X-ray, Raman and FTIRS studies of the microstructural evolution of zirconia particles caused by the thermal treatment

Genesis of the structure of zirconia particles prepared by precipitation of amorphous hydrated zirconia by ammonia from the ZrO(NO₃)₂ solution followed by a mild hydrothermal treatment (HTT) of precipitate, washing and calcination under air up to 1000 °C has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and FTIRS. As revealed by FTIRS of lattice modes, the local structure of amorphous zirconia subjected to HTT is close to that in m-ZrO₂. This helps to obtain nearly single-phase monoclinic nanozirconia (particle size 5-15 nm) already after a mild calcination at 500 °C. Stability of this phase with nanoparticles sizes below the critical value determined by thermodynamic constraints is due to its excessive hydroxylation demonstrated by FTIRS. Dehydroxilation and sintering of these nanoparticles at higher (600-650 °C) temperatures of calcination leads to reappearance of the (111) “cubic” reflection in XRD patterns. Modeling of XRD patterns revealed that this phenomenon could be explained by polysynthetic (001) twinning earlier observed by HRTEM.     

Synthesis of E-1-(alkoxy-NNO-azoxy)-2-arylethenes by the reaction of bis(alkoxy-NNO-azoxy)methanes with benzyl halides under conditions of phase-transfer catalysis

Reaction of bis(methoxy- and ethoxy-NNO-azoxy)methane with benzyl halides and alkali under the conditions of a phase-transfer catalysis furnishes in one stage E-1-(alkoxy-NNO-azoxy)-2-arylethene in 21–55% yields. The intermediate products, 1,1-bis(alkoxy-NNO-azoxy)-2-arylethanes under the action of alkali eliminate one of the two alkoxy-NNO-azoxy groups with the formation of a double bond. The optimum solvent is DMSO, and as benzyl halides, benzyl chlorides. In the case of 4-bromobenzyl bromide a formation was found of a side bisbenzylation product, 1,3-bis(4-bromophenyl)-2,2-bis(methoxy-NNO-azoxy)propane.     

Synthesis and structure of 2,3,6,8,10,13,14-heptaaza-6,8,10-trinitro-4,12-dioxapentadeca-2,13-diene 2,14-bisoxide

Alkylation of potassium salt of methylnitrosohydroxylamine with 1,7-dichloro-2,4,6-triaza-2,4,6-trinitroheptane afforded 2,3,6,8,10,13,14-heptaaza-6,8,10-trinitro-4,12-dioxapentadeca-2,13-diene 2,14-dioxide. The structure of the reaction product was established by X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Angular dependences of spin-wave resonance spectra of inhomogeneous films with orthorhombic anisotropy

Zero spin-wave mode in inhomogeneous magnetic films with orthorhombic anisotropy has been found to exhibit a change of its localization region in two of three typical angular dependences of resonance fields of high-intensity modes. It has been shown that the anisotropy fields on both sides of the film can be determined from the resonance fields of the zero and uppermost high-intensity spin-wave modes of spin-wave resonance spectra.     

Structural study of highly dispersed cerium dioxides

Cerium dioxide samples of different dispersivity, obtained by different methods, have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, full-profile analysis of diffraction patterns, calculation of radial distribution function (RDF) of electron density, and extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. According to the XRD data, the samples studied can be identified in the fluorite structure with conventional unit-cell parameters. However, the local structure of highly dispersed samples, determined by the RDF and EXAFS methods, changes: the coordination spheres for the Ce-O distances are represented by two distances.     

Effect of the difference in the uniform resonance fields in the layers of a bilayer film on spin-wave resonance spectra

It is shown that effective spin pinning in a multilayer can be provided by both the layer that is in the state of reactive (elastic) medium and (at a sufficiently large difference in the uniform-resonance fields) by the layer serving a dispersive medium for spin waves.     

Influence of the texture and acid-base properties of the alumina-containing support on the formation of Co(Ni)-Mo catalysts for deep hydrodesulfurization of the diesel fraction

The influence of the texture of γ-Al₂O₃ on the formation of Co(Ni)-Mo catalysts for hydrodesulfurization of the diesel fraction is studied. As shown by low-temperature N₂ adsorption, X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy of adsorbed molecules, and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM), use of a support with a larger specific surface and a lower total concentration of terminal OH groups makes it possible to prepare more active catalysts. The electron density radial distribution method shows that the finely dispersed cobaltcontaining catalyst in its initial state contains CoMoO₄, Al₂(MoO₄)₃, and CoAl₂O₄, the last two phases being present in trace amounts. After the reaction, this catalyst contains cobalt-doped molybdenum sulfide. According to HREM data, the active phase of the cobalt-containing catalyst consists of layered sulfide association species Co_1.3Mo₂S_3.3, which differ in composition from the bulk phase CoMo₂S₄. It is assumed that, out of the 1.3 cobalt atoms in Co_1.3Mo₂S_3.3 0.3 Co occurs at the edges of the association species and 1.0 Co is intercalated into their interlayer space, and 0.7 S at the boundary between the association species and the Al₂O₃ phase is replaced by the corresponding amount of oxygen.