Synthesis of Ultrafine SiC Powders from Carbon-Silica Hybridized Precursors with Carbothermic Reduction

Inorganic-organic hybrid gels were prepared by simultaneous condensation of the liquid mixture of ethyl silicate, ethyl borate and water soluble phenol resin with low molecular weight. The liquid mixtures were changed into lightly colored transparent gels after a catalyst addition and stirring. The obtained gels were crushed, dried and fired in controlled conditions to yield the inorganic precursors. Since the tailored inorganic precursors mainly consisted of SiO2 and carbon, silicon carbide was formed with the heat treatments in an Ar atmosphere beyond 1773 K with carbothermic reduction. The properties and morphology of the formed silicon carbide powders in terms of the starting precursor compositions and the conditions of the carbothermic reduction were investigated with SEM, XRD and TG-DTA analysis.     

MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION OF SINGLE-CHAIN POLY (METHYL METHACRYLATE) PARTICLES*

Tapping mode atomic force microscope has been applied to observe single-chain PMMAparticles which were stored for six months at room temperature after sprayed from verydilute solutions in good solvents, good/poor mixed solvents, and a theta solvent. Monodis-perse PMMA standards of molecular weights ranging from 7.90×10~4 to 1.3×10~6 wereused to investigate the effect of molecular weight oh the size of the single-chain PMMAparticles. These single-chain particles showed close to spherical shapes. The morphologyof single-chain PMMA particles of a given molecular weight was found to be identical inspite of different solvents used for solution spraying. Molecular weigh dependence of theparticle dimension was also found. The diameters of single-chain PMMA particles aftercorrection of tlp-geometry effect were compared to the values estimated from molecularweight and density.     

Self-organization of polymer particles on hydrophobic solid substrates in aqueous media. I. Self-organization of cationic polymer particles on alkylated glass plates

Monodisperse, cationic polymer particles bearing quaternary ammonium groups effectively self-organized on hydrophobic solid substrates such as alkylated glass plates and polymer films to form particle monolayers. With an increase of the particle surface charge density, the surface coverage decreased and the morphology of particle monolayers changed from aggregated type to dispersed type. The dispersed type of particle monolayers having a relatively regular particle distance was formed at higher temperature. The self-organization behaviors on alkylated glass plates were different from those on unmodified glass plates through electrostatic interaction. The formation of particle monolayers on alkylated glass plates occurred only over a certain latex concentration range in contrast with that on unmodified glass plate. The adhesive strength of particle monolayers was enhanced by annealing at temperatures above the glass transition temperature (T _g) of the particles. Lens-shaped particle monolayers were fabricated by annealing the dispersed type of particle monolayers.     

NARROW-DISPERSED CROSSLINKED CORE-SHELL POLYMER MICROSPHERES PREPARED BY SURFACE-INITIATED ATOM TRANSFER RADICAL POLYMERIZATION＊

Grafting of polystyrene with narrowly dispersed polymer microspheres through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was investigated. Polydivinylbenzene (PDVB) microspheres were prepared by dispersion polymerization with poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as stabilizer. The surfaces of PDVB microspheres were chloromethylated by chloromethyl methyl ether in the presence of zinc chloride as catalyst to form chloromethylbenzene initiating core sites for subsequent ATRP grafting of styrene using CuCl/bpy as catalytic system. Polystyrene was found to be grafted not only from the particle surfaces but also from within a thin shell layer, resulting in the formation of particles size increased from 2.38-2.58μm, which can further grow to 2.93μm during secondary grafting polymerization of styrene. This demonstrates that grafting polymerization proceeds through a typical ATRP procedure with living nature. All of the prepared microspheres have narrow particle size distribution with coefficient of variation around 10%.     

Mesoscopic simulation of the aggregation behavior of fluorinated surfactant in aqueous solution

The aggregation behavior of fluorinated surfactant in aqueous solution was investigated using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation method. Simulation results show that fluorinated surfactants behave mainly as their hydrocarbon analogues, having similar sequences of phases and aggregate structures, which are capable of building micelle, hexagonal phase and lamellar phase. But fluorinated surfactants also show interesting differences from hydrocarbon analogues, which can easily form hexagonal and lamellar structures with comparative little curvature. They can also form ellipsoid or rod-like micelles even in very low concentrations instead of spheroid ones. The dynamic aggregation behavior of fluorinated surfactants, as well as the comparison with hydrogenated ones, was also investigated.     

Cadmium colloids from non-aqueous solvents

Cadmium colloids have been prepared by Chemical Liquid Deposition (CLD). The metal is evaporated to yield atoms which are solvated at liquid nitrogen temperature, and upon warming, stable liquid colloids are formed with particle size ranging between 25–100 Å. Zeta potentials were calculated according to the conversion of Hunter and the Hückel equation, for ethanol and dimethyl sulphoxide. UV/VIS measurement of most of the black colloids showed absorption band around 280 nm. For comparison, we prepared CdS colloid with size 400–625 Å. The colloids are stable to oxidation in air and/or oxygen bubbling. The synthesis of colloids and films from Cd with acetone, 2-butanone, ethanol, 2-propanol, 2-methoxyethanol, DMF and DMSO is reported. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) allows us to determine particle size.     

Synthesis and characterization of well-defined poly(methyl methacrylate)/CaCO3/SiO2 three-component composite particles via reverse atom transfer radical polymerization

The attempt to prepare structurally well-defined polymer/inorganic composite particles, i.e., poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/CaCO₃/SiO₂ three-component composite particles, via reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), using 2-2′-azo-bis-isobutyronitrile as initiator and Cu(II) bromide as catalyst was reported. CaCO₃/SiO₂ two-component composite particles were first obtained through sol–gel method, and their morphology and surface element information were determined by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicate that the CaCO₃ was encapsulated by the obtained SiO₂. After being modified by silane coupling agent, the CaCO₃/SiO₂ composite particles copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (MMA) under standard reverse ATRP conditions to produce PMMA/CaCO₃/SiO₂ three-component composite particles. In the case concerned, first-order kinetic plots and linear increase of molecular weight (Mn) vs conversion and narrow molecular weight distribution for the graft polymer samples were observed. Furthermore, the gel permeation chromatography results illustrated that both the free PMMA chains from the solvent and the graft PMMA chains from the surface of CaCO₃/SiO₂ two-component composite particles were growing at the same rate. Characterizations of the PMMA-grafted CaCO₃/SiO₂ composite particles were done by Fourier transform infrared and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that the surface of the modified inorganic particles was grafted by the MMA and that the grafting percentage was about 8.7%.     

3-苯基-1-丁炔-3-醇质谱碎裂中[C8H7]^+的结构及分子内质子迁移反应

报道了3-苯基-1-丁炔-3-醇的常规电子轰击质谱(EIMS)。利用碰撞诱导解离(CID)技术研究了质谱碎裂过程中产生的[C8H7]^+的气相离子结构。同时, 氘代同位素交换、亚稳(MI)和CID实验进一步证实了m/z 103离子的形成并不是分子离子的质谱碎裂中顺次失去甲基自由基和中性CO分子的直接氢迁移的协同反应, 而是在失去CO分子前后发生了二次质子迁移反应的逐步过程。在此基础上提出了一种独特的双分子质子键合复合物中间体的碎裂机理。     

A competitive particle nucleation mechanism in the polymerization of homogenized styrene emulsions

The effects of concentrations of surfactant (sodium lauryl sulfate [SLS]) and initiator (sodium persulfate [SPS]) on the polymerization of homogenized styrene emulsions, stabilized by SLS/lauryl methacrylate (LMA) or SLS/stearyl methacrylate (SMA), were studied. The rate of polymerization increases with increasing [SLS] or [SPS]. In addition to monomer droplet nucleation, the formation of particle nuclei in the aqueous phase (homogeneous nucleation) plays a crucial role in the polymerization kinetics. In comparison with the LMA containing polymerization system, monomer droplet nucleation becomes more important when the more hydrophobic SMA was used as the costabilizer. Furthermore, the degree of homogeneous nucleation increases with increasing [SPS].     

Fracture mechanisms in rigid core-shell particle modified high performance epoxies

The fracture mechanisms of a high performance epoxy system modified with two types of preformed rigid core-shell particles (RCSP) were investigated. The use of the preformed RCSP anables the control of the dispersion of the toughener phase in the epoxy, which, in turn, allows the mechanical properties of the modified epoxy to be optimized. The toughening effect via the RCSP modification is found to be as good as that via the core-shell rubber modification. The moduli andT _g of these RCSP-modified epoxies are virtually unaltered via the RCSP modification, when compared with the neat epoxy resin equivalent. The toughening mechanisms in these toughened systems appear to be predominantly crack deflection, crack bifurcation, and microcracking. Approaches for effective toughening of high performance polymers via rigid polymers are discussed.