Synthesis and characterization of poly(methyl methacrylate)‐block‐poly(methylphenylsilane)‐ block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) by atom transfer radical polymerization

ABA block copolymers of methyl methacrylate and methylphenylsilane were synthesized with a methodology based on atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The reaction of samples of α,ω‐dihalopoly(methylphenylsilane) with 2‐hydroxyethyl‐2‐methyl‐2‐bromoproprionate gave suitable macroinitiators for the ATRP of methyl methacrylate. The latter procedure was carried out at 95 °C in a xylene solution with CuBr and 2,2‐bipyridine as the initiating system. The rate of the polymerization was first‐order with respect to monomer conversion. The block copolymers were characterized with ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry was used to obtain preliminary evidence of phase separation in the copolymer products. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 30–40, 2003     

Schemes for preparation of W-and GHZ-class states from atoms and atomic ensembles

Independent systems, each containing an atomic ensemble entangled through the interaction with its own photon, can be, in turn, entangled in the course of measurements. Schemes for preparing states of the W and Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) classes with the use of projective measurements of light that include three-photon parametric interactions are proposed and analyzed.     

Role of water vapor and CO2 in the paleoclimatic fluctuations along northwestern and southern Syria, and the adjacent Mediterranean Sea

Microscopic petrified grains were collected from a mafic–ultramafic pipe, NE of Dreikeesh, NW Syria. The grains were identified as anthers/gynoecia in herb/grass flowers. Three of the grains showed evidence of magnetism, two slowly dissolved in concentrated HCl, and three microprobed grains showed a montmorillonitic composition. Iron originating from pyroxene was oxidized to magnetite. Released silica formed the mineral suite agate–chalcedony–opal. Warm/cold paleoclimatic fluctuations, occurring during late Pliocene–Holocene, depended on water vapor, CO₂ production, and cinders in the atmosphere. Most of these were associated with changing volcanic/tectonic events. Fluctuations were controlled by heat reflected from the Earth's surface being absorbed by water vapor and CO₂, which both re-reflected the heat back to the surface, thus, raising the temperature. This cycle was repeated several times during late Pliocene–Holocene.     

Short-and long-range order effects on resonance energy transfer in crystals and glasses

Resonance energy transfer by the Förster-Dexter mechanism in a cubic crystal and in a rigid homogeneous medium is studied. The homogeneous medium is modeled using a hard-sphere fluid (HSF) radial distribution function. This distribution is more realistic than the commonly used uniform distribution with excluded volume (UDEV) function. For the dipole-dipole mechanism, both models yield essentially the same donor luminescence decay, except for small critical radii. For the exchange mechanism, however, the two models differ significantly. In particular, to fit a given experimental decay, the UDEV model requires both a larger effective Bohr radius and a larger rate constant at collisional distance than the HSF model.     

Self-broadening of space-time spectra of few-cycle pulses in dielectric media

The nonparaxial dynamics of spectra of pulses comprising a few cycles of a light field is analyzed in transparent nonlinear media with dispersion. It is shown that the inhomogeneous self-broadening of the time spectrum of a pulse proceeds more effectively into the blue region at all spatial frequencies. A decrease in the energy in the central part of the time spectrum is realized mainly at high spatial frequencies.     

Efficiency of shear surface wave transformation by the motion of the confining domain wall

The transformation of a shear surface magnetoelastic wave by the motion of the 180° confining domain wall in a ferromagnet is considered. Changes in the wave spectrum due to the motion of the wall are correlated with the variations of the energies of the elastic and magnetic subsystems. The efficiency of surface wave transformation by the domain wall motion is estimated in terms of energy. The frequency dependences of the mean energy density of the wave are found. It is shown that the energy density grows with wall velocity.     

Using the new in–in method for the synthesis of polyisoprene/polystyrene heteroarm star polymers

The basis of the two‐step in–in method is as follows: star polymers with poly(divinyl benzene) cores, synthesized by the arm‐first method, include many unreacted double bonds in their core, and these double bonds can be attacked by the carbanions of some monomers such as styrene and dienes. In this work, linear polyisoprene chains were used to attack the double bonds existing in the poly(divinyl benzene) cores of polystyrene star polymers, so that a heteroarm star polymer with polystyrene and polyisoprene arms was synthesized. It was later well characterized with size exclusion chromatography, light scattering, viscometry, UV spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and ¹H NMR. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 135–142, 2003     

Degradation of Metal 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate-N-Vinylpyrrolidine Copolymers in Aqueous Solutions Containing Different Cations

The influence of single- and double-charged cations on degradation of metal 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate-N-vinylpyrrolidine copolymers in aqueous solutions in the presence of potassium peroxodisulfate, K₂S₂O₈, at 50 and 70°C was studied by viscosimetry.     

Preparation and Characteristics of a Cation Exchanger Based on Oxidized Anthracite

The features of anthracite oxidation as influenced by temperature and time were determined. Physicochemical and sorption characteristics of the resulting cation exchanger were studied.     

Energy and Acid-Base Characteristics of the Surface of Nitramine Fillers for Polymeric Composites

Single crystals of nitramine fillers for special-purpose polymeric composites are characterized by the surface energy and its constituents and also by the acidity of their surface.