Nanocomposites of Tantalum‐Based Pyrochlore and Indium Hydroxide Showing High and Stable Photocatalytic Activities for Overall Water Splitting and Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Nanocomposites of tantalum‐based pyrochlore nanoparticles and indium hydroxide were prepared by a hydrothermal process for UV‐driven photocatalytic reactions including overall water splitting, hydrogen production from photoreforming of methanol, and CO₂ reduction with water to produce CO. The best catalyst was more than 20 times more active than sodium tantalate in overall water splitting and 3 times more active than Degussa P25 TiO₂ in CO₂ reduction. Moreover, the catalyst was very stable while generating stoichiometric products of H₂ (or CO) and O₂ throughout long‐term photocatalytic reactions. After the removal of In(OH)₃, the pyrochlore nanoparticles remained highly active for H₂ production from pure water and aqueous methanol solution. Both experimental studies and density functional theory calculations suggest that the pyrochlore nanoparticles catalyzed the water reduction to produce H₂, whereas In(OH)₃ was the major active component for water oxidation to produce O₂.     

The 1 ħω spectra of mass 15, 16 and 17 nuclei

Tamm-Dancoff calculations including the complete 1p and 2s-1d shells are presented for non-normal parity states of nuclei with mass 15, 16 and 17. The basis is confined to ?ω excitations. Spurious states have been eliminated. The particle-particle and hole-hole interactions were taken from previous work. The particle-hole interaction was represented by 80 matrix elements from Kuo, eight of which were varied to fit 30 selected levels with a rms deviation of 310 keV. Spectroscopic factors and electromagnetic transition rates generally agree quite well with the experimental data. It is shown that the inclusion of the 1p_{$\text{3}\text{2}$} and 1d_{$\text{3}\text{2}$}. shells is essential even at low excitation energies in these nuclei.     

Determination of the orbital moment and crystal-field splitting in LaTiO3

Utilizing a sum rule in a spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopic experiment with circularly polarized light, we show that the orbital moment in LaTiO3 is strongly reduced from its ionic value, both below and above the Ne el temperature. Using Ti L2,3 x-ray absorption spectroscopy as a local probe, we found that the crystal-field splitting in the t2g subshell is about 0.12-0.30 eV. This large splitting does not facilitate the formation of an orbital liquid.     

Electrophoresis of biological cells: charge-regulation and multivalent counterions association model

The electrophoresis of a biological cell is analyzed theoretically. An entity, which is of amphoteric nature, is used to simulate its electrophoretic behavior. To reflect conditions of practical interest, we assume that the liquid phase contains mixed (a:b)+(c:b) electrolytes, where a and c are the valences of cations, and b is the valence of anions. We consider the case where the surface of a cell contains both bivalent acidic and monovalent basic functional groups, the dissociation/association of them yields fixed surface charge, and the multivalent cations in the liquid phase are allowed to combine with dissociated acidic functional groups, which has the effect of lowering the charge density on cell surface. The electrophoretic behaviors of a cell under various conditions are illustrated. The results obtained can be used to identify the types of functional groups that may be present on cell surface. On the other hand, if the surface functional groups involved in cell electrophoresis are known, then their density and the associated dissociation/association constants can be estimated from experimental data.     

Electron spin resonance studies on quantum tunneling in spinel ferrite nanoparticles

The electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer, a very sensitive instrument with fast detecting window to explore quantum phase transitions for magnetic nanoparticles, was exploited to study the fascinating interplay between thermal and quantum fluctuations in the vicinity of a quantum critical point. We have measured ESR in ferrofluid samples containing nanosize particles of Fe₂O₃. The evolution of the ESR spectrum with temperature suggests that quantum tunneling of spins occurs in single domain magnetic particles in the low temperature regime. The effects of various microwave fields, particle sizes, and temperatures on the magnetic states of single domain spinel ferrite nanoparticles are investigated. We can consistently explain experimental data assuming that, as the temperature decreases, the spectrum changes from superparamagnetic (SPR) to blocked SPR and finally evolves quantum superparamagnetic behaviour as the temperature lowers down further. A nanoparticle system of a highly anisotropic magnetic material can be qualitatively specified by a simple quantum spin model, or by the Heisenberg model with strong easy-plane anisotropy.Received: 29 August 2003, Published online: 15 October 2003PACS: 76.30.-v Electron paramagnetic resonance and relaxation - 75.40.Cx Static properties (order parameter, static susceptibility, heat capacities, critical exponents, etc.) - 05.30.-d Quantum statistical mechanics - 75.50.Dd Nonmetallic ferromagnetic materials     

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Mean-field HP model, designability and alpha-helices in protein structures

Analysis of the geometric properties of a mean-field HP model on a square lattice for protein structure shows that structures with a large number of switchbacks between surface and core sites are chosen favorably by peptides as unique ground states. Global comparison of model (binary) peptide sequences with concatenated (binary) protein sequences listed in the Protein Data Bank and the Dali Domain Dictionary indicates that the highest correlation occurs between model peptides choosing the favored structures and those portions of protein sequences containing alpha helices.     

High-order kinetic flux vector splitting schemes in general coordinates for ideal quantum gas dynamics

A class of high-order kinetic flux vector splitting schemes are presented for solving ideal quantum gas dynamics based on quantum statistical mechanics. The collisionless quantum Boltzmann equation approach is adopted and both Bose–Einstein and Fermi–Dirac gases are considered. The formulas for the split flux vectors are derived based on the general three-dimensional distribution function in velocity space and formulas for lower dimensions can be directly deduced. General curvilinear coordinates are introduced to treat practical problems with general geometry. High-order accurate schemes using weighted essentially non-oscillatory methods are implemented. The resulting high resolution kinetic flux splitting schemes are tested for 1D shock tube flows and shock wave diffraction by a 2D wedge and by a circular cylinder in ideal quantum gases. Excellent results have been obtained for all examples computed.