Small angle neutron scattering and small angle X-ray scattering studies of platinum-loaded carbon foams

The morphology of carbon nanofoam samples comprising platinum nanoparticles dispersed in the matrix was characterized by small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques. Results show that the structure of pores of carbon matrix exhibits a mass (pore) fractal nature and the average radius of the platinum particles is about 2.5 nm. The fractal dimension as well as the size distribution parameters of platinum particles varies markedly with the platinum content and annealing temperature. Transmission electron micrographs of the samples corroborate the SANS and SAXS results.      

Small angle neutron scattering studies on protein denaturation induced by different methods

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to study conformational changes in protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) as induced by varying temperature and in the presence of protein denaturating agents urea and surfactant. BSA has prolate ellipsoidal shape and is found to be stable up to 60°C above which it denaturates and subsequently leads to aggregation. The protein solution exhibits a fractal structure at temperatures above 64°C, with fractal dimension increasing with temperature. BSA protein is found to unfold in the presence of urea at concentrations greater than 4 M and acquires a random coil Gaussian chain conformation. The conformation of the unfolded protein in the presence of surfactant has been determined directly using contrast variation SANS measurements by contrast matching surfactant molecules. The protein acquires a random coil Gaussian conformation on unfolding with its radius of gyration increasing with increase in surfactant concentration      

Small angle neutron scattering study of pore microstructure in ceria compacts

Ceria powders were prepared by gel combustion process using cerium nitrate and hitherto unexplored amino acids such as aspartic acid, arginine and valine as fuels. The powders have been characterized by X-ray and laser diffraction. Cold pressed compacts of these powders have been sintered at 1250°C for 2 h. Internal pore microstructure of the sintered compacts has been investigated by small angle neutron scattering (SANS) over a scattering wave vector q range of 0.003–0.17 nm⁻¹. The SANS profiles indicate surface fractal morphology of the pore space with fractal dimensionality lying between 2.70 and 2.76.      

Magnetic correlations in Cr–Fe–Mn alloy

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurement has been performed on the reentrant ferromagnet Cr₆₀Fe₂₀Mn₂₀ alloy. An increase in the SANS intensity is observed below 100 K coinciding with an increase in the magnetization. It exhibits a maximum at 40 K and shifts to lower temperatures with increase in Q. The magnetic part of the SANS intensity fits to a Lorentzian at all temperatures. The temperature dependence of the inverse correlation length exhibits a minimum at 40 K. In the antiferromagnetic spin-glass phase at 15 K ferromagnetic correlations of ~40 Å is observed.     

竖壁液膜流壁面热流率对流动影响的实验研究

本文用相空间重构的方法,对竖壁薄液膜流动的液膜厚度时间序列进行了重构,并用分维数对奇怪吸引子的动力特征进行了描述,由此描述了壁面热流率对竖壁薄液膜流动特性的影响。     

High Efficient Tunable Fractal Axicon Based on LCoS

Based on the Cantor function and phase modulation, a tunable fractal axicon is formed on a liquid crystal on silicon （LCoS） with an improved generating method. It has higher focusing efficiency in higher fractal stage and approaches to 100% theoretically. The on-axis intensity keeps its fractal structure unchanged in operation of fractal stages. The tunability of the axicon is demonstrated by tune fractal stage from 1 to 3 and focal length from 0.8 m to 1 m. We also provide details of theoretical analyses and experimental results.     

Liquid–gas critical phenomena under confinement: small-angle neutron scattering studies of CO2 in aerogel

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a well-established technique for investigating the behavior of confined binary liquid solutions, as it can probe the correlation length and susceptibility in pores on length scales 1 – 100 nm. We applied SANS to explore the influence of confinement on critical behavior of an individual fluid carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a highly porous aerogel. The results demonstrate that quenched disorder induced by aerogel significantly depresses density fluctuations. Despite the negligible volume occupied by aerogel (< 4%), the macroscopic phase separation of confined CO₂ into coexisting liquid and gaseous phases is suppressed and below the critical temperature of the bulk fluid frozen methastable microdomains are formed. Experimental data show that critical adsorption is as important as the effect of confinement in defining the behavior of confined fluids.     

Characterization of Nanoparticles and Colloids in Aquatic Systems 1. Small Angle Neutron Scattering Investigations of Suwannee River Fulvic Acid Aggregates in Aqueous Solutions

Fulvic acids (FA) and humic acids (HA) constitute 30–50% of dissolved organic matter in natural aquatic systems. In aqueous solutions, a commonly accepted view is that FA and HA exist as soluble macroligands at low concentration and as supramolecular aggregates at higher concentration. The size, shape and structure of these aggregates are still the subject of ongoing debate in the environmental chemistry literature. In this article, we use small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to assess the effects of solute concentration, solution pH and background electrolyte (NaCl) concentration on the structures of Suwannee River FA (SRFA) aggregates in D₂O. The qualitative features of the SANS curves and data analysis are not consistent with the view point that SRFA forms micelle-like aggregates as its concentration in aqueous solution increases. We find that SRFA forms fractal aggregates in D₂0 with size greater than 242 nm. The SRFA aggregates undergo a significant degree of restructuring in compactness as solution pH, solute concentration and NaCl concentration increase.     

Small-angle neutron scattering study of the mesostructure of bioactive coatings for stone materials based on nanodiamond-modified epoxy siloxane sols

The structure formation of sol-gel-derived epoxy siloxane compositions with different ratios of the main precursors (R _{TEOS/EPONEX 1510} = 16/38, 27/27, 38/16 wt %) and with different concentrations of detonation synthesis nanodiamonds (c _DND = 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 wt %) has been investigated using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Based on the SANS data, it has been revealed that the synthesized epoxy siloxane xerogels are systems with a two-level fractal structure, in the formation of which the siloxane component plays a dominant role. It has been found that the fractal dimension D _m2 and the radius of gyration R _g2 of clusters in the epoxy siloxane compositions decrease with an increase in the content of the siloxane component. It has been established that the introduction of small additions of detonation synthesis nanodiamonds (less than 1 wt %) into the epoxy siloxane composition with an equal ratio of the main precursors R _{TEOS/EPONEX 1510} = 27/27 wt % leads to a transition from the two-level to three-level structure organization and affects the fractal dimension D _m and the radius of gyration R _g of the formed clusters.     

镍基合金薄膜中的分形生长

本文报道用离子束方法,通过离子束-固体交互作用在镍基合金薄膜中形成的分形结构。实验结果揭示了薄膜中分形生长的必要条件之一是非晶基体的相变。经测定,实验观察到的分形图形的豪斯道夫维数随合金组元不同而变化:D_f=1.4(Ni-Zr系统);D_f=1.7(Ni-Mo系统)。还讨论了离子束与固体作用过程及非晶相变与固体中分形生长的关系。 关键词：     

De-mixing dynamics of a binary liquid system in a controlled-pore glass. A neutron spin-echo spectroscopy and small angle neutron scattering study

The temperature-induced microphase separation of the binary liquid system iso-butyric acid+heavy water (iBA + D(2)O) in a mesoporous silica glass (CPG-10-75) of nominal pore width 7.5 nm was investigated by neutron spin-echo spectroscopy (NSE) and neutron small-angle scattering (SANS). Two mixtures of different composition were studied at different scattering angles at temperatures above and below the bulk phase transition temperature. The phase separation in the pore space is found to occur at a lower temperature than the bulk transition and extends over a significant temperature range. The effective diffusion coefficient derived from NSE at low scattering angles is found to decrease by one order of magnitude from 70 degrees C to 20 degrees C. This observation is attributed to the growing size of concentration fluctuations having a cut-off at ca. 8 nm, which corresponds to the mean pore size. The dynamics of the concentration fluctuations appears to be strongly influenced by the confinement in the pores, as it differs strongly from the bulk behaviour. These results are consistent with the preliminary results of the SANS study.     

裂缝-孔隙型双重介质油藏渗吸机理的分形分析

低渗透油藏常常伴随裂缝发育,形成裂缝-基质双重介质.自发渗吸是低渗裂缝性水驱油藏的重要采油机理,有顺向和逆向两种渗吸方式.基于基质孔隙结构的分形特征,引入分形几何对裂缝性双重介质渗吸机理的判据进行了改进,建立了渗吸机理的分形判据模型,并进一步推导了结构常数的解析表达式.结果表明,渗吸机理的判别参数是基质孔隙度、高度、孔隙分形维数、流动迂曲度、最大孔隙直径、界面张力、油水密度差以及接触角的函数.改进后的判据模型与现有结果一致.最后绘制了判别渗吸机理的图版,为利用表面活性剂提高低渗透油藏采收率提供理论依据.     

湍流大气中的准直激光束III.分形结构与相位不连续点饶瑞中

 利用数值方法研究了不同起伏条件下准直激光束在湍流大气中的传播，分析了光斑的分形维数以及相位不连续点数目的统计特征。结果表明：随着起伏条件的增大，光斑的分形维数以及相位不连续点数目增大；光斑的分形维数与锐度（描述光斑质量的参量）有一定的关系，但相位不连续点数目与光斑质量不存在确定的关系。在本文的计算条件下，分形维数一直随起伏条件的增大而增大，没有出现类似于闪烁饱和的现象。在一定的起伏条件下，相位不连续点数目具有一定的统计分布，而不是一个确定的值，并且具有相当的发散性。     

Ligand-free gold–silver nanoparticle alloy polymer composites generated by picosecond laser ablation in liquid monomer

Polymer matrix nanocomposites filled with metallic and alloy nanoparticles add functionality in various applications such as optical devices and in the energy sector. However, matrix coupling agents or nanoparticle ligands may be unwanted additives, potentially inhibiting the resulting nanocomposite to be processed by injection molding. The generation of stabilizer-free Au, Ag, and AuAg alloy nanoparticle acrylate composites is achieved by picosecond-pulsed laser ablation of the respective metal target in the liquid monomer. Complementary to laser ablation of the solid alloy, we have alloyed nanoparticles by post-irradiation of Au and Ag colloids in the liquid monomer. The optical properties of the colloidal nanoparticles are successfully transferred to the solid poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix and characterized by their plasmon resonance that can be easily tuned between 400 and 600 nm by laser alloying in the liquid monomer.     

Detection of submicron-sized raft-like domains in membranes by small-angle neutron scattering

Using coarse grained models of heterogeneous vesicles we demonstrate the potential for small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) to detect and distinguish between two different categories of lateral segregation: 1) unilamellar vesicles (ULV) containing a single domain and 2) the formation of several small domains or “clusters” (~10 nm in radius) on a ULV. Exploiting the unique sensitivity of neutron scattering to differences between hydrogen and deuterium, we show that the liquid ordered (lo) DPPC-rich phase can be selectively labeled using chain deuterated dipalymitoyl phosphatidylcholine (dDPPC), which greatly facilitates the use of SANS to detect membrane domains. SANS experiments are then performed in order to detect and characterize, on nanometer length scales, lateral heterogeneities, or so-called “rafts”, in ~30 nm radius low polydispersity ULV made up of ternary mixtures of phospholipids and cholesterol. For 1:1:1 DOPC:DPPC:cholesterol (DDC) ULV we find evidence for the formation of lateral heterogeneities on cooling below 30 °C. These heterogeneities do not appear when DOPC is replaced by SOPC. Fits to the experimental data using coarse grained models show that, at room temperature, DDC ULV each exhibit approximately 30 domains with average radii of ~10 nm.     

分形图形与激光全息防伪技术

利用分形图形具有无限可分和比例尺度上的自相似的特征以及可以产生无限变量重复码的特点，通过计算机控制激光双光束干涉光刻成点阵全息光栅，从而形成数字像素全息图．构造出分形图形的迭代函数系统框架，形成丰富多彩，变化多端的分形图形，以此对点阵全息光栅编码，光刻成分形数字像素全息图．     

Quantum mechanics simulation and experimental study of adhesive interaction and aggregation of carbon-silicate nanoparticles—reinforcing fillers of polymer composites

Nanoparticles are widely used as polymer composite-reinforcing additives—fillers. Understanding the interaction mechanisms and regularities responsible for nanoparticle aggregation is of great significance for elucidating the nature of reinforcing of polymer composites. The paper reports on quantum mechanics calculations and full-scale experimental study of adhesive interaction of carbon and silicate adsorption complexes (nanomodels of active filler particles of polymer composites). The quantum mechanics approach allowed describing the adhesive properties of particle aggregates reasoning from nanoscopic structure of their surface. The quantum mechanics data were checked for adequacy on schungite—a natural mineral containing carbon and silicate. Schungite microparticles were milled to nanosizes by colloidal grinding in various disperse liquid media (alcohol, acetone, water) and the structure and properties of aggregated schungite micro- and nanoparticles were studied; fractal analysis of their surface was performed. It is found that smaller aggregates of silicate and carbon particles with higher surface fractal dimension are formed in colloidal grinding with small molecular sizes of disperse media (in our case, ethanol or methanol) and this agrees with the data predicted by quantum mechanics calculations.     

Studies on pore morphology of titanium and its oxide by small angle neutron scattering

Titanium metal bodies have been prepared from the sintered powder compacts of TiO₂ by a novel molten salt electrochemical approach, known as FFC Cambridge process. The phase and compositional characterizations of both Ti and TiO₂ have been carried out by X-ray diffraction. The pore morphologies of sintered TiO₂ pellet and the metallic Ti pellet, obtained after electrochemical reduction have been studied by SANS over a scattering wave vector q range of 0.003–3.5 nm⁻¹ using a double crystal diffractometer and a pin-hole collimated SANS instrument. In the case of reduced metal pellet, average pore size was found to be larger than that of the oxide pellet as the voids left behind after the oxygen atoms left the oxide matrix, could not coalesce.      

Phase maps of polycrystalline human biological fluids networks: statistical,correlation, and fractal analysis

The complex statistical and fractal analysis of phase properties, inherent to birefringence networks of liquid crystals consisting of optically-thin layers, prepared from synovial fluid taken from human joints, is performed in this work. Within the framework of a statistical approach, the authors have investigated values and ranges for changes of statistical moments of the 1-st to the 4-th orders that characterize coordinate distributions for phase shifts between orthogonal components of amplitudes inherent to laser radiation, transformed by synovial fluid layers, for human joints with various pathologies. The correlation criteria for differentiation of phase maps, describing pathologically changed liquid-crystal networks, have been ascertained. In the framework of the fractal approach, dimensions of self-similar coordinate phase distributions as well as features of transformation of logarithmic dependences for power spectra of these distributions for various types of human joint pathologies are determined.     

Structural investigation on gamma-irradiated polyacrylamide hydrogels using small-angle neutron scattering and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectroscopic techniques are used to investigate the microstructural changes in polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels on gamma irradiation. SANS measurements have revealed the presence of inhomogeneities in nanometre scale and reduction of their size with increase in dose. Analysis of SANS data also revealed the increase in the correlation length with increase in dose. The extinction coefficient obtained from the UV–visible spectroscopic studies exhibited λ^?β dependence between 500 and 700 nm and is understood to arise from the existence of scatterers (inhomogeneities) in submicron scale in PAAm hydrogels. The increase in value of exponent β with increase in dose indicates that the size of scatterers decrease with increase in dose.