Block Copolymer Micellar Nanoreactors for the Directed Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles

We report the simple one‐pot synthesis of size tunable zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) out of an organometallic ZnO precursor using the self‐assembly of solution phase polystyrene‐block‐poly(2‐vinylpyridine) micelles. The resulting hybrid material could be deposited on various substrates in a straightforward manner with the NPs showing size‐dependent absorption and photoluminescence due to the quantum‐size effect. We compare the results to the assembly of preformed NPs which are selectively incorporated in the poly(2‐vinylpyridine) core of the micelles due to the high affinity of ZnO to vinylpyridine.

     

Existenzbeweise zur Theorie des Potentiales in der Ebene und im Raume

Ohne ZusammenfassungA. d. Berichten der k. sächs. Ges. d. W. v. Jahre 1886.     

Preparation and characterization of hydrophobic superparamagnetic magnetite gel

The present study describes the preparation and analysis of a highly concentrated hydrophobic oleic acid-coated magnetite gel. By contrast to conventional techniques to prepare magnetic fluids, herein the oleic acid was introduced as a reactant during the initial crystallization phase of magnetite that was obtained by the co-precipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) salts by addition of ammonium hydroxide. The resulting gelatinous hydrophobic magnetite was characterized in terms of morphology, particle size, magnetic properties, crystal structure, and hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity. This magnetic gel exhibited superparamagnetism with a saturation magnetization of 46.0 emu/g at room temperature and could be well dispersed both in polar and nonpolar carrier liquids. This protocol produced highly concentrated hydrophobic magnetic gel for biopolymer encapsulations.     

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the partial oxidation of methanol on oxygen-covered Cu(1 1 0)

The partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde on oxygen-precovered Cu(1 1 0) has been studied using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The rates entering the simulation have been derived from density functional theory calculations within the generalized gradient approximation using transition state theory. We demonstrate that kinetic Monte Carlo simulations are a powerful tool to elucidate the microscopic details of the reaction kinetics on surfaces. Furthermore, the comparison of calculated and measured temperature programmed desorption rates allows a genuine assessment of the calculated barrier heights. We find that some of the calculated barriers and adsorption energies have to be adjusted by up to 0.5 eV in order to reproduce the measured desorption spectra. Possible reasons for the discrepancies between experiment and theory are discussed.     

Magnetic viruses via nano-capsid templates

Biological templating of inorganic nanoparticles provides promising opportunities to address the grand challenge in nanoscience of realizing the full potential of self-assembled materials. We implement such biotemplating to create magnetic nanoparticles by utilizing native protein capsid shells derived in high yield from the T7 bacteriophage virus. The magnetic nanoparticles are grown via bio-mineralization reactions inside of hollowed-out capsids that retain their original chemical recognition properties. The resultant “magnetic viruses” are uniform in geometry, physical properties, and biochemical functionality. We first coax the DNA out of the T7 virus by means of an alkaline treatment, and then grow magnetic cobalt particles inside the remaining hollow capsid shell. Related methods of fabricating bio-functional magnetic nanoparticles have utilized either recombinant, single-protein-type capsids, or involve coating previously synthesized inorganic particles with bio-ligands. Given the richness of the protein types that form the native T7 capsid, our magnetic viruses can be tailored to tune the bio-functionality and/or bio-tagging of a sample. As an example, we consider a nano-biomagnetic sensing scheme that would utilize the T7 capsid to control the magnetic nanoparticle size distribution.     

Numerical Solvers for Radiation and Conduction in High Temperature Gas Flows

In this paper, the authors introduce a robust numerical technique for radiation–conduction heat transfer in the high temperature fields of gas turbine combustors. The conduction and radiation effects are analyzed by a differential and an integral equation, respectively. Using discrete ordinates for the angular discretization of the integral equation for the radiation effects and a Galerkin discretization for the heat equation, the authors propose a fast multilevel algorithm to solve the fully discretized problem. The algorithm uses the same mesh hierarchy for both radiation and conduction effects, but with two different smoothing operators. Numerical results are shown for test problems in three space dimensions, and comparisons to other methods are also given.     

Phase-Doppler Particle Sizing with Off-Axis Angles in Alexander's Darkband

A promising optical layout for standard phase-Doppler particle sizing instruments for use in two-phase flows with extremely limited optical access is presented. When applied to turbine oil of variable temperature and therefore refractive index (1.40< n < 1.46), the layout procedure leads to several suitable off-axis configurations. From these, a backscatter angle of ? = 125° is chosen owing to several geometrical restrictions. Although this angle lies in Alexander's darkband and therefore the intensities are low, the theoretical analysis indicates that this configuration is extremely insensitive to Gaussian-beam defects, which usually aggravate backscatter applications. Monosized droplet experiments confirmed the application of the configuration and showed an acceptable accuracy of the measurements. Experiments in a bearing chamber test rig gave reliable results and for the first time allowed an insight into the flow phenomena of this highly complex technical two-phase flow.