Effect of preparation method on the properties of deposited copper-palladium deep-oxidation catalysts

Activity of alumocopper-palladium catalysts (0.5 at.% Pd, 0.1–3.0 at.% Cu) which differ in preparation method in CO, C₂H₄ and CH₄ oxidation is studied. It is shown that preliminary modification of a carrier by copper leads to an enhancement of catalyst activity as compared with an alumopalladium one. With the methods of EDRS, TPR-TRS, and TPR of adsorbed CO and O₂, the Pd/Cu/Al₂O₃, Cu/Pd/Al₂O₃ and (Pd−Cu)/Al₂O₃, systems are studied. It is established that premodification of the carrier leads to a weakening of its interaction with the second metal while the combined deposition from one impregnating solution in subsequent thermal treatment is accompanied by a strong metal aggregation. Institute of Physicoorganic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 13, Surganov St., Minsk, 220072. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 114–120, January–February, 1998.     

First results for the measurement of double-electron capture of 106Cd in the experiment TGV II

Present status of the experiment TGV II which is devoted to the measurement of double-beta decay of ¹⁰⁶Cd is given. The low background spectrometer TGV II is installed in the Modane Underground Laboratory and has been running from February 2005 with approx 10 grams of ¹⁰⁶Cd enriched at 75%. After an analysis of 3736 hours of experimental data the new improved half-life limit for 2νEC/EC decay of ¹⁰⁶Cd (0 _g.s. ⁺ → 0 _g.s. ⁺ ) is given as T ₁ ^2/2ν > 4.8 × 10¹⁹ years (90% CL). The search for 2νEC/EC decay of ¹⁰⁶Cd to the excited states of ¹⁰⁶Pd allows to determine the limits of the half-lives T ₁ ^2/2ν (0 _g.s. ⁺ → 2 ₁ ⁺ ) > 3.9 × 10¹⁹ years (90% CL) and T ₁ ^2/2ν (0 _g.s. ⁺ → 0 ₁ ⁺ ) > 5.8 × 10¹⁹ years (90% CL). Presented by I. Štekl at the Workshop on calculation of double-beta-decay matrix elements (MEDEX’05), Corfu, Greece, September 26–29, 2005.     

Unusual mesomorphic behaviour of new bent-core mesogens derived from 4-cyanoresorcinol

New five-ring bent-core mesogens derived from 4-cyanoresorcinol as the central core have been synthesized. The mesophases were assigned by polarizing microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electro-optical measurements. It was found that the mesophase behaviour clearly depends on the direction of the carboxyl linking groups between the aromatic rings. If the outer and inner ester linking groups of a wing are in the same direction then nematic phases and, for long chain members, SmC and SmCP_A phases are observed. If the outer and inner linking groups are in opposing directions a dimorphism, SmA-SmAP_A, is observed and the clearing temperatures are increased by about 55 K. It is remarkable that in the SmCP_A phases of the first series, polar switching preferably takes place through a collective rotation of the molecules around their long axes which is accompanied by the inversion of the chirality of the smectic layers.     

Fabrication of piezo-and pyrosensitive films of polyvinylidene fluoride by vacuum evaporation in an electric field

Films of polyvinylidene fluoride with tetrafluoroethylene several micron thick were prepared by vacuum electron-beam evaporation in a static electric field. It is shown that a polymer deposited on a negative electrode possesses a structure similar to that of uniaxially stretched and polarized films and has a high (up to 85%) content of the piezoactive β phase. The electromechanical coupling coefficient k ₃₃ and the pyrosensitivity of these samples are substantially higher than those of layers deposited under the same conditions in the absence of a field. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 101–103 (December 1998)     

Removal of compressor oil microdroplets from water with a carbon fabric

Coalescence of KHA-30 compressor oil microdroplets on a carbon fabric, aimed to remove them from air and water streams used for compressor cooling, was examined.     

Nitration of polyhaloalkenes by mixtures of nitric and sulfuric acids

Conclusions The nitration of polyhaloalkenes was carried out under conditions for the complete conversion of nitric acid to the nitronium cation. Butyl esters of -nitrocarboxylic acids were obtained by esterification of the nitration products.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2814–2815, December, 1985.     

On using the more-accurate equations of thin coatings in the theory of axisymmetric contact problems for composite foundations

More-accurate equations describing the axisymmetric deformations of elastic, thin-walled elements (coatings) are derived using the asymptotic analysis of the solution to the first fundamental problem of the theory of elasticity for a layer. The notable difference distinguishing these relations from the classical, Kirchhoff-Love and Reissner-Timoshenko equations of flexure of plates, and their modifications /1/, is, that there are no concentrated forces at the edges of the stamp when the corresponding contact problems are solved. Moreover, the formulas obtained contain the equations of classical theory as a special case. The solutions obtained using various applied theories are compared with the corresponding solution obtained using the equations of the theory of elasticity, using the example of the axisymmetric contact problem of impressing a plane circular stamp into a layer lying on a Fuss-Winkler foundation. The characteristic parameters of the problem in question are computed by numerical methods.