Embryonic X-ray amorphous semi-formed MFI-type zeolite units mixed with the Cu–Zn–Al catalyst have been used for direct synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) from syngas. The hybrid embryonic (EZ) particle size 5 nm has demonstrated superior performance in terms activity, selectivity, and stability compared to crystalline ZSM-5 counterpart aluminosilicate material. FTIR pyridine adsorption uncovere...

High-sensitivity radioluminescence (RL) and thermoluminescence (TL) measurements were carried out on samples of natural leucite (with 2.95% of Na2O) from Campania Vessa (Italy). Samples were annealed to modify the charge compensation through alkali metal self-diffusion and to produce luminescence centres. High-temperature powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and chemical analyses we...

A non-diffracting surface layer exists at any boundary of a crystal and can comprise a mass fraction of several percent in a finely divided solid. This has led to the long-standing issue of amorphous content in standards for quantitative phase analysis (QPA). NIST standard reference material (SRM) 676a is a corundum (α-Al(2)O(3)) powder, certified with respect to phase purity for use as an inte...

We propose a method to predict the value of the external strain where a generic amorphous solid will fail by a plastic response (i.e., an irreversible deformation), solely on the basis of measurements of the nonlinear elastic moduli. While usually considered fundamentally different, with the elastic properties describing reversible phenomena and plastic failure epitomizing irreversible behavior...

The local structure and chemical bonding in two-phase amorphous Cr1−xCx nanocomposite thin films are investigated by Cr K-edge (1s) X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopies in comparison to theory. By utilizing the computationally efficient stochastic quenching (SQ) technique, we reveal the complexity of different Cr-sites ...

Nanoporous electrodes have been fabricated by selectively dissolving the less noble α-Fe crystalline phase from nanocrystalline Fe85.2B14-xPxCu0.8 alloys (x= 0, 2, 4 at.%). The preferential dissolution is triggered by the weaker electrochemical stability of α-Fe nanocrystals than amorphous phase. The final nanoporous structure is mainly composed of amorphous residual phase and minor undissolved...

This paper investigates the hydrated phase assemblage, microstructure, and gel composition of sodium hydroxide (NaOH)-activated fly ash–slag blends with either low-calcium or high-calcium ash. The results show that nature precipitated calcium–aluminosilicate–hydrate (C-A-S-H) alkali aluminosilicate-hydrate (N-A-S-H) depends on ash slag-to-fly ratio. However, regardless ratio, a universal linear...