Magnetic phase transition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic states in Ce(Fe1−xAlx)2

The cubic Laves phase compound Ce(Fe_0.95Al_0.05)₂ exhibits a first order magnetic phase transition from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic state at ≈ 100 K with increasing temperature. This note gives the results of the Mössbauer effect of ⁵⁷Fe and the magnetic phase diagram in the external field vs. temperature plane.     

Observation of two-hole states at high excitation energy in (p,t) reactions

Bumps of two-hole states at high excitation energies were observed systematically in the triton spectra from (p, t) reactions with 52 MeV protons on nuclei in a broad range of masses. The cross sections of the bumps are almost equal for various targets with the same deep major shells. These cross sections vary discontinuously with variation of the corresponding deep major shell. About 20 to 50 % of the total expected strength is observed experimentally, if the bumps are assumed to arise from two-neutron pickup from the deep major shells. The centres of gravity of the bumps are located at excitation energies of about 7 to 9 MeV in all cases. On the other hand, the widths of the bumps change from about 3 MeV for ⁶⁶Zn to about 9 MeV for ²³⁰Th.     

Excess resistance in the superconducting transition of a mesoscopic Al disk

We report resistance measurements on a mesoscopic Al disk whose size is comparable to the superconducting coherence length. As the magnetic field increases, resistance peaks successively appear and some of the peak resistances are larger than the normal state value R_N. These peaks are ascribed to the transitions between different vortex states in the superconducting Al disk. The experimental results suggest that some anomalous energy dissipation is caused by the dynamics of the vortices in the confined geometry.     

Rapid discrimination of fatty acid composition in fats and oils by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Fatty acids in 42 types of saponified vegetable and animal oils were analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for the development of their rapid discrimination. The compositions were compared with those analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), a more conventional method used in the discrimination of fats and oils. Fatty acids extracted with 2-propanol were-detected as deprotonated molecular ions ([M-H]-) in the ESI-MS spectra of the negative-ion mode. The composition obtained by ESI-MS corresponded to the data of the total ion chromatograms by GC-MS. The ESI-MS analysis discriminated the fats and oils within only one minute after starting the measurement. The detection limit for the analysis was approximately 10(-10) g as a sample amount analyzed for one minute. This result showed that the ESI-MS analysis discriminated the fats and oils much more rapidly and sensitively than the GC-MS analysis, which requires several tens of minutes and approximately 10(-9) g. Accordingly, the ESI-MS analysis was found to be suitable for a screening procedure for the discrimination of fats and oils.     

Self-assembly of water-dispersed gold nanoparticles stabilized by a thiolated glycol derivative

Two-dimensional (2D) hexagonally close-packed arrays of water-dispersed gold nanoparticles (NPs) on highly hydrophilic sputter-deposited SiO₂ surfaces were fabricated via an evaporation-induced self-assembly process. Using a non-ionic amphiphilic glycol derivative with the thiol head group, 1-mercapto-3,6,9-trioxodecane, as a stabilization ligand, high-concentration Au NPs were stably dispersed in water, and self-assembled into μm-sized well-ordered 2D arrays on SiO₂ surfaces during the solvent evaporation on SiO₂ surfaces. Due to the non-ionic character of the ligand, the particle–particle interactions may only depend on the capillary and van der Waals forces, and not on the electric double-layer forces that change with ion/electrolyte concentrations during the solvent evaporation. This study provides an approach to fabrication of close-packed 2D arrays of water-dispersed NPs instead of using toxicological organic solvent or complex water-organic phase transfer process. Meanwhile, this approach will make it easier to study their self-assembly mechanisms in a variety of solvents by simplifying ambiguous particle–particle interactions.     

The combined use of SCF-MO calculations and frequency data in the evaluation of general harmonic force fields for molecules containing third row elements

The general harmonic force fields of several small molecules containing third row elements have been evaluated using a semiempirical method which combines SCF-MO calculations and limited frequency data. MOCIC (molecular orbital constraint using interaction coordinates) potential fields have been generated using the SCF-MO MNDO method which has recently been parameterized for third row elements. The general harmonic force field (GHFF) of molecules studied here (SO₂, NOCl, PF₃, PH₃, CCl₄, SiCl₄, SiF₄, SiH₄, and SF₆) are all well defined from spectroscopic data. The MOCIC functions are in excellent agreement with the spectroscopic GHFFs. Comparisons of the MNDO and MOCIC functions show substantial improvement in both primary and interaction valence potential constants when the MOCIC constraint procedure is used.     

Size-shrinkage effect of InAs quantum dots during a GaAs capping growth

The modification of the InAs quantum dots (QDs) by the GaAs capping growth was studied by using cross-sectional STEM and atomic force microscopy. In case of the GaAs capping growth at 450 °C, it was found that the lateral size of the InAs QDs significantly decreases rather than the height and that this size-shrinkage effect is enhanced for the large QDs. The shrinkage behavior is mainly attributed to the indium surface segregation, strongly depending on the surface strain of the QDs. The growth process of the GaAs capping layer plays an important role for achieving the size ordering of the embedded QDs.     

A concise representation of adsorbate-surface interactions. II. An application to Pt(111) + Co,W(110) + Co and Pt(112) + Co systems

A method is presented to represent the chemisorptive interactions concisely. The canonical molecular orbitals of a chemisorption system are transformed into new orbitals where the charge transfer interactions between the surface and the adsorbate are maximized or minimized. The chemisorptive bonds are well described by a small number of the transformed orbitals. The analysis of chemisorptive interactions is carried out for the Pt(111) + CO, W(110) + CO and Pt(112) + CO systems. The weakening of the C-O bond in the W(110) face and in the trench region of the Pt(112) face is larger than that in the Pt(111) face in conformity with the experimental data. The interactions are, to a good approximation, represented by five or six orbitals and are explained in terms of the and donation of CO to the surface and the back donation to CO.     

Spectrophotometric determination of biologically active thiols with eosin, silver(I) and adenine.

A simple and highly sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of biologically active thiols based on the fading of eosin-silver(I)-adenine ternary complex was established. In the determination of 6-mercaptopurine (MP), Beer's law was obeyed in the range 0.02-0.30 microg ml(-1), with an effective molar absorptivity at 562 nm and the relative standard deviation being 3.5 x 10(5) dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.72% (n = 5). Analytical data for various biologically active thiols were determined with the proposed method. This method is about 5-10 times more sensitive than the conventional spectrophotometric methods. A compound having a disulfide bond (-S-S-), such as cystine, could also be determined by the conversion of disulfides to free thiols with the sulfite ion. The procedure was successfully applied to assays of various biologically active thiols in actual medicines.