An efficient multigrid-FEM method for the simulation of solid–liquid two phase flows

An efficient multigrid-FEM method for the detailed simulation of solid–liquid two phase flows with large number of moving particles is presented. An explicit fictitious boundary method based on a FEM background grid which covers the whole computational domain and can be chosen independently from the particles of arbitrary shape, size and number is used to deal with the interactions between the fluid and the particles. Since the presented method treats the fluid part, the calculation of forces and the movement of particles in a subsequent manner, it is potentially powerful to efficiently simulate real particulate flows with huge number of particles. The presented method is first validated using a series of simple test cases, and then as an illustration, simulations of three big disks plunging into 2000 small particles, and of sedimentation of 10,000 particles in a cavity are presented.     

Spin exchange interaction through phenylene-ethynylene bridge in diradicals based on iminonitroxide and nitronylnitroxide radical derivatives. 1. Experimental investigation of the through-bond spin exchange coupling

A series of bis-iminonitroxide diradical derivatives of different lengths and geometry have been prepared that incorporate a conjugated phenylene-ethynylene bridge as a rigid spacer. This paper describes the synthesis of these new components and their main characterizations. An unexpected singlet ground state and substituent effects on the singlet-triplet gap have been found for substituted "m-phenylene"-based diradicals. The effects of the pi-conjugation on the intramolecular through-bond spin coupling have been investigated by changing the length of the spacer within linear derivatives. The EPR studies demonstrate the intramolecular magnetic coupling between the radical spins within all compounds. This result is very attractive and unusual, given the large distance between the radicals from 15 A in the dimer to 36 A in the pentamer.     

Oxide catalyst for the combustion of organic compounds in industrial waste gases

An oxide catalyst for combustion of organic compounds in exhaust gases from plastics plants has been developed. As the active catalyst phase, cupric cobaltate is supported on -Al₂O₃ carrier. Its catalytic activity in the test reaction of propylene oxidation was compared with that of the platinum catalyst used so far. The results show that the new catalyst can replace platinum in the above process.

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. (II) -Al₂O₃. . , .

     

Formation of InAs quantum dots in silicon by sequential ion implantation and flash lamp annealing

InAs quantum dots (QDs) were successfully formed in single-crystalline Si by sequential ion implantation and subsequent milliseconds range flash lamp annealing (FLA). Samples were characterized by μ-Raman spectroscopy, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and low temperature photoluminescence (PL). The Raman spectrum shows two peaks at 215 and 235 cm^?1 corresponding to the transverse optical (TO) and longitudinal optical (LO) InAs phonon modes, respectively. The PL band at around 1.3 μm originates from the InAs QDs with an average diameter 7.5±0.5 nm and corresponds to the increased band gap energy due to the strong quantum confinement size effect. The FLA of 20 ms is sufficient for InAs QDs formation. It also prevents the out-diffusion of implanted elements. Moreover, the silicon layer amorphized during ion implantation is recrystallized by solid-phase epitaxial regrowth during FLA.     

Experimental apparatus for investigation of sputtering and secondary ion emission induced by energetic ion beams

The construction of an experimental apparatus, for investigation of implantation, secondary ion emission and sputtering processes, during irradiation of samples with an ion beam of up to 70 keV energy, is described. The basis of the apparatus is an electromagnetic mass separator equipped with a quadrupole mass spectrometer located in the collector chamber. The computer data acquisition control system makes it possible to perform the experimental measurements with high accuracy and precision. Preliminary results of secondary ion mass spectral measurements, obtained for C, Al, Si and Cu targets bombarded with Ar(+) and Kr(+) ions, are presented.     

Built-in axial base binding on phenanthroline-strapped zinc(II) and iron(III) porphyrins

In addition to the need for functional models of cytochrome c oxidase, structural models are still required for a better understanding of the small reorganizations occurring during the catalytic cycle. An efficient synthetic approach has been designed to prepare several phenanthroline-strapped porphyrins, two of them bearing two pendant imidazoles. These built-in bases are both potentially able to act as axial bases for the metalloporphyrin and as complementary ligands for copper if necessary. Diamagnetic zinc(II) was used to demonstrate that the distal/proximal selectivity demonstrated by exogenic bases binding studies can be extended to the coordination of iron(III). Combination of EPR and paramagnetic 1H NMR shows that the imidazole binding on the zinc species can be further extended to the iron(III) species in dilute conditions.