Anisotropic relaxations introduced by Cd impurities in rutile TiO(2): first-principles calculations and experimental Support

We present an ab initio study of the relaxations introduced in TiO (2) when a Cd impurity substitutes a Ti atom and an experimental test of this calculation by a perturbed-angular-correlation (PAC) measurement of the orientation of the electric-field gradient (EFG) tensor at the Cd site. The ab initio calculation predicts strong anisotropic relaxations of the nearest oxygen neighbors of the impurity and a change of the orientation of the largest EFG tensor component, V(33 ), from the [001] to the [110] direction upon substitution of a Ti atom by a Cd impurity. The last prediction is confirmed by the PAC experiment that shows that V(33 ) at the Cd site is parallel to either the [110] or the [1 1;0] crystal axis.     

Enantioselective transport by a steroidal guanidinium receptor

The cationic steroidal receptors 9 and 11 have been synthesized from cholic acid 3. Receptor 9 extracts N-acetyl-alpha-amino acids from aqueous media into chloroform with enantioselectivities (L:D) of 7-10:1. The lipophilic variant 11 has been employed for the enantioselective transport of N-acetylphenylalanine, a) through dichloromethane (DCM) and dichloroethane (DCE) bulk liquid membranes (U-tube apparatus), and b) through 2.5% (v/v) octanol/hexane via hollow fibre membrane contactors. Significant enantioselectivities and multiple turnovers were observed for both types of apparatus.     

Pyrene covalently anchored on a large external surface area zeolite as a selective heterogeneous sensor for iodide

Pyrene as a fluorophore has been covalently anchored on a delaminated ITQ-2 zeolite having a large external surface area (730 m2 g-1) and the resulting solid found to have a selective response as a heterogeneous sensor for I- in the presence of other halides.     

Chiral copper(II) bisoxazoline covalently anchored to silica and mesoporous MCM-41 as a heterogeneous catalyst for the enantioselective Friedel-Crafts hydroxyalkylation

Two solid catalysts in which a chiral copper(II) bisoxazoline has been covalently anchored on silica and MCM-41 have been prepared; the solids are enantioselective catalysts (up to 92% ee) for the Friedel-Crafts hydroxyalkylation of 1,3-dimethoxybenzene with 3,3,3-trifluoropyruvate.     

Novel [2]catenane structures introducing communication between transition metal centers via pi...pi interactions

[2]Catenane systems containing copper(II) and nickel(II) as metal centers have been self-assembled using tetraazamacrocyclic complexes and benzo-24-crown-8 as building blocks. A variety of methods, including X-ray crystallography, ESI mass spectrometry, (13)C and (1)H NMR, and electrochemistry, were applied to characterize these new face-to-face bismacrocyclic systems. Weak pi...pi interactions introduced by interlocking transition metal complexes with benzocrown moieties were shown to increase the communication (cooperativity) of metal centers. Introduction of the benzocrown increases the stability of the mixed valence state of the macrocyclic complex, which is reflected in high values of conproportionation constants. Moreover, this effect was found to be stronger than that obtained by shortening the length of the spacer between the two tetraazamacrocyclic subunits in the parent bismacrocycles. The extent of communication is larger for the nickel catenane than for the copper one.     

Structural instability of vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates

In this paper we study a gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate and show the following: (i) A minimum value of the interaction is needed for the existence of stable persistent currents. (ii) Vorticity is not a fundamental invariant of the system, as there exists a conservative mechanism which can destroy a vortex and change its sign. (iii) This mechanism is suppressed by strong interactions.     

Critical state theory for nonparallel flux line lattices in type-II superconductors

Field penetration profiles in type-II superconductors with nonparallel vortex configurations are obtained by a proposed least action principle. We introduce a functional C[H-->] which is minimized for the current density constrained by J-->inDelta(H-->,x-->), where Delta is a bounded set. Within the isotropic case /J-->/< or =J(c)(H), the profiles H-->(x-->,t) are derived for an applied changing excitation. The model can reproduce the physical phenomena of flux transport and consumption, and the magnetization collapse in crossed field measurements.     

Bioastrophysical aspects of low energy ion irradiation of frozen anthracene containing water

The origin of life on Earth remains a fascinating mystery in spite of many theories existing on this subject. However, it seems that simple prebiotic molecules could play an essential role in the formation of more complex organisms. In our experiment, we synthesized a class of these molecules (quinones) bombarding frozen anthracene containing water with low energy hydrogen ions. This experiment roughly simulated the astrophysical conditions which one can find in the solar system. Thus, we can hypothesize that prebiotic molecules could be created by interaction of the solar wind with interplanetary dust grains. The delivery of these molecules to early Earth may have contributed to the generation of life on our planet.     

Micromachining bulk glass by use of femtosecond laser pulses with nanojoule energy

Using tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses of just 5 nJ, we produce optical breakdown and structural change in bulk transparent materials and demonstrate micromachining of transparent materials by use of unamplified lasers. We present measurements of the threshold for structural change in Corning 0211 glass as well as a study of the morphology of the structures produced by single and multiple laser pulses. At a high repetition rate, multiple pulses produce a structural change dominated by cumulative heating of the material by successive laser pulses. Using this cumulative heating effect, we write single-mode optical waveguides inside bulk glass, using only a laser oscillator.