Thermal stability of plasma deposited polysilanes

A new method for studying thermal stability and concomitant chemical composition changes on thermal treatment of thin polymeric films is presented. It is applied to the study of thermal properties and modification of properties of polysilane-like materials with variable dimensionality prepared by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Structure and microphysical properties of these materials, modified by progressive annealing, are examined by fluorimetry, FTIR absorption spectroscopy and XPS. In addition, the role, bonding conditions and structural environments of organic moieties as well as their influence on thermal degradation processes are examined. It is found that plasma polysilanes undergo three consecutive thermal degradation processes: Si-Si bond cleavage, elimination of side groups and final carbide formation. Presence of disorder and crosslinking stabilises the plasmatic material in comparison to classically prepared polysilanes. Nanostructural units in low dimensional polysilanes enable the peak of the luminescence to be adjusted in the spectral range from near UV (360 nm) to red (600 nm).     

Iron-sulfur cluster stability. Kinetics and mechanism of ligand-promoted cluster degradation

Reactivity studies of iron-sulfur cluster proteins with chelating ligands model the reactivity of cluster scaffold proteins such as ISU, and suggest a rate law [k(obs) = k2[ligand]n/{[ligand]n + K(D)}] consistent with formation of a pre-reaction complex between the Fe-S protein and one chelate ligand.     

Photoinitiation of vinyl polymerization by polysilanes

Polysilanes were found to photoinitiate the polymerization of a variety of vinyl monomers including methyl methacrylate, styrene, ethyl acrylate and acrylic acid. Polymerization initiated by polysilane photolysis is rather insensitive to oxygen inhibition, which may make it especially suitable for polymerization of thin films. The initiation efficiency of poly(phenylmethylsilylene) in styrene was determined from dilatometry data to be 1 × 10^?3. This rather low efficiency is counterbalanced by the very high extinction coefficient of polysilane polymers, ca. 4–8 × 10³ per silicon atom. Possible reasons for the low initiation efficiency and reduced oxygen inhibition of polysilane photoinitiators are discussed.     

Characterisation of polysilanes by thermal analysis methods

Polysilanes have been synthesised as potential precursors for silicon carbide fibres. One critical property of these precursors is the ceramic yield obtained on pyrolysis. This is determined by TG and typical curves are shown. A second important property is the suitability for spinning a fine, flexible fibre. The characterisation of ‘spinnability’ is subjective but one of the aims of this work has been to define more precisely the temperature at which to attempt spinning. This has involved the use of TMA and DSC.     

Determination of soman and VX degradation products by an aspiration ion mobility spectrometry

An aspiration type ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been used to determine chemical warfare agent (CWA) degradation products from liquid samples. This technique is based on ion mobility which depends on the molecular weight, charge and shape. With this method, it is possible to measure the mobility distribution of positive and negative ion clusters simultaneously in six different electrodes. Each measuring electrode determines a different portion of the ion mobility distribution formed within the cell’s radioactive source. The strongest responses for all CWA degradation products and 2-propanol were seen in the order of sixth, fifth and second channels. On the basis of projection calculation, the fingerprints for 2-propanol and soman (GD; pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate) and VX o-ethyl-S-[2(diisopropylamino)ethyl] methylphosphonothioate) degradation products can be separated from each other. The detection levels for ethyl methylphosphonate (EMPA), pinacolyl methylphosphonate (PMPA), and ethylphosphonic acid (EPA) were 37.2 (37.2 μg/ml), 54.1 (54.1 μg/ml) and 55.1 ppm (55.1 μg/ml), respectively. However, the separation efficiency between different CWA degradation products was quite poor. The projections of these compounds were between 0.9976 and 0.9989, and this means that these fingerprints were identical. Thus, it is only possible to get one profile for all these degradation products of soman and VX. The data provided show that IMS is suitable as a simple technique for screening of CWA degradation products.     

Thermal stability and degradation of chitosan modified by benzophenone

N-(biphenylmethylidenyl) chitosan polymer was prepared, characterized and thermal stability was compared with chitosan. Thermal degradation products of the modified polymer were identified by GC-MS technique. It seems that the mechanism of degradation of the prepared polymer is characterized by formation of low molecular weight radicals, followed by random scission mechanism along the backbond chain.     

Properties and applications of polysilanes

This review article presents an overview of the unique properties of polysilanes, attributed mainly to the existence of σ-conjugation along the all-silicon backbone. The most recent and exciting applications of polysilanes will also be highlighted.     

Catalytic alcohol oxidation by an unsymmetrical 5-coordinate copper complex: electronic structure and mechanism

Density functional theory reveals the detailed mechanism of alcohol oxidation by a model copper complex, Cu(II)L, L = cis-1-(3',5'-dimethoxy-benzylideneamino)-3,5-[2-hydroxy-(3',5'-di-tert-butyl)benzylideneimino]cyclohexane. Despite the obvious structural and functional parallels between the title compound and the enzyme galactose oxidase, the details of the catalytic pathway are fundamentally different. In the enzyme, coordination of the substrate produces an active form containing a Cu(II) centre and a tyrosyl radical, the latter being responsible for the abstraction of hydrogen from the substrate. In the model system, in marked contrast, the active form contains a Cu(II) centre, but the ligand radical character is localised on the substrate (alcoholate) oxygen, rather than the phenolate ligand. The result is a significantly higher barrier to hydrogen-atom abstraction compared to the enzyme itself. The origin of these significant differences is traced to the rigid nature of the pentadentate ligand, which resists changes in coordination number during the catalytic cycle.     

Doping effects on structural and electronic properties of ladderanes and ladder polysilanes: a density functional theory investigation

Doping effects on the structural and electronic properties of ladderanes and ladder polysilanes have been studied using density functional theory. Two types of doping: substitution with isoelectronic atoms or heteroatoms (or radicals), have been used to design low band gap ladderanes. It is found that the B-doped [n]-ladderanes and 1,2 P-doped [n]-silaladderanes exhibit a very noticeable bent conformation, whereas the 1,2 and 1,3 N-doped ladderanes, P-doped ladderanes, and silaladderanes keep the relatively straight ladder shapes. The isoelectronic atom doping reduces the HOMO-LUMO (H-L) gaps of [n]-ladderanes but increases those of [n]-silaladderanes with n > 5. The present results show that isoelectronic atom doping is not an effective way to decrease the H-L gaps of ladderanes and silaladderanes. Heteroatom doping has a more pronounced effect than the isoelectronic atom doping. The HOMOs of heteroatom-doped ladderanes and silaladderanes are destabilized and LUMOs are stabilized, leading to significant reduction of H-L gaps. Most of the B-, N-, and P-doped [n]-silaladderanes we designed have H-L gaps below 1.5 eV. Therefore, it is expected that these silaladderanes are promising candidates of conductive or semiconductive materials. The heteroatom doping is a viable approach to reduce H-L gaps for the silaladderanes. In addition, it is found that nine different density functionals, including B3LYP, SVWN LDA, four pure GGAs, and three hybrid GGAs, as well as the time-dependent B3LYP method, all lead to the same predictions on the H-L gaps of ladderanes, silaladderanes, as well as their doped derivatives.     

Infrared spectra of organosilanes and polysilanes

Conclusions The frequencies of the valence vibrations of the Si-H bonds in organosilanes are subject to the influence of hyperconjugation. In polysilanes and in compounds with a Si-Ge or Si-Sn link the effects of hyperconjugation are even greater.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1194–1196, May, 1970.     

纳米铁粉降解水中三硝基甲苯的条件优化与降解机理

研究了纳米铁粉降解水中三硝基甲苯(TNT)的影响因素;利用傅立叶变换红外光谱和紫外光谱分析了其降解机理.结果表明:将初始浓度为80.0mg/L、pH为4.00的TNT水溶液与5.0g/L的纳米铁粉在转速200r/min、温度40℃的振荡器中反应3h,水中TNT的浓度可降至0.1mg/L以下,降解率达到99%以上;就TNT的降解机理而言,其降解过程是纳米铁粉给出电子被氧化、TNT分子中的硝基接受电子被还原的过程.     

TiO2光催化降解胸腺嘧啶的动力学和机理

考察了用于降解来自嘧啶家族的一种核酸—胸腺嘧啶(C5H6N2O2)的高级氧化过程。结果发现,在光催化剂TiO2作用下,胸腺嘧啶的光降解进行得很快,且在紫外光照射和水溶液中时更为明显。研究了胸腺嘧啶在TiO2催化剂上的吸附、降解动力学、以及pH值对光催化降解胸腺嘧啶性能的影响。另外,考察了胸腺嘧啶降解产物的矿化;比较和讨论了在光催化过程中胸腺嘧啶的消失和矿化速率。同时还研究了氮的矿化,确立了中间产物的识别方法。最后,采用电子密度计算提出了在紫外光照射下TiO2催化剂上胸腺嘧啶降解的可能化学途径。     

微波辅助萃取-衍生气相色谱-电子捕获检测器法测定电子电气产品中的四溴双酚A

以N,O-双(三甲基硅烷基)三氟乙酰胺(BSTFA)作衍生化试剂,采用微波辅助萃取-衍生气相色谱-电子捕获检测器法(GC-ECD)测定电子电气产品中的四溴双酚A。使用V(甲苯)∶V(甲醇)=10∶1微波辅助萃取电子电气样品,用正己烷沉淀萃取液中的高聚物,净化后,将萃取液进行衍生化反应,采用ECD检测器进行定量测定。对衍生化时间、衍生化温度、衍生化试剂用量、沉淀试剂用量等前处理条件进行了优化,并进行了线性、回收率、精密度等试验。结果表明,方法线性范围为0.005~5 mg/L,相关系数为0.9985,方法的检测下限为0.02 mg/kg。采用样品加标的方式进行四溴双酚A的精密度及回收率实验,回收率在81.7%~110%之间,相对标准偏差RSD(n=7)小于7.2%。所建方法能很好的应用于电子电气产品中四溴双酚A的检测。     

Conformational analysis of polysilanes by the empirical force field method

Empirical force field (EFF) parameters have been developed for molecules containing Si-Si bonds. These parameters have been adjoined to those of a standard EFF and the extended force field has been used to calculate structures and relative conformational energies for a variety of acyclic and cyclic catenated polysilanes.     

气相色谱-质谱法测定电子产品中的四溴双酚-A

建立了电子产品中四溴双酚-A(TBBP-A)的气相色谱-质谱联用(GC-MS)检测方法。样品经丙酮提取后挥发至干,经二氯甲烷重新溶解后,用碳酸钾溶液反提取,反提取液与乙酸酐衍生化反应。衍生产物经正己烷提取后,采用GC-MS进行分析。结果表明,方法的线性范围为0.25～5.0 mg/L,相关系数为0.996;方法的检出限为0.05 mg/kg;平均回收率为87.3%～104.1%,相对标准偏差为5.6%～8.5%。该方法准确、灵敏,可用于实际电子产品中四溴双酚-A的分析。     

Electronic transitions of polysilanes and their photochemistry

The photolytic fragmentation of trisilane to disilane and silylene has been studied by means of a pseudopotential method. The lower-lying electronically excited states in several of the silanes have been calculated and analysed with respect to their Rydberg character, with the inclusion of d orbitals. The effect of methylation on the stability of the silicon-silicon bond, as well as on the above photochemical model reaction, is discussed. An orbital correlation diagram with defined energy levels is presented.     

Electrochemical synthesis of network polygermanes and polysilanes

Network σ-conjugated polymers, i.e., a butyl substituted network polygermane, (BuH_xGe)_n (x=0–2), a butyl substituted network polysilane, (BuH_xSi)_n (x=0–2), and an octyl substituted network polysilane, (OctH_xSi)_n (x=0–2), were synthesized by electrochemical reduction of butyltrichlorogermane, butyltrichlorosilane, and octyltrichlorosilane, respectively, for the first time. A polymer of (BuH_xGe)_n (x=0–2) had absorption which extended to 900 nm, while a polymer of (BuH_xSi)_n (x=0–2) and a polymer of (OctH_xSi)_n (x=0–2) had absorption which extended to 500 and 800 nms, respectively. It was found that the reported electrochemical method gave σ-conjugated polymers with more highly developed network structures compared to the other synthetic pathways. The structure of the polymers was successfully controlled from linear to highly developed network structures by controlling the charge for electrosynthesis.     

Determination of estradiol and its degradation products by liquid chromatography

A novel HPLC method for simultaneous determination of estradiol and its seven degradation products in topical gel was developed. Zorbax SB-CN (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) analytical column and mobile phase composed of acetonitrile, phosphoric acid 0.085%, and tetrahydrofurane (27:63:10, v/v/v) at flow-rate 1.0 ml min(-1) were used for the chromatographic separation using UV detection at 225 nm. The active substance estradiol was separated from all its known degradation products successfully. Two degradation products estrone and Delta(9(11))-estrone were not separated sufficiently, their peaks were evaluated as a sum of two components. The method was validated according to ICH guideline recommendations and thereafter it was successfully applied for stability tests of topical cream Estrogel HBF in the quality control laboratory. Limits of detection for degradation products ranged from 1.03 x 10(-5) to 1.14 x 10(-4) mg ml(-1), limits of quantitation for degradation products were in the range 3.43 x 10(-5) to 3.81 x 10(-4) mg ml(-1). The developed method is selective, precise, accurate and sensitive enough for determination of estradiol and its known degradation products.     

Thermal stability and degradation of starch derivatives

Thermal behaviour of different starch derivatives, i.e. starch esters and ethers having degree of substitution (DS) in the range of 0.02–0.18 were studied. Potato, maize and wheat starches were used. Measurements were carried out by coupled thermal analysis/ mass spectrometry method (STA-MS) in air atmosphere. The major DTG peak during the investigation for starch derivatives is observed below 300°C. The mass loss up to a temperature of 300°C is about 50%. The most abundant ions found areH₂O⁺ and CO₂ ⁺. For the studied starch derivatives with a low degree of substitution (DS<0.18) no correlation was found between thermal stability and the level of substitution regardless of the nature of substitution.