Metallurgical phases and their magnetism at the interface of nanoscale MgB2/Fe layered structures

We report on the characterization of metallurgical phases and their magnetism at the interfaces of nanoscale MgB(2)/Fe layered structures. MgB(2)/(57)Fe multilayers with varying layer thicknesses were prepared by vacuum deposition and investigated, before and after annealing by electrical resistance measurements, x-ray diffraction and (57)Fe conversion-electron M?ssbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) down to 5 K. Interfacial Fe-B phases, such as Fe(2)B, were identified by CEMS. A superparamagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition is observed with increasing (57)Fe film thickness. Ultrahigh vacuum annealing at 500 °C of the multilayers leads to strong diffusion of Fe atoms into the boundary regions of the MgB(2) layers. MgB(2) in the as-grown multilayers is non-superconducting. Structural disorder and the effect of Fe interdiffusion contribute to the suppression of superconductivity in the MgB(2) films of all the as-grown multilayers and the thinner annealed multilayers. However, an annealed MgB(2)/(57)Fe/MgB(2) trilayer with thicker (500 ?) MgB(2) layers is observed to be superconducting with an onset temperature of 25 K. At 5 K, the annealed trilayer can be conceived as being strongly chemically modulated, consisting of two partially Fe-doped superconducting MgB(2) layers separated by an interdiffused weakly magnetic Fe-B interlayer, which is characterized by a low hyperfine magnetic field B(hf) of ～11 T. This chemically modulated layer structure of the trilayer after annealing was verified by Rutherford backscattering.     

A direct higher order discretization in singular perturbations via domain split - A computational approach

In this paper the domain split concept as known from domain decomposition is combined with higher order difference discretizations to construct direct methods for the numerical treatment of singularly perturbed two-point boundary value problems.     

Area Estimates of Images of Disks under Analytic Functions

Let D_r := {z = x + iy ∈ C : |z| r}, r ≤ 1. For a normalized analytic function f in the unit disk D := D1, estimating the Dirichlet integral Δ(r, f) =∫∫_(D_r)|f'(z)|~2 dxdy, z = x + iy, is an important classical problem in complex analysis. Geometrically, Δ(r, f) represents the area of the image of D_r under f counting multiplicities. In this paper, our main ob jective is to estimate areas of images of D_r under non-vanishing analytic functions of the form(z/f)~μ, μ 0, in principal powers,when f ranges over certain classes of analytic and univalent functions in D.     

Microwave assisted synthesis of novel Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridines, acridine-1,8-diones and polyhydroquinolines bearing the tetrazolo[1,5-a]quinoline moiety and their antimicrobial activity assess

Microwave assisted efficient Hantzsch reaction via four-component coupling reactions of tetrazolo[1,5-α]quinoline-4-carbal-dehyde, dimedone/cyclohexane-1,3-dione,ethyl/methyl acetoacetate and ammonium acetate was described as the preparation of tetrazolo[1,5-α]quinoline based 1,4-dihydropyridines,acridine-1,8-diones and polyhydroquinolines.The process presented here is simple,rapid,environmentally welcoming and high yielding.All the derivatives were subjected to an in vitro antimicrobial screening against a representative panel of bacteria and fungi and results worth further investigations.     

Strengthening of liquid crystalline polymer by functionalized carbon nanotubes through interfacial interaction and homogeneous dispersion

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were functionalized with two types of chemical moieties (i.e. carboxylic, ? COOH and hydroxyl benzoic acid groups, ‐HBA) on their sidewalls in order to improve their interaction with a liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) and dispersion in LCP. We have investigated the rheological, mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and thermal properties in detail with variation of HBA‐functionalized MWCNTs in the LCP matrix. Effect of the dispersion state of the functionalized MWCNTs in the LCP matrix on the rheological behavior was also studied. The composites containing HBA‐functionalized MWCNTs showed higher complex viscosity, storage, and loss modulus than the composites with the same loading of raw MWCNTs and MWCNT‐COOH. It was suggested that the HBA‐functionalized MWCNTs exhibited a better dispersion in the polymer matrix and formed stronger CNT‐polymer interaction in the composites than the raw MWCNTs and MWCNT‐COOH, which was also confirmed by FESEM and FTIR studies. As a result, the overall mechanical performance of the HBA‐MWCNT‐LCP composites could be improved significantly. For example, the addition of 4 wt% HBA‐MWCNT to LCP resulted in the considerable improvements in the tensile strength and modulus of LCP (by 66 and 90%, respectively). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diblock copolymer lamellae on sinusoidal and fractal surfaces

A scaling analysis of equilibrium orientation of diblock copolymer molecules on fractal surfaces and a brief comparison with a particular experiment is presented in this paper. This work is motivated by a recent experimental finding that a diblock copolymer film of polystyrene-PMMA, when deposited on a rough substrate, can orient its lamellae from a parallel to a perpendicular configuration depending on the topographical characteristics of the substrate surface. It was found that the RMS height itself is not enough to effect the equilibrium configuration, but the fractal dimension of the surface is also important. In general, the orientation of lamellae is a function of the the power spectral density (PSD) curves of the underlying substrate surface. Assuming the diblock lamellae to behave like an Alexander-deGennes brush, we obtain the free energy expressions for this brush in both parallel and perpendicular orientations in various asymptotic regimes. Comparison of their free energy expressions predicts the equilibrium configuration. By examining the PSD curves and using our scaling results, we are able to qualitatively explain some aspects of the experimental observations regarding the equilibrium orientation of the diblock copolymer lamellae on rough surfaces.     

Surface temperature effect on the scattering of D2(v = 0, j = 0)-Cu(111) system

We perform four-dimensional (4D?2D) as well as six-dimensional (6D) quantum dynamics on a parametrically time- and temperature-dependent effective Hamiltonian for D(2)(v, j)-Cu(111) system, where such effective potential has been derived through a mean-field approach between molecular degrees of freedom and surface modes with Bose-Einstein probability factor for their initial state distribution. We present the convergence of the theoretically calculated sticking probabilities employing 4D?2D quantum dynamics with increasing number of surface atoms as well as layers for rigid surface and the surface at a particular temperature, where the temperature-dependent sticking probabilities appear exclusively dictated by those surface modes directed along the Z-axis. The sticking and state-to-state transition probabilities obtained from 6D quantum dynamics are shown as a function of initial kinetic energy of the diatom at different surface temperature. Theoretically calculated sticking probabilities display the similar trend with the experimentally measured one.     

Seasonal and diurnal variations of radon/thoron exhalation rate in Kanto-loam area in Japan

Radon and thoron concentration in the outdoor environment are affected by the magnitude of the exhalation rate that can vary diurnally and seasonally. This paper presents measurement results of radon and thoron exhalation rates and gamma-ray dose rate in different season at same location points in Gunma Prefecture Japan. Exhalation rates were measured by the MSZ instrument which is based on the accumulation method. Three measurement points Katashina Village, Midori City and Takasaki City were selected for measurement. Soil water saturation and soil temperature were measured to investigate their relationship with exhalation rate. The diurnal variation of exhalation rate may be correlated with soil temperature but no clear relationship was found between them. The gamma-ray dose rate do not vary significantly at the same places even in different season. The average radon exhalation rates were 11 ± 2, 2 ± 1, 5 ± 3 and 11 ± 4 mBq m⁻² s⁻¹ for spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Those for thoron were 1,100 ± 100, 120 ± 30, 250 ± 80 and 860 ± 140 mBq m⁻² s⁻¹. Thus there was a variation of radon and thoron exhalation rate with different seasons. The radon and thoron exhalation rates in the summer and autumn surveys are higher than those in the spring and winter surveys which were affected by rainfall. It indicates that water saturation is an influential factor for radon and thoron exhalation rates.     

Photocatalytic synthesis of urea from in situ generated ammonia and carbon dioxide

TiO(2) and Fe-titanate (different wt%) supported on zeolite were prepared by sol-gel and solid-state dispersion methods. The photocatalysts prepared were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and ultraviolet (UV)-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques. Photocatalytic reduction of nitrate in water and isopropanol/oxalic acid as hole scavengers are investigated in a batch reactor under UV illumination. The yield of urea increased notably when the catalysts were supported on zeolite. The Fe-titanate supported catalyst promotes the charge separation that contributes to an increase in selective formation of urea. The product formation is because of the high adsorption of in situ generated CO(2) and NH(3) over shape-selective property of the zeolite in the composite photocatalyst. The maximum yield of urea is found to be 18 ppm while 1% isopropanol containing solution over 10 wt% Fe-titanate/HZSM-5 photocatalyst was used.     

A clean and expedient synthesis of spirooxindoles in aqueous media catalyzed over nanocrystalline MgO

An efficient and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of spirooxindoles with fused tetrahydrochromenes has been demonstrated using basic nanocrystalline MgO catalyst in aqueous condition. The method has been applied for the synthesis of a range of compounds with variable functionalities in excellent yield and selectivity.