A study of the activation energy of thermal decomposition of irradiated polymers

The ion irradiation of polymeric solids induces numerous modifications in the polymer properties thus increasing their applicability in various fields. The present work looks into the aspect of thermal modifications induced in the irradiated polymers. The kinetics of thermal decomposition of polymers is investigated by using the thermogravimetric (TG) technique. It has been observed that the degradation of polymers is a multi-step process that involves sequential and competing processes, and obeys the Arrhenius kinetics which allows us to connect the rate constant with the absolute temperature and the activation energy. The activation energy of thermal decomposition has been calculated from the TG curves, and its variation with different irradiation doses has been derived.     

Electron induced modification in poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

The effect of 100 kGy dose of 2 MeV electron irradiation on Poly(ethylene terepthalate) (PET) has been studied by different characterisation techniques such as the Fourier transformed IR spectroscopy, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis. Oxidative degradation leading to amorphisation of the polymer has been observed from spectral analysis. The thermal stability of the polymer was found to decrease due to electron irradiation. The thermal decomposition temperature as well as the melting temperature in case of irradiated PET was found to be decreased due to electron bombardment. A decrease in crystallinity of the polymer has also been observed after irradiation.     

TDDFT Investigation of the Electronic Structures and Photophysical Properties of Fluorescent Extended Styryl Push-Pull Chromophores Containing Carbazole Unit

Push-pull chromophores attached to carbazole based π-conjugating spacers bearing N-alkylamino donors, cyanovinyl and carbethoxy acceptors have been studied by the means of UV-Visible measurements. The intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) of these π-conjugated systems has also been tested by investigating the ability of the solute molecules to undergo shifts in their fluorescence emission maxima with increasing solvent polarity. Density Functional Theory [B3LYP/6-31G(d)] and Time Dependent Density Functional Theory [TD-B3LYP/6-31G(d)] computations have been used to have more understanding of the structural, molecular, electronic and photophysical parameters of push-pull dyes. The largest wavelength difference between the experimental and computed electronic absorption maxima was 45 nm. For emission, a largest difference of 61 nm was observed. The ground state and excited state dipole moments in different solvents were determined using experimental solvatochromic data and computed Onsager radii. The dipole moments of the molecules in the excited state were observed to be higher than in the ground state.     

Synthesis, Photo-physical and DFT Studies of ESIPT Inspired Novel 2-(2′,4′-Dihydroxyphenyl) Benzimidazole, Benzoxazole and Benzothiazole

Novel ESIPT inspired benzimidazole, benzoxazole and benzothiazole were synthesized from 2,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid and 1,2-phenelenediamine, 2-aminophenol, and 2-aminothiophenol respectively. The synthesized 2-(2′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl) benzimidazole, benzoxazole and benzothiazole are fluorescent and the emission characteristic are very sensitive to the micro-environment. They show a single absorption and dual emission with large Stokes shift originating from excited state intramolecular proton transfer. The absorption-emission characteristics of all these compounds are studied as a function of pH. The change in the electronic transition, energy levels, and orbital diagrams of synthesized compounds were investigated by the molecular orbital calculation and were correlated with the experimental spectral emission. Experimental absorption and emission wavelengths are in good agreement with those predicted using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) [B3LYP/6-31G(d)].

A Combined Experimental and DFT-TDDFT Study of the Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT) of 2-(2′-Hydroxyphenyl) Imidazole Derivatives

We report a combined experimental and computational study of the effect of electron donor and acceptor groups on the excited state intramolecular proton transfer of 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl) imidazole derivatives in solvents of different polarities. The changes in fluorescence properties, electronic transitions and energy levels are analyzed and discussed. The study was complemented using the Density Functional Theory (DFT)-Time Dependent DFT [B3LYP/6-31G(d)] computations. The calculated absorption and emission spectra of the imidazole derivatives are in good agreement with the experiments, thus allowing an assignment of the UV–vis spectra.     

Ab initio and anion photoelectron studies of Rhn (n = 1 − 9) clusters

We present an analysis of Na-He collisional profiles at high density and very low temperature in a unified line shape semi-classical theory which contains the impact as well the quasistatic limits. Clearly understanding the variation of shape of the two fine-structure components of the 3s?3p line with increasing helium density allows us to understand experimental spectra of a Na atom attached to He nanodroplets. We compare our collisional approach to path integral Monte Carlo calculations using the same ab initio Na-He molecular potentials.     

Designing of Optical Fiber Sensing Probe

Evanescent wave configuration has been extensively used in the development of fiber-optic sensor for different biomedical applications. In the present investigation we have theoretically proposed the designing of single-mode and multimode optical fiber sensing probes, which can be prepared by removing a few centimeters of cladding near the distal end of the step index optical fiber. In this theoretical study, we found that the removal of cladding causes V-number mismatching and this has led to the loss of signal acquisition from the sensing region. Therefore, to minimize these losses we have proposed to reduce the radius by step etch and tapering technique. It was found that step etching and tapering enhances the strength and penetration depth of the evanescent wave significantly.     

Painlev Analysis,Lie Symmetries and Exact Solutions for Variable Coefficients Benjamin-Bona-Mahony-Burger (BBMB) Equation

In this paper,a variable-coefficient Benjamin-Bona-Mahony-Burger (BBMB) equation arising as a mathematical model of propagation of small-amplitude long waves in nonlinear dispersive media is investigated.The integrability of such an equation is studied with Painlev analysis.The Lie symmetry method is performed for the BBMB equation and then similarity reductions and exact solutions are obtained based on the optimal system method.Furthermore different types of solitary,periodic and kink waves can be seen with the change of variable coefficients.     

Electronic Absorption Spectra of 2-Fluoro-4-bromo, 4-Fluoro-2-bromo and 2-Fluoro-5-bromo Toluenes

Abstract

Absorption spectra of 2-Fluoro-4-Bromo, 4-Fluoro-2-Bromo and 2-Fluoro-5-Bromo Toluenes have been investigated in the near ultraviolet region in vapour phase. The band systems correspond to allowed transitions with the most intense bands at 2742.09 Å (36458 cm^?1), 2745.96 Å (36406 cm^?1) and 2771.74 Å (36068 cm^?1) identified as 0,0 transitions in 2-Fluoro-4-Bromo, 4-Fluoro-2-Bromo and 2-Fluoro-5-Bromo Toluenes respectively. The bands in 4-Fluoro-2-Bromo Toluene have been analysed in terms of the ground state fundamental 208 cm^?1 and excited state fundamentals 244, 611, 855 and 1211 cm^?1 and the bands in 2-Fluoro-4-Bromo and 2-Fluoro-5-Bromo Toluenes are explained in terms of the upper state fundamentals 716, 987 and 1230 cm^?1 and 722, 886 and 2130 cm^?1 respectively.     

The Electronic and Infrared Absorption Spectra of Toluene-d

Abstract

The infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectra of toluene-d have been investigated for the first time in the regions 400 - 4000 cm^?1 and 2350 ?2750 A° respectively. The intense band at 2666.3 A°(37494 cm^?1) in the u.v. vapour absorption spectrum has been identified as the o,o band and others have been interpreted in terms of the three (519,632 and 785 cm^?1) ground state and the six (454,526,743,935,963 and 1180 cm^?1 excited state fundamentals. The correlation of the various frequencies of the ground and excited states of toluene and toluene-d has been done. The observed isotopic shift for toluene-d is 14 cm^?1.