ALBERT

Notes: A series of nitrides NdFe12−xMoxNi1−δ with x=1–2.5 and δ≤0.2 have been investigated. All nitrides are of the ThMn12 tetragonal structure with the unit cell volumes about 3% larger than their parent alloys. Curie temperatures are enhanced by nitrogenation about 160 K and increase linearly with decreasing content x of Mo. NdFe12−xMox exhibits a weak uniaxial anisotropy with a value of BA less than 0.6 T when x≥1.75. After nitrogenation, all nitrides have a strong uniaxial anisotropy. Values of the anisotropy field BA increase monotonically from 6.35 T for x=2.5 up to 9.5 T for x=1 as decreasing content x of Mo. Saturation magnetizations also increase monotonically with decreasing content x.

Notes: The voltage V versus current I of a high-quality YBa2Cu3O7−x thin film with zero-resistance temperature equal to 90.8 K was measured at temperatures near Tc (85, 87, and 90 K, respectively) under different magnetic fields (0–7 T). A significant result is that the critical-current density of the film reached 1.37×104 A/cm2 (zero field) even at 90 K, implying that strong pinning centers exist in our sample. However, a small applied magnetic field will diminish the critical-current densities remarkably. The pinning-force densities are found to follow Kramer's scaling law in both perpendicular and parallel directions of the magnetic fields to the c axis of the film. A possible influence of thermally activated flux creep on the pinning mechanism is confirmed.

Notes: Using synchrotron radiation as a continuum light source, the absolute photoabsorption and direct dissociation cross sections of C2 H2 in the 1530–1930 A(ring) region have been measured at 295 and 155 K. In comparison with cross sections obtained at room temperature, the cross sections at absorption peaks typically increase by 10%–40% while those at absorption valleys decrease by as much as 30% at 155 K. Further, the absorption band profiles become narrower as the gas temperature decreases. In the presently studied wavelength region, there are at least three electronic states, namely, the A˜ 1 Au , the B˜ 1 Bu , and a continuum. Using the present low temperature data we have constructed the repulsive potential energy curve of the direct dissociation state according to the Franck–Condon principle. The potential energy curve thus constructed can be more accurate than that constructed by using room temperature cross section data because only the absorption cross section from the ν'=0 level contributes. The present cross section data have also been used in the analysis of oscillator strength distribution.

Notes: This work investigates the relative role of the pure geometrical confinement and the strength of the surface effect on the dynamics of liquids in porous silica glasses prepared by the sol-gel process. The deuteron NMR spin-lattice relaxation times T1 of several molecular liquids in porous silica glasses are reported as function of pore size in the range from 18 to 143 A(ring) over the temperature range from 260 to 310 K. Molecular liquids studied include strongly interacting polar liquids such as pyridine-d5, aniline-d5, and nitrobenzene-d5, whereas the saturated cyclic hydrocarbon liquids of cyclohexane-d12 and cis-decalin-d18 represent the weakly interacting liquids. In a first approximation, toluene-d1 and dioxane-d18 are chosen as examples of liquids with intermediate interactions with the silica surface. The experimental relaxation data are analyzed by using the two-state, fast-exchange model which is found to be valid for the strongly interacting liquids and liquids with intermediate interactions. In terms of this model, the viscosity of the surface layer for pyridine-d5 is about 30 times higher than that for bulk liquid pyridine.The importance of the two-dimensional approach to describe motional dynamics of liquids confined to pores smaller than 30 A(ring) is illustrated in the case of weakly interacting liquid of cyclohexane-d12. Additional information on the relative role of surface interactions and the pure topological effects on the dynamics of liquids in confined geometries was obtained by using surface-modified glasses in which the surface hydroxyl groups were replaced by OSi(CH3)2OC2H5 groups. Indeed, the effects of surface modifications on the 2H T−11 are most pronounced for strongly interacting liquids whereas they are absent for cyclohexane. In agreement with the concept of two-dimensional behavior of liquids in small pores, one finds that the low-frequency relaxation times, namely, the spin–spin relaxation time T2, and the spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating coordinate frame, T1ρ, remain unchanged by surface modification. In fact, this is a consequence of logarithmic enhancement of the spectral density at low frequencies so that the effect of pure geometrical confinement on the T−12 and T−11ρ relaxation rates is much larger than any relaxation rate changes arising from surface modification. Several selected NMR T1 experiments on pyridine-d5 confined to anopore and zeolites are also presented.

Notes: An interpretation of the low-temperature absorption spectra of AnF4 (An=U, Np, Pu) is presented. Using an effective operator Hamiltonian with orthogonalized free-ion operators and initializing crystal-field parameter values based on a superposition model calculation for An4+ sites with C2 symmetry, good agreement between the model calculations and experimentally observed absorption band structure could be obtained. Correlations with published magnetic and heat capacity measurements are discussed.

Notes: The effects of geometrical confinement on the molecular dynamics of liquid toluene in porous sol–gel silica glasses have been studied by the NMR method. The NMR deuteron spin–lattice relaxation times for toluene-d8, ortho-toluene-d1, and para-toluene-d1 were measured as a function of temperature for bulk and confined liquids. The rotational diffusion tensors for overall, internal, and anisotropic rotational diffusion have been determined. The effect of geometrical confinement results in a considerable decrease of the rotational diffusion constants and leads to a lowering of the symmetry of the anisotropic rotational diffusion tensor.