Hydrolysis and Condensation of Transition Metal Alkoxide: Experiments and Simulations

We present here an experimental and numerical study of the chemical and aggregative mechanisms for titanium alkoxide in a reverse micellar medium. NMR experiments were done to study the first step of the sol-gel process: hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide. Light and X-ray scattering experiments were then conducted to characterize the clustering of aggregates and aggregation kinetics. Fractal dimension, measured by U.S.A.X.S., varies with the hydrolysis ratio and the hydration of the surfactant. This evolution was explained by polydispersity of the hydrolysis which depends on the surfactant concentration. This hypothesis was tested through a numerical simulation of irreversible aggregation using a chemically limited aggregation model. The hydrolyzed sites are distributed among the monomers by a random procedure governed by a polydispersity parameterp, varying from 0 to 1. The total number of hydrolyzed sites is governed by a parameterq belonging to the interval [0, 1]. Thep-q evolution of the fractal dimension coincides rather well with the experimental data in all the region of the two dimensional phase space.     

Lithium bromide in acetonitrile: Thermodynamics,theory, and simulation

A variety of methods has been used for the study of lithium bromide solutions in acetonitrile yielding by their combination reliable information on different levels of approximation. Osmotic coefficients based on precise vapor pressure measurements are reproduced by CM (chemical model) and HNC (hypernetted chain) calculations and by BD (brownian dynamics) simulations. The results of neutron scattering experiments are treated with the help of HNC and BD methods. Hartree-Fock calculations on isolated LiBr pairs and solvated lithium ions yield reliable particle distances and reveal the geometry of the lithium solvation sphere.     

Elastic behavior of non-Gaussian polymethylene chains

In this paper, elastic behaviors of non-Gaussian polymethylene (PM) chains with chain length N=100 are investigated by rotational isomeric state model. Here the tetrahedral lattice of PM chain and the non-local interaction of Sutherland potential are adopted. In the metropolis movement of PM chain, a four-bond movement model is used. The average energy and average Helmholtz free energy with various elongation ratios λ are calculated by Monte Carlo simulation method. The average energy increases with elongation ratio λ and the average Helmholtz free energy decreases with elongation ratio λ. The elastic force f and the energy contribution to elastic force f_u can be obtained from f=∂〈A〉/∂r and f=∂〈U〉/∂r. We find that the elastic force f increases with elongation ratio λ and the energy contribution f_u decreases with elongation ratio λ, and f_u is less than zero. The ratio f_u/f is close to −0.21 for λ?1.25, and −0.04 to −0.35 for λ>1.25 at T=364 K. In our calculation, the rubber elasticity may be discussed in terms of the chemical structure of polymer chains.     

Structural Analysis of Ti And Pb Citrate Using NMR and FT-Raman Signals and Quantum Mechanics Simulations

Titanium citrate and lead and titanium citrate were prepared by polymeric precursor method in aqueous solution. This citrate was analyzed by ¹H, ¹³C NMR and gHMBC–NMR (Hetero-nuclear multiple-bond correlation) to investigate the formation of the citrate complexs and influence of the Pb²⁺ ion in this complex. These complexs were characterized by interaction between Ti⁴⁺ ion and citric acid carboxyls. Quantum mechanic simulations in level ab initio were used to study the electronic structure and natural charges (NBO) to both the complexs. Such techniques indicated the formation of an octahedral complex with an arrangement similar to Ti atom in the crystalline structure of the PbTiO₃. A study using the technique FT-Raman made possible the confirmation of the interaction among the Ti⁴⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions with the citric acid carboxyls.     

Influence of the three-dimensional heterogeneous roughness on electrokinetic transport in microchannels

Surface roughness has been considered as a passive means of enhancing species mixing in electroosmotic flow through microfluidic systems. It is highly desirable to understand the synergetic effect of three-dimensional (3D) roughness and surface heterogeneity on the electrokinetic flow through microchannels. In this study, we developed a three-dimensional finite-volume-based numerical model to simulate electroosmotic transport in a slit microchannel (formed between two parallel plates) with numerous heterogeneous prismatic roughness elements arranged symmetrically and asymmetrically on the microchannel walls. We consider that all 3D prismatic rough elements have the same surface charge or zeta potential, the substrate (the microchannel wall) surface has a different zeta potential. The results showed that the rough channel's geometry and the electroosmotic mobility ratio of the roughness elements' surface to that of the substrate, epsilon(mu), have a dramatic influence on the induced-pressure field, the electroosmotic flow patterns, and the electroosmotic flow rate in the heterogeneous rough microchannels. The associated sample-species transport presents a tidal-wave-like concentration field at the intersection between four neighboring rough elements under low epsilon(mu) values and has a concentration field similar to that of the smooth channels under high epsilon(mu) values.     

循环流化床生物质气化炉内计算流体动力学模拟——鼓泡流化床内改进的颗粒床模型（英文）

采用改进颗粒床模型的CFD方法模拟了实验室规模冷模装置内鼓泡床的流体流动时空特性。模拟结果表明表观气速是影响气固动态特征和压力波动的主要因素之一：随表观气速的增大，气泡数目增加，气泡体积增大，压力波动增强；气速越高时均压降越大；在内循环鼓泡流化床内固体颗粒呈“单室”流型。上述与实验观察相吻合的模拟结果将有助于放大和设计商业化的内循环流化床生物质气化炉。     

Residual stress and deformation during rapid cooling process in an epoxy plate

Residual stress in the epoxy plate during a rapid cooling process was measured by the layer removal method and calculated by the linear thermoviscoelastic theory considering specific volume relaxation. The relaxations of the tensile modulus and specific volume were measured by an Instron thermomechanical analyzer. When the starting temperature of the cooling process was near the glass transition temperature of the cured epoxy, the residual stress in the epoxy plate was smaller than when the starting temperature was higher than the glass transition temperature. However, the transient stress in the cured epoxy plate was higher when the starting temperature was near the glass transition temperature than when the starting temperature was higher than the glass transition temperature. The quenched epoxy plate was compressed in the direction parallel to the surface and expanded in the thickness direction.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of a nucleoside analogue of 1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid synthesized as a potential antiviral agent: Conformational studies in vacuum and in water

Conformational analysis of nucleosides may have direct applications to the structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies and in the design of new drug candidates. Although conformational analysis may be accessed in many different ways, in this work it was performed using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in order to study the dynamic behavior of a nucleoside derivative of 1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid, synthesized by our group as a potential antiviral agent. The MD simulation was carried out during 10 ns in vacuum and in a box of water at two different temperatures (i.e., 300 and 600 K) using the AMBER force field. The in vacuum MD simulation results are in agreement with the crystallographic structure and with the DFT calculations of the nucleoside, revealing the anti conformer as the more stable one. The simulation in water, however, shows that both conformers may exist at 300 K, the temperature of the in vivo and in vitro assays, revealing that both the syn and anti conformers should be considered in a MD simulation study of the inhibitor–enzyme complex. Simulations are also in agreement with the NOE experiment, which shows that the anti conformer is the preferential one in DMSO-d6 solution at 298 K.     

桥联双β-环糊精对N-[4-(1-芘基)]丁酰-D/L-苯丙氨酸的手性识别及机理研究

利用紫外-可见吸收和荧光发射光谱, 结合非线性最小二乘法拟合曲线以及分子力学(MM2)模拟系统地研究了手性分子N-[4-(1-芘基)]丁酰-D/L-苯丙氨酸(PDP和PLP, 总称PPs)与β-环糊精(β-CD)、 2-位硒桥联双β-CD(2-SeCD)和2-位碲桥联双β-CD(2-TeCD)的包结能力大小及这3个环糊精对PPs手性识别能力的差异和识别机理. 研究结果表明, PPs不能与单疏水空腔的β-CD形成很好的包结复合物, 与具有较长桥联链的2-TeCD结合能力最强. 2-TeCD与PDP和PLP的结合常数分别为2.33×104和6.07×103 L/mol, 对PPs的手性识别比达到KD/KL=3.84, 高于2-SeCD(KD/KL=2.61). 用MM2模拟得出了PPs与这两个双环糊精形成复合物的三维结构: PPs的绝大部分位于双环糊精两个空腔之间, 但是在这两个复合物中, 苯环与芘环所成的二面角不同. 此外, PPs与这两个双环糊精作用时均存在明显的氢键相互作用, 且2-TeCD强于2-SeCD.     

Scattering spectra and colour of disperse systems of low-absorptive particles

In this article, the results of calculations of scattering spectra of low-absorptive spherical particles are presented. It was obtained using different approximate and numerical methods. The comparative evaluations of application of single scattering approximation, the average field approximation and of the methods of computer modeling on the basis of Monte-Carlo method on various scattering multiplicity were performed. The comparison demonstrates the good agreement of calculated results with experimental scattering spectra of eye lens. By using the obtained spectral data the colour coordinates are calculated. The regularities of changes in colour characteristics in dependence of disperse system parameters are analyzed.