Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe2

The weakly pinned single crystals of the hexagonal 2H-NbSe₂ compound have emerged as prototypes for determining and characterizing the phase boundaries of the possible order-disorder transformations in the vortex matter. We present here a status report based on the ac and dc magnetization measurements of the peak effect phenomenon in three crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, in which the critical current densities vary over two orders of magnitude. We sketch the generic vortex phase diagram of a weakly pinned superconductor, which also utilizes theoretical proposals. We also establish the connection between the metastability effects and pinning.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a Decamethyleuropocene Complex Supported by a “Clamshell” Ligand

Abstract  

The coordination of decamethyleuropocene to a “clamshell” 1,2-bis(imino)acenaphthene (BIAN) ligand is accompanied by a one-electron redox process. The crystal structure of the Eu³⁺ product has been determined. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1, with a = 12.065(2), b = 15.391(3), c = 17.266(4) ?, α = 73.71, β = 73.93(3), γ = 81.40(3)°, V = 2948.3(10) ?³ and Z = 2. The pyridine moiety of the clamshell ligand is not coordinated to the Eu³⁺ center.     

The influence of a transverse magnetic field on a subnormal glow discharge in air

In subnormal glow discharge under d.c. excitation at different pressure in a varying transverse magnetic field (0 to 30 G) some measurements have been carried out for various initial average tube currents. The voltage across the discharge increases and average tube current and residual current decreases in the magnetic field. With the help of Beckman’s expression [4] for the axial field and the electron density distribution in a transverse magnetic field the observed variation of current and voltage can be satisfactorily explained. The variation of axial electric field with transverse magnetic field can be represented to a fair degree of accuracy by the derived equation. The behaviour of residual current with magnetic field has been observed in these oscillations.     

Integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems

An integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems is developed and illustrated. Buoyancy-driven convection in a bounded cylindrical geometry with a free surface is studied for a range of aspect ratios and Nusselt numbers. The critical Rayleigh number, the nature of the cellular motion, and the heat transfer enhancement are computed using linear theory. Green's functions are used to convert the linear problem into linear Fredholm integral equations. Theorems are proved which establish the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the linear integral operator which appears in these equations.     

Comparative study between gas phase and liquid phase for the production of DMC from methanol and CO2

Direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from methanol and carbon dioxide over Co1.5PW12O40 in liquid and in gas phase is investigated. The synthesized catalyst has been characterized by means of FTIR and XRD. Liquid phase experiment results showed that high pressures are favorable for the synthesis of DMC. However, DMC formation is limited by the reaction with co-produced water. DMC selectivity is more strongly dependent on the temperature than on the pressure of CO2. As for the reactions in gas phase, it has been found that both CH3OH conversion and DMC selectivity decreased with increasing temperature, owing to the decomposition of DMC at high temperatures. High temperatures and more amount of Co1.5PW12O40 catalyst favor the formation of dimethoxymethane (DMM) and methyl formate (MF).     

Determination of isoniazid and hydrazine by capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection at a Pt-particle modified carbon fiber microelectrode

Capillary electrpphoresis (CE)/electrochemical detection (EC) for the simultane-ous determination of hydrazine and isoniazid has been developed.The electrochemical method uses a novel modified electrode dispersed with ultrafine platinum particles on the surface of a 30μm carbon fiber microelectrode.The unique characteristic of the Pt-particles modified carbon fiber microelectrode is its excellent stability.The current measurement for hydrazine is more sensitive than that of isoniazid.Selective determination of trace amount of free hydrazine in isoniazid and its formulation can be achieved at applied potential of 0.5V.     

Microwave Synthesis of Copolymers Based on Itaconic Acid Moiety and Their Utility for Scavenging of Copper (II) and Lead (II)

We report here the preparation of the two copolymers, itaconic acid-methyl methacrylate and itaconic acid-acrylamide, in different ratios using microwave irradiation in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator and 2-butanone as a solvent. All the prepared copolymers were characterized by different techniques; FT-IR, thermal analysis and elemental microanalysis. The thermal stability property of the prepared copolymers correlated with the changing of the itaconic acid ratio, as the ratio of itaconic acid increased, the crystallinity of the copolymer decreases. The itaconic acid-based copolymers also showed a good scavenging behavior in alkaline media for Cu (II) and Pb (II). The chelation behavior of both Cu (II) and Pb (II) complexes were checked using FT-IR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetery (DSC).     

Investigating the vortex melting phenomenon in BSCCO crystals using magneto-optical imaging technique

Using a novel differential magneto-optical imaging technique we investigate the phenomenon of vortex lattice melting in crystals of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ (BSCCO). The images of melting reveal complex patterns in the formation and evolution of the vortex solid-liquid interface with varying field (H)/temperature (T). We believe that the complex melting patterns are due to a random distribution of material disorder/inhomogeneities across the sample, which create fluctuations in the local melting temperature or field value. To study the fluctuations in the local melting temperature/field, we have constructed maps of the melting landscape T _m(H, r), viz., the melting temperature (T _m) at a given location (r) in the sample at a given field (H). A study of these melting landscapes reveals an unexpected feature: the melting landscape is not fixed, but changes rather dramatically with varying field and temperature along the melting line. It is concluded that the changes in both the scale and shape of the landscape result from the competing contributions of different types of quenched disorder which have opposite effects on the local melting transition.     

The application of novel spindle-like polypyrrole hollow nanocapsules containing Pt nanoparticles in electrocatalysis oxidation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)

Novel spindle-like polypyrrole hollow nanocapsules containing Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs/PPy composite hollow nanospindles) were successfully prepared by using beta-akaganeite (β-Fe(3+)O(OH,Cl)) nanospindles as templates and methanoic acid as a reducing agent. The β-Fe(3+)O(OH,Cl) templates can be easily obtained in ethanol/water mixing solution in the presence of thiophene and FeCl(3)·6H(2)O, and after coating by PPy shell, they can be gradually and completely etched during the reduction of H(2)PtCl(6) into Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) with the average size of 3.6 nm on spindle-like polypyrrole hollow nanocapsules, which could still keep their integrality of morphologies with the thickness of PPy shell of 18-20 nm. The investigation of Pt NPs/PPy composite hollow nanospindles modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the application to detect nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometry indicated good linearity and sensitivity of responses in the certain range of NADH concentration. The influence of Pt NPs content to the NADH oxidation current was also studied. This new kind of unique spindle-like noble metal/conducting polymer hollow nanostructured complex can be acted as a good steady electrode material for electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH.     

Oxidation of phenol by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by metal-containing poly(amidoxime) grafted starch

Polyamidoxime chelating resin was obtained from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) grafted starch. The nitrile groups of the starch-grafted polyacrylonitrile (St-g-PAN) were converted into amidoximes by reaction with hydroxylamine under basic conditions. The synthesized graft copolymer and polyamidoxime were characterized by FTIR, TGA and elemental microanalysis. Metal chelation of the polyamidoxime resin with iron, copper and zinc has been studied. The produced metal-polyamidoxime polymer complexes were used as catalysts for the oxidation of phenol using H(2)O(2) as oxidizing agent. The oxidation of phenol depends on the central metal ion present in the polyamidoxime complex. Reuse of M-polyamidoxime catalyst/H(2)O(2) system showed a slight decrease in catalytic activities for all M-polyamidoxime catalysts.