ATRP of (meth)acrylates initiated with a bifunctional initiator bearing trichloromethyl functional groups and structural analysis of the formed polymer

ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA), initiated with 1,3-bis{1-methyl-1-[(2,2,2-trichloroethoxy)carbonylamino]ethyl}benzene as a bifunctional initiator (BI) under CuCl catalysis was studied in the presence of 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) or hexamethyltriethylenetetramine (HMTETA) ligands, in bulk or in toluene. With the bpy, the polymerization reaches only limited monomer conversions and products have broad MWDs. In contrast, polymerization in the presence of HMTETA is a well-controlled process, affords virtually quantitative conversion, giving PMMAs with narrow MWDs and predictable molecular weights within a range of more than one order of magnitude. NMR analysis of the prepared PMMA proved formation of linear polymers with im-measurable extent of chain branching or β-scission as undesired side reactions. The prepared α,ω-dichloro-PMMAs were used as macroinitiators for ATRP of tert-butyl acrylate (t-BuA), giving the corresponding triblock copolymers with narrow MWDs and molecular weights controllable in a wide range. Block copolymerizations were performed in dimethyl formamide (DMF) or acetone in the presence of pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as ligand and could be accelerated by addition of metallic copper.     

An investigation of soft-core potentials for the simulation of mesogenic molecules and molecules composed of rigid and flexible segments

The phase behaviour of three soft core spherocylinder models is investigated with a view to producing an effective potential for use in coarse-grained simulations of liquid crystal phases and polymers composed of rigid and flexible segments. Provided potentials are not made too soft, two of the soft core models are found to work well in terms of successfully reproducing mesophases and in providing considerable improvements in computational speed over other commonly used coarse-grained models. In Monte Carlo simulations a soft-core spherocylinder model in which a cut and shifted Lennard-Jones potential is truncated with a linear tangential potential is found to be particularly effective; while for molecular dynamics a better model is provided by a DPD-like quadratic potential. Here, computational speed-ups of 20-30× are seen in equilibration times in comparison to the well-known soft repulsive spherocylinder (SRS) model. The quadratic potential is used in an additional set of coarse-grained simulations of a liquid crystal with a flexible chain, which exhibits spontaneous formation of a nematic phase. The use of different types of interaction sites is also illustrated by the simulation of a spherocylinder with two “tails” formed from spheres. Here, varying the hardness of the sphere-spherocylinder interaction potential allows the formation of a smectic-A phase which exhibits microphase separation.     

Investigation of the compressible flow through the tip-section turbine blade cascade with supersonic inlet

The contribution deals with the experimental and numerical investigation of compressible flow through the tip-section turbine blade cascade with the blade 54″ long. Experimental investigations by means of optical(interferometry and schlieren method) and pneumatic measurements provide more information about the behaviour and nature of basic phenomena occurring in the profile cascade flow field. The numerical simulation was carried out by means of the EARSM turbulence model according to Hellsten [5] completed by the bypass transition model with the algebraic equation for the intermittency coefficient proposed by Straka and P?íhoda [6] and implemented into the in-house numerical code. The investigation was focused particularly on the effect of shock waves on the shear layer development including the laminar/turbulent transition. Interactions of shock waves with shear layers on both sides of the blade result usually in the transition in attached and/ or separated flow and so to the considerable impact to the flow structure and energy losses in the blade cascade.     

Etching of n-GaN - Important step in device processing

Photo-assisted electrochemical (PEC) and photo-assisted electrodeless (ELPEC) etching of n-doped GaN layers grown on sapphire in a KOH based solution under illumination of Hg arc lamp is demonstrated. Smooth surfaces were obtained for a narrow range of etching conditions. It was found out that this window could be extended by using etching conditions which produced “whiskers”. For ELPEC etching final etched surfaces were much smoother with stirring but showed distinct bar objects. Such objects could be eliminated by chopped irradiation when also the etching rate decreased and smoothing of pyramidal and bar objects in the etched surfaces was observed. This effect is most probably caused by the electron-hole pair recombination suppressed at semiconductor dislocation locations.     

Anticorrosion properties of polyaniline-coated pigments in organic coatings

Four pigments of various morphology – specularite, α-Fe₂O₃; goethite, α-FeO(OH); talc, (Mg₃(OH)₂(Si₄O₁₀); and graphite, C – without and with polyaniline phosphate coating, were tested for the anticorrosion performance in coatings produced by epoxy binders on iron plates. The corrosion tests were carried out in a condenser chamber with continuous water condensation or humidity with sulfur dioxide, and in a salt mist cabinet. Polyaniline coating of pigments in all cases improved the anticorrosion properties. Graphite coated with polyaniline performed the best among eight systems under investigation. The role of graphite and polyaniline conductivity in the electron transfers associated with corrosion of iron has been proposed.     

More About Subcolorings

A subcoloring is a vertex coloring of a graph in which every color class induces a disjoint union of cliques. We derive a number of results on the combinatorics, the algorithmics, and the complexity of subcolorings. On the negative side, we prove that 2-subcoloring is NP-hard for comparability graphs, and that 3-subcoloring is NP-hard for AT-free graphs and for complements of planar graphs. On the positive side, we derive polynomial time algorithms for 2-subcoloring of complements of planar graphs, and for r-subcoloring of interval and of permutation graphs. Moreover, we prove asymptotically best possible upper bounds on the subchromatic number of interval graphs, chordal graphs, and permutation graphs in terms of the number of vertices. Received June 11, 2002; revised September 13, 2002 Published online: November 25, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" The work of HJB and FVF is sponsored by NWO-grant 047.008.006. FVF acknowledges support by EC contract IST-1999-14186, Project ALCOM-FT (Algorithms and Complexity – Future Technologies). Part of this work was done while FVF was visiting the University of Twente, and while he was a visiting postdoc at DIMATIA-ITI (supported by GAČR 201/99/0242 and by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic as project LN00A056). JN acknowledges support of ITI – the Project LN00A056 of the Czech Ministery of Education. GJW acknowledges support by the START program Y43-MAT of the Austrian Ministry of Science.     

Motion of a magnetic flow follower in two‐phase flow — application to the study of airlift reactor hydrodynamics

A low‐cost and simple magnetic particle tracer method was adapted to characterize the hydrodynamic behavior of an internal‐ and an external‐loop airlift reactor (ALR). The residence time distribution of three magnetic particles differing in diameter (5.5, 11.0 and 21.2 mm) and with a density very close to that of water was measured in individual reactor sections. The measured data were analyzed and used to determine the velocity of the liquid phase. Validation of the experimental results for liquid velocity was done by means of the data obtained by an independent reference method. Furthermore, analysis of the differences found in the settling velocity of the particle in single‐liquid and gas‐liquid phases was carried out, using a simplified 3D momentum transfer model. The model considering particle‐bubble interaction forces resulting from changes in the liquid velocity field due to bubble motion was able to predict satisfactorily the increase in the particle settling velocity in the homogeneous bubbly regime. The effective drag coefficient in two‐phase flow was found to be directly dependent on particle Reynolds number to the power of ? 2 but independent of gas flow‐rate for all particle diameters studied. Based on the experimental and theoretical investigations, the valid exact formulation of the effective buoyancy force necessary for the calculation of the correct particle settling velocity in two‐phase flow was done. In addition, recommendations concerning the use of flow‐following particles in internal‐loop ALRs for liquid velocity measurements are presented. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) measured with two different techniques.

Compared running wheels and spring-suspended cages as measurement devices for evaluating circadian locomotor activity rhythm. 12 golden hamsters were tested individually in a spring-suspended cage; 6 also had access to running wheels. Ss were exposed to 5 different levels of constant illumination, each condition lasting for several wks, and to a light-dark cycle. The onset of activity in the spring-suspended cage preceded the onset of activity in the running wheel by an amount which is a function of the circadian period. The increment by which the period changes in response to changes in light intensity equals, approximately, the changes of the interval between the 2 onsets. Animals with access to a running wheel show a tendency towards longer circadian periods. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)