Magnetic properties of iron nitride-alumina nanocomposite materials prepared by high-energy ball milling

The structural and magnetic properties of the granular iron nitride-alumina composite materials, (Fe_xN)_0.2(Al₂O₃)_0.8 and (Fe_xN)_0.6(Al₂O₃)_0.4, fabricated using high-energy ball milling have been determined by using X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and magnetization measurements. The Mössbauer spectra, fit with a distribution of hyperfine fields between zero and 40 T, indicate that the weighted average field decreases with increasing milling time. The isomer shift increases with milling time because of a reduced iron 4s-electron density at the grain boundaries. Coercive fields as high as 325 and 110 Oe are obtained for (Fe_xN)_0.2(Al₂O₃)_0.8 at 5 and 300 K, respectively; the increase in the coercive field upon cooling indicates the presence of superparamagnetic particles. The coercive field increases with milling time because of the reduced particle size. The decrease in the magnetization results from the increase in both the superparamagnetic fraction and the concentration of surface defects with increased milling time.     

A variational approach to bound states in quantum field theory

We consider here in a toy model an approach to bound state problem in a nonperturbative manner using equal time algebra for the interacting field operators. The potential is replaced by offshell bosonic quanta inside the bound state of nonrelativistic particles. The bosonic dressing is determined through energy minimisation, and mass renormalisation is carried out in a nonperturbative manner. Since the interaction is through a scalar field, it does not include spin effects. The model however nicely incorporates an intuitive picture of hadronic bound states in which the gluon fields dress the quarks providing the binding between them and also simulate the gluonic content of hadrons in deep inelastic collisions.     

Nucleon structure functions from high energy neutrino interactions

Structure functions obtained from high energy neutrino and antineutrino scattering from an iron target are presented. These were extracted from the combined data of Fermilab experiments E616 and E701; these utilized narrow band beam runs between 1979–1982. The structure functions are used to test the validity of quarkparton model (QPM) predictions and to extract the QCD scale parameter Λ from fits to the Altarelli-Parisi equations.     

Debye screening versus Gauss law in electrostatics: Finite size effects

We revisit the well-known topics of self- and induced-screening in an otherwise isotropic neutral plasma/colloid. It is pointed out that the standard Debye-Hückel (DH) theory (ignoring finite size effects) suffers from many ambiguities related to net ionic numbers, total charge of the system, role of the electrostatic Gauss law, short-distance behaviour of the potential and incorrectly normalized pair correlation functions. We give a new formulation (incorporating finite size effects) such that ionic numbers are maintained, the total charge of the system has physically correct value, the Gauss law boundary conditions are rigorously obeyed, short-distance behaviour of the potential is guaranteed automatically, and correlation functions are correctly normalized. Numerical differences between the two approaches show up if the screening length μ⁻¹ becomes comparable to the size R of the system.     

A measurement of the neutral current electroweak parameters using the fermilab narrow band neutrino beam

We report a measurement of the electroweak parameters sin₂θ ^w and ? based on the ratios of neutral current to charged current events measured in the Fermilab narrow-band neutrino beam at energies of 30–240 GeV. The data are fully corrected for radiative effects, heavy-quark production, and other effects. The best value for sin₂θ ^w obtained, sin₂θ ^w =0.239±0.011, is consistent with the most recent values fromW andZ production, as well as from other neutrino experiments.     

Zinc silicate-bonded diethyldithiocarbamate — a selective adsorbent for separating transition metal ions and preconcentration of palladium(II)

Summary A new chelating adsorbent, zinc silicate-bonded diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC) has been prepared for the separation and preconcentration of some transition metal ions. The distribution coefficients (Kd values) of 15 metal ions have been estimated in solution at various pH's and some quantitative separations have been achieved. The high selectivity for Pd(II) has been utilized for its preconcentration from dilute aqueous solutions; quantitative elution is effected with acidic 4% thiourea solution.     

Directional couplers in trapped image guide configuration

Dispersion characteristics and wave impedance of trapped coupled image guides are computed by using mode matching techniques. Dispersion curves for trapped coupled image guide are plotted for various dielectric materials and dimensional parameters. The hybrid directional couplers in the above configuration have been theoretically designed by computing the normalization propagation constant.     

Selective area epitaxy of GaN for electron field emission devices

Selective area epitaxy of GaN by MOCVD has been used to fabricate arrays of hexagonal pyramid structures for electron field emission devices. The reactor temperature and pressure have been found to strongly affect the resulting pyramid morphology. Growth at 76 Torr results in improved pyramid shape and uniformity compared to growth at atmospheric pressure. Optimized arrays of pyramids produced emission currents of 80 μA at 1100 V, when biased across 0.5 mm in UHV.     

Binding of singlet oxygen with a stacked guanine dimer

Geometry optimization calculations were performed using the B3LYP/6‐31+G* method on the complexes of ¹O₂ and ³O₂ molecules with a stacked dimer of planar guanine, varying the distance (D) between the planes of the guanine molecules. In this process, geometries of the guanine molecules were held fixed, D was fixed at different values, while the bond lengths of ¹O₂ and ³O₂ as well as their orientations with respect to the guanine molecules were optimized for each value of D. The complexes in their most stable geometries were solvated in water using the integral equation formalism of the polarized continuum model of the self‐consistent reaction field theory. In gas phase, the most stable complex between ¹O₂ and the guanine dimer (2G.¹O₂) is formed when D is about 6 Å, while the most stable complex between ³O₂ and the guanine dimer (2G.³O₂) is formed when D is about 3.75 Å. In the minimum total energy geometry of 2G.¹O₂, ¹O₂ is located between the guanine molecules, above the imidazole ring of one of them. However, in the minimum total energy geometry of 2G.³O₂, ³O₂ is located outside the stack of guanine molecules, near the amino group of one of them. The solvation calculations showed that in aqueous media, ¹O₂ would bind with the stacked guanine dimer more strongly than in gas phase, while ³O₂ would not bind with the same. The mode of binding of ¹O₂ with the stacked guanine dimer is such that it seems that ¹O₂ would replace one basepair in DNA, as happens in the intercalative mode of binding of drugs and other molecules, and it can lead to the formation of 8‐oxoguanine that has a mutagenic nature. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Application of the Tris(acetylacetonato)iron(III)/(II) Redox Couple in p‐Type Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

An electrolyte based on the tris(acetylacetonato)iron(III)/(II) redox couple ([Fe(acac)₃]^0/1?) was developed for p‐type dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Introduction of a NiO blocking layer on the working electrode and the use of chenodeoxycholic acid in the electrolyte enhanced device performance by improving the photocurrent. Devices containing [Fe(acac)₃]^0/1? and a perylene–thiophene–triphenylamine sensitizer (PMI–6T–TPA) have the highest reported short‐circuit current (J_SC=7.65 mA cm^?2), and energy conversion efficiency (2.51 %) for p‐type DSSCs coupled with a fill factor of 0.51 and an open‐circuit voltage V_OC=645 mV. Measurement of the kinetics of dye regeneration by the redox mediator revealed that the process is diffusion limited as the dye‐regeneration rate constant (1.7×10⁸ M ^?1 s^?1) is very close to the maximum theoretical rate constant of 3.3×10⁸ M ^?1 s^?1. Consequently, a very high dye‐regeneration yield (>99 %) could be calculated for these devices.