A comparative first-principles study on electronic structures and mechanical properties of ternary intermetallic compounds Al8Cr4Y and Al8Cu4Y: Pressure and tension effects

An investigation into the bulk properties, elastic properties and Debye temperature under pressure, and deformation mode under tension of Al₈Cu₄Y and Al₈Cr₄Y compounds was investigated by using first principles calculations based on density functional theory. The calculated lattice constants for the ternary compounds (Al₈Cu₄Y and Al₈Cr₄Y) are in good agreement with the experimental data. It can be seen from interatomic distances that the bonding between Al1 atom and Cr, Y, and Al2 atoms in Al₈Cr₄Y are stronger than Al₈Cu₄Y. The results of cohesive energy show that Al₈Cr₄Y should be easier to be formed and much stronger chemical bonds than Al₈Cu₄Y. The bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν can be obtained by using the Voigt–Reuss–Hill averaging scheme. From the results of elastic properties, Al₈Cr₄Y has the stronger mechanical behavior than Al₈Cu₄Y. Our calculations also show that pressure has a greater effect on mechanical behavior for both compounds. The ideal tensile strength are obtained by stress-strain relationships under [001](001) uniaxial tensile deformation, which are 15.4 and 23.4 GPa for Al₈Cu₄Y and Al₈Cr₄Y, respectively. The total and partial density of states and electron charge density under uniaxial tensile deformations for Al₈Cu₄Y and Al₈Cr₄Y compounds are also calculated and discussed in this work.     

Growth characteristics of spherical titanium oxide nanoparticles during the rapid gaseous detonation reaction

The nanosize grain growth characteristics of spherical single-crystal titanium oxide (TiO₂) during the rapid gaseous detonation reaction are discussed. Based on the experimental conditions and the Chapman–Jouguet theory, the Kruis model was introduced to simulate the growth characteristics of spherical TiO₂ nanoparticles obtained under high pressure, high temperature and by rapid reaction. The results show that the numerical analysis can satisfactorily predict the growth characteristics of spherical TiO₂ nanoparticles with diameters of 15–300 nm at different affecting factors, such as concentration of particles, reaction temperature and time, which are in agreement with the obtained experimental results. We found that the increase of the gas-phase reaction temperature, time, and particle concentration affects the growth tendency of spherical nanocrystal TiO₂, which provides effective theoretical support for the controllable synthesis of multi-scale nanoparticles.     

Vibration of strings with nonlinear supports

The dynamic string motion, which displacement is unilaterally constrained by the rigid termination condition of an arbitrary geometry has been simulated and analyzed. The treble strings of a grand piano usually terminate at a capo bar, which is situated above the strings. The apex of a V-shaped section of the capo bar defines the end of the speaking length of the strings. A numerical calculation based on the traveling wave solution is proposed for modeling the nonlinearity inducing interactions between the vibrating string and the contact condition at the point of string termination. It was shown that the lossless string vibrates in two distinct vibration regimes. In the beginning the string starts to interact in a nonlinear fashion with the rigid terminator, and the resulting string motion is aperiodic. Consequently, the spectrum of the string motion depends on the amplitude of string vibrations, and its spectral structure changes continuously with the passage of time. The duration of that vibration regime depends on the geometry of the terminator. After some time of aperiodic vibration, the string vibrations settle in a periodic regime where the resulting spectrum remains constant.     

Towards predicting the solubility of CO2 and N2 in different polymers using a quasi-SMILES based QSPR approach

The solubility of gases in various polymers plays an important role for the design of new polymeric materials. Quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) models were designed to predict the solubility of gases such as CO₂ and N₂ in polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) at different temperatures and pressures by using quasi-SMILES codes. The dataset of 315 systems was split randomly into training, calibration and validation sets; random split 1 led to 214 training (r² = 0.870 and RMSE = 0.019), 51 calibration (r² = 0.858 and RMSE = 0.020) and 50 validation (r² = 0.869 and RMSE = 0.017) sets. The suggested approach based on the quasi-SMILES, which are analogues of the traditional SMILES gives reasonable good predictions for solubility of CO₂ and N₂ in different polymers. The described methodology is universal for situations where the aim is to predict the response of an eclectic system upon a variety of physicochemical and/or biochemical conditions.     

Electrolyte system strategies for anionic isotachophoresis with electrospray‐ionization mass‐spectrometric detection. 1. Regular isotachophoresis and free‐acid isotachophoresis

The subject of this work is the definition of a simple model based on general ITP theory that allows describing and predicting the behavior of ITP systems compatible with ESI‐MS detection. The model is exemplified by anionic ITP of weak acids that represent an interesting potential application field of ITP‐ESI‐MS. Suitable ESI‐compatible electrolyte systems of very simple composition are proposed including a special free‐acid ITP arrangement. The properties of these systems are discussed using illustrative diagrams of their stacking windows. The use of anionic ITP‐ESI‐MS in negative‐ion ESI mode is reported for the first time and its suitability for sensitive trace analysis is demonstrated. The presented ITP‐ESI‐MS application example comprises a free‐acid ITP system formed of formic and propionic acids and direct injection analysis of ibuprofen and diclofenac in waters with quantitation limits of the order 10^?10 M.     

Conference summary on the first international workshop on advanced superhard materials

Composite diamond anvils have been developed for high-pressure/high-temperature measurements of diamond anvil cells. The anvils are fabricated using single-crystal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from previously used and/or slightly damaged anvils made of natural or synthetic diamond. These composite anvils can be fabricated to possess optical characteristics at least comparable to conventional diamond anvils, whereas the single-crystal CVD portion is more durable because of its enhanced toughness relative to natural diamond. The viability of such anvils is demonstrated in measurements on hydrogen at megabar pressures and high temperature.     

Unexpected formation of β, meso-directly linked diporphyrins under Adler–Longo reaction conditions

Unexpected formation of β, meso-directly linked diporphyrin products has been described in the reactions of β-formyl porphyrins with pyrrole under Adler–Longo reaction conditions. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicates that β-dipyrromethane substituted porphyrin structure is the crucial intermediate for the formation of diporphyrin product.     

Facile synthesis of 4″-O-alkyl-(–)-EGCG derivatives through regioselective deacetylative alkylation

Therapeutic potential of the D-ring methyl ethers of (–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate [(–)-EGCG] warrants extensive structure–activity relationship study of various D-ring ethers of (–)-EGCG but, for this purpose, efficient synthetic strategy needs to be developed. In this study, efficient preparation of the 4″-O-alkyl-(–)-EGCGs (4a–e) was demonstrated using KI/K₂CO₃-promoted deacetylative alkylation of peracetyl (–)-EGCG, which could be broadly utilized for the preparation of various D-ring alkyl ethers of (–)-EGCG and thereby extensive structure–activity relationship study.