Performance and Application of Far Infrared Rays Emitted from Rare Earth Mineral Composite Materials

Abstract

Rare earth mineral composite materials were prepared using tourmaline and cerous nitrate as raw materials. Through characterization by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, dynamic contact angle meter and tensiometer, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, it was found that the composite materials had a better far infrared emitting performance than tourmaline, which depended on many factors such as material composition, microstructure, and surface free energy. Based on the results of the flue gas analyzer and the water boiling test, it was found that the rare earth mineral composite materials could accelerate the combustion of liquefied petroleum gas and diesel oil. The results showed that the addition of Ce led to the improvement of far infrared emitting performance of tourmaline due to the decrease of cell volume caused by the oxidation of more Fe2+ ions and the increase of surface free energy. The application of rare earth mineral composite materials to diesel oil led to a decrease in surface tension and flash point, and the fuel saving ratio could reach 4.5%. When applied to liquefied petroleum gas, the composite materials led to the enhanced combustion, improved fuel consumption by 6.8%, and decreased concentration of CO and O2 in exhaust gases by 59.7% and 16.2%, respectively; but the temperature inside the flue increased by 10.3%.

Transition from Anodic Titania Nanotubes to Nanowires: Arising from Nanotube Growth to Application in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

“…Similar structures were previously reported elsewhere [17][18][19][20][21] and explained using a bamboo-splitting model. [17] However, a number of phenomena are difficult to explain with this model.…”

“…In contrast, no wires are fashioned at room temperature for the same duration (see Figure S2 of the Supporting Information). This indicates that chemical dissolution plays an essential role in the transition from tubes to wires, thus interpreting the effect of water content [17,18,20] on formation of the nanowires.…”

“…Therefore, under the same conditions but with a relatively higher water content, nanowires can initiate at a lower potential, [17] in a shorter time, [18] or with a lower threshold content when HF is used instead of water. [20] All these results demonstrate that the transition from tubes to wires is visible only under an intermediate chemical dissolution environment, consistent with the XPS analysis above.…”

“…Recently, a few researchers reported anodic formation of titania nanowires on top of the nanotubes in an organic electrolyte. [17][18][19][20] Several methods have been employed to suppress formation of the nanowires, such as growing a compact rutile layer, [21] producing a photoresist coating, [22] or polishing titanium foils prior to anodization, [23] and to eliminate the nanowires with an ultrasonication process after anodization. [24] The formation of the nanowires has been interpreted using a bamboosplitting model [17] based on alumina nanowires and nanotubes produced by etching alumina templates.…”

Influence of Water/Alkoxide Ratio in the Synthesis of Nanosized Sol−Gel Titania on the Release of Phenytoin

“…3 There is a variety of materials that can be used as implants: swelling and nonswelling polymers, inorganic nanoporous membranes and coatings, or nanostructured oxides. [4][5][6][7][8] Among others, titania bioceramic devices synthesized by sol-gel method for the delivery of neurological drugs to the brain have proved to be efficient for drug administration in situ, overcoming the concentration reduction by the hematoencephalic barrier. [9][10][11][12] One of the drugs previously used for encapsulation is phenytoin sodium (5,5-diphenyl hydantoin sodium salt), an antiepileptic drug commonly used to suppress the abnormal brain activity during a seizure.…”