Quantum-chemical study of the structure and stability of polymolecular nitrogen,argon, and carbon monoxide clusters

Clusters of atmospheric gases (N₂, CO, Ar) of different composition comprising 11 and 13 molecules have been systematically studied by means of MP2(full)/6-311+G** calculations. The effect of a meduim (a nitrogen or carbon monoxide atmosphere) on the properties of the gas molecule dimers has been revealed, and general trends in the formation of large clusters have been determined.     

Aggregation modes of the spin mono-labeled tylopeptin B and heptaibin peptaibiotics in frozen solutions of weak polarity as studied by PELDOR spectroscopy

The X band PELDOR spectroscopy was used to investigate the magnetic dipole-dipole interactions in glassy solutions of nitroxide mono-labeled tylopeptin B and heptaibin peptaibiotics at 77 K. Specifically, a study was performed of the tylopeptin B peptides labeled at either position 3, 8, or 13, denoted as T3, T8, and T13, respectively. The heptaibin analogs labeled at either position 2 or 14, denoted as H2 and H14, respectively, were also investigated. It was shown that in frozen glassy peptide solutions in methanol, the spin labels are randomly distributed over the solvent volume. This result points to the absence of specific dipolar interactions between the peptides under these conditions. However, peptide aggregation was detected in weakly polar methanol/toluene environments. To study the properties of the resulting aggregates, we examined the depth of modulation for the PELDOR traces as a function of the concentration of the peptides in solution and the distances between the spin labels in the aggregates. Based on the concentration dependencies, the number of peptide molecules in the aggregates was estimated. We find that this value ranges from 2 to 3, depending on the position of the spin label in the peptide sequence. The combined analysis of the distance spectra and the number of peptide molecules in the aggregates allows us to suggest that dimer formation is the prevailing mode of self-association. In the case of spin-labeled tylopeptin B, the molecules in the dimer are head-to-head oriented. In addition, the distance spectra of the aggregates show that the C-termini of the molecules in the tylopeptin B dimer are more mobile than the Ntermini. This phenomenon leads to an increase in the spread of the distances between the nitroxides as the label position is approaching the peptide C-terminus. For heptaibin, we show that two forms of dimerization (head-to-head and head-to-tail) occur. Finally, in addition to dimers, aggregates containing 3 or 4 peptide molecules, which give broad lines in the distance spectra, are seen in solution.     

Universal pion freeze-out in heavy-ion collisions

Based on an evaluation of data on pion interferometry and on particle yields at midrapidity, we propose a universal condition for thermal freeze-out of pions in heavy-ion collisions. We show that freeze-out occurs when the mean free path of pions lambda(f) reaches a value of about 1 fm, which is much smaller than the spatial extent of the system at freeze-out. This critical mean free path is independent of the centrality of the collision and beam energy from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.     

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.     

Oxygen diffusion through the Ag(111) surface: A quantum chemical study by the NDDO/MC method

Atomic forms of oxygen on the (111) face of metallic silver are studied by the NDDO/MC semiempirical method. The surface (above the octahedral void) and subsurface (within the void) positions of oxygen between the first and second layers of the (111) face are investigated. The potential surface cross section is calculated for the subsurface position of oxygen. A new approach is used to take into account surface relaxation due to reaction with adsorbate. The barrier of atomic oxygen diffusion through the surface is much lower than the banier of its desorption from the surface. The correlation correction to the diffusion and desoption barrier energies is estimated by the double CI (DCIP) method. The greatest correlation effects are obtained in the desorption banier calculation. Translated fromZhumal Stmktunoi Khimii, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 248-254, March–April, 2000.     

Effect of Pumping Pulse Duration on Echo Signal Amplitude in Four-Pulse PELDOR

The impact of pumping pulse duration on four-pulse pulsed electron?Celectron double resonance (PELDOR) data was experimentally studied. For biradicals with known distances between two spin labels, it is shown that refocused echo amplitude decreases with increasing the pumping pulse duration and decreasing the distance between spin labels. The effect becomes substantial when the pumping pulse duration is comparable or exceeds the inverse value of the dipole?Cdipole interaction between spin labels. This effect is essential for determination of distance distribution between labels in double-labeled molecules and for determination of the number of labels in clusters of spin-labeled molecules. PELDOR signal distortion was observed when the pumping pulse position in the time scale coincided with those of the detecting pulses. An approach of signal correction to eliminate this distortion is proposed.