Experimental and Computational Exploration of the NaF-ThF Fuel System: Structure and Thermochemistry.

The structural, thermochemical, and thermophysical properties of the NaF-ThF fuel system were studied with experimental methods and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Equilibrium MD (EMD) simulations using the polarizable ion model were performed to calculate the density, molar volume, thermal expansion, mixing enthalpy, heat capacity, and distribution of [ThF] complexes in the (Na,Th)F melt over the full concentration range at various temperatures. The phase equilibria in the 10-50 mol % ThF and 85-95 mol % ThF regions of the NaF-ThF phase diagram were measured using differential scanning calorimetry, as were the mixing enthalpies at 1266 K of (NaF/ThF) = (0.

In situ high-temperature EXAFS measurements on radioactive and air-sensitive molten salt materials.

The development at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, The Netherlands) of an experimental set-up dedicated to high-temperature in situ EXAFS measurements of radioactive, air-sensitive and corrosive fluoride salts is reported. A detailed description of the sample containment cell, of the furnace design, and of the measurement geometry allowing simultaneous transmission and fluorescence measurements is given herein. The performance of the equipment is tested with the room-temperature measurement of thorium tetrafluoride, and the Th-F and Th-Th bond distances obtained by fitting of the EXAFS data are compared with the ones extracted from a refinement of neutron diffraction data collected at the PEARL beamline at TU Delft.

Mesoporous γ-Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Magnetically Triggered Release of Doxorubicin and Hyperthermia Treatment.

Mesoporous iron-oxide nanoparticles (mNPs) were prepared by using a modified nanocasting approach with mesoporous carbon as a hard template. mNPs were first loaded with doxorubicin (Dox), an anticancer drug, and then coated with the thermosensitive polymer Pluronic F108 to prevent the leakage of Dox molecules from the pores that would otherwise occur under physiological conditions. The Dox-loaded, Pluronic F108-coated system (Dox@F108-mNPs) was stable at room temperature and physiological pH and released its Dox cargo slowly under acidic conditions or in a sudden burst with magnetic heating.