1,487 research outputs found
Photochromic organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite hard coatings with tailored fast switching properties
A recently developed photochromic organic-inorganic nanocomposite (Nanomer) coating system is investigated, which is based on an epoxysilane as network former, different bisepoxides as spacer and an organic amine as thermal cross-linker. This coating system is compatible with different photochromic dyes like oxazines, pyrans and fulgides and also with surface modified ceramic nanoparticles as filler in order to obtain macroscopic hard properties\u27 without changing the photochromic kinetics. In order to investigate the dye-spacer interactions and influence on the switching kinetic behavior, the matrix composition was diminished to the network former, the thermal cross-linker and two types (polar and nonpolar) of spacers in different concentrations. Four commercially available spirooxazines with different molecular sizes and polarities were incorporated into the matrices and coatings on glass slides were prepared by float-coating and cured at 130 °C for 2 h. The half darkening and half fading times of the coatings were measured by a fast diode array spectrometer as a function of spacer type and concentration for the four different dyes. The nonpolar\u27 spacer CHMG did not influence the switching kinetic of the dyes significantly and fast switching times of 2 s-4 s were obtained. The polar\u27 spacer PCF (aromatic character) showed interactions with the dye molecules, which led to an increase in the switching times of up to 25 s. The retardation of the switching process increased with increasing spacer content and with increasing polar character of the dye molecule. From these results, it could be concluded that the photochromic behavior of the spirooxazines could be adjusted to different applications by interactions with polar spacers
Lattices of quasi-equational theories as congruence lattices of semilattices with operators, Part I
We show that for every quasivariety K of structures (where both functions and
relations are allowed) there is a semilattice S with operators such that the
lattice of quasi-equational theories of K (the dual of the lattice of
sub-quasivarieties of K) is isomorphic to Con(S,+,0,F). As a consequence, new
restrictions on the natural quasi-interior operator on lattices of
quasi-equational theories are found.Comment: Presented on International conference "Order, Algebra and Logics",
Vanderbilt University, 12-16 June, 2007 25 pages, 2 figure
Development of fast switching photochromic coatings on transparent plastics and glass
A new photochromic organic-inorganic nanocomposite (Nanomer(R)) coating system has been developed. It is based on an epoxysilane as network former, an organic bisepoxide as spacer, an organic amine as thermal cross-linker and surface modified SiO2 nanoparticles as fillers. This coating system is compatible with different photochromic dyes, like oxazines and pyrans. Photochromic coatings with blue, yellow, red, green, violet and neutral tints were prepared on flat glass and PMMA substrates by dip coating and cured for 3 h at 100 degrees C. The photochromic coatings show the following properties: the transmittance changes reversibly between 80 and 20% with half fading times of about 2-20 s (comparable to the half fading time of the appropriate dye in ethanolic solution) after UV irradiation for 15 s with 5 mW/cm(2). The coatings show a scratch hardness of about 15 g (scratch test with Vickers indenter, coating thickness 10 mu m). The addition of only 3 wt.% SiO2 nanoparticles relative to epoxysilane increases the scratch resistance of the coatings to about 20 g without changing the fast kinetics of the incorporated photochromic dye(s). The long term stability of the photochromic dye(s) in the matrix system can be considerably improved by the introduction of additives like antioxidants, hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS) and UV stabilizers. The half lifetime (decay to 50% of the initial photochromic intensity) of a blue spirooxazine dye (Blue A) measured in a dry sun-test (75 mW/cm(2)) could be increased from 20 h without any additive up to 200 h with an UV absorber (Tinuvin 327) as a stabilizer, which is assumed to be sufficient for ophthalmic applications
Importance of overnight parameters to predict Sea Breeze on Long Island
The sea breeze is a phenomenon frequently impacting Long Island, New York,
especially during the spring and early summer, when land surface temperatures
can exceed ocean temperatures considerably. The sea breeze influences daily
weather conditions by causing a shift in wind direction and speed, limiting the
maximum temperature, and occasionally serving as a trigger for precipitation
and thunderstorms. Advance prediction of the presence or absence of the sea
breeze for a certain location on a given day would therefore be beneficial to
weather forecasters. To forecast sea breeze occurrence based on the previous
night's weather conditions, we used a novel algorithm called the -Basis. We
analyzed sea breeze data from a recent four year period (2017-2020) at a single
weather station several miles inland from the coast. High or constant station
pressure, high or constant dew point, and onshore wind from the previous night
were found to be strong predictors of sea breeze formation the following day.
The accuracy of the prediction was around 74\% for June 2020. Unlike other
prediction methods which involve the comparison of sea surface and land surface
temperatures in near real time, our prediction method is based on the
parameters from the prior night, allowing it to potentially aid in advanced
forecasting of the sea breeze.Comment: 17 Figures, 12 Table
Spin- and energy relaxation of hot electrons at GaAs surfaces
The mechanisms for spin relaxation in semiconductors are reviewed, and the
mechanism prevalent in p-doped semiconductors, namely spin relaxation due to
the electron-hole exchange interaction, is presented in some depth. It is shown
that the solution of Boltzmann-type kinetic equations allows one to obtain
quantitative results for spin relaxation in semiconductors that go beyond the
original Bir-Aronov-Pikus relaxation-rate approximation. Experimental results
using surface sensitive two-photon photoemission techniques show that the spin
relaxation-time of electrons in p-doped GaAs at a semiconductor/metal surface
is several times longer than the corresponding bulk spin relaxation-times. A
theoretical explanation of these results in terms of the reduced density of
holes in the band-bending region at the surface is presented.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures; earlier submission replaced by corrected and
expanded version; eps figures now included in the tex
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