Stimulated emission in the film of polymer/dye blend

Optically pumped stimulated emission behavior in an organic film was demonstrated in this study. The gain material consists of a laser dye perylene doped into polystyrene (PS) matrix in an appropriate weight ratio. The sample was transversely pumped by the three harmonic output of a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser. The change of the emission spectra showed a clear threshold action and gain narrowing phenomenon when increasing the excitation intensity. Three emission peaks were observed below the excitation threshold, which are locate at 446, 475 and 506 nm, respectively. However, only the gain narrowing peak centered at 475 nm could be detected above the threshold. The spectra narrowing observed results from the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in the gain material. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Influence of intermolecular entanglements on the glass transition and structural relaxation behaviors of macromolecules. 2. Polystyrene and phenolphthalein poly(ether sulfone)

The effect of entanglements on the glass transition and structural relaxation behaviors has been studied for polystyrene (PS) and phenolphthalein poly(ether sulfone) (PES-C) samples by fast evaporation of the solution of concentrations varying from above the overlapping concentration to far below it, and compared to the results we have studied previously in PC. It has been found that for all the polymers we have studied, in the concentrated solution region, the T-g of the samples obtained from solution are independent of the change of concentration and are very close to that of normal bulk samples, whereas in the dilute solution region the T-g of the samples decrease with the logarithm of decreasing concentration. The critical concentrations that divide the two distinct regions for the three polymers are 0.9% g/mL for PC, 0.1% g/mL for PS, and 1% g/mL for PES-C. The decrease of T-g of the samples is interpreted by the decrease of intermolecular entanglements as the isolation of polymer chains, and the entanglement of polymer chains restrained the mobility of the segments. The structural relaxation behavior of the polymers is also found to be different from that of normal bulk samples. The enthalpies of single-chain samples are lower than that of the bulk ones, which correspond to the lower glass transition temperature; the peaks are lower and broader, and the relaxed enthalpy is much lower as compared to that of bulk samples. In the three polymers we have studied, the influence of change of entanglements on both the decrease in glass transition temperature and relaxed enthalpy is the most significant for PS and the least for PES-C. It is indicated that the interactions in the flexible polymers are weak; thus, the restraint of the entanglements on the mobility of the segments plays a more important role in the flexible polymers, and the change of entanglement in the flexible polymers has a more significant influence on the physical properties.

Circular dichroism spectro electrochemical and voltammetric studies of vitamin B-2

Electroreduction of vitamin B-2 (VB2) was studied by in situ circular dichroism (CD) spectroelectrochemistry (SEC) with a long optical path length thin layer cell (LOPLTLC). The results showed that the electroreduction of VB2 in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) (PH 6.8) was a two-electron electrochemical process with weak adsorption of the reactant at the glassy carbon (GC) electrode surface. The CD spectra change of VB2 in the reduction process was explained with the theory of electronic states. We also treated the CD spectra with a singular value decomposition least square (SVDLS) method, and have found not only the number of components and their spectra, but also the fraction distribution of each component in the electroreduction process of VB2.

Thermodynamics of PMMA/SAN blends: Application of the Sanchez-Lacombe lattice fluid theory

Polymer blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) with an acrylonitrile content of about 30 wt % were prepared by means of solution-casting and characterized by virtue of pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) dilatometry. The Sanchez-Lacombe (SL) lattice fluid theory was used to calculate the spinodals, the binodals, the Flory-Huggins (FH) interaction parameter, the enthalpy of the mixing, the volume change of the mixing, and the combinatorial and vacancy entropies of the mixing for the PMMA/SAN system. A new volume-combining rule was used to evaluate the close-packed volume per mer, upsilon*, of the PMMA/SAN blends. The calculated results showed that the new and the original volume-combining rules had a slight influence on the FH interaction parameter, the enthalpy of the mixing, and the combinatorial entropy of the mixing. Moreover, the spinodals and the binodals calculated with the SL theory by means of the new volume-combining rule could coincide with the measured data for the PMMA/SAN system with a lower critical solution temperature, whereas those obtained by means of the original one could not.

A new kind of potassium sensor based on capacitance measurement of mimic membrane

A novel type of potassium sensor based on the capacitance change of valinomycin-incorporated bilayer supported on a gold electrode has been developed and characterized. The lipid membrane was Formed by painted method and monitored simultaneously by capacitance variation. The capacitance of the electrode-supported membrane was found to be modulated by different concentrations of K+. Investigating the capacitance change allows a simple and specific technique for the measurement of potassium ion in solution. Especially, the homemade capacitance meter is, to our knowledge, used to monitor the bilayer membrane formation and detect K+ for the first time. It has been proved that this capacitance measurement is a very useful technique because it is simple and sensitive compared to the other methods.

Fluorescence spectra of hemorrhagin III from the snake venom of Agkistrodon acutus

Hemorrhagin III (AaH III) was separated and purified from the crude snake venom of Agkistrodon acutus, and its molecule weight was determined accurately to be 23; 284.4 +/- 0.1 by LDI1700-MALDI-TOF-MS. Emission spectra of AaH III showed that Trp residues were located by a great degree in the hydrophobic area. Addition of SDS and guanidine-HCl led to change of the molecular conformation of AaH III, and caused the fluorescence quenching of Trp residues. The red-shifted emission band of AaH III after adding guanidine-HCl showed that Trp residues exposed in polar solvents. The effects of pH, EDTA and metal ions on the fluorescence spectra of AaH III were also investigated.

Ester-type precursor of polyimide and photosensitivity

In order to investigate the influence of the main chain structure and molecular weight on the sensitivity of photosensitive ester-type precursor of polyimide (photo-PAE), an improved method was used to synthesize several kinds of photo-PAEs with relatively high molecular weight. Their sensitivities (at 365 nm) were investigated, and it was found that some additives such as sensitizer and photoinitiator had the greatest influence on the sensitivity of photo-PAE, that the photo-PAE with BPDA and mPDA as the main chain structure had the best sensitivity (D-0.5: 5-10 mJ/cm(2)) among the studied photo-PAEs, and that the sensitivity did not significantly change with the change of inherent viscosity of photo-PAE. Meanwhile, the thermal imidization of these photo-PAEs was also investigated by means of TGA and IR analyses. Additionally, a discussion was made for formulation of PSPI resist. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural and magnetic properties of (PrxSm1-x)Mn2Si2

Crystallographic and magnetic properties of intermetallic compounds (PrxSm1-x) Mn2Si2 (x = 0 similar to 0.80) have been investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, XPS and magnetic measurements. All the compounds crystallize in ThCr2Si2-type structure. Substitution of Pr for Sm leads to the increase of the lattice constants and the transition from antiferromagnetism (AFM) to ferromagnetism (FM). The valence-fluctuation in the compounds was observed and the relation between the change of electron binding energy and magnetic properties was also discussed preliminarily.

Luminescent properties of divalent samarium-doped strontium hexaborate

The valence change of samarium from trivalent to divalent in strontium hexaborate (SrB6O10) prepared in air is observed. The temperature dependence of the luminescence and vibronic transitions of Sm2+ are studied. The Sm2+ ions occupy three crystallographic sites. With increasing temperature, the D-5(0)-->F-7(0) transition line exhibits red shifts, and the half-width increases. At room temperature, due to the thermal population through the 4f(5)5d channel, the D-5(1)-->F-7(J) transitions are observed even though the vibrational energy is very close to the energy gap between the D-5(1) and D-5(0) levels in the host. A coupled phonon energy of about 108 cm(-1) is determined from the vibronic transitions of Sm2+ in the host.

Phase transition temperatures of side chain liquid crystal polymer from molecular dynamics simulation

In this paper, phase transition temperatures of side chain liquid crystal polymer were predicted by molecular dynamics simulation. We analyzed the change of energy and the degree of similarity(S) with the temperature varying. The simulated phase transition temperatures agree with the experimental values in a proper deviation.

Synthesis and Characterization of Side-Chain Liquid Crystalline (M6MPP/M6NPAP) Copolymers with NLO Properties

A series of novel thermotropic side-chain liquid crystalline polymer based on polymethacrylate backbone containing electron-accepting 4-(4'-nitrophenylazo)phenoxy as nonlinear optical active group and electron-donating 4(4'-methoxyphenyl) phenoxy group as mesogen attached covalently to the backbone through the flexible spacer was prepared and characterized, respectively. The results from differential scanning calorimetry showed that these series of copolymers were enantiotropic liquid crystal with single mesophase. The melting points and the relative enthalpy change of the copolymers depressed with increasing the molar percent of 4'-nitroazobenzene monomer units over 0 similar to 50mol%, but the enthalpies change of the transition from mesophase to isotropic state increased for the copolymers containing 0 similar to 50mol% 4'-nitroambenzene units. The texture observed under polarized optical microscope identified that the copolymers containing 24molar% or more than 24mol% 4-nitroambenzene monomer units could form smectic mesophase with the focal-conic texture. The results detected by WAXD were in good agreement with the results observed by POM.

A study of the effect of shell content on the mechanical properties of polycarbonate/poly(butyl acrylate)-cs-poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

The toughening effect of the shell content of a core-shell latex polymer poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA)-cs-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on its blends with polycarbonate (PC) was studied. The changes of mechanical properties, morphology, and compatibility of the blends of PC/PBA-cs-PMMA with the change of the shell thickness of PBA-cs-PMMA were investigated. It is interesting to notice that mechanical properties of the blends are very sensitive to the shell thickness (i.e., shell content), and that there is a possibility to adjust the impact and tensile properties of the blend by selecting a PBA-cs-PMMA with a proper core/shell ratio. Hence, a modified PC material with balanced mechanical properties may be prepared.

Effect of lanthanum ions on tRNA(Phe) structure: Imino proton NMR spectroscopy

The effect of lanthanum ions on the structural and conformational change of yeast tRNA(Phe) was studied by H-1 NMR. The results suggest that the tertiary base pair (G-15)(C-48), which was located in the terminal in the augmented dihydrouridine helix (D-helix), was markedly affected by adding La3+ and shifted 0.33 downfield. Based pair (U-8)(A-14), which is associated with a tertiary interaction, links the base of the acceptor stem to the D-stem and anchors the elbow of the L structure, shifted 0.20 upfield. Another imino proton that may be affected by La3+ in tRNA(Phe) is the tertiary base pair (G-19)(C-56). The assignment of this resonance is tentative since it is located in the region of highly overlapping resonances between 12.6 and 12.2. This base pair helps to anchor the D-loop to the T psi C loop.

Dependence of superconducting temperature on chemical bond parameters in YBa2Cu3O6+delta (delta=0-1)

The chemical bond parameters, that is ionicities and average energy gaps, for all types of chemical bonds in YBa2Cu3O6+delta have been investigated with variation of oxygen content delta (delta = 0.0, 0.35, 0.45, 0.58, 0.64, 0.73, 0.78, 0.81, 0.95, 1.00). The theory used is the complex crystal chemical bond theory, which is the development of P-V-L theory. The two plateaus near 90 K and 60 K in superconducting transition temperatures, and the disappearance of superconductivity with the change of oxygen content, were reasonably explained by chemical bond parameters. The results also showed that the Cu-O chains play a vital role in the transition from non-superconductors to superconductors, and the highest transition temperature occurred when the plane-chain reached a coupling state. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of molecular weight and interaction parameter on the glass transition temperature of polystyrene mixtures and its blends with polystyrene/poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phenylene oxide)

The glass transition temperature (T-g) of mixtures of polystyrene (PS) with different molecular weight and of blends of poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and polystyrene with different molecular weight (DMWPS) was studied by a DSC method. For the whole range of composition, the curves of T-g vs composition obtained by experiment were compared with predictions from the Fox, Gordon-Taylor, Couchman and Lu-Weiss, equations. It was found that the experimental results were not in agreement with those from the Fox, Gordon-TayIor and Couchman equations for the binary mixtures of DMWPS, where the interaction parameter chi was approximately zero. However, for the blends PPO/DMWPS (chi < 0), with an increase of molecular weight of PS, it was shown that the experimental results fitted well with those obtained from the Couchman, Gordon-Taylor and Fox equations, respectively. Furthermore, the Gordon-Taylor equation was nearly identical to the Lu-Weiss equation when \chi\ was not very large. Further, the dependence of the change of heat capacity associated with the glass transition (Delta C-p) on the molecular weight of PS was investigated and an empirical equation was presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.