Microwave determination of the conformation and dipole moment of 1,3-difluoroacetone

The microwave spectra of the ground state and several low-lying vibrational modes of 1,3-difluoroacetone have been assigned and analyzed. The assigned form has a molecular conformation in which one fluorine atom lies cis and the other trans to the oxygen atom. The rotational constants of the ground state species were determined using a centrifugal distortion analysis: A = 6024.843 ± 0.006 MHz, B = 2454.414 ± 0.001 MHz, C = 1783.897 ± 0.001 MHz. The molecular dipole moment components of the ground state species lie along the a and b principal axes with μ_a = 2.38 ± 0.03 D, μ_b = 0.89 ± 0.03 D, and μ_T = 2.54 ± 0.03 D. Comparative intensity measurements with OCS microwave lines indicate that the assigned form constitutes only 20% to 30% of the total gas mixture, the remainder presumably consisting of one or more other conformers, perhaps the gauche-gauche form. The lowest vibrational frequency (82 ± 12 cm^?1) is attributed to the trans-CH₂F torsion, while the next-higher vibrational frequency (127 ± 15 cm^?1) is believed to be the cis-torsion. A low-frequency in-plane bending motion is found at 285 ± 25 cm^?1.     

Observation of CP violation in K(L)-->pi(+)pi(-)e(+)e(-) decays

We report the first observation of a manifestly CP violating effect in the K(L)-->pi(+)pi(-)e(+)e(-) decay mode. A large asymmetry was observed in the distribution of these decays in the CP-odd and T-odd angle straight phi between the decay planes of the e(+)e(-) and pi(+)pi(-) pairs in the K(L) center of mass system. After acceptance corrections, the overall asymmetry is found to be [13.6+/-2. 5(stat)+/-1.2(syst)]%. This is the largest CP-violating effect yet observed when integrating over the entire phase space of a mode and the first such effect observed in an angular variable.     

Search for the weak decay of a lightly bound H0 dibaryon

We present results of a search for a new form of hadronic matter, a six-quark, dibaryon state called the H0, a state predicted to exist in several theoretical models. Analyzing data collected by experiment E799-II at Fermilab, we searched for the decay H0-->Lambdappi(-) and found no candidate events. We place an upper limit on [B(H0-->Lambdappi(-))dsigma(H)/dOmega]/(dsigma(Xi)/dOmega) and, in the context of published models, exclude the region of lightly bound mass states just below the LambdaLambda mass threshold, 2.194相似文献   

Measurement of the branching ratio and asymmetry of the decay Xi degrees -->Sigma degrees gamma

We have studied the rare weak radiative hyperon decay Xi degrees -->Sigma degrees gamma in the KTeV experiment at Fermilab. We have identified 4045 signal events over a background of 804 events. The dominant Xi degrees -->Lambdapi degrees decay, which was used for normalization, is the only important background source. An analysis of the acceptance of both modes yields a branching ratio of B(Xi degrees -->Sigma degrees gamma)/B(Xi degrees -->Lambdapi degrees ) = (3.34+/-0.05+/-0.09)x10(-3). By analyzing the final state decay distributions, we have also determined that the Sigma degrees emission asymmetry parameter for this decay is alpha(XiSigma) = -0.63+/-0.09.     

Synthesis and characterization of geopolymer-zeolites from Ghanaian Kaolin samples by variation of two synthesis parameters

Two kaolinitic clays from two Regions of Ghana: Western and Volta Regions, were first calcined at 600 °C for 2 h to transform into the amorphous aluminosilicate phases. The effects of kaolin and alkali ratio as well as aging on the amount and types of zeolite in the resultant geopolymers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transformed spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and specific surface area measurements. Alkali activation treatment of the metakaolin yielded bulk materials with different amounts and types of zeolite and different particle size distributions. The results showed that initial kaolin samples were dependent on the concentration of alkali treatment and crystallization time during the activation treatment and produced zeolite type A along with quartz which showed no reactivity regardless of the variation of the synthesis parameter.

     

Tetracycline speciation during molecular imprinting in xerogels results in class-selective binding

The creation of tetracycline (TC) responsive molecularly imprinted xerogels (MIXs) was investigated using electronic absorbance, liquid chromatography-ion-trap mass spectrometry (LC-ITMS), and first-principles theory. Experimental results show that the template molecule converts to its epimer, 4-epitetracycline (ETC), during the imprinting process. Additionally, end capping of the MIX surface silanols transforms TC into anhydrotetracycline (ATC) and 4-epianhydrotetracycline (EATC). Hence, despite aiming to imprint for a single analyte (TC), one simultaneously imprints for up to four analogs (TC, ETC, EATC and ATC) within a MIX. Binding studies using LC-MS showed the binding of the prepared xerogels with the four analogs. In some formulations, preferential uptake of ETC, EATC and ATC relative to the template molecule (TC) was observed. Computations of the interaction energies between silane monomers and the four analogs reveal that ETC, EATC and ATC have higher interaction energies and are more likely to be imprinted in comparison to TC.     

A xerogel-sequestered selenoxide catalyst for brominations with hydrogen peroxide and sodium bromide in an aqueous environment

4-(Hydroxymethyl)phenyl benzyl selenoxide (4) sequestered in a halide-permeable, Class II xerogel formed from 10/90 (mol/mol) 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane/tetraethoxysilane catalyzes the bromination of organic substrates (4-pentenoic acid, 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene, N-phenylmorpholine, and N,N-dimethylaniline) with NaBr and H2O2. Catalyst performance (reaction rate) when sequestered within the halide-permeable xerogel is 23-fold greater in comparison to xerogel-free catalyst in solution. The catalyst is easily separated from the reaction mixture via filtration and the recovered catalyst can be reused without loss of activity through formation of the first 80 mol of product per mole of catalyst.     

UV Inactivation of Common Pathogens and Surrogates Under 222 nm Irradiation from KrCl* Excimer Lamps

Germicidal ultraviolet (UV) devices have been widely used for pathogen disinfection in water, air, and on food and surfaces. Emerging UV technologies, like the krypton chloride (KrCl*) excimer emitting at 222 nm, are rapidly gaining popularity due to their minimal adverse effects on skin and eyes compared with conventional UV lamps emitting at 254 nm, opening opportunities for UV disinfection in occupied public spaces. In this study, inactivation of seven bacteria and five viruses, including waterborne, foodborne and respiratory pathogens, was determined in a thin-film aqueous solution using a filtered KrCl* excimer emitting primarily at 222 nm. Our results show that the KrCl* excimer can effectively inactivate all tested bacteria and viruses, with most microorganisms achieving more than 4-log (99.99%) reduction with a UV dose of 10 mJ cm⁻². Compared with conventional UV lamps, the KrCl* excimer lamp exhibited better disinfection performance for viruses but was slightly less effective for bacteria. The relationships between UV sensitivities at 222 and 254 nm for bacteria and viruses were evaluated using regression analysis, resulting in factors that could be used to estimate the KrCl* excimer disinfection performance from well-documented UV kinetics using conventional 254 nm UV lamps. This study provides fundamental information for pathogen disinfection when employing KrCl* excimers.     

The β Phase Formation Limit in Two Poly(9,9‐di‐n‐octylfluorene) based Copolymers

Random copolymers of poly(9,9‐di‐n‐octylfluorene) (PF8) incorporating 0, 8, 12, 15, and 20% dibenzothiophene (DBT), and copolymers with 2, 5, 8, 12, and 15% dibenzothiophene‐S,S‐dioxide (S‐unit) were synthesised. Absorption and emission spectra of thin films indicate that the DBT system shows a linear decrease of toluene vapour induced β phase with increasing DBT content to a 20% cutoff, whilst in the S‐unit copolymers the β phase is present up to 12% co‐monomer content, and at 15% the characteristic absorption peak is absent or masked. These results demonstrate the limits, in thin films, at which the β phase can be formed in widely used PF8 copolymer systems for device applications and clearly show that it is practical to use copolymers having electron or hole transport units in the polyfluorene backbone and still be able to form efficient β phase emission sites.

     

Tailored xerogel-based sensor arrays and artificial neural networks yield improved O2 detection accuracy and precision

The objective of this research is to develop arrays of tuned chemical sensors wherein each sensor element responds to a particular target analyte in a unique manner. By creating sol-gel-derived xerogels that are co-doped with two luminophores at a range of molar ratios, we can form suites of sensor elements that can exhibit a continuum of response profiles. We trained an artificial neural network (ANN) to "learn" to identify the optical outputs from these xerogel-based sensor arrays. By using the ANN in concert with our tailored sensor arrays we obtained a 5-10 fold improvement in accuracy and precision for quantifying O2 in unknown samples. We also explored the response characteristics of these types of sensor elements after they had been contacted with rat plasma/blood. Contact with plasma/blood caused approximately 15% of the luminophore molecules within the xerogels to become non-responsive to O2. This behavior is consistent with rat albumin blocking certain pore sub-populations within the mesoporous xerogel matrix thereby limiting O2 access to the luminophores.