Simultaneous determination of both the calibration constant in an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and the active surface area of a polycrystalline gold electrode

A novel method is employed for the simultaneous determination of both the calibration constant of an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) and the active surface area of a polycrystalline gold electrode. A gold electrode: is immersed into a 1 mM KI/1 M H2SO4 solution and on which forms a neutral monolayer. The adsorbed iodine can then be completely oxidized into IO3-. The active surface area of a gold electrode can be obtained from the net electrolytic charge of the oxidation process, and the calibration constant in the EQCM can be calculated from the corresponding frequency shift. The result shows that this method is simple, convenient and valid. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Surface area, porosity and water adsorption properties of fine volcanic ash particles

Our understanding on how ash particles in volcanic plumes react with coexisting gases and aerosols is still rudimentary, despite the importance of these reactions in influencing the chemistry and dynamics of a plume. In this study, six samples of fine ash (<100 μm) from different volcanoes were measured for their specific surface area, as, porosity and water adsorption properties with the aim to provide insights into the capacity of silicate ash particles to react with gases, including water vapour. To do so, we performed high-resolution nitrogen and water vapour adsorption/desorption experiments at 77 K and 303 K, respectively. The nitrogen data indicated as values in the range 1.1-2.1 m2/g, except in one case where as of 10 m2/g was measured. This high value is attributed to incorporation of hydrothermal phases, such as clay minerals, in the ash surface composition. The data also revealed that the ash samples are essentially non-porous, or have a porosity dominated by macropores with widths >500 Å All the specimens had similar pore size distributions, with a small peak centered around 50 Å These findings suggest that fine ash particles have relatively undifferentiated surface textures, irrespective of the chemical composition and eruption type. Adsorption isotherms for water vapour revealed that the capacity of the ash samples for water adsorption is systematically larger than predicted from the nitrogen adsorption as values. Enhanced reactivity of the ash surface towards water may result from (i) hydration of bulk ash constituents; (ii) hydration of surface compounds; and/or (iii) hydroxylation of the surface of the ash. The later mechanism may lead to irreversible retention of water. Based on these experiments, we predict that volcanic ash is covered by a complete monolayer of water under ambient atmospheric conditions. In addition, capillary condensation within ash pores should allow for deposition of condensed water on to ash particles before water reaches saturation in the plume. The total mass of water vapour retained by 1 g of fine ash at 0.95 relative water vapour pressure is calculated to be ∼10-2 g. Some volcanic implications of this study are discussed. © Springer-Verlag 2004.

Antennas for over-body-surface communication at 2.45 GHz

In this paper, the on-body performance of a range of wearable antennas was investigated by measuring vertical bar S-21 vertical bar path gain between two devices mounted on tissue-equivalent numerical and experimental phantoms, representative of human muscle tissue at 2.45 GHz. In particular, the study focused on the performance of a compact higher mode microstrip patch antenna (HMMPA) with a profile as low as lambda/20. The 5- and 10-mm-high HMMPA prototypes had an impedance bandwidth of 6.7% and 8.6%, respectively, sufficient for the operating requirements of the 2.45-GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band and both antennas offered 11-dB higher path gain compared to a fundamental-mode microstrip patch antenna. It was also dernonstrated that a 7-dB improvement in path gain can be obtained for a fundamental-mode patch through the addition of a shortening wall. Notably, on-body HMMPA performance was comparable to a quarter wave monopole antenna on the same size of ground-plane, mounted normal to the tissue surface, indicating that the low-profile and physically more robust antenna is a promising solution for bodyworn antenna applications.