Dynamics of Si-H vibrations in an amorphous environment

We present results of the first vibrational photon-echo, transient-grating, and temperature dependent transient-bleaching experiments on a-Si:H. Using these techniques, and the infrared light of a free electron laser, the vibrational population decay and phase relaxation of the Si-H stretching mode were investigated. Careful analysis of the data indicates that the vibrational energy relaxes directly into Si-H bending modes and Si phonons, with a distribution of rates determined by the amorphous host. Conversely, the pure dephasing appears to be single exponential, and can be modeled by dephasing via two-phonon interactions.     

Mass spectrometric methodology for the analysis of highly oxidized diterpenoid acids in Old Master paintings

Diterpenoid resins from larch and pine trees and the corresponding fractions in a >100-year-old wax-resin adhesive and varnish and a 200-year-old resin/oil paint sample were analysed with by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using several off-line and on-line derivatization methods. The main resin compounds were highly oxidized abietic acids. Important products found are hydroxydehydroabietic acids (OH-DHAs), 7-oxoDHA, di-OH-DHAs and 15-OH-7-oxoDHA. The last two compounds have not been reported to occur in artworks before. Larixyl acetate, an important marker from larch resins, was found to be still present in high amounts in the adhesive. A large number of mass spectra of the different oxidation products and larixol and larixyl acetate are presented and their fragmentation behaviour under electron impact conditions is discussed. An index for the degree of oxidation (IDOX) of the abietic acids is presented as an indicator of the degree of oxidation of the matrix in which the resin is present. The IDOX was 0.10, 0.67, 0.81 and 0.76 for the fresh resins, the dark-aged adhesive, the aged varnish and the resin/oil paint, respectively (measured with pyrolysis (Py)-tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)-GC/MS). Py-TMAH-GC/MS and direct temperature-resolved mass spectrometry are reliable, valuable and fast techniques for the assessment of the presence and degree of oxidation of diterpenoid resins. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.