Positrons annihilation

Another relatively recent technique, in its own way as strange as Mossbauer spectrometry, is positron annihilation spectrometry. Positrons are positive electrons (antimatter), spectacularly predicted by the theoretical physicist Dirac in the 1920s and discovered in cloud chambers some years later. Some currently available radioisotopes emit positrons, so these particles arc now routine tools. High-energy positrons are injected into a crystal and very quickly become thermalised by... 

The other method for quality assurance inspection of pellet wt in the primer eliminates the need for a comparator oxygen-containing standard. Here, the Cu in the cup-anvil combination in the primer is used as an internal standard by comparing the 0.511 MeV positron annihilation radiation from 62Cu produced by the 63Cu(n,2n)62Cu reaction to the 6.1 MeV 7 from l6N produced by oxygen activation. In this case the actual determination of pellet wt is not required the ratio of Cu to O, which should be fixed for a pro-... 

The sizes and concentration of the free-volume cells in a polyimide film can be measured by PALS. The positrons injected into polymeric material combine with electrons to form positroniums. The lifetime (nanoseconds) of the trapped positronium in the film is related to the free-volume radius (few angstroms) and the free-volume fraction in the polyimide can be calculated.136 This technique allows a calculation of the dielectric constant in good agreement with the experimental value.137 An interesting correlation was found between the lifetime of the positronium and the diffusion coefficient of gas in polyimide.138,139 High permeabilities are associated with high intensities and long lifetime for positron annihilation. 

Network properties and microscopic structures of various epoxy resins cross-linked by phenolic novolacs were investigated by Suzuki et al.97 Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) was utilized to characterize intermolecular spacing of networks and the results were compared to bulk polymer properties. The lifetimes (t3) and intensities (/3) of the active species (positronium ions) correspond to volume and number of holes which constitute the free volume in the network. Networks cured with flexible epoxies had more holes throughout the temperature range, and the space increased with temperature increases. Glass transition temperatures and thermal expansion coefficients (a) were calculated from plots of t3 versus temperature. The Tgs and thermal expansion coefficients obtained from PAS were lower titan those obtained from thermomechanical analysis. These differences were attributed to micro-Brownian motions determined by PAS versus macroscopic polymer properties determined by thermomechanical analysis. 

Spectroscopy, 490. See also 13C NMR spectroscopy FT Raman spectroscopy Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry H NMR spectroscopy Infrared (IR) spectroscopy Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) Raman spectroscopy Small-angle x-ray spectroscopy (SAXS) Ultraviolet spectroscopy Wide-angle x-ray spectroscopy (WAXS)... 

The apparent and partial molar volumes of aggregated sodium octyl, decyl, dodecyl, and tetradecyl sulfate molecules have been studied in detail by Vass et al. [144] from densities measured by a vibrating capillary densitometer in normal and 99.85% heavy water at 25°C and by Vass [130] from density, small-angle scattering, and positron annihilation measurements. 

Kobayasi, T. (1994) Fourier inversion formalism for the calculation of angular correlation of positron annihilation radiation of semiconductors, Bull. Coll. Med. Sci. Tohoku Univ., 3, 11-22. 

O.E. Mogensen, Positron Annihilation in Chemistry, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1995. 

A fascinating insight into the impact that modelling can make in polymer science is provided in an article by Miiller-Plathe and co-workers [136]. They summarise work in two areas of experimental study, the first involves positron annihilation studies as a technique for the measurement of free volume in polymers, and the second is the use of MD as a tool for aiding the interpretation of NMR data. In the first example they show how the previous assumptions about spherical cavities representing free volume must be questioned. Indeed, they show that the assumptions of a spherical cavity lead to a systematic underestimate of the volume for a given lifetime, and that it is unable to account for the distribution of lifetimes observed for a given volume of cavity. The NMR example is a wonderful illustration of the impact of a simple model with the correct physics. 

Keywords zeolite gel precursor, alkali cation, positron annihilation... 

In this work positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) was used to investigate structural diversity inside zeolite precursor matrix caused by the presence of alkali cations Na, K, Rb and Cs. PALS is an established and well-proven method for structural investigations of various materials, extensively used for metals and alloys, semiconductors and porous materials [3, 4]. In the investigations of zeolites PALS has been mostly used for their void structure and size study [5, 6, 7, 8], also in correlation to... 

R. Krause-Rehherg and H.S. Lepner, Positron Annihilation in Semiconductors,... 

Petkov, M. R Weber, M. H. Lynn, K. G. Rodbell, K. P. 2001. Porosity characterization by beam-based three-photon positron annihilation spectroscopy. Appl. Phys. Lett. 79 3884-3886. 

Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) was first applied to investigate [Fe(phen)2(NCS)2] [77]. The most important chemical information provided by the technique relates to the ortho-positronium lifetime as determined by the electron density in the medium. It has been demonstrated that PAS can be used to detect changes in electron density accompanying ST or a thermally induced lattice deformation, which could actually trigger a ST [78]. 

Several experimental techniques such as Compton scattering, positron annihilation, angular correlation, etc., are used for measuring momentum densities. One of the most popular techniques involved in measuring momentum densities is termed as electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) [29]. This involves directing an electron beam at the surface of the metal under study. Hence EMS techniques fall under what is classified as coincidence spectroscopy. 

The disordered polyethylene shows a broader distribution of orthopositronium annihilation irregularities than a more crystalline low molecular weight sample. Above 230°C, which is the Tg claimed for polyethylene,(19,20) positron annihilation effects are uniform for all specimens of varying perfection. 

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