Theoretical analysis of aggregation in block‐copolymer films: The optical signature

We focus this work on the theoretical investigation of the block‐copolymer poly[oxyoctyleneoxy‐(2,6‐dimethoxy‐1,4phenylene‐1,2‐ethinylene‐phenanthrene‐2,4diyl) named as LaPPS19, recently proposed for optoelectronic applications. We used for that a variety of methods, from molecular mechanics to quantum semiempirical techniques (AM1, ZINDO/S‐CIS). Our results show that as expected isolated LaPPS19 chains present relevant electron localization over the phenanthrene group. We found, however, that LaPPS19 could assemble in a π‐stacked form, leading to impressive interchain interaction; the stacking induces electronic delocalization between neighbor chains and introduces new states below the phenanthrene‐related absorption; these results allowed us to associate the red‐shift of the absorption edge, seen in the experimental results, to spontaneous π‐stack aggregation of the chains. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

The diameter of the acyclic Birkhoff polytope

In this work we give an interpretation of vertices and edges of the acyclic Birkhoff polytope, T_n=Ω_n(T), where T is a tree with n vertices, in terms of graph theory. We generalize a recent result relatively to the diameter of the graph G(T_n).     

Design and electro-optical characterization of Si-based resonant cavity light emitting devices at 850 nm

We report on the fabrication and characterization of Si/SiO₂ Fabry-Perot microcavities. These structures are used to enhance the external quantum efficiency along the cavity axis and the spectral purity of emission from silicon rich oxide films that are used as active media to fabricate a Si based RCLED (resonant cavity light emitting devices). A new structure to electrically pump the active media in the resonant cavity has been designed. These structures are fabricated by chemical vapour deposition on a silicon substrate. The microcavities are tuned at 850 nm and present a quality factor ranging from 17 to 150 depending on the number of pairs constituting the dielectric mirrors. An enhancement of the electro and photoluminescence (PL) signal of 20 times is achieved for the selected emission wavelength. These cavities are characterized by TEM analysis to evaluate film uniformity, thicknesses and the densification after annealing processes for temperature ranging from 800 to 1100 °C. The electrical properties of the active media are analyzed. The electroluminescence spectral features are compared with PL spectra correlated with the quality factor of the cavities. The photometric diagram shows also a high directionality of the emitted light within a 30° cone from the sample normal.     

From the classical to the generalized von Kármán and Marguerre–von Kármán equations

In this work, we describe and analyze two models that were recently proposed for modeling generalized von Kármán plates and generalized Marguerre–von Kármán shallow shells.

First, we briefly review the “classical” von Kármán and Marguerre–von Kármán equations, their physical meaning, and their mathematical justification. We then consider the more general situation where only a portion of the lateral face of a nonlinearly elastic plate or shallow shell is subjected to boundary conditions of von Kármán type, while the remaining portion is free. Using techniques from formal asymptotic analysis, we obtain in each case a two-dimensional boundary value problem that is analogous to, but is more general than, the classical equations.

In particular, it is remarkable that the boundary conditions for the Airy function can still be determined on the entire boundary of the nonlinearly elastic plate or shallow shell solely from the data.

Following recent joint works, we then reduce these more general equations to a single “cubic” operator equation, which generalizes an equation introduced by Berger and Fife, and whose sole unknown is the vertical displacement of the shell. We next adapt an elegant compactness method due to Lions for establishing the existence of a solution to this operator equation.     

An Existence Theorem for Generalized von Kármán Equations

Using techniques from formal asymptotic analysis, the first two authors have recently identified generalized von Kármán equations, which constitute a two-dimensional model for a nonlinearly elastic plate where only a portion of the lateral face is subjected to boundary conditions of von Kármán's type, the remaining portion being free. In this paper, we establish an existence theorem for these equations. To this end, we first reduce them to a single equation, which generalizes a cubic operator equation introduced by M.S. Berger and P. Fife. We then directly solve this equation, notably by adapting a crucial compactness method due to J.-L. Lions. Résumé. En utilisant les techniques de l'analyse asymptotique formelle, les deux premiers auteurs ont récemment identifié des équations de von Kármán généralisées, qui constituent un modèle bi-dimensionnel de plaque non linéairement élastique dont une partie seulement de la face latérale est soumise à des conditions aux limites de von Kármán, la partie restante étant libre. Dans cet article, on établit un théorème d'existence pour ces équations. À cette fin, elles sont d'abord réduites à une seule équation, qui généralise une équation faisant intervenir un opérateur cubique, introduite par M.S. Berger et P. Fife. On résout ensuite directement cette équation, en adaptant notamment une méthode cruciale de compacité due à J.-L. Lions.     

Conformation and stereodynamics of 1,2-diaryltetrahydropyrimidine and of its five- and seven-membered ring analogs

The 1-(2-nitrophenyl)-2-(2-methylphenyl)-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine and its five- and seven-membered ring analogs were synthesized and their conformational properties investigated by low temperature NMR spectroscopy and DFT theoretical calculations. Restricted rotation of the aryl substituents were observed in all cases and the corresponding barriers determined. In the case of the six-membered ring derivative the additional conformers resulting from a ring inversion process were also detected.     

Stability of ZSM-11 and BETA zeolites during the catalytic cracking of low-density polyethylene

The stability of H-ZSM-11 (H-Z) and H-BETA (H-B) zeolites during the catalytic degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was studied using the same sample of catalyst in eleven consecutive cycles. The gaseous hydrocarbons, liquid hydrocarbons and waxes generated in each cycle were analyzed as well as the used catalyst. The zeolites were characterized by XRD, FTIR of adsorbed pyridine and N₂ adsorption, while the physical mixtures of LDPE/zeolites were subjected to TG-DTG analysis.The H-Z zeolite exhibited an important stability during the successive cycles of LDPE conversion. On the contrary, the behavior H-B zeolite was completely different; from the sixth cycle the yields of products changed progressively, approaching to that obtained in a purely thermal process.The yields of accumulated coke increased steadily throughout the cycles up to maximum values in the eleventh cycle of ∼6 and ∼15 wt% for H-Z and H-B, respectively. These results were confirmed by TG under air flow.