Positron annihilation studies of poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) gel in mixed solvents

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy was used to characterize the reentrant volume‐phase‐transition behavior of poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) hydrogel in an ethanol/water mixed solvent. The polymer gel was synthesized with γ irradiation. The ortho‐positronium lifetime (τ₃) in the gel slowly increased with an increase in the ethanol content in the mixed solvent. τ₃ was not influenced by the volume phase transition. The ortho‐positronium intensity decreased with the collapse of the gel in an approximately 10% ethanol/water mixture. When swelled in pure ethanol, τ₃ initially increased with the solvent amount in the gel, showing the destruction of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and the relaxation of polymer chains. The lower critical solution temperature of the gel in the 10% ethanol/water mixture was lower than that in pure water, and τ₃ for various solvent contents showed behavior similar to that seen in pure solvent. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1028–1036, 2002     

High-spin,five-coordinate complexes of cobalt(II)with 2-substituted imidazoles

Summary A series of new five-coordinate complexes of cobalt(II) of the type, dihalotris-(2-substituted imidazole)cobalt(II), of formulae Co(2-MeIm)₃Cl₂, Co(2-EtIm)₃X₂ (X = Cl, Br, I) and Co(2-i-PrIm)₃I₂, were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, electrolytic conductivity, diffuse reflectance as well as by solution spectra, i.r. and far i.r. spectra, x-ray powder pattern and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The mass spectra of the complexes did not exhibit peaks due to the molecular ions, but only showed the ligand fragmentation patterns. The t.g.a. and d.t.a. measurements were also carried out for the complexes.     

Macrocyclic ligands with potential axial interactions. The preparation of copper(II), nickel(II) and cobalt(III) complexes of 7,14-o-hydroxyphenyl-5,12-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene

Summary The new macrocyclic ligand 7,14-o-hydroxyphenyl-5,12-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene (1=L) has been prepared and complexes with copper(II), nickel(II) and cobalt(III) characterised. The nickel(II) complex is a yellow square-planar species, while the purple-red copper(II) complex is probably tetragonal in both the solid state and solution. The complexes appear to have an N-meso arrangement of the chiral nitrogen centres with the HOC₆H₄ groups occupying equatorial sites so that axial interactions with the metal do not occur. A variety oftrans-[CoLX₂]ClO₄ complexes (X=Cl, Br, NO₂, or N₃) have been characterised.     

Determination of fluorine concentrations in soil samples using proton induced gamma-ray emission

A non-destructive, in situ current normalized particle induced gamma-ray emission methodology has been standardized for quantification of fluorine (F) in soil samples from Punjab state, India. The samples were irradiated using 4 MeV proton beam from the Folded Tandem Ion Accelerator at BARC, Mumbai. The gamma rays of energies 197 and 478 keV arising from ¹⁹F(p, p′γ)¹⁹F and ⁷Li(p, p′γ)⁷Li nuclear reactions were measured using high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. The concentration of fluorine in soil samples was found to vary between 414 and 5,746 mg kg^?1.     

Chemical characterization of soda-lime glass samples by in situ current normalised PIGE and conventional INAA methods for forensic applications

Nuclear analytical methods namely in situ current normalised Particle Induced Gamma Ray Emission (PIGE) and conventional Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) were utilized for determining major, minor and trace concentrations of eighteen elements in five soda-lime (automobile) glass samples. Concentration of four major elements (Si, Na, Mg and Al) by PIGE and fourteen elements including ten trace elements by INAA were determined. For forensic application, major elements were used for confirming the class of glass samples, whereas concentration results of trace elements like transition and rare earth elements were utilized for finding similarity or differences among the glass samples.

     

Correlation of soft magnetic properties with free volume and medium range ordering in metallic glasses probed by fluctuation microscopy and positron annihilation technique

Amorphous ribbons of different thicknesses of Co_64.5Fe_3.5Si₁₆B₁₄Ni₂ alloy were synthesized using the melt spinning technique by varying wheel speed. The effect of cooling rate on the ribbon thickness and their soft magnetic properties have been studied. The amorphous structure has been characterized in terms of structural free volume and medium range order (MRO) by positron annihilation spectroscopy and fluctuation electron microscopy techniques. Positron lifetime spectra of amorphous samples showed two lifetime components. The first component was found to be correlated with MRO whereas, the second lifetime component was found to be associated with nanovoid type of defects, and the second component was strongly dependent on processing conditions. It could be established that the coercivity of the amorphous samples produced by the rapid solidification technique mainly depends on the defects formed during processing rather than change induced in MRO.     

Effect of guest-host interaction on the dynamics of ethylene glycol in H-ZSM5 zeolite

Dynamics of ethylene glycol (EG) adsorbed in H-ZSM5 zeolite as studied using quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) technique is reported here. Analysis of QENS data revealed that observed dynamics correspond to isotropic rotational motion of EG. Rotational diffusion coefficient of EG adsorbed in H-ZSM5 zeolite is found to be slower compared to bulk and comparable to that of benzene adsorbed in the same host. Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) technique is used to understand the nature of guest-host interaction and the results of both QENS and PAS are found to be consistent with each other.