Rare Earth Centered Hybrid Materials: Tb<Superscript>3+</Superscript> Covalently Bonded with La<Superscript>3+</Superscript>, Gd<Superscript>3+</Superscript>, Y<Superscript>3+</Superscript> Through Sulfonamide Bridge and Luminescence Enhancement

The organic ligand 5-sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) is grafted by (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) to achieve functionalized sulfonamide bridge (SSA-Si) which can both coordinate to Ln³⁺ to form luminescent center and link inorganic Si-O network through hydrolysis and condensation reaction with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). Thus the organic–inorganic hybrid is obtained with sol-gel method. The organic polymer poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) acts as another precursor is prepared through the direct addition polymerization of MMA monomer in the presence of the initiator BPO (benzoyl peroxide). The two kinds of precursors are coordinated to the Ln³⁺ simultaneously to form organic–inorganic-polymeric hybrids which contain both inorganic Si-O-Si net and organic periodic C–C chains. In these complicated compounds we intercalate different ratios of Tb³⁺ and inert lanthanide ion (La³⁺, Gd³⁺, Y³⁺) and find that the introduction of the inert lanthanide ions can enhance the luminescence intensity. This enhancement phenomenon is called co-luminescence effect which is studied by emission spectra in this paper.     

<Superscript>29</Superscript>Si, <Superscript>27</Superscript>Al, <Superscript>1</Superscript>H and <Superscript>23</Superscript>Na MAS NMR Study of the Bonding Character in Aluminosilicate Inorganic Polymers

²⁹Si, ²⁷Al, ¹H and ²³Na solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been used to relate nominal composition, bonding character and compressive strength properties in aluminosilicate inorganic polymers (AIPs). The ²⁹Si chemical shift varies systematically with Si-to-Al ratio, indicating that the immediate structural environment of Si is altering with nominal composition. Fast ¹H MAS and ²⁹Si T _SiH/T _1ρ relaxation measurements demonstrated that occluded pore H₂O mobility within the disordered cavities is slow in comparison with H₂O mobility characteristics observed within the ordered channel structures of zeolites. The ²⁷Al MAS NMR data show that the Al coordination remains predominantly 4-coordinate. In comparison with the ²⁹Si MAS data, the corresponding ²⁷Al MAS line shapes are relatively narrow, suggesting that the AlO₄ tetrahedral geometry is largely unperturbed and the dominant source of structural disorder is propagated by large distributions of Si–O bond angles and bond lengths. Corresponding ²³Na MAS and multiple-quantum MAS NMR data indicate that Na speciation is dominated by distributions of hydration states; however, more highly resolved ²³Na resonances observed in some preparations supported the existence of short-range order. New structural elements are proposed to account for the existence of these Na resonances and an improved model for the structure of AIPs has also been proposed. Authors' address: John V. Hanna, NMR Facility, Institute of Materials and Engineering Science, Lucas Heights Research Laboratories, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, NSW 2234, Australia     

Neutron single-particle structure of <Superscript>48</Superscript>Ca, <Superscript>50</Superscript>Ti, <Superscript>52</Superscript>Cr, <Superscript>54</Superscript>Fe,and <Superscript>56</Superscript>Ni nuclei

The change in the neutron single-particle structure of (1f?2p)-shell magic nuclei near the Fermi energy with an increase in the number of protons in the 1f _7/2 subshell from 0 for ⁴⁸Ca to 8 for ⁵⁶Ni has been investigated. Good agreement of the experimental and estimated values of the single-particle energies E _nlj of the bound states of neutrons in these nuclei with the results of calculations within the dispersive optical model is obtained.     

Recognition of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>PO<Stack><Subscript>4</Subscript><Superscript>-</Superscript></Stack> and Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript> in Water by Luminescent Terbium Silica Xerogel

Terbium silica hybrid material with imidazole ring that can be emissive in water has been designed and showed host-guest interactions with specific ions (cations and anions). In detail, we studied the sensing abilities of this material by addition of the anions H₂PO₄^-, HSO₄^-, F^-, Cl^-, Br^- and I^- to water suspension of the derived powders. Only dihydrogen phosphate resulted in the quenching of the lanthanide luminescence (detection limit 10^-5 M). The same way was found in Cu²⁺ ions which also gave rise to luminescence quenching (detection limit 10^-5 M). More interestingly, luminescent sol-gel films were successfully prepared by the same materials and exhibited emission responses to H₂PO₄^- and Cu²⁺. For the sake of improving its mechanical property, the robust and flexible inorganic/PMMA hybrid material with sensing capability was also developed for future use.     

Preparation and Photoluminescence of Sm <Superscript>3+</Superscript> Doped YAlO <Subscript>3</Subscript> Phosphor

YAlO₃: Sm³⁺ phosphor has been synthesized by the solid state reaction method with calcium flouride used as a flux. The resulting YAlO₃: Sm³⁺ phosphor was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), photoluminescence . . PL excitation spectrum was found at 254,332,380,400,407, 603 and 713 nm. Under excitation of UV(713 nm) YAlO₃: Sm³⁺ (0–3 %) broad band emission were observed from 400 to 790 nm with a maximum around 713 nm of YAlO₃ host lattice accompanied by weak emission of Sm³⁺ (⁴G_5/2 – ⁶H_5/2, ⁶H_7/2,⁶H_9/2) transitions. The results of the XRD show that obtained YAlO₃: Sm³⁺ phosphor has a orthorhombic structure. The study suggested that Sm³⁺ doped phosphors are potential luminescence material for laser diode pumping and inorganic scintillators.     

Nuclear level densities in <Superscript>47</Superscript>V, <Superscript>48</Superscript>V, <Superscript>49</Superscript>V, <Superscript>53</Superscript>Mn,and <Superscript>54</Superscript>Mn from neutron evaporation spectra

The spectra of neutrons from the (p, n) reactions on ⁴⁷Ti, ⁴⁸Ti, ⁴⁹Ti, ⁵³Cr, and ⁵⁴Cr nuclei were measured in the proton-energy range 7–11 MeV. The measurements were performed with the aid of a fast-neutron spectrometer by the time-of-flight method over the base of the EGP-15 tandem accelerator of the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE, Obninsk). Owing to a high resolution and a high stability of the time-of-flight spectrometer used, low-lying discrete levels could be identified reliably along with a continuum section of neutron spectra. An analysis of measured data was performed within the statistical equilibrium and preequilibrium models of nuclear reactions. The relevant calculations were performed by using the exact formalism of Hauser-Feshbach statistical theory supplemented with the generalized model of a superfluid nucleus, the back-shifted Fermi gas model, and the Gilbert-Cameron composite formula for the nuclear level density. The nuclear level densities for ⁴⁷V, ⁴⁸V, ⁴⁹V, ⁵³Mn, and ⁵⁴Mn were determined along with their energy dependences and model parameters. The results are discussed together with available experimental data and recommendations of model systematics.     

Momentum distributions of <Superscript>4</Superscript>He nuclei from the <Superscript>6</Superscript>He and <Superscript>6</Superscript>Li breakup

Experimental data on the momentum distributions of ⁴He nuclei originating from ⁶He and ⁶Li breakup on various targets are presented over a wide beam energy range. The experiment with ⁶He was performed at the DRIBs accelerator complex for radioactive beams at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). The intensity of the ⁶He beam used was 5 × 10⁶ particles per second and its energy was 10 MeV per nucleon. The momentum distributions of breakup products were measured by means of the MSP-144 magnetic spectrometer. The distribution width was shown to be virtually independent of the target mass. A small value of this width, σ ～ 28 MeV/c, confirms the presence of a halo in ⁶He. The measurements performed with ⁶Li beams of energy 18 and 46 MeV per nucleon at the U-400M accelerator yielded a width value of σ ～ 50 MeV/c for the momentum distributions of ⁴He nuclei, which is intermediate between that for ⁶He and those for stable nuclei. A compilation of the widths of the momentum distributions of fragments originating from the breakup of various nuclei is presented versus the binding energy of one or two neutrons in these nuclei, the target mass and the projectile energy.     

Effect of high doses of N<Superscript>+</Superscript>, N<Superscript>+</Superscript> + Ni<Superscript>+</Superscript>, and Mo<Superscript>+</Superscript> + W<Superscript>+</Superscript> ions on the physicomechanical properties of TiNi

The surface layer of an equiatomic TiNi alloy, which exhibits the shape memory effect in the martensitic state, is modified with high-dose implantation of 65-keV N⁺ ions (the implantation dose is varied from 10¹⁷ to 10¹⁸ ions/cm²). TiNi samples are implanted by N⁺, Ni⁺-N⁺, and Mo⁺-W⁺ ions at a dose of 10¹⁷–10¹⁸ cm⁻² and studied by Rutherford backscattering, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (glancing geometry), and by measuring the nanohardness and the elastic modulus. A Ni⁺ concentration peak is detected between two maxima in the depth profile of the N⁺ ion concentration. X-ray diffraction (glancing geometry) of TiNi samples implanted by Ni⁺ and N⁺ ions shows the formation of the TiNi (B2), TiN, and Ni₃N phases. In the initial state, the elastic modulus of the samples is E = 56 GPa at a hardness of H = 2.13 ± 0.30 GPa (at a depth of 150 nm). After double implantation by Ni⁺-N⁺ and W⁺-Mo⁺ ions, the hardness of the TiNi samples is ∼2.78 ± 0.95 GPa at a depth of 150 nm and 4.95 ± 2.25 GPa at a depth of 50 nm; the elastic modulus is 59 GPa. Annealing of the samples at 550°C leads to an increase in the hardness to 4.44 ± 1.45 GPa and a sharp increase in the elastic modulus to 236 ± 39 GPa. A correlation between the elemental composition, microstructure, shape memory effect, and mechanical properties of the near-surface layer in TiNi is found.     

Comparison of halo of <Superscript>11</Superscript>Be, <Superscript>15</Superscript>C,and <Superscript>19</Superscript>C

We have compared the halo of ¹¹Be, ¹⁵C, and ¹⁹C nuclei by analyzing the one-neutron stripping reaction data on the Be target at 60-, 54-, and 57-MeV/A beam energies, respectively, within the framework of the eikonal approximation approach. The determination of effective range through the comparison of the total cross section data and prediction has revealed that the halo of ¹⁹C is the well developed, while that of ¹⁵C is the least and that of ¹¹Be lies in between these two. The longitudinal momentum distribution data also strengthen these observations. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Lifetimes of <Superscript>48</Superscript>Ti, <Superscript>52</Superscript>Cr and <Superscript>80</Superscript>Se excited states

Doppler shift attenuation was used to measure the lifetimes of ⁴⁸Ti, ⁵²Cr and ⁸⁰Se nuclei excited states populated in the (n, n′γ) reaction using the neutron beam of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s WWR-K research reactor. The measured data are in good agreement with the latest literature data.     

High-lying excited states in <Superscript>10</Superscript>Be from the <Superscript>9</Superscript>Be(<Superscript>9</Superscript>Be,<Superscript>10</Superscript>Be)<Superscript>8</Superscript>Be reaction

A transfer-reaction experiment of ⁹Be(⁹Be, ¹⁰Be)⁸Be was performed at a beam energy of 45 MeV. Excited states in ¹⁰Be up to 18.80 MeV are produced using missing mass and invariant mass methods. Most of the observed high-lying resonant states, reconstructed from the α + ⁶He and t + ⁷Li decay channels, agree with the previously reported results. In addition, two new resonances at 15.6 and 18.8 MeV are identified from the present measurement. The 18.55 MeV state is found to decay into both the t + ⁷Li_g.s. and t + ⁷Li* (0.478 MeV) channels, with a relative branching ratio of 0.93 ± 0.33. Further theoretical investigations are encouraged to interpret this new information on cluster structure in neutron-rich light nuclei.     

Preparation and biodistribution of <Superscript>59</Superscript>Fe-radiolabelled iron oxide nanoparticles

We report on the ⁵⁹Fe radiolabelling of iron oxide nanoparticle cores through post-synthetic isotope exchange (⁵⁹Fe-IONP_ex) and precursor labelling (⁵⁹Fe-IONP_pre). Scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering measurements showed no impact of radiolabelling on nanoparticle size or morphology. While incorporation efficiencies of these methods are comparable—83 and 90% for precursor labelling and post-synthetic isotope exchange, respectively—⁵⁹Fe-IONP_pre exhibited much higher radiochemical stability in citrated human plasma. Quantitative ex vivo biodistribution study of ⁵⁹Fe-IONP_pre coated with triethylene glycol was performed in Wistar rats. Following the intravenous administration, high ⁵⁹Fe concentration was observed in the lung and the organs of the reticuloendothelial system such as the liver, the spleen and the femur.     

Diffractive scattering of <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be and <Superscript>8</Superscript>B nuclei by <Superscript>12</Superscript>C nuclei

A theory of the diffractive scattering of loosely bound three-cluster nuclei by nuclei was developed with allowance for Coulomb interaction. The differential cross sections for the scattering of projectile exotic nuclei ⁷Be and ⁸B by ¹²C nuclei at an energy of 40 MeV per nucleon were calculated within the proposed formalism. The results describe satisfactorily relevant experimental data.     

Near-barrier neutron transfer in reactions <Superscript>6</Superscript>He + <Superscript>45</Superscript>Sc, <Superscript>64</Superscript>Zn,and <Superscript>197</Superscript>Au

Experimental cross sections of formation of isotopes ⁴⁶Sc (in reaction ⁶He + ⁴⁵Sc), ^196,198Au (in reaction ⁶He + ¹⁹⁷Au), and ⁶⁵Zn (in reaction ⁶He + ⁶⁴Zn) are analyzed. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the outer neutrons of ⁶He and ¹⁹⁷Au nuclei is solved numerically to calculate the probability of neutron transfer and transfer cross sections. In reaction ⁶He + ¹⁹⁷Au, the contribution of fusion and subsequent evaporation to experimental data can be neglected, while the corresponding contributions to reactions ⁶He + ⁴⁵Sc and ⁶He + ⁶⁴Zn are considerable. Fusion–evaporation is taken into account using the computational code of the NRV knowledge base. The results of calculations are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.     

Raman spectroscopy of isotopically pure (<Superscript>12</Superscript>C, <Superscript>13</Superscript>C) and isotopically mixed (<Superscript>12.5</Superscript>C) diamond single crystals at ultrahigh pressures

The Raman scattering by isotopically pure ¹²C and ¹³C diamond single crystals and by isotopically mixed ^12.5C diamond single crystals is studied at a high accuracy. The studies are performed over a wide pressure range up to 73 GPa using helium as a hydrostatic pressure-transferring medium. It is found that the quantum effects, which determine the difference between the ratio of the Raman scattering frequencies in the ¹²C and ¹³C diamonds and the classical ratio (1.0408), increase to 30 GPa and then decrease. Thus, inversion in the sign of the quantum contribution to the physical properties of diamond during compression is detected. Our data suggest that the maximum possible difference between the bulk moduli of the ¹²C and ¹³C diamonds is 0.15%. The investigation of the isotopically mixed ^12.5C diamond shows that the effective mass, which determines the Raman frequency, decreases during compression from 12.38 au at normal pressure to 12.33 au at 73 GPa.     

Magneto-optical trap and mass-separator system for the ultra-sensitive detection of <Superscript>135</Superscript>Cs and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs

We report the first magneto-optical trapping of radioactive ¹³⁵Cs and ¹³⁷Cs and a promising means for detecting these isotopes at ultra-sensitive levels by coupling a magneto-optical trap (MOT) to a mass separator. A sample containing both isotopes was placed in the source of a mass separator, ionized, mass-separated, and implanted in a Zr foil within the trapping cell. After implantation, atoms were released from the foil by inductive heating and then captured in a MOT that used large-diameter beams and a dry-film-coated cell to achieve high trapping efficiency. Trapped-atom numbers in the case of either isotope ranged from 10⁴ to 10⁷, as determined from the MOT fluorescence signal. Over this trapped-atom range, the MOT fluorescence signal was found to increase linearly with the number of atoms implanted in the foil and without isotopic bias to within 4%. In principle, this method can then provide a measurement of the ¹³⁷Cs/¹³⁵Cs ratio accurate to within 4% through the direct ratio of MOT fluorescence signals. The fluorescence signal from stable ¹³³Cs, when implanted and released from the foil, was suppressed relative to MOT signals by more than seven orders of magnitude when the system was tuned to trap ¹³⁵Cs or ¹³⁷Cs. When combined with the isotopic selectivity of ≥10⁵ for the mass separator, the overall suppression of ¹³³Cs is expected to exceed 10¹². At present our system delivers atoms from sample to MOT with an efficiency of 0.5%, has a trapped-atom detection limit of 4000 atoms, and achieves a sample-detection sensitivity of one million atoms. Received: 23 August 2002 / Published online: 8 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-505/667-0440, E-mail: mdd@lanl.gov     

Double-beta decay of <Superscript>100</Superscript>Mo to 0<Superscript>+</Superscript> excited states in <Superscript>100</Superscript>Ru

A brief review on the 2νββ decay of ¹⁰⁰Mo to the 0⁺ excited state in ¹⁰⁰Ru is performed. A weighted-average half-life value for the decay has been obtained, T_1/2 = (6.8 ± 1.2) × 10²⁰ yr. The corresponding average value for the nuclear matrix element was extracted, 0.095 ± 0.009.     

Kinetics of the sorption of <Superscript>3</Superscript>He by C<Subscript>60</Subscript> fullerite. The quantum diffusion of <Superscript>3</Superscript>He and <Superscript>4</Superscript>He in fullerite

The kinetics of the sorption and subsequent desorption of gaseous ³He in a C₆₀ fullerite powder has been studied in the temperature range of 2–292 K. The temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He impurities in fullerite have been plotted using the measured characteristic times of filling of octahedral and tetrahedral interstices, as well as previous data. These temperature dependences of the diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He impurities in fullerite are qualitatively similar. A decrease in the temperature from 292 to 79 K is accompanied by a decrease in the diffusion coefficients, which corresponds to the dominance of the thermally activated diffusion of helium isotopes in fullerite. A further decrease in the temperature to 8–10 K leads to an increase in the diffusion coefficients by more than an order of magnitude. The diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He are independent of the temperature below 8 K, indicating the tunnel character of the diffusion of helium in C₆₀ fullerite. The isotope effect is manifested in the difference between the absolute values of the diffusion coefficients of ³He and ⁴He atoms at the same temperatures.     

Description of elastic scattering in the <Superscript>16</Superscript>O + <Superscript>16</Superscript>O and <Superscript>16</Superscript>O + <Superscript>12</Superscript>C systems

The objective of the present study was to describe more precisely experimental data on elastic scattering in the ¹⁶O + ¹⁶O system at E _lab = 124, 145, 250, 350, and 480 MeV and in the ¹⁶O + ¹²C system at E _lab = 132, 170, 181, 200, 230, 260, and 281 MeV. The role of exchange interaction in the region of backward angles is investigated. The coefficient of incompressibility of nuclear matter is estimated at K = 205 MeV ± 15%.