Today, the most common methods used for medical device sterilisation are by gaseous ethylene oxide and by electron beam or gamma irradiation. With X-ray sterilisation about to enter the market, its material compatibility needs to be assessed at doses typically encountered during a sterilisation...

The literature on the effects of radiation on the properties of various polymers and composites has been briefly reviewed for the purpose of identifying polymeric materials that could be irradiated to improve their performance. Radiation treatment of polymers may lead to cross-linking or chain...

"Visualizing the Hidden Half: Plant-Microbe Interactions in the Rhizosphere" Plant roots and the associated rhizosphere constitute a dynamic environment that fosters numerous intra- and interkingdom interactions, including metabolite exchange between plants and soil mediated by root exudates and the...

To better understand the effects of solution chemistry on particle aggregation in the complex legacy tank wastes at the Hanford (WA) and Savannah River (SC) sites, we have performed a series of tumbler small- and ultra-small-angle neutron scattering experiments on 20 wt % solid slurries of...

Understanding the structure and composition of aluminate complexes in extremely alkaline systems such as Bayer liquors has received enormous attention due to their fundamental and industrial importance. However, obtaining direct molecular information of the underlying ion–ion interactions using...

The recently developed real-time nuclear–electronic orbital (RT-NEO) approach provides an elegant framework for treating electrons and selected nuclei, typically protons, quantum mechanically in nonequilibrium dynamical processes. However, the RT-NEO approach neglects the motion of the other nuclei...

The molecular speciation of aluminum (Al3+) in alkaline solutions is fundamental to its precipitation chemistry within a number of industrial applications that include ore refinement and industrial processing of Al wastes. Under these conditions, Al3+ is predominantly Al(OH)4–, while at high [Al3+]...

X-ray, energetic photon, and electron irradiation can ionize and electronically excite target atoms and molecules. These excitations undergo complicated relaxation and energy-transfer processes that ultimately determine the manifold system responses to the deposited excess energy. In weakly bound...

In highly alkaline “water-in-salt” Na2O/Al2O3/H2O solutions where the monomeric Al(OH)4– anion dominates, isolation of transitional species that seed crystallization of sodium aluminate salt hydrates has been challenging. For example, discrimination of dimeric [for example, Al2O(OH)62–] species via...