Complexes in polymers IV. FTIR microscopic characterization of thin organic polymer films containing embedded transition-metal carbonyl complexes

Thin films of polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polystyrene-polyacrylonitrile copolymer (PS-AN), containing various embedded transition-metal complexes, have been studied by FTIR microscopy. The spatial distributions of the transition-metal carbonyl complexes throughout the thin organic polymer films have been determined by a two-dimensional IR mapping procedure. The spectral variations observed in the distribution of the metal carbonyls throughout the different polymer films are discussed. The IR data show that the technique used to prepare the organometallic-embedded thin films (viz. freeze-drying of solutions followed by hot mechanical pressing of the residues) does in general lead to homogeneous films which may eventually find industrial application, e.g. as membrane sensors for small molecules.     

Bases,spanning sets,and the axiom of choice

Two theorems are proved: First that the statement “there exists a field F such that for every vector space over F, every generating set contains a basis” implies the axiom of choice. This generalizes theorems of Halpern, Blass, and Keremedis. Secondly, we prove that the assertion that every vector space over ?₂ has a basis implies that every well‐ordered collection of two‐element sets has a choice function. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Gas solubility of carbon dioxide in poly(lactic acid) at high pressures: Thermal treatment effect

The sorption of carbon dioxide in glassy Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films was studied by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) at high pressures. Two thermal treatments, melted and quenched, were performed in PLA with two different L:D contents, 80:20 and 98:2, films and compared with a third thermal protocol, annealed, and used in a previous work. The results obtained show that for pressures higher than 2 MPa, the carbon dioxide solubility is larger in PLA 80:20 than in PLA 98:2, indicating that the L:D plays a dominant role on this property. The thermal treatments only affect the gas solubility in PLA 98:2. Sorption isotherms at temperatures 303, 313, and 323 K, below the glass transition temperature of the polymer, and pressures up to 5 MPa were measured and analyzed with three different models, the dual‐mode sorption model, the Flory–Huggins equation, and a modified dual‐mode sorption model where the Henry's law term was substituted by the Flory–Huggins equation. This last model performs especially well for CO₂ in PLA 80:20, due to the convex upward curvature of the solubility isotherms for that system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 616–625, 2007     

Viscometric properties of dilute polystyrene/dioctyl phthalate solutions

We report viscometric data collected in a Couette rheometry on dilute, single‐solvent polystyrene (PS)/dioctyl phthalate (DOP) solutions over a variety of polymer molecular weights (5.5 × 10⁵ ≤ M_w ≤ 3.0 × 10⁶ Da) and system temperatures (288 K ≤ T ≤ 318 K). In view of the essential viscometric features, the current data may be classified into three categories: The first concerns all the investigated solutions at low shear rates, where the solution properties are found to agree excellently with the Zimm model predictions. The second includes all sample solutions, except for high‐molecular‐weight PS samples (M_w ≥ 2.0 × 10⁶ Da), where excellent time–temperature superposition is observed for the steady‐state polymer viscosity at constant polymer molecular weights. No similar superposition applies at a constant temperature but varied polymer molecular weights, however. The third appears to be characteristic of dilute high‐molecular‐weight polymer solutions, for which the effects of temperature on the viscosity curve are further complicated at high shear rates. The implications concerning the relative importance of hydrodynamic interactions, segmental interactions, and chain extensibility with increasing polymer molecular weight, system temperature, and shear rate are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 787–794, 2006     

Dynamical Running Mass of Quark in the Dyson-Schwinger Equation Approach

Based on the Dyson-Schwinger equations of QCD in the "rainbow" approximation, the fully dressed quarkpropagator Sf(p) is investigated, and then an algebraic parametrization form of the propagator is obtained as a solutionof the equations. The dressed quark amplitudes Af and Bf built up the fully dressed quark propagator and the dynamicalrunning masses Mf defined by Af and Bf for light quarks u, d and s are calculated, respectively. Using the predictedrunning masses Mf, quark condensates <0|q(0)q(0)|0> = -(0.255 GeV)a for u, d quarks, and <0|s s|0> = 0.8<0|q(0)q(0)]0)for s quark, and experimental pion decay constant fπ = 0.093 GeV, the masses of Goldstone bosons K, π, and η are alsoevaluated. The numerical results show that the masses of quarks are dependent on their momentum p2. The fully dressedquark amplitudes Af and Bf have correct behaviors which can be used for many purposes in our future researches onnonperturbative QCD.     

Restorations of punctured languages and similarity of languages

Punctured languages are languages whose words are partial words in the sense that the letters at some positions are unknown. We investigate to which extent restoration of punctured languages is possible if the number of unknown positions or the proportion of unknown positions per word, respectively, is bounded, and we study their relationships for different boundings. The considered restoration classes coincide with similarity classes according to some kind of similarity for languages. Thus all results we can also formulate in the language of similarity. We show some hierarchies of similarity classes for each class from the Chomsky hierarchy and prove the existence of linear languages which are not δ ‐similar to any regular language for any δ < ½. For δ ≥ ½ this is unknown but it could only be possible in the case of non‐slender linear languages. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On disjoint configurations in infinite graphs

For a graph A and a positive integer n, let nA denote the union of n disjoint copies of A; similarly, the union of ?₀ disjoint copies of A is referred to as ?₀A. It is shown that there exist (connected) graphs A and G such that nA is a minor of G for all n??, but ?₀A is not a minor of G. This supplements previous examples showing that analogous statements are true if, instead of minors, isomorphic embeddings or topological minors are considered. The construction of A and G is based on the fact that there exist (infinite) graphs G₁, G₂,… such that G_i is not a minor of G_j for all i ≠ j. In contrast to previous examples concerning isomorphic embeddings and topological minors, the graphs A and G presented here are not locally finite. The following conjecture is suggested: for each locally finite connected graph A and each graph G, if nA is a minor of G for all n ? ?, then ?₀A is a minor of G, too. If true, this would be a far‐reaching generalization of a classical result of R. Halin on families of disjoint one‐way infinite paths in graphs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 39: 222–229, 2002; DOI 10.1002/jgt.10016     

ON SOME INTERPRETATIONS OF CLASSICAL LOGIC

In distinction from the well-known double-negation embeddings of the classical logic we consider some variants of single-negation embeddings and describe some classes of superintuitionistic first-order predicate logics in which the classical first-order calculus is interpretable in such a way. Also we find the minimal extensions of Heyting's logic in which the classical predicate logic can be embedded by means of these translations.     

Physical properties and phase separation structure of Antheraea pernyi/Bombyx mori silk fibroin blend films

The physical structure and compatibility of solution-cast Antheraea pernyi/Bombyx mori silk fibroin blend films were stuided by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermomechanical (TMA) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis, dynamic viscoelastic measurement, infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray diffractometry. The DSC curves of the blend films showed independent endotherms at 280 and 358°C, corresponding to the thermal decomposition of B. mori and A. pernyi silk fibroins with random coil conformation. The intensity was roughly proportionate to the amount of each component in the blend. The thermal behavior corresponding to the conformational transitions induced by heating on A. pernyi and B. mori silk fibroins overlapped in the temperature range 190–230°C. Thermal expansion and contraction properties, as well as weight retention behavior of the blend films were intermediate between the pure components, as shown by the TMA and TGA curves. The onset temperature of the storage modulus curve decreased markedly, approaching that of B. mori silk fibroin film when the amount of this component in the blend increased. The loss modulus curve of the blend films showed two peaks at ca. 190 and 210°C, the former corresponding to B. mori, and the latter to A. pernyi silk fibroin. Infrared spectra of the blends exhibited absorption bands characteristic of the pure components overlapping in the spectral region 2000–400 cm^?1. The x-ray diffraction peaks at 23 and 21.5°, attributed to the crystalline spacings of A. pernyi and B. mori fibroins, respectively, overlapped in the diffraction curves of the blends, while the peak at 11.4°, of A. pernyi, increased as the content of this fibroin in the blend increased. The degree of crystallinity, calculated from the x-ray diffraction curves, diminished as the amount of B. mori silk fibroin decreased. A low degree of compatibility exists between the two fibroins when they are cast from aqueous solution in the experimental conditions adopted in this work. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.