The localization of hydrogen atoms is an essential part of crystal structure analysis, but it is difficult because of their small scattering power. We report the direct localization of hydrogen atoms in nanocrystalline materials, achieved using the recently developed approach of dynamical refinement of precession electron diffraction tomography data. We used this method to locate hydrogen atoms in both an organic (paracetamol) and an inorganic (framework cobalt aluminophosphate) material. The results demonstrate that the technique can reliably reveal fine structural details, including the positions of hydrogen atoms in single crystals with micro- to nanosized dimensions.

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The reaction between Ph(3)PO dissolved in acetone and "PuO(2)Cl(2)" in dilute HCl resulted in the formation of [PuO(2)Cl(2)(Ph(3)PO)(2)]. Crystallographic characterization of the acetone solvate revealed the expected axial trans plutonyl dioxo, with trans Cl and Ph(3)PO in the equatorial plane. Spectroscopic analyses ((31)P NMR, (1)H NMR, and vis/nIR) indicate the presence of both cis and trans isomers in solution, with the trans isomer being more stable. Confirmation of the higher stability of the trans versus cis isomers for [AnO(2)Cl(2)(Ph(3)PO)(2)] (An = U and Pu) was obtained through quantum chemical computational analysis, which also reveals the Pu-O(TPPO) bond to be more ionic than the U-O(TPPO) bond. Slight variation in reaction conditions led to the crystallization of two further minor products, [PuO(2)(Ph(3)PO)(4)][ClO(4)](2) and cis-[PuCl(2)(Ph(3)PO)(4)], the latter complex revealing the potential for reduction to Pu(IV). In addition, the reaction of Ph(3)PNH with [PuO(2)Cl(2)(thf)(2)](2) in anhydrous conditions gave evidence for the formation of both cis- and trans-[PuO(2)Cl(2)(Ph(3)PNH)(2)] in solution (by (31)P NMR). However, the major reaction pathway involved protonation of the ligand with the crystallographic characterization of [Ph(3)PNH(2)](2)[PuO(2)Cl(4)]. We believe that HCl/SiMe(3)Cl carried through from the small scale preparation of [PuO(2)Cl(2)(thf)(2)](2) was the source of both protons and chlorides. The fact that this chemistry was significantly different from previous uranium studies, where cis-/trans-[UO(2)Cl(2)L(2)] (L = Ph(3)PO or Ph(3)PNH) were the only products observed, provides further evidence of the unique challenges and opportunities associated with the chemistry of plutonium.

The magnetic exchange constants of vanadyl pyrophosphate (VO)(2)P(2)O(7) have been calculated on the basis of a combined DFT/broken symmetry approach. The three reported phases, ambient-pressure orthorhombic, ambient-pressure monoclinic, and high-pressure orthorhombic, have been explicitly considered. Calculations have been performed on four types of model clusters extracted from the crystal lattices. The singularity of each phase is clearly reflected through the number and values of exchange parameters. Our results show that the exchange interactions can be described in first approximation within the alternating antiferromagnetic chain model. The largest exchange coupling along the chain occurs through O-P-O bridges. The interchain interactions are much weaker and are of ferromagnetic nature.

An atomistic simulation of the threading ͑a + c͒-mixed dislocation core in wurtzite GaN has been carried out. Starting from models generated in the framework of continuum elasticity theory, two core configurations are obtained independently by using an empirical potential and a tight-binding based ab initio method. The most energetically favorable core with a 5 / 7-atoms ring structure is fully coordinated without wrong bonds, whereas the other with a complex double 5 / 6-atoms ring structure contains two rows of dangling bonds. Both core configurations introduce empty states spread over the upper half of the band gap.

We investigated a possible correlation between spin Hall angles and exchange bias in Ni81Fe19/IrMn samples by performing spin torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements. This correlation is probed by patterning of Ni81Fe19/IrMn bilayers in different relative orientations with respect to the exchange bias direction. The measured voltage spectra allow a quantitative determination of spin Hall angles, which are independent of the orientation around 2.8±0.3%.

Voltage noise measurements on magnetic tunnel junctions show that thermal fluctuations of the magnetization are either amplified or quenched by subcritical spin-transfer torque depending on the current direction. We present an analytical model that describes the dependence of thermally activated ferromagnetic resonance on bias current. The evolution of the peak amplitude and linewidth with the applied current is directly related to the longitudinal torque, whereas the shift of the resonance frequency is sensitive to the transverse torque. Both spin torque terms are independently extracted from the measured noise spectra. Our results support the general idea that it is more pertinent to describe spin torque in terms of voltage rather than current in magnetic tunnel junctions.