A ferrous modified selenium sol for inhibiting accumulation of cadmium and arsenic in rice and the preparation method and application thereof are disclosed. The method includes: dissolving an iron-containing compound and a selenium-containing compound into water; adding a reductant to the solution, and stirring until no more precipitation is generated, then adding carbonate, continuing to stir until no more precipitation is generated, and then filtering, taking the precipitation, and washing to obtain the precipitation of the selenium element and ferrous carbonate; adding an emulsifier to a citric acid buffer solution to obtain an emulsified citric acid buffer solution; adding the precipitation of the selenium element and ferrous carbonate to the emulsified citric acid buffer solution to obtain a sol system; and evaporating to concentrate the sol system, and adjusting the pH to 4.5-8.5 to obtain a ferrous modified selenium sol for inhibiting the accumulation of cadmium and arsenic in rice.

The invention relates to methods of production of a silica concentrate from geothermal fluids. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to the production of a colloidal silica concentrate, colloidal silica or precipitated silica from high temperature geothermal fluids by ultrafiltration to produce size-specific silica colloids and step-wise concentration of silica to avoid precipitation or gelling.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing an aqueous or hydro-alcoholic colloidal solution of metal chalcogenide amorphous nanoparticles notably of the Cu.sub.2ZnSnS.sub.4 (CZTS) type and to the obtained colloidal solution.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a film of large-grain crystallized semi-conducting metal chalcogenide film notably of CZTS obtained from an aqueous or hydro-alcoholic colloidal solution according to the invention, said film being useful as an absorption layer deposited on a substrate applied in a solid photovoltaic device.

This application features a method of forming a nanoporous layer. The method includes steps of reducing metal ions in a reverse micelle phase composition to form nanoparticles, removing surfactant from the composition to form clusters of the nanoparticles, dispensing the composition including the nanoparticle clusters dispersed in a liquid on a substrate, and drying to form the nanoporous layer. The nanoporous layer includes nanoparticles deposited to form a three dimensional network of irregularly shaped bodies. The nanoporous layer also includes a three dimensional network of intercluster spaces that are not occupied by the three dimensional network of irregularly shaped bodies.

This application features a method of forming a nanoporous layer. The method includes steps of reducing metal ions in a reverse micelle phase composition to form nanoparticles, removing surfactant from the composition to form clusters of the nanoparticles, dispensing the composition including the nanoparticle clusters dispersed in a liquid on a substrate, and drying to form the nanoporous layer. The nanoporous layer includes nanoparticles deposited to form a three dimensional network of irregularly shaped bodies. The nanoporous layer also includes a three dimensional network of intercluster spaces that are not occupied by the three dimensional network of irregularly shaped bodies.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing an aqueous or hydro-alcoholic colloidal solution of metal chalcogenide amorphous nanoparticles notably of the Cu.sub.2ZnSnS.sub.4 (CZTS) type and to the obtained colloidal solution. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a film of large-grain crystallized semi-conducting metal chalcogenide film notably of CZTS obtained from an aqueous or hydro-alcoholic colloidal solution according to the invention, said film being useful as an absorption layer deposited on a substrate applied in a solid photovoltaic device.

Provided herein is a method of preparing a ceramic material, the method including: providing a ceramic gel including a plurality of metal salts and compressing the ceramic gel thereby inducing stress-induced mineralization of the ceramic gel and formation of the ceramic material, wherein the ceramic gel exists in isolated form.

The invention relates to methods of production of a silica concentrate from geothermal fluids. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to the production of a colloidal silica concentrate, colloidal silica or precipitated silica from high temperature geothermal fluids by ultrafiltration to produce size-specific silica colloids and step-wise concentration of silica to avoid precipitation or gelling.

This disclosure relates to an apparatus for glucose-sensing that address interference of ascorbic acid and acetaminophen. The apparatus includes a first electrode capable of oxidizing glucose and at least one of ascorbic acid and acetaminophen. The apparatus further includes a second electrode capable of oxidizing at least one of ascorbic acid and acetaminophen but not capable of oxidizing glucose. The first electrode includes a deposit of irregularly shaped bodies that are formed of numerous nanoparticles having a generally oval or spherical shape with a length ranging between about 2 nm and about 5 nm. The deposit is substantially free of a surfactant. If any surfactant is contained in the deposit, the surfactant is in an amount smaller than 0.5 parts by weight with reference to 100 parts by weight of the deposit. The first electrode does not include a glucose-specific enzyme.

This disclosure relates to a glucose-sensing electrode including a nanoporous layer on an electrically conductive surface. The nanoporous layer includes a three-dimensional interconnected network of irregularly shaped bodies that are formed of numerous nanoparticles having a generally oval or spherical shape with a length ranging between about 2 nm and about 5 nm. Inside the three-dimensional interconnected network of irregularly shaped bodies, at least part of the nanoparticles are adjacent to each other without an intervening nanoparticle therebetween and apart from each other to define interparticular nanopores therebetween, wherein at least part of the interparticular nanopores inside the three-dimensional interconnected network of irregularly shaped bodies are in a size ranging between about 0.5 nm and about 3 nm. The nanoporous layer further comprises a three-dimensional interconnected network of irregularly shaped spaces that is geometrically complementary to the three-dimensional interconnected network of irregularly shaped bodies. The glucose-sensing electrode does not comprise a glucose-specific enzyme.