Investigation of domain walls in BaFe12O19 by the NMR spin echo technique

Due to the anisotropy of the hyperfine interactions and dipolar fields in hexagonal BaFe₁₂O₁₉, the nuclear magnetic resonance frequency of ⁵⁷Fe-nuclei at different positions in domain walls situated well within the bulk samples can be detected. The dependence of the enhancement factor η on the position in the wall was measured at 4.2 K and found in good agreement with the dependence expected for a 180°-Bloch-wall. For nuclei in the wall center, a nearly uniform enhancement factor of η = 6.3 × 10³ is found. There is no evidence for a broad distribution of η due to wall pinning effects.     

A class of quasi-linear parabolic and elliptic equations with nonlocal Robin boundary conditions

Let p∈(1,N), Ω⊂RN a bounded W1,p-extension domain and let μ be an upper d-Ahlfors measure on ∂Ω with d∈(N−p,N). We show in the first part that for every p∈[2N/(N+2),N)∩(1,N), a realization of the p-Laplace operator with (nonlinear) generalized nonlocal Robin boundary conditions generates a (nonlinear) strongly continuous submarkovian semigroup on L²(Ω), and hence, the associated first order Cauchy problem is well posed on Lq(Ω) for every q∈[1,∞). In the second part we investigate existence, uniqueness and regularity of weak solutions to the associated quasi-linear elliptic equation. More precisely, global a priori estimates of weak solutions are obtained.     

Structural Characterization by SIMS of Alumina Coatings on Stainless Steel

Al₂O₃ coatings were obtained by the alkoxide route and deposited on stainless steel using the dip coating technique. The starting precursor was aluminum sec-butoxide modified by acrylic acid in order to prevent its precipitation in the presence of water.Useful information for the structural organization of alumina coatings on stainless steel is deduced from SIMS analysis. SIMS data reveal that the coating structure brings into play two different layers: an outer alumina layer that is more or less doped, mainly by iron, and an internal layer corresponding to the alumina/steel interphase. Beneath the interphase, the presence of an oxidized steel layer on the substrate surface is detected.Whatever the coating, the alumina/steel interphase exhibits a nearly constant thickness. On the other hand, a thickness variation of the oxidized steel layer is observed between samples under study: this thickness increases with the curing time of the coating.     

Direct Observation of the Electroadsorptive Effect on Ultrathin Films for Microsensor and Catalytic‐Surface Control

Microchemical sensors and catalytic reactors make use of gases during adsorption in specific ways on selected materials. Fine‐tuning is normally achieved by morphological control and material doping. The latter relates surface properties to the electronic structure of the bulk, and this suggests the possibility of electronic control. Although unusual for catalytic surfaces, such phenomena are sometimes reported for microsensors, but with little understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Herein, direct observation of the electroadsorptive effect by a combination of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and conductivity analysis on nanometre‐thick semiconductor films on buried control electrodes is reported. For the SnO₂/NO₂ model system, NO₃ surface species, which normally decay at the latest within minutes, can be kept stable for 1.5 h with a high coverage of 15 % under appropriate electric fields. This includes uncharged states, too, and implies that nanoelectronic structures provide control over the predominant adsorbate conformation on exterior surfaces and thus opens the field for chemically reactive interfaces with in situ tunability.     

Sol-Gel Coatings on Non-Oxide Planar Substrates and Fibers: A Protection Barrier Against Oxidation and Corrosion

Sol-gel coatings on non-oxide substrates can be used to prevent high temperature degradation and to improve wet corrosion resistance. Alumina coatings were investigated. The starting precursor was aluminium sec-butoxide, modified with chelating ligands such as 2,4-pentanedione or acrylic acid to prevent its precipitation in the presence of water. Stainless steel plates and Hi-Nicalon SiC fibers are often utilized in different kinds of applications and thus were selected as substrates. Thin films were deposited from the modified alkoxide solutions using dip-coating techniques. The parameters governing the process such as the aging of the sols, the viscosity, the withdrawal rate and the thermal treatment were investigated. The films were characterized (morphology, thickness) and showed an interesting behaviour as protection barrier in an aggressive medium.     

Transition metal ion binding studies of carnosine and histidine: biologically relevant antioxidants

Carnosine and histidine are biologically interesting antioxidants. In order to probe whether they exert their antioxidant effect through metal ion chelation, the Cu(II) ion chelating abilities of these compounds were measured by UV-vis spectroscopy. Both of these compounds showed 1:1 complexations with Cu(II) ions as shown by their Job's plot. The binding constants for histidine and carnosine, as determined by Benesi-Hildebrand method, at pH 7.84+/-0.18, were found to be 71 and 1.1M(-1), respectively. The unexpectedly lower binding constant values of carnosine show the relatively minor role of the transition metal ion chelation in their antioxidant abilities.     

The Identification of New Triterpenoids in Eucalyptus globulus Wood

Eight polyhydroxy triterpenoid acids, hederagenin, (4α)-23-hydroxybetulinic acid, maslinic acid, corosolic acid, arjunolic acid, asiatic acid, caulophyllogenin, and madecassic acid, with 2, 3, and 4 hydroxyl substituents, were identified and quantified in the dichloromethane extract of Eucalyptus globulus wood by comparing their GC-retention time and mass spectra with standards. Two other triterpenoid acids were tentatively identified by analyzing their mass spectra, as (2α)-2-hydroxybetulinic acid and (2α,4α)-2,23-dihydroxybetulinic acid, with 2 and 3 hydroxyl substituents. Two MS detectors were used, a quadrupole ion trap (QIT) and a quadrupole mass filter (QMF). The EI fragmentation pattern of the trimethylsilylated polyhydroxy structures of these triterpenoid acids is characterized by the sequential loss of the trimethylsilylated hydroxyl groups, most of them by the retro-Diels-Alder (rDA) opening of the C ring with a π-bond at C12-C13. The rDA C-ring opening produces ions at m/z 320 (or 318) and m/z 278 (or 277, 276, 366). Sequential losses of the hydroxyl groups produce ions with m/z from [M - 90] to [M - 90*y], where y is the number of hydroxyl substituents present (from 2 to 4). Moreover, specific cleavage in ring E was observed, passing from m/z 203 to m/z 133 and conducting other major fragments such as m/z 189.