Investigation of annealing effects on the structural, magnetic and transport properties of Co/GaAs(0 0 1) thin films

Present paper deals with the structural, magnetic and transport studies of as-deposited as well as annealed Co/GaAs(0 0 1) thin film at different temperatures. The X-ray diffraction measurements show oriented growth of as-deposited Co film in the hcp (0 0 2) direction. However, the sample annealed at higher temperatures shows formation of ternary Co₂GaAs phase at the interface. Corresponding magnetic and transport measurements show decrement in magnetization and resistivity with annealing temperatures. The observed reductions in magnetization and resistivity values are mainly attributed to the formation of ternary Co₂GaAs phase at the interface.     

High temperature annealing effect on structural and magnetic properties of Ti/Ni multilayers

High temperature annealing effect on structural and magnetic properties of Ti/Ni multilayer (ML) up to 600 °C have been studied and reported in this paper. Ti/Ni multilayer samples having constant layer thicknesses of 50 Å each are deposited on float glass and Si(1 1 1) substrates using electron-beam evaporation technique under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions at room temperatures. The micro-structural parameters and their evolution with temperature for as-deposited as well as annealed multilayer samples up to 600 °C in a step of 100 °C for 1 h are determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity techniques. The X-ray diffraction pattern recorded at 300 °C annealed multilayer sample shows interesting structural transformation (from crystalline to amorphous) because of the solid-state reaction (SSR) and subsequent re-crystallization at higher temperatures of annealing, particularly at ≥400 °C due to the formation of TiNi₃ and Ti₂Ni alloy phases. Sample quality and surface morphology are examined by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique for both as-deposited as well as annealed multilayer samples. In addition to this, a temperature dependent dc resistivity measurement is also used to study the structural transformation and subsequent alloy phase formation due to annealing treatment. The corresponding magnetization behavior of multilayer samples after each stage of annealing has been investigated by using Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) technique and results are interpreted in terms of observed micro-structural changes.     

An automated laboratory EXAFS spectrometer of Johansson type: indigenous development and testing

An automated linear laboratory EXAFS spectrometer of the Johansson type has been indigenously developed. Only two translational motions are required to achieve the necessary Rowland circle configuration for the (fixed) X-ray source, the dispersing and focusing bent crystal and the receiving slit. With the available crystals the spectral region from 5 to 25 keV can be scanned. The linear motions of the crystal and receiving slit including the detector assembly are achieved by employing software-controlled DC motors and utilizing optical encoders for position sensing. The appropriate rotation of the crystal is achieved by the geometry of the instrument. There is a facility to place the sample alternately in the path of the X-ray beam and out of the path to record both the incident X-ray intensityI ₀ and the transmitted intensityI employing the scintillation detector. An arrangement with a two-window proportional detector before the sample to measureI ₀ and the scintillation detector to recordI is also developed; in this case it is not necessary to oscillate the sample. Fast electronic circuits are employed to minimize counting errors. The instrument is user-friendly and it is operated through a menu-driven IBM compatible PC. EXAFS spectra of high resolution have been recorded using the spectrometer and employing the Si(111) reflecting planes; the X-ray source being a Rigaku 12 kW rotating anode with Cu target. We describe the spectrometer and discuss its performance with a few representative spectra.     

Effect of gamma/neutron irradiation and permanganate additives on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

When mixed with 2% by weight of either KMnO₄, Ba(MnO₄)₂ or NH₄MnO₄, an enhanced thermal decomposition of cubic ammonium perchlorate, AP, was observed over the temperature range 255–300?. A still more pronounced effect was observed when AP was subjected to a radiation dose of 10 Mrad. The activation energy involved over the acceleratory stage was found to be 46 kJ mol^?1 for the irradiated AP, as against the normal value of 85 kJ mol^?1. The value remained unaltered in the case of the first two additives, while in the presence of NH₄MnO₄ it decreased to 55 kJ mol^?1. Neutron bombardment did not change the decomposition characteristics of AP; the³⁸Cl activity produced following the (n, γ) reaction showed highly damaged centres with the activity distribution ratio 0∶8.5∶20∶71.5 for ClO ₄ ^? ∶ ClO ₃ ^? ∶ (ClO^? + ClO ₂ ^? ) ∶ Cl^?. Heating above 220? created further disorder through complete reduction of the recoil oxyanions.     

Many-body interaction in glycine-(water)3 complex using density functional theory method

Various configurations were investigated to find the most stable structures of glycine-(water)3 complex. Five different optimized conformers of glycine-(water)3 complex are obtained from density functional theory calculations using 6-311++G* basis set. Relaxation energy and many body interaction energies (two, three, and four body) are also calculated for these conformers. Out of the five conformers, the most stable conformer has the BSSE corrected total energy -513.917 967 7 Hartree and binding energy -27.28 Kcal/mol. It has been found that the relaxation energies, two body energies and three body energies have significant contribution to the total binding energy whereas four body energies are very small. The chemical hardness and chemical potential also confirmed the stability of the conformer having lowest total energy.     

Effect of electrode membrane surface ratio and thickness on lead electrode potential

Summary The lead ion selective electrode (ISE) consisting of PbS-Ag₂S is normally used with a membrane surface of outer layer areaA _o) and inner layer area (A _i) at unity (A _o=A _i). Partial covering of one surface area with an insulating material and keeping the other surface layer intact resulted in different ratios of membrane surface areas exposed to lead solutions. The potential linearly increased with increasing theA _o/A _i ratio and decreased with decreasing theA _o/A _i ratio. The lead ISE potential increased linearly with increasing the membrane thickness, but which required much longer time for a stable potential.

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Wirkung von Oberflächenverhältnis und Dicke der Elektrodenmembran auf das Potential einer Bleielektrode

Zusammenfassung Die aus PbS-Ag₂S bestehende spezifische Bleiionen-Elektrode wird üblicherweise mit einem Oberflächenverhältnis der Außenfläche (A _o) und der Innenfläche (A _i) mitA _o=A _i verwendet. Durch teilweise Abdeckung einer Oberfläche mit isolierendem Material, ohne daß die andere Oberfläche verändert wird, ergaben sich verschiedene Verhältnisse der mit der Bleilösung in Berührung stehenden Oberflächen. Mit dem VerhältnisA _o/A _i stieg das Potential linear an bzw. es fiel mit diesem Verhältnis ab. Das Potential der spezifischen Bleielektrode stieg mit der Dicke der Membran, stabilisierte sich aber wesentlich langsamer.

     

Reaction kinetics of the selective liquid phase hydrogenation of styrene oxide to β-phenethyl alcohol

Liquid phase hydrogenation of styrene oxide using 1% Pd/C and NaOH as a promoter was found to give selectively β-phenethyl alcohol (PEA) under very mild conditions (313–333 K; 0.68–5.5 MPa). The kinetics of this system was investigated by collecting initial rate data in a batch slurry reactor. Rate of hydrogenation was found to decrease beyond a certain concentration of both hydrogen (>3 MPa) and styrene oxide (>0.5 kmol/m³). A Langmuir–Hinshelwood type rate equation has been proposed based on the initial rate data in the kinetic regime. The model predictions agree very well with the experimentally observed concentration–time data indicating the applicability of the proposed rate model.