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.     

Shaping Solid-State Supramolecular Cavities: Chemically Induced Accordionlike Movement of gamma-Zirconium Phosphate Containing Polyethylenoxide Pillars

The hydrophilic oxygen atoms of polyethylenoxide chains inserted as pillars in gamma-zirconium phosphate form hydrogen bonds with the acid groups of the host. As a result the pillars are almost perpendicular to the gamma layers. Upon changing the pH level of the supernatant solution the hydrogen bonds are broken and the pillars become almost perpendicular to the layers (shown schematically). Thus there is a reversible enlargement-shortening of the interlayer space.     

Elastic scattering of electrons from tetrahydrofuran molecule

Absolute differential cross-sections (DCSs) for elastic scattering of electrons from the DNA backbone sugarlike analogue tetrahydrofuran (THF) molecule were determined using a crossed beam measurements for incident energies from 20 eV to 300 eV and scattering angles from 10^o to 110^o. Using the relative-flow technique, elastic DCSs for THF relative to nitrogen have been obtained at incident energies of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 eV. In the energy region above 30 eV, the DCSs were measured independently as a function of both incident electron energy and scattering angle. Therefore, this set of relative DCSs has been calibrated to the absolute scale via normalization to a single point in the overlapping region. Additionally, both vibrational and electronic energy loss spectra for THF are presented and influence of energy resolution to the obtained DCSs is discussed.     

Threshold energy electron impact excitation of carbon dioxide and carbon disulphide

The threshold energy electron impact excitation spectra of CO₂ and CS₂ have been studied using the sulfur hexafluoride scavenger technique. The main results are triplet state excitation and autoionisation of negative ions associated with resonant excited states of the molecules. This confirms previous data concerning diatomic molecules. Furthermore, transitions such as ¹Π_g?X¹Σ_g⁺ and ¹Π_u?X ¹Σ_g⁺ are only weakly induced by low energy electrons, while the corresponding triplet excitations are probably more easily produced. Structures at 5.6, 6.1 and 6.6 eV observed in CS₂ are due to negative ions and/or to ³Π_u, ³Π_g excitation.The autoionisation of CO₂^?(X²Π_u) proceeds also by ejection of a thermal energy electron and leads to highly excited vibrational levels (3–5 eV) of the ground electronic state of CO₂.     

The photoelectron spectra of perfluoro-2-butyne and perfluorohexa-2,4-diyne. The perfluorination effect

The He(I) photoelectron spectra of perfluoro-2-butyne and perfluorohexa-2,4-diyne are reported and discussed in comparison with the photoelectron spectra of 2-butyne and hexa-2,4-diyne. Large π shifts (ca. 2 eV) towards higher ionization energies are observed as a consequence of complete substitution of hydrogen by fluorine. EXTHUC and CNDO/S calculations are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. A new vibrational analysis of the first band of the perfluoro-2-butyne is proposed.     

A dynamic study of earthworm feeding ecology -using stable isotopes

Changes in the specific diet of earthworms with time in relation to landuse changes and two different climates were studied by analysing (13)C and (15)N natural abundance in soils and animals. Soil samples from three depths (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm) and earthworms were collected from two sites: Santiago (Northwest Spain) and North Wyke (Southwest England) both consisting of replicated long-term grasslands and recently converted to maize plots. Earthworms were hand-sorted in the field at the peak of the maize growth and after harvesting at both sites. In the Spanish plots, nine and eight earthworm species, all belonging to the three ecological categories (epigeic, anecic and endogeic), were found under maize and permanent pasture, whereas at the English site five and seven different species were, respectively, identified. At both sites (13)C isotopic values of the earthworm tissues reflected changes in diet from C(3) to C(4) with epigeic and epi/anecic worms in the maize plots showing one delta unit difference in relation to the ones found in the grassland plots. Anecic worms seemed to be less responsive to landuse changes. The higher (13)C values of the Spanish soils were also reflected in the earthworm tissues when compared with the English samples. (15)N values showed no clear relationship with the cropping treatments but were clearly related to the ecological grouping, with endogeic worms reaching the highest values whereas for the epigeic and epi/anecic species the lowest values were obtained. This finding was also previously recorded by other authors1 and suggests that, in the future, stable isotope techniques could also be a useful tool in taxonomic studies. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.