Comparative study of aerogels nanostructured catalysts: Ni/ZrO2–SO4 2− and Ni/ZrO2–Al2O3–SO4 2−

Ionics - A series of Ni/ZrO2–SO4 2− and Ni/ZrO2–Al2O3–SO4 2− catalysts were prepared in one step by the sol–gel method and dried in hypercritical conditions of...     

Etude par Spectrométrie Infrarouge et Raman des Phases Cristallines Basses Temperatures de (NH4)3H(SO4)2

The Raman and infrared spectra of (NH₄)₃H(SO₄)₂ crystal were investigated in the range 20–300 K. An assignment of bands due to internal and external vibrations is given. The crystalline phases designated II, III, V and VII were identified and characterized spectroscopically. Hydrogen bonding, the nature and degree of structural (dis)order and the mechanisms of the phase transitions are discussed. The NH₄⁺ ions show an important orientational disorder and become fully ordered in phase VII only. They are involved in all transitions and seem the main cause of the ferroelectricity at low temperature.     

Phase transition and analysis of AC conductivity data of the (Cs)0.26(Rb)0.74H(SO4)0.89(SeO4)0.11 compound

The X-ray diffraction, vibrational and impedance spectroscopy studies of (Cs)_0.26(Rb)_0.74H(SO₄)_0.89(SeO₄)_0.11 (CsRbHSSe) new solid solution are presented. The title compound undergo a superionic phase transition (SPT) at This transition was confirmed by an abrupt increase of conductivity. The bulk impedance parameters of CsRbHSSe, RbH(SO₄)_0.81(SeO₄)_0.19 (RbHSSe) and CsH(SO₄)_0.76(SeO₄)_0.24 (CsHSSe) were determined from an analysis of AC conductivity data measured in a wide temperature range. The charge carriers concentration in the samples investigated has been evaluated using the Almond-West formalism and shown to be independent of temperature.     

Vibration Analysis for Detecting Internal Corrosion

The vibration behavior of structures can be characterized in terms of resonance frequencies and mode shapes, which describe properties of the tested object in a global way but do not, in general, provide information about structural details. Following an asymptotic formalism, in much the same spirit as the work in [ 3 ] and recent text [ 1 ], we develop an efficient method to address the inverse problem of identifying an internal corrosive part of small Hausdorff measure in a two-dimensional structure by vibration analysis. The viability of our reconstruction method is documented by a variety of numerical results from synthetic, noiseless and noisy data.     

Theoretical and comparative investigations of Yb ion in MWO4 and M′MoO4 scheelites crystals (M=Sr, Pb, Ca, Ba) and (M′=Sr, Pb, Ca, Cd)

The crystal-field model is applied to a series of scheelites crystals (CaWO₄, SrWO₄, PbWO₄, BaWO₄, CdMoO₄, CaMoO₄, SrMoO₄ and PbMoO₄) doped with the Yb³⁺ ion. The calculated crystal-field parameters present a general trend of variation with M²⁺ ionic radius of the host cation. The maximum splitting ΔE of the ²F_7/2 manifold of the Yb³⁺ ion is then obtained as a function of N_V crystal-field strength parameters. The agreement between experimental results and theoretical predictions for all investigated systems is very satisfactory. The crystal-field effects are very important for the prediction of emission energies of the Yb³⁺ ion in different scheelites.     

Purification and characterization of a new Bacillus thuringiensis bacteriocin active against Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus and Agrobacterium tumefaciens

This study reports on the identification, characterization and purification of a new bacteriocin, named Bacthuricin F103, from a Bacillus thuringiensis strain BUPM103. Bacthuricin F103 production began in the early exponential phase and reached a maximum in the middle of the same phase. Two chromatographic methods based on high performance liquid chromatography and fast protein liquid chromatography systems were used to purify Bacthuricin F103. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that this bacteriocin had a molecular weight of approximately 11 kDa. It also showed a wide range of thermostability of up to 80 °C for 60 min and a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity over a pH range of 3.0–10.0. This bacteriocin was noted, and for the first time, to exhibit potent antimicrobial activity against Agrobacterium subsp. strains, the major causal agents of crown gall disease in tomato and vineyard crops, and against several challenging organisms in food, such as Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus. Complete killing with immediate impact on cells was observed within a short period of time. The sequence obtained for Bacthuricin F103 by direct N-terminal sequencing shared considerable homology with hemolysin. Bacthuricin F103 was noted to act through the depletion of intracellular ions, which suggest that the cell membrane was a possible target to Bacthuricin F103.     

Physical properties of ZnS thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition

Zinc sulphide thin films are deposited on SnO₂/glass using the chemical bath deposition technique. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy are used to characterize the structure of the films; the surface composition of the films is studied by Auger electrons spectroscopy, the work function and the photovoltage are investigated by the Kelvin method. Using these techniques, we specify the effect of pH solution and heat treatment in vacuum at 500 °C. The cubic structure corresponding to the (1 1 1) planes of β-ZnS is obtained for pH equal to 10. The work function (Φ_material − Φ_probe) for ZnS deposited at pH 10 is equal to −152 meV. Annealing at 500 °C increases Φ_m (by about 43 meV) and induces the formation of a negative surface barrier. In all cases, Auger spectra indicate that the surface composition of zinc sulphide thin films exhibits the presence of the constituent elements Zn and S as well as C and O as impurity elements.     

Crystal structure of pentakis ethylenediammonium bis undecachlorodiantimonate(III) tetrahydrate, (NH3(CH2)2NH3)5(Sb2Cl11)2·4H2O

The pentakis ethylenediammonium bis undecachlorodiantimonate(III) tetrahydrate salt is monoclinic with the following unit cell dimensions:a=16.271(5) Å,b=13.004(4) Å,c=13.932(4) Å, β=111.72(2)°, space groupP2₁/c withZ=2. The structure was solved by Patterson methods and refined to a finalR value of 0.023 for 4435 reflections withF ₀>4σ(F ₀). The structure shows a layer arrangement perpendicular to thea axis: planes of the [Sb₂Cl₁₁]⁵⁻ bioctahedra alternate with planes of [NH₃(CH₂)₂NH₃]²⁺ dications. The [Sb₂Cl₁₁]⁵⁻ bioctahedra are connected through O−H...Cl hydrogen bonds, such that infinite chains of composition [Sb₂Cl₁₁(H₂O]_n ⁵ⁿ⁻ are formed in the structure, parallel to the twofold axis. These chains are themselves interconnected by means of N−H...Cl and O−H...Cl bonds originating from the [NH₃(CH₂)₂NH₃]²⁺ entities and the water molecules, respectively, and form a threedimensional network.