This (<100 {Angstrom}) silica-alumina layers were tested as potential model heterogeneous acid catalysts for combined surface science and catalysis studies. Three preparation methods were used: oxidation of r3 {times} r3 R30 Al/Si(111) structure in UHV; deposition on Si(lll) from aqueous solution; and argon ion beam sputter deposition in UHV. The homogeneous thin layers are amorphous, and the chemical environment of surface atoms is similar to that of Si, Al and oxygen atoms on high surface area acid catalysts. Since the ion beam-deposited thin layer of silica-alumina has the same composition as the target zeolite this deposition method is a promising tool to prepare model catalysts using practical catalyst targets. The silica-alumina layers are active in cumene cracking, a typical acid catalyzed reaction. In order to clearly distinguish background reactions and the acid catalyzed reaction at least 20 cm{sup 2} catalyst surface area is needed. Two series of model platinum-alumina catalysts were prepared in a combined UHV -- high pressure reactor cell apparatus by depositing alumina on polycrystalline Pt foil and by vapor depositing Pt on a thin alumina layer on Au. Both model surfaces have been prepared with and without chlorine. AES, CO desorption as well as methyl cyclopentane (MCP) …

A complex pattern of active faults occurs in the southern Amargosa Desert, southern Nye, County, Nevada. These faults can be grouped into three main fault systems: (1) a NE-striking zone of faults that forms the southwest extension of the left-lateral Rock Valley fault zone, in the much larger Spotted Range-Mine Mountain structural zone, (2) a N-striking fault zone coinciding with a NNW-trending alignment of springs that is either a northward continuation of a fault along the west side of the Resting Spring Range or a N-striking branch fault of the Pahrump fault system, and (3) a NW-striking fault zone which is parallel to the Pahrump fault system, but is offset approximately 5 km with a left step in southern Ash Meadows. These three fault zones suggest extension is occurring in an E-W direction, which is compatible with the {approximately}N10W structural grain prevalent in the Death Valley extensional region to the west.

The noble metals often thought of as unreactive solids,react strongly with nearly 40% of the elements in the periodictable: group IIIB-VB transition metals, lanthanides, theactinides, and group IIIA-IVA non-transition metals. These strong reactions arise from increased bonding/electron transfer fromnonbonding electrons d electron pairs on the noble metal tovacant orbitals on V, etc. This effect is a generalized Lewis acid-base interaction. The partial Gibbs energy of V in the noblemetals has been measured as a function of concentration at a temperature near 1000C. Thermodynamics of the intermetallics are determined by ternary oxide equilibria, ternary carbide equilibria, and the high-temperature galvanic cell technique. These experimental methods use equilibrated solid composite mixtures in which grains of V oxides or of V carbides are interspersed with grains of V-NM(noble-metal) alloys. In equilibrium the activity of V in the oxide or the carbide equals the activity in the alloy. Consequently, the thermodynamics available in the literature for the V oxides and V carbides are reviewed. Test runs on the galvanic cell were attempted. The V oxide electrode reacts with CaF{sub 2}, ThO{sub 2}, YDT(0.85ThO{sub 2}-0.15YO{sub 1.5}), and LDT(0.85ThO{sub 2}- 0.15LaO{sub 1.5}) to interfere with the measured data observed toward the beginning of a galvanic cell …

The Pahrump fault system is an active fault system located in Pahrump and Stewart Valleys, Nevada and California, in the southern part of the Basin and Range Province. This system is 50 km long by 30 km wide and is comprised of three fault zones: the right-lateral East Nopah fault zone, the right-oblique Pahrump Valley fault zone, and the normal West Spring Mountains fault zone. All three zones have geomorphic evidence for late Quaternary activity. Analysis of active fault patterns and seismic reflection lines suggests that the Pahrump basin has had a two-stage genesis, an early history associated with a period of low angle detachment faulting probably active 10-15 Ma, and a more recent history related to the present dextral shear system, probably active post-4 Ma.

A literature review is presented on the field of polymer modified electrodes which can be electrochemically generated. It is suggested that a possible application of these polymer modified electrodes is as a regeneratable catalysis packing material for use in couter-current exchange columns. Secondly, there is a presentation of experimental results dealing with possible electrode modification using difluoro- and dimethyl- phenols and fluorinated derivatives of styrene, benzoquinone and hydroquinone. It appears that dimethylphenol shows the most potential of the monomers experimentally tested in providing a stable polymer modified electrode surface. 170 refs., 31 figs., 1 tab.

In this thesis, I discuss the design and implementation of an autocorrelator for an actively modelocked ND:YLF laser at wavelength 1.054{mu}m. A dye is used to generate a broadband two-photon fluorescence (TPF) signal at 570nm which is the autocorrelation of the laser pulses. Two different techniques are discussed. A colliding pulse scheme can be used to generate a TPF autocorrelation signal as a function of distance, or an interferometer technique can be used to generate an autocorrelation signal as a function of the delay in an interferometer arm. Experimental results are discussed, but they are inconclusive because of difficulties in interpreting the signal.

The capacitance of the edge plane of pyrolytic graphite electrodes, in acetonitrile solutions, is measured by recording the current response to an applied triangular voltage sweep; TVS, and then fitting the current response with an appropriate function, (via a set of adjustable parameters). The pretreatment of the electrodes, the supporting electrolyte concentration used, and the frequency of the input TVS, were all found to affect the measured capacitance. In these experiments, a background current was also seen and the shape of the current output for the TVS; the charging/discharging curve, is shown to correlate with the magnitude of this background current. In addition, the size of the background current was found to have some dependence on the type of electrode pretreatment procedure used. 60 refs., 49 figs., 3 tabs.

The magnetotelluric (MT) method of mapping ground electrical conductivity is traditionally based on measurement of the surface impedance at widely spaced stations to infer models of the subsurface through a suitable pseudo 1-D inverse or with linearized least-squares inversion for 2- or 3-D geoelectric media. It is well known that small near-surface inhomogeneities can produce spatial discontinuities in the measured electric fields over a wide frequency range and may consequently bias the impedance on a very local scale. Inadequate station spacing effectively aliases the electric field measurements and results in distortions that cannot be removed in subsequent processing or modelling. In order to fully exploit the benefits of magnetotellurics in complex geological environments, closely spaced measurements must be used routinely. This thesis entertains an analysis of MT data taken along continuous profiles and is a first step that will allow more encompassing 2-D sampling techniques to become viable in the years to come. The developments presented here are to a large extent motivated by the physical insight gained from low-contrast solutions to the forward MT problem. These solutions describe the relationship between a perturbation in the electrical conductivity of the subsurface and the ensuing perturbation of the MT response as …