Synthesis and crystal structure of a Pr5Ni19 superlattice alloy and its hydrogen absorption-desorption property

The intermetallic compound Pr(5)Ni(19), which is not shown in the Pr-Ni binary phase diagram, was synthesized, and the crystal structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two superlattice reflections with the Sm(5)Co(19)-type structure (002 and 004) and the Pr(5)Co(19)-type structure (003 and 006) were observed in the 2θ region between 2° and 15° in the XRD pattern using Cu Kα radiation. Rietveld refinement provided the goodness-of-fit parameter S = 6.7 for the Pr(5)Co(19)-type (3R) structure model and S = 1.7 for the Sm(5)Co(19)-type (2H) structure model, indicating that the synthesized compound has a Sm(5)Co(19) structure. The refined lattice parameters were a = 0.50010(9) nm and c = 3.2420(4) nm. The high-resolution TEM image also clearly revealed that the crystal structure of Pr(5)Ni(19) is of the Sm(5)Co(19) type, which agrees with the results from Rietveld refinement of the XRD data. The P-C isotherm of Pr(5)Ni(19) in the first absorption was clearly different from that in the first desorption. A single plateau in absorption and three plateaus in desorption were observed. The maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the first cycle reached 1.1 H/M, and that of the second cycle was 0.8 H/M. The 0.3 H/M of hydrogen remained in the metal lattice after the first desorption process.     

A total synthesis of verbenachalcone, a bioactive diaryl ether from Verbena littoralis

Verbenachalcone 1, isolated from the aerial part of Verbena littoralis H. B. K. (Verbenaceae), has successfully been synthesized by employing anodic oxidation of the phenol derivative 3, as the key step. The bromine and chlorine substituents of 3 effected regioselective introduction of a methoxy group, as well as modulating the oxidation reaction. A flow-cell type apparatus of anodic oxidation provided the desired diaryl ether 4 in good yield.     

Nulling interferometry by use of geometric phase

Nulling interferometry is a method of detecting a faint source near a bright one, in which destructive interference is realized for the light from the bright source. A nulling interferometer that makes use of geometric phase (Pancharatnam phase) is proposed. An experimental setup is constructed to simulate a stellar interferometer with geometric-phase modulation. We attained extinction of 6 x 10(-5) in white light.     

Hydrogen desorption effect on cathodoluminescence of ZnO

The effects of the low-energy electron beam on ZnO single crystals were investigated by cathodoluminescence (CL), Time-of-Flight Electron Stimulated Desorption (TOF-ESD) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD). Under e-beam irradiation, the ultraviolet (UV) emission decreases exponentially for O-face, while it increases and then decreases for Zn-face. Meanwhile, a large desorption of H⁺ is observed by TOF-ESD for both O- and Zn-faces. On the other hand, an increase of H in the irradiated volume is observed after stopping the e-beam irradiation. Similar H₂ desorption is found by TPD for both faces. These data suggest that the decrease of the UV intensity is related to H desorption.     

Parallel two-step phase-shifting digital holography using polarization

We propose an optical implementation of a parallel two-step phase-shifting digital holography that utilizes a polarization technique. The implementation uses a phase-shifting array device consisting of a retarder array attached to an image sensor, and does not require the optical system to image the phase-shifting array device onto the image sensor required for the previously reported optical implementation of the parallel two-step phase-shifting digital holography. Then, the proposed implementation is essentially simple to align and compose. A preliminary experiment showed that the parallel two-step phase-shifting digital holography based on the proposed implementation can remove the conjugate image clinging to the image reconstructed by Fresnel transform alone with DC term suppression. Also, when the reconstruction distance was changed, the qualities of the reconstructed images were quantitatively evaluated by using normalized root-mean-square error. It was clarified that the proposed implementation was superior to other parallel phase-shifting digital holographies and Fresnel transform alone. Thus, the validity of the proposed implementation was confirmed.     

Flow regime transition criteria for two-phase flow at reduced gravity conditions

Flow regime transition criteria are of practical importance for two-phase flow analyses at reduced gravity conditions. Here, flow regime transition criteria which take the frictional pressure loss effect into account were studied in detail. Criteria at reduced gravity conditions were developed by extending an existing model from normal gravity to reduced gravity conditions. A comparison of the newly developed flow regime transition criteria model with various experimental datasets taken at microgravity conditions showed satisfactory agreement. Sample computations of the model were performed at various gravity conditions, such as 0.196, 1.62, 3.71 and 9.81 m/s² corresponding to micro-gravity and lunar, Martian and Earth surface gravity, respectively. It was found that the effect of gravity on bubbly–slug and slug–annular (churn) transitions in a two-phase flow system was more pronounced at low liquid flow conditions, whereas the gravity effect could be ignored at high mixture volumetric flux conditions. While for the annular flow transitions due to flow reversal and onset of droplet entrainment, higher superficial gas velocity was obtained at higher gravity level.     

In situ photolysis of CD3I in solid orthodeuterium

Photochemical reactions of molecules in solid orthodeuterium (o-D2) have been studied by high-resolution infrared spectroscopy and compared with previous results obtained in solid parahydrogen (p-H2). Ultraviolet photolysis of CD3I molecules in solid o-D2 yielded CD3 radicals and iodine atoms efficiently, which indicates a small cage effect in solid o-D2, as in the case of solid p-H2. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum of the nu3 vibrational band of CD3 showed a rotational structure with additional splitting due to crystal field interactions. The magnetic dipole transition (2P1/2<--2P3/2) of the I atom isolated in solid o-D2 was observed together with a strong rotational satellite of deuterium molecules through the electron-roton coupling in solid hydrogen. The tunneling reaction between CD3 and D2 was not observed in a time scale of a few days, which gives the upper limit of the tunneling reaction rate of 10(-8) s(-1) at 4.2 K.