Electronic coupling and exciton energy transfer in CdTe quantum-dot molecules

Stable dispersions of molecularlike aggregates of CdTe quantum dots are prepared by chemical cross-linking. Cryo-TEM images confirm the presence of cross-linked quantum dots and show that the size of the small aggregates can be controlled by the amount of cross-linker added. Optical measurements reveal two types of interdot interactions within these quantum-dot molecules: exciton energy transfer and electronic coupling. Quantitative information on the energy transfer rates in quantum-dot molecules is obtained by photoluminescence lifetime measurements. The degree of electronic coupling is dependent on the size of the quantum dots, which is supported by quantum mechanical calculations.     

Side chain mediated electronic contact between a tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran-4-ylidene-appended polythiophene and CdTe quantum dots

The properties of a mixed CdTe quantum dot/tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran-4-ylidene-functionalized polythiophene system are reported. This system was prepared by exposing trioctylphosphine (TOP)-capped CdTe quantum dots to the polythiophene in solution. Strong fluorescence emission quenching and shortening of the fluorescence emission lifetimes of both the polythiophene and the quantum dots occur when they are mixed, indicating the occurrence of photoinduced charge separation. Photoinduced absorption spectroscopy reveals a considerable decrease in the population of the polythiophene triplet excited state in the mixed system. These results demonstrate that between the quantum dots and the polythiophene there is both physical and electronic contact, which is mediated by the tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran-4-ylidene side chains.     

Effect of combined polymers on the loss of efficiency caused by mechanical degradation in drag reducing flows through straight tubes

The mechanical molecular degradation in drag reducing flows is a huge problem in the effort to improve the efficiency of drag reducers, which is clearly increased when a combination of materials is used. Here, we analyze mixtures of three kinds of water-soluble polymers: Poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO), Polyacrylamide (PAM), and Xanthan Gum (XG). Two kinds of mixtures are tested: (a) PAM and XG; (b) PEO and XG. The synergy between the polymers is clearly noticeable. The values of the drag reduction (DR) obtained by the polymer–polymer combination was larger than that observed for a single polymer in a solution with the same total concentration of the mixture. Our tests are conducted in straight tubes where the total pressure is fixed. The values of DR are computed step-by-step, as the total amount of solution pass through the system. In doing so, we carefully took into account the loss of efficiency caused by the turbulent flow in the straight tubes. It is quite clear that the degradation of the flexible polymers (PEO and PAM) is delayed in the mixtures. In other words, besides the increase in the DR, the flexible polymers are more resistant when in the presence of the rigid one (XG). Such observation is the main conclusion of this work.     

Resveratrol-derived stilbenoids and biological activity evaluation of seed extracts of Cenchrus echinatus L

A phytochemical study of the ethyl acetate fractions from the partition of seeds and roots methanol extracts of Cenchrus echinatus L. led to the isolation of three resveratrol-derived stilbenoids: pallidol (1), carasiphenol C (2) and nepalensinol B (3). The results of a topic anti-inflammatory evaluation, DPPH assay and antiproliferative activity against adenocarcinoma cells (Caco 2) are described.     

Design of hierarchical porous aluminas by using one-pot synthesis and different calcination temperatures

Hierarchical aluminas with pore sizes ranging from a few nanometers to micrometers were obtained using an one-pot sol?Cgel synthesis. The aluminas were synthesized under acid conditions from aluminum isopropoxide in presence of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer template and decahydronaphthalene as emulsifier agent. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, nitrogen physisorption isotherms and mercury intrusion porosimetry provided evidences of porous structure at different hierarchical levels. The produced aluminas possess hierarchical structure composed of different family of pores that coexist in form of cylinders, pyramids and stacking of platelets. The morphology observed by electron microscopy suggests that the cylindrical pores result from the stacking platelets and that the cylinders and pyramidal pores form the walls of macropores of circular section. These aluminas with hierarchical porous architecture present large surface areas (ca. 435?m² g^?1) and pore volumes (ca. 2.1?cm³ g^?1), tunable pore-size distributions and good thermal stability.     

Measurement of the phase behaviour of the binary systems {carbon dioxide (CO2) + non-ionic surfactants (CiEOj)}

Solubility experiments of ethoxylates surfactants denoted as C_iEO_j (where C_i = hydrocarbon tail, EO_j = oxyethylene groups, i = 6 to 8 and j = 3 to 5) in sub- and supercritical carbon dioxide were carried out at different temperatures, pressures, and concentrations in a Cailletet apparatus as a representative model for dry cleaning system. For a variety of compositions, results are reported for binary systems within temperature and pressure ranges of (260 to 310) K and (2.0 to 10) MPa respectively. In each experiment, the surfactants reach equilibrium with carbon dioxide at different concentrations. The data show that with all the surfactants upon increasing concentration, the liquid–liquid (L–L) curve shifts to lower temperatures. Therefore, the one-phase solution gap is reduced in pressure and temperature at higher concentrations. When the length of the hydrocarbon tail remains constant and the ethoxylated chain is increased from three to five groups, the L–L curve once again shifts to lower temperatures and the two phases start earlier. This effect can be attributed to the higher surfactant’s polarity due to the increase in j. On the other hand, when the number of ethoxylated groups j remains constant and the length of the hydrocarbon tail is increased from six to eight carbon atoms, no significant shift in the L–L curve is observed. That signals the fact that the appearance of two phases is directly related to the number of ethoxylated group which determine the polarity of the molecule.     

The limit case response of the archetypal oscillator for smooth and discontinuous dynamics

In this paper, the limit case of the SD (smooth and discontinuous) oscillator is studied. This system exhibits standard dynamics governed by the hyperbolic structure associated with the stationary state of the double-well. The substantial deviation from the standard dynamics is the non-smoothness of the velocity in crossing from one well to another, caused by the loss of local hyperbolicity due to the discontinuity. Without dissipation, the KAM structure on the Poincaré section is constructed with generic KAM curves and a series of fixed points associated with surrounded islands of quasi-periodic orbits and the chaotic connection orbits. It is found that, for a fixed set of parameters, a special chaotic orbit exits there which fills a finite region and connects a series of islands dominated by different chains of fixed points. As one adds weak dissipation, the periodic solutions in this finite region remain unchanged while the quasi-periodic solutions (isolated islands) are converted to the corresponding periodic solutions. The relevant dynamics for the system with weak dissipation under external excitation is shown having period doubling bifurcation leading to chaos, and multi-stable solutions.     

Fractal basin boundaries

Basin boundaries for dynamical systems can be either smooth or fractal. This paper investigates fractal basin boundaries. One practical consequence of such boundaries is that they can lead to great difficulty in predicting to which attractor a system eventually goes. The structure of fractal basin boundaries can be classified as being either locally connected or locally disconnected. Examples and discussion of both types of structures are given, and it appears that fractal basin boundaries should be common in typical dynamical systems. Lyapunov numbers and the dimension for the measure generated by inverse orbits are also discussed.