Particle morphology in the early stages of radiation-induced heterophase polymerization of vinyl chloride

Investigations of the particle morphology of poly(vinyl chloride) produced under quiescent conditions during radiation-induced bulk polymerization over the temperature range ?30 to 70°C were carried out. The observations were mainly confined to the early stages of polymerization. For polymerization temperatures below about 20°C, the systems remain predominantly homogeneous during the entire polymerization and the polymer particles increase in size linearly with conversion. At higher temperatures the polymer particles rapidly settle and become cemented together. The findings are discussed in the light of the kinetic data on vinyl chloride polymerization, and a process of particle formation and growth, resembling that recently proposed by Fitch for emulsion systems, was formulated. Primary particles are initially formed by the coiling up of single macromolecules or single macroradicals and, subsequently, they increase in size by sweeping up growing free radicals from the liquid monomer phase. The free radicals which escape capture give rise to new primary particles, but their number progressively decreases as the number of the dispersed particles increases. Simultaneously, the polymer particles undergo flocculation which in a short time results in the formation of large agglomerates. As the volume of the resulting agglomerates increases, the flocculation rate decreases and, eventually, becomes so low that the flocculation does not proceed further. At low temperatures the flocculation almost ceases when the agglomerates are still small enough for sedimentation to occur only very slowly. However, this is not the case at higher temperatures. The addition of substances such as alcohols, brings about a reduction in the flocculation rate and, hence, in the size of the agglomerates formed at the end of the flocculation process. In this way, one can also obtain at high temperatures agglomerates of small sizes which remain dispersed for a long time.     

Formation of free radicals during machining and fracture of polymers

Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements of the number of free radicals formed during cutting and grinding of polymers are described. It was found in the semicrystalline polymers studied that below the glassy transition temperature that the number of free radicals formed is about 2 × 10¹³/cm² of surface formed. It is proposed that this number results from the crack progressing selectively through the glassy regions about more ordered regions in the polymers.     

Radiation crosslinking of poly(vinyl chloride) enhanced by a tetrafunctional coagent

Irradiations were carried out with mixtures of poly(vinyl chloride) and a solvent capable of preventing the polymer from discoloration, such as tetrahydrofuran or cyclohexanone, both in the absence and in the presence of a tetrafunctional monomer (ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) acting as a coagent for enhanced crosslinking. Comparison of the results enabled formulation of a reaction scheme based on an early depletion of the free coagent molecules via polymerization. In the early stages, the PVC macromolecules, whenever dissociated into free radicals, initiate a chain addition of coagent molecules resulting in the formation of complex macromolecules with a number of pendant CC groups. All the latter macromolecules, because of their high susceptibility to radical attack, grow rapidly and eventually become part of the gel portion. In the late stages, radical addition to pendant CC groups in the gel network still occurs effectively but the addition steps are very few and there may be only one such step before radical deactivation. Hence, there is small consumption of double bonds; further, the PVC macromolecules, once homolytically dissociated, are directly incorporated into the gel. An interesting consequence is that no crosslinked macromolecules remain in the sol portion. The influence of the solvent is discussed.     

γ-辐照聚全氟乙丙烯的电子自旋共振研究 II: 真空中俘获自由基的自氧化过程

Autooxidation processes of free radicals trapped in γ irradiated F46 copolymer in vacuum at room temperature were studied by means of ESR. It is shown that these processes are under the dual control of both the diffusion of oxygen and the total concentration of free radicals, and they are independent of the autooxidation reaction rate constant. In general, the diffusion constant calculated by simple diffusion equation is an apparent diffusion constant, it is a function of the total concentration of free radicals. Only when the total concentration of free radicals is low enough (in our case n相似文献   

Mathematical Analysis of the Formation of Molecule Sizes on a Spinning Disc Reactor

A mathematical analysis of the behaviour of the molecular weights of addition polymers during a polymerisation process is described. Spinning disc reactor (SDR) technology has been shown to yield significant improvements in terms of polymerisation rates whilst retaining close control of the molecular weights and the molecular weight distributions^[1,2]. However, understanding of the kinetics of the polymerisation process on a SDR remains unresolved. One of the questions to be addressed concerns the sizes of the macromolecules preferably formed during the polymerisation process. To address this question, a mathematical analysis of the observed trends in number and weight average molecular weight, monomer concentration and polydispersity during the polymerisation process on a SDR has been undertaken. To validate the results, experimental data obtained from benzoyl peroxide initiated free radical polymerisation of styrene on a SDR^[2] was used. It was concluded that most of the monomers consumed are in the growth of smaller size chains.     

Nature of mechanoradical formation of substituted celluloses as studied by electron spin resonance

Mechanically induced free radical (mechanoradical) formation of several substituted celluloses such as carboxylmethyl cellulose, chitin, and chitosan was studied based on electron-spin resonance (ESR) in comparison with those of plasma-induced radicals. Room temperature ESR spectra had multicomponent spectra and were different in pattern from each other. The mechanoradical concentration gradually decreased after reaching the maximum value in each substituted polysaccharide, accompanied by a decrease in molecular weight in the course of vibratory milling. One of the most intriguing facts is that the component radicals are all glucose-based radicals as in the case of plasma irradiation, although it is known that mechanoradicals are formed by 1,4-glucosidic bond cleavage of polysaccharides.     

Mechanism of stable radical generation in aromatic polyamides on exposure to nitrogen dioxide

By using the example of poly-m-phenylene isophthalamide, the mechanism of generation of stable nitrogen-containing radicals in aromatic polyamides in the presence of nitrogen dioxide is considered. The proposed mechanism is based on the reactions of dimers of nitrogen dioxide in the form of nitrosyl nitrate. As a result of a primary reaction of electron transfer from donor functional groups of macromolecules to nitrosyl nitrate, macromolecular radical cations and nitric oxide are formed. Amide groups and phenyl rings can act as electron donors. In the subsequent reactions with participation of radical cations, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide oximes, nitroso compounds and nitrites are formed. Generation of stable iminoxyl radicals occurs by reactions of oximes with nitrogen dioxide. Thermolysis of the polymer nitration products gives iminoxyl and acylarylaminoxyl radicals. The structure of iminoxyl radicals and features of dynamics of their formation have been confirmed by ab initio quantum-chemical calculations.     

含氟烷基氧杂磺酸钾盐快速电子辐照自由基衰变

本文报导了用电子自旋共振谱研究一些含氟烷基氧杂磺酸钾盐经快速电子辐照后自由基衰变的情况。真空辐照和空气中辐照的剂量均为7.2×10~6rad。辐照后的全氟和多氟化合物于室温下放置2～12天后,其自由基浓度为10~(18)spin No./g,放置88天后,自由基浓度与前相同,基本无变化。而十二烷基磺酸钠辐照后生成的自由基,在室温下却很快衰变。辐照后生成的自由基具有反应活性,可以引发苯乙烯的聚合反应。     

Specifics of synthesis of styrene homo-and copolymers in the presence of piperidine-base amines and peroxide initiator

The specific features of synthesis of polystyrene, as well as random and block styrene-acrylonitrile and styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymers, in the presence of some alicyclic amines were studied. It was found that chain length regulators are not only amines themselves, but also nitroxyl radicals formed in situ as a result of oxidation of amines by benzoyl peroxide, which acts simultaneously as the initiator of radical polymerization and an oxidant. It was shown that secondary amine-peroxide binary compositions are able to control most effectively the kinetic parameters of polymerization and the molecular-mass characteristics of formed macromolecules.     

Impact of cholesterol on voids in phospholipid membranes

Free volume pockets or voids are important to many biological processes in cell membranes. Free volume fluctuations are a prerequisite for diffusion of lipids and other macromolecules in lipid bilayers. Permeation of small solutes across a membrane, as well as diffusion of solutes in the membrane interior are further examples of phenomena where voids and their properties play a central role. Cholesterol has been suggested to change the structure and function of membranes by altering their free volume properties. We study the effect of cholesterol on the properties of voids in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers by means of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. We find that an increasing cholesterol concentration reduces the total amount of free volume in a bilayer. The effect of cholesterol on individual voids is most prominent in the region where the steroid ring structures of cholesterol molecules are located. Here a growing cholesterol content reduces the number of voids, completely removing voids of the size of a cholesterol molecule. The voids also become more elongated. The broad orientational distribution of voids observed in pure DPPC is, with a 30% molar concentration of cholesterol, replaced by a distribution where orientation along the bilayer normal is favored. Our results suggest that instead of being uniformly distributed to the whole bilayer, these effects are localized to the close vicinity of cholesterol molecules.     

Gel growth in free radical crosslinking copolymerization: Effect of inactive gel radicals

A kinetic model is presented for the post‐gelation period of free‐radical crosslinking copolymerization. The model takes into account the trapped radical centers in the gel forming system. It was shown that the weight fraction of sol, W_s, relates to the number of crosslinked units per weight‐average primary molecule, ε, through the equation where n = 2 for Flory's most probable molecular weight distribution, and n = 3 for primary molecules formed by radical combination. Calculation results demonstrate that the existence of trapped radicals significantly affects the growth rate of the gel molecule. It increases the total radical concentration and accelerates the gel growth. The difference in the predictions with and without considering the trapped radicals becomes significant as the crosslinker concentration decreases or, as the vinyl group reactivity on the crosslinker or on the polymer decreases.     

Combined electron magnetic resonance and density functional theory study of 10 K X-irradiated beta-D-fructose single crystals

Primary free radical formations in fructose single crystals X-irradiated at 10 K were investigated at the same temperature using X-band Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), Electron Nuclear Double Resonance (ENDOR) and ENDOR induced EPR (EIE) techniques. ENDOR angular variations in the three principal crystallographic planes and a fourth skewed plane allowed the unambiguous determination of five proton hyperfine coupling tensors. From the EIE studies, these hyperfine interactions were assigned to three different radicals, labeled T1, T1* and T2. For the T1 and T1* radicals, the close similarity in hyperfine coupling tensors suggests that they are due to the same type of radical stabilized in two slightly different geometrical conformations. Periodic density functional theory calculations were used to aid the identification of the structure of the radiation-induced radicals. For the T1/T1* radicals a C3 centered hydroxyalkyl radical model formed by a net H abstraction is proposed. The T2 radical is proposed to be a C5 centered hydroxyalkyl radical, formed by a net hydrogen abstraction. For both radicals, a very good agreement between calculated and experimental hyperfine coupling tensors was obtained.     

Polymers at solid interfaces: A spin labelling approach

Polymers physically adsorbed or chemically grafted on a solid surface can be studied at a microscopic molecular level by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The signal of nitroxide free radicals used as spin labels is sensitive to the Brownian motion of the segments and generally shows lines characteristic of two different environments, the loops and tails in solution, and the trains on the surface. The previsions of simple models for what can be expected from the measurements are recalled. The relevance of the method is confirmed on linear neutral chains in well defined situations. The technique is then applied to a number of new systems giving valuable information on the behaviour of the macromolecules in these more complex conditions.     

Free radicals in the electrochemical reduction of certain mononitro and dinitro derivatives of pyridine

In the primary process of electrochemical reduction of substituted 3-nitropyridines in dimethylformamide, their anion radicals are formed. This also takes place in the reduction of 3,5-dinitropyridines and 3-nitropyridines with a nitrophenyl substituent at position 2 or 4. For these dinitro derivatives, however, secondary free radicals are formed as well; in a basic medium, these are the products of reduction of the corresponding Meisenheimer complexes. Serving as the reaction center for electroreduction is the nitro group on the pyridine ring, not the group on the phenyl ring. For the mononitropyridines and dinitropyridines that were studied, free radicals of the nitropyridine type are formed as the primary species. The structure of the primary and secondary free radicals was established by analysis of the hyperfine structure of their ESR spectra.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 8, pp. 1079–1087, August, 1993.     

ETUDE PAR RESONANCE PARAMAGNETIQUE ELECTRONIQUE DE LA PHOTOSENSIBILISATION DES ACIDES AMINES PAR LA PROFLAVINE

Abstract— –The photosensitization of amino acids by proflavine is studied using the technique of electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The analysis of the line shape as a function of the incident microwave power (both in the presence and absence of oxygen) and the dependence of the numbers of free radicals on the intensity of the incident light allow one to suggest that two types of radicals are formed. One is formed by a biphotonic process, the nature of the radicals being the same as in the case of ionising radiation, while the other is probably the RO₂ radical formed as a result of photodynamic action.     

Methane Decomposition and C2 Hydrocarbon Formation under the Condition of DC Discharge Plasma

The infrared emission spectra of methane, H, CH and C2 hydrocarbons in natural gas were measured. The processes of methane decomposition and formation of C2 hydrocarbons were studied. The experiment shows that methane decomposition can be divided into three periods as the reaction proceeds.In the first period, a large number of free radicals were formed. While in the last period, the formation of C2 hydrocarbons and the decrease of free radicals were observed. The time and conditions of methane decomposition and formation of C2 hydrocarbons are different.     

Self-organization of amphiphilic macromolecules with local helix structure in concentrated solutions

Concentrated solutions of amphiphilic macromolecules with local helical structure were studied by means of molecular dynamic simulations. It is shown that in poor solvent the macromolecules are assembled into wire-like aggregates having complex core-shell structure. The core consists of a hydrophobic backbone of the chains which intertwine around each other. It is protected by the shell of hydrophilic side groups. In racemic mixture of right-hand and left-hand helix macromolecules the wire-like complex is a chain of braid bundles of macromolecules with the same chirality stacking at their ends. The average number of macromolecules in the wire cross-section is close to that of separate bundles observed in dilute solutions of such macromolecules. The effects described here could serve as a simple model of self-organization in solutions of macromolecules with local helical structure.     

Radical processes in polymer burning and its retardation. II. An ESR study of flame retardation of polypropylene

Qualitative and quantitative free radical transformations between polypropylene alkyl radicals, oxygen, and brominated flame retardants in the molten and gaseous phases of thermally treated samples are described. By ESR technique it has been proved that, depending on the applied pressure during pyrolysis, highly reactive peroxy radicals or less reactive radicals of the retardant are formed. For flame-retarded samples, compared with polypropylene without additives, the concentration of the primary alkyl radicals transferred from the molten to the gaseous phase is reduced by two orders of magnitude (from 7 × 10¹⁴ to 7 × 10¹² spins/0.02 g), whereas the limiting oxygen index [LOI] is raised from 17–18% to 25–26%. The great variety of physical and chemical processes proceeding in molten polymer in the preflame zone and burning gaseous phase calls for use of different retardant types with a programmed release of Br and HBr with the temperature increase. The chain oxidation of the “fuel,” a product of the endothermic decomposition of polymer, determines the temperature of self-ignition according to the number of initiating alkyl and allyl radicals formed per unit time; the [LOI] index depends more on the length of the kinetic chain of propagation reactions in the stationary process of oxidation at a given pressure.     

Effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on the ESR spectra of the red and black hair: pheomelanin free radicals are not always present in red hair

Increased incidence of melanoma in the population with red hair is conditioned by synthesis of pheomelanin pigments in the skin and their phototoxic properties. The recent research has shown that free radicals of pheomelanin are produced not only by the influence of UV irradiation, but also in UV‐independent pathways of oxidative stress. It has been ascertained, that the color of the hair is not always determinant of the amount of pheolemanin radicals in red hair. Therefore, in order to evaluate the risk of melanoma in different individuals, it is necessary to define the amount of free radicals of pheomelanin in red hair using ESR spectroscopy method. Besides, it is very important to find effective antioxidant, capable of neutralizing free radicals of pheomelanin. It was proved that ascorbic acid neutralizes free radicals of pheomelanin very effectively. The main goal of our research was to define the presumably optimal concentration of ascorbic acid as an antioxidant and study the kinetics of the influence of this concentration on red and black hair. It has been found out, that ascorbic acid influences the free radicals of red and black hair, and its appropriate optimal concentration is 10 mM. The obtained results can be considered in dermatology and cosmetology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EPR study of persistent free radicals in cross-linked EPDM rubbers

Cross-linking of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubbers containing different amounts of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene (ENB) and 5-vinyl-2-norbornene (VNB) dienes was examined by EPR spectroscopy. The cross-linking was initiated by thermal decomposition of dicumyl peroxide at 440 K. The concentration of free radicals increased towards the end of the cross-linking process before reaching a maximum and decaying to zero. This is explained by the spatial confinement of the radicals in the cross-linked rubber, which leads to increased life time and, hence, higher radical concentration at a time when most peroxide has decomposed. The EPR spectra showed the presence of two components: a well-resolved spectrum overlapping a broad line. Both components are assigned to allyl radicals possessing different mobility. The more mobile component is assigned to allyl radicals along the EPDM chains, whereas the immobilised allyl radicals are formed in the cross-links. The stability of the allyl radicals decreases in the order DCPD > ENB > VNB. EPDMs containing two dienes show more persistent radicals than their single-diene counterparts. The most persistent radicals are observed for highly cross-linked (e.g., 28% ENB) or mixed diene EPDMs (e.g., 2.2% DCPD-4.4% ENB); the EPR spectra of free radicals in these systems can be observed for several hours.