Coadsorption of oxygen and sodium on Ru(001)

The interaction of oxygen with sodium predosed Ru(001) is studied by means of thermal desorption, Auger and electron loss spectroscopy and work function measurements. The initial sticking coefficient of oxygen is found to increase from 0.45 for bare Ru(001) to 1 for Ru(001) with a 0.35 monolayer sodium coverage. The adsorption capacity of the sodium predosed Ru(001) surface towards oxygen is enhanced from θ_O = 0.5 for clean Ru(001) to θ_O = 1.4 for Ru(001) with a 0.7 monolayer sodium coverage. The work function, electron loss changes and thermal desorption data give evidence that as long as θ_Na is less than 0.25, the oxygen chemisorption phase is characterized mainly by oxygen-Ru bonds and by the absence of strong sodium-oxygen interactions. At high sodium coverages (θ_Na > 0.35), the experimental data indicate the formation of a Na-O compound in the second adsorption layer at high oxygen exposures. When Ru(100) is predosed with sodium (θ_Na ? 0.25), this leads to complete suppression of oxygen penetration into the bulk during heating, the latter process being observed for the oxygen-Ru(001) system.     

Surface electronic structure of Pt(1 1 0): comparison with Ni and Pd

The unoccupied electronic structure of Pt(1 1 0) was investigated by inverse photoemission. The results were compared with the data for Ni(1 1 0) and Pd(1 1 0) with particular emphasis on surface states. The surface states in the gap of Pt(1 1 0) are shifted upwards relative to Ni and Pd, as a consequence of the (1 × 2) missing-row reconstruction. In contrast, the surface state at is only weakly affected, which indicates that it is essentially a one-dimensional state, localized on the densely-packed atomic chains on the Pt(1 1 0) surface.     

Density functional study of hydrogen bond formation between methanol and organic molecules containing Cl, F, NH2, OH, and COOH functional groups

Various hydrogen-bonded complexes of methanol with different proton accepting and proton donating molecules containing Cl, F, NH(2), OH, OR, and COOH functional groups have been modeled using DFT with hybrid B3LYP and M05-2X functionals. The latter functional was found to provide more accurate estimates of the structural and thermodynamic parameters of the complexes of halides, amines, and alcohols. The characteristics of these complexes are influenced not only by the principle hydrogen bond of the methanol OH with the proton acceptor heteroatom, but also by additional hydrogen bonds of a C-H moiety with methanol oxygen as a proton acceptor. The contribution of the former hydrogen bond in the total binding enthalpy increases in the order chlorides < fluorides < alcohols < amines, while the contribution of the second type of hydrogen bond increases in the reverse order. A general correlation was found between the binding enthalpy of the complex and the electrostatic potential at the hydrogen center participating in the formation of the hydrogen bond. The calculated binding enthalpies of different complexes were used to clarify which functional groups can potentially form a hydrogen bond to the 2'-OH hydroxyl group in ribose, which is strong enough to block it from participation in the intramolecular catalytic activation of the peptide bond synthesis. Such blocking could result in inhibition of the protein biosynthesis in the living cell if the corresponding group is delivered as a part of a drug molecule in the vicinity of the active site in the ribosome. According to our results, such activity can be accomplished by secondary or tertiary amines, alkoxy groups, deprotonated carboxyl groups, and aliphatic fluorides, but not by the other modeled functional groups.     

Effects of Amphiphilic Copolymers Bearing Short Blocks of Lipid-Mimetic Units on the Membrane Properties and Morphology of DSPC Liposomes

Amphiphilic, nonionic diblock copolymers based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 2000–5000), comprising short blocks of lipid-mimetic units, where tested for their ability to afford steric stabilization of distearoylphosphathydilcholine:cholesterol liposomes. The copolymers bear 1–4 lipid-mimetic anchors per copolymer chain. Effects on liposomes size depend on copolymer type and content. Cryo-TEM reveals well-separated, intact, predominantly spherical liposomes at copolymer contents up to 5 mol%. A “flat” liposomes fraction occurs upon incorporation of above 7.5 mol% of copolymers bearing 2 or 4 lipid anchors. 5,6-carboxyfluorescein assay indicates lower leakage of stabilized vs. plain liposomes up to concentration 7.5 mol%. Leakage from liposomes with higher copolymer concentration is insignificantly greater.     

Spin physics in few body systems at Nuclotron

The review of the recent results on spin effects in few nucleon systems obtained at LHEP-JINR are presented. The data on the deuteron analyzing powers in different reactions in the wide energy range demonstrate the sensitivity to the spin structure of the light nuclei. The future plans on the studies with polarized deuterons from new polarized ion source at Nuclotron will be reported.     

Mid-range adiabatic wireless energy transfer via a mediator coil

A technique for efficient mid-range wireless energy transfer between two coils via a mediator coil is proposed. By varying the coil frequencies, three resonances are created: emitter–mediator (EM), mediator–receiver (MR) and emitter–receiver (ER). If the frequency sweeps are adiabatic and such that the EM resonance precedes the MR resonance, the energy flows sequentially along the chain emitter–mediator–receiver. If the MR resonance precedes the EM resonance, then the energy flows directly from the emitter to the receiver via the ER resonance; then the losses from the mediator are suppressed. This technique is robust against noise, resonant constraints and external interferences.