DOE Program for Academic and Industrial Research (PAIR) - Final Report

The use of polymeric materials is extremely widespread in our lives today. The value of these materials is directly related to various macroscopic properties. High elasticity, toughness, and strength may all be ultimately important to the end user. A large number of analytical tests can be used to measure these macroscopic properties after the material has been processed. However, it is important to remember that these macroscopic properties ultimately derive from molecular level effects and hence, are already set when processing is complete. Polymers can be extruded into films, spun into fibers, and molded into parts with differing properties, but the understanding of how these properties can be affected by the processing step is unclear. An understanding of the cause and effect

Frequency and intensity patterns of LAM progression in weakly coupled chains: The case of stearic acid and stearyl alcohol

The coupled oscillator model previously described for the interpretation of longitudinal acoustical modes (LAM) of weakly coupled chain molecules has been extended in order to account for the observed frequency and intensity patterns in stearic acid and stearyl alcohol. The model and its general validity are discussed and a specific comparison is made with data obtained from Raman measurements on hexatriacontane (n‐C36H74), stearic acid (n‐C17H35–COOH), and stearyl alcohol (n‐C18H37OH)

Vapor phase self-assembly of fluorinated monolayers on silicon and germanium oxide

Sylilierungspaper, der Kontaktwinkel in Abhängigkeit von den Monolayermolekuelen wurde gemessen

Diarylethenes With Electro-Active Substituents: a Theoretical Study to Understand the Effect on the IR Spectrum and a Simple Way to Read Optical Memory in the Mid-IR.

Diarylethenes bearing electro-donating and electro-withdrawing substituents in the 5,5¢-positions of the thiophene unit were studied theoretically (DFT, B3LYP) to understand the effect of the substituents on the infrared spectrum in the two stable forms. The photochromic molecule with the electro-donating substituent showed the largest difference in the infrared (IR) spectrum due to the push-pull-push structure. It was chosen to build a memory film with a readout process in the mid-IR. Information written on the photochromic film was read using a setup based on an infrared camera multibolometer) and a filtered broadband Globar source. The results showed that the readout process worked without matching any specific absorption band. A good contrast was obtained also with a single camera frame (45 ms)