Browsing by Author "Harris, HH"

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    Mechanisms of uptake and translocation of thallium in brassica vegetables: an x‑ray fluorescence microspectroscopic investigation
    (American Chemical Society, 2024-01-02) Corzo-Remigio, A; Harris, HH; Kidman, CJ; Nkrumah, PN; Casey, LW; Paterson, DJ; Edraki, M; van der Ent, A
    Most nonoccupational human exposure to thallium (Tl) occurs via consumption of contaminated food crops. Brassica cultivars are common crops that can accumulate more than 500 μg Tl g–1. Knowledge of Tl uptake and translocation mechanisms in Brassica cultivars is fundamental to developing methods to inhibit Tl uptake or conversely for potential use in phytoremediation of polluted soils. Brassica cultivars (25 in total) were subjected to Tl dosing to screen for Tl accumulation. Seven high Tl-accumulating varieties were selected for follow-up Tl dosing experiments. The highest Tl accumulating Brassica cultivars were analyzed by synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence to investigate the Tl distribution and synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (XANES) to unravel Tl chemical speciation. The cultivars exhibited different Tl tolerance and accumulation patterns with some reaching up to 8300 μg Tl g–1. The translocation factors for all the cultivars were >1 with Brassica oleracea var. acephala (kale) having the highest translocation factor of 167. In this cultivar, Tl is preferentially localized in the venules toward the apex and along the foliar margins and in minute hot spots in the leaf blade. This study revealed through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis that highly Tl-enriched crystals occur in the stoma openings of the leaves. The finding is further validated by XANES spectra that show that Tl(I) dominates in the aqueous as well as in the solid form. The high accumulation of Tl in these Brassica crops has important implications for food safety and results of this study help to understand the mechanisms of Tl uptake and translocation in these crops. © 2024 American Chemical Society
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    Phase and valence transitions in Ba(2)LnSn(x)Sb(1-x)O(6-delta) (Ln = Pr and Tb)
    (Elsevier, 2008-11) Saines, PJ; Kennedy, BJ; Elcombe, MM; Harris, HH; Jang, LY; Zhang, Z
    Compounds in the double perovskites series Ba(2)LnSn(x)Sb(1-x)O(6-delta) (Ln = Pr and Tb) have been synthesised and structurally characterised using synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. It was found that the two end-members of the Ba2PrSnxSb1-xO6-delta series both adopt rhombohedral symmetry but the antimonate is a fully ordered double perovskite while the stannate has no B-site cation ordering. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and near-infrared spectroscopy indicate that the Pr cations gradually change oxidation state from Pr3+ to Pr4+ with increasing x and that this is likely to be the cause of the loss of B-site ordering. Similarly, both Ba2TbSbO6 and Ba2TbSnO6-delta are cubic with B-site ordering present in the former but absent in the latter due to the oxidation state change of the Tb from Tb3+ to Tb4+. Multiple linear regression analysis of the Pr and Tb L-III-edge XANES indicates that the rate of Ln(3+) transforming to Ln(4+) is such that there are no oxygen vacancies in Ba2PrSnxSb1-xO6-delta but in Ba2TbSnxSb1-xO6-delta there is a small amount of oxygen vacancies, with a maximum of delta approximate to 0.05 present. © 2008, Elsevier Ltd.