Characterisation of the oxygen transfer in BIMEVOX membranes under applied current conditions

Oxygen isotopic exchange has been studied for a number of materials in the BIMEVOX family of compounds. The exchanges were undertaken at 620 °C with gold grid electrodes on the samples and with a constant current flowing through the samples during the exchange anneals. These conditions simulate those used when these materials are employed in oxygen separation devices where substantial oxygen fluxes can be sustained using such simple gold grid electrodes.The results showed that samples exchanged under current flow conditions exhibit substantial oxygen exchange at the cathode, in contrast to samples where no electrical bias is applied. This effect was sustained in regions remote from the sputtered gold electrode. Complementary studies of the samples using X-ray diffraction revealed subtle changes in the diffraction patterns following experiments with current flow. These changes are ascribed to a reduction of V⁵⁺ to V⁴⁺ at the cathode locally transforming the BIMEVOX material into a mixed conducting material, and hence enhancing the oxygen isotopic exchange process.     

Linear Polymers from Diene Monomers by the Cyclic Polymerization Mechanism. XI. Polyphosphonium Salts via Cyclopolymerization

A wide variety of diunsaturated phosphonium salts have been synthesized in order to determine whether or not such structures undergo cyclopolymerization. As intermediates for these monomers, a number of previously unreported unsaturated phosphines have been prepared and characterized. Polymerization studies using a wide variety of free radical initiating conditions led to polymers in those cases which were predicted to undergo cyclopolymerization leading to five-, six-, or seven-membered rings with one exception. The properties of the polymers are consistent with the cyclopolymerization mechanism. The conversion of poly(diallyldiphenylphosphonium bromide) to polfidiallyldiphenylphosphine oxide) offers additional evidence for cyclopolymerization. Di-3-butenyldiphenylphosphonium bromide, a monomer functionally capable of forming a polymer containing an eight-membered ring, did not polymerize. Divinylphenylphosphine was found to undergo copolymerization with acrylonitrile in accordance with the cyclo-copolymerization mechanism.     

A Two‐Armed Lanthanoid‐Chelating Paramagnetic NMR Probe Linked to Proteins via Thioether Linkages

Paramagnetic NMR probes provide valuable long‐range structural information on proteins and protein complexes. A new, stable, two‐armed lanthanoid probe is reported that can be attached to a protein site‐specifically via chemically inert thioether linkages.     

Next‐Generation Heteronuclear Decoupling for High‐Field Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy

Ultra‐high‐field NMR spectroscopy requires an increased bandwidth for heteronuclear decoupling, especially in biomolecular NMR applications. Composite pulse decoupling cannot provide sufficient bandwidth at practical power levels, and adiabatic pulse decoupling with sufficient bandwidth is compromised by sideband artifacts. A novel low‐power, broadband heteronuclear decoupling pulse is presented that generates minimal, ultra‐low sidebands. The pulse was derived using optimal control theory and represents a new generation of decoupling pulses free from the constraints of periodic and cyclic sequences. In comparison to currently available state‐of‐the‐art methods this novel pulse provides greatly improved decoupling performance that satisfies the demands of high‐field biomolecular NMR spectroscopy.     

The blind bartender's problem

We present a two-player game with restricted information for one of the players. The game takes place on a transitive group action. The winning strategies depend on chains of structures in the group action. We also study a modification of the game with further restrictions on one of the players.     

Why variational approximation reduces solition switching in nonlinear couplers to the CW case

Use of the variational approximation to describe soliton propagation in a nonlinear optical coupler is shown formally to reduce the problem to one with the same form as CW operation of a coupler, albeit with a different form of nonlinearity.     

Consistency of theory and experiment in the ethane–methyl radical system

The thermal decomposition of ethane has been reinvestigated using the single pulse, reflected shock technique. Reflected shock temperatures were corrected for boundary layer-induced nonidealities using the thermal decomposition of cyclohexene as a kinetic standard. The rate constant for the reaction was calculated from the rate of formation of methane under conditions of very low extent of reaction, over a temperature range of 1000–1241 K. Ethane compositions of 1% and 3% in argon at total reaction pressures of 3 and 9 atm were used, and a small pressure dependence of k₁ was observed. An RRKM model is described which gives excellent agreement with this and other recent dissociation and recombination rate constant data in light of a recent revision to the thermochemistry of the methyl radical. In the range of 1000–1300 K an RRKM extrapolated k is given by the expression, log k = 17.2 ? 91,000/2.3RT, while at 298 K the calculation gives log k (l/mol sec) = 10.44, where k is calculated from k and the equilibrium constant.     

Recent developments in Ruddlesden–Popper nickelate systems for solid oxide fuel cell cathodes

Motivated by recent work on the Ruddlesden–Popper material, which was shown to be a superior oxide-ion conductor than conventional solid-oxide fuel cell cathode perovskite materials, we undertook A- and B-site doping studies of the Ruddlesden–Popper nickelate series in an attempt to identify other candidates for cathode application. In this paper, we summarize our most significant results for the and systems and more recently, the higher-order Ruddlesden–Popper phases La _n+1Ni _n O_3n+1 (n=2 and 3), which show greater promise as cathode materials than the n=1 compositions.