Numerical simulation of magnetic interactions in polycrystalline YFeO3

The magnetic behavior of polycrystalline yttrium orthoferrite was studied from the experimental and theoretical points of view. Magnetization measurements up to 170 kOe were carried out on a single-phase YFeO₃ sample synthesized from heterobimetallic alkoxides. The complex interplay between weak-ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions, observed in the experimental M(H) curves, was successfully simulated by locally minimizing the magnetic energy of two interacting Fe sublattices. The resulting values of exchange field (H_E=5590 kOe), anisotropy field (H_A=0.5 kOe) and Dzyaloshinsky–Moriya antisymmetric field (H_D=149 kOe) are in good agreement with previous reports on this system.     

Nearly scale invariant spectrum of gravitational radiation from global phase transitions

Using a large N sigma model approximation we explicitly calculate the power spectrum of gravitational waves arising from a global phase transition in the early Universe and we confirm that it is scale invariant, implying an observation of such a spectrum may not be a unique feature of inflation. Moreover, the predicted amplitude can be over 3 orders of magnitude larger than the naive dimensional estimate, implying that even a transition that occurs after inflation may dominate in cosmic microwave background polarization or other gravity wave signals.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Trans-</Emphasis>dichlorodioxobis(triphenylphosphate)molybdenum(VI), MoO<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cl<Subscript>2</Subscript>[OP(OPh)<Subscript>3</Subscript>]<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Abstract  The molecular structure of trans-dichlorodioxobis(triphenylphosphate) molybdenum(VI), MoO₂Cl₂[OP(OPh)₃]₂ has been determined. Crystal data: Monoclinic, Pn, a = 11.767(2), b = 10.341(2), c = 15.682(3) ?, β = 92.27(3)°, V = 1906.8(7) ?⁻³, Z = 2. Trans-dichlorodioxobis(triphenylphosphate)molybdenum(VI) was obtained by the reaction of molybdenum oxide, HCl and triphenylphosphate and was characterized by elemental analysis, IR, and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. Index Abstract   Trans-dichlorodioxobis(triphenylphosphate)molybdenum(VI), MoO₂Cl₂[OP(OPh)₃]₂ V. Huch¹, R. Kumar², S. Mathur¹, R. Ratnani² The immediate environment around Mo is distorted octahedral with two cis-oxygen atoms and two trans-chlorine atoms along with two triphenylphosphate moieties.      

A Mössbauer and electrochemical study of mononuclear iron(III) complexes with benzimidazole-based flexible bidentate ligands

A series of FeIII complexes of stoichiometry [FeLX3].nH2O have been synthesized, where X=Cl–, HCO–2 and L is a flexible bidentate ligand, 1,3(bis-benzimidazolyl) propane and 1,4(bis-benzimidazolyl)butane. Mössbauer data reveals that the isomer shift values lie in the range typically observed for high spin FeIII complexes, while the slightly large quadrupole splitting parameter indicates a rhombically distorted FeIII centre. Cyclic voltammetric studies reveal that the E1/2 for the FeIII/FeII couple for the formate complex shifts more cathodically than for the chloride complex; implying that HCO–2 is more effective at lowering the Lewis acidity of the FeIII centre.     

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.     

A Novel Electroanalytical Biosensor Based on ZIF-8/Acetylcholinesterase Bio-nanohybrids for Early Management of Hirschsprung Disease

Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is characterised by missing nerve cells in the colon of infants and children which results in strained bowel movement. Under such situations, undiagnosed and untreated cases often lead to a cascade of gastrointestinal infections eventually resulting in Hirschsprung-assisted enterocolitis which has significantly high mortality rate. This is further exacerbated by the absence of suitable, sensitive and efficient technologies to detect the pathological segment of the intestine, which could significantly reduce surgery duration in the operation theatre, as well as associated risks to patients. It therefore becomes a matter of extreme importance to develop a point-of-care platform for early and efficient management/identification of the occurrence of HD in neonates and older children during its onset, before it proves fatal with life-threatening outcomes. The present work reports an electrochemical enzymatic biosensor using Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8) modified with acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AchE), for detection of HD as a function of the key biomarker – acetylcholine. The developed sensor was initially characterized using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), while the analytical performance and insights onto interfacial redox kinetics were assessed using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) and EIS respectively. The sensor exhibited limit of detection and sensitivity of 0.19 μM and sensitivity of 0.42 μA/μM/mm² with a shelf life of 1 month, while remaining unperturbed in the presence of common interferants. The performance of developed sensor was also examined in spiked serum samples and was observed to yield a high degree of linearity.