Pressure-induced insulating state in an organic superconductor

The electronic-transport properties of the quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductor β″–(BEDT-TTF)₂SF₅CH₂CF₂SO₃, where BEDT-TTF stands for bisethylenedithio-tetrathiafulvalene, have been investigated in magnetic fields up to 15 T and under hydrostatic pressure up to about 14 kbars. Shubnikov–de Haas data reveal a nonmonotonic pressure dependence of the holelike Fermi surface, a roughly linear increase of the electron g factor, and an approximately linear decrease of the cyclotron effective mass. By assuming that the latter reflects the pressure-induced reduction of the superconducting coupling parameter λ the rapid reduction of the superconducting transition temperature Tc(p) can be reasonably well described by the modified McMillan equation. Above about 12 kbars the material becomes insulating with an activated resistive behavior. This first-order metal-insulator transition has a hysteresis of about 3 kbars. This unexpected behavior is assumed to be of structural origin, although clear changes of electronic band-structure properties precede the phase transition

Anisotropic magnetoresistance in the organic superconductor β″–(BEDT-TTF)2SF5CH2CF2SO3

In this paper, we report transport measurements of interlayer magnetoresistance with field parallel and perpendicular to the current direction in an all organic superconductor β″–(BEDT-TTF)₂SF₅CH₂CF₂SO₃. For H∥I, the isothermal magnetoresistance R(H) at low temperatures (

Anomalous low-temperature and high-field magnetoresistance in the organic superconductor β″-(BEDT-TTF)2SF5CH2CF2SO3

We report direct observations of anomalous magnetic-field and temperature dependences of the Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations in the organic superconductor β″-(BEDT-TTF)₂SF₅CH₂CF₂SO₃. Unlike other BEDT-TTF based organic superconductors, a nonmetallic temperature dependence of the background magnetoresistance is clearly observed. It is speculated that the nonmetallic behavior may arise from a partial nesting of the open orbits, similar to the field-induced density wave in the quasi-one-dimensional systems or a charge localization. The analysis of the magnetoresistance oscillations are found to deviate from the conventional Lifshitz-Kosevich description at high field and low temperatures. [S0163-1829(99)05433-8

Identification and Characterization of a New Orthoreovirus from Patients with Acute Respiratory Infections

First discovered in the early 1950s, reoviruses (respiratory enteric orphan viruses) were not associated with any known disease, and hence named orphan viruses. Recently, our group reported the isolation of the Melaka virus from a patient with acute respiratory disease and provided data suggesting that this new orthoreovirus is capable of human-to-human transmission and is probably of bat origin. Here we report yet another Melaka-like reovirus (named Kampar virus) isolated from the throat swab of a 54 year old male patient in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia who was suffering from high fever, acute respiratory disease and vomiting at the time of virus isolation. Serological studies indicated that Kampar virus was transmitted from the index case to at least one other individual and caused respiratory disease in the contact case. Sequence analysis of the four small class genome segments indicated that Kampar and Melaka viruses are closely related. This was confirmed by virus neutralization assay, showing an effective two-way cross neutralization, i.e., the serum against one virus was able to neutralize the other. Although the exact origin of Kampar virus is unknown, epidemiological tracing revealed that the house of the index case is surrounded by fruit trees frequently visited by fruit bats. There is a high probability that Kampar virus originated from bats and was transmitted to humans via bat droppings or contaminated fruits. The discovery of Kampar virus highlights the increasing trend of emergence of bat zoonotic viruses and the need to expand our understanding of bats as a source of many unknown viruses

Bis(1H+-pyrazinium N4-oxide) Dichromate

2C₄H₅N₂O⁺.Cr₂O²₇⁻, Mᵣ=410∙2, monoclinic, P2₁, a=8∙(2), b=6∙132 (2), c=14∙493 (4) Å, β=94∙50 (2)°, V=708∙8 (3) ų, Z=2, Dₓ=1∙92 g cm⁻³, Mο Κα, λ=0∙71069 Å, μ=15∙5 cm⁻¹, F(000)=412, T=293 K, R=0∙0602 for 1980 unique observed reflections with F≥3σ(F). The structure consists of discrete dinegative dichromate anions hydrogen bonded to monopositive pyrazinium N-oxide cations (N―H∙∙∙O=2∙724, 2∙644 Å). A strong hydrogen bond to the bridging O atom in the Cr₂O²₇⁻ anion leads to significant lengthening of the bridging Cr―O bonds. A short C―H∙∙∙O interaction (3∙180 Å) is also observed

Optical properties of β″-(ET)2SF5CH2CF2SO3: A layered molecular superconductor with large discrete counterions

We report the polarized infrared and optical reflectance of β″-(ET)₂SF₅CH₂CF₂SO₃ as a function of temperature. This fully organic superconductor displays weakly metallic behavior over the entire temperature range of our investigation. The electronic properties present several unusual features including the lack of a conventional free carrier (Drude) response at low temperature, infrared localization phenomena, and an unexpected temperature dependence of the oscillator strength. Similar behavior is observed in other β and β″ superconductors above Tc, suggesting that this class of compounds is very close to a metal→insulator transition where electronic correlations are important and the Drude response carries very little spectral weight. Vibronic features increase in intensity with decreasing temperature in the infrared, as expected. The temperature dependence of key anion vibrational modes are discussed in terms of intermolecular hydrogen bonding within the anion pocket. [S0163-1829(99)04330-1