Decontamination and Circular Economy of Dredged Material and Mining Waters Using Adiabatic Sonic Evaporation and Crystallization (ASEC) Technology

Dredged material is a common environmental and economic issue worldwide. Tons of highly contaminated material, derived from cleaning the bottoms of bays and harbours, are stored until depuration. These volumes occupy huge extensions and require costly treatments. The Ria of Huelva (southwest Spain) receives additionally high metal contamination inputs from the Odiel and Tinto Rivers…

Zn2-xGeO4-GeO2:(x)Mn2+ films with long persistence, intense brightness and high quantum efficiency, deposited by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

This work shows the synthesis and characterization of the Zn2-xGeO4-GeO2:(x)Mn2+ (x = 0.10, 0.25, and 0.50 at.%) films using the Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP) technique. These films were deposited at 500 degrees C and heat treated at 800 degrees C for 13 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed the rhombohedral and hexagonal phases of Zn2-xGeO4…

Lanthanide vanadate-based nanoparticles as multimodal T1 -T2 MRI contrast agent and NIR luminescent imaging probe

We report the development of a multimodal lanthanide vanadate system suitable as dual T1-T2 MRI contrast agent as well as a luminescent imaging probe in the near-infrared region, using Dy3+ and Gd3+ as T2 and T1 components, respectively, and Nd3+ as the luminescent center. The vanadate matrix was chosen to avoid the undesired solubility associated to previously reported fluoride-based contrast agents.…

Sodium lanthanide tungstate-based nanoparticles as bimodal contrast agents for in vivo high-field MRI and CT imaging

Research on high-field magnetic resonance imaging (HF-MRI) has been increased in recent years, aiming to improve diagnosis accuracy by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio and hence image quality. Conventional contrast agents (CAs) have important limitations for HF-MRI, with the consequent need for the development of new CAs. Among them, the most promising alternatives are those based…

Mixed oxide ion-proton conductivity and the ionic migration mechanism in isolated tetrahedral LaVO4 by acceptor doping

Solid-state oxide ion and proton conductors are garnering significant attention due to their high ionic conductivity and potential applications in a range of electrochemical devices, including solid oxide fuel cells and gas sensors. In this study, we report the influence of partial substitution of La3+ in isolated tetrahedral LaVO4 ceramics with 0.01 mol of alkaline-earth metals Ca2+,…

Nanoparticulated Bimodal Contrast Agent for Ultra-High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectral X-ray Computed Tomography

Bimodal medical imaging based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) is a well-known strategy to increase the diagnostic accuracy. The most recent advances in MRI and CT instrumentation are related to the use of ultra-high magnetic fields (UHF-MRI) and different working voltages (spectral CT), respectively. Such advances require the parallel development of…

B-site deficient hexagonal perovskites: Structural stability, ionic order-disorder and electrical properties

This review presents an overview on the structures and electrical properties of B-site deficient hexagonal perovskite oxides, which have been receiving increasing attention as key components as dielectric resonators in microwave telecommunications, as well as solid-state oxide ion and proton conductors in solid oxide fuel cells. The structural evolution and stability, order-disorder of cation and…