Photoelectron spectroscopy of NpPd3 and PuPd3

We present the results of x-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy of NpPd3 and PuPd3. The spectra indicate that for both compounds, the 5f electrons are well localized on the actinide sites. Comparison with bulk measurements indicates that for NpPd3 the electrons have a valence of Np3+ and thus a ground state 5f4 with a Hund's rules 5I4 configuration. Similarly for PuPd3, we find a Pu3+ valence, 5f5 ground state and a Hund's rules 6H5/2 configuration

Optimization of water use for field crop production in the upper Midwest

This project investigated combinations of both irrigation and drainage treatments in order to determine the best water management practices for field crop production in claypan soils in the upper Midwest. Four years of corn and one year of soybean yield data from forty field plots are presented. The irrigation treatments were sprinkler, furrow, and no irrigation; the drainage treatments were surface, subsurface, surface plus subsurface, and no drainage. The plots were located on a claypan soil in south-central Illinois. Sprinkler irrigation was provided by a solid set system. Furrow irrigation was done with gated pipes. The plots with surface drainage had a slope of 0.5%; the others were graded level. Subsurface drainage was provided by plastic tubing on 20-ft centers. Drainage water from the plots and surrounding areas was stored in ponds and recycled as irrigation water. The data indicate average corn yield increases of 13 and 50 bu/acre due to drainage and irrigation, respectively. Together, they act synergistically to produce an average yield increase of 92 bu/acre. This synergistic yield increase provides economic impetus to combining irrigation and drainage systems and storing drainage water in ponds or lakes for later use in irrigation. This combination will have the added effect of conserving water resources, of improving water use efficiency and downstream water quality, and of lessening downstream flooding.U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Department of the InteriorOpe

Liquid Crystal Dimers and Smectic Phases from the Intercalated to the Twist-Bend

Funding: This research received no external funding. Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge Professor Nataša Vaupoticˇ for her central role in the interpretation of the resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSoXS) data and the preparation of the original figures. The authors also wish to thank Ewan Cruickshank for many helpful discussions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Remarkable smectic phase behaviour in odd-membered liquid crystal dimers : The CT6O.mseries

Funding Information: EG and DP acknowledge the support of the National Science Centre (Poland): (Grant Number 2016/22/A/ST5/00319). RW gratefully acknowledges The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for funding the award of a PhD scholarship 2015-2018.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Supramolecular liquid crystals exhibiting a chiral twist-bend nematic phase

Funding The work was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under the grant no. 2016/22/A/ST5/00319. Acknowledgements RW gratefully thanks the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for the award of a PhD Scholarship (2015–2018).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The ferroelectric nematic phase: on the role of lateral alkyloxy chains.

The synthesis and characterisation of the 4-({[4’-nitro-(1,1'-biphenyl)−4-yl]oxy}carbonyl)phenyl 2-alkoxy-4-methoxybenzoates are reported: the 1O(m-On)PEPEBNO2 series. These materials include an additional phenyl ring compared to the extensively studied ferroelectric nematogen RM734, added to increase the liquid crystal transition temperatures. All members of the series exhibited both conventional nematic (N) phase and ferroelectric nematic (NF) phases; TNI and TNFN both decrease on increasing n, the length of the lateral alkoxy chain. The properties of this four-ring series are compared with analogous three-ring laterally substituted variants of RM734; the addition of the extra phenyl ring has a significantly more pronounced effect on the value of TNI than on TNFN. The increase in TNI may be attributed to the enhanced structural anisotropy and more favourable intermolecular interactions arising from the insertion of the phenyl ring, whereas the much weaker effect on TNFN may reflect a change in the shape of the molecule. We also report two materials with three-ring structures, the 4'-nitro-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-yl 2-alkoxy-4-methoxybenzoates: 1O(m-On)PEBNO2 (n=1 and 2). The removal of the ester linkage between RM734 and 1O(m-O1)PEPNO2 extinguishes the NF phase and this appears to be consistent with a model in which the molecules are described in terms of a longitudinal surface charge density wave

Modelling the effect of nonplanarity on charge transport along conjugated polymer chains

Conjugated polymers show interesting properties that make them appropriated for nanoelectronics. Several studies of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) have suggested that each polymer chain consists of several planar segments, with conjugation length of nanoscale dimension, linked by twists or kinks. A pronounced twist between two planar segments in a PPV chain not only causes loss of main-chain conjugation but it may also alter electron and hole mobility along the chain, which has further implications for the percolation of charge through the polymer film. We used self-consistent quantum molecular dynamics calculations to provide information on the electric field needed to move the injected charges (either electrons or holes) along the planar segments of PPV and to cross the twist between two planar segments perpendicular to each other. Field-dependent charge mobility was also estimated for conjugated segments of various lengths. Our results suggest that electrons can cross the twist between adjacent planar segments for lower applied electric fields than holes if there is no more than one electronic charge (electron or hole) on the PPV chain, otherwise similar fields are needed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia FCT) Programa Operacional “Ciência , Tecnologia, Inovação” – POCTI/CTM/41574/2001, CONC-REEQ/443/EEI/2001 e SFRH/BD/11231/200

New patterns of twist-bend liquid crystal phase behaviour : the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-10-(4-alkylaniline-benzylidene-4′-oxy)decanes (CB10O·m)

Open Access via the RSC OA Agreement Funding Information: A. F. A. wishes to thank the Ministry of Education and the University of Hail, Saudi Arabia through the Cultural Bureau of Saudi Arabia, London for their financial support during the study period. E. G. and D. P. thank the National Science Centre (Poland) for financial support under the grant no. 2016/22/A/ST5/00319.Peer reviewedPublisher PD