Detection of stress whitening in plastics with the help of X-ray dark field imaging

The processing of thermoplastics can induce a wide range of defects such as stress whitening, cavitation and porosity, which can adversely affect the reliability of the final products. Hence, fast and effective non-destructive detection methods for such defects are highly important for quality assurance on production lines. In this paper, X-ray dark field imaging is presented as a new non-destructive testing method that allows the visualization of stress whitening or cavitation efficiently. The performance of the method is demonstrated for the case of an injection-moulded polyvinylidene fluoride part that exhibits stress whitening. Whereas the stress whitening could not be detected by conventional X-ray imaging, it was localized by an X-ray dark field image acquired within a few minutes. Once the precise location of the stress whitening was known, it was possible to verify the result by local micro X-ray computed tomography and by a micro section image.     

Dielectric properties of selected laterally fluoro-substituted 4,4′′-dialkyl,dialkoxy and alkyl-alkoxy [1:1′;4′:1′′]terphenyls

Measurements of the complex permittivity, ε*?=?ε′ – iε″, within the frequency range 200 Hz to 10 MHz for 15 laterally fluoro-substituted terphenyls have been conducted. In most cases the substances exhibited the nematic phase over a broad temperature range. All substances were characterised by negative dielectric anisotropy, and are potentially useful for vertical alignment mode systems. The static permittivity tensor components have been analysed in relation to the dipole structure of the molecules. Dielectric relaxation processes observed in the liquid crystalline (LC) and solid rotator (R) phases (obtained by slow cooling of the samples) are characterised by calculation of the relaxation times and activation barriers. The rotation motions around the short axes are typical for LC phases, whereas rotations about the long axes, accompanied in some cases by internal motions, are present in the R phase.     

Phase diagram and dielectric relaxation studies of n-octyl-isothiocyanato-biphenyl (8BT) in the crystalline E phase under high pressure

The pressure-temperature phase diagram of n-octyl-isothiocyanato-biphenyl (8BT) in the pressure range up to 250 MPa (2.5 kbar) and the temperature range 250-400 K was established with the aid of DTA. At 1 atm the substance exhibits exclusively CrE polymorphism. At pressures above 190 MPa, the clearing line splits showing an additional phase which is not yet identified. Dielectric relaxation measurements on the CrE phase of 8BT were performed in the pressure range 0.1-120 MPa and the temperature range 304-345 K. A Debye-type relaxation process was observed in the frequency range 100 Hz-1 MHz. The longitudinal relaxation time τ, characterizing the molecular reorientations around the short axis, was analysed with respect to the pressure and temperature, yielding the activation volume, Δ^# V = RT(? ln τ/?p)_T, and activation enthalpy, Δ^# H = R(? ln τ/? T^-1)_p, respectively. The results are compared with analogous data obtained recently for similar compounds having other liquid crystalline phases (N, SmA).     

Structural Study of Membrane Glycoprotein-Precursor of β-Amyloid and Proteins Involved in Its Proteolysis

Crystallography Reports - Alzheimer’s disease is the most widespread form of neurodegenerative disease in the world. Its clinical manifestations are explained by selective degeneration of...     

Synthesis of cyclic norspermidine derivative of protohemin IX

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Benzoid-quinoid tautomerism of Schiff bases and their structural analogs: LV. Crown-containing N-phenylimines derived from ortho-hydroxycarbaldehydes of the coumarin series

Schiff bases were synthesized from 3-hydroxy-6-oxo-6H-benzo[c]chromene-4-carbaldehyde, 5-hydroxy-4,7-dimethyl-2-oxo-2H-chromene-6-carbaldehyde, 6,7-dihydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromene-8-carbaldehyde, 5,7-dihydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromene-6,8-dicarbaldehyde, and 5-hydroxy-4,7-dimethyl-2-oxo-2H-chromene-6,8-dicarbaldehyde and (¹⁵N)aniline or aminobenzo-15-crown-5 (2,3,5,6,8,9,11,12-octahydrobenzo[b][1,4,7,10,13]pentaoxacyclopentadecin-15-amine), and tautomeric equilibrium between the hydroxy enimino and keto enamino forms of the 4- and 8-iminomethyl derivatives in solution was revealed by 1H NMR and electronic spectroscopy. Addition of alkaline earth cations to their solutions in acetonitrile displaced the tautomeric equilibrium toward the hydroxy enimino structure due to complex formation with the crown ether fragment.     

Spectral properties of coumarin derivatives in various environments

The structural and spectral properties of coumarin derivatives in complex environments were investigated within the time-dependent density functional theory (TD DFT). Absorption spectra calculations were obtained at TD PBE0/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory for coumarin47 in the gas-phase and in various polar and non-polar organic solvents. The geometries of coumarins 6, 30, 47 and 522 in the gas phase and in inclusion complexes with the β-cyclodextrin (βCD) were determined by PM3 and DFT (HCTH/6-31G) calculations. Encapsulation of coumarin in βCD and associated changes in electronic structure produced either a red or blue shift in the absorption spectra of coumarins. A proposed cavity model for βCD-coumarin complex in water solution allowed identification of various contributions to the overall shift in the absorption spectra of coumarin upon complex formation in a solvent environment      

Coffee-ring effects in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

This report focuses on the heterogeneous distribution of small molecules (e.g. metabolites) within dry deposits of suspensions and solutions of inorganic and organic compounds with implications for chemical analysis of small molecules by laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectrometry (MS). Taking advantage of the imaging capabilities of a modern mass spectrometer, we have investigated the occurrence of “coffee rings” in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) sample spots. It is seen that the “coffee-ring effect” in MALDI/SALDI samples can be both beneficial and disadvantageous. For example, formation of the coffee rings gives rise to heterogeneous distribution of analytes and matrices, thus compromising analytical performance and reproducibility of the mass spectrometric analysis. On the other hand, the coffee-ring effect can also be advantageous because it enables partial separation of analytes from some of the interfering molecules present in the sample. We report a “hidden coffee-ring effect” where under certain conditions the sample/matrix deposit appears relatively homogeneous when inspected by optical microscopy. Even in such cases, hidden coffee rings can still be found by implementing the MALDI-MS imaging technique. We have also found that to some extent, the coffee-ring effect can be suppressed during SALDI sample preparation.