A new memory effect: smectic liquid crystalline memory having both conductive and optical memory

In order to compensate for light leakage in the oblique viewing directions of the dark state of the horizontal-switching mode such as the in-plane switching and fringe field switching modes. The viewing angle performance of the horizontal-switching mode with an compensation film has been evaluated on a case by case basis according to the retardation values of the films. Consequently, we found that a much better dark state can be achieved by using an optimised compensation film.     

A convenient synthesis and the mesomorphic properties of new chiral ferroelectric thiobenzoates

A secondary chiral (R)-(?)-2-alcohol underwent the Mitsunobu reaction with triphenylphosphine, diethyl azodicarboxylate and ethyl 4-hydroxybiphenylcarboxylate, resulting in the desired (S)-(+)-product with high enantiomeric purity (>99% ee), with the chiral branched chain attached to the biphenyl. This method is operationally simple and provides the very important chiral precursor in good yields (62% in dry THF and 72% in dry Et₂O). The condensation of the (S)-(+)-acid chloride from this material and a suitable 4-n-alkylthiophenol in toluene in the presence of pyridine or triethylamine furnishes the chiral (S)-(+)-thiobenzoate liquid crystals in good yields (80–83% in pyridine and 65–68% in Et₃N). (S)-(+)-4-(1-Methylheptyloxy)biphenyl 4-alkylthiobenzoates are abbreviated (S)-MHOBSn , where n varies from 4 to 10 and denotes the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. DSC, polarizing microscopy and X-ray diffraction showed that the (S)-MHOBSn series possesses a rich phase polymorphism: two highly ordered tilted phases CrG* and SmI*, as well as the ferroelectric smectic C (SmC*) and chiral nematic (N*) phase. In this series, the seldom observed transition between the chiral phases SmI*–SmC* is seen. All the compounds possess stable enantiotropic SmC* and N* phases. The existence of weak intermolecular hydrogen-bonding in (S)-MHOBSn was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy.     

X-ray diffraction and dielectric spectroscopy studies on a partially fluorinated ferroelectric liquid crystal from the family of terphenyl esters

The fluorinated compound, (S)-4′′-(6-perfluoropentanoyoxyhexyl-1-oxy)-2′,3′-difluoro-4-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl)-[1,1′:4′,1′′]-terphenyl, which exhibits antiferroelectric SmC_A*, ferroelectric SmC* and paraelectric SmA* phases, has been investigated by polarising optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and frequency-dependent dielectric spectroscopy methods. X-ray studies have revealed that the layer thickness remains almost constant in the SmA* phase but within the SmC* and SmC_A* phases it decreases with decreasing temperature, a step jump being observed only at the SmA*–SmC* transition. The tilt angle in the SmC_A* phase decreases from 22.2° to 19.5°, and in the SmC* phase it decreases from 18.8° to 5.5°. Spontaneous polarisation is found to be quite high and varies between 74.1 and 118.7 nC cm^?2. The variation in ε′ and ε′′ with temperature shows a discontinuous change at the transition temperatures. Goldstone mode relaxation is only observed in the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases and is found to be of the Cole–Cole type. The soft mode is observed on application of a bias field near the SmC*–SmA* transition. Neither the soft mode nor the anti-phase azimuthal angle fluctuation mode is observed in SmC_A*. Rotational viscosity decreases quite rapidly with temperature but in a different manner in the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases. Activation energy for this process is found to be 48.14 kJ mol^?1 in the SmC* phase.     

Banana-shaped mesogens: effect of lateral substituents on seven-ring esters containing a biphenyl moiety

The synthesis and characterization of five homologous series of symmetrical compounds composed of banana-shaped molecules containing a biphenyl moiety are reported. All these compounds are non-Schiff's bases and are esters. The effects of lateral substituents such as fluoro, methyl and ethyl in the side arms of these molecules are examined. These substituents have a strong influence in reducing the clearing temperatures. Banana phases such as B1, B2 and B6 were observed in the above series of compounds. The mesophases were characterized by a combination of polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and electro-optic studies.     

Direct Observation of the Binding Mode of the Phosphonate Anchor to Nanosized Polyoxotitanate Clusters

The structures of three newly synthesized phosphonate‐substituted polyoxotitanates are reported. The Ti/O core of [Ti₄O(OEt)₁₂(PhenylPO₃)] ( 1 ) is the building block for two larger phosphonate‐substituted nanoclusters, [Ti₂₅O₂₆(OEt)₃₆(PhenylPO₃)₆] ( 2 ) and [Ti₂₆O₂₆(OEt)₃₉(PhenylPO₃)₆]Br ( 3 ). All compounds exhibit a not previously recognized triply bridging binding mode of the phosphonate anchor with short connecting Ti? O bonds, the average of which is 2.010(7) Å. Comparison with previously reported work suggests that the binding mode of the phosphonate anchor is strongly dependent on the structure of the underlying substrate.     

Longitudinal Relaxation Enhancement in 1H NMR Spectroscopy of Tissue Metabolites via Spectrally Selective Excitation

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is governed by longitudinal (T₁) relaxation. For protein and nucleic acid experiments in solutions, it is well established that apparent T₁ values can be enhanced by selective excitation of targeted resonances. The present study explores such longitudinal relaxation enhancement (LRE) effects for molecules residing in biological tissues. The longitudinal relaxation recovery of tissue resonances positioned both down‐ and upfield of the water peak were measured by spectrally selective excitation/refocusing pulses, and compared with conventional water‐suppressed, broadband‐excited counterparts at 9.4 T. Marked LRE effects with up to threefold reductions in apparent T₁ values were observed as expected for resonances in the 6–9 ppm region; remarkably, statistically significant LRE effects were also found for several non‐exchanging metabolite resonances in the 1–4 ppm region, encompassing 30–50 % decreases in apparent T₁ values. These LRE effects suggest a novel means of increasing the sensitivity of tissue‐oriented experiments, and open new vistas to investigate the nature of interactions among metabolites, water and macromolecules at a molecular level.     

2-巯基苯并噻唑对铜缓蚀行为的表面增强红外光谱研究

2-巯基苯并噻唑(MBT)是Cu的高效缓蚀剂,但是缓蚀机理存在较大争议.本文通过电化学极化曲线从宏观角度对缓蚀效率进行评估,并利用原位衰减全反射-表面增强红外光谱技术结合理论计算研究了电位控制下的微观吸附构型.结果表明:在较高电位(大于0 V,相对饱和甘汞电极(SCE))下,MBT和金属Cu之间发生电子转移,MBT以硫醇式的环外S和N与金属Cu(I)离子配位在表面形成聚合物膜;在较低电位(小于0 V,vs SCE)下,MBT通过环外S原子以硫醇离子形式在金属Cu表面直立吸附.表面膜阻止了腐蚀介质的侵蚀,起到了较好的缓蚀效果.     

双四唑胺和钐构筑的含单核结构的配合物的水热合成和晶体结构

以双四唑胺(H₂BTA)、氯化钐为原料,通过水热法合成了一个双四唑胺合钐配合物[Sm₂(BTA)₃·(H₂O)₁₀]·5H₂O(H₂BTA=双四唑胺)。X-射线单晶衍射表征了这个配合物属于三斜晶系,P1空间群。在配合物中,两种不同的Sm³⁺离子与双四唑胺的2个螯合N原子和水分子配位形成2种八配位的四方反棱柱结构的单核配合物单元。在2种单核配合物单元和结晶水分子之间,存在着O-H…N,O-H…O和N-H…N 3种不同的氢键,形成三维超分子结构     

Trapped modes along a periodic array of freely floating obstacles

We consider the coupled problem describing the motion of a linear array of three‐dimensional obstacles floating freely in a homogeneous fluid layer of finite depth. The interaction of time‐harmonic waves with the floating objects is analyzed under the usual assumptions of linear water‐wave theory. Quasi‐periodic boundary conditions and a simplified reduction scheme turn the system into a linear spectral problem for a self‐adjoint operator in Hilbert space. Based upon the operator formulation, we derive a sufficient condition for the nonemptiness of its discrete spectrum. Various examples of obstacles that generate trapped modes are given. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.