In contrast to the nuclear charge densities, which have been accurately measured with electron scattering, the knowledge of neutron densities still lack precision. Previous model-dependent hadron experiments suggest the difference between the neutron radius, R{sub n}, of a heavy nucleus and the proton radius, R{sub p}, to be in the order of several percent. To accurately obtain the difference, R{sub n}-R{sub p}, which is essentially a neutron skin, the Jefferson Lab Lead ({sup 208}Pb) Radius Experiment (PREX) measured the parity-violating electroweak asymmetry in the elastic scattering of polarized electrons from {sup 208}Pb at an energy of 1.06 GeV and a scattering angle of 5{degrees}#14;. Since Z{sup 0} boson couples mainly to neutrons, this asymmetry provides a clean measurement of R{sub n} with respect to R{sub p}. PREX was conducted at the Jefferson lab experimental Hall A, from March to June 2010. The experiment collected a final data sample of 2x#2;10{sup 7} helicity-window quadruplets. The measured parity-violating electroweak asymmetry A{sub PV} = 0.656 {+-}#6; 0.060 (stat) {+-}#6; 0.014 (syst) ppm corresponds to a difference between the radii of the neutron and proton distributions, R{sub n}-R{sub p} = 0.33{sup +0.16}{sub -0.18} fm and provides the #12;first electroweak observation of the neutron skin …

A laser offers a unique set of opportunities for precise delivery of high quality coherent energy. This energy can be tailored to alter the properties of material allowing a very flexible adjustment of the interaction that can lead to melting, vaporization, or just surface modification. Nowadays laser systems can be found in nearly all branches of research and industry for numerous applications. Sufficient evidence exists in the literature to suggest that further advancements in the field of laser material processing will rely significantly on the development of new process schemes. As a result they can be applied in various applications starting from fundamental research on systems, materials and processes performed on a scientific and technical basis for the industrial needs. The interaction of intense laser radiation with solid surfaces has extensively been studied for many years, in part, for development of possible applications. In this thesis, I present several applications of laser processing of metals and polymers including polishing niobium surface, producing a superconducting phase niobium nitride and depositing thin films of niobium nitride and organic material (cyclic olefin copolymer). The treated materials were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high resolution …

This thesis reports on two experiments conducted by the HAPPEx (Hall A Proton Parity Experiment) collaboration at the Thomas Je#11;erson National Accelerator Facil- ity. For both, the weak neutral current interaction (WNC, mediated by the Z{sup 0} boson) is used to probe novel properties of hadronic targets. The WNC interaction amplitude is extracted by measuring the parity-violating asymmetry in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons o#11; unpolarized target hadrons. HAPPEx-III, con- ducted in the Fall of 2009, used a liquid hydrogen target at a momentum transfer of Q{sup 2} = 0.62 GeV{sup 2}. The measured asymmetry was used to set new constraints on the contribution of strange quark form factors (G{sup s}{sub E,M} ) to the nucleon electromagnetic form factors. A value of A{sub PV} = -23.803{+-}#6; 0.778 (stat){+-}#6; 0.359 (syst) ppm resulted in G{sup s}{sub E} + 0:517G{sup s}{sub M} = 0.003{+-} 0.010 (stat){+-} #6;0.004 (syst){+-}#6; #6;0.009 (FF). PREx, conducted in the Spring of 2010, used a polarized electron beam on a 208Pb target at a momentum transfer of Q{sup 2} = 0.009 GeV{sup 2}. This parity-violating asymmetry can be used to obtain a clean measurement of the root-mean-square radius of the neutrons in the {sup 208}Pb nucleus. …

The goal of the Q-weak experiment is to make a measurement of the proton's weak charge Q{sub W}{sup p} = 1 - 4 sin{sup 2}({theta}{sub W}) to an accuracy of {approx} 4%. This would represent a {approx} 0.3% determination of the weak mixing angle sin{sup 2}({theta}{sub W}) at low energy. The measurement may be used for a precision test of the Standard Model (SM) prediction on the running of sin{sup 2}({theta}{sub W}) with energy scale. The Q-weak experiment operates at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab). The experiment determines Q{sub W}{sup p} by measuring the parity violating asymmetry in elastic electron-proton scattering at low momentum transfer Q{sup 2} = 0.026 (GeV/c){sup 2} and forward angles (?8 degrees). The anticipated size of the asymmetry, based on the SM, is about 230 parts per billion (ppb). With the proposed accuracy, the experiment may probe new physics beyond Standard Model at the TeV scale. This thesis focuses on my contributions to the experiment, including track reconstruction for momentum transfer determination of the scattering process, and the focal plane scanner, a detector I designed and built to measure the flux profile of scattered electrons on the focal plane of the Q-weak spectrometer to …

The study of {Lambda} hypernuclear structure is very interesting in point of the understanding of the interaction between {Lambda} and nucleon ({Lambda}-N interaction) and its ”strange” structure itself due to the containment of a {Lambda} hyperon which has a strangeness as a new degree of freedom. In the several way to study the Lamda hypernuclei, the (e,e'K{sup +}) reaction spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the precise investigation of {Lamda} hypernuclear structure. The purpose of the preset thesis is the establishment of the experimental design with the efficient data analysis method for the (e,e'K{sup +}) hypernuclear spectroscopic experiment in the wide mass region (from A=7 to A=52). It is very challenging to perform the (e,e'K{sup +}) spectroscopic experiment with such a heavy target, because of the huge electron background due to the bremsstrahlung process. In the experiment, it is required to obtain the necessary hypernuclear yield, suppressing the background event ratio. We achieved these requirements by newly constructing the high resolution electron spectrometer (HES) and splitter magnet (SPL) dedicated to the (e,e'K{sup +}) spectroscopic experiment. The HES consists of two quadrupole magnets and a dipole magnets (Q-Q-D) with a momentum resolution of dp/p = 3x10^-4 at p = 0.84 GeV/c. …

Energy recovering linac (ERL) offers an attractive alternative for generating intense beams of charged particles by approaching the operational efficiency of a storage ring while maintaining the superior beam quality typical of a linear accelerator. In ERLs, the decelerated beam cancels the beam loading effects of the accelerated beam with high repetition rate. Therefore, ERLs can, in principle, accelerate very high average currents with only modest amounts of RF power. So the efficiency of RF power to beam is much higher. Furthermore, the energy of beam to dump is lower, so it will reduce dump radiation. With the successful experiments in large maximum-to-injection energy ratio up to 51:1 and high power FEL up to 14kW, the use of ERL, especially combining with superconducting RF technology, provides a potentially powerful new paradigm for generation of the charged particle beams used in MW FEL, synchrotron radiation sources, high-energy electron cooling devices and so on. The 3+1/2 DC-SC photo injector and two 9cell TESLA superconducting cavity for IR SASE FEL in PKU provides a good platform to achieve high average FEL with Energy Recovery. The work of this thesis is on Beam line design and Beam dynamics study of Energy Recovery Linac Free …

Accelerator physics is one of the most diverse multidisciplinary fields of physics, wherein the dynamics of particle beams is studied. It takes more than the understanding of basic electromagnetic interactions to be able to predict the beam dynamics, and to be able to develop new techniques to produce, maintain, and deliver high quality beams for different applications. In this work, some basic theory regarding particle beam dynamics in accelerators will be presented. This basic theory, along with applying state of the art techniques in beam dynamics will be used in this dissertation to study and solve accelerator physics problems. Two problems involving compensation are studied in the context of the MEIC (Medium Energy Electron Ion Collider) project at Jefferson Laboratory. Several chromaticity (the energy dependence of the particle tune) compensation methods are evaluated numerically and deployed in a figure eight ring designed for the electrons in the collider. Furthermore, transverse coupling optics have been developed to compensate the coupling introduced by the spin rotators in the MEIC electron ring design.

Silver noble metal nanoparticles that are<10 nm often possess multiply twinned grains allowing them to adopt shapes and atomic structures not observed in bulk materials. The properties exhibited by particles with multiply twinned polycrystalline structures are often far different from those of single-crystalline particles and from the bulk. I will present experimental evidence that silver nanoparticles<10 nm undergo a reversible structural transformation under hydrostatic pressures up to 10 GPa. Results for nanoparticles in the intermediate size range of 5 to 10 nm suggest a reversible linear pressure-dependent rhombohedral distortion which has not been previously observed in bulk silver. I propose a mechanism for this transitiion that considers the bond-length distribution in idealized multiply twinned icosahedral particles. Results for nanoparticles of 3.9 nm suggest a reversible linear pressure-dependent orthorhombic distortion. This distortion is interpreted in the context of idealized decahedral particles. In addition, given these size-dependent measurements of silver nanoparticle compression with pressure, we have constructed a pressure calibration curve. Encapsulating these silver nanoparticles in hollow metal oxide nanospheres then allows us to measure the pressure inside a nanoshell using x-ray diffraction. We demonstrate the measurement of pressure gradients across nanoshells and show that these nanoshells have maximum resolved shear strengths …

Excitation functions for the 1n and 2n exit channels of the 208Pb(51V,xn)259-xDb reaction were measured. A maximum cross section of the 1n exit channel of 2070+1100/-760 pb was measured at an excitation energy of 16.0 +- 1.8 MeV. For the 2n exit channel, a maximum cross section of 1660+450/-370 pb was measured at 22.0 +- 1.8 MeV excitation energy. The 1n excitation function for the 209Bi(50Ti,n)258Db reaction was remeasured, resulting in a cross section of 5480+1730/1370 pb at an excitation energy of 16.0 +- 1.6 MeV. Differences in cross section maxima are discussed in terms of the fusion probability below the barrier. The extraction of niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) from hydrochloric acid and mixed hydrochloric acid/lithium chloride media by bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate (HDEHP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphite (BEHP) was studied. The goal of the experiments was to find a system that demonstrates selectivity among the members of group five of the Periodic Table and is also suitable for the study of dubnium (Db, Z = 105). Experiments with niobium and tantalum were performed with carrier (10-6 M), carrier free (10-10 M) and trace (10-16 M) concentrations of metal using hydrochloric acid solution with concentrations ranging from 1 - 11 …

The ability to finely tune the size and shape of inorganic semiconducting nanocrystals is an area of great interest, as the more control one has, the more applications will be possible for their use. The first two basic shapes develped in nanocrystals were the sphere and the anistropic nanorod. the II_VI materials being used such as Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), exhibit polytypism, which allows them to form in either the hexagonally packed wurtzite or cubically packed zinc blende crystalline phase. The nanorods are wurtzite with the length of the rod growing along the c-axis. As this grows, stacking faults may form, which are layers of zinc blende in the otherwise wurtzite crystal. Using this polytypism, though, the first generation of branched crystals were developed in the form of the CdTe tetrapod. This is a nanocrystal that nucleates in the zincblend form, creating a tetrahedral core, on which four wurtzite arms are grown. This structure opened up the possibility of even more complex shapes and applications. This disseration investigates the advancement of branching control and further understanding the materials polytypism in the form of the stacking faults in nanorods.

This report describes the development and application of a dispatch optimization algorithm for integrated energy systems (IES) comprised of on-site cogeneration of heat and electricity, energy storage devices, and demand response opportunities. This work is intended to aid commercial and industrial sites in making use of modern computing power and optimization algorithms to make informed, near-optimal decisions under significant uncertainty and complex objective functions. The optimization algorithm uses a finite set of randomly generated future scenarios to approximate the true, stochastic future; constraints are included that prevent solutions to this approximate problem from deviating from solutions to the actual problem. The algorithm is then expressed as a mixed integer linear program, to which a powerful commercial solver is applied. A case study of United States Postal Service Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DC) in four cities and under three different electricity tariff structures is conducted to (1) determine the added value of optimal control to a cogeneration system over current, heuristic control strategies; (2) determine the value of limited electric load curtailment opportunities, with and without cogeneration; and (3) determine the trade-off between least-cost and least-carbon operations of a cogeneration system. Key results for the P&DC sites studied include (1) in …

This is concerned with imaging and wave propagation in nonhomogeneous media, and includes a collection of computational techniques, such as level set methods with material transport, Dijkstra-like Hamilton-Jacobi solvers for first arrival Eikonal equations and techniques for data smoothing. The theoretical components include aspects of seismic ray theory, and the results rely on careful comparison with experiment and incorporation as input into large production-style geophysical processing codes. Producing an accurate image of the Earth's interior is a challenging aspect of oil recovery and earthquake analysis. The ultimate computational goal, which is to accurately produce a detailed interior map of the Earth's makeup on the basis of external soundings and measurements, is currently out of reach for several reasons. First, although vast amounts of data have been obtained in some regions, this has not been done uniformly, and the data contain noise and artifacts. Simply sifting through the data is a massive computational job. Second, the fundamental inverse problem, namely to deduce the local sound speeds of the earth that give rise to measured reacted signals, is exceedingly difficult: shadow zones and complex structures can make for ill-posed problems, and require vast computational resources. Nonetheless, seismic imaging is a crucial part …

This dissertation presents the highest four-momentum transfer, Q^2,quasielastic (x_Bj = 1) results from Experiment E01-020 which systematically explored the 2He(e,e'p)n reaction ("Electro-disintegration" of the deuteron) at three different four-momentum transfers, Q^2 = 0.8, 2.1, and 3.5 GeV^2 and missing momenta, P_miss = 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 GeV including separations of the longitudinal-transverse interference response function, R_LT, and extractoin of the longitudinal-transverse asymmetry, A_LT. This systematic approach will help to understand the reaction mechanism and the deuteron structure down to the short range part of the nucleon-nucleon interaction which is one of the fundamental missions of nuclear physics. By studying the very short distance structure of the deuteron, one may also determine whether or to what extent the description of nuclei in terms of nucleon/meson degrees of freedom must be supplemented by inclusion of explicit quark effects. The unique combination of energy, current, duty factor, and control of systematics for Hall A at Jefferson Lab made Jefferson Lab the only facility in the world where these systematic studies of the deuteron can be undertaken. This is especially true when we want to understand the short range structure of the deuteron where high energies and high luminosity/duty factor are …

One of the biggest challenges in the study of the nucleon structure is the understanding of the transition from partonic degrees of freedom to hadronic degrees of freedom. In 1970, Bloom and Gilman noticed that structure function data taken at SLAC in the resonance region average to the scaling curve of deep inelastic scattering (DIS). Early theoretical interpretations suggested that these two very different regimes can be linked under the condition that the quark-gluon and quark-quark interactions are suppressed. Substantial efforts are ongoing to investigate this phenomenon both experimentally and theoretically. Quark-hadron duality has been confirmed for the unpolarized structure function F{sub 2} of the proton and the deuteron using data from the experimental Hall C at Jefferson Lab (JLab). Indications of duality have been seen for the proton polarized structure function g{sub 1} and the virtual photon asymmetry A{sub 1} at JLab Hall B and HERMES. Because of the different resonance behavior, it is expected that the onset of duality for the neutron will happen at lower momentum transfer than for the proton. Now that precise spin structure data in the DIS region are available at large x, data in the resonance region are greatly needed in order to …

The study of thermal decomposition in high explosive (HE) charges has been an ongoing process since the early 1900s. This work is specifically directed towards the analysis of PBX 9501. In the early 1970s, Dwight Jaeger of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed a single-step, two-species kinetics system that was used in the development of one of the first finite element codes for thermal analyses known as EXPLO. Jaeger's research focused on unconfined spherical samples of HE charges to determine if varied heating ramps would cause detonation or deflagration. Tarver and McGuire of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) followed soon after with a three-step, four-species kinetics system that was developed for confined spheres under relatively fast heating conditions. Peter Dickson et al. of LANL then introduced a kinetics system with four steps and five species that included bimolecular products to capture the effects of the endothermic phase change that the HE undergoes. The results of four experiments are examined to study the effectiveness of these kinetics systems. The experiments are: (1) The LLNL scaled thermal explosion (STEX) experiments on confined cylindrical charges with long heating ramps in the range of 90 hours. (2) The LLNL one-dimensional time to explosion (ODTX) …

The single spin asymmetry, A{sub LT} ?, and the polarized structure function, ?{sub LT}?, for the p(e,e?K{sup +})? reaction in the resonance region have been measured and extracted using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab. Data were taken at an electron beam energy of 2.567 GeV. The large acceptance of CLAS allows for full azimuthal angle coverage over a large range of center-of-mass scattering angles. Results were obtained that span a range in Q{sup 2} from 0.5 to 1.3 GeV{sup 2} and W from threshold up to 2.1 GeV and were compared to existing theoretical calculations. The polarized structure function is sensitive to the interferences between various resonant amplitudes, as well as to resonant and non-resonant amplitudes. This measurement is essential for understanding the structure of nucleons and searching for previously undetected nucleon excited states (resonances) predicted by quark models. The W dependence of the ?{sub LT} ? in the kinematic regions dominated by s and u channel exchange (cos q{sup cm} k = ?0.50, ?0.167, 0.167) indicated possible resonance structures not predicted by theoretical calculations. The ?{sub LT} ? behavior around W = 1.875 GeV could be the signature of a resonance predicted by the quark …

The Jefferson Lab Hall A experiment E99-114 comprised a series of measurements to explore proton Compton scattering at high momentum transfer. For the first time, the polarisation transfer observables in the p (~ 0 ~ p) reaction were measured in the GeV energy range, where it is believed that quark-gluon degrees of freedom begin to dominate. The experiment utilised a circularly polarised photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target, with the scattered photon and recoil proton detected in a lead-glass calorimeter and a magnetic spectrometer, respectively.

Correlation between length scales in the field of magnetism has long been a topic of intensive study. The long-term desire is simple: to determine one theory that completely describes the magnetic behavior of matter from an individual atomic particle all the way up to large masses of material. One key piece to this puzzle is connecting the behavior of a material's domains on the nanometer scale with the magnetic properties of an entire large sample or device on the centimeter scale. In the first case study involving the FeSiAl thin films, contrast and spacing of domain patterns are clearly related to microstructure and stress. Case study 2 most clearly demonstrates localized, incoherent domain wall motion switching with field applied along an easy axis for a square hysteresis loop. In case study 3, axis-specific images of the complex Gd-Si-Ge material clearly show the influence of uniaxial anisotropy. Case study 4, the only study with the sole intent of creating domain structures for imaging, also demonstrated in fairly simple terms the effects of increasing stress on domain patterns. In case study 5, it was proven that the width of magnetoresistance loops could be quantitatively predicted using only MFM. When all of the …

Magnetic particle inspection (MPI) is a widely used nondestructive inspection method for aerospace applications essentially limited to experiment-based approaches. The analysis of MPI characteristics that affect sensitivity and reliability contributes not only reductions in inspection design cost and time but also improvement of analysis of experimental data. Magnetic particles are easily attracted toward a high magnetic field gradient. Selection of a magnetic field source, which produces a magnetic field gradient large enough to detect a defect in a test sample or component, is an important factor in magnetic particle inspection. In this work a finite element method (FEM) has been employed for numerical calculation of the MPI simulation technique. The FEM method is known to be suitable for complicated geometries such as defects in samples. This thesis describes the research that is aimed at providing a quantitative scientific basis for magnetic particle inspection. A new FEM solver for MPI simulation has been developed in this research for not only nonlinear reversible permeability materials but also irreversible hysteresis materials that are described by the Jiles-Atherton model. The material is assumed to have isotropic ferromagnetic properties in this research (i.e., the magnetic properties of the material are identical in all directions in …

Synthesis and incorporation of functionalized materials continues to generate significant research interest in academia and in industry. If chosen correctly, a functional group when incorporated into a polymer can deliver enhanced properties, such as adhesion, water solubility, thermal stability, etc. The utility of these new materials has been demonstrated in drug-delivery systems, coatings, membranes and compatibilizers. Two approaches exist to functionalize a material. The desired moiety can be added to the monomer either before or after polymerization. The polymers used range from low glass transition temperature elastomers to high glass transition temperature, high performance materials. One industrial example of the first approach is the synthesis of Teflon(reg. sign). Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE or Teflon(reg. sign)) is synthesized from tetrafluoroethylene, a functionalized monomer. The resulting material has significant property differences from the parent, poly(ethylene). Due to the fluorine in the polymer, PTFE has excellent solvent and heat resistance, a low surface energy and a low coefficient of friction. This allows the material to be used in high temperature applications where the surface needs to be nonabrasive and nonstick. This material has a wide spread use in the cooking industry because it allows for ease of cooking and cleaning as a nonstick coating on …

Lutein and zeaxanthin are the only carotenoids accumulated in the macula of the human retina and are known as the macular pigments (MP). These pigments account for the yellow color of the macula and appear to play an important role in protecting against age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The uptake of lutein and zeaxanthin in human eyes is remarkably specific. It is likely that specific transport or binding proteins are involved. The objective is to determine whether transthyretin (TTR) is a transport protein in human plasma and could thus deliver lutein from the blood to the retina. In this study, they used a biosynthetic {sup 13}C-lutein tracer and gas chromatography-combustion interfaced-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GCC-IRMS) to gain the requisite sensitivity to detect the minute amounts of lutein expected as a physiological ligand for human transthyretin. The biosynthetic {sup 13}C-labeled lutein tracer was purified from algae. Healthy women (n = 4) each ingested 1 mg of {sup 13}C-labeled lutein daily for 3 days and a blood sample was collected 24 hours after the final dose. Plasma TTR was isolated by retinol-binding protein (RBP)-sepharose affinity chromatography and extracted with chloroform. The {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C ratio in the TTR extract was measured by GCC-IRMS. …

As time progresses, the world is using up more of the planet's natural resources. Without technological advances, the day will eventually arrive when these natural resources will no longer be sufficient to supply all of the energy needs. As a result, society is seeing a push for the development of alternative fuel sources such as wind power, solar power, fuel cells, and etc. These pursuits are even occurring in the state of Iowa with increasing social pressure to incorporate larger percentages of ethanol in gasoline. Consumers are increasingly demanding that energy sources be more powerful, more durable, and, ultimately, more cost efficient. Fast Ionic Conducting (FIC) glasses are a material that offers great potential for the development of new batteries and/or fuel cells to help inspire the energy density of battery power supplies. This dissertation probes the mechanisms by which ions conduct in these glasses. A variety of different experimental techniques give a better understanding of the interesting materials science taking place within these systems. This dissertation discusses Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques performed on FIC glasses over the past few years. These NMR results have been complimented with other measurement techniques, primarily impedance spectroscopy, to develop models that describe …

Traditionally soymilk has been made with whole soybeans; however, there are other alternative raw ingredients for making soymilk, such as soy flour or full-fat soy flakes. US markets prefer soymilk with little or no beany flavor. modifying the process or using lipoxygenase-free soybeans can be used to achieve this. Unlike the dairy industry, fat reduction in soymilk has been done through formula modification instead of by conventional fat removal (skimming). This project reports the process optimization for solids and protein extraction, flavor improvement and fat removal in the production of 5, 8 and 12 {sup o}Brix soymilk from full fat soy flakes and whole soybeans using the Takai soymilk machine. Proximate analyses, and color measurement were conducted in 5, 8 and 12 {sup o}Brix soymilk. Descriptive analyses with trained panelists (n = 9) were conducted using 8 and 12 {sup o}Brix lipoxygenase-free and high protein blend soy flake soymilks. Rehydration of soy flakes is necessary to prevent agglomeration during processing and increase extractability. As the rehydration temperature increases from 15 to 50 to 85 C, the hexanal concentration was reduced. Enzyme inactivation in soy flakes milk production (measured by hexanal levels) is similar to previous reports with whole soybeans milk …

The tethered, chiral, chelating diphosphine rhodium complex, which catalyzes the enantioselective hydrogenation of methyl-{alpha}-acetamidocinnamate (MAC), has the illustrated structure as established by {sup 31}P NMR and IR studies. Spectral and catalytic investigations also suggest that the mechanism of action of the tethered complex is the same as that of the untethered complex in solution. The rhodium complexes, [Rh(COD)H]{sub 4}, [Rh(COD){sub 2}]{sup +}BF{sub 4}{sup -}, [Rh(COD)Cl]{sub 2}, and RhCl{sub 3} {center_dot} 3H{sub 2}O, adsorbed on SiO{sub 2} are optimally activated for toluene hydrogenation by pretreatment with H{sub 2} at 200 C. The same complexes on Pd-SiO{sub 2} are equally active without pretreatments. The active species in all cases is rhodium metal. The catalysts were characterized by XPS, TEM, DRIFTS, and mercury poisoning experiments. Rhodium on silica catalyzes the hydrogenation of fluorobenzene to produce predominantly fluorocyclohexane in heptane and 1,2-dichloroethane solvents. In heptane/methanol and heptane/water solvents, hydrodefluorination to benzene and subsequent hydrogenation to cyclohexane occurs exclusively. Benzene inhibits the hydrodefluorination of fluorobenzene. In DCE or heptane solvents, fluorocyclohexane reacts with hydrogen fluoride to form cyclohexene. Reaction conditions can be chosen to selectively yield fluorocyclohexane, cyclohexene, benzene, or cyclohexane. The oxorhenium(V) dithiolate catalyst [-S(CH{sub 2}){sub 3}s-]Re(O)(Me)(PPh{sub 3}) was modified by linking it to …