Dry oil powders and oil foams stabilised by fluorinated clay platelet particles

A series of platelet sericite particles coated to different extents with a fluorinating agent has been characterised and their behaviour in mixtures with air and oil studied. The material which forms by vigorous shaking depends on both the surface tension of the oil and the surface energy of the particles which control their degree of wetting. Oil dispersions are formed in liquids of relatively low tension (<22 mN m−1), e.g. hexane and cyclomethicone, for all particles. Particle-stabilised air-in-oil foams form in liquids of higher tension, e.g. dodecane and phenyl silicone, where the advancing three-phase contact angle θ, measured on a planar substrate composed of the particles into the liquid, lies between ca. 65° and 120°. For oils of tension above 27 mN m−1 like squalane and liquid paraffin with particles for which θ > 70°, we have discovered that dry oil powders in which oil drops stabilised by particles dispersed in air (oil-in-air) can be prepared by gentle mixing up to a critical oil : particle ratio (COPR) and do not leak oil. These powders, containing up to 80 wt% oil, release the encapsulated oil when sheared on a substrate. For many of the systems forming oil powders, stable liquid oil marbles can also be prepared. Above the COPR, catastrophic phase inversion occurs yielding an ultra-stable air-in-oil foam. We thus demonstrate the ability to disperse oil drops or air bubbles coated with particles within novel materials

Charge-Density-Wave Ordering in the Metal-Insulator Transition Compound PrRu4P12

X-ray and electron diffraction measurements on the metal-insulator (M-I) transition compound PrRu$_4$P$_{12}$ have revealed the emergence of a periodic ordering of charge density around the Pr atoms. It is found that the ordering is associated with the onset of a low temperature insulator phase. These conclusions are supported by the facts that the space group of the crystal structure transforms from Im$\bar{3}$ to Pm$\bar{3}$ below the M-I transition temperature and also that the temperature dependence of the superlattice peaks in the insulator phase follows the squared BCS function. The M-I transition could be originated from the perfect nesting of the Fermi surface and/or the instability of the $f$ electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Phys. Rev. B (2004) (in press

Sonolytic Oxidation of Tc(IV)O2nH2O Nanoparticles to Tc(VII)O4 in Aqueous Solution

Sonolysis of a hydrosol of TcO2nH2O was investigated in the Ar- or He- atmosphere. Colloidal TcO2nH2O nanoparticles were irradiated with a 200 kHz and 1.25 W/cm2 ultrasound. It was found that the TcO2nH2O colloids dispersed in an aqueous solution (under Ar or He atmosphere) was completely dissolved by ultrasonic irradiation (200 kHz, 200 W). The original brownish black color of the suspension slowly disappeared leaving behind a colorless solution. This change suggests that oxidation of Tc(IV) to Tc(VII) takes place. The oxidation was almost complete during 30 minutes sonication time under argon atmosphere for initial concentration of 6.0E-5 M. Addition of t-butyl alcohol, an effective radical scavenger which readily reacts with OH radicals, supressed the dissolution of TcO2nH2O colloids. This reaction indicates that TcO2nH2O molecules are oxidized by OH radicals produced in cavitation bubbles. Received: 20 November 2009; Revised:14 April 2010; Accepted: 18 April 201

Sonolytic Oxidation of Tc(IV)O2nH2O Nanoparticles to Tc(VII)O4 in Aqueous Solution

Sonolysis of a hydrosol of TcO2nH2O was investigated in the Ar- or He- atmosphere. Colloidal TcO2nH2O nanoparticles were irradiated with a 200 kHz and 1.25 W/cm2 ultrasound. It was found that the TcO2nH2O colloids dispersed in an aqueous solution (under Ar or He atmosphere) was completely dissolved by ultrasonic irradiation (200 kHz, 200 W). The original brownish black color of the suspension slowly disappeared leaving behind a colorless solution. This change suggests that oxidation of Tc(IV) to Tc(VII) takes place. The oxidation was almost complete during 30 minutes sonication time under argon atmosphere for initial concentration of 6.0E-5 M. Addition of t-butyl alcohol, an effective radical scavenger which readily reacts with OH radicals, supressed the dissolution of TcO2nH2O colloids. This reaction indicates that TcO2nH2O molecules are oxidized by OH radicals produced in cavitation bubbles. Received: 20 November 2009; Revised:14 April 2010; Accepted: 18 April 201

Hot Atom Chemistry and Recoil Implantation Induced Reaction in Geometrical Isomers of Tris-(benzoylacetonato)Cr(III)

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Metal-insulator transition in PrRu4_4P12_{12} and SmRu4_4P12_{12} investigated by optical spectroscopy

Electronic structures of the filled-skutterudite compounds PrRu$_4$P$_{12}$ and SmRu$_4$P$_{12}$, which undergo a metal-insulator transition (MIT) at $T_{\rm MI}$ = 60 K and 16 K, respectively, have been studied by means of optical spectroscopy. Their optical conductivity spectra develop an energy gap of $\sim$ 10 meV below $T_{\rm MI}$. The observed characteristics of the energy gap are qualitatively different from those of the Kondo semiconductors. In addition, optical phonon peaks in the spectra show anomalies upon the MIT, including broadening and shifts at $T_{\rm MI}$ and an appearance of new peaks below $T_{\rm MI}$. These results are discussed in terms of density waves or orbital ordering previously predicted for these compounds.Comment: 4pages, 4figures, submitted to Physical Review