Modeling of a linear ion trap with driving rectangular waveforms

We consider the operation of a digital linear ion trap with resonant radial ejection. A sequence of rectangular voltage pulses with a dipole resonance signal is applied to the trap electrodes. The periodic waveform is piecewise constant, has zero mean, and is determined by an asymmetry parameter $d$: one value is taken on interval $\left(0,\mathit{dT}\right)$ and another on $\left(\mathit{dT},T\right)$, where $T$ is the RF period. Ion mass scanning is performed by varying the asymmetry parameter $d$ and amplitude of the negative pulse part with time. The ion oscillation frequencies and acceptance of the linear trap are calculated. The dependence of the ion mass to charge ratio $m/z$ on the parameter $d$ is $m/z~d^2$. The maximum value is about $m/z=30$ kDa for typical parameters of the linear trap: frequency 0.5 MHz, rod radius 4 mm, and negative pulse amplitude 1 kV. The dipolar excitation frequency is 0.125 MHz at which the LIT acceptance is maximal.     

The confined helium atom: An information–theoretic approach

In this article, we study the helium atom confined in a spherical impenetrable cavity by using informational measures. We use the Ritz variational method to obtain the energies and wave functions of the confined helium atom as a function of the cavity radius $r_0$. As trial wave functions we use one uncorrelated function and five explicitly correlated basis sets in Hylleraas coordinates with different degrees of electronic correlation. We computed the Shannon entropy, Fisher information, Kullback–Leibler entropy, Tsallis entropy, disequilibrium and Fisher–Shannon complexity, as a function of $r_0$. We found that these entropic measures are sensitive to electronic correlation and can be used to measure it. As expected these entropic measures are less sensitive to electron correlation in the strong confinement regime ( a.u.).     

A DFT calculation of electronic structures,magnetic, and thermoelectric properties of the new equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloy RuTiCrSi

The stabilities, mechanical, electronic, and magnetic properties of the new equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloy (EQHA) RuTiCrSi were investigated using the Kohn-Sham DFT (KS-DFT) calculations within the generalized gradient approach (GGA), the modified version of the exchange potential introduced by Becke and Johnson in addition to the GGA (mBJ-GGA), and Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE06) hybrid functional. The ground-state equilibrium energy reveals that the ferromagnetic with type 2 structure is the more stable. The RuTiCrSi is energetically, mechanically, and dynamically stable. The calculated self-consistent total magnetic moment is 2 μB and agrees well with the Slater-Pauling rule of $M_{\mathrm{t}}=\left|Z_{\mathrm{t}}-24\right|$. The electronic structure results from mBJ-GGA and HSE06 functionals show a half-metallic behavior. A high Curie temperature is obtained using the mean-field approximation. The thermoelectric response was calculated using the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation under constant relaxation time. The maximum value of Seebeck coefficient is observed at the ambient temperature of $741\mathrm{\mu V}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$. It was also observed that the power factor increases significantly as temperature rises. Therefore, the new EQHA RuTiCrSi seems to be a potential candidate for spintronic thermoelectric applications.     

On physical analysis of entropy measures for sodium oxide via statistical models

This study delves into a comprehensive physical analysis of entropy measures applied to sodium oxide ${\text{Na}}_2\text{O}$. A key idea in information theory and thermodynamics, entropy is essential to comprehending the stability of a system. The study clarifies the intricate relationships and physical properties of ${\text{Na}}_2\text{O}$ by combining theoretical analysis with statistical methods, providing important knowledge for material design and industrial operations. In a chemical graph, atoms are shown by vertices while their bonding are illustrated by edges. Sodium oxide is a major contributor to manufacture glass, it also has potential applications in ${\text{CO}}_2$ sequestration, transparent materials, biomedical devices and nano grating glass. A topological index is a relationship between the molecular graph and its topology. We have computed various graph entropies based on different topological indices of chemical graph of sodium oxide. Further we have integrated these graph entropies with distinct thermodynamical measures of sodium oxide by developing mathematical models between both quantities. We have developed these mathematical frameworks in MATLAB. All the models are selected relying on the least mean squared error or sum of squared error.     

Cn,CnH and their anions: Quest for linearity with n≤8 even versus odd,and beyond

Using the concept of quasi-molecule (“tile”) and the database of quasi-molecules embedded on a parent molecule, it is discussed whether the latter can attain linear form or otherwise. Besides anew accurate optimization of all tiles (quasi-triatomics) at various levels of ab initio theory and basis-sets, the nature of the predicted stationary points for the title parent molecules is probed through a priori calculations here too reported. Also discussed is the common rule that even- $n$ ${\text{C}}_n{\text{H}}^{-}$ anions are linear while odd-numbered ones tend to have nonlinear isomers. The reported quasi-molecule approach is general, and allow the prediction of linearity or otherwise of the parent systems prior to calculations on them. When based on an extension of the bisection method (Varandas, Int. J. Quantum Chem. 2023 , 123, e27036.), it is easy to use even for large parent molecules, as illustrated for neutral and anionic carbon clusters with $n\ge 9$.     

Topological defects on the energy spectra of diatomic molecules embedded with shifted Deng–Fan oscillator potential under AB flux field

A study on the effect of point like global monopole topological defects on the energy eigenvalues of the diatomic molecules $H_2$, $LiH$, $CO$, $HCl$ embedded with Shifted Deng–Fan Oscillator Potential under the influence of Aharonov–Bohm flux field has been made here. Asymptotic Iteration Method (AIM) is used to find out the bound state solutions for arbitrary $l$ states by solving the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation. A Pekeris-type approximation has been used to approximate the centrifugal barrier term. It is observed that, energy levels of the diatomic molecules is significantly affected by the global effects of the point like global monopole, flux field and effective potential field.     

Preparation and corrosion resistance of polyaniline and waterborne polyurethane composite coating film

Polyaniline (PANI) particles were synthesized using aniline (AN), dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid (DBSA), and ammonium persulfate (APS). The particles were analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A PANI/waterborne polyurethane composite material (PANI-WPU) was obtained by combining it with polyethylene glycol (PEG600), diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA), N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), and dibutyltin lauric acid (DBTDL). The structure was characterized by the FTIR spectrum. The mechanical characteristics of the coating film were evaluated with respect to the PANI content, as well as its water absorption, glossiness, electrochemical corrosion resistance, and acid and alkali resistance. The PANI/waterborne polyurethane film has a maximum tensile strength of 23 $\pm 1$ MPa, an elongation of 1012%, a pencil hardness of 5H, a flexibility of 2 mm, an impact resistance of 50 cm, the water absorption of 14.66%, and the glossiness of 99.9 $\pm 0.1$ at 60°. When the PANI content is 0.7%, the mechanical characteristics, glossiness, and anti-corrosion performance of the composite film improve. The corrosion inhibition efficiency of the aqueous polyurethane coating film with PANI can reach 99.74%, as shown by the examination of electrochemical polarization curves and impedance spectra. The tinplate is coated with a 0.7% PANI-WPU composite material and edge sealing. This coating provides excellent protection against acid and alkali resistance, as demonstrated by its ability to withstand immersion in 10% H₂SO₄ and 10% NaOH solution for 90 days without any paint peeling off.     

Spherically confined hydrogenic atoms under classical non-ideal plasmas: Scaling law for the critical cage size

An elegant calculation is carried out to investigate the effects of the non-ideality of classical plasma on the energy levels of the hydrogenic atoms held in a spherical cage. Organized effect of the non-ideal classical plasma is described by an analytical pseudopotential which contains the Debye length $D$ and non-ideality parameter $\gamma$ as parameters. Convergent results for the bound states are obtained variationally by utilizing a large trail function containing cosine term which automatically takes care of the requisite boundary conditions. For the plasma-free case, our results are in excellent agreement with the most accurate results available in the literature. An inclusive study is made to explore the changes emerging in the energy levels due to the variation of the plasma parameters and cage size. Special emphasis is made on the determination of critical cage size precisely. The present study specifically reveals that the increasing plasma non-ideality leads to the elongation of the critical cage size. Moreover, it is empirically found that the critical cage size for a given hydrogenic atom can be obtained from a scaling law.     

Dielectrophoresis microbial characterization and isolation of Staphylococcus aureus based on optimum crossover frequency

Characterization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a significant concern that persists for the rapid classification and analysis of the bacteria. A technology that utilizes the manipulation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is key to solving the significant threat of these pathogenic bacteria by rapid characterization profile. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) can differentiate between antibiotic-resistant and susceptible bacteria based on their physical structure and polarization properties. In this work, the DEP response of two Gram-positive bacteria, namely, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), was investigated and simulated. The DEP characterization was experimentally observed on the bacteria influenced by oxacillin and vancomycin antibiotics. MSSA control without antibiotics has crossover frequencies ($f_{x0}$) from 6 to 8 MHz, whereas MRSA control is from 2 to 3 MHz. The $f_{x0}$ changed when bacteria were exposed to the antibiotic. As for MSSA, the $f_{x0}$ decreased to 3.35 MHz compared to $f_{x0}$ MSSA control without antibiotics, MRSA, $f_{x0}$ increased to 7 MHz when compared to MRSA control. The changes in the DEP response of MSSA and MRSA with and without antibiotics were theoretically proven using MyDEP and COMSOL simulation and experimentally based on the modification to the bacteria cell walls. Thus, the DEP response can be employed as a label-free detectable method to sense and differentiate between resistant and susceptible strains with different antibiotic profiles. The developed method can be implemented on a single platform to analyze and identify bacteria for rapid, scalable, and accurate characterization.     

Compressed lithium atom under Debye screening

In the present paper, we introduced two approximation methods to investigate the spherically compressed lithium atom under the influence of Debye plasma. Specifically, the diffusion and the variational Monte Carlo methods are used for the first time to study this case. We incorporated an exponential screening into the nuclear Coulomb potential to account for the plasma influence. We focused our investigation on analyzing the combined effect of compression and plasma environment on the behavior of the lithium atom in its ground state. The resulting outcomes exhibited consistent pattern across various confinement radii $R_c$ and Debye plasma lengths $\mu$. Many of the results are novel contributions, as they have yet to be explored. Moreover, the findings from this study demonstrated reasonable agreement with the limited existing theoretical results.     

TD-DFT analysis of the excitation of H-dimers of cationic dyes in an aqueous solution using functionals without additional dispersion correction

This work is a development and extension of the previous one (DOI: 10.1039/d3cp00882g ). Here, H-dimers of acridine (acridine orange—AO and proflavine—PF), thiazine (methylene blue—MB and thionine—TH), and oxazine (brilliant cresyl blue—BCB and Nile blue—NB) dyes were modeled using hybrid functionals with a large proportion of exact Hartree–Fock exchange and long-range correction. It turned out that nine functionals (LC-ωHPBE, M06HF, M052X, M062X, M08HX, M11, MN15, SOGGA11X, and ωB97XD) reliably stabilize these molecular aggregates in both the ground and excited states. In addition, these functionals ensure that the conditions for transition moments (M(dimer) ≈ $\sqrt{2}$M(monomer) from strong coupling theory for H-aggregates) and absorption maxima (λ_max(dimer) < λ_max(monomer) from Kasha exciton theory) are met. The S₂ excited state stabilizes the H-dimers more strongly than the ground state, while the S₁ state stabilizes even more than S₂. This is due to the large overlap between the corresponding molecular orbitals (LUMO > HOMO−1 > HOMO). When calculating the vibronic absorption spectra, the best agreement with the experiment for AO₂, PF₂, and NB₂ showed the M08HX functional, and M11—for MB₂ and BCB₂. For dye monomers, these functionals gave the worst agreement, and MN15 demonstrated the closest similarity to the experiment. Vibronic absorption spectra for AO₂, MB₂, BCB₂, and NB₂ were calculated for the first time. The exciton splitting is calculated, which for MB₂ is in good agreement with the experimental value.     

The role of monomer geometry on the properties of polyolefins: A numerical study

We explore the role of monomer geometry on the structural, dynamic, and thermodynamic properties of polyolefis by employing all-atom molecular dynamic simulations. Specifically, we compare properties of atactic polyolefins in the molten state including polypropylene (aPP), a short-chain branched polymer: poy(1-hexene) (aPH), and a polymer having cyclic olefins: poly(vinyl cyclobutane) (aPVCB). We find polymers having the same chain mass and atom composition (hydrocarbon-based molecules), but having different monomer architecture differ strongly in material properties. In particular, the polymer glass transition ( $T_{\mathrm{g}}$) and bulk modulus ( $B$) show higher values for aPVCB in comparison to aPP and aPH. This increase is caused by having the carbon atoms in a cyclic structure, making aPVCB achieve higher mass and energy densities. By contrast, adding linear short side chains to polymer backbones causes a reduction in $T_{\mathrm{g}}$ and $B$, since side chains make backbones displace each other reducing their packing and thus their mass and energy densities. More broadly, our numerical results suggest that the incorporation of VCB monomers to linear polyolefins will enhance their properties, opening the possibility for designing a new set of materials.