Water-soluble organo-silica hybrid nanotubes templated by cylindrical polymer brushes

We report the preparation of water-soluble organo-silica hybrid nanotubes templated by core-shell-corona structured triblock terpolymer cylindrical polymer brushes (CPBs). The CPBs consist of a polymethacrylate backbone, a poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBA) core, a poly(3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl acrylate) (PAPTS) shell, and a poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (POEGMA) corona. They were prepared via the "grafting from" strategy by the combination of two living/controlled polymerization techniques: anionic polymerization for the backbone and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) for the triblock terpolymer side chains. The monomers tBA, APTS, and OEGMA were consecutively grown from the pendant ATRP initiating groups along the backbone to spatially organize the silica precursor, the trimethoxysilyl groups, into a tubular manner. The synthesized core-shell-corona structured CPBs then served as a unimolecular cylindrical template for the in situ fabrication of water-soluble organo-silica hybrid nanotubes via base-catalyzed condensation of the PAPTS shell block. The formed tubular nanostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryogenic TEM, and atomic force microscopy.     

Spin gap in the zigzag spin-1/2 chain cuprate Sr(0.9)Ca(0.1)CuO(2)

We report a comparative study of (63)Cu nuclear magnetic resonance spin lattice relaxation rates T(1)(-1) on undoped SrCuO(2) and Ca-doped Sr(0.9)Ca(0.1)CuO(2) spin chain compounds. A temperature independent T(1)(-1) is observed for SrCuO(2) as expected for an S=1/2 Heisenberg chain. Surprisingly, we observe an exponential decrease of T(1)(-1) for T<90 K in the Ca-doped sample evidencing the opening of a spin gap. The data analysis within the J(1)-J(2) Heisenberg model employing density-matrix renormalization group calculations suggests an impurity driven small alternation of the J(2)-exchange coupling as a possible cause of the spin gap.     

Saturation field of frustrated chain cuprates: broad regions of predominant interchain coupling

A thermodynamic method to extract the interchain coupling (IC) of spatially anisotropic 2D or 3D spin-1/2 systems from their empirical saturation field H(s) (T=0) is proposed. Using modern theoretical methods we study how H(s) is affected by an antiferromagnetic (AFM) IC between frustrated chains described in the J(1)-J(2)-spin model with ferromagnetic 1st and AFM 2nd neighbor in-chain exchange. A complex 3D-phase diagram has been found. For Li(2)CuO(2) and Ca(2)Y(2)Cu(5)O(10), we show that H(s) is solely determined by the IC and predict H(s)≈61 T for the latter. With H(s)≈55 T from magnetization data one reads out a weak IC for Li(2)CuO(2) close to that obtained from inelastic neutron scattering.     

Scaling of the temperature-dependent resistivity in SrFe2−xNixAs2

We show that the zero-field normal-state resistivity of temperature-dependent resistivity ρ(T) of SrFe_2?xNi_xAs₂ can be reproduced by the expression ρ(T) = ρ₀ + c T exp(?2Δ/T). ρ(T) can be scaled using both this expression where the energy scale Δ, c and the residual resistivity ρ₀ are scaling parameters and a recently proposed model-independent scaling method (H.G. Luo, Y.H. Su, T. Xiang, Phys. Rev. B 77 (2008) 014529). The scaling parameters have been calculated and the compositional variation of 2Δ(x) has been determined. This dependence show almost a linear decreasing in the underdoped regime similar to that reported for cuprates. The existence of a universal metallic ρ(T) curve in a wide temperature range which, however, is restricted for the underdoped compounds to temperatures above a structural and anitiferromagnetic transition is interpreted as an indication of a single mechanism which dominates the scattering of the charge carriers in SrFe_2?xNi_xAs₂ (x = 0–0.3).     

Classical versus quantum gravity

Is Einstein's metric theory of gravitation to be quantized to yield a complete and logically consistent picture of the geometry of the real world in the presence of quantized material sources? To answer this question, we give arguments that there is a consistent way to extend general relativity to small distances by incorporating further geometric quantities at the level of the connection into the theory and introducing corresponding field equations for their determination, allowing thereby the metric and the Levi-Civita connection to remain classical quantities. The dualism between matter and geometry is extended to quantized fields with the help of a Hibert bundle ? raised over a Riemann-Cartan spacetime. Quantized subnuclear matter fields (generalized quantum mechanical wave functions) are sections on ? which determine generalized bilinear currents acting as sourc currents for the bundle geometry at small distances. The established dualism between matter and the underlying bundle geometry contains general relativity as a classical part.     

A study of a coadsorbate surface diffusion (Pb on C/W)

The influence of a coadsorbed submonolayer (carbon) on the diffusion of adatoms (lead) along a crystal surface (tungsten) is studied in a preliminary manner by a field electron microscope technique. Experiments show that the surface diffusion of lead is strongly affected by the coadsorption of carbon: (1) The diffusion of Pb which is easy around (110) and (111) and difficult around (100) on clean tungsten becomes easier around (100) than around (110) and (111). (2) The diffusion anisotropy on the stepped surface around (100) is changed by carbon adsorption. (3) C adatoms enhance the diffusion of Pb especially around (100). (4) The mean carbon coverage required to observe these effects is only a few hundredths of a monolayer. The dependence of the surface diffusion on such small impurity coverages is discussed.