Improved immobilization of Re(VII) from aqueous solutions bimetallic Ni/Fe nanoparticles; Implications towards Tc(VII) removal

Maamoun, I.; Tokunaga, Kohei; Dohi, Terumi; Kanno, Futoshi*; Falyouna, O.*; Eljamal, O.*; Tanaka, Kazuya

Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering (Internet), 2, p.1142823_1 - 1142823_17, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnuen.2023.1142823

Recently, the rapid development of nuclear power technologies and the continuous energy demand around the world exhibited massive amounts of contaminated water with radionuclides. Technetium-99 (Tc) is one of the long-lived radionuclides with a highly mobile anionic form (Tc(VII)) in aqueous solutions. Hence, the rapid and efficient Tc(VII) removal from radioactive water has emerged as a challenging issue. In this work, bimetallic nickel/iron nanoparticles (Ni/Fe) were prepared to enhance the immobilization of rhenium (Re(VII)) from aqueous solutions, as the surrogate of Tc(VII).

Radiation chemistry provides nanoscopic insights into the role of intermediate phases in CeO mesocrystal formation

Li, Z.*; Piankova, D.*; Yang, Y.*; Kumagai, Yuta; Zschiesche, H.*; Jonsson, M.*; Tarakina, N. V.*; Soroka, I. L.*

Angewandte Chemie; International Edition, 61(6), p.e202112204_1 - e202112204_9, 2022/02

https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202112204

The role of intermediate phases in CeO mesocrystal formation from aqueous Ce(III) solutions subjected to -radiation was studied. Radiolytically formed hydroxyl radicals convert soluble Ce(III) into less soluble Ce(IV). Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies of samples from different stages of the process allowed the identification of several stages in CeO mesocrystal evolution following the oxidation to Ce(IV): (1) formation of hydrated Ce(IV)-hydroxides, serving as intermediates in the liquid-to-solid phase transformation; (2) CeO primary particle growth inside the intermediate phase; (3) alignment of the primary particles into "pre-mesocrystals" and subsequently to mesocrystals, guided by confinement of the amorphous intermediate phase and accompanied by the formation of mineral bridges. Further alignment of the obtained mesocrystals into supracrystals occurs upon slow drying, making it possible to form complex hierarchical architectures.

Preventing nuclear fuel material adhesion on glove box components using nanoparticle coating

Segawa, Tomoomi; Kawaguchi, Koichi; Ishii, Katsunori; Suzuki, Masahiro; Tachihara, Joji; Takato, Kiyoto; Okita, Takatoshi; Satone, Hiroshi*; Suzuki, Michitaka*

Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 8(3), p.21-00022_1 - 21-00022_9, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1299/mej.21-00022

To reduce the hold-up of the nuclear fuel materials in the glove box and the external exposure dose, the technology of the MOX powder adhesion prevention by the nanoparticle coating to the acrylic panels of the glove box has been developed. The surface analysis by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the acrylic test piece surface coated with nanoparticles had a higher root mean square roughness value than that non-coated with nanoparticles. Due to the formation of nano-sized tiny rugged surface, the nanoparticle coating reduced the minimum adhesion force between the UO particles and the acrylic test piece surface with the smallest particle size of about 5 m where desorption was observed, by about one-tenth. Moreover, the nanoparticle coating reduced the amount of the MOX powder adhering to the acrylic test piece to about one-tenth. In this study, it was found that applying the nanoparticle coating to the acrylic panels of glove box can prevent the adhesion of nuclear fuel materials. This method is effective for reducing the hold-up of the nuclear fuel materials in the glove box, the external exposure dose and improving the visibility of the acrylic panels.

Matrix-material dependence on the elongation of embedded gold nanoparticles induced by 4 MeV C and 200 MeV Xe ion irradiation

Li, R.*; Narumi, Kazumasa*; Chiba, Atsuya*; Hirano, Yu*; Tsuya, Daiju*; Yamamoto, Shunya*; Saito, Yuichi*; Okubo, Nariaki; Ishikawa, Norito; Pang, C.*; et al.

Nanotechnology, 31(26), p.265606_1 - 265606_9, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ab7e70

We report the elongation of embedded Au nanoparticles (NPs) in three different matrices under irradiations of 4 MeV C ions and 200 MeV Xe ions. Large elongation of Au NPs was observed for crystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) under both 4 MeV C and 200 MeV Xe irradiation. The ITO layer preserved the crystallinity even after large elongation was induced. This is the first report of the elongation of metal NPs in a crystalline matrix.

Biodegradability of disulfide-organosilica nanoparticles evaluated by soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Cancer therapy implications

Mekaru, Harutaka*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Nakamura, Michihiro*; Doura, Tomohiro*; Tamanoi, Fuyuhiko*

ACS Applied Nano Materials (Internet), 2(1), p.479 - 488, 2019/01

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.8b02023

Organosilica nanoparticles are attractive for use as drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. Ideally, the nanoparticles need to degrade in the body after drug delivery to minimize their risk. However, the biodegradation of organosilica nanoparticles has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy to investigate the degradation of organosilica nanoparticles by glutathione, a peptide found in cells. Our results indirectly indicate that glutathione is able to reduce the disulfide bonds present in the network of one type of the nanoparticles, promoting dissociation of these nanoparticles. The dissociated nanoparticles form large maple leaf-shaped structures under certain conditions. We consider the formation mechanism of these symmetrical structures.

The Significance of bromide in the Brust-Schiffrin synthesis of thiol protected gold nanoparticles

Booth, S. G.*; Uehara, Akihiro*; Chang, S.-Y.*; La Fontaine, C.*; Fujii, Toshiyuki*; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Imai, Takahito*; Schroeder, S. L. M.*; Dryfe, R. A. W.*

Chemical Science, 8(12), p.7954 - 7962, 2017/12

https://doi.org/10.1039/C7SC03266H

The two-phase Brust-Schiffrin synthesis of alkane thiol protected metal nanoparticles has been shown to undergo significantly different processes dependent on the precursor species and reactant conditions. In this work X-ray absorption spectroscopy is used in conjunction with liquid/liquid electrochemistry in order to highlight the significance of Br; to the reaction mechanism. We propose that the observed behavior of [AuBr]; species described herein explain a deviation in reported behavior present in the current literature. The reported mechanistic understanding should enable a nanoparticle synthesis with a higher yield and reduce size polydispersity.

Vibrational states of atomic hydrogen in bulk and nanocrystalline palladium studied by neutron spectroscopy

Kofu, Maiko; Hashimoto, Naoki*; Akiba, Hiroshi*; Kobayashi, Hirokazu*; Kitagawa, Hiroshi*; Iida, Kazuki*; Nakamura, Mitsutaka; Yamamuro, Osamu*

Physical Review B, 96(5), p.054304_1 - 054304_7, 2017/08

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.054304

The vibrational states of hydrogen atoms in bulk and nanocrystalline palladium were examined in a wide energy region meV using neutron spectroscopy. In bulk PdH, the vibrational excitations of H atoms were roughly reproduced by the quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO) model. In PdH nanocrystals with a diameter of 8 nm, however, additional vibrational excitations were found at energies above 80 meV. The energies and intensities of the additional states were not explained by QHO but reasonably described as vibrations in a highly anharmonic trumpet-like potential. The additional excitations are attributed to the vibrations of H atoms at tetrahedral sites in the subsurface region stabilized by surface effects. This is an experimental work which clearly detects hydrogen vibration metal nanoparticles.

Ni synchrotron radiation-based Mssbauer spectroscopy of nickel-based nanoparticles with hexagonal structure

Masuda, Ryo*; Kobayashi, Yasuhiro*; Kitao, Shinji*; Kurokuzu, Masayuki*; Saito, Makina*; Yoda, Yoshitaka*; Mitsui, Takaya; Hosoi, Kohei*; Kobayashi, Hirokazu*; Kitagawa, Hiroshi*; et al.

Scientific Reports (Internet), 6, p.20861_1 - 20861_8, 2016/02

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20861

Effects of CeO nanoparticles on microbial metabolism

Masaki, Shota*; Shiotsu, Hiroyuki; Onuki, Toshihiko; Sakamoto, Fuminori; Utsunomiya, Satoshi*

Chemical Geology, 391, p.33 - 41, 2015/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2014.10.026

Distinct organic species and intracellular proteins were expressed after exposure of yeast cells to CeNPs. Although cytotoxicity was not caused by CeNPs, the results of the peptide mass fingerprint analysis of the intracellular protein revealed that Eno2p, a glycolysis enzyme, was expressed after the exposure to CeNPs. These results suggest that nanoparticles have the potential to alter microbial metabolism, leading to changes in the compositions of the released substances in the surrounding environment.

Local structural study on nanoparticles of functional materials

Shamoto, Shinichi; Kodama, Katsuaki

no journal, , 

The atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis with a wide range of real space is one of powerful tools to study nanoparticles. The particle shape is described by a particle form factor in the PDF. In addition, disorders in the nanoparticles often play an important role for their functional properties.