Deformation behavior of an ordered B2 phase in Ti–25Al–25Zr alloy

The mechanical behavior of the B2 phase in alloy Ti–25Al–25Zr has been studied under compression. True stress–strain curve exhibits similar behavior to those of typical B2 intermetallics such as NiAl and FeAl. The alloy exhibits highest yield strength in comparison to those reported in other titanium based B2 alloys with around 2% plastic strain. The microstructural characterization of specimen after compression reveals that the B2 phase transforms to an orthorhombic martensitic phase during compression.     

Raman and infrared study of 100 MeV swift Ag heavy ion irradiation effects in CaSO4·2H2O single crystals

The modifications of calcium sulphate (CaSO₄·2H₂O) single crystals are investigated by means of Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) using 100 MeV Ag⁸⁺ ions in the fluence range 1 × 10¹¹ to 5 × 10¹³ ions/cm². It is observed that the intensities of the Raman modes decrease with increase in ion fluence. We determined damage cross-section (σ) for all the Raman active modes and found to be different for different Raman modes. Further, FT-IR studies have been carried out to confirm surface amorphisation for a fluence of 1 × 10¹³ ions/cm². It is observed that the absorption peaks at 1132–1156 cm⁻¹ corresponds to ν₃(SO₄²⁻) mode. The decrease in Raman peaks intensity with ion fluence is attributed to degradation of ν₃(SO₄²⁻) modes present on the surface of the sample.     

Performance analysis of RLC/MAC and LLC Layers in a GPRS protocol stack

In this paper, we analyze the performance of various layers of the general packet radio service (GPRS) protocol stack, including radio link control/medium-access control (RLC/MAC) layer and logical link-control (LLC) layer on the uplink. In the GPRS MAC protocol, several time-slotted uplink radio-frequency channels are shared by the mobiles on a request-reservation-based multiple-access scheme. Using the theory of Markov chains, we derive expressions for the average throughput and delay performance of the GPRS MAC protocol. We evaluate the performance of the RLC layer (in acknowledged mode) using block-level retransmission (BLR), as defined in the current GPRS standard, and compare it with that of using slot-level retransmission (SLR). We show that SLR at the RLC layer performs significantly better than the BLR, particularly when the channel-error rates are moderate to high. We further investigate the choice of parameters (e.g., number of retransmission attempts) for the automatic repeat request schemes at the RLC and LLC layers. Our results show that it is more beneficial to do error recovery by allowing more retransmission attempts at the RLC layer than at the LLC layer. We also evaluate the performance of transmission-control protocol with BLR and SLR at the RLC layer.     

Elucidating the Impact of Mg Substitution on the Properties of NASICON-Na3+yV2−yMgy(PO4)3 Cathodes

Vanadium multiredox-based NASICON-Na_zV_2−yM_y(PO₄)₃ (3 ≤ z ≤ 4; M = Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, and Mn²⁺) cathodes are particularly attractive for Na-ion battery applications due to their high Na insertion voltage (>3.5 V vs Na⁺/Na⁰), reversible storage capacity (≈150 mA h g⁻¹), and rate performance. However, their practical application is hindered by rapid capacity fade due to bulk structural rearrangements at high potentials involving complex redox and local structural changes. To decouple these factors, a series of Mg²⁺-substituted Na_3+yV_2−yMg_y(PO₄)₃ (0 ≤ y ≤ 1) cathodes is studied for which the only redox-active species is vanadium. While X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the formation of solid solutions between the y = 0 and 1 end members, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance reveal a complex evolution of the local structure upon progressive Mg²⁺ substitution for V³⁺. Concurrently, the intercalation voltage rises from 3.35 to 3.45 V, due to increasingly more ionic V O bonds, and the sodium (de)intercalation mechanism transitions from a two-phase for y ≤ 0.5 to a solid solution process for y ≥ 0.5, as confirmed by in operando XRD, while Na-ion diffusion kinetics follow a nonlinear trend across the compositional series.     

Spherical granular structures of Ag/Co nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and magnetic properties

Ag/Co bimetallic nanoparticles in the form of hierarchical spherical structures were prepared by the polyol process using oleic acid and oleylamine as surfactants. The Ag/Co nanoparticles so obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), UV-vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and super-conducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The XRD results in complement with the UV-vis studies indicated the absence of Ag-Co alloy formation during the synthesis. The FESEM observations depicted dense and uniform spherical granular structures for the Ag/Co nanoparticles; while the TEM studies apparently revealed a bimodal distribution of nanoparticles exist in the Ag/Co samples. The SAXS analysis on the Ag/Co colloids further validated the TEM results. The VSM studies showed typical ferromagnetic characteristics for the Ag/Co nanoparticles at room temperature; whereas the SQUID measurements demonstrated superparamagnetic nature for these nanoclusters with a blocking temperature close to 250 K. The synthetic route presented in this work represents a simple means of producing bimetallic composite superstructures of Ag/Co nanoparticles in the form of spherical granules on a large scale. These spherical aggregates have the potential to be important building blocks for more complex nanostructures and would be interesting for magnetic studies and catalytic applications.     

Strength anomaly of the B2 phase in Ti–25Al–25Zr alloy

Mechanical behaviour of the single B2 phase in the alloy Ti–25Al–25Zr has been studied under compression with different strain rates at elevated temperatures. The alloy Ti–25Al–25Zr exhibits yield strength anomaly similar to those of the typical B2 intermetallics such as FeAl. The stress–strain curves of the alloy tested at 400 °C show type C serrations which are considered to be due to dislocation unlocking. Intersecting and straight slip lines are observed in specimens tested at 400 °C and 600 °C, respectively.     

Self-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition method for the growth of device-quality metal thin films

Deposition of metals and alloys was demonstrated using thermal chemical vapor deposition starting from commercially available precursors in the absence of molecular hydrogen. The adopted chemical strategy relies solely on the selective reactivity of alcohols with metal complexes at deposition temperature. In this report, particular interest was given to the growth of nickel and silver. This process allows the optimization of the growth of single hcp and fcc phases of nickel starting from Ni(acac)₂, whereas several silver precursors allow the deposition of the fcc crystalline structure of silver. Steady growth kinetics, without incubation time, was noticed for all investigated precursors. The electrical conductivity of hcp-Ni, fcc-Ni and fcc-Ag shows the typical decay to the bulk value with increased film thickness, and the temperature resistivity coefficients are similar to the corresponding bulk material.     

吗啡戒断大鼠脑多巴胺转运蛋白及D2受体的研究

采用多巴胺转运蛋白(DAT)示踪剂125I-甲基-3β-(4-碘苯基)托烷-2β-羧酸酯(β-CIT)及D2受体示踪剂125I-左旋-3-碘-2-羟基-6-甲氧基-N[(1-乙基-2-比咯烷)甲基]苯酰胺(IBZM)探讨吗啡戒断前、后大鼠脑突触前、后多巴胺(DA)系统的变化.吗啡戒断1、2、3天组大鼠(各10只)分别于连续给予吗啡(20mg/kg)8天后停止给予吗啡1、2、3天再进行实验;吗啡(20mg/kg)组及生理盐水对照组大鼠各12只;对照组大鼠只给予腹腔注射0.3 mL生理盐水,共计8天.将吗啡组、戒断1、2、3天组及生理盐水对照组大鼠各进一步随机平均分为两组,分别用于125I-IBZM、125I-β-CIT脑内分布研究.结果:(1)吗啡戒断组大鼠自戒断第2天开始出现明显的腹泻症状,同时还伴有叩齿及寒战等症状出现.(2)在20mg/kg吗啡及戒断组的125I-β-CIT脑内分布中,吗啡组在纹状体(ST)、伏隔核(NAC)的分布明显高于戒断1、2、3天组和对照组(P＜0.05),在额叶(FC)、海马(HIP)的分布也高于戒断组及对照组(P＜0.05).戒断1、2、3天组在ST、NAC及HIP的分布与对照组比较差异无显著性(P＞0.05).(3)125I-IBZM在吗啡依赖及戒断组的脑内分布显示:吗啡组在ST、NAC的分布明显低于戒断1、2、3天组和对照组(P＜0.05);在HIP及皮层的分布也低于对照组及戒断各组(P＜0.05 ).戒断1、2、3天组在ST、NAC的125I-IBZM分布增加逐渐增高,其中戒断各组在ST的分布均低于对照组(P＜0.05);在NAC戒断1天组仍低于对照组(P＜0.05),而戒断2、3天组125I-IBZM在NAC的分布与对照组比较差异无显著性(P＞0.05).由此可得出结论:吗啡戒断组大鼠出现了明显的戒断症状.在吗啡依赖中ST、NAC及HIP等的DAT出现了上调,D2受体则出现一种下调的低敏状态,吗啡戒断使这种增高DA能的活动及DAT回落并趋于正常范围,并使NAC及ST下调的D2受体逐渐回升.     

Alignment control of polythiophene chains with mesostructured silica nanofibers having different pore orientations

Alignment control of polythiophene chains with mesostructured silica nanofibers through an organic-inorganic co-assembly approach is realized. Cationic ammonium surfactants with a polymerizable thiophene end group are synthesized and subsequently used as structure-directing agents to grow silica nanofibers with two different pore architectures. In situ polymerization produces mesostructured polythiophene-silica nanofibers with the polymer chains aligned along the pore channels.     

Shape-tailoring and catalytic function of anisotropic gold nanostructures

We report a facile, one-pot, shape-selective synthesis of gold nanoparticles in high yield by the reaction of an aqueous potassium tetrachloroaurate(III) solution with a commercially available detergent. We prove that a commercial detergent can act as a reducing as well as stabilizing agent for the synthesis of differently shaped gold nanoparticles in an aqueous solution at an ambient condition. It is noteworthy that the gold nanoparticles with different shapes can be prepared by simply changing the reaction conditions. It is considered that a slow reduction of the gold ions along with shape-directed effects of the components of the detergent plays a vital function in the formation of the gold nanostructures. Further, the as-prepared gold nanoparticles showed the catalytic activity for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of sodium borohydride at room temperature.