156 research outputs found

    On the role of polymer viscoelasticity in enhanced oil recovery: extensive laboratory data and review

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    Polymer flooding most commonly uses partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides (HPAM) injected to increase the declining oil production from mature fields. Apart from the improved mobility ratio, also the viscoelasticity-associated flow effects yield additional oil recovery. Viscoelasticity is defined as the ability of particular polymer solutions to behave as a solid and liquid simultaneously if certain flow conditions, e.g., shear rates, are present. The viscoelasticity related flow phenomena as well as their recovery mechanisms are not fully understood and, hence, require additional and more advanced research. Whereas literature reasonably agreed on the presence of these viscoelastic flow effects in porous media, there is a significant lack and discord regarding the viscoelasticity effects in oil recovery. This work combines the information encountered in the literature, private reports and field applications. Self-gathered laboratory data is used in this work to support or refuse observations. An extensive review is generated by combining experimental observations and field applications with critical insights of the authors. The focus of the work is to understand and clarify the claims associated with polymer viscoelasticity in oil recovery by improvement of sweep efficiency, oil ganglia mobilization by flow instabilities, among others

    Unravelling the intricated photophysical behavior of 3-(pyridin-2-yl)triimidazotriazine AIE and RTP polymorphs

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    The development of purely organic materials showing multicolor fluorescent and phosphorescent behaviour represents a formidable challenge in view of practical applications. Herein the rich photophyisical behaviour of 3-(pyridin-2- yl)triimidazotriazine (TT-Py) organic molecule, comprising excitation-dependent fluorescence and phosphorescence under ambient conditions in both blended film and crystalline phase, is investigated by means of steady state, time resolved and ultrafast spectroscopies and interpreted on the basis of X-ray diffraction studies and DFT/TDDFT calculations. In particular, by proper excitation wavelength, dual fluorescence and dual phosphorescence of molecular origin can be observed together with low energy phosphorescences resulting from aggregate species. It is demonstrated that the multiple emission property is originated by the copresence, in the investigated system, of an extended polycyclic nitrogen-rich moiety (TT), strongly rigidified by p-p stacking interactions and short C\u2013H...N hydrogen bonds, and a fragment (Py) featuring partial conformational freedom

    Tailoring optical properties and stimulated emission in nanostructured polythiophene

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    Polythiophenes are the most widely utilized semiconducting polymers in organic electronics, but they are scarcely exploited in photonics due to their high photo-induced absorption caused by interchain polaron pairs, which prevents the establishment of a window of net optical gain. Here we study the photophysics of poly(3-hexylthiophene) configured with different degrees of supramolecular ordering, spin-coated thin films and templated nanowires, and find marked differences in their optical properties. Transient absorption measurements evidence a partially-polarized stimulated emission band in the nanowire samples, in contrast with the photo-induced absorption band observed in spin-coated thin films. In combination with theoretical modeling, our experimental results reveal the origin of the primary photoexcitations dominating the dynamics for different supramolecular ordering, with singlet excitons in the nanostructured samples superseding the presence of polaron pairs, which are present in the disordered films. Our approach demonstrates a viable strategy to direct optical properties through structural control, and the observation of optical gain opens the possibility to the use of polythiophene nanostructures as building blocks of organic optical amplifiers and active photonic devices

    Membrane Environment Enables Ultrafast Isomerization of Amphiphilic Azobenzene

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    G.M.P. and E.C. contributed equally to this work. G.M.P. acknowledges the financial support from Fondazione Cariplo, grant no. 2018-0979. The authors thank the financial support from the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 643238 (SYNCHRONICS). The authors also thank Dr. Daniele Viola for helping with the analysis of the TA data.The non‐covalent affinity of photoresponsive molecules to biotargets represents an attractive tool for achieving effective cell photo‐stimulation. Here, an amphiphilic azobenzene that preferentially dwells within the plasma membrane is studied. In particular, its isomerization dynamics in different media is investigated. It is found that in molecular aggregates formed in water, the isomerization reaction is hindered, while radiative deactivation is favored. However, once protected by a lipid shell, the photochromic molecule reacquires its ultrafast photoisomerization capacity. This behavior is explained considering collective excited states that may form in aggregates, locking the conformational dynamics and redistributing the oscillator strength. By applying the pump probe technique in different media, an isomerization time in the order of 10 ps is identified and the deactivation in the aggregate in water is also characterized. Finally, it is demonstrated that the reversible modulation of membrane potential of HEK293 cells via illumination with visible light can be indeed related to the recovered trans→cis photoreaction in lipid membrane. These data fully account for the recently reported experiments in neurons, showing that the amphiphilic azobenzenes, once partitioned in the cell membrane, are effective light actuators for the modification of the electrical state of the membrane.Fondazione Cariplo. Grant Number: 2018‐0979EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Grant Number: 64323

    Superabsorption in an organic microcavity : toward a quantum battery

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    The rate at which matter emits or absorbs light can be modified by its environment, as markedly exemplified by the widely studied phenomenon of superradiance. The reverse process, superabsorption, is harder to demonstrate because of the challenges of probing ultrafast processes and has only been seen for small numbers of atoms. Its central idea—superextensive scaling of absorption, meaning larger systems absorb faster—is also the key idea underpinning quantum batteries. Here, we implement experimentally a paradigmatic model of a quantum battery, constructed of a microcavity enclosing a molecular dye. Ultrafast optical spectroscopy allows us to observe charging dynamics at femtosecond resolution to demonstrate superextensive charging rates and storage capacity, in agreement with our theoretical modeling. We find that decoherence plays an important role in stabilizing energy storage. Our work opens future opportunities for harnessing collective effects in light-matter coupling for nanoscale energy capture, storage, and transport technologies

    Lifestyle and vascular risk effects on MRI-based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease: a cross-sectional study of middle-aged adults from the broader New York City area

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    Objective To investigate the effects of lifestyle and vascular-related risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) on in vivo MRI-based brain atrophy in asymptomatic young to middle-aged adults. Design Cross-sectional, observational. Setting Broader New York City area. Two research centres affiliated with the Alzheimer’s disease Core Center at New York University School of Medicine. Participants We studied 116 cognitively normal healthy research participants aged 30–60 years, who completed a three-dimensional T1-weighted volumetric MRI and had lifestyle (diet, physical activity and intellectual enrichment), vascular risk (overweight, hypertension, insulin resistance, elevated cholesterol and homocysteine) and cognition (memory, executive function, language) data. Estimates of cortical thickness for entorhinal (EC), posterior cingulate, orbitofrontal, inferior and middle temporal cortex were obtained by use of automated segmentation tools. We applied confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to evaluate the associations between lifestyle, vascular risk, brain and cognition. Results Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (MeDi) and insulin sensitivity were both positively associated with MRI-based cortical thickness (diet: βs≥0.26, insulin sensitivity βs≥0.58, P≤0.008). After accounting for vascular risk, EC in turn explained variance in memory (P≤0.001). None of the other lifestyle and vascular risk variables were associated with brain thickness. In addition, the path associations between intellectual enrichment and better cognition were significant (βs≥0.25 P≤0.001), as were those between overweight and lower cognition (βs≥-0.22, P≤0.01). Conclusions In cognitively normal middle-aged adults, MeDi and insulin sensitivity explained cortical thickness in key brain regions for AD, and EC thickness predicted memory performance in turn. Intellectual activity and overweight were associated with cognitive performance through different pathways. Our findings support further investigation of lifestyle and vascular risk factor modification against brain ageing and AD. More studies with larger samples are needed to replicate these research findings in more diverse, community-based settings
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