Studies on the radiolytic stability of N,N,N′,N′-tetra-2-ethylhexyl diglycolamide in n-dodecane solution containing different phase modifiers

The radiolytic stability of a branched diglycolamide extractant, namely N,N,N′,N′-tetra-2-ethylhexyl diglycolamide (T2EHDGA) dissolved in n-dodecane containing several phase modifiers, viz. N,N-dihexyloctanamide (DHOA), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP), 1-decanol and iso-decanol has been investigated. The distribution ratio of Am(III) decreased with increased radiation dose studied up to 1000 kGy. Nevertheless, all the composition of extractants showed satisfactory results up to 500 kGy, beyond which the extractants degraded drastically. The stripping behaviour of Am(III) with 0.2 M HNO₃ was found to be unaffected even with the ligand solution irradiated up to 1000 kGy. Extraction of fission product and structural elements was also investigated using the irradiated solvents and was found to be not significantly affected with increasing absorbed dose with the exception of Mo which showed sharp rise in the distribution coefficient values. Loading of Nd in the organic phase decreased with the irradiated solvent due to degradation of the carrier. The effect of the absorbed dose on physical parameters such as density, viscosity and interfacial tension of the solvents has also been investigated.     

Alpha radiolytic degradation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N</Emphasis>-dihexyl octanamide

The primary purpose of this study was to understand the alpha radiolytic degradation behavior of N,N-dihexyl octanamide (DHOA) vis a vis tributyl phosphate (TBP) solutions in n-dodecane under plutonium loading conditions. These studies were carried out as a function of dose on different Pu loaded samples (containing 0.002-10 g/L Pu) from 4 M HNO₃ medium. These Pu loaded solutions were evaluated for stripping behavior by contacting with 0.5 M NH₂OH at 0.5 M HNO₃ solutions. Organic phase analysis was carried out by gas chromatography (GC) and by visible spectrophotometry. These studies clearly indicated that Pu stripping becomes difficult with increased dose in the case of TBP system. On the other hand, no such problem was observed in DHOA system during stripping of plutonium, thereby indicating that DHOA is a promising candidate for the reprocessing of high burn up Pu rich spent fuels.     

Near‐exact supersymmetric partner potentials: Construction and exploitation

Precise supersymmetric (SUSY) partner potentials can be generated only for exactly solvable problems of the stationary Schrödinger equation. This is a severe restriction, as most problems are not amenable to exact solutions. We employ here a linear variational strategy to explicitly construct approximate SUSY partners of a few common, not exactly solvable potentials and subsequently examine their properties to explore the advantages in practical implementation. The efficacy of our proposed scheme is commendable. We demonstrate that, for symmetric potentials, the constructed partners may be so good that the overall recipe has the nicety of generating the whole eigenspectrum by employing only half of the full Hilbert space functions. A similar strategy is shown to work for the odd states too, with proper boundary conditions. Pilot calculations involve a number of low‐lying states of some mixed oscillator and double‐well potentials. Analysis of the results reveals a few interesting features of the problem of construction of approximate SUSY partners and their practical use. Particularly, we identify places where the operator‐level approximations are involved and how far they affect the bounding properties of energies that are obtained as eigenvalues of a matrix diagonalization problem associated with linear variations. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

The Oscillation Frequency of B and a][1,3]oxazino[6,5-c]phenazine derivatives via one pot four-component domino protocol in water

A catalyst-free multicomponent reaction (MCR) capable of affording a wide range of novel benzo[a][1,3]oxazino[6,5-c]phenazine derivatives via one pot two-step domino protocol, in water is reported. Catalyst-free conditions along with green solvent system make the process ecofriendly as well as economical. Simple reaction conditions, easy work-up isolation, and purification of products are the significant advantages of the present protocol.     

Investigation of interface,microstructure, and mechanical properties of layered thermal barrier coatings of lanthanum zirconate and YSZ deposited by EB‐PVD process

Microstructure of the double‐layered ceramic thermal barrier coatings of lanthanum zirconate (LZ) and yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with bond coat on Ni‐based superalloy deposited by electron beam evaporation process has been studied. Two sets of combination of LZ and YSZ were deposited: one LZ over YSZ and the other YSZ over LZ. The interfaces of each layer were studied and were found to be sharp; however, some diffusion of elements from below layer was observed. The detailed selected area diffraction of the phases was carried out from the coating cross‐section specimens. The LZ layer was mostly found to be amorphous, and fine columnar growth was observed. The YSZ layer over LZ showed two different crystal structures at interface and at the top surface, which were cubic and tetragonal, respectively. The YSZ layers showed clear columnar grains with feather‐like intercalated structure Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.