Search results for "CONDENSED MATTER"
showing 10 items of 13918 documents
Hydrogenation of light hydrocarbons on palladium: theoretical study of the local surface arrangements
2001
Abstract Quantum mechanical calculations at HF, MP2 and DFT levels were used to rationalise the surface effects of the hydrocarbon lateral interactions occurring on single planar metal surfaces or on different adjacent surfaces during the hydrogenation on palladium catalyst. The different values of electronic charge, found in the different atoms of palladium clusters, were suggested as a possible explanation of the non-homogeneous behaviour already inferred for catalyst surface sites having non-isotropic local arrangement.
Monte Carlo methods for polymer chains in two - dimensional geometries (polymers at surfaces and interfaces)
1993
Coarse-grained models of polymers at interfaces can be defined such that their treatment by Monte Carlo simulation is most convenient and efficient for the problem at hand. This simulation strategy is briefly illustrated with three examples: (1) The orientational ordering of rigid rod-like polymers grafted to a surface, where “table methods” can be used, applying a fine discretization of the angles describing rod orientation. (2) Surface enrichment of one species in a polymer blend is treated by a semi-grand-canonical technique. (3) The number of configurations and structure of a star polymer attached with its center to a wall is studied by a “growth technique” generalizing simple sampling …
Chain linear dimensions in the surface-enriched layer of polymer mixtures
1992
We calculate the mean-square end-to-end distances and mean-square gyration radii using the bond fluctuation model for a binary polymer blend in the presence of a wall by Monte Carlo simulation. In the bulk, the size of the minority, low-concentration polymer species is compressed compared to the majority one. In the vicinity of the wall, where the minority polymer concentration is enriched due to attraction from the wall, the dimensions of the two types of polymers are approximately equal and are essentially the same as in an athermal polymer melt. Thus, the geometric constraint is more important to the structure of the polymers than the polymer-polymer and polymer-wall interactions.
Sustainable nanocomposites based on halloysite nanotubes and pectin/polyethylene glycol blend
2013
Abstract This study was focused on the preparation and characterization of biofilms based on pectin/polyethylene glycol 20000 (PEG) blend and halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The obtained blends loaded with a natural nanoclay are proposed as sustainable alternative to the polymers produced from non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels. Properties of technological interest have been monitored and they were correlated to the structural features of the nanocomposites. It turned out that the wettability of the films can be tuned by changing the composition and the distribution of HNTs into the material as well as the surface roughness. The tensile properties of the blend are enhanced by the pre…
On The Incompatibility of Dextran and Pullulan in Aqueous Solutions and Its Modeling
2012
Joint aqueous solutions of branched dextran and linear pullulan are investigated with respect to their phase separation. The experiments demonstrate that the polymers are – depending on the molar mass of dextran – incompatible in aqueous solutions despite their chemical similarity. This finding can be modeled on the basis of an approach accounting for chain connectivity and conformational relaxation of the components. According to these calculations, the polymers exhibit a miscibility gap in joint solutions despite the favorable interactions between them. Using information on the subsystems H2O/dextran and H2O/pullulan, the assumption of complete miscibility of the polysaccharides is requir…
Viscometric behaviour of polymer blends based on poly (vinylidene fluoride)
1994
The viscosity behaviour of dilute dimethylformamide solutions of poly(vinylidene fluoride)-poly (methyl methacrylate) and poly(vinylidene fluoride)-polystyrene has been studied at 25°C. The polymer concentration ranges are such that neither phase separation nor microgel formation occurs, although we are very close to theta conditions. The intrinsic viscosity and viscosity interaction parameter of the ternary mixtures have been calculated. The estimation of the compatibility of the above polymer pairs has been studied based on: a) specific viscosities; b) viscosity interaction parameters, according to Krigbaum and Wall formalism, and c) viscosity interaction parameters of a system formed by …
Ternary Polymer Solutions with Hydrogen Bonds, 1
2007
The Flory Huggins methodology coupled to AET has been extended to ternary polymer systems, in particular to solvent (A)/polymer 1 (B)/polymer 2 (C) systems, with the two polymers displaying H-bonding interactions. Because the H-bonding can perturb the randomness of polymeric conformations, the change in Gibbs free energy of mixing, AG, should arise from changes in combinatorial entropy as well as in interaction energy. The combinatorial part of AG is evaluated through AET as a function of the association constant η between B and C components, the autoassociation constant a between B components, and the independent number m of interaction sites of acceptor C. The enthalpic contribution is ev…
Salt effects on the protonation of l-histidine and l-aspartic acid: a complex formation model
1991
Abstract Protonation constants of l -histidine (histidinate: his − ) and l -aspartic acid (aspartate: asp 2− ) were determined potentiometrically, using the (H + ) glass electrode, in aqueous tetraethylammonium iodide (Et 4 NI), calcium chloride and sodium chloride solutions, at 0 −3 and 10 ⩽, T ⩽, 45 ° C. Differences in protonation constants determined in different salt media were explained by a complex formation model and, according to this model, the presence of the following species was hypothesized: Ca(his) + , CaH(his) 2+ , CaH 2 (his) 3+ Na(his) 0 , H 3 (his)X + , H 2 (his)X 0 , Et 4 N(his) 0 , Et 4 NH(his) + , Ca(asp) 0 , CaH(asp) + , CaH 2 (asp) 2+ , Na(asp) − , NaH(asp) 0 , H 3 (a…
Semidilute and Concentrated Polymer Solutions near Attractive Walls: Dynamic Monte Carlo Simulation of Density and Pressure Profiles of a Coarse-Gra…
1997
Using a bead−spring model of flexible polymer chains, we study polymer adsorption from solutions onto attractive planar walls, varying both the strength of the adsorption potential e and the concentration of the solution over a wide range. Treating the case of good solvents, the profiles of density and pressure are computed and it is shown that thermal equilibrium between the adsorbed layer and the bulk solution is obtained. The case of a wall with purely repulsive potential under otherwise identical conditions is treated for comparison. It is shown that for the strongly adsorbing wall there is a pronounced layering, while a layered structure at the repulsive wall occurs only for high conce…
Computer simulations of undercooled fluids and the glass transition
2000
Abstract Two model studies are presented that attempt to describe the static and dynamic properties of glass-forming fluids via molecular dynamics simulations: The first model is an atomistically realistic model of SiO 2 , the second model provides a coarse-grained description of polymer liquids, i.e., typical `fragile' glassformers, while SiO 2 is the prototype of a `strong glassformer'. For both models, attention is given to the questions as to which range of temperatures are properties in equilibrium, and whether such simulations can help to interpret experiments and/or check theoretical predictions. While in the simulation of SiO 2 using the potential of van Beest, Kramer and van Santen…