Synthesis of polybenzimidazoles with sulfonic acid groups

2-Sulfoterephthalic acid (STA) and disulfoisophthalic acid (DSIA) were synthesized through the sulfonation and the oxidation of m- and p-xylene. The polycondensation reactions of STA and DSIA with aromatic tetraamines gave polybenzimidazoles which contained one or two sulfonic acid groups for each repeating unit. The polymer obtained was soluble in sulfuric acid, some organic solvents, and aqueous strong alkaline solution. The polymers were stable up to 400°C, but they gave polybenzimidazoles above 400°C by eliminating sulfonic acid groups, instead of ring closure.     

Thermal properties and solubility of ordered aromatic polyamides containing a methyl-substituted phenylene linkage

Ordered aromatic polyamides and copolyamides were prepared by the polycondensation of terephthaloyl and isophthaloyl dichlorides with symmetrical diamines containing preformed amide linkages derived from unsymmetrical methyl—substituted aromatic diamines at low temperature. Thermal properties and solubilities of the ordered polyamides were compared with those of the corresponding random polyamides. There was little difference between thermal stabilities of the ordered polyamide and the corresponding random one, while the former was less soluble in organic solvents than the latter, depending on the extent of hydrogen bonding of the amide groups. The thermal stability of the alternating copolyamides containing both terephthaloyl and isophthaloyl groups as acid components was less than that of the corresponding homopolymers having either a terephthaloyl or an isophthaloyl group, and the solubility of the former resembled that of the corresponding ordered homopolysiophthalamides in accord with the extent of hydrogen bonding of the amide groups in both polymers.     

Deoxygenation of sugar trifluoromethanesulfonates by sodium metal in liquid ammonia and by photolysis

Several trifluoromethanesulfonyl(TFMS) derivatives of sugars were prepared and treated with sodium in liquid ammonia or subjected to ultraviolet irradiation. Three 3-$\text{O}$-TFMS derivatives gave the corresponding 3-deoxy compounds, but a 2-$\text{O}$-TFMS derivative gave a branched-chain sugar.     

Three-dimensional SiO2 surface structures fabricated using femtosecond laser lithography

We report the fabrication of three-dimensional (3-D) SiO₂ surfaces using femtosecond-laser lithography-assisted micromachining, which is a combined process of nonlinear lithography and plasma etching. Using pattern transfer of photoresist structures written by femtosecond laser-induced nonlinear absorption, SiO₂-based Fresnel lens arrays with 3-D surfaces were obtained for this study. Using the open-aperture z-scan method, the femtosecond laser two-photon absorption coefficient of the KMPR resist was estimated as 17–23 cm/TW, assuming that single-photon absorption was negligible. By adding O₂ to the etching gas (CHF₃) during pattern transfer, the surface roughness of the transferred structures was reduced to RMS 16.90 nm, which corresponds to one quarter of that without adding O₂. When 632.8-nm-wavelength light was coupled to the lenses with 3-D surfaces, the focal length was measured as 2790 μm, which agreed well with the theoretical value.     

Skin friction reduction by large air bubbles in a horizontal channel flow

Microbubble and air film methods are believed to be applicable to skin friction reduction in ships. Small bubbles are dispersed into the turbulent boundary layer in the former case, and wide air layers cover the wall surface in the latter case. Previous studies did not specifically address the intermediate case between the microbubble and air film conditions. This study is concerned with the possibility and mechanism of drag reduction using relatively large air bubbles compared to the boundary layer thickness in a horizontal turbulent channel flow. The relationship between local skin friction and the bubble’s interfacial structure is investigated by synchronizing the measurement of wall-shear stress with the image acquisition of bubbles. The bubble sizes range from 2 to 90 mm approximately. As a result, a negative correlation between the local skin friction and the local void fraction is confirmed by the time-resolved measurement. A new observation is the fact that the local skin friction decreases drastically in the rear part of individual large bubbles, and rapidly increases after the bubble’s rear interface passes. This characteristic underlies the bubble-size dependency of the average skin friction in the intermediate bubble size condition.     

Dihydropyrene annelated with dihydrothieno[3.4-b]pyrazine: synthesis and photoswitching property

In this study, 9,10-diacetoxyl-2,7-di-tert-butyl-trans-10b,10c-dimethyl-10b,10c-dihydropyrene annelated with a dihydrothieno[3.4-b]pyrazine unit (1a) was prepared, for the first time, from 5,13-di-tert-butyl-8,16-dimethyl-1,2,9,10-tetrahydroxy[2.2]metacyclophane and 3,4-diaminothiophene in two steps. The photoisomerization property of 1 was investigated by UV and ¹H NMR spectroscopies, and the quantitative isomerization between the more stable dihydropyrene (DHP) form and the less stable metacyclophane-diene (MCPD) form was observed. A thermally induced return reaction from the MCPD to the DHP form was examined at various temperatures, and the reaction rate was 0.0049 min⁻¹ at 45 °C, which is slower than that of the parent MCPD.     

Photodegradation of some ethylene-norbornene random copolymers

We investigated the photodegradation of specific ethylene-norbornene random copolymers (ENRC) - a group of substances which has been attracting much attention in recent years. ENRCs having various contents of norbornene were studied. After irradiation, each sample was separated into chloroform-insoluble and soluble portions. The chloroform-insoluble portion was weighed and analyzed by FTIR. The chloroform-soluble portion was analyzed by size elimination chromatography (SEC), FTIR and ¹H NMR. The yield of the chloroform-insoluble portion increased with increased irradiation time. Formyl, formate, acyl, hydroxy groups and a carbon-carbon double bond were formed by photo-irradiation. Apparently, hydrogen atoms bound to the tertiary and secondary carbon atom in the parent ENRCs are abstracted. From these results, it is suggested that auto-oxidation results from photo-irradiation of the ENRCs. In ENRCs with similar stereoregularity, the degree of photodegradation increases with increasing norbornene content.     

The salt-induced sphere-rod transition of micelles of dodecylpyridinium iodide in aqueous NaI solutions

Static light scattering has been measured on aqueous NaI solutions of dodecylpyridinium iodide (DPI) over NaI concentrations from 0 to 0.05 M. Reduced intensity of scattered light increases with increasing DPI concentration above the critical micelle concentration. The Debye plot is generally a curve with an initially positive slope and with a weakly convex, upward curvature, when the NaI concentration ranges from 0 to 0.005 M. The molecular weight of the spherical micelle of DPI is 28400 in water, and it increases slightly with increasing NaI concentration. The initial slope decreases with increasing NaI concentration and changes from positive to negative across 0.007 M NaI, which is the threshold for the sphere-rod transition and where the micelle has a molecular weight of 34400. At NaI concentrations from 0.01 to 0.05 M, the Debye plot is a curve with an initially negative slope and with a convex, downward curvature. The magnitudes of slope and curvature are larger, and the rodlike micelles of DPI have larger molecular weight and stronger mutual interaction, as the NaI concentration increases. The linear double logarithmic relationship between molecular weight and ionic strength holds for spherical and rodlike micelles, respectively.