Copper(I) hexafluoroantimonate - an example of a compound with Cu in a solely fluorine environment

Yellow-orange single crystals of CuSbF₆, were prepared by reacting Cu wire (∼10 mmol) with SbF₅ (∼3 mmol) in liquid anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (aHF) and by reduction of Cu(SbF₆)₂ with Cu metal in aHF. CuSbF₆ crystallizes rhombohedral at 296 K with the LiSbF₆ structure type, with a = 530.4(4) pm, c = 1453(1) pm and Z = 3, space group R (no. 148). The structure is dominated by isolated layers of regular [SbF₆]⁻ octahedra and Cu⁺ cations.An attempt to prepare CuF by reaction between CuSbF₆ and CsF in aHF at ∼190 K failed. Instead of CuF, a mixture of Cu and CuF₂ was obtained.     

Synergy between thermal analysis and simulation

Available databases presently used by commercial simulation software packages for the aluminum casting industry are usually armed with material properties for only a few selected standard alloys. In the case of other alloys with different chemical compositions and refinement or modification treatment, thermal analysis could be an invaluable tool to gain necessary properties. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the potential application of the cooling curve analysis in the existing simulation software by improving its accuracy.     

Silver(I) undecafluorodiantimonate(V)

The reaction between AgBF4 and excess of SbF5 in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (aHF) yields the white solid AgSb2F11 after the solvent and the excess of SbF5 have been pumped off. Reaction between equimolar amounts of AgSb2F11 and AgBF4 yields AgSbF6. Meanwhile, oxidation of solvolyzed AgSb2F11 in aHF by elemental fluorine yields a clear blue solution of solvated Ag(II) cations and SbF6- anions. AgSb2F11 is orthorhombic, at 250 K, Pbca, with a=1091.80(7) pm, b=1246.28(8) pm, c=3880.2(3) pm, V=5.2797(6) nm3, and Z=24. The crystal structure of AgSb2F11 is related to the already known crystal structure of H3OSb2F11. Vibrational spectra of AgSb2F11 entirely match the literature-reported vibrational spectra of beta-Ag(SbF6)2, for which a formulation of a mixed-valence AgI/AgIII compound was suggested (AgIAgIII(SbF6)4). On the basis of obtained results it can be concluded that previously reported beta-Ag(SbF6)2 is in fact Ag(I) compound with composition AgSb2F11.     

Tailoring the electrochemical charge storage properties of carbonaceous support by redox properties of heteropoly acids: where does the synergy come from?

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The synergistic effects between two Keggin-type heteropoly acids (HPAs) and carbon surface were examined and elucidated. An improved high rate capability...     

Concurrent restructuring and oxidation of the surface of n-hexane plasma polymers during aging in air

Angle-dependent XPS and air/water contact angle (CA) measurements were performed on specimens of n-hexane plasma polymers at various times after fabrication in order to monitor the aging of the surfaces in contact with air. XPS revealed incorporation of oxygen over extended periods of time. The depth distribution of O changed in the course of aging. CAs decreased over the first 3 weeks, then increased again, and finally stabilized at 5 weeks. These results were interpreted in terms of two concurrent processes: spontaneous oxidation (initiated by trapped radicals), which increased the surface polarity, and surface restructuring, which caused the partial removal of polar groups from the interface with air. The former process made a larger contribution to the overall aging of the surfaces but the latter process also contributed measurably. Over the first 3 weeks, oxidation was rapid and surface restructuring was not competitive. Subsequently, the oxygen uptake slowed down markedly, and the outermost surface layers became oxygen depleted relative to the deeper layers, due to partial surface reorientation. The surface topography, assessed by STM, did not change on aging. The aging of n-hexane plasma polymer surfaces thus is due to superimposed effects arising from post-deposition oxidative processes and partial surface reorientation.     

Integrated Transmission Electron and Single‐Molecule Fluorescence Microscopy Correlates Reactivity with Ultrastructure in a Single Catalyst Particle

Establishing structure–activity relationships in complex, hierarchically structured nanomaterials, such as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts, requires characterization with complementary, correlated analysis techniques. An integrated setup has been developed to perform transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and single‐molecule fluorescence (SMF) microscopy on such nanostructured samples. Correlated structure–reactivity information was obtained for 100 nm thin, microtomed sections of a single FCC catalyst particle using this novel SMF‐TEM high‐resolution combination. High reactivity in a thiophene oligomerization probe reaction correlated well with TEM‐derived zeolite locations, while matrix components, such as clay and amorphous binder material, were found not to display activity. Differences in fluorescence intensity were also observed within and between distinct zeolite aggregate domains, indicating that not all zeolite domains are equally active.     

A coupled best approximations theorem in normed spaces

We prove a coupled best approximations theorem in normed spaces. Also, we derive the results on coupled coincidence points and coupled fixed points, which were introduced by Lakshmikantham and ?iri? [V. Lakshmikantham, LJ. ?iri?, Coupled fixed point theorems for nonlinear contractions in partially ordered metric spaces, Nonlinear Anal. TMA, 70 (2009) 4341-4349].     

Some graphs whose second largest eigenvalue does not exceed 2

We determine all trees whose second largest eigenvalue does not exceed $\sqrt{2}$. Next, we consider two classes of bipartite graphs, regular and semiregular, with small number of distinct eigenvalues. For all graphs considered we determine those whose second largest eigenvalue is equal to $\sqrt{2}$. Some additional results are also given.     

Remarks on “Quasi-contraction on a cone metric space”

Recently, D. Ili? and V. Rako?evi? [D. Ili?, V. Rako?evi?, Quasi-contraction on a cone metric space, Appl. Math. Lett. (2008) doi:10.1016/j.aml.2008.08.011] proved a fixed point theorem for quasi-contractive mappings in cone metric spaces when the underlying cone is normal. The aim of this paper is to prove this and some related results without using the normality condition.