Influence of ultrasound on nanostructural iron formed by electrochemical reduction

A method for control of particle dimensions of nanostructural amorphous iron powder obtained by electrochemical reduction under the effect of ultrasonic oscillations in reaction medium is described in this paper. Depending on the character of ultrasonic oscillations nanostructural powders were obtained differing both in average dimension and distribution of particle dimensions. In the case of simultaneous sonocation using ultrasonic vibrations with frequencies differing from each other by a factor of ten (20 and 200 kHz), the effect is complex, but includes narrowing of the average particle dimension.     

Deterministic schedules for robust and reproducible non-uniform sampling in multidimensional NMR

We show that a simple, general, and easily reproducible method for generating non-uniform sampling (NUS) schedules preserves the benefits of random sampling, including inherently reduced sampling artifacts, while removing the pitfalls associated with choosing an arbitrary seed. Sampling schedules are generated from a discrete cumulative distribution function (CDF) that closely fits the continuous CDF of the desired probability density function. We compare random and deterministic sampling using a Gaussian probability density function applied to 2D HSQC spectra. Data are processed using the previously published method of Spectroscopy by Integration of Frequency and Time domain data (SIFT). NUS spectra from deterministic sampling schedules were found to be at least as good as those from random schedules at the SIFT critical sampling density, and significantly better at half that sampling density. The method can be applied to any probability density function and generalized to greater than two dimensions.     

Equation of state of a model methane clathrate cage

We investigate the behavior of a model methane clathrate cage under high hydrostatic pressures. The methane clathrate cage consists of 20 water molecules forming 12 pentagonal faces, with a methane molecule positioned at the cage center. The clathrate compound is located inside a fullerene-type arrangement of 180 He atoms to simulate an isotropic pressure. Different pressures are simulated by decreasing the radius of the He array. The minimal energy of the total system for each configuration is calculated by using density functional theory. The variation of the energy with the volume of the imprisoned clathrate cage leads to the proposal of a (cold) equation of state in the pressure range [0,60] GPa. The elastic parameters of the state equation are found in agreement with equivalent quantities measured on clathrates in their sI conformation. Special attention is given to the distribution of the confined atoms and the eventual symmetry lost from the clathrate cage with the pressure, as the clathrate cage constitutes a basic structural unit of the crystal. Finally, the strengths and limitations of the model are discussed.     

Synthesis of polystyrene-polysiloxane side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymers

The synthesis of a new liquid crystalline block copolymer consisting of a polystyrene block and a side-chain liquid crystalline siloxane block is reported. The synthetic approach described is based on the anionic polymerization of styrene and cyclic trimethyltrivinyltrisiloxane monomers, followed by functionalization of the siloxane block with side chain mesogens. The siloxane block has a T_g well below 25°C and is designed to exhibit a chiral smectic C^* phase at room temperature. These block copolymers are the first side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymers which contain both a high T_g glassy block and a low T_g liquid crystalline block.     

Efficient evaluation of the algebrants of VB wave functions using the successive expansion method. I. Spin S = 0, ½

An efficient expansion method for the evaluation of VB matrix elements is introduced. The overlaps of VB wave functions of N electrons can be treated as algebrants, i.e., generalized determinants, of N × N matrices. An algebrant can be expanded with subalgebrants of lower orders in a successive way. By choosing Rumer spin bases and appropriately arranging the expansion, it is found that the number of unique subalgebrants involved in the expansion increases in a quite moderate way with N. In contrast to the traditional symmetric group approach, which explicitly utilizes all N! representation matrices, the new strategy incorporates the group theoretical factors in a simple way in the successive expansion. As only the unique subalgebrants are further expanded, the computational effort required by the new strategy scales in a very acceptable manner with the increasing number of electrons. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 62: 245–259, 1997