Aging in a free-energy landscape model for glassy relaxation

The aging properties of a simple free-energy landscape model for the primary relaxation in supercooled liquids are investigated. The intermediate scattering function and the rotational correlation functions are calculated for the generic situation of a quench from a high temperature to below the glass transition temperature. It is found that the reequilibration of molecular orientations takes longer than for translational degrees of freedom. The time scale for reequilibration is determined by that of the primary relaxation as an intrinsic property of the model.     

Negative ion mass spectra of metal complexes: Secondary electron capture and CS2 elimination from nickel (ii) dithiocarbamates

Negative ion mass spectra of series of bis-(N, N-dithiocarbamato)nickel(II) complexes of formula [NiS₂C·NR¹R²]₂ (where·NR¹R² ? ·NEt₂ ·NPr₂, ·NBu₂, pyrrolidinyl, piperidyl, morpholinyl, and ·NEtPh) have been obtained by secondary electron capture. Intense molecular anions are given for all compounds, with most fragments originating from these ions. Metastable data indicate that CS₂ is eliminated from all molecular anions.     

Modelling of polymer aggregates in solution

The self-consistent mean field model of Scheutjens and Fleer is used to model spherical aggregates of homopolymers and monomer—polymer particles in solution. For homopolymer aggregates we found that the chain ends are preferentially located at the exterior side of the polymer/solvent interface. The distribution of the end segments may be an important parameter in latex film formation. For monomer—polymer particles a “core-shell” structure is found with an extended core containing a monomer—polymer mixture and a thin shell a few nanometres thick strongly enriched with monomer. The monomer-enriched shell seems to function as a solvating envelope for the dangling chain ends. These results are compared with other simulations based on a single chain in a spherical-cavity model.     

Swelling pressure equilibrium of physical networks in the field of an analytical ultracentrifuge

Investigations of the swelling pressure equilibria of a physical network are performed with an analytical ultracentrifuge. The advantage of this method is that in contrast to the known swelling pressure instruments, swelling pressures in a range of composition are obtained from only a single equilibrium experiment. The Schlieren optical system of the ultracentrifuge allows the observation of the concentration gradient during the process of deswelling and swelling, and furthermore, the detection of the gel concentration at every point. The system gelatin/water shows a different behavior than that expected from the theory of Flory-Huggins for a swollen random network. The measured curves of concentration vs. the swelling pressure intersect each other in case of low initial concentrations. This shows that these networks are inhomogeneous. A new method to measure and evaluate the Schlieren pattern is described.This paper was presented at the VI. Symposium on Analytical Ultracentrifugation, Marburg, FRG, February 16–17, 1989.     

Application of sampled-d.c. anodic stripping voltammetry to metal/fulvic acid equilibria

The use of anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) to determine the labile metal fraction in metal/ fulvic acid equilibrium systems is discussed. A method is described for distinguishing between the contributions of processes in the reduction and oxidation steps to the observed anodic (stripping) current. This method, which facilitates separate examination of the two processes, is based on timed addition of fulvic acids during the deposition step, on pH control, and on measurement of sampled-d.c. ASV peak areas (Faradaic charge) for metal/fulvic acid solutions. Results are presented for copper(Il) and lead(Il) complexes with six colloid-free soil-derived fulvic acids. In contrast to differential-pulse ASV, the stripping current measured by sampled-d.c. ASV showed no measurable contribution from ligand adsorption on the mercury drop. For heterogeneous ligand systems, such as fulvic acid, use of stripping peak heights over-estimates the fraction of non-labile metal complex because peak broadening results from the range of complexes formed in the anodic step.     

Gas-phase chemistry of electron deficient organometallic anions: the reactions of [Cr(CO)3]− ˙ and [Cr(CO)4]− ˙ with aldehydes,ketones, esters and ethers

Reactions in the gas phase of the 13- and 15-electron radical anions [Cr(CO)₃]^{? ˙} and [Cr(CO)₄]^{? ˙} with a series of 27 aldehydes, ketones, esters and ethers have been examined. Sequential alkane eliminations and metal-bonded CO ligand displacements were the principal reactions identified for the RCHO/[Cr(CO)₃]^{? ˙} systems with the latter reaction also common to the RCHO/[Cr(CO)₄]^{? ˙} systems. While [Cr(CO)₄]^{? ˙} was generally unreactive towards ketones R · R'CO, the principal products identified for [Cr(CO)₃]^{? ˙}/ketone reactions were the metal-decarbonylated species, respectively [R · R'CO · Cr(CO)_x]^{? ˙} with x = 0–3, and [R · (R' - H₂)CO · Cr(CO)₂]^{? ˙}. The reaction of [Cr(CO)₃]^{? ˙} with esters RCOOR' proceeds via metal insertion into the alkoxy C? O bond to give end products of the type [R'O · Cr · R(CO)₂]^? and [R'O? Cr(CO)₃]^? while the sole ionic products of dialkyl ether/[Cr(CO)₃]^{? ˙} reactions were identified as the alkoxytricarbonylchromium species [RO · Cr(CO)₃]^?.     

Solid State NMR and TG/MS Study on the Transformation of Methyl Groups During Pyrolysis of Preceramic Precursors to SiOC Glasses

The sol-gel method was used to prepare two different starting gels containing SiCH₃-groups for the preparation of SiOC ceramics. To understand the role of Si—H bonds in the incorporation of carbon into the SiOC network, gels prepared from a 1:2 mixture of triethoxysilane and methyldiethoxysilane (T^HD^H2) and solely methyltriethoxysilane (T^Me) were investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectroscopy (TG-MS) in inert atmosphere was performed to attain an insight into the decomposition reactions involved during gel-glass transformation. Samples calcined at different temperatures up to 1000°C were characterized by ²⁹Si and ¹³C magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) spectroscopy. The presence of SiH groups in the starting gel allows an efficient conversion of Si—CH₃ groups into CSi₄ sites at lower temperatures. As a result, despite a much lower amount of carbon in the starting T^HD^H2 gel (C/Si = 0.33) compared to the T^Me gel (C/Si = 1), the amount of carbon inserted into the SiOC network of both glasses is equivalent, but the T^Me sample contains the 10 fold amount of free carbon.     

Synthesis and Rearrangement of P‐Nitroxyl‐Substituted PIII and PV Phosphanes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Case Study

Low‐temperature generation of P‐nitroxyl phosphane 2 (Ph₂POTEMP), which was obtained by the reaction of Ph₂PH ( 1 ) with two equivalents of TEMPO, is presented. Upon warming, phosphane 2 decomposed to give P‐nitroxyl phosphane P‐oxide 3 (Ph₂P(O)OTEMP) as one of the final products. This facile synthetic protocol also enabled access to P‐sulfide and P‐borane derivatives 7 and 13 , respectively, by using Ph₂P(S)H ( 6 ) or Ph₂P(BH₃)H ( 11 ) and TEMPO. Phosphane sulfide 7 revealed a rearrangement to phosphane oxide 8 (Ph₂P(O)STEMP) in CDCl₃ at ambient temperature, whereas in THF, thermal decomposition of sulfide 7 yielded salt 10 ([TEMP‐H₂][Ph₂P(S)O]). As well as EPR and detailed NMR kinetic studies, indepth theoretical studies provided an insight into the reaction pathways and spin‐density distributions of the reactive intermediates.