Decay dynamics of excited CS2 and NH3 investigated by femtosecond laser

By using the home-made femtosecond laser system and the time-of-flight mass spectrometer, the decay dynamics of excited carbon disulfide (CS2) and ammonia (NH3) are investigated in real time by pump-probe multiphoton ionization detection. The estimated lifetime constant of the NH3 (A) over tilde (1)A(2)' state (51+/-4 fs) agreed quite well with the literature report. For the first time, the decay lifetime constants of the NH3 (E) over tilde'(1)A(1)' state (937+/-93 fs), the CS2 (a) over tilde (3)A(2) state (153+/-10 fs), and the CS2 Rydberg state [(3)/(2)]6ssigma(g) ((3)Pi(g)) (948+/-23 fs) are obtained.

Crystallization Behaviors of n-Octadecane in Confined Space: Crossover of Rotator Phase from Transient to Metastable Induced by Surface Freezing

In this paper, the confined crystallization and phase transition behaviors of n-octadecane in microcapsules with a diameter of about 3 Pm were studied with the combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature dependent Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).

Stabilization of metastable phase II of isotactic polybutene-1 by coated carbon

Stabilization effect on metastable phase II of isotactic polybutene-1 (iPB-1) by coated carbon has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED) techniques. The results indicate that after evaporating carbon, the phase II-I crystal transformation time is greatly prolonged from 9 days for carbon-uncoated samples to 120 days for carbon-coated ones under atmospheric pressure, while under high pressure (50 bar), the phase transformation time increases from 5 min for the former to 20 min for the latter. The stabilization effect on metastable phase II of carbon coated iPB-1 is attributed to a surface fixing effect of the evaporated carbon.

Measuring the electronic decay constant of alkanedithiols by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Several methods have been used for the measurement of the electronic decay constant (beta) of organic molecules. However, each of them has some disadvantages. For the first time, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to obtain the 18 value by measuring the tunneling resistance through alkanedithiols. The tunneling resistance through alkanedithiols increases exponentially with the molecular length in terms of the mechanism of coherent nonresonant tunneling. beta was 0.51 +/- 0.01 per carbon.

Crystallization behaviors of n-nonadecane in confined space: Observation of metastable phase induced by surface freezing

Crystallization and phase transition behaviors of n-nonadecane in microcapsules with a diameter of about 5 mu m were studied with the combination of differential scanning calorimetry ( DSC) and synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction ( XRD). As evident from the DSC measurement, a surface freezing monolayer, which is formed in the microcapsules before the bulk crystallization, induces a novel metastable rotator phase ( RII), which has not been reported anywhere else. We argue that the existence of the surface freezing monolayer decreases the nucleating potential barrier of the RII phase and induces its appearance, while the lower free energy in the confined geometry turns the transient RII phase to a " long- lived" metastable phase.

Formation of a metastable phase induced by a liquid crystalline phase in a novel chloropoly(aryl ether ketone)

The phase transition behavior of a thermotropic liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketone) synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reactions of 4,4'-biphenol (BP), and chlorohydroquinone (CH) with 1,4-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl)benzene (BF) has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The copolymer exhibits multiple first order phase transitions, which are associated with crystal-to-smectic liquid crystal transition and smectic liquid crystal-to-isotropic transition. When the cooling rate is low (<10C/min), only stable crystal from I is formed. With the cooling rate being high (>20 degreesC/min), the metastable crystal form II is formed, which always coexists with form I. The liquid crystalline phase plays an important role in the formation of metastable phase form II.

P-6(7/2)-excited-state decay mechanism and energy-transfer processes in KMgF3 : Eu2+ and KMgF3 : EuX (X = Gd, Ce, Cr)

A four-level decay model in KMgF3:Eu2+ is proposed. The decay profiles of the P-6(7/2) excited state of Eu2+ are biexponential, and the physical implication of each term in the fit equation responsible for the model is interpreted. The evidence obtained spectroscopically for supporting the model is presented. A new method to study energy transfer between Eu2+ and X3+ in KMgF3:Eu-X (X = Gd, Ce, Cr) is established on the basis of the proposed model.

Four-level decay model of P-6(7/2) excited state of Eu2+ ion in KMgF3

A four-level model of P-6(7/2) excited state of Eu2+ ion in KMgF3: Eu2+ has been proposed. The decay profiles of the P-6(7/2) excited sstate of Eu2+ are two exponential and the physical implication of each term in the fit equation responsible for the model is interpreted. The data obtained spectroscopically are in good agreement with the fit results.

Study of energy transfer in KMgF3 : Eu-X (X = Gd, Cr, Ce) by the decay model of P-6(7/2) exited state of Eu2+

Energy transfer processes between Eu2+ and Gd3+, Cr3+, Ce3+ ions in KMgF3, which are difficult to study spectroscopically, have been investigated by using the proposed four-level decay model of the P-6(7/2) excited state of the Eu2+ ion. Gd3+ and Ce3+ transfer its energy to the vibronic transition of the P-6(7/2) --> S-8(7/2) transition of Eu2+, whereas Cr3+ receive energy from Eu2+ via the d-d interaction. The energy transfer from the Eu2+ 4f(6)5d level to the Ce3+ 4f5d state is observed spectroscopically, and the energy transfer mechanism is discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Crystallization kinetics of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) from its metastable melt

After isothermal crystallization of the amorphous poly(ether ether ketone), double endothermic behaviour can be found through differential scanning calorimetry experiments. During the heating scan of semicrystalline PEEK, a metastable melt, which comes from the melt of the thinner lamellar crystal populations, can be obtained between these two endotherms. The metastable melt can recrystallize immediately just above the lower melting temperature and form slightly thicker lamellae than the original ones. The thickness and the perfection depend upon the crystallization time and the crystallization temperature. By comparing the TEM morphological observations of the samples before and after partial melting, it can be shown that lamellar crystals, having different thermodynamic stability, form during isothermal crystallization. After partial melting, only the type of lamellar crystal exhibiting the higher thermodynamic stability remains. Wide angle X-ray diffraction measurements shows a slightly change in the crystallinity of the samples before and after the partial melting. Small angle X-ray scattering results exhibit a change in the long period of the lamellar crystals before and after the partial melting process. The crystallization kinetics of the metastable melt can be determined by means of differential scanning calorimetry. The kinetic analysis showed that the isothermal crystallization of the metastable PEEK melt proceeds with an Avrami exponent of n = 1.0 similar to 1.4, reflecting that probably one-dimensional or an irregular line growth of the crystal occurred between the existing main lamellae with heterogeneous nucleation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The crystallization behavior of the metastable melts of poly(ethylene terephthalate) from the multiple melting process

During heating of semicrystalline PET, a metastable melt forms far below the equilibrium melting temperature. Crystallization kinetics of this metastable melt is discussed on the basis of DSC results. From the metastable melt almost one-dimensional growth of the crystal occurs through heterogeneous nucleation.

Moment decay rates of solutions of stochastic differential equations

The objective of this paper is to investigate the p-ίh moment asymptotic stability decay rates for certain finite-dimensional Itό stochastic differential equations. Motivated by some practical examples, the point of our analysis is a special consideration of general decay speeds, which contain as a special case the usual exponential or polynomial type one, to meet various situations. Sufficient conditions for stochastic differential equations (with variable delays or not) are obtained to ensure their asymptotic properties. Several examples are studied to illustrate our theory.