Study of the structure of aqueous solutions of ionic macromolecules by low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

Using low-frequency Raman spectroscopy, the structure of aqueous solutions of polyacrylic acid as a function of polyelectrolyte concentration and chain length was studied. The fractal dimension of structures in aqueous solutions of polyacrylic acid with different acid concentrations and polyion chain lengths was determined. The size of fractal regions in systems with different structures was estimated.     

Characterization of PPLN-microstructures by means of Raman spectroscopy

In this paper we show how the Raman microprobe can be used for characterization of the domain structure in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN). The Raman scattered intensity of the transverse and longitudinal optical phonons was recorded across the stripe ferroelectric domains at the surface of a z-cut congruent PPLN sample. The change of integrated intensities across the domain structure was attributed to the influence of mechanical stresses and partially screened depolarization fields. PACS 77.80.Dj; 78.30.-j; 77.84.Dy     

Glasslike structure of globular proteins and the boson peak

Vibrational spectra of proteins and topologically disordered solids display a common anomaly at low frequencies, known as boson peak. We show that such feature in globular proteins can be deciphered in terms of an energy landscape picture, as it is for glassy systems. Exploiting the tools of Euclidean random matrix theory, we clarify the physical origin of such anomaly in terms of a mechanical instability of the system. As a natural explanation, we argue that such instability is relevant for proteins in order for their molecular functions to be optimally rooted in their structures.     

Nondestructive analysis of single rapeseeds by means of Raman spectroscopy

The value of different vegetable oils can be correlated with the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially omega‐3‐fatty acids such as linolenic acid, because of their contribution to healthy nutrition. One expression for the degree of unsaturation is the iodine value normally measured with gas chromatography. The use of Raman spectroscopy allows a rapid calculation of the iodine value and, in addition, only in a minimal sample volume. Therefore, this method can be used in single rapeseeds in order to predict the iodine value before harvesting. Additionally, the method can also be used for breeding investigations. Here, the lipid content and composition of a plant can be predicted by measuring the seedling without destruction. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multi-frequency EPR spectroscopy approach in the detection of boson peak excitations

The influence of boson peak (BP) excitations on low-temperature spin-lattice relaxation rate of a paramagnetic center embedded in a glassy matrix is investigated in the context of multi-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detection. In the theoretical analysis, the transition rate of spin one-half in the presence of a phonon field is calculated within the approximation of Fermi's golden rule. Several phonon densities of states are compared, among which one originating from a model of quasi-localized vibrations has been introduced into electron spin relaxation formalism for the first time. The respective frequency dependencies of spin-lattice relaxation rates are predicted which should lead to observable effects of BP modes if a multi-frequency study at very low temperatures is performed.     

The investigation of single bacteria by means of fluorescence staining and Raman spectroscopy

The successful combination of Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence labelling of single bacterial cells is presented. The results show that the selected dyes (DAPI, SYTO 9, CFDA, SYTOX blue and PI) in most cases do not influence the Raman spectrum of a labelled bacterium significantly compared to an unstained bacterium spectrum. The labelling of bacteria offers the possibility of live/dead or biotic/abiotic differentiation prior to a Raman identification step. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The disorder-longitudinal acoustic mode of oligo (ethylene glycol)-lithium trifluoromethane sulfonate solutions as studied by FT Raman spectroscopy

This work presents the results of Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy investigations of the disorder-longitudinal acoustic mode (D-LAM) of oligo(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether-lithium trifluoromethane sulfonate solutions in dependence on oligomer chain length, temperature and salt concentration. The peak position and the bandwidth of this mode depend on the long-range conformational disorder of oligo(ethylene glycol) chains. The addition of salt causes a marked increase of the long-range conformational disorder. The frequency shift of the D-LAM combined with changes in the asymmetric CH₂ stretching bands indicate that the increasing long-range conformational disorder is connected with an increasing short-range conformational disorder of oligomer chains in a linear relationship.     

Raman spectroscopy of acoustic phonons in periodic and Fibonacci superlattices

Results of Raman scattering experiments on (a) periodic superlattices made up of GaAs/In_xGa_1−xAs layers with high indium concentrations, (b) GaAs/Ga_1−xAl_xAs Fibonacci superlattices, are presented. We discuss the observed peak positions and intensities using the continuum theory of acoustic wave propagation in layered media and the photo-elastic coupling model.     

An examination of the longitudinal acoustic mode of polyethylene crystals

Chain lengths have been calculated from the peak positions of the longitudinal acoustic modes (LAM) of polyethylene single crystals grown at several different temperatures. The data are consistent with other experimental results when the crystalline elastic modulus is taken to be 3.6 × 10¹² dyn/cm². However, this is true only if the vibrations of the crystalline chain segments are unaffected by the presence of folds and cilia on the crystal surface. The LAMs of several crystal preparations were also deconvoluted with the first-order LAM of C₉₄H₁₉₀ in order to remove instrumental broadening. The band shapes of the deconvoluted spectra are consistent with the idea that the LAM of polyethylene crystals is composed of two contributions: One due to chain stems in 110 sectors and a second due to chains in 200 sectors.     

Heat capacity and low-frequency vibrational density of states. Inferences for the boson peak of silica and alkali silicate glasses

A simple method is used to determine in an absolute way the low-frequency part of the vibrational density of states, g(ω), from inversion of low-temperature heat capacities of glasses. Calculations have been made from adiabatic measurements performed from 10 to 300 K for vitreous SiO₂ and a series of Li, Na and K silicate glasses with up to 50 mol% metal oxide. In all cases, the calculated low-frequency feature is made up of two bands whose maxima lie between 100 and 140 cm⁻¹ and near 400 cm⁻¹. Both the frequency and intensity of the first peak of g(ω) increase linearly with metal oxide content from pure SiO₂ to the metasilicate stoichiometry, reflecting weaker bonding with nonbridging oxygens in the order Li, Na, K, i.e., in order of increasing cationic radius and mass. As represented by the peaks found below 50 cm⁻¹ in plots of g(ω)/ω² vs. ω and below 20 K in plots of C_p/T³ vs. T, the boson peak varies in a different way with composition. Its intensity increases with increasing polymerization for Li and Na silicates whereas the converse holds true for K silicates. These variations agree with the enhancement of the contribution of floppy modes and transverse acoustic modes to the low-frequency vibrational density of states that has previously been reported, but they also point to the importance of localized vibrations in which network modifier cations participate. For either the first peak of g(ω) or the boson peak, however, the size of the alkali cation exerts a stronger influence than the degree of polymerization of the anionic framework. Finally, the universal phenomenology of the boson peak is borne out by the collapse of the calorimetric data on a single master curve when one plots the measurements in a reduced form by using the intensity and position of the peaks as scaling parameters.     

Accurate determination of polyethylene pellet density using transmission Raman spectroscopy

In this study, transmission Raman spectroscopy was explored for the direct measurement of the density of packed polyethylene (PE) pellets. A simple and direct transmission Raman measurement of packed, solid granules or pellet samples without pretreatment is greatly advantageous. Initially, the optimal packing thickness of PE pellets for transmission Raman measurement was determined by investigating the reproducibility of triplicate spectra collected by varying the thickness from 2 to 9 cm. Once determined, transmission Raman spectra were collected for 25 different grades of PE pellets and the partial least squares method was used to determine the sample density. The resulting accuracy was 0.00067 g·cm⁻³, while that obtained using backscattering measurements was 0.00083 g·cm⁻³. To investigate possible inhomogeneity within a pellet, Raman line mapping was performed over the face of a sectioned pellet and spectral variations among the mapped spectra were examined using principal component analysis. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry was performed on three samples prepared separately by cutting a pellet into left, middle, and right sections. Based on both studies, internal pellet inhomogeneity was found to be minute, but was clearly present. The correct sample representation of internally inhomogeneous PE pellets by the transmission Raman measurement eventually improved the accuracy for density determination. Finally sample‐to‐sample two‐dimensional correlation analysis was used to further examine the origin of the improved accuracy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Equivalence of the boson peak in glasses to the transverse acoustic van Hove singularity in crystals

We compare the atomic dynamics of the glass to that of the relevant crystal. In the spectra of inelastic scattering, the boson peak of the glass appears higher than the transverse acoustic (TA) singularity of the crystal. However, the density of states shows that they have the same number of states. Increasing pressure causes the transformation of the boson peak of the glass towards the TA singularity of the crystal. Once corrected for the difference in the elastic medium, the boson peak matches the TA singularity in energy and height. This suggests the identical nature of the two features.     

The boson peak and nanostructure of vitreous benzophenone

The temperature behavior of the low-frequency Raman spectra of vitreous and supercooled liquid benzophenones is investigated experimentally. The structural phase transformations are studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The results obtained suggest that the structure of glasses involves nanometer-sized fragments similar to the structural elements of the crystals.     

Study of polycrystalline boron-doped diamond films by Raman spectroscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy

The effect of the degree of doping polycrystalline diamond films by boron on their Raman and absorption spectra has been studied in the visible region (from 200 to 1000 nm). As the boron concentration increases in a polycrystalline diamond film, its Raman spectrum exhibits a number of new specific features caused by the effect of boron atoms on the diamond lattice. The dependences that relate these features to the boron concentration in the films are given. Moreover, the absorption spectra of the films have revealed a peak whose maximum corresponds to photons with an energy near 2 eV.     

Raman spectroscopy of intercalated layered structure compounds

The Raman spectra of intercalated 1TTaS₂ and 2HTaSe₂ have been measured for the first time. Normal symmetry allowed optic phonons and charge density wave induced modes are observed in both systems. The spectra of the ethylenediamine intercalated compounds are qualitatively similar to those of the pure materials with small quantitative shifts in frequency and changes in the relative intensities of the CDW induced modes. The qualitative similarities in the spectra of the pure and the intercalated compounds reflect the two dimensional character of these materials and show that the dynamic properties of the charge density wave states are largely determined by intralayer effects.     

低频水下声信号的激光探测

根据表面波声光效应的原理,提出了一种低频水下声信号的激光探测技术,并建立了实验装置。在几十赫兹的低频段,对水下声源所产生的表面声波进行了探测。实验过程中,利用MATLAB软件对拍摄的衍射图样进行扫描分析,得到了衍射图样中条纹的像素差。根据波长与条纹间距的解析关系式,得到了低频液体表面声波波长,其大小在毫米量级。利用计算机编程,根据最小二乘法拟合色散关系的回归曲线,测量结果与理论色散关系吻合。该方法具有实时、非接触的特点。     

Visualization of acoustic wavefronts by means of acoustic stroboscopy

The amplitude and phase distributions of a progressive acoustic wave are visualized simultaneously by means of acoustic stroboscopy. Two methods are described: (i) modulation of a laser beam by a progressive acoustic wave; (ii) modulation by a stationary wave. Spatial filtering of diffracted orders enables the progressive wavefronts to be seen as if they were stationary.     

Study of the initial stage of nucleation in minerals by low-frequency Raman scattering

It is shown that the low-frequency Raman scattering (RS) of light in the acoustic range is a sensitive method for studying the initial stage of nucleation, and is even more sensitive to the structural order than traditional RS on optical phonons.