Abstract The mechanisms of degradation of the structure and properties of steels of pressure vessels of pressurized water reactors (PWRs) have been analyzed using еlectron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) method, whose possibilities are demonstrated by an example of materials of the pressure vessels of the VVER-440 reactors after 45 years of operation. It is shown that the long-term use of the materials

Abstract A technique for determining the relief periodicity, in particular, the pitch of fatigue striations formed during fatigue fracture of metals, is proposed. The determination of the fatigue striation period by this technique remains reliable under critical conditions, for example, surface oxidation or fracture damage caused by contacting of crack edges.

Abstract The results of structural studies of GaN nanowires containing screw dislocations are presented. It is found that the length of the Burgers vector of dislocations may reach 5 nm, i.e., exceed many times the c parameter of the gallium nitride unit cell. The formation of such dislocations leads in some cases to the occurrence of an ordered sequence of basal stacking faults with a period of 1

Abstract The microstructure of gallium nitride epitaxial layers synthesized by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) and metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) on nanoprofiled NP‒Si(001) substrates with and without an intermediate 3C‑SiC layer has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that the GaN layer obtained by HVPE on a combined NP–Si(001)/SiC substrate

Abstract The structural features of the poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)–La(NO3)3 ⋅ 6H2O composite hydrogel were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The La(NO3)3 ⋅ 6H2O powder, which was used for the preparation of the composite, was shown to contain also hexagonal prismatic crystals with an edge of ~1.8 µm and needle-like crystals with a width of 1 µm and a length of up to 50 µm. During

Abstract Noise minimization and suppression is one of the most important problems in image processing. Background correction and detection of weak reflections were performed using the well-known algorithms implemented in the ImageJ and Digital Micrograpph (GATAN) programs and developed in this paper for experimental electron diffraction patterns obtained from a nanocrystalline 10-nm-thick hafnium oxide

Abstract As a result of in situ irradiation in a high-resolution electron microscope, structure modelling, and calculation of images, it is shown that the incorporation of self-interstitial atoms into the extension region of the core of any dislocation is accompanied by their ordering in the form of cluster-like {111}, {001}, and {113} defects, which provide core relaxation. This fact made it possible

Abstract The structure and luminescence properties of Czochralski-grown n-Si samples implanted with oxygen ions have been comprehensively analyzed using photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A high oxygen concentration (5 × 1019 cm–3) in a layer at a depth of 0.3–0.8 µm was obtained in the implanted material. The samples have been annealed according to the multistage technique

Abstract It is shown by the example of hydrogen (in hydrides ZrH), helium (in pores after implantation), and nickel (in G-phase precipitates) that the application of electron energy-loss spectroscopy within the scanning transmission electron microscopy method makes it possible to analyze the distribution of different chemical elements in the microstructure of reactor materials. The advantages of electron

Abstract The results of long-term mineralogical studies of the lunar regolith, obtained using analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy, are presented. These studies revealed 105 mineral phases new for the Moon, 43 of which were discovered for the first time under natural conditions; an electronic link to the final table is given. An example of studying condensate glasses and native

Abstract The adhesive strength of the fiber–matrix bond has been experimentally determined by the method of pushing out fibers with an indenter, the structure of carbon fibers has been studied by scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopies, and some methodological approaches to the investigation of the structure and geometric characteristics of multilayer coatings (by a set of methods

Abstract The focused ion beam treatment of substrates with transparent electrodes coated with rubbed polymer layers is a key step in creating liquid crystal metasurfaces. This treatment provides local control over the liquid crystal alignment near the substrate surface. The structure, composition, and optical properties of the FIB-treated substrate surface were studied by the scanning electron microscopy

Abstract The studies of wide-gap semiconductor materials using electron-beam induced current (EBIC) method are reviewed. The main methods for measuring the diffusion length of nonequilibrium carriers in semiconductor structures using the EBIC method in a scanning electron microscope are analyzed. The experimental results of measuring the diffusion lengths in GaN, Ga2O3, 4H-SiC, and ZnO are considered

Abstract A comprehensive analysis of an aqueous solution of gold nanoparticles with an average size of 6 nm in a citrate buffer has been carried out, with investigation of the solution rheology and structure by electron and atomic force microscopy. A deviation of the rheological behavior of hydrosol from the Newtonian properties is found even at low gold nanoparticle concentrations. The specific features

Abstract The results of recent studies of the structural morphological transformations of Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces using in situ ultrahigh-vacuum reflection electron microscopy (UHV REM) are presented. It is established that high-temperature sublimation from extremely wide Si(111) terraces occurs at a smaller activation energy (3.77 eV) than from the vicinal surface (4.04 eV). A nonmonotonic change

Abstract All transformation stages of the crystal structure of iron silicide nanocrystals (NCs) on an atomically pure Si(111) surface under varying synthesis conditions have been studied in detail using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The main structural and morphological parameters of iron disilicide NCs in a silicon matrix and the epitaxial relationships between the NC and

Abstract The electron diffraction investigation of two-component phases in the systems MF2–RF3 (CaF2–ErF3, SrF2–LaF3) and components of the systems CaF2, SrF2, BaF2, and LaF3 is performed in a transmission electron microscope. The effect of electron irradiation, causing decomposition of metal fluorides with elimination of fluorine and transformation of the formed metal into oxide, is demonstrated.

Abstract The development of fundamental and applied geology requires an ever-increasing amount of data on the structures and properties of rocks at different scales. Of particular interest are investigations of properties of rocks and minerals in relation to micron- and submicron-sized inclusions. These issues are in high demand for studies of different forms of natural silicas and micro- and nanocracks

Abstract Ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) has made it possible to visualize laser-induced time-dependent processes in materials with a high spatial and temporal resolution. This analytical method is based on sample excitation (pumping) by a pulsed laser beam and its probing by time-synchronized photoelectron bunches in a transmission electron microscope column. Using a digital 2D detector in an

Abstract― The possibility of using gadolinium titanate single crystals in quantum electronics is considered. This compound has been chosen as a result of consideration of possible stable chemical compounds in the gadolinium oxide–titanium oxide system. The technology of growing gadolinium titanate single crystals doped with neodymium ions by optical zone melting, which excludes the possibility of contaminating

Abstract Compound 1-(3-amino-4-morpholino-1H-indazole-1-carbonyl)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)cyclopropane-1-carboxamide (C22H23N5O3, Mr = 870.96) was synthesized by condensation of 1-(4-methoxyphenylcarbamoyl)cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid with 4-morpholino-1H-indazol-3-amine, which was prepared from 2,6-difluorobenzonitrile by amination with morpholine and subsequent cyclization with hydrazine hydrate. The

Abstract The 10-nanosecond simulation of a lysozyme dimer, which is a fragment of the tetragonal lysozyme crystal structure, has been carried out by the molecular dynamics method at different simulation box sizes and precipitant concentrations in a solution. The dimer stability has been estimated by calculating the root-mean-square fluctuations of protein atoms. It is shown that the box size does not

Abstract The formation of β-Si3N4 for subsequent growth of AlGaN and GaN heterostructures of silicon wafers has been studied. It is established that the native oxide layer protects the silicon surface from the formation of amorphous silicon nitride when heating in an ammonia flow. Controlled formation of β-Si3N4 at partial ammonia pressures up to 3 × 10–5 Torr is demonstrated. This circumstance makes

Abstract The crystal and molecular structures of Cl–C6H4–O–C16H33 (I) have been studied, and its differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study is performed. Crystals I do not reveal mesomorphism. The crystal packing of compound I consists of alternating aromatic and loosely packed aliphatic regions, which is typical of mesomorphic crystals. The absence of mesomorphism in compound I is caused by the

Abstract Crystals of mutant carboxypeptidase T from Thermoactinomyces vulgaris (CPT11QG)with amino acid substitutions L211Q, T262S, L254S, and A251S were grown by the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion method. The crystals belong to sp. gr. P6(3)22. The X-ray-diffraction-data set,suitable for the crystal-structure determination at 2.6 Å resolution,was collected from the grown crystals at the ID23-1 beamline

Abstract The crystal and molecular structure of 2-hydrazinobenzoic acid was determined. In solution in the presence of copper(II) chloride, 2-hydrazinobenzoic acid is transformed into 2-chlorobenzoic acid (HL1) and is coordinated to copper(II) cations to form the binuclear structure [Cu(H2O)]2(µ-L1)4 with bridging carboxylate groups of the ligand (L1)–. Three complexes of HL1 with Fe(II), Co(II), and

Abstract KTb3F10 crystals have been grown from the melt by the vertical directional crystallization. The incongruent character of melting of this compound is confirmed experimentally. Corrections are introduced into the phase diagram of the KF–TbF3 system. It is found that the optimal pre-peritectic composition for the KTb3F10 crystal growth corresponds to a KF content of 27.5 ± 0.5 mol % in melt.

Abstract Various intersections of Boerdijk–Coxeter (BC) helices consisting of regular tetrahedra and having the same chirality are considered in a three-dimensional Euclidean space. The angles between their axes are calculated. Next, these rigorous geometric models of intersections of BC helices are subjected to physically justified distortions (merging of closely spaced vertices and formation of additional

Abstract In this study, a new complex was synthesized from uranyl cation and tetradentate isothiosemicarbazone N2O2 ligand containing the pentyl group with the general formula [UO2(L)solvent]. Electronic absorption, infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques confirmed the general formula, and luminescence study showed the fluorescence properties of the complex. Thermogravimetric

Abstract Two derivatives of adamantane benzenesulfamide have been synthesized and studied: N-adamantane-1-yl-2,4,6-trimethyl-benzenesulfamide (1) and N-adamantane-1-yl-4-methoxy-benzenesulfamide (2). Crystal structures 1 and 2 are solved using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The solubilities of compounds in a phosphate buffer solution with pH 7.4, 1-octanol, and n-hexane are determined at several

Abstract Development of biocompatible materials and express methods for monitoring their properties is a promising line of research in chemistry, biology, and medicine. The possibility of using fractal analysis to study hydroxylapatite samples synthesized in the presence of additives (Na3C6H5O7, Na2SO4, NaCl, NaHCO3, NaF, Na2SiO3, gelatin, glucose) is demonstrated. The results of analyzing macroscopic

Abstract The methodology for obtaining regular metal microstructures, forming a two-dimensional periodic lattice, has been considered with the aim of designing new IR-range elements. A semi-analytical solution of the problem of diffraction from regular microstructures showed that detectable IR-range plasmon resonances can be excited in them.

Abstract We have studied structural, electronic, optical, and elastic properties of KLiX under pressure using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) within the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) and the Local Density Approximation (LDA) for the exchange and correlation potential. The obtained structural results such as lattice parameters and internal sites of K atoms and chalcogenides are in good

Abstract Examples of manifestation of magneto-optical Faraday, Cotton–Mouton, and Kerr effects in some crystals and artificial materials are considered. Most attention is paid to the Faraday effect: optical activity manifesting itself in an external magnetic field. Cases of diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and magnetically ordered crystals are considered. The largest values of magneto-optical effects are

Abstract Specific features of the molecular and crystal structures of two substituted benzoxazinones (I and II) and their structural analog quinazolinone (III) have been analyzed by the XRD method. Compound I exists in two crystalline modifications. All investigated molecules are nonplanar; however, the character of their nonplanarity is different. In molecules I and II, the intramolecular hydrogen

Abstract The (NH4)3H(SeO4)2 crystals in the temperature range of 296–343 K and the evolution of their surface at phase transitions have been studied by atomic force microscopy. Data on morphology and local electrical characteristics of crystal surface are obtained. Local current–voltage characteristics are measured, and the existence of structural phase transition to the phase with superprotonic conductivity

Abstract Anion-radical salt of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane with N-methyl-2,2'-dipyridyl cation is synthesized. Its composition is determined using electron spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The crystal and molecular structures of the salt are determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The salt contains homogeneous stacks of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane particles, which is a necessary

Abstract Reactions of nitrilotriacetic acid with 2-aminoethanol, 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol, and 2,2'-(ethylenedioxy)bis(ethylamine) afford the following salts in high yields: 2-ammonioethanol nitrilotriacetate [HN+(CH2COO–)2(CH2COOH) ⋅ H3N+CH2CH2OH]n, bis{2-ammonio-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol} nitrilotriacetate HN+(CH2COO–)3 ⋅ 2H3N+C(CH2 OH)3, and 2,2'-(ethylenedioxy)bis(ethylammonium)

Abstract Four carbonyl hydrido RuII complexes with different functionalized α,α'-diimine ligands have been synthesized and well characterized by IR, UV/vis, CV, ESI/MS, and 1H NMR spectra. One of the complexes was also characterized by X-ray crystallography. The luminescence of these complexes has been investigated at room temperature in CH2Cl2 solution and low temperature glassy media at 77 K. The

Abstract The experimental capabilities and results of recent studies of the crystal and magnetic structure of functional materials on the diffractometers DN-12 and DN-6 of upgraded high-flux pulsed reactor IBR-2 in wide ranges of high pressures and temperatures are reviewed. The combination of high neutron flux on a sample, wide-aperture multidetector systems, and focusing devices has made it possible

Abstract The development and current state of instrumentation for the neutron diffraction study of internal stresses has been considered. During the last 15 years, significant progress has been achieved in the experimental techniques based on stationary and pulsed neutron sources. Specialized stress diffractometers have been developed, which make it possible to solve many engineering and technological

Abstract― Parameters and the current state of the development of the highest power neutron source, intended for operation on the beams extracted from the research reactor PIK (NRC KI–PNPI, Gatchina) are reviewed. This facility will determine the strategy of development of neutron studies in the Russian Federation and become a basis of the International Center of Neutron Research.

Abstract The fundamentals, experimental possibilities, and applications of the methods of neutron radiography and tomography in studies of the structural features of large objects in various fields are reviewed. The main principles of neutron imaging are considered. Specialized experimental stations at the National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research are

Abstract Neutron diffraction studies on the small-angle neutron spectrometer YuMO (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna), based on the IBR-2 pulsed reactor, have been reviewed. The main parameters of small-angle spectrometers, based on the time-of-flight technique, are considered. It is shown that the flux on sample is the key parameter of the spectrometers based on pulsed sources, which makes

Abstract The neutron diffracttion studies of the samples of fuel element claddings made of EK-164 and ChS-600 austenitic steels in the initial state and after operation in a BN-600 fast neutron reactor are reviewed. The samples were investigated in a wide range of fast neutron doses and irradiation temperatures, up to ∼80 displacements per atoms (dpa) and 628°C, respectively. Various microstructural

Abstract This study is devoted to magnetic neutron diffraction analysis (elastic neutron scattering yielding information about spin ordering in magnetic materials). Experimental approaches to magnetism are intensely developed mainly due to the discovery of new functional materials with unusual properties. Nevertheless, magnetic neutron diffraction analysis is a unique method, which makes it possible

Abstract A review of various methods based on the use of polarized neutron diffraction with and without subsequent polarization analysis is presented. Various methods of polarized neutron diffraction for studying magnetic properties of materials have been theoretically substantiated. It is demonstrated that polarized neutrons can efficiently be used to determine the magnetic properties of structures

Abstract The program of developing the instrument base of reactor complex PIK is reviewed. This program is carried out in correspondence with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 356 on July 25, 2019 and the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Synchrotron and Neutron Research and Research Infrastructure on the 2019–2027s. The general concept and plans

Abstract Some questions related to the establishment, development, and prospects of physical studies using inelastic thermal-neutron scattering are briefly reviewed. The directions of these studies are determined by the unique possibilities of neutron technique for studying atomic-vibrational and magnetic excitations in condensed media.

Abstract The review describes the application of small-angle scattering (SAS) of neutrons and complementary methods to study the structures of biomacromolecules. Here we cover SAS techniques, such as the contrast variation, the neutron spin-echo, and the solution of direct and inverse problems of three-dimensional reconstruction of the structures of macromolecules from SAS spectra by means of molecular

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063774521220016

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063774521230012

Abstract The electrical conductivity of natural samples of exogenous silicides has been studied. In the temperature range of 515−700 K, the conductivity increases from 1.1 × 10−7 to 1.3 × 10−6 S/cm, while the activation enthalpy of electrical transfer amounts to ΔHa = 0.48 ± 0.04 eV. Apparently, the electrical conductivity is caused by the migration of protons (according to the Grotthuss mechanism)

Abstract The schemes of isomorphic incorporation of Ti4+ ions in the crystal structures of Mg3Al2(SiO4)3 and MgSiO3 garnets in the pressure range of 7–25 GPa at temperatures from 1713 to 1913 K have been analyzed based on atomistic simulation data.

Abstract Chemical and structural data of two Cu-rich coloradoite crystals from Kalgoorlie, Australia, are reported. Two grains with simple stoichiometries, i.e., Hg1 – xCuxTe with x ~0.30, and ~0.22, were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electron-probe microanalysis. In the absence of single-crystal data it might be tempting to hypothesize that the presence of large amounts of

Abstract Crystals of a new complex layered lead carbonate silicate Pb19.4Na1.9[Si10O25](CO3)9(OH)12.7 ⋅ 1.3H2O and lead silicogermanate Pb4.37[(Ge0.7Si0.3)2O7][(Ge0.6Si0.4)O2.74(OH)1.26], related to ganomalite, were prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis route. The compounds crystallize in sp. gr. P31m and P\(\bar {6}\), respectively. The new compounds, like many lead silicates and silicogermanates

Abstract The crystal structure of a new mineral philoxenite (K,Na,Pb)4(Na,Ca)2(Mg,Cu)3(Fe\(_{{0.5}}^{{3 + }}\)Al0.5)(SO4)8 from fumarole exhalations of the Tolbachik Volcano (Kamchatka, Russia) has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (R1 = 5.67%). Philoxenite is triclinic (sp. gr. P\(\bar {1}\)) with the following parameters: a = 8.8410(3) Å, b = 8.9971(3) Å, c = 16.1861(5)

Abstract The minimal dissymmetry effect, which manifests itself within Curie’s principle, is a consequence of the limiting principles of thermodynamics: the second law for a closed system and the entropy-production minimum for an open system. Also being a limiting principle, the minimal dissymmetry effect makes it possible to introduce a quantitative characteristic of dissymmetry into classical Curie’s

Abstract When studying the ceramic sculpture (bearded male head) found in the Kerch Bay during underwater excavations of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the elemental and isotopic composition of a lead excresence on the inner side of the object has been analyzed. The results of the analysis suggest that the lead most likely originates from the Laurion ore deposit in

Abstract Single crystals of “malakhovite” (an anthropogenic silico-oxide from burnt dumps of the Chelyabinsk coal basin; sp. gr. P\(\bar {1}\), a = 10.555(4) Å, b = 10.928(3) Å, c = 9.059(3) Å, α = 106.338(12)°, β = 95.87(7)°, γ = 124.40(2)°, V = 781.0(5) Å3, Z = 1, R1 = 0.0378 have been investigated by electron-probe microanalysis, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The idealized