A quantitative method for dual‐pass electrostatic force microscopy phase measurements

Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) has become a powerful tool for investigating charges on surfaces. The use of phase measurement in EFM is a direct and fast way to detect electrostatic force gradients, but only qualitatively. With the dual‐pass scheme, the phase signal at lifted height is often assumed to exclude any influences from the topography, but it does not. We report the collection of both topography and phase data by EFM on charged, micron‐sized metal wires. In order to quantify the electrostatic force, a cone model and finite element analysis are provided to integrate the force gradient from the phase signal. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

氟的离子选择电极瞬时电位法测定

研究了氟离子选择电极瞬时电位分析法，其检出限和Nernst响应下限均低于传统电位分析法，空白液切换到试液时瞬时电位达到稳定的峰电位Vp比传统电位法的响应快得多，可以实现小体积试液的快速准确分析；用该法测定了自来水和矿泉水中氟的含量；利用校正曲线的截距和检出限计算了LaF3的溶度积，在0.1mol/L KNO3介质中Ksp(LaF3)=10^-28.45，在0.001mol/L柠檬酸钠＋HAc-NaAc缓冲液（pH=5.50，离子强度I＝0.10mol/L)介质中溶度积K′sp(LaF3)=10^-26.26；据此，计算得柠檬酸与La^3 络合物的稳定常数K1=10^5.46和K2=10^3.99；用离子水合吉氏自由能ΔGh(F^-,g)解释了不同浓度F^-试液瞬时电位的跃迁时间。     

Evaluation of Multicenter Electronic Attraction, Electric Field and Electric Field Gradient Integrals with Screened and Nonscreened Coulomb Potentials over Integer and Noninteger n Slater Orbitals

By the use of complete orthonormal sets of -exponential-type orbitals, where ( = 1, 0, –1, –2,...) the multicenter electronic attraction (EA), electric field (EF) and electric field gradient (EFG) integrals of nonscreened and Yukawa-like screened Coulomb potentials are expressed through the two-center overlap integrals with the same screening constants and the auxiliary functions introduced in our previous paper (I.I. Guseinov, J. Phys. B, 3 (1970) 1399). The recurrence relations for auxiliary functions are useful for the calculation of multicenter EA, EF and EFG integrals for arbitrary integer and noninteger values of principal quantum numbers, screening constants, and location of slater-type orbitals. The convergence of the series is tested by calculating concrete cases.     

Solvent and thiourea adsorption/intercalation effects on the solid-state electrochemistry of α-phase nickel hydroxide nanoparticles

Nanoparticles of α-phase nickel hydroxide were synthesized by a single-step hydrothermal method using urea as the hydrolytic agent. Precipitated powders were of pure turbostratic α-phase as confirmed by x-ray diffraction profile. The ageing of α-Ni(OH)₂ in 1.0 M alkali solutions is investigated for pure non-intercalated α-Ni(OH)₂ and thiourea intercalated/absorbed α-phase nanomaterials. The α-Ni(OH)₂ powder immobilized on the surface of graphite electrodes shows a gradual α→β phase transformation with continuous voltammetric cycling, and the concentration gradient of water that exists in the layered-double-hydroxide-like interlayers of α-phase and the solution was shown to play a crucial role on the high electrochemical activity of this phase nickel hydroxide. To understand the role of water in the ageing process, concomitant entries of non-aqueous solvents like ethanol and acetonitrile along with thiourea were effected. Cyclic voltammetric measurements of thiourea-treated α-Ni(OH)₂ samples revealed that hydroxyl ion influx during the anodic oxidation depends on the counter flux of solvent molecules, and if the intercalated the solvent is acetonitrile, then the electrochemical activity of α-Ni(OH)₂ reduced drastically; Q _a/Q _c>1 for water as solvent in the interlayers α-Ni(OH)₂ and Q _a/Q _c<1 for ethanol and acetonitrile as solvents. The α-phase gets stabilized in the presence of thiourea with water and ethanol as co-intercalates. Transmission electron microscope images of α-Ni(OH)₂ and thiourea-treated samples show a change in particle size and morphology. Elemental CHNS analysis confirms the presence of sulphur in the thiourea intercalated samples.     

程序涂渍柱“柱效能程序效应”的研究

本文从理论上给出程序柱“柱效能程序效应”的概念并导出了函数关系式,通过计算机可计算柱效能程序效应与柱内各变量之间的关系,实践证明实验数据的变化趋势与理论数据相符。     

Ab initio calculations ofp-Cl2C6H4 molecule and its35Cl NQR parameters

Ab initio calculations ofp-dichlorobenzene molecule were carried out using the Hartree-Fock method in the 6–31 G* valence-split basis set. The molecule was also calculated by the MNDO method in the valence sp-basis set for comparison. The populations of the valent p-orbitals of the C and CI atoms were analyzed. The optimized geometry of the molecule as well as its³⁵Cl NQR frequency and the asymmetry parameter of the electric field gradient at the³⁵CI nuclei calculated using the populations of the less diffuse components of the valent p-orbitals of the Cl atoms are in agreement with the corresponding experimental values for the -modification of 1,4-Cl₂C₆H₄.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2177–2179, September, 1996.     

Encapsulation of Mithramycin in Liposomes in Response to a Transmembrane Gradient of Calcium Ions

The recent discovery that mithramycin(MTR) in aqueous solution forms a high affinity[Ca(MTR)4]2- complex led us to the idea thatCa2+-loaded liposomes might be able to accumulateMTR in their aqueous internal compartment. Wetherefore investigated the uptake of MTR into largeunilamellar vesicles (LUV) containing NaCl orCaCl2. Our data show that MTR was efficientlyaccumulated within LUV made fromdipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, onlywhen the liposomes contained Ca2+ and wereresuspended in a Ca2+-free medium. A drugencapsulation efficiency as high as 60% was achieved,at a drug to lipid molar ratio of 1/18. The circulardichroism and fluorescence excitation spectra ofliposome-encapsulated MTR (LMTR) displayed strongsimilarities with those of the [Ca(MTR)4]2-complex. LMTR was found to be stable, when submittedto conditions that destabilized the[Ca(MTR)4]2- complex. Upon dilution andincubation for 24 h at 37 °C, MTR-containingliposomes did not release a significant amount of MTR.These properties were attributed to the formation ofa high affinity complex between MTR and Ca2+inthe aqueous compartment of liposomes.     

Implementation of a general multireference configuration interaction procedure with analytic gradients in a semiempirical context using the graphical unitary group approach

The graphical unitary group approach has been applied in an efficient implementation of a general multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) method for use with small active molecular orbital spaces in a semiempirical framework. Gradients can be computed analytically for molecular orbitals from a closed-shell or a half-electron open-shell Hartree-Fock calculation. CPU times for single point energy and gradient calculations are reported. The code allows MRCI geometry optimizations of large molecules, as illustrated for the singlet ground state and the four lowest triplet states of fullerene C(76).     

A modified steepest descent method with applications to maximizing likelihood functions

In maximizing a non-linear function G(), it is well known that the steepest descent method has a slow convergence rate. Here we propose a systematic procedure to obtain a 1–1 transformation on the variables , so that in the space of the transformed variables, the steepest descent method produces the solution faster. The final solution in the original space is obtained by taking the inverse transformation. We apply the procedure in maximizing the likelihood functions of some generalized distributions which are widely used in modeling count data. It was shown that for these distributions, the steepest descent method via transformations produced the solutions very fast. It is also observed that the proposed procedure can be used to expedite the convergence rate of the first derivative based algorithms, such as Polak-Ribiere, Fletcher and Reeves conjugate gradient methods as well.     

Atomic-scale simulations for lithium dendrite growth driven by strain gradient

Dendrite formation is a major obstacle, e.g., capacity loss and short circuit,to the next-generation high-energy-density lithium(Li)-metal batteries. The development of successful Li dendrite mitigation strategies is impeded by an insu?cient understanding in Li dendrite growth mechanisms. The Li-plating-induced internal stress in Li-metal and its e?ects on dendrite growth have been widely studied, but the underlying microcosmic mechanism is elusive. In the present study, the role of the plating-...