Cluster integrals of convex molecule systems

Cluster integrals assigned to particles interacting via the Kihara non-spherical potential are studied theoretically. An exact formula is derived which allows one to consider the effect of molecular shape separately from the effect of soft interactions. Employing the proposed formalism, the cluster integrals are analysed. The approach is applied to determine the third virial coefficient and an efficient computational method is developed. The third virial coefficient was calculated for a combination of molecules with hard cores of prolate spher-ocylindrical- and spherical shapes interacting via the square-well, triangle-well and 12-6 pair potentials. Comparison with numerical results obtained by Monte Carlo integration is made and fair agreement is found.     

Molecular structure and IR spectra of bromomethanes by DFT and post-Hartree-Fock MP2 and CCSD(T) calculations

The molecular parameters (geometries, rotational constants, dipole moments) and vibrational IR spectra (harmonic wavenumbers, absolute intensities) of bromomethanes (CH₃Br, CH₂Br₂, CHBr₃, CBr₄) are predicted by a density functional theory with the hybrid Becke3-LYP functional (DFT) and post-Hartree-Fock methods (MP2, CCSD(T)) using a 6-311G(2d,2p)-type basis set. The MP2 calculations are carried out with different numbers of frozen core orbitals to find how the number of bromine orbitals used for electron correlation influences the predicted molecular parameters and IR spectra of the species in question. Three options were used: (a) all electrons (full), with both the core and valence orbitals considered; (b) partial frozen core option (pfc), when the orbitals up to 3p of bromine were frozen; and (c) full frozen core option (ffc), when all core orbitals up to 3d were frozen. The CCSD(T) calculations for geometric parameters were carried out with both the pfc and ffc options, while for the prediction of the IR spectra only the ffc option was used. In addition, the calculations at the DFT and MP2(pfc) levels with inclusion of f functions on carbon and bromine atoms in bromomethanes (and also the CCSD(T)(pfc) calculations for CH₃Br) were carried out to predict the changes in the geometric parameters and/or vibrational IR spectra of the molecules upon inclusion of f functions The geometries of bromomethanes (particularly the CBr bond lengths) are predicted better by the DFT and CCSD(T) calculations when the f functions (in particular on bromine atom) are included, while the MP2 calculations without f functions are good enough for correct predictions of the molecular geometries. The molecular parameters and vibrational IR spectra of bromomethanes in question and their deuterated species predicted by the DFT, MP2(ffc) and CCSD(T)(ffc) with the 6-311G(2d,2p) basis set agree well with the available experimental data.     

Characterizing unusual metal substrates for gap‐mode tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

In this article, the electromagnetic (EM) field in gap‐mode tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is investigated theoretically and experimentally for a range of commonly used and unusual metal and nonmetal substrates. By approaching a metal tip to a substrate, both form a coupled system that confines the EM field created at the tip apex. The influence of the substrate onto the EM field enhancement is observed in a top‐illumination gap‐mode TERS setup for different metal substrates. These include Au, the most commonly used substrate, and also a wide range of rarely or previously unused TERS substrates (Cu, Ag, Al, Pd, Pt, Ni, Ti, Mo, W, stainless steel, Al₂O₃, SiO₂). Self‐assembled monolayers of thiols and brilliant cresyl blue thin film samples are investigated experimentally on nine metal substrates, all showing considerable TERS enhancement. With finite difference time domain and finite element simulations used, the article provides a good estimate of the EM field enhancement for a wide range of substrates for users to estimate how well a substrate of choice will perform in a gap‐mode TERS experiment. The reduction in EM field strength |E²| compared with Au is less than an order of magnitude for many metals (Calculations: Cu 92%, Ag 81%, Ni 53%). This article experimentally shows that a wide variety of conductive substrates can be used, when one is willing to trade a fraction of the EM field enhancement. TERS was seen on all metal substrates including stainless steel, yet quantification was not always possible. These qualitative results were complemented with intensities from calculations. The wider variety of substrates will increase the applicability of TERS and evolve it one step further towards use in standard analytics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Munich Compact Light Source: initial performance measures

While large‐scale synchrotron sources provide a highly brilliant monochromatic X‐ray beam, these X‐ray sources are expensive in terms of installation and maintenance, and require large amounts of space due to the size of storage rings for GeV electrons. On the other hand, laboratory X‐ray tube sources can easily be implemented in laboratories or hospitals with comparatively little cost, but their performance features a lower brilliance and a polychromatic spectrum creates problems with beam hardening artifacts for imaging experiments. Over the last decade, compact synchrotron sources based on inverse Compton scattering have evolved as one of the most promising types of laboratory‐scale X‐ray sources: they provide a performance and brilliance that lie in between those of large‐scale synchrotron sources and X‐ray tube sources, with significantly reduced financial and spatial requirements. These sources produce X‐rays through the collision of relativistic electrons with infrared laser photons. In this study, an analysis of the performance, such as X‐ray flux, source size and spectra, of the first commercially sold compact light source, the Munich Compact Light Source, is presented.     

Mechanosynthesis of YIG and GdIG: A Structural and Mössbauer Study

We have investigated the mechanosynthesis of gadolinium and yttrium iron garnets by high-energy ball-milling of α-Fe₂O₃ and Gd₂O₃ or α-Fe₂O₃ and Y₂O₃, respectively, followed by short thermal annealings conducted at moderate temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy, in order to determine the influence of the milling time and annealing conditions on the final products. For as-milled samples of each rare-earth system, the results revealed the formation of perovskite phases, in relative amounts that depend on the milling time. The formation of garnet phases was observed in as-annealed samples treated at 1000°C for 2 h or 1100°C for 3 h, i.e., at very modest annealing requirements when compared with ordinary solid-state-reaction processes performed without previous high-energy milling. Also, the occurrence was verified of a milling time for which the relative amount of garnet phases formed by annealing was maximized. This time depends on the rare-earth composing the garnet phase and on the annealing temperature.     

Peels of buckyballs

The polymer analogous aromatization of double-stranded Diels-Alder polymers to give fully unsaturated, all-carbon ladder polymers by means of dehydration and dehydrogenation is described. The polymers obtained were characterized by solid state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.