Instabilities in a non-transferred direct current plasma torch operated at reduced pressure

Using an oscilloscope, a high-speed video camera and a double-electrostatic probe system, the periodicity and amplitude of the fluctuations in arc voltage, jet luminance and ion saturation current of a plasma jet were monitored to investigate various sources of instabilities and their effects in a non-transferred dc plasma torch operated at reduced pressure. The results show that besides a 300 Hz main fluctuation inherited from the power supply, arc voltage fluctuation of 3–4 kHz with an amplitude less than 5% of the mean voltage was mainly affected by the total gas flow rate. The arc voltage fluctuation can affect the energy distribution of the plasma jet which is detectable by electrostatic probes and a high-speed video camera. The steadiness of energy transfer is also affected by the laminar or turbulent flow state of the plasma.

A fixed arc length direct current plasma torch for reduced pressure deposition of thin films

Because of its high energy density direct current(dc)thermal plasmas are widely accepted as a processing medium which facilitates high processing rates high fluxes of radical species the potential for smaller jnstallations a wide choice of reactants and high quench rates[1].A broad range of industrial processing methods have been developed based on dc plasma technology. However,nonstationary features limited new applications of dc plasma in advanced processing, where reliability£¬reproducibility and precise controllability are required£. These challenges call for better understanding of the arc and jet behavior over a wide range of generating parameters and a comprehensive control of every aspect of lhe plasma processing.

Raman spectroscopy of apatite irradiated with swift heavy ions with and without simultaneous exertion of high pressure

Durango apatite was irradiated with energetic U ions of 2.64 GeV and Kr ions of 2.1 GeV, with and without simultaneous exposure to a pressure of 10.5 GPa. Analysis by confocal Raman spectroscopy gives evidence of vibrational changes being marginal for fluences below 5x10(11) ions/cm(2) but becoming dominant when increasing the fluence to 8x10(12) ions/cm(2). Samples irradiated with U ions experience severe strain resulting in crystal cracking and finally breakage at high fluences. These radiation effects are directly linked to the formation of amorphous tracks and the fraction of amorphized material increasing with fluence. Raman spectroscopy of pressurized irradiated samples shows small shifts of the band positions with decreasing pressure but without a significant change of the Gruneisen parameter. Compared to irradiations at ambient conditions, the Raman spectra of apatite irradiated at 10.5 GPa exhibit fewer modifications, suggesting a higher radiation stability of the lattice by the pressure applied.

Selective formation of aromatic amines by selenium-catalyzed reduction of aromatic nitro compounds with CO/H2O under atmospheric pressure

An efficient method for the catalytic reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding aromatic amines is reported. In the presence of selenium as a catalyst, the aromatic nitro compounds are quantitively reduced by CO/H2O to form the corresponding amines under atmospheric pressure. The reduction occurs in high selectivity regardless of other reducible functionalities present on the aromatic ring. There exists a phase transfer process of the catalyst selenium in the reaction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pressure drops of single and two-phase flows through T-type microchannel mixers

In this paper, preliminary experimental results are presented on pressure drop characteristics of single and two-phase flows through two T-type rectangular microchannel mixers with hydraulic diameters of 528 and 333 mum, respectively. It is shown that both N-2 and water single-phase laminar flows in microchannels, with consideration of experimental uncertainties, are consistent with classic theory, if additional effects, such as entrance effects that will interfere with the interpretation of experimental results, are eliminated by carefully designing the experiments. The obtained pressure drop data of N-2-water two-phase flow in micromixers are analyzed and compared with existing flow pattern-independent models. It is found that the Lockhart-Martinelli method generally underpredicts the frictional pressure drop. Thereafter, a modified correlation of C value in the Chisholm's equation based on linear regression of experimental data is proposed to provide a better prediction of the two-phase frictional pressure drop. Also among the homogeneous flow models investigated, the viscosity correlation of McAdams indicates the best performance in correlating the frictional pressure drop data (mean deviations within +/-20% for two micromixers both). Finally it is suggested that systematic studies are still required to accurately predict two-phase frictional performance in microchannels. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Injection by hydrostatic pressure in conjunction with electrokinetic force on a microfluidic chip

A simple method was developed for injecting a sample on a cross-form microfluidic chip by means of hydrostatic pressure combined with electrokinetic forces. The hydrostatic pressure was generated simply by adjusting the liquid level in different reservoirs without any additional driven equipment such as a pump. Two dispensing strategies using a floating injection and a gated injection, coupled with hydrostatic pressure loading, were tested. The fluorescence observation verified the feasibility of hydrostatic pressure loading in the separation of a mixture of fluorescein sodium salt and fluorescein isothiocyanate. This method was proved to be effective in leading cells to a separation channel for single cell analysis.

Direct characterization of bitter acids in a crude hop extract by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

The applicability of on-line coupling of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the separation and characterization of hop acids mixture from the crude extract of Humulus lupulus was investigated. The solvent system consisting of acetonitrile-aqueous formic acid was used to give proper separation of the six main hop bitter acids within 30 min. Further structural information about the components was acquired by collision-induced dissociation (CID). On the basis of analyses of the fragmentation patterns of the major alpha- and beta-bitter acids respectively, identification of the minor ones was performed using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) with a group of qualitatively relevant selected precursor-product ion transitions for each bitter acid in a single high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) run. Using this technique, six minor hop acids, including "adprelupulone" observed for the first time in natural resources, were detected along with the six major acids. This hyphenated techniques provides potency for rapid qualitative determination of analogs and homologs in mixtures. (C) 2004 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

On-line introduction of high-pressure gas-liquid sample for capillary gas chromatographic analysis

An on-line sample introduction technique in capillary gas chromatograph (CGC) for the analysis of high-pressure gas-liquid mixtures has been designed and evaluated. A sample loop of 0.05 muL and a washing solvent loop of 0.5 muL are mounted on a 10-port switching valve, which serves as the injection valve. A capillary resistor was connected to the vent of sample loop in order to maintain the pressure of the sample. Both the sample and the washing solvent are transferred into the split-injection port through a narrow bore fused silica capillary inserted into the injection liner through a septum. The volume of the liner is used both as the pressure-release damper and evaporation chamber of the sample. On-line analysis of both reactants and resultants in ethylene olimer reaction mixture at 5 MPa was carried out, which demonstrated the applicability of the technique. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficient reductive selenation of aromatic aldehydes to symmetrical diselenides with Se/CO/H2O under atmospheric pressure

An efficient method for the synthesis of symmetrical diselenides is described. Reductive selenation of aromatic and heterocyclic aromatic aldehydes (ArCHO) with Se/CO/H2O in DMF afforded diselenides (ArCH2SeSeCH2Ar) in yields up to 94% under atmospheric pressure without use of a base.

Pd/C-catalyzed hydrodehalogenation of aromatic halides in aqueous solutions at room temperature under normal pressure

The hydrodehalogenation of aromatic halides, catalyzed by Pd/C in aqueous solutions, yields arenes in short reaction times at room temperature under normal pressure. The nature of the solvents has an important influence on the reaction rates and the activity of the catalyst. The catalyst shows the highest activity in water. In the hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorohypnone, it was in water that C-Cl bond was easier to be hydrogenated, and in isopropanol that C=O was easier to be hydrogenated. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.