A force field study of diacetylene molecule by kinetic constant method

The potential constants of diacetylene molecule has been evaluated using kinetic constants. The other molecular constants such as the generalised vibrational mean amplitudes, shrinkage constants, Coriolis coupling constants and centrifugal distortion constants are also calculated using the vibrational frequencies and the results discussed.     

Reduced parabolic model for radical addition reactions

The transition state of addition of free radicals and atoms to multiple bonds is considered as a result of intersecting of two parabolic potential curves. One of them characterizes the stretching vibration of the attacked multiple bond, and another curve characterizes the stretching vibration of the bond formed in the transition state. The force constant of the latter is calculated by an empirical equation that correlates the force constant with the bond dissociation energy. In the framework of this model, the thermally neutral activation energy (E _e0) and the elongation of the attacked and formed bonds (r _e) in the transition state were calculated from the experimental data (activation energy (E _e) and enthalpy of reaction (H _e)) for the addition of an H atom and methyl, alkoxyl, aminyl, triethylsilyl, and peroxyl radicals to the C=C bond and the addition of H and CH₃ to the C=O and CC bonds. Analysis of the data obtained showed that E _e0 depends linearly on the |H _e| + E_e sum, i.e., E_e0/kJ mol^–1 = 14.2 + 0.61 · (E_e – H _e), and the bond elongation in the transition state for addition of the most part of radicals to ethylene and acetylene vary within (0.65–0.87)·10_–10 m. The factors affecting the activation energy of the radical addition reactions are discussed.Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1542–August, 2004.     

Measurement of attachment force of microbial cells

A parallel-plate flow chamber consisting of two transparent electro-conductive glass plates was constructed. The two glass plates were set parallel to each other and connected to a potentiostat apparatus to regulate the strength of the electric field between the plates. A microbial cell suspension was flowed through the chamber. This system enabled the application of an electrostatic force to suspend charged particles, e.g. microbial cells, existing between the two plates. The time course of the cell attachment of Pseudomonas syringae pv. atropurpurea NIAES 1309 suspended in 10 mM phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) to the glass plate was investigated at various electric field strengths ranging from −4.2 to +4.1 V cm⁻¹. The attachment rate and the maximum number of attached cells increased linearly with the increase in the strength of the positive electric field. In contrast, the rate and the number of cells decreased linearly with the decrease in the strength of the negative electric field. These linear relations gave a specific value for the strength of the electric field (−5.9 ± 0.7 V cm⁻¹) where the electrostatic repulsion and the microbial attachment force were thought to be equal, resulting in no cell attachment. From this value, the electrostatic repulsion, i.e. the microbial attachment force, was calculated to be 5.0 × 10⁻¹¹ N cell⁻¹ for cells of average size.     

2-(2-Hydroxyaryl)cinnamic amides: a new class of axially chiral molecules

The syntheses of several differently substituted amides formally derived from a chiral amine, either E-2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)cinnamic acid or both E- and Z-2-(2-hydroxynaphthyl)cinnamic acid, are reported. These molecules display a restricted rotation about the C₂-C_aryl bond. The barriers to rotation about the C₂-C_aryl bond were measured by the dynamic ¹H NMR and were found to vary between 11.8 and 24.5 kcal mol⁻¹, depending on the substitution. In particular, E-2-(2-hydroxynapthyl)cinnamic amides, displayed a high barrier to rotation (ΔG_c^‡=24.4 kcal mol⁻¹) and could be isolated in both diastereomerically pure forms at room temperature. The X-ray structure of one E-2-(2-hydroxynapthyl)cinnamic amide, was resolved, enabling for the determination of the absolute configuration of the chiral axis (aR).     

Lattice Thermal Transport in the Homogeneous Cage-Like Compounds Cu3VSe4 and Cu3NbSe4: Interplay between Phonon-Phase Space,Anharmonicity, and Atomic Mass

Understanding the correlation between crystal structure and thermal conductivity in semiconductors is very important for designing heat-transport-related devices, such as high-performance thermoelectric materials and heat dissipation in micro-nano-scale devices. In this work, the lattice thermal conductivity ( ) of the cage-like compounds Cu₃VSe₄ and Cu₃NbSe₄ was investigated by experimental measurements and first-principles calculations. The experimental of Cu₃NbSe₄ is approximately 25 % lower than that of Cu₃VSe₄ at 300 K. The relevant important physical parameters, including the sound velocity, heat capacity, weighted phonon phase space (W), and third-order force constants along with atomic mass were theoretically analyzed. It is found that W is the dominant parameter in determining the , and the other factors only play a minor role. The physical origin is the relatively “soft” lattice of Cu₃NbSe₄ with heavier atomic mass. This research provides deep insight into the correlation between the thermal conductivity and crystal structure and paves the way for discovering high-performance thermal management device and thermoelectric materials with intrinsically low .     

Structure inhomogeneities of medium-range order in fluorozirconate glasses

Images of cleaved surfaces were obtained for 53ZrF₄-20BaF₂-4LaF₃-3AlF₃-20NaF (ZBLAN) glasses and fused quartz using an NTMDT atomic force microscope. It is shown that the scatter of particle size depends on the cooling rate and is 21–48.5 Å for the cleaved surface of ZBLAN glass obtained by very fast cooling and 68–172 Å for the cleaved surface of ZBLAN after slow cooling. For cleaved fused quartz, the range is 25-18 Å.     

聚乙二醇在高真空条件下的单链弹性

在过去二十年间，高分子的单链弹性已经得到了广泛的研究.然而由于环境和高分子之间往往有着复杂的相互作用，实验中很难得到高分子在严格无扰状态下的单链弹性（即本征弹性）.为此，利用单分子力谱技术研究了高真空条件下聚乙二醇（PEG）的单链弹性.结果表明，由于高真空条件下溶剂分子的干扰被消除，PEG在这一准无扰状态下呈现其本征弹性.在非极性有机溶剂中，由于溶剂分子和PEG之间只有微弱的范德华力作用，PEG表现出和高真空中基本一致的弹性.然而，在不同环境中，力曲线的低力区（F<100 pN）存在着细微的差异.这一现象可归因于不同条件下基底与PEG链之间的吸附力不同.采用的高真空力谱可用于研究其他高分子单链在准无扰状态下的本征弹性.     

Preparation of poly(N‐ethyl methacrylamide) particles via an emulsion/precipitation process: The role of the crosslinker

Monodisperse, thermosensitive poly(N‐ethyl methacrylamide) microgel particles were prepared by the batch precipitation/emulsion polymerization of water‐soluble N‐ethyl methacrylamide and the hydrophobic crosslinker ethylene glycol dimethacrylate initiated by potassium persulfate. Particular attention was paid to the effect of the crosslinker agent on the polymerization process (kinetics, conversion, and water‐soluble oligomer content). Particles were characterized in terms of their size distribution and swelling capacity. A polymerization mechanism for the water‐soluble monomer and non‐water‐soluble crosslinker is proposed and discussed on the basis of a combination of both emulsion and precipitation polymerization processes. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1808–1817, 2002     

Monte Carlo simulation of polarizable systems: Early rejection scheme for improving the performance of adiabatic nuclear and electronic sampling Monte Carlo simulations

An early rejection scheme for trial moves in adiabatic nuclear and electronic sampling Monte Carlo simulation (ANES-MC) of polarizable intermolecular potential models is presented. The proposed algorithm is based on Swendsen–Wang filter functions for prediction of success or failure of trial moves in Monte Carlo simulations. The goal was to reduce the amount of calculations involved in ANES-MC electronic moves, by foreseeing the success of an attempt before making those moves. The new method was employed in Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo (GEMC) simulations of the polarizable simple point charge-fluctuating charge (SPC-FQ) model of water. The overall improvement in GEMC depends on the number of swap attempts (transfer molecules between phases) in one Monte Carlo cycle. The proposed method allows this number to increase, enhancing the chemical potential equalization. For a system with 300 SPC-FQ water molecules, for example, the fractions of early rejected transfers were about 0.9998 and 0.9994 at 373 and 423 K, respectively. This means that the transfer moves consume only a very small part of the overall computing effort, making GEMC almost equivalent to a simulation in the canonical ensemble.