The Effect of Boundary Conditions on Gas-phase Synthesised Silver Nanoparticles

We have prepared spherical non-agglomerated silver nanoparticles by an evaporation–condensation–dilution/cooling technique. Silver was evaporated from a crucible in a tubular flow reactor. A porous tube diluter was used to quench the carrier gas at the outlet of the reactor to enhance the formation of small particles and to suppress agglomeration and other particle growth mechanisms. The number size distribution of the prepared particles was measured with a differential mobility analyser–condensation nucleus counter combination and the size and the shape of the particles were analysed with transmission electron microscope. The system was modelled using a sectional aerosol dynamics computer code to estimate the importance of different aerosol processes. In all conditions the particles obtained were non-agglomerated and spherical. The mean particle diameter varied from 4 to 10-nm depending on boundary conditions. From the modelling studies it can be concluded that the nucleation rate is the most important parameter controlling the final particle size.     

Correlated and non-correlated growth kinetics of pentacene in the sub-monolayer regime

We present a study of the growth kinetics of pentacene monolayer islands on SiO₂ in the submonolayer regime by using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Two distinct growth modes, namely correlated growth (CG) and non-correlated growth (NCG), have been identified by Voronoi tesselation. These two modes are characterized by different island growth kinetics. In the case of correlated growth, the average island size 〈A〉 scales with deposition time t i.e. 〈A〉 ∝ t whereas for non-correlated growth, 〈A〉 ∝ t². The CG and NCG regimes are defined by the level of re-evaporation which determines the capture zones around the islands: Wigner-Seitz cells for CG and coronas of width λ_D (λ_D is the mean diffusion distance on SiO₂ before re-evaporation) for NCG. A simple model is proposed to reproduce the experimental growth kinetics in both modes.     

Structural studies of Cr-doped mullite derived from single-phase precursors

Cr-doped mullites were prepared from single-phase precursors containing up to 9.60 wt% Cr₂O₃ using a sol-gel technique followed by thermal treatment. Particle induced X-ray emission spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction were used to characterize the samples. Mullites were orthorhombic, space group Pbam. Cr doping caused the increase of unit-cell parameters. Strongest expansion was noticed along c-axis followed by a and b (Δc/c=0.089, Δa/a=0.061, Δb/b=0.045% per mole Cr₂O₃). A second phase, namely θ-(Al,Cr)₂O₃, was revealed by XRD in the sample containing 9.60 wt% Cr₂O₃. The structure of mullites was refined by the Rietveld method, location of Cr³⁺ was performed by the EPR spectroscopy. At low chromium doping level (Cr₂O₃ content less than ∼5 wt%) Cr³⁺ ions were substituted for Al³⁺ in the AlO₆ octahedra of the mullite structure (M1 site). For higher doping level, Cr³⁺ ions were additionally substituted for Al³⁺ in the AlO₆ octahedra of the second phase [θ-(Al,Cr)₂O₃ at 1400 °C, or α-(Al,Cr)₂O₃ at 1600 °C] which segregated in the system. Substitution of Cr³⁺ for Al³⁺ on M1 site in the mullite structure resulted in increase of average distances in (M1)O₆ octahedron and decrease of average distances in T*O₄ tetrahedron, while average distances in TO₄ tetrahedron stayed almost constant.     

油价波动对国民经济影响模型构建与应用

为了科学构建原油价格波动与国民经济发展的关系,在借鉴国内外专家学者相关模型基础上,考虑不同国民经济指标对油价波动的时滞反馈等因素,构建油价波动对国民经济影响模型.利用原油价格波动对国民经济发展的动态模型,对模型的各部分关系系数进行确定,最后根据所得到的模型对国民经济影响进行实际分析与预测,并得出规避油价波动影响风险的措施.     

The steady state growth rate of a recrystallization front in regions of heterogeneous dislocation density

The paper investigates whether a change from a homogeneous to an inhomogeneous dislocation distribution, assumed to be caused by a slight additional deformation, can lead to an increase of the recrystallization temperature of a deformed metal. In this case, the higher temperature would indicate a more stable deformation structure despite the increase of stored energy. The recrystallization temperature is related to the growth rate. Hence, the steady state velocity of a recrystallization front moving either parallel or vertically to the stripes of a simplified two-dimensional heterogeneous dislocation distribution of parallel sections of higher and lower dislocation densities is calculated. The results show that if a front growths through the high and low density sections in series an overall slower rate despite higher mean dislocation density is, indeed, possible. However, growing in the parallel arrangement always leads to a higher growth rate compared with the homogeneous case of slightly less stored energy. Since in a real structure the faster growth is likely to succeed, the recrystallization temperature observed will be lowered with additional deformation in accordance with experimental experience.     

An efficient lasing action from pyrromethene 556 dye-doped organically modified silicates

Organically modified solid-state silicates (ORMOSILS) doped with a new laser dye 1,3,5,7,8-pentamethylpyrromethene-2,6-disulfonate-BF₂ complex (pyrromethene 556) have been synthesized by a sol-gel method and the compositional effects on pore characteristics, fluorescence and lasing properties have been investigated. It is found that the use of dimethylsulfoxide and γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane could greatly change the structure properties of sol-gel derived ORMOSILS cage, and thus the fluorescence and lasing properties of the materials could improve significantly. A successful laser oscillation from this dye-doped ORMOSILS sample has been achieved upon pumping with a Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. A slope efficiency of 54% with a useful lifetime greater than 10,000 shots has been demonstrated at a pump repetition rate of 1 Hz and a pump intensity of 1 J/cm² by using the new ORMOSILS cage on our newly designed laser system. Our results have shown that it is possible to obtain a high-efficiency with a long-lifetime for a compact new laser device by low cost dye-doped solid-state ORMOSILS.     

A note on the growth of topological Sidon sets

We give an estimate for the number of elements in the intersection of topological Sidon sets inR ⁿ with compact convex subsets and deduce a necessary and sufficient conditions for an orbit of a linear transformation ofR ⁿ to be a topological Sidon set.     

Properties of sol-gel dip-coated zinc oxide thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films were deposited on glass substrates by the sol-gel dip coating method using acrylamide route. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction studies which indicated wurtzite structure. Optical absorption measurements indicated band gap in the range 3.17-3.32 eV. XPS studies indicated the formation of ZnO. The resistivity of the films were in the range 1000-10,000 ohm cm.     

A kinetic Monte Carlo method on super-lattices for the study of the defect formation in the growth of close packed structures

A modified Kinetic Lattice Monte Carlo model has been developed to predict growth rate regimes and defect formation in the case of the homo-epitaxial growth of close packed crystalline structures. The model is an improvement over standard Monte Carlo algorithms, which usually retain fixed atom positions and bond partners indicative of perfect crystal lattices. Indeed, we extend the concepts of Monte Carlo growth simulations on super-lattices containing additional sites (defect sites) with respect to those of the reference material. This extension implies a reconsideration of the energetic mapping, which is extensively presented, and allows to describe a complex phenomenology that is out of accessibility of standard stochastic approaches. Results obtained using the Kawasaki and the Bond-Counting rules for the transition probability of the Monte Carlo event are discussed in details. These results demonstrate how the defect types (local or extended), the formation mechanisms and the defect generation regimes can be characterized using our approach.     

Indirect boundary element method for unsteady linearized flow over prolate and oblate spheroids and hemispheroidal protuberances

The indirect boundary element method was used to study the hydrodynamics of oscillatory viscous flow over prolate and oblate spheroids, and over hemispheroidal bodies hinged to a plate. Analytic techniques, such as spheroidal coordinates, method of images, and series representations, were used to make the numerical methods more efficient. A novel method for computing the hydrodynamic torque was used, since for oscillatory flow the torque cannot be computed directly from the weightings. Instead, a Green's function for torque was derived to compute the torque indirectly from the weightings. For full spheroids, the method was checked by comparing the results to exact solutions at low and high frequencies, and to results computed using the singularity method. For hemispheroids hinged to a plate, the method for low frequencies was checked by comparing the results to previous results, and to exact solutions at high frequencies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.