Aggregation of clay platelets in nematic liquid crystal, 5CB: microstructure,electrical conductivity and rheological investigations

The microstructure, electrical conductivity and rheological properties of a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) doped at concentrations up to 4.5 wt% of montmorillonite (MMT) or organomontmorillonite (OMMT) clay nanoplatelets, were investigated at temperatures between 293 and 310 K. Microscopy and electrical conductivity assessment revealed noticeable differences in aggregation in MMT and OMMT suspensions, MMT nanoplatelets showing a strong tendency to aggregation. The incubation of 5CB in the presence of MMT initially produced loose aggregation, followed by the formation of compact aggregates. The latter had practically no influence on the surrounding inter-aggregate regions. In the case of OMMT, a greater degree of integration of the nanoplatelets was observed within the liquid crystal structure of 5CB, resulting in a noticeable effect on electrical conductivity and activation energy of the composite material. Thixotropy was observed in suspensions of 5CB composites formed with either MMT or OMMT. A composite of 5CB with OMMT also exhibited anomalous viscous thinning at shear rates below 100 s^?1. A structural model is suggested to explain this behaviour.     

一种锌配合物用于炭疽生物标志物的检测

采用溶剂热合成方法,合成了一种新型金属配位聚合物{[Zn₂(L)(H₂O)(DMA)]·DMA·2.3H₂O}_n (1),其中L^4-为完全脱去质子的N,N''-二(4-羧基苄基)-5-氨基间苯二甲酸,DMA为N,N-二甲基乙酰胺。单晶X射线衍射结果显示,该配合物属于三斜晶系,空间群为P$overline{1}$,a=0.989 6(5) nm,b=1.370 5(5) nm,c=1.382 1(5) nm,α=80.067(5)°,β=76.729(5)°,γ=76.611(5)°,结构是由二维金属有机层通过π…π相互作用而扩展成的三维超分子骨架。红外光谱验证了锌离子与L^4-配体成功配位。粉末X射线衍射(PXRD)实验证实了配合物1具有较高的纯度。热重分析结果显示配合物1在室温至416.9 ℃区间内具有较好的热稳定性。在273 nm的激发光下,配合物1在437 nm处有较强的荧光发射,可以在30 s内快速检测乙醇溶液中的炭疽生物标志物——吡啶-2,6-二甲酸,具有选择性高、抗干扰能力强、检测限低(约为15 μmol·L^-1)等特点。结合PXRD图和紫外可见吸收光谱揭示了其检测机理为晶体骨架坍塌而诱导的荧光猝灭。     

The Conformation of Sterically Congested Seven-Membered Rings Containing Tetracoordinate Germanium(IV): A First X-Ray Crystallographic Structure Determination

The X-ray crystallographic analysis of 6,6-dimethyl-2,4,8,10-tetra-tert-octyl-dibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxagermepin, 1 is reported. In the solid-state conformation of 1, the dihedral angle about the C─C sp²-sp ² σ bond connecting the two aryl rings is 50.1°. The observed C₂ symmetry in the solid-state conformation of 1 is consistent with the previously suggested solution conformation.     

Responsive core–shell microgels: Synthesis,characterization, and possible applications

Core–shell microgels are of increasing interest as smart carriers of catalysts, as sensors, or as building blocks for colloidal superstructures. In the context of colloidal assemblies, photonic applications are probably the most promising ones. This progress report presents and discusses the most recent results in this area focusing on the last 2–3 years, and also gives some background information. In addition, potential perspectives of this area will be outlined. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013, 51, 1073–1083     

GasChromatography of Amino Acids as their N-Trifluoroacetyl Methyl Esters and Comparison with the Ion-exchange Method in Maize and Oats

A method for the preparation of N-trifluoroacetyl methyl esters of amino acids has been developed, permitting the separation and determination of 20 amino acids by temperature-programmed gas chromatography on two columns. The method was applied to the analysis of the amino acids in hydrolyzed maize and in hydrolyzed oats, where a direct comparison was made with the ion-exchange method.     

Twin liquid crystals and segmented thermotropic polyesters containing azobenzene—effect of spacer length on LC properties

We report systematic studies on a homologous series of twin liquid crystalline (LC) molecules based on phenyl and naphthyl azobenzene ( PnP and NpnNp ) as well as segmented copolyesters based on them. The twin series had the structure azobenzene–oligooxyethylene–azobenzene, where the ethyleneoxy length was varied from 2 to 6 units. The LC properties of the twin series depended on the chemical structure of the azochromophore and also the length of the central oligooxyethylene segment. The PnP series exhibited smectic LC properties for n > three oligooxyethylene units. Conversely, NpnNp series exhibited spherulitic phases only for the shortest member – Np2Np . One non‐LC short spacer twin ( P2P ) and one LC long spacer twin ( P6P ) were incorporated as part of a main chain polyester composed of fully aliphatic segments of sebacate and di or tetraethylene glycol (DEG/TEG) units by melt polycondensation. Non‐LC P2P formed LC polymers even at low (5 mol %) incorporation in DEG‐based copolymers, whereas the LC‐ P6P could do so only at 30 mol % incorporation. The LC properties of the twin molecules as well as copolymers were studied using differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscopy (PLM) along with variable temperature wide angle X‐ray diffraction. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

A new stable porous Pr-organic framework constructed by multi-iodine-substituted aromatic polycarboxylates: Synthesis,characterization, and selective adsorption of dyes

abstract

Poly[tris(dimethylformamide)(μ3-2,4,6-triiodol-1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid)-praseodymium (III)] {Pr(TIBTC)(DMF)₃}_n (1) (H₃TIBTC = 2,4,6-triiodo-1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid) was synthesized by the reaction of Pr(NO₃)₃·6H₂O and H₃TIBTC at 85°C in a pyrex vial. 1 was characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV–vis, TGA, PXRD, and atomic force microscopy analytical means. Each of the central Pr ions and the three carboxyl groups from the same ligand constitute a SBU, which is then joined by a carboxyl group to form a building block. In order to further explore the functional properties of 1, we used this compound for adsorption experiments. It is found that 1 can effectively adsorb anionic dyes in aqueous solutions. In particular, there is a good adsorption efficiency for coomassie brilliant blue R-250. Therefore, 1 shows good prospects for selective adsorption of anionic dyes from wastewater solution.     

Model liquid crystalline dimers in a slit pore: Monte Carlo simulation study

ABSTRACT

In this work, we present results from (isobaric–isothermal) Monte Carlo Simulation studies of liquid crystalline dimer systems confined in a slit pore. Liquid crystalline dimer systems of various spacer numbers have been considered. Surface-induced conformational and alignment properties of these systems at different pressures under homeotropic anchoring condition have been investigated. We have used easily manageable coarse grained force fields to model both monomer–monomer and monomer–substrate interaction potentials. According to the simulated result, the anchoring of dimers to the surface and orientation of mesogenic units with respect to the surface normal seem to depend on the spacer number for messogen attractive confinement. Dimers with lower spacer number are able be adsorbed to the surface and most of their mesogens are oriented along the surface normal even at lower pressure. Those with larger spacer number are distributed throughout the volume at lower pressure. In the case of mesogen repulsive confinement, most of the dimers are adsorbed to the surface and most mesogens are randomly oriented at low pressure. As the pressure gets higher, the adsorption and orientability increase depending on the type of confinement and spacer number. As a result, clear submolecular partitioning and smectic A like structure have been identified.     

D形光纤Bragg光栅弯曲灵敏度的理论和实验研究

用材料力学理论分析了D形光纤Bragg光栅（D-shaped fiber Bragg grating,D-FBG）以及常规光纤Bragg光栅由弯曲引起的轴向应变,得到了光栅Bragg波长漂移的弯曲敏感特性.实验结果和理论计算结果基本相符.与常规FBG相比,该D-FBG的弯曲灵敏度要高近80倍.因此D-FBG可以直接应用于弯曲形变的测量,以及间接应用于压力、加速度等物理量的测量.理论分析和实验结果对采用该类型光纤光栅的器件和传感系统的设计具有参考意义.     

Droplet dynamics for asymmetric Ising model

Nucleation from a metastable state is studied for an anisotropic Ising model at very low temperatures. It turns out that the critical nucleus as well as configurations on a typical path to it differ from the Wulff shape of an equilibrium droplet.