Tuning the mesogenic properties of 5-alkoxy-2-(4-alkoxyphenyl)pyrimidine liquid crystals: the effect of a phenoxy end-group in two sterically equivalent series

Two sterically equivalent series of phenoxy-terminated 5-alkoxy-2-(4-alkoxyphenyl)pyrimidine liquid crystals were synthesised, and their mesogenic properties were characterised by polarised optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The phenoxy end-group causes a significant increase in melting point and inhibits – at least partially – the mesomorphism of these materials relative to the parent isomers; in most cases, the broad enantiotropic SmC phase formed by the parent isomers is suppressed by the addition of the phenoxy end-group. However, detailed analyses by small-angle X-ray scattering and monodomain 2D X-ray scattering suggest that these compounds form a SmA phase with a partially intercalated bilayer structure in which the phenoxy end-groups are nanosegregated. Such an intercalated bilayer structure might enable the tuning of smectogenic properties by appropriate substitution of the phenoxy end-groups.     

Effect of spacer length on mesomorphic behaviours of chiral liquid crystal compounds containing (-)-menthyl

ABSTRACT

A homologous series of new chiral liquid crystal compounds, MnBEB (n = 4–10), was prepared by covalently linking a chiral (–)-menthyl with biphenyl-benzoate via a dicarboxylic spacer of varying length and parity. A combination of analysis methods, such as FT-IR, ¹H NMR spectra, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarised optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction was carried out to systematically investigate their phase structures and phase transition behaviours. The length and parity of the flexible spacers has a profound influence on the T_m and T_c and a modest odd-even effect is observed for the chiral liquid crystal compounds MnBEB. Only compound M4BEB developed an N* phase with selectively reflection on heating and a blue phase on cooling process. In addition, increasing the length of the flexible spacers tends to narrow the temperature range of the N* phase and widen the smectic phase, moreover, the pitch becomes longer with the spacer increases.     

Important unanswered questions—1970

This paper was given as the opening address at the 1970 Albany International Conference on Radiation Effects in Semiconductors, and it attempts to establish a general overview of the field by concentrating on recent research developments and important unanswered questions. The continuing importance of impurity-defect interactions, of microscopic defect identification, and of the necessity for more theoretical calculations are emphasized. The rapid development of the field of ion implantation and its close relationship with radiation effects studies are pointed out. It is predicted that research in compound semiconductors will increase rapidly with close beneficial interaction with ion implantation studies.     

Issue Information

Three‐dimensional direct numerical simulation results of flow past a circular cylinder are influenced by numerical aspects, for example the spanwise domain length and the lateral boundary condition adopted for the simulation. It is found that inappropriate numerical set‐up, which restricts the development of intrinsic wake structure, leads to an over‐prediction of the onset point of the secondary wake instability (Re_cr). A best practice of the numerical set‐up is presented for the accurate prediction of Re_cr by direct numerical simulation while minimizing the computational cost. The cylinder span length should be chosen on the basis of the intrinsic wavelength of the wake structure to be simulated, whereas a long span length is not necessary. For the wake transitions above Re_cr, because the wake structures no longer follow particular wavelengths but become disordered and chaotic, a span length of more than 10 cylinder diameters (approximately three times the intrinsic wavelength) is recommended for the simulations to obtain wake structures and hydrodynamic forces that are not strongly restricted by the numerical set‐up. The performances of the periodic and symmetry lateral boundary conditions are compared and discussed. The symmetry boundary condition is recommended for predicting Re_cr, while the periodic boundary condition is recommended for simulating the wake structures above Re_cr. The general conclusions drawn through a circular cylinder are expected to be applicable to other bluff body configurations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of graft length and density of well‐defined graft polymers on the thermoresponsive behavior and self‐assembly morphology

A series of well‐defined thermoresponsive graft polymers with different lengths and graft densities, poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐graft‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylate) (PGMA‐g‐PNIPAM), were successfully prepared by combination of controlled/living free radical polymerization and click chemistry. Effects of grafting length and density on the thermoresponsive behavior, aggregating mean diameter, and self‐assembly morphology are systematically investigated. The thermosensitive characteristics of graft polymers in aqueous solution prove that the length and graft density had positive co‐relationship with the lower critical solution temperature value and mean diameter of micelles as well as the size distribution, while the effect of graft length of polymers is more significant than that of density. Transmission electron microscopy analysis shows that the conformations of PGMA₄₅‐g‐PNIPAM₂₀ and PGMA₄₅‐g‐PNIPAM₄₆ with longer length and bigger grafting density in aqueous solutions are spherical nanoparticles with the increasing trend of the diameters, while that of PGMA₄₅‐g‐PNIPAM_{(73, 50%)} shows a spherical‐like morphology, which indicates that the graft length and density have a significant effect on the mean diameter of micelle but not on the self‐assembly morphology. These results reveal that to obtain desired thermoresponsive behavior and self‐assembly morphology of functional polymers, it is essential to design and fabricate the structure of graft polymers with proper length and graft density. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2442–2453     

Schemes to generate and distinguish a type of genuine four-qubit entangled states in a cavity QED system

We propose a scheme to generate a type of genuine four-qubit entangled states, which were firstly introduced by Yeo et al. [Y. Yeo, W. K. Chua, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 (2006) 060502]. These states have many interesting entanglement properties and possess possible applications in quantum information processing and in fundamental tests of quantum physics. We show that such a type of 16 orthonormal basis states can be deterministically distinguished by a cavity QED system.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic Copolymer Acrylic Acid-co-p-Chloromethylstyrene

The free radical copolymerization of acrylic acid (M₁) with p-chloromethylstyrene (M₂) in dioxane and in the presence of α,α′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) at 65°C is reported. Copolymer compositions of six copolymer samples obtained from feed ratios of M₁:M₂ = 95.2:4.8 to 21.4:78.6 were determined by ¹H-NMR. The reactivity ratios of AA/p-CMS copolymerization system calculated by the F-R method were r ₁ = 0.50 ± 0.06 and r ₂ = 1.52 ± 0.15, almost the same as r ₁ = 0.43 ± 0.21 and r ₂ = 1.31 ± 0.14 by the extended K-T method. On the basis of the reactivity ratios of two monomers, the sequence length distribution in the AA/p-CMS copolymers was obtained. For f₂ = 4.77%, the monomer unit of p-CMS is individually separated in the chain of AA; for f₂ = 35.53%, the alternating tendency prevails and a large number of mono-sequences are formed. The number-average ( _n) and weight-average ( _w) molecular weights were determined by gel permeation chromatography. The effect on molecular weights of feed composition is also discussed. In the presence of constant initiator concentration, the gradual increase in the ratio of M₂:M₁ (from14.7:85.3 to 78.6:21.4) was accompanied by a decrease in molecular weights ( _n from 11907 to 3961).     

Kinetics of the radical scavenging activity of β-carotene-related compounds

To clarify the non-enzymatic radical-scavenging activity of β-carotene-related compounds and other polyenes, we used differential scanning calorimetry to study the kinetics of radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) by 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) or benzoyl peroxide (BPO) in the absence or presence of polyenes under nearly anaerobic conditions at 70°C, and analyzed the results with an SAR approach. The polyenes studied were all-trans retinol, retinol palmitate, calciferol, β-carotene and lycopene. Polyenes produced a small induction period. The stoichiometric factor (n) (i.e. the number of radicals trapped by each inhibitor molecule) of polyenes was close to 0. Tetraterpenes (β-carotene, lycopene) suppressed significantly more of the initial rate of polymerization (R ^inh) than did diterpenes (retinol, retinol palmitate). The inhibition rate constants (k ^inh) for the reaction of β-carotene with AIBN-or BPO-derived radicals were determined to be 1.2–1.6?×?10⁵ l?/?mol?s, similar to published values. A linear relationship between k ^inh and the kinetic chain length (KCL) for polyenes was observed; as k ^inh increased, KCL decreased. KCL also decreased significantly as the number of conjugated double bonds in the polyenes increased. Polyenes, particularly β-carotene and lycopene, acted as interceptors of growing poly-MMA radicals.     

Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Novel Star-Shaped π-Conjugated Oligomers with Triphenylamine Core

Four new star‐shaped π‐conjugated oligomers ( TPA‐CZ3 , TPA‐TPA3 , TPA‐PTZ3 and TPA‐BT3 ) with triphenylamine as a core and different electron‐donating ability groups, carbazole, triphenylamine, phenothiazine and bithiophene, as peripheral units have been designed and synthesized via the Heck reaction. These oligomers show good solubility in common organic solvents. Their photophysical, electrochemical, electronic structure and charge transfer properties between these star‐shaped π‐conjugated oligomers and N,N′‐bis(1‐ethylpropyl)‐3,4:9,10‐perylene bis(tetracarboxyl diimide) (EP‐PDI) have been investigated by UV‐vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra, cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement, theoretical calculations and fluorescence quenching. The results show that the absorptions and fluorescences of TPA‐CZ3 , TPA‐TPA3 and TPA‐PTZ3 are red shifted with the electron‐donating ability of the peripheral unit increasing from carbazole to triphenylamine and phenothiazine. In addition, although the bithiophene group has a weaker electron‐donating ability than carbazole, triphenylamine and phenothiazine, the absorption and fluorescence of TPA‐BT3 have a red shift than those of TPA‐CZ3 , TPA‐TPA3 and TPA‐PTZ3 because TPA‐BT3 has a longer conjugation length than TPA‐CZ3 , TPA‐TPA3 and TPA‐PTZ3 . The triphenylamine core and the peripheral units can constitute a large conjugated structure. The fluorescence quenching properties indicate that efficient charge transfer can happen between the star‐shaped oligomers and EP‐PDI.     

Muscle oxygenation measurement in humans by noninvasive optical spectroscopy and Locally Weighted Regression

We have developed a method to make real-time, continuous, noninvasive measurements of muscle oxygenation (Mox) from the surface of the skin. A key development was measurement in both the visible and near infrared (NIR) regions. Measurement of both oxygenated and deoxygenated myoglobin and hemoglobin resulted in a more accurate measurement of Mox than could be achieved with measurement of only the deoxygenated components, as in traditional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Using the second derivative with respect to wavelength reduced the effects of scattering on the spectra and also made oxygenated and deoxygenated forms more distinguishable from each other. Selecting spectral bands where oxygenated and deoxygenated forms absorb filtered out noise and spectral features unrelated to Mox. NIR and visible bands were scaled relative to each other in order to correct for errors introduced by normalization. Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) was used to estimate Mox from spectra within each data set collected from healthy subjects. A Locally Weighted Regression (LWR) model was built from calibration set spectra and associated Mox values from 20 subjects using 2562 spectra. LWR and Partial Least Squares (PLS) allow accurate measurement of Mox despite variations in skin pigment or fat layer thickness in different subjects. The method estimated Mox in five healthy subjects with an RMSE of 5.4%.