Depth profiling of coated metallic artifacts adopting laser-induced breakdown spectrometry

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a relatively novel technique that is being applied to the characterization of interfaces in layered materials as an alternative to other classic surface analytical techniques.     

Low temperature deposition of zinc oxide nanoparticles via zinc-rich vapor phase transport and condensation

ZnO nanoparticles as small as 80 nm were successfully synthesized using a modified vapor phase transport (VPT) process at substrate temperatures as low as 222 °C. Particle size distribution and morphology were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicate the synthesis of high quality crystalline ZnO structures. Low temperature (4.2 K) photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to characterize the optical quality of the nanoparticles. Ultraviolet emission and a nanostructure specific feature at 3.366 eV are strong in the PL spectra. The 3.366 eV feature is observed to predominate the spectrum with decrease in particle size. This size effect corroborates the luminescence as a nanostructure-specific surface related exciton feature as previously speculated in the literature. In addition, self-assembled ZnO mesoparticles (>100 nm) were realized by increasing the growth time. Low growth temperatures of the particles allow for their potential utilization in flexible organic hybrid optoelectronics. However, this work focuses mainly on the modified synthesis and optical characterization of nanoparticles.     

Salt Effects in the Cononsolvency of Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) Microgels

Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is well known to exhibit reentrant behavior or cononsolvency in response to the composition of a mixed solvent consisting of water and a low‐chain alcohol. Since the solvent structure plays an important role in this phenomenon, the presence of structure‐breaking/structure‐making ions in solution is expected to have a dramatic effect on the cononsolvency of PNIPAM. The present work examines the way that the presence of different salts can modify the reentrant‐phase diagram displayed by a cationic PNIPAM microgel in the mixed ethanol/water solvent. The effects of four Hofmeister anions—SO₄^2?_, Cl^?, NO₃^? and SCN^?—with different abilities to modify the solvent structure are analyzed. The species with kosmotropic or structure‐making character show a clear competition with ethanol for the water molecules, intensifying the nonsolvency of the PNIPAM with the EtOH volume fraction (?_e). However, striking results are found with the most chaotropic or structure‐breaking anion, SCN^?. In contrast to what happens in water‐rich solutions, the presence of SCN^? in alcohol‐rich solvents enhances the solubility of the polymer, which macroscopically results in the microgel swelling. Moreover, this ion displays great stabilizing properties when ?_e> is 0.2. These results have been explained by considering how chaotropic or structure‐breaking ions interact with water and ethanol molecules.     

Synthesis and reactions of 2‐chloro‐2‐(hydroximino)‐1‐(4‐methyl‐2‐phenylthiazol‐5‐yl)ethanone

3‐Nitrosoimidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine, 3‐nitrosoimidazo[1,2‐a]pyrimidine, 3‐nitrosoquinoxaline, 2‐nitroso‐4H‐benzo[b]thiazine, 2‐nitroso‐4H‐benzo[b]oxazine, isoxazoles, isoxazolo[3,4‐d]pyridazines and pyrrolo[3,4‐d]isoxazole‐4,6‐dione were synthesized from 2‐chloro‐2‐(hydroximino)‐1‐(4‐methyl‐2‐phenylthiazol‐5‐yl)ethanone and different reagents. Structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by elemental analysis and spectral data.     

Oscillatory dissipation of a simple confined liquid

We present a sensitive measurement of the dissipation and the effective viscosity of a simple confined liquid (octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane) using an atomic force microscope. The experimental data show that the damping and the effective viscosity increase and present oscillations as the gap between the cantilever tip and the surface is diminished. To our knowledge, the damping and the viscosity modulation are reported here with such good accuracy for the first time. Such an experimental result is different from what has been reported earlier where only a continuous increase of the damping and the viscosity are observed.     

On the Benefit of Different Additional Regularity for the Weakly Coupled Systems of Semilinear Effectively Damped Waves

Mediterranean Journal of Mathematics - We consider degenerate parabolic equations with nonsmooth right hand parts of a special form. We derive unique solvability of the Cauchy problem and an...     

Essential oils of Daucus carota subsp. carota of Tunisia obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

The essential oils and supercritical CO2 extracts of wild Daucus carota L. subsp. carota from two different sites in Tunisia were investigated. The main components of the essential oil of the flowering and mature umbels with seeds from Sejnane were eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol (8.2 - 8.5%), carotol (3.5 - 5.2%), sabinene (12.0 -14.5%), a-selinene (7.4 - 8.6) and 11-alpha-(H)-himachal-4-en-1-beta-ol (12.7 - 17.4%), whereas the oils from Tunis were predominantly composed of elemicin (31.5 - 35.3%) and carotol (48.0 - 55.7%). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils were assayed by using the broth dilution method on Escherichia coli ATCC 35218 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300, and clinical strains of Candida albicans and C. tropicalis 1011 RM. The MIC values obtained were all > 2.5% (v/v).     

On the integrability of Mizohata structures on the sphereS 2

This paper deals with the integrability problem for structures on the sphere S² which are elliptic on the upper and lower hemispheres, and which are given by a simple fold on the equator. Criteria for standardness are given. Existence and factorization of first integrals are studied.     

Reactions with Hydrazidoyl Halides XII Synthesis of Pyrazolo[5,1-c]-1,2,4-triazine,Selenadiazolo[3,2-a]quinazolones,Selenadiazoline, Thiadiazoline and Thiazole Derivatives

Several new pyrazolo[5,I-c]triazine, selenadiazoline, thiadiazoline, selenadiazolo[3,2-a]quitiazolone, and arylazothiazole derivatives were synthesised by the reaction of hydrazonoyl halides with different reagents. The structure of new heterocycles were assigned on the basis of their elemental analysis, spectral data, and alternate synthesis whenever possible.