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A facile and versatile synthesis using dopamine as a carbon source gives hollow carbon spheres and yolk-shell Au{at}Carbon nanocomposites. The uniform nature of dopamine coatings and their high carbon yield endow the products with high structural integrity. The Au{at}C nanocomposites are catalytically active.
With increasing concern over the ability to detect and characterize special nuclear materials, the need for computer codes that can successfully predict the response of detector systems to various measurement scenarios is extremely important. These computer algorithms need to be benchmarked against a variety of experimental configurations to ensure their accuracy and understand their limitations. The Monte Carlo code MCNP-PoliMi is a modified version of the MCNP-4c code. Recently these modifications have been ported into the new MCNPX 2.6.0 code, which gives the new MCNPX-PoliMi a wider variety of options and abilities, taking advantage of the improvements made to MCNPX. To verify the ability of the MCNPX-PoliMi code to simulate the response of a neutron multiplicity detector simulated results were compared to experimental data. The experiment consisted of a 4.5-kg sphere of alpha-phase plutonium that was moderated with various thicknesses of polyethylene. The results showed that our code system can simulate the multiplicity distributions with relatively good agreement with measured data. The enhancements made to MCNP since the release of MCNP-4c have had little to no effect on the ability of the MCNP-PoliMi to resolve the discrepancies observed in the simulated neutron multiplicity distributions when compared experimental data.
Characterizing intense, focused x-ray free electron laser (FEL) pulses is crucial for their use in diffractive imaging. We describe how the distribution of average phase tilts and intensities on hard x-ray pulses with peak intensities of 10 21 W/m 2 can be retrieved from an ensemble of diffraction patterns produced by 70 nm-radius polystyrene spheres, in a manner that mimics wave-front sensors. Besides showing that an adaptive geometric correction may be necessary for diffraction data from randomly injected sample sources, the paper demonstrates the possibility of collecting statistics on structured pulses using only the diffraction patterns they generate and highlights the imperative to study its impact on single-particle diffractive imaging.
Simulations of the Lawrence Livermore Pulsed Spheres with MAVRIC/Monaco and TRIPOLI-4{sup R} are presented. Both codes use ENDF/B-VII.1 cross section data, but TRIPOLI-4{sup R} also uses cross section data based on JEFF-3.1.1. The MAVRIC/Monaco simulations were performed with the SCALE 6.2.2 release while the TRIPOLI-4{sup R} simulations used an internal development version of the code. For the most part, the simulated and measured neutron counts agree within 30%. Simulated gamma flux data is compared, as well. There are no measured gamma data. The agreement between the simulated gamma flux spectra is often within 10% or less, but there some notable differences, especially when comparing simulations using ENDF/B-VII.1 and JEFF 3.1.1 based cross section data. The comparison of photon simulations suggests that improvements are needed in the cross-section data, cross section processing codes, and/or transport codes and gamma measurement data is needed for experimental validation. (authors)
The behavior of a liquid or gaseous medium, in which a solid body can move freely under the action of a force of constant magnitude and direction, is yet little known.
Optical resonance formed inside a nanocavity resonator can trap light within the active region and hence enhance light absorption, effectively boosting device or material performance in applications of solar cells, photodetectors (PDs), and photocatalysts. Complementing conventional circular and spherical structures, a new type of multishelled spherical resonant strategy is presented. Due to the resonance–enhanced absorption by multiple convex shells, ZnO nanoshell PDs show improved optoelectronic performance and omnidirectional detection of light at different incidence angles and polarization. In addition, the response and recovery speeds of these devices are improved (0.8 and 0.7 ms, respectively) up to three orders of magnitude faster than in previous reports because of the existence of junction barriers between the nanoshells. As a result, the general design principles behind these hollow ZnO nanoshells pave a new way to improve the performance of sophisticated nanophotonic devices.
In this paper, we examine the existence of transcendental first integrals for some classes of systems with symmetries. We obtain sufficient conditions of existence of first integrals of second-order nonautonomous homogeneous systems that are transcendental functions (in the sense of the theory of elementary functions and in the sense of complex analysis) expressed as finite combinations of elementary functions.
We establish the integrability of dynamical systems of some classes arising in multidimensional dynamics. The force fields under consideration possess the so-called variable dissipation with zero mean and generalize the studied earlier ones.
This paper is a survey of integrable cases in dynamics of a multi-dimensional rigid body under the action of a nonconservative force field. We review both new results and results obtained earlier. Problems examined are described by dynamical systems with so-called variable dissipation with zero mean. The problem of the search for complete sets of transcendental first integrals of systems with dissipation is quite topical; a large number of works are devoted to it. We introduce a new class of dynamical systems that have a periodic coordinate. Due to the existence of nontrivial symmetry groups of such systems, we can prove that these systems possess variable dissipation with zero mean, which means that on the average for a period with respect to the periodic coordinate, the dissipation in the system is equal to zero, although in various domains of the phase space, either energy pumping or dissipation can occur. Based on the facts obtained, we analyze dynamical systems that appear in the dynamics of a multi-dimensional rigid body and obtain a series of new cases of complete integrability of the equations of motion in transcendental functions, which can be expressed through a finite combination of elementary functions. As applications, we study dynamical equations of motion arising in the study of the plane and spatial dynamics of a rigid body interacting with a medium and also a possible generalization of the obtained methods to the study of general systems arising in the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations, in the theory of dynamical systems, and also in oscillation theory.
This paper contains a systematic exposition of some results on the equations of motion of a dynamically symmetric n-dimensional rigid body in a nonconservative field of forces. Similar bodies are considered in the dynamics of actual rigid bodies interacting with a resisting medium under the conditions of jet flow past the body with a nonconservative following force acting on the body in such a way that its characteristic point has a constant velocity, which means that the system has a nonintegrable servo-constraint.
CdS hollow nanospheres with diameters ranging from 40 to 150 nm have been synthesized by a surfactant-assisted sonochemical route. The successful vesicle templating indicates that the outer leaflet of the bilayer is the receptive surface in the controlled growth of CdS nanoparticles which provide the unique reactor for the nucleation and mineralization growth of CdS nanoparticles. The CdS nanostructures obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Structural characterization of hollow CdS nanospheres indicates that these products packed with square subunits having sizes between 5 and 7 nm in diameter. The formation of the hollow nanostructure was explained by a vesicle template mechanism, in which sonication and surfactant play important roles. The band-edge emission and surface luminescence of the CdS nanoparticles were observed. -Research Highlights: {yields} CdS hollow nanospheres with diameters of 40-150 nm were synthesized. {yields} Nanoparticles were characterized by UV/Vis and photoluminescence. {yields} Nanospheres are composed of smaller nanocrystals with the average size of 6.8 nm. {yields} The band gap energy of the CdS nanoparticles is higher than its bulk value.
For multiple applications in nuclear energy, the ability to accurately represent material behavior with a simplified model is important to facilitate practical engineering-scale simulations. Here, we focus on the homogenized thermal response of a medium containing spherical inclusions, similar to a fuel form (compact or pebble) containing (TRISO) particles. A review on effective thermal conductivity (ETC) modeling is performed considering a random distribution of mono-sized spherical inclusions in a continuous matrix, with a primary focus on the analytical models. Finite element simulations are performed to evaluate each analytical model in varying material conditions. The model predictions are compared with the expected results obtained from the finite element predictions in addition to the Wiener and Hashin-Shtrikman bounds. Lastly, we included a practical discussion on the homogenization applied to a TRISO fuel pebble.
Here we report complex macrophase and microphase transitions of rigid amphiphiles with spherical Keggin molecular clusters as the solvophilic block and rod-like rigid oligofluorene (OF) as the solvophobic block in mixed solvents of water and polar organic solvent. By properly adjusting the solvent polarity, the amphiphiles are found to respond accordingly by self-assembling into multilayered incomplete onion-like structures (10–25 vol % THF), single-layered vesicular structures (60 vol % THF), and an unexpected macrophase separation in the middle (40–50 vol % THF), which is due to the anomalous trends in Keggin solubility as a result of the nature of TBA + counterions. The rigidity of the OF block prevents the amphiphile from assembling by following the rule of packing parameters; instead, interdigitation among different rods leads to the formation of the solvophobic domain to achieve self-assembly. The incomplete onion structures are controlled by the interdigitation of rigid rods for the number of layers and the electrostatic interaction among Keggin head groups for the interlayer distance. When the degree of interdigitation becomes lower, the self-assembly process shows a trend that can be explained by the traditional rule of packing parameter. This study demonstrates the formation of different self-assembled structures by rigid amphiphiles and their transitions induced by solvent composition. The self-assembly (microphase separation) of rigid amphiphiles in a dilute solution could indeed represent a broad area containing complicated, uncharted rules.
Dust grains are exposed to high-energy electrons in different plasma environments. We have developed the numerical model that provides a description of the electron-solid (represented by grain surface) interaction. The model fits the experimental data from spherical samples of different materials rather well, however, dust grains in space are often edgy and coarse. Thus we extended grain geometry in the model to cubes as a first approximation of irregular surface.
No abstract prepared.
A physical model is derived to create a biological cell separator that is based on controlling the entropy in a microfluidic system having conjoined spherical structures. A one-dimensional simplified model of this three-dimensional problem in terms of the corresponding effects of entropy on the Brownian motion of particles is presented. This dynamic mechanism is based on the Langevin equation from statistical thermodynamics and takes advantage of the characteristics of the Fokker-Planck equation. This mechanism can be applied to manipulate biological particles inside a microfluidic system with identical, conjoined, spherical compartments. This theoretical analysis is verified by performing a rapid and a simple technique for separating yeast cells in these conjoined, spherical microfluidic structures. The experimental results basically match with our theoretical model and we further analyze the parameters which can be used to control this separation mechanism. Both numerical simulations and experimental results show that the motion of the particles depends on the geometrical boundary conditions of the microfluidic system and the initial concentration of the diffusing material. This theoretical model can be implemented in future biophysics devices for the optimized design of passive cell sorters.
We developed a geometrical method to reproduce the morphology of hybrid structures composed by self-ordered dielectric nanospheres covered by anisotropic plasmonic structures. Numerical analysis allowed to investigate the optical response of the considered system, and to identify the relevant parameters to achieve efficient and versatile light manipulation. In particular, we show that the overall structure, acting as a hybrid plasmonic-photonics meta-surface, can be engineered in order to maximize its linear and circular dichroic behavior at optical frequencies.
In this study, we propose a theoretical model to compute the effective thermal conductivity of metal and dielectric spherical particle reinforced composites with interfacial thermal resistance. We consider a wide range of filler volume fraction with sizes ranging from nano- to macro-scale. The model, based on the differential effective medium theory, accounts for particle interactions through two sets of volume fraction corrections. The first correction accounts for a finite volume of composite and the second correction introduces a self-crowding factor that allows us to develop an accurate model for particle interaction even for high volume fraction of fillers. The model is examined to other published models, experiments, and numerical simulations for different types of composites. We observe an excellent agreement between the model and published datasets over a wide range of particle volume fractions and material properties of the composite constituents.