Crystallographic report: Bis(norfloxacin)dilead(II) tetranitrate, [Pb2(H‐Norf)2(ONO2)4]

The centrosymmetric binuclear structure of [Pb₂(H‐Norf)₂(ONO₂)₄]shows the geometry around each lead(II) atom to be distorted trigonal bipyramidal with Pb–O distances ranging from 2.357(3) to 2.769(4) Å. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully-angular polyhex chains with minimal total π-electron energy

By Hückel molecular orbital (HMO) theory, the calculation of the total energy of all π-electrons in conjugated hydrocarbons can be reduced to that of E(G)=|λ₁|+|λ₂|+?+|λn|, where λi are the eigenvalues of the corresponding graph G. Denote by Ψn the set of all fully-angular polyhex chains with n hexagons. In this paper, we show that Hn has the minimum total π-electron energy among chains in Ψn, where Hn is the helicene chain.     

A molecular network model to describe the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of polymers

A transient molecular network model is built to describe the nonlinear viscoelasticity of polymers by considering the effect of entanglement loss and regeneration on the relaxation of molecular strands. It is an extension of previous network theories. The experimental data on three thermoplastic polymers (ABS, PVC and PA6) obtained under various loading conditions are used to test the model. Agreement between the theoretical and experimental curves shows that the suggested model can describe successfully the relaxation behavior of the thermoplastic polymers under different loading rates by using relatively few relaxation modes. Thus the micromechanism responsible for strain-rate dependence of relaxation process and the origin of nonlinear viscoelasticity may be disclosed. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Doctorial Fund     

A diffusion approximation result for two parameter processes

Summary We consider a one-dimensional linear wave equation with a small mean zero dissipative field and with the boundary condition imposed by the so-called Goursat problem. In order to observe the effect of the randomness on the solution we perform a space-time rescaling and we rewrite the problem in a diffusion approximation form for two parameter processes. We prove that the solution converges in distribution toward the solution of a two-parameter stochastic differential equation which we identify. The diffusion approximation results for oneparameter processes are well known and well understood. In fact, the solution of the one-parameter analog of the problem we consider here is immediate. Unfortunately, the situation is much more complicated for two-parameter processes and we believe that our result is the first one of its kind.Partially supported by ONR N00014-91-J-1010     

Four-wave mixing based 10-Gb/s tunable wavelength conversion in dispersion-flattened microstructure fibers

All-optical wavelength conversion of 10-Gb/s signal based on four-wave mixing is experimentally demonstrated in a 30-m-long dispersion-flattened microstructure fiber with small positive dispersion. For an average pump power of 26 dBm, the conversion efficiency was around -19.5 dB with the fluctuation less than ±1.4 dB, covering a conversion bandwidth of 20 nm. The eye diagram of the converted signal shows good eye opening.     

Sensitive monitoring of humic acid in various aquatic environments with acidic cerium chemiluminescence detection.

In this research, a simple, sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of humic acid (HA) in water samples was first developed based on the redox reaction between humic acid and cerium(IV) in the acidic condition. Different with the former redox CL reaction which occurred in alkaline solution, no enhancers were needed and neither precipitation nor a second contamination would occur in the present CL system. Comparing with other spectrometric methods, we find that the proposed analysis system had better applicability and accuracy. Under the optimal experiment conditions, the CL peak height was linear with the concentration of HA in the range of 0.03 to 10.0 microg mL(-1). The detection limit is 0.01 microg mL(-1) (S/N = 3), and the relative standard deviation was 2.3% for 0.5 microg mL(-1) HA solution with eleven repeated measurements. The present CL method was successfully applied to the determination of HA in tap water, spring water and river water samples with good recovery from 90.0 to 110.0%. A possible CL mechanism was proposed based on the results of UV and fluorescence spectrometry and the CL spectrum of HA. It was speculated that the semi-quinone radicals in the excited state were the emitters.     

Protection of iron corrosion by stearic acid and stearic imidazoline self-assembled monolayers

A type of stearic imidazoline (IM) inhibitor was prepared using stearic acid (SA) and diethylenetriamine (DETA) as raw materials. The monolayers of IM and SA were assembled on the iron surface. The electrochemical characterization of stearic acid (SA) and stearic imidazoline (IM) on an oxide free iron surface had been studied. The monolayers of IM inhibitor were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), electrochemical polarization curves, double layer capacitance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and molecular simulation. The results of electrochemical studies had illustrated that the inhibition efficiency of IM was higher than SA. XPS showed that the IM molecules adsorbed on the iron surface. The molecular simulation calculations showed that the IM molecules were tilted at an angle on the iron surface.     

Annealing and measurement temperature dependence of W2B5-based rectifying contacts to n-GaN

The thermal stability and measurement temperature dependence of Schottky contact characteristics on n-GaN using a W₂B₅/Ti/Au metallization scheme was studied using current-voltage (I-V), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) measurements. The elemental profile obtained from samples annealed at 350 °C showed some titanium diffusion into the gold layer but little other difference from the as-deposited wafer. Annealing at 700 °C produced significant diffusion of titanium. The Schottky barrier height increased with anneal temperature up to 200 °C, reaching a maximum value of 0.65 eV, but decreased at higher annealing temperatures. The reverse breakdown voltage from diodes fabricated using the W₂B₅-based contacts showed a similar dependence. The reverse current magnitude was larger than predicted by thermionic emission alone. The barrier height showed only minor changes with measurement temperature up to 150 °C.