Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-99).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-08-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:55:41Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 volpati_d_me_bauru.pdf: 5747357 bytes, checksum: 51588cae60e48257109b7cd67deb6faa (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Filmes finos do bis benzimidazo perileno (AzoPTCD) foram fabricados usando as técnicas de Langmuir, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) e evaporação a vácuo (PVD). A estabilidade térmica durante a fabricação dos filmes PVD ('DA ORDEM DE' '400 GRAUS' a '10 POT. -6' Torr) e a integridade da estrutura molecular pela dissolução do AzoPTCD em ácidos fortes para a fabricação dos filmes de Langmuir e LB foram monitoradas pelo espalhamento Raman. Complementarmente a análise termogravimétrica revelou que a degradação térmica do AzoPTCD ocorre a '675 GRAUS'. Os filmes de Langmuir revelaram um alto empacotamento molecular do AzoPTCD sobre a subfase aquosa, onde as moléculas estão apoiadas sobre seu eixo maior ou menor. A adição de íons metálicos na subface aquosa revelou uma sensibilidade do AzoPTCD a presença destes íons, deslocando as isotermas para maiores valores de área molecular média. O crescimento dos filmes LB e PVD sobre substratos sólidos foi monitorado através da espectroscopia de absorção UV-Vis, e a morfologia dos filmes PVD foi estudada via microscopia de força atômica (AFM) em função da espessura em massa. A organização molecular dos filmes PVD foi determinada usando as regras de seleção de superfície aplicadas na espectroscopia de absorção no infravermelho (modos de transmissão e reflexão). Apesar da organização molecular, a difração de raios-x revelou que os filmes PVD são amorfos. Cálculos teóricos (Density functional theory -B3LYP) foram usados para atribuição dos modos vibracionais nos espectros de absorção no infravermelho e espalhamento Raman ressoante Nanoestruturas metálicas, capazes de ativar os fenômenos de amplificação em superfície foram usadas para estudos de espalhamento Raman ressonante amplificado em superfície (SERRS) e fluorescência amplificada em superfície (SEF) nos filmes LB e PVD. Através... / Thin solid films of bis benzimidazo perylene (AzoPTCD) were fabricated using Langmuir, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques. Thermal stability during the fabrication of PVD films ('DA ORDEM DE' '400 GRAUS' a '10 POT. -6' Torr) and chemical structure integrity by dissolution of the AzoPTCD in a strong acid were monitored by Raman scattering. Complementary thermogravimetric results showed that thermal degradation of AzoPTCD occurs at '675 GRAUS'. Langmuir films showed a high molecular packing with the molecules tilted onto the aqueous subphase. Besides, the AzoPTCD л-A isotherms were shifted to larger areas due to the addition of metallic ions in the subphase. The growth of the LB and PVD films were established through UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and the surface morphology in PVD films was probed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) as function of the mass thickness. The AzoPTCD molecular organization in the PVD films was determined using the selection rules of infrared absorption spectroscopy (transmission and reflection-absorption modes). Despite the molecular organization, X-ray diffraction revealed that the PVD films are amorphous. Theoretical calculations (Density Functional Theory, B3LYP) were used to assign the vibrational modes in the infrared and Raman spectra. Metallic nanostructures, able to sustain localized surface plasmons (LSP) were used to achieve surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) and surface-enhanced fluirescence (SEF) in the LB and PVD films. The conductivity and rectifier character of the PVD films of AzoPTCD were determined by current as function of tension curves (I(V)) in dc measurements. The impedance spectroscopy in ac measurements was used to study the performance of PVD films of the AzoPTCD as transductor elements in sensing units applied to discriminate... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The complementary value of vibrational spectroscopy and mass spectrometry in obtaining structural information on a range of tricyclic indoles with various ring patterns has been investigated, focusing particularly on whether these heterocycles with a functional group containing oxygen in the third ring should be described as ketoindoles or hydroxindolenines. Parallels between certain fragmentations of ionised indoles and electrophilic substitution in solution have been identified. A mechanistically interesting and analytically useful interesting dimerisation, leading to the formation of [2M-H]+ ions, has been discovered in the positive ion electrospray mass spectra of 3-alkylindoles. This dimerisation, which occurs in the nebuliser of the instrument, offers a potential new route to bisindoles under milder conditions than those employed in classical solution chemistry. Facile formation of C=N bonds by condensation of C=O and H2N has been shown to provide a means of preparing protonated imines and protonated quinoxalines from mixtures of the requisite (di)carbonyl compounds and (di)amines, thus further illustrating how organic synthesis is possible in the droplets in the nebuliser of the instrument. Possible metal catalysed coupling reaction routes to bisindoles have been explored. Acyl transfer reactions from nitrogen to carbon have been investigated in 1-acyl-2-methylindoles and orthogonally protected sulphonamides. These processes have been shown to be intermolecular and intramolecular, respectively. The latter rearrangement, which may be prevented when necessary by choosing the nitrophenylsulphonamide protecting group, offers a route to acyl, carboalkoxy and carboaryloxy aromatic compounds, some of which are difficult to prepare.

Research on two-dimensional (2D) materials currently occupies a sizeable fraction of the materials science community, which has led to the development of a comprehensive body of knowledge on such layered structures. However, the goal of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of the comparatively unknown heterostructures composed of different stacked layers. First, we utilise linear-scaling density functional theory (LS-DFT) to simulate intricate interfaces between the most promising layered materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) or black phosphorus (BP) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). We show that hBN can protect BP from external influences, while also preventing the band-gap reduction in BP stacks, and enabling the use of BP heterostructures as tunnelling field effect transistors. Moreover, our simulations of the electronic structure of TMDC interfaces have reproduced photoemission spectroscopy observations, and have also provided an explanation for the coexistence of commensurate and incommensurate phases within the same crystal. Secondly, we have developed new functionality to be used in the future study of 2D heterostructures, in the form of a linear-response phonon formalism for LS-DFT. As part of its implementation, we have solved multiple implementation and theoretical issues through the use of novel algorithms.

This thesis presents work done on the calculation of the effects of anharmonic nuclear motion on the properties of solid materials from first principles. Such anharmonic effects can be significant in many cases. A vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) method is used as the basis for these calculations, which is then improved and applied to a variety of solid state systems. Firstly, work done to improve the efficiency of the VSCF method is presented. The standard VSCF method involves using density functional theory (DFT) to map the Born-Oppenheimer (BO) energy surface that the nuclei move in, a computationally expensive process. It is shown that the accurate forces available in plane-wave basis DFT can be used to help map the BO surface more accurately and reduce the computational cost. This improved VSCF+f method is tested on molecular and solid hydrogen, as well as lithium and zirconium, and is found to give a speed-up of up to 40%. The VSCF method is then applied to two different systems of physical interest. It is first applied to the case of the neutral vacancy in diamond, in order to resolve a known discrepancy between harmonic ab initio calculations and experiment -- the former predict a static Jahn-Teller distortion, whilst the latter leads to a dynamic Jahn-Teller effect. By including anharmonic corrections to the energy and nuclear wavefunction, we show that the inclusion of these effects results in agreement between first-principles calculations and experiment for the first time. Lastly, the VSCF method is applied to barium titanate, a prototypical ferroelectric material which undergoes a series of phase transitions from around 400 K downwards. The nature of these phase transitions is still unclear, and understanding them is an active area of research. We describe the physics of the phase transitions of barium titanate, including both anharmonicity and the effect of polarisation caused by long wavelength vibrations, to help understand the important physics from first principles.

PEREIRA, José Enedilton Medeiros. Espectroscopia vibracional em cristais do ácido trans-cinâmico complexado com európio sob condições extremas. 2014. 90 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Física) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física, Departamento de Física, Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2014. / Submitted by Edvander Pires (edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2014-09-12T19:42:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_jempereira.pdf: 4086204 bytes, checksum: f746c208810c91b5b87b4ef1b2f4de4a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Edvander Pires(edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2014-09-12T19:50:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_jempereira.pdf: 4086204 bytes, checksum: f746c208810c91b5b87b4ef1b2f4de4a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-12T19:50:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_jempereira.pdf: 4086204 bytes, checksum: f746c208810c91b5b87b4ef1b2f4de4a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / This work is focused on characterization of a polycrystalline sample of the coordination compound with ions Eu3+ using as a binder the trans-cinnamic acid , [Eu(cin)3]. The interest in coordination with lanthanide compounds is due to their large technological applications. The process of luminescence of coordination compounds containing lanthanide, also called antenna effect, has a main objective the use of new ligands with various applications, both in increasing the efficiency of energy receptors in the ultraviolet region and the development of biomarkers. In this work, to characterize the polycrystalline material, Raman spectroscopy was used to determine the vibrational behavior of the material at ambient temperature and pressure. It was also shown the behavior of the compound at low temperatures, in which variations in various vibrational modes were observed, indicating thus the occurrence of phase transition. Using a diamond anvil cell the material was studied by high hydrostatic pressure Raman spectroscopy. The purpose of this methodology was to map possible phase transitions and discover the occurrence of possible polymorphism. However, until the pressure reached in the experiments - about 5.2 GPa - it was found that the original phase remained stable. A discussion of the luminescence of the sample is also provided in this work. / O presente trabalho está focado na caracterização de uma amostra policristalina do composto de coordenação com íons Eu3+ utilizando como ligante o ácido trans-cinâmico, [Eu(cin)3]. O interesse em compostos de coordenação com lantanídeos deve-se às suas amplas aplicações tecnológicas. O processo de luminescência dos compostos de coordena- ção contendo lantanídeo, também chamado de efeito antena, tem como principal objetivo o uso de novos ligantes com aplicações diversas, tanto no aumento da eficiência de re- ceptores de energia na região do ultravioleta quanto no desenvolvimento de marcadores biológicos. Neste trabalho, para realizar a caracterização do material policristalino, foi utilizada a espectroscopia Raman, a fim de determinar o comportamento vibracional do material à temperatura e pressão ambiente. Também foi verificado o comportamento do composto sob baixas temperaturas, no qual foram observadas variações em vários modos vibracionais, indicando, por conseguinte, a ocorrência de transição de fase. Utilizando uma célula de pressão a extremos de diamante o material foi estudado a altas pressões hidrostáticas através de espectroscopia Raman. O intuito desta metodologia era mapear possíveis transições de fase e descobrir a ocorrência de eventual polimorfismo. Entretanto, até a pressão atingida nos experimentos – cerca de 5,2 GPa – verificou-se que a fase ori- ginal permaneceu estável. Uma discussão sobre a luminescência da amostra também é fornecida neste trabalho.

The major objective of this thesis is to systematically investigate the effect of hexagonal BN (h-BN) islands on electronic and vibrational properties of single wall carbon Nanotubes. All our investigation are based on first principle Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Our study is motivated by interesting metal-semiconductor transition recently found in periodically patterned graphene with h-BN islands. After reproducing the electronic band structure for pristine single wall zigzag carbon nanotubes (which shows metallic or semiconducting properties depending on their chirality), we investigated their electronic band structure in the presence of h-BN islands. The band structure depends not only on the defect concentration, but also on the pattern of the defect atoms. Our results also suggest that, if we start with a metallic /semiconducting mixture of ZSWCNTs, upon h-BN addition, the sample converts to fully semiconducting. This is a promising result for applications of CNTs in molecular electronics. Fundamental understanding of vibrational properties of nano electronics component is equally important in their applications especially in thermal management and thermoelectric applications. Defect engineering is one of the potential approach for tuning nanoelectronic devices for optimal thermal management and thermoelectric devices. In this work, I present a systematic investigation on how the group velocity and frequency of different phonon modes depend on various h-BN defect concentrations and defect patterns in ZSWCNTs. The study was extended to investigate the effect of hexagonal-C defects on the electronic and vibrational properties of zigzag single wall Boron Nitride nanotubes (ZSWBNNTs).

The spectral analysis techniques afforded us from the field of physics has enabled us to explore the spectral signatures of trace contaminants and degradation products in used or in service engine oil through atomic and molecular spectroscopy. Here we have examined the need to address proper preparation of calibrating samples for infrared spectroscopy analysis by inducing emulsification and have evaluated multiple procedures for proper emulsification of samples with the intent to help establish the protocols that are not explicitly set forth in the ASTM International standard. We have also explored the use of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy techniques to examine the suppression of the O–H stretching mode of water due to the influence of ethylene glycol, which may help in the quantification of water when both are present in oil. This was done in conjunction with exploring alternative methods for direct and indirect measurement of the glycol contamination by use of UV/Vis spectroscopy, Raman, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. An exploration of FT-IR and UV/Vis data on the oxidation of oil by means of ANOVA calculations has led to the reporting of highly significant differences in the data of differing oxidation times and in regions of the spectrum not known to have been previously reported.

xv, 116 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Aqueous solutes next to hydrophobic interfaces arc prevalent in a multitude of chemical and biological systems throughout the world. Their presence ranges from environmental processes such as soil and water remediation to biological processes such as ion transport, membrane formation, and enzyme activity. In these and other examples, the interface is an integral part of the system. Understanding these chemically complex systems requires that a molecular level picture be built as a starting basis. In this dissertation, vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopy (VSFS), a surface selective non-linear optical technique, is used to obtain a fundamental understanding of the interfacial properties of carboxylic acid based surfactants and polymers at the oil-water interface. Interfacial studies of the solvating environment around a carboxylate headgroup surfactant are presented first. By utilizing different VSFS polarization schemes, the carboxylate vibrational stretching region was used to monitor the headgroup environment. Results showed the oil-water interface provides a unique environment for adsorption and structuring, and distinct differences exist from the air-water and solid-water interface. With the information gained in the first study, the binding of metal ions to carboxylate headgroups is investigated using VSFS. Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Mn 2+ , Ni 2+ , Cu 2+ , and Zn 2+ were used to perturb the headgroup vibrations to further our understanding of the types of interactions and the binding strength between the ion and headgroup. The results show each ion to have a different interaction characteristics with the strongest being bi-dentate in nature and the weakest having ionic character. The final work presented involves moving VSFS studies towards macromolccular assemblies at the oil-water interface to model inherently complex biomolecular systems. These studies present adsorption structure and dynamics of poly(acrylic-acid) as a function of pH, molecular weight, concentration, and the presence of mono and divalent salts. Poly(acrylic-acid) was found to have ordered adsorption characteristics that were highly dependent on the pH and the presence of aqueous salts. This dissertation includes unpublished co-authored materials. / Committee in charge: Thomas Dyke, Chairperson, Chemistry; Geraldine Richmond, Advisor, Chemistry; John Hardwick, Member, Chemistry; Jeffrey Cina, Member, Chemistry; 1. Andrew Berglund, Member, Chemistry; John Conery, Outside Member, Computer & Information Science

Mechanistic aspects of phosphorylation, dephosphorylation, pyrophosphorylation and depyrophosphorylation reactions that mimic phosphorylases, dephosphorylases, pyrophosphorylases and depyrophosphorylases have been studied in the biologically important middle pH region. The different systems monitored are; (a) the reactions between [{CoN4(OH)(OH2)}]2+ and [HPO4]- for 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 [{CoN4(OH)(OH2)}]2+ to [HPO4]2- ratios. (b) the reactions between [{CoN4PO4] and [O2NC6H4O]- (abbreviated as NP-) for 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 [{CoN4PO4] to [O2NC6H4O]- ratios. (c) the reactions between [{CoN4(OH)(OH2)}]2+ and [O2NC6H4PO4]2- (abbreviated as NPP2-) for 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 [{CoN4(OH)(OH2)}]2+ to [O2NC6H4PO4]2- ratios. (d) the reactions between [{CoN4(OH)(OH2)}]2+ and [H2P2O7]2- for 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 [{CoN4(OH)(OH2)}]2+ to [H2P2O7]2- ratios. (e) the reactions between [{CoN4P2O7}]- and [O2NC6H4O]- for 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 [{CoN4P2O7}]- to [O2NC6H4O]- ratios. Significant phosphorylation was noted for systems containing 1:1 molar ratio [{CoN4PO4] and [O2NC6H4O]-. Enhanced phosphorylation was depicted for system containing 1:1 molar ratio of [{CoN4(OH)}2PO4]+ and [O2NC6H4O]-. Pyrophosphorylation was noted for reactions of 1:1 molar ratio of [{CoN4P2O7}]- and [O2NC6H4O]-. The rate of pyrophosphorylation was substantially reduced for systems that were 2:1 in molar ratio of [{CoN4P2O7}]- and [O2NC6H4O]-. No appreciable pyrophosphorylation was noted for systems, which has a 3:1 molar ratio of [{CoN4P2O7}]- and [O2NC6H4O]-. Specific mechanistic features and the possible roles metal ions play in phosphorylase, dephosphorylase and pyrophosphorylase are highlighted from results of UV-Visible spectroscopy, 31P {1H} NMR spectroscopy and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) studies / Chemistry / D.Phil. (Chemistry)