Thermal properties of 15-mol% gadolinia doped ceria thin films prepared by pulsed laser ablation

Thermal properties of 15-mol% gadolinia doped ceria thin films (Ce_0.85Gd_0.15 O_1.925) prepared by pulsed laser ablation on silicon substrates in the temperature range 473–973 K are presented. Thermal diffusivities and thermal conductivities were evaluated using photoacoustic spectroscopy. The influence of grain size on thermal properties of the films as a function of deposition temperature is studied. It is observed that the thermal diffusivity and the conductivity of these films decreases up to 873 K and then increases with substrate temperatures. The thermal properties obtained in these films are discussed on the basis of influence of grain size on phonon scattering.     

Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects on the selective surface oxidation of binary, ternary and quarternary model alloys

Segregation and selective oxidation phenomena of minor alloying elements during annealing of steel sheets lead to the formation of bare spots after hot dip galvanizing. In order to understand the influence of common alloying elements on the surface chemistry after annealing, model alloys of binary (Fe-2Si, Fe-2Mn and Fe-0.8Cr), ternary (Fe-2Mn-2Si, Fe-2Mn-0.8Cr and Fe-2Si-0.8Cr) and quarternary (Fe-2Mn-2Si-0.8Cr) systems were investigated. The specimens were annealed for 60 s at 820 °C in N₂-5% H₂ gas atmospheres with different dew points −80 and −40 °C, respectively. Surface chemistry of the annealed specimens was obtained by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to view surface morphology. At low dew point −80 °C, apart from the thermodynamical calculations such as solubility product of oxides and their critical solute concentrations, kinetics play a decisive role on the selective oxidation, i.e. oxygen competition. As expected, the amount of external selective oxidation of alloying elements are well pronounced at higher dew point −40 °C. An attempt has been made to explain the dominant process of Si and Mn on Cr-oxidation and segregation. It is observed that annealing of quarternary system at higher dew point shifts the Cr-oxidation from external to internal.     

EPR and photoacoustic studies on 30 kev H ion-implanted n-GaAs

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements are carried out on the 30 keV H⁺ion-implanted, Si-doped GaAs(1 0 0) for various doses from 10¹⁴ to 10¹⁷ cm⁻². The results are correlated with photoacoustic and photoluminescence measurements. All the measurements confirm the sign change of charge carrier at a dose of 10¹⁵ cm⁻².     

Thermal and photochemical Wallach rearrangement of azoxybenzene in zeolite cages

Acidic zeolites HY and CaY catalyse the Wallach rearrangement of azoxybenzene (I) leading mainly to the formation of para-hydroxyazobenzene (II) and ortho-hydroxyazobenzene (III). In this transformation, increasing the loading level of I results in the formation of a larger amount of para-isomer. As observed in isotropic media, photochemical Wallach rearrangement in the presence of various cation-exchanged faujasites results in the predominant formation of the ortho-isomer from the S₁ state and this rules out any appreciable heavy atom effect.     

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies of copper dissolution in glycine–hydrogen peroxide solutions

Anodic dissolution of copper in glycine solution at various hydrogen peroxide concentrations was investigated. The dissolution rate increases, reaches a maximum, and then decreases with hydrogen peroxide concentration. Anodic polarization studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies were carried out to determine the mechanistic pathway of anodic dissolution of copper in glycine system at three different hydrogen peroxide concentrations: one at low hydrogen peroxide concentration in the active dissolution region, another in the maximum dissolution region, and the third at the high hydrogen peroxide concentration in the post-peak-dissolution region. The EIS data in complex plane plots show presence of two capacitance loops and one negative capacitance loop. The impedance plot patterns strongly depend on the hydrogen peroxide concentration in solution. Reaction mechanism analysis technique was employed to model the EIS data. A three-step mechanism with two intermediate adsorbates and a parallel dissolution by catalytic mechanism simulates EIS patterns which match the experimental trends. The intermediates are likely to be cupric and cuprous oxides. The essential features of impedance spectra at various overpotentials at three different hydrogen peroxide concentrations are captured by the proposed mechanism. The results also show that the film present on the copper surface in glycine and hydrogen peroxide solutions does not passivate the surface.     

Enhancement of thermopower in the highT c superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 and related compounds

The absolute thermopower of single phase YBa₂Cu₃O₇ and Y_0.8Er_0.2Ba₂Cu₃O₇ has been measured in the range 250 K to the superconducting transition temperature. It is found that these compounds show a large enhancement of thermopower in the range 150 K down toT _c. This enhancement shows a steep exponential drop as the temperature increases from the transition temperature. The temperature variation of the enhancement is too steep to be accounted for by electron-phonon or electron-local structural excitation mechanisms.     

Ignition and increase in Pease limit on current in an ohmically heated high densityZ-pinch

Energetics of an ohmically heated deuterium-tritium high densityZ-pinch has been computed taking into account the energy deposited by the alpha particles produced by fusion. As a result, at higher plasma densities (>10²⁷/m³) and temperatures (>4keV), the pinch current can cross Pease limit and the plasma can get ignited, yielding higher energy gain and neutron yield in a shorter confinement time.     

On the predictive ability of narrative disclosures in annual reports

We investigate whether narrative disclosures in 10-K and 10K-405 filings contain value-relevant information for predicting market performance. We apply text classification techniques from computer science to machine code text disclosures in a sample of 4280 filings by 1236 firms over five years. Our methodology develops a model using documents and actual performance for a training sample. This model, when applied to documents from a test set, leads to performance prediction. We find that a portfolio based on model predictions earns significantly positive size-adjusted returns, indicating that narrative disclosures contain value-relevant information. Supplementary analyses show that the text classification model captures information not contained in document-level features of clarity, tone and risk sentiment considered in prior research. However, we find that the narrative score is not providing information incremental to traditional predictors such as size, market-to-book and momentum, but rather affects investors’ use of price momentum as a factor that predicts excess returns.