Dephasing vibracional de dissulfeto de carbono líquido em diferentes pressões foi estudado por dinâmica molecular. Teoria de pertubação permite estudar relaxação vibracional com o método bem estabelecido de dinâmica molecular de equilíbrio de moléculas rígidas. Além do potencial intermolecular efetivo do tipo Lennard-Jones usado para a simulação de CS2 , é também assumido um potencial efetivo de acoplamento entre os graus de liberdade vibracional, translacional e rotacional. É discutido em detalhes a importância dos termos repulsivo e atrativo neste potencial, assim como a anisotropia das interações. As simulações reproduzem satisfatoriamente a dependência com a densidade observada experimentalmente para a função de correlação vibracional e para o desvio de frequência vibracional entre as fases líquida e gasosa. As simulações indicam pequena correlação entre relaxação vibracional e reorientacional, a qual pode ser mostrada como resultante do acoplamento desses graus de liberdade com movimento translacional. Um modelo estocástico entre as é desenvolvido para investigar a correlação funções de correlação vibracional e reorientacional, e resultados similares são obtidos por simulação e teoria. As simulações por dinâmica molecular também mostraram que a função de correlação de flutuação de frequência vibracional de CS2 não é uma simples exponencial. Então, a conhecida fórmula de Kubo para a função de correlação vibracional não é válida, e é sugerido um modelo duplo-exponencial para a função memória vibracional. / Vibrational dephasing of liquid carbon disulfide at different pressures is investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Pertubation theory allows one to use the well-stablished method of equilibrium molecular dynamics of rigid molecules in studying vibrational dephasing. Besides the effective three-centre Lennard-Jones intermolecular potential for the simulation of CS2 , an effective coupling potential between vibrational, translational and rotational degrees of freedom is also assumed. The role of repulsive and attractive terms in this potential, as well as anisotropy, is discussed. The experimental trends of the average vibrational frequency shift between gas and liquid phase and vibrational correlation function with density are well reproduced by molecular dynamics. The simulations indicate a small correlation between vibrational and reorientational relaxations, which can be shown as the result of the coupling of these degrees of freedom with translational motion. A stochastic model is developed to investigate the correlation between vibrational and reorientational correlation functions. Very similar correlation is obtained from both theory and computer simulation. The simulations also showed that correlation functions of vibrational frequency fluctuations of CS2 are not a single exponential. Thus, the well known Kubo\'s formula for the vibrational correlation function is not valid for CS2 , and a double exponential model for the memory function is introduced.

O Grafeno tem sido estudado há 60 anos, mas só foi desde sua primeira obtenção mediante esfoliação de grafite em 2004 por Novoselov, que obteve grande interesse por parte de pesquisadores, pois tem uma série de notáveis propriedades físicas e químicas que dificilmente são encontradas num mesmo material, o que o torna uma ferramenta de primeira ordem em muitas aplicações de diversos campos. Além disso, sua produção se limita a pequenas folhas, com defeitos e empilhadas formando multicamadas, o qual não permite seu uso em nível industrial. Isso demanda não só que o grafeno seja produzido em grande escala, mas também conservando suas propriedades. O presente trabalho reporta o estudo e estabelecimento de condições para o crescimento de folhas de grafeno, utilizando técnicas de deposição química na fase de vapor a pressão ambiente (APCVD) catalítica, e deposição química na fase vapor assistida por plasma (PECVD), também catalítica, com filmes finos de Níquel e Cobre como metais catalisadores, visto que são as técnicas e metais que tem reportado melhores resultados. Desta forma, esta pesquisa foi encaminhada a um ajuste das variáveis que intervém nas duas técnicas, tais como os gases, seus fluxos e relação entre eles, a temperatura, o tempo de deposição e as espessuras do catalisador. No caso do PECVD, a potência de RF para a geração do plasma e a pressão. Os filmes foram caracterizados por microscopia Raman, que permite ter uma avaliação aproximada do número de camadas e os defeitos presentes no material, e por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), que permite observar a morfologia das amostras e a possível presença de grafeno, e assim ter certeza da qualidade do grafeno enquanto a continuidade e tamanho das folhas. Além disso, mediante Espectroscopia de raios X por dispersão de energia (EDS), instrumento associado ao MEV, é possível identificar os elementos presentes na amostra em pontos específicos e sua porcentagem. Estes análises revelaram que o grafeno obtido foi de grande área (1 cm2) com alta cristalinidade e poucos defeitos pontuais. / Graphene has been studied for 60 years, but was only since its first achievement by graphite exfoliation in 2004 by Novoselov that got great interest by researches, because it has remarkable physical and chemical properties which are hardly found in a single material, which makes it a first-order tool for many applications in several fields. Besides that, its production is limited to small sheets with defects and stacked in multilayers, which does not allow its use at industrial level, that requires not only a large scale production of graphene but also conservation of its properties. This work reports the study and find suitable conditions for the growth of graphene sheets, using catalytic atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) techniques and thin nickel and copper films as catalysts. This choice is based on the fact that both, these techniques and the metals had lead to better reported results. Thus, this research is focused on the adjustment of the parameters that intervene in the two techniques, such as precursor gases, their flows and the relationship among them, temperature, deposition time and the catalyst thickness. In the case of the PECVD, the RF power to generate the plasma and the deposition pressure. The films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, which allows an approximate evaluation of the number of layers and the defects in the material, and by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), which allows to observe the morphology of the deposited layers, and thus to ensure the quality of the graphene as far as the continuity and size of the sheets are concerned. In addition, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) associated to the SEM instrument was utilized to identify the elements present in particular locations of the sample as well as their percentage. These group of analyses revealed that the obtained graphene achieved areas about 1 cm2 with high crystallinity and low punctual defects.

Alguns altos explosivos foram caracterizados por espectroscopia Raman e no Infravermelho, e o efeito da temperatura sobre os espectros Raman foi medido in-situ. Foram estudados os produtos comerciais TNT, HMX, RDX e PETN, os quais, com exceção do HMX e RDX, pertencem a classes químicas distintas e também foi investigado o TATP sintetizado no laboratório. As amostras foram inicialmente caracterizadas por FT-IR, FT-IR/ATR e espectroscopia Raman com excitação no visível (632,8 nm) e no NIR (1064 nm) visando determinar se a técnica de amostragem exercia algum efeito, especificamente transições de fase e degradação, sobre os espectros. ATR e FT-Raman forneceram os espectros a partir dos quais foi feita a atribuição de bandas, a qual foi suportada por simulações teóricas (DFT, B3PW91). Cada amostra foi aquecida até uma temperatura abaixo do ponto de fusão, na qual o comportamento do espectro com o aquecimento era reversível. No caso do PETN e TNT esse valor foi bem próximo do ponto de fusão e no caso do HMX e RDX, foi substancialmente inferior. As bandas mais afetadas pela temperatura devem ser aquelas envolvidas nas rotas de relaxação de energia em explosivos. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que o PETN sofra decomposição térmica através da ruptura da ligação C-ONO2, enquanto que no HMX e RDX a ligação N-N deve ser rompida. As mudanças no espectro do TNT indicam que vibrações envolvendo os grupos NO2 e a ligação C-N são as mais sensíveis à temperatura. TATP sublima à temperatura de 70°C e até essa temperatura o espectro não é afetado pelo calor. Provavelmente a energia é utilizada no processo de sublimação. / Selected high explosives were characterized by Raman and Infrared spectroscopies and the effect of temperature was followed in-situ by Raman spectroscopy. TNT, HMX, RDX, PETN (commercial products) and TATP belong to distinct chemical families (except HMX and RDX) and their response to heating was evaluated. The samples were first characterized by FT-IR, FT-IR/ATR and Raman with excitation in the visible (632.8 nm) and in the NIR (1064 nm) aiming at the detection of sampling effects in the obtained spectra, specifically phase transitions and degradation. ATR and FT-Raman were the techniques of choice to provide the spectra for band assignment, which was assisted by theoretical simulations (DFT). Each sample was heated up to a temperature well below its melting point, in order to avoid thermal decomposition. The bands most affected by temperature were taken as the routes for energy relaxation in explosives. The obtained results lead to the conclusion that PETN decomposes through the rupture of the C-ONO2 bond, whereas in HMX and RDX the N-N bond is broken. TNT spectra indicates that the NO2 and C-N vibrations are the most sensitive to temperature and TATP sublimated at 70°C and no bands were affected by temperature. The results are agreement with the literature or theoretical simulations.

A number of high performance fibres (aramid, PBZT and PBO) spun from liquid crystal polymer solutions were examined in this work. In particular, a thorough investigation of the mechanical response of these fibres under tensile and compressive deformations was carried out. The major experimental tool employed was the technique of Laser Raman Spectroscopy. It was found that stress-induced changes of these fibres at molecular level are proportional to the macroscopic deformation applied. This correlation is unique for the fibres. A method for converting spectroscopic data to predicted stress-strain curves in tension and compression was proposed. An estimation of their compressive strength was derived and an understanding of the nature of their compressive failure was discussed. The adhesion of these fibres to epoxy resin was also investigated by monitoring in situ the interfacial stresses developed along the interface/interphaseo f model single fibre composite coupons. The strength of the interfacial bond was measured. The effect of various parameters such as fibre modulus, fibre diameter and fibre nature upon the interfacial strength of the various systems was evaluated. The mechanisms of stress transfer along with the nature of interfacial damage was examined accurately. It was found that the major parameter controlling the above mechanisms was interfacial yielding in shear. A numerical appoximation (using Finite Element Analysis) was employed in order to evaluate the experimental results. Finally, general conclusions concerning the performance of these fibres were drawn.

Laser Raman Spectroscopy (LRS) has been employed to characterise the structure of carbon fibres, the effect of surface treatment and the response of the material to externally applied loads. The strain sensitivity provided a unique relationship between the applied strain and the Raman frequency for each type of fibre, termed as the Raman Frequency Gauge Factor. After examining a wide range of fibres, of various Young's moduli and various manufacturing routes, it was concluded that both tensile and compressive properties of carbon fibres can be improved by controlling the fibre morphology during manufacture. This morphological control seems to achieve its objectives by reducing the skin-core effect in the fibre structure. The result of such an alteration can be detected in tension by the increase of the initial fibre modulus and in compression, by the absence of premature catastrophic type of failure. Nevertheless, non-linear stress-strain phenomena seem to be a permanent feature of all carbon fibres and the significant modulus softening in compression appears to determine the limits of the fibre compressive strength. The load transfer mechanism at the carbon fibre/epoxy resin interface has been subsequently investigated during the fibre fragmentation process in a single fibre model composite. The fibre strain distribution along the fibre fragments has been derived through the Raman spectrum of the fibre and its Raman Frequency Gauge Factor. In turn, the interfacial shear stress distribution has been evaluated using a simple balance of forces model. The maximum shear stress, allowed to develop at the f ibre/matrix interface, has been considered as a reasonable estimate of its interfacial strength. It was concluded that both the fibre surface treatment and the use of a lower modulus filament can increase the system's interfacial strength, reduce debonding propagation and withhold the interfacial yielding in the vicinity of the fibre discontinuities.

Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) is an established process in wastewater treatment that uses bacteria to reduce phosphorus levels below regulatory discharge limits. Recently, in light of growing political concern over phosphorus sustainability, EBPR has also been recognised as a platform from which phosphorus may be recovered and recycled onto land as fertiliser. Operating EBPR to optimise performance and efficiency is therefore extremely important, but remains a challenge due to poor understanding of these bacterial ecosystems. Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive, label-free, culture-independent technique capable of analysing live, single cells. Despite its advantages, Raman spectroscopy has been applied to study EBPR bacteria in just a handful of studies and thus has a low profile in this field of research. More work is required to investigate potential areas of application for Raman spectroscopy in EBPR research. The principal thesis presented here is that Raman spectroscopy could be used as a tool to improve EBPR. The Raman spectra used for this investigation were acquired from individual EBPR bacteria dried onto a calcium fluoride substrate. The bacterial samples were collected from three different sources, namely lab-scale sequencing batch reactors located in Edinburgh (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Boston (Northeastern University, USA), and a full-scale EBPR plant in Slough (Thames Water, UK). Using these spectra, some potential applications and limitations of Raman spectroscopy for improving EBPR were explored. In this foundation work, a particular emphasis on spectral analysis methods was kept in light of the benefits of automating analysis as well as the need for standardisation to be able to compare results between different studies and groups. Nine methods were compared for baselining Raman spectra of individual EBPR bacteria. From these, the “small-window moving average” (SWiMA) method was determined to be the best baselining technique for our purposes at the current time. In agreement with earlier studies, the Raman spectroscopic signatures of three key EBPR metabolites – polyphosphate, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and glycogen – were shown to be clearly identifiable in individual EBPR bacteria when present. The Raman shifts of characteristic spectral bands arising from polyphosphate were shown to vary significantly between samples and the implications of this were discussed. Examples of how the Raman spectra of individual bacteria can be modelled with multivariate tools to open up new areas for research were given. MCR modelling was demonstrated to offer a novel way to normalise the Raman spectra of individual EBPR bacteria prior to quantitative analysis. With the instrumental set-up in this work, the limit of detection (LOD) of aqueous polyphosphate samples was estimated to be approximately 0.08 M and 0.02 M for 10 second and 200 second acquisitions respectively. Future work is required to research ways in which a more comparable form of polyphosphate ‘standard’ might be prepared so that direct correlation can be drawn between measurements made on such a standard and measurements made in bacterial cells. Overall, several applications and challenges of Raman spectroscopy for the investigation of EBPR bacteria are presented in this work together with recommendation for how to process the spectral data. The conclusions drawn from this work indicate that Raman spectroscopy could be used as a tool to improve EBPR but further work is required to refine and apply these methods.

At least 50% of people will develop cancer at some point during their lifetime and half these will end in fatality. Improving patients’ prognosis relies on early and accurate diagnosis and treatment. Current diagnostic methods are based on histopathological analysis and are time-consuming, expensive and require biopsy. Raman spectroscopy can measure subtle biochemical changes and provides a rapid, non-destructive and objective technique that can be used in vivo for identifying pathological changes in tissue samples. This study investigates both a standard Raman spectrometer system and also a Raman needle probe for their use as diagnostic techniques and clinical tools. Oesophageal, femoral and head and neck lymph nodes were analysed in this study. Metastatic lymph nodes from the three areas could be identified from the non-cancer lymph nodes with a sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 89%. Lymphoma was identified from non-cancer lymph nodes with a sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 86%. It was observed that oesophageal nodes often contained carbon particles, clinically diagnosed as anthracosis. These nodes were much harder to study than the femoral or head and neck, due to strong Raman signal detected from the carbon particles. Lymph nodes are embedded in adipose tissue and as a consequence, very strong lipid peaks were frequently observed in spectra. Spectral differences were exhibited in the measurements of the lymph nodes from the three different anatomical regions. A comparison of the point measurements and mapped data showed no difference in classification. Therefore, indicating that just a few measurements can be sufficient enough sampling to represent a specimen, and demonstrates the practicability of Raman use in vivo for rapid analysis. The Raman needle probe feasibility study showed its potential for in vivo use for real-time diagnosis and as a surgical tool to support biopsy. A sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 79% for the identification of non-cancer head and neck lymph nodes from non-cancer provides similar accuracies to the standard Raman approach, therefore supports its viability for use as a diagnostic tool.

Este trabalho visa o estudo de processos de degradação fotocatalítica e fotoeletrocatalítica de corantes sobre dióxido de titânio. O enfoque está voltado ao uso de técnicas espectroscópicas, com especial destaque para o desenvolvimento de metodologias de espectroscopia vibracional Raman intensificada. Nesse sentido, tem-se em vista a investigação dos mecanismos envolvidos nos processos de fotodegradação e fotoeletrodegradação de corantes, através da identificação de intermediários e produtos de processos de degradação por técnicas de espectroscopia eletrônica e Raman. Os estudos de fotocatálise são também expandidos para ambientes eletroquímicos. Nos chamados processos fotoeletrocatalíticos, a combinação de processos eletroquímicos e fotoquímicos mostra-se bastante promissora para a degradação de poluentes orgânicos. O primeiro desafio no desenvolvimento desse trabalho foi construir o fotorreator adequado que permitisse a obtenção de amostras para serem analisadas por espectroscopia Raman, e apresentasse boa eficiência nos processos de fotocatálise e também fotoeletrocatálise. Encontrado o fotorreator adequado, investigamos o comportamento cinético dos processos foto(eletro)degradação de corantes, buscando verificar a dependência com o potencial eletroquímico aplicado, o efeito do eletrólito suporte, e a identificação de intermediários formados durante o processo de degradação. Analisamos também aspectos relacionados aos mecanismos de adsorção de corantes sobre a superfície do dióxido de titânio. Tais aspectos podem ser de significativa relevância no desenvolvimento de técnicas eficazes para o tratamento de poluentes orgânicos. Nossos estudos estiveram principalmente centrados em dois corantes: o azocorante verde de Janus e o corante antraquinônico alizarina vermelha S. Os resultados obtidos nos estudos da cinética dos processos fotoeletrocatalíticos sugerem que o efeito do potencial aplicado depende de maneira significativa da natureza química do corante. Observou-se uma tendência dos processos fotoeletrocatalíticos serem mais eficientes na remoção da coloração da solução corante do verde de Janus quando comparados aos fotocatalíticos. Tal tendência não foi observada para o corante alizarina vermelha S. Essa diferença de comportamento pôde ser relacionada à natureza das interações específicas de entre cada corante e a superfície do catalisador. Nossos estudos a respeito dos mecanismos envolvidos nos processos de degradação do verde de Janus revelaram que as primeiras etapas dos processos de fotodegradação e fotoeletrodegradação seguem mecanismos diferentes. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a degradação do verde de Janus em suspensão de TiO2 envolve entre suas etapas modificações na ligação azo desse corante (N=N), resultando na formação de um composto intermediário derivado da fenossafranina. No processo fotoeletrocatalítico, por outro lado, observa-se um mecanismo diferenciado o qual não envolve em suas etapas iniciais a quebra da ligação azo do corante / This work focuses on the study of photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic degradation processes of dyes over titanium dioxide. The main approach is based on the use of spectroscopic techniques, with special emphasis to methodologies based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Within this context, the mechanisms involved in the photodegradation and photoelectrodegradation of dyes are investigated by the identification of degradation intermediates through vibrational and electronic spectroscopies. In the so-called photoelectrocatalytic processes, the combination of electrochemical and photochemical processes is an interesting and promising approach for the degradation of a wide variety of organic pollutants. The first step in the development of the present work was to build a photo reactor that allowed the analysis of samples through Raman spectroscopy and presented a good efficiency for both photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic processes. We then investigated the kinetic behavior of the photo(electro)degradation of dyes in order to verify the dependence upon the electrochemical applied potential, the effect of the supporting electrolyte, and the identification of intermediate products formed during the degradation process. We also analyzed aspects related to the adsorption mechanisms of the dyes on the titanium dioxide surface. Such aspects can be relevant to the understanding and to the development of efficient techniques for the remediation of organic pollutants. Our studies focused mainly on two dyes: the azo dye Janus green and the anthraquinonic dye alizarin red S. The results obtained in the kinetic study of the photoelectrocatalytic processes suggest that the effect of the applied electrochemical potential strongly depends on the chemical nature of the investigated dye. We have observed that the decolorization of Janus green is favored for photoelectrocatalytic process as compared to the photocatalytic degradation. Such behavior was not observed for the anthraquinonic dye alizarin red S. This difference was related to the nature of the specific interactions between each dye and the catalyst surface. Our studies regarding the mechanisms of degradation revealed that the first steps of the photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic processes of Janus green followed different routes. The obtained results indicate that the degradation of Janus green in aqueous TiO2 suspension involves changes in the azo bond (N=N), resulting in the formation of an intermediate compound a derived from the phenosafranine structure, whereas for the photoelectrocatalytic process there are evidences of a different mechanism that does not involve the cleavage of the azo bond.

No description available.

TB remains a major health issue worldwide causing around 1.5 deaths each year. The recent phase III clinical trials of shortened TB treatment failed to show superiority compared to the current regimen and this mainly because of relapse. Relapse is thought to be caused by dormant bacteria. Dormancy in Mycobacterium species has been shown to be associated with the accumulation of intracellular lipids, defining two phenotypes: the lipid rich (LR) cells (associated with dormancy) and the lipid poor (LP) cells (non-dormant). LR cells were shown to have a higher phenotypic antibiotic resistance compared to LP cells. Studying these two phenotypes is therefore central in tuberculosis research to understand better the disease and also potentially start to reveal the bacteriology of relapse. We investigated the power of Raman spectroscopy, a label-free and non-destructive technique, to discriminate LR and LP bacteria both in-vitro and ex-vivo. This represents the first Raman spectroscopy study that tries to discriminate the phenotypes of M. tuberculosis and investigate them directly at the site of the disease. Using total lipid extract of M. tuberculosis, we showed the location of the main lipid bands in the Raman spectrum. The two major lipid peaks were located around 1300 cm⁻¹ and 1450 cm⁻¹. Raman spectroscopy can discriminate LR and LP cells with high sensitivity and specificity. The main differences between the two groups are located in the two major Raman lipid peaks, the lipid band A (1300 cm⁻¹) and lipid band B (1440 to 1450 cm⁻¹). The two phenotypes were successfully discriminated in TB infected guinea pig lung tissue sections also from in-vitro culture using wavelength modulated Raman (WMR) spectroscopy combined with fluorescence imaging. We developed a protocol to perform both Raman spectroscopy and immunohistochemistry on the same tissue sample. We studied the evolution of LR and LP proportion in mycobacterial population as the growth conditions changed and showed that LR cells could rapidly convert to LP cells as they face favourable growth conditions. The results presented in this thesis showed that LR M. tuberculosis cells could be predominant at the site of infection. This would suggest that drug sensitivity testing should be performed on culture presenting both LR and LP cells in high proportion.