The level structure of92Ru up to high spin values

The level structure of⁹²Ru has been studied by means of γ-ray spectroscopy. The nucleus was produced by the⁵⁸Ni(⁴⁰Ca, α2p)⁹²Ru reaction at beam energies of 147 and 187 MeV. The NORDBALL detector system including particle selection was used. A large number of new levels with excitation energies up to 11.3 MeV and spin values up to 22 or 23 units of angular momentum have been established. The level scheme is compared with recent shell model calculations using¹⁰⁰Sn as a core. Some systematics of the g ₉ ^2/?2 configuration is discussed and a strong correlation between the levels in⁹⁰Mo and⁹²Ru is found.     

Enhanced ethanol sensing properties of WO3 modified TiO2 nanorods

Pristine and WO₃ decorated TiO₂ nanorods (NRs) were synthesised to investigate n-n-type heterojunction gas sensing properties. TiO₂ NRs were fabricated via hydrothermal method on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass (FTO) substrates. Then, tungsten was sputtered on the TiO₂ NRs and thermally oxidised to obtain WO₃ nanoparticles. The heterostructure was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Fabricated sensor devices were exposed to VOCs such as toluene, xylene, acetone and ethanol, and humidity at different operation temperatures. Experimental results demonstrated that the heterostructure has better sensor response toward ethanol at 200 °C. Enhanced sensing properties are attributed to the heterojunction formation by decorating TiO₂ NRs with WO₃.     

Phenolic compounds,essential oil composition,and antioxidant activity of Angelica purpurascens (Avé-Lall.) Gill

In this study, methanol extracts (MEs) and essential oil (EO) of Angelica purpurascens (Avé-Lall.) Gill obtained from different parts (root, stem, leaf, and seed) were evaluated in terms of antioxidant activity, total phenolics, compositions of phenolic compound, and essential oil with the methods of 2,2-azino-bis(3ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS•⁺), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH•) radical scavenging activities, and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), the Folin–Ciocalteu, liquid chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (LC−MS/MS), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC−MS), respectively. The root extract of A. purpurascens exhibited the highest ABTS•⁺, DPPH•, and FRAP activities (IC₅₀: 0.05 ± 0.0001 mg/mL, IC₅₀: 0.06 ± 0.002 mg/mL, 821.04 ± 15.96 µM TEAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity), respectively). Moreover, EO of A. purpurascens root displayed DPPH• scavenging activity (IC₅₀: 2.95 ± 0.084 mg/mL). The root extract had the highest total phenolic content (438.75 ± 16.39 GAE (gallic acid equivalent), µg/mL)). Twenty compounds were identified by LC−MS/MS. The most abundant phenolics were ferulic acid (244.39 ± 15.64 μg/g extract), benzoic acid (138.18 ± 8.84 μg/g extract), oleuropein (78.04 ± 4.99 μg/g extract), and rutin (31.21 ± 2.00 μg/g extract) in seed, stem, root, and leaf extracts, respectively. According to the GC−MS analysis, the major components were determined as α-bisabolol (22.93%), cubebol (14.39%), α-pinene (11.63%), and α-limonene (9.41%) among 29 compounds. Consequently, the MEs and EO of A. purpurascens can be used as a natural antioxidant source.     

High spin states of 83Sr

The reactions ⁸⁰Kr(α, n)⁸³Sr and ⁸²Kr(α, 3n)⁸³Sr were used to populate excited states of high spin in ⁸³Sr. The de-excitation of these states was studied by in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy. A number of new high-spin states have been observed. The results are discussed within the framework of the Coriolis-coupling model and the cluster-core coupling model.     

A rotational band in82Zr

The neutron deficient nucleus⁸²Zr has been studied through the reaction⁵⁸Ni(²⁸Si, 2p 2n)⁸²Zr with a calculated cross section of 0.3% of the total fusion cross section atE(²⁸Si)=128 MeV. Gamma rays from excited states of⁸²Zr were measured and identified using the NORDBALL escape-suppression array at the Niels Bohr Institute. Reaction channel selection was performed by use of neutron and charged particle detector arrays in conjunction with the germanium detectors. A rotational band in⁸²Zr has been identified with spins up to 20 ? by analysis of reaction channel selectedγ-γ coincidence matrices. Band crossings were identified at frequencies 0.57 and 0.69 MeV.     

Effects of a strongly adsorbed additive on process performance in chiral preparative chromatography

The shapes of elution profiles are often significantly influenced by the presence of strongly adsorbed additives in the mobile phase. This aspect needs to be considered in quantitative optimization of preparative chromatography. The theoretical study carried out here is based on available thermodynamic information for the enantiomers of three beta-blockers, alprenolol, propranolol, and atenolol, on a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase (Chirobiotic T) using methanol/acetonitrile as the mobile phase and acetic acid/triethylamine as the additive. The properties of this strong additive made it possible to tune the binary elution profiles in any combination of the following apparent band shapes: anti-Langmuir/anti-Langmuir, anti-Langmuir/Langmuir and Langmuir/Langmuir. Optimization of the productivity and yield, when performing repetitive batch injections, was investigated using the equilibrium dispersive model. We show that it is important to consider the invisible additive perturbation peak when defining the cycle time and therefore a model-based optimization needs to take this into account. Furthermore, both productivity and yield could be improved for the two unusual shape combinations in comparison to the traditional Langmuir/Langmuir case.     

Accurate and rapid estimation of adsorption isotherms in liquid chromatography using the inverse method on plateaus

The inverse method (IM) is an attractive approach for estimating adsorption isotherm parameters in liquid chromatography (LC), mainly due to its experimental simplicity and low sample consumption. This article presents a new experimental approach, the inverse method on plateaus (IMP), which uses elution profiles on concentration plateaus together with IM. This approach enabled us to obtain very accurate adsorption isotherms that agreed well with those estimated by means of frontal analysis over the entire concentration range under consideration. IMP is recommended when accurate adsorption isotherm estimates are required, and standard IM is insufficient.     

Adsorption behaviour of a quinidine carbamate-based chiral stationary phase: Role of the additive

In this study, we incorporate the additive properties into the theoretical model of a general preparative chromatographic system; this is normally not done and this limits a proper process optimization. As a model phase system, we used the adsorption of 9H-fluoren-9-ylmethoxycarbonyl-allylglycine (Fmoc-allylglycine) enantiomers on a quinidine carbamate-based chiral stationary phase (anion exchanger) together with a methanol–glacial acetic acid–ammonium acetate eluent. The inverse method was used to measure the competitive adsorption isotherms of both the Fmoc-allylglycine enantiomers as well as the non-detectable additive acetic acid. It was concluded that this enantioselective preparative system is well described by a non-heterogeneous adsorption model and that the loading capacity is very high. The proposed model is valid over a wide range of additive concentrations, which is important for process optimization.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOSTRUCTURES:TOOLS AND CHALLENGES

Apart from long-known and applied nanostructures like carbon black for tyres or pigments for coatings nanotechnology has created highly sophisticated structures used for nano/molecular electronics,diagnostics,drug delivery, UV-absorbers etc.Often the main question to be solved analytically is the local determination of tiny amounts of chemicals resulting in an ever increasing need for highly sensitive as well as locally resolved techniques.Applications of techniques like mass spectroscopy,transmission el...