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- Author or Editor: P. Thomas x
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Abstract
The interactions of CO with a high specific surface area tin dioxide was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. FTIR study of CO interactions have shown that CO can adsorb on cus (coordinatively unsaturated sites) Sn4+ cation sites (band at 2201 cm-1). In addition, CO reacts with surface oxygen atoms. This leads to the partial reduction of SnO2 surface and to the formation of ionised oxygen vacancies together with the release of free electrons, which are responsible for the loss of transmission. Formed CO2 can chemisorb on specific surface sites: on basic sites to form carbonates species and on acidic sites (Sn4+-CO2 species) which is in competition with the formation of Sn4+-CO species. TG experiment have shown that the reduction of SnO2 by CO at 400°C occurs in two steps. First, the reduction of SnO2 surface, which is a quick phenomenon. This has allowed to evaluate that more than 12% of reducible surface oxygens can react with CO, essentially because of the presence of a large amount of surface hydroxyl groups. The second step of the reduction of SnO2 would be the progressive reduction of SnO2 bulk by the slow diffusion of oxygen atoms from the bulk to the surface.
Abstract
In order to investigate the potential of thermal analysis for the determination of post-mortem age, rib bone specimens were collected from the remains of a number of slaughtered pigs that were allowed to decompose in the Australian bush in a controlled site under a range of conditions for time periods ranging from 1 to 5 years. The bone specimens were cut in cross-section with the compact bone collected for analysis. TG-MS curves were collected by heating bone samples to 1100°C in an argon atmosphere. The TG-MS data showed significant differences for the pig bone specimens derived from the different environments and showed trends in peak size correlating with age. The reported data suggest that TG-MS has significant potential for the identification of origin as well as the ageing of skeletal remains in a forensic context.
Abstract
A challenge for forensic examiners is the ageing and characterisation of bone fragments or decomposed skeletal remains. Due to the sensitivity of thermal methods to morphological states, thermal analysis has been selected as a technique which could overcome the difficulties. In this preliminary study, TG-MS was applied to the characterisation of bone fragments derived from the compact bone of pig rib specimens. TG-MS curves were collected by heating bone samples to 1000C in an argon atmosphere. Under these conditions, both the organic and inorganic phases decomposed, producing a variety of organic fragments and carbon dioxide. Pyrolysis of the organic phase, which is composed predominantly of collagen, occurred resulting in the observation of ion fragments up to 110 amu. Selected fragments were monitored and their observation is discussed in terms of the decomposition of both the collagen phase and the inorganic carbonated hydroxyapatite phase.
Present study is based on the stipe anatomy of 13 selected species of pteridophytes of South India. Detailed description, key to the taxa based on stipe anatomy, photographs and descriptions are provided.
Abstract
The potential of thermogravimetric analysis (TG) as a tool for the characterisation of ochre paint used in indigenous Australian bark paintings has been investigated. TG has been combined with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and mass spectrometry (MS) to identify and quantify the main inorganic and organic components present in the paints. The results obtained were supported by comparison with infrared spectra and XRD data obtained for the same specimens. The potential of thermal methods for the characterisation ochres has been demonstrated, with subtle differences between small samples being able to be identified.
Summary Samples of electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) were chemically reduced using 2-propanol under reflux (82°C) for 1, 2, 3, 6 and 24 h intervals. XRD analysis showed that the ?-MnO2 structure was preserved although the lattice dimensions were observed to increase with increasing degree of reduction to accommodate the intercalation of protons. The exception was the 24 h reduced sample which contained two phases; ? -MnO2 and ? -MnOOH. Three regions of decomposition in the range of 50 to 1000°C were observed using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (TG-MS) and were accounted for as water removal below 390°C, reduction of MnO2 to Mn2O3 between 400 and 600°C, and Mn2O3 to Mn3O4 between 600 and 1000°C. Again the exception proved to be the 24 h reduced sample which was observed to decompose predominantly in one step between 400 and 600°C directly to Mn3O4.
Summary Due to growing environmental concerns and the need to use less energy-intensive building products, alternatives and improvements to Portland cement (PC) are being actively researched worldwide. Use of supplementary materials is now a common practice where PC is the predominant component of inorganic building products. This study aims to investigate the potential of magnesia (MgO), derived from a naturally occurring raw material magnesite, as a supplementary material. Results from mortar samples prepared with 10 and 20% replacements of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by MgO are presented. DTA-TG was used to study and characterise the hydration behaviour of MgO in OPC environment after 3, 7, 14, 28, 56 and 90 days of moist curing. Microstructural and compressive strength determinations providing additional information on the influence of hydrated phases are also reported.
Abstract
Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis was applied to the characterisation of the pozzolanic reaction in mortars containing the supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) pitchstone fines (PF) and fly ash (FA) as partial replacements for Portland cement (PC). TG analysis was used to determine the proportion of calcium hydroxide (CH) present from the hydration of the PC based on the dehydroxylation of the CH present in the blended PC-SCM mortars. The consumption of CH indicated that both SCMs underwent the pozzolanic reaction and that PF was found to compare favourably in its pozzolanic reactivity of FA, the industry and globally accepted standard artificial pozzolan.
Abstract
Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories has recently developed, tested and field-demonstrated a technology for the direct assay of transuranic radionuclides (TRU), fission products, and activation products in a variety of radwaste packages generated at commercial nuclear power plants. This technology involves non-destructive passive neutron counting for determination of nanocurie/gram quantities of the TRU radionuclides. Direct gamma spectrometry combined with thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) and correlation analysis is also utilized to determine the concentrations of the fission and activation products present in the radwaste packages. Employing counting times of 10 to 20 minutes, a complete analysis of all radionuclides specified for assay by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (in 10CFR61) prior to shallow-land disposal of commercial radwastes can be measured at concentrations at least tenfold below the least restrictive Class 
A
waste catagory.
