Anomalous electrical transport properties of Ag/Al bilayers grown on Si by molecular beam epitaxy

We have investigated the temperature dependent electrical resistivity, ρ(T), of Ag(100 nm)/Al(10 nm) bilayers grown on Si(111) and quartz substrates using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Bilayers grown on Si exhibited an anomalous negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) in the temperature range of 140-165 K of the ρ(T) plot. However, at temperatures below and above this negative TCR region, ρ(T) exhibited a characteristic positive TCR of metallic alloys. No such resistive anomaly was observed for the bilayers grown on quartz substrates. The observed resistive anomaly could be qualitatively explained by assuming two parallel conduction channels, that is, one at the interface having high Si content and obeying the polaronic behavior at <165 K and another far away from the interface having almost no Si impurity and thus exhibiting pure metallic behavior down to 4 K. In addition, bilayers exhibited a sharp resistive transition at ∼6.5 K, indicating a possibility of a new Ag-Al alloy being a superconducting material.     

Synthesis,structure, and biological properties of a Co(II) complex with tridentate Schiff base ligand

A new Co(II) complex of general formula [Co(L)₂] has been synthesized from a NNO tridentate Schiff base ligand, 2-[(piperidin-2-ylmethylimino)-methyl]-phenol (L). The title complex is characterized by elemental, spectroscopic, antibacterial, and single crystal X-ray structural studies. X-Ray crystallography reveals that the complex shows a distorted octahedral geometry around the Co(II) ion. The complex was tested against several bacteria and shows good antibacterial activities against almost all of the bacteria. The interactions of the title complex with calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (CT-DNA) have been investigated by electronic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, showing that the complex interacts with CT-DNA via partial intercalation. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the complex has also been reported and the result shows that the complex is thermally stable up to 134 °C.     

Meson-gluonium mixing and the glueball candidate⇌i(1,460)

The mixing of the glueball candidate?i(1,460) with η and η′ is studied in a chiral symmetry breaking framework. Using the solutions of anomalous Ward identities for flavourU(3)×U(3), we find that the octet-singlet mixing angle is quite large and that our results are consistent with a large glueball component in?i(1,460) with moderate gluonium mixing in η and η′.     

On the existence of positive solutions for singular boundary value problems on the half-line

On the basis of a special cone and the application of the fixed point theory, some new results for the existence of positive solutions of singular Sturm–Liouville boundary value problems on the half-line are obtained.     

Effect of fluorination on the phase sequence,dielectric and electro-optical properties of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric mixtures

Four multicomponent room temperature mixtures were formulated using a pyrimidine-based achiral matrix as host and four terphenyl-based ester chiral compounds as dopants. Among the four mixtures, two exhibit antiferroelectric and two other exhibit ferroelectric phases at room temperature. Dopant molecules differ from each other by position and number of fluorine atom substitution at the benzoate group of the molecular rigid core. Number and location of fluorine atoms in the dopant structure show significant effect on the phase sequences as well as on different physical properties. All the mixtures found to have moderate spontaneous polarisation, high tilt angle, very fast switching time and low viscosity which are important for liquid crystal-based display applications.     

Surfactant‐Stabilized Small Hydrogel Particles in Oil: Hosts for Remarkable Activation of Enzymes in Organic Solvents

Hydrogels of amino acid based cationic surfactant having C₁₆ tails were used to immobilize heme proteins and enzyme. These hydrogel‐entrapped proteins/enzyme showed remarkable activation when dispersed in organic solvent. The activation effect (ratio of the activity of the hydrogel‐entrapped enzyme in organic solvent to the activity of the native enzyme in water) of cytochrome c increased up to 350‐fold with varying protein and gelator concentration. Hydrogel‐entrapped hemoglobin and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) also showed markedly improved activity in organic solvent. Alteration in the structure of the gelator and its supramolecular arrangement showed that the protein immobilized within amphiphilic networks with larger interstitial space exhibited higher activation. This striking activation of hydrogel‐entrapped proteins stems from the following effects: 1) the hydrophilic domain of the amphiphilic networks facilitates accessibility of the enzyme to the water‐soluble substrate. 2) the surfactant, as an integral part of the amphiphilic network, assists in the formation of a distinct interface through which reactants and products are easily transferred between hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. 3) Surfactant gelators help in the dispersion and stabilization of gel matrix into small particles in organic solvent, which enhances the overall surface area and results in improved mass transfer. The activation was dramatically improved up to 675‐fold in the presence of nongelating anionic surfactants that helped in disintegration of the gel into further smaller‐sized particles. Interestingly, hydrogel‐immobilized HRP exhibited about 2000‐fold higher activity in comparison to the activity of the suspended enzyme in toluene. Structural changes of the entrapped enzyme and the morphology of the matrix were investigated to understand the mechanism of this activation.     

Series of compositions Bi2(M′xM1−x)4O9 (M′, M=Al, Ga, Fe; 0≤x≤1) with mullite-type crystal structure: Synthesis, characterization and O/O exchange experiment

Series of compositions Bi₂(M′_xM_1−x)₄O₉ with x=0.0, 0.1,…, 1.0 and M′/M=Ga/Al, Fe/Al and Fe/Ga were synthesized by dissolving appropriate amounts of corresponding metal nitrate hydrates in glycerine, followed by gelation, calcination and final heating at 800 °C for 24 h. The new compositions with M′/M=Ga/Al form solid-solution series, which are isotypes to the two other series M′/M=Fe/Al and Fe/Ga. The XRD data analysis yielded in all cases a linear dependence of the lattice parameters related on x. Rietveld structure refinements of the XRD patterns of the new compounds, Bi₂(Ga_xAl_1−x)₄O₉ reveal a preferential occupation of Ga in tetrahedral site (4 h). The IR absorption spectra measured between 50 and 4000 cm⁻¹ of all systems show systematic shifts in peak positions related to the degree of substitution. Samples treated in ¹⁸O₂ atmosphere (16 h at 800 °C, 200 mbar, 95% ¹⁸O₂) for ¹⁸O/¹⁶O isotope exchange experiments show a well-separated IR absorption peak related to the M-¹⁸O_c-M vibration, where O_c denotes the common oxygen of two tetrahedral type MO₄ units. The intensity ratio of M-¹⁸O_c/M-¹⁶O_c IR absorption peaks and the average crystal sizes were used to estimate the tracer diffusion coefficients of polycrystalline Bi₂Al₄O₉ (D=2×10⁻²² m²s⁻¹), Bi₂Fe₄O₉ (D=5×10⁻²¹ m²s⁻¹), Bi₂(Ga/Al)₄O₉ (D=2×10⁻²¹ m²s⁻¹) and Bi₂Ga₄O₉ (D=2×10⁻²⁰ m²s⁻¹).     

Enhanced Green Emission from Er<Subscript>2</Subscript>WO<Subscript>6</Subscript> Nanocrystals Embedded Composite Tellurite Glasses

A series of tungsten-tellurite glasses activated with different concentrations (0–1.5 mol %) of Er³⁺ has been synthesized. The structural properties of the best luminescent sample and the optical properties of its Er³⁺ ions, are studied both immediate after its preparation as well as after its ageing. On ageing the glass suffers structural reorganization and generates Er₂WO₆—nanocrystals in the matrix, which greatly enhances the normal and upconversion green luminescence efficiency of Er³⁺. The nanocrystal aided enhancement of normal and upconversion luminescence of Er³⁺ of the glass has been attributed to the crystal field effects of the new environment of Er³⁺ in the nanocrystals. A phenomenon of preferential enhancement of red upconversion luminescence at the cost of green upconversion luminescence of Er³⁺ at its higher concentrations in the glass has been observed and the related photo-physics is proposed. The material shows the prospect of being used as NIR solar concentrator.     

Statistical convergence in intuitionistic fuzzy n-normed linear spaces

The aim in our article is to introduce the notion of statistical convergence and statistically Cauchy sequences in intuitionistic fuzzy n-normed linear spaces. The paper shows that some properties of statistical convergence of real sequences also hold for sequences in this space. Characterization for statistically convergent and statistically Cauchy sequences is also given. Further, the concept of statistical limit points and statistical cluster points are introduced and their relation with limit points of sequences have been investigated.