Rheological behavior of concentrated suspensions as affected by the dynamics of the mixing process

The rheological characterizations of concentrated suspensions are generally carried out assuming “well-mixed” suspensions. However, the variation of the concentration distributions of the ingredients of the formulation, i.e., the “goodness of mixing”, the size and shape distributions of the particle clusters and the rheological behavior of the suspension all depend on the thermo-mechanical history that the suspension is exposed to during the mixing process. Here, various experimental tools are used for the characterization of the degree of mixedness (concentration distributions) of various ingredients along with the characterization of rheological material functions, wall slip behavior and the maximum packing fraction of a graphite/elastomer suspension. The degree of mixedness values of the ingredients of the suspensions processed using batch and continuous processes and under differing operating conditions were characterized quantitatively using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and thermo gravimetric analysis and were elucidated under the light of the electrical properties of the suspension as affected by the mixing process. Upon achieving better homogeneity of the graphite particles and the binder and decreases in the size and breadth of the size distributions of particle clusters (as inferred from electrical measurements and maximum packing fraction values), the elasticity (storage modulus) and the shear viscosity (magnitude of the complex viscosity from small-amplitude oscillatory shear and shear viscosity from steady torsional and capillary rheometry) of the suspension decreased significantly and the wall slip velocity values increased. These findings demonstrate the intimate relationships that exist between the rheological behavior of concentrated suspensions and the thermo-mechanical history that they are exposed to during the processing stage and suggest that the preparation conditions for suspensions should be carefully selected and well documented to achieve reproducible characterization of rheological material functions.     

Determination of Tetracyclines in Milk,Eggs and Honey Using in-situ Ionic Liquid Based Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction

In this study, in-situ ionic liquid based dispersive liquid?liquid microextraction method for enrichment of tetracyclines before liquid chromatographic analysis has been improved. A 1-benzyl-3- methylimidazolium chloride was used as an ionic liquid. To increase extraction efficiency, some optimization parameters (amount of ammonium hexafluorophoshate, extraction time, centrifugation time, ratio of ionic liquid/salt) were investigated. At optimized conditions, enrichment factors of four tetracycline antibiotics (tetracycline, chlortetracycline, methacycline, doxycycline) were between 25 and 98. The residues of tetracyclines were not found in the studied real samples. For the accuracy of the method, the concentration of 50 and 250 μg/L of standard tetracycline mixture solutions were spiked to the blank real milk, honey and egg samples and the percentage recoveries were obtained in the range of 75.8–109.7%.     

Plasma Induced Graft Polymerization of Three Hydrophilic Monomers on Nylon 6,6 Fabrics for Enhancing Antistatic Property

In this study, three hydrophilic monomers; 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) were selected and their performance as an antistatic finish on nylon 6,6 fabrics was investigated. A non-thermal, high density atmospheric pressure plasma was used to graft polymerize the monomers on nylon 6,6 fabrics. Fabrics were first treated with solutions of monomer in water, air dried and then treated with helium plasma to graft polymerize the monomer on the fiber surface. Surface resistivity values were measured before and after soxhlet extraction with water. Results showed that the DADMAC monomer provided better antistatic properties to fabrics. Further studies with DADMAC monomer were made; effects of plasma post exposure time, plasma pre-exposure time, plasma power, concentration of the monomer and existence of a crosslinker were investigated. Higher plasma power, higher concentration of the monomer and longer post exposure times all gave better antistatic properties to the nylon 6,6 fabrics. Acid dye staining, UV–Vis and FT-IR measurements were conducted and results confirmed a grafted poly-DADMAC layer on the fabric surface.     

Urea dimethacrylates functionalized with bisphosphonate/bisphosphonic acid for improved dental materials

Incorporation of bisphosphonate/bisphosphonic acid groups in dental monomer structures should increase interaction of these monomers with dental tissue as these groups have strong affinity for hydroxyapatite. Therefore, new urea dimethacrylates functionalized with bisphosphonate (1a, 1b) and bisphosphonic acid (2a, 2b) groups are synthesized and evaluated for dental applications. Monomers 1a and 1b are synthesized from 2‐isocyanatoethyl methacrylate (IEM) and two bisphosphonated amines (BPA1 and BPA2), prepared as reported elsewhere. Selective dealkylation of the bisphosphonate ester groups of 1a and 1b using trimethylsilyl bromide (TMSBr) gives monomers (2a and 2b) with bisphosphonic acid functionality. X‐ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of monomer‐treated HAP particles show that 2a induces formation of stable monomer‐calcium salts, similar to 10‐methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (MDP), with higher chemical interaction than 2b. The photopolymerization studies indicate good copolymerizability with commercial dental monomers. In vitro studies on NIH 3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells have clearly shown that the tested monomers (1b and 2b) are not toxic according to the MTT standards. All these properties make these monomers suitable as biocompatible cross‐linkers/adhesives for dental applications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3195–3204     

Design,synthesis, photochromism and electrochemistry of a novel material with pendant photochromic units

In the present work, the synthesis, photochromism and electrochemistry of a novel material 1, 1-(4-[3,4-bis(2,5-dimethyl-3-thienyl)cyclopent-3-en-1-yl]phenyl)-2,5-di-2-thienyl-1H-pyrrole, with pendant dithienylethene (DTE) photochromic units are described. It should be noted that the system 1 can be reversibly and efficiently switched between open (1o) and closed (1c) states by light in both solution and in the solid poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix. It is also noteworthy that the two isomers (1o and 1c) of this novel system 1 can be smoothly polymerized on ITO by electrochemical means. Surprisingly, the DTE unit in 1 does not retain its photochemical switching properties after immobilization onto ITO. The morphology of the polymer film was investigated by AFM analysis. Furthermore, it was found that the polymer exhibited remarkable electrochromic features that can be switched from green in the neutral state to violet state under applied external potentials without disturbing the photochromic units.     

A fluorescent chemical sensor for ethanol determination in alcoholic beverages

A sensor for ethanol is described that is based on the fluorescent probe 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl porphyrin (TPP). Response is based on the quenching of the fluorescence of TPP by ethanol as a result of electrostatic attraction. The sensor linearly responds to ethanol in the concentration range from 1 to 75 vol.% and was applied to the determination of ethanol in various kinds of wines and whisky.     

FRACTOP: A Geometric Partitioning Metaheuristic for Global Optimization

We propose a new metaheuristic, FRACTOP, for global optimization. FRACTOP is based on the geometric partitioning of the feasible region so that search metaheuristics such as Simulated Annealing (SA), or Genetic Algorithms (GA) which are activated in smaller subregions, have increased reliability in locating the global optimum. FRACTOP is able to incorporate any search heuristic devised for global optimization. The main contribution of FRACTOP is that it provides an intelligent guidance (through fuzzy measures) in locating the subregion containing the global optimum solution for the search heuristics imbedded in it. By executing the search in nonoverlapping subregions, FRACTOP eliminates the repetitive visits of the search heuristics to the same local area and furthermore, it becomes amenable for parallel processing. As FRACTOP conducts the search deeper into smaller subregions, many unpromising subregions are discarded from the feasible region. Thus, the initial feasible region gains a fractal structure with many space gaps which economizes on computation time. Computational experiments with FRACTOP indicate that the metaheuristic improves significantly the results obtained by random search (RS), SA and GA.     

Atomistic Engineering of Chemiluminogens: Synthesis,Properties and Polymerization of 2,3-Dihydro-Pyrrolo[3,4-d]Pyridazine-1,4-Dione Scaffolds

Two chemiluminescent compounds containing 2,5-di(thien-2-yl)pyrrole and pyridazine units, namely 5,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyridazine-1,4(6H)-dione (5) and 6-phenyl-5,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyridazine-1,4(6H)-dione (6), were successfully synthesized and electrochemically polymerized. The compounds have chemiluminescent properties and glow in the presence of hydrogen peroxide in basic medium. The intensity of the glow can be increased dramatically by using Fe³⁺ ions, hemin (1.0 ppm) or blood samples (1.0 ppm) as catalyst. The compounds 5 and 6 have one well-defined irreversible oxidation peak at 1.08 V and 1.33 V vs Ag/AgCl, respectively. Electrochemical polymerization of both 5 and 6 were carried out successfully by repeating potential scanning in the presence of BF₃. Et2O in an electrolyte solution of 0.1 M LiClO₄ dissolved in acetonitrile. The electronic band gaps (E_g) of the polymers P5 and P6 were found to be 2.02 eV and 2.16 eV, respectively. On the other hand, the corresponding polymers are electroactive and exhibited electrochromic features.

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