Stability, structural, and magnetic phase diagrams of ternary ferromagnetic 3d-transition-metal clusters with five and six atoms

We report a theoretical investigation of free-standing Fe(x)Co(y)Ni(z) ternary clusters with x + y + z = 5 and 6. Our study is performed within density functional theory as implemented in the GAUSSIAN 03 set of programs and with the BPW91/SDD level of theory. We analyze the geometries, chemical order, local and total magnetic moments, binding energies, excess energies, and second difference in the energy in the whole range of composition, from which structural, magnetic, and stability phase diagrams are predicted for these cluster sizes. We determine the optimal stoichiometries for these clusters as regards the maximum total magnetic moment and stability.     

Stereocontrolled coupling between aldehydes and conjugated alkenals mediated by TiIII/H2O

In the presence of water, titanocene(III) complexes promote a stereoselective C-C bond-forming reaction that provides gamma-lactols by radical coupling between aldehydes and conjugated alkenals. The method is useful for both intermolecular reactions and cyclizations. The relative stereochemistry of the products can be predicted with confidence with the aid of model Ti-coordinated intermediates. The procedure can be carried out enantioselectively using chiral titanocene catalysts. [reaction: see text].     

Error bounds for the perturbation of the Drazin inverse under some geometrical conditions

This paper studies the Drazin inverse for perturbed matrices. For that, given a square matrix A, we consider and characterize the class of matrices B with index s such that , and , where and denote the null space and the range space of a matrix A, respectively, and A^D denote the Drazin inverse of A. Then, we provide explicit representations for B^D and BB^D, and upper bounds for the relative error B^D-A^D/A^D and the error BB^D-AA^D. A numerical example illustrates that the obtained bounds are better than others given in the literature.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy of iron /II/ formates

Fe/OOCH/₂.2HCOOH obtained by solvolytic reaction of FeCl₂.4H₂O in formic acid was studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy. It displays two quadrupole doublets. Upon air contact it easily transforms to a high-spin octahedral iron/III/ complex, whereas Fe/OOCH/₂.2H₂O undergoes a very slow oxidation. The formate complex coordinated with pyridine could not be prepared, instead we obtained the anhydrous phase Fe/OOCH/₂.     

Synthesis of amino- and guanidino-G-clamp PNA monomers

Syntheses of the protected amino- and guanidino-G-clamp PNA monomers, 9a and 9b, respectively, have been accomplished in eight steps from 5-bromouracil. Enhanced stacking interactions and additional hydrogen bonds with guanine should increase the affinity of PNAs incorporating these cytosine analogues for their complementary strands. [reaction: see text]     

Flame atomic absorption spectrometric method for the determination of beryllium in natural waters after separation with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine

A procedure for the determination of beryllium in natural waters is proposed. A solvent extraction step was performed in order to overcome interferences and isolate beryllium before it was atomized by direct nebulization of the organic phase in a dinitrogen oxide-acetylene flame. N-Benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine was used as the extractant whilst isobutyl methyl ketone was the organic solvent. The effects of pH, amine concentration in the organic phase, shaking time, stability of the complex and nature of the extracted species were studied. The detection limit and linear response range are 2 ng ml-1 and 0-1.0 microgram ml-1, respectively. The result obtained for a standard reference material compared well with the quoted value.     

Small metal nanoparticle recognition using digital image analysis and high resolution electron microscopy

In this paper, we present a system developed to identify metal nanoparticles at different orientations, using digital image processing and analysis. The correct identification is important in nanotechnology, where it is possible to build structures for different purposes at the nanometric level. The recognition system computes automatically different characteristics such as: nanoparticle area, polygons, symmetry and molecular arrays (twins) in order to recognize different nanostructures. All these characteristics are obtained through the use of morphological, texture (co-occurrence matrix) and region analysis. Complexity issues, advantages, and results are presented and discussed.