Formation of Al13I-: evidence for the superhalogen character of Al13

Al13- is a cluster known for the pronounced stability that arises from coincident closures of its geometric and electronic shells. We present experimental evidence for a very stable cluster corresponding to Al13I-. Ab initio calculations show that the cluster features a structurally unperturbed Al13- core and a region of high charge density on the aluminum vertex opposite from the iodine atom. This ionically bound magic cluster can be understood by considering that Al13 has an electronic structure reminiscent of a halogen atom. Comparisons to polyhalides provide a sound explanation for our chemical observations.     

Precession of the Earth as the Cause of Geomagnetism: Experiments lend support to the proposal that precessional torques drive the earth's dynamo

I have proposed that the precessional torques acting on the earth can sustain a turbulent hydromagnetic flow in the molten core. A gross balance of the Coriolis force, the Lorentz force, and the precessional force in the core fluid provided estimates of the fluid velocity and the interior magnetic field characteristic of such flow. Then these numbers and a balance of the processes responsible for the decay and regeneration of the magnetic field provided an estimate of the magnetic field external to the core. This external field is in keeping with the observations, but its value is dependent upon the speculative value for the electrical conductivity of core material. The proposal that turbulent flow due to precession can occur in the core was tested in a study of nonmagnetic laboratory flows induced by the steady precession of fluid-filled rotating spheroids. It was found that these flows exhibit both small wavelike instabilities and violent finite-amplitude instability to turbulent motion above critical values of the precession rate. The observed critical parameters indicate that a laminar flow in the core, due to the earth's precession, would have weak hydrodynamic instabilities at most, but that finite-amplitude hydromagnetic instability could lead to fully turbulent flow.     

Visualizing gas molecules interacting with supported nanoparticulate catalysts at reaction conditions

Understanding how molecules can restructure the surfaces of heterogeneous catalysts under reaction conditions requires methods that can visualize atoms in real space and time. We applied a newly developed aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy to show that adsorbed carbon monoxide (CO) molecules caused the {100} facets of a gold nanoparticle to reconstruct during CO oxidation at room temperature. The CO molecules adsorbed at the on-top sites of gold atoms in the reconstructed surface, and the energetic favorability of this reconstructed structure was confirmed by ab initio calculations and image simulations. This atomic-scale visualizing method can be applied to help elucidate reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis.     

Spin conservation accounts for aluminum cluster anion reactivity pattern with O2

The reactivity pattern of small (approximately 10 to 20 atoms) anionic aluminum clusters with oxygen has posed a long-standing puzzle. Those clusters with an odd number of atoms tend to react much more slowly than their even-numbered counterparts. We used Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry to show that spin conservation straightforwardly accounts for this trend. The reaction rate of odd-numbered clusters increased appreciably when singlet oxygen was used in place of ground-state (triplet) oxygen. Conversely, monohydride clusters AlnH-, in which addition of the hydrogen atom shifts the spin state by converting formerly open-shell structures to closed-shell ones (and vice versa), exhibited an opposing trend: The odd-n hydride clusters reacted more rapidly with triplet oxygen. These findings are supported by theoretical simulations and highlight the general importance of spin selection rules in mediating cluster reactivity.     

Is soot composed predominantly of carbon clusters?

Soot generated from diesel fuel in a combustion tube is characterized by microanalysis, x-ray diffraction, chemical reactivity, and nuclear magnetic resonance to address the recent proposal of the significance of carbon clusters in soot. The data support a traditional model of soot as polynuclear aromatic compounds rather than as clusters of carbon atoms with minimal edge site density. The amounts of noncarbon atoms in the soot (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur) are commensurate with the edge density of the crystallites (2 by 2 nanometers) inferred from diffraction. The chemistry of soot, in being reduced by potassium metal and alkylated by alkyl iodides, is that known for aromatic compounds and not that anticipated for materials such as graphite, with a small fraction of carbon atoms on edges.     

Structure of the ultrathin aluminum oxide film on NiAl(110)

The well-ordered aluminum oxide film formed by oxidation of the NiAl(110) surface is the most intensely studied metal surface oxide, but its structure was previously unknown. We determined the structure by extensive ab initio modeling and scanning tunneling microscopy experiments. Because the topmost aluminum atoms are pyramidally and tetrahedrally coordinated, the surface is different from all Al2O3 bulk phases. The film is a wide-gap insulator, although the overall stoichiometry of the film is not Al2O3 but Al10O13. We propose that the same building blocks can be found on the surfaces of bulk oxides, such as the reduced corundum (0001) surface.     

Chemiluminescence in the Agglomeration of Metal Clusters

The agglomeration of copper or silver atoms in a matrix of noble gas atoms to form small clusters may be accompanied by the emission of visible light. Spectral analysis reveals the intermediate formation of electronically excited atoms and dimers as the source of the chemiluminescence. A mechanism is proposed, according to which the gain in binding energy upon cluster formation may even lead to the ejection of excited fragments as a result of unstable intermediate configurations. A similar concept was introduced in the field of nuclear reactions by Niels Bohr 60 years ago.     

液态Ca50Zn50合金快速凝固过程中微观结构的演变特性

采用分子动力学方法对液态Ca50Zn50合金的快速凝固过程进行了模拟研究.并采用双体分布函数、HA键型指数法、原子团类型指数法(CTIM)和可视化等方法对凝固过程中微观结构的演变特性进行了分析.结果表明：由于Ca,Zn原子的半径差异较大,导致总双体分布函数的第1峰明显分裂成为3个次峰,随着温度下降,半径较小的Zn原子互为近邻的几率明显增加.系统中1551键型所构成的二十面体基本原子团(12 0 12 0)的数量占绝对优势,对非晶态结构的形成起主导作用.系统中基本原子团的中心原子主要是原子半径较小的Zn原子.具有短程序的基本原子团之间大多以共顶点(VS),共棱线(ES),共面(FS)和相互交叉(IS)的方式相结合,在凝固形成非晶态的过程中,基本原子团大多以相互交叉(IS)的方式相结合,最后形成各种不同尺寸的、原子结合比较紧密、结构比较稳定的较大团簇.     

Covalent Group IV Atomic Clusters

Atomic clusters containing from two to several hundred atoms offer the possibility of studying the transition from molecules to crystalline solids. The covalent group IV elements carbon, silicon, and germanium are now being examined with this long-range objective. These elements are particularly interesting because of the very different character of their crystalline solids and because they are intermediate between metals and insulators in the nature of their bonding. Small mass-selected atom cluster ions are formed by pulsed laser techniques and identified by time-of-flight methods. Laser photoexcitation is used to study the relative stability of these clusters and their modes of fragmentation. These modes for C(n)(+) clusters, which tend to fragment with a characteristic loss of a neutral C(3), are found to be different from the modes for Si(n)(+) and Ge(n)(+) clusters, which tend to fragment to "magic" clusters such as Si(4)(+), Si(6)(+) and Si(10)(+). These experimental results can be accounted for by recent theoretical calculations of the ground-state structure and stability of small silicon and carbon clusters. Several theoretical approaches give consistent results, showing that small silicon clusters are compact and different from small fragments of the bulk crystal. Calculations show that carbon clusters change from linear structures toward cyclic structures as the cluster size increases, but with significant odd-even differences.     

根瘤菌参比菌株23S rRNA基因数量和定位及其系统发育群

    为了明确23S rRNA基因数量和定位是否可更好地揭示根瘤菌参比菌株的系统发育关系,采用I-CeuI酶切和脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)结合的方法,对根瘤菌株23S rRNA基因的数量和定位进行分析,并依据其相似性进行聚群.结果显示.根瘤菌参比菌株可聚为19个系统发育群.其中,在属的水平上,13个系统发育群与现行分类群(不包括依据16S rRNA基因序列分析结果)一致,6个不一致.在种的水平上,现行分类群中同种的根瘤菌可进一步细分为不同的系统发育群.这表明:I-CeuI酶切和PFGE结合的方法能从基因组特征角度对根瘤菌参比菌株进行更加细化的系统发育分类,并使其属种间的同质性更好.     

A cationic cesium continuum in zeolite x

A cesium continuum that fills the channels and cavities of zeolite X has been prepared, and its structure has been determined by single-crystal x-ray crystallography. The three-dimensional continuum is cationic to balance the negative charge of the zeolite framework. Its valence electrons, only 0.3 per Cs(+) ion, are widely delocalized over 95 percent of the cesium ions in the crystal. The continuum has a unit cell formula of (Cs(122))(86+) and contains Cs(13) and Cs(14) clusters (one per supercage) arranged like the atoms in diamond, with one Cs(2) appendix (in the sodalite cavity) per cluster.     

Gas-phase clusters: spanning the States of matter

Gas-phase clusters, which are weakly bound aggregates comprised of either atoms or molecules, often display properties that lie between those of the gaseous and condensed states. Interesting questions arise concerning how large a cluster must be before it will display bulk properties. Currently there is extensive research activity directed toward studies of their formation and varying properties and reactivity as a function of the degree of aggregation. Results serve to elucidate at the molecular level the course of change of a system to be followed from the gas to the condensed state, thereby enabling a spanning of the states of matter.     

苯甲酰丙酮反应位点预测及金属配合物的合成、表征和抑菌活性

运用Gaussian98软件包,采用密度泛函方法,在B3LYP/6-31G基组水平上,对苯甲酰丙酮进行了结构优化、频率分析和NBO轨道分析。结合前线分子轨道能量和原子净电荷等,推导出化合物可能的活性部位是β-二酮的氧原子。利用频率分析的结果对样品的红外光谱图进行了指认。合成并表征了苯甲酰丙酮的铜、锌配合物,确定了金属配合物的可能配位点,结果与量化计算的结果一致。采用单片纸碟法测定了配合物的抑菌活性,结果表明,苯甲酰丙酮的铜配合物抑菌活性好于对照物阿莫西林。     

Ti8C12+-Metallo-Carbohedrenes: A New Class of Molecular Clusters?

During the course of studying the dehydrogenation reactions of hydrocarbons by titanium atoms, ions, and clusters, an exceptionally stable and abundant cluster which contains 8 titaniums and 12 carbons was discovered. "Titration" reactions with ND(3) reveal the uptake of eight molecules, pointing to the fact that the titanium atoms are at exposed positions of similar coordination. A dodecahedral structure of T(h) point group symmetry is proposed to account for the unusual stability of this molecular cluster. The Ti(8)C(12)(+) dodecahedron has 12 pentagonal rings and each of the rings is formed by two titanium and three carbon atoms, where each titanium is bound to three carbons. Based on the model, it is expected that neutral Ti(8)C(12) would be a stable metallo-carbododecahedral molecule and may comprise one member of a new class of molecules, namely metallo-carbohedrenes.     

Polymorphism in presolar Al2O3 grains from asymptotic giant branch stars

We report microstructural and isotopic analyses of two presolar Al2O3 grains. Aluminum oxide is important cosmically, because its presence has been detected in the infrared spectra of the circumstellar envelopes of O-rich asymptotic giant branch stars and because it is predicted to be the first solid to condense in these stellar environments. The two grain structures, one corundum and the other amorphous, confirm that asymptotic giant branch stars produce both phases. The variation in structure and Ti content demonstrates that Al2O3 can condense in the absence of TiO2 seed clusters but that Ti may be important in determining the crystal structure.     

Magnetism from the atom to the bulk in iron, cobalt, and nickel clusters

Molecular beam deflection measurements of small iron, cobalt, and nickel clusters show how magnetism develops as the cluster size is increased from several tens to several hundreds of atoms for temperatures between 80 and 1000 K. Ferromagnetism occurs even for the smallest sizes: for clusters with fewer than about 30 atoms the magnetic moments are atomlike; as the size is increased up to 700 atoms, the magnetic moments approach the bulk limit, with oscillations probably caused by surface-induced spin-density waves. The trends are explained in a magnetic shell model. A crystallographic phase transition from high moment to low moment in iron clusters has also been identified.     

溶胶凝胶法铁基载氧体的制备与反应性能研究

采用以金属醇盐和无机盐为前驱物的两种溶胶凝胶法,以Al2O3为惰性载体,制备了Fe2O3质量分数为70%的载氧体Fe2O3/Al2O3。X射线衍射分析(XRD)表明,载氧体主要成分为Fe2O3和Al2O3。X射线荧光光谱(XRF)证明,样品中Fe2O3/Al2O3含量与设计值接近;利用不同升温速率的程序升温还原(TPR-H2)测试发现,与商业氧化铁相比,溶胶凝胶法制备的载氧体反应峰向高温区移动,说明惰性载体Al2O3对反应活性的提高作用有限。利用同步热重分析仪(TGA)对载氧体进行循环周期测试,合成的载氧体较商业载氧体具有较高的传氧能力和还原反应速率,并且在循环周期内保持了良好的反应性能。说明惰性组分Al2O3通过优化载氧体物理结构,提高了反应过程热效应的稳定性,进一步加强了Fe2O3晶格氧持续、高效的反应活性。     

Quantum phase interference and parity effects in magnetic molecular clusters

An experimental method based on the Landau-Zener model was developed to measure very small tunnel splittings in molecular clusters of eight iron atoms, which at low temperature behave like a nanomagnet with a spin ground state of S = 10. The observed oscillations of the tunnel splittings as a function of the magnetic field applied along the hard anisotropy axis are due to topological quantum interference of two tunnel paths of opposite windings. Transitions between quantum numbers M = -S and (S - n), with n even or odd, revealed a parity effect that is analogous to the suppression of tunneling predicted for half-integer spins. This observation is direct evidence of the topological part of the quantum spin phase (Berry phase) in a magnetic system.     

Re对Ni和Ni3Al 结构稳定性影响的分子动力学模拟研究

应用分子动力学方法模拟研究了Re在Ni和Ni3Al中的分布及其对材料微结构的影响.研究发现,Re的添加量影响Ni和Ni3Al晶体中空位的产生,但Re在Ni中对体系结构的破坏程度小于其在Ni3Al中占据Ni位时的程度.在Ni中,Re添加量较少且增大空位比时,其结构依然能保持稳定;随着Re数目的增多,空位比的增大,其影响逐渐变得明显.Re在Ni3Al中占据Ni,Re含量或空位比较小时,结构皆会出现局部不稳定.随着Re添加量的增多,结构的破坏程度加剧.然而Re占据Ni3Al中的Al位时其结构并未发生明显的变化,直至Re的添加量大至1%和空位比增至1%~1.5 % 时体系中才出现局部不稳定.相比而言,Re置换Al比置换Ni时对体系结构的影响较弱,在Ni3Al中Re占据Al位比占据Ni位更稳定.     

Ecology of insect host-parasitoid communities

Although conclusive evidence is lacking for its establishment, the thesis that complexity adds stability to communities is probably accepted by the majority of ecologists. I believe this attitude found its origins in the indisputable fact that there are latitudinal and altitudinal changes in community complexity. As one progresses northward or southward from the equator, or higher in altitude in most parts of the world, one cannot help but notice that communities tend to become simpler, that is, there are fewer species per community. At the same time, these communities appear to become less stable. But perhaps this change in stability is in appearance only; they appear to be less stable because of the relatively greater number of individuals comprising each species population in temperate areas. Each population, because of its greater numbers, is therefore conspicuous, and changes in these numbers are noticed. We are particularly aware of such changes because populations in these areas of the world have been comparatively well studied. Many of the most studied populations include species of economic importance where changes in population numbers are vital to agricultural or forestry practices. Equatorial populations, on the other hand, contain smaller numbers of individuals of each species because of the greater number of species present. Number changes are simply not as noticeable because the population itself is not as obvious among the other populations. It may be that when (if ever) we have as much data on equatorial populations as we have on those of temperate climates, we will find fluctuations of equal relative magnitude (but not of equal numbers, of course). If, on the other hand, we really do find a correlation between complexity and stability, the suggestion by May (12) that stability permits complexity may be well worth investigating. Because of its organization and physical setting, the Rhopalomyia community I have studied might be expected to have considerable stability. In fact, however, it does not. Each of the populations in the community fluctuates greatly and irregularly in both percentages and numbers, and these populations apparently become locally extinct occasionally, because they sometimes cannot be found even in extensive collections. After studying several of the more important parasitoid species, it is evident to me that there is little or nothing about their interactions that might induce greater community stability. Each species seems to have evolved into the community with no higher purpose than simply to usurp what it can from some other member, and it does this by concentrating its energies on better competitive mechanisms rather than higher reproductive capacities. There are never empty niches to be filled by organisms having the "correct specifications" because new niches are created out of parts of older, broader niches which were occupied by other, more r-selected organisms. Thus, perhaps we have read too much into community organization. Perhaps the "ifiling of niches" is essentially nothing more than the haphazard result of competitive jostling among species; and that as communities develop, they are not necessarily programmed for such things as greater stability or better energy utilizationthe species merely become more closely packed.