Laser-ionization mass-spectrometric studies on laser ablation of a nitrogen-rich polymer at 532 nm and 1064 nm

Laser-ionization Time-Of-Flight (TOF) mass-spectrometric studies have been carried out on the 532 nm and 1064 nm laser ablation products from a nitrogen-rich polymer. The polymer used had an elemental composition of C_6.0N_8.9H_3.4 and consisted of C=N, C-N, and N-H chemical bonds. The TOF mass spectra observed were composed of various peaks (150 amu) depending on the ablation laser wavelength. The primary peaks were assigned to C⁺, CN⁺, CHnN⁺ ₂ (n=1–3) and C₂H₂N⁺ ₃ for 532 nm ablation, and C⁺, C⁺ ₃, HCN⁺, HCCN⁺, CH₂NH⁺, HNCN⁺, H₃NCN⁺, and C₄H₄N⁺ ₇ for 1064 nm ablation. The flight velocity distributions with peak velocities ranging from 8.6×10³ cm/s to 3.8×10⁴ cm/s were measured for these products. The distinct velocity distributions observed between small and large products indicate the presence of two origins in the fragment ejection process from the polymer for both 532 nm and 1064 nm ablation. Furthermore, we suggest an importance of the translational energy of the fragments for the product generation in the laser plume.     

Coating and water permeation properties of SiO2 thin films prepared by the sol-gel method on nylon-6 substrates

Nylon-6 substrates were coated with SiO₂ thin films by the sol-gel method and their water permeability coefficient was evaluated. Methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) were used as starting materials. The addition of MTES to TEOS has enabled the formation of crack-free thin films on the substrates. The thin films strongly adhered to the substrates. The water permeability coefficients of nylon-6 substrates coated with these thin films decreased with the increase in the ratio of TEOS to the total alkoxides. The pretreatment of the nylon-6 substrates with -aminopropyltriethoxysilane was found to be effective to suppress the water permeability. The water permeability was suppressed by about 40% under the optimal condition.     

Fluorescence and Laser photolysis studies on 1,2,4,5-tetracy anobenzene CT complexes in micellar solutions

CT complexes of 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene were formed in the inner part of neutral micelles and in the surface region of ionic ones. The excitation of the CT absorption band of these complexes gives broad and structureless CT fluorescence spectra, their lifetimes being relatively short (≈10 ns). Micellar effect upon ionic photodissociation was observed, and their quantum yeild is smaller than that obtained in acetonitrile. These results are quite different from those on another typical excited CT system of pyrene and N,N-dimethylaniline.