Preparation and Characterization of Mixed‐Valent Nickel Oxide/Nickel Hexacyanoferrate Hybrid Films and Their Electrocatalytic Properties

Polynuclear mixed‐valent nickel oxide and nickel hexacyanoferrate hybrid film was prepared on glassy carbon electrode by multiple scan cyclic voltammetry. The film growth was monitored using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM). The cyclic voltammogram of the nickel hexacyanoferrate film is characterized by single redox couple whereas nickel oxide/nickel hexacyanoferrate hybrid film exhibits two redox couples. Cyclic voltammetric features suggest that the charge transfer process in both films resembles that of surface‐confined redox species. In stronger basic solution (pH ≥9), nickel hexacyanoferrate film was gradually converted into nickel oxide film during potentiodynamic cycling. The peak potential of nickel oxide redox couple moved into more negative side with increasing pH of contacting solution whereas the peak potential of nickel hexacyanoferrate redox couple remains the same. Electrocatalytic behavior of hybrid film coated electrodes toward ascorbic acid, hydrazine and hydroxylamine was investigated using cyclic voltammetry technique. Analytical application of nickel oxide/nickel hexacyanoferrate hybrid film electrode was tested in amperometry and flow injection analysis.     

Curing and pyrolysis of epoxy resins containing 2-(6-oxido-6<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-dibenz(<Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis>)(1,2)oxaphosphorin-6-yl)-1,4-naphthalenediol or bisphenol S

This work examines the curing kinetics, thermal properties, and decomposition kinetics of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxies with three different curing agents, 2-(6-oxido-6H-dibenz(c,e)(1,2)oxaphosphorin-6-yl)-1,4-naphthalenediol (ODOPN), bisphenol A (BPA), and bisphenol S (BPS). The differential scanning calorimetry curing study reveals that the curing kinetics of the DGEBA/ODOPN epoxy is first order, independent of the scan rate. The ODOPN-containing epoxy, unlike the conventional BPA one, includes a phosphorus-containing bulky pendant aromatic group and results in an increase in the glass-transition temperature of 83 K, the char yield increases by a factor of 3, and the limiting oxygen index values increase from 23 to 27. For the BPS system, the glass-transition temperature increased slightly, and both the char yield and the limiting oxygen index value increased insignificantly when the test was conducted in air. Finally, the thermogravimetric analysis decomposition study in N₂ from Ozawa's analysis demonstrates that the DGEBA/BPS epoxy has the highest activation energy, followed by the regular DGEBA/BPA system, and lastly the DGEBA/ODOPN has the lowest activation energy. The low activation energy for the ODOPN system is attributed to the initial decomposition of the phosphorus compound in the formation of an insulating layer.     

Photolysis of NSAIDs. I. photodegradation products of carprofen determined by LC-ESI-MS

A solution of carprofen in methanol at a concentration of 2.74 x 10(-2) mg/mL is subjected to photoirradiation using a Hanovia 200-W high-pressure Hg lamp for 9 h. In total, seven photodegradation products are separated, and their quasimolecular ions are subsequently determined online using a liquid chromatography (LC)-electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS) method. The high-performance LC consists of an Inertsil 5 ODS-80A (2.1- x 150-mm) column. The mobile phase is initially CH(3)CN. NH(4)OAc (20mM in de-ionized H(2)O) is 43:57 (v/v), and after 14 min it is CH(3)CN. NH(4)OAc (20mM in de-ionized H2O) is 54: 46 (v/v). The UV detector was set at 260 nm. The parameters of LC-MS for mass determination involves an atmospheric pressure ionization electron spray interface with a negative mode of polarity (ESI(-)). The chemical structures of the degradants are elucidated based on the mass-to-charge ratio of the quasimolecular ions and the molecular weight changes by comparison with the parent drug (carprofen). The degradation proceeds via an initial dechlorination. A dechlorination or esterification reaction is competed with decarboxylation. This finding is in accordance with our previously reported result of first order photodecomposition kinetics for carprofen.     

Catalysis by Using TiO2 Nanoparticles and Nanotubes

TiO2 has attracted considerable attention due to its stability, non-toxicity, low cost, and great potential for use as a photocatalyst in environmental applications. Since strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) of titania-supported noble metals was first reported in 1978, titania supported catalyst has been intensively studied in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the effective catalytic activity was restricted due to the low surface area of TiO2. Recently, TiO2-based nanotubes were extensively investigated because of their potentials in many areas such as highly efficient photocatalysis and hydrogen sensor.In the present study, formation of titanium oxide (TiO2) nanotubes was carried out by hydrothermal method, with TiO2 nanoparticle-powders immersed in concentrated NaOH solution in an autoclave at 110 ℃. Preparation of nano-size Pt on TiO2-nanoparticles or TiO2-nanotubes was performed by photochemical deposition method with UV irradiation on an aqueous solution containing TiO2 and hexachloroplatinic acid or tetrachloroauric acid. The TEM micrographs show that TiO2-nanotubes exhibit ～300 nm in length with an inner diameter of ～ 6 nm and the wall thickness of ～ 2 nm, and homogeneous nanosize Pt particles (～ 2 nm) were well-dispersed on both nanoparticle- and nanotube- titania supports. It also shows the nanotube morphology was retained up2o n Pt-immobilization. Nitrogen adsorption isotherm at 77K resulted a high surface area (～ 200m/g) of TiO2-nanotubes, which is about 40 times greater than that of "mother" TiO2 nanoparticles (～5 m/g). All the spectroscopic results exhibited that the nanotube structure was not significantly affected by the immobilized Pt particles. Ti K-edge XANES spectra of TiO2 nanotube and Pt/TiO2-nanotube represent that most titanium are in a tetrahedral coordination with few retained in the octahedral structure.In the in-situ FT-IR experiments, an IR cell was evacuated to a pressure of 10-5 torr at room temperature as soon as the catalyst-pellet, Pt/TiO2 or Pt/TiO2-nanotube, was placed inside the cell.Then, 60 torr of hydrogen was introduced into the cell and subsequently the temperature was programmed to increase from room temperature to 300℃ at a constant heating rate of 5℃/min.For Pt/TiO2, an IR peak at 2083 em-1 started to appear at 200℃ with a maximum intensity at 250℃ and then decreasing as temperature increased. The 2083 em-1 IR peak corresponds to the linearly adsorption of CO on the well-dispersed Pt sites. Simultaneously, the IR bands of gaseous methane at 3016 em-1 started to appear at 225℃ and the peak intensity increased with temperature. The results reveal that Pt/TiO2 can adsorb gaseous CO2 and further catalyzes the reduction of CO2 by H2 through the intermediate CO, which further produces gaseous methane. While for the Pt/TiO2-nanotube catalyst, methane was produced at relatively low temperature, 100℃, and it catalyzed the direct conversion of CO2 to CH4. The absence of intermediate CO-adsorption signals durinng the temperature programmed process indicates that the prepared TiO2 nanotube-supported nanosize Pt possesses a potent capability for CO2 adsorption and highly catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of CO2, and was superior to the conventional Pt/TiO2 catalyst. The catalytic activity of Pt/TiO2-nanotube was indeed significantly enhanced by the high surface area of TiO2-nanotubes.Details will be discussed.     

Effect of the polarity of additional solvent on membrane formation in polysulfone/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone/water ternary system

Asymmetric polysulfone membranes were prepared by wet phase inversion method with different demixing rate of casting solutions. The influent factor of demixing rate was focused on the polarity of additive in the polysulfone/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone/water ternary system. With increasing the polarity of alcohols in the casting solution, the decrease in skin layer thickness was observed and then a poor separation performance of membranes can be obtained. It was found that the polar additive caused the rapidly demixing of casting solution in coagulation bath and formed porous asymmetric membranes with defective skin layer. In the other case, chloroform was used as the non-polar additive in casting solution. With increasing the mount of chloroform in the casting solution, the increase in skin layer thickness was observed and then lead to a good separation performance of these membranes. It was found that of the non-polar additive delays the demixing rate of casting solution in this ternary system. The separation performance of these asymmetric membranes were characterized by the measurement of dehydration of ethanol/water mixture by pervaporation and observed the morphology by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the separation performance of asymmetric polysulfone membrane strongly depends on the polarity of adding solvent in polysulfone/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone/water ternary system.     

Synthesis and properties of new soluble aromatic polyamides and polyimides on the basis of N,N′‐bis(3‐aminobenzoyl)‐N,N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine

A new N‐phenylated amide (N‐phenylamide) unit containing aromatic diamine, N,N′‐bis(3‐aminobenzoyl)‐N,N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine, was prepared by the condensation of N,N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine with 3‐nitrobenzoyl chloride, followed by catalytic reduction. Two series of organosoluble aromatic poly(N‐phenylamide‐imide)s and poly(N‐phenylamide‐amide)s with inherent viscosities of 0.58–0.82 and 0.56–1.21 dL/g were prepared by a conventional two‐stage method and the direct phosphorylation polycondensation, respectively, from the diamine with various aromatic dianhydrides and aromatic dicarboxylic acids. All polyimides and polyamides are amorphous and readily soluble in many organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylacetamide and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. These polymers could be solution cast into transparent, tough, and flexible films with high tensile strengths. These polyimides and polyamides had glass‐transition temperatures in the ranges of 230–258 and 196–229 °C, respectively. Decomposition temperatures of the polyimides for 10% weight loss all occurred above 500 °C in both nitrogen and air atmospheres. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2564–2574, 2002     

Synthesis and properties of aromatic poly(ester amide)s with pendant phosphorus groups

Two series of phosphorus‐containing aromatic poly(ester amide)s with inherent viscosities of 0.46–3.20 dL/g were prepared by low‐temperature solution polycondensation from 1,4‐bis(3‐aminobenzoyloxy)‐2‐(6‐oxido‐6H‐dibenz〈c,e〉〈1,2〉oxaphosphorin‐6‐yl)naphthalene and 1,4‐bis(4‐aminobenzoyloxy)‐2‐(6‐oxido‐6H‐dibenz〈c,e〉〈1,2〉oxaphosphorin‐6‐yl)naphthalene with various aromatic diacid chlorides. All the poly(ester amide)s were amorphous and readily soluble in many organic solvents, such as N,N‐dimethylformamide, N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP). Transparent, tough, and flexible films of these polymers were cast from DMAc and NMP solutions. Their casting films had tensile strengths of 71–214 MPa, elongations to break of 5–10%, and initial moduli of 2.3–6.0 GPa. These poly(ester amide)s had glass‐transition temperatures of 209–239 °C (m‐series) and 222–267 °C (p‐series). The degradation temperatures at 10% weight loss in nitrogen for these polymers ranged from 462 to 489 °C, and the char yields at 800 °C were 55–63%. Most of the poly(ester amide)s also showed a high char yield of 35–45%, even at 800 °C under a flow of air. The limited oxygen indices of these poly(ester amide)s were 35–46. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 459–470, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10129     

Polyterephthalamides with naphthoxy‐pendent groups

A series of new aromatic polyamides having pendent naphthoxy groups were synthesized by the triphenyl phosphite‐activated polycondensation of (2‐naphthoxy)terephthalic acid (NOTPA) with various aromatic diamines in a medium consisting of N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine, and calcium chloride. The diacid monomer NOTPA was prepared from the nitro displacement of dimethyl 2‐nitroterephthalate with the potassium naphthoxide of β‐naphthol, followed by base‐induced ester hydrolysis. All the resulting polymers were noncrystalline and readily soluble in aprotic polar solvents such as NMP and N,N‐dimethylacetamide. Almost all the polymers could be solution‐cast to tough, creasable amorphous films with good mechanical properties, the values of tensile strengths ranging from 90 to 124 MPa with initial moduli ranging from 1.72 to 2.51 GPa. Except for two examples, all the other polyamides displayed discernible glass transitions between 189 and 248 °C in the differential scanning calorimetric traces. These polyamides showed insignificant decomposition below 400 °C in nitrogen or air. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1781–1789, 2002     

Constituents from Rubia Ustulata Diels and R. Yunnanensis Diels and Their Antiplatelet Aggregation Activity

A new anthraquinone glycoside, rubiayannone‐A ( 1 ), and a new coumarin, rubilatin‐A ( 2 ), together with twenty‐two known compounds were isolated and characterized from the roots of Rubia ustulata. A new anthraquinone, 2‐carbomethoxyanthraquinone ( 3 ), and rubiayannone‐A, 2‐formylanthraquinone were obtained from the roots of R. yunnanensis. The structures of those compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The antiplatelet aggregation activity of the isolated compounds 1, 4～6 were also discussed.     

Gas-phase complexation of polyethers with halide ions

Gas-phase complexes of halide anions with a variety of crown ethers and acyclic analogs are formed by ion-molecule reactions in the chemical ionization source of a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. The ether complexes of iodide, bromide, and chloride dissociate on collisional activation by cleavage of the halide-ether electrostatic hydrogen bonds, resulting in the formation of bare halide anions. By contrast, the fluoride complexes dissociate by loss of HF, which may occur in conjunction or sequentially with losses of ethylene oxide units. This dissociation behavior is similar to that observed for collisionally activated dissociation of [M ? H]^? ions of the crown ethers and suggests that the fluoride ion is capable of promoting an intramolecular proton abstraction within the [M+F]^? complex. This type of dissociation chemistry is only observed for the fluoride ion complexes, and the fluoride ion is the most basic of all the halides. The kinetic method was used to establish orders of relative halide binding strengths, and the trends for the chloride and bromide affinities were 12-crown-4 < triethylene glycol dimethyl ether < 15-crown-5 < tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether < 18-crown-6 < 21-crown-7 < tetraethylene glycol < pentaethylene glycol < 1,4,7,10,13-pentathiacyclopentadecane.