Magnetic equation of state for thin films

The magnetization fluctuations are considered in thin films treated as a set of monoatomic layers parallel to the film surfaces. The correlation functions have been determined and their forms are discussed. The influence of inhomogeneity of magnetization on the equation of state for a magnetic system described by Valenta's model is studied. The behaviour of the spontaneous magnetization as well as the magnetic susceptibility near the Curie point is described.This work is partially supported by the Institute of Physics of the P.A.S.     

Triplet losses in dye lasers

The expression for losses due to triplet states in dye laser considered as a six-level system is given. It is shown that triplet losses depend on pumping parameters and photon number. Depending on molecular and cavity parameters two different behaviours of dye lasers are expected. Physical conditions are discussed in which triplet losses as well as photon number undergo a jump at the threshold.     

Rhodium(I) complexes with 1′-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenecarboxylic acid as active and recyclable catalysts for 1-hexene hydroformylation

The rhodium complex trans-[Rh(CO)(Hdpf-κP)(dpf-κ²O,P)] (1), (Hdpf = 1′-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenecarboxylic acid) was used as an efficient and recyclable catalyst for 1-hexene hydroformylation producing ca. 80% of aldehydes at 10 atm CO/H₂ and 80 °C. After the reaction, unchanged complex 1 was separated from the reaction mixture and used again three times with the same catalytic activity. The effect of modifying ligands, phosphines and phosphites, on the reactivity of 1 was investigated. The active catalytic systems containing 1 or trans-[Rh(CO)(L)(dpf-κ²O,P)] (2) were formed in situ from acetylacetonato rhodium(I) precursors [Rh(CO)₂(acac)] (3) or [RhL(CO)(acac)] (4) and Hdpf or Medpf (L = phosphine, Medpf = methyl ester of Hdpf).     

Kinetic parameters from thermogravimetric study of used rubber granulates–polyurethane composites

From the TG data of rubber granulates, different polyurethane and composites it can be seen that the thermal decomposition for the rubber granulate and all of the composites start above 520 K. Two major mass losses for the rubber granulates and majority of the composites were observed and thermal decomposition is essentially complete by ~820 K. The changes of activation energies of lower and higher temperature decomposition, calculated according to the different equations were observed for a priori assumed first-order reaction for devolatilisation. Differences between determined and calculated results could suggest a possible reaction between polyurethane agents and rubber granulate during the composites formations.     

Enhancement of dielectric and electro-optical parameters of a newly prepared ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture by dispersing nano-sized copper oxide

ABSTRACT

Here, we present the effect of copper (II) oxide nanoparticles (nCuO) on dielectric and electro-optical parameters of a newly prepared ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mixture, namely W302. The FLC mixture, comprising of pyrimidine compounds, was characterised through dielectric spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarising optical microscopy (POM) and other electro-optical methods. The material parameters such as spontaneous polarisation, rotational viscosity, response time and tilt angle of W302 were found to be 14 nC/cm², 240 mPa.s, 150 µs and 28^?, respectively. The phase transition temperatures of W302 were observed through DSC and further confirmed by the dependence of dielectric loss factor in homogeneously aligned FLC sample with temperature. We also demonstrate the observance of a low-frequency dielectric relaxation mode due to the unwinding of the helix, called as partially unwound helical mode (p-UHM) along with Goldstone mode. The behaviour of p-UHM has been systematically studied with temperature and applied bias field. Further, dispersion of nCuO into host W302 has shown a significant increase in dielectric permittivity. Also, the p-UHM relaxation peak in the dielectric regime has disappeared with the incorporation of nCuO. These studies would be useful to fabricate better electro-optical devices for display, switching and beam steering applications. The formulation and characterization of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mixture W302 composed of pyrimidine compounds is presented. Then, we observed the effect of copper (II) oxide nanoparticles (nCuO) on dielectric and electro-optical parameters of a newly prepared and characterized FLC mixture.     

Preparation and characterization of electrodeposited Ni-Ru alloys: morphological and catalytic study

Nickel-ruthenium alloys with various compositions have been deposited by electrodeposition for the first time. Cyclic voltammetry and linear stripping voltammetry measurements show that codeposition of nickel with ruthenium is possible below the potential value of nickel reduction. High-quality alloys containing nickel and ruthenium can be plated at cathodic potentials ranging from − 0.5 to − 1.0 V vs SCE. Deposited coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The diffractograms obtained show that an increase of nickel concentration in alloy will lead to a change in the phase composition and formation of NiRu (100) and (101) phases which is observed to be 78 mas.% Ni. SEM studies confirm the surface homogeneity and presence of small, regular grains. AFM observation allows the estimation of the real surface area of obtained alloys which increase with more negative electrodeposition potentials. Ni-Ru alloys were found to be highly electroactive in the water splitting process, which can be connected with the presence of the NiRu phase and a well-developed electroactive area.

Electrochemical deposition of Ni-Ru alloys with various composition and their catalytic activity in water splitting process

     

Synthesis, molecular structure and reactivity of 5-methylidene-1,2,3,5-tetrahydroimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolines

Synthesis of novel 5-methylidene-1,2,3,5-tetrahydro[2,1-b]-quinazoline derivatives 2-4 with potential biological activities mediated by alpha-adrenergic and/or imidazoline receptors was performed by reacting 2-chloro-4,5-dihydroimidazole (1) with the corresponding 2-aminoacetophenones. Compound 2, which incorporates an enamine moiety, underwent a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with the appropriate nitrones 5-9 to give 1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-imidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-5,5'-spiro-2',3'-diphenylisoxazol-idines 10-14. Reactions of the title compounds 2 and 4 with dimethyl acetylene-dicarboxylate (DMAD) afforded dimethyl 2-(2,3-dihydroimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-5(1H)-ylidenemethyl)but-2-enedioates 15, 16. Imidazo[2,1-b]quinazoline 2 was further treated with acetyl chloride, benzoyl chloride and mesyl chloride to give the 1-substituted derivatives 17, 18 and 19, respectively. The structures of all new compounds obtained were confirmed by elemental analysis and spectral data (IR, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR) as well asX-ray crystallographic analysis of 3 and 18.     

Interactions of porphyrin covalently attached to poly(methacrylic acid) with liposomal membranes

The interactions between the 5-(4-acryloyloxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tritolylporphyrin covalently attached to poly(methacrylic acid) chain (PMA-Po) and phosphatidylcholine liposomes in aqueous solution at different pH values were studied. The binding constants (K(b)) for the liposome- PMA-Po in solutions in the pH range from 6.5 to 9.2 were determined using fluorescence spectroscopy. The binding was found to be efficient. The acid-base properties of the porphyrin chromophores were also studied. Both pK values associated with imine-N protonation of the porphyrin core were found to be 6.4. The quantum yield (Phi(Delta)) of singlet oxygen production by Po in the lipid-PMA-Po system was found to be high (0.88 +/- 0.05).     

Electrosorption of hydrogen into palladium-gold alloys

Hydrogen electrosorption into Pd-Au alloys has been studied in acidic solutions (1 M H₂SO₄) using cyclic voltammetry. Pd-Au electrodes with limited volume were prepared by electrochemical co-deposition. It was found that the maximum H/(Pd+Au) ratios decrease monotonically with increasing gold content and reach zero at ca. 70 at% Au. Similarly to the case of Pd limited volume electrodes, two peaks in the hydrogen region, corresponding to two types of sorbed hydrogen, are observed on voltammograms for Pd-rich alloys. The hydrogen capacity, H/(Pd+Au), measured electrochemically, depends on the sweep rate in the cyclic voltammetry experiments, which suggests that two different mechanisms for hydrogen desorption from the Pd-Au alloy are possible. After a strong decrease of Pd concentration at the electrode surface, caused by long cyclic polarization to sufficiently anodic potentials, the amount of absorbed hydrogen is still significant for alloys initially rich in Pd. The results obtained from CO adsorption experiments suggest that only Pd atoms are active in the hydrogen absorption/desorption process. Electronic Publication