Effect of molecular structure on the phase behaviour of some liquid crystalline compounds and their mixtures VII. Ternary mixtures of enantiotropes

Transition temperatures of the ternary mixtures, prepared from compounds of the two series, 4-hexadecyloxyphenyl 4-substituted benzoates (Ia,b) and 4-substituted phenyl 4-hexadecyloxy benzoates (IIa,b) have been determined by differential scanning calorimetry and identified with polarized light microscopy. The cyano and nitro derivatives, in both series, were used because their molecules form enantiotropic phases. A new method was elaborated for the elucidation of the eutectic composition of any ternary system from the knowledge of the eutectic composition of the three individual binary mixtures.     

Structure of Alkali Lignins Fractionated from Ricinus communis and Bagasse. 3. IR Spectra

Abstract

The lignin fractions isolated by one- and multistage soda and sulfate cookings showed almost identical IR spectra, indicating the similarity of the lignin skeletal structure throughout the plant. However, the absorbances reveal some differences. Similarity of the spectra includes: 1) chelation and bonding of the hydroxyl groups. 2) Stretching vibration of C-H bonds in methyl, methoxyl, and methylene groups. 3) Stretching vibration of C≡N. 4) Carbonyl unconjugated β-ketone, conjugated acids, or esters at 1725 cm^?1. There is no change in the intensity of absorption at this band from that at 1515 cm^?1 with the cooking stage. 5) Aromatic skeletal vibration at 1610 and 1515 cm^?1, affected by ring substituents at 1425 cm^?1. 6) The band at 1465 cm^?1 showed a higher intensity for soda and soluble kraft lignins than for insoluble kraft ones. 7) The band at 1370 cm^?1, assigned to phenolic OH bending, is affected by the methoxyl group. 8) The absence of condensed guaiacyl and the presence of syringyl and uncondensed guaiacyl. Assignments for hardwood lignin are shown for soda and soluble kraft lignins of bagasse, while those for softwood lignin are shown for soda, soluble, and insoluble kraft lignins of Ricinus communis and for insoluble kraft lignin of bagasse. A relation exists between the carbohydrate's lignin and the band at 920 cm^?1. Lignins from Ricinus communis are of higher guaiacyl to syringyl ratios than those from bagasse. The presence of C—S vibration and the absence of thiol groups for kraft lignins are indicated.     

Study of thermal stabilization for polystyrene/carbon nanocomposites via TG/DSC techniques

The degradability and durability for polymer–nanocomposites under various environmental conditions are from the essential fields of research. This study was carried out to examine the thermal stability of polystyrene loaded by carbon (C) nanoparticles up to 20 wt% content. The thermal degradation of PS/C nanocomposites were studied by thermogravimetry analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under non-isothermal condition and inert gas atmosphere at constant heating rate 10 °C min^?1. The variation of degradation characteristic temperatures as a function of C content has been a non-monotonic behavior. The obtained results suggested that the C nanoparticles act as a promoter slowing down the degradation and providing a protective barrier to the nanocomposite, except 5 wt% C content. The latter exception was confirmed by DSC curve through the emergence of a small endothermic peak before the fundamental endothermic, melting, one.     

Theoretical study on the unimolecular decomposition of thiophenol

The potential energy surface for the unimolecular decomposition of thiophenol (C(6)H(5)SH) is mapped out at two theoretical levels; BB1K/GTlarge and QCISD(T)/6-311+G(2d,p)//MP2/6-31G(d,p). Calculated reaction rate constants at the high pressure limit indicate that the major initial channel is the formation of C(6)H(6)S at all temperatures. Above 1000 K, the contribution from direct fission of the S-H bond becomes important. Other decomposition channels, including expulsion of H(2) and H(2)S are of negligible importance. The formation of C(6)H(6)S is predicted to be strong-pressure dependent above 900 K. Further decomposition of C(6)H(6)S produces CS and C(5)H(6). Overall, despite the significant difference in bond dissociation, i.e., 8-9 kcal/mol between the S-H bond in thiophenol and the O-H bond in phenol, H migration at the ortho position in the two molecules represents the most accessible initial channel.     

Crude peroxidase from onion solid waste as a tool for organic synthesis. Part II: oxidative dimerization-cyclization of methyl p-coumarate, methyl caffeate and methyl ferulate

The ability of a crude onion peroxidase preparation to act as a biocatalyst for the oxidative dimerization-cyclization of methyl p-coumarate, methyl caffeate and methyl ferulate is presented. The products of the reaction have been fully characterized and were found to possess potent antioxidant activity in a ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay.     

Fuzzy relaxed-finite step size method to enhance the instability of the fuzzy first-order reliability method using conjugate discrete map

Fuzzy reliability analysis can be implemented using two discrete optimization maps in the processes of reliability and fuzzy analysis. Actually, the efficiency and robustness of the iterative reliability methods are two main factors in the fuzzy-based reliability analysis due to the huge computational burdens and unstable results. In the structural fuzzy reliability analysis, the first-order reliability method (FORM) using discrete nonlinear map can provide a C membership function. In this paper, a discrete nonlinear conjugate map is proposed using a relaxed-finite step size method for fuzzy structural reliability analysis, namely Fuzzy conjugate relaxed-finite step size method fuzzy CRS. A discrete conjugate map is stabilized using two adaptive factors to compute the relaxed factor and step size in FORM. The framework of the proposed fuzzy structural reliability method is established using two linked iterative discrete maps as an outer loop, which constructs the membership function of the response using alpha level set optimization based on genetic operator, and the inner loop, implemented for reliability analysis using proposed conjugate relaxed-finite step size method. The fuzzy CRS and fuzzy HL-RF methods are compared to evaluate the membership functions of five structural problems with highly nonlinear limit state functions. Results demonstrated that the fuzzy CRS method is computationally more efficient and is strongly more robust than the HL-RF for fuzzy-based reliability analysis of the nonlinear structural reliability problems.     

Determination of cobalt by catalytic-adsorptive differential pulse voltammetry in the presence of 2-aminocyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylic acid and nitrite

A novel method for the determination of cobalt(II) by stripping voltammetry is described. It involves an adsorptive accumulation of the cobalt(II)-2-aminocyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylic acid complex on a hanging mercury drop electrode, followed by a stripping voltammetric measurement of the catalytic reduction current of the complex at –1.4 V at pH = 9 (vs. Ag/AgCl). The effects of various experimental parameters on the catalytic current were investigated. An accumulation time of 60 s results in a low experimental limit of detection of 0.1 ng/mL of Co(II), and 0.50 to 40.0 ng/mL of cobalt can be determined. The relative standard deviation at 0.50 ng/mL is 2.8%. Possible interferences from co-existing ions were also investigated. Received: 17 August 1998 / Revised: 16 November 1998 / Accepted: 20 November 1998     

Star Product and q-Deformation of Grassmann and Symmetric Algebras

We review the relation between the star producton a Poisson-Lie group and the quantum Yang-Baxterequation. We define the q-deformed Grassmann andq-deformed symmetric algebras on a vector space V, and prove that a star product on a triangular(simple quasitriangular) Poisson-Lie group G determinesa q-deformation of both the symmetric and Grassmannalgebras over a dual of a g-module where g is thecorresponding triangular (simple quasitriangular) Liebialgebra of the Poisson-Lie group G.