Complex formation of silver(I) with glycinate ion in aqueous ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide solutions

The complex formation reaction of silver(I) with glycinate ion in aqueous ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide solutions of variable compositions was studied by potentiometric titration at 298 K. The stabilities of Ag(I) glycinate complexes were found to increase with the increasing content of the organic cosolvent. The contribution of ΔG° of the reagent resolvation to the change in the Gibbs energy of the complex formation reaction was estimated using the literature data. The change in the ligand solvate state was shown to give the main contribution to the stability of the title complexes in water-organic solvents.     

Elastic Organic Crystals as Bioinspired Hair-Like Sensors

One of the typical haptic elements are natural hairy structures that animals and plants rely on for feedback. Although these hair sensors are an admirable inspiration, the development of active flow sensing components having low elastic moduli and high aspect ratios remains a challenge. Here, we report a new sensing approach based on a flexible, thin and optically transmissive organic crystal of high aspect ratio, which is stamped with fluorescent dye for tracking. When subjected to gas flow and exposed to laser, the crystal bends due to exerted pressure and acts as an optical flow (hair) sensor with low detection limit (≈1.578 m s⁻¹) and fast response time (≈2.70 s). The air-flow-induced crystal deformation and flow dynamics response are modelled by finite element analysis. Due to having a simple design and being lightweight and mechanically robust this prototypical crystal hair-like sensor opens prospects for a new class of sensing devices ranging from wearable electronics to aeronautics.     

<Superscript>77</Superscript>Se Low-Temperature NMR in the Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Se<Subscript>3</Subscript> Single Crystalline Topological Insulator

⁷⁷Se nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements in the Bi₂Se₃ topological insulator single crystal were carried out at temperatures 15.8, 88, and 293 K. Bismuth selenide single crystalline plate was studied in the orientation when the crystallographic c-axis was parallel to the external magnetic field B₀. We observed two component NMR spectra at the three temperatures. It was shown that the NMR spectrum almost did not move with decreasing temperature and the density of charge carriers did not follow the thermal activation law.     

Unusual polarization patterns in flat epitaxial ferroelectric nanoparticles

We investigate the effects of a lattice misfit strain on a ground state and polarization patterns in flat perovskite nanoparticles (nanoislands of BaTiO3 and PZT) with the use of an ab initio derived effective Hamiltonian. We show that the strain strongly controls the balance between the depolarizing field and the polarization anizotropy in determining the equilibrium polarization patterns. Compressive strain favors 180 degrees stripe or tweed domains while a tensile strain leads to in-plane vortex formation, with the unusual intermediate phase(s) where both ordering motifs coexist. The results may allow us to explain contradictions in recent experimental data for ferroelectric nanoparticles.     

Luminescence Microscopy of Single Quantum Dot Pairs with Nanometer Spatial Resolution

The transverse magnetoresistance of Ho_0.8Lu_0.2B₁₂ dodecaboride with a cage glass structure is studied at low (2–10 K) temperatures. It is demonstrated that the isotropic negative magnetoresistance in this antiferromagnet is dominant within the broad temperature range near T_N ≈ K. This contribution to the total magnetoresistance is due to the scattering of charge carriers by nanoclusters formed by Но³⁺ ions, and it can be scaled in the ρ = f(μ²_effH²/T² ) representation. It is found that the magnetoresistance anisotropy above (about 15% at 80 kOe) is due to the positive contribution, which achieves maximum values at the magnetic field direction close to H ║ [001]. The anisotropy of the charge carrier scattering is interpreted in terms of the cooperative dynamic Jahn?Teller effect at В12 clusters.     

Wide-Range Spectral Diffusion in Single Mg-Tetraazaporphyrin Molecules in a Polymer Matrix at Cryogenic Temperatures

Zero-phonon spectral lines of single Mg-tetraazaporphyrin molecules in a polymer matrix and their spectral trails are recorded using cryogenic fluorescence nanoscopy at a temperature of 6 K. Spectral diffusion (stochastic jumps of zero-phonon lines) in an anomalously wide spectral range up to several tens of inverse centimeters is revealed. The structure of the vibronic band in the fluorescence excitation spectrum of single molecules, including both a narrow zero-phonon line and a broad phonon sideband, is directly observed.     

Large-volume detector at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory for studies of natural neutrino fluxes for purposes of geo- and astrophysics

At the Baksan Neutrino Observatory (Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow) deployed in the Caucasus mountains, it is proposed to create, at a depth corresponding to 4760 mwe, a large-volume neutrino detector on the basis of a liquid scintillator with a target mass of 10 kt. The detector in question is intended for recording natural fluxes of neutrinos whose energy may be as low as 100MeV. Neutrino fluxes from various sources are considered in the present study, and the expected effect in the proposed detector is estimated. The detector hat is being developed at the Baksan Neutrino Observatorywill become part of the world network of neutrino detectors for studying natural neutrino fluxes.     

A Magnetic resonance study of La1−x SrxMnO3 manganites

Single crystals of La_0.9Sr_0.1MnO₃ and La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ manganites are examined using magnetic resonance in the temperature range 80–370 K. It is found that magnetostatic oscillations arise near the Curie temperature. The possible reasons for the appearance of additional lines in the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectrum are considered, and the anisotropy field and the type of crystalline magnetic anisotropy in the La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ compound are determined. It is shown that the crystalline magnetic anisotropy in the La_0.9Sr_0.1MnO₃ compound exhibits specific features associated with its type of crystal structure.     

Luminescence and absorption spectra of polyatomic molecules subjected to conformational transitions

A general approach and results of specific calculations of conjugated vibronic absorption and fluorescence spectra of “soft” molecules subjected to conformational transitions are presented. The vibronic spectra of these molecules exhibit significant anomalies such as a large energy gap between the fluorescence and absorption spectra, a strong deviation from the mirror symmetry, etc., which cannot be explained within the framework of the theory of vibronic spectra based on single-well adiabatic potentials.