In‐line monitoring of UV photopolymerization with a quartz crystal resonator

An in‐line monitoring device using a quartz crystal resonator for thin film polymerization was proposed, and its performance has been evaluated by implementing in the UV polymerization of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate with a photoinitiator of 1‐chloroanthraquinone. Because the variation of resonant resistance of the resonator is proportional to the square root of viscosity change that is closely related to the polymerization degree, the resistance can be used as a measure of the polymerization degree. The resistance measurements were compared with the outcome of instrumental analyses of polymerization degree using an FTIR spectrometer and a gel permeation chromatograph. The experimental results showed that the resistance measurements were consistent with the experimental outcome of the instrumental analyses, and this indicates the effectiveness of the proposed device. Owing to the simplicity and availability of the resonator system, its wide utilization in the monitoring of a variety of film polymerization processes, including photoresistor application, is expected. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2428–2439, 2006     

Synthesis and luminescence characteristics of conjugated dendrimers with 2,4,6‐triaryl‐1,3,5‐triazine periphery

We have synthesized conjugated dendrimer with triazine peripheries, and their luminescence properties were investigated. The dendrimers consist of dendritic triazine wedges for electron transport, distyrylbenzene core as an emitting moiety, and t‐butyl peripheral groups for good processing properties. The dendrimers have LUMO values of about ?2.7 eV possibly because of the triazine moiety with high electron affinity. Photoluminescence study indicates that energy transfer occurs from the triazine wedges to the stilbene bridge, and finally to the core chromophore units due to a cascade decrease of bandgap from the peripheral wedge to core moiety. Therefore, the emission wavelength was determined by the structure of the core unit. The energy transfer efficiency of distyrylbenzene‐cored dendrimers was about 75 and 55% for Trz‐1GD‐DSB and Trz‐2GD‐DSB, respectively. A preliminary electroluminescence property also was investigated. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 254–263, 2006     

Effect of the pore surface modification of an inorganic substrate on the plasma‐grafting behavior of pore‐filling‐type organic/inorganic composite membranes

We have investigated the effect of the surface state and surface treatment of the pores of an inorganic substrate on the plasma‐grafting behavior of pore‐filling‐type organic/inorganic composite membranes. Shirasu porous glass (SPG) was used as the inorganic substrate, and methyl acrylate was used as the grafting monomer. The grafting rate increased as the density of silanol on the SPG substrate increased. This result suggests that radicals are generated mainly at the silanol groups on the pore surface by plasma irradiation. The SPG substrates were treated with silane coupling agents used to control the mass of organic material bonded to the pore surface. The thickness of the grafted layer became thinner as the mass of organic material bonded to the pore surface of SPG increased. This decrease in the thickness of the grafted layer could be explained by the decrease in the penetration depth of vacuum ultraviolet rays contained in plasma having a wavelength of less than 160 nm that generated radicals in the pores of the substrate. The thickness of the grafted layer inside the SPG substrates could be controlled through the control of the mass of organic material bonded to the pore surface of the SPG substrate. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 846–856, 2006     

Highly substituted poly(2,3‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) derivatives having bulky phenyl and fluorenyl pendant groups: Synthesis,characterization, and electro‐optical properties

Two series of poly(2,3‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) (DP‐PPV) derivatives containing multiple bulky substituents were synthesized. In the first series, two different groups were incorporated on C‐5,6 positions of the phenylene moiety to increase steric hindrance and to obtain blue‐shifted emissions. In the second series, bulky fluorenyl groups with two hexyl chains on the C‐9 position were introduced on two phenyl pendants to increase the solubility as well as steric hindrance to prevent close packing of the main chain. Polymers with high molecular weights and fine‐tuned electro‐optical properties were obtained by controlling the feed ratio of different monomers during polymerization. The maximum photoluminescent emissions of the thin films are located between 384 and 541 nm. Cyclic voltammetric analysis reveals that the band gaps of these light‐emitting materials are in the range from 2.4 to 3.3 eV. A double‐layer EL device with the configuration of ITO/PEDOT/P4/Ca/Al emitted pure green light with CIE′1931 at (0.24, 0.5). Using copolymer P6 as the emissive layer, the maximum luminescence and current efficiency were both improved when compared with the homopolymer P4. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6738–6749, 2006     

Local chemical distribution and electronic structure of Ge1−xTx DMS single crystals (T=Cr,Mn, Fe)

The spatial concentration distribution and local electronic structure of ferromagnetic Ge_1−xT_x (T=Cr, Mn, Fe) DMS single crystals have been investigated by using scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and photoemission spectroscopy (PES). It is found that doped T ions in Ge_1−xT_x crystals are chemically phase-separated, suggesting that the observed ferromagnetism arises from the phase-separated T-rich phases in Ge_1−xT_x.     

A pair of orthogonal frames

We start with a characterization of a pair of frames to be orthogonal in a shift-invariant space and then give a simple construction of a pair of orthogonal shift-invariant frames. This is applied to obtain a construction of a pair of Gabor orthogonal frames as an example. This is also developed further to obtain constructions of a pair of orthogonal wavelet frames.     

Two methods for semi-automated quantification of changes in ventricular volume and their use in schizophrenia

Two semi-automated methods for quantification of ventricular volume change from baseline and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans have been developed. Technique 1 employs direct segmentation of the ventricles from both the scans using thresholding and contour extraction. Technique 2 operates on difference images produced by voxel based intensity subtraction of the baseline from the registered follow-up images. Here, all voxels with intensities above a noise threshold and in a restricted area are monitored to compute volumetric changes. In phantom measurements the first technique was accurate to 0.0046%, the second to 0.167% of the phantom volume. Results from normal volunteers was that the average ventricular volume changed by 1.52% and 1.54% for images acquired within 9 months using techniques 1 and 2, respectively. With schizophrenic patients mean change of 10.78% and 9.43% were found employing the first and second procedures, respectively. All measurements agreed with a radiologist’s visual grading of the changes. Robust, objective, fast, easy-to-use, and fairly accurate procedures have been developed and validated to quantify volumetric changes.     

Results of radius scaling experiments and analysis of neon K-shellradiation data from an inductively driven Z-pinch

The K-shell radiated energy (yield) from neon Z-pinch implosions with annular, gas-puff nozzle radii of 1, 1.75, and 2.5 cm was measured for implosion times from 50 to 300 ns while systematically keeping the implosion kinetic energy nearly constant. The implosions were driven by the Hawk inductive-storage generator at the 0.65-MA level. Initial neutral-neon density distributions from the nozzles were determined with laser interferometry. Measured yields are compared with predictions from zero-dimensional (0-D) scaling models of ideal. One-dimensional (1-D) pinch behavior to both benchmark the scaling models, and to determine their utility for predicting K-shell yields for argon implosions of 200 to >300 ns driven by corresponding currents of 4 to 9 MA, such as envisioned for the DECADE QUAD. For all three nozzles, the 0-D models correctly predict the Z-pinch mass for maximum yield. For the 1and 1.75-cm radius nozzles, the scaling models accurately match the measured yields if the ratio of initial to final radius (compression ratio) is assumed to be 8:1. For the 2.5-cm radius nozzle, the measured yields are only one-third of the predictions. Analysis of K-shell spectral measurements suggest that as much as 70% (50%) of the imploded mass is radiating in the K-shell for the 1-cm (1.75-cm) radius nozzle. That fraction is only 10% for the 2.5-cm radius nozzle. The 0-D scaling models are useful for predicting 1-D-like K-shell radiation yields (better than a factor-of-two accuracy) when a nominal (≈10:1) compression ratio is assumed. However, the compression ratio assumed in the models is only an “effective” quantity, so that further interpretations based on the 0-D analysis require additional justification. The lower-than-predicted yield for the 2.5-cm radius nozzle is associated with larger radius and not with longer implosion time, and is probably a result of two-dimensional effects