Shape evolution in odd-A 137 Pm

The odd mass nucleus ¹³⁷Pm has been studied to high spins through the ¹⁰⁹Ag(³²S, 2p2n)¹³⁷Pm reaction at an incident beam energy of 150 MeV. The de-exciting ??-rays were detected using an array of 18 Compton suppressed clover detectors. The level scheme of ¹³⁷Pm has been extended up to $J^\pi = \tfrac{{43}} {2}^ -$ and excitation energy of E _x ? 6 MeV with the observation of 42 new gamma transitions. The linear polarization (IPDCO) measurements for the ??-ray transitions have been done for the first time. The spin and parity assignments for most of the reported levels have been made using these results and the coincidence angular anisotropy (R_DCO) measurements. The nuclear shape evolution is discussed in the light of Total Routhian Surface (TRS) and Cranked Shell Model (CSM) calculations.     

Loss of collectivity in 79Rb

High-spin states in ⁷⁹Rb were populated in the reaction at E(beam) = 60 MeV. The lifetimes of the excited states of the positive-parity yrast band and of the negative-parity band in ⁷⁹Rb were measured by the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method. The deduced transition quadrupole moments Q_t are found to have a decreasing trend with rotational frequency for both the bands, consistent with those found experimentally in neighbouring nuclei. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Quadrupole moment of the 11(-) intruder isomer in 196Pb and its implications for the 16(-) shears band head

The quadrupole moment of the 11(-) isomer in 196Pb has been measured by the level mixing spectroscopy method. This state has a pi(3s(-2)(1/2)1h(9/2)1i(13/2))11(-) configuration which is involved in most of the shears band heads in the Pb region. The first directly measured value of Q(s)(11(-)) = (-)3.41(66) b, coupled to the previously known quadrupole moment of the nu(1i(-2)(13/2))12(+) isomer allows us to estimate the quadrupole moment of the 16(-) shears band head as Q(s)(16(-)) = -0.32(10) b. The experimental values are compared to tilted axis cranking calculations, giving insight into the validity of the additivity approach to couple quadrupole moments and on the amount of deformation in the shears bands.     

Chelating Rotaxane Ligands as Fluorescent Sensors for Metal Ions

Although metal‐ion‐binding interlocked molecules have been under intense investigation for over three decades, their application as scaffolds for the development of sensors for metal ions remains underexplored. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of simple rotaxanes as metal‐ion‐responsive ligand scaffolds through the development of a proof‐of‐concept selective sensor for Zn²⁺.     

Synthesis of Thia-calix[4]arene Hydroxamic Acids by Microwave Irradiation

Thia-calix[4]arene hydroxamic acids have been synthesized by partial reduction of nitro-thia-calix[4]arenes with hydrazine hydrate, Rn/Ni, and their coupling with benzoyl chloride under the influence of microwave irradiation with 90–95% yield and 3–6 min reaction time.     

Mechanical Bond Enhanced Lithium Halide Ion-Pair Binding by Halogen Bonding Heteroditopic Rotaxanes**

A family of novel halogen bonding (XB) and hydrogen bonding (HB) heteroditopic [2]rotaxane host systems constructed by active metal template (AMT) methodology, were studied for their ability to cooperatively recognise lithium halide (LiX) ion-pairs. ¹H NMR ion-pair titration experiments in CD₃CN:CDCl₃ solvent mixtures revealed a notable “switch-on“ of halide anion binding in the presence of a co-bound lithium cation, with rotaxane hosts demonstrating selectivity for LiBr over LiI. The strength of halide binding was shown to greatly increase with increasing number of halogen bond donors integrated into the interlocked cavity, where an all-XB rotaxane was found to be the most potent host for LiBr. DFT calculations corroborated these findings, determining the mode of LiX ion-pair binding. Notably, ion-pair binding was not observed with the corresponding XB/HB macrocycles alone, highlighting the cooperative, heteroditopic, rotaxane axle-macrocycle component mechanical bond effect as an efficient strategy for ion-pair recognition in general.     

Shape changes at high spin in 78Kr

High-spin states in ⁷⁸Kr have been studied via the ⁶³Cu (¹⁹F, 2p2n)⁷⁸Kr reaction at a beam energy of 60 MeV using the Indian National Gamma Array (INGA). In this nucleus, lifetimes have been measured upto the I^π=22⁺ level in the yrast positive-parity band and upto the I^π=15^- level in the negative-parity band using the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method (DSAM). The deduced transition quadrupole moments Q_t's are found to decrease with rotational frequency for both the bands.     

Half-life measurements in59Co,141Pr and227Ac

The half-lives of the 1291.6 keV level in⁵⁹Co, 145.43 keV level in¹⁴¹Pr and 27.35 keV level in²²⁷Ac have been measured using leading edge and zero-crossover timing techniques. The decay curves analysed by moments, Laplace transform and slope methods gave the following half-life values: $$\begin{gathered} T_{\tfrac{1}{2}} (1291.6 keV level in {}^{59}Co) = (0.538 \pm 0.004) ns \hfill \\ T_{\tfrac{1}{2}} (145.43 keV level in {}^{141}\Pr ) = (1.82 \pm 0.04) ns \hfill \\ T_{\tfrac{1}{2}} (27.35 keV level in {}^{227}Ac) = (41.0 \pm 1.1) ns. \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ From the measured half-lives, the reduced transition probabilitiesB(M1)↓,B(E2)↓ for gamma transitions de-exciting the above mentioned levels in⁵⁹Co and¹⁴¹Pr are determined and compared with single particle, intermediate coupling and Sorensen estimates. In²²⁷Ac, absolute transition probability for the 27.35 keV transition is determined and compared with single particle and Nilsson estimates.     

Internal conversion coefficients ofM4 transitions in125m, 127m, 129mTe decay

The internal conversion coefficients have been measured using a high resolution low energy Ge(Li) detector for the followingM4 transitions:¹²⁵Te: 109.27keV transitionα _T =357±11; RG method,¹²⁷Te: 88.26 keV transitionα _T =484±23; XPG method,¹²⁹Te: 105.50keV transitionα _T =213±10; XPG method. It is observed that these values are lower by 2.5–3.6% as compared with Hager and Seltzer's calculations. A comparison between experimental and theoreticalα _T andα _T values for elevenM4 transitions shows that the experimental values are systematically lower.