Thermal Stability of Biodegradable Films Based on Soy Protein and Corn Starch

Summary: In this paper, films were prepared from soy protein and corn starch in different proportions and thermal stability and kinetic parameters were determined through degradation reactions in an inert atmosphere. Solid residues and decomposition products were identified by infrared spectroscopy. Films from corn starch were less thermally stable than soy protein films. The films containing both components had lower thermal stabilities when compared to those of the pure biopolymers. The mechanism of starch thermal degradation seems to occur in a single step, which can be confirmed by the constant E-values during the thermal degradation reaction. For the pure protein and its mixtures an increase in the activation energy was observed during the reaction. Solid residues for protein at different temperatures showed mainly bands related to CO stretching, angular deformation of N H and C H groups. For starch, absorptions related to free and bound O H, CO stretching of CO₂, CO and carbonyl compounds were observed. For the 50/50 mixture bands related to soy protein and corn starch were observed. The gaseous products for soy protein showed absorptions related to CO₂, CO, CO, NH₃ and C H stretching. For pure starch absorptions related to O H stretching from alcohol, CO from CO₂, CO and carbonyl compounds. The 50/50 mixture had the same characteristics as pure soy protein and corn starch.     

Poly(caprolactone triol) as plasticizer agent for cellulose acetate films: influence of the preparation procedure and plasticizer content on the physico‐chemical properties

The influence of the plasticizer content and film preparation procedure on the morphology, density, thermal and mechanical properties of cellulose acetate (CA) films plasticized with poly‐(caprolactone triol) (PCL‐T), were studied. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal mechanical analysis (TMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR) techniques were used. The films were prepared by dry‐casting CA and CA/PCL‐T in acetone or acetone/water solutions, which produced transparent and opaque films, respectively. In contrast to the transparent films, which were dense, the opaque films presented a porous morphology. However, the presence of PCL‐T reduced the opaque film porosity, increasing, in consequence, its bulk density. The TMA results revealed that PCL‐T reduced the glass transition temperature more significantly in the transparent than in opaque films. Only the transparent CA/PCL‐T films presented a melting temperature, that reduced with higher concentrations of PCL‐T, suggesting a higher ordering (crystallinity) when the films were prepared in the absence of water, as observed from WAXD curves. The mechanical properties also showed that the transparent films were more soft and tough than the opaque films. In summary, PCL‐T was a good plasticizer agent for CA films due to the presence of hydrogen bonds between the components (FT‐IR spectra). The presence of water in the dry casting process has a significant effect mainly on film morphology and mechanical properties. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new enantioselective synthesis of the four stereoisomers of pallantione,the male-produced sex pheromone of Pallantia macunaima (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

In a previous study we reported the identification of the first ketone found in the Pentatomidae family, the sex attractant pheromone of the male stink bug Pallantia macunaima, (6R,10S)-6,10,13-trimethyltetradecan-2-one. Here we describe an efficient enantioselective route for the synthesis of the four stereoisomers of this pheromone. The synthesis was conceived as the connection of two chiral building blocks, employing (R)- or (S)-citronellol and methyl (S)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpropionate as the source of chirality.     

Titration calorimetric determination of the pairwise interaction parameters of glycerol,D-threitol,mannitol, and D-glucitol in dilute aqueous solutions

Enthalpic pairwise interaction parameters, h_jj, were determined by titration calorimetry at 25°C for dilute solutions of glycerol, D-threitol, manitol, and D-glucitol in water. The parameters for these and other polyols conform to the expression h_jj (J-kg^–1)=145+135n_OH–21.5n _OH ² –41.7 _dl ² -160.5n_dlld, where n_OH=n_C is the number of hydroxyl groups (carbon atoms), n_dl is the number of dl configuration of a vicinal pair of OH-groups, and n_dlld is the number of such configurations in the polyol molecules. A rationalization of this expression is given.     

Spectrophotometric investigation of the reaction of CU(II) and Cu(I) with 1-isonitroso-(1,2,3,4)-tetrahydrophenazine

The reactions of Cu(II) and Cu(I) with 1-isonitroso-(1,2,3,4)-tetrahydrophenazine (HITF) have been studied spectrophotometrically. Both ions form complexes with metal/ligand ratio 1:2. The complex of Cu(I) and ITF can be used for copper determination in the range 2-50 x 10(-6)M, and has been separated as the perchlorate in crystalline form. The spectrophotometric characteristics and the equilibrium constants for the ligand and for the complexes are reported.     

A Simple Hysteretic Constitutive Model for Unsaturated Flow

The present study covers the problem of rotation of a porous disk under a viscous incompressible fluid that fills the half-space above the disk, which is the generalization of the von Karman’s problem. It is found that, instead of solving the exact problem, which is rather complicated by coupling the motions of the free fluid and that contained inside the permeable disk, it is sufficient to solve a much simpler problem of the motion of the free fluid placed onto a permeable plane. Assuming the flow in the permeable disk is described by the Brinkman equations, we obtain a self-similar formulation of the problem. Employing this formulation, we also show that the boundary condition associated with continuity of the tangential strains and tangential velocity components is satisfied at the fluid–porous body interface. The coefficient for the vertical velocity component is furthermore obtained. Various extreme cases are identified.     

The role of the carboxylate head group in the interaction of sodium dodecanoate with poly(ethylene oxide) investigated by electrical conductivity, viscosity, and aggregation number measurements

The binding of sodium dodecanoate (SDoD) to poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in aqueous solution was investigated and compared with the well-known polymer-surfactant complexes formed between PEO and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Electrical conductivity measurements indicated that the concentration ratio of bound SDoD to PEO (on monomer basis) was greater than that for the system PEO-SDS. However, the aggregation numbers of the micelles supported on the polymer chain are practically constant and similar for both surfactants at concentrations lower than the polymer saturation point. The difference in binding capability is explained in terms of a larger PEO coil expansion upon complexation of SDoD than in the case of SDS. An increase in the polymer surface favors the binding of SDoD to PEO in aqueous solution. This conclusion is supported by the results of the viscometric studies of PEO-surfactant solution.     

In situ studies of the adsorption kinetics of 4-nitrobenzenediazonium salt on gold

Self-assembled organic layers are an important tool for modifying surfaces in a range of applications in materials science. Covalent modification of metal surfaces with aryldiazonium cations has attracted much attention primarily because this reaction offers a route for spontaneously grafting a variety of aromatic moieties from solution with high yield. We have investigated the kinetics of this process by performing real-time, in situ nanogravimetric measurements. The spontaneous grafting of 4-nitrobenzene diazonium salts onto gold electrodes was studied via quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) from aqueous solutions of the salt at varying concentrations. The concentration dependence of the grafting rate within the first 10 min is best modeled by assuming a reversible adsorption process with free energy comparable to that reported for arylthiols self-assembled on gold. Multilayer formation was observed after extended grafting times and was found to be favored by increasing bulk concentrations of the diazonium salt. Modified gold surfaces were characterized ex situ with cyclic voltammetry, infrared reflection absorbance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Based on the experimentally determined free energy of adsorption and on the observed grafting rates, we discuss a proposed mechanism for aryldiazonium chemisorption.     

Effects of added dotab on thecmc and enthalpy of micelle formation at 298.2 K for CTAB(aq)

In a titration calorimetric study an aqueous solution held in a syringe and containing hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB; 15.4×10^–3 mol dm^–3) is injected in aliquots (5×l0^–3 dm³) into a sample cell containing initially water. Analysis of the data shows that thecmc equals 0.97×l0^–3 dm^–3 and the enthalpy of micelle formation equals –10.3 kJ mol^–1. When the solution in the syringe is replaced by a mixed surfactant solution, CTAB+dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, at the same total concentration of surfactant, thecmc of CTAB decreases gradually with increasing mole fraction of DOTAB but the enthalpy of CTAB micelle formation is hardly affected. We conclude, therefore, that incorporation of DOTAB monomers into the CTAB micelles stabilizes entropically the CTAB micelles.We thank EPSRC for their support; the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for an award to MCSS and the Royal Society for a grant awarded to PMC for the purchase of the Titration Microcalorimeter.