A series of submonolayer deposition studies of oleic acid on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces has shown that oleic acid self-associates into islands rather than uniformly covering the surfaces. The studies were performed by vapor deposition on 1.6 mum diameter polystyrene aerosol particles as well as on polystyrene and silica surfaces. The surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), ellipsometry and contact-angle goniometry. After timescales of minutes to hours of vapor deposition at 70 degrees C, the oleic acid arranged itself in the form of islands with diameters of about 100 nm. Many of the islands are 25-30 A high, suggesting that the oleic acid sits vertically on the surface. The surface structure of oleic acid on particles is expected to impact on several atmospherically relevant properties such as the reactivity of the oleic acid and the hygroscopicity of the particles.

The polymerization of N-(n-hexyl)-N′-phenylcarbodiimide was studied using a number of homochiral catalysts based on binaphthol derivatives. All polymers showed optical activity due to the formation of a predominant screw sense controlled by the chirality of the catalyst. The helicity and chirality of these materials were studied by VCD, ECD, and polarimetry. Structures calculated using density functional theory were used to compare with their simulated VCD and experimental VCD, thus allowing the absolute screw sense to be determined. AFM imaging showed epitaxial ordering of these rigid chains on graphite surfaces and single chains measuring nearly 3 mm were observed in spin-cast samples on silicon.

Single-particle kinetic studies of the reaction between oleic acid and O 3 have been conducted on two different types of core particles: polystyrene latex (PSL) and silica. Oleic acid was found to adsorb to both particle types in multilayer islands that resulted in an adsorbed layer of a total volume estimated to be less than one monolayer. The rate of the surface reaction between surface-adsorbed oleic acid and O 3 has been shown for the first time to be influenced by the composition of the aerosol substrate in a mixed organic/inorganic particle. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism was applied to the observed dependence of the pseudo-first-order rate constant with [O 3], and the resulting fit parameters for the ozone partition coefficient ( K O 3 ) and maximum first order rate constant ( k 1,max ) suggest that the reaction proceeded faster on the less polar PSL core at lower [O 3] due to the increased residence time of O 3 on the PSL surface, but the reaction was ultimately more efficient on the silica surface at high [O 3]. Values for the uptake coefficient, gamma oleic , for reaction of oleic acid on PSL spheres decrease from 2.5 x 10 (-5) to 1 x 10 (-5) with increasing [O 3] from 4 to 25 ppm and overlap at high [O 3] with the estimated values for gamma oleic on silica, which decrease from 1.6 x 10 (-5) to 1.3 x 10 (-5). The relationship between gamma oleic and the more common expression for gamma O 3 is discussed.

A polymeric composite containing a 2-aminoimidazole derivative was synthesized. It was found that this polymer was resistant to biofilm colonization by Acinetobacter baumannii, no leaching of the 2-aminoimidazole derivative was observed after 2 weeks of treatment with deionized water, and the resulting polymer was not hemolytic.

We report here ultrahigh vacuum studies of the dehydrocyclization reaction of submonolayer coverages of 1-hexene to benzene on a Cu3Pt(111) single crystal surface, using reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) studies, and temperatureprogrammed reaction/desorption (TPR/D) spectrometry. As discussed in a previous TPR/D paper, at surface coverages up to 13% of monolayer saturation, 1-hexene forms benzene on a Cu3Pt(111) surface. Selectivity to benzene formation is 70 ( 10%, with the remaining 30 ( 10% of the adsorbed 1-hexene dehydrogenating irreversibly to surface carbon and H2. For higher coverages, molecular desorption commences. Spectroscopic identification of the intermediates of the reaction of 1-hexene and other model compounds, such as a 1,3,5-hexatriene, with a Cu3Pt(111) surface suggests that 1-hexene and 1,3,5-hexatriene have a common intermediate, and this intermediate has been identified as a rehybridized hexatriene species. Other model compounds, such as trans-3-hexene, have also been used to provide further understanding of the mechanism of the aromatization reaction.