Thermal behaviour and mechanical properties of novel RTV silicone rubbers using divinyl-hexa[(trimethoxysilyl)ethyl]-POSS as cross-linker

Divinyl-hexa[(trimethoxysilyl)ethyl]-POSS (DVPS) as an octavinyl-POSS derivative was first prepared. A series of novel polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/DVPS hybrid materials as room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber were prepared. The chemical incorporation of novel POSS into hydroxyl-terminated PDMS system by hydrolytic condensation reaction was verified by attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared spectroscopy. Thermal degradation, thermo-oxidative stability and mechanical properties of these novel RTV silicone rubbers were studied by means of thermogravimetric analysis and tensile testing. The results exhibited significantly enhanced effects on the thermal stabilities and mechanical properties as compared to the PDMS polymer prepared with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The observed improvements in thermal properties could be attributed to the effective three-dimensional network structures resulting from the structure of DVPS. The thermal decomposition of the RTV silicone rubbers in nitrogen was also monitored by TGA coupled with real-time FTIR, and the degradation residues were also characterized by FTIR. It was found that the POSS cross-linker facilitated the formation of cross-links in the degradation residues. The striking improvement in mechanical properties could be attributed to the synergistic action of the structure of three-dimensional multi-arm cross-linker (vinyl-POSS derivative), the plasticization of self-cross-linking Vinyl-POSS derivative and perfect distribution of vinyl-POSS derivative.     

Enantioselective separation of the carfentrazone‐ethyl enantiomers in soil,water and wheat by HPLC

A simple enantioselective HPLC method was developed for measuring carfentrazone‐ethyl enantiomers. The separation and determination was accomplished on an amylose tris[(S)‐α‐methylbenzylcarbamate] (Chiralpak AS) column using n‐hexane/ethanol (98:2, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with UV detection at 248 nm. The effects of mobile‐phase composition and column temperature on the enantioseparation were discussed. The accuracy, precision, linearity, LODs, and LOQ of the method were also investigated. LOD was 0.001 mg/kg in water, 0.015 mg/kg in soil and wheat, with an LOQ of 0.0025 mg/kg in water and 0.05 mg/kg in soil and wheat for each enantiomer of carfentrazone‐ethyl. SPE was used for the enrichment and cleanup of soil, water, and wheat samples. Recoveries for two enantiomers were 88.4–106.7% with RSD_r of 4.2–9.8% at 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg levels from soil, 85.8–99.5% with the RSD_r of 4.4?9.6% at 0.005, 0.025, and 0.05 mg/kg levels from water, and from wheat the recoveries were 86.3?91.3% with RSD_r below 5.0% at 0.2, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg levels. This method could be used to identify and quantify the carfentrazone‐ethyl enantiomers in food and environment.     

Determination of eight fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium samples by headspace solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A number of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) have recently been detected in meconium samples. Several of these FAEEs have been evaluated as possible biomarkers for in utero ethanol exposure. In the present study, a method was optimized and validated for the simultaneous determination of eight FAEEs (ethyl laurate, ethyl myristate, ethyl palmitate, ethyl palmitoleate, ethyl stearate, ethyl oleate, ethyl linoleate and ethyl arachidonate) in meconium samples. FAEEs were extracted by headspace solid‐phase microextraction. Analyte detection and quantification were carried out using GC‐MS operated in chemical ionization mode. The corresponding D5‐ethyl esters were synthesized and used as internal standards. The LOQ and LOD for each analyte were <150 and <100 ng/g, respectively. The method showed good linearity (r²>0.98) in the concentration range studied (LOQ – 2000 ng/g). The intra‐ and interday imprecision, given by the RSD of the method, was lower than 15% for all FAEEs studied. The validated method was applied to 63 authentic specimens. FAEEs could be detected in alcohol‐exposed newborns (>600 ng/g cumulative concentration). Interestingly, FAEEs could also be detected in some non‐exposed newborns, although the concentrations were much lower than those measured in exposed cases.     

黄金蝉若虫体蛋白水解液的荧光标记及电喷雾质谱鉴定

采用2-[2-(7H-二苯并[a,g]咔唑-乙氧基)-乙基]氯甲酸酯(DBCEC-Cl)作为柱前衍生试剂, 于室温下,在硼酸钠缓冲液(pH 9.0)中,金蝉若虫体蛋白水解液中氨基酸的完全衍生化在5 min即可完成.在Hypersil BDS C18色谱柱 (200 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) 上, 采用梯度洗脱实现了各衍生物的完全基线分离.最佳荧光检测为λex/λem=300/395 nm.在线串联的ESI/MS正离子质谱数据显示:所有衍生物均给出m/z 338 5,294.5的特征碎片离子峰.荧光条件下的线性回归系数大于0.9992; 检出限为2.6～24 fmol.本方法灵敏、可靠、重现性好.对实际黄金蝉若虫体蛋白水解液中氨基酸的测定,结果满意.     

Influence of the nature of the porous confining network on the sorption, diffusion and mechanical properties of hydrogel IPNs

Two series of amphiphilic hydrogels of various compositions were prepared by sequentially interpenetrating two polymer networks, a poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) network inside either a macroporous matrix of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or a macroporous poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) network. In both cases poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) served as network II, and the firstly formed porous network was a hydrophobic homonetwork, PMMA or PEA, that conferred mechanical strength to the hydrogel. In order to obtain hydrogels with high hydrophilic content, the first network was prepared in the presence of a solvent, thus yielding a macroporous network. The two families of IPNs thus obtained were: (net-PMMA)-ipn-(net-PHEA) and (net-PEA)-ipn-(net-PHEA), with a PHEA content ranging from 36% to 87% and from 64% to 94%, respectively. The novelty of the work consisted in comparing the effect of using as the first macroporous network a polymer which is glassy at room temperature (PMMA) and another of the same family (PEA) but which is in the rubber state at room temperature. Swelling studies showed that the specific equilibrium water content of PHEA falls from 1.6 for pure (unconfined) PHEA to values that range from 0.4 to 1, for the (net-PMMA)-ipn-(net-PHEA), whereas in the second IPNs family, the equilibrium water uptake of PHEA phase is, at least, the same as that of the pure PHEA (in some cases it is greater). This means that the expansion of the PHEA phase is not restricted by the confining hydrophobic component when this last is in the rubber state at room temperature. Whereas for the first IPNs the mechanical properties significantly increased (storage modulus at 37 °C from 0.25 to 2.5 GPa) compared with those of pure PHEA (25.12 MPa), little if any reinforcing effect was observed in the second type of IPNs. This is due to the fact that the glass transition of the PEA network takes place at a lower temperature than that of PHEA, so both components are in the rubbery state at room temperature. Both series behave differently also in dynamic water sorption experiments: the rigid PMMA network hinders the diffusion of water, yielding lower values of the apparent diffusion coefficients. By contrast, with the PEA polymer as network I this diffusion is similar to that of the pure PHEA homonetwork.     

环戊二烯掺杂乙烷桥联有序介孔材料的制备、表征及应用

 以单硅酯 (2-(环戊基-1,3-二烯基) 乙基) 三乙氧基硅烷 (TEECp) 和含有亚乙基桥键的硅酯 1,2-二 (三乙氧基硅基) 乙烷为硅源, 以三嵌段共聚物 P123 为模板剂, 通过调节 TEECp 预水解时间, 采用共聚法合成了环戊二烯掺杂乙烷桥联材料 (Cp-PMO), 并采用小角 X 射线衍射、N2 物理吸附、透射电镜、红外光谱和热重等技术对样品进行了表征. 结果表明, 环戊二烯基被成功引入到乙烷桥联材料中, 所得 Cp-PMO 样品具有高度有序的二维六方介孔孔道, 热稳定性较高; 随着材料中环戊二烯含量的增加, 其有序性降低, 孔径、比表面积和孔体积均有所减小, 孔壁逐渐增厚. 在乙酸乙酯与正丁醇的酯交换反应中, Cp-PMO 样品表现出较高的催化活性. 当该样品中环戊二烯含量为 30% 时, 乙酸乙酯转化率和乙酸丁酯收率分别可达 19.3% 和 10.6%.     

Pre-hydrolysed ethyl silicate as an alternative precursor for SiO2-coated carbon nanofibers

This work reported basically aims at understanding the extent of SiO₂-coated carbon nanofibers using two different sol-gel precursors for the silicate glass. The silicate precursors employed were tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and pre-hydrolysed ethyl silicate. The first route consisted in an acid hydrolysis and polycondensation of the TEOS and the second one in a polycondensation of the pre-hydrolysed ethyl silicate. The techniques of Fourier Infra Red spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the materials obtained. Both kinds of SiO₂ precursor can coat the CNF effectively. However, the use of pre-hydrolysed ethyl silicate (faster gelation times and higher surface areas) can be considered a low-cost and facile alternative with respect to the use of TEOS, to obtain industrially silica-coated carbon nanofibers.     

Polysulfobetaine films prepared by electrografting technique for reduction of biofouling on electroconductive surfaces

The sulfobetaine films were prepared on stainless steel and golden surfaces. In the first step, the poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) film was created by employing the electrografting polymerization technique. In the second step, this film was modified to polysulfobetaine, i.e. the polymer film bearing the zwitterionic groups. The presence of the electrografted film and its modification were determined by contact angle measurements, infrared spectroscopy in reflectance mode and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The prepared films were homogeneous with the thickness from about 5 to 26 nm as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The atomic force microscopy measurements showed the increase of surface roughness upon the surface coating. In vitro tests using adherent RAT-2 fibroblast cells and fluorescently labelled bovine serum albumin proteins showed that prepared polysulfobetaine films can be used in applications requiring the resistance against cell attachment and biofouling.     

Comments concerning ‘study of molecular interaction in binary liquid mixtures of ethyl acetoacetate with chloroform and dimethylsulphoxide using excess acoustic parameters and spectroscopic methods’

The measured excess molar volume data in the recently published paper for the binary chloroform + ethyl acetoacetate system are shown to differ significantly from previously published data. Excess adiabatic compressibilities reported in the paper are shown to be calculated from an incorrect thermodynamic expression.