Photogeneration of Silver Particles in PVA Fibers and Films

Fibers and films prepared from blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(acrylic acid) were found to be suitable matrices for the solid-state photoreduction of silver ions in the presence of air. Fast generation of nanometer-sized silver crystallites was observed when fibers of polymer blends crosslinked with dimethyl sulfoxide were irradiated with 350nm light. Optical determinations of the formation kinetics were carried out using thin films of noncrosslinked as well as lightly and heavily crosslinked polymer blends. Small Ag clusters were detected initially, which were stable in the dark but transformed into larger metal particles upon further illumination. Both formation processes occurred only under high light intensity illumination and the kinetic data were inconsistent with monophotonic mechanisms.     

Age determination of a 75Se gamma radiography source for nuclear forensics

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Two methods were used to evaluate the age of 75Se sealed source material. Both methods utilized gamma spectroscopy to determine the quantity of...     

On the hydration of the phosphocholine headgroup in aqueous solution

The hydration of the phosphocholine headgroup in 1,2-dipropionyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (C(3)-PC) in solution has been determined by using neutron diffraction enhanced with isotopic substitution in combination with computer simulation techniques. The atomic scale hydration structure around this head group shows that both the -N(CH(3))(3) and -CH(2) portions of the choline headgroup are strongly associated with water, through a unique hydrogen bonding regime, where specifically a hydrogen bond from the C-H group to water and a strong association between the water oxygen and N(+) atom in solution have both been observed. In addition, both PO(4) oxygens (P=O) and C=O oxygens are oversaturated when compared to bulk water in that the average number of hydrogen bonds from water to both X=O oxygens is about 2.5 for each group. That water binds strongly to the glycerol groups and is suggestive that water may bind to these groups when phosophotidylcholine is embedded in a membrane bilayer.     

Fusion cross section for the system6Li+28Si atE ∼ 36 MeV

The fusion cross section for the system⁶Li+²⁸Si has been measured atE∼36 MeV. Combining this with the data available at lower energies, the nucleus-nucleus real potentials have been determined for a range of interaction distances.     

A computational method for fitting Richardson equations of arms races

Several mathematical models have been developed for describing international arms races, military conflicts, and other interactions between nations. A crucial question is whether or not such equations can be fitted to actual data. If the answer is in the affirmative, then there are tremendous opportunities for prediction and planning. We present a mathematical and computational method for estimating not only parameters in dynamical models of armament races, but also a complete set of unknown initial conditions. Computational results show the comple feasibility of the quasilinearization method, but further investigation is needed to determine capabilities and limitations of this new approach.     

Evidence of the presence of opticlike collective modes in a liquid from neutron scattering experiments

Inelastic neutron scattering data from liquid DF close to the melting point show, in addition to spectra comprising quasielastic and heavily damped acoustic motions, an intense, nondispersive band centered at about 27 meV along with a broader higher energy feature. Observation of the former band provides the first direct verification of the existence within the liquid state of collective opticlike excitations as predicted by molecular dynamics simulations. The latter corresponds to mainly reorientational motions assigned from mode eigenvector analysis carried out by computer simulations.     

Investigations on the structure of dimethyl sulfoxide and acetone in aqueous solution

Aqueous solutions of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and acetone have been investigated using neutron diffraction augmented with isotopic substitution and empirical potential structure refinement computer simulations. Each solute has been measured at two concentrations-1:20 and 1:2 solute:water mole ratios. At both concentrations for each solute, the tetrahedral hydrogen bonding network of water is largely unperturbed, though the total water molecule coordination number is reduced in the higher 1:2 concentrations. With higher concentrations of acetone, water tends to segregate into clusters, while in higher concentrations of DMSO the present study reconfirms that the structure of the liquid is dominated by DMSO-water interactions. This result may have implications for the highly nonideal behavior observed in the thermodynamic functions for 1:2 DMSO-water solutions.     

Improving the recovery of Ba from Sr Resin columns using chelating agents

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Age dating of Cs-137 sources requires the accurate and precise quantification of the isotope Ba-137. In previous efforts to determine the age of...