Eu3+-site occupation in CaTiO3 perovskite material at low temperature

In order to clarify the site occupancy of rare-earth ions in rare-earth doped perovskite materials, the un-doped pure CaTiO₃ and Eu³⁺-doped CaTiO₃ samples with a series of Ca/Ti ratio were synthesized via high-temperature solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) powder patterns confirm that the crystal structure keeps invariant at various Ca/Ti ratios. Measurement results of unit-cell parameters and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicate that Eu³⁺ ions enter into the Ca²⁺ site. The high-resolution photoluminescence spectra of Eu³⁺ ions at 20 K in all samples did not witness a significant change under the excitation at different wavelength, implying that Eu³⁺ ions occupy only one type of site. Considering the small spectral splitting range of ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂ transition and the large intensity ratio of ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂/⁵D₀ → ⁷F₁, it can be concluded that Eu³⁺ occupies Ca²⁺ site with larger coordinate numbers rather than Ti⁴⁺ site.     

Local defect structures and EPR studies on (FeO6)9− and (FeO4)5− clusters in YGG: Fe3+ system

The octahedral (FeO₆)^9? and tetrahedral (FeO₄)^5? clusters in yttrium gallium garnet (YGG): Fe³⁺ system are investigated based on the 252 × 252 complete energy matrices for d⁵ configuration ions in trigonal and tetragonal ligand fields, moreover, the EPR and optical spectra are made unified calculation. The results indicate that the defect structures around Fe³⁺ centres display expansion effects at different temperatures 4.2 and 295 K, and which are close to those in YIG garnet, respectively. Simultaneously, the defect structure parameters for Fe³⁺ centres in YGG are determined, and the relationship between the defect structure and the temperature has been discussed.     

Analytic approximation of the blow‐up time for nonlinear differential equations by the ADM–Padé technique

We present a new approach to calculate analytic approximations of blow‐up solutions and their critical blow‐up times. Our approach applies the Adomian decomposition–Padé method to quickly and easily compute the critical blow‐up times, which comprises the Adomian decomposition method combined with the Padé approximants technique. We validate our new approach with a variety of numerical examples, including nonlinear ODEs, systems of nonlinear ODEs, and nonlinear PDEs. Furthermore, our new method is shown to be more convenient than prior art that relies on compound discretized algorithms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Catalytic carbon dioxide hydrogenation to methane: A review of recent studies

Recently,various efforts have been put forward on the development of technologies for the synthesis of methane from CO₂ and H₂,since it can offer a solution for renewable H₂ storage and transportation.In parallel,this reaction is considered to be a critical step in reclaiming oxygen within a closed cycle.Over the years,extensive fundamental research works on CO₂ methanation have been investigated and reported in the literatures.In this updated review,we present a comprehensive overview of recent publications during the last 3 years.Various aspects on this reaction system are described in detail,such as thermodynamic considerations,catalyst innovations,the influence of reaction conditions,overall catalytic performance,and reaction mechanism.Finally,the future development of CO₂ methanation is discussed.     

Two new terpenes from Tripterygium wilfordii

<正>Two new terpenes,wilfornine H(1) and triptobenzene Q(2) were isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii,as well as 11 terpenes. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.Compounds 5,9-13 showed significant immunosuppressive activities.     

Reduced field-of-view diffusion-weighted imaging of the brain at 7 T

Ventral and rostral regions of the brain are of emerging importance for the MRI characterization of early dementia, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. Unfortunately, standard single-shot echo planar diffusion-weighted imaging of these regions at high fields is contaminated by severe imaging artifacts in the vicinity of air–tissue interfaces. To mitigate these artifacts and improve visualization of the temporal and frontal lobes at 7 T, we applied a reduced field-of-view strategy, enabled by outer volume suppression (OVS) with novel quadratic phase radiofrequency (RF) pulses, combined with partial Fourier and parallel imaging methods. The new acquisition greatly reduced the level of artifacts in six human subjects (including four patients with early symptoms of dementia).