Monte Carlo simulation of polymers in solution and bulk

The behavior of polymers in solution depends on both temperature and concentration. At least four different regions of the concentration-temperature plane exist in which the physical properties are fundamentally different. These regions are known as the dilute good solvent, theta solvent, semidilute, and concentrated regions. In this investigation, Monte Carlo simulations were performed in order to examine how properties change in going from one region to another. Two series of simulations were performed. In the first series, properties were studied as a function of concentration so that crossover from dilute, to semidilute, and then to concentrated was obtained. In the concentrated or bulk region, it was found that the second and fourth moments of the end-to-end distance were characteristic of ideal chains (without excluded volume), consistent with neutron scattering results. In the semidilute region, the concentration dependence of the mean square end-to-end distance was not in agreement with scaling theory. In the second series of simulations, the temperature was changed for an isolated chain (zero concentration limit), so that crossover from good solvent to theta solvent behavior was obtained. Over the chain length range studies (10–300), no evidence was seen for the existence of “thermal blobs.” In addition, expansion of the average internal conformation over the expected result was observed and found to be increasingly important as the temperature increases from the theta temperature.     

Small-angle x-ray scattering study of density fluctuation in pressure-densified polystyrene glasses

Densified polystyrene glasses, prepared by cooling from the liquid state under elevated pressure, were studied by small-angle x-ray scattering at ambient pressure. The density fluctuation, determined from the x-ray data, showed a decrease with increasing pressure up to about 1.5 kbar, and then leveled off to a fairly constant value. The reduction in the density fluctuation produced by the pressure is much greater than the associated decrease in the specific volume. The observed change in density fluctuation is consistent with the view that the density fluctuation in glassy polymers consists of dynamic and quasistatic components and that the first of these can be correlated with the compressibility of the glass. The present data on the density fluctuation, in conjunction with the available data on volume and enthalpy, can be interpreted to mean that in pressure-densified glasses unfavorable chain configurations are trapped in local energy minima, and the strain energy thus stored can promote segmental motion leading to volume expansion at temperatures far below T_g. Some preliminary evidence indicating the formation of microcavities in these pressure-densified glasses is also presented.     

Density functional theory of realistic models of polyethylene liquids in slit pores: comparison with monte carlo simulations

Density functional theory is applied to study properties of fully detailed, realistic models of polyethylene liquids near surfaces and compared to results from Monte Carlo simulations. When the direct correlation functions from polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) theory are used as input, the theory somewhat underpredicts the density oscillations near the surface. However, good agreement with simulation is obtained with empirical scaling of the PRISM-predicted direct correlation functions. Effects of attractive interactions are treated using the random-phase approximation. The results of theoretical predictions for the attractive system are also in reasonable agreement with simulation results. In general, the theory performs best when the wall-polymer interaction strength is comparable to polymer-polymer interactions.     

75As NMR studies of superconducting LaFeAsO0.9F0.1

We have performed 75As nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on aligned powders of the new LaFeAsO0.9F0.1 superconductor. In the normal state, we find a strong temperature dependence of the spin shift and Korringa behavior of the spin lattice relaxation rate. In the superconducting state, we find evidence for line nodes in the superconducting gap and spin-singlet pairing. Our measurements reveal a strong anisotropy of the spin lattice relaxation rate, which suggests that superconducting vortices contribute to the relaxation rate when the field is parallel to the c axis but not for the perpendicular direction.     

A study of the reactions of α-aminoacros with a model aminochrome

Chemical and spectroscopic evidence leads to the conclusion that all common α-aminoacids, with the exception of proline and hydroxyproline, undergo oxidative deamination by the action of the model aminochrome, 4-methyl-5-(1′-pyrrolidyl)-1,2-benzoquinone(2), to give the same intensely greenish-blue phenoxazine dye 3. This new colour-forming reaction may form the basis for a new method for the detection, specifically, of α-aminoacids. Unlike ninhydrin, 2 is not capable to bring about the oxidative deamination of β-amino-acids and amines. As expected, the SH-containing aminoacid cysteine reacts differently with 2, giving a yellow condensation product, identified as 3-carboxy-5-hydroxy-8-methyl-7-(1′-pyrrolidyl)-2H-1,4-ben (7).     

The colloidal force of bead-spring chains in a good solvent

A recently developed density functional theory (DFT) for tethered bead-spring chains is used to investigate colloidal forces for the good solvent case. A planar surface of tethered chains is opposed to a bare, hard wall and the force exerted on the bare wall is calculated by way of the contact density. Previously, the case of large wall separation was investigated. The density profiles of the unperturbed chains, in that case, were found to be neither stepfunctions nor parabolas and were shown to accurately predict computer simulation results. In the present paper, the surface forces that result from the distortion of these density profiles at finite wall separation is studied. The resulting force function is analyzed for varying surface coverages, wall separations, and chain lengths. The results are found to be in near quantitative agreement with the scaling predictions of Alexander [S. Alexander, J. Phys. (Paris) 38, 983 (1977)] when the layer thickness is "correctly" defined. Finally, a hybrid Alexander-DFT theory is suggested for the analysis of experimental results.     

Raman scattering in uniaxially oriented samples of planar zigzag poly(vinylidiene fluoride)

Band assignments of phase-I PVF₂ have been Revised by using additional data obtained by laser Raman spectra of oriented samples. A set of least-squares refined force constants was obtained which reproduce the experimental data to an average error in frequencies of 1.3 cm^?1. In order to determine the effect of electrical polarization on the spectra, a Gaussian distribution of the dipole axis was assumed. The calculation shows that polarizations of less than 60% will not significantly affect the Raman spectra.