Dissipation of spin angular momentum in magnetic switching

Applying one ultrashort magnetic field pulse, we observe up to 10 precessional switches of the magnetization direction in single crystalline Fe films of 10 and 15 atomic layers. We find that the rate at which angular momentum is dissipated in uniform large angle spin precession increases with time and film thickness, surpassing the intrinsic ferromagnetic resonance spin lattice relaxation of Fe by nearly an order of magnitude.     

Cascade of coil-globule conformational transitions of single flexible polyelectrolyte molecules in poor solvent

We show that hydrophobic flexible polyelectrolyte molecules of poly(2-vinylpyridine) and poly(methacryloyloxyethyl dimethylbenzylammonium chloride) are trapped and frozen due to adsorption on the mica surface, and the observed AFM single molecule structures reflect the molecular conformation in solution. An increase of the ionic strength of the solution induces the cascade of abrupt conformational transitions due to the intrachain segregation from elongated coil to compact globule conformations through intermediate pearl necklace-globule conformations with different amounts of beads per chain. The length of the necklaces and the number of beads decrease, while the diameter of beads increases with the increase of ionic strength. Coexistence at the same time of extended coils, necklaces with different amounts of beads, and compact globules indicates the cascade of the first-order-type phase transitions.     

Single flexible hydrophobic polyelectrolyte molecules adsorbed on solid substrate: transition between a stretched chain, necklace-like conformation and a globule

Single flexible polyelectrolyte molecules of poly(2-vinylpyridine) undergo conformational transition from a stretched wormlike coil to a necklace-like globule, and to a compact globule depending on pH and ionic strength in aqueous solution in good agreement with recent theoretical reports. AFM investigations allow the visualization of details of the chain conformation on mica and the extraction of quantitative statistics of molecular dimensions.     

Nanowear studies in reversibly switchable polystyrene-poly(acrylic acid) mixed brushes

Wear studies were performed on polystyrene (PS)-poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) mixed polymer brushes and corresponding monobrushes in a dried state. The aim was to study the wear mechanism in polymer brush surfaces as well as to investigate the effect of switching of PS + PAA binary brush surfaces (on treatment with the selective solvents for the PS and PAA) on the wear process. Wear experiments were carried out using atomic force microscopy (AFM) under a controlled environment. The wear experiments were performed as a function of scan number using a sharp silicon nitride tip to induce the wear on the sample surfaces. The wear mechanism on different brush surfaces was influenced by molecular entanglement as well as adhesion and friction on the sample surface. The wear process on the PS monobrush surface treated with toluene took place via formation of the ripples. On the other hand, a typical wear mode observed on the PAA monobrushes was removal of the polymeric material from the surface. For the mixed brush surface treated with toluene (selective solvent for PS) where PS chains dominated the top of the sample surface, the typical wear mode observed was ripple formation similar to that observed for the PS monobrushes. However, when a mixed brush was treated with ethanol and pH 10 water so that PAA chains dominated the top layer, wear occurred via removal of material. The amount of wear on the surfaces increased with the number of scans. Furthermore, the load and scan velocity dependence of the wear process was also investigated. Wear on polymer brush surfaces increased on increasing the load and/or decreasing the scan speed. The present study shows that wear can be controlled/tuned using mixed responsive brushes.     

Adsorption of block polyampholyte micelles in monolayers at the silicon water interface

 The adsorption of the diblock polyampholyte poly (methacrylic acid)-block-poly((dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) from aqueous solution on silicon substrates was investigated as a function of polymer concentration and pH. Dynamic light scattering and electrokinetic measurements were used to characterize the polyampholyte in solution. The amount of polymer adsorbed was determined by ellipsometry and lateral structures of the polymer layer were investigated by scanning force microscopy. The amount of polymer adsorbed was found to be strongly influenced by the pH of the polymer solution, while the size of the polyampholyte micelles adsorbed on the surface was hardly affected by pH during adsorption. From investigations by scanning force microscopy well-seperated micelles were seen in the dried monolayers adsorbed directly from solution. The structures at the surface are correlated to structures in solution, and the adsorbed amount depends on the relative charge of the micelles and the surface. Received: 13 September 1999 Accepted in revised form: 8 December 1999     

Teilautomatisches Bestimmungsverfahren für Adrenalin und Noradrenalin im Harn

The method of Weil-Malherbe and Bigelow [21,22] for the fluorometric determination of urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine was adapted to the AutoAnalyzer. The criteria of reliability of the method were determined. The normal range for the excretion or epinephrine and norepinephrine in the 24 h-urine is given for a sample of 47 women and 51 men.     

Determination of hydrogen depth profiles in polymer films by the 15N nuclear reaction technique

Summary It has been shown that the ¹⁵N nuclear reaction technique for hydrogen profiling can be used for the characterization of polymer films. With an optimized sample geometry, a depth resolution of 5 nm near the sample surface is achieved. A special -ray detector allows radiation damage in the sample to be minimized. Since the ¹⁵N technique discriminates between the hydrogen isotopes H and D, a suitable contrast between the different components of a polymer film is achieved by deuterating one component of the polymer. This has been utilized in the study of the surface-induced lamellar ordering within diblock copolymer films.     

Discovery Learning Using Chemland Simulation Software

We describe in this paper a set of computer-based simulations for use in general chemistry courses. We detail a discovery-based method of teaching, whereby students are led to discover concepts through guided-inquiry use of the simulation modules. Three methods of using the software are described, as is the development process we have employed. Finally, we describe our evaluation studies of the effects of our methodology and the use of a scientific reasoning instrument. The software is available free for download as part of this article.     

M?glichkeiten der Qualit?tskontrolle quantitativer Analysen mit tr?gergebundenen Reagentien

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Possibilities of quality control of quantitative analyses with carrier-bound reagents