Melting behavior of the oriented β-phase polypropylene texture crystallized by the temperature slope method

Isotactic polypropylene consisting of uniaxially oriented P-phase lamellae was crystallized in a temperature gradient. The β → α transition was investigated by simultaneous measurements with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation (SR). To compare the transition mechanism, the β-phase sample was deformed by rolling it along the direction of the crystallization. During rolling, the β-crystal is deformed by interlamellar and interchain slip, which induces c-axis-oriented molecules along the rolling direction. The melting behavior is changed by the rolling deformation. For the as-grown β-crystal, the DSC thermogram has three peaks: the β-melting endotherm at 150°C, an exotherm by recrystallization into the °-form, and the endotherm at 167°C caused by melting of the recrystallized α-form. After the rolling deformation, the β-endotherm is extinguished by the successive exotherm. Simultaneous X-ray measurements reveal that the β → α transition is shifted to a lower temperature and that the recrystallized α-form has a c-axis-orientation caused by the rolling deformation. In the process of the β→ α transition, higher-order lamellar structure is developed earlier than formation of the crystalline structure. In this study, the heating phenomena, such as the β α transition and thickening of the β- and α-lamellae, are consistently explained by a mechanism involving melting and subsequent recrystallization.     

High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study on initial oxidation of 4H-SiC(0 0 0 1)-(√3 × √3)R30° surface

An initial oxidation dynamics of 4H-SiC(0 0 0 1)-(√3 × √3)R30° surface has been studied using high resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and supersonic molecular beams. Clean 4H-SiC(0 0 0 1)-(√3 × √3)R30° surface was exposed to oxygen molecules with translational energy of 0.5 eV at 300 K. In the first step of initial oxidation, oxygen molecules are immediately dissociated and atomic oxygens are inserted into Si-Si back bonds to form stable oxide species. At this stage, drastic increase in growth rate of stable oxide species by heating molecular beam source to 1400 K was found. We concluded that this increase in growth rate of stable oxide is mainly caused by molecular vibrational excitation. It suggests that the dissociation barrier is located in the exit channel on potential energy hypersurface. A metastable molecular oxygen species was found to be adsorbed on a Si-adatom that has two oxygen atoms inserted into the back bonds. The adsorption of the metastable species is neither enhanced nor suppressed by molecular vibrational excitation.     

Epitaxial growth of Bi thin films on Ge(1 1 1)

We investigated Bi thin film growth on Ge(1 1 1) by using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In the submonolayer regime, adsorbed Bi atoms form patches of the (2×1) structure. However, the structure does not grow to a long-range order. Following the formation of a (1×1) monolayer (ML) film, two-dimensional (1 1 0)-orientated Bi islands grow. The film orientation changes from (1 1 0) to (1 1 1) at 6-10 ML. The (1 1 0)-oriented Bi film shows a six-domain LEED pattern with missing spots, associated with a glide-line symmetry. The hexagonal (1 1 1) film at 14 ML has a lattice constant 2% smaller than bulk Bi(1 1 1).     

Direct observation of hydrogen-bond exchange within a single water dimer

The dynamics of water dimers was investigated at the single-molecule level by using a scanning tunneling microscope. The two molecules in a water dimer, bound on a Cu(110) surface at 6 K, were observed to exchange their roles as hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor via hydrogen-bond rearrangement. The interchange rate is approximately 60 times higher for (H2O)2 than for (D2O)2, suggesting that quantum tunneling is involved in the process. The interchange rate is enhanced upon excitation of the intermolecular mode that correlates with the reaction coordinate.     

Spin-polarized electron tunneling in lanthanum manganite

Tunneling experiments were performed on ceramic samples with the composition La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃, manifesting negative magnetoresistance. Two types of contacts were studied: symmetric (break junction type) and asymmetric ceramic-insulator-metal contact. A high magnetic-field sensitivity of the conductivity σ(H) of the contacts was observed even when only one of the electrodes was magnetic. The effect was explained by the existence of spin-polarized localized states in the tunneling barrier. Their appearance was attributed to the formation of an oxygen-depleted, magnetically two-phase state of localized ferromagnetic nanoregions in an anti-ferromagnetic dielectric matrix in the near-contact region.     

Electron-boson interaction in nonsuperconducting magnetic metals

Gadolinium-and chromium-based normal metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions were studied. Spectral functions of the Gd and Cr electron-boson interaction were reconstructed, from which it follows that the magnetic subsystem plays a noticeable role in the electron transport in magnetic metals.     

History repeats itself: Progress in a.c. calorimetry

Periodic heating has been applied more than a century ago to study thermophysical properties of materials. The measurement of heat capacity using a.c. calorimetry was first performed by Corbino in 1910. In connection with the technological development and the progress in science and technology, new and sophisticated apparatus have been constructed in an a.c. calorimetric heat capacity measurements. In this measurement, the noise level of a.c. temperature can be reduced markedly as opposed to the other nonperiodic methods and, therefore, high precision determination can be attained. Furthermore, not only the amplitude but also the phase in a.c. temperature is a useful parameter in constructing much advanced apparatus.     

Diagnosis of Phase Shift in a Temperature-Modulated Calorimetric Method

In a temperature-modulated calorimetric method using the same apparatus as a standard differential scanning calorimeter, we have to pay attention to the thermophysical parameters of the apparatus, which cause phase shift in ac temperatures, such as heat capacity of base plate, heat capacity of a pan, thermal conductance between a heater and base plate, and thermal conductance between a pan and base plate. We performed the analysis of the thermal system of the apparatus with these parameters. Beside the theoretical consideration, we carried out heat capacity measurement in a wide range of modulation periods. We found that the experimental results were well-expressed in terms of these thermophysical parameters. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A metallic surface state with uniaxial spin polarization on Tl/Ge(111)-(1 × 1)

We show that a metallic surface state is formed on Tl/Ge(111)-(1 × 1). The surface state forms electron pockets around K of the surface Brillouin zone. A first-principles calculation reveals that the electron pockets are composed of a single branch of a spin-split surface-state band. The spin quantization axis is along the surface normal and inverts according to the time-reversal symmetry. Since this spin-split branch is the unique metallic band on this surface, the surface conductivity should be governed by this spin-split branch, suggesting a possible spin-polarized electric current.