[Young Researchers] Modeling the emission spectra of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by recurrent fluorescence || On the physico-chemistry of polyvinyl butyral: Elegance behind complexity - Borja DAMIEN - (PSM) || Arauz Moreno CARLOS - (IMOV)

Modeling the emission spectra of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by recurrent fluorescence

Damien BORJA - (PhD, PSM) 

The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in interstellar medium (ISM) is supported by the observation of aromatic infrared bands in emission spectra, and the detection of several individual PAH species. The importance of recurrent fluorescence (RF) in their relaxation process could significantly increase their stability in such highly ionized environments. I present a statistical model of relaxation by RF, including Duschinsky rotation and Herzberg-Teller effects as well as a full account of vibrational progressions, and its application to naphthalene, anthracene, and pyrene cations. For these highly symmetric molecules, the low energy symmetry-forbidden electronic transitions are predicted to contribute more to RF than the traditionally considered, higher energy, non-forbidden transitions. This unexpected contribution could increase the cooling efficiency of PAHs and their stability under the highly ionized conditions of the ISM.

On the physico-chemistry of polyvinyl butyral: Elegance behind complexity. 

Carlos ARAUZ MORENO - (Post-Doc, IMOV)

Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) is an amorphous polymer typically used in laminated safety glass or solar panels. In both cases, a thin PVB sheet serves as an adhesive between two layers of glass. While highly relevant industrially, PVB polymers remain poorly understood at a fundamental level, despite their interesting chemistry and equally appealing physical properties. In this talk, I will discuss recent advances in the understanding of PVB polymers which link chemistry to macroscopic properties, such as rheology, water transport and clustering, as well as dynamic bubbling behavior – all key properties that impact the performance of glass assemblies with PVB polymers.