Effect of Halide Ions on the Electronic Conductivity in Calcium Borate Glasses

Some halogen-doped calcium borate glasses containing iron have been prepared according to the percentage molar composition [(30 – x) CaO · x CaX₂ · 10 Fe₂O₃ · 60 B₂O₃] and annealed. It is found that the conduction in the semiconducting glasses is mainly due to electronic conduction. The results show that the halide ions may be introduced as modifiers for CaX₂ concentration < 10 mol% (X >= F, Cl, and Br) but they are network formers at CaX₂ > 10 mol%. It is proposed that at 10 mol% the network structure for all glasses seems to be the same. The dependence of resistivity on the halide ions concentration as well as the slight variation of activation energies, could be explained on the basis of electron-lattice interaction. Mathematical expressions for fitting and describing the dependence of resistivity on CaX₂ concentration are deduced and formulated by the following equations: ϱ = ϱ₀ exp [± ac(1 – bc)] and ϱ ϱ= ±₁₀ exp [± a′c(1 – b′c)] for the two regions around the critical concentration.     

Simulations of shock waves in solids

Molecular dynamic shock wave simulations have been carried out for face centered cubic (f.c.c.) and body centered cubic (b.c.c.) solids using Lennard-Jones and Morse potentials for the interatomic interactions. The Hugoniot conservation relations were accurately obeyed in all of these calculations. The shock wave profiles may vary with the interatomic potential and the crystal structure, effects most clearly shown by the temperature profile near the shock front. The Lennard-Jones solids are intensitive to a change in structure but the Morse solids appear sensitive to crystal structure, at least in comparing b.c.c. with f.c.c. It was shown that the average shock wave temperature can be calculated from a combination of the Hugoniot conservation relations and the Mie-Grüneisen equation of state. The temperature calculated this way is in good agreement with the average shock wave temperature obtained in the computer simulations.     

Aspect-ratio dependent oscillatory thermocapillary convection in the floating half zone

The dependency of the critical Marangoni number on the geometrical aspect ratio of the floating half zone is essential to predict the onset of oscillatory thermocapillary convection.The experimental studies in the microgravity conditions on floating half zones of several centimeters in diameter have predicted that the critical Marangoni number increases with the increasing aspect ratio,and the terrestrial experimental studies have predicted the contradictory conclusion for floating half zones of several mil...     

Non-Gravitational Effects with Density-Matching in Evaluating the Influence of Sedimentation on Colloidal Coagulation

The method of density matching between the solid and liquid phases is often adopted to effectively eliminate the effect of sedimentation of suspensions in studies on dynamic behaviour of a colloidal system. However, the associated changes in the solvent composition may bring side effects to the properties investigated and therefore might lead to a faulty conclusion if the relevant correction is not made. To illustrate the importance of this side effect, we present an example of the sedimentation influence on the coagulation rate of suspensions of 2μm （diameter） polystyrene. The liquid mixtures, in the proper proportions of water （H2O）, deuterium oxide （D2O） and methanol （MeOH） as the liquid phase, density-matched and unmatched experiments are performed. Besides the influence of viscosity, the presence of methanol in solvent media, used to enhance the sedimentation effect, causes significant changes （reduction） in rapid coagulation rates compared to that in pure water. Without the relevant corrections for those non-gravitational factors it seems that gravitational sedimentation would retard the coagulation. The magnitude of the contribution from the non-gravitational factor is quantitatively determined, making the relevant correction possible. After necessary the influence of the sedimentation on coagulation rates at corrections for all factors, our experiments show that the initial stage of the coagulation is not observable.     

Spin squeezing and quantum correlations

We discuss the notion of spin squeezing considering two mutually exclusive classes of spin-s states, namely, oriented and non-oriented states. Our analysis shows that the oriented states are not squeezed while non-oriented states exhibit squeezing. We also present a new scheme for construction of spin-s states using 2s spinors oriented along different axes. Taking the case of s=1, we show that the ‘non-oriented’ nature and hence squeezing arise from the intrinsic quantum correlations that exist among the spinors in the coupled state.     

Reactive Blue 4 as a Single Colorimetric Chemosensor for Sequential Determination of Multiple Analytes with Different Optical Responses in Aqueous Media: Cu2+-Cysteine Using a Metal Ion Displacement and Cu2+-Arginine Through the Host-Guest Interaction

In the current study, we reported a novel label-free and facile colorimetric approach for the sequential detection of copper ion (Cu²⁺), l-arginine (Arg), and l-cysteine (Cys) in the H₂O (10.0 mmol L⁻¹ HEPES buffer solution, pH 7.0) using Reactive Blue 4 (RB4). First, the presence of Cu²⁺ led to a naked-eye color and spectral changes according to the binding site-signaling subunit approach. Then, the RB4-Cu²⁺ complex was successfully applied for Cys and Arg through different recognition pathways. The optical signals for Arg were observed due to its association involving the amino group, as well as the participation of the carboxylate group in a bidentate form to the complex, while selective behavior for Cys was explained by a metal displacement mechanism. The limits of detection for Cu²⁺, Arg, and Cys were calculated to be 1.96, 1.06, and 1.33 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. It could also be employed for the determination of three analytes in environmental, biological, and pharmaceutical samples. Importantly, the test strips based on RB4-Cu²⁺ complex could be used as a solid-state sensor for the detection of Cys and Arg. In addition, NAND and IMPLICATION molecular logic gates were obtained by using chemical inputs and UV-Vis absorbance signal as the output.

Graphical Abstract