Liquid–gas critical phenomena under confinement: small-angle neutron scattering studies of CO2 in aerogel

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a well-established technique for investigating the behavior of confined binary liquid solutions, as it can probe the correlation length and susceptibility in pores on length scales 1 – 100 nm. We applied SANS to explore the influence of confinement on critical behavior of an individual fluid carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a highly porous aerogel. The results demonstrate that quenched disorder induced by aerogel significantly depresses density fluctuations. Despite the negligible volume occupied by aerogel (< 4%), the macroscopic phase separation of confined CO₂ into coexisting liquid and gaseous phases is suppressed and below the critical temperature of the bulk fluid frozen methastable microdomains are formed. Experimental data show that critical adsorption is as important as the effect of confinement in defining the behavior of confined fluids.     

An electron spin resonance study of radical decay in γ-ray irradiated pepper by thermal treatments

Applied Magnetic Resonance - We examined by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy the thermal decay of radicals as induced by γ-irradiation on pepper. Upon irradiation, the satellite...     

Construction algorithms for polynomial lattice rules for multivariate integration

We introduce a new construction algorithm for digital nets for integration in certain weighted tensor product Hilbert spaces. The first weighted Hilbert space we consider is based on Walsh functions. Dick and Pillichshammer calculated the worst-case error for integration using digital nets for this space. Here we extend this result to a special construction method for digital nets based on polynomials over finite fields. This result allows us to find polynomials which yield a small worst-case error by computer search. We prove an upper bound on the worst-case error for digital nets obtained by such a search algorithm which shows that the convergence rate is best possible and that strong tractability holds under some condition on the weights.

We extend the results for the weighted Hilbert space based on Walsh functions to weighted Sobolev spaces. In this case we use randomly digitally shifted digital nets. The construction principle is the same as before, only the worst-case error is slightly different. Again digital nets obtained from our search algorithm yield a worst-case error achieving the optimal rate of convergence and as before strong tractability holds under some condition on the weights. These results show that such a construction of digital nets yields the until now best known results of this kind and that our construction methods are comparable to the construction methods known for lattice rules.

We conclude the article with numerical results comparing the expected worst-case error for randomly digitally shifted digital nets with those for randomly shifted lattice rules.

     

Thermal diffusion of envelope solitons on anharmonic atomic chains

We study the motion of envelope solitons on anharmonic atomic chains in the presence of dissipation and thermal fluctuations. We consider the continuum limit of the discrete system and apply an adiabatic perturbation theory which yields a system of stochastic integro-differential equations for the collective variables of the ansatz for the perturbed envelope soliton. We derive the Fokker-Planck equation of this system and search for a statistically equivalent system of Langevin equations, which shares the same Fokker-Planck equation. We undertake an analytical analysis of the Langevin system and derive an expression for the variance of the soliton position Var[x _s ] which predicts a stronger than linear time dependence of Var[x _s ] (superdiffusion). We compare these results with simulations for the discrete system and find they agree well. We refer to recent studies where the diffusion of pulse solitons were found to exhibit a superdiffusive behaviour on longer time scales.Received: 28 June 2004, Published online: 26 November 2004PACS: 05.10.Gg Stochastic analysis methods - 05.45.Yv Solitons - 05.40.-a Fluctuation phenomena, random processes, noise, and Brownian motion - 05.50. + q Lattice theory and statistics     

Mathematical modelling of the oxidation of nickel titanium alloys

A one-dimensional bulk reaction model for the oxidation of nickeltitanium is formulated, with preferential oxidation of titaniumbeing included. The modelling is directed at the better understandingof the dominant mechanisms involved in the oxidation processand their significance for the biocompatibility of the alloy.Two different regimes for the relative diffusivities of oxygenand the metals are investigated. By assuming fast bulk reactions,different asymptotic structures emerge in different parameterregimes and the resulting models take the form of moving boundaryproblems. Different profiles of nickel concentration are obtained:in particular a nickel-rich layer (observed in practice) ispresent below the oxide/metal interface for the case when oxygenand the metals diffuse at comparable rates.     

Structure and properties of the mesophase of syndiotactic polystyrene. II. Effect of stepwise extraction on the preparation of the mesophase

In this study, a novel stepwise extraction method has been examined. The guest molecules housed between the helices of the clathrate δ form of syndiotactic polystyrene can be removed completely with this method. A systematic study of the preparation of a solvent‐free mesophase (emptied clathrate) membrane, its helical and residual solvent contents, and its structural transformations has been performed. In this first attempt, an enhancement in the TTGG helical content has been observed in the extracted membrane, and a conceptual mechanism is proposed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 269–273, 2003     

Sulphide based anode material for lithium rechargeable battery

In this study, lead sulphide (PbS) was prepared by the chemical bath deposition technique. The sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive Analysis of X-rays (EDAX) and cyclic voltammetry. EDAX spectrum shows peaks attributable to lead and sulphur. The EDAX analysis also shows that the prepared sample is stoichiometric. Cyclic voltammetry experiments were recorded at 100 mV·s⁻¹ and 400 mV·s⁻¹ scan rates. Results show that the rate controlling electrochemical reaction is electron transfer. The presence of redox waves shows that the lithium intercalation and deintercalation can occur as a result of lattice expansion in PbS. There were no differences in the PbS XRD data before and after the cyclic voltammetry experiments indicating that the PbS structure is not modified upon lithium ion intercalation and deintercalation in PbS. The discharge characteristics for 35 cycles of the cell using the LiCoO₂/PbS couple is presented indicating the possible development of such materials as anode in lithium ion cells.