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In order to utilize chicken manure as a source of phosphorus, we used dissolution-precipitation treatment to recover phosphorus from the incineration ash of chicken manure (IACM), which was used as fuel to power a boiler. In order to recover useful phosphorus-containing solids from IACM, it was dissolved into aqueous solutions of either nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, or sulfuric acid to elute phosphorus together with various component elements, followed by the use of aqueous NH3 to form a precipitate containing phosphorus. In using nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, calcium phosphate species such as calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) and monetite (CaHPO4) were obtained following the precipitation treatment. By contrast, the use of sulfuric acid resulted in the precipitation of magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) species such as struvite (MgNH4PO4∙6H2O) and dittmarite (MgNH4PO4∙H2O). Both the calcium phosphate and MAP species can be used as a slow-acting fertilizer containing phosphorus, while the MAP species could be simultaneously used as a slow-acting fertilizer containing nitrogen. It is noteworthy that the calcium phosphate species obtained in the present study was equivalent to phosphate rock, which is widely used as a raw material in phosphorous-based industries, and the natural sources of this material could be depleted in the near future. Though IACM has not been used effectively until now, this new resource shows promise as s viable alternative to the dwindling supply of the natural sources of phosphorus.

The effect of Ce addition to a Bi–Mo complex oxide catalyst supported on SiO2 was examined on the partial oxidation of propylene to acrolein. The catalyst consisted of an oxygen-supply phase in which the lattice oxygen in Mo-oxide was doped with transition metals such as Fe, Ni and Co and was supported by SiO2 and a catalytic-active phase that involved hydrogen abstraction from a reactant in the Bi-center of Bi–Mo oxide, which was supported by the oxygen-supply phase. In the present study, Ce was added to the oxygen-supply phase to enhance its redox nature. Ce addition was advantageous particularly under oxygen-rich conditions in the feed stream. For example, at P(C3H8) = 10.1 kPa and P(O2) = 15.5 kPa at 623 K, the yield of acrolein was slightly enhanced from 57.6 % with 0 % Ce doping to 65.3 % with 20 % Ce doping at 6 h on-stream. However, under more oxygen-rich conditions at P(C3H8) = 10.1 kPa and P(O2) = 31.0 kPa at 623 K, the yield of acrolein was approximately doubled from 27.7 % with 0 % Ce doping to 61.8 % with 20 % Ce doping at 6 h on-stream. Analysis using XPS of the previously used catalysts for the reaction in the absence of gaseous oxygen confirmed the unique redox behavior between the catalytic-active phase and the oxygen-supply phase as the lattice oxygen in the catalytic-active phase was replenished from the oxygen-supply phase to maintain the surface properties of the catalytic-active phase. The XPS results and the remarkable effect of Ce addition to the oxygen-supply phase under oxygen-rich conditions confirmed the validity of the concept of the catalyst preparation consisting of an oxygen-supply phase and a catalytic-active phase., SiO2に担持されたBi–Mo複合酸化物触媒へのCe添加の効果を，プロピレンのアクロレインへの部分酸化について検討した。本研究で検討した触媒は二つの相で構成されおり，SiO2に担持されたMo-酸化物にFe，Ni，Coを導入した格子酸素に対する酸素供給相，およびその周りに担持した反応物からの水素引き抜きを行うBiサイトを持つBi–Mo酸化物の触媒活性相の2相である。本研究では，酸素供給相の酸化還元性を高めるために，酸素供給相にCeを添加した。Ce添加による良好な結果は，酸素リッチの原料ガスを用いた際に観測された。たとえば，P(C3H8)＝10.1 kPa，P(O2)＝15.5 kPa，T＝623 K，通塔時間6時間において，Ceの添加率を0 %から20 %に増加させても，アクロレインの収率は57.6 %から65.3 %へわずかに増加しただけであった。一方，同条件で，P(O2)＝31.0 kPaとした酸素リッチの条件では，Ceの添加率を0 %から20 %に増加させると，アクロレインの収率は27.7 %から61.8 %へと約2倍増加した。原料ガス中に酸素を加えずに反応を繰り返した後の触媒のXPS分析により，触媒活性相と酸素供給相の間のユニークな酸化還元挙動が確認され，触媒活性相の格子酸素は酸素供給相から補充されて，触媒活性相表面の状態が維持されることが明らかになった。これらのXPSによる結果と，酸素リッチ状態での酸素供給相へのCe添加の触媒活性への顕著な効果に基づいて，酸素供給相と触媒活性相からなる触媒調製方法の概念が正しいことを明らかにした。

The isotope selectivity of computed tomography (CT) imaging based on nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) transmission method using a quasi-monochromatic laser Compton scattering (LCS) gamma-ray beam in the MeV region was demonstrated at the Ultra Violet Synchrotron Orbital Radiation–III (UVSOR-III) Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Institute of Molecular Science, National Institute of Natural Science) for two enriched lead isotope rods (206Pb and 208Pb) implanted in an aluminum cylinder. Since these two rods show the same gamma-ray attenuation in atomic processes, it is impossible to differentiate between them using a standard Gamma-CT technique based on atomic attenuation of gamma rays. The LCS gamma-ray beam had a maximum energy of 5.528 MeV and an intensity of approximately 5.5 photons/s/eV at the resonance energy ( $J^{\pi } = 1^{-}$ at 5.512 MeV in 208Pb). A lead collimator with a hole diameter of 1 mm was used to define the size of the LCS gamma-ray beam at the CT target. The CT image of the 208Pb rod was selectively obtained with a 2-mm pixel size resolution, which was determined by the horizontal step size of the CT stage.

Porous stainless steel (SUS) supports were modified with double intermediate layers, silicalite-1 and γ-alumina, to enhance the hydrogen diffusion of a thin palladium membrane. One of layers, silicalite-1, was prepared using the hydrothermal synthetic method on porous SUS supports. The differences in expansion/contraction behaviors caused by different thermal coefficients of expansion between silicalite-1 and the SUS resulted in a lowering of the durability of the membrane. Intermediates layers of mesoporous MCM-48 powders or commercial spherical non-porous silica particles were then applied to porous SUS supports via aspiration, γ-alumina was introduced by dip-coating, and the Pd membrane was subjected to electro-less plating. H2 permeance of the Pd membrane (membrane thickness: 11 μm) containing spherical silica particles was around 10 × 10−6 mol·m−2·s−1·Pa−1 at 600 °C, which was higher than that of the Pd membrane (membrane thickness: 7 μm) containing MCM-48. The durability of the Pd membrane containing spherical silica particles was higher than that of the version containing MCM-48 powders. These results suggest that commercial spherical non-porous silica particles will uniformly occupy the pores of the SUS tubes and enhance the H2 permeance and durability of the Pd membrane.

An undulator is a device widely used in synchrotron light sources to produce a certain quasi-monochromatic light; however, its waveform has never been recorded due to the lack of measurement techniques. Here we propose an approach to characterize the waveforms of electric fields produced by relativistic electrons using an algorithm of spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction, which is one of the most common methods to characterize ultrashort laser pulses. As a result, we have succeeded in retrieving a 10-cycle square enveloped electric field, which corresponds to 10 periods of permanent magnets of the undulator. This method can dramatically improve the development of synchrotron sources including x-ray free electron lasers.

UVSOR is a Japanese low-energy synchrotron light source that has been operational since 1983. It has 750 MeV electron beam energy and a circumference of 53 m. The machine has undergone two major upgrades and is now called UVSOR-III, with a moderately small emittance of 17 nm·rad and is operated in the top-up mode at 300 mA. It has six undulators. Three in-vacuum undulators provide high-brightness VUV-SX light to the beamlines BL3U, BL4U, and BL6U. BL3U and BL4U are actively used for chemistry and life sciences using in situ and operando measurements, such as soft X-ray absorption and photoelectron spectroscopy. Since 2020, a unique photoelectron analyzer called the Momentum Microscope has been in operation in BL6U. Two variable polarization undulators provide high-brightness VUV light to the beamlines, BL5U and BL7U, which are used for solid-state physics through angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. BL1U is equipped with two APPLE-II undulators in tandem and is used for various research purposes, including laser Compton scattering gamma rays. In addition to these beamlines, eight beamlines are operational which use bending magnet radiation, ranging from THz to tender X-rays. In 38 years of operation, we have dealt with and properly resolved machine problems, such as water leakage from magnet coils and cooling water flow paths in ultrahigh vacuum. Considering the machine’s declining competitiveness as a light source due to its aging and emerging demands in the low-energy area, we have started a design study on the future plan, as well as discussing it closely with the user community.

In order to obtain calcium phosphates - a phosphate rock equivalent - from the incineration ash of chicken manure, which is obtained from power generation systems that use the manure for fuel, incineration ash was treated with an aqueous solution of nitric acid to elute phosphorus. By using 0.3 M of HNO3, most of the phosphorus could be eluted from 1.0 g of ash within 0.1 h. Compared with the composted chicken manure that was previously examined in our laboratory, the concentration of HNO3 was increased for this session of elution. Using the incineration ash of chicken manure made it possible to remove inorganic species at a lower boiling or sublimation temperature, and organic species by calcination in the power generation system. Compared with composted chicken manure, the concentrations of phosphorus contained in the incineration ash and the nitric acid extract were higher in the incineration ash. XRD analysis showed that the obtained nitric acid extract could be treated with aqueous NH3 to form a precipitation of poorly-crystallized calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), which is one of main components in phosphate rock. In order to confirm the formation and purity of calcium phosphate species, the precipitation calcination was conducted at 1,078 K for 5 h. XRD revealed that the calcined solid was tricalcium phosphate, and no contamination was evident. These results reveal that a phosphate rock equivalent could be easily obtained from the incineration ash of chicken manure, which means that approximately 14% of the phosphate rock that is currently being imported into Japan could be replaced by this product.

In the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane to isobutene, selectivity and stability were improved by introducing chromium and molybdenum into SBA-15. The direct synthesis method (DM) was used to introduce these binary elements into SBA-15. Use of the DM resulted in a higher specific surface area of the catalyst and a greater dispersion of chromium and molybdenum species compared with a corresponding binary catalyst prepared using the incipient wetness impregnation method (IM). Selectivity to isobutene was improved, along with a decrease in the selectivities to CO and CO2 with the introduction of greater amounts of molybdenum, which suggests that molybdenum must suppress the tendency of isobutene to over-oxidate to either CO or CO2. The molybdenum species must be in close proximity to the chromium species, which results in the formation of an active Cr-O-Mo site.

The catalytic performance of MCM-48 was greatly improved by the introduction of a small amount of chromium during the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane. Various characterization procedures such as XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, TEM, NH3-TPD, XPS, and XAFS were used to identify the role that chromium played in the improvement, and XPS and XAFS results provided the most valuable information. Both measurements revealed that the chromium species existed as Cr6+ inside the framework of MCM-48 before oxidative dehydrogenation, but was reduced to Cr3+ during the reaction. The characteristic pore nature of MCM-48 also contributed to an enhancement of the selectivity to isobutene via the suppression of consecutive oxidation reactions.

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) samples were prepared from precursor solutions with different Ca/P molar ratios. The HAp samples were utilized as catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of isobutane. Also, the HAp samples were characterized by N2 and H2O adsorption-desorption measurements, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, thermogravimetry-differential thermal analyses, and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO). The Ca/P molar ratio of the precursor solution had a major influence on the catalytic activity and coking resistance ability. The HAp catalyst prepared from the stoichiometric precursor solution [HAp (1.67)] showed the highest isobutene yield. Furthermore, the white color of HAp (1.67) remained unchanged during the ODH of isobutene, indicating the absence of coke on the surface of HAp (1.67) after the reaction and its higher coking resistance ability. The results of the TPO measurements showed that the HAp (1.67) catalyst possesses the strongest oxidation ability which is likely related to its higher coking resistance ability.

Commercial silicoaluminophosphate molecular sieves (SAPO-34) received alkali treatment with either NaOH (0.2, 0.01, 0.005, or 0.001 M) or NH4OH (0.005 M). Treatment with NaOH (0.005 M) increased the water adsorption initial rate of SAPO-34 by 1.4-fold. The alkali treatment introduced Na+ adsorption sites into the SAPO-34. The desorption ratio (adsorption at 30°C and desorption at 100°C) was 88.2% higher than the original rate (84.3%). On the other hand, after alkali treatment of SAPO-34 using NH4OH (0.005 M), calcination resulted in the highest desorption ratio at 91.3%. When combined with calcination, alkali treatment with NH4OH introduced H+adsorption sites into SAPO-34, H+ adsorption sites feature low levels of interaction with water, which enhanced the desorption ratio, but decreased the initial adsorption rate. These results indicate that treating commercial SAPO-34 with 0.005 M NaOH enhances both the adsorption and desorption behaviors.

We proposed an isotope-selective computed tomography (CT) imaging based on the Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) transmission method using a quasi-monochromatic laser Compton scattering (LCS) gamma-ray beam in the MeV region for nuclear safety applications. As the first step, a two-dimensional (2D) NRF-CT image of 208Pb isotope distribution was selectively obtained for the sample target containing two enriched lead isotope rods (206Pb and 208Pb). We are planning to perform an experiment to obtain a three-dimensional NRF Computed Tomography (3D NRF-CT) image for the specific isotope. An automatic measurement system has been developed. As the result, we obtained an excellent quality of 3D gamma-ray CT image.

We report the observation of quantum interference between electron wave packets launched from the inner-shell $4d$ orbital of the Xe atom. Using pairs of femtosecond radiation wave packets from a synchrotron light source, we obtain time-domain interferograms for the inner-shell excitations. This approach enables the experimental verification and control of the quantum interference between the electron wave packets. Furthermore, the femtosecond Auger decay of the inner-shell excited state is tracked. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first observation of wave packet interference in an atomic inner-shell process, and also the first time-resolved experiment on few-femtosecond Auger decay using a synchrotron light source.

There are active oxygen species that contribute to oxidative coupling or the partial oxidation during the oxidative dehydrogenation of methane when using solid oxide catalysts, and those species have not been definitively identified. In the present study, we clarify which of the active oxygen species affect the oxidative dehydrogenation of methane by employing photo-catalysts such as TiO2 or WO3, which generate active oxygen from UV-LED irradiation conditions under an oxygen flow. These photo-catalysts were studied in combination with Sm2O3, which is a methane oxidation coupling catalyst. For this purpose, we constructed a reaction system that could directly irradiate UV-LED to a solid catalyst via a normal fixed-bed continuous-flow reactor operated at atmospheric pressure. Binary catalysts prepared from TiO2 or WO3 were either supported on or kneaded with Sm2O3 in the present study. UV-LED irradiation clearly improved the partial oxidation from methane to CO and/or slightly improved the oxidative coupling route from methane to ethylene when binary catalysts consisting of Sm2O3 and TiO2 are used, while negligible UV-LED effects were detected when using Sm2O3 and WO3. These results indicate that with UV-LED irradiation the active oxygen of O2- from TiO2 certainly contributes to the activation of methane during the oxidative dehydrogenation of methane when using Sm2O3, while the active oxygen of H2O2 from WO3 under the same conditions afforded only negligible effects on the activation of methane.

A Si/SiC ceramic filter was used to support a structural palladium catalyst in a continuous fixed-bed flow reactor during a reductive decomposition of nitrite. A previous report described the use of non-porous alumina spheres coated with Pd/C, a carbon monolith impregnated with Pd or a structural catalyst consisting of a polyurethane sponge skeleton impregnated with Pd resulted either in negligible activity or a complete stoppage of the flow by increasing the pressure drop in the flow system. The use of a Si/SiC filter impregnated with palladium, however, overcame the demerits and resulted in an 11% conversion of nitrite in 60 min. The use of a Si/SiC filter coated with a char intermediate followed by impregnation with Pd (Pd/C/Si/SiC) resulted in a structural catalyst that enhanced the activity to yield a 33% conversion of nitrite in 60 min. When five Pd/C/Si/SiC structural catalysts were used, however, the complete decomposition was achieved in the same amount of time. Although improvement was previously observed by using an alumina intermediate, use of the char intermediate resulted in a new factor for activity improvement. The characterization results show that it was the affinity between aqueous nitrite and the intermediate rather than palladium dispersion that contributed the most to the improvement of activity.

The thermal characteristic of a plate evaporator for boiling water have been experimentally investigated. Stainless-steel plates with five kinds of surface roughness (a mirror-polished surface and four kinds of polished plate surface, F2, F0, F-1, and F-2 polishing) were used for the investigation. The roughness order is F-2 > F-1 > F0 > F2 > mirror. The local boiling heat transfers were measured on the evaporator surface using ten thermocouples inside the evaporator. For a comparison of the heat transfer characteristic of the evaporator, the local boiling heat transfer coefficient was measured when the polishing direction was perpendicular or parallel to the water flow at a range of pressures (0.3–0.4 MPa) and flow rates (20–60 mL/min). The results indicate that the local heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing vapor quality at all surface conditions. For F0 polishing, the heat transfer coefficient on the surface with perpendicular polishing was much larger than that on the surfaces with parallel and mirror polishing. In particular, the heat transfer coefficient of the perpendicularly polished surface (F2 and F0 polishing) was increased six-fold in comparison with that of the mirror surface at a vapor quality of 0.35. However, for the F-1 and F-2 perpendicularly polishing plates, the heat transfer coefficients were smaller than those of the F0 and F2 perpendicularly polishing plates. For the F2 perpendicularly polished plate, heat transfer enhancement was confirmed, along with an increase in the number of bubbling points, on increasing the system pressure. For the polished surface, the heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing flow rate. This indicates that the bubble formation cycle was promoted by an increased flow rate.

Various solid oxide catalysts are active for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane, but achieve yields of less than 2% when these were used for the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane to isobutene. An improved isobutene yield of 8% was obtained in the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane by using a folded-sheet mesoporous material (FSM-16) and mesoporous molecular sieve (MCM-41), with or without chromium via impregnation or template-ion exchange methods. Further activity enhancement, however, could not be attained. In the present study, chromium cations were introduced into the framework of SBA-15 using a direct synthesis method by mixing chromium nitrate with tetraethylorthosilicate in an aqueous solution with an initial pH of 1.5 and subsequent hydrothermal treatment. Loading the resultant catalyst, SBA-15, with a small amount of chromium (1.84 wt% Cr-SBA-15) increased the isobutene yield (15.4%) at 723 K, while a previous report showed that chromium oxide supported on SBA-15 (CrOx/SBA-15) prepared via incipient wetness impregnation had a lower isobutene yield (11%) at 813 K. To explain this improvement, the catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption, and NH3 temperature-programmed desorption. Cr-SBA-15 was found to have a large specific surface area (1,610 m2/g), although the structural and acidic nature of the catalyst was similar to the general properties of other mesoporous silicas. The conversion of Cr3+ species into Cr6+ on Cr-SBA-15 with the large specific surface area could affect the improvement of the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane to isobutene.

In order to decompose trace amounts of nitrite in drinking water under mild conditions, a fixed-bed filtering system that used structural catalysts was employed to filter recycled aqueous nitrite. High performance and continuous mass processing are generally accepted as requirements to catalyze the decomposition of aqueous nitrite. However, the use of a fixed-bed operation when recycling aqueous nitrite with palladium catalyst systems could result in either negligible activity when using a carbon monolith impregnated with Pd, or could stop the flow by enhancing the pressure drop when using non-porous alumina spheres coated with Pd/C or structured catalysts consisting of a polyurethane sponge skeleton impregnated with Pd. In the present paper, a Si/SiC ceramic filter was employed as a structured support to prevent pressure drop. When palladium was loaded onto the surface of the filter via electroless plating, continuous flow suitably continued, and the conversion of nitrite was 45% after 60 min. In contrast, when palladium was loaded after the coating of the filter with alumina, complete decomposition was achieved after 60 min under conditions corresponding to those used for the former system. X-ray diffraction, an N2 adsorption-desorption measurement, scanning-electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses revealed that a higher dispersion of palladium on the latter structured catalyst resulted in the greatest level of activity for the reductive decomposition of aqueous nitrite.

This study was an examination of the catalyst deactivation of a silica-supported bismuth-molybdenum complex oxide, and that of catalysts used in the absence of bismuth, for the oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene. Due to the detection of deactivation, the molar ratio of 1-butene against oxygen in the reactant gas was adjusted to a ratio similar to that used in industrial processes where reaction temperatures average 100 K higher. Regardless of the presence or absence of bismuth in the catalysts, the conversion of 1-butene was decreased by 6 h on-stream. Both the progress of the coking from the inlet to the outlet of the catalyst and the reduction of molybdenum in the catalysts directly contributed to the deactivation. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry revealed that a greater reduction of molybdenum in the near-surface region and a smaller partial pressure of oxygen (P(O2)) in the reactant gas, although the molybdenum on the surface was not reduced at all. This indicated that the lattice oxygen was pumped from the near-surface region to the surface during the reaction and the oxygen-poor conditions of the near-surface region both in the gas and catalyst phases were formed at a smaller P(O2), which resulted in the enhancements of both the reduction of molybdenum and that of coking. Based on the thermogravimetric analysis, the silica-supported bismuth-molybdenum complex oxide used at P(O2) = 4.1 kPa (color of the catalyst = black) was increased in weight while that used at P(O2) = 16.4 kPa (color of the catalyst = gray) showed a weight decrease, which indicated that the weight decrease caused by the reduction in molybdenum in the near-surface region used at 4.1 kPa was greater than the weight increase from the coking. It was concluded that the reduction in molybdenum followed by the coking on the catalyst surface were the main factors in the catalyst deactivation.

Enhancement of the thermal stability of a catalyst is an efficient way to improve the catalytic activity of a catalytic reaction performed at high temperature. In this study, cerium oxide (ceria, CeO2) with a high thermal stability was synthesized by controlling the agglomeration of the primary particles via the thermal hydrolysis of ceric nitrate, accompanied by testing for the catalytic combustion of methane (CH4). The specific surface area of this material after calcination at 1,173K for 5 h was 50m2/g, which was much higher than that of the two reference materials (ceria made via precipitation of cerous nitrate using aqueous ammonia at 4.1m2/g, and the Japan reference catalyst JRC-CEO-1 at 1.4m2/g). The ceria made via thermal hydrolysis showed high crystallinity and a much higher pore volume, which resulted in excellent thermal resistance. For O2 conversion in ceria, catalyzed CH4 combustion at 923 K, the ceria created in this study demonstrated higher activity than that for either reference. The high CH4 combustion performance was due to the high specific surface area and to a superior oxygen storage capacity (OSC) even after a combustion test.

Catalytic activities of calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp) and β-type tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) were examined for use in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of isobutane. β-TCP was catalytically inactive for the ODH of isobutane, but stoichiometric HAp afforded a high isobutene yield (5.6%). The isobutane conversion and isobutene selectivity of HAp depended on the atomic ratio of Ca/P. HAp with Ca/P = 1.67 showed the highest isobutene selectivity and isobutene yield among the HAp catalysts with different Ca/P ratios. The characterization of the acidic-basic properties showed that these properties affect the catalytic performance of HAp, and that its basicity is necessary for high catalytic activity. To improve the catalytic activities of calcium phosphates, they were impregnated with Cr. Despite a much lower surface area for β-TCP, Cr-impregnated β-TCP showed a higher isobutene yield (up to 8.4%) than that of Cr-impregnated HAp. The results of the XPS measurement showed that the Cr3+ species on calcium phosphates, owing to basicity, worked as active sites in the ODH of isobutane.

Quantum manipulation of populations and pathways in matter by light pulses, so-called coherent control, is currently one of the hottest research areas in optical physics and photochemistry. The forefront of coherent control research is moving rapidly into the regime of extreme ultraviolet wavelength and attosecond temporal resolution. This advance has been enabled by the development of high harmonic generation light sources driven by intense femtosecond laser pulses and by the advent of seeded free electron laser sources. Synchrotron radiation, which is usually illustrated as being of poor temporal coherence, hitherto has not been considered as a tool for coherent control. Here we show an approach based on synchrotron radiation to study coherent control in the extreme ultraviolet and attosecond regime. We demonstrate this capability by achieving wave-packet interferometry on Rydberg wave packets generated in helium atoms., Synchrotron light sources have wide range of tunable parameters like frequency, intensity. Here the authors demonstrate quantum control of Rydberg states of helium using delay controlled XUV wavepackets generated from synchrotron radiation.

We developed the isotope-specific Computed Tomography imaging technique based on the Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence absorption method at BL1U of UVSOR-III by using high flux and quasi-monochromatic gamma-ray beam for a sample target containing two enriched lead isotope rods (206Pb and 208Pb). The maximum Laser Compton Scattering gamma-ray beam energy was 5528 keV and the gamma-rays flux was greater than 107 photons/s after collimation. A two-dimensional image of 208Pb isotope distribution was selectively obtained using an exited state in 208Pb at 5512 keV.

We report on the use of pairs of 10-cycle extreme ultraviolet wave packets with attosecond-controlled spacing emitted by individual relativistic electrons within an electron bunch passing through a tandem undulator. Based on the temporal coherent control technique with circular polarization, we succeeded in controlling the excited state alignment in the photoexcitation of helium atoms, which we verified through the observation of oscillation in fluorescence yield depending on the attosecond-controlled delay time. Our work demonstrates the potential of undulator radiation for the generation of longitudinally coherent wave packets suitable for attosecond coherent control, an application which has hitherto been hidden in the incoherent nature of the radiation pulse emitted by a bunch of electrons.

Optical vortex possesses helical wave-front and carries orbital angular momentum. This peculiar light has been produced artificially in laboratories and investigated toward various applications. Recently, is was experimentally demonstrated that radiation emitted from relativistic electrons in helical motion possesses helical wave-front. Based on the classical electrodynamics, it was shown that radiation from electrons in circular or helical motion possesses helical phase structure and carries orbital angular momentum. Such electrons should exist in various situations in nature, for example, in magnetospheres around stars or in intense circularly polarized light fields created in explosive phenomena. Therefore, optical vortices (vortex electromagnetic waves) should exist widely in nature and their wavelengths extend to the entire range from radio-waves to gamma-rays.

In the present study, the production of propylene oxide (PO) from propylene via gas-phase epoxidation was investigated using various catalysts. Although Ag is known to be a highly active catalyst for the epoxidation of ethylene, it was not active in the present reaction. Both Al and Ti showed high levels of activity, however, which resulted in confusion. The present study was conducted to solve such confusion. Although the employment of MCM-41 modified with Ti and/or Al was reported as an active catalyst for epoxidation, the combination resulted in the formation of PO at a less than 0.1% yield. Since this research revealed that the acidic catalyst seemed favorable for the formation of PO, versions of ZSM-5 that were both undoped and doped with Na, Ti, and Ag were used as catalysts. In these cases, small improvements of 0.67% and 0.57% were achieved in the PO yield on H-ZSM-5 and Ti-ZSM-5, respectively. Based on the results of the Ti-dopant and acidic catalysts, Ag metal doped on carbonate species with a smaller surface area was used as a catalyst. As reported, Ag‒Na/CaCO3 showed a greater yield of PO at 1.29%. Furthermore, the use of SrCO3 for CaCO3 resulted in a further improvement in the PO yield to 2.17%. An experiment using CO2 and NH3 pulse together with SEM and TEM examinations for Ag‒Na/CaCO3 revealed that the greatest activity was the result of the greater particle size of metallic Ag rather than the acid‒base properties of the catalysts.

The CsK2Sb photocathode is capable of generating a high-intensity and low-emittance electron beam with visible laser light. In this study, we examined CsK2Sb photocathode evaporation on n- and p-type Si(100), GaAs(100), and Si(111) substrates, and compared their cathode performance. We found that the quantum efficiency of the p-type substrate was superior to that of the n-type substrate for the same substrate material and surface orientation. We show that this can be qualitatively analyzed by an energy-band model for the semiconductor(metal)-semiconductor junction between CsK2Sb and the substrate. We also evaporated the Cs3Sb cathode on n- and p-type Si(100) and GaAs(100) substrates, and confirmed that the cathode performance of all substrates was consistent with the model results. This finding indicates the possibility of improving the thin-film cathode performance by revisiting the semiconductor(metal)-semiconductor junction between the cathode and the substrate, which improves the understanding of high-performance photocathodes.

Combining the nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) transmission method with computed tomography (CT) can be a novel method for imaging the isotope distributions, which is indispensable in nuclear engineering. We performed an experiment to reconstruct a three-dimensional NRF-CT image with isotope selectivity of enriched lead isotope rods (208Pb) together with a set of different rods, including another enriched isotope (206Pb), iron, and aluminum rods, inserted into a cylindrical aluminum holder. Using a laser Compton scattering (LCS) gamma ray beam with a 5.528 MeV maximum energy, 2 mm beam size, and 10 photon·s−1·eV−1 flux density, which is available at the BL1U beamline in the ultraviolet synchrotron orbital radiation-III (UVSOR-III) synchrotron radiation facility at the Institute of Molecular Science at the National Institutes of Natural Sciences in Japan, and we excited the Jπ = 1− NRF level at 5.512 MeV in 208Pb. An isotope-selective three-dimensional NRF-CT image of the 208Pb isotope distribution was experimentally obtained for the first time with a pixel resolution of 4 mm in the horizontal plane.

Cerium carbonate hydroxide nanostructures composed of nanoparticles were synthesized using amine surfactant in hydrothermal solution. The nanostructures of the obtained samples were greatly influenced by laurylamine (LA) concentration. The shape of nanostructures of the cerium carbonate hydroxide was maintained after thermal decomposition to CeO2. A formation strategy is proposed by self-assembly of nanoparticles through surfactant-assisted approach. The obtained CeO2 nanostructures possess rod-like shape, large pore volumes and high surface areas in synthesis condition of high LA concentration even after thermal treatment at 550 °C. Owing to their unique nanostructure composed of nanoparticles, improved catalytic soot oxidation at lower temperature was achieved as compared with CeO2 synthesized without surfactant and CeO2 rod crystals synthesized by a conventional hydrothermal method.

Development of a laser Compton scattering (LCS) gamma-ray source in the UVSOR-III storage ring has been proposed to perform basic research on non-destructive three dimensional isotope imaging. As the first step of the development, a numerical simulation was performed to evaluate the performance of the gamma-ray source. The expected total flux is about 1×107 photons/s when a 1.94-μm CW fiber laser with the maximum power of 5 W collides with 300-mA electron beam circulating in the storage ring. The maximum gamma-ray energy and the total flux available were measured in experiment and determined as 5403 ± 16 keV with 1×10[7] photons/s, respectively. The electron beam energy was evaluated as 746 ± 1 MeV from the measured maximum gamma-ray energy. From the numerical calculation and the experimental result, the energy spread of 2.9% in full width at half maximum and the flux of 4×10[5] photons/s are expected for the LCS gamma-ray beam when a collimator with 2-mm hole is used to limit the scattered angle. The quality of gamma-ray beam generated in UVSOR-III is enough to perform a basic study on the non-destructive three dimensional isotope imaging., CoE on Sustainable Energy System (Thai-Japan), Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT), Thailand

To recover phosphorus from composted chicken manure, a batch method with aqueous HNO3, HCl and H2SO4 was used to examine the elution behavior of the aqueous calcium and phosphate contained in the manure. Since the main components in manure are Ca2+ and K+ along with PO4 3- and those ions can be dissolved using an acidic eluate, it was expected that most of the aqueous Ca2+, K+ and PO4 3- could be obtained via the elution. Therefore, it seemed plausible that the removal of the aqueous K+ obtained by the elution of composted chicken manure would result in the formation of calcium phosphates. If calcium phosphates are formed, they can be used for phosphate rock, which also consists of various calcium phosphates. When using 0.1 mol/L HNO3, HCl or H2SO4, the elution behavior of the PO4 3- was not dependent on the acids. However, 0.1 mol/L H2SO4 was not sufficient for the elution of Ca2+, probably due to the precipitation of the calcium sulfate. The eluted amount of K+ using 0.1 mol/L HNO3 was lower than that using 0.1 mol/L of either HCl or H2SO4. Since the poor elution of K+ should enrich the concentrations of Ca2+ and PO4 3- in the acidic aqueous solution after the elution, it was suggested that aqueous HNO3 would be suitable as an eluate in the present system. After the elution of the composted chicken manure, when 0.1 mol/L HNO3 was used to adjust the solution pH of the acidic aqueous solution to greater than 6, Ca2+ and PO4 3- were precipitated, but K+ was not. The precipitate was calcium hydroxyapatite, one of the typical components of phosphate rock, which showed that composted chicken manure could be replaced phosphate rock as a new source of phosphorus.

Morphological control can be used to improve the catalytic activity of cerium oxide (ceria, CeO2). In this study, ceria with a high specific surface area was synthesized via the hydrothermal reaction of ceric nitrate and was tested for the catalytic conversion of ethanol to ethylene. As a reference, ceria was also synthesized via a precipitation reaction of cerous nitrate using aqueous ammonia. The Japan reference catalyst JRC-CEO-1 also served as a reference. The specific surface area of the hydrothermally synthesized ceria was as high as that of JRC-CEO-1, but was much higher than that of either reference after calcination at 873 K. Thermogravimetric analysis and IR spectroscopy revealed that the cerias made by hydrothermal and precipitation reactions consisted of high-purity CeO2, whereas JRC-CEO-1 contained 1.5% decomposable functional groups (OH-, CO3 2-). For both ethanol conversion and ethylene selectivity in a catalytic dehydration reaction of ethanol, the activity of the hydrothermally developed ceria was higher than that for either reference. The reaction pathway for the dehydration reaction of ethanol over ceria showed that the specific surface area and the basicity of the Lewis basic sites of the ceria were influential properties. The high catalytic activity of the hydrothermally synthesized ceria was derived from its high specific surface area and high-purity CeO2.

Mesoporous silicas have shown promise as materials for solid catalysts or catalyst supports due to their unique characteristics. Metal-doped mesoporous silicas are known to be catalytically active in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of isobutane. However, heavy-metal-free mesoporous silicas have not been studied closely for their use as catalysts. In the present study, MCM-41 (#41 Mobil composition of matter) was acid-treated to enhance its catalytic activity, although pure MCM-41 was confirmed as catalytically inactive for the ODH of isobutane (isobutene yield = 0.9%). The pH of a slurry of as-synthesized MCM-41 was changed during acid treatment. A pH adjustment to 6.5 resulted in great improvement in catalytic activity (isobutene yield = 6.1%), but a pH adjustment to 4.5 resulted in insufficient improvement (isobutene yield = 4.5%). It was confirmed via XRD and N2 adsorption-desorption measurement that the pH adjustment to 4.5 degraded the ordered structure of MCM-41. This degradation would be a crucial factor that would render acid treatment less effective. In addition to the acid treatment, Al doping to MCM-41 was conducted. Al doping also greatly enhanced the acidity and catalytic activity of MCM-41.