The structure of CeAlO3 by Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction data

The room temperature structure of perovskite CeAlO₃ has been reinvestigated by X-ray powder diffraction. The Rietveld refinement has confirmed the tetragonal symmetry; but revealed a super cell, a=5.32489(6) Å and c=7.58976(10) Å, with the space group I4/mcm. In CeAlO₃, the distortion from the ideal cubic perovskite is caused by the cooperative tilting of the AlO₆ octahedra around the primitive cubic [001]_p-axis.     

Two-Frequency Brillouin Fiber Laser Based on Bragg Grating Fabry-Perot Cavity

A novel and simple two-frequency Brillouin fiber laser is presented. It is based on a fiber Fabry-Perot cavity with fiber Bragg gratings as reflectors. The model of stimulated Brillouin scattering in fiber grating-based Fabry-Perot resonator is investigated. The laser allows conversion efficiency of close to 100% and suppresses the higher-order Stokes waves. The theoretical prediction is presented and the experimental demonstration is realized.     

The role of As2O3 on the stability and some physical properties of PbO-Sb2O3 glasses

PbO-Sb₂O₃ glasses added with different concentrations of As₂O₃ (10-55 mol%) were prepared to understand their IR spectra, elastic properties (Young's modulus E, Shear modulus G, microhardness H), optical absorption and dielectric properties (constant ε, loss tan δ, ac conductivity σ_ac over a moderately wide range of frequency and temperature and breakdown strength in air medium at room temperature). Results have indicated that the structure of the PbO-Sb₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass is more rigid when the concentration of As₂O₃ is around 40 mol%.     

过渡金属表面γ-氨丙基三甲氧基硅烷膜的研究

本文对在过渡金属铁、镍电极表面制备得到的γ-氨丙基三甲氧基硅烷(γ-APS)膜进行了研究。实验中对硅烷膜用X-射线光电子能谱(XPS)、现场表面增强拉曼散射光谱(SERS)和原子力显微镜(AFM)进行了表征。X-射线光电子能谱(XPS)的结果发现存在两个N1s峰,表明γ-APS膜中的氨基有两种存在方式:自由氨基和质子化氨基。实验中还发现现场表面增强拉曼散射光谱(SERS)是研究金属/γ-APS体系中界面层结构非常有效的手段,SERS结果表明硅醇羟基和氨基发生了竞争吸附,且γ-APS分子在外加电位等条件的影响下吸附状态会发生一定变化。原子力显微镜(AFM)的表征结果在微观上显示电极表面的γ-APS膜上形成了一种较规则的微孔结构,这种结构可能与基底的性质有关。     

Crystal and Molecular Structure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bis</Emphasis>(2,3-pentamethylene-3,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinazolinium) Tetrachlorocuprate(II) Sesquihydrate

The structure of bis-(2,3-pentamethylene-3,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinazolinium) tetrachlorocuprate (II) sesquihydrate, (C₁₃H₁₅N₂O)₂[CuCl₄]·1.5H₂O, was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. In contrast to the previously studied analogs, the compound contains crystallization water molecules.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by K. K. Turgunov, B. Tashkhodzhaev, L. V. Molchanov, and Kh. M. Shakhidoyatov__________Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 955–959, September–October, 2004.     

Structural and vibrational properties of dilute GaNxAs1−x(P1−x)

We report a comprehensive analyzes of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption and Raman scattering data on the structural and vibrational properties of dilute ternary GaAs_1−xN_x,[GaP_1−xN_x] (x<0.03) alloys grown on GaAs [GaP] by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and solid source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). By using realistic total energy and lattice dynamical calculations, the origin of experimentally observed N-induced vibrational features are characterized. Useful information is obtained about the structural stability, vibrational frequencies, lattice relaxations and compositional disorder in GaNAs (GaNP) alloys. At lower composition (x<0.015) most of the N atoms occupy the As [P] sublattice {N_As[N_P]}—they prefer moving out of their substitutional sites to more energetically favorable locations at higher x. Our results for the N-isotopic shifts of local mode frequencies compare favorably well with the existing FTIR data.     

A Semiconductor Laser of the Visible Range as an Exciting Source of Raman Scattering

A possibility of application of semiconductor lasers of the visible range as exciting sources for Raman spectroscopy is studied. An experimental set-up for measuring Raman spectra of polycrystalline dielectrics and broad-gap semiconductors excited by a semiconductor laser with a wavelength of 640 nm was created. The conditions under which the spectral width of the lasing line of a semiconductor laser was within 10^-3 cm^-1 in the continuous mode with a power of 10 mW are realized. The characteristics of various types of exciting sources used in Raman spectroscopy are compared. The results of studies of the characteristic Raman spectra excited with a semiconductor laser in polycrystalline sulfur are presented.     

Biopolymers for biocatalysis: Structure and catalytic mechanism of hydroxynitrile lyases

Hydroxynitrile lyases catalyze the reversible cleavage of α-cyanohydrins to yield hydrocyanic acid and the corresponding aldehyde or ketone. Besides its biological interest, this class of enzymes is also of relevance in industrial biocatalysis for the enantioselective condensation of HCN with a variety of aldehydes and ketones. Several distinctly different types of hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) are known, which must have originated through convergent evolution from different ancestral proteins. Three-dimensional structural data are known for three classes of hydroxynitrile lyases. Insights into the reaction mechanisms emerged from a combination of structural, enzyme kinetic, spectroscopic, and molecular modeling data. For all three types of HNLs, mechanisms involving acid–base catalysis were proposed. In members belonging to the α,β-hydrolase type, the amino acid residues of the catalytic triad presumably act as general acid/base, whereas for flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent HNLs a single histidine residue fulfills this function. In the third type of HNL—which is related to carboxypeptidase—acid–base catalysis involves the carboxylate of the C-terminal residue. The catalytic relevance of a positive electrostatic potential in the active site was suggested in some of the mechanistic proposals. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 479–486, 2004     

Stereological simulations of asymmetric polymerization in channels of bile acid inclusion compounds: A detailed analysis of the monomer arrangements in the channels

We studied simulations by computer graphics to estimate the steric mechanism of the asymmetric polymerization of prochiral diene monomers in channels of inclusion compounds of steroidal bile acids, such as deoxycholic acid (DCA) and cholic acid. We applied a hierarchization method to interpret the crystal structures of bile acids, clarifying that the chiral host molecules associated to form characteristic 2₁-helical assemblies with uneven surfaces. A detailed analysis of the uneven channels in a close-packing state indicated that there were many possible arrangements of the monomers in the channels. The plausible arrangements in the channel could explain a previous study, which showed that the polymerization in the DCA channel yielded chiral polymers with a predominant configuration from prochiral diene monomers, such as 2-methyl-trans-1,3-pentadiene. On the basis of such simulation studies of the arrangements of guest monomers in the channel, we examined a plausible steric mechanism for asymmetric inclusion polymerization. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4648–4655, 2004     

LAXS investigation of finger phantoms

Osteoporosis is a bone condition that is caused mainly by the degradation of trabecular and cortical bone resulting in the decrease of bone strength and eventually leads to bone fracture. A low angle X-ray scattering (LAXS) system that uses mainly the coherent scattering process for the characterisation of materials was constructed to study such bone conditions. Several finger phantoms were fabricated to simulate bone of varying densities. The LAXS method was able to identify the changes in bone density quite well by comparing energy dispersive X-ray diffraction patterns as well as the angular patterns. Quantitative information can be extracted from such patterns that relate to bone loss. Signature patterns at low exposure times were produced in order to reduce the dose received with reasonable identification power but at slightly higher statistical errors compared with long exposure patterns. Use of other parameters to increase the sensitivity was attempted.