Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe2

The weakly pinned single crystals of the hexagonal 2H-NbSe₂ compound have emerged as prototypes for determining and characterizing the phase boundaries of the possible order-disorder transformations in the vortex matter. We present here a status report based on the ac and dc magnetization measurements of the peak effect phenomenon in three crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, in which the critical current densities vary over two orders of magnitude. We sketch the generic vortex phase diagram of a weakly pinned superconductor, which also utilizes theoretical proposals. We also establish the connection between the metastability effects and pinning.     

Shaping Solid-State Supramolecular Cavities: Chemically Induced Accordionlike Movement of gamma-Zirconium Phosphate Containing Polyethylenoxide Pillars

The hydrophilic oxygen atoms of polyethylenoxide chains inserted as pillars in gamma-zirconium phosphate form hydrogen bonds with the acid groups of the host. As a result the pillars are almost perpendicular to the gamma layers. Upon changing the pH level of the supernatant solution the hydrogen bonds are broken and the pillars become almost perpendicular to the layers (shown schematically). Thus there is a reversible enlargement-shortening of the interlayer space.     

ZrOCl2·8H2O: An Efficient Catalyst for One-Pot Synthesis of α-Amino Phosphonates Under Solvent-Free Conditions

A highly efficient protocol has been developed for the three-component reaction of an amine, an aldehyde, and diethyl phopshite catalyzed by ZrOCl₂·8H₂O, an environmentally friendly catalyst, at ambient temperature. The catalyst exhibited remarkable activity and tolerated a wide variety of functional groups, providing the desired amino phosphonates in excellent yields under solvent-free conditions. Alternatively, the reaction rate can be significantly enhanced by carrying out the reaction in a monomode microwave reactor as a promoter.     

Preparation of porous titania–silica microspheres for treatment of radioactive waste

Titania–silica microspheres have been prepared by sol–gel process. Internal gelation route, which use hexamethylenetetramine as the source of ammonia was used for the preparation spherical gel particles. A cationic surfactant, cetrimide was added in the feed broth for introducing meso-porosity in the gel network. Further paraffin oil emulsion was incorporated in the feed broth before gelation for the formation of larger pores in the gel network. The spherical gel particles thus obtained were washed and heat treated under controlled conditions to remove the entrapped surfactant, paraffin oil and other organic compounds resulting in highly porous intact titania–silica microspheres. The material was characterized by surface area, porosity and by SEM photomicrographs. The ion exchange property of this material was studied using the sorption of plutonium on this material from carbonate medium by distribution coefficient studies and ion exchange column loading and elution experiments.     

Recovery of plutonium from aqueous waste solutions using porous zirconia spherical particles

Based on the Linssi database and UniSampo/Shaman software, an automated analysis platform has been setup for the analysis of large amounts of gamma-spectra from the primary coolant monitoring systems of a CANDU reactor. Thus, a database inventory of gaseous and volatile fission products in the primary coolant of a CANDU reactor has been established. This database is comprised of 15,000 spectra of radioisotope analysis records. Records from the database inventory were retrieved by a specifically designed data-mining module and subjected to further analysis. Results from the analysis were subsequently used to identify the reactor coolant half-life of ¹³⁵Xe and ¹³³Xe, as well as the correlations of ¹³⁵Xe and ⁸⁸Kr activities.     

TiO2ZrO2 composite: Synthesis,characterization and application as a facile,expeditious and recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of 2-aryl substituted benzoxazole derivatives

The activity of an efficient mesoporous TiO₂ZrO₂ composite catalyst for the synthesis of 2-aryl substituted benzoxazole derivatives using 2-aminophenol and substituted benzaldehydes/heterocyclic aldehydes at moderate temperature was studied. The catalyst was prepared by a co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area and scanning electron microscopy. The effect of temperature, solvents and catalyst concentration on the synthesis of benzoxazole derivatives was systematically investigated. Short reaction times, green-reaction profiles, good to excellent yields, reliable cost efficiency, simple workup conditions and reusability of an eco-friendly catalyst are the noteworthy highlights of the reported method. The catalyst could be easily recovered and reused several times without any significant loss in the yield. The use of the present catalytic system to mediate the title chemical synthesis in a synthetic operation is important for the development of new atom-economic strategies and this is efficient in building complex structures from simple starting materials in an environmentally benign fashion.     

Overcoming the boundary effects in surface spline interpolation

Surface spline interpolation when the domain is all of R^d isknown to converge much faster to the data function f than inthe case when the domain is the unit ball. This difference isunderstood to be due to boundary effects which, as will be shown,also affect the size of the surface spline's coefficients. Wepropose a modified form of surface spline interpolation which,to a great extent, overcomes these boundary effects. This modifiedsurface spline interpolant uses only the values of f at thegiven interpolation points.