Power Absorption in High Power Microwave Discharges

Measurements on RF power absorption in microwave discharges at 2.45 GHz, at pressures from 1 to 30 Torr in N2 and from 1 to 500 Torr in Ar, are described. A linear slow-wave structure of the strapped-bar type was employed for coupling RF energy to the plasma. From measurements on the plasma volume and on the total power absorbed, the variation with gas pressure of the RF power density in the plasma was obtained. For an incident power of 1 kW, power densities as high as 2-3 W/cm3 over relatively large plasma volumes could be achieved. The experimental data were used to calculate the pressure dependence of the electron density in an argon plasma, for an incident power of 1 kW.     

Growth of carbon nanotubes by Fe-catalyzed chemical vapor processes on silicon-based substrates

In this paper, a site-selective catalytic chemical vapor deposition synthesis of carbon nanotubes on silicon-based substrates has been developed in order to get horizontally oriented nanotubes for field effect transistors and other electronic devices. Properly micro-fabricated silicon oxide and polysilicon structures have been used as substrates. Iron nanoparticles have been obtained both from a thin Fe film evaporated by e-gun and from iron nitrate solutions accurately dispersed on the substrates. Single-walled nanotubes with diameters as small as 1 nm, bridging polysilicon and silicon dioxide “pillars”, have been grown. The morphology and structure of CNTs have been characterized by SEM, AFM and Raman spectroscopy.     

Bifurcation and local rigidity of homogeneous solutions to the Yamabe problem on spheres

We study existence and non-existence of constant scalar curvature metrics conformal and arbitrarily close to homogeneous metrics on spheres, using variational techniques. This describes all critical points of the Hilbert–Einstein functional on such conformal classes, near homogeneous metrics. Both bifurcation and local rigidity type phenomena are obtained for 1-parameter families of U(n + 1), Sp(n + 1) and Spin(9)-homogeneous metrics.     

Electroanalytical Determination of Estrone in Seawater Samples Using Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

In this work, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized with carboxylic groups (MWCNT−COOH) was used to determine the hormone estrone in seawater samples. Modification of the electrode was optimized using three successive 10-μL aliquots of the MWCNT−COOH dispersion in ethanol (1 : 5 mL). The cyclic voltammetry results showed an oxidation peak at 0.59 V with characteristics of an irreversible process, pH dependent and controlled by adsorption of species. The results of square-wave voltammetry showed that the intensities of peak currents for the MWCNT−COOH/GCE were about 2.5 times higher than for GCE. The calibration curve showed a linearity of 0.9981 and a sensitivity of 0.1521 μA/mol L⁻¹. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.117 and 0.392 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. The recovery obtained using seawater samples was 91%, indicating the applicability of the method in marine environments.     

Spontaneous enzymatically mediated dynamic kinetic resolution of 8-amino-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline

A spontaneous dynamic kinetic resolution of 8-amino-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline 1 was observed in the presence of Candida antarctica Lipase B, in which a >60% yield of (R)-acetamide [(R)-2] was isolated from the racemic amine. The spontaneous formation of ketone 3, followed by a condensation/hydrolysis sequence with the remaining (S)-amine 1, via enamine 4, provides the necessary racemization pathway.     

Conversion of C5 into C6 cyclic species through the formation of C7 intermediates

We have recently proposed that the addition of C2H2 to the cyclopentadienyl radical can lead to the rapid formation of the cycloheptatrienyl radical and, in succession, of the indenyl radical. These reactions represent an interesting and unexplored route for the enlargement of gas-phase cyclic species. In this work we report ab initio calculations we performed with the aim of investigating in detail the gas-phase reactivity of cycloheptatrienyl and indenyl radicals. We found that the reaction of the cycloheptatrienyl radical with atomic hydrogen can lead to its fast conversion into the more stable benzyl radical. This reaction pathway involves the intermediate formation of heptatriene, norcaradiene, and toluene. Successively we investigated whether this reaction mechanism can be extended to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For this purpose we studied the reaction of C2H2 with the indenyl radical, which can be considered as a superior homologue of the cyclopentadienyl radical. This reaction proceeds through a pathway similar to that proposed for C5H5 but with a reaction rate about an order of magnitude smaller. The present calculations extend thus the previously proposed C5-C7-C9 mechanism to bicyclic PAH and suggest a fast route for the conversion of C5 into C6 cyclic radicals, mediated by the formation of C7 cyclic species.     

Application of genetic algorithm for selection of variables for the BLLS method applied to determination of pesticides and metabolites in wine

A variable selection methodology based on genetic algorithm (GA) was applied in a bilinear least squares model (BLLS) with second-order advantage, in three distinct situations, for determination by HPLC-DAD of the pesticides carbaryl (CBL), methyl thiophanate (TIO), simazin (SIM) and dimethoate (DMT) and the metabolite phthalimide (PTA) in wine. The chromatographic separation was carried out using an isocratic elution with 50:50 (v/v) acetonitrile:water as mobile phase. Preprocessing methods were performed for correcting the chromatographic time shifts, baseline variation and background. The optimization by GA provided a significant reduction of the errors, where for SIM and PTA a decrease of three times the value obtained using all variables, and an improvement in the distribution of them, reducing the observed bias in the results were observed. Comparing the RMSEP of the optimized model with the uncertainty estimates of the reference values it is observed that GA can be a very useful tool in second-order models.     

Synthesis, chiroptical properties and photoinduced birefringence of optically active methacrylic copolymers bearing side-chain bisazoaromatic moieties

Three series of optically active photochromic copolymers, deriving from methyl methacrylate (MMA) and the chiral bisazoaromatic monomers (S)-3-methacryloyloxy-1-[4′-phenylazo-(4-azobenzene)]-pyrrolidine [(S)-MPAAP], (S)-3-methacryloyloxy-1-[4′-cyanophenylazo-(4-azobenzene)]-pyrrolidine [(S)-MPAAP-C] and (S)-3-methacryloyloxy-1-[4′-nitrophenylazo-(4-azobenzene)]-pyrrolidine [(S)-MPAAP-N], have been prepared and characterized in solution and in the solid state with the aim to evaluate the effect on their chiroptical and thermal properties originated by the insertion of inactive MMA groups along the main chain. The optical activity displayed by the bisazo polymers is discussed in terms of extent of chiral conformation assumed by the macromolecules as a consequence of dipole-dipole interactions between the bisazoaromatic chromophores.The photoinduction of birefringence has been assessed on thin films of the investigated copolymers in order to evaluate their behaviour as materials for optical data storage. The results are interpreted in terms of copolymer composition and conformational stiffness of the bisazoaromatic chromophoric co-units, which are responsible for the optical response rates, and are compared to those of the similar derivatives containing only one azo bond. The observed enhanced thermal properties and the temporal stability appear of interest for a potential use of these materials in nano technologies for all-optical data manipulation and in optoelectronics.