Site specific effects in alloy surface reactivity probed by Li ions

We investigated site specific reactivity of the α-Cu-Al(17 at.%)(1 0 0) alloy surface versus that of Al and Cu by measuring neutralisation of Li⁺ ions. Experiments show that Li⁺ neutralisation on the α-CuAl(1 0 0) alloy surface does not occur efficiently on Al and is somewhat more efficient on Cu as compared to a pure Cu sample, indicating depletion of electron density on Al and transfer to neighboring Cu. It can thus be concluded that Cu sites in presence of Al are more reactive in the sense that processes involving electron capture from the surface would proceed more efficiently on these.     

Strain rate effects on compressive behavior of covalently bonded CNT networks

In this study, strain rate effects on the compressive mechanical properties of randomly structured carbon nanotube (CNT) networks were examined. For this purpose, three-dimensional atomistic models of CNT networks with covalently-bonded junctions were generated. After that, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of compressive loading were performed at five different strain rates to investigate the basic deformation characteristic mechanisms of CNT networks and determine the effect of strain rate on stress–strain curves. The simulation results showed that the strain rate of compressive loading increases, so that a higher resistance of specimens to deformation is observed. Furthermore, the local deformation characteristics of CNT segments, which are mainly driven by bending and buckling modes, and their prevalence are strongly affected by the deformation rate. It was also observed that CNT networks have superior features to metal foams such as metal matrix syntactic foams (MMSFs) and porous sintered fiber metals (PSFMs) in terms of energy absorbing capabilities.     

ICP-AES测定高浓度基体下杂质元素的偏最小二乘法研究

建立了ICP-AES测定高浓度基体中微量杂质元素的偏最小二乘方法(PLS)。研究表明,PLS能有效校正高浓度基体干扰引起的测量误差,比多元光谱拟合法(MSF)能承受的基体浓度更高。当基体与杂质的含量比为1 000∶1～20 000∶1时,该方法的加标回收率在95%～105%之间。对于干扰效应与基体浓度呈非线性相关的体系,普通PLS的预测准确度不高,但使用基于样品浓度矩阵变换的偏最小二乘法(LIN-PPLS),则明显改善了预测的准确度。分别用MSF、普通PLS和LIN-PPLS对水系沉积物国家标准物质GBW07312中的Co,Pb和Ga进行测定,结果表明,LIN-PPLS的预测准确度优于普通PLS,而普通PLS的预测准确度优于MSF。     

Exchange coupling and helical spin order in the triangular lattice antiferromagnet CuCrO₂ using first principles

The magnetic and electronic properties of the geometrically frustrated triangular antiferromagnet CuCrO2 are investigated by first principles through density functional theory calculations within the generalized gradient approximations (GGA)+U scheme. The spin exchange interactions up to the third nearest neighbours in the ab plane as well as the coupling between adjacent layers are calculated to examine the magnetism and spin frustration. It is found that CuCrO2 has a natural two-dimensional characteristic of the magnetic interaction. Using Monte-Carlo simulation, we obtain the Neel temperature to be 29.9 K, which accords well with the experimental value of 24 K. Based on non-collinear magnetic structure calculations, we verify that the incommensurate spiral-spin structure with (110) spiral plane is believable for the magnetic ground state, which is consistent with the experimental observations. Due to intra-layer geometric spin frustration, parallel helical-spin chains arise along the a, b, or a + b directions, each with a screw-rotation angle of about 120°. Our calculations of the density of states show that the spin frustration plays an important role in the change of d-p hybridization, while the spin-orbit coupling has a very limited influence on the electronic structure.     

Advantages of using multiple-echo image combination and asymmetric triangular phase masking in magnetic resonance venography at 3 T

The present work explores the possibility of localizing veins with magnetic resonance venography using susceptibility weighted imaging. It also seeks new approaches, directed by the spatial specificity of activated brain regions, that have sufficient precision for practical use in functional MRI studies. A 3D flow compensated multiple gradient echo sequence, featuring optimized T2* weighting within a reasonable time of acquisition (11 min) and a small voxel size (0.5x0.5x1 mm3), was used to acquire MR images at 3 T. Post-processing consisted of homodyne filtering, linear phase scaling and magnitude masking prior to minimum intensity projection (mIP). The multiple echo approach provided a satisfactory (48+/-7%) increase in signal-to-noise ratio with respect to conventional methods. Specific features of the blood oxygenation level-dependent phase effect were simulated and used for designing and exploring different phase masking methods in relation to vessel morphology and MRI voxel geometry. As with simulations, the best results were obtained with an asymmetric triangular phase masking, featuring an improved venographic contrast without any increase in the full-width at half-maximum. The multiple echo approach provided satisfactory vessel localization capacity by using asymmetric triangular phase masking and a 4-mm-thick mIP. The venographic contrast obtained enabled the detection of vessels with diameter down to approximately 500 microm, suggesting the applicability of the proposed method as an additional technique in fMRI studies.     

Computational study of plasma-surface interaction in plasma-assisted technologies

The influence of the unevenness of substrates immersed into plasma important for plasma-based treatment of materials were studied by computer experiment. The role of both substrate properties and plasma parameters was investigated. For this analysis the combination of multidimensional fluid modelling and particle simulation was used. The fluid part of our model consisted of continuity equations for all charged species, energy balance equation for electrons and Poisson equation. The basic scattering processes were also included. The particle simulation technique was used both for the calculation of electron energy distribution function and for the derivation of quantities characterising plasma-surface interaction. This approach enabled us to study in detail the structure of the sheath and presheath near metal substrates with realistic geometries and finite dimensions. The main attention was devoted to the influence of substrate geometry in both macroscopic and microscopic spatial scales on the local electric fields in plasma.     

The correspondence between Casimir pressure and energy in one-dimensional field models

We propose a method of calculation of Casimir pressure using the Green function for one-dimensional case. This method yields the renormalized pressure if an external field is absent, otherwise it permits us to calculate the dependence of pressure at one boundary on the other boundary’s coordinate. The calculated pressure permits one to obtain the Casimir energy for the systems under consideration.     

Physisorption kinetics of electrons at plasma boundaries

Plasma-boundaries floating in an ionized gas are usually negatively charged. They accumulate electrons more efficiently than ions leading to the formation of a quasi-stationary electron film at the boundaries. We propose to interpret the build-up of surface charges at inert plasma boundaries, where other surface modifications, for instance, implantation of particles and reconstruction or destruction of the surface due to impact of high energy particles can be neglected, as a physisorption process in front of the wall. The electron sticking coefficient s_e and the electron desorption time τ_e, which play an important role in determining the quasi-stationary surface charge, and about which little is empirically and theoretically known, can then be calculated from microscopic models for the electron-wall interaction. Irrespective of the sophistication of the models, the static part of the electron-wall interaction determines the binding energy of the electron, whereas inelastic processes at the wall determine s_e and τ_e. As an illustration, we calculate s_e and τ_e for a metal, using the simplest model in which the static part of the electron-metal interaction is approximated by the classical image potential. Assuming electrons from the plasma to loose (gain) energy at the surface by creating (annihilating) electron-hole pairs in the metal, which is treated as a jellium half-space with an infinitely high workfunction, we obtain s_e≈10^-4 and τ_e≈10^-2 s. The product s_eτ_e≈10^-6 s has the order of magnitude expected from our earlier results for the charge of dust particles in a plasma but individually s_e is unexpectedly small and τ_e is somewhat large. The former is a consequence of the small matrix elements occurring in the simple model while the latter is due to the large binding energy of the electron. More sophisticated theoretical investigations, but also experimental support, are clearly needed because if s_e is indeed as small as our exploratory calculation suggests, it would have severe consequences for the understanding of the formation of surface charges at plasma boundaries. To identify what we believe are key issues of the electronic microphysics at inert plasma boundaries and to inspire other groups to join us on our journey is the purpose of this colloquial presentation.     

Hamiltonian map approach to 1D Anderson model

A one-dimensional diagonal tight binding electronic system is analyzed with the Hamiltonian map approach to study analytically the inverse localization length of an infinite sample. Both the uncorrelated and the dichotomic correlated random potential sequences are considered in the evaluations of the inverse localization length. Analytical expressions for the invariant measure or the angle density distribution are the main motivation of this work in order to derive analytical results. The well-known uncorrelated weak disorder result of the inverse localization length is derived with a clear procedure. In addition, an analytical expression for high disorder is obtained near the band edge. It is found that the inverse localization length goes to 1 in this limit. Following the procedure used in the uncorrelated situation, an analytical expression for the inverse localization length is also obtained for the dichotomic correlated sequence in the small disorder situation.     

X-ray diffuse scattering from incommensurable structures

X-Ray diffuse scattering from a series of examples where the reason for the existence of incommensurable features is fairly well understood, is described. They include in particular non stoichiometric compounds such as [DIPS Φ₄(l₃)0.76] and such as intercalated graphite RbC₂₄. and quasi one dimensional conductors. A particular emphasis is given on various 1 - D conductors and to the relation of the incommensurability to the characteristics of the electron conduction bands.