IR spectroscopic study of the conformational lability of 4′-ethyl-4-cyanobiphenyl

The conformational lability of 4-ethyl-4-cyanobiphenyl molecules in solid crystal (SC) and isotropic liquid (IL) states was investigated by IR spectroscopic techniques (experiment and theory). IR absorption spectra were measured at 28°C–95°C in the frequency range 400 cm^–1–4000 cm^–1. Spectrum simulation was performed using the fragment method with allowance for the conformational fluctuations of molecules. The experimental and calculated spectra were compared and analyzed, and it was shown that in the IL, the samples are mixtures of conformers. The temperature changes in the spectra in the stated range are caused by the conformational lability of molecules.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by L. M. Babkov, I. I. Gnatyuk, G. A. Puchkovskaya, and S. V. TrukhachevTranslated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 398–405, May–June, 2004.     

Effect of excitation intensity and electric field on the photoconductivity relaxation in CdxHg1−x Te/GaAs polycrystalline layers

The photoconductivity relaxation and the stationary photoconductivity in the n-Cd_0.8Hg_0.2Te compensated polycrystalline layers at T=300 K have been investigated as a function of the light intensity and the strength of applied electric field E. It is demonstrated that, at low excitation intensities, the saturation of stationary photoconductivity and a decrease in the relaxation time with an increase in E are caused by the minority carrier extraction. The effect of minority carrier extraction is analyzed with due regard for the internal electric field of potential barriers in intergranular layers. It is assumed that the features of nonequilibrium-carrier recombination, which proceeds through several channels and depends on the excitation intensity and extraction electric field strength, can stem from the polycrystalline structure of the Cd_0.8Hg_0.2Te layers.     

Ag nanoparticles deposited onto silica,titania, and zirconia mesoporous films synthesized by sol–gel template method

A variety of Ag nanoparticles/oxide mesoporous films with templated silica, titania, and zirconia was synthesized by sol–gel method at glass, aluminum, and silicon substrates using metal alkoxides (tetraethoxysilane, titanium tetraisopropoxide, and zirconium tetrapropoxide) and AgNO₃ as precursors of oxide films and Ag nanoparticles, respectively, and Pluronic P123 as a template agent. Oxide films alone and Ag/oxide composites were characterized using hexane adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and ultraviolet (UV)/vis spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. The distribution of Ag nanoparticles within the films, their sizes, intensity, and position of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorbance band at λ = 400 nm, as well as the textural and structural characteristics of whole films depend on treatment temperature, types of substrates and oxide matrices, oxide crystallization, and Ag content. Ag nanoparticles form preferably on the outer surface of the films under lower sintering temperatures if the amount of loaded silver is low. Oxide crystallization (e.g., TiO₂) promotes silver embedding into the outer film layer. At higher silver content (≥10 at.%) and higher calcination temperature (873 K), silver nanoparticles could be entrapped more uniformly along the film profile because of more intensive evaporation of silver droplets from the outer surface of the films on heating.     

Effects of cation composition in MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves on the structures of encapsulated 4-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl liquid crystals

The proportions of the various states are determined by the cation composition of the matrix for liquid-crystal material encapsulated in the pore spaces of mesoporous molecular sieves of MCM-41 type having high aluminum contents. The liquid-crystal properties are retained in the encapsulated state. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 257–262, July–August, 2000.     

Sol–Gel Processed Functional Nanosized TiO2 and SiO2-Based Films for Photocatalysts and Other Applications

Titania and silica-based porous coatings have been produced via sol–gel route in the presence of pore-creating agents PEG and viscous solvent -terpineol, or template agents CTAB, as well as triblock copolimer Pluronic P123. Porous titania films were characterised by HR TEM, UV-Vis, XRD, ellipsometry, ARS methods. The dispersion of the refractive index, the porosity (32–39%) and the thickness of the samples were estimated by integrating sphere transmission and reflection spectra with 3D angular resolved light scattering. The catalytic activity of mesoporous TiO₂ and TiO₂/ZrO₂ as well as SiO₂-benzophenone films in the process of Cr^VI to Cr^III and Ag⁺ to Ag⁰ photoreduction have been studied.     

Photocatalytic properties of mesoporous TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> films in gas-phase oxidation of alcohols

We have used the sol-gel template synthesis method to obtain mesoporous zirconium-containing titanium dioxide films and have studied their structural and sorption characteristics, surface acid function, and photocatalytic activity during gas-phase oxidation of aliphatic alcohols. We have shown that the zirconium content changes the acidity and specific surface area of the films, determining the rate at which the studied processes occur and the relative yield of reaction products. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 354–359, November–December, 2005.