Phase behavior,crystallization, and morphology in thermosetting blends of a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)‐type epoxy resin and poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)

Thermosetting blends of a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)‐type epoxy resin (PEG‐ER) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared via an in situ curing reaction of poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE) and maleic anhydride (MAH) in the presence of PCL. The miscibility, phase behavior, crystallization, and morphology of these blends were investigated. The uncured PCL/PEGDGE blends were miscible, mainly because of the entropic contribution, as the molecular weight of PEGDGE was very low. The crystallization and melting behavior of both PCL and the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segment of PEGDGE were less affected in the uncured PCL/PEGDGE blends because of the very close glass‐transition temperatures of PCL and PEGDGE. However, the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends were immiscible and exhibited two separate glass transitions, as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. There existed two phases in the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends, that is, a PCL‐rich phase and a PEG‐ER crosslinked phase composed of an MAH‐cured PEGDGE network. The crystallization of PCL was slightly enhanced in the cured blends because of the phase‐separated nature; meanwhile, the PEG segment was highly restricted in the crosslinked network and was noncrystallizable in the cured blends. The phase structure and morphology of the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends were examined with scanning electron microscopy; a variety of phase morphologies were observed that depended on the blend composition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2833–2843, 2004     

Light-shift suppression in laser optically pumped vapour-cell atomic frequency standards

We present a novel scheme for reducing the AC Stark effect in optical-microwave double-resonance spectroscopy and its application for efficient suppression of the light-shift-related instabilities in laser-pumped gas-cell atomic clocks. The method uses a multi-frequency pump light field that can be easily produced by frequency modulation of the single-frequency pump laser. We show theoretically that variations of the light shift with both laser frequency and light intensity can be strongly suppressed with properly chosen pump light spectra. Suitable modulation parameters can be found for both the case of pure frequency modulation as well as for pump light spectra showing amplitude-modulation contributions, as usually found for current modulation of diode lasers. We experimentally demonstrate the method for a Rb atomic clock using a frequency-modulated distributed Bragg-reflector laser diode as pump light source.     

N-Capping of primary amines with 2-acyl-benzaldehydes to give isoindolinones

A unique reactivity pattern, first observed in the conversion of the marine natural product pestalone into pestalachloride A, was investigated. It was shown that 2-formyl-arylketones smoothly react with ammonia and primary amines, respectively, under mild conditions to afford 3-substituted isoindolinones in high yield. The reaction represents a new option for the derivatization (N-capping) of primary amines. As the substrates are readily accessible the methodology opens a short and modular access to pharmaceutically relevant substituted isoindolinones.     

Photon-Solitons and Some Experimental Possibilities

In this paper we show that the possible existence of the photon as a soliton [1] can be studied with the help of well-known experimental results and we propose some new experiments which can help to examine some properties of the soliton. First, we compare the soliton energy density to the energy density of Planck and we show that the two densities are consistent. Second, we make an attempt to explain some old experiments with our soliton model of the photon and we show that the results of such experiments do not contradict the existence of such solitons. We also discuss the possibilities for new, improved experiments, which can help to distinguish the soliton interaction from the interaction of a classical electromagnetic wave with charged particles.     

A comparative study of approaches for spectral control of Ti:sapphire pulsed lasers

The results of a comparative study (theoretical and experimental) of two original approaches for spectral control of two-wavelength pulsed Ti:sapphire (Ti:S) lasers and the most popular conventional methods are presented. Single line operation as a particular case is considered. We compare our own methods: (i) combined dual pulse pumping–passive self-injection locking (DPP–PSIL) and (ii) coupled cavity dye laser injection locking (CCLIL) with the conventional methods: (i) intracavity selection (IS), (ii) PSIL and (iii) traditional injection locking using an external dye laser. The most important criteria—laser efficiency, emission line width, tuning range, spectral purity and buildup time are compared under optimized conditions. The comparison is made using the same pump source with constant output energy in each case. The results serve as a basis for choosing correctly the most suitable spectral control technique for a particular Ti:S laser application. It is shown that the DPP–PSIL method guarantees a remarkable improvement of the Ti:S laser performance (nearly doubling the laser efficiency with the same line width and comparable laser tuning range as IS, combined with a protection of the selectors). The CCLIL approach assures a maximum laser efficiency in narrow line emission in addition to a minimal and reproducible buildup time. The IS method provides a maximal tuning range.