Packing, flipping, and buckling transitions in compressed monolayers of ellipsoidal latex particles

The behavior of monolayers of monodisperse prolate ellipsoidal latex particles with the same surface chemistry but varying aspect ratio has been studied experimentally. Particle monolayers at an air-water interface were subjected to compression in a Langmuir trough. When surface pressure measurements and microscopy observations were combined, possible structural transitions were evaluated. Ellipsoids of a sufficiently large aspect ratio display a less abrupt increase in the compression isotherms than spherical particles. Microscopic observations reveal that a sequence of transitions is responsible for this more gradual increase of the surface pressure. When a percolating aggregate network is used as the starting point, locally ordered regions appear progressively. When it reaches a certain surface pressure, the system "jams", and in-plane rearrangements are no longer possible at this point. A highly localized yielding of the particle network is observed. The compressional stress is relieved by flipping the ellipsoids into an upright position and by expelling particles from the monolayer. The latter does not occur for spherical particles with similar dimensions and surface chemistry. In the final stage of compression, buckling of the monolayer as a whole was observed. The effect of aspect ratio on the pressure area isotherms and on the obtained percolation and packing thresholds was quantified.     

Effects of temperature and chemical modification on polymer Langmuir films

We previously reported on a rheological study of Langmuir films of poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA), and this work describes further studies on this system. Here, surface pressure-area (Pi-A) isotherms and interfacial shear rheology experiments are performed to better understand the effects of two modifications: varying the temperature between 5 and 40 degrees C and introducing small amounts of carboxylic acid groups by partially hydrolyzing the polymer. Increased temperature produced isotherms with lower plateau surface pressures, Pip, and Pi values shifted to lower areas above Pip. Film properties transition from being primarily viscous to being dominated by elasticity as Pip is crossed for all temperatures studied, even as the value of Pip changes. Increasing the hydrolysis fraction leads to isotherms shifted to lower areas throughout the curve and higher Pip values. Both temperature variation and chemical modification are believed to affect the relative importance of polymer-polymer and polymer-subphase interactions.     

Synthesis and structural study of (8-phenylsulfanylnaphth-1-yl)diphenylphosphine metal complexes

A series of three platinum(II) halide complexes 2–4 [Pt(X)₂{Nap(PPh₂)(SPh)}] (Nap = naphthalene-1,8-diyl; X = Cl, Br, I) and a ruthenium(II) p-cymene complex 5 [Ru(η⁶-MeC₆H₄ⁱPr)(Cl){Nap(PPh₂)(SPh)}]⁺Cl^? of the sterically crowded peri-substituted naphthalene phosphine 1 have been prepared. The compounds were fully characterised by multinuclear NMR, IR and MS and X-ray data for 1–5 are compared. Molecular structures are analysed by naphthalene ring torsions, peri-atom displacement, splay angle magnitude, P···S interactions, aromatic ring orientations and geometry around the metal centre. Platinum adopts a strictly square planar geometry which increases the distortion of the naphthalene skeleton in 2–4. Conversely, the classical-piano stool conformation of 5 results in a pseudo-octahedral conformation around the ruthenium atom which influences the naphthalene geometry to a much lesser extent with distortion of a similar magnitude to the free ligand 1.     

Mononuclear N3S(thioether)-ligated copper(II) methoxide complexes: synthesis,characterization, and hydrolytic reactivity

Mononuclear copper(II) methoxide complexes supported by N(3)S(thioether) chelate ligands having two internal hydrogen bond donors have been prepared, comprehensively characterized, and evaluated for hydrolytic reactivity.     

Connect the drops: using solids as adhesives for liquids

Colloidal particles are shown to be capable of developing adhesion between liquid phases through a bridging mechanism by which intervening, micrometer-scaled, fluid films are stabilized. Particle dynamics leading to the assembly of the stabilizing structure are discussed. Models for the resulting adhesive force are developed from considerations of both interface shape perturbation and the force applied by surface tension on an individual particle. Finally, predictions from these models are compared to direct measurements of the forces that arise during the separation of adhering interfaces. Such comparisons lead to a novel method for determining the three-phase contact angle inherent to particles residing at fluid interfaces.     

Generalized quantum spins,coherent states,and lieb inequalities

A mathematical generalization of the concept of quantum spin is constructed in which the role of the symmetry groupO ₃ is replaced byO _v (=2,3,4, ...). The notion of spin direction is replaced by a point on the manifold of oriented planes in ^v . The theory of coherent states is developed, and it is shown that the natural generalizations of Lieb's formulae connecting quantum spins and classical configuration space hold true. This leads to the Lieb inequalities [1] and with it to the limit theorems as the quantum spinl approaches infinity. The critical step in the proofs is the validity of the appropriate generalization of the Wigner-Eckart theorem.This paper is based largely on the Indiana University Ph. D. thesis of the first named author     

Copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride with some acid chlorides

Vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride were copolymerized with 10-acryloxydecanoyl chloride and 12-acryloxystearoyl chloride by use of free-radical initiator in solution to obtain copolymers with active chlorine groups. Alternative routes for making such copolymers which consisted of making the corresponding acrylic acid or acrylyl chloride copolymers, followed by reaction with hydroxy acid and finally conversion to the acid chloride by treatment with thionyl chloride, were investigated. The monomer reactivity ratios for the radical copolymerization of vinyl chloride (VCI) and vinylidene chloride (VCl₂) with acrylic acid (AA) and acrylyl chloride (ACI) were determined: VCI–AA, r₁ = 0.025, r₂ = 6.40; VCl–ACl, r₁ = 0.017, r₂ = 2.65; VCl₂–AA, r₁ = 0.46, r₂ = 1.26; VCl–ACl, r₁ = 0.50, r₂ = 1.12.     

Determination of the cardiolipin content of individual mitochondria by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

We report the application of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with postcolumn laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection to measure the cardiolipin content of individual mitochondria from cultured NS1 cells. Mitochondria were isolated by differential centrifugation and stained with the fluorescent dye 10-N-nonyl acridine orange which stoichiometrically binds to cardiolipin in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio depending on the dye concentration. The green fluorescence resulting from the 1:1 complex was chosen for analysis because it is substantially more intense than the red fluorescence resulting from the 2:1 complex. Two dye concentrations that resulted in maximal and submaximal formation of the 1:1 10-N-nonyl acridine orange-cardiolipin complex were identified by spectrofluorometry. Individual mitochondria stained with both dye concentrations were separated and detected by CE with LIF detection. The data from mitochondria dosed with the lower dye concentration, where it is assumed that all the dye added to the mitochondrial sample was bound to cardiolipin, were used to derive a sensitivity factor relating fluorescence intensity of a mitochondrial event to its cardiolipin content. Using this factor, the cardiolipin contents of individual mitochondria stained with the higher dye concentration were determined, and ranged from 1.2 to 920 amol, with a median value of 4 amol. These results suggest a new strategy for estimating the organellar content of compounds that can be fluorescently tagged.