Pyrolysis study of fluorinated sol-gel silica

Fluorinated silica gels at various fluorine content were prepared via sol-gel by hydrolysis of 3,3,3-trifluoropropyltrimethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane mixtures. The gels, of nominal stoichiometry Si(CH₂CH₂CF₃)_XO_(2-X/2)(X=0.1-1), were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N₂ adsorption analysis. The thermal stability of the fluorinated samples was investigated by coupling thermogravimetric measurements with mass spectrometric and gas chromatographic analyses of the evolved gaseous species. The chemical reactions occurring in the gel matrices during heating were siloxane chain rearrangements involving condensation between residual hydroxyl and ethoxyl groups in the 100-350°C temperature range, whereas the thermal decomposition of the fluoroalkyl groups were observed at higher temperatures (450-600°C). The release of the fluoroalkyl moieties also involved C-F/Si-O bond exchanges inside the siloxane chains, with gas-phase evolution of different fluorinated silicon units. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Amorphous Aggregation of Amyloid Beta 1‐40 Peptide in Confined Space

The amorphous aggregation of Aβ1‐40 peptide is addressed by using micromolding in capillaries. Both the morphology and the size of the aggregates are modulated by changing the contact angle of the sub‐micrometric channel walls. Upon decreasing the hydrophilicity of the channels, the aggregates change their morphology from small aligned drops to discontinuous lines, thereby keeping their amorphous structure. Aβ1‐40 fibrils are observed at high contact angles.     

Symbolic Computation of Newton Sum Rules for the Zeros of Polynomial Eigenfunctions of Linear Differential Operators

A symbolic algorithm based on the generalized Lucas polynomials of first kind is used in order to compute the Newton sum rules for the zeros of polynomial eigenfunctions of linear differential operators with polynomial coefficients.     

Linked-Cluster Expansion of the Ising Model

The linked-cluster expansion technique for the high-temperature expansion of spin modes is reviewed. A new algorithm for the computation of three-point and higher Green's functions is presented. Series are computed for all components of two-point Green's functions for a generalized 3D Ising model, to 25th order on the bcc lattice and to 23rd order on the sc lattice. Series for zero-momentum four-, six-, and eight-point functions are computed to 21st, 19th, and 17th order respectively on the bcc lattice.