Crystal structure and spectroscopic characterization of K8(VO)2O(SO4)6

Red and yellow dichroistic crystals of a vanadium(V) compound, potassium (mu-oxo, di-mu-sulfato)bis(oxodisulfatovanadate), K(8)(VO)(2)O(SO(4))(6), have been obtained from the ternary catalytic model melt system K(2)S(2)O(7)[bond]K(2)SO(4)[bond]V(2)O(5). By slow cooling of the melt from 420 to 355 degrees C, crystal growth occurred, using solid V(2)O(5) crystals present in the melt as nucleation promoter. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(l) with a = 13.60(9) A, b = 13.93(9) A, c = 14.05(9) A, beta = 90.286(10) degrees, and Z = 2. It contains two VO(6) octahedra linked together by a mu-oxo and two mu-sulfato bridges. Furthermore, each octahedron has two monodentate sulfate ligands, making the dimeric entity coordinatively saturated. IR spectroscopy shows bands arising from V[bond]O[bond]V and V[double bond]O stretches as well as splitting of sulfate bands due to the different degrees of freedom present for different conformations of sulfate ligands. The coordination of vanadium in K(8)(VO)(2)O(SO(4))(6) is discussed in relation to the reaction mechanism of SO(2) oxidation catalysis.     

A mild hydrolysis of esters mediated by lithium salts

When treated with amine bases such as triethylamine and various lithium salts in wet solvents, esters are efficiently hydrolyzed to the corresponding acids in good yields. Esters incorporating an α- or β-heteroatom with respect to the ester carbonyl group are hydrolyzed rapidly even at room temperature. To further demonstrate the usefulness of this method, one example is provided where hydrolysis of acetylated camphorsultam is mediated by LiBr.     

Self-diffusion rates in Al from combined first-principles and model-potential calculations

Monovacancy diffusion alone dominates over diffusion due to divacancies and interstitials in Al for all temperatures up to the melting point. Deviations from a single Arrhenius dependence are due to anharmonicity. The conclusion is based on a combination of theoretical methods, from density functional theory to thermodynamic integration, without fitting to experimental data. The calculated diffusion rate agrees with experimental data over 11 orders of magnitude.     

Alpha decay studies of tellurium,iodine, xenon and cesium isotopes

Very neutron-deficient isotopes in the trans-tin region were produced by reactions of 290 MeV ⁵⁸Ni ions on ⁵⁸Ni targets, and studied by on-line mass separation at GSI. Twelve α-emitters — ^107–110Te, ^110–113I, ^111–113Xe, ¹¹⁴Cs — were identified. Systematics of Q_α values and reduced α-widths for this new island of α-emission are discussed.     

Changing the diffusion mechanism of Ge-Si dimers on Si(001) using an electric field

We change the diffusion mechanism of adsorbed Ge-Si dimers on Si(001) using the electric field of a scanning tunneling microscope tip. By comparing the measured field dependence with first-principles calculations we conclude that, in negative field, i.e., when electrons are attracted towards the vacuum, the dimer diffuses as a unit, rotating as it translates, whereas, in positive field the dimer bond is substantially stretched at the transition state as it slides along the substrate. Furthermore, the active mechanism in positive fields facilitates intermixing of Ge in the Si lattice, whereas intermixing is suppressed in negative fields.     

Dielectric relaxation studies of poly(propylene glycol) confined in vermiculite clay

The molecular dynamics of oligomeric poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) liquids (M(w)=1200, 2000 and 4000 g/mol) confined in a two-dimensional layer-structured Na-vermiculite clay has been studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. In addition to the alpha-relaxation, the normal mode relaxation process was studied for all samples both in bulk and confinement. For the normal mode process the relaxation rate in the clay is drastically shifted to lower frequencies compared to that of the bulk material in contrast to the alpha-process whose relaxation time is only slightly affected by the confinement. Also the temperature dependence of the relaxation time for the normal mode process is strongly affected by the confinement. Moreover, in the clay the intensity of the normal mode is stronger than that of the alpha-process, in contrast to the bulk samples where the opposite is observed.     

Direct visualization of pH-dependent evolution of structure and dynamics in microgel suspensions

We use 3D confocal microscopy combined with image analysis and particle tracking techniques to study the structure and dynamics of aqueous suspensions of fluorescently labelled p(NIPAm-co-AAc) microgel particles. By adjusting the pH we can tune the interactions between the microgel particles from purely repulsive near neutral pH, to weakly attractive at low pH. This change in the interaction potential has a pronounced effect on the manner in which the suspensions solidify. We directly follow the evolution of the system after a quench from the liquid state to obtain detailed information on the route to kinetic arrest. At low pH and low concentration, dynamic arrest results mainly from crystallization driven by the attraction between particles; crystal nucleation occurs homogeneously throughout the sample and does not appear to be localized to geometric boundaries. Moreover, the growth of crystals is characterized by nucleation-limited kinetics where a rapid growth of crystal domains takes place after a long concentration-dependent lag time. At low pH and high concentration, relaxation of the suspension is constrained and it evolves only slightly, resulting in a disordered solid. At neutral pH, the dynamics are a function of the particle number concentration only; a high concentration leads to the formation of a disordered soft glassy solid.