Nanocrystalline undoped tetragonal and cubic zirconia synthesized using poly-acrylamide as gel and matrix

Nanocrystalline zirconia powders with tetragonal and cubic structure have been prepared from ZrO₂-polyacrylamide gel and precipitated zirconia in polyacrylamide matrix respectively. X-ray diffraction results of the samples annealed at high temperatures show that the tetragonal and cubic form, obtained from the gel, are fairly stable in air up to 1,173 K and partially stable in inert atmosphere, up to 1,273 K. The stability at such high temperatures is due to the presence of oxygen vacancies in zirconia sample, incorporated in the process of decomposition of polymer.     

Synthetic and Thermal Studies of Polymeric Chelates of Some Bis-Biurets with First Transition Series Metals

Some new coordination polymers have been synthesized by combining adipyl bis-biuret and azelyl bis-biuret with metals of first transition series viz Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II). They were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and reflectance spectral and magnetic studies. A detailed thermal study was carried out and thermal stability compared. The results obtained have been discussed.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High pt and photon physics with ALICE at LHC

ALICE,A Large Ion Collider Experiment,is dedicated to study the QCD matter at extreme high temperature and density to understand the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) and phase transition.High-transversemomentum photons and neutral mesons from the initial hard scattering of partons can be measured with ALICE calorimeters,PHOS (PHOton Spectrometer) and EMCAL (ElectroMagnetic CALorimeter).Combing the additional central tracking detectors,the γ-jet and π 0-jet measurements thus can be accessed.These measurements offer us a sensitive tomography probe of the hot-dense medium generated in the heavy ion collisions.In this paper,high p T and photon physics is discussed and the ALICE calorimeters capabilities of high-transverse-momentum neutral mesons and γ-jet measurements are presented.     

Aqueous Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Initiated by Potassium Peroxydisulfate-Ascorbic Acid Redox System

The aqueous polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated by the redox system K₂S₂O₈-ascorbic acid has been studied at 35°C under the influence of oxygen. The rate of polymerization increases with increasing ascorbic acid concentration at low activator concentration, remains constant within the range 4.375 × 10^?3 to 11.25 × 10^?3 mole/liter, and at higher ascorbic acid concentration again decreases. The rate varies linearly with monomer concentration. The initial rate and the limiting conversion increase with increasing polymerization temperature. Organic solvents (water-miscible only) and small amounts of neutral salts like KC1 and Na₂SO₄ depress the initial rate and the maximum conversion. The addition of small amounts of salts like Cu²⁺ and Mn²⁺ increases the initial rate, but no appreciable increase in the limiting conversion is observed.     

Lewis Acid Catalyzed Selective Reactions of Donor–Acceptor Cyclopropanes with 2‐Naphthols

Lewis acid‐catalyzed reactions of 2‐substituted cyclopropane 1,1‐dicarboxylates with 2‐naphthols is reported. The reaction exhibits tunable selectivity depending on the nature of Lewis acid employed and proceed as a dearomatization/rearomatization sequence. With Bi(OTf)₃ as the Lewis acid, a highly selective dehydrative [3+2] cyclopentannulation takes place leading to the formation of naphthalene‐fused cyclopentanes. Interestingly, engaging Sc(OTf)₃ as the Lewis acid, a Friedel–Crafts‐type addition of 2‐naphthols to cyclopropanes takes place, thus affording functionalized 2‐naphthols. Both reactions furnished the target products in high regioselectivity and moderate to high yields.     

Localization of Dirac-like excitations in graphene in the presence of smooth inhomogeneous magnetic fields

The present paper discusses magnetic confinement of the Dirac excitations in graphene in the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields. In the first case a magnetic field directed along the z axis whose magnitude is proportional to 1/r is chosen. In the next case we choose a more realistic magnetic field which does not blow up at the origin and gradually fades away from the origin. The magnetic fields chosen do not have any finite/infinite discontinuity for finite values of the radial coordinate. The novelty of the two magnetic fields is related to the equations which are used to find the excited spectra of the excitations. It turns out that the bound state solutions of the two-dimensional hydrogen atom problem are related to the spectra of graphene excitations in the presence of the 1/r (inverse-radial) magnetic field. For the other magnetic field profile one can use the knowledge of the bound state spectrum of a two-dimensional cutoff Coulomb potential to dictate the excitation spectra of graphene. The spectrum of the graphene excitations in the presence of the inverse-radial magnetic field can be exactly solved while the other case cannot be. In the later case we give the localized solutions of the zero-energy states in graphene.     

Multi‐Electron Reactions Enabled by Anion‐Based Redox Chemistry for High‐Energy Multivalent Rechargeable Batteries

The development of multivalent metal (such as Mg and Ca) based battery systems is hindered by lack of suitable cathode chemistry that shows reversible multi‐electron redox reactions. Cationic redox centres in the classical cathodes can only afford stepwise single‐electron transfer, which are not ideal for multivalent‐ion storage. The charge imbalance during multivalent ion insertion might lead to an additional kinetic barrier for ion mobility. Therefore, multivalent battery cathodes only exhibit slope‐like voltage profiles with insertion/extraction redox of less than one electron. Taking VS₄ as a model material, reversible two‐electron redox with cationic–anionic contributions is verified in both rechargeable Mg batteries (RMBs) and rechargeable Ca batteries (RCBs). The corresponding cells exhibit high capacities of >300 mAh g^?1 at a current density of 100 mA g^?1 in both RMBs and RCBs, resulting in a high energy density of >300 Wh kg^?1 for RMBs and >500 Wh kg^?1 for RCBs. Mechanistic studies reveal a unique redox activity mainly at anionic sulfides moieties and fast Mg²⁺ ion diffusion kinetics enabled by the soft structure and flexible electron configuration of VS₄.