Structures and electronic properties of silicene clusters: a promising material for FET and hydrogen storage

Structures and electronic properties of clusters of an all-Si analogue of graphene, silicene, have been studied through quantum chemical calculations. The structures of the six-membered rings show interesting chair like puckering, which for large sheet-like clusters form ordered ripples. Binding energies, HOMO-LUMO gaps and polarizabilities for the silicene clusters show interesting monotonic trends analogous to polyacenes. Stacking of two silicene layers leads to the formation of closed 3D clusters with high symmetry and strong Si-Si bonds. The heat of hydrogenation of silicene to form silicanes is overwhelmingly exothermic and leads to the opening up of the HOMO-LUMO gaps. Thus, analogous to graphanes, silicanes are predicted to be interesting materials for hydrogen storage and for their band engineering properties.     

Determination of lectin in very dilute solution with umbelliferyl sugars by fluorescence quenching

Umbelliferyl sugars have been used to determine the lectin concentration in very dilute solution by fluorescence quenching methods. The Stern-Volmer plot of fluorescence quenching after considering ground-state complexation is obeyed by several sugars. As little as 1 μg of lectin (in 10 μl) and 250 nM of umbelliferyl sugars can be determined. This method offers a simple, non-destructive and rapid method for the determination of lectin activity.     

Normal state DC electrical resistivity in RE-123 superconductors

We have examined the DC electrical resistivity of RE-123 superconductors (where RE is a rare earth element) on the basis of a model of correlated electron transfer arising from the electron-phonon interaction. The small polaron stabilization energy (ε_p) has been obtained from the fitting of the normal state resistivity data. A correlation between the lattice parameters of the unit cell and ε_p has been observed which is explained on the basis of fermiology.     

New Reagent for Detection of Amino Acids on TLC Plates

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC -     

Synthesis and characterization of sol-gel derived Mn2+ doped In2S3 nanocrystallites embedded in a silica matrix

Mn²⁺ doped In₂S₃–SiO₂ nanocomposite thin films were synthesized by sol-gel technique. The films were annealed in air at different temperatures (473–623 K) and characterized by optical, microstructural and electron spin resonance (ESR) study. Optical transmittance study revealed the manifestation of quantum size effect while ESR indicated the presence of manganese in indium sulphide as dispersed dopant rather than manganese cluster.     

Ab-initio Hartree-Fock self-consistent-field calculations—An indigenous development of computer programs

A set of indigenously developed computer programs for ab-initio Hartree-Fock calculations on both closed- and open-shell molecules have been described. These programs have been written for calculations using GTO basis sets. Integral formulae have been taken from Taketaet al [8]. Structures and functions of the programs have been discussed. These programs have been extensively tested. Molecular integrals over GTO basis sets have been chosen for tests and as numerical examples in this paper. Results of calculations using very accurate minimal bases have been given for methane. Time taken for these computations in a CDC Cyber 180/840 machine has been indicated. Trends in the calculations have also been illustrated by employing 4-gaussian expansions for the STO’s and by varying the basis size for LiH and BH⁺. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Order–disorder transition in nanocrystalline Ni3Al prepared by a chemical route

Ni₃Al alloys of nanometer dimensions in the range 10–38 nm could be synthesized by reaction sintering of sol–gel-derived Ni/SiO₂ nanocomposite and commercially available micrometer-sized aluminum powder. The sintering was carried out at a temperature of 923 K and a pressure of 2.4 MPa. By a suitable choice of sintering conditions a disordered phase of Ni₃Al was stabilized. The disordered phase could be converted to an ordered one by an increase of heat treatment temperature.     

Retarded Boson-Fermion interaction in atomic systems

The retarded interaction between an electron and a spin-0 nucleus, that has been derived from electro-dynamical perturbation theory is discussed here. A brief account of the derivation is given. The retarded form is correct through order v ²/c ². Use of the relative coordinates leads to an effective one-electron operator that can be used through all orders of perturbation theory. A few unitary transformations give rise to the interaction that is valid in the non-relativistic limit.