Mixed Compounds Research Articles

The Effect of DLC Surface Coatings on Microabrasive Wear of Ti-22Nb-6Zr Obtained by Powder Metallurgy

Titanium alloys have a high cost of production and exhibit low resistance to abrasive wear. The objective of this work was to carry out diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating, with dissimilar thicknesses, on Ti-22Nb-6Zr titanium alloys produced by powder metallurgy, and to evaluate its microabrasive wear resistance. The samples were compacted, cold pressed, and sintered, producing substrates for coating. The DLC coatings were carried out by PECVD (plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition). Free sphere microabrasive wear tests were performed using alumina (Al2O3) abrasive suspension. The DLC-coated samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Vickers microhardness, coatings adhesion tests, confocal laser microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Raman spectroscopy. The coatings did not show peeling-off or delamination in adhesion tests. The PECVD deposition was effective, producing sp2 and sp3 mixed carbon compounds characteristic of diamond-like carbon. The coatings provided good structural quality, homogeneity in surface roughness, excellent coating-to-substrate adhesion, and good tribological performance in microabrasive wear tests. The low wear coefficients obtained in this work demonstrate the excellent potential of DLC coatings to improve the tribological behavior of biocompatible titanium alloy parts (Ti-22Nb-6Zr) produced with a low modulus of elasticity (closer to the bone) and with near net shape, given by powder metallurgy processing.

In Situ Single-phase Formation of LaCl(CN2) Mixed-Anion Compound Via Controlled Pyrolysis of La3+ Modified Melamine Precursor.

Nitride (N3-) or cyanamide (CN22-) based mixed-anion compounds stand as attractive materials due to their unique properties derived from the binary or multiple anions, although their synthesis remains challenging in incorporating the N3- or CN22- anions safely. This work highlights the first demonstration of in situ single phase formation of a LaCl(CN2) mixed-anion compound from a stable single source precursor, melamine modified with LaCl3 preparable under aqueous conditions. The in situ formation of LaCl(CN2) involves the chemical modification of melamine with LaCl3 to form a complex. Upon heating of the precursor under N2 flowing, this complex generates cyanamide species around 400 °C, which react with LaCl3 and nonsublimated melamine to afford a binary LaCl(CN2)/g-C3N4 composite. Further pyrolysis at 800 °C decomposes the g-C3N4 counterpart, resulting in the LaCl(CN2) single-phase formation. The electronic properties of the precursor-derived single phase LaCl(CN2) were studied by the density functional theory calculation and UV-vis spectroscopy combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses and characterized by measuring 4.7, 1.8, and -2.9 eV for the band gap energy, the valence band maximum, and the conduction band minimum relative to Fermi energy, respectively. This study paves the way for exploring various cyanamide-based mixed anion compounds, advancing their potential applications in various fields.

Li2NaB3S2O12: A Deep-UV Transparent Borosulfate with Moderate Birefringence Derived from the [B3S2O12]∞ Infinite Chain Designed by the High Boron-to-Sulfur Ratio Strategy.

The first mixed alkali metal borosulfate compound, Li2NaB3S2O12 (LNBSO), which contains [BO3] groups, was designed and synthesized by using a high boron-to-sulfur ratio strategy through the high temperature solution method. LNBSO exhibits a birefringence of 0.057@546.1 nm in experiments, which was mainly contributed by the [BO3] groups, and possesses a short absorption edge at 184 nm, and the space group of LNBSO is P21/c. This newly synthesized borosulfate compound holds potential as a promising birefringent material within the deep-ultraviolet wavelength range. Moreover, the investigation on the relationship among the ratio of boron to sulfur, the dimensionality of the anionic framework, and the formation of [BO3] groups has been conducted on available borosulfate, providing insights for the synthesis of borosulfate with desirable performances.

Persistence luminescence and thermoluminescence of 260 nm UVC irradiated mixed-phase (BaAl2O4 - BaAl12O19) barium aluminate

Persistence luminescence (PerL) and thermoluminescence (TL) of BaAl2O4 - BaAl12O19 mixed phase compound under 260 nm UVC irradiation are studied. The sample shows PerL for more than 1 hour post irradiation. TL glow curves of the sample recorded at 1 oC/s following irradiation to UVC radiation shows a composite glow peak between 30 and 230 oC. The TL intensity is found to be affected by thermal quenching. The activation energy for thermal quenching is estimated to be W=0.85±0.12 eV. A Tm-Tstop analysis reveals that the TL glow peak is composed of multiple first order components. The activation energy associated with the electron traps are found to vary from 0.66 to 1.70 eV. The density of traps is high between 0.60 and 1.20 eV. Due to presence of continuous distribution of electron traps, there is an excellent scope of developing colour tuneable persistence luminescence phosphor using mixed phase barium aluminate.

Simultaneous removal of E1, E2, EE2 and levonorgestrel from water using TiO2 catalyst anchored on activated carbon: Processes optimization, materials characterization, and assessment of the estrogenicity reduction

Removal of estrogen hormones from water matrices is crucial owing to its adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health. The present investigation applies an advanced approach to assess the effectiveness of combined processes (adsorption and visible-light-driven photo-degradation) for simultaneous removal of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and levonorgestrel (LEVO) in water, applying TiO2-activated carbon composite selected through design of experiment (DoE) for process optimization. Based on a central composite rotatable design (CCRD), composites were synthesized with percentages of activated carbon (AC) ranging from 2.93% to 17.07% (wt.) and calcination temperatures between 259 and 541 °C. The composite with the best performance TiO2-AC15%-541 (15% wt. AC, calcined at 541 °C), achieved a total removal of 98.3 ± 1.15% for E1, 99.0 ± 1% for E2, 99.3 ± 1.15% for EE2, and 96.0 ± 2.65% for LEVO at the initial concentration of 100 μg L−1 under simulated solar irradiation. Further optimization using once more CCRD involved three independent variables: pH; hormone concentration/TiO2-AC15%-541 loading ratio; and the intensity of simulated solar irradiation. Under optimized conditions (pH 2.64, hormone concentration/TiO2-AC15%-541 loading ratio of 3.8 mg g−1, and irradiation intensity of 41 W m−2 UV-A), the TiO2-AC15%-541 composite removed 99.8% of E1, 99.8% of E2, 99.0% of EE2, and 92.1% of LEVO. Furthermore, the process achieved a 99.9% reduction in estrogenic activity, assessed with yeast estrogen screen (YES) assay. These results demonstrate that TiO2-AC15%-541 is an efficient and cost-effective remediation agent for treating mixed estrogen compounds in water, with significant potential for commercial applications.

Pola Fungsi Kalimat pada Teks Pidato Capres RI 2024 dalam Berita Daring Detik News sebagai Sumber Bacaan Siswa Kelas 10 SMA

Everyone must have the ability to speak, especially a leader. When writing speech texts, you are expected to be able to write sentence patterns correctly and understandably. The aim of writing this article is to study the function patterns of sentences in the text of the 2024 RI presidential candidate's speech in the online news Detik News to broaden the insight of researchers and readers, especially as a reading source for grade 10 high school students. This research was conducted so that researchers and readers could compose speech texts and deliver speeches with a correct and appropriate structure. This research uses a pragmatic approach and carries out analysis by identifying sentence patterns in the text of the 2024 Indonesian presidential candidate's speech published in the online news Detik News. Information about the data taken is text that contains the sentence structure of speech texts in Indonesian language learning for class X students. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method and a syntactic method. The data collection technique uses listening and taking note techniques. After researching the text of the 2023 Indonesian presidential candidate's speech on the online news Detik News, various sentence patterns were found. These sentence patterns consist of, among others, single sentence patterns, equivalent compound sentence patterns, multilevel compound sentence patterns, and mixed compound sentence patterns. It is hoped that the results of the analysis from this article will increase students' knowledge in writing and analyzing speech texts well and correctly, and also not only writing and analyzing but also hopefully being able to give public speeches well and of course correctly.

Synthesis and characterization of mixed aryl-alkyl organotin compounds

In an effort to develop new organotin compound, a series of organotin compounds containing mixed aryl-alkyl substituents have been synthesized. All prepared organotin (IV) compounds were characterized by IR, 1H, 13C, 119Sn NMR spectra, and the elemental analysis. In addition, the solid-state structures of 4–1a, 4–2a, 4–2b, 4–2c, 5–1b, 5–2a, 5–2b, and 5–1a’ were determined by the X-ray diffraction analysis. The Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that the complexes 5–1b and 5–2b have a similar contribution of different contacts to the Hirshfeld surfaces.

Chemical and Structural Evolution of Rb2-2xK2xTi2O5 Layered Titanates When Exposed to Ambient Air.

In this report, we combine thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy to investigate the chemical and structural evolution upon exposure of alkali titanates Rb2Ti2O5 and K2Ti2O5 and mixed compound Rb2-2xK2xTi2O5, for which 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, to the ambient atmosphere. We show that a complete solid solution exists between the potassium and rubidium end-members and that mixed compounds exhibit an intermediate behavior. When exposed to the ambient atmosphere, all compounds degrade, with the progressive formation of first hydrates and then bicarbonates and a much quicker degradation of the rubidium titanate than of the potassium titanate. On the contrary, we show that upon hydration in the absence of CO2, the crystal structure of K2Ti2O5 is more quickly impacted than that of Rb2Ti2O5. These observations should be useful for understanding the evolution of the functional properties of M2Ti2O5 alkali titanates upon aging in the ambient atmosphere, as well as for the optimization of their hydration-dependent properties.

MINIMIZING TEMPERATURE DEVIATIONS IN RUBBER MIXING PROCESS BY USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

ABSTRACT Rubber mixing is a complex manufacturing process that poses challenges for process control due to the high number of control variables, including mixing parameter settings, rheological behavior, compound viscosity, and batch-dependent material variations. Already small deviations from the control variables can influence the compound properties, leading to increased scrap rates. To address these challenges, this paper introduces an artificial intelligence–based approach to enhance process control in rubber mixing by predicting mixing temperatures from input variables. The proposed method uses feedforward neural networks (FFNs) to enable early identification of batch-specific temperature deviations, thereby enabling systematic improvements with each new application. The FFN was trained on a diverse dataset encompassing various rubber recipes and batches. Post-training, the FFN demonstrated remarkable accuracy, achieving a mean absolute percentage error of 1.00% on the training dataset and 1.44% on the validation dataset, thereby showcasing its efficacy in predicting temperature fluctuations within the mixing process. Consequently, the FFN can determine the relevant input variables necessary to achieve specific mixing temperatures, providing a foundation for an automated control system in rubber mixing process. This paper outlines the system architecture of the FFN tailored for rubber mixing and provides a comprehensive overview of the experimental results.

Crystal structure and magnetic properties of Fe doped BaTiO3 at morphotropic phase boundary

Ceramic compounds BaTi1-xFexO with x = 0 – 0.2 prepared by solid state reaction technique were studied using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and magnetometry methods focusing on the correlation between the structure and magnetic properties. Chemical doping with Fe ions leads to a concentration driven structural transformation from the single phase tetragonal (T-) structure to the hexagonal (H-) structure with a mixed structural state stable in the concentration range 0.06 <x ≤ 0.2. Increase in the Fe ions content causes a stabilization of weak ferromagnetic state driven by the exchange interactions Fe3+ – O – Fe3+ ions strongly dependent on the structural positions of the Fe ions. Increase of the dopant content above x = 0.08 leads to a decrease of the remnant magnetization which is mainly caused by a stabilization of Fe4+ ions as well as by the lattice defects associated with oxygen vacancies formed to keep electroneutrality of the compounds. The results of the structural and magnetization measurements allowed to itemize the type of exchange interactions between Fe ions residing different structural positions of the hexagonal lattice as well as to reveal structural instability of the T- and H- phases under ambient conditions and applied electric field which shows a possibility to control the structure and magnetic properties of the mixed compounds via external stimuli.

Analysing the self-assembly modes in chiral multi-component gels based on donor and acceptor moieties

ABSTRACT The role of the structural similarity in the individual components on the self-assembly process of multi-component systems was studied by analysing the gelation properties of chiral multi-component gels with structurally similar (enantiomers) and non-similar donor or acceptor moieties. The gelation properties of the individual enantiomers, mixed enantiomers, and mixed chiral donor-acceptor compounds were analysed in various solvents. Analysis of the mechanical strength revealed that the mixed chiral gels were stronger compared to other gels in mesitylene; however, a reverse trend was observed for thermal stability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the dried gels of the mixed enantiomeric and mixed chiral donor-acceptor gels showed morphological changes indicating different self-assembly modes. Powder X-ray analysis revealed that a co-assembled mode was observed for the mixed gels with structurally similar components. However, a self-sorting nature was observed for the mixed chiral donor-acceptor gel, and the charge transfer interaction between the donor and acceptor played a major role in the self-assembly of these mixed gels. We performed computational studies to predict the electronic distribution in the individual chiral molecules. These results demonstrate that altering the structural features of the individual components is one of the key parameters that control the self-assembly modes of multi-component systems.

High-temperature aging and long-term mechanical properties of polyphenylene sulfide composites for marine use

ABSTRACT Advanced polymeric composites and manufacturing techniques promote developments of marine structures significantly (e.g., spare parts supply chain of shipbuilding and maintenance). In this paper, the GNP/CF-PPS (graphene nanoplatelets short carbon fibre polyphenylene sulfide composite) samples are prepared by mechanically mixing CF-PPS plastic pellets and GNP particles. The mixed compound is 3D-printed by material extrusion additive manufacturing, and the bending mechanics test is carried out to explore how nanoreinforcement affects the ability of printed composites to perform under high temperature conditions. The results show that CF-PPS and GNP/CF-PPS samples have the highest flexural strength at room temperature. As the temperature rises to 260°C, the stiffness increases by 4.8% and 6.7% respectively, while the deflection decreases by 30.4% and 25.6% respectively. The characterisation results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that the cross-sectional pores of CF-PPS samples after adding GNP are relatively reduced, indicating the improvement in the structural stability.

Ab initio calculations and crystal structure simulations for mixed layer compounds from the tetradymite series

Abstract Density functional theory (DFT) is used to obtain structural information of seven members of the tetradymite homologous series: Bi2Te3 (tellurobismuthite), BiTe (tsumoite), Bi4Te3 (pilsenite), Bi5Te3, Bi2Te, Bi7Te3 (hedleyite), and Bi8Te3. We use the formula S(Bi2kTe3)·L[Bi2(k+1)Te3] as a working model (k = 1–4) where S and L are short and long modules in the structures. The relaxed structures show an increase in the a parameter and decrease in the interlayer distance (dsub) from Bi2Te3 (2.029 Å) to Bi8Te3 (1.975 Å). DFT-derived formation energy for each phase indicates that they are all thermodynamically stable. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) simulations for each of the relaxed structures show an excellent match with atom models. Simulated electron diffractions and reflection modulation along c* are concordant with published data, where they exist, and with the theory underpinning mixed-layer compounds. Two modulation vectors, q = γ·csub* (γ = 1.800–1.640) and qF = γF·dsub* (γF = 0.200–0.091), describe the distribution of reflections and their intensity variation along dsub* = 1/dsub. The γF parameter reinforces the concept of Bi2kTe3 and Bi2(k+1)Te3 blocks in the double module structures, and γ relates to dsub variation. Our model describing the relationship between γ and dsub allows prediction of dsub beyond the compositional range considered in this study, showing that phases with k &amp;gt;5 have values dsub within the analytical range of interlayer distance in bismuth. This, in turn, allows us to constrain the tetradymite homologous series between γ values of 1.800 (Bi2Te3) and 1.588 (Bi14Te3). Phase compositions with higher Bi/Te should be considered as disordered alloys of bismuth. These results have implications for mineral systematics and classification as they underpin predictive models for all intermediate structures in the group and can be equally applied to other mixed-layer series. Our structural models will also assist in understanding variation in the thermoelectric and topological insulating properties of new compounds in the broader tetradymite group and can support experimental work targeting a refined phase diagram for the system Bi-Te.

FLORES: VERDADEIRO RESERVATÓRIO DE ANTIBIÓTICOS E RESINAS ANTIMICROBIANAS

Microbial resistance is the versatility of microorganisms not to succumb to the harsh environment and to maintain themselves in all environmental compartments, organisms and living cells. This phenomenon is a mechanism of acquired adaptation that directly impacts humans and animals, as these organisms have disharmonious relationships with them, causing several practically intractable pathologies, leading to the death of the host. The World Health Organization points out, every year, the increase of microorganisms resistant to drugs, both for domestic and hospital use, publishing in its reports, the frightening reality of organisms resistant to all commercialized drugs, being called Pan-resistant. Therefore, the objective of the study is to investigate in fresh, freshly picked flowers, a new substance with antimicrobial and/or bactericidal power against Enterobacteria. Of the 66 flowers studied, 29 showed some promising antibiotic/bactericidal effect, with passion fruit and mallow being the ones that stood out the most, followed by dahlia and munguba. The hexane extract of the passion fruit flower showed a halo of formation greater than Gentamicin and Amikacin, of 22 mm with only 0.5 g of the flower. Several studies describe the complexity of substances found in passion fruit flower, making it difficult to indicate a possible organic group or the combination of mixed organic compounds with synergistic effects. The mallow flower, which has the coumarin malvina and the terpenoid malvona exclusively, presented an inhibition halo comparable to antibiotic discs already used in drug therapies, with an effect on all three Enterobacteriaceae studied, Salmonella serotype thyphimurium NCTC® 12023, multiresistant Escherichia coli, and the pan-resistant bacterium kpcKlebsiella planticola2019, being a great antimicrobial potential. For a similar bacteriostatic effect of propolis, 22 flowers expressed a glutinous, expansive and resinous effect, in order to immobilize and prevent an aggressive and pathogenic agent from expressing its metabolism or life cycle, with the highlight being azalea, presenting the largest halo.Thus, it is possible to infer that the production of propolis by bees is the sum of the harvesting of resins from several species of flowers, both exotic and native, in the manufacture of the best resin to protect their hives. Finally, the trend of phytotherapy combined with modern biotechnological science may be the key to success against highly specialized parasites. This study falls under SDG 13 (quality health) and SDG 15 (life on land) of the development goals.

Charge and Spin Transfer Dynamics in a Weakly Coupled Porphyrin Dimer.

The dynamics of electron and spin transfer in the radical cation and photogenerated triplet states of a tetramethylbiphenyl-linked zinc-porphyrin dimer were investigated, so as to test the relevant parameters for the design of a single-molecule spin valve and the creation of a novel platform for the photogeneration of high-multiplicity spin states. We used a combination of multiple techniques, including variable-temperature continuous wave EPR, pulsed proton electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), transient EPR, and optical spectroscopy. The conclusions are further supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and comparison to reference compounds. The low-temperature cw-EPR and room-temperature near-IR spectra of the dimer monocation demonstrate that the radical cation is spatially localized on one side of the dimer at any point in time, not coherently delocalized over both porphyrin units. The EPR spectra at 298 K reveal rapid hopping of the radical spin density between both sites of the dimer via reversible intramolecular electron transfer. The hyperfine interactions are modulated by electron transfer and can be quantified using ENDOR spectroscopy. This allowed simulation of the variable-temperature cw-EPR spectra with a two-site exchange model and provided information on the temperature-dependence of the electron transfer rate. The electron transfer rates range from about 10.0 MHz at 200 K to about 53.9 MHz at 298 K. The activation enthalpies Δ‡H of the electron transfer were determined as Δ‡H = 9.55 kJ mol-1 and Δ‡H = 5.67 kJ mol-1 in a 1:1:1 solvent mixture of CD2Cl2/toluene-d8/THF-d8 and in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, respectively, consistent with a Robin-Day class II mixed valence compound. These results indicate that the interporphyrin electronic coupling in a tetramethylbiphenyl-linked porphyrin dimer is suitable for the backbone of a single-molecule spin valve. Investigation of the spin density distribution of the photogenerated triplet state of the Zn-porphyrin dimer reveals localization of the triplet spin density on a nanosecond time scale on one-half of the dimer at 20 K in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and at 250 K in a polyvinylcarbazole film. This establishes the porphyrin dimer as a molecular platform for the formation of a localized, photogenerated triplet state on one porphyrin unit that is coupled to a second redox-active, ground-state porphyrin unit, which can be explored for the formation of high-multiplicity spin states.

Prospective Chalcohalide Perovskites: Pursuing (and Failing) the Synthesis of CsBiSCl2 Nanocrystals.

Heavy pnictogen chalcohalides are often termed lead-free, perovskite-inspired materials. Despite theoretical predictions, incontrovertible experimental demonstrations of heavy pnictogen chalcohalides adopting a perovskite structure are lacking. Here we report our attempts to prepare CsBiSCl2 adopting a perovskite structure as colloidal nanocrystals. Synthesis of nanoscale materials can indeed rely on fast, nonequilibrium reactions and on large, eventually thermodynamically favorable surface energies, leading to the possibility of stabilizing kinetically trapped or metastable phases. However, we obtained no CsBiSCl2, but a mixture of nanocrystals of secondary phases, namely Cs3BiCl6 submicrometric polyhedra, Bi2S3 nanoscopic rods, and Cs3Bi2Cl9 nanoscopic dots, whose low polydispersity enabled an effective separation via size/shape selective precipitation. This work confirms that heavy pnictogen chalcohalides are hardly prone to adopting a perovskite structure. Nevertheless, chemistry at the nanoscale offers multiple possibilities for overcoming phase segregation and pursuing the synthesis of prospective mixed anion compound semiconductors.

Berry Fruits and Their Improving Potential on Skeletal Muscle Health and Performance: A Systematic Review of the Evidence in Animal and in Human Studies.

The well-established anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of red fruits leave room for a biological pathway of improved muscle health promoted by berries in the diet. Our objective was to systematically review the number of trials conducted on human and animal species around the relationship between a berry diet and muscle health outcomes. Two independent examiners conducted a search for studies that utilized keywords associated with muscle health outcomes and a berry-based diet in both human and animal trials, in accordance with the PRISMA statement guidelines. The literature was searched through six electronic databases until December 2023. Screening of 152 retrieved articles resulted in a final selection of 16 reports investigating the effect of exposure to a berry-based diet and skeletal muscle health outcomes. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023479682). Among the selected studies, nine involved humans and seven animal models (rats and mice). Overall, most of the studies reported positive effects on performance or muscle health. Specifically, five studies investigated the possible effects of blackcurrant on active human subjects or athletes; three studies focused on blueberry and presented results on running performance (human sample) and muscle health (rat models). The rest of the studies involved raspberries (two studies, rat models), aronia (one study, rat models), elderberry (one study, rat models), and a mixed compound (one study, rat models). In conclusion, there is some early evidence that a berry-rich diet may increase performance or muscle health, but more research is needed to fully understand the underlying biological trajectories, and thus, no firm conclusions can yet be drawn.

Improved sensitivity and ambient light stability of radiochromic plastic dosimeters through composite azo compounds

The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the dose sensitivity and ambient light resistance of radiochromic plastic dosimeters (RPDs) incorporating mixed azo compound with those incorporating individual azo compounds.RPDs were fabricated using a mixture of polyurethane, leuco dye, initiator, and solvent.In this study, three azo compounds (tartrazine, sunset yellow, and allura red) were incorporated into RPDs either individually or in combination. Thus, we produced five dosimeter types: one original RPD (A) without azo compounds, three RPDs (B, C, D) with individual azo compounds, and one RPD (E) with mixed azo compounds. Initially, to compare dose response and sensitivity, one group of each sample was delivered to doses ranging from 0.2 Gy to 3 Gy with 6 MV photon beams at 600 cGy/min. To assess ambient light resistance, another group was exposed to light for varying durations. Following irradiation and light exposure, optical density (OD) was obtained using a cone-beam optical CT scanner for each group. Wavelength spectra for each sample were acquired using a spectrometer. This study encompassed analysis and comparison of dose response curves, sensitivity, and netOD-time graphs among samples. Additionally, the absorption wavelength spectra of the samples were compared with the light spectrum emitted by a light bulb.The dose response curves were represented by linear functions, with the slope indicating the sensitivity of each sample. The sensitivity for samples A-E were 0.0759, 0.0988, 0.0902, 0.0809, and 0.1013 ΔOD/Gy, respectively. Samples B-E demonstrated increases in sensitivity of 30.1%, 18.8%, 6.5%, and 33.4%, respectively, compared to sample A. Sample E, which incorporated mixed azo compounds, demonstrated the highest sensitivity and remarkable resistance to ambient light. The results suggested that all azo compounds influenced the sensitivity of the RPDs, and that mixed azo compounds does not reduce the sensitivity of the RPDs. The ambient light resistance was dictated by the overlap between the light bulb's wavelength and the azo dyes' absorption range, which for mixed azo compounds spanned widely from 300 nm to 600 nm. The mixed azo compounds, as opposed to a single azo compound, allowed for the absorption of a wider range of light wavelengths, leading to an increased resistance to ambient light.Our study demonstrated that the inclusion of azo compounds enhances the sensitivity of RPDs. Specifically, the use of mixed azo compounds provided the highest sensitivity and exhibited superior resistance to ambient light. This improved performance can be attributed to the broader absorption wavelength spectrum achievable with mixed azo compounds, enabling absorption across a wider range of light wavelengths. These findings highlight the potential utility of mixed azo compounds in the fabrication of RPDs, enhancing their function as highly sensitive and resistant dosimeters to ambient light.

New Series of Ni(II), Cu(II), Zr(IV), Ag(I), and Cd(II) Complexes of Trimethoprim and Diamine Ligands: Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Studies

New compounds series of [M(TMP)(en)]X·nH2O and [M(TMP)(PD)]X·nH2O, where M = Ni2+, Cu2+, Zr4+, Ag+, Cd2+, TMP = trimethoprim, en = ethylenediamine, PD = o-phenylene and X= Cl− or NO3−, were prepared. The compounds were characterized using techniques including melting points, conductance, elemental analysis, FTIR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy. FTIR spectra indicated TMP acted like a bi-dentate ligand, combining via the nitrogen atoms of azomethine and pyrimidine amino groups. Diamine ligands (en or o-PD) are coordinated via two nitrogen atoms. Prepared compounds showed monomeric behavior and adopted a 6-coordinate octahedral geometry based on magnetic susceptibility and UV spectra. Conductivity measurements revealed Zr(IV) compounds were 1:2 conductive, while Ag+ and Cd2+ were 1:1 conductive; Ni2+ and Cu2+ compounds were non-conductive. Antibacterial tests on compounds and ligands against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. The mixed metal compounds revealed an observable tendency of antibacterial activity in the order Zr &gt; Cd = Ag &gt; Cu, making Zr(IV) compounds the most biologically active among them against S. aureus (Gram-positive) while the same compounds showed less antibacterial activity against B. subtilis (Gram-negative) than the free ligand.

Ultrastrong Coupling between Polar Distortion and Optical Properties in Ferroelectric MoBr2O2.

Tuning the properties of materials by using external stimuli is crucial for developing versatile smart materials. Strong coupling among the order parameters within a single-phase material constitutes a potent foundation for achieving precise property control. However, cross-coupling is fairly weak in most single materials. Leveraging first-principles calculations, we demonstrate a layered mixed anion compound MoBr2O2 that exhibits electric-field switchable spontaneous polarization and ultrastrong coupling between polar distortion and electronic structures as well as optical properties. It offers feasible avenues of achieving tunable Rashba spin-splitting, electrochromism, thermochromism, photochromism, and nonlinear optics by applying an external electric field to a single domain sample and heating, as well as intense light illumination. Additionally, it exhibits an exceptionally large photostrictive effect. These findings not only showcase the feasibility of achieving multiple order parameter coupling within a single material but also pave the way for comprehensive applications based on property control, such as energy harvesting, information processing, and ultrafast control.