ESR, raman and conductivity studies on fractionated poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid)

Synthesis methods used to produce poly(2-methoxyaniline-5-sulfonic acid) (PMAS), a water soluble, self-doped conducting polymer, have been shown to form two distinctly different polymer fractions with molecular weights of approximately 2 kDa and 8 -10 kDa. The low molecular weight (LMWT) PMAS fraction is redox inactive and non-conducting while the high molecular weight (HMWT) PMAS is electro-active with electrical conductivities of 0.94 0.05 S cm-1. Previous investigations have illustrated the different photochemical and electrochemical properties of these fractions, but have not correlated these properties with the structural and electronic interactions that drive them. Incomplete purification of the PMAS mixture, typically via bag dialysis, has been shown to result in a mixture of approximately 50:50 HMWT:LMWT PMAS with electrical conductivity significantly lower at approximately 0.10 to 0.26 S cm-1. The difference between the electrical conductivities of these fractions has been investigated by the controlled addition of the non-conducting LMWT PMAS fraction into the HMWT PMAS composite film with the subsequent electronic properties investigated by solid-state ESR and Raman spectroscopies. These studies illustrate strong electronic intereactions of the insulating LMWT PMAS with the emeraldine salt HMWT PMAS to substantially alter the population of the electronic charge carriers in the conducting polymer. ESR studies on these mixtures, when compared to HMWT PMAS, exhibited a lower level of electron spin in the presence of LMWT PMAS indicative of the the formation of low spin bipolarons without a change the oxidation state of the conducting HMWT fraction

Nanometer-scale studies of point defect distributions in GaMnAsGaMnAs alloys

We have investigated the concentrations and distributions of point defects in GaMnAsGaMnAs alloys grown by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy, using ultrahigh-vacuum cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (XSTM). High-resolution constant-current XSTM reveals “A,” “M,” and “V” defects, associated with AsGaAsGa, MnGaMnGa, and VAsVAs, respectively. A and V defects are present in all low-temperature-grown layers, while M defects are predominantly located within the GaMnAsGaMnAs alloy layers. In the GaMnAsGaMnAs layers, the concentration of V defects ([V])([V]) increases with the concentration of M defects ([M])([M]), consistent with a Fermi-level-dependent vacancy formation energy. Furthermore, [M][M] is typically two to three times [A][A] and [V][V], suggesting significant compensation of the free carriers associated with MnGaMnGa. A quantitative defect pair correlation analysis reveals clustering of nearest V–V pairs and anti-clustering of nearest M–M, M–V, and M–A pairs. For all pair separations greater than 2 nm2nm, random distributions of defects are apparent.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87856/2/011911_1.pd

Comparison of Structural Properties between Monopile and Tripod Offshore Wind-Turbine Support Structures

Offshore wind power provides a new kind of green energy. This paper presents a comparison study on the structural properties of monopile and tripod wind-turbine support structures, which are used extensively in offshore wind farms. Both structures have the same upper tower, but different lower structures, one with a monopile and the other with a tripod. Static, fatigue, and modal analyses indicate that both the tripod and monopile structures are feasible in the field, but that the tripod structure is superior to the monopile structure. Static analysis reveals that the location of maximum stress in the monopile structure is different from that in the tripod structure, and that the tripod structure shows higher stiffness and greater stress-control capacity than the monopile structure. Fatigue analysis indicates that the tripod structure has a longer lifetime than the monopile structure. Modal analysis indicates that the two structures exhibit large differences in their natural frequencies. Unlike the monopile structure, the third and first modes both have a substantial influence on the dynamic response of the tripod structure