Synthesis of partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers bearing perfluorosulfonic functions

Partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers bearing perfluorosulfonic functions (ps‐PES‐FPES), with ionic exchange capacity (IEC) ranging between 0.9 and 1.5 meq H⁺/g, are synthesized by regioselective bromination of partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers (PES‐FPES), followed by Ullman coupling reaction with lithium 1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoro‐2‐(1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoro‐2‐iodoethoxy)ethanesulfonate. The PES‐FPES are prepared by aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction by an original approach, that is, “one pot two reactions synthesis.” The chemical structures of polymers are analyzed by ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. The resulted ionomers present two distinct glass transitions and α relaxations revealing phase separation between the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic domains. The phase separation is observed at much lower block lengths of ps‐PES‐FPES as compared with the literature. AFM and SANS observations supported the phase separation, the hydrophilic domains are well dispersed but the connectivity to each other depends on the ps‐PES block lengths. The thermomechanical behavior, the water up‐take, and the conductivity of the ps‐PES‐FPES membranes are compared with those of Nafion 117^® and randomly functionalized polysulfone (ps‐PES). Conductivities close or higher to those of Nafion 117^® are obtained. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1941–1956     

Path finding approaches and metabolic pathways

A metabolic pathway is a set of enzyme catalysed biochemical reactions by which a living organism transforms an initial (source) compound into a final (target) compound. Path finding approaches to metabolic pathways adopt a graph theory approach to the problem of determining the reactions an organism might use to transform a source compound into a target compound. In this paper, the effectiveness of using compound node connectivities in a path finding approach is examined. An approach to path finding based upon integer programming is also presented.     

An efficient solver for weighted Max-SAT

We present a new branch and bound algorithm for weighted Max-SAT, called Lazy which incorporates original data structures and inference rules, as well as a lower bound of better quality. We provide experimental evidence that our solver is very competitive and outperforms some of the best performing Max-SAT and weighted Max-SAT solvers on a wide range of instances.     

Combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the premartensitic transition in Ni2MnGa

Ultraviolet-photoemission (UPS) measurements and supporting specific-heat, thermal-expansion, resistivity, and magnetic-moment measurements are reported for the magnetic shape-memory alloy Ni2MnGa over the temperature range 100T(PM) is due to the Ni d minority-spin electrons. Below T(M) this peak disappears, resulting in an enhanced density of states at energies around 0.8 eV. This enhancement reflects Ni d and Mn d electronic contributions to the majority-spin density of states.     

Electrocatalysis of As(III) oxidation by cobalt oxide nanoparticles: measurement and modeling the effect of nanoparticle amount on As(III) oxidation potential

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The performance of electrodes modified with electrochemically generated cobalt oxide nanoparticles for the oxidation of As(III) species was investigated by...     

PtFe catalysts supported on hierarchical porous carbon toward oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - A new family of PtFe catalysts supported on hierarchical porous carbon (HPC), with different porous sizes, was developed and tested as cathodes in oxygen...