Double Λ-hypernuclei at the PANDA experiment

Hypernuclear research will be one of the main topics addressed by the PANDA experiment at the planned Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research FAIR at Darmstadt (Germany). Thanks to the use of stored $\overline{p}$ beams, copious production of double ?? hypernuclei is expected at the PANDA experiment, which will enable high precision ?? spectroscopy of such nuclei for the first time. At PANDA excited states of ??^?? hypernuclei will be used as a starting point for the formation of double ?? hypernuclei. In order to predict the yield of particle stable double hypernuclei a microcanonical decay model was developed. For the detection of these nuclei, a devoted hypernuclear detector setup is planned. This set-up consists, in addition to the general purpose of the PANDA set-up, of a primary nuclear target for the production of $\Xi^{-}+\overline{\Xi}$ pairs, a secondary active target for the hypernuclei formation and the identification of associated decay products and a germanium array detector to perform ?? spectroscopy. Furthermore, the presence of $\overline{\Xi}$ can be used as an alternative to tag the strangeness in the $\Xi^{-}+\overline{\Xi}$ . All systems need to operate in the presence of a high magnetic field and a large hadronic background. In the present talk details concerning simulations, the identification procedure of double hypernuclei and the suppression of background will be presented. In addition, the present status of the detector developments for this programme will be briefly given.     

Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of unsymmetrical biaryls by Stille cross-coupling reactions

We describe herein an efficient method for the synthesis of unsymmetrically-substituted biphenyls using a sonochemical variation of the Stille coupling, whose results have also been compared with the conventional silent reaction. Ultrasound significantly enhances this useful organometallic transformation affording products in higher yields and in shorter reaction times than non-irradiated reactions. The scope has been explored with a selection of arylstannanes as precursors and, remarkably, no by-products resulting from homo-coupling could be detected.     

Thickening mechanism of associative polymers

Steady state viscosity and viscoelasticity of HMHEC solutions were studied. Viscosity increases with concentration due to a reinforcement of the micellar network. High shear rate viscosities are independent of temperature. Two relaxation processes were observed, the long one related to the lifetime of the hydrophobic junction and the short related to rapid Rouse-like relaxations of the free chains. When SDS is added, mixed micelles form that reinforce the network up to an optimum [SDS]/[HMHEC] ratio. Above this ratio, the micelles in excess isolate the polymer chains, the long relaxation process disappears and Rouse-like relaxations occur, corresponding to rapid movements of free chains.     

High-Porosity Metal-Organic Framework Glasses

We report a synthetic strategy to link titanium-oxo (Ti-oxo) clusters into metal-organic framework (MOF) glasses with high porosity though the carboxylate linkage. A new series of MOF glasses was synthesized by evaporation of solution containing Ti-oxo clusters Ti₁₆O₁₆(OEt)₃₂, linkers, and m-cresol. The formation of carboxylate linkages between the Ti-oxo clusters and the carboxylate linkers was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The structural integrity of the Ti-oxo clusters within the glasses was evidenced by both X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and ¹⁷O magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR. After ligand exchange and activation, the fumarate-linked MOF glass, termed Ti-Fum, showed a N₂ Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas of 923 m² g⁻¹, nearly three times as high as the phenolate-linked MOF glass with the highest BET surface area prior to this report.     

Side-Chain Chemistry Governs Hierarchical Order of Charge-Complementary β-sheet Peptide Coassemblies

Self-assembly of proteinaceous biomolecules into functional materials with ordered structures that span length scales is common in nature yet remains a challenge with designer peptides under ambient conditions. This report demonstrates how charged side-chain chemistry affects the hierarchical co-assembly of a family of charge-complementary β-sheet-forming peptide pairs known as CATCH(X+/Y−) at physiologic pH and ionic strength in water. In a concentration-dependent manner, the CATCH(6K+) (Ac-KQKFKFKFKQK-Am) and CATCH(6D−) (Ac-DQDFDFDFDQD-Am) pair formed either β-sheet-rich microspheres or β-sheet-rich gels with a micron-scale plate-like morphology, which were not observed with other CATCH(X+/Y−) pairs. This hierarchical order was disrupted by replacing D with E, which increased fibril twisting. Replacing K with R, or mutating the N- and C-terminal amino acids in CATCH(6K+) and CATCH(6D−) to Qs, increased observed co-assembly kinetics, which also disrupted hierarchical order. Due to the ambient assembly conditions, active CATCH(6K+)-green fluorescent protein fusions could be incorporated into the β-sheet plates and microspheres formed by the CATCH(6K+/6D−) pair, demonstrating the potential to endow functionality.     

Application of ftir spectroscopy to the study of curing of glass reinforced polyester composites

The effect of glass fiber reinforcements on the curing behavior of unsaturated polyester commercial resins was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Two different E-glass fibers and two commercial resins were employed. The results indicate that both the glass fiber content and the fiber size have a pronounced effect on the ultimate values of the styrene conversion. Some complications found in the infrared analysis of commercial resins are also presented.