Block copolymer-directed metal nanoparticle morphogenesis and organization

Advances in the nanoscale design of polymeric, “soft” materials and of metallic, “hard” materials can converge at the “interfaces” to form hybrid nanomaterials with interesting features. Novel optical, magnetic, electronic, and catalytic properties are conferred by metal nanoparticles, depending on their morphology (size and shape), surface properties, and long-range organization. We review here the utilization of block copolymers for the controlled synthesis and stabilization of metal nanoparticles. Solvated block copolymers can provide nanoscale environments of varying and tunable shape, dimensions, mobility, local polarity, concentration, and reactivity. In particular, block copolymers containing poly(ethylene oxide) can exhibit multiple functions on the basis of their organization at the intra-polymer level (i.e., crown ether-like cavities that bind and reduce metal ions), and at the supramolecular level (surface-adsorbed micelles, and ordered arrays of micelles). These block copolymers can thus initiate metal nanoparticle formation, and control the nanoparticle size and shape. The physically adsorbed block copolymers, which can be subsequently removed or exchanged with other functional ligands, stabilize the nanoparticles and can facilitate their integration into diverse processes and products. Block copolymers can be further useful in promoting long-range nanoparticle organization. Several studies have elucidated the nanoparticle synthesis and stabilization mechanism, optimized the conditions for different outcomes, extended the ranges of materials obtained and applications impacted, and generalized the scope of this functional polymer-based nanoparticle synthesis methodology.     

Effect of pharmaceutically acceptable glycols on the stability of the liquid crystalline gels formed by Poloxamer 407 in water

The ability of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) block copolymers (Poloxamers) to form "gels" (lyotropic liquid crystalline structures) in water is of interest to pharmaceutical applications. In such applications the presence of polar organic solvents is often desirable or required. The effect of such solvents on the stability of lyotropic liquid crystalline gels formed by PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymers was assessed by studying the phase behavior and structure in ternary isothermal (25 degrees C) systems of pharmaceutical interest consisting of Poloxamer 407 (EO(100)PO(70)EO(100)), water, and one of the following solvents (referred to here collectively as "glycols"): glycerol, propylene glycol, ethanol, polyethylene glycol 400, and glucose. Small-angle X-ray scattering was employed to establish the structure of the liquid crystals obtained and to determine their characteristic length scales. The stability range of the liquid crystalline gel phases in the systems studied was found to vary with the glycol type. For example, the micellar cubic structure can accommodate about 0.85:1 parts glucose per part water (in terms of weight) and up to as much as 5.5:1 parts propylene glycol per part water. A correlation between the glycol effects on the stability of the liquid crystalline phases and glycol physiochemical characteristics such as octanol/water partition coefficient or solubility parameter is proposed.     

Properties of the He ground state from He neutron knockout

The unbound nucleus ⁷He, produced in neutron-knockout reactions with a 240 MeV/u ⁸He beam in a liquid-hydrogen target, has been studied in an experiment at the ALADIN-LAND setup at GSI. From an R-matrix analysis the resonance parameters for ⁷He as well as the spectroscopic factor for the ⁶He(0⁺) + n configuration in its ground-state have been obtained. The spectroscopic factor is 0.61 confirming that ⁷He is not a pure single-particle state. An analysis of ⁵He data from neutron-knockout reactions of ⁶He in a carbon target reveals the presence of an s  -wave component at low energies in the α+n$\alpha +\mathrm{n}$ relative energy spectrum.     

A lower bound for the amplitude of traveling waves of suspension bridges

We obtain a lower bound for the amplitude of nonzero homoclinic traveling wave solutions of the McKenna–Walter suspension bridge model. As a consequence of our lower bound, all nonzero homoclinic traveling waves become unbounded as their speed of propagation goes to zero (in accordance with numerical observations).     

Cellulose dissolution: insights on the contributions of solvent-induced decrystallization and chain disentanglement

The dissolution of cellulose is a critical step for the efficient utilization of this renewable resource as a starting material for the synthesis of high value-added functional polymers and chemicals and also for biofuel production. The recalcitrance of semicrystalline cellulose microfibrils presents a major barrier to cellulose dissolution. Despite research efforts, important aspects of cellulose dissolution such as solvent-induced decrystallization and chain disentanglement are not well-understood. Here we address these fundamental issues with the practical goal of gaining insights into the swelling and dissolution of cellulose that cannot be obtained from macroscopic experimental data. To this end, we have used a newly-developed phenomenological model that captures the phenomena governing the dissolution of semicrystalline polymers as well as the thermodynamics and kinetics of dissolution. This model fits well experimental data for swelling and dissolution of cotton fibers in the ionic liquid [bmim]Cl, and allows the quantification of two important aspects, i.e., solvent effectiveness in cellulose (1) decrystallization and (2) chain disentanglement, the balance of which controls the mechanism and kinetics of cellulose dissolution. The activation parameters of cellulose decrystallization, estimated using the obtained decrystallization constant values, reveal that the decrystallization of cellulose in [bmim]Cl is associated with positive enthalpy and entropy and it is also very sensitive to temperature. When the solvent effectiveness in the disruption of cellulose crystals is relatively lower than its ability to disentangle the chains, the kinetics of dissolution are controlled by decrystallization. Furthermore, conditions that facilitate cellulose chain disentanglement, in addition to increasing the rate of dissolution, can result in faster decrystallization. The solvent effectiveness in chain disentanglement is the only factor that determines the decrease of the cellulose fiber radius. In cases where the fiber dissolution rate is lower than the decrystallization rate, the dissolution of cellulose is mostly controlled by the solvent ability to disentangle the chains. The insights obtained from this study improve the understanding of cellulose–solvent interactions underlying decrystallization and disentanglement and their contributions in controlling the kinetics of cellulose swelling and dissolution.     

A tri-Hamiltonian formulation of the full Kostant-Toda lattice

We define Poisson structures which lead to a tri-Hamiltonian formulation for the full Kostant-Toda lattice. In addition, a hierarchy of vector fields called master symmetries are constructed and they are used to generate the nonlinear Poisson brackets and other invariants. Various deformation relations are investigated. The results are analogous to results for the finite nonperiodic Toda lattice.     

Hartree-Fock-Roothaan wave functions,electron density distribution,diamagnetic susceptibility,dipole polarizability and antishielding factor for ions in crystals

Using the Hartree-Fock method the wave functions of Li⁺, Be²⁺, O^2–, F^–, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, S^2–, Cl^–, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Sc³⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ have been calculated for the free ion and the ion in a potential well. The main result of these calculations is a contraction of the anion and an expansion of the cation due to the external potential. A comparison of the calculations with an experimental determination of the electron density distribution in NaCl and MgO shows qualitative agreement. The diamagnetic susceptibility , the dipole polarizability _d, and the Sternheimer antishielding factor of the ions given above were also calculated for the free ions and the spherical potential ions (SPI). The charged hollow sphere model improves the theoretical values towards the properties determined by experiment.

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Zusammenfassung Unter Verwendung der Hartree-Fock-Methode wurden analytische Wellenfunktionen für die Ionen Li⁺, Be²⁺, O^2–, F^–, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, S^2–, Cl^–, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Sc³⁺ und Ti⁴⁺ berechnet. Es wurden sowohl die freien Ionen als auch Ionen im Potentialtopf untersucht. Es zeigt sich eine durch das äußere Potential hervorgerufene Kontraktion der Anionen und eine Expansion der Kationen. Der Vergleich der Rechnungen mit experimentellen Bestimmungen der Elektronendichteverteilung in NaCl und MgO zeigt qualitative Übereinstimmung zwischen Theorie und Experiment. Ferner wurden die diamagnetische Suszeptibilität , die Dipolpolarisierbarkeit _d und der Antishieldingfaktor (Sternheimerfaktor) sowohl für die freien als auch für die durch ein kugelsymmetrisches Potential gestörten Ionen berechnet. Das hier benutzte Festkörpermodell der geladenen Hohlkugel ergibt Werte, die in guter Übereinstimmung mit dem Experiment sind.

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Résumé Les fonctions d'onde de Li⁺, Be²⁺, O^2–, F^–, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, S^2–, Cl^–, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Sc³⁺ et Ti⁴⁺ ont été calculées par la méthode de Hartree-Fock pour l'ion libre et pour l'ion dans un puit de potentiel. Le résultat essentiel de ces calculs montre une contraction de l'anion et une expansion du cation sous l'effet du potentiel extérieur. Les densités électroniques calculées et celles obtenues expérimentalement dans NaCl et MgO sont en accord qualitatif. La susceptibilité diamagnétique , la polarisabilité dipolaire _d, et le facteur anti-écran de Sterneimer des ions ci-dessus ont été calculés pour les ions libres et pour les ions à «potentiel sphérique» (SPI). Le modèle de la sphère creuse chargée améliore les valeurs théoriques par rapport aux données expérimentales.

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D 17 (E. Paschalis, 1967).     

Solitons via Lie-Bäcklund transformation for 5D low-energy string theory

We apply a non-linear matrix transformation of Lie-Bäcklund type on a seed soliton configuration in order to obtain a new solitonic solution in the framework of the 5D low-energy effective field theory of the bosonic string. The seed solution represents a stationary axisymmetric two-soliton configuration previously constructed through the inverse scattering method and consists of a massless gravitational field coupled to a non-trivial chargeless dilaton and to an axion field endowed with charge. We apply a fully parameterized non-linear matrix transformation of Ehlers type on this massless solution and get a massive rotating axisymmetric gravitational soliton coupled to charged axion and dilaton fields. We discuss on some physical properties of both the initial and the generated solitons and fully clarify the physical effect of the non-linear normalized Ehlers transformation on the seed solution.     

Hardening rules for finite deformation micropolar plasticity: Restrictions imposed by the second law of thermodynamics and the postulate of Il'iushin

Received April 9, 2001 / Published online August 16, 2001     

On the asymptotic behavior of nonlinear waves in the presence of a short-range potential

Consider the nonlinear wave equation with zero mass and a time-independent potential in three space dimensions. When it comes to the associated Cauchy problem, it is already known that short-range potentials do not affect the existence of small-amplitude solutions. In this paper, we focus on the associated scattering problem and we show that the situation is quite different there. In particular, we show that even arbitrarily small and rapidly decaying potentials may affect the asymptotic behavior of solutions.