Two-phase structure of polyelectrolyte gel/surfactant complexes

The behavior of lightly cross-linked polyelectrolyte hydrogel swelling in the solution of oppositely charged surfactants is studied theoretically. It is shown that if there is a lack of surfactant in the solution intragel separation into two phases differing in swelling ratios and surfactant content can take place. The surfactant ions concentrate and form micelles in a part of the gel and this part collapses while the rest of the gel remains swollen. The two-phase region widens with an increase of ionization degree of the gel subchains.     

Pseudo-cross-conjugated mesomeric betaines 2. X-Ray crystallographic investigation of betaines based on quinoxaline derivatives

An x-ray crystallographic investigation of 3-methyl-5-cyanoimidazolio[1,21,6]pyrido[2,3 -b]quinoxalin-4-olate, which is a representative of a previously unknown type of polynuclear heterocyclic pseudo-crossconjugated mesomeric betaine, was undertaken.For Communication I, see [1].Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 11, pp. 1534–1538, November, 1992.     

Equilibrium conformation of dimethylaminodichlorophosphine molecule: the use of the results of quantum-chemical calculations and spectroscopic measurements in the analysis of gas-phase electron diffraction data

Geometric parameters and force fields of two stable isomers of dimethylaminodichlorophosphine molecule, a gauche-conformer with C₁ symmetry (A) and anti-conformer with C _s symmetry (D), resulting from internal rotation about the P—N bond, were calculated in the RHF/6-31G* approximation. Using the scaled quantum-chemical force field for the most stable conformer A, the first reliable interpretation of the vibrational spectra of the light and perdeuterated isotopomers of dimethylaminodichlorophosphine was obtained. The root-mean-square vibrational amplitudes, harmonic and anharmonic vibrational corrections, and centrifugal distortion corrections were also calculated. Structural analysis of electron diffraction data was performed with consideration of nonlinear kinematic effects at the first-order level of perturbation theory. The experimental values of the equilibrium geometric parameters were estimated. The results obtained suggest a nonplanar equilibrium configuration of the amino group in the dimethylaminodichlorophosphine molecule.     

Novel highly elastic magnetic materials for dampers and seals: part II. Material behavior in a magnetic field

The combination of polymers with magnetic particles displays novel and often enhanced properties compared to the traditional materials. They can open up possibilities for new technological applications. The magnetic field sensitive elastomers represent a new type of composites consisting of small particles, usually from nanometer range to micron range, dispersed in a highly elastic polymeric matrix. In this paper, we show that in the presence of built‐in magnetic particles it is possible to tune the elastic modulus by an external magnetic field. We propose a phenomenological equation to describe the effect of the external magnetic field on the elastic modulus. We demonstrate the engineering potential of new materials on the examples of two devices. The first one is a new type of seals fundamentally different from those used before. In the simplest case, the sealing assembly includes a magnetoelastic strip and a permanent magnet. They attract due to the magnetic forces. This ensures that due to high elasticity of the proposed composites and good adhesion properties, the strip of magnetoelastic will adopt the shape of the surface to be sealed, this fact leading to an excellent sealing. Another straightforward application of the magnetic composites is based on their magnetic field dependent elastic modulus. Namely, we demonstrate in this paper the possible application of these materials as adjustable vibration dampers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of a homogeneous magnetic field on the mechanical behavior of soft magnetic elastomers under compression

The mechanical properties of new magnetic composite materials were studied. The above materials represent rubbery silicon matrices filled with magnetic microparticles of metallic iron or magnetite. In homogeneous magnetic fields with an intensity of up to 0.4 T, the shear modulus of the composites was abnormally high (up to 10 000%). The variation of elastic properties of new materials on the type and volume content of the magnetic filler was investigated. In the presence of a sufficiently strong magnetic field, the above composites were shown to behave as elastoplastic materials with strengthening.     

Polyelectrolyte/Ionomer behavior in polymer gel collapse

The theory of collapse of weakly charged polyelectrolyte gels is generalized by taking into account the possibility of counter ion trapping with the formation of ion pairs, which becomes progressively important as the gel shrinks and the dielectric constant of the gel medium decreases. A phenomenon well known in the theory of ionomers, namely the aggregation of ion pairs due to dipole-dipole interactions with the formation of multiplets, is also taken into account. These multiplets act as additional physical cross-links. It is shown that accounting for the two effects mentioned above generally leads to an increase of the region of stability of the collapsed phase and to an increase of the jump in volume at the transition point. The most important, qualitatively new effect is the possibility of existence of a new supercollapsed state of a polymer gel which is very close to the densely packed dry gel. The reason for the thermodynamic stability of the supercollapsed state is a loop of positive feedback: the decrease of the volume of the gel leads to a decrease of the dielectric constant and hence to progressive formation of ion pairs, thus the concentration of mobile counter ions and the corresponding osmotic pressure decrease, the gel shrinks further etc. It is possible to realize the phase transitions between all three states of a polymer gel: swollen, ordinary collapsed and supercollapsed.     

Straw Chambers for the NA64 Experiment

Physics of Particles and Nuclei Letters - The aim of this work is to describe the characteristics and properties of the particle-tracking detectors created at the Joint Institute for Nuclear...