We present the successful synthesis and stabilization of 3.5 nm Pd nanoparticles (standard deviation of 0.49 nm) within dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) via fast, homogeneous reduction of a Pd salt using NaBH 4 in the absence of traditional capping ligands. These Pd nanoparticles were found to be extremely stable and did not exhibit precipitation and/or agglomeration within the DMSO solvent even after more than 9 months. Moreover, these Pd nanoparticles were conveniently separated from the DMSO solvent medium via vacuum freeze drying by taking advantage of the high freezing point of DMSO. We have also successfully extracted the Pd nanoparticles from the DMSO phase into an organic phase (i.e., hexane), thereby providing a facile and efficient means for the generation of organic phase dispersible metal nanoparticles with complete recycle of the DMSO solvent.
The great comet C/1995 O1 (Hale–Bopp) presented a remarkable opportunity to study its long-term brightness over four years. We used 2240 observations published in the International Comet Quarterly from 17 observers during 1995 July to 1999 September to create a secular lightcurve. In order to account for observer differences, we present a novel algorithm to reduce scatter and increase precision in a lightcurve compiled from many sources. It is implemented in a publicly available code, ICQSPLITTER, which uses a self-consistent statistical approach. To first order, the comet’s lightcurve approximates an r
−4 response for both pre- and postperihelion distances. The preperihelion data are better fit with a fifth-order polynomial with inflection points at 4.0, 2.6, 2.1, and 1.1 au, some of which are associated with physical changes in the coma. Outbursts may have occurred a few days before perihelion and at ∼2.2 and 7.4 au postperihelion. The Afρ values derived from the final magnitudes are consistent with an r
−1.5 dependence on heliocentric distance and are within a factor of 2–4 of those derived from spectroscopy and narrowband photometry. We present correlation equations for visual magnitudes and CO and H2O production rates that are consistent with the preperihelion brightness increasing due to CO outgassing until about 2.6–3.0 au from the Sun and then are strongly correlated with H2O production rates. We also present two generalized correlation equations that may be useful for observation planning and data analysis with the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories.
Observations of stellar remnants linked to Type Ia and Type Iax supernovae are necessary to fully understand their progenitors. Multiple progenitor scenarios predict a population of kicked donor remnants and partially-burnt primary remnants, both moving with relatively high velocity. But only a handful of examples consistent with these two predicted populations have been observed. Here we report the likely first known example of an unbound white dwarf that is consistent with being the fully-cooled primary remnant to a Type Iax supernova. The candidate, LP 93-21, is travelling with a galactocentric velocity of v gal 605 km s −1 , and is gravitationally unbound to the Milky Way. We rule out an extragalactic origin. The Type Iax supernova ejection scenario is consistent with its peculiar unbound trajectory, given anomalous elemental abundances are detected in its photosphere via spectroscopic follow-up. This discovery reflects recent models that suggest stellar ejections likely occur often. Unfortunately the intrinsic faintness of white dwarfs, and the uncertainty associated with their direct progenitor systems, makes it difficult to detect and confirm such donors.
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