A Switch in the Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Gas-Adsorption Character of Prussian Blue Analogues: An Affinity Control for Smart Gas Sorption

Porous coordination polymers are molecule-based materials presenting a high degree of tunability, which offer many advantages for targeted applications over conventional inorganic materials. This work demonstrates that the hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of Prussian blue analogues having a lipophilic feature may be tuned to optimize the gas adsorption properties. The role of the coordinatively unsaturated metal sites is emphasized through a combination of theoretical and experimental study of water, ethanol, and n-hexane adsorption.     

Hydrogel networks of poly(ethylene oxide) star-molecules supported by expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes: characterization, biocompatibility evaluation and glucose diffusion characteristics

The present work discusses the grafting by electron beam irradiation of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) star-shaped polymers onto porous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (EXPTFE) surfaces. The resulting materials are intended to combine the good biocompatible properties of PEO with the outstanding mechanical properties of PTFE. The star-shaped PEOs were synthesized via anionic polymerization. 3 Mev electron beam irradiation was applied to graft these PEO stars onto porous EXPTFE surfaces. The hydrophobic EXPTFE surface had to be pre-modified with N-vinylpyrrolidone. ESCA was used to quantify the amount of grafted star-shaped PEO. Unmodified EXPTFE surfaces are well known, when implanted in a body, to be rapidly covered by a layer of cells and fibrin. The EXPTFE coated with PEO were implanted in the peritoneal cavity of rats (or under the back skin). This implantation did not induce any inflammation reactions and SEM analysis had attested the absence of adsorbed cells and fibrin. The glucose diffusion properties of these membranes were studied by a lag time analysis method and compared to those of pure PEO hydrogels. As expected, glucose diffuses through the hydrogel coated membrane and diffusion is not affected by the presence of the EXPTFE membrane.     

Physics at the linear collider

The physics at the plannede ⁺ e ^- colliders is discussed around three main topics corresponding to different manifestations of symmetry breaking:W physics in the no Higgs scenario, studies of the properties of the Higgs and precision tests of SUSY. A comparison with the LHC is made for all these cases. The γγ mode of the linear collider will also be reviewed.     

New vector bosons at a 1 TeVe + e − collider

We develop a simple and realistic strategy to identify the theoretical origin of aZ′ of massM _z′ ? 400 GeV if the latter were directly produced at a futuree ⁺ e ^? collider. A measurement of the muonic width and of two ratios of hadronic to muonic widths would lead to an almost complete identification within a very general class of extraU(1) models. Alternative models, though, would be better classified by measuring three longitudinal polarization asymmetries.     

Atmospheric pressure microwave assisted heterogeneous catalytic reactions

The purpose of the study was to investigate microwave selective heating phenomena and their impact on heterogeneous chemical reactions. We also present a tool which will help microwave chemists to answer to such questions as "My reaction yields 90% after 7 days at reflux; is it possible to obtain the same yield after a few minutes under microwaves?" and to have an approximation of their reactions when conducted under microwaves with different heterogeneous procedures. This model predicting reaction kinetics and yields under microwave heating is based on the Arrhenius equation, in agreement with experimental data and procedures.     

Associated stop-Higgs production at a linear collider and extraction of stop parameters

We calculate stop-stop-Higgs production at a linear collider. Combining the measurements from the pair production of the lightest stop and that of the mass of the Higgs, we show how, in a scenario where only the lightest stop and the lightest Higgs are accessible, one could extract the mass of the heavier stop and infer some useful information on the supersymmetric parameters. Received: 19 November 1998 / Published online: 18 June 1999