Measurement of muon-induced neutron yield at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory

Solar, terrestrial, and supernova neutrino experiments are subject to muon-induced radioactive background. The China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL), with its unique advantage of a 2400 m rock coverage and long distance from nuclear power plants, is ideal for MeV-scale neutrino experiments. Using a 1-ton prototype detector of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment (JNE), we detected 343 high-energy cosmic-ray muons and (7.86\begin{document}$ \pm $\end{document}3.97) muon-induced neutrons from an 820.28-day dataset at the first phase of CJPL (CJPL-I). Based on the muon-induced neutrons, we measured the corresponding muon-induced neutron yield in a liquid scintillator to be \begin{document}$(3.44 \pm 1.86_{\rm stat.}\pm $\end{document}\begin{document}$ 0.76_{\rm syst.})\times 10^{-4}$\end{document} μ^?1g^?1cm² at an average muon energy of 340 GeV. We provided the first study for such neutron background at CJPL. A global fit including this measurement shows a power-law coefficient of (0.75\begin{document}$ \pm $\end{document}0.02) for the dependence of the neutron yield at the liquid scintillator on muon energy.     

Adsorption equilibrium studies for O‐xylene vapour and modified clays system

Tunisian bentonites were used to prepare three modified clays: two organoclays by intercalating respectively didodecyldimethylammoniumbromide (DDMAC) and hexadecyltrimethylammoniumbromide (HDTMAC), and synthesis of NaX zeolite. The X‐ray diffraction, infrared and thermogravimetric analyses enabled us to differentiate between the structures obtained. Clay materials systems were used as adsorbent for the investigation of the adsorption isotherms and saturation capacity of O‐xylene, a toxic volatile organic compound, by gravimetric method at three different temperatures 20, 30, and 40 °C. The absolute values of the volatile organic compound adsorbed amounts in the intercalated clays (604 mg g^?1) were higher than for the zeolite (296 mg g^?1). The adsorption isotherms were analysed by the Freundlich and Langmuir equations. The latter was found to describe better the equilibrium adsorption data. Mass transfer coefficient of O‐xylene is evaluated using uptake curve method, and all values are in the order of 10^?2 s^?1. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conductivity and dielectric relaxation in various polyvinyl alcohol/ammonium salt composites

We studied electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation in polyvinyl alcohol/ammonium chloride and polyvinyl alcohol/ammonium acetate composite films. Infrared absorbance showed the presence of H-bonding interaction between the salt and the polymer. X-ray diffraction showed the reduction of the grain size of ordered regions in the polymer matrix after adding salt. Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed water wt% content between 4.2 and 5.8%. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) showed the decrease of the glass transition due to retained water indicating its plasticizer effect. The ac conductivity studied in the frequency range from 10^?1 Hz to 1 MHz and the temperature range from 10 to 150°C is described by the universal law of Jonsher characterizing the charge transport in disordered materials. With NH₄Cl inclusion, the dc conductivity showed a higher value in the vicinity of 4% but with NH₄CH₃CO₂ the dc conductivity decreases monotonically by increasing the salt amount. By using the dielectric permittivity and dielectric modulus we detected three relaxation processes which we attributed to electrode/sample polarization, alpha relaxation and conductivity relaxation respectively.     

Dicyanomethylene compounds and heterocyclization of acylthiosemicarbazides

(1,3‐Dioxo‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐inden‐2‐ylidene)propanedinitrile ( 1 , in ethyl acetate solution), 3‐(dicyano‐methylene)‐2‐indolone ( 2 , in ethanol/piperidine solution) and 7,7′,8,8′‐tetracyanoquinodimethane ( 3 , in pyridine solution) act on substituted acylthiosemicarbazides 4a‐d , forming the derivatives of oxoindeno‐pyrrolylidenehydrazide ( 5a‐d and 7a‐d ), thiazoloindolylidenehydrazide ( 12a‐d ), pyrroloindolylidene‐hydrazide ( 13a‐d ) and spiro[pyrrolylidene‐4,1′(cyclohexa‐2′,5′‐dienylidene)]propanedinitrile ( 18a‐d ). Rationales for these conversiones involving the nucleophilic addition on dicyanomethylene carbon atom are presented.     

Synthesis, characterization and photophysical properties of benzidine-based compounds

The N-alkylation of the 3,3′-diaminobenzidine with innocent substituents leads to unusual properties. The emission of the benzidine core can be fine-tuned by subtle modifications, and the N-substitution with benzylic groups results in photoinduced exciplexes with distinct and increased emission. This compound constitutes the first example of intramolecular exciplex containing benzidine unit. We also show that these photoinduced processes could be modulated by proton input, and that the diprotonation of the benzidine core disrupted the intramolecular communication in the excited states with a concomitant inhibition of the ligand-centred fluorescence. Furthermore, upon photo-irradiation at 254 nm, semiquinone imine and quinone diimine systems are produced in CH₂Cl₂ of which the photolysis generates Cl radicals, which rapidly oxidize the tetraamine compounds.     

Reactivity of molecular dioxygen towards a series of isostructural dichloroiron(III) complexes with tripodal tetraamine ligands: general access to mu-oxodiiron(III) complexes and effect of alpha-fluorination on the reaction kinetics

We have synthesized the mono, di-, and tri-alpha-fluoro ligands in the tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPA) series, namely, FTPA, F(2)TPA and F(3)TPA, respectively. Fluorination at the alpha-position of these nitrogen-containing tripods shifts the oxidation potential of the ligand by 45-70 mV per added fluorine atom. The crystal structures of the dichloroiron(II) complexes with FTPA and F(2)TPA reveal that the iron center lies in a distorted octahedral geometry comparable to that already found in TPAFeCl(2). All spectroscopic data indicate that the geometry is retained in solution. These three isostructural complexes all react with molecular dioxygen to yield stable mu-oxodiiron(III) complexes. Crystal structure analyses are reported for each of these three mu-oxo compounds. With TPA, a symmetrical structure is obtained for a dicationic compound with the tripod coordinated in the kappa(4)N coordination mode. With FTPA, the compound is a neutral mu-oxodiiron(III) complex with a kappa(3)N coordination mode of the ligand. Oxygenation of the F(2)TPA complex gave a neutral unsymmetrical compound, the structure of which is reminiscent of that already found with the trifluorinated ligand. On reduction, all mu-oxodiiron(III) complexes revert to the starting iron(II) species. The oxygenation reaction parallels the well-known formation of mu-oxo derivatives from dioxygen in the chemistry of porphyrins reported almost three decades ago. The striking feature of the series of iron(II) precursors is the effect of the ligand on the kinetics of oxygenation of the complexes. Whereas the parent complex undergoes 90 % conversion over 40 h, the monofluorinated ligand provides a complex that has fully reacted after 30 h, whereas the reaction time for the complex with the difluorinated ligand is only 10 h. Analysis of the spectroscopic data reveals that formation of the mu-oxo complexes proceeds in two distinct reversible kinetic steps with k(1) approximately 10 k(2). For TPAFeCl(2) and FTPAFeCl(2) only small variations in the k(1) and k(2) values are observed. By contrast, F(2)TPAFeCl(2) exhibits k(1) and k(2) values that are ten times higher. These differences in kinetics are interpreted in the light of structural and electronic effects, especially the Lewis acidity at the metal center. Our results suggest coordination of dioxygen as an initial step in the process leading to formation of mu-oxodiiron(III) compounds, by contrast with an unlikely outer-sphere reduction of dioxygen, which generally occurs at negative potentials.     

Trends in CE-MS 2005-2006

CE-MS has gained further attention as a multidimensional analytical approach. The number of publications dealing with this technique is still increasing on the level of application as well as method development-oriented approaches. Additionally, 15 reviews were published the last two years focusing on CE-MS. An overview of all papers found to have been published within 2005 and 2006 is given in tabulated form. Additionally, four promising technical trends are chosen to be presented in detail: (i) chip-based CE-MS, (ii) capillary coatings in CE-MS, (iii) new trends in CEC-MS and (iv) the application of 2-D CE-MS.     

Effects of modifications of the heteroatoms on fine-tuning the photophysical proprieties of A-π-D-π-A small molecules for photovoltaic applications

An effective way to enhance the photovoltaic properties of a small molecule is to modify the side groups into donor units. Herein three news small molecules A-π-D-π-A, denoted Dye1-3, have been designed, from experimentally reported one noted (R), by insertion of various heteroatoms (S, O, Se) on the electron-donating benzodithiophene (Donor (D = BDT)) part. From the calculated results, the dihedral angle between BDT and side-chain affects the distribution of density on the ground state, gap energy, and intramolecular charge transfer of Dyes. In particular, the Dye3 compound, with the smaller dihedral angle, shows that the furan groups in the side chain of D, participates in the distribution of density on the ground state and consequently the charge transfer is improved. Additionally, Dye3 has the lower reorganization energy revealing that this material exhibits better charge mobility. Using the Scharber diagram, Dye3-PCBM heterojunction shows a power conversion efficiency of around 7%. Overall, this work suggests that the photovoltaic properties can be affected by the modification of heteroatoms on side groups of donor parts in small molecules.     

Electronic states and pseudo Jahn-Teller distortion of heavy metal-monobenzene complexes: M(C6H6) (M = Y, La, and Lu)

Monobenzene complexes of yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), and lutetium (Lu), M(C(6)H(6)) (M = Y, La, and Lu), were prepared in a laser-vaporization supersonic molecular beam source and studied by pulsed-field ionization zero electron kinetic energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. The calculations included the second-order perturbation, the coupled cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitation, and the complete active space self-consistent field methods. Adiabatic ionization energies and metal-benzene stretching frequencies of these complexes were measured for the first time from the ZEKE spectra. Electronic states of the neutral and ion complexes and benzene ring deformation were determined by combining the spectroscopic measurements with the theoretical calculations. The ionization energies of M(C(6)H(6)) are 5.0908 (6), 4.5651 (6), and 5.5106 (6) eV, and the metal-ligand stretching frequencies of [M(C(6)H(6))](+) are 328, 295, and 270 cm(-1) for M = Y, La, and Lu, respectively. The ground states of M(C(6)H(6)) and [M(C(6)H(6))](+) are (2)A(1) and (1)A(1), respectively, and their molecular structures are in C(2v) point group with a bent benzene ring. The deformation of the benzene ring upon metal coordination is caused by the pseudo Jahn-Teller interaction of (1(2)E(2)+1(2)A(1)+2(2)E(2)) e(2) at C(6v) symmetry. In addition, the study shows that spectroscopic behaviors of Y(C(6)H(6)) and La(C(6)H(6)) are similar to each other, but different from that of Lu(C(6)H(6)).