Described is a cleaning composition including an inorganic acid or salt thereof and an organic acid, wherein the organic acid has a first acid dissociation constant (PKa.sub.1) and a second acid dissociation constant (PKa.sub.2). PKa.sub.1 is less than PKa.sub.2, and PKa.sub.1 is from about 1 to about 3, and PKa.sub.2 is from about 4 to about 7.

This invention relates to extend the benefits of using hypochlorite compounds such as sodium hypochlorite to clean and disinfect articles while reducing or eliminating the side effects of treating an article with a strong oxidant material. The invention relates to a single step process involving mixing of precursor compositions of a suitable hypohalite or hypohalous acid with a solution of a reducing agent. Optionally a buffer may be present in either or both precursor compositions, such that at time of use such active hypohalous acid concentration in the resulting aqueous mixture remains at a sufficient activity level to effect one or more desired benefits against a target substrate for a desired period of time. The oxidant is substantially consumed by reaction with the reducing agent after the time needed for achieving the desired benefit has passed.

This invention relates to extend the benefits of using hypochlorite compounds such as sodium hypochlorite to clean and disinfect articles while reducing or eliminating the side effects of treating an article with a strong oxidant material. The invention relates to a single step process involving mixing of precursor compositions of a suitable hypohalite or hypohalous acid with a solution of a reducing agent. Optionally a buffer may be present in either or both precursor compositions, such that at time of use such active hypohalous acid concentration in the resulting aqueous mixture remains at a sufficient activity level to effect one or more desired benefits against a target substrate for a desired period of time. The oxidant is substantially consumed by reaction with the reducing agent after the time needed for achieving the desired benefit has passed.

A pressurized containment vessel for a gas/liquid mixture of nitric oxide in deionized and/or deoxygenated water and a system for dispensing the gas/liquid mixture of nitric oxide in deionized and/or deoxygenated water from the containment vessel are provided. The containment vessel and dispensing system are configured so as to maintain the gas/liquid mixture within the containment vessel at a constant pressure above ambient pressure as the gas/liquid mixture of nitric oxide in deionized and/or deoxygenated water is stored in and depleted from the containment vessel thus preventing the nitric oxide from coming out of the solution.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a semiconductor element cleaning method that is characterized in that: a hard mask pattern is formed on a substrate that has a low relative permittivity film and at least one of a cobalt, a cobalt alloy, or a tungsten plug; and a cleaning liquid that contains 0.001-20% by mass of an alkali metallic compound, 0.1-30% by mass of quaternary ammonium hydroxide, 0.01-60% by mass of a organic water-soluble solvent, 0.0001-0.1% by mass of hydrogen peroxide, and water is subsequently used on a semiconductor element in which, using the hard mask pattern as a mask, the hard mask, the low relative permittivity film, and a barrier insulating film are dry etched, and dry etch residues are removed.

A treatment liquid contains water, hydroxylamine, and one or more kinds of hydrazines selected from the group consisting of hydrazine, a hydrazine salt, and a hydrazine derivative, in which a total content of the hydrazines is 1 part by mass or less with respect to 100 parts by mass of the hydroxylamine.

Methods of mercury decontamination are provided that include: contacting elemental mercury with a metal salt having a standard reduction potential sufficient to oxidize elemental mercury to an aqueous salt of mercury. In other aspects, methods of mercury decontamination are provided that include: contacting the metal surface with a solution comprising a metal salt having a standard reduction potential (E0) of greater than 0.85, thereby oxidizing a mercury contaminant to a soluble mercury salt.

Pyrophoric material such as iron sulfide is frequently found in refinery equipment. When the equipment is opened to the atmosphere for maintenance, an exothermic reaction can take place that may cause injury to personnel and catastrophic damage to equipment. A process used to treat pyrophoric material uses sodium nitrite injected into a gaseous carrier stream to oxidize iron sulfides to elemental sulfur and iron oxides. The sodium nitrite solution may be buffered to a pH of about 9 with disodium phosphate or monosodium phosphate. A chemical additive that provides a quantitative measure of reaction completion may be added to the treatment solution.

A method for cleaning etch residues that may include treating an etched surface with an aqueous lanthanoid solution, wherein the aqueous lanthanoid solution removes an etch residue that includes a majority of hydrocarbons and at least one element selected from the group consisting of carbon, oxygen, fluorine, nitrogen and silicon. In one example, the aqueous solution may be cerium ammonium nitrate (Ce(NH.sub.4)(NO.sub.3)),(CAN).

This invention relates to extend the benefits of using hypochlorite compounds such as sodium hypochlorite to clean and disinfect articles while reducing or eliminating the side effects of treating an article with a strong oxidant material. The invention relates to a single step process involving mixing of precursor compositions of a suitable hypohalite or hypohalous acid with a solution of a reducing agent. Optionally a buffer may be present in either or both precursor compositions, such that at time of use such active hypohalous acid concentration in the resulting aqueous mixture remains at a sufficient activity level to effect one or more desired benefits against a target substrate for a desired period of time. The oxidant is substantially consumed by reaction with the reducing agent after the time needed for achieving the desired benefit has passed.