White-light-induced fragmentation of methane

We experimentally probe molecular ionization and dissociation of methane molecules in the gas phase upon their irradiation by intense pulses of white light that spans the wavelength range 500-850 nm. White light pulses are generated upon irradiation of BK7 glass by 36-fs-long pulses of intense 820 nm laser light. Comparison is made of the molecular fragmentation patterns obtained using white light that is depolarized with those obtained using single-color (820 nm) light that is highly chirped. On the basis of such comparison, we make hitherto-unavailable estimates of the in situ intensity of white light pulses. Results obtained using white light also indicate that resonances apparently do not play any role in the ionization dynamics that ensue upon irradiation by intense, broadband light; neither are the dynamics affected by the polarization properties of the 820 nm light that is used to generate the white light.     

Determination of palladium in deoxo catalysts by differential pulse voltammetry

A differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) method is proposed for the determination of palladium in deoxo catalysts, which are used in recombination units of the cover gas system of nuclear reactors. The electrode system consists of hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE)/ platinum auxillary/ Ag-AgCl reference electrode. The supporting electrolyte consists of 0.02 M diammonium tartrate + 0.08 M ammonia-ammonium chloride buffer at pH 9.0. Fe, Cu, Pb, Ni, Co and Zn did not interfere. The interference by Cd could be eliminated using 0.005 M EDTA. The relative standard deviation of the proposed method was about 4.0% at ∼ 0.5% palladium content in the catalyst. The method is simple, rapid and free from any possible interferences. Received: 8 December 1998 / Revised: 11 January 1999 / Accepted: 18 January 1999     

Scale invariant amplitude modulated phase-only filtering

A new synthetic discriminant-function-based amplitude modulated phase-only filtering technique is proposed for scale invariant pattern recognition. This technique has been found to yield improved correlation output when compared with the alternate techniques. The proposed technique is inherently suitable for optical implementation using the currently available spatial light modulators. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed technique.     

Strong optical fields induce ultrafast rearrangement of H-atoms in ethanol molecules

H-atoms in C₂H₅OH are rearranged by strong optical fields generated by intense, 100 fs long infrared laser pulses to form new bonds that lead to the H ₃ ⁺ molecular ion. This observation appears to be against the expectation that exposure of molecules to intensities of the order of 10¹⁵ W cm^?2 inevitably lead to multiple ionization of molecules followed by instantaneous Coulomb explosion into fragments. The polarization dependence of the H ₃ ⁺ signal and of the energy content of H ₃ ⁺ ions lead to believe that H-atom rear-rangement in ethanol occurs within a single 100 fs pulse.     

Limited volume thin film deposition on geometrically complicated substrates

In this paper we report a study on the elastic scattering of electrons by lithium and sodium atoms in the presence of circularly polarized resonant laser field within the framework of the two-state rotating wave approximation. The effect of laser on projectile electrons is described by Volkov states. The frequency of the laser field is chosen to match with the 2s–3p (3s–3p) transition frequency in lithium (sodium) atoms. The total and differential elastic cross sections with single photon exchange are calculated for intermediate energies (50–150 eV) and laser intensity (10⁷–10¹¹ W cm^-2). An erratum to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Working group report: Quantum chromodynamics sub-group

This is the report of the QCD working sub-group at the Tenth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-X).      

Electrochemical behavior of different structural states of the alloy Ti60Ni40

Potentiodynamic polarization studies were carried out on nanocrystalline I, nanocrystalline II and nanocrystalline III states having crystallite size 35 ± 5 nm, 18 ± 2 nm and 10 ± 2 nm of the alloy Ti₆₀Ni₄₀ in 1 M H₂SO₄ aqueous medium. It was observed that the nanocrystalline III state exhibits superior corrosion resistance as compared to the nanocrystalline II and nanocrystalline I states of the alloy Ti₆₀Ni₄₀. XPS studies were also performed after corrosion test and it was observed that nanocrystalline III state contains only Ti²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ species whereas nanocrystalline I and nanocrystalline II state contains Ti²⁺, Ti³⁺and Ti⁴⁺ along with some unoxidized metallic Ti⁰ in the case of nanocrystalline I state. Thus the small crystallite size and the presence of only Ti²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ species in the form of TiO and TiO₂ leads to the formation of a protective oxide film which is adherent, stable and improves the corrosion resistance of the nanocrystalline III state of the alloy Ti₆₀Ni₄₀.     

Adsorption of Safranin-T from wastewater using waste materials- activated carbon and activated rice husks

Textile effluents are major industrial polluters because of high color content, about 15% unfixed dyes and salts. The present paper is aimed to investigate and develop cheap adsorption methods for color removal from wastewater using waste materials activated carbon and activated rice husk-as adsorbents. The method was employed for the removal of Safranin-T and the influence of various factors such as adsorbent dose, adsorbate concentration, particle size, temperature, contact time, and pH was studied. The adsorption of the dye over both the adsorbents was found to follow Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models. Based on these models, different useful thermodynamic parameters have been evaluated for both the adsorption processes. The adsorption of Safranin-T over activated carbon and activated rice husks follows first-order kinetics and the rate constants for the adsorption processes decrease with increase in temperature.     

Photocatalytic degradation of aniline at the interface of TiO2 suspensions containing carbonate ions

The degradation of aniline has been investigated using aqueous TiO2 suspensions containing carbonate ions as photocatalyst. The addition of carbonate to Degussa P-25 increased the number of active adsorption sites at its surface. For the TiO2 suspensions containing carbonate ions the intensity of adsorption of aniline increased to 6.9 x 10(2) from 5.5 x 10(2) mol(-1) dm(3) in case of bare TiO2 suspensions. This in turn results in the increased interfacial interaction of the photogenerated charge carriers with the adsorbed aniline and thus enhancing the rate of its photodecomposition to 6.5 x 10(-6) mol dm(-3) s(-1) compared to 2.7 x 10(-6) mol dm(-3) s(-1) in the absence of Na(2)CO(3). The maximum efficiency of this photocatalyst has been obtained upon addition of 0.11 mol dm(-3) of Na(2)CO(3) at pH 10.8. The photocatalytic action is understood by the simultaneous interaction of intermediates, *OH and CO*-(3), and their reactivity with aniline. Azobenzene, p-benzoquinone, nitrobenzene, and NH(3) have been identified as the major products of the photooxidation of aniline. Both the reactant and products have been followed kinetically. The photodegradation follows Langmuir-Hinshelwood Model. The mechanism of the occurring reactions has been analyzed and discussed. In the presence of Na(2)CO(3), 3 x 10(-3) mol dm(-3) of aniline could be photodegraded completely in about 6 h while all organic intermediates decomposed completely within about 10 h.     

New iso-propoxides, tert-butoxides and neo-pentoxides of niobium(V): synthesis, structure, characterization and stabilization by trifluoroheteroarylalkenolates and pyridine ligands

The synthesis and characterization of nine new heteroleptic alkoxides of niobium is described. Metathesis reactions of Nb(2)Cl(10) with (t)BuCH(2)OH and pyridine (py) or 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) affords monomeric octahedral complexes Nb(OCH(2)(t)Bu)(5)py (1) and Nb(OCH(2)(t)Bu)(5)DMAP (2), respectively, in high yields (>60%). The same reaction with (t)BuOH resulted in a chloro functionalized alkoxide Nb(O(t)Bu)(4)pyCl (3) and could not be pushed to complete removal of remaining Cl(-) ligand. The introduction of a chelating bidental ligand 3,3,3-trifluoro-1-(pyridine-2-yl)propen-2-ol (2-PyCHCOHCF(3)) (4') in the dimeric framework of Nb(2)(O(i)Pr)(10) (4') produced a heteroleptic, monomeric niobium complex Nb(O(i)Pr)(4)(2-PyCHCOCF(3)) (4) with significantly enhanced stability and volatility. As a comparison to (4), five different heteroaryl systems (5-9) with the same side chain have been synthesized and examined in order to understand the influence upon physio-chemical properties. All the new compounds (1-9) have been characterized by microanalysis, variable temperature multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, thermal analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies ((3), (4) and (9)). The molecular structure of (3) revealed mononuclear species with Nb atoms present in the distorted octahedral environment of four (t)BuO, one chloride and one pyridine ligand. Compounds (4) and (9) consisting of four (i)PrO and a trifluoroheteroarylenolate exhibited a stronger distortion in the molecular geometry due to the rigidity of chelating β-alkenolate moiety.