Covalent marriage of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) by silicon coupling reagents

In this study, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) polymer was covalently bonded to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with the aid of γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) for the fabrication of novel porous materials with special surface properties. The success of synthesis and physicochemical properties of β-CD polymer grafted MWNTs (MWNTs-g-CDP) were characterized by FT-IR, XPS, TGA, TEM and BET. The novel materials were further utilized to remove the typical contaminant of resorcinol in industrial wastewater. The results illustrated that MWNTs-g-CDP possessed much higher adsorption capability and demonstrated the shorter saturation adsorption time than that of pristine MWNTs. Therefore, MWNTs-g-CDP with the unique pore and surface characteristics may have great potentials in environmental applications.     

Dependence of in—tube doping on the radius and helicity of single—wall carbon nanotubes

Using the Lennard－Jones interaction potential between the impurity atom and carbon atom, we have studied the dependence of in-tube impurity doping on the radius of a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT), as well as its helicity. The obtained results show that the radius of the most stably doped SWNT is different for different kinds of impurity atoms. This is useful for producing the required doped SWNT. In addition, it is found that the helicity of tube has a strong effect on the potential energy of the atoms doped in the SWNT.     

Isotopic composition of sulphates from meteoric precipitation as an indicator of pollutant origin in Wrocław (SW Poland)

This paper describes the results of isotopic analyses of (i) hydrogen and oxygen in water (delta DH2O and delta18OH2O ) and (ii) sulphur and oxygen in sulphates (delta34Ssulphate and delta18Osulphate) from atmospheric precipitation collected within a one-year period between 25 May 2004 and 25 May 2005 in Wroc?aw (SW Poland). The resulting equation of Local Meteoric Water Line for Wroc?aw is delta D=6.373xdelta18O-0.047, (r2=0.97, n=32). The delta34Ssulphate varies from 1.1 to 4.2 per thousand (with an average of 2.5 per thousand), delta18Osulphate varies from 9.0 to 16.7 per thousand (with an average of 13.8 per thousand) and delta18OH2O varies from-0.8 to-16.3 per thousand (with an average of-8.2 per thousand). The above results indicate two main sources of sulphates in Wroc?aw precipitation: (i) low-temperature secondary sulphates forming in situ in Wroc?aw from the atmospheric SO2 as well as precipitation water (heterogeneous and homogeneous pathways oxidation) and (ii) high-temperature primary sulphates forming in rapid high-temperature hydratation of SO3- in an immediate proximity of industrial chimneys. We hypothesise that the secondary low-temperature type of sulphates is probably formed from the local sulphur and oxygen reservoirs, whereas the primary high-temperature type is allochthonous and it is probably transported from industrial areas located outside of Wroc?aw.     

Role of Stone–Wales defects on the functionalization of (8,0) single wall carbon nanotubes by the amine group: Ab initio study

Using first-principle calculations, we have investigated the chemical functionalization of (8,0) zigzag single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by the amine group on Stone–Wales (SW) defects. The binding of NH₂ with the defective (8,0) nanotube was explored and the preferential grafting sites have been identified. On the other hand, the modifications induced by SW defect and functional groups in the structural and electronic properties of (8,0) SWNT have also been investigated. The role of SW defects in the chemical reactivity of carbon nanotubes was well identified.     

Search for an effect of superconductivity on the phonons in Ba(Fe1−xCox)2As2

Inelastic neutron scattering was used to search for an influence of superconductivity on the phonons in optimally doped and in slightly overdoped Ba(Fe_1?xCo_x)₂As₂, x = 0.06 and x = 0.10. The study focused on phonons with energies close to the superconducting gap energy 2Δ because it is well known that such phonons will respond most strongly to the opening of the gap. We were able to obtain high quality data but nevertheless, we could not detect any influence of superconductivity on the phonons, neither on the linewidths nor on the frequencies. Our results imply that any coupling of low energy phonons to the electrons has to be very small, much smaller than observed in conventional superconductors with a high T_c. Our results are in line with the low coupling strength predicted by density functional theory for the investigated phonon branches.     

New insight on nanostructure assembling of high-performance electrode materials: synthesis of surface-modified hexagonal β-Ni(OH)<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanosheets as an example

Hexagonal β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets with thickness of ～12 nm were synthesized by a hydrothermal method at 150 °C using nickel chloride as nickel source and morpholine as alkaline. Electrodes for application in pseudocapacitor were assembled through a traditional technique: pressing a mixture of β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets and acetylene black onto nickel foam. Due to the hexagonal shape of rigid β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheet and the mediation of surface-modified glycerol during electrochemical charge–discharge cycles, a nanostructure of electrode material with facile interior pathway for the transfer of electrolyte was formed. As a result, the as-formed electrodes presented high specific capacitance of 1,917 F g^?1 at current density of 1.6 A g^?1 in 3 mol L^?1 KOH solution. At high charge and discharge current density of 31.3 A g^?1, the electrodes still remained a high specific capacitance of 1,289 F g^?1. The interesting results obtained from this investigation may provide a new insight for the synthesis of electrode materials with high electrochemical performance.     

Influence of pulse duration on the doping quality in laser chemical processing (LCP)—a simulative approach

The laser chemical processing (LCP) technique for the local doping of crystalline silicon solar cells is investigated. Here, a liquid jet containing a dopant source acts as a waveguide for pulsed laser light, which results in the melting and subsequent doping of the silicon surface. Typical LCP pulse durations are in the 15 ns range, giving satisfactory results for specific parameter settings. While great potential is assumed to exist, optimization of the pulse duration has until now not been deeply investigated, because it is hard to change this parameter in laser systems. Therefore, this paper accesses the influence of the pulse duration by a simulative approach. The model includes optics, thermodynamics, and melt dynamics induced by the liquid jet and dopant diffusion into the silicon melt. It is solved by coupling our existing finite differences Matlab-code LCPSim with the commercial fluid flow solver Ansys Fluent. Simulations of axial symmetric single pulses were performed for pulse durations ranging from 15 ns to 500 ns. Detailed results are given, which show that for longer pulse durations lateral heat conduction significantly homogenizes the inhomogeneous dopant distribution caused by the speckled intensity profile within the liquid jet cross section. The melt expulsion by the liquid jet is low enough that a sufficiently doped layer remains after full resolidification for all pulse durations. Last, temperature gradients are evaluated to give an indication on the amount of laser damage induced by thermal stress.     

Influence of static magnetic field intensity on the separation and migration of Fe-rich bulks in an immiscible (Fe–C)–Cu alloy

In this study, we solidified an immiscible pseudo-binary (Fe–C)–50mass%Cu alloy in a static magnetic field and observed macro morphologies as a function of the magnetic flux density. The experimental result shows that the Fe-rich phase exhibits a single bulk when the alloy is solidified at a low magnetic flux density, while it is separated in to two smaller bulks at high magnetic flux densities and the distance between the bulks becomes larger with the increase of the magnetic flux density. The possible reason for the separation of the Fe-rich phase was simply proposed. As far as the migration of separated Fe-rich phase bulks is concerned, the thermoelectric effect between the Fe-rich and Cu-rich metals was considered, from which the thermoelectric body force could be exerted upon the Fe-rich droplets. The higher the body force is produced, the larger the distance will be covered due to the migration of the droplets. Further analysis reveals that the convection attributed to the thermoelectric effect may contribute to the migration of the Fe-rich droplets at a low magnetic field and become negligible at high magnetic flux densities.     

Epitactic growth of a decagonal phase in an Al–Ni–Co alloy film deposited on a (0001) sapphire substrate

Thin films of Al–Ni–Co alloy with an average thickness of 15?nm were produced by means of conventional vacuum deposition technique on (0001) sapphire substrates heated at various test temperatures. The microstructures and textures of the films obtained were thoroughly investigated by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron diffraction and imaging techniques. The diffraction measurements have evidenced that the vacuum deposition of Al₇₂Ni₁₅Co₁₃ alloy on the substrates heated above 400°C allows a homogeneous poly-quasicrystalline film, consisting of the Ni-rich basic decagonal phase to grow. It has been further indicated by in-plane XRD analysis that the film deposited at 550°C contains a considerable amount of the decagonal grains epitaxially grown on the sapphire substrate. Possible epitaxial relations occurring between the deposit and the substrate will be detailed on the basis of results obtained from electron diffraction measurements.     

Influence of Tm~(3+) ions on the amplification of Ho~(3+):~5I_7→~5I_8 transition in fluoride glass modified by Al(PO_3)_3 for applications in mid-infrared optics

In this work, we investigate a new type of fluoride glasses modified by Al(PO_3)_3 with various Tm~(3+)∕Ho~(3+) doping concentrations. The introduced PO_-~3 plays an effective role in improving the glass-forming ability and thermal stability. Besides, 1.47, 1.8, and 2.0 μm emissions originating from Tm~(3+)and Ho~(3+), respectively, are observed.The spectroscopic properties and energy transfer mechanisms between Tm~(3+)and Ho~(3+)are analyzed as well. It is noted that the higher predicted spontaneous transition probability(118.74 s-1) along with the larger product of measured decay lifetime and the emission cross section(σemi×τ) give evidence of intense 2.0 μm fluorescence.     

Interfacial and mechanical properties of carbon fibers modified by electrochemical oxidation in (NH4HCO3)/(NH4)2C2O4·H2O aqueous compound solution

Polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers were electrochemical oxidized in (NH₄HCO₃)/(NH₄)₂C₂O₄·H₂O aqueous compound solution to improve its tensile strength and interfacial bounding strength with resin matrix simultaneously. AFM, XPS, XRD and Raman spectra were employed to characterize morphology, chemical states, crystallites size and ordered degree of CFs surface. The results indicated that the optimal modified condition in this paper could increase the tensile strength of CFs by 17.1%, meantime improve the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) by 14.5%. The improvement of interlaminar shear strength not only causes by increase of surface roughness, but also causes by interaction effects of oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing functional groups on carbon fibers. Among oxygen-containing functional groups, –COOH functional group plays an important role in enhancing the ILSS. Furthermore, after electrochemical oxidation the crystallites size decreased by 23–27%; ordered degree on CFs surface has an increase with suitable etching which did not peel off the ordered region on CFs surface and create new cracks; both above increase the tensile strength of CFs.     

Study of (e, 2e) process on potassium at 6 eV—60 eV above threshold in second-order Born approximation

The standard distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) method has been extended to second-order Born amplitude in order to describe the multiple interactions between the projectile and the atomic target. Second-order DWBA calculations have been preformed to investigate the triple differential cross sections (TDCS) of coplanar doubly symmetric (e, 2e) collisions for alkali target potassium at excess energies of 6 eV-60 eV. Comparing with the first-order DWBA calculations before, the present theoretical model improves the degree of agreement with experiments, especially for backward scattering angle region of TDCS. This indicates that the present second-order Born term is capable to give a reasonable correction to DWBA model in studying coplanar symmetric (e, 2e) problems in low and intermediate energy range.     

Effect of γ-irradiation on the heat capacity of an [NH2(CH3)2]2 · CuCl4 crystal in the temperature range 80–300 K

The heat capacity of [NH₂(CH₃)₂]₂ · CuCl₄ crystals prior to and after γ-irradiation with doses of 1, 5, 10, and 50 MR is measured by the calorimetric method in the temperature range 80–300 K. It is found that, as the temperature decreases, the temperature dependence C _p (T) exhibits two anomalies which correspond to phase transitions from the incommensurate to the ferroelectric phase at T _c =281 K and from the ferroelectric to the ferroelastic phase at T ₁=255 K. The nature of the anomalies is typical of a first-order phase transition. In addition, a smeared anomaly in the form of a small increase in the heat capacity of the ferroelectric phase is observed at T≈275 K. It is demonstrated that when the dose of γ-irradiation increases, the anomalies decrease in magnitude and the phase transition temperatures are displaced: T _c increases and T ₁ decreases.     

Corrigendum to: Discussion on Active aeroelastic control of 2-D wing-flap systems operating in an incompressible flowfield and impacted by a blast pulse by Librescu et al., Journal of Sound and Vibration 283 (3–5) (2005) 685–706 [Journal of Sound Vibration 332 (13) (2013) 3351–3358]

This corrigendum supplies a corrected statement of an equation in our discussion paper recently appearing in Journal of Sound and Vibration 332 (13) (2013) 3351–3358. This equation concerns the control input coefficient matrix of the state-space representation of the aeroelastic system. It illustrates the influence of the error in the calculation of aeroelastic impulse, step, and ramp responses, as well as demonstrating the accuracy and legitimacy of the present model in comparison to well-established literature data.     

Long-range chemical interactions in solid-state reactions: effect of an inert Ag interlayer on the formation of L10-FePd in epitaxial Pd(0 0 1)/Ag(0 0 1)/Fe(0 0 1) and Fe(0 0 1)/Ag(0 0 1)/Pd(0 0 1) trilayers

The effect of 0, 0.5, and 1?μm-thick Ag interlayers on the chemical interaction between Pd and Fe in epitaxial Pd(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Fe(0?0?1)/MgO(0?0?1) and Fe(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Pd(0?0?1)/MgO(0?0?1) trilayers has been studied using X-ray diffraction, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and magnetic structural measurements. No mixing of Pd and Fe occurs via the chemically inert Ag layer at annealing temperatures up to 400?°C. As the annealing temperature is increased above 400?°C, a solid-state synthesis of an ordered L1₀-FePd phase begins in the Pd(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Fe(0?0?1) and Fe(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Pd(0?0?1) film trilayers regardless of the thickness of the buffer Ag layer. In all samples, annealing above 500?°C leads to the formation of a disordered Fe_xPd_1?x(0?0?1) phase; however, in samples lacking the Ag layer, the synthesis of Fe_xPd_1?x is preceded by the formation of an ordered L1₂-FePd₃ phase. An analysis of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results shows that Pd is the dominant moving species in the reaction between Pd and Fe. According to the preliminary results, the 2.2?μm-thick Ag film does not prevent the synthesis of the L1₀-FePd phase and only slightly increases the phase’s initiation temperature. Data showing the ultra-fast transport of Pd atoms via thick inert Ag layers are interpreted as direct evidence of the long-range character of the chemical interaction between Pd and Fe. Thus, in the reaction state, Pd and Fe interact chemically even though the distance between them is about 10⁴ times greater than an ordinary chemical bond length.     

Influence of isotopic substitution on spectral and structural parameters of an isolated [F(HF)<Subscript>2</Subscript>]— complex. Substitution of a proton by a kaon and a triton

This paper continues the theoretical study (see V. P. Bulychev and M. V. Buturlimova, J. Mol. Struct. 928, 32 (2009)) of the isotopic effects in the H-bonded anionic complex [F(HF)₂]-. Isotopomers of the complex with significant differences between the masses of the light atoms are considered. The four-dimensional anharmonic vibrational problem are solved by the variational method for the symmetric complex [F(KaF)₂]-, in which both protons are substituted by a positive kaon (positive K-meson), and for the asymmetric complex [FKaFTF]-. Variables related to the changes in the lengths of molecular fragments LF (L = Ka and T) and the distances between the F^- anion and the centers of mass of LF are used as the vibra-tional coordinates. The potential energy surfaces are calculated in the MP2/6-311++G(3df,3pd) approximation taking into account the basis set superposition error. The vibrational energy levels, frequencies, and absolute intensities for spectral transitions are determined. To study the isotope effect on the geometrical parameters of the complex, the values of internuclear separations and the asymmetry parameter of the F^-…L-F bridge averaged over the ground state and several excited vibrational states are calculated, as well as their standard deviations. The calculated results are compared to the data obtained previously for the symmetric complexes [F(HF)₂]^-, [F(DF)₂]^-, and [F(TF)₂]^-.