Polarized absorption spectra of highly oriented two-dimensional aggregates of tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine in thin films

Reaching a control on the mesoscopic morphology and internal molecular arrangement of cyanine aggregates is an important step for realization of devices with tailor-made optical properties. Despite a wealth of research, understanding of the relationship between molecular organization, excitonic states and dynamics of aggregates is still preliminary. To this end, we have employed polarized absorption spectroscopy to investigate the relationship between internal molecular organization and excitonic states of J-aggregates in 1,1′,3,3′tetraethyl-5,5′,6,6′-tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine (TTBC) thin films in poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA). Angular dependence of the UV–vis spectra has been measured at 11 different orientations between the electric field polarization and the macroscopic alignment axis. Aggregate spectral response consisted of an asymmetrically split Davydov pair of bands exhibiting opposite polarization: an H-band (505 nm, Lorentzian-like, polarized along the macroscopic film axis) and a J-band (594 nm, one-dimensional J-aggregate like band shape, polarized perpendicular to the macroscopic film axis). The polarized absorption observations were found to be consistent with a herringbone model for which the internal molecular arrangement, the excited state structure and dynamics have recently been detailed by us upon interpretation of isotropic absorption data in ionic aqueous solution.     

GC Investigation of the Solubility Parameters of Water-Soluble Homopolymers and Double-Hydrophilic Diblock Copolymers

Solubility parameters of water-soluble 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEA) homopolymer and [2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]-[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] (DEA–DMA) diblock copolymer were analyzed by inverse gas chromatography and values were compared to the solubility parameters of 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DMA) homopolymer. Sorption thermodynamic parameters of some aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons, weight fraction activity coefficients, Flory–Huggins interaction parameters and solubility parameters for both hydrocarbons and polymers were calculated. It was observed that sorption thermodynamic parameters on (co)polymers depend on the molecular structures of hydrocarbons. Evaluating both the calculated values of the weight fraction activity coefficients and Flory–Huggins interaction parameters, the solving ability of the hydrocarbons for DEA, DMA homopolymers and DEA–DMA diblock copolymer decreased in the following sequence: aromatic > alicyclic > aliphatic hydrocarbons.     

High temperature pyrolysis of poly(phenylene vinylene)s with poly(ε-caprolactone) or polystyrene side chains

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - High temperature pyrolysis studies of poly(phenylene vinylene)s PPVs with lateral substituents poly(ε-caprolactone) (PPV–PCL) or...     

Thioxanthone based water-soluble photoinitiators for acrylamide photopolymerization

The two water-soluble thioxanthone-based 2-(carboxymethoxy) thioxanthone, 1A and 2-thioxanthone-thioacetic acid sodium salts, 2A were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods. The quantum yield for fluorescence emission (φ_f) in water was found to be 0.50 for 1A and 0.05 for 2A. The long phosphorescence lifetime, that is 201 and 114 ms in a matrix at 77 K for 1A and 2A, respectively, indicates a π-π∗ nature of the lowest triplet state. The triplet lifetimes were determined by laser flash photolysis as 12 and 12.6 μs for 1A and 2A. Polymerization of acrylamide (AAm) was initiated by both initiators in water. Decarboxylation of initiators was achieved during 20 min of irradiation. It was found that 2A initiated polymerization of AAm in water more efficiently than 1A.     

Controlled formation of the two-dimensional TTBC J-aggregates in an aqueous solution

Strong experimental and theoretical evidence was provided on the controlled formation of the two-dimensional J-aggregates that were assembled in the herringbone morphology. The exciton-band structure formation of 1,1',3,3'-tetraethyl-5,5',6,6'-tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine (TTBC) J-aggregates was investigated in ionic (NaOH) aqueous solution at room temperature. The control was achieved by changing the [TTBC] at a given [NaOH], or vice versa, and was monitored through the changes in the absorption, fluorescence excitation, and emission spectra. Specific attention was paid to expose the excited-state structure and dynamics through simulations of the excitonic properties, which included diagonal energetic disorder and phonon-assisted exciton relaxation. Aggregates were characterized by an asymmetrically split Davydov pair, an H-band (approximately 500 nm, 1300 cm(-1) wide, Lorentzian-like) and a J-band (approximately 590 nm, 235 cm(-1) wide, with a band shape typical of a one-dimensional J-aggregate), whose relative intensities showed a strong dependence on the [TTBC]/[NaOH]. The H-band is favored by high [TTBC] or high [NaOH]. An explanation of the control on the aggregate formation was given by correlating the changes in the absorption with the structural modifications and the subsequent changes in the dynamics, which were induced by variations in the dye and NaOH concentrations. The J-band shape/width was attributed to disorder and disorder-induced intraband phonon-assisted exciton relaxation. The intraband processes in both bands were estimated to occur in the same time scale (about a picosecond). It has been suggested that the wide energetic gap between the Davydov split bands (3000 cm(-1)) could get bridged by the excitonic states of the loosely coupled chains, in addition to the monomeric species at low [TTBC]. Phonon-assisted interband relaxation, through the band gap states and/or directly from the H- to the J-band, are suggested for accounting the difference between the bandwidths and shapes of the two bands. Energy transfer between the H-band and the monomeric species is suggested as crucial for tuning the relative strengths of the two bands.     

Compton scattering of 59.5 keV gamma rays from p-Si sample in an external electric field

This study is related to Compton scattering of photons from a p-Si sample whose surface charge density distributions are changed by an external electric field. The external electric field intensity in the range 0-75 kV/m was used to change the surface charge density distributions of the sample. The sample surface perpendicular to the electric field was selected as the scattering surface. The p-Si sample was bombarded by 59.5 keV γ-photons emitting from an Am-241 point source. The Compton scattered photons at an angle of 90^o were detected by an Si(Li) detector. The Compton scattering intensity suddenly increased with the application of the electric field since the applied electric field distorts both the negatively charged scattering center (free electron, bound electron, ionized acceptor) and the positively charged scattering center (hole) and their momentum distribution in the sample. There is a good third-order polynominal relation between the Compton scattering intensity and the increasing (or decreasing) electric field intensity. The results show that the positively charged scattering centers behave like negatively charged scattering centers, but the latter are slightly more effective than the former in the Compton scattering of γ-rays from the sample in the electric field.     

Synthesis of some acylated 2-pyrazoline and chalcone derivatives

α-Haloesters containing the chalcone structure and α-haloamides containing the pyrazoline ring have been synthesized by reaction of substituted hydroxy chalcones and pyrazoline derivatives (prepared as reported elsewhere; J Chem 8(4):1574–1581, 2011) with chloroacetyl chloride in dry THF in the presence of Et₃N. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, and (for some compounds) ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Temperature‐ and Voltage‐Induced Ligand Rearrangement of a Dynamic Electroluminescent Metallopolymer

A dynamic‐covalent metal‐containing polymer was synthesized by the condensation of linear diamine and dialdehyde subcomponents around copper(I) templates in the presence of bidentate phosphine ligands. In solution, the red polymers undergo a sol–gel transition upon heating to form a yellow gel, a process that can be either reversible or irreversible depending on the solvent used. When fabricated into a light‐emitting electrochemical cell (LEC), the polymer emits infrared light at low voltage. As the voltage is increased, a blue shift in the emission wavelength is observed until yellow light is emitted, a process which is gradually reversed over time upon lowering the voltage. The mechanism underlying these apparently disparate responses is deduced to be due to loss of the copper phosphine complex from the polymer.     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Biological Evaluation of Some Novel Thiosemicarbazones as Possible Antibacterial and Antioxidant Agents

Abstract

The synthesis and characterization of 18 novel thiosemicarbazones have been investigated as part of a research program on development of compounds with antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Among the tested compounds, 2-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-N-[4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]hydrazine carbothioamide (3g) and 2-(thiophen-2-ylmethylidene)-N-[4-(morpholin-4-yl)phenyl]hydrazine carbothioamide (4b) showed excellent inhibition potency at low concentration (0.5 μg/mL) against Gram-positive pathogens (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus). All tested compounds were also found to possess antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements for the following free supplemental files: Additional text, tables, and figures.]     

Approximate nucleolus-based revenue sharing in airline alliances

Alliances allow the airlines to extend their networks and increase the number of destinations they can access. Different from the traditional single airline approach, in an alliance, partner airlines may sell tickets for the same itinerary. In addition, one itinerary may consist of several flight legs, each of which may be operated by a different airline. A major issue that needs to be addressed is how to share the revenue generated from selling a ticket for a product among the individual airlines in a fair way. The fair allocation of the revenue has a critical importance for the long-term stability of the alliance. We model the problem as a cooperative game and show that the core of the game is non-empty. We propose to use a revenue proration scheme based on the concept of the nucleolus. The numerical studies reveal that the revenue shares can effectively be computed even for large alliance networks.