6,578 research outputs found
In situ determination of the energy dependence of the high-frequency mobility in polymers
The high-frequency mobility in disordered systems is governed by transport
properties on mesoscopic length scales, which makes it a sensitive probe for
the amount of local order. Here we present a method to measure the energy
dependence of the high frequency mobility by combining an electrochemically
gated transistor with in-situ quasi-optical measurements in the sub-terahertz
domain. We apply this method to
poly([2-methoxy-5-(3',7'-dimethylocyloxy)]-p-phenylene vinylene) (OC_1C_10-PPV)
and find a mobility at least as high as 0.1 cm^2V^-1s^-1.Comment: 3 pages (incl. 3 figures) in Appl. Phys. Let
Metal-insulator transition in YHx: scaling of the sub-THz conductivity
The established scaling laws of the conductivity with temperature and doping
are strong indications for the quantum nature of the metal-insulator transition
in YH. Here we report the first results on the frequency scaling of the
conductivity. Samples were brought from the insulating to the metallic phase by
carrier doping via illumination. In the metallic phase, the sub-terahertz
conductivity coincides with the dc data. These results do not agree with the
simplest picture of a quantum-phase transition.Comment: 4 pages, accepted to PR
Doping, density of states and conductivity in polypyrrole and poly(p-phenylene vinylene)
The evolution of the density of states (DOS) and conductivity as function of
well controlled doping levels in OC_1C_10-poly(p-phenylene vinylene)
[OC_1C_10-PPV] doped by FeCl_3 and PF_6, and PF_6 doped polypyrrole (PPy-PF_6
have been investigated. At a doping level as high as 0.2 holes per monomer, the
former one remains non-metallic, while the latter crosses the metal-insulator
transition. In both systems a similar almost linear increase in DOS as function
of charges per unit volume c* has been observed from the electrochemical gated
transistor data. In PPy-PF_6, when compared to doped OC_1C_10-PPV, the energy
states filled at low doping are closer to the vacuum level; by the higher c* at
high doping more energy states are available, which apparently enables the
conduction to change to metallic. Although both systems on the insulating side
show log(sigma) proportional to T^-1/4 as in variable range hopping, for highly
doped PPy-PF_6 the usual interpretation of the hopping parameters leads to
seemingly too high values for the density of states.Comment: 4 pages (incl. 6 figures) in Phys. Rev.
Wide energy-window view on the density of states and hole mobility of poly(p-phenylene vinylene)
Using an electrochemically gated transistor, we achieved controlled and
reversible doping of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) in a large concentration range.
Our data open a wide energy-window view on the density of states (DOS) and
show, for the first time, that the core of the DOS function is Gaussian, while
the low-energy tail has a more complex structure. The hole mobility increases
by more than four orders of magnitude when the electrochemical potential is
scanned through the DOS.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Ageing effects around the glass and melting transitions in poly(dimethylsiloxane) visualized by resistance measurements
The process of ageing in rubbers requires monitoring over long periods (days
to years). To do so in non-conducting rubbers, small amounts of carbon-black
particles were dispersed in a fractal network through the rubber matrix, to
make the rubber conducting without modifying its properties. Continuous
monitoring of the resistance reveals the structural changes around the glass
and melting transitions and especially details about the hysteresis and ageing
processes. We illustrate the method for the semicrystalline polymer
poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Requirement of a Plasmid-Encoded Catalase for Survival of \u3cem\u3eRhizobium etli\u3c/em\u3e CFN42 in a Polyphenol-Rich Environment
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria collectively called rhizobia are adapted to live in polyphenol-rich environments. The mechanisms that allow these bacteria to overcome toxic concentrations of plant polyphenols have not been clearly elucidated. We used a crude extract of polyphenols released from the seed coat of the black bean to simulate a polyphenol-rich environment and analyze the response of the bean-nodulating strain Rhizobium etli CFN42. Our results showed that the viability of the wild type as well as that of derivative strains cured of plasmids p42a, p42b, p42c, and p42d or lacking 200 kb of plasmid p42e was not affected in this environment. In contrast, survival of the mutant lacking plasmid p42f was severely diminished. Complementation analysis revealed that the katG gene located on this plasmid, encoding the only catalase present in this bacterium, restored full resistance to testa polyphenols. Our results indicate that oxidation of polyphenols due to interaction with bacterial cells results in the production of a high quantity of H2O2, whose removal by the katG-encoded catalase plays a key role for cell survival in a polyphenol-rich environment
Reduction of Coxiella burnetii prevalence by vaccination of goats and sheep, the Netherlands
Recently, the number of human Q fever cases in the Netherlands increased dramatically. In response to this increase, dairy goats and dairy sheep were vaccinated against Coxiella burnetii. All pregnant dairy goats and dairy sheep in herds positive for Q fever were culled. We identified the effect of vaccination on bacterial shedding by small ruminants. On the day of culling, samples of uterine fluid, vaginal mucus, and milk were obtained from 957 pregnant animals in 13 herds. Prevalence and bacterial load were reduced in vaccinated animals compared with unvaccinated animals. These effects were most pronounced in animals during their first pregnancy. Results indicate that vaccination may reduce bacterial load in the environment and human exposure to C. burnetii
NMR evidence for two-step phase-separation in Nd_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-delta}
By Cu NMR we studied the spin and charge structure in
Nd_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4-delta}. For x=0.15, starting from a superconducting
sample, the low temperature magnetic order in the sample reoxygenated under 1
bar oxygen at 900^0 C, reveals a peculiar modulation of the internal field,
indicative for a phase characterized by large charge droplets ('Blob'-phase).
By prolonged reoxygenation at 4 bar the blobs brake up and the spin structure
changes to that of an ordered antiferromagnet (AF). We conclude that the
superconductivity in the n-type systems competes with a genuine type I
Mott-insulating state
Superconductivity in a Molecular Metal Cluster Compound
Compelling evidence for band-type conductivity and even bulk
superconductivity below K has been found in
Ga-NMR experiments in crystalline ordered, giant Ga
cluster-compounds. This material appears to represent the first realization of
a theoretical model proposed by Friedel in 1992 for superconductivity in
ordered arrays of weakly coupled, identical metal nanoparticles.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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