Influence of substrate temperature and ion-beam energy on the syntheses of aluminium nitride thin films by nitrogen-ion-assisted pulsed-laser deposition

Aluminium nitride (AlN) thin films have been grown on Si(100), Si(111) and Sapphire Al₂O₃(001) substrates by pulsed KrF excimer laser (wavelength 248 nm, duration 30 ns) ablation of an AlN target with the assistance of nitrogen-ion-beam bombardment. The influence of process parameters such as substrate temperature and ion-beam energy has been investigated in order to obtain high-quality AlN films. The AlN films deposited by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the crystalline quality, grain size and growth orientation with respect to the substrate. The XRD spectra of AlN films on Si(100), Si(111) and Sapphire substrates yield full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) values of approximately 1.6. The bonding characteristics in the films have been evaluated by Raman spectroscopy. The chemical composition of the films has been characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface morphology of the films has been measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). At a substrate temperature of at least 600 °C, polycrystalline AlN films with orientations of AlN(100) and AlN(101) have been synthesized. PACS 68.55.-a; 81.15.Fg; 77.84.Bw     

Unprecedented Acid‐Promoted Polymerization and Gelation of Acrylamide: A Serendipitous Discovery

Dilute acid polymerizes degassed, aqueous acrylamide with concomitant gelation, without the need for added free radical initiator or cross‐linking agent. This reaction is accelerated by sonication or UV irradiation, but inhibited by adventitious oxygen or the addition of a free radical inhibitor, suggesting an acid‐accelerated free radical process. The resulting hydrogels are thixotropic in nature and partially disrupted by the addition of chaotropic agents, indicating the importance of hydrogen bonding to the 3D network. This discovery was made while trying to prepare pectin‐polyacrylamide hydrogels. We observed that pectin initiated the gelation of acrylamide, but only if the aqueous pectin samples had a pH lower than ca. 5.     

A fully integrated high-throughput screening methodology for the discovery of new polyolefin catalysts: discovery of a new class of high temperature single-site group (IV) copolymerization catalysts

For the first time, new catalysts for olefin polymerization have been discovered through the application of fully integrated high-throughput primary and secondary screening techniques supported by rapid polymer characterization methods. Microscale 1-octene primary screening polymerization experiments combining arrays of ligands with reactive metal complexes M(CH(2)Ph)(4) (M = Zr, Hf) and multiple activation conditions represent a new high-throughput technique for discovering novel group (IV) polymerization catalysts. The primary screening methods described here have been validated using a commercially relevant polyolefin catalyst, and implemented rapidly to discover the new amide-ether based hafnium catalyst [eta(2)-(N,O)[bond](2-MeO[bond]C(6)H(4))(2,4,6-Me(3)C(6)H(2))N]Hf(CH(2)Ph)(3) (1), which is capable of polymerizing 1-octene to high conversion. The molecular structure of 1 has been determined by X-ray diffraction. Larger scale secondary screening experiments performed on a focused 96-member amine-ether library demonstrated the versatile high temperature ethylene-1-octene copolymerization capabilities of this catalyst class, and led to significant performance improvements over the initial primary screening discovery. Conventional one gallon batch reactor copolymerizations performed using selected amide-ether hafnium compounds confirmed the performance features of this new catalyst class, serving to fully validate the experimental results from the high-throughput approaches described herein.     

Tetracarbonyliron adducts of Cp2Cr2(CO)4(μ-η2-P2). Syntheses and crystal structures of Cp2Cr2(CO)4P2[Fe(CO)4] m (m=1 and 2)

Cp₂Cr₂(CO)₄( - ² - P₂), 1, reacts with one molar equivalent of Fe₂(CO)₉ in THF to yield the mono- and di-iron complexes, Cp₂Cr₂(CO)₄P₂[Fe(CO)₄], 2, (16.5% yield) and Cp₂Cr₂(CO)₄P₂[Fe(CO)₄]₂, 3, (16.9% yield), as dark magenta brown and dark greenish brown crystals, respectively. Both complexes were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Crystal data –2: space group =P2₁/c,a=17.024(1) Å,b=8.180(1) Å,c=30.891(2) Å, =100.953(5)°,V=4223.4(7)ų,Z=8, 3743 observed reflections,R _F=0.033; 3: space group P1,a=10.209(2) Å,b=10.212(2) Å,c=15.989(3) Å, =106.93(1)°, =91.87(1)°, =119.50(1)°,V=1356.5(4) ų,Z=2, 3489 observed reflections,R _F=0.029.     

Thermoanalytical studies of rubber oxidation catalyzed by metallic ions

The effects of several metallic ions on the oxidation of natural rubber were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The activation energy of oxidation was evaluated from DSC curves. Cobalt, manganese, iron and copper ions decreased the activation energy of oxidation. Nickel, zinc and tin ions did not affect the activation energy. The effective ions are those which are able to undergo one-electron transfer redox reaction with hydroperoxide. Based on the activation energy values, the catalytic activities of metallic ions are: Co > Mn > Cu ? Fe > Ni ? Zn ? Sn.     

Chemical accumulation and voltammetric determination of traces of nickel(II) at glassy carbon electrodes modified with dimethyl glyoxime containing polymer coatings

The objective of the present study was to develop a solid mercury free electrode for the voltammetric determination of traces of nickel(II) in solution. For this purpose chemically modified electrodes (CME's) were constructed from glassy carbon coated with dimethylglyoxime-containing polymers. CME's based on a composite matrix, which contained polyvinyl chloride, polyaniline, and dimethylglyoxime were shown to possess the ability to accumulate traces of nickel(II) from ammonia buffered aquatic solutions by a purely chemical attachment. Moreover the nickel(II) contents of such solutions could be determined using voltammetric quantitation of the nickel(II) dimethylglyoximate deposits on the CME surfaces and the standard addition technique. The CME surfaces could subsequently be regenerated by acid treatment. The limit of detection for Ni(II) following a 240 s chemical deposition was estimated as 18 mug Ni l(-1), and the CME results for traces of Ni(II) in fresh water compared well with the results obtained by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Moreover the CME's retained their sensitivity for more than two days, i.e. significantly longer than the 3 h, during which analogous carbon paste electrodes completely lost their affinity to nickel(II).     

Experimental estimates on radiative strength function of low-energy γ-quanta following even-odd heavy nuclei decay

The applicability of the method of summed amplitudes of coinciding pulses to determine radiative strength functions of heavy nuclei by measuring two-step cascade-ray spectra is discussed. Experiments based on thermal neutron capture in¹³⁶Ba and¹⁸⁰Hf were carried out to test this method. The values obtained for the radiative strength functions of a wide range of primary transitions were compared with the predictions of two modifications of the giant dipole resonance model. Some insight into the characteristics of the-decay of compound-states is provided by analyzing the information obtained on the two-step-decay of a number of nuclei in the mass region 137A187.Authors' thanks are due to Mrs. T.F. Drozdova and Dr. M.A. Ali for their help in the preparation of the English version of this paper.