2,6-Dimethylphenol polymerization with cuprous chloride and n-butylamine catalyst system: Effect of Nal addition

2,6-Dimethylphenol polymerization with catalyst systems based on CuCl/n-butylamine were studied under 10 kg/cm² pure oxygen pressure. By addition of sodium iodide, the catalyst performance was dramatically improved and an unusual long induction period was observed. Both the polymer intrinsic viscosity obtained and the induction period increased significantly with the increase of NaI concentration. However, the induction period decreased rapidly with the increase of n-butylamine concentration. UV-VIS absorption spectra showed that the CuCl/n-butylamine complex was converted to Cul/n-butylamine complex after the addition of NaI. The hydration rate of copper halide/n-butylamine complex decreased significantly with the increase of NaI and n-butylamine concentrations. Therefore the increase of polymer intrinsic viscosity and induction period by NaI addition suggest that the polymerization catalyst became more hydrolytically stable and less active at the higher NaI concentration. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A Drying‐Free,Water‐Based Process for Fabricating Mixed‐Matrix Membranes with Outstanding Pervaporation Performance

Despite much progress in the development of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for many advanced applications, the synthesis of MMMs without particle agglomeration or phase separation at high nanofiller loadings is still challenging. In this work, we synthesized nanoporous zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF‐8) nanoparticles with a particle size of 60 nm and a pore size of 0.34 nm in water and directly added them into an aqueous solution of the organic polymer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) without an intermediate drying process. This approach led to a high‐quality PVA/ZIF‐8 MMM with enhanced performance in ethanol dehydration by pervaporation. The permeability of this MMM is three times higher than that of pristine PVA, and the separation factor is nearly nine times larger than that of pristine PVA. The significantly improved separation performance was attributed to the increase in the fractional free volume in the membranes.     

Stereoselective Michael-alkylation and Michael-oxidation reactions of chiral 1,3-dioxolanones

A highly diastereoselective Michael-alkylation/oxidation methodology has been developed for the synthesis of optically active α-hydroxy-1,5-diester subunits. Inverse stereochemistry at the C_2′ position could be achieved by using a Michael acceptor equipped with a suitable group followed by a highly stereoselective protonation. This methodology has been applied to the enantioselective synthesis of the upper fragment of (+)-retusine.     

Thermal effects on the structural properties of tungsten oxide nanoparticles

Tungsten oxide nanoparticles are prepared by evaporating and oxidizing the tungsten boat in helium and oxygen atmosphere and then quenched to the liquid nitrogen temperature. The as-prepared tungsten oxide nanoparticles are porous-free with uniform size. The morphology and particle size distribution of the as-prepared and after sinter treatments tungsten oxide nanoparticles are revealed by TEM and AFM. The long-range order of these nanoparticles can be examined by X-ray diffraction technique. The as-prepared nanoparticles exhibit a mixture structure of monoclinic and hexagonal crystals. Preliminary X-ray diffraction results indicate that the hexagonal structure is transformed to monoclinic structure after annealing to above 600°C. In order to better distinguish the structural properties of the tungsten oxide (WO_{3− x}) nanoparticles before and after annealing, the X-ray absorption spectrum technique is utilized; thus, the detailed local atomic arrangement of oxygen and/or tungsten can be determined. According to the XAS result, the shape of the W L₃-edge undergoes no considerable changes. This infers that structural transformation of tungsten oxide nanoparticle may be caused by the migration of oxygen after sintering. From the O K-edge of absorption spectrum, it suggests that a mixture phase structure is obtained when sintered below 300°C. And this result indicates that heat treatment to approximately 600°C produces a stable structure of a monoclinic crystal of WO₃.     

The influence of defects in the crystal structure on helium diffusion in quartz

The solubility and diffusion of helium in quartz crystals are investigated as functions of the distribution and density of structural defects. The types of defects in the crystals are identified and their distribution over growth sectors is determined by x-ray diffraction topography and phase radiography with a synchrotron radiation source. The effective solubility and effective diffusion coefficients for helium in quartz are estimated from the experimental data on the amount of helium extracted from samples with different contents of defects. It is revealed that the effective diffusion coefficient of helium depends on the number of dislocations.