Validation and application of an analytical method for the determination of selected acidic pharmaceuticals and estrogenic hormones in wastewater and sludge.

This study was undertaken to develop an extraction method for seven acidic pharmaceuticals and five steroidal estrogens from wastewater, treated wastewater and sludge samples. The temperature and time of sample derivatization using N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide was optimized. Our results show that pretreatment combined with solid phase extraction (SPE) for wastewater samples (using an ENVI-C18 cartridge) and liquid-solid extraction combined with SPE (using an HLB cartridge) for sludge samples increased the analytical efficiency for acidic pharmaceuticals and estrogenic hormones using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The derivatization conditions were optimized at 40°C for 2 h. In addition, the derivatized samples were stable at ambient temperature. The new method was validated and applied to the analysis of real wastewater and discharged sludge samples from a local wastewater treatment plant. Except for 17α-ethinylestradiol, all acidic pharmaceuticals and estrogens were detected in the influent, effluent and discharged sludge samples. The concentrations of these compounds were particularly high in the discharged sludge samples.

Multiband superconductivity of heavy electrons in a TlNi2Se2 single crystal.

We have made the first observation of superconductivity in TlNi2Se2 at T(C)=3.7 K, and it appears to involve heavy electrons with an effective mass m*=(14-20)m(b), as inferred from the normal-state electronic specific heat and the upper critical field, H(C2)(T). We found that the zero-field electronic specific-heat data, C(es)(T) (0.5 K≤T<3.7 K) in the superconducting state can be fitted with a two-gap BCS model, indicating that TlNi2Se2 seems to be a multiband superconductor, which is consistent with the band calculation for the isostructural KNi2S2. It is also found that the electronic specific-heat coefficient in the mixed state γN(H) exhibits a H(1/2) behavior, which is considered as a common feature of the d-wave superconductors. TlNi2Se2, as a d-electron system with heavy electron superconductivity, may be a bridge between cuprate- or iron-based and conventional heavy-fermion superconductors.

Thermal quantum correlations in zigzag graphene nanoribbons.

Based on the effective spin-ladder model, we compute the negativity and geometric quantum discord (GQD) between two edge spins in zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) thermalized with a reservoir at temperature T (canonical ensemble). The results show that the entanglement only exists in antiferromagnetically coupled spin pairs, and completely vanishes between any two spins at the same ribbon edge. Intriguingly, the dominant entanglement always occurs in the nearest inter-edge coupled spin pairs, which is very robust even at room temperature. By contrast, almost all edge spin pairs can hold non-zero GQD, which strongly depends on the ribbon width. To get further insight into the properties of entanglement, the multiparticle entanglement (ME) shared between three spins is studied. The results show that ME always exists among spins located at different edges, and it is more robust than the corresponding two-spin entanglement in against the temperature. These remarkable properties make ZGNRs very promising for possible applications in quantum information processing.

Magnetism and magnetocaloric effect in TlCo2-x Ni x S2 (0 [Formula: see text] x [Formula: see text] 0.05).

We have investigated the magnetism and magnetocaloric effect of TlCo2-x Ni x S2 (0 [Formula: see text] x [Formula: see text] 0.05). TlCo2S2 and TlCo1.97Ni0.03S2 are ferromagnetically ordered below 153 K and 142 K with saturated moment 0.82 [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]/Co and 0.80 [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]/Co, respectively, while TlCo1.95Ni0.05S2 shows ferromagnetic transition at 132 K. The magnetism displays slightly itinerant character, as inferred from the Rhodes-Wohlfarth ratio. An unusual historical dependence of magnetization in TlCo1.95Ni0.05S2 is consistently observed by scanning both the temperature and magnetic field. The isothermal magnetic entropy change ([Formula: see text] S [Formula: see text]) of TlCo2S2 and TlCo1.95Ni0.05S2 are calculated by Maxwell relation and a temperature averaged entropy change is adopted to estimate the figure of merit for the compounds.

Large magnetoresistance and large magnetothermopower effect in the Dirac material EuMn0.8Sb2.

In this article, the structure, transport and magnetic properties were studied in details for EuMn0.8Sb2 crystals with the orthorhombic structure and Mn deficiencies. It was found that the temperature dependence of the resistivity exhibits a metallic behavior in the whole measuring temperature range, different from that in the crystals without Mn deficiencies. A large positive magnetoresistance (MR) (∼127% at 2 K and ∼25% at 300 K, in 9 T field) was observed, which can be ascribed to the combination of semiclassical MR and quantum limit MR of Dirac electrons. We also observed the high mobility of the carriers and large magnetothermopower effect at low temperatures, and two magnetic transitions emerging at ∼24 K and ∼10 K, respectively, corresponding to the antiferromagnetic ordering and canted arrangement of the Eu moments. Our findings shed new light on the intrinsic properties of EuMn0.8Sb2 and demonstrate the existence of Dirac fermions.

Critical properties of the quasi-two-dimensional metallic ferromagnet Fe2.85GeTe2.

We have investigated the critical behavior of Fe2.85GeTe2 single crystals near the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition by bulk dc magnetization measurements. The critical exponents ß, γ and δ, obtained from modified Arrott plot, Kouvel-Fisher method, and critical isothermal magnetization analysis, could fulfill the Widom scaling law. The self-consistency and reliability of these exponents are further verified by the magnetic state equations below and above the Curie temperature at high magnetic field. In addition, the exchange distance deduced from the susceptibility exponent is shown to decay as [Formula: see text]. Based on the observations, we suggest that the competition between direct magnetic exchange and Coulombic and/or RKKY interactions should be responsible for the intrinsic magnetism in this system.

From tricritical ferromagnetism to metamagnetism in quasi-two dimensional Tl(Co1-x Ni x )2S2 (x = 0, 0.05).

We have investigated the critical behavior near the ferromagnetic transition of TlCo2S2 single crystals and the magnetic properties of Tl(Co0.95Ni0.05)2S2 by means of magnetization measurements. The obtained critical exponents ß, γ and δ of TlCo2S2 could basically satisfy the scaling equations and are found very close to the prediction of the tricritical mean-field theory. 5[Formula: see text] Ni doping drives the system to an antiferromagnetic ground state which is unstable to magnetic field, yielding metamagnetic transition. The possible existence of a tricritical point (TCP) in Tl(Co0.95Ni0.05)2S2 is also discussed.

Pressure induced superconductivity in the antiferromagnetic Dirac material BaMnBi2.

The so-called Dirac materials such as graphene and topological insulators are a new class of matter different from conventional metals and (doped) semiconductors. Superconductivity induced by doing or applying pressure in these systems may be unconventional, or host mysterious Majorana fermions. Here, we report a successfully observation of pressure-induced superconductivity in an antiferromagnetic Dirac material BaMnBi2 with T c of ~4 K at 2.6 GPa. Both the higher upper critical field, µ 0 H c2(0) ~ 7 Tesla, and the measured current independent of T c precludes that superconductivity is ascribed to the Bi impurity. The similarity in ρ ab (B) linear behavior at high magnetic fields measured at 2 K both at ambient pressure (non-superconductivity) and 2.6 GPa (superconductivity, but at the normal state), as well as the smooth and similar change of resistivity with pressure measured at 7 K and 300 K in zero field, suggests that there may be no structure transition occurred below 2.6 GPa, and superconductivity observed here may emerge in the same phase with Dirac fermions. Our findings imply that BaMnBi2 may provide another platform for studying SC mechanism in the system with Dirac fermions.

Chlorination of parabens: reaction kinetics and transformation product identification.

The reactivity and fate of parabens during chlorination were investigated in this work. Chlorination kinetics of methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), and butylparaben (BuP) were studied in the pH range of 4.0 to 11.0 at 25 ± 1 °C. Apparent rate constants (k app) of 9.65 × 10-3 M-0.614·s-1, 1.77 × 10-2 M-1.019·s-1, 2.98 × 10-2 M-0.851·s-1, and 1.76 × 10-2 M-0.860·s-1 for MeP, EtP, PrP, and BuP, respectively, were obtained at pH 7.0. The rate constants depended on the solution pH, temperature, and NH4+ concentration. The maximum k app was obtained at pH 8.0, and the minimum value was obtained at pH 11.0. The reaction rate constants increased with increasing temperature. When NH4+ was added to the solution, the reaction of parabens was inhibited due to the rapid formation of chloramines. Two main transformation products, 3-chloro-parabens and 3,5-dichloro-parabens, were identified by GC-MS and LCMS-IT-TOF, and a reaction pathway was proposed. Dichlorinated parabens accumulated in solution, which is a threat to human health and the aqueous environment.

Large low field magnetocaloric effect in first-order phase transition compound TlFe3Te3 with low-level hysteresis.

Magnetic refrigeration based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is an environment-friendly, high-efficiency technology. It has been believed that a large MCE can be realized in the materials with a first-order magnetic transition (FOMT). Here, we found that TlFe3Te3 is a ferromagnetic metal with a first-order magnetic transition occurring at Curie temperature TC = 220 K. The maximum values of magnetic entropy change (Δ) along the crystallographic c-axis, estimated from the magnetization data, reach to 5.9 J kg-1K-1 and 7.0 J kg-1 K-1 for the magnetic field changes, ΔH = 0-1 T and 0-2 T, respectively, which is significantly larger than that of MCE materials with a second-order magnetic transition (SOMT). Besides the large ΔSM, the low-level both thermal and field hysteresis make TlFe3Te3 compound an attractive candidate for magnetic refrigeration. Our findings should inspire the exploration of high performance new MCE materials.

Superconductivity and disorder effect in TlNi2Se(2-x)S(x) compounds.

After our first discovery of multi-band superconductivity (SC) in the TlNi2Se2 crystal, we successfully grew a series of TlNi2Se(2-x)S(x) (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 2.0) single crystals. Measurements of resistivity, specific heat, and susceptibility were carried out on these crystals. Superconductivity with T(C) = 2.3 K was first observed in the TlNi2S2 crystal, which also appears to involve heavy electrons with an effective mass m* = 13-25 m(b), as inferred from the normal state electronic specific heat and the upper critical field, H(C2)(T). It was found that bulk SC and heavy-electron behavior is preserved in all the studied TlNi2Se(2-x)S(x) samples. In the mixed state, a novel change of the field dependence of the residual specific heat coefficient, γ(N)(H), occurs in TlNi2Se(2-x)S(x) with increasing S content. We also found that the T(C) value changes with the disorder degree induced by the partial substitution of S for Se, characterized by the residual resistivity ratio (RRR). Thus, the TlNi2Se(2-x)S(x) system provides a platform to study the effect of disorder on the multi-band SC.

Phase diagram and annealing effect for Fe1+δTe1-xSx single crystals.

The excess Fe atoms which unavoidably exist in the Fe(Te, Se, S) crystal lattice result in a complicated antiferromagnetic ground state as well as the suppression of superconductivity. As a result, there are still discrepancies on their phase diagrams. In this paper, we report the synthesis of Fe1+δTe1-xSx (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.12) single crystals by a melting method. Superconductivity was greatly improved after air annealing by which we partially removed the excess Fe atoms. Based on the resistivity and susceptibility measurements, we concluded a phase diagram of the Fe1+δTe1-xSx (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.12) system with fewer excess iron atoms. We found a coexisting region (0.07 ≤ x ≤ 0.11) of antiferromagnetic order and bulk superconductivity. This phase diagram is similar to that of the K- or Co-doped BaFe2As2 system, as well as the Fe(Te, Se) system, implying a commonality of the iron-based superconductors.