Shape resonances in slow electron scattering by aromatic molecules. I. Anthraquinone derivatives

A series of anthraquinone (C(14)O(2)H(8)) derivatives has been studied by means of electron capture negative ion mass spectrometry (ECNI-MS), photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), and AM1 quantum chemical calculations. Mean lifetimes of molecular negative ions M(-.) (MNI) have been measured. The mechanism of long-lived MNI formation in the epithermal energy region of incident electrons has been investigated. A simple model of a molecule (a spherical potential well with the repulsive centrifugal term) has been applied for the analysis of the energy dependence of cross sections at the first stage of the electron capture process. It has been shown that a temporary resonance of MNI at the energy approximately 0.5 eV corresponds to a shape resonance with lifetime 1-2.10(-13) s in the f-partial wave (l = 3) of the incident electron. The next resonant state of MNI at the energy approximately 1.7 eV has been associated with the electron excited Feshbach resonance (whose parent state is a triplet npi* transition). In all cases the initial electron state of the MNI relaxes into the ground state by means of a radiationless transition, and the final state of the MNI is a nuclear excited resonance with a lifetime measurable on the mass spectrometry timescale. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

X-ray diffraction studies of sprayed SnO2: Sb films

Antimony-doped tin oxide films were deposited by spray pyrolysis on Corning 7059 substrates. The structural and electrical properties of the films deposited with different doping levels were studied. Relative variations in the structural properties were explained on the basis of structure factor calculations. The results show that the incorporation of antimony atoms takes place only at substitutional sites. As expected, the substitutional replacement of tin by antimony atoms increased appreciably the free carrier density of the film.     

Electrospray ionization multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometric analysis of diglycosyldiacylglycerol glycolipids from the bacteria Bacillus pumilus

Electrospray ionization (ESI) combined with multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (MS(n)) was used to directly analyze the glycolipid mixture from bacteria Bacillus pumilus without preliminary separation. Full scan ESI-MS revealed the composition of picomole quantities of glycerolglycolipid species containing C(14)-C(19) fatty acids, some of which were monounsaturated. Two main components were identified from their molecular masses and fragmentation pathways. The fragmentation pathway of the known compound compared with the investigated compound verified the proposed structure as 1(3)-acyl-2-pentadecanoyl-3(1)-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-sn-glycerols. A comparison of the multiple tandem mass spectra of the different alkali-metal cation adducts indicates that the intensity of fragments and the dissociation pathways are dependent on the alkali-metal type. The basic structures of glycerolglycolipids were reflected clearly from the fragmentation patterns of the sodium cations. The intense fragments of the sugar residue from the precursor ions were obtained from the lithiated adduct ions. ESI-MS(n) spectra of [M + K](+) ions did not provide as much fragmentation as [M + Na](+) and [M + Li](+) adducts, but their spectra allow the position of glycerol acylation to be determined. On the basis of MS(2) spectra of [M + K](+) ions, it was established that all components have a C(15:0) fatty acid at the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone and C(14)-C(19) acids at the sn-1 position of the glycerol backbone. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Properties of fillers and reinforcing fibers

Fillers have always played an important role in the plastics industry. Filled polymers form a specific class of composites, which are tending to replace many traditional materials. Various kinds of organic fillers are used. The experimental study of such nonconventional organic and inorganic fillers obtained from agricultural waste is presented to modify the properties of thermoplastics, such as pVC, HDPE, LDPE, and ABS. The properties obtained by using these fillers alone and in combinations show very interesting results, which are tabulated. The use of organic fillers should help lower the cost of many plastic products required in the building and agricultural industries.Presented at the 10th International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, April 20–23, 1998).Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune, India. Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 651–663, September–October, 1998.     

Pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of boiling water in sub-hundred micron channel

The current work focuses on the pressure drop, heat transfer and stability in two phase flow in microchannels with hydraulic diameter of less than one hundred microns. Experiments were conducted in smooth microchannels of hydraulic diameter of 45, 65 μm, and a rough microchannel of hydraulic diameter of 70 μm, with deionised water as the working fluid. The local saturation pressure and temperature vary substantially over the length of the channel. In order to correctly predict the local saturation temperature and subsequently the heat transfer characteristics, numerical techniques have been used in conjunction with the conventional two phase pressure drop models. The Lockhart–Martinelli (liquid–laminar, vapour–laminar) model is found to predict the two phase pressure drop data within 20%. The instability in two phase flow is quantified; it is found that microchannels of smaller hydraulic diameter have lesser instabilities as compared to their larger counterparts. The experiments also suggest that surface characteristics strongly affect flow stability in the two phase flow regime. The effect of hydraulic diameter and surface characteristics on the flow characteristics and stability in two phase flow is seldom reported, and is of considerable practical relevance.     

Analysis of a shielded TE011 mode composite dielectric resonator for stable frequency reference

Analysis of a TE₀₁₁ mode composite sapphire-rutile dielectric resonator has been carried out to study the temperature variation of resonance frequency, close to the Cs atomic clock hyperfine frequency of 9.192 GHz. The complementary behavior of dielectric permittivity with temperature of the composite has been exploited to obtain the desired turning point in the resonant frequency. The frequency of the composite structure is found to be independent of the shield diameter beyond four times the puck diameter.     

Photoelectric properties of pure and aluminium doped CdS films

Photoelectric properties of pure and Al doped vacuum deposited CdS films have been studied to explore the possibility of their application in photoactivated liquid crystal light valves. The effect of heat treatment in oxygen atmosphere, rate of deposition and the extent of Al doping, etc. on the resistivity, photo-response spectral characteristics, rise and decay time of photo-current, etc. have been investigated. It has been found that in contrast to pure CdS films, the properties of Al-doped films significantly depend on both the rate of deposition and the extent of Al doping. The dark resistivity in all cases was found to increase with heat treatment in oxygen. Unlike pure CdS films, Al doped films show photo-conductivity which is enhanced by heat treatment. Al doped films deposited at higher rates show better photo response even at lower light levels. At various light levels the rise and decay time of Al-doped films were found to be fairly constant and lower than that for pure CdS films. All these properties have been explained in terms of the presence of trapping levels due to doping. These trapping levels are also indicated by TSC, optical absorption and EPR studies.     

Fracture mode transitions during indentation of columnar TiN coatings on metal

Pyramidal indentations and focused-ion-beam machining have been used to study the damage during contact loading of textured columnar titanium nitride hard coatings on three steels and aluminium. The influence of the substrate hardness and coating thickness on the type and extent of fracture have been examined. In particular, the primary mechanism of deformation is shown to undergo a change from inter-columnar shear to other forms of subsurface damage. A physical model is proposed to explain this transition in the fracture mode. The implications of such behaviour for coating design are discussed.