Decay Out of the Doubly Magic Superdeformed Band in the N=Z Nucleus 60Zn

The doubly magic superdeformed band in the N = Z nucleus Zn-60 has been identified. Linking transitions connecting this band to the yrast line provide the first spin, parity, and excitation energy measurements for superdeformed states in the A similar to 60 region. The stretched-E2 character and relatively large B(E2) values of these transitions suggest a nonstatistical decay-out process

Band Structure of 68Ge

The nucleus Ge-68 has been studied by gamma-ray spectroscopy following its population at high spin in the reaction Ca-40(S-32,4p) Ge-68. The reaction channel was selected with the Microball array and gamma rays were detected with the Gammasphere array. The level scheme is very complex, reflecting the many different, and presumably mixed, excitation modes in this nucleus. Nevertheless, there appear to be some simplifications in the spin range above 18 (h) over bar where we have identified a superdeformed band and several terminating bands. The results are compared with a cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky model without pairing

Fluorescent Chemosensors for Anions and Contact Ion Pairs with a Cavity-Based Selectivity

The association of a concave macrocyclic compound to one or multiple fluorophores is an appealing strategy for the design of chemosensors. Indeed, as with biological systems, a cavity-based selectivity can be expected with such fluorescent receptors. Examples of calix[6]arene-based systems using this strategy are rare in the literature, and to our knowledge, no examples of fluorescent receptors that can bind organic contact ion pairs have been reported. This report describes the straightforward synthesis of fluorescent calix[6]arene-based receptors 4a and 4b bearing three pyrenyl subunits and the study of their binding properties toward anions and ammonium salts using different spectroscopies. It was found that receptor 4a exhibits a remarkable selectivity for the sulfate anion in DMSO, enabling its selective sensing by fluorescence spectroscopy. In CDCl3, the receptor is able to bind ammonium ions efficiently only in association with the sulfate anion. Interestingly, this cooperative binding of ammonium sulfate salts was also evidenced in a protic environment. Finally, a cavity-based selectivity in terms of size and shape of the guest was observed with both receptors 4a and 4b, opening interesting perspectives on the elaboration of fluorescent cavity-based systems for the selective sensing of biologically relevant ammonium salts such as neurotransmitters.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe