Isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction in isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics

An isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamical model (IQMD) is developed, with the isospin degree of freedom in the momentum-dependent interaction(MDI) included in IQMD, to obtain an isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction (IMDI) in IQMD. We investigate the effect of IMDI on the isospin fractionation ratio and its dynamical mechanism in the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions. It is found that the IMDI induces the significant reductions in the isospin fractionation ratio for all of beam energies, impact parameters, neutron-proton ratios and mass number of colliding systems. However, the strong dependence of isospin fractionation ratio on the symmetrical potential is preserved, with the isospin degree of freedom included in the MDI, i.e. the isospin fractionation ratio is still a good probe for extracting the information about the equation of state of isospin asymmetrical nuclear matter.

Nuclear reaction dynamics induced by halo-nuclei at intermediate energy heavy ion collisions

We studied systematically the reaction dynamics induced by neutron-halo nuclei and proton-halo nuclei within the isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics, such as the effects of loose bound halo-nuclei on the fragmentation reaction and momentum dissipation for different colliding systems with different beam energies and different impact parameters. In order to emphasize the roles of neutron-halo nucleus B-19 and proton-halo nucleus Al-23 on the reaction dynamics we also calculated the the reaction dynamics induced by the stable nuclei F-19 and Na-23 with equal mass under identical incident channel conditions. Based on the comparison of results of reaction dynamics induced by halo-nucleus colliding systems and stable nucleus collidinmg systems we found that the roles of loose bound halo-nucleus structure on the fragmentation multiplicity and nuclear stopping (momentum dissipation) are important for all of colliding systems with different beam energies and minor impact parameters, such as, the loose bound halo-nuclei structure increases the fragmentation multiplicity, but reduces the nuclear stopping.

Spin and spin-isospin instabilities and Landau parameters of Skyrme interactions with tensor correlations

The Landau parameters of Skyrme interactions in the spin and spin-isospin channels are studied using various Skyrme effective interactions with and without tensor correlations. We focus on the role of the tensor terms on the spin and spin-isospin instabilities that can occur in nuclear matter above saturation density. We point out that these instabilities are realized in nuclear matter at the critical density of about two times the saturation density for all the adopted parameter sets. The critical density is shown to be very much dependent not only on the choice of the Skyrme parameter set, but also on the inclusion of the tensor terms.

Brazos River bar; a study in the significance of grain size parameters

A bar on the Brazos River near Calvert, Texas, has been analyzed in order to determine the geologic meaning of certain grain size parameters and to study the behavior of the size fractions with transport. The bar consists of a strongly bimodal mixture of pebble gravel and medium to fine sand; there is a lack of material in the range of 0.5 to 2 mm, because the source does not supply particles of this size. The size distributions of the two modes, which were established in the parent deposits, are nearly invariant over the bar because the present environment of deposition only affects the relative proportions of the two modes, not the grain size properties of the modes themselves. Two proportions are most common; the sediment either contains no gravel or else contains about 60% gravel. Three sediment types with characteristic bedding features occur on the bar in constant stratigraphic order, with the coarsest at the base. Statistical analysis of the data is based on a series of grain size parameters modified from those of Inman (1952) to provide a more detailed coverage of non-normal size curves. Unimodal sediments have nearly normal curves as defined by their skewness and kurtosis. Non-normal kurtosis and skewness values are held to be the identifying characteristics of bimodal sediments even where such modes are not evident in frequency curves. The relative proportions of each mode define a systematic series of changes in numerical properties; mean size, standard deviation and skewness are shown to be linked in a helical trend, which is believed to be applicable to many other sedimentary suites. The equations of the helix may be characteristic of certain environments. Kurtosis values show rhythmic pulsations along the helix and are diagnostic of two-generation sediments.

Large current gain and low operational voltage permeable metal-base organic transistors based on Au/Al double layer metal base

In order to realize the common-emitter characteristics of the tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq(3))-based organic transistors, we used Au/Al double metal layer as the base, thus the vertical metal-base transistors with structure of Al/n-Si/Au/Al/Alq(3)/LiF/Al were constructed. It was found that the contact properties between the base and the organic semiconductors play an important role in the device performance. The utilization of Au/Al double layer metal base allows the devices to operate at high gain in the common-emitter and common-base mode at low operational voltage.

Metal dependent control of cis-/trans-1,4 regioselectivity in 1,3-butadiene polymerization catalyzed by transition metal complexes supported by 2,6-bis[1-(iminophenyl)ethyl]pyridine

Fe(III), Cr(III), Fe(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) chloride complexes supported by 2,6-bis[1-(iminophenyl)ethyl]pyridine have been synthesized and characterized along with single crystal X-ray diffraction. These complexes, in combination with MAO, have been examined in butadiene polymerization. The catalytic activity and regioselectivity are strongly controlled by metal center and cocatalyst (MAO/Co ratio dependent in the case of Co(II) complex). The activity decreases in the order of Fe(III) > Co(II) > Cr(III) approximate to Ni (II) complexes, in consistent with the space around the metal center. Polybutadiene with different microstructure content, from high trans-1,4 units (88-95% for iron(III) and Cr(III)), medium trans-1,4 and cis-1,4 units (55% and 35%, respectively, for iron(II)) to high cis-1,4 units 79% for Co(II) and 97% for Ni(II) call be easily achieved by varying of the metal center.

Highly efficient single-emitting-layer white organic light-emitting diodes with reduced efficiency roll-off

By codoping blue and orange phosphorescent dyes into a single host material, a highly efficient white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage coordinates of (0.38, 0.43) at 12 V is demonstrated. Remarkably, this WOLED achieves reduced current efficiency roll-off, which slightly decreases from its maximum value of 37.3-31.0 cd/A at 1000 cd/m(2). The device operational mechanism is subsequently investigated in order to unveil the origin of the high performance.

Naphthyl and thionaphthyl end-capped oligothiophenes as organic semiconductors: Effect of chain length and end-capping groups

Two series of oligothiophenes (OThs), NaTn and TNTn (n = 2-6 represents the number of thiophene rings), end-capped with naphthyl and thionaphthyl units have been synthesized by means of Stille coupling. Their thermal properties, optical properties, single crystal structures, and organic field-effect transistor performance have been characterized. All oligomers display great thermal stability and crystallinity. ne crystallographic structures of NaT2, NaT3, TNT2, and TNT3 have been determined. The crystals of NaT2 and NaT3 are monoclinic with space group P2(1)/C, while those of TNT2 and TNT3 are triclinic and orthorhombic with space groups P-1(-) and P2(1)2(1)2(1), respectively. All oligomers adopt the well-known herringbone packing-mode in crystals with packing parameters dependent on the structure of the end-capping units and the number of thiophene rings. The shorter intermolecular distance in NaT3 compared to NaT2 indicates that the intermolecular interaction principally increases with increasing molecular length. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterization indicate that the NaTn oligomers can form films with better morphology and high molecular order than TNTn oligomers with the same number of thiophene rings. The NaTn oligomers exhibit mobilities that are much higher than those for TNTn oligomers (0.028-0.39 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) versus 0.010-0.055 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), respectively).

pH-dependent conformational changes of ferricytochrome c induced by electrode surface microstructure

pH-dependent processes of bovine heart ferricytochrome c have been investigated by electronic absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectra at functionalized single-wall carbon 'nanotubes (SWNTs) modified glass carbon electrode (SWNTs/ GCE) using a long optical path thin layer cell. These methods enabled the pH-dependent conformational changes arising from the heme structure change to be monitored. The spectra obtained at functionalized SWNTs/GCE reflect electrode surface microstructure-dependent changes for pH-induced protein conformation, pK(a) of alkaline transition and structural microenvironment of the ferricytochrome c heme. pH-dependent conformational distribution curves of ferricytochrome c obtained by analysis of in situ CD spectra using singular value decomposition least square (SVDLS) method show that the functionalized SWNTs can retain native conformational stability of ferricytochrome c during alkaline transition.

Thermal stability of double-ceramic-layer thermal barrier coatings with various coating thickness

Double-ceramic-layer (DCL) coatings with various thickness ratios composed of YSZ (6-8 wt.% Y2O3 + ZrO2) and lanthanum zirconate (LZ, La2Zr2O7) were produced by the atmospheric plasma spraying. Chemical stability of LZ in contact with YSZ in DCL coatings was investigated by calcining powder blends at different temperatures. No obvious reaction was observed when the calcination temperature was lower than 1250 degrees C, implying that LZ and YSZ had good chemical applicability for producing DCL coating. The thermal cycling test indicate that the cycling lives of the DCL coatings are strongly dependent on the thickness ratio of LZ and YSZ, and the coatings with YSZ thickness between 150 and 200 mu m have even longer lives than the single-layer YSZ coating. When the YSZ layer is thinner than 100 mu m, the DCL coatings failed in the LZ layer close to the interface of YSZ layer and LZ layer. For the coatings with the YSZ thickness above 150 mu m, the failure mainly occurs at the interface of the YSZ layer and the bond coat.

Improved performance by a double-insulator layer in organic thin-flim transistors

Organic thin film transistors based on pentacene are fabricated by the method of full evaporation. The thickness of insulator film can be controlled accurately, which influences the device operation voltage markedly. Compared to the devices with a single-insulator layer, the electric performance of devices by using a double-insulator as the gate dielectric has good improvement. It is found that the gate leakage current can be reduced over one order of magnitude, and the on-state current can be enhanced over one order of magnitude. The devices with double-insulator layer exhibit field-effect mobility as large as 0.14 cm(2)/Vs and near the zero threshold voltage. The results demonstrate that using proper double insulator as the gate dielectrics is an effective method to fabricate OTFTs with high electrical performance.

Bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors having low-dielectric layer under source and drain electrodes

An organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) having a low-dielectric polymer layer between gate insulator and source/drain electrodes is investigated. Copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), a well-known organic semiconductor, is used as an active layer to test performance of the device. Compared with bottom-contact devices, leakage current is reduced by roughly one order of magnitude, and on-state current is enhanced by almost one order of magnitude. The performance of the device is almost the same as that of a top-contact device. The low-dielectric polymer may play two roles to improve OTFT performance. One is that this structure influences electric-field distribution between source/drain electrodes and semiconductor and enhances charge injection. The other is that the polymer influences growth behavior of CuPc thin films and enhances physical connection between source/drain electrodes and semiconductor channel. Advantages of the OTFT having bottom-contact structure make it useful for integrated plastic electronic devices.

Flow injection electrochemical enzyme immunoassay based on the use of an immunoelectrode strip integrate immunosorbent layer and a screen-printed carbon electrode

A flow injection amperometric immunoassay system based on the use of screen-printed carbon electrode for the detection of mouse IgG was developed. An immunoelectrode strip, on which an immunosorbent layer and screen-printed carbon electrode were integrated, and a proposed flow cell have been fabricated. The characterization of the flow immunoassay system and parameters affecting the performance of the immunoassay system were studied and optimized. Amperometric detection at 0.0 V (versus Ag/AgCl) resulted in a linear detection range of 30-700 ng ml(-1), with a detection limit of 3 ng ml(-1). The signal variation among electrode strips prepared from variant batch did not exceed 8.5% (n = 7) by measuring 0.5 mug ml(-1) antigen standard solution.

Structural electrochemical study of hemoglobin by in situ circular dichroism thin layer spectroelectrochemistry

Secondary and tertiary or quaternary structural changes in hemoglobin (HB) during an electroreduction process were studied by in situ circular dichroism (CD) spectroelectrochemistry with a long optical path thin-layer cell. By means of singular value decomposition least-squares analysis, CD spectra in the far-UV region give two similar a components with different CD intensity, indicating slight denaturation in the secondary structures due to the electric field effect. CD spectra in the Soret band show a R --> T transition of two quaternary structural components induced by electroreduction of the heme, which changes the redox states of the center ion from Fe3+ to Fe2+ and the coordination number from 6 to 5. The double logarithmic analysis shows that electroreduction of hemoglobin follows a chemical reaction with R --> T transition. Some parameters in the electrochemical process were obtained: formal potential, E-0t = -0.167 V; electrochemical kinetic overpotential, DeltaE(0) = -0.32 V; standard electrochemical reaction rate constant, k(0) = 1.79 x 10(-5) cm s(-1); product of electron transfer coefficient and electron number, alphan=0.14; and the equilibrium constant of R --> T transition, K-c = 9.0.

Relationship between chemical bond parameters and superconducting temperature in HgBa2Can-1CunO2n+2+delta (n=1, 2, 3, 4)

Bond covalency and valence of elements in HgBa2Can-1CunO2n+2+delta (n = 1, 2, 3, 4) were calculated and their relationship with T-c was discussed. For both oxygen and argon annealed samples, the results indicated that with the increase of n, the trend of bond covalency of Hg-O and Cu-O was the same or opposite compared with that of superconducting temperature. This may suggest that the magnitudes of Cu-O and Hg-O bond covalency are important in governing the superconducting temperature. For the highest T-c sample, Hg had the lowest valence, implying that lower valence of Hg was preferred in order to produce higher T-c. For fixed n, the valence of Cu in oxygen annealed samples was larger than that in argon annealed samples, indicating that oxygen annealed samples produced more carriers than argon annealed samples.