Superconductivity in ultrasmall metallic grains

We review recent experimental and theoretical work on superconductivity in ultrasmall metallic grains, i.e. grains sufficiently small that the conduction electron energy spectrum becomes discrete. The discrete excitation spectrum of an individual grain can be measured by the technique of single‐electron tunneling spectroscopy, and reveals parity effects indicative of pairing correlations in the grain. After introducing the discrete BCS model that has been used to model such grains, we review a phenomenological, grand‐canonical, variational BCS theory describing the paramagnetic breakdown of these pairing correlations with increasing magnetic field. We also review recent canonical theories that have been developed to describe how pairing correlations change during the crossover, with decreasing grain size, from the bulk limit to the limit of few electrons, and compare their results to those obtained using Richardson's exact solution of the discrete BCS model.     

Structural relaxation of Ti40Zr25Ni8Cu9Be18 bulk metallic glass

Ti₄₀Zr₂₅Ni₈Cu₉Be₁₈ bulk metallic glass has a unique quenched-in nuclei/amorphous matrix structure. The crystallization of quenched-in nuclei, when the experimental isothermal annealing time is within its incubation time, may not disturb the enthalpy relaxation, which makes it have the accordingly common enthalpy relaxation behavior with amorphous materials. The alloy's annealing time dependence of recovery enthalpy follows a stretched exponential function with the mean relaxation time obeying an Arrhenius law. The equilibrium recovery enthalpy ΔH_T^eq, mean relaxation time τ and stretching exponent β are all dependent on the annealing temperature, and generally, a higher annealing temperature comes with a lower value of ΔH_T^eq, τ and a higher value of β. Two parameters, β_g and τ_g, representing the stretching exponent and the mean structural relaxation time at the calorimetric glass transition temperature, respectively, are correlated with glass forming ability and thermal stability, respectively. For Ti₄₀Zr₂₅Ni₈Cu₉Be₁₈ BMG, the high value of β_g, which is much higher than 0.84 and approaches unity, reveals its good glass forming ability, while, on the other hand, the low value of τ_g indicates a worse thermal stability compared with typical BMGs.     

不均匀性:非晶合金的灵魂

非晶合金,即金属玻璃,是一类特殊的由基本化学元素组成的非晶态物质,由于其独特的微观组织结构,展现出了不同于传统晶态合金材料的特殊物性,而成为高性能材料应用领域的重要一员.由于非晶合金的结构无序性,且当前精确表征其微观结构的实验手段缺乏,相应的理论模型也不完善,人们对非晶合金中一些基础物理问题的认识尚且不足,无法形成基本的理论框架来精确地描述其物性产生的微观机理.因而,当前非晶合金研究的核心问题可以概括为:如何建立以微观特征或结构为基础的基本理论框架,准确地概括非晶合金物性的微观机理.在过去几十年里,针对非晶合金的大量研究表明,在非晶合金长程无序的特征中,隐藏着本征的不均匀性和有序,且这些不均匀性的特征与材料物性有着密切的关联,使得建立以不均匀性特征为基础的理论框架成为可能.本文从非晶合金微观特征的不均匀性包括静态不均匀性和动态不均匀性的视角出发,概括性地总结了非晶合金材料与物理研究中取得的丰硕成果,及当前需要关注的重要科学问题,并针对未来可能的研究模式进行了展望.     

溶液中金属元素的激光诱导击穿光谱

利用激光击穿光谱的方法对水溶液样品中的金属元素进行定性和定量分析。分别采用竖直喷流(口径0.5 mm)和静止液面两种样品采样模式,针对不同质量浓度的Cd,Fe,Al和Pb元素进行了检测分析并得到了其定标曲线(线性拟合相关度基本在0.99以上),初步确定了4种元素在喷流模式下的检测限为0.206 5(Cd),0.147 6(Fe),0.061 9(Al)和0.200 9(Pb)g/L;静止液面模式下的检测限为0.050 1(Cd),0.0239(Fe),0.014 8(Al)和0.006 9(Pb)g/L。实验所得的结果为检测工业废水中金属元素的含量提供了依据。     

Application of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering in cell analysis

In surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), the scattered intensity is drastically increased due to a resonant interaction with surface plasmons of coin metals. SERS is a nondestructive spectroscopic method applied also to biomedical samples. It inherits the advantages of normal Raman spectroscopy and at the same time overcomes the inherent low sensitivity problem. These properties endow SERS with exciting opportunities to be a successful analytical tool for cell analysis. SERS can be used to detect only molecules located on or close to the metallic nanostructures which can support surface plasmon resonances for the enhancement of the Raman signals. Therefore, these metallic nanostructures play a key role in the application of SERS in cell analysis. By incorporating the SERS substrates into the biosamples, molecular structural probing and cellular imaging become possible. In the past decade, analysts worldwide have developed many schemes to study the chemical changes and component distribution in cells by using SERS. In this paper, the application of SERS in cell analysis is reviewed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical phase front control in a metallic grating with equally spaced alternately tapered slits

A technique capable of focusing and bending electromagnetic （EM） waves through plasmonic gratings with equally spaced alternately tapered slits has been introduced. Phase resonances are observed in the optical response of transmission gratings, and the EM wave passes through the tuning slits in the form of surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） and obtains the required phase retardation to focus at the focal plane. The bending effect is achieved by constructing an asymmetric phase front which results from the tapered slits and gradient refractive index （GRIN） distribution of the dielectric material. Rigorous electromagnetic analysis by using the two-dimensional （2D） finite difference time domain （FDTD） method is employed to verify our proposed designs. When the EM waves are incident at an angle on the optical axis, the beam splitting effect can also be achieved. These index-modulated slits are demonstrated to have unique advantages in beam manipulation compared with the width-modulated ones. In combination with previous studies, it is expected that our results could lead to the realization of ootimum designs for plasmonic nanolenses.     

Sensitive determination of diuron on zinc oxide nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode in soil and water samples

An electrochemical sensor based on Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) modified carbon paste electrode was designed for the toxic diuron pesticide detection. The ZnONPs were synthesized through the hydrothermal route and their structural properties were investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction powder (XRD). The designed ZnONPs-modified carbon paste electrode (ZnONPs-CPE) was characterized using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The sensor showed significantly enhanced sensitivity on the diuron oxidation peak current, compared to the bare carbon paste electrode. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). Experimental parameters such as pH, amount of ZnONPs and frequency were evaluated and the optimized conditions were obtained with 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution at pH=8, a frequency of 50 Hz and a quantity of 5 mg of ZnONPs. Under these conditions, linear responses ranging from 1.3 to 7.7 μM and 8.6 to 30 μM of diuron were obtained, with correlation coefficients of R²=0.994 and 0.996 respectively. Detection and quantification limits of 0.22 μM and 0.84 μM (S/N=3) were respectively achieved based on the 3σ method. The interference of some ions on the oxidation peak of diuron on ZnONPs-CPE was also evaluated and no interference was observed, therefore demonstrating the selectivity of the sensor. The proposed sensor, designed with ecofriendly materials, is sensitive, selective and was effectively used for diuron determination in soils and water samples with recoveries ranging from 98 % to 101.5 %.     

New MgLi based Mg-Li-Cu-(Y, Gd) BMGs: Preparation, glass forming ability and mechanical properties

Through calculating the forming enthalpy by Modified Miedema Model, new MgLi-based bulk amorphous alloys Mg-Li-Cu-(Y, Gd) have been successfully designed and fabricated by conventional copper mold injection casting method. The X-ray diffractometer and differential scanning calorimeter results indicated that the as-cast Mg-Li-Cu-(Y, Gd) alloys were fully amorphous structure after casting to critical diameter as large as 4 mm and 2 mm. The experimental results also proved that with increasing Li content (3 at.%-8 at.%), the supercooled liquid region temperature of Mg-Li-Cu-(Y, Gd) alloys gradually decreased accompanying the reduce of glass forming ability. It was also found that appropriate addition of metal Li effectively increased the fracture strength and elastic strain and reduced their corresponding densities. The maximal fracture strength reached 468 MPa and 478 MPa, respectively, which were much higher than normal MgLi-based crystalline alloys (~ 300 MPa).     

Effect of cooling rate in [(Fe0.5Co0.5)0.75B0.2Si0.05]100-xNbx alloy system on magnetic properties

The effect of cooling rate on the thermal stability and soft magnetic properties of [(Fe_0.5Co_0.5)_0.75B_0.2Si_0.05]_100-xNb_x (x = 5, 6, 7, 8 at. %) system was investigated. The alloys were produced into the form of ribbon and cylindrical rod by melt-spinning and injection casting, respectively. Their structure, thermal, mechanical and soft magnetic properties were investigated by x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, universal testing machine and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. All of the alloys were identified as fully amorphous by X-ray diffraction. It turned out that the rod samples had exceptionally high saturation fields reaching 3.0 kOe, which is key properties for sensor application. Also, among these Fe,Co-based samples, the Fe_35.25 Co_35.25 B_18.8 Si_4.70 Nb₆ ribbon exhibits the highest saturation magnetization with 142.1 emu/g.     

卵形钢弹对铝合金靶板侵彻问题的数值模拟

 基于球形空穴膨胀理论（SCE）,采用ABAQUS有限元商业软件并结合其子程序的二次开发功能对钢弹侵彻金属靶进行3D有限元数值模拟。根据空穴膨胀理论,靶体对侵彻弹体的影响可以用一个作用在弹体表面的力函数代替,这样在进行数值模拟时就无须划分靶体网格,也避免了复杂的接触问题,从而使模拟大大简化。模拟所用卵形弹为VAR 4340钢弹,靶体为6061-T6511铝合金。模拟过程中考虑到弹体的可变形性和入射时的微小偏航角等实际情况,并且考虑到了弹身在运动过程中和靶体的接触分离效应。所得模拟结果与文献中的实验结果进行了比较,发现模拟结果与实验结果吻合得很好,并得到了一些有意义的推论。