This book introduces the ideas and concepts of nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy, outlines its history, and provides insight into the present state of the art of the experimental technology and understanding of nonlinear dielectric effects. Emphasis is on what can be learned from nonlinear experiments that could not be derived from the linear counterparts. The book explains that nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy can be used as a tool to measure structural recovery or physical aging, as well as connections between dynamics and thermodynamic variables such as enthalpy and entropy. Supercooled liquids in their viscous regime are ideal candidates for investigating nonlinear effects, because they are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature, and thus also to changes in the electric field. Other interesting materials covered are plastic crystals and complex liquids near criticality. The book also points out that, compared with other techniques such as mechanical shear experiments, the nonlinear regime of dielectric spectroscopy is special in the sense that the energies involved always remain small compared with thermal energies. To demonstrate this, nonlinear features of mechanical experiments are discussed. Theoretical approaches to nonlinear effects are particularly complicated because the tools available for the linear regime no longer apply. As a result, there is no single generally accepted theory to nonlinear dielectric responses of real liquids. Various approaches to nonlinear dielectric features have been reported, and the different aspects are communicated in several chapters. The book communicates recent progress most effectively through individual contributions from specialists in their respective fields.Chapter 'Third and Fifth Harmonic Responses in Viscous Liquids' is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book covers the basic theory and techniques, as well as various applications of pulsed electron-electron double resonance (PELDOR or DEER). This electron paramagnetic resonance technique is able to measure the distances and the distribution of distances between electron spins in the 1.5-15 nanometer scale; to determine the geometry of spin-labeled molecules; to estimate the number of interacting spins in spin clusters; and to characterize the spatial distribution of paramagnetic centers. As a result, PELDOR is now a popular method in EPR spectroscopy, particularly in the context of biologically important systems and soft matter and is also applied to problems in physical chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, soft matter and materials. Enabling readers to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of the PELDOR methods and an appreciation of the opportunities PELDOR provides, the book helps readers solve their own physical and biochemical problems.

This book describes the development of three dimensional electroactive fibres using a novel coaxial wet-spinning approach from organic conductors in combination with non-conducting hydrogel polymers. This book also presents the characterization and evaluation of multiaxial biofibres in terms of mechanical, physical, electrochemical and biological properties, and explores their use in a diverse range of applications including implantable electrodes, drug delivery systems and energy-storage systems. In the first chapter, the author highlights the significance of engineering three dimensional fibres, introduces the involved hydrogels and organic conductors with emphasis on their biomedical application, and collects some of the previously established methods for fabrication of biofibres. In the second chapter, particular attention is given to the overall experimental fabrication methods and characterization analyses conducted in the work. Chapters three to five present the main findings of this work, in which readers will discover how novel hybrid hydrogel fibres with an inner core of chitosan and alginate were prepared and characterized, how graphene was incorporated into coaxial wet-spun biofibres, and how one-dimensional triaxial fibres were developed using a novel coaxial wet-spinning fibre production method and applied as potential battery devices. In the final chapter of this work, the author summarizes the main achievements of the work and outlines some recommendations for future research.

A recipient of the PROSE 2017 Honorable Mention in Chemistry & Physics, Radioactivity: Introduction and History, From the Quantum to Quarks, Second Edition provides a greatly expanded overview of radioactivity from natural and artificial sources on earth, radiation of cosmic origins, and an introduction to the atom and its nucleus. The book also includes historical accounts of the lives, works, and major achievements of many famous pioneers and Nobel Laureates from 1895 to the present. These leaders in the field have contributed to our knowledge of the science of the atom, its nucleus, nuclear decay, and subatomic particles that are part of our current knowledge of the structure of matter, including the role of quarks, leptons, and the bosons (force carriers). Users will find a completely revised and greatly expanded text that includes all new material that further describes the significant historical events on the topic dating from the 1950s to the present.

This thesis experimentally demonstrates the much discussed electronic charge-glass states in solids. It focuses on quasi-two-dimensional organic conductors of the -(BEDT-TTF)2X family, which form anisotropic triangular lattices, and examines their electronic properties using various measurements: resistivity, time-resolved electric transport, X-ray diffraction analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The hallmark of the charge glass caused by geometrical frustration of lattice structure for those materials is successfully observed for the first time. The thesis provides new insights into the exotic properties of matter driven by strong electron correlations and crystalline frustration. The introduction enables beginners to understand fundamentals of the charge-glass states and the organic-conductor family -(BEDT-TTF)2X. The comprehensive and detailed descriptions of the experimental demonstration make this a valuable resource.

This book presents various examples of how advanced fluorescence and spectroscopic analytical methods can be used in combination with computer data processing to address different biochemical questions. The main focus is on evolutionary biochemistry and the description of biochemical and metabolic issues; specifically, the use of pulse amplitude modulated fluorescence (PAM) for the functional analysis of the cellular state, as well as results obtained by means of the derivative spectroscopy method characterizing structural reorganization of a cell under the influence of external factors, are discussed. The topics presented here will be of interest to biologists, geneticists, biophysicists and biochemists, as well as experts in analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry and radio chemistry and radio activation studies with protonen and alpha-particles. It also offers a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in biological, physical and chemical disciplines whose work involves derivative spectrophotometry and PAM-fluorescence.

The indiscriminate use of medications and their inadequate disposal have resulted in them being released into the environment via municipal, hospital and industrial discharges. This volume critically examines the presence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems, the hazards they entail, and how to minimize their impact on the environment. The topics covered include: historical findings that have made the development of the discipline ecopharmacovigilance possible; the main exposure routes, fate and life cycle of pharmaceuticals in water; occurrence data and the impact on biodiversity; methods used for the detection, analysis and quantification of pharmaceuticals in water and for their removal; current legislation on the presence of emerging contaminants in water; biosensors for environmental analysis and monitoring; and the measures needed to reduce the existing problems. This book is aimed at students, academics and research workers in the fields of toxicology, ecology, microbiology and chemistry, as well as those in the pharmaceutical industry, health sector professionals, and members of government bodies involved in environmental protection and legislation.

This book provides microscopic insights into chemical properties of NO on metal surfaces. NO/metal systems have been studied intensively to understand heterogeneous catalysis to detox exhaust NOx gas. The identification and componential analysis of various and mixed chemical species of NO adsorbed onto the surfaces have been significant challenges faced by conventional experimental techniques, such as vibrational spectroscopies. The author investigated "individual" NO molecules on Cu surfaces using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). STM not only provides information on the geometric, electronic, and vibrational properties at the single-molecule level; it is also able to manipulate molecules on surfaces to induce chemical reaction. Exploiting those techniques, the author chemically identified individual NO-related species on the surfaces and discovered new reaction processes for NO reduction, which provides microscopic insights into the catalytic mechanisms. The author also visualized wave functions of electrons in a valence orbital of NO and demonstrated that the wave functions are modified by the formation of covalent bonding or hydrogen bonding. This is, namely, "the visualization of quantum mechanics in real space," which is certainly worth reading. Furthermore, the book demonstrates that direct observation of valence orbitals helps to elucidate the reactivity of molecules adsorbed onto surfaces. This innovative approach to studying molecular properties will contribute to further development of STM and its related methods.

This book explores different aspects of LA-ICP-MS (laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry). It presents a large array of new analytical protocols for elemental or isotope analysis. LA-ICP-MS is a powerful tool that combines a sampling device able to remove very small quantities of material without leaving visible damage at the surface of an object. Furthermore, it functions as a sensitive analytical instrument that measures, within a few seconds, a wide range of isotopes in inorganic samples. Determining the elemental or the isotopic composition of ancient material is essential to address questions related to ancient technology or provenance and therefore aids archaeologists in reconstructing exchange networks for goods, people and ideas. Recent improvements of LA-ICP-MS have opened new avenues of research that are explored in this volume.

In the recent past quantitative chemical analysis textbook writers included selected experiments to complete and complement the text and thus give instructors a choice to select the experiments to be performed by students in quantitative analysis course. On the other hand, this is not so for courses in instrumental analysis which is a sequential course to quantitative analysis. This is, perhaps, due to the numerous instrumental techniques that have been developed over the years for chemical analysis. In its stead, textbooks on experiments in instrumental analysis are common, and these are as diversified as the topics covered in lecture courses. Most of the experimental topics covered, especially, in quantitative analysis, lean heavily on determination of materials or compounds of inorganic chemistry origin. This seems to be the tradition with only a few exceptions. However, recently, textbooks on quantitative analysis have emerged and continue to emerge, without any experimental section. This is not quite surprising though, since many instructors nowadays, tend to design their own experiments to suit and complement their lecture materials. On the other hand, the trend in the production of books on instrumental analysis experiments has remained the same. The objective of this book is therefore two fold. One is to design a reasonably comprehensive laboratory text that embodies both areas of analytical chemistry. The other is to shy away from the tradition of making quantitative analysis experiments lean too heavily on inorganic materials. To this end, several topics ranging from inorganic to organic materials are included in this laboratory text book. A new element is also introduced inthis book. That is, students are exposed throughout the book to the analysis of compounds of pharmaceutical relevance.

This thesis introduces a unique approach of applying atomic force microscopy to study the nanoelectromechanical properties of 2D materials, providing high-resolution computer-generated imagery (CGI) and diagrams to aid readers' understanding and visualization. The isolation of graphene and, shortly after, a host of other 2D materials has attracted a great deal of interest in the scientific community for both their range of extremely desirable and their record-breaking properties. Amongst these properties are some of the highest elastic moduli and tensile strengths ever observed in nature. The work, which was undertaken at Lancaster University's Physics department in conjunction with the University of Manchester and the National Physical Laboratory, offers a new approach to understanding the nanomechanical and nanoelectromechanical properties of 2D materials by utilising the nanoscale and nanosecond resolution of ultrasonic force and heterodyne force microscopy (UFM and HFM) - both contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. Using this approach and developing several other new techniques the authors succeeded in probing samples' subsurface and mechanical properties, which would otherwise remain hidden. Lastly, by using a new technique, coined electrostatic heterodyne force microscopy (E-HFM), the authors were able to observe nanoscale electromechanical vibrations with a nanometre and nanosecond resolution, in addition to probing the local electrostatic environment of devices fabricated from 2D materials.

This thesis describes novel substrate embedded physical sensors that can be used to monitor different types of cell-based assays non-invasively and label-free. The sensors described provide integrative information of the cells under study with an adaptable time resolution (ranging from milliseconds to days). This information about the dynamic cell response to chemical, physical or biological stimuli defines a new paradigm in fundamental biomedical research. The author, Maximilian Oberleitner, describes approaches in which the cells are directly grown on different sensor surfaces (gold-film electrodes, shear wave resonators or dye-doped polymer films). This approach, with the reacting cells in particularly close proximity and contact with the sensor surface, is key to a remarkable sensitivity, opening the way for a variety of new applications. This thesis not only introduces the fundamentals of each approach, but it also describes in great detail the design principles and elucidates the boundary conditions of the new sensors.

This book focuses on scientific and technological aspects of groundwater-resources assessment and surveillance. It describes relevant risks and investigates selected techniques for the monitoring and mitigation of the individuated threats to groundwater quality. The authors discuss the concepts of groundwater-resources protection and offer examples of both geogenic and anthropogenic degradation of groundwater quality, such as heavy metals from mining activities and natural water-rock interactions, as well as risk of contamination due to geological CO2 storage practices etc. The volume also covers non-invasive monitoring techniques and briefly addresses innovative sensor technologies for the online assessment of water quality. Furthermore, the role played by geochemical techniques, the potential of environmental isotopes and the support provided by physical modelling are highlighted. The chapters guide the reader through various viewpoints, according to the diverse disciplines involved, without aiming to be exhaustive, but instead picking representative topics for their relevance in the context of groundwater protection and control. This book will be of interest to advanced students, researchers, policy-makers and stakeholders at various levels.

This book sheds new light on the current state of knowledge concerning chromatin organization. Particular emphasis is given to the new imaging potential offered by super-resolution microscopy, which allows DNA imaging with a very high labeling density. From the early work on chromosomes by Walther Flemming in the nineteenth century to recent advances in genomics, the history of chromatin research now spans more than a century. The various milestones, such as the discovery of the double helix structure, the sequencing of the human genome, and the recent description of the genome in 3D space, show that understanding chromatin and chromosome function requires a clear understanding of its structure. Presenting cutting-edge data from super-resolution single molecule microscopy, the book demonstrates that chromatin manifests several levels of folding, from nucleosomes to chromosomes. Chromatin domains emerge as a new fundamental building block of chromatin architecture, with functions possibly related to gene regulation. A detailed description of chromatin folding in the pachytene stage of meiosis serves as a model for exploring this functionality, showing the apparent interplay between structure, function, and epigenetic regulation. Lastly, the book discusses possible new avenues of innovation to describe chromatin's organization and functions. Gathering essential insights on chromatin architecture, the book offers students an introduction to microscopy and its application to chromatin organization, while also providing advanced readers with new ideas for future research.

Now in its third edition, this classic text covers many aspects of infrared and Raman spectroscopy that are critical to the chemist doing structural or compositional analysis. This work includes practical and theoretical approaches to spectral interpretation as well as a discussion of experimental techniques. Emphasis is given to group frequencies, which are studied in detailed discussions, extensive tables, and over 600 carefully chosen and interpreted spectral examples. Also featured is a unique treatment of group frequencies that stresses their mechanical origin. This qualitative approach to vibrational analysis helps to simplify spectral interpretation.
Additional topics include basic instrumental components and sampling techniques, quantitative analysis, Raman polarization data, infrared gas contours, and polarized IR studies, among others.
Key Features
* Focuses on group frequency correlations and how to use them in spectral interpretation
* Revised and updated by a pioneer in the field, Norman Colthup, who for thirty years has served as an expert lecturer for the Fisk Infrared Institute
* Explores new group frequency studies in aromatics, alkanes and olefins, among others
* Includes completely updated section on instrumentation

This book serves as a comprehensive, up-to-date reference about this cutting-edge laser technology and its many new and interesting developments. Various aspects and trends of Raman fiber lasers are described in detail by experts in their fields. Raman fiber lasers have progressed quickly in the past decade, and have emerged as a versatile laser technology for generating high power light sources covering a spectral range from visible to mid-infrared. The technology is already being applied in the fields of telecommunication, astronomy, cold atom physics, laser spectroscopy, environmental sensing, and laser medicine. This book covers various topics relating to Raman fiber laser research, including power scaling, cladding and diode pumping, cascade Raman shifting, single frequency operation and power amplification, mid-infrared laser generation, specialty optical fibers, and random distributed feedback Raman fiber lasers. The book will appeal to scientists, students, and technicians seeking to understand the recent developments and future trends of this promising and multifaceted technology.

This volume offers a careful selection of trend-setting topics in the field. In-depth review articles illustrate current trends in the field. Experienced experts present a comprehensive overview concerning the electrochemical biosensing of glucose for diabetes care from an industrial research and development perspective a survey of bioassay applications for individually addressable electrochemical arrays, focusing on liquid-phase bioanalytical assays a review of recent advances in the development of electronic tongues based on the use of biosensor arrays coupled with advanced chemometric data analysis novel strategies of DNA biosensor development and corresponding applications for studies of DNA damage a survey of recent trends in the electrochemistry of redox proteins, including the increasing diversity of redox proteins used in electrochemical studies, novel immobilization strategies, and biosensor / biofuel cell applications an overview of electrochemical sensing of blood gases with advanced sensor concepts a survey of recent bioelectroanalytical studies with high spatial resolution using scanning electrochemical microscopy with a wide range of applications covering imaging of living cells, studies of metabolic activity, imaging of local enzyme activity, and studies of transport through biolayers This timely collection will be of interest not only for experts in the field, but also to students and their teachers in disciplines that include analytical chemistry, biology, electrochemistry, and various interdisciplinary research areas.

This book is part of a large and growing body of work on the observation of analogue gravity effects, such as Hawking radiation, in laboratory systems. The book is highly didactic, skillfully navigating between concepts ranging from quantum field theory on curved space-times, nonlinear fibre optics and the theoretical and experimental foundations in the physics of optical analogues to the Event Horizon. It presents a comprehensive field-theoretical framework for these systems, including the kinematics governing the fields. This allows an analytical calculation of the all-important conversion of vacuum fluctuations into Hawking radiation. Based on this, emission spectra are computed, providing unique insights into the emissions from a highly dispersive system. In an experimental part, the book develops a clear and systematic way to experimentally approach the problem and demonstrates the construction of an experimental setup and measurements of unprecedented sensitivity in the search for stimulation of the Hawking effect.

Application of nuclear magnetic resonance span a wide range of scientific disciplines and for the first time this volume will focus on a rapidly advancing and important theme - NMR applications in industry. Providing a comprehensive yet critical review of the current literature from various industrial sectors including materials, food science, paints and coatings, polymer science, nuclear chemistry, drug discovery and process control, this volume will be an invaluable source of current methods and applications. Essential reading for those wanting to become rapidly acquainted with NMR and for the seasoned practitioner keeping up to date with the literature.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the main nuclear characterization techniques used to study hydrogen absorption and desorption in materials. The various techniques (neutron scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, ion-beams, positron annihilation spectroscopy) are explained in detail, and a variety of examples of recent research projects are given to show the unique advantage of these techniques to study hydrogen in materials. Most of these nuclear techniques require very specialized instrumentation, and there are only a handful of these instruments available worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this book is to reach out to a readership with a very diverse background in the physical sciences and engineering and a broad range of hydrogen-related research interests. The same technique can be used by researchers interested in the improvement of the performance of hydrogen storage materials and by those focused on hydrogen ingress causing embrittlement of metals. The emphasis of this book is to provide tutorial material on how to use nuclear characterization techniques for the investigation of hydrogen in materials - information that cannot readily be found in conference and regular research papers. Provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear techniques used for hydrogen-related research Explains all nuclear techniques in detail for the non-expert Covers the whole range of hydrogen-related research Features chapters written by world-renowned experts in nuclear technique and hydrogen-related research

This book gives an overview of recent developments in RS and SERS for sensing and biosensing considering also limitations, possibilities and prospects of this technique. Raman scattering (RS) is a widely used vibrational technique providing highly specific molecular spectral patterns. A severe limitation for the application of this spectroscopic technique lies in the low cross section of RS. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy overcomes this problem by 6-11 orders of magnitude enhancement compared with the standard RS for molecules in the close vicinity of certain rough metal surfaces. Thus, SERS combines molecular fingerprint specificity with potential single-molecule sensitivity. Due to the recent development of new SERS-active substrates, labeling and derivatization chemistry as well as new instrumentations, SERS became a very promising tool for many varied applications, including bioanalytical studies and sensing. Both intrinsic and extrinsic SERS biosensing schemes have been employed to detect and identify small molecules, nucleic acids and proteins, and also for cellular and in vivo sensing.