Local structural order in carbonic acid polymorphs: Raman and FT‐IR spectroscopy

Two different polymorphs of carbonic acid, α‐ and β‐H₂CO₃, were identified and characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) previously. Our attempts to determine the crystal structures of these two polymorphs using powder and thin‐film X‐ray diffraction techniques have failed so far. Here, we report the Raman spectrum of the α‐polymorph, compare it with its FT‐IR spectrum and present band assignments in line with our work on the β‐polymorph [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 48 (2009) 2690–2694]. The Raman spectra also contain information in the wavenumber range ∼90–400 cm⁻¹, which was not accessible by FT‐IR spectroscopy in the previous work. While the α‐polymorph shows Raman and IR bands at similar positions over the whole accessible range, the rule of mutual exclusion is obeyed for the β‐polymorph. This suggests that there is a center of inversion in the basic building block of β‐H₂CO₃ whereas there is none in α‐H₂CO₃. Thus, as the basic motif in the crystal structure we suggest the cyclic carbonic acid dimer containing a center of inversion in case of β‐H₂CO₃ and a catemer chain or a sheet‐like structure based on carbonic acid dimers not containing a center of inversion in case of α‐H₂CO₃. This hypothesis is strengthened when comparing Raman active lattice modes at < 400 cm⁻¹ with the calculated Raman spectra for different dimers. In particular, the intense band at 192 cm⁻¹ in β‐H₂CO₃ can be explained by the inter‐dimer stretching mode of the centrosymmetric RC(OHO)₂ CR entity with ROH. The same entity can be found in gas‐phase formic acid (RH) and in β‐oxalic acid (RCOOH) and produces an intense Raman active band at a very similar wavenumber. The absence of this band in α‐H₂CO₃ confirms that the difference to β‐H₂CO₃ is found in the local coordination environment and/or monomer conformation rather than on the long range. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regulation of nestin expression by thrombin and cell density in cultures of bone mesenchymal stem cells and radial glial cells

Background  

Bone marrow stromal cells and radial glia are two stem cell types with neural phenotypic plasticity. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into osteocytes, chondrocytes and adipocytes, but can also differentiate into non-mesenchymal cell, i.e. neural cells in appropriate in vivo and in vitro experimental conditions. Likewise, radial glial cells are the progenitors of many neurons in the developing cortex, but can also generate astrocytes. Both cell types express nestin, an intermediate filament protein which is the hallmark of neural precursors.     

Modular invariance for interacting bosonic strings at finite temperature

We study the finite temperature string path integral introduced by Polchinski [1]. It is shown that on an arbitrary genus world sheet all windings of the fields around the compact time direction can be rotated into a single cycle. The modular invariance of this result is demonstrated.     

Reflection and transmission at normal incidence onto air-saturated porous materials and direct measurements based on parametric demodulated ultrasonic waves

The present work is related to the characterization of air-saturated porous media by using parametric demodulated ultrasonic waves. One uses two different powerful ultrasonic emitters working either at 47 kHz or at 162 kHz which are electronically amplitude modulated over the 200 Hz-4 kHz or 2 kHz-40 kHz bandwidths respectively. The demodulation process takes place in air, due to its nonlinearity enabling to generate audio range acoustical waves or alternatively low frequency ultrasonic waves which can be used to characterize porous materials in the reflection configuration at normal incidence. Some appropriate theoretical calculations are introduced for three configurations of interest, i.e. a porous slab, a porous layer mounted onto a rigid plate, and a porous half space, in the case of the equivalent-fluid model. Comparisons between theoretical modeling and experimental data are provided and prospective industrial applications are discussed.     

Etude en fonction du temps de l'oxydation des magnetites substituees a l'aluminium et au chrome au moyen de la conductivite electrique

The oxidation of substituted magnetites (Fe²⁺Fe_2?x³⁺M_x³⁺O₄^2?(O < x < 2) into the lacunar phase γ(Fe_1?z³⁺M_z³⁺)O₃^{2 ?} (x = 3z) was followed over time by electrical conductivity over the temperature r Curves σ = f(t) are different according to whether we deal with an n or p-type spinel. However, for intermediate substitution rates (1,1 < x < 1,8), n-type ferrichromites are oxidized after an initial period in the same way as p-type semi-conductors.For the initial period, the chemisorption kinetics of oxygen upon these n-type samples, reduced under vacuum, was found to follow Elovich's law with an activation energy depending on the degree of coverage.     

Photoluminescence processes in LaOCl:Bi and YOCl:Bi

The luminescence of rare earth oxychlorides LnOCL:Bi (with Ln = La and Y) is studied in detail. The main excitation bands, responsible for the blue and UV fluorescences, are attributed to the bismuth activator substituting for Ln³⁺ in the rare earth tetragonal site. The weak shoulder of these bands and the complex decay times are assumed due to a parasitical phase, La₂O₃ or Y₂O₃ doped by bismuth, an X-ray analysis confirming their presence in the samples. Finally, the existence of these phases does not seem to have an important effect upon the interpretation of the luminescence processes of the main center, as shown by the configuration curve model.     

LEED-Auger characterization of GaAs during activation to negative electron affinity by the adsorption of Cs and O

A combination of low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) has been used to study the formation of the negative electron affinity (NEA) condition on surfaces of p-type, degenerate, (100) and (111) GaAs. Activation to NEA is achieved by adsorbing Cs and O onto atomically clean GaAs in repetitive cycles of first Cs and then O. Before activation, the clean GaAs surfaces exhibit their characteristic LEED patterns. However, once obtained, there is no significant correlation between the quality of these LEED patterns and the final activation. The adsorption of both Cs and O during activation to NEA is amorphous. Auger measurements have shown that the first photoemission maximum occurs after the adsorption of about a half monolayer of Cs. The initial O adsorption occurs on the GaAs surface between the Cs atoms. The adsorbed O interacts strongly with Cs at any stage during the activation. Peak photosensitivities, after completion of the Cs and O adsorptions, were in the range 400 to 1100 $\text{μA}\text{lumen}$. The final activation does not correlate with the quantity of Cs and O on the surface. The temperature dependence of the photosensitivity of NEA GaAs (100) activated at ?170°C has a broad maximum at about ?50°C and a subsidiary maximum at about 160°C. In addition, the photoemission at ?170°C can be either increased or decreased by having heated the sample up to 200°C, even though no Cs or O desorption has taken place. These results can be traced to changes in work function rather than to changes in bulk properties. While the LEED patterns from clean GaAs show no structural changes with temperature, such changes are observed when Cs is on the surface. It is suggested that changes both in photoemission and in LEED patterns are due to the temperature-induced mobility of Cs on GaAs. An atomic model for the NEA surface is discussed in terms of a layer of Cs and O atoms about 10 Å thick on the GaAs.     

Les Sels de Bismuth (III) Comme Catalyseurs Dans la Reaction D'ouverture Des Epoxydes Par Les Amines

BiCl 3 and Bi (OTf) 3 catalyze the opening of epoxides ( 1-7 ) by amines ( 8-12 ). High regioselectivities are observed. BiCl 3 et Bi (OTf) 3 catalysent la réaction d'ouverture des époxydes ( 1-7 ) par les amines ( 8-12 ). La réaction est fortement régiosélective.     

Complexes of Tin(IV) Tetrachloride with 3-Formylpyridine Semicarbazone and Thiosemicarbazones

The reaction of tin(IV) tetrachloride with 3-formylpyridine semicarbazone and different 3-formylpyridine thiosemicarbazones produces [Sn(HL)CL 3 ][SnCl 5 ] where HL stands for the neutral ligand. The tin(IV) complexes were characterized using a variety of spectroscopic techniques. Coordination through the pyridine nitrogen occurs in all cases. Solvation studies in DMSO indicated that dissociation of the ligands and their complete replacement by solvent molecules occurs.