Self-assembly of Mo<Subscript> 6</Subscript>S<Subscript> 8</Subscript> clusters on the Au(111) surface

The preferred adsorption sites and the propensity for a self-organised growth of the molybdenum sulfide cluster Mo₆S₈ on the Au(111) surface are investigated by density-functional band-structure calculations with pseudopotentials and a plane wave basis set. The quasi-cubic cluster preferentially adsorbs via a face and remains structurally intact. It experiences a strong, mostly non-ionic attraction to the surface at several quasi-isoenergetic adsorption positions. A scan of the potential energy surface exhibits only small barriers between adjacent strong adsorption sites. Hence, the cluster may move in a potential well with degenerate local energy minima at room temperature. The analysis of the electronic structure reveals a negligible electron transfer and S-Au hybridised states, which indicate that the cluster-surface interaction is dominated by S-Au bonds, with minor contributions from the Mo atom in the surface vicinity. All results indicate that Mo₆S₈ clusters on the Au(111) surface can undergo a template-mediated self-assembly to an ordered inorganic monolayer, which is still redox active and may be employed as surface-active agent in the integration of noble metal and ionic or biological components within nano-devices. Therefore, a classical potential model was developed on the basis of the DFT data, which allows to study larger cluster assemblies on the Au(111).     

Quantification of Noncovalent Interactions in Azide–Pnictogen, –Chalcogen,and –Halogen Contacts

The noncovalent interactions between azides and oxygen-containing moieties are investigated through a computational study based on experimental findings. The targeted synthesis of organic compounds with close intramolecular azide–oxygen contacts yielded six new representatives, for which X-ray structures were determined. Two of those compounds were investigated with respect to their potential conformations in the gas phase and a possible significantly shorter azide–oxygen contact. Furthermore, a set of 44 high-quality, gas-phase computational model systems with intermolecular azide–pnictogen (N, P, As, Sb), –chalcogen (O, S, Se, Te), and –halogen (F, Cl, Br, I) contacts are compiled and investigated through semiempirical quantum mechanical methods, density functional approximations, and wave function theory. A local energy decomposition (LED) analysis is applied to study the nature of the noncovalent interaction. The special role of electrostatic and London dispersion interactions is discussed in detail. London dispersion is identified as a dominant factor of the azide–donor interaction with mean London dispersion energy-interaction energy ratios of 1.3. Electrostatic contributions enhance the azide–donor coordination motif. The association energies range from −1.00 to −5.5 kcal mol⁻¹.     

Measurement of B0-B-0 flavor oscillations in hadronic B0 decays

Flavor oscillations of neutral B mesons have been studied in e+e- annihilation data collected with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies near the upsilon(4S) resonance. The data sample used for this purpose consists of events in which one B0 meson is reconstructed in a hadronic decay mode, while the flavor of the recoiling B0 is determined with a tagging algorithm that exploits the correlation between the flavor of the heavy quark and the charges of its decay products. From the time development of the observed mixed and unmixed final states, we determine the B0-B-0 oscillation frequency deltamd to be 0.516+/-0.016(stat)+/-0.010(syst) ps-1.     

Fast, low-level detection of strontium-90 and strontium-89 in environmental samples by collinear resonance ionization spectroscopy

Environmental assessment in the wake of a nuclear accident requires the rapid determination of the radiotoxic isotopes ⁸⁹Sr and ⁹⁰Sr. Useful measurements must be able to detect 10⁸ atoms in the presence of about 10¹⁸ atoms of the stable, naturally occurring isotopes. This paper describes a new approach to this problem using resonance ionization spectroscopy in collinear geometry, combined with classical mass separation. After collection and chemical separation, the strontium from a sample is surface-ionized and the ions are accelerated to an energy of about 30 keV. Initially, a magnetic mass separator provides an isotopic selectivity of about 10⁶. The ions are then neutralized by charge exchange and the resulting fast strontium atoms are selectively excited into high-lying atomic Rydberg states by narrow-band cw laser light in collinear geometry. The Rydberg atoms are then field-ionized and detected. Thus far, a total isotopic selectivity of S > 10¹⁰ and an overall efficiency of ξ = 5 × 10⁻⁶ have been achieved. The desired detection limit of 10⁸ atoms ⁹⁰Sr has been demonstrated with synthetic samples.     

Use of ultrasonic nebulizer with desolvator membrane for the determination of titanium and zirconium in human serum by means of inductively coupled plasma – mass spectroscopy

A technique for the determination of titanium and zirconium in human blood serum, after pressurized digestion utilizing ICP-MS coupled to an ultrasonic nebulizer (USN) and desolvating membrane is described. As no CRM for titanium is available, zirconium has been determined in order to demonstrate the accuracy of the technique, as the limits in blood are well known. Bone cement consists basically of a polymer, namely polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). For better X-ray contrast some manufacturers use incorporated ZrO₂ with a volume fraction of 10 to 15%. Thus, the zirconium present in the PMMA matrix can be used as an indicator for the PMMA particulate debris.     

Ueber die quantitative Bestimmung und Trennung der Cacao-Alkaloide

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Post-Coulombian Dynamics at Order c-3

Summary. We study the dynamics of N charges interacting with the Maxwell field. If their initial velocities are small compared to the velocity of light, c , then in lowest order their motion is governed by the static Coulomb Lagrangian. We investigate higher-order corrections with an explicit control on the error terms. The Darwin correction, order |v/c| ² , has been proved previously. In this contribution we obtain the dissipative corrections due to radiation damping, which are of order |v/c| ³ relative to the Coulomb dynamics. If all particles have the same charge-to-mass ratio, the dissipation would vanish at that order. Received February 7, 2001; accepted September 21, 2001 Online publication November 30, 2001