Matryoshka Skyrmions

We construct a stable Skyrmion in 3+1$3+1$ dimensions as a sine-Gordon kink inside a domain wall within a domain wall in an O(4)$O(4)$ sigma model with hierarchical mass terms without the Skyrme term. We also find that higher dimensional Skyrmions can stably exist with a help of non-Abelian domain walls in an O(N)$O(N)$ model with hierarchical mass terms without a Skyrme term, which leads to a matryoshka structure of Skyrmions.     

Formation, deactivation and transformation of stereospecific active sites on TiCl4/dibutylphthalate/Mg(OEt)2 catalyst induced by short time reaction with Al-alkyl cocatalyst

Formation, deactivation and transformation of stereospecific active sites on TiCl₄/dibutylphthalate (DBP)/Mg(OEt)₂ Ziegler–Natta catalyst induced by short time reaction with triethylaluminum (TEA) cocatalyst (with TEA pretreatment time from 0 to 600 s) were investigated by stopped-flow propene polymerization combined with temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) and GPC methods. It was demonstrated that both formation and deactivation of active sites with broad multiplicity in isospecificity on the catalyst are slow reactions with an induction period of ca. 0.2 s. It was most important to find that the formation of active sites with the highest isospecificity strongly depends on the interaction between the catalyst and cocatalyst (up to 60 s of pretreatment) even in the presence of internal donor. This newly observed phenomenon (according to our knowledge) suggested that the transformation of monometallic active sites (aspecific or less isospecific) into bimetallic active sites (highly isospecific) through reversible complexing with TEA cocatalyst (or its reaction product diethylaluminum chloride (DEAC)) in Ziegler–Natta catalysts cannot be overlooked even in the presence of internal electron donor. The existence of –OC₂H₅ ligand in the catalyst most probably gave birth to a new group of active titanium species. The stability of active sites increases with increasing isospecificity in the early stage of pretreatment (up to 60 s of pretreatment). While all the active sites became relatively stable in the later stage of pretreatment (from 60 to 600 s of pretreatment). The extraction of internal donor DBP by TEA from the catalyst within the pretreatment procedure is found to initiate from 60 s of pretreatment resulting in slight transformation of isospecific active sites into aspecific sites.     

An excited state paired interacting orbital method

A new method for analyzing and visualizing the molecular excited states, named "excited state paired interacting orbital (EPIO)," is proposed. The method is based both on the paired interacting orbital (PIO) proposed by Fujimoto and Fukui [J. Chem. Phys. 60, 572 (1974)] and the natural transition orbital (NTO) by Martin [J. Chem. Phys. 118, 4775 (2003)]. Within the PIO method, orbital interactions between the two fragmented molecules are represented practically only by a few pairs of fragment orbitals. The NTO method is a means of finding a compact orbital representation for the electronic transitions in the excited states. With the method, electronic transitions are expressed by a few particle-hole orbital pairs and a clear picture on the electronic transitions is obtained. EPIO method is designed to have both properties of the preceding two methods: electronic transitions in composite molecular systems can be expressed with a few pairs of EPIOs which are constructed with fragmented molecular orbitals (MOs). Excited state characters, such as charge transfer and local excitations, are analyzed by using EPIOs with their generation probabilities. Thus, the present method gives us clear information on the composition of MOs which play an important role in the molecular excitation processes, e.g., optical processes.     

Novel synthesis and oxidizing ability of tropylium ions annulated with two 2,4-dimethylfuro[2,3-d]pyrimidine-1(2H),3(4H)-diones

Convenient preparation of novel tropylium ions annulated with two 2,4-dimethylfuro[2,3-d]pyrimidine-1(2H),3(4H)-diones, 12a(+).BF(4)(-) and 12b(+)().BF(4)(-), consists of a reaction of 2-methoxytropone with dimethylbarbituric acid to give 7,9-dimethyl-3-[1',3'-dimethyl-2'(1'H),4'(3'H),6'(5'H)-trioxopyrimidin-5'-ylidene]cyclohepta[b]pyrimido[5,4-d]furan-8(7H),10(9H)-dione 8 and the following oxidative cyclization by using DDQ or photoirradiation under aerobic conditions. On the basis of the MO calculations, the selectivity of two types of oxidative cyclization reactions of 8 was rationalized. X-ray crystal analyses and MO calculations were carried out to clarify the structural characteristics of 12a(+). BF(4)(-) and 12b(+).BF(4)(-). The stability of cations 12a(+) and 12b(+) is expressed by the pK(R) + values which were determined spectrophotometrically as 8.8 and 8.6. The electrochemical reduction of 12a(+) and 12b(+) exhibited reduction potential at -0.63 and -0.62 (V vs Ag/AgNO(3)), respectively. Reactions of 12a(+)().BF(4)(-) and 12b(+)().BF(4)(-) with some nucleophiles, hydride and diethylamine, were carried out to clarify that the reactivity of 12a(+)().BF(4)(-) and 12b(+).BF(4)(-) was substantially dependent on the annulating position. The oxidizing ability of 12a(+).BF(4)(-) and 12b(+).BF(4)(-) toward alcohols and amines in the autorecycling process was demonstrated as well.     

Computerized single probe system using a cadmium telluride detector

Using cadmium telluride (CdTe) as a detector, we assembled a computerized single probe system. The size of the CdTe used is 16 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness. Two types of the straight bore collimators of 16 mm in diameter were prepared. One is 16 mm in length (long type) and the other is 5 mm in length (short type). The response curves of the long and short type collimators to 57Co in water showed that the points at 10% of maximum counts were 4 cm and 3 cm in depth along the center axis. The data were accumulated by using a commercialized single cardiac probe system (OMNISCOPE) and processed by itself or transferred to the microcomputer (LSI-11/23) for further analysis. Twenty percent count loss occurred at 100 000 cps with an integral discriminator setting. This system was applied for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt flow evaluation and measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Measurement of CSF shunt flow has been able to do in any patient's positioning. In 21 patients with various heart diseases, LVEFs obtained by CdTe detector were compared with those obtained by scintillation detector. There was good correlation between the LVEFs obtained by these two detectors: correlation coefficient (r)=0.939.     

Nonlinear viscoelasticity, percolation and particles dispersibility of PVA/aluminum hydroxide composite gels

We investigated the rheological properties of a composite gel consisting of poly(vinyl alcohol) and aluminum hydroxide particles, and discussed the relation among nonlinear viscoelasticity, percolation and particles dispersibility. The dynamic viscoelastic measurements revealed that the storage modulus at volume fractions ? < 0.04 satisfied with the Krieger-Dougherty equation representing random dispersion of particles. The storage modulus did not show any nonlinear viscoelastic response at ? < 0.04. However, the storage modulus at ? > 0.06 took a value which is far larger than that expected by the equation, indicating heterogeneous distribution of particles. Additionally, the nonlinear viscoelastic response was recognized clearly at ? > 0.06, suggesting a partial contact between particles. The storage modulus at ? > 0.18 showed a further increase satisfied with the percolation theory, therefore, the volume fraction is considered to be the percolation threshold of 3-dimension. Microscopic observations of the gel showed a clear network with a mesh size of few μm that is considered to be a partial network of particles.     

Mechanical degradation of filter polymer materials: Polyphenylene sulfide

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is known as a material resistant to high temperature and chemicals; however, there are arguments on the durability of PPS non-woven fabrics to chemicals, such as nitric acid (HNO₃), sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), and hydrochloric acid (HCl). Therefore, this work aims at investigating the degradation of PPS non-woven fabrics in HNO₃, H₂SO₄ and HCl, and at confirming acid durability of PPS non-woven fabrics. In addition, this paper also studies the interaction among these three acids by measuring the retention of strength in binary or tertiary mixtures of these three acids. A discussion has been made on the acceleration/retardation of PPS degradation by the interactive effects, and also on the chemistry related to the degradation by these acids. Furthermore, there is a linear relationship between the nitric acid concentration and the proportion of carbon in the remaining PPS structures after 100 h of acid exposure. Also, this proportion of carbon is a good indicator of the retained strength in PPS fabrics.     

Model study for large deformation of physical polymeric gels

A model for large deformation of polymer gels with physical cross-linking is developed and shown to be in good agreement with experimental stress-strain curves which show strain hardening in intermediate strains followed by strain softening in large deformations near the yield strain. The model takes into account the coil-helix transition equilibrium and allows for the distribution of the end-to-end distance. The gel is considered to be formed by long flexible chains and crystalline zones acting as junctions of the chains. The number of segments contained in a flexible chain is variable due to the equilibrium between the two regions. As the end-to-end distance increases due to the deformation, more and more segments are reeled out from the junction zone. Finally, one end of the chain is librated from the junction and the chain becomes dangling. The appearance of dangling chains causes the strain softening because they cease to contribute to the elasticity. From the parameter dependence of the stress-strain relations, it was found that the yield behavior depends strongly on the distribution of end-to-end distance. The yield strain is approximately given by the ratio of the upper limit of the number of segments and the average end-to-end distance. The standard deviation of the end-to-end distance affects significantly the width of the peak in the stress-strain curve, thus determining the degree of strain softening.     

Structure and properties for binary blends of isotactic-polypropylene with ethylene-α-olefin copolymer. 1. Crystallization and morphology

Morphology and isothermal growth rates of spherulites for the binary blends consisting of an isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) and an ethylene-1-hexene rubber (EHR) were examined as a function of the crystallization temperature ranging from 388 K to 418 K. In this study, two types of EHR's were employed: “ethylene rich” EHR and “1-hexene rich” EHR. The blends of i-PP with the EHR of 51 mol % 1-hexene are miscible in the molten state, whereas the blends with the EHR of 33 mol % 1-hexene are immiscible in the molten state. It is found that the isothermal spherulite growth rate of the miscible i-PP/EHR blends decreases with increasing the EHR fraction, whereas the spherulite growth rate of the immiscible i-PP/EHR blends is independent of the blend composition and is the same as that of the i-PP. Optical microscope observation of the miscible blends crystallized isothermally shows that there are no rubber domains either in the intraspherulitic or in the interspherulitic contact regions. On the other hand, the immiscible i-PP/EHR blends show a phase-separated morphology. Furthermore, the number of tangential lamellae of the miscible i-PP/EHR blends is found to be increased by blending of the EHR, leading to the spherulite with negative birefringence. The sign of birefringence of spherulites is unaffected by the regime transition as well as by the fold surface free energy. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 953–961, 1997