Gels of various composition containing SiO2, Al2O3, and P2O5 have been investigated by employing high resolution magic-angle-spinning (MAS) 27Al, 29Si, and 31P NMR spectroscopy. Changes occurring in the NMR spectra as the gels are progressively heated have been examined to understand the nature of structural changes occurring during the crystallization of the gels. 27Al resonance is sensitive to changes in the coordination number even when the Al concentration is as low as 1 mol%. As the percentage of Al increases, the hydroxyl groups tend to be located on the Al sites while Si remains as SiO4/2 (Q4). Mullite is the major phase formed at higher temperature in the aluminosilicate gels. In the case of the silicophosphate gels, Si is present in the form of Q4 and Q3 species. There is a change in the coordination of Si from four to six as the gel is heated. The formation of six-coordinated Si is facilitated even at lower temperatures (∼673 K) when the P2O5 content is high. The phosphorus atoms present as orthophosphoric acid units in the xerogels change over to metaphosphate-like units as the gel is heated to higher temperatures. In aluminosilicophosphates, Si is present as Q4 and Q3 species while P is present as metaphosphate units; Al in these gels seems to be inducted into the tetrahedral network positions.

The presence of silicon dioxide (SiO2) in the renal calculi is detected, for the first time, by using an x-ray fluorescence technique.

Characterizations of side chain liquid crystalline polymers and their monomers point toward chemical structures and processing techniques which optimize their suitability for nonlinear optical applications. Polymers with methacrylate backbones and nitrostilbene or nitrobiphenyl side groups are studied; they tend to form smectic phases, but no solid crystallinity. By copolymerizing with nonmesogenic backbone units, the smectic-isotropic transition temperature can be controlled and may fall below the glass transition temperature. There is evidence for a significant degree of pretransitional alignment due to the surface fields, and mesogen ordering perpendicular to flow-induced backbone alignment. Very rapid cooling can suppress the highly scattering polydomain smectic phase.

Ion beam treatment studies have been carried out to investigate the potential for improvements in surface-sensitive properties of polymers. Kapton, Teflon, Tefzel, and Mylar have been implanted with boron, nitrogen, carbon, silicon, and iron ions, singly or simultaneously with dual or triple beams. The implanted materials were characterized by optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nano-hardness indentation, wear testing, scanning tunneling microscopy, x-ray analysis, nuclear reaction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Although the polymers showed a color change and varying degrees of measurable surface depression in the bombarded area, the implanted surface revealed substantial improvements in surface smoothness, hardness, and wear resistance. In particular, B, N, C triple-beam implanted Kapton showed over 30 times larger hardness than unimplanted material, making it more than three times harder than stainless steel. Sliding wear properties were characterized using an oscillating nylon or high carbon steel wear ball. Severe wear tracks were observed in virgin Kapton, but no appreciable wear was observed in ion implanted Kapton. Mechanisms underlying the improved surface properties are addressed.

The capacitive probe method for noncontact characterization and monitoring of dielectric materials is analyzed theoretically. An analytical method based upon the Hilbert transform technique and a numerical method using the finite element technique for calculating the potential distribution and change in admittance of the probe caused by presence of the dielectric material as a function of liftoff (distance between the probe plane and the surface of the dielectric material) are described. The two methods are compared with each other and their relative advantages discussed. The possibility of extracting useful information about the dielectric constant of the material from experimental data is also discussed in the light of the proposed theory.

In this paper, we propose that, depending on their height, ledges on cracks can be efficient sources of dislocations at loadings well below the critical loading for homogeneous emission. Detailed 3-D elastic calculations are presented supporting this proposition. There are two configurations for emission: one which blunts the crack, and one we call a jogging configuration. By our calculations, the blunting configuration should be the more efficient source; however, jogging dislocations are more frequently observed, experimentally. We find that the ledge is only a finite source of dislocations, in the sense that the ledge height decreases as the dislocations are emitted. The atomic configuration at the ledge is composed of finite lengths of real dislocations, which is the reason why such dislocations can be emitted easier than homogeneously produced dislocations. The stresses at the ledge tip produce a cloud of bound dislocations near the ledge, pinned at the ledge ends, so that the ledge crack configuration becomes delocalized. Delocalization of the pileup dislocations in the jogging direction may explain why the jogging dislocations are more frequently seen. Implications for dislocation free zones and ductile transitions are discussed.