Intact size-selected Au(n) clusters on a TiO2(110)-(1 x 1) surface at room temperature

Experiments in which mass-selected gold clusters were deposited on a surface have found that the catalytic properties depend strongly on cluster size. However, these experiments have not established definitively that the clusters maintain their size after deposition. We report here work in which we deposit low kinetic energy, mass-selected Aun+ (n = 1-8) clusters on a rutile TiO2(1 x 1) surface and use ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV-STM) to determine their size and shape.     

The use of polarized light scattering for the study of the dynamics of the spinodal decomposition

Due to the fact that in a system undergoing spinodal decomposition the long wavelength fluctuations are enhanced, we expect that multiple events can be observed when the passage of light through the sample is measured. We study here the intensity of double scattering for both polarized and depolarized measurements, as a function of time and angle of detection. The time dependence is nonexponential and the dependence on the scattering wave vector is less pronounced than in the case of single scattering. For systems with spherical molecules it is possible to separate double and single scattering contributions if both polarized and depolarized measurements are made. This increases the amount and quality of information about the dynamics of the spinodal decomposition that can be obtained from light scattering experiments.     

A Basis for Orbital Symmetry Rules

The influence of molecular symmetry on reaction rates is examined with an approach in which reactions are viewed as electronic transitions between states of reacants and products (described, in turn by quasiadiabatic potential surface). The moleculer Hamiltonian is used to derive selection rules for these transitions. The complete Hamilatonian has no useful symmetery. Neglect of non-Born-Oppenheimer and spin-orbit terms (and of other angular momentum coupling terms) leads to an apporixmate Hamiltonian and to selection rules which from the basis of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. This apporch provides an alternative to the adiabatic potantial surfaces, reaction coordinates, and transition state theory used in more familiar discussions of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. Further, it provides a particulary clear method for discussing violations of these symmetry rules, and for differentiating concerted and nonconcerted reactions.     

Structure of hydrated Na-Nafion polymer membranes

We use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the structure of the hydrated Na-Nafion membranes. The membrane is "prepared" by starting with the Nafion chains placed on a cylinder having the water inside it. Minimizing the energy of the system leads to a filamentary hydrophilic domain whose structure depends on the degree of hydration. At 5 wt % water the system does not have enough water molecules to solvate all the ions that could be formed by the dissociation of the -SO3Na groups. As a result, the -SO3Na groups aggregate with the water to form very small droplets that do not join into a continuous phase. The size of the droplets is between 5 and 8 A. As the amount of water present in the membrane is increased, the membrane swells, and SO3Na has an increasing tendency to dissociate into ions. Furthermore, a transition to a percolating hydrophilic network is observed. In the percolating structure, the water forms irregular curvilinear channels branching in all directions. The typical dimension of the cross section of these channels is about 10-20 A. Calculated neutron scattering from the simulated system is in qualitative agreement with experiment. In all simulations, the pendant sulfonated perfluorovinyl side chains of the Nafion hug the walls of the hydrophilic channel, while the sulfonate groups point toward the center of the hydrophilic phase. The expulsion of the side chains from the hydrophilic domain is favored because it allows better interaction between the water molecules. We have also examined the probability of finding water molecules around the Na+ and the -SO3(-) ions as well as the probability of finding other water molecules next to a given water molecule. These probabilities are much broader than those found in bulk water or for one ion in bulk water (calculated with the potentials used in the present simulation). This is due to the highly inhomogeneous nature of the material contained in the small hydrophilic pores.     

Synthesis,characterization and controlled toxicity of a novel hybrid material based on cisplatin and docetaxel

This paper is focused on the synthesis and characterization of a novel hybrid material based on cisplatin and docetaxel-loaded functionalized simultanously carbon nanotubes able to be used in cancer therapy as drug delivery system with controlled toxicity. This material was physico-chemically investigated by determining the structure, as evidenced by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) and its stability was studied with the aid of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The amount of platinum ions released into the solution of simulated body fluid (SBF) was highlighted by coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Toxicology experiments were performed with MDA-MB 231 breast cancer epithelial cells. The performance of the new drug delivery hybrid material was compared with functionalised carbon nanotubes with therapeutic agents functionalized with a single therapeutic agent.      

Synthesis and characterization of magnetite particles covered with α-trietoxysilil-polydimethylsiloxane

New silicon magnetite ferrofluids were prepared by dispersing siloxane-coated magnetite particles in polydimethylsiloxane with low or high molecular weights. Ferrofluids are stable colloidal dispersions of ultra fine covered magnetite particles, which may be selected for a specific application. We demonstrated new methods of stabilizing the magnetic particles by reacting the hydroxyl groups on the surface of magnetite particles with terminal ethoxy groups of polydimethylsiloxane, followed by their dispersion in silicon fluids. The new silicon ferrofluids were tested from the morphology, magnetic properties/losses, and rheological properties point of view.     

Robust fuzzy principal component analysis (FPCA). A comparative study concerning interaction of carbon-hydrogen bonds with molybdenum-oxo bonds

Principal component analysis (PCA) is a favorite tool in chemometrics for data compression and information extraction. PCA finds linear combinations of the original measurement variables that describe the significant variations in the data. However, it is well-known that PCA, as with any other multivariate statistical method, is sensitive to outliers, missing data, and poor linear correlation between variables due to poorly distributed variables. As a result data transformations have a large impact upon PCA. In this regard one of the most powerful approaches to improve PCA appears to be the fuzzification of the matrix data, thus diminishing the influence of outliers. In this paper we discuss a robust fuzzy PCA algorithm (FPCA). The new algorithm is illustrated on a data set concerning interaction of carbon-hydrogen bonds with transition metal-oxo bonds in molybdenum complexes. Considering, for example, a two component model, FPCA accounts for 97.20% of the total variance and PCA accounts only for 69.75%.     

Electrolithographic investigations of the hydrophilic channels in Nafion membranes

Nafion membranes are used as semisolid electrolytes in methanol and hydrogen fuel cells. The ion conduction takes place through those hydrophilic channels in the Nafion that can provide continuous pathways through the membrane. There is as yet limited information about the density, the size, and the shape of these channels. We have developed two electrochemical methods of visualizing the pore structure which involve the creation of metal lithographs using the membrane pores as templates. In the experiments, the membrane is supported on a flat solid surface on one side, and is in contact with an electrolyte on the other side. Using hydrogen-terminated n-doped Si(111), we deposited gold from an electrolyte containing a gold salt. The Au ions traverse the membrane through the pores, reach the silicon surface, and are spontaneously reduced. A metallic Au deposit is formed on the silicon surface, at the base of the hydrophilic channel. The Au deposits are imaged after the membrane is dissolved. Another method involves supporting the membrane on a Pt surface and depositing silver wires through the hydrophilic channels of the membrane. The scanning electron microscope pictures of these wires provide an image of the size and the shape of the hydrophilic channels.     

On the Lipschitz Continuity of Spectral Bands of Harper-Like and Magnetic Schrödinger Operators

We show for a large class of discrete Harper-like and continuous magnetic Schrödinger operators that their band edges are Lipschitz continuous with respect to the intensity of the external constant magnetic field. We generalize a result obtained by Bellissard (Commun Math Phys 160:599–613, 1994), and give examples in favor of a recent conjecture of G. Nenciu.