Atom-transfer radical polymerization of styrene with bifunctional and monofunctional initiators: Experimental and mathematical modeling results

Bulk atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene was carried out at 110 °C using benzal bromide as bifunctional initiator and 1-bromoethyl benzene as monofunctional initiator. CuBr/2,2′-bipyridyl was used as the ATRP catalyst. The polymerization kinetic data for styrene with both initiators was measured and compared with a mathematical model based on the method of moments and another one using Monte Carlo simulation. An empirical correlation was incorporated into the model to account for diffusion-controlled termination reactions. Both models can predict monomer conversion, polymer molecular weight averages, and polydispersity index. In addition, the Monte Carlo model can also predict the full molecular weight distribution of the polymer. Our experimental results agree with our model predictions that bifunctional initiators can produce polymers with higher molecular weights and narrower molecular weight distributions than monofunctional initiators. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2212–2224, 2007     

Determination of acetaldehyde in fuel ethanol by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

The cyclic voltammetric behavior of acetaldehyde and the derivatized product with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPHi) has been studied at a glassy carbon electrode. This study was used to optimize the best experimental conditions for its determination by high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation coupled with electrochemical detection. The acetaldehyde-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone (ADNPH) was eluted and separated by a reversed-phase column, C18, under isocratic conditions with the mobile phase containing a binary mixture of methanol/LiCl(aq) at a concentration of 1.0 x 10(-3) M (80:20 v/v) and a flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1). The optimum condition for the electrochemical detection of ADNPH was +1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl as a reference electrode. The proposed method was simple, rapid (analysis time 7 min) and sensitive (detection limit 3.80 microg L(-1)) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1. It was also highly selective and reproducible [standard deviation 8.2% +/- 0.36 (n = 5)]. The analytical curve of ADNPH was linear over the range of 3-300 mg L(-1) per injection (20 microL), and the analytical recovery was > 99%.     

Parametric resonance of optically trapped aerosols

The Brownian dynamics of an optically trapped water droplet are investigated across the transition from over- to underdamped oscillations. The spectrum of position fluctuations evolves from a Lorentzian shape typical of overdamped systems (beads in liquid solvents) to a damped harmonic oscillator spectrum showing a resonance peak. In this later underdamped regime, we excite parametric resonance by periodically modulating the trapping power at twice the resonant frequency. The power spectra of position fluctuations are in excellent agreement with the obtained analytical solutions of a parametrically modulated Langevin equation.     

Influence of the Solvent on the “Casting” Methodology for MWCNT‐Modified Glassy Carbon and Platinum Electrodes

The choice of electrode material and surface preparation method are usually dictated by the suitability of the electrode to observe an electrochemical parameter, such as heterogeneous electron transfer rate, surface coverage, or redox potential. Thus, the glassy carbon (GC) and platinum (Pt) electrodes were modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) by direct “casting” modification using nine different aliquots of solvents. After drying at room temperature, the modified electrode showed distinct redox peaks corresponding to ferrocyanide oxidation/reduction. Using chemometrics, the cyclic voltammograms with higher current intensity were obtained for those in which ethanol, water and acetone as dispersing agents were used for GCE and dimethylformamide, water and acetone for Pt electrode modification.     

Revealing the Preferred Interlayer Orientations and Stackings of Two‐Dimensional Bilayer Gallium Selenide Crystals

Characterizing and controlling the interlayer orientations and stacking orders of two‐dimensional (2D) bilayer crystals and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures is crucial to optimize their electrical and optoelectronic properties. The four polymorphs of layered gallium selenide (GaSe) crystals that result from different layer stackings provide an ideal platform to study the stacking configurations in 2D bilayer crystals. Through a controllable vapor‐phase deposition method, bilayer GaSe crystals were selectively grown and their two preferred 0° or 60° interlayer rotations were investigated. The commensurate stacking configurations (AA′ and AB stacking) in as‐grown bilayer GaSe crystals are clearly observed at the atomic scale, and the Ga‐terminated edge structure was identified using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Theoretical analysis reveals that the energies of the interlayer coupling are responsible for the preferred orientations among the bilayer GaSe crystals.     

A high performance system to study the influence of temperature in on-line solid-phase extraction capillary electrophoresis

A novel high performance system to control the temperature of the microcartridge in on-line solid phase extraction capillary electrophoresis (SPE–CE) is introduced. The mini-device consists in a thermostatic bath that fits inside of the cassette of any commercial CE instrument, while its temperature is controlled from an external circuit of liquid connecting three different water baths. The circuits are controlled from a switchboard connected to an array of electrovalves that allow to rapidly alternate the water circulation through the mini-thermostatic-bath between temperatures from 5 to 90 °C. The combination of the mini-device and the forced-air thermostatization system of the commercial CE instrument allows to optimize independently the temperature of the sample loading, the clean-up, the analyte elution and the electrophoretic separation steps.     

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography method for measuring the composition of aquatic humic substances

A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method was developed to measure the composition of humic substances from river, reservoir, and treated wastewater based on their physicochemical properties. The current method fractionates the humic substances into four well-defined groups based on parallel analyses with a neutral and a cationic HILIC column, using mobile phases of varied compositions and pH. The results indicate that: (i) the proportion of carboxylic acids in the humic substances from terrestrial origins is less than half of that from treated wastewater (Jeddah, KSA), (ii) a higher content of basic compounds was observed in the humic substances from treated wastewater and Ribou Reservoir (Cholet, France) than in the sample from Loire River (France), (iii) a higher percentage of hydrophobic macromolecules were found in the humic substances from Loire River than in the other samples, and (iv) humic substances of treated wastewater contained less ionic neutral compounds (i.e., pK_a 5–9) than the waters from terrestrial origins. The physicochemical property disparity amongst the compounds in each humic substances sample was also evaluated. The humic substances from the lightly humic Loire river displayed the highest disparity, whereas the highly humic Suwannee river (Georgia, USA) showed the most homogeneous humic substances.