A microspectroscopic study of the electronic homogeneity of ordered and disordered Sr2FeMoO6

Disordered Sr₂FeMoO₆ shows a drastic reduction in saturation magnetization compared to highly ordered samples, moreover magnetization as a function of the temperature for different disordered samples shows qualitatively different behaviours. We investigate the origin of such diversity by performing spatially resolved photoemission spectroscopy on various disordered samples. Our results establish that e_xtensive electronic inhomogeneity, arising most probably from an underlying chemical inhomogeneity in disordered samples, is responsible for the observed magnetic inhomogeneity. It is further pointed out that these inhomogeneities are connected with composition fluctuations of the type Sr₂Fe_1+x Mo_1-x O₆ with Fe-rich (x > 0) and Mo-rich (x < 0) regions. Dedicated to Prof J Gopalakrishnan on his 62nd birthday.     

Transport of surface-modified iron nanoparticle in porous media and application to arsenic(III) remediation

The surface-modified iron nanoparticles (S-INP) were synthesized, characterized and tested for the remediation of arsenite (As(III)), a well known toxic groundwater contaminant of concern. The S-INP material was fully dispersed in the aqueous phase with a particle size distribution of 2–10 nm estimated from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that an Fe(III) oxide surface film was present on S-INP in addition to the bulk zero-valent Fe⁰ oxidation state. Transport of S-INP through porous media packed in 10 cm length column showed particle breakthroughs of 22.1, 47.4 and 60 pore volumes in glass beads, unbaked sand, and baked sand, respectively. Un-modified INP was immobile and aggregated on porous media surfaces in the column inlet area. Results using S-INP pretreated 10 cm sand-packed columns containing ∼2 g of S-INP showed that 100 % of As(III) was removed from influent solutions (flow rate 1.8 mL min⁻¹) containing 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg L⁻¹ As(III) for 9, 7 and 4 days providing 23.3, 20.7 and 10.4 L of arsenic free water, respectively. In addition, it was found that 100% of As(III) in 0.5 mg/L solution (flow rate 1.8 mL min⁻¹) was removed by S-INP pretreated 50 cm sand packed column containing 12 g of S-INP for more than 2.5 months providing 194.4 L of arsenic free water. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) showed S-INP had transformed to elongated, rod-like shaped corrosion product particles after reaction with As(III) in the presence of sand. These results suggest that S-INP has great potential to be used as a mobile, injectable reactive material for in-situ sandy groundwater aquifer treatment of As(III).     

Investigation on hexamethyldisilazane vapor treatment of plasma-damaged nanoporous organosilicate films

Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) vapor treatment of plasma-damaged nanoporous organosilicate thin films has been studied as a function of treatment temperature in this work. Although, the HMDS vapor treatment facilitated incorporation of methyl (CH₃) groups subsequent to the removal of free hydroxyl (OH) groups in the damaged films at treatment temperature as low as 55 °C, the bonded OH groups were not removed. More significantly, detailed analysis of the results reveals that HMDS vapor modified only the surface of the plasma-damaged samples and not the entire film as expected. This is attributed to the formation of a thin solid layer on the surface, which effectively prevents penetration of HMDS vapors into the bulk. The Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) absorption and dielectric constant measurements confirm that the vapor treatment assists only partial curing of the plasma-damaged films. Alternative processes of curing the films with HMDS dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) as a medium of reaction in static and pulsed modes were also attempted and the results are presented in this paper.     

Study of photon-induced L3 vacancy alignment for elements La to U

Alignment of photon-induced L₃ vacancies is studied in rare earth and highZ elements at energies of experimental interest, near thresholds to 60 keV, under nonrelativistic dipole approximation. Numerical calculations of the matrix element are undertaken to produce theoretical data for comparison with the experimental findings. The A₂ values being s>0.1 at photoelectron energies <20 keV are certainly higher than 5–8% uncertainties quoted in experimental results. Present findings are from a very basic model, hydrogen-like and can further be treated as reference to observe the impact of screening, relativistic, multipole and retardation corrections to the model     

Working group report: Neutrino and astroparticle physics

This is the report of neutrino and astroparticle physics working group at WHEPP-7. Discussions and work on CP violation in long baseline neutrino experiments, ultra high energy neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and water Cerenkov detectors are discussed.     

A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO2 laser using high frequency pre-ionization technique

High power industrial multibeam CO₂ lasers consist of a large number of closely packed parallel glass discharge tubes sharing a common plane parallel resonator. Every discharge tube forms an independent resonator. When discharge tubes of smaller diameter are used and the Fresnel numberN ≪ 1 for all resonators, they operate in waveguide mode. Waveguide modes have excellent discrimination of higher order modes. A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ laser is reported having six glass discharge tubes. Simultaneous excitation of DC discharge in all sections is achieved by producing pre-ionization using an auxiliary high frequency pulsed discharge along with its other advantages. Maximum 170 W output power is obtained with all beams operating in EH₁₁ waveguide mode. The specific power of 28 W/m is much higher as compared to similar AC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ lasers. Theoretical analysis shows that all resonators of this laser will support only EH₁₁ mode. This laser is successfully used for woodcutting     

Magnetized cosmological model

The object of this paper is to investigate the behavior of the magnetic field in a cosmological model for perfect fluid distribution. The magnetic field is due to an electric current produced along thex axis. It is assumed that expansion () in the model is proportional to ₁ ¹ , the eigenvalue of the shear tensor _i ^j . The behavior of the model when the magnetic field tends to zero and other physical properties are also discussed.     

Thermal conductivity measurements on ferrofluids

The thermal conductivity of a number of ferrofluids consisting of colloidally dispersed Fe₃O₄ particles in diester, hydrocarbon, water and fluorcarbon carriers have been measured at 38°C. The variation in thermal conductivity with particle concentration is well described by Tareef's equation (1940). This has enabled the ratio of the physical to magnetic size to be determined and compared with estimates of the ratio obtained from electron micrographs and magnetic measurements.The fit between theory and experiment is particularly good for hydrocarbon carrier fluids giving the ratio of solid to magnetic radiusR _i/R _m=1.24±0.03 compared with the value obtained from magnetic data and electron micrographs of 1.19±0.07. The corresponding value from the fluids with a diester carrier ranges between 1.1<R _d/R _m<1.3 which is again consistent with microscopy and magnetic data.The application of a magnetic field of 0.1 T had no noticeable effect on the thermal conductivities of ferrofluids.     

The aftermath of the interplay between the endoplasmic reticulum stress response and redox signaling

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an essential organelle of eukaryotic cells. Its main functions include protein synthesis, proper protein folding, protein modification, and the transportation of synthesized proteins. Any perturbations in ER function, such as increased demand for protein folding or the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER lumen, lead to a stress response called the unfolded protein response (UPR). The primary aim of the UPR is to restore cellular homeostasis; however, it triggers apoptotic signaling during prolonged stress. The core mechanisms of the ER stress response, the failure to respond to cellular stress, and the final fate of the cell are not yet clear. Here, we discuss cellular fate during ER stress, cross talk between the ER and mitochondria and its significance, and conditions that can trigger ER stress response failure. We also describe how the redox environment affects the ER stress response, and vice versa, and the aftermath of the ER stress response, integrating a discussion on redox imbalance-induced ER stress response failure progressing to cell death and dynamic pathophysiological changes.Subject terms: Mechanisms of disease, Cell biology     

Synthesis and characterisation of bis(pentafluorophenyl)antimony(V) cations, [(C6F5)2SbL3]

Pentacoordinate complex cations of the general formula [(C₆F₅)₂SbL₃]³⁺ stabilized as solid salts in combination with tetraphenylborate (BPh₄), tetrafluorobroate (BF₄) anions, where L=DMSO, Ph₃AsO, PyO, DMF, α-, β- and γ-picoline have been isolated. The newly formed complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance measurements, solid-state IR and and NMR. From these results, a five-fold coordination around antimony was required.