Melting of heterogeneous vortex matter: The vortex ‘nanoliquid’

Disorder and porosity are parameters that strongly influence the physical behavior of materials, including their mechanical, electrical, magnetic and optical properties. Vortices in superconductors can provide important insight into the effects of disorder because their size is comparable to characteristic sizes of nanofabricated structures. Here we present experimental evidence for a novel form of vortex matter that consists of inter-connected nanodroplets of vortex liquid caged in the pores of a solid vortex structure, like a liquid permeated into a nanoporous solid skeleton. Our nanoporous skeleton is formed by vortices pinned by correlated disorder created by high-energy heavy ion irradiation. By sweeping the applied magnetic field, the number of vortices in the nanodroplets is varied continuously from a few to several hundred. Upon cooling, the caged nanodroplets freeze into ordered nanocrystals through either a first-order or a continuous transition, whereas at high temperatures a uniform liquid phase is formed upon delocalization-induced melting of the solid skeleton. This new vortex nanoliquid displays unique properties and symmetries that are distinct from both solid and liquid phases.     

Chemical sensors (review)

The capabilities and development prospects of chemical sensors as a new area in analytical chemistry and instrument engineering are discussed. Problems of terminology, principles of operation, basic characteristics, and also applications of chemical sensors and sensor analyzers made from them are discussed.From the materials of a report given at a joint scientific session of the departments of the physicochemistry and technology of inorganic materials and of general and technical chemistry.V. I. Vernadskii Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117975. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 487–493, March, 1992.     

Quantum-chemical calculation of a spillover model on a graphite support

The simplest quantum-chemical models of hydrogen spillover over a graphite-like surface as a proton or radical have been considered. The condensed planar C₂₄H₁₂ molecule was used as a model surface. Theab initio calculations of the interaction of hydrogen with the model surface were carried out by the restricted Hartree-Fock (HF) method in the STO-3G and 6-31 G^* basis sets. The radical hydrogen can not bind to such a surface, whereas the proton binds to it with an energy release of 186 kcal mol⁻¹. The activation energy of the transfer of the proton between two neighboring carbon atoms (10 kcal mol⁻¹) has been determined. The simplest model of the hydrogen migration as a proton over the model surface can be used for describing the spillover of hydrogen over the graphite surface. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 428–430, March, 1997.     

Highly porous uranyl selenate nanotubules

A first amine-templated uranyl selenate based upon highly porous uranyl selenate nanotubules, (C4H12N)14[(UO2)10(SeO4)17(H2O)], has been prepared in the room-temperature reaction of uranyl nitrate, butylamine, and H2SeO4 in aqueous solution. The structure consists of nanometer-scale tubular [(UO2)10(SeO4)17(H2O)]14- units packed in a hexagonal-type fashion. The tubules have elliptical cross section with outer dimensions of 25 x 23 A = 2.5 x 2.3 nm. The internal free crystallographic diameter of the tubules is 12.6 A = 1.26 nm, which is comparable to the effective pore size in large-pore zeolites. This finding demonstrates the possibility of nanostructures for actinides in higher oxidation states and opens up a new area of research and exploration.     

Stereoselective effects in the solid-phase hydrogenation of unsaturatedl-hydroxyproline derivatives

The solid-phase catalytic hydrogenation of (R-4tert-butoxy-Δ¹-pyrroline-2-carboxylic) acid under the action of hydrogen spillover was studied. The reaction proceeds stereoselectively with the predominant formation of thel-amino acid. The configuration of the asymmetric center formed is determined by that of the asymmetric C(4) atom. The major portion of the isotope label is incorporated into the allylic C(3) and C(5) positions, and the β-H atoms are more mobile. Using quantum-chemical calculations, the geometric structure of thel-hydroxyproline molecule was calculated, and the spin-spin coupling constants for this tritium-labeled amino acid were determined. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1820–1823, October, 1997.     

Simple route to secondary amides of phosphorylacetic acids and their use for extraction and sorption of actinides from nitric acid solutions

An efficient method for the synthesis of secondary alkylamides of phosphorylacetic acids (APA) was proposed. The method involves amidation of ethyl phosphorylacetates with primary aliphatic amines. The scope of reaction was determined. Reactions with ethylenediamine and 1,4-diaminobutane yield the corresponding bisamides; in the case of 1,3-diaminopropane, N-(3-aminopropyl)diphenylphosphorylacetamide or N,N-propylenebis(diphenylphosphorylacetamide) was obtained, depending on the reaction conditions. The extraction of americium(III) complexes and the sorption of uranium(VI) by sorbents with physically sorbed APA from nitric acid solutions were studied. There is no correlation between the partition coefficient of americium(III) and the structure of APA; in the sorption of uranium(VI), the degree of extraction depends on the complexone structure.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2394–2402, November, 2004.     

The photoluminescence of crystallophosphors on the base of NaBi/WO4/2 activated by americium,plutonium and neptunium

The luminescence properties of crystallophosphors on the base of NaBi/WO₄/₂ activated by americium, plutonium and neptunium have been studied. The synthesis of crystallophosphors is described. Crystallophosphors luminescence in the near infra-red region. The excitation and luminescence spectra of crystallophosphors are considered. The dependence of luminescence yield is linear in the wide interval of activator concentration.     

Fragment methods for IR spectrum calculations of organophosphorus compounds

For highly toxic organophosphorus compounds on the limiting lists of the International Chemical Weapons Ban Treaty, fragment methods may be used for calculating their IR vibrational spectra; this is shown for O-alkyl alkylfluorophosphonates used as examples. The geometrical parameters and the parameters of the potential and electrooptic functions are found for the major fragments of these compounds. Due to this, fast predictive computation of IR spectra of O-alkyl alkylfluorophosphonates is possible, the accuracy of calculation being sufficient for spectral identification of these compounds; a database of the calculated IR spectra may be created.     

Mechanism of the Reaction of 1,1-Dimethylhydrazine with Copper(II) and Palladium(II) Chloride Complexes Containing Poly-(N-2-Alcoxycarbonylethyl)-Ethyleneimine

The mechanism of the sorption of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine vapors with metal chloride complexes of poly-(N-2-R-oxycarbonylethyl)-ethyleneimines (R = –n-C₄H₉, –n-C₁₀H₂₁) was studied by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (FTIR) and piezoelectric resonance. The structure of the products was determined. This allowed for the optimization of the chemical composition and structure of poly-(N-2-R-oxycarbonylethyl)-ethyleneimine-based complexes in their use as sensitive coatings of piezoelectric sensors for determining 1,1-dimethylhydrazine vapors in air.     

Extraction of rare earth elements by high molecular weight amines from nitric acid solutions

Extraction of trivalent rare earth elements by a high molecular weight primary amine /decylamine/ from 0.5–3M nitric acid solutions, containing potassium phosphotungstate /K₁₀P₂W₁₇O₆₁/, has been investigated. The effect of nitric acid and potassium phosphotungstate concentration of the organic solvent, and lanthanides ionic radii upon distribution coefficients has been studied. It has been established that decylamine solutions in chloroform can be used for the group isolation of rare earth elements and for their separation.