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.

Control of the size of etchable ion tracks in PVDF; Irradiation in an oxygen atmosphere and with fullerene C

Kitamura, Akane; Yamaki, Tetsuya*; Yuri, Yosuke*; Koshikawa, Hiroshi*; Sawada, Shinichi*; Yuyama, Takahiro*; Usui, Aya; Chiba, Atsuya*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 460, p.254 - 258, 2019/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2019.06.030

Poly(vinylidene-fluoride) (PVDF) film is suitable for investigation of the size of etchable ion tracks because we can clearly judge the finish of the track etching and the surrounding bulk area remains due to the high chemical stability. Thereby we can measure the radius of ion tracks of each ion. In this study, we focused on two irradiation conditions for controlling the size of etchable ion tracks of PVDF films. One was irradiation in an oxygen atmosphere and the other was a fullerene (C) cluster beam irradiation. SEM observation showed that the size of pores became larger by irradiation in an oxygen atmosphere. It was found that the oxidation of ion tracks widened the size of etchable ion tracks. The C irradiation caused larger etchable tracks on the PVDF surface. The result could represent the effect of local and simultaneous collisions by the swift aggregated ions.

Development of cation and anion exchange membranes for saline water concentration using high-energy heavy-ion beams

Sawada, Shinichi*; Yasukawa, Masahiro*; Koshikawa, Hiroshi*; Kitamura, Akane; Higa, Mitsuru*; Yamaki, Tetsuya*

Nihon Kaisui Gakkai-Shi, 73(4), p.208 - 216, 2019/08

For applications to saline water concentration by electrodialysis, we prepared nano-structure-controlled cation and anion exchange membranes (CEMs and AEMs) by a so-called ion-track grafting technique. This new technique involves irradiation of a polymer substrate with an MeV-GeV heavy-ion beam to form the nano-sized cylindrical ion tracks and the graft polymerization only into the ion tracks for the creation of one-dimensional transport pathways. A 25-m-thick poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) film was irradiated with 560 MeV Xe or 310 MeV Kr. The irradiated films were immersed in grafting solutions of ethyl p-styrenesulfonate (EtSS) and chloromethylstyrene (CMS), and then subjected to the hydrolysis of EtSS units and quaternization of CMS units to prepare CEMs and AEMs, respectively. These CEMs and AEMs showed lower resistance than the commercially-available membranes even at the very low water uptake. This would be due to the signifcantly-effcient transport of ions through the unique one-dimensional highly-connected transport pathways. In the saline water concentration experiment, a pair of our CEM and a commercial AEM or vice versa led to a higher salt concentration in the concentration chamber than did a pair of the commercial membranes. This result demonstrated great applicability of our ion-track-grafted CEMs and AEMs for saline water concentration.

Research on nanostructure-controlled functional membranes using high-energy ion beams; Fluoropolymer-based porous and ion-exchange membranes

Yamaki, Tetsuya*; Kitamura, Akane; Sawada, Shinichi*; Koshikawa, Hiroshi*

Nihon Kaisui Gakkai-Shi, 72(2), p.62 - 74, 2018/04

This review paper is devoted to two topics, i.e., fluoropolymer-based porous and ion-exchange membranes, both of which include the creation of nanostructure-controlled functional membranes with high-energy ion beams. Latent tracks of the MeV-GeV heavy ions in a polymer foil can sometimes be chemically etched out to form a membrane with micro- and nano-sized through-pores, the so-called ion-track membrane. Our focus is on ion-track membranes of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and cation- and anion-exchange membranes (CEMs and AEMs, respectively).

Chemical form analysis of reaction products in Cs-adsorption on stainless steel by means of HAXPES and SEM/EDX

Kobata, Masaaki; Okane, Tetsuo; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Suzuki, Eriko; Owada, Kenji; Kobayashi, Keisuke*; Yamagami, Hiroshi; Osaka, Masahiko

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 498, p.387 - 394, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.10.035

In this study, for the understandings of Cesium (Cs) adsorption behavior on structure materials in severe accidents at a light water nuclear reactor, the chemical state of Cs and its distribution on the surface of SUS304 stainless steel (SS) with different Si concentration were investigated by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) and scanning electron microscope / energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). As a result, it was found that Cs is selectively adsorbed at the site where Si distributes with high concentration. CsFeSiO is a dominant Cs products in the case of low Si content, mainly formed, while CsSiO and CsSiO are formed in addition to CsFeSiO in the case of high Si content. The chemical forms of the Cs compounds produced in the adsorption process on the SS surface has a close correlation with the concentration and chemical states of Si originally included in SS.

Poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK)-based graft-type polymer electrolyte membranes having high crystallinity for high conducting and mechanical properties under various humidified conditions

Hamada, Takashi; Hasegawa, Shin; Fukasawa, Hideyuki*; Sawada, Shinichi; Koshikawa, Hiroshi; Miyashita, Atsumi; Maekawa, Yasunari

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 3(42), p.20983 - 20991, 2015/11

https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA05567A

no abstracts in English

Enhancement of the methodology of repository design and post-closure performance assessment for preliminary investigation stage, 3; Progress report on NUMO-JAEA collaborative research in FY2013 (Joint research)

Shibata, Masahiro; Sawada, Atsushi; Tachi, Yukio; Makino, Hitoshi; Wakasugi, Keiichiro; Mitsui, Seiichiro; Kitamura, Akira; Yoshikawa, Hideki; Oda, Chie; Ishidera, Takamitsu; et al.

JAEA-Research 2014-030, 457 Pages, 2015/03

JAEA-Research-2014-030.pdf:199.23MB

JAEA and NUMO have conducted a collaborative research work which is designed to enhance the methodology of repository design and post-closure performance assessment in preliminary investigation stage. With regard to (1) study on rock suitability in terms of hydrology, based on some examples of developing method of hydro-geological structure model, acquired knowledge are arranged using the tree diagram, and model uncertainty and its influence on the evaluation items were discussed. With regard to (2) study on scenario development, the developed approach for "defining conditions" has been reevaluated and improved from practical viewpoints. In addition, the uncertainty evaluation for the effect of use of cementitious material, as well as glass dissolution model, was conducted with analytical evaluation. With regard to (3) study on setting radionuclide migration parameters, based on survey of precedent procedures, multiple-approach for distribution coefficient of rocks was established, and the adequacy of the approach was confirmed though its application to sedimentary rock and granitic rock. Besides, an approach for solubility setting was developed including the procedure of selection of solubility limiting solid phase. The adequacy of the approach was confirmed though its application to key radionuclides.

Evidence of electronic polarization of the As ion in the superconducting phase of F-doped LaFeAsO

Kim, J.*; Fujiwara, Akihiko*; Sawada, Tomohiro*; Kim, Y.*; Sugimoto, Kunihisa*; Kato, Kenichi*; Tanaka, Hiroshi*; Ishikado, Motoyuki*; Shamoto, Shinichi; Takata, Masaki*

IUCrJ, 1(3), p.155 - 159, 2014/05

https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252514005636

Using a charge density analysis based on synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction data, we found that the charge carriers only accumulated in the iron layer of the superconducting phase of LaFeAsOF at low temperatures. Analysis of the electrostatic potential distribution revealed the concerted enhancement of the electronic polarization of the As ions and the carrier redistribution.

Ion-track membranes of fluoropolymers; Toward controlling the pore size and shape

Yamaki, Tetsuya; Nuryanthi, N.*; Koshikawa, Hiroshi; Asano, Masaharu; Sawada, Shinichi; Hakoda, Teruyuki; Maekawa, Yasunari; Voss, K.-O.*; Severin, D.*; Seidl, T.*; et al.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 314, p.77 - 81, 2013/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2013.05.028

Ion-track membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), a type of fluoropolymer, could find wide applications due to its superior chemical and mechanical properties. In order to produce track-etched pores in PVDF films, we have independently employed much milder etching conditions without any oxidant additives in the alkaline etching solution. The goal of this work is to pursue the possibility of varying beam parameters and applying the effect of the etching pretreatment to control the pore size and shape. Ongoing in-situ/on-line analyses at the M-branch of the UNILAC would shed light on the detailed chemistry of not only ion-induced degradation but also the post-irradiation reactivity.

Ion-track membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride); Etching characteristics during conductomeric analysis

Nuryanthi, N.*; Yamaki, Tetsuya; Koshikawa, Hiroshi; Asano, Masaharu; Sawada, Shinichi; Hasegawa, Shin; Maekawa, Yasunari; Katsumura, Yosuke*

Transactions of the Materials Research Society of Japan, 38(1), p.105 - 108, 2013/03

https://doi.org/10.14723/tmrsj.38.105

We report here how conditions of the conductometric analysis affected the etching characteristics of 25 m-thick poly(vinylidene fluoride) film irradiated with 450 MeV Xe ions. The etching was performed in a 9 mol dm aqueous potassium hydroxide solution at 80C in a conductometric cell. According to the scanning electron microscope observations, the ion-track membrane obtained with an applied AC voltage of 1.0 V had the surface pores of 16820 nm in diameter. On the other hand, the etching without an applied voltage gave the approximately two-thirds smaller pores. The conductomeric etching would provide a higher degree of freedom for controlling the pore diameter.