Electrical and magnetic properties of CoFeAlO thin films

Influences of oxygen-partial pressure and annealing on the electrical and magnetic properties of CoFeAlO thin films were systematically investigated by means of resistivity, permeability, magnetization and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements. It was found that, with increasing oxygen-partial pressure or under annealing, the electrical resistivity of the film increased and the magnetic softness decreased, which is attributed to the microstructural change of the film. Interestingly, an as-deposited Co_45.30Fe_20.65Al_19.34O_14.71 film was found to exhibit an inverted hysteresis loop with negative coercivity, and this peculiar phenomenon disappeared upon effects of oxygen-partial pressure and annealing. It was also found that the as-deposited films owned a narrow FMR line width that increased with increasing oxygen-partial pressure or under annealing.     

Thermal and dielectric behaviors of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers at the curie transition

The thermal and dielectric behaviors of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers near the ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transition are investigated for samples with 20, 25, 30, and 40 mol% trifluoroethylene (TrFE). The data suggest that the transition becomes continuous for a particular composition near 50 mol% TrFE. Experimental data are sensitive to thermal history (kinetics of crystallization, and kinetics and cycling over the structural transition). It is found that several anomalies are present at the structural change, and in particular the 30 mol% TrFE sample shows the most marked anomalies. These phenomena can be attributed to defects, but another possibility would be the existence of an intemediate supplementary phase. Both hypotheses are discussed.     

Nonaqueous diazotization of 4-amino-3-arylisothiazole-5-carboxylate esters

4-Amino-3-arylisothiazole-5-carboxylate esters are converted to the corresponding desamino, chloro, bromo, and iodo esters by processes involving nonaqueous diazotization. These related procedures open up the possibility for the conversion of readily available heterocyclic ortho-amino esters and nitriles to related heterocyclic derivatives, which are not easily obtained by alternate routes.     

Chemical analysis and distribution investigation of trace elements in indium matrix by spark source mass spectrometry

Summary High-purity indium was analysed by spark source mass spectrometry, using electrical and photoplate detection. For the calibration of the differences in elemental sensitivity, a standard sample was prepared in which 10 impurities were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. In this way accuracies of less than 40% were obtained for relatively homogeneous elements at ppm and sub-ppm level. About 40 elements could be determined with detection limits of 10 to 30 ppb. Two pattern recognition methods, principal component analysis and clustering analysis, were applied to obtain information on trace element distribution, which indicated that a number of elements were strongly spatially correlated in the analysed sample.

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Chemische Analyse und Verteilungsbestimmung von Spurenelementen in Indium-Matrix durch Funkenquellen-Massenspektrometrie

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On leave from: Department of Chemistry, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China     

High order generalized upwind schemes and numerical solution of singular perturbation problems

High even order generalizations of the traditional upwind method are introduced to solve second order ODE-BVPs without recasting the problem as a first order system. Both theoretical analysis and numerical comparison with central difference schemes of the same order show that these new methods may avoid typical oscillations and achieve high accuracy. Singular perturbation problems are taken into account to emphasize the main features of the proposed methods. AMS subject classification (2000)  65L10, 65L12, 65L50     

Non-aggregated Pd nanoparticles deposited onto catalytic supports

Nanostructured powders have shown great promise for a variety of applications including chemical gas sensors, high surface area supports for catalysis, tribology, chemical mechanical polishing, and optoelectronics. In this report, highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution, and mean diameter of 2±0.2 nm, were deposited at room temperature onto amorphous carbon and oxide supports (TiO₂, Al₂O₃) by pulsed-laser ablation of a Pd sputtering target. Depositions were performed in Ar at a back-fill pressure of 3 mTorr after reaching a base pressure of 10^-7 Torr. Populations of uniformly dispersed particles with an interparticle spacing of 3 to 10 nm were observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy with little evidence of nanoparticle aggregation. The chemical compositions of individual nanoparticles were confirmed by high spatial resolution energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.     

Assessing contaminated hydrogen peroxide for safe storage and transportation using the FTAI

Hydrogen peroxide is a very versatile oxidizing agent, and it is also environmentally compatible considering that the products of its exothermic decomposition are oxygen and water.When kept in a clean temperature-controlled environment, the self-reaction (decomposition) rate is extremely low. However, it is well known that even a small amount of contamination will dramatically increase the reaction rate. This paper describes the use of the fast thermal activity interpreter (FTAI) instrument to examine the chemical reactivity of commercially available 50% hydrogen peroxide at two different temperatures (30 and 40°C) both with and without contamination. The results show that at 30°C a small amount of rust (330 ppm) increases the reaction rate of 50% hydrogen peroxide by a factor of 50. When the temperature is increased to 40°C, the reaction rate is further increased by almost a factor of four. The implication for reactivity management is that at this contamination level most practical vessel sizes would require emergency venting capability. An evaluation was then performed to determine the emergency venting requirement for the safe transportation or storage of the contaminated hydrogen peroxide. It was determined that for quantities of the material less than 5 gallons, conventional breather vents would be sufficient to accommodate the gas evolved. However, for larger quantities, a safety relief device would be needed. For example, for a 400-gallon tote bin at 40°C the required minimum vent area is estimated to be 4.3 in², corresponding to a minimum vent diameter of 2.3 inches.