Supramolecular organization of meso-substituted derivatives of tetraphenylporphine in thin films

Films of meso-substituted derivatives of tetraphenylporphine substituted in the paraor ortho-positions of the phenyl rings with alkoxy groups (-OC₄H₉ or -OC₁₆H₃₃) and films of their metal complexes are prepared using the Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) method. The effect of the molecular structure on the supramolecular organization of thin films is determined. The films are obtained by transferring layers of the compounds from the surface of the water onto silicon substrates using the Langmuir-Schaefer technique. The structures of the one-component LS films of the investigated compounds are studied by the small-angle X-ray scattering method, and also the lattice periodicities are calculated. The supramolecular organization of the meso-substituted tetraphenylporphine derivatives is modeled and refined by means of the X-ray diffraction method. When Ni or Cu serve as chelating metal, it is found that the macrocycle-macrocycle interaction is so large that it leads to violation of the molecular linearity, i.e., the lateral substituents are folded toward the macrocycle, reducing the area occupied by the structural units.     

Non-Gravitational Effects with Density-Matching in Evaluating the Influence of Sedimentation on Colloidal Coagulation

The method of density matching between the solid and liquid phases is often adopted to effectively eliminate the effect of sedimentation of suspensions in studies on dynamic behaviour of a colloidal system. However, the associated changes in the solvent composition may bring side effects to the properties investigated and therefore might lead to a faulty conclusion if the relevant correction is not made. To illustrate the importance of this side effect, we present an example of the sedimentation influence on the coagulation rate of suspensions of 2μm （diameter） polystyrene. The liquid mixtures, in the proper proportions of water （H2O）, deuterium oxide （D2O） and methanol （MeOH） as the liquid phase, density-matched and unmatched experiments are performed. Besides the influence of viscosity, the presence of methanol in solvent media, used to enhance the sedimentation effect, causes significant changes （reduction） in rapid coagulation rates compared to that in pure water. Without the relevant corrections for those non-gravitational factors it seems that gravitational sedimentation would retard the coagulation. The magnitude of the contribution from the non-gravitational factor is quantitatively determined, making the relevant correction possible. After necessary the influence of the sedimentation on coagulation rates at corrections for all factors, our experiments show that the initial stage of the coagulation is not observable.     

The Mechanisms of Absorption of Terahertz and Infrared Radiation in PZT Films

Physics of the Solid State - Terahertz and IR spectra of dielectric response of dense and porous Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films deposited on single-crystal magnesia and alumina substrates and on silicon...     

Aspect-ratio dependent oscillatory thermocapillary convection in the floating half zone

The dependency of the critical Marangoni number on the geometrical aspect ratio of the floating half zone is essential to predict the onset of oscillatory thermocapillary convection.The experimental studies in the microgravity conditions on floating half zones of several centimeters in diameter have predicted that the critical Marangoni number increases with the increasing aspect ratio,and the terrestrial experimental studies have predicted the contradictory conclusion for floating half zones of several mil...     

Modification of thin oxide films on Be,Si, Al,Ti, Zr,and W under bombardment by He<Superscript>+</Superscript> and Ar<Superscript>+</Superscript> ion beams with a broad energy spectrum

Data on the distribution of Be, Al, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zr, Mo, and W atoms implanted in oxide film on metal substrates by ion mixing under the action of He⁺ and Ar⁺ ion beams with a broad energy spectrum, with average energy of 10 keV, and with radiation doses up to 1 × 10²¹ ion/cm² are presented. It is shown that layers with different concentration gradients of implanted atoms form in a thin oxide layer due to simultaneous implantation, but their concentration decreases dramatically to the background value at the oxide-metal interface. Analysis of experimental data suggests that the migration of implanted atoms takes place by means of the diffusion mechanism and is determined by the parameters of physicochemical interaction of implanted atoms with substrate atoms.     

Electromagnetic vibrator: An initiator of air breakdown in the subcritical field of a quasi-optical microwave beam

The subject of investigation is the resonance properties of cylindrical electromagnetic vibrators with different diameters and spherically rounded ends acting as initiators of air breakdown in the subcritical field of a quasi-optical microwave beam. The vibrator is placed both in the field of a traveling electromagnetic wave and at the antinode of the field above a screen inserted in the microwave beam. The shortening of the half-wave vibrator that governs its ability to initiate air breakdown, the field at the top-pole of this vibrator, and a tolerance on its resonance length are found from experimental data.     

Study of processes of translational,rotational, and vibrational relaxation based on CARS spectra line shapes

This paper reviews the various physico-chemical processes responsible for actual linewidths encountered in high-resolution coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS). Most of the experimental data are based on linewidth measurements using a pulseamplified CARS spectrometer with an emission bandwidth (FWHM) of 2×10^–3 cm^–1. Detailed rotational and vibrational relaxation constants have been obtained from the analysis of theQ-branch profiles of C₂H₂, N₂, CH₄, and SiH₄.     

Structural properties of the condensate in two-dimensional mesoscopic systems of strongly correlated excitons

A two-dimensional mesoscopic Bose system of dipoles in a 2D trap is considered using computer simulation by the quantum path-integral Monte Carlo method. The model describes a rarefied system of spatially indirect excitons in a confining potential. Bose condensation in the system and its superfluid and structural properties are studied over a wide range of interparticle spatial correlations, from an almost ideal Bose gas to the regime of a strongly correlated system. It is found that, at strong interparticle spatial correlations, particles in the condensate form a crystal-like structure. In this case, the spatial correlations of particles in the condensate are less pronounced than the correlations of noncondensed particles. The effect of recurrent crystallization is observed in the regime of strong interparticle correlations.     

Symmetries of electrostatic interaction between DNA molecules

A model for pair interaction U of DNA molecules generated by the discrete dipole moments of base-pairs and the charges of phosphate groups is studied. A noncommutative group of eighth order ℒ of symmetries that leave U invariant is found. The minima are classified with the use of group ℒ and numerical methods are employed for finding them. The minima may correspond to several cholesteric phases, as well as to phases formed by crosslike conformations of molecules at an angle close to 90°—the “snowflake phase.” The results depend on the effective charge Q of the phosphate group, which can be modified by the polycations or the ions of metals. The snowflake phase could exist for Q above the threshold Q _C. Below Q _C, there could be several cholesteric phases. Close to Q _C, the snowflake phase could change into the cholesteric one at constant distance between adjacent molecules. The text was submitted by the authors in English.