Low generation PEGylated phosphorus-containing dendrons with phosphonate anchors

We present a simple strategy to obtain non-symmetrical polyethylene glycols equipped with telechelic phosphorus-containing dendrimeric moieties having adhesive phosphonate surface functions. The dendronized PEG tails were characterized by means of multi-nucleus NMR. The grafting abilities of model symmetrical PEG compounds equipped with telechelic amino-bis(methylene-dimethylphosphonates) and amino-bis(methylenephosphonic acids) were rapidly screened on plasma treated silicon wafers and activated silica.     

Sulfide determination in hydrothermal seawater samples using a vibrating gold micro-wire electrode in conjunction with stripping chronopotentiometry

A rapid electrochemical stripping chronopotentiometric procedure to determined sulfide in unaltered hydrothermal seawater samples is presented. Sulfide is deposited at −0.25 V (vs Ag/AgCl, KCl 3 M) at a vibrating gold microwire and then stripped through the application of a reductive constant current (typically −2 μA). The hydrodynamic conditions are modulated by vibration allowing a short deposition step, which is shown here to be necessary to minimize H₂S volatilization. The limit of detection (LOD) is 30 nM after a deposition step of 7 s. This LOD is in the same range as the most sensitive cathodic voltammetric technique using a mercury drop electrode and is well below those reported previously for other electrodes capable of being implemented in situ.     

Evidence of an equilibrium between selenides and osmium(VIII) reagents and selenoxides and osmium(VI) reagents

Driving the equilibrium between selenides and osmium(VIII) reagents with selenoxides and osmium(VI) by a subsequent reaction (rearrangement of allyl selenoxides to allyl alcohols or addition of osmium(VIII) species on C=C double bonds) to one side, allows the transformation of methyl geranyl selenides to linalool and of methyl citronellyl selenoxide to 6,7-dihydroxy citronellyl selenide.     

Probing the dark energy with quasar clustering

We show through Monte Carlo simulations that the Alcock-Paczyński test, as applied to quasar clustering, is a powerful tool to probe the cosmological density and equation of state parameters Omega(m0), Omega(x0), and w. By taking into account the effect of peculiar velocities upon the correlation function we obtain for the Two-Degree Field QSO Redshift Survey the predicted confidence contours for the cosmological constant (w = -1) and spatially flat (Omega(m0)+Omega(x0) = 1) cases. For w = -1, the test is especially sensitive to the difference Omega(m0)-Omega(Lambda0), thus being ideal to combine with cosmic microwave background results. For the flat case, it is competitive with future supernova and galaxy number count tests, besides being complementary to them.     

Symmetries and induced effects in bilayer and multilayer antiferroelectric and ferrielectric liquid crystal phases

The stable antiferroelectric and ferrielectric smectic phases which may arise below a chiral SmA* phase are investigated theoretically. The symmetry and physical properties of the bilayer and multilayer configurations are worked out. Antiferroelectric and ferrielectric bilayer and multilayer configurations, possessing an induced spontaneous ferroelectric polarization component perpendicular to the smectic layers, are shown to take place, as the result of a nonlinear piezoelectric effect. These states of low polar symmetries occur when the angle between the inlayer projections of the dipoles and the director of the molecules is different from 90 degrees.     

Determination of iridium concentration in sedimentary rocks and in the geochemical standard PCC-1 by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

A radiochemical neutron activation analysis procedure is described for the determination of concentration levels of iridium in sedimentary rocks and in the geochemical standard PCC-1. After irradiation, the powdered rock samples and standard are dissolved with a mixture of HF, HNO₃ and HClO₄ in a teflon bomb. The final solution obtained, in dilute HCl, is passed through a column containing the cationic resin Bio Rad AG 50W-X8. The interfening radionuclides are sorbed by the resin. The effluent solution containing iridium is concentrated for counting by evaporation. Experiments with radioactive tracer for checking radiochemical separation yield are carried out. The accuracy of the method is evaluated by means of analysis of the USGS “standard rock” peridotite, PCC-1. The precision is about 25% in the ppb range. The method is used for the determination of iridium in 16 samples of sedimentary rocks collected at different depths in the “Campos” basin-RJ (BRAZIL).     

Mössbauer spectroscopy on the double substituted lithium ferrite Li[Fe0.9(AlxGa1−x)0.1]5O8

Room temperature Mössbauer spectra of Ga and Al substituted lithium ferrite Li[Fe_0.9(Al_xGa_1?x)_0.1]₅O₈ with x = 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 are reported. It is shown that the varying covalence of bonds caused by gallium and aluminium ions can explain the observed values of hyperfine fields and isomer-shifts.     

Fixed points of the dissipative Hofstadter model

The phase diagram of a dissipative particle in a periodic potential and a magnetic field is studied in the weak barrier limit and in the tight binding regime. For the case of half flux per plaquette, and for a wide range of values of the dissipation, the physics of the model is determined by a nontrivial fixed point. A combination of exact and variational results is used to characterize this fixed point. Finally, it is also argued that there is an intermediate energy scale that separates the weak coupling physics from the tight binding solution.