On the motion of a phase interface by surface diffusion

Mullins, in a series of papers, developed a surface dynamics for phase interfaces whose evolution is controlled by mass diffusion within the interface. It is our purpose here to embed Mullins's theory within a general framework based on balance laws for mass and capillary forces in conjunction with a version of the second law, appropriate to a purely mechanical theory, which asserts that the rate at which the free energy increases cannot be greater than the energy inflow plus the power supplied. We develop an appropriate constitutive theory, and deduce general and approximate equations for the evolution of the interface.

---

Sommario Mullins, in una serie di articoli inerenti la morfologia delle superfici di interfaccia tra fasi, ha sviluppato una dinamica delle superfici la cui evoluzione è governata dal fenomeno di diffusione di massa all'interno dell'interfaccia. Scopo di questo articolo è inscrire la teoria di Mullins in uno schema più generale basato su leggi di bilancio della massa e delle azioni capillari nonchè su una formulazione puramente meccanica del secondo principio della termodinamica, asserente ehe l'incremento di energia libera non possa essere superiore al flusso di energia ed alla potenza fornite all'interfaccia. Viene successivamente sviluppata una appropriata teoria costitutiva, e vengono dedotte le equazioni di evoluzione sia in forma generale che approssimata.

     

A version of Stöber synthesis enabling the facile prediction of silica nanospheres size for the fabrication of opal photonic crystals

A sol-gel synthesis procedure based on the method proposed by Stöber et al. (J Colloid Interface Sci 26:302–315, 1968) has been adopted for the one-step preparation of mono-dispersed silica nanospheres. An excellent control of the particle diameter over a wide range is obtained by varying the amount of silicon alkoxide only, while the concentration of all other components is kept fixed: this allows the fabrication of artificial opals with a finely tuned and precisely predictable lattice parameter.     

Expeditious synthesis of β-cycloacetalic sulfoxides. Introducing 1-phenylsulfinyl-2-phenylsulfanylethylene (SOSE), a promising new alkenylsulfur reagent

In similarity with the strongly electrophilic BPSEs and despite its more electron-rich character, 1-phenylsulfinyl-2-phenylsulfanylethylene (SOSE) reacts with nucleophiles with displacement of the phenylthio moiety. Specifically it reacts with diols under basic conditions to produce β-cycloacetalic sulfoxides. The reaction has been amply developed in carbohydrate chemistry.     

Spectrophotometric determination of advanced products of non-enzymatic glycosylation of lysine by means of their reaction with diazonium salts

A typical product (glycosyl lysine) formed by reaction of lysine with glyceraldehyde is measured at 490 nm after coupling with diazotized sulfanilic acid. Reaction with 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde was less satisfactory.     

Periodic and Non-Periodic Oscillations of a Class of Hysteretic Two Degree of Freedom Systems

The equations governing the response of hysteretic systems to sinusoidal forces, which are memory dependent in the classical phase space, can be given as a vector field over a suitable phase space with increased dimension. Hence, the stationary response can be studied with the aids of classical tools of nonlinear dynamics, as for example the Poincaré map. The particular system studied in the paper, based on hysteretic Masing rules, allows the reduction of the dimension of the phase space and the implementation of efficient algorithms. The paper summarises results on one degree of freedom systems and concentrates on a two degree of freedom system as the prototype of many degree of freedom systems. This system has been chosen to be in 1:3 internal resonance situation. Depending on the energy dissipation of the elements restoring force, the response may be more or less complex. The periodic response, described by frequency response curves for various levels of excitation intensity, is highly complex. The coupling produces a strong modification of the response around the first mode resonance, whereas it is negligible around the second mode. Quasi-periodic motion starts bifurcating for sufficiently high values of the excitation intensity; windows of periodic motions are embedded in the dominion of the quasi-periodic motion, as consequence of a locking frequency phenomenon.     

Electrodes/Electrolyte Interfaces in the Presence of a Surface‐Modified Photopolymer Electrolyte: Application in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Since hundreds of studies on photoanodes and cathodes show that the electrode/electrolyte interfaces represent a key aspect at the base of dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) performances, it is reported here that these interfaces can be managed by a smart design of the spatial composition of quasi‐solid electrolytes. By means of a cheap, rapid, and green process of photoinduced polymerization, composition‐tailored polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) with siloxane‐enriched surfaces are prepared, and their properties are thoroughly described. When assembled in DSSCs, the interfacial action promoted by the composition‐tailored PEMs enhances the photocurrent and fill factor values, thus increasing the global photovoltaic conversion efficiency with respect to the non‐modified PEMs. Moreover, the presence of the siloxane‐chain‐enriched surface increases the hydrophobicity and reduces the water vapor permeation into the device, thus enhancing the cell′s durability.     

Active Longitudinal Control of Wind-Induced Oscillations of a Suspended Cable

Abstract. Active control of oscillations of a suspended cable under transversal wind, described by a constant term and a fluctuating turbulent component, is dealt with. Control of transversal in-plane and out-of-plane oscillations is performed by imposing a longitudinal motion to one support; the control law depends, linearly or quadratically, on measures of displacement and velocity of a selected point. First, the steady-state oscillations around the planar static configuration, determined by the wind constant component, under sinusoidal in-plane and out-of-plane loading are studied, showing the nonlinear behaviour in the regions of primary and parametric resonance and the effects of the control action. Afterwards, attention is focused on the response of the cable to transversal wind turbulence, whose fluctuating component is described by a random process with an assigned spectral density. The effectiveness of longitudinal control is analysed by means of numerical investigations.Sommario. Si analizza il controllo attivo delle oscillazioni di un cavo sospeso, sottoposto all'azione di un vento agente in direzione ortogonale al piano del cavo e descritto mediante un termine di carico costante ed una componente variabile di turbolenza. Il controllo delle oscillazioni piane e spaziali viene realizzato mediante spostamento longitudinale di uno degli appoggi; la legge di controllo dipende linearmente o quadraticamente da misure di spostamento e velocità di un punto prescelto. In una prima fase, vengono studiate le oscillazioni stazionarie sotto carichi sinusoidali agenti rispettivamente nel piano e fuori del piano del cavo, intorno alla configurazione di equilibrio statico determinata dalla presenza della componente costante del vento, mostrando il comportamento nonlineare nelle regioni di risonanza primaria e parametrica e gli effetti dell'azione di controllo. Successivamente, si focalizza l'attenzione sulla risposta del cavo alla componente trasversale di turbolenza del vento, la quale è descritta da un processo stocastico a media nulla con densità spettrale assegnata. L'efficacia del controllo viene analizzata attraverso un'indagine numerica.     

Experimental evidence of non-standard bifurcations in non-smooth oscillator dynamics

Analytical and experimental investigations are performed in order to characterize the dynamic behaviour of a non-smooth rotational oscillator, which exhibits multiple discontinuity boundaries in the phase space. The physical system consists of a rotating body subjected to an elastic restoring force and in contact with one or two rough discs rotating with constant driving velocities. The presence of multiple discontinuity boundaries caused by frictional contacts leads to non-standard bifurcations that are studied by means of a simple mechanical model.A test set-up has then been built to investigate the correctness of modelling of the friction force and the validity of the proposed model for technical applications: the experimental measurements qualitatively and quantitatively capture the basic scenarios anticipated by the model while a strong robustness of the phenomena pointed out by the theoretical analyses has been revealed in the experiments.