SOME CHEMICAL-CHANGES IN CHITOSAN INDUCED BY GAMMA-RAY IRRADIATION

Chitosan was subjected to gamma-ray irradiation in air. It was found that the -NH2 group is more sensitive to irradiation than the -NHCOCH3 group, and moreover, the hydroxyl group increases with increasing radiation dose while the C-O-C group decreases, but no evidence for carbonyl formation was observed.

Analysis of norditerpenoid alkalods in processing Radix Aconiti Lateralis preparata with Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Norditerpenoid alkaloids in the processing of Radix aconiti lateralis preparata with Radix glycyrrhizae preparata was studied by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. A method of ESI-MS couple with internal standard was applied for semi quantitative analysis of norditerpenoid alkaloids before and after processing. The combined-decoction-to single-decoction-ratios of the relative abundance of toxic hypaconitine, mesaconitine and aconitine were 5. 67%, 4. 05% and 4. 88%, respectively. The chemical changes of processing can been comprehensive observed by ESI-MS/MS analysis. The scientific basis of reducing the toxicity of Radix aconiti lateralis preparata with Radix glycyrrhizae preparata was enlightened by compareing with the single-decotion, the combined-decoction and residue for the compatibility of Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Radix glycyrrhizae preparata.

Late cenozoic chemical weathering and environmental changes recorded in the Co Ngoin sediments, central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

IEECAS SKLLQG

Changes in benthic algal communities following construction of a run-of-river dam

Ecological responses to dam construction are poorly understood, especially for downstream benthic algal communities. We examined the responses of benthic algal communities in downstream reaches of a tributary of the Xiangxi River, China, to the construction of a small run-of-river dam. From February 2003 to August 2006, benthic algae, chemical factors, and habitat characteristics were monitored upstream and downstream of the dam site. This period spanned 6 mo before dam construction and 37 mo after dam construction. Benthic algal sampling yielded 199 taxa in 59 genera that belonged to Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, and Cyanophyta. Some physical factors (flow velocity, water depth, and channel width) and 3 algal metrics (diatom species richness, Margalef diversity, and % erect individuals) were significantly affected by the dam construction, whereas chemical factors (e.g., NH4-N, total N, SiO2) were not. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordinations showed that overall algal assemblage structure downstream of the dam sites was similar to that of upstream control sites before dam construction and for 1 year after dam construction (p > 0.05). However, sites belonging to upstream and downstream reaches were well separated on NMS axis 1 during the 2(nd) and 3(rd) years after dam construction. Our results suggest that impacts of dam construction on benthic algal communities took 2 to 3 y to emerge. Further development of a complete set of indicators is needed to address the impact of small-dam construction. Our observations underscore the need for additional studies that quantify ecological responses to dam construction over longer time spans.

Defect evolution and accompanied change of electrical properties during the GaN growth by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The defect evolution and its correlation with electrical properties of GaN films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition are investigated. It is found that the dislocation density decreases gradually during the growth process, and the dislocation reduction rate in the island coalescence process is especially rapid. The changes in electron mobility of GaN with the increase of growth time are mainly dependent on the dislocations acting as scattering centers. Furthermore, the variation of carrier concentration in GaN may be related with the point defects and their clusters. The quality of GaN could be improved by suitably increasing the film thickness. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crack-free InAlGaN quaternary alloy films grown on Si(111) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Crack-free In0.08Al0.25Ga0.67N quaternary films, with and without thick (> 1.5 mum) high-temperature-GaN (HTGaN) interlayer, have been grown on Si(1 1 1) substrates by a low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. Mole fractions of In and Al in quaternary alloy layers are determined by Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), which are recorded as similar to8% and similar to25-27%, respectively. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and room temperature photoluminescence (RT-PL) results evidence the film's single crystal structure and the existence of local In- and/or Al-rich regions. Compared with GaN film grwon on Si(1 1 1) substrate, no crack is observed in the quaternary ones. Two explanations are proposed. First, mismatch-induced strain is relaxed significantly due to gradual changes of In concentration. Second, the weak In-N bond is likely to break when the sample is cooled down to the room temperature, which is expected to favor the releasing of thermal stress. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Growth of a novel periodic structure of SiC/AlN multilayers by low pressure chemical vapour deposition

A novel 10-period SiC/AlN multilayered structure with a SiC cap layer is prepared by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD). The structure with total film thickness of about 1.45 mu m is deposited on a Si (111) substrate and shows good surface morphology with a smaller rms surface roughness of 5.3 nm. According to the secondary ion mass spectroscopy results, good interface of the 10 period SiC/AlN structure and periodic changes of depth profiles of C, Si, Al, N components are obtained by controlling the growth procedure. The structure exhibits the peak reflectivity close to 30% near the wavelength of 322 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of growth of the SiC/AlN periodic structure using the home-made LPCVD system.

Unveiling the morphology of buried In(Ga)As nanostructures by selective wet chemical etching: From quantum dots to quantum rings

The three-dimensional morphology of In(Ga)As nanostructures embedded in a GaAs matrix is investigated by combining atomic force microscopy and removal of the GaAs cap layer by selective wet etching. This method is used to investigate how the morphology of In(Ga)As quantum dots changes upon GaAs capping and subsequent in situ etching with AsBr3. A wave function calculation based on the experimentally determined morphologies suggests that quantum dots transform into quantum rings during in situ etching. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Light-induced changes in diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films and solar cells

A series of diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films and solar cells was prepared using different hydrogen dilution ratios of silane by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (VHF-PECVD). It was observed that after light soaking the open circuit voltage (V-oc) of the diphasic solar cells increased, while that of amorphous silicon solar cells decreased. Raman scattering spectroscopy was performed on the series of diphasic silicon films before and after light soaking. It was found that after light soaking the nanostruclures in the diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films were changed. Both the grain sizes and grain volume fraction reduced, while the grain boundary components increased. These results provide experimental evidence for the conjecture that the light-induced increase in V-oc of the diphasic nanocrystalline solar cells might be induced by the changes in the nanostructure of the intrinsic layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Light-induced changes in diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films and solar cells

A series of diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films and solar cells was prepared using different hydrogen dilution ratios of silane by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (VHF-PECVD). It was observed that after light soaking the open circuit voltage (V-oc) of the diphasic solar cells increased, while that of amorphous silicon solar cells decreased. Raman scattering spectroscopy was performed on the series of diphasic silicon films before and after light soaking. It was found that after light soaking the nanostruclures in the diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films were changed. Both the grain sizes and grain volume fraction reduced, while the grain boundary components increased. These results provide experimental evidence for the conjecture that the light-induced increase in V-oc of the diphasic nanocrystalline solar cells might be induced by the changes in the nanostructure of the intrinsic layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescence studies on the interaction of near-surface GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells with chemical adsorbates

The chemical adsorption of sodium sulphide, ferrocene, hydroquinone and p-methyl-nitrobenzene onto the surface of a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiquantum well semiconductor was characterized by steady state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The changes in the PL response, including the red shift of the emission peak of the exciton in the quantum well and the enhancement of the PL intensity, are discussed in terms of the interactions of the adsorbed molecules with surface states.

PHOTOLUMINESCENCE STUDIES OF CHEMICAL ADSORPTION OF GAAS/ALXGA1-XAS MULTIQUANTUM-WELL SEMICONDUCTOR

Adsorption of ferrocene and p-methylnitrobenzene on a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiquantum well semiconductor is characterized by the changes in the photoluminescent response in terms of the interactions of adsorbed molecules with surface states.

Analysis of chemical calorific effect during reactive extrusion processes for free radical polymerization

In the reactive extrusion process for polymerization, the chemical calorific effect has a great influence on the temperature. In order to quantitatively analyze the polymerization trend and optimize the processing conditions, the phenomena of the chemical calorific effect during reactive extrusion processes for free radical polymerization were analyzed. Numerical computation expressions of the heat of chemical reaction and the reactive calorific intensity were deduced, and then a numerical simulation of the reactive extrusion process for the polymerization of n-butyl methacrylate was carried out. The evolutions of the heat of chemical reaction and the reactive calorific intensity along the! axial direction of the extruder are presented, on the basis of which reactive processing conditions can be optimized.

Classification of valence changes of trivalent rare earth ions in alkaline earth borates using artificial neural networks

The investigations of classification on the valence changes from RE3+ to RE2+ (RE = Eu, Sm, Yb, Tm) in host compounds of alkaline earth berate were performed using artificial neural networks (ANNs). For comparison, the common methods of pattern recognition, such as SIMCA, KNN, Fisher discriminant analysis and stepwise discriminant analysis were adopted. A learning set consisting of 24 host compounds and a test set consisting of 12 host compounds were characterized by eight crystal structure parameters. These parameters were reduced from 8 to 4 by leaps and bounds algorithm. The recognition rates from 87.5 to 95.8% and prediction capabilities from 75.0 to 91.7% were obtained. The results provided by ANN method were better than that achieved by the other four methods. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.