载体对负载型TiO2催化剂光催化性能的影响

 以活性碳（AC）和镁铝尖晶石（MA）为载体，采用真空吸附水解法制备了负载型光催化剂TiO2／AC和TiO2／MA，并采用TiO2溶胶负载法制备了活性碳负载催化剂TiO2（C）／AC．以氯仿为探针分子研究了其在催化剂上的吸附及光催化降解反应性能．结果表明，催化剂的制备方法、TiO2负载量与载体的吸附性能对光催化活性有明显的影响．通过优化制备条件，TiO2／AC催化剂的催化活性可提高到纳米TiO2的2．5倍．氯仿在AC上的饱和吸附量较高，但吸附强度较弱；在纳米TiO2上的吸附情况则正好相反．氯仿在AC和TiO2上吸附性质的差异有利于吸附在TiO2／AC上的氯仿分子从活性碳载体向TiO2光催化活性中心迁移．镁铝尖晶石载体对光催化反应没有明显的促进作用，与其基本上不吸附氯仿分子有关．与TiO2胶体负载法相比，真空吸附水解法是一种较好的负载型TiO2光催化剂制备方法．     

Role of montmorillonite in flame retardancy of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer

The effects of non-treated (MMT), organophilic (OMM), and olefin/silicone polymer intercalated (IMM) montmorillonites on the thermal stability of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and on the flammability of magnesium hydroxide filled EVA were studied. The influence of various treatments on the delamination of montmorillonites in EVA was detected by rheological measurements and by Raman microscopy. The latter was a unique method for rapid detection of the dispersion also in highly filled EVA. Enhancement of thermo-oxidative stability of EVA and flame-retarded EVA could be observed by thermal analysis in the presence of variously treated montmorillonites. The flame-retardant efficiency of magnesium hydroxide was improved by simultaneous application of MMT and IMM. The increased performance of magnesium hydroxide was explained by the rheological effect of the IMM, catalytic effect of MMT and chemical interactions of montmorillonites with the metal hydroxide.     

Identification of a chemical indicator of the rupture of 1,4-β-glycosidic bonds of cellulose in an oil-impregnated insulating paper system

In this study, headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry has been used to assess the volatile by-products generated by the ageing of oil-impregnated paper insulation of power transformers. Sealed-glass ampoules were used to age under oxidative conditions 0.5-g specimens of insulating paper in 9 mL of inhibited mineral oil in a temperature range of 60–120 °C and moisture of 0.5, 1 and 2% (w/w). A linear relationship between one of the oil-soluble degradation by-products, i.e. methanol, and the number of ruptured 1,4-β-glycosidic bonds of cellulose, regardless of the type of paper (ordinary Kraft or thermally-upgraded (TU) Kraft paper), was established for the first time in this field. Ageing at 130 °C of model compounds of the Kraft paper constituents (α-cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) and two cellulosic breakdown by-products (D-(+)-glucose and 1,6-anhydro-β-d-glucopyranose) confirmed that the α-cellulose degradation was mostly responsible for the presence of this molecule in the system. Furthermore, additional 130 °C-tests with six different papers and pressboard samples under a tight control of initial moisture indicated that at least one molecule of methanol is formed for each rupture of 1,4-β-glucosidic bond of the molecular chains. Stability tests showed that the ageing indicator is stable under the oxygen and temperature conditions of open-breathing transformers. The presence of methanol was detected in 94% of oil samples collected from over than 900 in-service pieces of equipment, confirming the potential for this application. Lastly, the tests have shown that oil-oxidation by-products and TU-nitrogenous agents modify the methanol partitioning coefficients in the paper/oil/air system, which makes their study essential over a range of field conditions encountered by power transformers. Results are presented and discussed in comparison with 2-furfuraldehyde, which is the current reference in the domain.     

Comparing ordered-entry queues with heterogeneous servers

We study a queueing system withm exponential servers with distinct service rates. Jobs arrive at the system following an arbitrary point process. Arrived jobs receive service at the first unoccupied server (if any) according to an entry order , which is a permutation of the integers 1, 2,...,m. The system has a finite buffer capacity. When the buffer limit is reached, arrivals will be blocked. Blocked jobs will either be lost or come back as New arrivals after a random travel time. We are concerned with the dynamic stochastic behavior of the system under different entry orders. A partial ordering is established among entry orders, and is shown to result in some quite strong orderings among the associated stochastic processes that reflect the congestion and the service characteristics of the system. The results developed here complement existing comparison results for queues with homogeneous servers, and can be applied to aid the design of conveyor and communication systems.     

低热-高压法制备PLGA多孔支架及其体外降解研究

采用低热-高压法制备了聚(dl-丙交酯／乙交酯)75／25(PLGA75／25)组织工程多孔支架。该方法避免了使用有机溶剂，支架的孔隙率在90％以上，孔径大小分布均匀。多孔支架经过酒精处理后，支架表面产生许多微小的凹陷；用藻酸钙改性处理后，支架形态保持良好。两种处理都使支架的压缩强度有所增大，亲水性增强。虽然孔隙率高的支架降解速率稍慢，但其体外降解规律基本一致：特性粘数争力学强度衰减快，而质量损失较慢，降解6周后，支架的质量损失仅为3％左右；体外降解3周后，支架的形态保持良好，可望在细胞移植争组织修复的早期发挥支撑作用。     

Quantitative surface analysis by Auger and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Recent developments in quantitative surface analysis by Auger (AES) and x-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies are reviewed and problems relating to a more accurate quantitative interpretation of AES/XPS experimental data are discussed. Special attention is paid to consideration of elementary physical processes involved and influence of multiple scattering effects on signal line intensities. In particular, the major features of core-shell ionization by electron impact, Auger transitions and photoionization are considered qualitatively and rigorous approaches used to calculate the respective transition probabilities are analysed. It is shown that, in amorphous and polycrystalline targets, incoherent scattering of primary and signal Auger and photoelectrons can be described by solving analytically a kinetic equation with appropriate boundary conditions. The analytical results for the angular and energy distribution, the mean escape depth, and the escape probability as a function of depth of origin of signal electrons as well as that for the backscattering factor in AES are in good agreement with the corresponding Mote Carlo simulation data. Methods for inelastic background subtraction, surface composition determination and depth-profile reconstructions by angle-resolved AES/XPS are discussed. Examples of novel techniques based on x-ray induced photoemission are considered.     

Modeling of serine protease prototype reactions with the flexible effective fragment potential quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical method

A complete cycle of chemical transformations for the serine protease prototype reaction is modeled following calculations with the flexible effective fragment quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) method. The initial molecular model is based on the crystal structure of the trypsin–bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor complex including all atoms of the enzyme within approximately 15–18 Å of the oxygen center O of the catalytic serine residue. Several selections of the QM/MM partitioning are considered. Fractions of the side chains of the residues from the catalytic triad (serine, histidine and aspartic acid) and a central part of a model substrate around the C–N bond to be cleaved are included into the QM subsystem. The remaining part, or the MM subsystem, is represented by flexible chains of small effective fragments, whose potentials explicitly contribute to the Hamiltonian of the QM part, but the corresponding fragment–fragment interactions are described by the MM force fields. The QM/MM boundaries are extended over the C–C bonds of the peptides assigned to the QM subsystem in the enzyme, C–C and C–N bonds in model substrates. Multiple geometry optimizations have been performed by using the RHF/6-31G method in the QM part and OPLSAA or AMBER sets of MM parameters, resulting in a series of stationary points on the complex potential-energy surfaces. All structures generally accepted for the serine protease catalytic cycle have been located. Energies at the stationary points found have been recomputed at the MP2/6-31+G^* level for the QM part in the protein environment. Structural changes along the reaction path are analyzed with special attention to hydrogen-bonding networks. In the case of a model substrate selected as a short peptide CH₃(NHCO-CH₂)₂ – HN–CO–(CH₂–NHCO)CH₃ the computed energy profile for the acylation step shows too high activation energy barriers. The energetics of this rate-limiting step is considerably improved, if more realistic model for the substrate is considered, following the motifs of the ThrI11–GlyI12–ProI13-–CysI14–LysI15–AlaI16–ArgI17–IleI18–IleI19 sequence of the bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor.     

Structure and properties of the Nafion—polyaniline—palladium composite electrodes

Effect of conditions of deposition of palladium onto a composite polymeric film Nafion—polyaniline on the properties of the system thus obtained is studied. It is shown that the effect of the said conditions on the character of distribution of palladium in a polymer may be used when estimating electrocatalytic potentialities of such composites.Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2005, pp. 213–218.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Andreev, Zolotarevskii.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with corrections to the article note and article title and cover date.     

Aspects of thermal conductivity relative to heat flow

Summary The various techniques and methodologies of thermal conductivity measurement have been conventionally based on the determination of the rate of directional heat flow through a material having a unit temperature differential between its opposing faces. The constancy of this rate depends on the material density, its thermal resistance and the heat flow path itself. The last of these variables contributes most significantly to the true value of steady-state axial and radial heat dissipation depending on the magnitude of transient thermal diffusivity along these directions. The purpose of this paper is to exemplify the above features by defined parameters of heat flow measurement by existing methodologies. No new method is proposed here. Importantly, the relationship between the rate of heat transfer, total heat transferred and thermal conductivity at a given temperature under steady-state conditions for a fixed heat flow path will be illustrated.     

Enzymatic degradation of highly phenolic lignin-based polymers (lignophenols)

Enzymatic degradation of two lignin-based polymers (lignophenols), lignocatechol and lignocresol, prepared by selectively grafting catechol and p-cresol to C_α positions of lignin, respectively, were carried out in aqueous organic solvents. Both lignophenols showed high reactivity in the peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation. Structural analyses by NMR spectroscopies revealed that the degraded lignophenols contained aliphatic chain content, which might be mainly formed in the reduction of the intermediate initially generated by the aromatic ring cleavage. Lower amount of aromatic units in the lignophenols after degraded by peroxidase also indicted the cleavage of aromatic rings. Due to the substitution of phenols at C_α positions of lignin, the degraded lignophenols did not have carbonyl structure, which was abundant in the biodegradation products of native lignin. The two lignophenols were also degraded by Rhus vernicifera laccase. But the degree of degradation was lower than that of the degradation by peroxidase, which might be due to the low activity of laccase on the lignin moieties in lignophenols.