Mechanism of RuO2 crystallization in borosilicate glass: an original in situ ESEM approach

Ruthenium, a fission product arising from the reprocessing of spent uranium oxide (UOX) fuel, crystallizes in the form of acicular RuO(2) particles in high-level waste containment glass matrices. These particles are responsible for significant modifications in the physicochemical behavior of the glass in the liquid state, and their formation mechanisms are a subject of investigation. The chemical reactions responsible for the crystallization of RuO(2) particles with acicular or polyhedral shape in simplified radioactive waste containment glass are described. In situ high-temperature environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) is used to follow changes in morphology and composition of the ruthenium compounds formed by reactions at high temperature between a simplified RuO(2)-NaNO(3) precursor and a sodium borosilicate glass (SiO(2)-B(2)O(3)-Na(2)O). The key parameter in the formation of acicular or polyhedral RuO(2) crystals is the chemistry of the ruthenium compound under oxidized conditions (Ru(IV), Ru(V)). The precipitation of needle-shaped RuO(2) crystals in the melt might be associated with the formation of an intermediate Ru compound (Na(3)Ru(V)O(4)) before dissolution in the melt, allowing Ru concentration gradients. The formation of polyhedral crystals is the result of the direct incorporation of RuO(2) crystals in the melt followed by an Ostwald ripening mechanism.     

An efficient compact quadratic convex reformulation for general integer quadratic programs

We address the exact solution of general integer quadratic programs with linear constraints. These programs constitute a particular case of mixed-integer quadratic programs for which we introduce in Billionnet et al. (Math. Program., 2010) a general solution method based on quadratic convex reformulation, that we called MIQCR. This reformulation consists in designing an equivalent quadratic program with a convex objective function. The problem reformulated by MIQCR has a relatively important size that penalizes its solution time. In this paper, we propose a convex reformulation less general than MIQCR because it is limited to the general integer case, but that has a significantly smaller size. We call this approach Compact Quadratic Convex Reformulation (CQCR). We evaluate CQCR from the computational point of view. We perform our experiments on instances of general integer quadratic programs with one equality constraint. We show that CQCR is much faster than MIQCR and than the general non-linear solver BARON (Sahinidis and Tawarmalani, User??s manual, 2010) to solve these instances. Then, we consider the particular class of binary quadratic programs. We compare MIQCR and CQCR on instances of the Constrained Task Assignment Problem. These experiments show that CQCR can solve instances that MIQCR and other existing methods fail to solve.     

Spectroscopic evidence for and characterization of a trinuclear ferroxidase center in bacterial ferritin from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough

Ferritins are ubiquitous and can be found in practically all organisms that utilize Fe. They are composed of 24 subunits forming a hollow sphere with an inner cavity of ~80 ? in diameter. The main function of ferritin is to oxidize the cytotoxic Fe(2+) ions and store the oxidized Fe in the inner cavity. It has been established that the initial step of rapid oxidation of Fe(2+) (ferroxidation) by H-type ferritins, found in vertebrates, occurs at a diiron binding center, termed the ferroxidase center. In bacterial ferritins, however, X-ray crystallographic evidence and amino acid sequence analysis revealed a trinuclear Fe binding center comprising a binuclear Fe binding center (sites A and B), homologous to the ferroxidase center of H-type ferritin, and an adjacent mononuclear Fe binding site (site C). In an effort to obtain further evidence supporting the presence of a trinuclear Fe binding center in bacterial ferritins and to gain information on the states of the iron bound to the trinuclear center, bacterial ferritin from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (DvFtn) and its E130A variant was loaded with substoichiometric amounts of Fe(2+), and the products were characterized by M?ssbauer and EPR spectroscopy. Four distinct Fe species were identified: a paramagnetic diferrous species, a diamagnetic diferrous species, a mixed valence Fe(2+)Fe(3+) species, and a mononuclear Fe(2+) species. The latter three species were detected in the wild-type DvFtn, while the paramagnetic diferrous species was detected in the E130A variant. These observations can be rationally explained by the presence of a trinuclear Fe binding center, and the four Fe species can be properly assigned to the three Fe binding sites. Further, our spectroscopic data suggest that (1) the fully occupied trinuclear center supports an all ferrous state, (2) sites B and C are bridged by a μ-OH group forming a diiron subcenter within the trinuclear center, and (3) this subcenter can afford both a mixed valence Fe(2+)Fe(3+) state and a diferrous state. Mechanistic insights provided by these new findings are discussed and a minimal mechanistic scheme involving O-O bond cleavage is proposed.     

HDD Detector,a New Detection System for Emission Spectroscopy Combining High Dynamic,Fast Acquisition,Continuous Spectrum

Emission lines varie in intensity on a nine orders range of magnitude depending on.     

Algebras with small homological dimensions

We consider the algebras Λ which satisfy the property that for each indecomposable module X, either its projective dimension pd_Λ X is at most one or its injective dimension id_Λ X is at most one. This clearly generalizes the so-called quasitilted algebras introduced by Happel–Reiten–Smal?. We show that some of the niciest features for this latter class of algebras can be generalized to the case we are considering, in particular the existence of a trisection in its module category. Received: 26 August 1998     

Espaces Hp au dessus de l'espace hermitien hyperbolique de Cn (n > 1), II

Growth of harmonic functions and boundary values in a Sobolev space; comparison between the H^p space associated to Calderón Lusin's area integral and the H^p space associated to the maximal admissible function; study of Littlewood-Paley functions for the harmonic functions for the invariant laplacian of the hermitian hyperbolic space; relation between a Littlewood-Paley function and the bounded mean oscillation functions; study of H¹ and H¹ B.M.O. duality.     

Unique hydrogen bonding correlating with a reduced band gap and phase transition in the hybrid perovskites (HO(CH2)2NH3)2PbX4 (X = I, Br)

The first hybrid perovskites incorporating alcohol-based bifunctional ammonium cations, (HO(CH(2))(2)NH(3))(2)PbX(4) (X = I, Br), have been prepared and characterized. (HO(CH(2))(2)NH(3))(2)PbI(4) adopts a monoclinic cell, a = 8.935(1) A, b= 9.056(2) A, c = 10.214(3) A, beta = 100.26(1) degrees , V = 813.3(3) A(3), P2(1)/a, and Z = 2, and (HO(CH(2))(2)NH(3))(2)PbBr(4) is orthorhombic, a = 8.4625(6) A, b = 8.647(1) A, c = 19.918(2) A, V = 1457.5(2) A(3), Pbcn, and Z = 4. In the layered structures, a unique hydrogen-bond network connects adjacent perovskite layers, owing to OH....X, NH(3)(+)....X, and intermolecular NH(3)(+)...OH interactions. Its impact on the bonding features of the inorganic framework and on the quite short interlayer distance, in the case of (HO(CH(2))(2)NH(3))(2)PbI(4), is shown. As a result, a significant red shift of the exciton peaks (lambda = 536 nm (X = I), lambda = 417 nm (X = Br)), compared to other PbX(4)(2)(-)-based perovskite hybrids, is observed, revealing a reduced band gap. A reversible structural transition occurs at T = 96 degrees C (X = I) and T = 125 degrees C (X = Br). An orthorhombic cell of the high-temperature phase of (HO(CH(2))(2)NH(3))(2)PbI(4) with a(HT) = 18.567(6) A, b(HT) = 13.833(6) A, c(HT) = 6.437(2) A, and V = 1653 A(3) is proposed from powder X-ray diffraction. A change in the hydrogen bonding occurs, with molecules standing up in the interlayer space and OH parts probably interacting together, leading to a more conventional situation for ammonium groups and a more distorted perovskite layer. This is in accordance with the blue shift of the exciton peak to lambda = 505 nm (X = I) or to lambda = 374 nm (X = Br) during the phase transition.     

Oxazolidine ring opening and isomerization to (E)-imines. Asymmetric synthesis of aryl-alpha-fluoroalkyl amino alcohols

[reaction: see text] A base-induced ring opening/imine isomerization/diastereoselective organometallic addition sequence on 4-substituted 2-perfluoroalkyl-1,3-oxazolidines has been developed for the asymmetric synthesis of aryl alpha-perfluoroalkylamine derivatives. This practical method provides chiral amino alcohols in 60-95% yield with uniformely high diastereoselectivities ranging from 35:1 to >100:1.     

Effect of mono- versus di-ammonium cation of 2,2'-bithiophene derivatives on the structure of organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on iodo metallates

2,2'-bithiophene derivatives, 5-ammoniumethylsulfanyl-2,2'-bithiophene (AESBT) and 5,5'-bis(ammoniumethylsulfanyl)-2,2'-bithiophene (BAESBT), have been designed for their incorporation in organic-inorganic materials based on iodometalates. Three layered compounds, (BAESBT)PbI(4), (AESBT)(4)Pb(3)I(10), and (AESBT)(3)Bi(2)I(9), have been synthesized as crystals from slowly cooled aqueous solution containing metal halide and bithiophene derivative salts. When starting from the diammonium cation, (BAESBT)PbI(4) hybrid perovskite is obtained. (BAESBT)PbI(4) adopts a triclinic cell (P1) with the lattice parameters a = 8.4741(5) A, b = 8.9255(6) A, c = 16.876(1) A, alpha = 88.328(5) degrees, beta = 81.806(4) degrees, gamma = 88.864(5) degrees, Z = 2. In the structure, PbI(4)(2)(-) perovskite sheets and diammonium cation layers alternate along c. The incorporation of the corresponding monoammonium cation (AESBT) leads to a head to tail arrangement of the molecules in the (AESBT)(4)Pb(3)I(10) hybrid, precluding the formation of the perovskite layers. (AESBT)(4)Pb(3)I(10) is orthorhombic, Pna2(1), with a = 38.333(4) A, b = 22.239(3) A, c = 8.448(2) A, Z = 4. The structure consists of corrugated layers of Pb(3)I(10)(4)(-) separated by organic layers of monoammonium cations. A similar relative situation of molecules in organic layers is observed in (AESBT)(3)Bi(2)I(9), with the inorganic sheets being built up from Bi(2)I(9)(3)(-) entities. (AESBT)(3)Bi(2)I(9) crystallizes in an orthorhombic cell (P2(1)2(1)2(1)) with a = 8.4564(6) A, b = 21.368(2) A, c = 30.747(2) A, Z = 4. In the three compounds, the molecular packings appear different, underlining the interplay between both organic and inorganic components. New packings are stabilized, as illustrated by an original mixed kappa-alpha type arrangement of the bithiophene units in (AESBT)(3)Bi(2)I(9). Furthermore, molecular interactions, especially of S.S type, appear stronger in the hybrids based on the monoammonium cations. The electrical conductivity of a (BAESBT)PbI(4) single crystal has also been investigated, revealing a semiconductive behavior with a characteristic energy of E(g) = 2.535 eV.