New Layered Double Hydroxide, Zn–Ti LDH : Preparation and Intercalation Reactions

The layered double hydroxide (LDH) well known for its abilityto intercalate anionic compounds has been prepared conventionallyonly with bivalent and trivalent cations. In this study, Zn–Ti LDH consisting of bivalent and tetravalent cations was prepared, andreacted with organic monocarboxylic, dicarboxylic and aromatic acidsat high or room temperature. XRD patterns of the prepared LDH(Zn–Ti-CO₃) showed that interlayer spacing of the LDH was 0.67 nm. The value was small compared to the usual LDH (Zn–Al–CO₃)of 0.76 nm in the case of carbonate anion as the guest. Also, DTA,TG and DTG analysis indicated that the electrostatic force betweenthe layers and carbonate anions increased where the carbonate anionsin Zn–Ti LDH decomposed at 255 °C while those inZn–Al–CO₃ decomposed at 230–240 °C.     

Strong coupling constants of light pseudoscalar mesons with heavy baryons in QCD

We calculate the strong coupling constants of light pseudoscalar mesons with heavy baryons within the light cone QCD sum rules method. It is shown that sextet–sextet, sextet–antitriplet and antitriplet–antitriplet transitions are described by one universal invariant function for each class. A comparison of our results on the coupling constants with the predictions existing in literature is also presented.     

Ultrasonic‐Assistance and Aging Time Effects on the Zeolitation Process of BZSM‐5 Zeolite

The isomorphic substitution of boron into ZSM‐5 zeolite under static hydrothermal condition was investigated. Evaluation of hydrothermal synthesis of BZSM‐5 was performed by treating the synthesis mixture by different aging processes, namely, ultrasonic, static, stirring, and microwave‐assisted aging prior to the conventional hydrothermal treatment. The synthetic processes with different techniques of aging prior to the onset of conventional hydrothermal crystallization were compared with a process without any prior aging. The obtained results showed that the ultrasonic and microwave assisted aging shortened the crystallization time and altered the crystal size and the morphology of the obtained products. The characteristics of the synthesized products were obtained by FT‐IR spectroscopic, XRD and SEM techniques.     

Laser-optical path to nuclear energy without radioactivity: Fusion of hydrogen–boron by nonlinear force driven plasma blocks

Anomalous interaction of terawatt-picosecond laser pulses allows side-on ignition of solid state density fusion fuel with the unexpected possibility of igniting uncompressed hydrogen–boron p-¹¹B. Suppression of relativistic self-focusing by using very clean laser pulses with an extremely high contrast ratio is essential to achieve ignition thresholds only ten times more difficult than fusion of deuterium–tritium (DT). This opens the possibility for laser driven fusion energy without neutrons and less radioactivity than from burning coal. The complex nonlinear optical properties involved are elaborated.     

Shearing effects on the breathing mechanism of a cracked beam section in bi-axial flexure

The main purpose of this paper is to complete the works presented by Andrieux and Varé (2002) and El Arem et al. (2003) by taking into account the effects of shearing in the constitutive equations of a beam cracked section in bi-axial flexure. The paper describes the derivation of a lumped cracked beam model from the three-dimensional formulation of the general problem of elasticity with unilateral contact conditions on the crack lips. Properties of the potential energy and convex analysis are used to reduce the three-dimensional computations needed for the model identification, and to derive the final form of the elastic energy that determines the nonlinear constitutive equations of the cracked transverse section. We aim to establish a relation of behavior between the applied forces and the resulting displacements field vectors, which is compatible with the beams theory in order to allow the model exploitation for shafts dynamics analysis. The approach has been applied to the case of a cracked beam with a single crack covering the half of its circular cross section.     

A green and highly efficient alkylation of thiols in water

An environmentally benign and efficient process for the preparation of thioethers was developed by simple and practical reactions of alkyl halides and thiols in water in the presence of K₂CO₃ or Et₃N in very high yields. The reaction of aryl, alkyl, aliphatic and hindered thiols with various alkyl halides gave the corresponding products with significant advantages such as high conversions, short reaction time, mild reaction conditions, and low cost, simple workup with good to quantitative yields.     

Photoluminescence and thermoluminescence properties of SnO2 nanoparticles embedded in Li20-K20-B203 with Cu-doping

Cu-doped borate glass co-doped with SnO2 nanoparticles is fabricated by melt quenching. The structure and morphology of the samples are examined by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Up-conversion enhancement is observed in the photoluminescence （PL） and thermolumines- cence （TL） intensities of the glass. PL emission spectra are identified in the blue and green regions, and a fourfold increase in emission intensity may be observed in the presence of embedded SnO2 nanoparticles. The glow curve is recorded at 215℃, and fourfold increases in TL intensity are obtained by addition of 0.1 mol% SnO2 nanoparticles to the glass. Higher TL responses of the samples are observed in the energy range of 15-100 KeV. At energy levels greater than -0.1 MeV, however, flat responses are obtained. The activation energy and frequency factor of the second-order kinetic reaction are calculated by the peak shape method.     

An efficient correlation for calculating compressibility factor of natural gases

Compressibility factor (z-factor) values of natural gases are necessary in most petroleum engineering calculations. Necessity arises when there are few available experimental data for the required composition, pressure and temperature conditions. One of the most common methods of calculating z-factor values is empirical correlation. Firstly, a new correlation based on the famous Standing-Katz (S-K) Chart is presented to predict z-factor values. The advantage of this correlation is that it is explicit inzand thus does not require an iterative solution as is required by other methods. Secondly, the comparison between new one and other correlations is carried out and the results indicate the superiority of the new correlation over the other correlations used to calculate z-factor.     

Novel Potentiometric Sensors for Determination of Melatonin and Oxomemazine in Biological Samples and in Pharmaceutical Formulations

Simple, selective and accurate sensors were developed for the determination of melatonin and oxomemazine in biological samples (urine) and in pharmaceutical preparations. Potentiometric measurements were based on bismus tetraiodate‐drug ion‐pair as novel electroactive materials incorporating a plasticized PVC membrane with o‐nitrophenyl octyl ether or dioctyl phthalate. Each sensor was conditioned for at least two days in 0.1 M drug solution before use. It exhibited fast and stable Nernstian response for melatonin and oxomemazine over the concentration range of 1.0×10^?6–1.0×10^?2 M and 1.0×10^?5–1.0×10^?2 M, pH range of 3.0–6.5 and 3.5–6.0 for melatonin and oxomemazine sensors, respectively. Results with an average recovery not more than 101 % and a mean standard deviation less than 1.0 % of the nominal were obtained for the four sensors. The sensors showed reasonable selectivity towards investigated drugs in presence of many cations.