Phase transitions in N—n-propylpyridinium-TCNQ2 and N—n-butylpyridinium-TCNQn at high pressures

The electrical resistivity of N-n-propylpyridinium-TCNQ₂ (NPPy-TCNQ₂) and N-n-butylpyridinium-TCNQ_n (NBPy-TCNQ_n) has been measured as a function of temperature and pressure. Phase transitions in these salts have been studied at high pressures. The transition temperature (T_c) in NPPy-TCNQ₂ at atmospheric pressure increased with increasing pressure at the rate of dT_c/dP = + 12.0 degkbar^?1. The value of volume change calculated from the Clapeylon-Clausius relation was + 4.4 cm³ mol^?1. The electrical resistivity along the a- and c-axis increased with increasing pressure below 7 kbar. This anomalous electrical behaviour is closely related to the crystal structure of NPPy-TCNQ₂. The resistivity dropped sharply at about 11 kbar. This abrupt change may be due to a new pressure induced phase transition.The T_c of the NBPy-TCNQ_n increased remarkably with increasing pressure up to 0.7 kbar, above which the phase transition disappeared. The phase transitions of N-n-alkyl-substituted pyridinium TCNQ salts depend strongly on the nature of cations.     

A new experimental limit for the decay K+ → π+γγ

A search for K⁺ → π⁺γ, π⁺γγ, π⁺γγγ was made detecting pions from stopped kaons in the kinetic energy region between 117 MeV and 127 MeV. New Limits of 1.4 ×10^?6, 8.4 × 10^?6 and 1.0 × 10^?4 for the branching ratio were obtained assuming a phase-space spectrum on the pion energy. The first limit also aplies to another process K⁺ → π⁺ + a, where a is a light meson with mass smaller than 100 MeV/c² and decays into nγ's with lifetime less than 10^?9 s.     

Effect of high-pressure ammonia treatment on the activity of Ge3N4 photocatalyst for overall water splitting

The photocatalytic activity of beta-Ge(3)N(4) powder for overall water splitting is successfully enhanced by ammonia treatment at 823 K for 5-24 h at ammonia pressures of 20 MPa or greater. The surface and bulk nitrogen content in the treated samples varies according to the treatment temperature and treatment time, related to the stability of beta-Ge(3)N(4) powder under pressurized ammonia. The change in nitrogen content resulted in a change in the photocatalytic activity for overall water splitting. A beta-Ge(3)N(4) powder treated at 823 K for 5 h under ammonia at 20 MPa exhibited a photocatalytic activity 4 times higher than that of the as-synthesized powder, attributable to a decrease in the density of anion defects in the bulk and surface.     

Pressure-induced phase transition of ice in aqueous LiOH solution

I have examined the changes in in situ Raman spectra of ice in aqueous LiOH solution as a function of pressure at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). Here, I have shown the possibility that ice in aqueous LiOH solution transforms to a high-density amorphous like phase at around 0.9 GPa. I have mentioned that the results show differences strongly depending on the salts dissolved in the aqueous solutions.     

Incident-energy dependence of crystalline structures of ion beam deposited Au thin films

The energy dependence of crystalline structures in Au thin-film deposition processes was investigated with the use of a low-energy mass-selected ion beam system. Au films deposited on Si(100) untreated wafer surfaces by the beam system at different ion energies in the range of 20–200?eV were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The XRD results show that the kinetic energy provided by ion bombardment can facilitate crystal growth with specific orientations such as (100) or (110), the surfaces of which have relatively high surface energies. Our observations also suggest that each crystalline orientation appears only in a specific energy range of ion bombardment. These results indicate that Au crystalline orientations may be controlled by the ion irradiation energy during deposition processes.     

Flame Emission Spectrometry Using Atomic Absorption Apparatus (I) Determination of Sr In Sea Water

Flame emission determination of Sr in sea water is studied using an ordinary atomic absorption apparatus. The analytical line 4607 A is used with background correction at 4616 A. The ionization is found to be negligible in air acetylene flame with sea water, and the interference of H₂SO₄ is elimentated using the higher part of the flame.     

Incommensurate cooperative tilting modes of MnF6 octahedra relatedto the structural phasetransitions in BaMnF4

The structural phase transitions of the layer compound BaMnF₄ were studied by high-resolution X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The intensities and profiles of two kinds of superlattice reflections having incommensurate reduced wave vectors q ₁= (～ ± 1/5,0,0) _p and q ₂ =(～ ± 2/5,1/2,1/2)_p, respectively, were measured as a function of temperature from 25 K to 280 K. These temperature dependencies show that incommensurate structural phase transitions of second order occur at 234 K and 244 K. These structural phase transitions are interpreted as successive condensations of a folding-screen-like incommensurate plane-distortion mode and a commensurate anti-ferro-distortive tilting mode of the MnF₆ octahedra around the primitive a₀ - and b₀ -axes, when cooled down. It is also found that there is another structural phase transition at about 45 K related to a precursor structural distortion for the antiferromagnetic transition occurring at about 26 K.     

Thickness optimization of a multilayered structure on the coupling surface between a structure and an acoustic cavity

This paper describes a new design method to optimize thickness distribution of a multilayered structure which is located on the coupling surface between a structure and an acoustic cavity. The design method is based on the concept of the density approach in topology optimization incorporating a transfer matrix for a multilayered structure that includes a poroelastic media layer. The one-dimensional transfer matrix adopted here is an approximate representation addressing vibro-acoustic effects inherent in a multilayered structure, and balances calculation resources and desired accuracy. Applying the transfer matrix representation as boundary conditions on the coupling surface between a structure and an acoustic cavity, the modified equilibrium equation of the vibro-acoustic system is derived which is approximately but efficiently solved by the modal approach. In this study, the problem of minimizing the acoustic pressure within the cavity over the prescribed frequency range is formulated under the volume constraint of the poroelastic media layer. The continuous approximation of thickness distribution is assumed, and the thickness of the poroelastic media layer at each nodal point is chosen as design variables. Numerical results show that an acoustic response is significantly reduced by the optimal thickness distribution having a total weight equal to or less than that in the initial uniform thickness. These demonstrate that the proposed method is effective to design the optimal thickness distribution of a multilayered structure.