A conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy study of pulsed laser treatment at α-Fe2O3/H2O interface

Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) has been synthesized for the first time by using pulsed ruby laser induced reactive quenching process at α-Fe₂O₃/H₂O interface. Iron foils (99.99% pure) were oxidised at 450° C for four hours to form a thick layer of α-Fe₂O₃ on it. These oxidised samples were immersed in water and then treated with ruby laser pulses (λ=0.694 μm, pulse width = 30 ns, energy density = 10 J/cm²). The conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) has been used to characterize the laser induced surface modifications. It is shown that laser treated samples show the formation of Fe₃O₄ phase along with FeO. The stability of magnetite phase in laser treated sample against thermal treatment is also studied by investigating the changes in hyperfine interaction parameters upon vacuum annealing at 300° C.     

Microwave absorption studies of MgB2 superconductor

Microwave absorption studies have been carried out on MgB₂ superconductor using a standard X-band EPR spectrometer. The modulated low-field microwave absorption signals recorded for polycrystalline (grain size ∼ 10 μm) samples suggested the absence of weak-link character. The field dependent direct microwave absorption has been found to obey a ✓H dependence with two different slopes, which indicated a transition from strongly pinned lattice to flux flow regime.     

A conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy study of ion beam mixing at Fe: Polyethylene interface

The effects of ion beam induced atomic mixing at the Fe-Polyethylene interface have been investigated by means of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy [CEMS]. It is shown that the as deposited and ion beam mixed composites exhibit distinctly different features. In particular, the ion beam mixed composite shows that presence of Fe²⁺ state in polyethylene matrix along with the Fe?C austenite like phase.     

Enantiomeric separation of novel anticancer agent 5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en-1-one

The enantiomers of 5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en-1-one, a novel anticancer agent, were separated by derivatisation with caronaldehyde, separation of the resulting diastereoisomers of the corresponding esters by silica gel column chromatography and regeneration of alcohols (S)-5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en-1-one and (R)-5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en-1-one under aqueous conditions. The absolute configuration of the enantiomers was determined by 1H NMR studies of the corresponding Mosher esters. Alternatively, the enantiomers were separated by preparative HPLC to collect the (S)- and (R)-5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en-1-ones with high purity which was comparable with that obtained by the chemical method. The details of these methods have been presented herein.     

Methane and carbon dioxide adsorption on edge-functionalized graphene: A comparative DFT study

With a view towards optimizing gas storage and separation in crystalline and disordered nanoporous carbon-based materials, we use ab initio density functional theory calculations to explore the effect of chemical functionalization on gas binding to exposed edges within model carbon nanostructures. We test the geometry, energetics, and charge distribution of in-plane and out-of-plane binding of CO(2) and CH(4) to model zigzag graphene nanoribbons edge-functionalized with COOH, OH, NH(2), H(2)PO(3), NO(2), and CH(3). Although different choices for the exchange-correlation functional lead to a spread of values for the binding energy, trends across the functional groups are largely preserved for each choice, as are the final orientations of the adsorbed gas molecules. We find binding of CO(2) to exceed that of CH(4) by roughly a factor of two. However, the two gases follow very similar trends with changes in the attached functional group, despite different molecular symmetries. Our results indicate that the presence of NH(2), H(2)PO(3), NO(2), and COOH functional groups can significantly enhance gas binding, making the edges potentially viable binding sites in materials with high concentrations of edge carbons. To first order, in-plane binding strength correlates with the larger permanent and induced dipole moments on these groups. Implications for tailoring carbon structures for increased gas uptake and improved CO(2)/CH(4) selectivity are discussed.     

Refractive Indices,Density and Order Parameter of Some Technologically Important Liquid Crystalline Mixtures

Temperature variation of the refractive indices, birefringence, density and order parameter of liquid crystalline mixtures E₇, E₈, N10 and PCH-1132 are reported. The birefringence of PCH-1132 is found to be abnormally low compared to other mixtures.     

A conversion electron mössbauer spectroscopic study of structural relaxations and diffusive transport near the surface of Fe67Co18B14Si1 metglass

Structural relaxations and diffusive transport near the surface of Fe₆₇Co₁₈B₁₄Si₁ metglass have been studied by means of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy [CEMS]. It is shown that the relaxations occurring near the surface of the metglass consequent on thermal treatment exhibit distinctly different features as compared to those in the bulk. The difference in the thermally induced atomic transport near the surface region of the metglass and, that at the interface between the metglass and a deposited overlayer of iron has also been investigated.     

X-ray K-absorption studies ofsome ruthenium compounds

X-ray K-absorption studies of ruthenium in ruthenium metal,RuO₂, K₂(RuCl₆) and K₄[Ru(CN)₆]: 3H₂O have been carried out using 400 mm bent crystal (mica) spectrograph. K-absorption edge of ruthenium in these compounds lies on the higher energy side with respect to that in the ruthenium metal; the divalent K₄[Ru(CN)₆]·3H₂O gives the shift in the range of tetravalent compounds RuO₂ and K₂[RuCl₆]. This discrepancy has been explained on the basis of molecular orbital picture.     

Effect of N 2 + ion implantation on the oxidation behaviour of Fe50Ni50 alloy

The high temperature oxidation behavior of Fe₅₀Ni₅₀ alloy foils implanted with 100 KeV N₂ ⁺ ions at a different dose values is studied by using the technique of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS). It has been shown that the implanted foils exhibit considerable adherence of scales and higher oxidation resistance as compared to the virgin foils. This excessive adherence of scales to the surface and higher resistance to oxidation of implanted samples is attributed to nickel enrichment in the surface layers. Various oxides of Fe, Ni and Fe?Ni are identified from the hyperfine interaction parameters of the corresponding CEMS spectra and also from x-ray diffraction measurements.