Thioacetylacetone: structural and vibrational assignments.

Thioacetylacetone and its variously deuterated isotopomers have been investigated using electronic and vibrational spectroscopy combined with quantum chemical calculations. Thioacetylacetone is known for its photochromic properties, but the structures of the initial and final forms have been the subject of a long debate. Analysis of the IR spectra recorded in low-temperature argon and xenon matrices, room-temperature solutions, and in the gas phase has allowed us to establish the nature of the photochromic species and of its precursor. Similar to the case of another beta-thioxoketone, monothiodibenzoylmethane, the photo-product has been assigned to the nonchelated SH exo-rotamer of the (Z)-enethiol tautomeric form, whereas the dominant ground-state species corresponds to the chelated (Z)-enol tautomeric form. Detailed vibrational assignments have been proposed for both forms based on quantum chemical calculations and polarization experiments. In the case of the chelated (Z)-enol species prevailing in the ground state, a second-order perturbative anharmonic analysis at the B3LYP/cc-pVTZ level indicated strong anharmonic effects associated with the intramolecular hydrogen bond, leading to a shift of more than 600 cm-1 of the wavenumber of the OH-stretching vibration. A small fraction of the SH endo-rotameric chelated (Z)-enethiol form was also detected under unperturbed conditions. The (Z)-enethiol form can be converted into the (Z)-enol form by irradiation at 290 nm.     

Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the First‐Order Hyperpolarizability of Octupolar Merocyanine Dyes

Hyper‐Rayleigh scattering experiments and quantum chemical calculations are combined to investigate the second‐order nonlinear optical responses of a series of three‐arm merocyanine derivatives. They exhibit an octupolar hyperpolarizability response with lower amplitude than crystal violet due to a lower extent of the photoinduced charge transfer and reduced bond length alternation. Strong effects on the second‐order optical response measured close to the two‐photon absorption level are clearly evidenced; for example, the effective measured polarization ratio deviates below the ideal octupolar value of 3/2 even at very low excitation power. These effects are attributed to two‐photon absorption resonance, which we believe modifies dynamically the population of the ground state versus that of the excited state.     

Reactivity studies of carbon,phosphorus and sulfur‐based acyl sites with tertiary oximes in gemini surfactants

Kinetic studies of the reactions of tertiary oximes (monoisonitroso acetone; MINA and butane 2,3 dione monooxime; BDMO) with some carboxylate (p‐nitrophenyl acetate and p‐nitrophenyl benzoate), phosphate (p‐nitrophenyl diphenyl phosphate and bis (2,4‐dinitrophenyl) phosphate) and sulfonate (p‐nitrophenyl p‐toluene sulphonate) esters in gemini surfactants have been conducted. The observed first‐order rate constant versus surfactant profiles show micelle‐assisted bimolecular reactions involving interfacial ion exchange between bulk aqueous media and micellar pseudophase. Experimental results showed that MINA exhibited better nucleophilic activity towards ester cleavage than BDMO. Pseudophase model has been applied in order to determine micellar second‐order rate constants and binding constants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substituting CF2 for O4′ in Components of Nucleic Acids: Towards Systems with Reduced Propensity to Form Abasic Lesions

Intrinsic structural features and energetics of nucleotides containing variously fluorinated sugars as potential building blocks of DNA duplexes and quadruplexes are explored systematically using the modern methods of density functional theory (DFT) and quantum chemical topology (QCT). Our results suggest that fluorination at the 2′‐β or 2′‐α,β positions somewhat stabilizes in vacuo the AI relative to the BI conformations. In contrast, substitution of the CF₂ group for the O4′ atom (O4′‐CF₂ modification) leads to a preference of the BI relative to AI DNA‐like conformers. All the studied modifications result in a noticeable increase in the stability of the glycosidic bond [estimated by the relaxed force constants (RFC) approach], with particularly encouraging results for the O4′‐CF₂ derivative. Consequently, the O4′‐CF₂ modified systems are suggested and explored as promising scaffolds for the development of duplex and quadruplex structures with reduced propensity to form abasic lesions and to undergo DNA damage.     

Three linear probe polarization method in Mueller polarimetry with a source of arbitrary ellipticity

This is a study of the effect of the ellipticity of the polarization of radiation at the inlet of the shaping polarizer in the probe channel of a Mueller polarimeter operating with three linear probe polarizations on the accuracy with which the incomplete Mueller matrix is determined (without a fourth beam). It is shown that the appearance of and variations in the ellipticity cause a change in the conditions for optimization of the set of polarizations of the probe radiation from the standpoint of minimizing the measurement error. In the case of linear polarization (zero ellipticity), the measurement error is the same as the error when four probe polarizations are used. This allows measurement of the complete Mueller matrix and makes this version of the polarimeter especially promising, because in the input channel of the polarimeter, a single polarizing element, i.e., a linear polarizer with a controllable azimuthal orientation, can be used as the polarization transducer. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 875–880, November–December, 2008.     

Error in determining Mueller matrix elements and its effect on solution of the inverse problem of polarimetry

We present an analysis of the errors in measurement of the Mueller matrix elements in polarimeters that are a combination of different types of Stokes polarimeters in the detection channel and controllable polarization converters in the probing channel. As polarization converters for the probing radiation, we consider a phase plate having four different angular positions in measuring the complete Mueller matrix and a linear polarizer having different angular positions in measuring the structural parts of an incomplete 4 × 3 Mueller matrix. We have shown that the error in determining the Mueller matrix elements is distributed nonuniformly over the matrix. The nature of the error distribution over the elements and its values are different for different combinations of detection and probing channels of the polarimeter, and depend on the anisotropy of the test object. The latter dictates the choice of the optimal layout for a Mueller polarimeter for studying media with the same or different types of anisotropy and the choice of Mueller matrix elements used to solve the inverse problem of determining the anisotropy parameters.     

Creep-fatigue analysis of the steel AISI type 316 component failure

The purpose of this work is to extend a typical creep-damage model in order to describe material behavior under variable thermal and mechanical loading in wide stress range. The model basis is creep constitutive law in form of hyperbolic sine stress response function proposed by Nadai. The constitutive law is extended to assume the damage process under creep and fatigue by the introduction of scalar damage parameters and appropriate evolution equations according to Kachanov-Rabotnov concept. The material constants for model are identified by fitting the experimental creep and low-cycle fatigue data for the steel AISI type 316 at the range of temperatures 500°C – 750°C. The development of such model is motivated by the well described failure case study of high-temperature components at unit 1 of Eddystone power plant, which have operated during 130520 hours under creep-fatigue interaction conditions. The main steam piping (MSP) from this power plant is selected for thermo-mechanical creep-fatigue analysis applying the proposed material model. The estimated values of damage parameters comply with the real location of the component failure and a scatter of experimental data on creep-fatigue interaction diagram. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modeling of primary and secondary creep for a wide stress range

Many materials exhibit a stress range dependent creep behavior. The power–law creep observed for a certain stress range changes to the viscous type creep if the stress value decreases. Recently published experimental data for advanced heat resistant steels indicate that the high creep exponent (in the range 5–12 for power–law behaviour) may decrease to the low value of approximately 1 within the stress range relevant for engineering structures. The aim of this paper is to confirm the necessity of the assumption of the stress range dependent power–law–viscous creep transition for the solution of stress relaxation problems affected by creep behavior at elevated temperatures. A constitutive model for the minimum creep rate is introduced to describe both the linear and the power law creep depending upon the stress level. The proposed constitutive model includes a strain hardening function to describe the primary creep stage. To demonstrate the existence of the linear creep behaviour in the low stress range of application area and the influence of the primary creep behaviour on relaxation, several solutions of a uniaxial stress relaxation problem are presented for the loading values relevant to engineering applications. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Structure of Deterministic Mueller Matrices and Their Reconstruction in the Method of Three Input Polarizations

The method of reconstruction of complete deterministic Mueller matrices for the structures of incomplete matrices, which are measured in the method of three input polarizations, has been developed. The method is based on reconstruction of the corresponding Jones matrices for the given structures of incomplete Mueller matrices.