An expanded halogen bonding scale using astatine

As a non-covalent interaction, halogen bonding is now acknowledged to be useful in all fields where the control of intermolecular recognition plays a pivotal role. Halogen-bond basicity scales allow quantification of the halogen bonding of referential donors with organic functional groups from a thermodynamic point of view. Herein we present the pK_BAtI basicity scale to provide the community an overview of halogen-bond acceptor strength towards astatine, the most potent halogen-bond donor element. This experimental scale is erected on the basis of complexation constants measured between astatine monoiodide (AtI) and sixteen selected Lewis bases. It spans over 6 log units and culminates with a value of 5.69 ± 0.32 for N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylthiourea. On this scale, the carbon π-bases are the weakest acceptors, the oxygen derivatives cover almost two-thirds of the scale, and sulphur bases exhibit the highest AtI basicity. Regarding the applications of ²¹¹At in targeted radionuclide therapy, stronger labelling of carrier agents could be envisaged on the basis of the pK_BAtI scale.

Based on the halogen bonding between astatine monoiodide (AtI) and 16 Lewis bases, the newly established pK_BAtI scale indicates that the halogen bond basicity of AtI follows the order C ≤ O ≤ S ≈ Se for the acceptor atomic site.     

Improved expression for calculating electron transport cross sections

We report a simplified correction for the electron transport cross sections (TCSs) for a number of selected atomic targets ranging from H to U and electron energies between 50 and 4000 eV. The correction has been made to the approximate analytical expression of transport cross sections derived by Jablonski [A. Jablonski, Phys. Rev. B 58 (1998) 16470] where an argued parameter is introduced. The latter is obtained from a polynomial fit. The energy dependence of the percentage deviation between TCSs from the corrected expression and those obtained from other sources is presented. The TCSs calculated in the present work showed better agreement with accurate values of TCSs than those reported in earlier publications. This may facilitate the evaluation of parameters needed for quantitative Auger-electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.     

Differential cross sections for collisions of negative halogen ions and alkali atoms

In this paper we present the relative differential cross sections for collisions of several negative halogen ions with Na and K. The measurements have been carried out in two separate experiments with energy ranges of 5–150 eV and 500–1000 eV and angular ranges of 0-35° and 0-0.3°, respectively. It is shown that in both of these experiments elastic scattering is the dominant process. No significant inelastic contribution to the differetial cross section, especially no electron detachment, has been observed. The measured differential cross sections are used to obtain information on the anion intermolecular potentials. Comparison of these potentials with the potentials of the neutral molecules shows that all systems investigated have a positive electron affinity over a wide range of internuclear distances. An approximately linear relationship between the dipole moments and the electron affinities is obtained for the halides of the specific alkalis.     

On the interaction between a dislocation and a crack in a material with a nonlinear stress-strain law

The problem of the interaction of a crack and a dislocation in a medium with a nonlinear stress-strain law is considered for the case of a semi-infinite crack in a displacement loaded strip under longitudinal shear deformation. A power law stress-strain relation is considered and the dislocation is assumed positioned so that the net effect of its interaction with the crack is to produce a zero stress intensity factor when combined with the effect of the applied displacements. Thus the Atkinson-Kay superdislocation model of a relaxed crack tip is extended to the situation where the material satisfies a power-law stress-strain relationship.     

New probing techniques of radiative shocks

Radiative shock waves propagating in xenon at a low pressure have been produced using 60 joules of iodine laser (λ = 1.315 μm) at PALS center. The shocks have been probed by XUV imaging using a Zn X-raylaser (λ = 21 nm) generated with a 20-ns delay after the shock creating pulse. Auxiliary high-speed silicon diodes allowed performing space- and time-resolved measurement of plasma self-emission in the visible and XUV. The results show the generation of a shock wave propagating at 60 km/s preceded by a radiative precursor. This demonstrates the feasibility of radiative shock generation using high power infrared lasers and the use of XRL backlighting as a suitable diagnostic for shock imaging.     

Calculation of transport cross sections for positrons in solid targets via improved expressions

Transport cross sections (TCS) for positron impinging on a number of selected atomic targets have been calculated in the energy range 1–4 keV. The calculations were performed by using a simplified correction of the approximate analytical expression of transport cross sections reported by Jablonski [A. Jablonski, Phys. Rev. B 58 (1998) 16470]. An argued parameter–obtained from both an exponential and polynomial fits–was then introduced. The agreement generally observed between our results and those previously reported in the literature is quite good, especially for positron energies greater than 2 keV. Furthermore, an attempt has been made for scaling the TCS with the atomic number of solid targets of interest. Such a scaling was found to be possible for both exponential and third order polynomial fits. The information gathered by the present study may be useful for the evaluation of parameters needed for quantitative low-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy.     

Electron impinging on metallic thin film targets

Based on the Vicanek and Urbassek theory [M. Vicanek, H.M. Urbassek, Phys. Rev. B 44 (1991) 7234] combined to a home-made Monte Carlo simulation, the present work deals with backscattering coefficients, mean penetration depths and stopping profiles for 1-4 keV electrons normally incident impinging on Al and Cu thin film targets. The cross-sections used to describe the electron transport are calculated via the appropriate analytical expression given by Jablonski [A. Jablonski, Phys. Rev. B 58 (1998) 16470] whose new improved version has been recently given [Z. Rouabah, N. Bouarissa, C. Champion, N. Bouaouadja, Appl. Surf. Sci. 255 (2009) 6217]. The behavior of the backscattering coefficient, mean penetration depth and stopping profiles versus the metallic film thickness at the nanometric scale and beyond is here analyzed and discussed.     

Wetting properties at the surface of iota-carrageenan-based edible films

Surface properties of edible films composed of a polymeric matrix of carrageenan in association with hydrophobic material were studied by contact angle measurements. The use of this technique not only in a static mode but also in a dynamic way enables investigation of surface hydrophobicity as well as surface wettability. The absorption flux inside the material can be estimated from the wetting kinetic, which can be very useful to quickly compare water barrier efficiency of the tested films. Comparison of carrageenan films with films containing known amounts of additives enables understanding and correlation of changes of the surface properties with the nature of used additives (glycerol used as a plasticizer, glycerol monostearate used as a surfactant, and fat) and their influence on the orientation of polymer chains at the surface during film formation. Very different responses were observed from one surface of the film (film-casting-support interface) to the other (film-air interface), which could be also attributed to the influence of the support on the polymer and to macromolecular orientation during drying after casting.