Hydrogen isotope separation by quantum tunneling of hydrons through graphene

Yasuda, Satoshi; Dio, W. A.*; Fukutani, Katsuyuki

Vacuum and Surface Science, 66(9), p.514 - 519, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.1380/vss.66.514

Monolayer graphene, representative of atomically thin crystals, has recently shown unexpectedly high proton and deuteron permeability under ambient conditions. It also permeates (filters) hydrogen (deuterium) isotope ion with high selectivity. These results suggest possible ways of developing novel and efficient hydrogen isotope gas enrichment techniques for manufacturing silicon semiconductors, optical fibers, drug development, nuclear fusion, and other related applications. And yet, despite its importance, experimental studies remain scarce and the separation mechanism contentious. Here, we introduce our recent findings on how quantum tunneling of hydrons through graphene could account for the high hydron selectivity of graphene.

New material exploration to enhance neutron intensity below cold neutrons; Nanosized graphene flower aggregation

Teshigawara, Makoto; Ikeda, Yujiro*; Yan, M.*; Muramatsu, Kazuo*; Sutani, Koichi*; Fukuzumi, Masafumi*; Noda, Yohei*; Koizumi, Satoshi*; Saruta, Koichi; Otake, Yoshie*

Nanomaterials (Internet), 13(1), p.76_1 - 76_9, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13010076

To enhance neutron intensity below cold neutrons, it is proposed that nanosized graphene aggregation could facilitate neutron coherent scattering under particle size conditions similar to nanodiamond. It might also be possible to use it in high neutron radiation conditions due to graphene's strong sp2 bonds. Using the RIKEN accelerator-driven compact neutron source and iMATERIA at J-PARC, we performed neutron measurement experiments, total neutron cross-section, and small-angle neutron scattering on nanosized graphene aggregation. The measured data revealed, for the first time, that nanosized graphene aggregation increased the total cross-sections and small-angle scattering in the cold neutron energy region, most likely due to coherent scattering, resulting in higher neutron intensities, similar to nanodiamond.

Efficient hydrogen isotope separation by tunneling effect using graphene-based heterogeneous electrocatalysts in electrochemical hydrogen isotope pumping

Yasuda, Satoshi; Matsushima, Hisayoshi*; Harada, Kenji*; Tanii, Risako*; Terasawa, Tomoo; Yano, Masahiro; Asaoka, Hidehito; Gueriba, J. S.*; Dio, W. A.*; Fukutani, Katsuyuki

ACS Nano, 16(9), p.14362 - 14369, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c04655

The fabrication of hydrogen isotope enrichment system is essential for the development of industrial, medical, life science, and nuclear fusion fields, therefore alternative enrichment techniques with high separation factor and economic feasibility have been still explored. Herein, we report the fabrication of heterogeneous electrode with layered structures consisting of palladium and graphene layers for polymer electrolyte membrane electrochemical hydrogen pumping for the hydrogen isotope enrichment. We demonstrated significant bias voltage dependence of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) separation ability and its high H/D at lower bias voltage. Theoretical analysis also demonstrated that the observed high H/D at low bias voltage stems from hydrogen isotopes tunneling through atomically-thick graphene during the electrochemical reaction, and the bias dependent H/D results in a transition from the quantum tunneling regime to classical over- barrier regime for hydrogen isotopes transfer via the graphene. These findings provide new insight for a novel economical methodology of efficient hydrogen isotope enrichment.

Mesospheric ionization during substorm growth phase

Murase, Kiyoka*; Kataoka, Ryuho*; Nishiyama, Takanori*; Nishimura, Koji*; Hashimoto, Taishi*; Tanaka, Yoshimasa*; Kadokura, Akira*; Tomikawa, Yoshihiro*; Tsutsumi, Masaki*; Ogawa, Yasunobu*; et al.

Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (Internet), 12, p.18_1 - 18_16, 2022/06

https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2022012

We identified two energetic electron precipitation (EEP) events during the growth phase of moderate substorms and estimated the mesospheric ionization rate for an EEP event for which the most comprehensive dataset from ground-based and space-born instruments was available. The mesospheric ionization signature reached below 70 km altitude and continued for ~15 min until the substorm onset, as observed by the PANSY radar and imaging riometer at Syowa Station in the Antarctic region. We also used energetic electron flux observed by the Arase and POES 15 satellites as the input for the air-shower simulation code PHITS to quantitatively estimate the mesospheric ionization rate. Combining the cutting-edge observations and simulations, we shed new light on the space weather impact of the EEP events during geomagnetically quiet times, which is important to understand the possible link between the space environment and climate.

Approach to elucidate corrosion mechanism on metal surface using first-principles calculations

Igarashi, Takahiro; Otani, Kyohei; Komatsu, Atsushi; Kato, Chiaki; Sakairi, Masatoshi*

Bosei Kanri, 66(4), p.141 - 145, 2022/04

Metal corrosion is a material deterioration phenomenon based on electrochemical reactions on an atomic scale. In this paper, various methods for acquiring physical properties on metal surfaces using first-principles calculations were described. As examples of applying first-principles calculation to metal corrosion, the effect of hydrogen adsorption on the metal surface on the potential change and the effect of cation atoms in the aqueous solution on the corrosion resistance of the metal were reported.

Novel strain induces severe corrosion by retrieving electrons from Fe under a freshwater environment

Hirano, Shinichi*; Ihara, Sota*; Wakai, Satoshi*; Dotsuta, Yuma; Otani, Kyohei; Kitagaki, Toru; Ueno, Fumiyoshi; Okamoto, Akihiro*

Microorganisms (Internet), 10(2), p.270_1 - 270_12, 2022/02

https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020270

To understand the role of methanogens in corrosion under anoxic conditions in freshwater, we investigated the corrosion activities of methanogens in samples collected from groundwater and rivers. We enriched microorganisms that can grow with CO/NaHCO and Fe as the sole carbon source and electron donor, respectively, in ground fresh water. Electrochemical analysis revealed that strain can uptake electrons from the cathode at lower than -0.61 V vs SHE and has a redox-active component with electrochemical potential different from those of other previously reported methanogens with extracellular electron transfer ability. This study indicated the corrosion risk by methanogens capable of taking up electrons from Fe in anoxic freshwater environments and the necessity of understanding the corrosion mechanism to contribute to risk diagnosis.

Effect of bacterial siderophore on cesium dissolution from biotite

Kimura, Tatsuki*; Fukutani, Satoshi*; Ikegami, Maiko*; Sakamoto, Fuminori; Kozai, Naofumi; Grambow, B.*; Yoneda, Minoru*

Chemosphere, 276, p.130121_1 - 130121_7, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130121

The adsorption of cesium (Cs) on biotite and dissolution of Cs from Cs-bearing biotite using a siderophore were investigated aiming to contribute to the elucidation of radiocesium migration mechanisms in the soil environment. Cs was adsorbed on a hardly weathered biotite powder sample. A siderophore was extracted and purified from the bacterial culture medium, and the purified siderophore was used in five consecutive dissolution experiments of the biotite samples. The major components of the biotite (Al, Fe, and Mg) were dissolved almost stoichiometrically, strongly suggesting that the siderophore selectively dissolves the broken edges of the biotite. The Cs adsorbed on the broken edges was dissolved rapidly as the siderophore dissolved the broken edges, and then, the Cs adsorbed on the outer planar surface of the biotite particles was slowly dissolved.

Research and examination of seismic safety evaluation and function maintenance for important equipment in nuclear facilities

Furuya, Osamu*; Fujita, Satoshi*; Muta, Hitoshi*; Otori, Yasuki*; Itoi, Tatsuya*; Okamura, Shigeki*; Minagawa, Keisuke*; Nakamura, Izumi*; Fujimoto, Shigeru*; Otani, Akihito*; et al.

Proceedings of ASME 2021 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (PVP 2021) (Internet), 6 Pages, 2021/07

Since the Fukushima accident, with the higher safety requirements of nuclear facilities in Japan, suppliers, manufacturers and academic societies have been actively considering the reconstruction of the safety of nuclear facilities from various perspectives. The Nuclear Regulation Authority has formulated new regulatory standards and is in operation. The new regulatory standards are based on defense in depth, and have significantly raised the levels of natural hazards and have requested to strengthen the countermeasures from the perspective of preventing the simultaneous loss of safety functions due to common factors. Facilities for dealing with specific serious accidents are required to have robustness to ensure functions against earthquakes that exceed the design standards to a certain extent. In addition, since the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and the safety margin evaluation are performed to include the range beyond the design assumption in the safety improvement evaluation, it is very important to extent the special knowledge in the strength of important equipment for seismic safety. This paper summarizes the research and examination results of specialized knowledge on the concept of maintaining the functions of important seismic facilities and the damage index to be considered by severe earthquakes. In the other paper, the study on reliability of seismic capacity analysis for important equipment in nuclear facilities will be reported.

Study on the free corrosion potential at an interface between an Al electrode and an acidic aqueous NaCl solution through density functional theory combined with the reference interaction site model

Kano, Koichi*; Hagiwara, Satoshi*; Igarashi, Takahiro; Otani, Minoru*

Electrochimica Acta, 377, p.138121_1 - 138121_10, 2021/05

AA2020-0599.pdf:0.95MB

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2021.138121

We investigated the free corrosion potential at an interface between an Al electrode and an aqueous NaCl solution under acidic conditions via density functional theory combined with the effective screening medium and reference interaction site model (ESM-RISM). The electrode potentials for the anodic and cathodic corrosion reactions were obtained from the grand potential profile as a function of the electron chemical potential at the interface. Thereafter, we determined the free corrosion potential using the Tafel extrapolation method. The results of the free corrosion potential were consistent with previous experimental data. By controlling the pH, we determined the pH dependence of the free corrosion potential, and the results agreed well with the experimental results. Our results indicated that the ESM-RISM method duly described the environmental effect of an acidic solution and precisely determined the free corrosion potential.

Thermally altered subsurface material of asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Kitazato, Kohei*; Milliken, R. E.*; Iwata, Takahiro*; Abe, Masanao*; Otake, Makiko*; Matsuura, Shuji*; Takagi, Yasuhiko*; Nakamura, Tomoki*; Hiroi, Takahiro*; Matsuoka, Moe*; et al.

Nature Astronomy (Internet), 5(3), p.246 - 250, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01271-2

Here we report observations of Ryugu's subsurface material by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS3) on the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Reflectance spectra of excavated material exhibit a hydroxyl (OH) absorption feature that is slightly stronger and peak-shifted compared with that observed for the surface, indicating that space weathering and/or radiative heating have caused subtle spectral changes in the uppermost surface. However, the strength and shape of the OH feature still suggests that the subsurface material experienced heating above 300 C, similar to the surface. In contrast, thermophysical modeling indicates that radiative heating does not increase the temperature above 200 C at the estimated excavation depth of 1 m, even if the semimajor axis is reduced to 0.344 au. This supports the hypothesis that primary thermal alteration occurred due to radiogenic and/or impact heating on Ryugu's parent body.