A general methodology for the synthesis of transition metal pnictide nanoparticles from pnictate precursors and its application to iron-phosphorus phases

Nanoparticles of iron phosphide have been prepared through a new strategy involving the reductive annealing of nanoparticulate iron phosphate precursors cast onto atomically flat mica surfaces. This route appears to be general for a range of transition metals and pnicogens and avoids the use of highly toxic and pyrophoric agents such as Pn(SiMe3)3 (Pn = P, As), which are commonly employed in the synthesis of pnictide nanoparticles.     

Stimuli-responsive mixed grafted polymer films with gradually changing properties: direct determination of chemical composition

Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IRSE) and visible monochromatic ellipsometry (VISE) approaches were applied to investigate the chemical structure and thickness of ultrathin polymer films. Mixed polystyrene-poly(2-vinylpyridine) and polystyrene-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) polymer grafted films (mixed brushes) with gradually changing composition (1D gradient mixed brush) along the sample were prepared on a temperature gradient stage via two subsequent "grafting to" reactions. The films were characterized by high-precision mapping VISE at a single wavelength (632.8 nm) and IRSE. The set of 1D IRSE spectra of the polymer brush films obtained by mapping the 1D gradient brush were used to estimate the thickness and the local composition of the film and to construct the 1D map of the film in terms of the chemical composition of the brush. The results were compared with the data obtained using monochromatic ellipsometry where the brush composition was estimated from the results of two subsequent measurements followed each grafting step. The measurements of the brush thickness and composition with both methods were found to be in gratifying agreement. The results demonstrate the high potential of IRSE methods for the one-step characterization (by thickness and chemical composition) of ultrathin polymer films of complex composition.     

Bestimmung von Radiocerisotopen in bestrahlten Kernbrennstoffen

Zusammenfassung Eine Methode zur Abtrennung vpn Cer aus Spaltprodukten wurde beschrieben. Ihre chemischen Grundlagen wurden diskutiert und systematische Bestimmungen der Dekontaminationsfaktoren für einige Spaltelemente bei der Abtrennung von Cer durch Extraktion mit Methylisobutylketon und durch Oxalatfällung durchgeführt. Die Methode wurde überprüft durch die Abtrennung von Spaltcer aus bestrahltem Uranoxid.

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Summary A method for the separation of cerium from fission products is described. The chemical principles of this method are discussed. Decontamination from a number of fission elements have been determined for two separation steps, solvent extraction with methylisobutyl ketone and precipitation of cerium(III)-oxalate. The method was tested by separating fission cerium from an irradiated sample of uranium oxide.

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Fräulein Ch. Krückeberg danke ich für die Hilfe bei den Experimenten.     

Calculation of small-angle neutron scattering by macromolecules in the semicrystalline state

Summary The conformation of macromolecules in the semicrystalline state has been studied by various authors with respect to the validity of the adjacent re-entry — or switchboard model by application of small-angle neutron scattering. Analytical as well as Monte-Carlo calculations show that the experimental results for melt crystallized polyethylene and isotactic polypropylene can be interpreted on the basis of the solidification model. In this model it is assumed that crystallization occurs by straightening of coil sequences without a long range diffusion process.

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Zusammenfassung Die Konformation von Makromolekülen im teilkristallinen Zustand wurde von verschiedenen Autoren im Hinblick auf die Gültigkeit des adjacent re-entry- oder switchboard-Modells mit Hilfe der Neutronenkleinwinkelstreuung untersucht. Sowohl analytische Rechnungen als auch Monte-Carlo Rechnungen zeigen, dag die an schmelzkristallisiertem Polyäthylen und isotaktischem Polypropylen gefundenen experimentellen Ergebnisse auf der Basis des Erstarrungsmodells interpretiert werden können. In diesem Modell wird angenommen, daß sich Knäuelsequenzen wahrend der Kristallisation ausrichten, ohne dag weitreichende Diffusionsprozesse erfolgen.

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With 8 figures and 3 tables     

Scattering of very light scalar particles,off leptons

Within the scope of a new diquark model for deep inelastic structure functions presented by us recently we use the existing data onF ₁ ^ep (x,Q²) to learn about the admixture of spin-1 diquarks in nucleons. It turns out that they are so rare, heavy and extended compared to spin-0 diquarks that they are presumably accidental and not dynamical. Their number and form factors can be understood qualitatively within this picture. Still, the spin-1 diquarks give interesting structures in data and, together with quarks and spin-0 diquarks, carry enough momentum to account for the full nucleon energy. A gluon component is hence not needed in the nucleon!     

Adhesion between chemically heterogeneous switchable polymeric brushes and an elastomeric adhesive

We investigated the adhesive properties of binary heterogeneous polymer brushes made from end-functionalized polystyrene (PS) and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) chains. The molecular organization of the mixed brush could be varied reversibly by exposure to selective solvents for PS (toluene) and for P2VP (acidic water). This exposure results in reversible switching of adhesive and wetting properties. The manner in which the adhesion switching occurs can be tuned by the composition of mixed brushes. However, the outer surface composition could be enriched more effectively in PS after the toluene treatment than in P2VP after the acidic water treatment. As a result, the mixed brush compositions that showed the largest difference in properties between an exposure to toluene and an exposure to water were the P2VP-rich compositions. Adhesive properties, tested against a soft hydrophobic pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) using a probe test, always showed smaller differences between solvent treatments than wetting properties with water, suggesting a much higher sensitivity of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic brushes to polar molecules than to nonpolar molecules.     

Wetting on regularly structured surfaces from "core-shell" particles: theoretical predictions and experimental findings

In this paper, we report on a systematic and thorough study of wetting phenomenon on regularly patterned surfaces fabricated from inorganic-organic hybrid "core-shell" particles of different radii (100 nm to 10 microm). Inorganic silica particles were modified through chemical anchoring of polymers and silanes with different hydrophobicities. Modified "core-shell" particles were assembled into regular hexagonally packed structures. The use of regular structured surfaces with specifically designed surface roughness allowed mathematic prediction of the wetting behavior according to existing models and its comparison with experimental observations. It was shown that the character of the wetting behavior varies with the particles size and the chemical nature of the surface immobilized substance. For the regular particle assemblies, an increase in the vertical roughness was achieved with increasing particle radius, but without changing the Wenzel roughness factor.     

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Notices bibliographiques