Influence of interface structure on mass transport in phase boundaries between different ionic materials

Abstract  Internal and external interfaces in solids exhibit completely different transport properties compared to the bulk. Transport parallel to grain or phase boundaries is usually strongly enhanced. Transport perpendicular to an interface is usually blocked, i.e., transport across an interface is often much slower. Due to the high density of interfaces in modern micro- and nanoscaled devices, a severe influence on the total transport properties can be expected. In contrast to diffusion in metal grain boundaries, transport phenomena in boundaries of ionic materials are still less understood. The specific transport properties along metal grain boundaries are explained by structural factors like packing densities or dislocation densities in the interface region. In most studies dealing with ionic materials, the interfacial transport properties are merely explained by the influence of space charge regions. In this study the influence of the interface structure on the interfacial transport properties of ionic materials is discussed in analogy to metallic materials. A qualitative model based on the density of misfit dislocations and on interfacial strain is introduced for (untilted and untwisted) phase boundaries. For experimental verification, the interfacial ionic conductivity of different multilayer systems consisting of stabilised ZrO₂ and an insulating oxide is investigated as a funtion of structural mismatch. As predicted by the model, the interfacial conductivity increases when the lattice mismatch is increased. Graphical abstract  

Interactions of ammonium nitrate with different additives Thermodynamic analysis

In order to elucidate the influence of Ca and Mg carbonates with or without the presence of boron, manganese and copper compounds on the thermal stability of ammonium nitrate (AN), thermodynamic analysis of different reactions between AN and additives was carried out. Temperature dependency of Gibbs free energy changes ∆G _T and equilibrium composition of reaction products were calculated for a set of reactions using the HSC software. Main solid compounds that can form in the systems of AN and carbonates, were Ca(NO₃)₂ and Mg(NO₃)₂, Ca(OH)₂ and Mg(OH)₂, CaO₂ and MgO₂, CaO and MgO, and N-containing gaseous compounds NO, N₂O and NO₂. As a result of H₃BO₃, MnO₂ and CuSO₄ addition, the content of CuO, Cu₂O and MnO as solids and SO₂, SO₃ and HBO as gaseous reaction products reached the same level. Thereby, their equilibrium concentrations did not depend on the carbonate origin of CaCO₃, MgCO₃ or CaMg(CO₃)₂. Small amount of CuSO₄, H₃BO₃ or MnO₂ additive (0.01–0.05 mol) in the system, practically, did not influence the temperature dependencies of ∆G _T of the reactions between AN and CaCO₃ or CaMg(CO₃)₂. The influence of additives taken in the larger amount (0.5 mol) was evident and, depending on the additive and reaction, shifted their proceeding temperatures in either direction by more than 300–400 K.     

Award for service Professor Jean-Marie Lehn

Chronicle

Award for service Professor Jean-Marie Lehn     

Approaches to Carbocyclic Sialidase Inhibitors Invited Review

 The crucial role played by carbohydrates in many physiological processes has made this class of compounds an interesting target for drug design. Consequently mimicking carbohydrates has been one of the most rapidly growing fields in synthetic organic chemistry in recent years, and particularly intense focus has been devoted to sialic acids and sialic acid metabolizing enzymes, including sialidases. Inhibition of the latter enzyme from influenza virus can be regarded as one of the most successful examples of structure-based drug design and high affinity inhibitors based on neuraminic acid have been developed. There is an ongoing search for inhibitors with improved physicochemical properties and among them, carbocyclic systems, where the ring oxygen of the carbohydrate is replaced by carbon, have become the center of interest. This review intends to give a brief overview over the structures and synthetic approaches which surfaced in the last decade.     

Thermodynamic studies of the binding interactions of surfactin analogues to lipid vesicles Application of isothermal titration calorimetry

Isothermal titration calorimetry was applied for studying the binding interactions of cyclic and linear surfactins with different ionic charge (z= −2 and −3) and lipid chain length (n=14 and 18) to 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidyl-choline (POPC) vesicles in 10mMTris buffer at pH8.5with 150mMNaCl at 25°C. Surfactin analogues interacted spontaneously (ΔG _D ^w→b < 0) with POPC vesicles. The binding reactions were endothermic (ΔH _D ^w→b > 0) and entropy-driven process (ΔS _D ^w→b > 0). Moreover, significant differences in the binding constant values (K) ranging from 6.6·10³ to 9.6·10⁴ M⁻¹ show that cyclic structure and the increase of lipid chain length are favourable on the surfactin binding affinity to POPC vesicles, whereas the rise of the number of negative charges has an opposite effect.     

Stereocontrolled (E,Z and erythro, threo) synthesis of ⊙-hydroxyallylic sulphides

All four isomers of substituted 3-alkylthio-4-hydroxybutenes have been synthesised: both the geometry of the double bond and the relative stereochemistry of the two chiral centres are controlled.     

Proficiency testing in the Federal Republic of Germany A German contribution to the ongoing EAL work

Received: 18 October 1995 Accepted: 19 October 1995     

Luminescence studies in polymers—II : Temperature effect on polyvinylcarbazole fluorescence

Polyvinylcarbazole (PVCa) films and solutions emit normal and excimer fluorescence between 77 and 425 K. The absolute (I_M and I_D) and relative (I_M/I_D) intensities emitted strongly depend on temperature. The usual U-shaped curve is obtained for log I_M/I_D as a function of 1/T in the case of polymer films. In solution, two minima corresponding to two different excimers are observed. The formation and dissociation of PVCa excimers in films and solutions have been interpreted according to the usual kinetic scheme. The binding energies for the excimer in films and for the high temperature excimer in solutions are respectively 4 and 2·8 kcal mole⁻¹.     

Trimethylsilyl-substituted diazoalkanes : I. Trimethylsilyldiazomethane

Trimethylsilyldiazomethane was prepared by the action of aqueous KOH on nitroso-N-(trimethylsilylmethyl)urea. The spectroscopic properties of this stable, greenish-yellow liquid which can be isolated by gas chromatography are discussed. Its reaction with acetic acid gives the expected CH₃CO₂CH₂SiMe₃ in addition to SiC cleavage products, CH₃CO₂CH₃ and CH₃CO₂SiMe₃. Products of the 1,3-dipolar addition of Me₃SiCHN₂ to activated olefins were not very stable, and only the adduct with acrylonitrile was isolated as a pure material Trimethylsilyldiazomethane undergoes Me₃SiCH transfer to olefins, giving trimethylsilyl-substituted cyclopropanes, in the presence of CuCI in benzene, but other products are formed as well. Thus such a reaction with cyciohexenegave anti-7-trimethylsilylnorcarane (65%), syn-7-trimethylsilylnorcarane (7%), cis- and trans-l,2-bis(trimethylsilyl)ethylene (9% and 13%, respectively), and an unidentified Me₃SiCH trimer (2.3%).     

Molecular electronegativity in density functional theory(VIII) Charge polarization modes in a closed system

Based on the density functional theory and the atom-bond electronegativity equalization model (ABEEM), a method is proposed to construct the softness matrix and to obtain the electron population normal modes (PNMs) for a closed system. Using this method the information about the bond charge polarization in a molecule can be obtained easily. The test calculation shows that the PNM obtained by this method includes all the modes about the bond charge polarization explicitly. And the bond charge polarization mode characterized by the biggest eigenvalue, which is the softest one of all modes related with chemical bonds, can describe the charge polarization process in a molecule as exquisitely as the correspondingab initio method.