Water in a Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane: Sorption/Desorption and Freezing phenomena

Nafion is a perfluorosulfonated polymer, widely used in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. This polymer adopts a complex structural organisation resulting from the microsegregation between hydrophobic backbones and hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups. Upon hydration appear water-filled channels and cavities, in which are released the acidic protons to form a solution of hydronium ions in water embedded in the polymer matrix. Below 273 K, a phenomenon of water sorption/desorption occurs, whose origin is still an open question. Performing neutron diffraction, we monitored the quantity of ice formed during the sorption/desorption as a function of temperature down to 180 K. Upon cooling, we observe that ice forms outside of the membrane and crystallises in the hexagonal Ih form. Simultaneously, the membrane shrinks and dehydrate, leading to an increase of the hydronium ions concentration inside the matrix. Reversibly, the ice melts and the membrane re-hydrate upon heating. A model of solution, whose freezing point varies with the hydronium concentration, is proposed to calculate the quantity of ice formed as a function of temperature. The quantitative agreement between the model and experimental data explains the smooth and reversible behavior observed during the sorption or desorption of water, pointing out the origin of the phenomena. The proposed picture reconciles both confinement and entropic effects. Other examples of water filled electrolyte nano-structures are eventually discussed, in the context of clarifying the conditions for water transport at low temperature

生体膜の粗視化分子動力学シミュレーションを実行するための力場開発

京都大学新制・課程博士博士(理学)甲第23405号理博第4740号新制||理||1679(附属図書館)京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻(主査)教授 高田 彰二, 教授 川口 真也, 准教授 立川 正志学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of ScienceKyoto UniversityDFA

Implementation of a speckle-based spectrometer

Existen diversos métodos para medir la longitud de onda de la luz. Uno de estos métodos está basado en la relación que existe entre la longitud de onda y los patrones de moteado. La implementación de este método consiste en hacer ingresar luz con un ancho espectral peque˜no sobre un extremo de una fibra óptica multimodal, para generar patrones de moteado a la salida de la fibra óptica. Estos patrones de moteado se relacionan con las longitudes de onda que contiene la luz que ingresa a la fibra óptica. En el presente trabajo se propone una nueva implementación que consiste en usar una pantalla de cristal líquido (LCD) en vez de una fibra óptica, para obtener patrones de moteados m´as estables frente a las vibraciones mecánicas a las que está expuesto el arreglo experimental. Los resultados indicaron que es posible implementar el método usando LCDs. Estos dispositivos ofrecen una mayor resistencia al ruido mecánico y mejoran la reproducibilidad de los patrones de moteado generados.Tesi

Photodissociation Dynamics of the Iodine-Arene Charge-Transfer Complex

The photodissociation reaction of the molecular iodine:arene charge-transfer (CT) complex into an iodine atom and an iodine atom-arene fragment has been investigated using femtosecond pump-probe, resonance Raman, and molecular dynamics simulations. In the condensed phase the reaction proceeds on a time scale of less than 25 fs, in sharp contrast to the gas phase where the excited state lifetime of the complex is about 1 ps. Since little CT resonance enhancement is found in Raman studies on the I2-stretch vibration, it is concluded that rapid curve crossing occurs from the CT state to a dissociative surface. Of particular interest is the finding that the polarization anisotropy of the iodine atom:arene (I:ar) photoproduct decays on a time scale of 350 fs both in pure arene solvents as well as in mixed arene/cyclohexane solutions. This latter finding rules out that secondary I:ar complex formation is the main cause of this ultrafast depolarization effect. The initial polarization anisotropy is found to be ~0.12 in pure mesitylene and ~0.34 in mixed mesitylene/cyclohexane solutions. Semiempirical configuration-interaction calculations show that, except for the axial CT complex, the transition dipole is aligned almost parallel to the normal of the arene plane. The oscillator strength of the CT transition is found to be maximal in the oblique conformation with the I2 molecule positioned at an angle of about 30° with respect to the arene normal. This iodine angular dependence of the oscillator strength leads to photoselection of bent I2:ar complexes in pump-probe experiments. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm earlier findings that the I2:benzene complex is a fragile entity and that it persists only for a few hundred femtoseconds. These simulations also provide the proper time scale for the decay of the polarization anisotropy. The fact that the photoproduct experiences a substantial torque in the dissociation process explains the absence of a cage effect in this reaction.

Organizzazione molecolare nell’acqua liquida, nuove evidenze sperimentali

The water anomalies and its hidden critical processes remain an elusive open problem of liquid physics. Time-resolved optical spectroscopy enables new investigations of water dynamics. Our recent experimental studies bring evidence of the coexistence of two local structural configurations of the water molecules, which are interpreted as high-density and low-density water forms.L’acqua presenta alcuni fenomeni fisici anomali che rimangono a tutt’oggi un problema aperto per la fisica dei liquidi. La spettroscopia ottica risolta nel tempo consente nuove indagini dinamiche dell’acqua. I nostri recenti studi sperimentali mostrano evidenze sulla coesistenza di due configurazioni strutturali locali delle molecole di acqua, queste sono interpretate come due forme di acqua liquida caratterizzate da alta densità e bassa densità