Catalysis by Ir(III), Rh(III) and Pd(II) metal ions in the oxidation of organic compounds with H2O2

Catalytic activities of three transition metals, as iridium (III) chloride, rhodium (III) chloride and palladium (II) chloride, were compared in the oxidation of six aromatic aldehydes (benzaldehyde, p‐chloro benzaldehyde, p‐nitro benzaldehyde, m‐nitro benzaldehyde, p‐methoxy benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde), two hydrocarbons (viz. (anthracene and phenanthrene)) and one aromatic and one cyclic alcohol (cyclohexanol and benzyl alcohol) by 50% H₂O₂. The presence of traces (substrate: catalyst ratio equal to 1:62500 to 1:1961) of the chlorides of iridium(III), rhodium(III) and palladium(II) catalyze these oxidations, resulting in good to excellent yields. It was observed that in most of the cases palladium(II) chloride is the most efficient catalyst. Conditions for the highest and most economical yields were obtained. Deviation from the optimum conditions decreases the yields. Oxidation in aromatic aldehydes is selective at the aldehydeic group only and other groups remain unaffected. This new, simple and economical method, which is environmentally safe, also requires less time. Reactive species of catalysts, existing in the reaction mixture are also discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scientific legacy of Stanley Ruby

Stanley L. Ruby (1924–2004) made major contributions to Mössbauer spectroscopy and was the first to suggest the feasibility of observing the Mössbauer effect using synchrotron radiation. In this article we recall his scientific legacy that have inspired his scientific colleagues.     

The spin-density waves in thin films of Cr in the Fe/Cr/Sn/Cr multilayers

Magnetism of Fe/Cr/Sn/Cr multilayers have been studied by the first-principles density-functional theory. Calculations by the full-potential linearized augmented plane waves (FP LAPW) and screened Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker (SKKR) methods have shown that two types of solutions may be found in these systems: a high-spin (HS) and a low-spin (LS) ones in accordance with the Cr magnetic moment magnitudes. In this work, we have concentrated our attention on the LS solution. The calculation has shown that the LS solution has a phase slip of antiferromagnetic ordering in Cr and is classified as an incommensurate spin density wave (ISDW). The dependence of the ISDW solution on the thickness of Cr, lattice parameter and boundary conditions has been investigated.     

Dependence of the driving current on the harmonic behavior of giant magneto-impedance voltage of Co-based amorphous wires

The frequency and the amplitude of the driving AC current dependence on the harmonic behavior of the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) voltage of Co-rich amorphous wire have been studied. Single-peak, two-peak and three-peak behavior in the GMI characteristics was studied with the change of amplitude and frequency of the AC current. GMI ratio was calculated from the first harmonic signals which were initially increased and then decreased monotonically with the increase of frequency (f) and the amplitude (I_AC) of the driving current. The response of the GMI voltage was found non-linear with the generation of higher harmonics at higher amplitude of the driving current. The second and third harmonic signals were also evaluated and their dependence on the driving current amplitude and frequency were presented in the paper. The experimental results were analyzed using single domain rotational model. The voltage harmonics were calculated through Fourier transform of the time derivative of the estimated circular magnetization of the sample.     

Polyazamacrocycles VI. Homo-trimetallic copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes with a new tri-cavity macrocycle

Summary A new tri-cavity decaaza macrocycle (TCM) has been synthesised by the condensation of tetra(aminopropyl)-cyclam with diethanolamine. The new macrocyclic ligand forms tri-nuclear complexes, [Cu₃(TCM)(H₂O)₂]-(ClO₄)₆ and [Ni₃(TCM)(H₂O)₂](ClO₄)₆.     

Optimal reconstruction of the solution of the wave equation from inaccurate initial data

In the present paper, we consider the problem of the optimal reconstruction of the solution of the wave equation from the approximate values of the Fourier coefficients of the function specifying the initial form of the string. For an operator defined on the weight space of vectors from l ₂, we present the solution of the more general problem of reconstruction from the approximate values of the coordinates of these vectors.     

Dimensional variation in production of high-aspect-ratio micro-pillars array by micro powder injection molding

Micro powder injection molding (μPIM) is one of the potential processes for the mass production of metallic microstructures and micro components. Here, μPIM is the miniaturization of conventional PIM, which involves four processing steps: mixing, injection molding, debinding and sintering. This paper looks into the feasibility and effectiveness of μPIM as a key mass production process for the fabrication of metallic micro components. For it to be an effective re-production process, it is imperative to examine how well parts can be duplicated/fabricated from a master mold. In this work, the dimensional variation of high-aspect-ratio micro-pillars arrays, in particular the dimensional shrinkage, global warpage, and surface roughness at each stage of the μPIM process for a range of molding pressures, are quantified and compared in detail. The sensitivity of the dimensional variation of the microstructures to the packing pressure is reported. The mechanism behind the dimensional variation is analyzed. PACS 81.20.Ev; 81.20.Hy; 81.70.Fy; 07.60.Ly; 81.05.-t     

Radio-frequency controllable quantum interference in Mössbauer spectroscopy

The role of quantum interference (QI) in spectra of the resonant Mössbauer scattering is investigated. As a mechanism ensuring the QI conditions, the radio-frequency (RF) mixing of the spin sublevels of the excited nuclear state is considered. It is shown that QI leads to a significant intensity redistribution of the elastic and Raman scattering.     

Comment on breakup densities of hot nuclei

In [V.E. Viola et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 132701, D.S. Bracken et al., Phys. Rev. C 69 (2004) 034612] the observed decrease in spectral peak energies of IMFs emitted from hot nuclei was interpreted in terms of a breakup density that decreased with increasing excitation energy. Subsequently, Raduta et al. [Ad. Raduta et al., Phys. Lett. B 623 (2005) 43] performed MMM simulations that showed decreasing spectral peaks could be obtained at constant density. In this Letter we point out that this apparent inconsistency is due to a selective comparison of theory and data that overlooks the evolution of the fragment multiplicities as a function of excitation energy.     

Analysis of atomic arrangement in magnetic Fe–Pt nanoparticles

The order parameter S of Fe–Pt nanoparticles is estimated from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The total intensity of a diffraction peak is obtained by Rietveld analysis as well as simply integrating the intensity. The Rietveld analysis is found to provide a plausible value of S even for a sample showing an XRD pattern with broad and overlapped peaks. Another order parameter Q, which is obtained from Mössbauer spectra, is introduced, and it is confirmed that Q is equivalent to the probability of Fe atoms being in the L1₀-type atomic arrangement. The coercivity of Fe–Pt nanoparticles is directly proportional to Q, while it vanishes at S=0.4, indicating that the magnetic property of Fe–Pt nanoparticles has a closer relationship to Q than S.