Effect of long-period stacking ordered phase on thermal stability of refined grains in Mg-RE-based alloys

The refined grains in both as-cast Mg-10Y-1Zn-2Zr (WZ101?K, wt.%) and Mg-10Y-1Al (WA101, wt.%) alloys have been found to have superior thermal stability after solution treatment. Plate-shaped, but different polytypes of long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases distributed along grain boundaries are considered as the predominant inhibitors of grain growth. Based on the plate-shaped features of the LPSO phases, a modified Zener’s model is established and the predicted limiting grain sizes are in a good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, this model has strong potential for designing advanced Mg-RE-based alloys with high strength and high creep resistance at high temperatures.     

Clicked (AB)2C‐type miktoarm terpolymers: Synthesis,thermal and self‐assembly properties,and preparation of nanoporous materials

A well‐defined (PEO‐PS)₂‐PLA miktoarm terpolymer ( 1 ) was synthesized by stepwise click reactions of individually prepared poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), polystyrene (PS, polymerized by atom transfer radical polymerization), and polylactide (PLA, polymerized by ring‐opening polymerization) blocks. As characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and small‐angle X‐ray scattering techniques, the terpolymer self‐assembled into a hexagonal columnar structure consisting of PLA/PEO cylindrical cores surrounded by PS chains. In contrast, the ion‐doped sample ( 1‐Li⁺ ) with lithium concentration per ethylene oxide = 0.2 exhibited a three‐phase lamellar structure, which was attributed to the microphase separation between PEO and PLA blocks and to the conformational stabilization of the longest PLA chain. The two‐phase columnar morphology before the ion doping was used to prepare a nanoporous material. PLA chains in the cylindrical core region were hydrolyzed by sodium hydroxide, producing nanopores with a pore diameter of about 14 nm. The resulted nanoporous material sank to the bottom in water, because of water‐compatible PEO chains on the walls. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Living fluids

One of the major emerging fields of research of the beginning of this century concerns living fluids. By “living fluids”, we mean two major categories of complex fluids: (i) fluids which are essential to life, like blood, and (ii) active fluids made of particles that are able to propel themselves in the suspending fluid by converting a form of their energy into mechanical motion. Studies on active fluids have known a considerable interest since the last decade. Blood might be viewed as an old topic, but the progresses in experimental techniques, analytical concepts and numerics, have contributed nowadays to a dramatic renewal of the interest in this field, with a great potential towards understanding physical and mechanical factors in cardiovascular diseases. These fields have considerably strengthened interdisciplinary research. The series of reviews of this dossier focus on the tremendous recent progress achieved in research on living fluids both from the experimental and theoretical points of views. These reviews present also the major open issues, making of this dossier a unique guide for future research in these fields. This project grew up thanks to the international summer school that we organized on the topic “living fluids” at the IES (Institut dʼétudes scientifiques) of Cargèse (Corsica) in 2012.     

Preparation of Chiral Amino Esters by Asymmetric Phase‐Transfer Catalyzed Alkylations of Schiff Bases in a Ball Mill

The asymmetric alkylation of Schiff bases under basic conditions in a ball mill was performed. The starting Schiff bases of glycine were prepared beforehand by milling protected glycine hydrochloride and benzophenone imine, in the absence of solvent. The Schiff base was then reacted with a halogenated derivative in a ball mill in the presence of KOH. By adding a chiral ammonium salt derived from cinchonidine, the reaction proceeded asymmetrically under phase‐transfer catalysis conditions, giving excellent yields and enantiomeric excesses up to 75 %. Because an equimolar amount of starting material was used, purification was greatly simplified.     

三(4-甲基苯甲酰基)纤维素酯的合成及其涂敷手性固定相的制备和表征

以微晶纤维素为原料合成三（４－甲基苯甲酰基）纤维素酯,涂敷在平均粒径为６μｍ、平均孔径为１５ｎｍ、比表面积为６７ｍ２／ｇ的堆积硅珠上,制备成手性固定相。用扫描电子显微分析考察了固定相的表面形貌。用高效液相色谱法分离了（±）－α－苯乙醇对映异构体,考察了洗脱液正己烷／异丙醇（９８∶２,Ｖ／Ｖ）的流速和洗脱液的组成对（±）－α－苯乙醇对映异构体分离的影响。     

Elastic anomalies in strontium titanate

The anomalies of the second and third-order elastic constants have been considered for the phase transition of strontium titanate within the framework of Landau’s theory. All the anomalies of the second-order elastic constants have been obtained in a single formula using Kronecker delta functions and relations among them have been established. The real parts ofC*₁₁ andC*₄₄ decrease steeply across the transition temperature and thereafter flatly tend to their asymptotic values in the low temperature phase agreeing qualitatively with experimental observations. We have also derived expressions for the third-order elastic anomalies and discussed the temperature variation of the real part ofC*₁₁₁. We have derived expressions for the attenuation of the longitudinal and transverse waves along certain simple symmetry directions and have shown that there is nearly good agreement with experimental observations.     

Cluster description of water-in-oil microemulsions near the critical and percolation points

The three-component ionic microemulsion system consisting of AOT/water/decane shows an unusual phase behavior in the vicinity of room temperature. The phase diagram in the temperature-volume fraction (of the dispersed phase) plane exhibits a lower consolute critical point at about 40 degrees centigrades and 10% volume fraction. A percolation line, starting from the vicinity of the critical point, cuts across the plane, extending to high volume fraction side at progressively lower temperatures. In this paper we review the evidence that allows to interpret the phase behavior of our system in terms of interacting spherical droplets. We also investigate the dynamics of droplets, below and approaching the critical point by dynamic light scattering. The first cumulant and time evolution of the droplet density correlation function can be quantitatively calculated by assuming the existence of polydispersed fractal clusters formed by the microemulsion droplets due to attraction. The relaxation phenomena observed in an extensive set of measurements of electrical conductivity and permittivity close to percolation is also reviewed and interpreted through the same cluster-forming mechanism, which reproduces the most relevant features of the frequency-dependent complex dielectric constant of this system. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.     

高压下Pd82Si18合金凝固过程中形成的亚稳相

 使用X射线衍射、差热分析、透射电镜及Ｘ射线能谱分析，研究了Pd₈₂Si₁₈合金在高压下的凝固特点及所形成的相的结构和稳定性。在5.5 GPa压力下以100 K/s的冷却速率淬火，得到了面心立方结构钯硅固溶体（MS-Ⅰ），其点阵常数为a=0.388 3 nm。与钯硅固溶体共存的还有另一未知结构亚稳相（MS-Ⅱ）。在700 K时上述亚稳相转变成平衡相Pd+Pd₃Si。     

Convergent-beam electron diffraction of CaZr4O9, a complex zirconia alloy phase

The point-group and space-group symmetry of the controversial fluorite-based stoichiometric superlath phase of ø₁ (CaZr₄O₉: Z=16), considered to be a coherently-intergrown subphase of lime-stabilized zirconia, is examined. Using convergent-beam and selected-area electron diffraction, it is determined that the space group of ø₁ is C2/c, in apparent agreement with earlier studies utilizing other diffraction techniques.