Self-consistent molecular theory of polymers in melts and solutions

We propose a self-consistent molecular theory of conformational properties of flexible polymers in melts and solutions. The method employs the polymer reference interaction site model for the intermolecular correlations and the Green function technique for the intramolecular correlations. We demonstrate this method on n-alkane molecules in different environments: water, hexane, and in melt, corresponding to poor, good, and theta condition, respectively. The numerical results of the intramolecular correlation function, the radius of gyration, and the characteristic ratio of a polymer chain are indicative of conformational changes from one environment to another and are in agreement with other findings in the literature. Scaling laws for the chain size with respect to the number of monomers are discussed. We show results for the intra- and intermolecular correlation functions and the medium-induced potential. We also extract the Kuhn length and the characteristic ratio for the infinite chain limit for melts. The latter is compared to the experimental results and computer simulation. The conformational free energy per monomer in different solvents is calculated. Our treatment can be generalized readily to other polymer-solvent systems, for example, those containing branched copolymers and polar solvents.     

Mechanism of photoluminescence excitation of Mn<Superscript>2+</Superscript> ions in ZnS crystals

The mechanisms of photoluminescence excitation of Mn²⁺ ions in ZnS crystals have been investigated on the basis of complex analysis of the temperature dependences of the photoluminescence and photoluminescence-excitation spectra of ZnS:Mn crystals. The activation energy of a manganese luminescence center was estimated at E_a = 0.17 ± 0.05 eV. It is shown that E_a represents an energy band with a width ΔE_a = 0.1 eV, within which a manganese luminescence center can experience radiationless recombination. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 6, pp. 788–793, November–December, 2005.     

Organosilica materials with 1,5-bis-(2’-ethyl)-2,4-dimethyl benzene bridging groups

Using 1,5-bis-(2-trichlorosilylethyl)-2,4-dimethyl benzene, we have obtained porous organosilica materials containing 1.5 to 100 mole % 1,5-bis-(2-ethyl)-2,4-dimethyl benzene bridging groups. We have used X-ray phase analysis, adsorption, Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and temperature-programmed desorption mass spectrometry methods to study their structure and composition. We have shown that the materials obtained generally are characterized by a biporous structure and aerosol properties: large pore volume (up to 4 cm³/g) and low density (~70 mg/cm³).Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimentalnaya Khimiya, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 373–379, November–December, 2004.     

Peculiarities of the Behavior of Porous Titanium Dioxide in the Photocatalytic Evolution of Molecular Hydrogen from Aqueous Ethanolic Solutions

Peculiarities of the behavior of porous titanium dioxide in the photocatalytic evolution of molecular hydrogen from aqueous ethanolic solutions are shown to arise from the accumulation of long lived "free" electrons and titanium(III) ions in the irradiated samples, and the slow transport of electrons to the surface of the TiO₂ particles. This explains the dependence of the effectiveness of the process on both the intensity of the irradiation and on the length of time the irradiated samples are kept in the dark.