Growth and characterisation of benzaldehyde semicarbazone (BSC) single crystals

Single crystals of potential organic nonlinear optical materials of Benzaldehyde Semicarbazone (BSC) were grown by slow evaporation technique. The grown crystals were identified by X-ray diffraction method. The functional groups were identified from FT-IR spectrum. UV-visible and thermal gravimetric analyses were made.     

Separation of carrier-free 90Y from high level waste by supported liquid membrane using KSM-17

A generator system has been developed for the preparation of carrier-free ⁹⁰Y from ⁹⁰Sr present in the high level waste (HLW) of the Purex process by employing a supported liquid membrane (SLM) using 2-ethylhexyl-2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid (KSM-17 equivalent to PC 88A) supported on a polytetrafluoro ethylene (PTFE) membrane. When uranium depleted Purex HLW at appropriate acidity is passed sequentially through octyl (phenyl)-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (CMPO) sorbed on chromosorb-102 (abbreviated as CAC) and Zeolite AR1 (synthetic mordenite) columns, all the trivalent, tetravalent and hexavalent metal ions and monovalent ¹³⁷Cs ions are sorbed. After adjusting to pH 2 with NaOH the resulting effluent is used as feed in a single stage membrane cell partitioned with a PTFE membrane impregnated with KSM-17 and having a feed and receiver compartment with 5.0 ml capacity each. The receiver compartment was filled with a 0.5M HNO₃ or 0.5M HCl stripping solution. ⁹⁰Y alone is preferentially transported across the membrane leaving behind all the impurities viz. ⁹⁰Sr, ¹²⁵Sb, ¹⁰⁶Ru, ¹⁰⁶Rh, etc. in the feed compartment. This technique can yield ⁹⁰Y in mCi levels in a pure and carrier-free form for medical applications. The feed can be reused repeatedly after allowing for ⁹⁰Y buildup.     

Studies on growth,induction period,interfacial energy and metastable zonewidth of m‐nitroaniline

Single crystals of m‐Nitroaniline (mNA) were grown by slow cooling solution growth technique. Induction period, interfacial energy and metastable zonewidth have been evaluated. The solubility of mNA has been estimated at different temperatures in acetone and ethanol. Interfacial energy has been estimated using the experimentally determined induction period values. It is observed that the nucleation rate increases with the increase of supersaturation. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fabrication of Ni nanodots templated by nanoporous polysulfone membrane: Structural and Magnetic properties

Two-dimensional nickel nanodots were prepared using a simple polymer based lithography process on silicon substrates. The nanoporous polysulfone membranes were fabricated using a phase inversion polymerization process. Nickel nanodots were then grown using the polysulfone membrane as a mask. The structures were written by depositing a certain thickness of nickel using electron beam evaporation. After lift off, the structural properties of the samples were studied using atomic force microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry. The dots were found to have diameters in the range of 75–120 nm and heights of 3–5 nm. The magnetization and magnetic domain arrangement of the Ni nanodots were analyzed using vibrating sample magnetometer and magnetic force microscopy respectively. The nanodots were found to exhibit excellent soft ferromagnetic properties with a preferred easy axis of magnetization.     

A mixed method for axisymmetric div-curl systems

We present a mixed method for a three-dimensional axisymmetric div-curl system reduced to a two-dimensional computational domain via cylindrical coordinates. We show that when the meridian axisymmetric Maxwell problem is approximated by a mixed method using the lowest order elements (for the vector variable) and linear elements (for the Lagrange multiplier), one obtains optimal error estimates in certain weighted Sobolev norms. The main ingredient of the analysis is a sequence of projectors in the weighted norms satisfying some commutativity properties.

     

Tailoring normal adhesion of arrays of thermoplastic, spring-like polymer nanorods by shaping nanorod tips

The tip shape of contact elements in hairy adhesion systems is crucial for proper contact formation and adhesion enhancement. While submicrometer terminal contact elements show much better adhesion performance than their larger counterparts, shaping their tips so as to maximize normal adhesion has remained challenging. We prepared durable nanorod arrays consisting of stiff, highly entangled thermoplastic polymers with rationally shaped tips by replication of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO). Nanorod arrays with pancake-like tips showed pronounced normal dry adhesion already for small loading forces. For small loading forces, adhesion forces significantly exceeded the loading forces. Both the absence of hysteresis in force/displacement curves and the pronounced durability of the nanorods in series of repeated attachment/detachment cycles suggest that the nanorods behave like elastic springs. Experimental load-adhesion curves were reproduced with a modified Schargott-Popov-Gorb (SPG) model, assuming that contacts between probe and individual nanorods are sequentially formed with increasing indentation depth.     

Structural,optical and photoluminescence properties of Zn<Subscript>1−x</Subscript>Ce<Subscript>x</Subscript>O (x = 0, 0.05 and 0.1) nanoparticles by sol–gel method annealed under Ar atmosphere

Ce doped ZnO nanoparticles (Zn_1−xCe_xO, x = 0.0, 0.05 and 0.1) have been synthesized by sol–gel method at annealing temperature of 500 °C for 1 h under Ar atmosphere. The synthesized samples have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray studies, UV–Visible spectrophotometer and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The XRD measurements indicate that the prepared nanoparticles have a hexagonal wurtzite structure and CeO₂ crystallites. The calculated average crystalline varied from 21.97 to 15.62 nm with increase in Ce concentrations. The increase in lattice parameters reveals the substitution of Ce into ZnO lattice. The presence of functional groups and the chemical bonding is confirmed by FTIR spectra. PL spectra of the Zn_1−xCe_xO system show that the shift in near band edge emission from 386 to 363 nm and a shift in blue band emission from 517 to 485 nm which confirms the substitution of Ce into the ZnO lattice.