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Knowledge of the pollution activity at the mining and smelting sites and assessment of contamination levels at different sites is not always sufficient for reliable conclusions regarding lead (Pb) provenance and contributions from sources. Pb isotopes have long been used as ‘fingerprints’ of the source of Pb recorded in environmental …

Food, water, and sleep form the foundation of human needs, all of which are indispensable. However, unlike sleep, food and water have historically been beyond direct human control. Since ancient times, hunter-gatherers have migrated in search of these essential resources. The advent of agriculture marked a turning point, allowing humans …

Water scarcity is becoming a greater issue worldwide due to ever-increasing anthropogenic activity. A dedicated effort is required to recover and maintain the purity of our water resources and has created an environment for developing better technologies to tackle this issue. Low-pressure gaseous plasma, consisting of a complex mixture of …

This doctoral dissertation present research aimed into enhancing polymer-bonded Nd–Fe–B magnets through innovative surface treatments and additive manufacturing techniques, focusing on improving their mechanical strength, magnetic characteristics, and environmental stability. This research is critical for broadening the applicability of these magnets in sectors like green technologies and motion control systems. …

One of commonly used analytical technique for direct elemental analysis of solid samples is Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Although widely used for the analysis of various samples, obtaining accurate quantitative results remains a major challenge as matrix-matched standards are required. The aim of this thesis was …

In this dissertation, we studied heterogeneous surface recombination of neutral oxygen atoms. We described plasma as a reliable source of neutral oxygen atoms and the behavior of neutral atoms in low-pressure plasma sustained by high-frequency discharges. Neutral atom density in the flowing afterglow and the recombination coefficient on several surfaces …

Metal oxide and sulfide nanostructures are a versatile family of materials with wide-ranging applications, and their development remains ongoing. In nanoscience, attention is being directed towards their synthesis and further advancement, including the creating of new complex structures and morphologies. In this regard, ion-exchange reactions have emerged as a cutting-edge …

Synthesized in green plants, cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer on the planet and is thus widely available, cheap and renewable. Furthermore, its hierarchical structure allows extraction of nanosized particles in the form of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), obtained with hydrolysis or cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), isolated through chemical, biological pretreatment …

Plasma facing components (PFC) in fusion devices are exposed to plasma. Plasma-wall interaction processes are important as they impose a series of constraints on the components. The lifetime of the PFCs is dominantly determined by two processes: erosion and fuel retention. At the first wall the erosion is caused by …

Fusion technology has a great potential to safely provide an inexhaustible quantity of electricity without producing greenhouse gases and minimal hazardous waste compared to conventional energy sources, such as nuclear power plants. For materials intended for fusion plasma-facing applications, the essential properties are structural stability at elevated temperature, adequate thermal …