Chromium-manganese iron alloy system design cast in metal and sand moulds for erosion resistance: a positron lifetime study

Erosion characteristics of high chromium (Cr, 16-19%) alloy cast iron with 5% and 10% manganese (Mn) prepared in metal and sand moulds through induction melting are investigated using jet erosion test setup in both as-cast and heat-treated conditions. The samples were characterised for hardness and microstructural properties. A new and novel non-destructive evaluation technique namely positron lifetime spectroscopy has also been used for the first time to characterise the microstructure of the material in terms of defects and their concentration. We found that the hardness decreases irrespective of the sample condition when the mould type is changed from metal to sand, On the other hand, the erosion volume loss shows an increasing trend. Since the macroscopic properties have a bearing on the microstructure, good credence is obtained from the microstructural features as seen from light and scanning electron micrographs. Faster cooling in the metal mould yielded fine carbide precipitation on the surface. The defect size and their concentration derived from positron method are higher for sand mould compared to metal mould. Lower erosion loss corresponds to smaller size defects in metal mould are the results of quicker heat transfer in the metal mould compared to the sand mould. Heat treatment effects are clearly seen as the reduced concentration of defects and spherodisation of carbides points to this. The erosion loss with respect to the defects size and concentration correlate very well.

Rearrangements in the cerium(IV) and manganese(III) oxidations of substituted naphthalenes and the nih shift mechanism

Ceric ammonium sulphate oxidation of 1- and 1,4- disubstituted naphthalenes gives 2- and/or 2,3- disubstituted 1,4- naphthoquinones through migration of substituents (D, Br, Ph). Similar rearrangements are also observed in the manganese(III) oxidation and also in the anodic oxidation of these substrates. The results are consistent with the proposal that these oxidations go through the formation of radical cation followed by reaction with H2O and further oxidation of the radical to the carbocationic intermediate on the way to the corresponding 1,4-naphthoquinone. Oxidation of 1,4-diphenylnaphthalene gives 2,3-diphenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone or 4-hydroxy- 2,4- diphenyl - 1(4)R - naphthalenone. The results are in accordance with the conclusion that such rearrangements do not require prior formation of arene oxide intermediates, originally proposed for the NM shift mechanism.

Giant magnetoresistance in lanthanum strontium yttrium manganese oxides (La(1-x)Sr(x-z)YuMnO(3))

Electron transport and magnetic properties of several compositions of the La1-xSx-zYzMnO3 system have been investigated in order to explore the effect of yttrium substitution on the magnetoresistance and related properties of these manganates. Yttrium substitution lowers the T-c and the insulator-metal transition temperature, while increasing the peak resistivity. A comparison of the properties of La1-xSrx-zYzMnO3 with the corresponding La1-xCax-zYzMnO3 compositions shows that the observed properties can be related to the average size of the A-site cations.

Synthesis, characterisation and superoxide dismutase activity of a manganese(II) complex

A potent superoxide dismutase mimic; Mn-II(HL)(2) [H(2)L = 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine] has been synthesised and characterised by its crystal structure determination and EPR spectroscopy.

The intercalation reaction of pyridine with manganese thiophosphate, MnPS3

The intercalation of pyridine in the layered manganese thiophosphate, MnPS3, has been examined in detail by a variety of techniques. The reaction is interesting since none of the anticipated changes in optical and electrical properties associated with intercalation of electron donating molecules is observed. The only notable change in the properties of the host lattice is in the nature of the low-temperature magnetic ordering; while MnPS3 orders antiferromagnetically below 78 K, the intercalated compound shows weak ferromagnetism probably due to a canted spin structure. Vibrational spectra clearly show that the intercalated species are pyridinium ions solvated by neutral pyridine molecules. The corresponding reduced sites of the host lattice, however, were never observed. The molecules in the solvation shell are exchangeable. Although the reaction appears to be topotactic and reversible, from XRD, a more detailed analysis of the products of deintercalation reveal that it is not so. The intercalation proceeds by an ion exchange/intercalation mechanism wherein the intercalated species are pyridinium ions solvated by neutral molecules with charge neutrality being preserved not by electron transfer but by a loss of Mn2+ ions from the lattice. The experimental evidence leading to this conclusion is discussed and it is shown that this model can account satisfactorily for the observed changes (or lack of it) in the optical, electrical, vibrational, and magnetic properties.

Thermodynamic modeling to analyse composition of carbonaceous coatings of MnO and other oxides of manganese grown by MOCVD

Equilibrium thermodynamic analysis has been applied to the low-pressure MOCVD process using manganese acetylacetonate as the precursor. ``CVD phase stability diagrams'' have been constructed separately for the processes carried out in argon and oxygen ambient, depicting the compositions of the resulting films as functions of CVD parameters. For the process conduced in argon ambient, the analysis predicts the simultaneous deposition of MnO and elemental carbon in 1: 3 molar proportion, over a range of temperatures. The analysis predicts also that, if CVD is carried out in oxygen ambient, even a very low flow of oxygen leads to the complete absence of carbon in the film deposited oxygen, with greater oxygen flow resulting in the simultaneous deposition of two different manganese oxides under certain conditions. The results of thermodynamic modeling have been verified quantitatively for low-pressure CVD conducted in argon ambient. Indeed, the large excess of carbon in the deposit is found to constitute a MnO/C nanocomposite, the associated cauliflower-like morphology making it a promising candidate for electrode material in supercapacitors. CVD carried out in oxygen flow, under specific conditions, leads to the deposition of more than one manganese oxide, as expected from thermodynamic analysis ( and forming an oxide-oxide nanocomposite). These results together demonstrate that thermodynamic analysis of the MOCVD process can be employed to synthesize thin films in a predictive manner, thus avoiding the inefficient trial-and-error method usually associated with MOCVD process development. The prospect of developing thin films of novel compositions and characteristics in a predictive manner, through the appropriate choice of CVD precursors and process conditions, emerges from the present work.

Development of a clean bioelectrochemical process for leaching of ocean manganese nodules

Through the application of negative reduction potential significant reduction of manganic and iron oxides in the ocean manganese nodules can be achieved, liberating the occluded copper, nickel and cobalt for easy dissolution in an acid medium. Electroleaching and electrobioleaching of ocean manganese nodules in the presence of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans at the above negative applied dc potentials resulted in significant dissolution of copper, nickel and cobalt in 1 M H2SO4. The role of galvanic interactions in the bioleaching of ocean manganese nodules in the presence of T thiooxidans is also discussed, (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Electrochemical processing of ocean manganese nodules with microbial enhancement to recover valuable metals

In this paper, electroleaching and electrobioleaching of ocean manganese nodules are discussed along with the role of galvanic interactions in bioleaching. Polarization studies using a manganese nodule slurry electrode system indicated that the maximum dissolution of iron and manganese due to electrochemical reduction occurred at negative DC potentials of -600 and -1,400 mV(SCE). Electroleaching and electrobioleaching of ocean manganese nodules in the presence of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans at the above negative applied DC potentials resulted insignificant dissolution of copper, nickel and cobalt in 1 M H2SO4 and in sulfuric acid solution at pH 0.5 and 2.0. Mechanisms involved in electrobioleaching of ocean manganese nodules are discussed. Galvanic leaching of ocean manganese nodules in the presence of externally added pyrite and pyrolusite for enhancement of dissolution was also studied. Various electrochemical and biochemical parameters were optimized, and the electroleaching and galvanic processes thus developed are shown to yield almost complete dissolution of all metal values. This electrobioleaching process developed in the laboratory may be cost effective, energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Solubility and activity of oxygen in liquid manganese

The oxygen concentration of liquid manganese in equilibrium with MnAl2+2xO4+3x and α−Al2O3 has been determined in the temperature range 1520 to 1875 K. The oxygen content of quenched samples, wrapped in oxygen-free nickel foil, was determined by an inert gas fusion technique. The results are combined with accurate data now available on the Gibbs energies of formation of MnO and Al2O3−saturated MnAl2+2xO4+3x to derive the oxygen content of liquid manganese in equilibrium with MnO and the Gibbs energy of solution of diatomic oxygen gas in liquid manganese. The enthalpy and entropy of solution of oxygen in manganese are compared with similar data on other metal-oxygen systems.

Detection and determination of manganese concentration in water using a fiber Bragg grating coupled with nanotechnology

Through this paper we experimentally demonstrate the fabrication of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) chemical sensor to detect and determine the manganese concentration in water and compare our results with sophisticated spectroscopic methods, such as atomic absorption spectrometry and the inductively coupled plasma method. Here we propose a simple method to develop a thin layer of gold nanoparticles above the etched grating region to enhance the sensitivity of the reflected spectrum of the FBG. By doing so, we achieve a sensitivity of 1.26 nm/parts per million in determining the trace level of Mn in water. Proper reagents are used to detect manganese in water. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America

A thermodynamic interpretation of the zonal arrangement of minerals in the bedded manganese deposits of the Noda tamagawa mine, Japan

Calculated phase relations in the system MnOSi02-C02-02 were used to propose a thermodynamic explanation for the thermal metamorphism of rhodochrosite beds lying between chert strata. The metamorphic MnOS i 0 2 minerals are arranged in order quartz(chert), rhodonite. tephroite and manganosite-hausmannite-pyrochroite rhodonite across the ore bed. The calculation covered temperatures up to 1000 K and pressures up to 5 kb. The zoning was interpreted as the result of a continuous rise in metamorphic temperature. The equilibrium partner of rhodochrosite changed from rhodonite through manganosite. Across the ore bed there are gradients in the chemical potential of MnO and SiO2 but fugacities of volatlle components such as C02. 02 and H20 were probably uniform at any given time and location during formation of the zones. Assuming that the total pressure and the fugacity of C02 were at 1.4 kb and 1.0 1 b. respectively. rhodonite. tephroite and manganosite would have formed at 472. 478 and 629 K.

Magnetic and Mechanical Anisotropy in a Manganese 2-Methylsuccinate Framework Structure

Hybrid inorganic-organic framework materials exhibit unique properties that can be advantageously tuned through choice of the inorganic and organic components and by control of the crystal structure. We present a new hydrothermally prepared 3D hybrid framework, [Mn(2-methylsuccinate)](n) (1), comprising alternating 2D manganese oxide sheets and isolated MnO(6) octahedra, pillared via syn, anti-syn carboxylates. Powder magnetic characterization shows that the compound is a homospin Mn(II) ferrimagnet below 2.4 K. The easy-axis is revealed by single-crystal magnetic susceptibility studies and a magnetic structure is proposed. Anisotropic elastic moduli and hardness, observed through nanoindentation on differing crystal facets, were correlated with specific structural features. Such measurements of anisotropy are not commonly undertaken, yet allow for a more comprehensive understanding of structure-property relationships.