Explosive decomposition of pentaerythritol tetranitrate pellets containing nickel nanoparticles with various radii

The kinetics of the explosive decomposition of pressed pentaerythritol tetranitrate pellets containing nickel nanoparticles with various radii has been investigated experimentally, with the explosion initiated by a neodymium laser pulse (wavelength, 1064 nm; pulse duration at half-height, 14 ns), and probability curves for this process have been recorded. The experimental values of critical initiation energy density corresponding to 50% explosion probability are 0.9, 0.7, and 1.4 J/cm² at a nickel particle radius of 67, 78, and 138 nm, respectively. The initial time interval in which the intensity of light emission accompanying the explosive decomposition increases begins during the action of the pulse and is described by a Gaussian function with an effective constant of k = (1.4 ± 0.1) × 10⁸ s^–1, which is independent of the nanoparticle radius. Experimental data of this study can be interpreted within the micro-hotspot model of thermal explosion.     

Synthesis and Optical Properties of SiO2-Coated CeO2 Nanoparticles

Silica (SiO₂)-coated ceria (CeO₂) nanoparticles were prepared using water-in-oil microemulsion. Polyoxyethylene (15) cetylether and cyclohexane were used as a surfactant and organic solvent. SiO₂-coated CeO₂ nanoparticles were obtained by hydrolysis of metal alkoxide (tetraethylorthosilicate, TEOS) in the solution containing CeO₂ precursor nanoparticles. The effects of CeO₂ sources (Ce metal salt) and CeO₂ particle-forming agents on the morphology of SiO₂–CeO₂ particles were investigated. Observation via transmission electron microscopy revealed that the type of particle-forming agent affected the nanoparticles' morphology and that CeO₂ nanoparticles were spherically coated with SiO₂ when using oxalic acid ((COOH)₂) as a particle-forming agent of CeO₂. Furthermore, the transmittance of the particles was high in the visible region (above 400 nm) and decreased in the ultraviolet region.     

Characterization of the structure and dynamics of an aqueous Hg solution by an ab initio molecular dynamics study

Quantum mechanical charge field (QMCF) MD simulation has been performed to investigate the structure and dynamics of Hg²⁺ hydrate. The first-shell hexacoordinated [Hg(H₂O)₆]²⁺ complex with an average Hg²⁺-O distance of 2.40 Å is dominantly found, which corresponds to the neutron diffraction and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments. Other species, in particular the 7-fold coordinated complexes, can be formed transiently, according to the water exchange processes with an associative interchange (I_a) mechanism. The second hydration shell exhibits a Hg²⁺-O distance of 4.6 Å with a coordination number of ~ 14. The mean residence times (MRTs) of first- and second-shell waters clearly indicate a strong “structure-forming” ability of Hg²⁺ in aqueous solution.     

Quantum-chemical study of interaction of hydrogen atoms with graphene

The dependence of the binding energy and the activation energy of adsorption of hydrogen atoms on the number of previously adsorbed particles and their position—on one or both sides of a cluster, on nearest or distant neighbors (carbon atoms)—is investigated by quantum-chemical modeling. A hypothesis of the formation of adsorption sites (islands) on graphene at the initial stage of its saturation by hydrogen is discussed.     

Photolysis of alkaline-earth nitrates

Peroxynitrite and nitrite ions are the diamagnetic products of photolysis (with light at a wavelength of 253.7 nm) of alkaline-earth nitrates; the paramagnetic products and hydrogen peroxide were not found. The structural water in alkaline-earth nitrate crystals did not affect the qualitative composition of the photodecomposition products. The quantum yield of nitrite ions was 0.0012, 0.0038, 0.0078, and 0.0091 quanta^?1 and that of peroxynitrite ions was 0.0070, 0.0107, 0.0286, and 0.0407 quanta^?1 for Sr(NO₃)₂, Ba(NO₃)₂, Ca(NO₃)₂ · 4H₂O, and Mg(NO₃)₂ · 6H₂O, respectively.     

Interpolymer complexes of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) with copolyimide-grafted side chains of poly(methacrylic acid)

The process of formation and structural organization of interpolymer complexes formed by macromolecules of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) and poly(methacrylic acid) chains grafted onto polyimide in solution is investigated via the method of polarized luminescence. A luminescent label of anthracene structure is covalently bound to both polymers. Relaxation times characterizing intramolecular mobility of each of the components in their interpolymer complex are measured in relation to the composition of the system.     

Relaxation properties and complex formation of copolymers of 2-deoxy-2-methacrylamido-D-glucose and unsaturated acids

With the use of polarized luminescence, relaxation times characterizing the intramolecular mobility of luminescent labeled copolymers of 2-deoxy-2-methacrylamido-D-glucose and unsaturated acids in solutions are determined in both nonionized and ionized states. Elements of the secondary structure typical for poly(methacrylic acid) are formed in copolymers with a high content of methacrylic acid (≥50 mol %) in their nonionized state. This structure is destroyed during ionization. Equilibrium stability constants for complexes of the copolymers with cationic surfactants are determined. Quantitative characteristics of the effects of the surfactant and copolymer structures and the ionic strength of solution on complex formation are estimated.     

Vibrational overtone spectroscopy of three-membered rings

We have recorded vapor-phase photoacoustic spectra of cyclopropane, ethylene oxide, and ethylene sulfide in the third, fourth, and fifth CH-stretching overtone regions. We have used a harmonically coupled anharmonic oscillator local mode model to facilitate analysis of the spectra. Fermi resonance between the CH-stretching and HCH-bending vibrations is essential to explain the observed wide and multistructured CH-stretching overtone bands. A number of weak combination bands can account for the remaining experimental features observed to the blue of the CH-stretching regions. We have reassigned the fundamental spectra of these three-membered rings.     

Five-component food-grade microemulsions: structural characterization by SANS

In this paper we present the structural characterization of a five-component food-grade microemulsion containing Tween 80, R(+)-limonene, ethanol, glycerol, and water. Our main approach to investigating the microstructure of dense microemulsions, and how it can be influenced by the various components, was to employ small-angle neutron scattering and the new evaluation technique for dense, interacting systems, the Generalized Indirect Fourier Transformation. We started our investigation with the impact of glycerol and ethanol on Tween 80 micelles in water. We found that glycerol increases the aggregation number and withdraws the hydrating agents from the headgroup region of the surfactant, resulting in a higher packing density of molecules in a micelle at slightly increasing size. The same trend holds when the micelles are oil swollen and/or ethanol is present. Ethanol, on the other hand, redistributes mainly between water and the interface-headgroup region of the surfactant. Part of it replaces surfactant molecules in the micelles, which increases the available interface and results in a higher number of micelles with shrinking size. The same trend holds when the micelles are oil swollen and/or glycerol is present in the aqueous phase. We also investigated samples along the dilution of a mixture of surfactant and oil phase (R(+)-limonene and ethanol), which can be diluted with aqueous phase (mixture of water and glycerol) without the occurrence of phase separation. In some samples of this dilution most probably bicontinuous structures are present. To elucidate this point, we also employed dynamic light scattering, viscosity, and conductivity measurements.     

Duplex dissociation of telomere DNAs induced by molecular crowding

Because of the importance of telomere DNAs, the structures of these DNAs in vivo are currently of great research interest in the medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and industrial fields. To understand the structure of biomolecules in vivo, their properties studied in vitro are extrapolated to the in vivo condition, while the condition in a living cell is inherently molecularly crowded and a nonideal solution contains various biomolecules. We investigated the effect of molecular crowding, which is one of the most important cellular environmental conditions, on the structure and stability of the telomere and G-rich and C-rich DNAs using circular dichroism (CD) spectra, CD melting curves, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The CD spectra and CD melting curves of G-rich DNA, C-rich DNA, and the 1:1 mixture of G-rich and C-rich DNAs showed that each G-rich DNA, C-rich DNA, and the 1:1 mixture form the antiparallel G-quadruplex, I-motif, and duplex, respectively, in the noncrowding condition as previously considered. On the contrary, the G-rich and C-rich DNAs individually form the parallel G-quadruplex and I-motif, respectively, in the molecular crowding condition, and the 1:1 mixture folds into the parallel G-quadruplex and I-motif but does not form a duplex. The ITC measurements indicated that the thermodynamic stability (DeltaG degrees (20)) of the duplex formation between the G-rich and C-rich DNAs in the noncrowding condition was -10.2 kcal mol(-)(1), while only a small heat change was observed in the ITC measurements in the molecular crowding condition. These ITC results also demonstrated that the molecular crowding condition prevents any duplex formation between G-rich and C-rich DNAs. These results indicate that a structural polymorphism of the telomere DNAs is induced by molecular crowding in vivo.