Complete suppression of metastable phase and significant enhancement of magnetic properties of B-rich PrFeB nanocomposites prepared by devitrifying amorphous ribbons

The effect of refractory element addition on phase transformation, crystallization behavior and magnetic properties of Pr_8.5Fe_81.5B₁₀ (addition-free) and Pr_8.5Fe_81.5M₂B₁₀ (M=V, Cr, Nb, Zr, Ti) ribbons has been investigated. The annealed addition-free ribbon as well as the samples with V or Cr additions are mainly composed of the metastable Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ phase, whereas annealed ribbons with Nb, Zr or Ti additions primarily consist of Pr₂Fe₁₄B and a minor amount of Fe₃B/boride. The complete suppression of the metastable Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ phase due to Nb, Zr or Ti additions leads to a significant enhancement of the magnetic properties. For example, the remanence, the coercivity and the energy product are remarkably increased from 2.5 kG, 0.4 kOe and 0.2 MG Oe for the addition-free material to 9.2 kG, 4.7 kOe and 7.6 MG Oe for the specimens with Nb addition. The successful elimination of the metastable Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ phase is believed to profit from two factors: (a) Nb, Zr or Ti atoms substitute the Pr site, comparatively increase the Pr content, and thus inhibit the nucleation of Pr-lean Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ phases, and (b) the formation of Nb, Zr, or Ti borides consumes some part of B, which hinders the generation of the B-rich Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ phase.     

Mesoporous material grafted with luminescent molecules for the design of selective metal ion chemosensor

Luminescent Schiff-base groups have been successfully grafted on the surface of mesoporous material MCM-48. The grafted Schiff-base groups were employed to prepare luminescent Schiff-base-Zn complex that was covalently bound to the MCM-48 surface. These luminescent mesoporous materials were characterized with X-ray, UV-VIS and emission spectroscopic methods. Experimental results demonstrated that MCM-48 modified with functional groups exhibited novel luminescent property. The chemosensing property of modified MCM-48 sample was investigated. It was demonstrated that the fluorescence of MCM-48 solid with Schiff-base groups could be completely quenched by Cu²⁺ cation and this mesoporous material was suitable for sensing Cu²⁺ cation in aqueous media.     

Broadband sound generation by confined pulsating jets in a mechanical model of the human larynx

Experiments were performed to study the production of broadband sound in confined pulsating jets through orifices with a time-varying area. The goal was to better understand broadband sound generation at the human glottis during voicing. The broadband component was extracted from measured sound signals by the elimination of the periodic component through ensemble averaging. Comparisons were made between the probability density functions of the broadband sound in pulsating jets and of comparable stationary jets. The results indicate that the quasi-steady approximation may be valid for the broadband component when the turbulence is well established and the turbulence kinetic energy is comparatively large. A wavelet analysis of the broadband sound showed that random sound production was modulated at the driving frequency. Two distinct sound production peaks were observed during one cycle, presumably associated firstly with jet formation and secondly with flow deceleration during orifice closing. Most high-frequency sound was produced during the closing phase. Deviations from quasi-steady behavior were observed. As the driving frequency increased, sound production during the opening phase was reduced, possibly due to the shorter time available for turbulence to develop. These results may be useful for better quality voice synthesis.     

The intruder orbitals in superdeformed bands and alignment additivity of odd–odd nuclei in the region

The particle-number conserving (PNC) method for treating the cranked shell model with monopole and quadrupole pairing correlations is used to study the superdeformed (SD) bands observed in odd–odd nuclei in the A190 mass region. Spins are assigned to the levels in these bands. The microscopic mechanism of the ω evolution of the dynamic moment of inertia J⁽²⁾ for these SD bands are analyzed. In particular, the major roles of the j_15/2 neutron and i_13/2 proton orbitals played in the SD bands are investigated in detail by contributions to J⁽²⁾ from each cranked orbital and interference terms between two cranked orbitals. Additivity in the A190 mass region is investigated. The experimental evidence for additivity of alignments in ¹⁹²Tl can be reproduced by our calculations.     

Coupled mode analysis of in-plane channel drop filters with resonant mirrors

A channel drop filter system that consists of two waveguides and three cavities is studied. One cavity couples with both waveguides, while the other two work as resonant mirrors to reflect the selected channel back into the system. The operation of this configuration is analyzed, using coupled mode theory. The conditions to achieve 100% in-plane channel transfer are derived. A method to suppress the side lobes of reflection and backward drop is also proposed. The direct coupling between the cavities is not required. The analysis is verified by two-dimensional finite difference time domain simulations in 2D hexagonal photonic crystals.     

Resonantly enhanced off-specular X-ray scattering from polymer/polymer interfaces<Superscript>⋆</Superscript>

We have used measurements of the absolute intensity of diffuse X-ray scattering to extract the interfacial tension of a buried polymer/polymer interface. Diffuse scattering was excited by an X-ray standing wave whose phase was adjusted to have a high intensity at the polymer/polymer interface and simultaneously a node at the polymer/air interface. This method permits the capillary-wave-induced roughness of the interface, and hence the interfacial tension, to be measured independently of the polymer/polymer interdiffusion.     

Influence of current on field-driven domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires from time resolved measurements of anisotropic magnetoresistance

The motion of magnetic domain walls in permalloy nanowires is investigated by real-time resistance measurements. The domain wall velocity is measured as a function of the magnetic field in the presence of a current flowing through the nanowire. We show that the current can significantly increase or decrease the domain wall velocity, depending on its direction. These results are understood within a one-dimensional model of the domain wall dynamics which includes the spin transfer torque.     

Improved constraints on D0-D0 mixing in D0 --> K+ pi- decays from the Belle detector

We report the results of a search for D0-D0 mixing in D0 --> K+ pi- decays based on 400 fb(-1) of data accumulated by the Belle detector at KEKB. Both assuming CP conservation and allowing for CP violation, we fit the decay-time distribution for the mixing parameters x and y, as well as for the parameter R(D), the ratio of doubly Cabibbo-suppressed decays to Cabibbo-favored decays. The 95% confidence level region in the (x'2,y') plane is obtained using a frequentist method. Assuming CP conservation, we find x'2 < 0.72 x 10(-3) and -9.9 x 10(-3) < y' < 6.8 x 10(-3) at the 95% confidence level; these are the most stringent constraints on the mixing parameters to date. The no-mixing point (0,0) has a confidence level of 3.9%. Assuming no mixing, we measure R(D) = (0.377 +/- 0.008 +/- 0.005)%.     

Membrane tube pearling induced by a coupling of osmotic pressure and nanoparticle adhesion

ABSTRACT

In this work, a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation method that belongs to the class of dissipative particle dynamics scheme with implicit solvent was used to indicate that adsorption of nanoparticles (NPs) inside a lipid membrane tube and pressure difference across the membrane, e.g. osmotic pressure, cooperatively induce membrane tube pearling. We demonstrate that NP adsorption and aggregation initiate the shape transformation of the lipid tube, and pressure difference provides a driving force for pearling transition. Depending on the dynamic coupling of tube shape transition and NP aggregation in the interior of the tube, different shape transitions via four kinds of pearling pathways are recognised, including pearls on a string (i.e. vesicles are interconnected via either a chain or double-chain of NPs) and tube-to-vesicle transition that is dominated kinetically either by NP-membrane attraction or by pressure difference. Considering the fact that biological membranes are semipermeable and many proteins interact with the membranes, these findings not only provide a mechanism of membrane tube pearling but also demonstrate the importance of osmotic pressure and protein–membrane interaction for many cell activities related to shape transitions of biomembrane.     

Langmuir-Blodgett self-assembly and electrochemical catalytic property of FePt magnetic nano-monolayer

Dispersed-well FePt nanoparticles with particle size ~5 nm have been prepared by hydrazine hydrate reduction of H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O and FeCl₂·4H₂O in ethanol–water system. By employing as-synthesized FePt nanoparticles, the monolayer can be formed by LB Technique. The structural, magnetic properties and electrochemical properties of FePt monolayer were respectively studied by XRD, TEM, VSM and CHI 820 electrochemical workstation. The as-synthesized particle has a chemically disordered fcc structure and can be transformed into chemically ordered fct structure after annealing treatment above 400°C. The coercivity of ordered fct FePt phase can be up to 2515Oe. CVs of 0.5 M H₂SO₄/0.5M CH₃OH on GCE modified with FePt nanoparticles monolayer films illustrate that the as-synthesized FePt is a kind of active electrochemical catalyst.