Preparation and characterization of polypropylene/mesoporous silica nanocomposites with confined polypropylene

Polypropylene (PP)/Ti-MCM-41 nanocomposites were prepared by isospecific propylene polymerization with Ti-MCM-41/Al(i-C₄H₉)₃ catalyst. The cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) ¹³C NMR spectrum of the composite was similar to that of the conventional isotactic PP, and the decrease in the pore volume of Ti-MCM-41 in the nanocomposites, as measured by N₂ adsorption, was consistent with the value calculated from the weight loss in the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curve; both these facts attest to propylene polymerization within the mesopores of Ti-MCM-41. Alkali treatment followed by extraction with o-dichlorobenzene allows us to extract the confined PP out of the Ti-MCM-41 mesopores. Although the PP/Ti-MCM-41 nanocomposites do not exhibit a crystalline melting point, the same PP when extracted from the mesopores showed a clear melting point at 154.7 °C; this indicates that the crystallization of PP confined in mesopores is strongly hindered. For the PP polymerized within the confinement, the molecular weight (M_w) and molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n) were 84,000 and 4.3, respectively; these values were considerably smaller than those of the PP polymerized concurrently outside the Ti-MCM-41 mesopores (M_w = 200,000–450,000, M_w/M_n = 40–75). Therefore, the confinement also has a marked effect on the molecular weight of the PP. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3324–3332, 2003     

Evaluation of influence of anisotropic diffusion near a wall in near-field fluorescence correlation spectroscopy of nanoparticles

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) of colloidal nanoparticles using a near-field fiber probe was numerically simulated. The near-wall dynamics was simulated by accounting for the anisotropic mobility of nanoparticles owing to hydrodynamic interaction with a wall (Stokes viscous force). By comparing the simulation results with theoretical model calculations, we found that the influence of anisotropic diffusion is insignificant in near-field FCS autocorrelation analysis.     

Crystal growth of cyclodextrin‐based metal‐organic framework with inclusion of ferulic acid

The crystallization of γ‐cyclodextrin‐based metal‐organic framework (CD‐MOF) with inclusion of ferulic acid (FA) was carried out through vapor diffusion of methanol to the aqueous solution of γ‐cyclodextrin (γ‐CD), KOH and FA. Although the crystallization of pure CD was limited in highly basic solution of KOH (pH>13.0), the CD‐MOF with inclusion of FA (FA/CD‐MOF) was able to be formed at pH 6.8 after the neutralization of KOH by FA. The inclusion behavior of FA in CD‐MOF was studied by using differential scanning calorimetry. The data indicate the formation of the stable association between FA and γ‐CD in FA/CD‐MOF.     

Analysis of an SPP/G/1 system with multiple vacations and E-limited service discipline

Many researchers have studied variants of queueing systems with vacations. Most of them have dealt with M/G/1 systems and have explicitly analyzed some of their performance measures, such as queue length, waiting time, and so on. Recently, studies on queueing systems whose arrival processes are not Poissonian have appeared. We consider a single server queueing system with multiple vacations and E-limited service discipline, where messages arrive to the system according to a switched Poisson process. First, we consider the joint probability density functions of the queue length and the elapsed service time or the elapsed vacation time. We derive the equations for these pdf's, which include a finite number of unknown values. Using Rouché's theorem, we determine the values from boundary conditions. Finally, we derive the transform of the stationary queue length distribution explicitly.     

Charge-order pattern of the low-temperature phase from a monoclinic single domain of NaV2O5 uniquely determined by resonant x-ray scattering

The present resonant x-ray scattering has been performed on a monoclinically split single domain of NaV(2)O(5). The observation of a critically enhanced contrast between V(4+) and V(5+) ions has led us to the unequivocal conclusion of the charge-order pattern of the low-temperature phase of NaV(2)O(5) below T(c) = 35 K. In spite of the possible four types of configuration of the zigzag-type charge-order patterns in the ab plane (A,A',B and B'), the stacking sequence along the c axis is determined as the AAA'A' type by comparison with model calculations.     

Broad-spectrum frequency comb generation and carrier-envelope offset frequency measurement by second-harmonic generation of a mode-locked fiber laser

A frequency comb spanning more than one octave has been achieved by injecting the second-harmonic generation (780 nm) of a mode-locked fiber laser (1.56 microm) into a photonic crystal fiber. We propose and realize a novel interferometric scheme for observing the carrier-envelope offset frequency of the frequency comb. Frequency noise has been observed on the measured carrier-envelope offset frequency, which has been confirmed to be generated in the photonic crystal fiber by comparing the measured beat frequencies between cw lasers and frequency combs before and after the photonic crystal fiber. The mode-locked fiber laser is considered to be an important candidate for the light source used in realizing a compact optical frequency measurement system including applications in the telecommunication bands.