XPS study of the oxidation of nanosize Ni/Si(100) films

The XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) study of nickel oxide nanolayers obtained by magnetron sputtering of the metal and its subsequent oxidation in air at different temperatures (400°C and 1000°C) was performed. Silicon(100) was used as a substrate. Surface of the initial Ni/Si structure was shown to contain not only Ni metal, but also the NiO oxide. Annealing at 400°C results in a complete oxidation of the metal film. At a high-temperature annealing (1000°C), nickel interacts both with oxygen and silicon substrate to form NiSi silicide and a composite Ni-Si-O phase in transition layer. Electronconductivity of NiO films is determined by intercrystallite barriers. Activation energies of film electroconductivity in model gases (O₂, Ar, H₂) were found.     

On the invertibility of differential operators of the second order

We present sufficient conditions for the invertibility of a second-order differential operator with variable coefficients in the space L_p.Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 411–413, March, 1995.This paper was partially supported by the International Science Foundation, Grant No. ZA000.     

Non-planar smoulder propagation governed by diffusion

The steady propagation of a thin smouldering front in a half-spacehas been considered. A suitable coordinate transformation hasallowed the region near the leading edge of the front to beexamined for both a maintained planar surface and with surfacecollapse due to material shrinkage. The change in the oxidizerconcentration for a small increment in the propagation speedfor large time and surface collapse has been determined. Theinfluence of two types of nonlinear diffusion on the shape ofthe smouldering front has been found; other cases can be dealtwith in a similar manner.     

High resolution neutron diffraction study on Fe81B19 metallic glass

The structure factor of Fe₈₁B₁₉ metallic glass was measured by the conventional and time-of-flight neutron diffraction methods in the 0.4<Q<24 Å^-1 momentum transfer range, yielding high resolution (～0.26 Å) in r-space. The pair distribution function obtained by Fourier transformation is resolved into subpeaks. The distances and distribution widths of the Fe-B and Fe-Fe first neighbours, the partial coordination numbers and the short range order parameter are given. The results clearly indicate preferential chemical bonding between iron and boron atoms.     

Short range order in (Ni65Fe35)77B23 metallic glass by neutron diffraction

The S(Q) structure factor of (Ni₆₅Fe₃₅)₇₇B₂₃ metallic glass was measured by time-of-flight neutron diffraction up to 24 Å^?1 momentum transfer. The distribution of transition metal-boron and transition metal-transition metal first neighbour atom pairs is resolved in the distribution function obtained from S(Q) by Fourier transformation. The distances of these first neighbours pairs, the width of their distribution, the partial coordination numbers and the short range order parameter are given. The results on (Ni₆₅Fe₃₅)₇₇B₂₃ and on the previously studies Fe₈₁B₁₉ amorphous alloys are compared.     

Raman Structural Study of Copolymers of Propylene with Ethylene and High Olefins

Nascent form of random copolymers of propylene with ethylene, 1-butene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, and 4-methyl-1-pentene was studied by Raman spectroscopy. The most significant spectral alterations with a change in propylene content were observed in two lines at 809 and 841 cm⁻¹. The first line corresponds to vibrations of polypropylene helical chains in the crystalline phase, while the second one is associated with vibrations of polypropylene helical chains having isomeric defects. Raman data confirm that conformational composition and phase state of copolymer macromolecules strongly depend on the comonomer content as well as on the size of the comonomer units.     

EXAFS study of copper complexes with azomethinic ligand environment

A series of copper metallochelates C₂₂H₁₈CuN₄O₂ X (X = Se, S, O) as models of active centers of natural metalloproteins have been synthesized on the basis of new azomethine ligand systems. The structure of the complexes has been studied by extended X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy. It is shown that, in the metallochelates with X = Se or S, one azomethine chalcogen-containing ligand undergoes tridentate interaction with copper ions, while the other ligand is an acetate group. As a result, a complex with the N₂O₂ X environment is formed, where one of the oxygen atoms of the acetate group is at a large distance from the metal ion: R = 2.56–2.68 Å. For the metallochelate with X = O, coordination of the acetate group by a copper ion is found to be absent, and only interaction with azomethine ligands having average Cu-N/O distances R = 1.96–2.04 Å is observed.