ELASTIC WAVE LOCALIZATION IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL PHONONIC CRYSTALS WITH ONE-DIMENSIONAL QUASI-PERIODICITY AND RANDOM DISORDER

The band structures of both in-plane and anti-plane elastic waves propagating in two-dimensional ordered and disordered （in one direction） phononic crystals are studied in this paper. The localization of wave propagation due to random disorder is discussed by introducing the concept of the localization factor that is calculated by the plane-wave-based transfer-matrix method. By treating the quasi-periodicity as the deviation from the periodicity in a special way, two kinds of quasi phononic crystal that has quasi-periodicity （Fibonacci sequence） in one direction and translational symmetry in the other direction are considered and the band structures are characterized by using localization factors. The results show that the localization factor is an effective parameter in characterizing the band gaps of two-dimensional perfect, randomly disordered and quasi-periodic phononic crystals. Band structures of the phononic crystals can be tuned by different random disorder or changing quasi-periodic parameters. The quasi phononic crystals exhibit more band gaps with narrower width than the ordered and randomly disordered systems.     

Charge transport in polyaniline doped with 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one

Polyaniline (PANI) base was protonated in aqueous solutions of an organic acid, 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one (NTO). The temperature dependence of DC conductivity of PANI-NTO seems to correspond to the theory of variable range hopping (VRH) in three dimensions. The frequency dependence of AC conductivity also reflects the hopping nature of mobile charges. The activation energy for the polymers with protonation degree above 0.12 remains constant with increasing dopant concentration and DC conductivity. The value of this constant may correspond to the energy needed for the ionization of dopant counterion. The fit of the electric relaxation function to the stretched exponential function ϕ(t) = exp[−(t/τ)^β] gives the stretch parameter β about 0.35, which shows that the distribution of relaxation times is broad and indicates a high inhomogeneity in the distribution of a dopant.     

Preparation of bone powder for FTIR-ATR analysis: The particle size effect

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using attenuated total reflection (ATR) is commonly used for the examination of bone. During sample preparation bone is commonly ground, changing the particle size distribution. Although previous studies have examined changes in crystallinity caused by the intensity of grinding using FTIR, the effect of sample preparation (i.e. particle size and bone tissue type) on the FTIR data is still unknown.This study reports on the bone powder particle size effects on mid-IR spectra and within sample variation (i.e. periosteal, mesosteal, trabecular) using FTIR-ATR. Twenty-four archaeological human and faunal bone samples (5 heated and 19 unheated) of different chronological age (Neolithic to post-Medieval) and origin (Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Greece) were ground using either (1) a ball-mill grinder, or (2) an agate pestle and mortar, and split into grain fractions (>500 μm, 250–500 μm, 125–250 μm, 63–125 μm, and 20–63 μm).Bone powder particle size has a strong but predictable effect on the infrared splitting factor (IRSF), carbonate/phosphate (C/P) ratio, and amide/phosphate (Am/P) values. The absorbance and positions of the main peaks, the 2nd derivative components of the phosphate and carbonate bands, as well as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the 1010 cm⁻¹ phosphate peak are particle size dependent. This is likely to be because of the impact of the particle size on the short- and long-range crystal order, as well as the contact between the sample and the prism, and hence the penetration depth of the IR light. Variations can be also observed between periosteal, cortical and trabecular areas of bone. We therefore propose a standard preparation method for bone powder for FTIR-ATR analysis that significantly improves accuracy, consistency, reliability, replicability and comparability of the data, enabling systematic evaluation of bone in archaeological, anthropological, paleontological, forensic and biomedical studies.     

Resonance Raman determination of vinyl group disposition in different derivatives of native myoglobin and its heme‐disoriented form

In heme‐reconstituted heme proteins, the heme inserts such that some of the heme is rotated 180° about the α–γ meso axis, eventually equilibrating to native conformations. Also, proteins from different species may naturally possess both conformers. Resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy is effective in signaling this conformational heterogeneity, detecting altered interactions with active site residues. While shifts of the vibrational modes of the two vinyl groups could be readily detected, they could not be assigned to a particular vinyl group. This deficiency is alleviated by employing a specifically labeled protoheme isotopomer, wherein only the 4‐vinyl group is labeled (i.e. –CH=C²H₂), providing a spectral editing mechanism for selectively tracking the individual vinyl groups. The RR spectral data acquired here for the met‐, deoxy‐, and ferrous CO adduct of myoglobin, along with their ‘flipped heme’ isomers, provide convincing evidence for the anticipated effects of ‘swapping’ the environments of the two vinyl groups; i.e., in the native form, the 2‐vinyl group assumes a more out‐of‐plane orientation with respect to the pyrrole plane than does the (nearly in‐plane) 4‐vinyl group, whereas in the ‘reversed’ orientation, the 4‐vinyl group now assumes a position that is more out‐of‐plane than the newly positioned 2‐vinyl group. The ability of RR spectroscopy to document such differences in the orientation of the vinyl substituents is made important by the fact that changes in the disposition of these groups has long been known to carry functional consequences. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and crystal structures of halogenated oxathiazolones and an unexpected propanamide

The known 1,3,4-oxathiazol-2-ones with crystal structures reported in the Cambridge Structural Database are limited (13 to date) and this article expands the library to 15. In addition, convenient starting materials for the future exploration of 1,3,4-oxathiazol-2-ones are detailed. An unexpected halogenated propanamide has also been identified as a by-product of one reaction, presumably reacting with HCl generated in situ. The space group of 5-[(E)-2-chloroethenyl]-1,3,4-oxathiazol-2-one, C₄H₂ClNO₂S, ( 1 ), is P2₁, with a high Z′ value of 6; the space group of rac-2,3-dibromo-3-chloropropanamide, C₃H₄Br₂ClNO, ( 2 ), is P2₁, with Z′ = 4; and the structure of rac-5-(1,2-dibromo-2-phenylethyl)-1,3,4-oxathiazol-2-one, C₁₀H₇Br₂NO₂S, ( 3 ), crystallizes in the space group Pca2₁, with Z′ = 1. Both of the structures of compounds 2 and 3 are modeled with two-component disorder and each molecular site hosts both of the enantiomers of the racemic pairs (S,S)/(R,R) and (R,S)/(S,R), respectively.     

Bicomponent Block Copolymers Derived from One or More Random Copolymers as an Alternative Route to Controllable Phase Behavior

Block copolymers have been extensively studied due to their ability to spontaneously self‐organize into a wide variety of morphologies that are valuable in energy‐, medical‐, and conservation‐related (nano)technologies. While the phase behavior of bicomponent diblock and triblock copolymers is conventionally governed by temperature and individual block masses, it is demonstrated here that their phase behavior can alternatively be controlled through the use of blocks with random monomer sequencing. Block random copolymers (BRCs), i.e., diblock copolymers wherein one or both blocks are a random copolymer comprised of A and B repeat units, have been synthesized, and their phase behavior, expressed in terms of the order–disorder transition (ODT), has been investigated. The results establish that, depending on the block composition contrast and molecular weight, BRCs can microphase‐separate. We also report that large variation in incompatibility can be generated at relatively constant molecular weight and temperature with these new soft materials. This sequence‐controlled synthetic strategy is extended to thermoplastic elastomeric triblock copolymers differing in chemistry and possessing a random‐copolymer midblock.     

(E,E)-1,1′-[1,2-Bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(phenyldiazene) revisited: threefold configurational disorder of (S,S), (R,R) and (S,R) isomers,a detailed critique

Crystal structures described as concomitant triclinic ( I ) and monoclinic ( II ) polymorphs of meso-(E,E)-1,1′-[1,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(phenyldiazene) [Mohamed et al. (2016). Acta Cryst. C 72 , 57–62] have been re-investigated. The published model for II was distorted due to forcing the symmetry of space group C2/c on an incomplete structure model. It is shown here to be a likely three-component superposition of S,S and R,R enantiomers with a lesser amount of the meso form. A detailed analysis of how the improbable distortion in the published model aroused suspicion and the subsequent construction of undistorted chemically and crystallographically plausible alternatives having the symmetry of Cc and C2/c is presented. For the sake of completeness, an improved model for the triclinic P structure of the meso isomer I , revised to include a minor disorder component, is also given.