keeping Ei < 10 eV. Also presented are the results of molecular dynamics modeling of atomic precision etching at low Ei.

Quantitative Ligand Affinity Scales for Metal Triflate Salts: Application to Isomer Differentiation.

Owing to the importance of metal triflates in catalysis, the affinity of the cationic center for a selection of organic ligands was explored for InIII and ZnII triflates. The organic Lewis bases include a variety of carbonyls (amides, unsaturated ketones, a lactone) and cyclic 1,2-diols. The relative affinity of the ligands for the cationic center in triflates was quantitatively determined on the basis of relative ion concentrations determined by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry. The affinity scales were discussed with reference to gas-phase proton basicity and Lewis basicity scales. Structural isomers and stereoisomers display significant affinity differences in several cases. In the case of isomer mixtures, a model describing the relative peak intensities in the mass spectra was developed. On this basis, an isomer titration method was set up. Remarkably, this MS-based method overcame the blindness of mass spectrometry to isomers without the need for isotope labeling or MS/MS experiments. This model may prove to have applications in analytical chemistry and catalysis.

Measurements of Positively Charged Ions in Premixed Methane-Oxygen Atmospheric Flames

ABSTRACTCations and anions are formed as a result of chemi-ionization processes in combustion systems. Electric fields can be applied to reduce emissions and improve combustion efficiency by active control of the combustion process. Detailed flame ion chemistry models are needed to understand and predict the effect of external electric fields on combustion plasmas. In this work, a molecular beam mass spectrometer (MBMS) is utilized to measure ion concentration profiles in premixed methane–oxygen argon burner-stabilized atmospheric flames. Lean and stoichiometric flames are considered to assess the dependence of ion chemistry on flame stoichiometry. Relative ion concentration profiles are compared with numerical simulations using various temperature profiles, and good qualitative agreement was observed for the stoichiometric flame. However, for the lean flame, numerical simulations misrepresent the spatial distribution of selected ions greatly. Three modifications are suggested to enhance the ion mechanism and improve the agreement between experiments and simulations. The first two modifications comprise the addition of anion detachment reactions to increase anion recombination at low temperatures. The third modification involves restoring a detachment reaction to its original irreversible form. To our knowledge, this work presents the first detailed measurements of cations and flame temperature in canonical methane–oxygen-argon atmospheric flat flames. The positive ion profiles reported here may be useful to validate and improve ion chemistry models for methane-oxygen flames.

How to determine the relative ion concentrations of multiple-ion-species plasmas generated in the multi-dipole filament source

This paper introduces how to determine concentrations of ion species in a mixed gas plasma that are not linearly proportional to their neutral partial pressures. A particle balance model was developed to predict the relative ion concentrations in multiple-ion-species plasmas, considering their ionization rates and loss fluxes to the wall. Analysis is carried out especially with Ar/Xe and Ar/He multi-dipole plasmas in which the neutral gases are directly ionized by the mono-energetic primary electrons. The experimental data of ion concentrations were obtained using the ion acoustic wave measurement method of the concentration of two ion species. The comparison reveals that the ion concentration ratio is linearly proportional to the ratio of the ionization cross sections and the ion loss velocity between two gas species. Especially, the model prediction is improved with using the two-ion-species sheath model (recently reported by Baalrud and Hegna) for obtaining the ion loss velocity at the sheath boundary.

Compressional Alfvén and ion–ion hybrid waves in tokamak plasmas with two ion species

Compressional Alfvén and ion–ion hybrid waves excited by energetic beam ions are studied in plasmas with two ion species. In our experiment, a hydrogen-deuterium (H-D) plasma is used to produce instabilities similar to those likely to be present in the burning deuterium-tritium plasmas of future tokamaks. Modes are suppressed in the deuterium cyclotron frequency range with increasing hydrogen gas puffing. In plasmas with H/D concentrations of 2.57 or higher, short-lived modes with small and predominantly negative toroidal mode numbers are observed at frequencies ω/ωβD0 ≈ 2.25, where ωβD0 = ωβD(R0) is the on-axis deuterium cyclotron frequency. These are the highest mode frequencies yet detected in the ion cyclotron range in a spherical tokamak. Modeling of the transparency regions and plasma resonances using the cold plasma dispersion relation explains the observed features. Mode conversion at ion–ion hybrid resonances and subsequent kinetic damping is believed to be responsible for mode suppression. The high frequency modes are present due to excitation by wave-particle resonances within the transparency region for high hydrogen concentrations. The absence of other wave-particle resonances explains significant features of our experiment. This technique has possible applications in plasma heating, current drive and real-time diagnosis of relative ion concentration in the plasma core.

Argon–oxygen dc magnetron discharge plasma probed with ion acoustic waves

The precise determination of the relative concentration of negative ions is very important for the optimization of magnetron sputtering processes, especially for those undertaken in a multicomponent background produced by adding electronegative gases, such as oxygen, to the discharge. The temporal behavior of an ion acoustic wave excited from a stainless steel grid inside the plasma chamber is used to determine the relative negative ion concentration in the magnetron discharge plasma. The phase velocity of the ion acoustic wave in the presence of negative ions is found to be faster than in a pure argon plasma, and the phase velocity increases with the oxygen partial pressure. Optical emission spectroscopy further confirms the increase in the oxygen negative ion density, along with a decrease in the argon positive ion density under the same discharge conditions. The relative negative ion concentration values measured by ion acoustic waves are compared with those measured by a single Langmuir probe, and a similarity in the results obtained by both techniques is observed.

Chemical composition of planetary nebulae in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds

The technique of nebular-gas diagnostics was used to find electronic temperatures Te, concentrations ne, relative ion concentrations n(A+i)/n(H+), and chemical abundances A/H for planetary nebulae in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. This analysis took into account inhomogeneities of the nebular-gas density in the nebulae. We determined the pre-galactic helium abundance Yp and its rate of enrichment dY/dZ for the envelopes of nine nebulae in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Taken together with the Galaxy’s planetary nebulae and HII regions in blue compact dwarf galaxies, Yp = 0.248 ± 0.002, dY/dZ = 2.31 ± 0.48 and Yp = 0.247 ± 0.002, dY/dZ = 3.03 ± 0.56, respectively, when macroinhomogeneities and macro/microinhomogeneities of the gas density in galactic nebulae are taken into account.

A novel technique for measurement of thermal rate constants and temperature dependences of dissociative recombination: CO2+, CF3+, N2O+, C7H8+, C7H7+, C6H6+, C6H5+, C5H6+, C4H4+, and C3H3+

A novel technique using a flowing afterglow-Langmuir probe apparatus for measurement of temperature dependences of rate constants for dissociative recombination (DR) is presented. Low (~10(11) cm(-3)) concentrations of a neutral precursor are added to a noble gas∕electron afterglow plasma thermalized at 300-500 K. Charge exchange yields one or many cation species, each of which may undergo DR. Relative ion concentrations are monitored at a fixed reaction time while the initial plasma density is varied between 10(9) and 10(10) cm(-3). Modeling of the decrease in concentration of each cation relative to the non-recombining noble gas cation yields the rate constant for DR. The technique is applied to several species (O2(+), CO2(+), CF3(+), N2O(+)) with previously determined 300 K values, showing excellent agreement. The measurements of those species are extended to 500 K, with good agreement to literature values where they exist. Measurements are also made for a range of CnHm(+) (C7H7(+), C7H8(+), C5H6(+), C4H4(+), C6H5(+), C3H3(+), and C6H6(+)) derived from benzene and toluene neutral precursors. CnHm(+) DR rate constants vary from 8-12 × 10(-7) cm(3) s(-1) at 300 K with temperature dependences of approximately T(-0.7). Where prior measurements exist these results are in agreement, with the exception of C3H3(+) where the present results disagree with a previously reported flat temperature dependence.

Stimulation of kainate toxicity by zinc in cultured cerebellar granule neurons and the role of mitochondria in this process

Zinc chloride (0.01 mM kept for 3 h) is not toxic to cultured cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) while kainate (0.1 mM kept for 3 h) demonstrates some but very low toxicity towards these cells. Measurements of the relative intraneuronal zinc ion concentration showed that increase in [Zn 2+] i under the simultaneous action of ZnCl 2 and kainate was significantly stronger compared to their separate action. Simultaneous treatment of CGNs with kainate and zinc chloride caused the swelling of neuronal mitochondria and consequent intensive neuronal death, which was totally prevented by NBQX (an AMPA/kainate-receptors blocker) or ruthenium red (a mitochondrial Ca 2+ uniporter blocker). These data imply that Zn 2+ synergistically to kainate increase their separate toxic effects on mitochondria leading to rapid neuronal death.

Experimental test of instability enhanced collisional friction for determining ion loss in two ion species plasmas

Recent experiments have shown that ions in weakly collisional plasmas containing two ion species of comparable densities approximately reach a common velocity at the sheath edge equal to the bulk plasma ion sound velocity. A recent theory [S. D. Baalrud, C. C. Hegna, and J. D. Callen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 205002 (2009)] suggests that this is a consequence of collisional friction between the two ion species enhanced by the two stream instability. The theory finds that the difference in velocities at the sheath edge depends on the relative concentrations of the two ions. The difference in velocities is small, with both species approaching to the bulk sound velocity, when the concentrations are comparable, and is large, with each species reaching its own Bohm velocity, when the relative concentration differences are large. To test these findings, drift velocities of Ar and Xe ions were measured with laser-induced fluorescence in Ar–Xe and He–Xe plasmas and combined with ion acoustic wave and plasma potential data. In addition, electron temperature was varied by a Maxwell demon [K. R. MacKenzie et al., App. Phys. Lett. 18, 529 (1971)]. The predictions were found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental data. The generalized Bohm criterion in two ion species plasmas is also verified in a wider variety of relative ion concentrations.

Excitation of electrostatic ion-cyclotron waves by an ion beam in a two-ion component plasma

An ion beam propagating through a magnetized plasma cylinder containing electrons, light positive potassium ions (K+), and heavy positive cesium ions (Cs+) drives electrostatic ion cyclotron (EIC) waves to instability via Cerenkov interaction. Two EIC wave modes are present, the K+ and Cs+ modes. The unstable wave frequencies and the growth rate of both the light positive ion and heavy positive ion modes increase with an increase in their relative ion concentrations. The growth rate of both the unstable modes (K+ and Cs+) scales one-third power of the beam density. The real part of the frequency of both the unstable modes (K+ and Cs+) increases with the beam energy and scales as almost one-half power of the beam energy. Numerical calculations of the growth rate and mode frequencies have been carried out for the parameters of the experiment of Suszcynsky et al. [J. Geophys. Res. 94, 8966 (1989)]. It is found that the unstable wave frequencies of both the light positive ion and heavy positive ion modes increase with the magnetic fields in accordance with the experimental observations.

Ion density calculator (IDC): A new efficient model of ionospheric ion densities

[1] We present a new computationally efficient and accurate model of ion concentrations in the bottomside ionosphere based on the photochemistry. There has long been a need for efficient and accurate specification of ionospheric molecular ion concentrations. Incoherent scatter radars need to specify the relative ion concentrations in order to accurately determine plasma temperatures. Full physical ionospheric models are available but too costly and cumbersome for many applications. The international reference ionosphere (IRI) model is an efficient empirical model that accurately specifies the electron density but the molecular ion concentrations are based on limited data sets. Our new ion density calculator (IDC) model uses chemical equilibrium to determine all ion concentrations except the O+ density, which cannot be derived from chemical equilibrium above ∼180 km due to the increasing importance of diffusion. The IDC model overcomes this problem by using an iterative technique to solve for the O+ density given the electron density that is provided by the radar or the IRI model and the fact that the total ion concentration must sum to the electron density. This quasi-chemical model produces very good agreement with satellite measured ion densities and significantly improves electron and ion temperatures from incoherent scatter radars. It also produces good agreement with the Field Line Interhemispheric Plasma (FLIP) physical ionosphere model, which solves the continuity, momentum, and thermal equations. Comparisons with the IRI model point out the shortcomings of the most recent version, IRI-2007 in representing molecular ion densities.

Leaf–water relations and ion concentrations of the halophyte Atriplex hortensis in response to salinity and water stress

The impact of salinity and water stress was analyzed in the xero-halophyte Atriplex hortensis using two varieties: green orach (A. hortensis var. purpurea) and red orach (A. hortensis var. rubra). A. hortensis L. is a C3 species well adapted to salt and drought conditions. To collect information on the physiological impact of different salt and water deficit levels on their water stress resistance, plants were exposed for 3 months to solution containing four levels of NaCl or to water stress regimes including four levels of field capacity. Osmotic potential at zero turgor Ψ s 0 , osmotic potential at full turgor (Ψ s 100 ), relative water content (RWC), ion concentration (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Cl−), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined at the end of the treatment. The salinity and water stress induced a decrease in Ψ s 100 , Ψ s 0 , and RWC in both varieties, recorded changes being higher in plants of red variety than those of green variety. Both varieties specifically accumulated Na+ in response to drought and salt stress, suggesting that this element could play a physiological role in the stress response of this xero-halophyte species. In contrast, the presence of NaCl and water stress induced a decrease in K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ concentration in both varieties. Salinity clearly induced an increase in Cl– concentration in all tissues, but water stress had no impact on this parameter. MDA concentration increased in response to water stress and exogenous NaCl. Based on these findings the more drought-tolerant red orach may be grown in water-limiting soils.