The Role of Radical Bridges in Polynuclear Single-Molecule Magnets

Employing radical bridges between anisotropic metal ions has been a viable route to achieve high-performance single-molecule magnets (SMMs). While the bridges have been mainly considered for their ability to promote exchange interactions, the crystal-field effect arising from them has not been taken into account explicitly. This lack of consideration may distort the understanding and limit the development of the entire family. To shed light on this aspect, herein we report a theoretical investigation of a series of N -radical-bridged diterbium complexes. It is found that while promoting strong exchange coupling between the terbium ions, the N -radical induces a crystal field that interferes destructively with that of the outer ligands, and thus reduces the overall SMM behavior. Based on the theoretical results, we conclude that the SMM behavior in this series could be further maximized if the crystal field of the outer ligands is designed to be collinear with that of the radical bridge. This conclusion can be generalized to all exchange-coupled SMMs.     

Efficacy of incorporating PCMs into the commercial wall on the energy-saving annual thermal analysis

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this study, the efficacy of incorporating phase change material (PCM) into the building walls on the annual heat transfer reduction is examined....     

On Necessary Optimality Conditions with Higher-Order Complementarity Slackness for Set-Valued Optimization Problems

Set-Valued and Variational Analysis - We aim to establish Karush-Kuhn-Tucker multiplier rules involving higher-order complementarity slackness under Hölder metric subregularity. These rules...     

Synthesis of partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers bearing perfluorosulfonic functions

Partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers bearing perfluorosulfonic functions (ps‐PES‐FPES), with ionic exchange capacity (IEC) ranging between 0.9 and 1.5 meq H⁺/g, are synthesized by regioselective bromination of partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers (PES‐FPES), followed by Ullman coupling reaction with lithium 1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoro‐2‐(1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoro‐2‐iodoethoxy)ethanesulfonate. The PES‐FPES are prepared by aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction by an original approach, that is, “one pot two reactions synthesis.” The chemical structures of polymers are analyzed by ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. The resulted ionomers present two distinct glass transitions and α relaxations revealing phase separation between the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic domains. The phase separation is observed at much lower block lengths of ps‐PES‐FPES as compared with the literature. AFM and SANS observations supported the phase separation, the hydrophilic domains are well dispersed but the connectivity to each other depends on the ps‐PES block lengths. The thermomechanical behavior, the water up‐take, and the conductivity of the ps‐PES‐FPES membranes are compared with those of Nafion 117^® and randomly functionalized polysulfone (ps‐PES). Conductivities close or higher to those of Nafion 117^® are obtained. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1941–1956     

Lithium Insertion Mechanism in Iron-Based Oxyfluorides with Anionic Vacancies Probed by PDF Analysis

The mechanism of lithium insertion that occurs in an iron oxyfluoride sample with a hexagonal–tungsten–bronze (HTB)-type structure was investigated by the pair distribution function. This study reveals that upon lithiation, the HTB framework collapses to yield disordered rutile and rock salt phases followed by a conversion reaction of the fluoride phase toward lithium fluoride and nanometer-sized metallic iron. The occurrence of anionic vacancies in the pristine framework was shown to strongly impact the electrochemical activity, that is, the reversible capacity scales with the content of anionic vacancies. Similar to FeOF-type electrodes, upon de-lithiation, a disordered rutile phase forms, showing that the anionic chemistry dictates the atomic arrangement of the re-oxidized phase. Finally, it was shown that the nanoscaling and structural rearrangement induced by the conversion reaction allow the in situ formation of new electrode materials with enhanced electrochemical properties.     

Particle Model for the Reservoirs in the Simple Symmetric Exclusion Process

Journal of Statistical Physics - In this paper, we will study the long time behavior of the simple symmetric exclusion process in the “channel” $$\varLambda _N=[1,N]\cap \mathbb {N}$$...     

A model for crack formation during active solid pyrolysis of a char-forming solid: crack patterns; surface area generation; volatile mass efflux

A model is developed for the formation and propagation of cracks in a material sample that is heated at its top surface, pyrolyses, and then thermally degrades to form char. In this work the sample is heated uniformly over its entire top surface by a hypothetical flame (a heat source). The pyrolysis mechanism is described by a one-step overall reaction that is dependent nonlinearly on the temperature (Arrhenius form). Stresses develop in response to the thermal degradation of the material by means of a shrinkage strain caused by local mass loss during pyrolysis. When the principal stress exceeds a prescribed threshold value, the material forms a local crack. Cracks are found to generally originate at the surface in response to heating, but occasionally they form in the bulk, away from ever-changing material boundaries. The resulting cracks evolve and form patterns whose characteristics are described. Quantities examined in detail are: the crack spacing in the pyrolysis zone; the crack length evolution; the formation and nature of crack loops which are defined as individual cracks that have joined to form loops that are disconnected from the remaining material; the formation of enhanced pyrolysis area; and the impact of all of the former quantities on mass flux. It is determined that the mass flux from the sample can be greatly enhanced over its nominal (non-cracking) counterpart. The mass efflux profile qualitatively resembles those observed in Cone Calorimeter tests.