Gaussian fluctuations in tethered DNA chains

In a recent work [Gao et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 134, 113902 (2007)], we reported a novel DNA separation method by tethering DNA chains to a solid surface and then stretching the DNA chains with an electric field. The anchor is such designed that the critical force to detach a DNA chain is independent of its length. Because the stretching force is proportional to the DNA net charge, a gradual increase of the electric field leads to size-based removal of the DNA strands from the surface and thus DNA separation. Originally proposed for separation of long double-stranded DNA chains (>10 000 bps), this method has been proven useful also for short single-stranded DNA fragments (<100 bases) for which the fluctuation force induced by the solvent becomes significant. Here we show that the fluctuation force can be approximately represented by a gaussian model for tethered DNA chains. Analytical expressions have been derived to account for the dependence of the fluctuation force on the surface confinement, the polymer chain length, and the DNA tethering potential. The theoretical predictions are found to coincide with experiment.     

Electrically Switchable Magnetic Molecules: Inducing a Magnetic Coupling by Means of an External Electric Field in a Mixed‐Valence Polyoxovanadate Cluster

Herein we evaluate the influence of an electric field on the coupling of two delocalized electrons in the mixed‐valence polyoxometalate (POM) [GeV₁₄O₄₀]^8? (in short V₁₄) by using both a t‐J model Hamiltonian and DFT calculations. In absence of an electric field the compound is paramagnetic, because the two electrons are localized on different parts of the POM. When an electric field is applied, an abrupt change of the magnetic coupling between the two delocalized electrons can be induced. Indeed, the field forces the two electrons to localize on nearest‐neighbors metal centers, leading to a very strong antiferromagnetic coupling. Both theoretical approaches have led to similar results, emphasizing that the sharp spin transition induced by the electric field in the V₁₄ system is a robust phenomenon, intramolecular in nature, and barely influenced by small changes on the external structure.     

Vibrational solvatochromism and electrochromism of infrared probe molecules containing C≡O, C≡N, C=O, or C-F vibrational chromophore

Solvatochromic vibrational frequency shifts of a few different infrared (IR) probe molecules have been studied by carrying out quantum chemistry calculations for a number of their water clusters. We are particularly focused on the vibrational solvatochromic and electrochromic effects on the CO, CN, and CF stretch modes in carbon monoxide, acetone, 4-cyanopyridine, p-tolunitrile, fluorobenzene, and 3-fluoropyridine. Using multiple interaction site antenna model, we show that their solvatochromic vibrational frequency shifts can be successfully described by considering spatially nonuniform electrostatic potential generated by the surrounding water molecules. It turns out that the CO and CF stretch mode frequencies are approximately proportional to the solvent electric field projected onto the bond axes, whereas the vibrational frequencies of the nitrile stretch mode in 4-cyanopyridine and p-tolunitrile are not. Consequently, it is confirmed that the vibrational Stark tuning rates of the CO and CF stretching modes can be directly used to describe their solvatochromic frequency shifts in condensed phases. However, the nitrile stretch mode frequency shift induced by solvent electrostatic potential appears to be more complicated than its electrochromic phenomenon. To examine the validity of the distributed interaction site model for solvatochromic frequency shifts of these vibrational chromophores, we thus calculated the vibrational Stark tuning rates of the CO, CN, and CF stretch modes and found that they are in good agreement with the experimental results found in literatures. This confirms that a collection of properly chosen distributed interaction sites can be an excellent electric antenna sensing local electrostatics that affects on vibrational frequencies of IR probe modes.     

Improper or classical hydrogen bonding? A comparative cryosolutions infrared study of the complexes of HCClF(2), HCCl(2)F,and HCCl(3) with dimethyl ether

Complexes of haloforms of the type HCCl(n)F(3-)(n) (n = 1-3) with dimethyl ether have been studied in liquid argon and liquid krypton, using infrared spectroscopy. For the haloform C[bond]H stretching mode, the complexation causes blue shifts of 10.6 and 4.8 cm(-1) for HCClF(2) and HCCl(2)F, respectively, while for HCCl(3) a red shift of 8.3 cm(-1) is observed. The ratio of the band areas of the haloform C[bond]H stretching in complex and monomer was determined to be 0.86(4) for HCClF(2), 33(3) for HCCl(2)F, and 56(3) for HCCl(3). These observations, combined with those for the HCF(3) complex with the same ether (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 12290), have been analyzed using ab initio calculations at the MP2[double bond]FC/6-31G(d) level, and using some recent models for improper hydrogen bonding. Ab initio calculations on the haloforms embedded in a homogeneous electric field to model the influence of the ether suggest that the complexation shift of the haloform C[bond]H stretching is largely explained by the electric field effect induced by the electron donor in the proton donor. The model calculations also show that the electric field effect accounts for the observed intensity changes of the haloform C[bond]H stretches.     

Electric deflection studies on lead clusters

The dielectric response to an inhomogeneous electric field has been investigated for Pb(N) clusters (N=7-38) within a molecular beam experiment. The experiments give clear evidence that lead clusters with 12, 14, and 18 atoms possess permanent dipole moments. For these cluster sizes, the permanent electric dipole moments strongly determine the response to the electric field, leading to a significantly increased apparent polarizability. An adiabatic polarization mechanism allows a semiquantitative explanation of the observed susceptibility anomalies. The beam profiles of most of the lead clusters with N not equal12, 14, and 18 also display a small broadening induced by the electric field, indicating permanent dipole moments of about (0.01-0.02) D/atom. Nearly constant dipole moments per atom for larger lead clusters (N>20) manifest in a linear increase in the polarizability per atom. Also, for lead clusters such as Pb(25), which do exhibit almost no measurable beam broadening, the polarizabilties are increased compared to the bulk value. This could be partially explained by the electronic structure of the lead clusters but might be also a consequence of quenched permanent dipole moments because for highly flexible clusters only an increased beam deflection, but no broadening, will be observed.     

Synthesis and field emission properties of carbon nanotube films modified with amorphous carbon nanoparticles by a simple electrodeposition method

Amorphous carbon nanoparticles （a-CNPs） on a multi-walled carbon nanotube （MWCNT） film, deposited on a silicon substrate, were synthesized using an electrodeposition combination from a methanol suspension of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride-modified MWCNTs. A low-voltage electropho- retic deposition of the MWCNTs and a high-voltage electrochemical deposition of the a-CNPs were carried out to yield homogenously attached a-CNPs on the surfaces of the MWCNTs, and form a composite film with good adhesion to the substrate. This scalable technology can produce a large area of a-CNP/MWCNT film. And the field emission investigations show that the a-CNP/MWCNT film has turn- on electric field of 3.17 V μm- 1 （at 10 μA cm-2） and threshold field of 4.62 V μm-1 （at 1 mA cm-2）, which are lower than those of the MWCNT film. The a-CNP/MWCNT film can be deposited simply with large areas and may be a promising cathode material applied in field emission displays.     

“Butterfly”-like patterns of triblock copolymer gels as observed by small-angle neutron scattering

At high (150-1000%) stretching of a physical gel of a triblock copolymer a “butterfly”-type scattering pattern is observed with a pronounced scattering-free strip perpendicular to the stretching direction. The phenomenon is attributed to the cluster character of the physical network in the gel. Stretching brings endblock domains (junction points of the network) closer to each other in the direction perpendicular to the stretching and leads to formation of a layered structure. High connectivity of the network inside the clusters leads to saturation of the deformation within the clusters as manifested by the scattering-free region in the SANS pattern. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A quantitative model to evaluate the ion-enrichment and ion-depletion effect at microchannel-nanochannel junctions

In a nanometer-scale fluidic channel (nanochannel), coions are depleted while counterions are concentrated due to the electric double layer (EDL) overlap. When an electric field is applied across the nanochannel, ions are enriched at one end and depleted at the other end of the nanochannel. This phenomenon is termed the ion-enrichment and ion-epletion (IEID) effect. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to evaluate this effect. The model takes into accounts not only the biased electrophoretic migrations but also the net charge transportation caused by electroosmotic flow. In addition, we consider the conductance change inside the nanochannel in assessing the electric field strength across it. We employ our recently developed protocol to measure these values. We establish a protocol to measure/quantitate the IEID effect. Finally, we compare the calculated results with the experimentally measured data and show good agreements between them.     

Effects of a chemically modified multiwall carbon nanotubes on electro-optical properties of PDLC films

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films are fabricated by well-known polymerization-induced phase separation method. In this paper, the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in liquid crystals has been enhanced by chemical modification and we have investigated their effects on the morphology, electro-optical properties and conductivity of the PDLC films. Results indicated that the threshold voltage and the saturation voltage of PDLC films decreased with the increase of the doping concentration of MWCNT or chemically modified MWCNT, because carbon nanotubes can enhance the electric field by reducing the resistivity of the medium and increasing the capacitance of the cells. It can be viewed obviously that the contrast ratio of the PDLC films doped with the chemically modified MWCNT is higher than that of the MWCNT.     

Electrooptic properties of the ferroelectric smectic C phase induced by chiral dopants in HOBA and OOBA

A ferroelectric smectic C state was induced in 4-n-octyloxybenzoic acid (OOBA) and 4-n-heptyloxybenzoic acid (HOBA) by the chiral dopants-cholesteryl benzoate (CB) and DOBAMBC—M₁ and M₂ mixtures respectively. A strong electrooptic effect was found for a DC electric field in the ferroelectric state of the M₁ mixture stabilized by the boundaries. This effect is characterised by six increasing electric field thresholds (E⁽¹⁾_th-E⁽⁶⁾_th), where drastic textural and colour changes occur. The electrooptic responses in AC electric field for the two mixtures are discussed. A qualitative model to explain the observed phenomenon is presented.     

Isothermal crystallization kinetics and thermal behavior of poly(?-caprolactone)/multi-walled carbon nanotube composites

This study describes the preparation of poly(?-caprolactone) (PCL)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites by ultrasonically mixing the PCL and as-fabricated MWCNT in a tetrahydrofuran solution. The TEM images show that the MWCNT is well separated and uniformly distributed in the PCL matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) were used to investigate the isothermal crystallization kinetics, crystalline structure and thermal behavior of PCL and PCL/MWCNT nanocomposites. DSC isothermal results revealed that the activation energy of PCL extensively decreases with increasing MWCNT contents, suggesting that the loading of MWCNT into PCL matrix probably induced heterogeneous nucleation during crystallization processes. From TGA data, the addition of small amount of MWCNT into PCL matrix can improve the thermal stability of PCL matrix. TGA isothermal degradation data illustrate that the activation energy E_d of the composites is smaller than that of PCL. This phenomenon can be attributed to the incorporation of more MWCNT loading into PCL caused a decrease in the degradation rate and an increase in the residual weight for PCL/MWCNT nanocomposites.     

Dipole moments of HDO in highly excited vibrational states measured by Stark induced photofragment quantum beat spectroscopy

We report here a measurement of electric dipole moments in highly vibrationally excited HDO molecules. We use photofragment yield detected quantum beat spectroscopy to determine electric field induced splittings of the J=1 rotational levels of HDO excited with 4, 5, and 8 quanta of vibration in the OH stretching mode. The splittings allow us to deduce mua and mub, the projections of dipole moment onto the molecular rotation inertial axes. We compare the measured HDO dipole moment components with the results of quantitative calculations based on Morse oscillator wave functions and an ab initio dipole moment surface. The vibrational dependence of the dipole moment components reflect both structural and electronic changes in HDO upon vibrational excitation; principally the vibrational dependence of the O-H bond length and bond angle, and the resulting change in orientation of the principal inertial coordinate system. The dipole moment data also provide a sensitive test of theoretical dipole moment and potential energy surfaces, particularly for molecular configurations far from equilibrium.     

密度泛函理论及光谱对CuCl2溶液中微团簇的研究

利用密度泛函理论和拉曼光谱对氯化铜溶液第一溶剂化层中的微团簇进行了研究。采用B3LYP方法对溶液中可能存在的团簇构型进行优化,从动力学和热力学方面分析得出溶液中团簇结构信息。理论拉曼光谱在100~500 cm~(-1)主要为Cu—O的伸缩振动峰,3400~4000 cm~(-1)范围内为O—H的对称和不对称伸缩振动。实验光谱在200~340 cm~(-1)出现明显新峰,位于2500~4000 cm-1的O—H伸缩振动峰随着溶液浓度的增加,峰的强度逐渐减小,峰形有明显变化。实验光谱和理论光谱验证和比对,表明溶液的实验光谱中产生的新峰为Cu—O振动,CuCl_2水溶液中产生短程离子相互作用及溶剂化现象,且随着溶液浓度的增加,溶剂化数目减小。     

Diffusiophoresis of concentrated suspensions of spherical particles with distinct ionic diffusion velocities

The diffusiophoresis of a concentrated spherical dispersion of colloidal particles subject to a small electrolyte gradient is analyzed theoretically for an arbitrary zeta potential and double layer thickness. In particular, the influence of the difference in the diffusivities of cations and anions is discussed. A unit cell model is used to simulate a spherical dispersion, and a pseudospectral method is adopted to solve the equations governing the phenomenon under consideration. We show that, as in the case of an infinitely dilute dispersion, when the diffusivities of cations and anions are different, the diffusiophoretic mobility is no longer an even function of the zeta potential or double layer thickness. In contrast to the case of identical diffusivity of cations and anions, a local electric field is induced in the present case due to an unbalanced charge distribution between higher and lower concentration regions. Depending upon the direction of this induced electric field, the diffusiophoretic mobility can be larger or smaller than that for the case of identical diffusivity. The diffusiophoretic mobility is influenced mainly by the induced electric field arising from the difference in the ionic diffusivities, the concentration gradient, and the effect of double layer polarization.     

Poly(methyl methacrylate)/multiwalled carbon nanotube microspheres fabricated via in‐situ dispersion polymerization

Poly(methyl methacrylate)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PMMA/MWCNT) microspheres were successfully prepared by in situ dispersion polymerization in an alcohol phase in which the acid‐treated MWCNTs were dispersed before polymerization. The PMMA and PMMA/MWCNT microspheres were monodisperse. The diameters of the microspheres decreased from about 11.6–6.0 μm as the MWCNT content was increased from 0 to 0.03 wt %. The morphology of the PMMA/MWCNT microspheres was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and the experimental results showed that the MWCNTs were present both in the interior and on the surface of the microspheres. The synthesized PMMA/MWCNT microspheres were also characterized by electrical resistance measurements to analyze their electrical conductivity. They showed electrorheological (ER) fluid characteristics when they were dispersed in silicone oil. Their ER properties were confirmed by using optical microscopy to examine a suspension of the PMMA/MWCNT microspheres dispersed in insulating silicone oil to which an electric field of 2.5 kV/cm was applied. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 182–189, 2008     

Comparative study of insulin chain-B in isolated and monomeric environments under external stress

We have conducted a series of theoretical simulations of insulin chain-B under different electric field conditions. This work extends our previous studies of the isolated chain-B by including chain-A and revealing the effects of chemical stress. For this complete protein, we observed increased stability under ambient conditions and under the application of thermal stress, compared to isolated chain-B. On the other hand, the presence of chain-A enhanced the effects of the applied electric field. Under the static field, the presence of chain-A lowered the strength of the field necessary to stretch the protein. Under the oscillating fields, there was relatively less stretching due to the competitive alignment process of the three helical regions with respect to the field. At high field strengths, we observed that the high frequency oscillating field caused less secondary structure disruption than a lower frequency field of the same strength.     

Theory of the low frequency electrorotation of disperse particles in electrolyte solution

It is shown that the main mechanism determining the electrorotation of colloidal particles at low frequencies is the electro-osmotic slip velocity rather than the torque exerted by the rotating electric field on the induced dipole moment. This new mechanism permits to explain the co-field rotation generally observed in colloid and bicolloid systems. The theory of this phenomenon is fully analysed in general and is exemplified for two well known models: the Schwarz model corrected for bulk diffusion and the standard model.     

Electron-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy: a theoretical approach.

Enhancement of the Raman scattering and IR absorption activities due to the electron-attachment was investigated for water systems by DFT calculations. DFT calculation of a 6-ring water cluster system that included the diffusive nature of electrons well reproduced the Raman enhancement effects and Raman shifts of the OH stretching modes observed in experiments. Based on the same model and calculations, enhancement of the IR absorption activity was also studied and was found to also be improved. Furthermore, the same calculation revealed that the enhancement can be also expected not only in the OH stretching but also in the lower wavenumber region. The enhancement factors for the various vibrational modes of the OH groups range from 10(2) - 10(5) thanks to the electron addition. Based on the coincidence between the theoretical model and the experimental results for the Raman signals and theoretical prediction for IR absorption, new enhancement techniques based on an electron-attachment in both Raman scattering and IR absorption, denoted as "electron-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy (EEVS)", is proposed, where molecular polarizability itself is modulated by the strong electrostatic field induced by neighboring electrons.     

An in situ infrared study of magnesium hydroxide dehydroxylation under electric fields

A specially designed IR electrolysis cell is described, which allows samples to be simultaneously heated and electrolysed during the recording of their IR spectra. By means of this cell, changes in the intensity of the hydroxyl stretching band at 3670 cm^?1 were recorded as a function of temperature both in the presence and absence of an applied electric field. The intensity of the ?OH band decreases with temperature in two distinct stages, both of which are influenced by the electric field. The effect of the electric field on the regain of spectral intensity of the hydroxyl band on re-cooling the sample to room temperature was also studied, and the results discussed in terms of the delocalization of the protons from their respective molecules, possibly by a field-dependent tunnelling mechanism. The effect of the field on the shape and frequency of the ?OH stretching band is also discussed.     

Infrared intensity in dielectric media by an electrostatic model

A change in an infrared intensity in dielectric media is treated by an electrostatic model. The basic model is originally formalized for a dipolar liquid. The model is satisfactorily applied to the infrared intensity of the C-H stretching of chloroform, which changes 22 times large in the liquid state at -43 degrees C as in the gaseous state. A change in the infrared intensity in lithium ammonium tartrate, where a ferroelectric phase transition takes place, is analyzed on the basis of a local polarization above T(c) or a spontaneous polarization below T(c), deducing important quantities on a phase transition. A difference in the infrared intensity of the C-Br stretching of 1,10-dibromodecane between the urea clathrate and the crystalline state is analyzed by evaluating electric fields due to bond moments and oscillating dipoles. These analyses confirm the mechanism of the change in the absolute infrared intensity, which originates from an electrostatic interaction with an electric field applied to a molecule or a functional group closely related to a normal mode.