Microstructure and electrical properties of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> and (Ba,Sr)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ferroelectric thin films on nickel electrodes

Nickel thin films have been sputtered on standard Si/SiO₂ substrates with TiO₂ as an adhesive layer. The thermal stability of these substrates was analyzed. SEM images show an increase in grain size with annealing temperature. They were found to be stable till 800°C, beyond which the nickel layer disintegrated. These substrates were used for deposition of BaTiO₃ and (Ba,Sr)TiO₃ dielectric thin films under a reducing atmosphere. The dielectric thin films were processed with various pyrolysis and annealing temperatures in order to optimize the dielectric properties. Increased pyrolysis temperatures showed an increase in the grain size. Results on these nickelised substrates were finally compared with dielectric films deposited on platinized silicon substrates under identical conditions but crystallized in an oxygen atmosphere.     

Chemical-effect variation of Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios in 3d elements

Chemical effects on Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios for some Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn compounds are studied experimentally. The X-ray spectra were measured by using a Si (Li) solid state detector with high resolution. The vacancies were produced by heavily filtered ²⁴¹Am gamma rays. It is found that the Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios measured with compounds deviated up to 43% from the corresponding values of the pure elements. The values for pure elements are compared with the other experimental and with theoretical values.     

2,2''''-联吡啶和亚铁氰化钾对乙醛酸化学镀铜的影响

以乙醛酸作还原剂、Na2EDTA为络合剂、2,2'-联吡啶和亚铁氰化钾作为添加剂组成化学镀铜体系,研究了两种添加剂对化学镀铜速率、镀层表面形貌、组成和结构的影响.结果表明:添加适量的2,2'-联吡啶和亚铁氰化钾,不仅提高了镀液的稳定性,而且使沉积速率增加1倍.这两种添加剂的同时使用,使镀层颜色变亮,形貌发生变化.所得镀层是多晶铜,没有发现夹杂Cu20.     

(XN)4R4簇合物的结构与化学键

用密度泛函理论,在B3LYP/6-311G水平上,对(XN)4R4 (X=C,Si,Ge;R=H,CH3,NH2,OH)及合成的先驱化合物(XN)2R2进行几何构型、电子结构、振动频率和化学反应焓变等进行了研究.结果表明,(RCN)4比(CNR)4更稳定.所有簇合物的零点能EZP值,R=H时最小,R=CH3时最大,R配位原子依次为C、N和O时,EZP值逐渐减小.     

The chemical synthesis of conductive polyaniline doped with dicarboxylic acids

The chemical polymerization of aniline was carried out in media containing different linear dicarboxylic acids with the use of oxidants such as K₂Cr₂O₇, KMnO₄, K₂S₂O₈, KIO₃ and FeCl₃. The highest yield and the conductivity were observed with K₂Cr₂O₇. The yield and the conductivity of the polyaniline (PAn) synthesized were observed to decrease in the order of oxalic acid > malonic acid > succinic acid > glutaric acid > adipic acid > phthalic acid. The solubility tests carried out in solvents such as DMF, DMSO and NMP showed that the larger the dopant molecule, the higher is the solubility of polyaniline. The PAn synthesized was characterized by measurements of conductivity, intrinsic viscosity, density and FTIR, UV-VIS and TGA techniques.     

(ClAlNH)n簇合物的结构与稳定性

用量子化学从头算方法（HF／6－31G）和密度泛函理论（DFT）的B3LYP方法，以6－31G标准基组加一个极化函数，对（ClAlNH)n(n=1-10)簇合物的几何构型，电子结构和红外光谱进行了优化，并讨论了聚合反应（ClAlNH)m→(ClAlNH)n的热力学效应，结果表明，（ClAlNH)n系列簇合物的基态稳定结构为Cs(n=1),D2h(n=2),D3h(n=3),Td(n=4),Cs(n=5),D3d(n=6),Cs(n=7),S4(n=8),D3h(n=9),C2h(n=10,n=2,4,6,8,10等偶数对应的（ClAlNH)n簇化合物的结构比n等于奇数量更稳定。     

Acceleration of the Passerini reaction in the presence of nucleophilic additives

An accelerating effect of nucleophilic additives was revealed for the Passerini multi-component reaction. The influence of aqueous solutions on the reaction rate was studied in detail and the direct involvement of water in the bond-making step was attributed as the basis of an accelerating effect. Other nucleophiles were tested as alternatives to water; as a result N-hydroxysuccinimide is proposed as an accelerant of the Passerini reaction.     

Concerning the Thermal Diastereomerization of the Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore

Summary. Two model compounds for the green fluorescent protein chromophore were prepared. One of them incorporates the natural 4-hydroxybenzylidene group of the natural tyrosin derived chromophore, the other one bears a methyl group instead of the hydroxy group. Whereas the photochemically prepared (E)-diastereomer of the first compound very effectively reverted thermally (room temperature) to the thermodynamically stable (Z)-diastereomer, the (E)-diastereomer of the second derivative proved to be stable even at elevated temperatures for more than a day. This finding can be rationalized by constructing the appropriate resonance structures showing that only in the first case an effective delocalization enables partial single bond character of the benzylidene double bond. From the standpoint of chemical etiology, only Nature’s choice of the tyrosin derived chromophore of the green fluorescent protein provides an efficient radiationless thermal relaxation channel for the unwanted photo-diastereomerization product formed after excitation besides the dominating fluorescence channel of its chromophore.     

Direct determination of sulfite in food samples by a biosensor based on plant tissue homogenate

In the work described here, a biosensor was developed for the determination of sulfite in food. Malva vulgaris tissue homogenate containing sulfite oxidase enzyme was used as the biological material. M. vulgaris tissue homogenate was crosslinked with gelatin using glutaraldehyde and fixed on a pretreated Teflon membrane. Sulfite was enzymatically converted to sulfate in the presence of the dissolved oxygen, which was monitored amperometrically. Sulfite determination was carried out by standard curves, which were obtained by the measurement of consumed oxygen level related to sulfite concentration. Several operational parameters had been investigated: the amounts of plant tissue homogenate and gelatin, percentage of glutaraldehyde, optimum pH and temperature. Also, some characterization studies were done. There was linearity in the range between 0.2 and 1.8 mM at 35 °C and pH 7.5. The results of real sample analysis obtained with the biosensor agreed well with the enzymatic reference method using spectrophotometric detection.     

Molecular potential-energy surfaces for chemical reaction dynamics

This paper reviews the construction of molecular potential-energy surfaces by an interpolation method which has been developed over the last several years. The method uses ab initio quantum chemistry calculations of the molecular electronic energy in an automated procedure to construct global potential- energy surfaces which can be used to simulate chemical reactions with either classical or quantum dynamics. The methodology is explained and several applications are presented to illustrate the approach. Received: 22 February 2002 / Accepted: 2 May 2002 / Published online: 6 November 2002 Correspondence to: M. A. Collins e-mail: collins@rsc.anu.edu.au Acknowledgements. The methods described in this overview are the result of collaborations with former members of my group, in particular with Josef Ischtwan, Meredith Jordon, Keiran Thompson and Ryan Bettens. I am also indebted for inspiration gained from many discussions with my colleagues Leo Radom and Donghui Zhang (National University of Singapore). This work has been supported by the Supercomputer Facility of the Australian National University and the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing.