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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Internal features of graphite in cast irons. Confocal microscopy: useful tool for graphite growth imaging.

Spherulitic crystallisation is a mode of growth of crystals from the melt. Considerable attention has been given to spheroidal graphite formation, providing detailed information about the internal microstructure of the spherulites in spheroidal (SG irons) and compacted graphite irons (CG irons) (Stefanescu, D., 1990. Cast Irons. ASM Handbook, 10th ed., vol. 1). Nevertheless, the mechanisms responsible for this mode of crystallisation are not fully understood. This study deals with the inoculation mechanisms, with particular emphasis on the study of the inclusions for the heterogeneous nucleation of graphite. It is shown that the graphite nuclei are sulfide products of the nodularizing treatment. It has been observed that when rare-earth treatment is applied, the central nucleus consists of a core and an envelope from which the graphite grows. Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM), in reflection mode, was used to study the internal features of the spheroidal graphite growth. Confocal reflection imaging, which has a capacity for optical sectioning of the sample, provides high-resolution images of surface and subsurface regions of interest contained within a semi-transparent sample. Furthermore, three-dimensional reconstruction of these optical sections can provide insight into the mechanism of graphite growth mechanism interpretation. With CSLM the radial growth of graphite was seen. Other techniques, such as TEM, SEM-EDS, WDS, AES and SAM were also used to corroborate the results.

Journal Article↗

Basal plane pyrolytic graphite modified electrodes: comparison of carbon nanotubes and graphite powder as electrocatalysts.

The oxidations of NADH, epinephrine, and norepinephrine are studied using carbon nanotube and graphite powder-modified basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrodes. Immobilization is achieved in two ways: first, via abrasive attachment of multiwall carbon nanotubes or graphite powder by gently rubbing the electrode surface on a fine quality paper supporting the desired material; second, via "film" modification from dispersing either graphite powder or nanotubes in acetonitrile and pipeting a small volume onto the electrode surface and allowing the solvent to volatilize. While electrocatalytic behavior of both types of nanotube-modified electrodes is shown, with enhanced currents and reduced peak-to-peak separations in the voltammetry in comparison with naked basal plane pyrolytic graphite, similar catalytic behavior is also seen at the graphite powder-modified electrodes. Caution is, therefore, suggested in assigning unique catalytic properties to carbon nanotubes.

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Effect of expanded graphite lattice in exfoliated graphite nanofibers on hydrogen storage.

A graphite exfoliation technique, using intercalation of a concentrated sulfuric/nitric acid mixture followed by a thermal shock, has successfully exfoliated a herringbone graphite nanofiber (GNF). The exfoliated GNF retains the overall nanosized dimensions of the original GNF, with the exfoliation temperature determining the degree of induced defects, lattice expansion, and resulting microstructure. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicated that the fibers treated at an intermediate temperature of 700 degrees C for 2 min had dislocations in the graphitic structure and a 4% increase in graphitic lattice spacing to 3.5 A. The fibers treated at 1000 degrees C for 36 h were expanded along the fiber axis, with regular intervals of graphitic and amorphous regions ranging from 0.5 to >50 nm in width. The surface area of the starting material was increased from 47 m(2)/g to 67 m(2)/g for the 700- degrees C treatment and to 555 m(2)/g for the 1000- degrees C treatment. Hydrogen uptake measurements at 20 bar indicate that the overall hydrogen uptake and operative adsorption temperature are sensitive to the structural variations and graphitic spacing. The increased surface area after the 1000- degrees C treatment led to a 1.2% hydrogen uptake at 77 K and 20 bar, a 3-fold increase in hydrogen physisorption of the starting material. The uptake of the 700- degrees C-treated material had a 0.29% uptake at 300 K and 20 bar; although low, this was a 14-fold uptake over the starting material and higher than other commonly used pretreatment methods that were tested in parallel. These results suggest that selective exfoliation of a nanofiber is a means by which to control the relative binding energy of the hydrogen interaction with the carbon structure and thus vary the operative adsorption temperature.

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Hydration and dewetting near graphite-CH(3) and graphite-COOH plates.

The dynamics of water near the nanoscale hydrophobic (graphite-CH(3)) and hydrophilic (graphite-COOH) plates has been studied in detail with molecular dynamics simulations in this paper. It is shown that these designed surfaces (by growing a layer of methyl or carboxyl groups on top of graphite) can have a significant impact on the neighboring water dynamics, with the hydrophilic carboxyl surface having even more profound effects. The water hydrogen bond lifetime is much longer near both types of surfaces than that in the bulk, while on the other hand the water diffusion constant is much smaller than that in the bulk. The difference in the diffusion constant can be as large as a factor of 8 and the difference in the hydrogen bond lifetime can be as large as a factor of 2, depending on the distance from the surface. Furthermore, the water molecules in the first solvation shell of surface atoms show a strong bias in hydroxyl group orientation near the surface, confirming some of the previous findings. Finally, the possible water dewetting transition between two graphite-CH(3) plates and the effect of the strength of the solute-solvent attractions on the water drying transition are investigated. The relationship among the dewetting transition critical distance, van der Waals potential well depth, and water contact angle on the graphite-CH(3) surface is also analyzed on the basis of a simple macroscopic theory, which can be used to predict the dewetting transition critical distance.

Chemistry, Physical↗

Evaluation of 1-site and 5-site models of methane on its adsorption on graphite and in graphitic slit pores.

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the 1- and 5-site models of methane on the description of adsorption on graphite surfaces and in graphitic slit pores. These models have been known to perform well in the description of the fluid-phase behavior and vapor-liquid equilibria. Their performance in adsorption is evaluated in this work for nonporous graphitized thermal carbon black, and simulation results are compared with the experimental data of Avgul and Kiselev (Chemistry and Physics of Carbon; Dekker: New York, 1970; Vol. 6, p 1). On this nonporous surface, it is found that these models perform as well on isotherms at various temperatures as they do on the experimental isosteric heat for adsorption on a graphite surface. They are then tested for their performance in predicting the adsorption isotherms in graphitic slit pores, in which we would like to explore the effect of confinement on the molecule packing. Pore widths of 10 and 20 A are chosen in this investigation, and we also study the effects of temperature by choosing 90.7, 113, and 273 K. The first two are for subcritical conditions, with 90.7 K being the triple point of methane and 113 K being its boiling point. The last temperature is chosen to represent the supercritical condition so that we can investigate the performance of these models at extremely high pressures. We have found that for the case of slit pores investigated in this paper, although the two models yield comparable pore densities (provided the accessible pore width is used in the calculation of pore density), the number of particles predicted by the 1-site model is always greater than that predicted by the 5-site model, regardless of whether temperature is subcritical or supercritical. This is due to the packing effect in the confined space such that a methane molecule modeled as a spherical particle in the 1-site model would pack better than the fused five-sphere model in the case of the 5-site model. Because the 5-site model better describes the liquid- and solid-phase behavior, we would argue that the packing density in small pores is better described with a more detailed 5-site model, and care should be exercised when using the 1-site model to study adsorption in small pores.

Journal Article↗

O2 reduction on graphite and nitrogen-doped graphite: experiment and theory.

An experimental and theoretical study of electroreduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide is presented. The experimental measurements of nitrided Ketjenblack indicated an onset potential for reduction of approximately 0.5 V (SHE) compared to the onset potential of 0.2 V observed for untreated carbon. Quantum calculations on cluster models of nitrided and un-nitrided graphite sheets show that carbon radical sites formed adjacent to substitutional N in graphite are active for O2 electroreduction to H2O2 via and adsorbed OOH intermediate. The weak catalytic effect of untreated carbon is attributed to weaker bonding of OOH to the H atom-terminated graphite edges. Substitutional N atoms that are far from graphite sheet edges will be active, and those that are close to the edges will be less active. Interference from electrochemical reduction of H atoms on the reactive sites is considered, and it is shown that in the potential range of H2O2 formation the reactive sites are not blocked by adsorbed H atoms.

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Ruthenium and ruthenium dioxide-modified graphite-ethylene/ propylene/diene and graphite-teflon composite electrodes as amperometric flow detectors. Application to the determination of methionine.

The flow injection amperometric performance of solid composite graphite electrodes with ethylene/propylene/diene (EPD) or Teflon as binding agents, and with Ru or RuO2 particles as electrocatalytic modifiers has been compared. Both, Ru and RuO2 modified electrodes exhibited electrocatalytic properties on the methionine oxidation process in alkaline media. The electrodes composition and the hydrodynamic and chemical variables were optimized. Graphite-EPD (GEPD) electrodes showed a better analytical performance than graphite-Teflon (GPTFE) electrodes. Furthermore, a better sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility was observed for RuO2-GEPD electrodes when compared with Ru-GEPD electrodes. At an applied potential of +0.50 V, a detection limit for methionine of 4.8x10(-5) mol L(-1), similar to those reported in the literature for other RuO2-modified electrodes, was obtained. The analytical applicability of RuO2-GEPD electrodes was demonstrated by determining methionine in a complex pharmaceutical formulation.

Electrochemistry↗

The effect of slow interfacial kinetics on the chronoamperometric response of composite lithiated graphite electrodes and on the calculation of the chemical diffusion coefficient of Li ions in graphite.

This paper deals with a study of the shape of the chronoamperometric response (current, I, vs time, t) and, eventually, the mechanism of Li-ions insertion and deinsertion to/from composite graphite electrodes obtained by a small-amplitude (incremental) technique, such as potentiostatic intermittent titration (PITT). The dependences of log I, the Cottrell parameter It(1/2), and the differential parameter d log I/d log t on the process duration (vs log t) were carefully examined both for single- and two-phase coexistence domains. log I vs log t curves for single-phase domains were characterized by a single monotonic curve with a gradually increasing slope. In contrast, the same curves for two-phase domains consist of two sequential downward concave lines. Both types of response were explained by using the cell-impedance-control model. To separate the contributions of solid-state diffusion, Ohmic drops, and slow interfacial charge-transfer kinetics to the chronoamperometric response, the data were presented in the form of the inverse Cottrell parameter, (It(1/2))(-1) vs t(-1/2), from which the chemical diffusion coefficient (D) could be obtained. Refined values of D for Li insertion into graphite obtained herein agree very well with values of the component diffusion coefficient obtained from quasielastic neutron scattering for Li insertion into HOPG, reported in the literature.

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Adsorption of argon from sub- to supercritical conditions on graphitized thermal carbon black and in graphitic slit pores: a grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation study.

In this paper we consider the adsorption of argon on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black and in slit pores at temperatures ranging from subcritical to supercritical conditions by the method of grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation. Attention is paid to the variation of the adsorbed density when the temperature crosses the critical point. The behavior of the adsorbed density versus pressure (bulk density) shows interesting behavior at temperatures in the vicinity of and those above the critical point and also at extremely high pressures. Isotherms at temperatures greater than the critical temperature exhibit a clear maximum, and near the critical temperature this maximum is a very sharp spike. Under the supercritical conditions and very high pressure the excess of adsorbed density decreases towards zero value for a graphite surface, while for slit pores negative excess density is possible at extremely high pressures. For imperfect pores (defined as pores that cannot accommodate an integral number of parallel layers under moderate conditions) the pressure at which the excess pore density becomes negative is less than that for perfect pores, and this is due to the packing effect in those imperfect pores. However, at extremely high pressure molecules can be packed in parallel layers once chemical potential is great enough to overcome the repulsions among adsorbed molecules.

Journal Article↗

[Direct collection with graphite probe filters and determination of trace cadmium in atmospheric particulate matter by graphite probe furnace atomic absorption spectrometry].

After atmospheric particulate matter was directly collected with graphite probe filters, the trace cadmium in APM was determined by graphite probe furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed that the absorbance (peak-area mode)and the concentration of cadmium had a excellent linearity in the range of 0-50 microg/L. The characteristic mass and detection limit (3 sigma) were 2.48 and 1.86 pg, respectively. Its relative standard deviation was 2.06% (n = 11). The results of analysis of the National Bureau of standards of America, Standard Reference Material (SRM) No. 1648, Urban Particulate Matter, gave a recovery of 90.15-99.29% with RSD of 4.09%. The method proved to be accurate, sensitive, rapid and simple.

English Abstract↗

Adsorption of carbon tetrachloride on graphitized thermal carbon black and in slit graphitic pores: five-site versus one-site potential models.

The performance of intermolecular potential models on the adsorption of carbon tetrachloride on graphitized thermal carbon black at various temperatures is investigated. This is made possible with the extensive experimental data of Machin and Ross(1), Avgul et al.,(2) and Pierce(3) that cover a wide range of temperatures. The description of all experimental data is only possible with the allowance for the surface mediation. If this were ignored, the grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation results would predict a two-dimensional (2D) transition even at high temperatures, while experimental data shows gradual change in adsorption density with pressure. In general, we find that the intermolecular interaction has to be reduced by 4% whenever particles are within the first layer close to the surface. We also find that this degree of surface mediation is independent of temperature. To understand the packing of carbon tetrachloride in slit pores, we compared the performance of the potential models that model carbon tetrachloride as either five interaction sites or one site. It was found that the five-site model performs better and describes the imperfect packing in small pores better. This is so because most of the strength of fluid-fluid interaction between two carbon tetrachloride molecules comes from the interactions among chlorine atoms. Methane, although having tetrahedral shape as carbon tetrachloride, can be effectively modeled as a pseudospherical particle because most of the interactions come from carbon-carbon interaction and hydrogen negligibly contributes to this.

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STM and STS of coronene on HOPG 0001 in UHV - adsorption of the smallest possible graphite flakes on graphite.

The adsorption of the aromatic molecule hexabenzobenzene (coronene) on an HOPG(0001) surface was investigated under UHV conditions by means of variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Imaging on a mesoscopic scale showed a distribution of coronene islands. These islands are mobile on the surface and can be pinned at step-edges. Zooming in on areas apart from the islands reveals an hexagonal arrangement of coronene molecules in a closed layer. Submolecular resolved molecules consist of bright spots with varying intensity. This variation in intensity is explained with the commensurability of the adlayer. STS investigations were performed for various tip-sample distances, adjusted by the tunneling current setpoint. A gap can be seen for every setpoint, but its width is dependent on the setpoint. The gap for the largest tip-sample distance and therefore the smallest tip-sample interaction is compared with the theoretical value.

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