An X-ray diffraction study of the structure of amorphous Cu57 — Zr43 alloy

X-ray diffraction patterns have been obtained from Cu₅₇ — Zr₄₃ alloy in both amorphous and liquid states. After calculating the structure factor by means of the common Fourier analysis, the atomic radial distribution function was evaluated from which interatomic distance and coordination number were obtained. In the essential feature of the structure factor in the amorphous state was quite similar to that in the liquid state. There is a good agreement between the structure factor determined in this work and that calculated on the basis of the hard sphere mixture model except for the presence of the splitting of a second peak maximum in the former. These results suggest that the atoms in the nearest neighbour distance in the amorphous state consist mainly of the disorderly distributed atoms as those in the liquid state. But a deformed crystalline-like arrangement of atoms as those in a hcp or fcc structure contributes partly to the short range order in the amorphous state.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of (S)-oxybutynin and a versatile intermediate for antimuscarinic agents

A practical synthesis of (S)-oxybutynin, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, using catalytic enantioselective cyanosilylation of cyclohexyl phenyl ketone (9a) as a key step is described. The key reaction proceeded with 94% ee using 1 mol% of Gd-1 catalyst, and was performed on a 100 g-scale. In addition, a short catalytic enantioselective synthesis of the versatile intermediate for Scios Nova analogues of antimuscarinic agents (7) is described. Application of the catalytic enantioselective cyanosilylation to ketones containing two sterically similar substituents on the carbonyl group is also discussed.     

Application of the internal standard method coupled with the standard addition method in photon activation analysis to trace characterization of environmental materials

The internal standard method coupled with the standard addition method has been applied to the analysis of environmental materials, such as urban particulate matter, vehicle exhaust particulates and coal fly ash by photon activation. High-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry makes possible to use multi-internal standard gamma-rays, in order to crosscheck the analytical results obtained from each internal standard. It was ascertained that this method can provide not only accurate analytical results but also the information of homogeneity of samples, correlation of elements in the sample, loss or contamination in the preparation process.     

Stable-isotope dilution activation analysis for special samples in which the self-sheilding effect is negligible

A method has been developed where the element to be determined in the sample consists of at least two stable isotopes, which are easily converted to radionuclides through particular nuclear reactions. The sample is previously processed by adding a known quantity of an enriched isotope of the element, while the comparative reference is prepared by taking an arbitrary amount of the natural element under investigation. The usefulness of the method was verified by photon activation analysis of strontium in standard reference materials of tomato and citrus leaves, using isotopically enriched⁸⁶Sr as a spike, and the accurary and precision of the method were proved to be valid.     

Evaluation of radioactivity induced in the accelerator building and its application to decontamination work

For decommissioning of the cyclotron and electron synchrotron facilities, the residual radioactivity in surface and core samples of concrete, collected from various parts of buildings, was determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. It was found that the concrete samples were activated mainly by neutrons and that the major radioisotopes were ¹⁵²Eu, ⁶⁰Co, ¹³⁴Cs, ²²Na and ⁵⁴Mn. The maximum activity induced by thermal neutron capture was observed at the depth of 10 cm in the concrete wall near the deflector of the cyclotron. Tritium was also produced by the neutron reaction, because its concentration was proportional to the activities of ¹⁵²Eu and ⁶⁰Co. The surface dose rates inside the accelerator room were also monitored to define the decontamination area. The surface dose rate was proportional to the residual radioactivity, such as ⁶⁰Co. A careful evaluation was very useful in order to minimize the radioactive waste during decontamination.     

A new internal reference method for activation analysis and its application

A new internal reference method for activation analysis has been developed. The method can be used effectively for special samples in which suitable elements as internal standards are absent and the self-shielding effect can be neglected. In this method, W_b g of element B as an internal reference is added to the sample which contains W_a g of element A to be determined, whereas the comparative standard is prepared by mixing only the element A and B in a known concentration ratio of W _a ^* /W_b. When the sample and comparative standard are irradiated by particles with the same energy distribution, even though both are irradiated separately by particles with different flux, W_a can be determined easily by the following equation. $$W_a = \left( {{{A_R } \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{A_R } {A_R^* }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {A_R^* }}} \right)W_a^* $$ where A_g and A_R are count ratios between gamma-rays emitted by two radioactive nuclides produced from elements A and B in the sample and comparative standard, respectively. The usefulness of the present method was examined through the determination of Ti, Cr, Ni and Zr in several commercial aluminium alloys by means of photon activation, and the accuracy and precision of the method were verified.