Growth mechanism of nanostructured superparamagnetic rods obtained by electrostatic co-assembly

We report on the growth of nanostructured rods fabricated by electrostatic co-assembly between iron oxide nanoparticles and polymers. The nanoparticles put under scrutiny, {\gamma}-Fe2O3 or maghemite, have diameter of 6.7 nm and 8.3 nm and narrow polydispersity. The co-assembly is driven by i) the electrostatic interactions between the polymers and the particles, and by ii) the presence of an externally applied magnetic field. The rods are characterized by large anisotropy factors, with diameter 200 nm and length comprised between 1 and 100 {\mu}m. In the present work, we provide for the first time the morphology diagram for the rods as a function of ionic strength and concentration. We show the existence of a critical nanoparticle concentration and of a critical ionic strength beyond which the rods do not form. In the intermediate regimes, only tortuous and branched aggregates are detected. At higher concentrations and lower ionic strengths, linear and stiff rods with superparamagnetic properties are produced. Based on these data, a mechanism for the rod formation is proposed. The mechanism proceeds in two steps : the formation and growth of spherical clusters of particles, and the alignment of the clusters induced by the magnetic dipolar interactions. As far as the kinetics of these processes is concerned, the clusters growth and their alignment occur concomitantly, leading to a continuous accretion of particles or small clusters, and a welding of the rodlike structure.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, one tabl

New Born-Infeld and DpDp-Brane Actions under 2-Metric and 3-Metric Prescriptions

The parent action method is utilized to the Born-Infeld and $Dp$-brane theories. Various new forms of Born-Infeld and $Dp$-brane actions are derived by using this systematic approach, in which both the already known 2-metric and newly proposed 3-metric prescriptions are considered. An auxiliary worldvolume tensor field, denoted by ${\omega}_{{\mu}{\nu}}$, is introduced and treated probably as an additional worldvolume metric because it plays a similar role to that of the auxiliary worldvolume (also called {\em intrinsic}) metric ${\gamma}_{{\mu}{\nu}}$. Some properties, such as duality, permutation and Weyl invariance as a local worldvolume symmetry of the new forms are analyzed. In particular, a new symmetry, i.e. the double Weyl invariance is discovered in 3-metric forms.Comment: v1: 30 pages, 4 figures; v2: 31 pages, 4 figures, final version with some modifications to appear in Phys. Rev.

Poly(acrylic acid)-coated iron oxide nanoparticles : quantitative evaluation of the coating properties and applications for the removal of a pollutant dye

In this work, 6 to 12 nm iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized and coated with poly(acrylic acid) chains of molecular weight 2100 g/mol. Based on a quantitative evaluation of the dispersions, the bare and coated particles were thoroughly characterized. The number densities of polymers adsorbed at the particle surface and of available chargeable groups were found to be 1.9 +/- 0.3 nm-2 and 26 +/- 4 nm-2, respectively. Occurring via a multi-site binding mechanism, the electrostatic coupling leads to a solid and resilient anchoring of the chains. To assess the efficacy of the particles for pollutant remediation, the adsorption isotherm of methylene blue molecules, a model of pollutant, was determined. The excellent agreement between the predicted and measured amounts of adsorbed dyes suggests that most carboxylates participate to the complexation and adsorption mechanisms. An adsorption of 830 mg/g was obtained. This quantity compares well with the highest values available for this dye.Comment: 14 pages 5 figures, accepted 06-Dec-2012; Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (2013

6 Batch Injection and Slipped Beam Tune Measurements in Fermilab's Main Injector

During Nova operations it is planned to run the Fermilab Recycler in a 12 batch slip stacking mode. In preparation for this, measurements of the tune during a six batch injection and then as the beam is slipped by changing the RF frequency, but without a 7th injection, have been carried out in the Main Injector. The coherent tune shifts due to the changing beam intensity were measured and compared well with the theoretically expected tune shift. The tune shifts due to changing RF frequency, required for slip stacking, also compare well with the linear theory, although some nonlinear affects are apparent at large frequency changes. These results give us confidence that the expected tunes shifts during 12 batch slip stacking Recycler operations can be accommodated.Comment: 3 pp. 3rd International Particle Accelerator Conference (IPAC 2012) 20-25 May 2012, New Orleans, Louisian