Impact of Initial Wettability and Injection Brine Chemistry on Mechanical Behaviour of Kansas Chalk

Transport in Porous Media - The injection of seawater-like brines alters stiffness, strength and time-dependent deformation rates for water-saturated chalks. This study deals with the mechanical...     

Monitoring the Transition from Spherical to Polymer‐like Surfactant Micelles Using Small‐Angle X‐Ray Scattering

Despite over a century of modern surfactant science, the kinetic pathways of morphological transitions in micellar systems are still not well understood. This is mainly as a result of the lack of sufficiently fast methods that can capture the structural changes of such transitions. Herein, a simple surfactant system consisting of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous NaCl solutions is investigated. Combining synchrotron radiation small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) with fast stopped‐flow mixing schemes allows monitoring the process where polymer‐like micelles are formed from globular micelles when the salt concentration is suddenly increased. The results show that “worm‐like” micelles are formed by fusion of globular micelles and short cylinders in a fashion that bears similarities to a step‐like polymerization process.     

Adamantyl Side Chains as Anti-Aggregating Moieties in Dyes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Designing and evaluating novel dye concepts is crucial for the development of the field of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In our recent report, the novel concept of tethering the anti-aggregation additive chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) to dyes for DSSC was introduced. Based on the performance improvements seen for this modification, the aim of this study is to see if a simplified anti-aggregation unit could achieve similar results. The following study reports the synthesis and photovoltaic characterization of two novel dyes decorated with the steric ethyladamantyl moiety on the π-spacer, and on the triarylamine donor. This modification is demonstrated to be successful in increasing the photovoltages in devices employing copper-based electrolytes compared to the non-modified reference dye. The best photovoltaic performance is achieved by a device prepared with the adamantyl decorated donor dye and CDCA, this device achieves a power conversion efficiency of 6.1 % (Short-circuit current=8.3 mA cm⁻², Open-circuit voltage=1054 mV, Fill factor=0.69). The improved photovoltaic performance seen for the adamantyl decorated donor demonstrate the potential of ethyladamantyl side chains as a tool to ensure surface protection of TiO₂.     

Protons in perovskite nitrides and oxide nitrides: A first principles study of ThTaN3 and SrTaO2N

Nitrides and oxide nitrides are evaluated as a new class of proton conducting ceramics by first principles defect calculations on SrTaO₂N and ThTaN₃ perovskites. The level of proton incorporation is obtained from the thermodynamics of dissociative absorption of water and ammonia into anion vacancies in the acceptor doped materials. Protons are found to be significantly more stable associated with the nitride ions than the oxide ions in SrTaO₂N and the proton position and bond length to the anions in both materials are mostly very similar to those in corresponding perovskite oxides such as SrZrO₃. In comparison to SrZrO₃, the concentration of protons is significantly lower in ThTaN₃ and SrTaO₂N.     

Conformational energies, rotational barrier heights and molecular structures in C(CH2X)4 molecules (X=F, Cl, Br)

The conformational energies, rotational barrier heights and molecular structures in C(CH₂X)₄ molecules (X=F, Cl, Br) based on molecular-mechanics calculations have been obtained. The results from these calculations are compared with the experimental gas-phase results.     

Determination of compositions and isomer structures in mixtures of cis- and trans-1,2-dichloroethene (ClHC=CHCl) by gas-phase electron diffraction

Using gas-phase electron diffraction it has been demonstrated that a composition of known isomer mixtures can be determined with error limits of about 5%, all relevant structural parameters being refined simultaneously by the least-squares method. If, however, corresponding bond distances and valence angles have erroneously been assigned equal values in the two isomers, a large increase in the least-squares error limits from 5% to 12% is noticed. Apparently innocent assumptions about some of the parameters can lead to incorrect isomer composition and to too small error limits as estimated by the least-squares formulae.

From the reinvestigation of pure cis-1,2-dichloroethene the following bond distances (r_a) and valence angles () were determined: r(C---H) = 1.090(29) Å, r(C=C) = 1.345(6) Å, r(C---Cl) = 1.716(4) Å, C=C---Cl = 123.8(2)°, C=C---H = 119.4(26)°. Error limits are 2σ.     

A molecular mechanics calculation of conformational energies and barrier heights in haloalkanes

A molecular mechanics calculation of conformational energies and barrier heights in substituted fluoro- and chloroethanes and -propanes is given which reproduces reasonably well all the available experimental data on these compounds. This was achieved by the use of non-bonded potential functions for chlorine and fluorine very different from those previously used.     

1,1,2,2-tetrabromodisilane: gas-phase molecular structure and conformational composition as determined by electron diffraction

The molecular structure of 1,1,2,2-tetrabromodisilane has been investigated using gas-phase electron diffraction data obtained at 110°C. At this temperature the molecules exist as a mixture of about equal parts (X = 0.5 ±0.2) of the two conformers with the H---Si---Si---H torsion angle equal to 180° (anti) or 60° (gauche). Assuming that the two conformers differ in their geometries only in the torsion angle φ, some of the important distance (r_a) and angle () parameters are: r(Si---Si) = 2.349(19) Å, r(Si---Br) = 2.205(5) Å, r(Si---H) = 1.485 Å (assumed), Br---Si---Br = 110.1(1.6)°, Si---Si---Br = 107.1(1.2)° Si---Si---H = 108.6° (assumed). The error limits are 2σ. The observed conformational composition (X_anti = 0.5(0.2)) corresponds to an energy difference between the conformers of ΔE = E(gauche) — E(anti) = 0.5 ± 0.6 kcal mol⁻¹, assuming ΔS = Rln2.     

Defect chemistry of a BaZrO(3)Σ3 (111) grain boundary by first principles calculations and space-charge theory

Defect calculations from density functional theory are implemented with space-charge theory models to describe the equilibrium defect chemistry of a Σ3 (111) symmetric tilt boundary in BaZrO(3). As such, the space-charge potential and the concentrations of , , , NH and in the bulk, core and space-charge regions of the interface are calculated as a function of temperature and atmospheric conditions. Our results show that the core will be predominated by under hydrating conditions and that the space-charge potential increases with water vapor pressure. Under nitriding conditions, , NH and will predominate the core in different temperature regimes and effects of these defects on the space-charge properties are discussed.     

Nitrogen defects in wide band gap oxides: defect equilibria and electronic structure from first principles calculations

The nitrogen related defect chemistry and electronic structure of wide band gap oxides are investigated by density functional theory defect calculations of N, NH, and as well as and in MgO, CaO, SrO, Al(2)O(3), In(2)O(3), Sc(2)O(3), Y(2)O(3), La(2)O(3), TiO(2), SnO(2), ZrO(2), BaZrO(3), and SrZrO(3). The N acceptor level is found to be deep and the binding energy of NH with respect to and is found to be significantly negative, i.e. binding, in all of the investigated oxides. The defect structure of the oxides was found to be remarkably similar under reducing and nitriding conditions (1 bar N(2), 1 bar H(2) and 1 × 10(-7) bar H(2)O): NH predominates at low temperatures and predominates at higher temperatures (>900 K for most of the oxides). Furthermore, we evaluate how the defect structure is affected by non-equilibrium conditions such as doping and quenching. In terms of electronic structure, is found to introduce isolated N-2p states within the band gap, while the N-2p states of NH are shifted towards, or overlap with the VBM. Finally, we assess the effect of nitrogen incorporation on the proton conducting properties of oxides and comment on their corrosion resistance in nitriding atmospheres in light of the calculated defect structures.