Free isotropic-nematic interfaces in fluids of charged platelike colloids

Bulk properties and free interfaces of mixtures of charged platelike colloids and salt are studied within the density-functional theory. The particles are modeled by hard cuboids with their edges constrained to be parallel to the Cartesian axes corresponding to the Zwanzig model. The charges of the particles are concentrated in their center. The density functional is derived by functional integration of an extension of the Debye-Hückel pair distribution function with respect to the interaction potential. For sufficiently small macroion charges, the bulk phase diagrams exhibit one isotropic and one nematic phase separated by a first-order phase transition. With increasing platelet charge, the isotropic and nematic binodals are shifted to higher densities. The Donnan potential between the coexisting isotropic and nematic phases is inferred from bulk structure calculations. Nonmonotonic density and nematic order parameter profiles are found at a free interface interpolating between the coexisting isotropic and nematic bulk phases. Moreover, electrically charged layers form at the free interface leading to monotonically varying electrostatic potential profiles. Both the widths of the free interfaces and the bulk correlation lengths are approximately given by the Debye length. For fixed salt density, the interfacial tension decreases upon increasing the macroion charge.     

Investigations of precipitates in heat treated AgPd30/CuSn6 layers

The subject of the investigations are precipitation zones, which grew as a result of chemical diffusion in AgPd30/CuSn6 bimetals. These precipitation zones have been characterized by metallography, electron probe microanalysis and x-ray diffraction. The growth of precipitation zones in the plating layer and in the substrate layer in dependence on time have been determined. The use of x-ray diffraction alone for the identification of the precipitates could not supply satisfying results in every case. This problem was solved by the application of electron probe microanalysis using a correction method, which allows the estimation of the chemical composition of small particles.Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h. c. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

New developments in trace element analysis in the life sciences

Summary In the analysis of trace elements in biological materials it has become more and more apparent that there is often a need not only to determine the levels of the elements in the whole sample but also to measure the element contents in fractions of the materials, such as certain types of cells, subcellular components and molecules. Furthermore, it is sometimes necessary to relate the elemental data to relevant biological and biochemical parameters as there is otherwise a danger that wrong conclusions may be drawn. In this paper these trends in trace element analysis are described with the help of examples and the problems which can occur in the various steps of sampling and sample preparation are discussed.

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Neue Entwicklungen bei der Spurenelementanalyse in den Biowissenschaften

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. G. Tölg on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

On the reaction of isothiosemicarbazides with heterocumulenes. Part I

Isothiosemicarbazides 2 react with acyl isothiocyanates under addition-cyclization to yield 1,3,4-thiadiazoline-2-imines 3 as well as the isomeric 2-amino-substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazolium-5-acylaminides 3′ . In a similar manner the 2-hydrazino-substituted 1,3-thiazoline 4 adds ethoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate to give the thiosemicarbazide 5 , which undergoes a rearrangement to the 1,3,4-thiadiazoline-2-imine 5′. The [2+2] cycloreversion of 3d involving ethoxycarbonyl iso(thio)cyanate and the thermal induced Dimroth rearrangement of 3′f and h are also discussed.     

The characterization of silica microparticles by electrophoretic mobility measurements

Summary Electrophoretic mobility measurements in the pH 2‐10 range are described for several commercial HPLC silica microparticles and a laboratory-produced product. The content of metal impurities for the silicas was also determined by AAS. An acidic/hydrothermal treatment was used to generate a more homogenous surface for some of the silicas. The zero points of charge (zpc) for both a native and a treated silica plus several commercial HPLC silicas were compared. The electrophoretic mobility method may be useful in predicting the utility of certain types of silica supports for chromatographic separations.     

Sorptionseffekte an Eisen(III)-hydroxid-F?llungen

Zusammenfassung Um Material zur Deutung des Mechanismus der Sorption von Sr²⁺-Ionen an Eisen(III)-hydroxid zu gewinnen, werden Meßreihen mitgeteilt, in denen die pH-Abhängigkeit der Sorption sowie deren Beeinflussung bei Fällung mit verschiedenen Basen (NaOH, Ammoniak, Trimethylamin, Benzylamin) untersucht wird. Aus den charakteristischen Unterschieden der Sorptionskurven muß gefolgert werden, daß die Art der Base für die Sorption eine wichtige Rolle spielt.

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Summary The sorption of Sr²⁺ ions on iron(III) hydroxide was studied as a function of the pH, of the precipitating reagent (NaOH, ammonium hydroxide, benzylamine, trimethylamine), of the temperature and of the total concentration.The curves of the relative sorption vs. pH are found to show characteristic differences which have to be explained in a detailed theory of the mechanism.

     

Electron microscopic phase analysis of BN-thin films

A series of BN films was deposited by means of r.f. magnetron sputtering of a h-BN target onto Si(1OO) surfaces. Hereby, the substrate bias voltage was varied. Special interest is focussed to the influence of the deposition parameters on the orientation of the growing hexagonal BN film with respect to the substrate. For structural investigation, cross section samples were prepared. In addition to HRTEM and diffraction investigations, especially electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) was applied successfully for phase identification. For negative bias voltages of U _B =–300 V and U _B =–350V, we found a phase system consisting of a first-grown 25 nm thick layer of hexagonal structure with the c axis parallel to the substrate surface followed by the cubic phase.Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h.c. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

SINGLE- and DOUBLE-STRAND BREAK FORMATION IN DOUBLE-STRANDED DNA UPON NANOSECOND LASER-INDUCED PHOTOIONIZATION

Double-stranded (ds) calf thymus DNA (0.4 mM), excited by 20 ns laser pulses at 248 nm, was studied in deoxygenated aqueous solution at room temperature and pH 6.7 in the presence of a sodium salt (10 mM). The quantum yields for the formation of hydrated electrons (phi c-), single-strand breaks (phi ssb) and double-strand breaks (phi dsb) were determined for various laser pulse intensities (IL). phi c- and phi ssb increase linearly with increasing IL; however, phi ssb has a tendency to reach saturation at high IL (greater than 5 X 10(6) Wcm-2). The ratio phi ssb/phi c-, representing the number of ssb per radical cation, is about 0.08 at IL less than or equal to 5 X 10(6) Wcm-2. For comparison, the number of ssb per OH radical reacting with dsDNA is 0.22. On going from argon to N2O saturation, phi ssb and phi dsb become larger by factors of approximately 5 and 10-15, respectively. This enhancement is produced by attack on DNA bases by OH radicals generated by N2O-scavenging of the photoelectrons. While phi ssb is essentially independent of the dose (Etot), phi dsb depends linearly on Etot in both argon- and N2O-saturated solutions. The linear dependence of phi dsb implies a square dependence of the number of dsb on Etot. This portion of dsb formation is explained by the occurrence of two random ssb, generated within a critical distance (h) in opposite strands. For both argon- and N2O-saturated solutions h was found to be of the order of 40-70 phosphoric acid diester bonds. On addition of electron scavengers such as 2-chloroethanol (or N2O plus t-butanol), phi dsb is similar to that in neat, argon-saturated solutions. Thus, hydrated electrons are not involved in the chemical pathway leading to laser-pulse-induced dsb of DNA.