High surface area thermally stabilized porous iron oxide/silica nanocomposites via a formamide modified sol-gel process

Iron oxide/silica (Fe:Si as 1:10 atomic ratio) composite materials have been prepared by calcination for 3 h at different temperatures (400-900 °C) of xerogel precursor obtained via a formamide modified sol-gel process. The process involved TEOS and iron(III) nitrate, nitric acid and formamide. Genesis of the composite materials from the xerogel precursor has been investigated by TGA, DSC, FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX. Results indicated that all the calcined composites are mainly composed of amorphous iron oxide dispersed as finely divided particles in amorphous silica matrixes. Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms revealed a reversible type I of isotherms indicative of microporosity. However, high S_BET surface area and microsporosity were observed for the calcined composite materials (e.g. S_BET = 625 m² g⁻¹, and S_αs = 556 m² g⁻¹ for the composite calcined at 400 °C). Formation of the porous texture was discussed in terms of the action of formamide, which enhanced strengthening of the silica gel network during evaporation of the more volatile components within the composite body during the drying process.     

Effect of Tb3+ co-doping and particle size on K2Ca2(SO4)3:EU phosphor

K₂Ca₂(SO₄)₃ doped with Eu, and co-doped with Tb were prepared by the solid state diffusion method. The nanoparticles of these phosphors were also prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method. The formation of the compounds was confirmed by XRD. The particle size was calculated by the broadening of the XRD peaks using Scherrer's formula. The particle size was found to be around 20?nm. Thermoluminescence (TL) was studied to see the effect of co-doping and particle size. Tb³⁺ co-doping decreases the intensity in the Eu²⁺ doped phosphor due to the energy transfer and multiple de-excitations through various radiative and non-radiative processes. The K₂Ca₂(SO₄)₃:Eu,Tb phosphor is found to be 0.33 times more sensitive than TLD-700H, but around 15 times more than LiF-TLD 100, and 7 times more than CaSO₄:Dy. The effective atomic number Z_eff is around 15, which is again comparable to CaSO₄:Dy.

However, very low sensitivity was observed in the case of nanoparticles. The decrease in the sensitivity is attributed to the particle size effect i.e., the volume-to-surface ratio. Study of photoluminescence (PL) of the material is also carried out.     

Reconciling the CAST and PVLAS results

The PVLAS experiment has recently claimed evidence for an axionlike particle in the milli-electron-volt mass range with a coupling to two photons that appears to be in contradiction with the negative results of the CAST experiment searching for solar axions. The simple axion interpretation of these two experimental results is therefore untenable and it has posed a challenge for theory. We propose a possible way to reconcile these two results by postulating the existence of an ultralight pseudoscalar particle interacting with two photons and a scalar boson and the existence of a low scale phase transition in the theory.     

Recent advances on amphiphilic polymer-based fluorescence spectroscopic techniques for sensing and imaging

Abstract

Amphiphilic polymers (APs) characterized with excellent water solubility, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and low toxicity have become popular materials for biological sensing and imaging in the recent years. Among the several sensing and imaging techniques, fluorescence-based methods show distinct advantages and present unique opportunities to address challenges afforded by other techniques. This review covers five different types of APs (amphiphilic-conjugated polymers, amphiphilic polysaccharides, amphiphilic molecularly imprinted polymers, amphiphilic block copolymers, and amphiphilic polymeric nanoparticles) and their application for fluorescence spectroscopic sensing and imaging, in particular how techniques have been progressed over recent years. Afterwards, the applications of APs in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, water safety and environmental monitoring has been discussed.     

Fuzzy subgroups of nilpotent groups

In 1991, Asaad has suggested the following question: What can be said about the structure of a group G when information is known about the structure of a fuzzy subgroup A of G and vice-versa? This question has been partially investigated in Fuzzy Sets and Systems39 (1991) 323–328. The purpose of this paper is to continue more investigations for the above mentioned question.     

Irreducibility of Hypersurfaces

Given a polynomial P in several variables over an algebraically closed field, we show that except in some special cases that we fully describe, if one coefficient is allowed to vary, then the polynomial is irreducible for all but at most deg(P)² ? 1 values of the coefficient. We more generally handle the situation where several specified coefficients vary.     

On theorems of Beurling and Cowling-Price for certain nilpotent Lie groups

Let G be a connected simply connected nilpotent Lie group. In [A. Baklouti, N. Ben Salah, The Lp−Lq version of Hardy's Theorem on nilpotent Lie groups, Forum Math. 18 (2006) 245-262], we proved for 2?p,q?+∞ the Lp−Lq version of Hardy's Theorem known as the Cowling-Price Theorem. In the setup where 1?p,q?+∞, the problem is still unsolved and the upshot is known only for few cases. We prove in this paper such a result in the context of 2-NPC nilpotent Lie groups. A proof of the analogue of Beurling's Theorem is also provided in the same context.     

Thermoluminescence and photoluminescence of LiNaSO4:Eu irradiated with 24 and 48 MeV Li ion beam

Thermoluminescence (TL) of LiNaSO₄:Eu phosphor, irradiated with 24 and 48 MeV ⁷Li ions at different fluences in the range 5×10⁹-1×10¹² ion/cm², has been studied. The samples from the same batch were also exposed to γ-rays from a Cs¹³⁷ source for comparative studies. The TL glow curves of the materials, irradiated with ⁷Li ions, have similar structures to that of γ-irradiated sample. They have a simple structure with a prominent peak at 412 K along with small one at around 481 K. The intensity ratios of 412-481 K peaks have been observed to increase with fluence increasing, while that of γ-irradiated sample shows a reverse trend. This could be attributed to the changes in the recombination center populations due to ⁷Li ions, that have been implanted inside the matrix of LiNaSO₄:Eu, during irradiation and might also act as a source for new trapping and luminescent centers. The implantation has been confirmed by TRIM calculations. The penetration depths (where the ion comes to rest) are found to be 145 and 463 μm corresponding to 24 and 48 MeV ion beam energies, respectively, which are less than the thickness of the sample chips (∼800 μm). The efficiencies of LiNaSO₄:Eu to 24 and 48 MeV ⁷Li ions measured relative to γ-rays of Cs¹³⁷ are found to be 0.007 and 0.024, respectively. Theoretical analysis of the glow curves of the samples irradiated by ⁷Li ions and γ-rays were done by glow curve deconvolution method to determine trapping parameters of various peaks. The experimentally observed linearity/sublinearity has been discussed in the frame of track interaction model. Photoluminescence studies in the ⁷Li ions irradiated and un-irradiated samples show that europium ions have incorporated in the host in their divalent (emission at 440 nm) as well as trivalent (emissions at 594, 615 and 700 nm) forms. The intensities of the emission bands of these ions have been observed to increase with fluence increasing.     

Coordination compounds of hydrazine derivatives with transition metals. Part 22. Reaction of aroylhydrazones with copper(II) salts

Summary Two different crystalline forms namely the greenanti and the brownsyn were isolated from the reaction of copper(II) acetate with some aldehydic aroylhydrazones, while others gave only the brown form. With copper(II) chloride, however, reduction of copper(II) ions occurred and copper(I) chelates of general formula Cu(HL)Cl were obtained. Tridentate ligands such as salicylaldehyde and pyridine-2-carbaldehyde aroylhydrazones gave copper(II) chelates Cu(L)Cl₂. A tentative reduction mechanism involving intramolecular electron transfer was proposed. In such a mechanism the steric requirements of the aroylhydrazone molecule and the presence of a third coordination site would stabilize the dipositive oxidation state of copper.