Orientation dependent size effects in thermal buckling and post-buckling of nanoplates with cubic anisotropy

In this work, a continuum model is presented for size and orientation dependent thermal buckling and post-buckling of anisotropic nanoplates considering surface and bulk residual stresses. The model with von-Karman nonlinear strains and material cubic anisotropy of single crystals contains two parameters that reflect the orientation effects. Using Ritz method, closed form solutions are given for buckling temperature and post-buckling deflections. Regarding self-instability states of nanoplates and their recovering at higher temperatures, an experiment is discussed based on low pressurized membranes to verify the predictions. For simply supported nanoplates, the size effects are lowest when they are aligned in [100] direction. When the edges get clamped, the orientation dependence is ignorable and the behavior becomes symmetric about [510] axis. The surface residual stress makes drastic increase in buckling temperature of thinner nanoplates for which a minimum thickness is pointed to stay far from material softening at higher temperatures. Deflection of [100]-oriented buckled nanoplates is higher than [110] ones but this reverses at higher temperatures. The results for long nanoplates show that the buckling mode numbers are changed by orientation which is verified by FEM.     

Solvent Influence on Cellulose 1,4‐β‐Glycosidic Bond Cleavage: A Molecular Dynamics and Metadynamics Study

We explore the influence of two solvents, namely water and the ionic liquid 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate (EmimAc), on the conformations of two cellulose models (cellobiose and a chain of 40 glucose units) and the solvent impact on glycosidic bond cleavage by acid hydrolysis by using molecular dynamics and metadynamics simulations. We investigate the rotation around the glycosidic bond and ring puckering, as well as the anomeric effect and hydrogen bonds, in order to gauge the effect on the hydrolysis mechanism. We find that EmimAc eases hydrolysis through stronger solvent–cellulose interactions, which break structural and electronic barriers to hydrolysis. Our results indicate that hydrolysis in cellulose chains should start from the ends and not in the centre of the chain, which is less accessible to solvent.     

Linearization of column responses by correlation chromatography. Separation improvement and reduction of undesired adsorption effects

Summary Experiments and simulations prove that correlation chromatography can greatly reduce the disadvantage of a non-linear response of the chromatographic column. A factor that has been accepted as being an important source of error in correlation or multiplex chromatography, has been shown not to be. Separations affected, improve dramatically when correlation chromatography is used, and a substantial amount of correlation noise only arises when there is a large difference in separation between a conventional chromatogram and a correlogram.A model has been developed for simulating these nonlinearities. It is shown that, especially for correlation chromatography, the simulation results match the practical measurements very well.     

Hydrophobically directed selective reduction of ketones using amine boranes

Amine boranes bearing hydrophobic substituents were used to reduce aryl ketones in competition with a methyl ketone. Their high stability in protic solvents combined with their ease of preparation made amine boranes useful compounds in the study of hydrophobically directed selective reductions. Several characteristics of the reducing agent were found to be important in determining the reaction selectivity, including available hydrocarbon surface area, degree of fluorination, and proximity of the hydrophobic group to the active hydrides.     

Interface-related effects on confined excitons in GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs single quantum wells

Confined excitons in non-abrupt GaAs/Al_xGa_1−xAs single quantum wells are studied. The graded interfaces are described taking into account fluctuations in their thickness a and positioning with respect to the abrupt interface picture. Numerical results for confined (0,0),(1,1) and (0,2) excitons in GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As quantum wells show that while the interfacial fluctuations produce small changes (<0.5 meV) in the exciton binding energies, the confined exciton energies can be red- or blue-shifted as much as 25 meV for wells with mean width of 50 Å and 2 ML wide interfaces.     

Finslerian Extension of Lorentz Transformations and First-Order Censorship Theorem

Granted the post-Lorentzian relativistic kinematic transformations are described in the Finslerian framework, the uniformity between the actual light-velocity anisotropy change and the anisotropic deformation of measuring rods can be the reason proper for the null results of the Michelson-Morley-type experiments at the first-order level.     

Experimental observation of quantum corrections to electrical resistivity in nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys

X-ray diffraction patterns of nanocrystalline Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B (FINEMET) alloys reveal that bcc α-Fe/α-FeSi crystallites with the average grain size of 20(5) nm are dispersed in amorphous matrix. Enhanced electron—electron interaction (EEI) and quantum interference (QI) effects as well as electron-magnon (and/or electron-spin fluctuation) scattering turn out to be the main mechanisms that govern the temperature dependence of resistivity. Of all the inelastic scattering processes, inelastic electron-phonon scattering is the most effective mechanism to destroy phase coherence of electron wave functions. The diffusion constant, density of states at the Fermi level and the inelastic scattering time have been estimated, for the first time, for the alloys in question Article presented at the International Symposium on Advances in Superconductivity and Magnetism: Materials, Mechanisms and Devices, ASMM2D-2001, 25–28 September 2001, Mangalore, India.     

FT-IR study on solvent effects in building blocks of bioactive compounds. V

3-Hydroxy-4-hydroxymethyl pyrrolidin-2-ones, easily prepared from the Baylis–Hillman adduct 1-ethyl-4-methyl-2-hydroxy-3-methylenebutanedioate, are useful intermediates in the synthesis of bioactive compounds. In order to understand the mechanism involved in this reaction, vibrational and Montecarlo molecular mechanics conformational analysis on 1-ethyl-4-methyl-2-hydroxy-3-methylenebutanedioate were carried out, confirming the existence of a low energy intramolecular H-bonded five-member ring.     

Stationary entanglement between macroscopic mechanical oscillators

We show that the optomechanical coupling between an optical cavity mode and two movable cavity mirrors is able to entangle two different macroscopic oscillation modes of the mirrors. This continuous variable entanglement is maintained by the light bouncing between the mirrors and is robust against thermal noise. In fact, it could be experimentally demonstrated using present technology. Received 2 September 2002 / Received in final form 10 October 2002 Published online 7 January 2003