Synthesis and refractive‐index control of fluoropolymers by the polyaddition of bis(epoxide)s and triazine di(aryl ether)s

The polyaddition of fluorine‐containing bis(epoxide)s and fluorine‐containing triazine di(aryl ether)s were examined to give the corresponding fluorine‐containing poly(cyanurate)s. It was observed that the synthesized fluoropolymers had good thermal stabilities and good film‐forming properties. The glass transition temperatures (T_g's) and refractive‐indices (n_D's) of synthesized polymers were determined by differential scanning calorimetry and ellipsometry, respectively, and it was found that the values of T_g's and n_D's were supported by their fluorine containing ratios and skeletons. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4421–4429, 2007     

Status of heavy element research using a gas-filled recoil separator at RIKEN

A gas-filled type of recoil separator for heavy element research was installed at an experimental hall of RIKEN Linear Accelerator facility to realize getting higher intensity of primary beam and long beam time. Performance of the separator was studied using target recoils and various nuclear reactions. The results show the high performance of the separator for heave element research. As an application of the GARIS, production and identification of an isotope of the 110th element ²⁷¹[110] have been performed using the ²⁰⁸Pb(⁶⁴Ni,1n)²⁷¹[110] reaction. Three decay chains coincide well both in decay times and energies with the ones reported by the group of SHIP experiment at GSI, Germany. Our results provide a confirmation of the synthesis of an isotope ²⁷¹[110] of element 110.     

Synthesis of self‐photosensitizing polyesters containing donor–acceptor norbornadiene moieties and benzophenone groups and their photochemical reactions

The ring‐opening copolymerization of a glycidyl ester derivative having a benzophenone group and the donor–acceptor norbornadiene (D‐A NBD) dicarboxylic acid, 5‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐1,4,6,7,7‐pentamethyl‐2,5‐norbornadiene‐2,3‐dicarboxylic acid, monoglycidyl ester derivatives with D‐A NBD dicarboxylic anhydride using tetraphenylphosphonium bromide as a catalyst proceeded smoothly to give novel self‐photosensitizing NBD polymers in good yields. The molecular weight of these polyesters was about 4,000, and lower than that of analogous NBD polymers having no benzophenone group. All the synthesized NBD polymers isomerized smoothly to the corresponding quadricyclane (QC) polymers upon UV irradiation in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution and in the film state. The rate of the photoisomerization of the D‐A NBD moieties in these polymers was higher than that of the D‐A NBD moieties in the polymer having no photosensitizing group. Furthermore, the rate of the photoisomerization of the D‐A NBD moieties in these polymers was also higher than that of the NBD polymer with low molecular weight photosensitizer in dilute solution. The photo‐irradiated polymers having QC moieties released thermal energies of 146–180 J/g. The D‐A NBD moieties contained in these NBD polymers possessed fair to good fatigue resistance. The degradation of the NBD moieties in these polymers was 15–30% after 50 repeated cycles of interconversion. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2978–2988, 2007     

Instrumental neutron activation analysis of semiconductor grade silicon

The single comparator method in neutron activation analysis has been applied to the investigation of the purity of silicon single-crystals of different origins. The following impurities were determined: Au, Sb, Co, Cu and Na. Studies were also carried out on the surface contamination of silicon samples introduced through steps of sample preparation and irradiation. Up to nineteen elements on the surface of samples were analysed and found to be easily reduced to low levels or detection limits by washing and etching.     

Sensitive determination of diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam in human material using capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A reliable and sensitive capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method was developed for the detection and determination of diazepam and its major metabolite, N-desmethyldiazepam, in human material. Medazepam served as the internal standard. Quantitative determination was achieved using mass fragmentography with selected ions of m/z 256 for diazepam and m/z 242 for N-desmethyldiazepam and medazepam. The limit of detection was 1 ng/g and the recoveries were 98.54 +/- 3.95% for diazepam and 98.66 +/- 6.48% for N-desmethyldiazepam. The calibration graph was linear over the concentration range from 1.0 ng/g to 1.0 microgram/g for diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam. Using this method, trace amounts of diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam were detected in the tissues of an autopsied individual.     

Determination of ofloxacin in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with column switching.

The chromatographic behaviour of ofloxacin on various sorbents, including ODS, C8, C1, nitril, phenyl and tert,-butyl, as stationary phases was investigated and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay was developed for the determination of ofloxacin in serum. The serum samples were directly introduced onto an HPLC column after filtering through a Morcut II membrane filter to remove proteins. The filtrate was concentrated on a pre-column using a phenyl stationary phase and was then introduced to an analytical column with an ODS stationary phase by column switching. Ofloxacin and enoxacin as an internal standard were detected by ultraviolet absorbance at 300 nm. Determination was possible for ofloxacin over the concentration range 50-2000 ng/ml; the limit of detection was 20 ng/ml. The recovery of ofloxacin added to serum was 88.8-101.7% with a coefficient of variation of less than 5.2%. This method is applicable to pharmacokinetic studies of patients after treatment with ofloxacin.     

Rapid determination of indium,nickel and copper in NBS standard reference material by substoichiometric radioactivation analysis

A method of rapid determination for indium, nickel and copper in Spinach (NBS; SRM-1570) by substoichiometric radioactivation analysis is described. The method is based on the principle that an equal amount of non-irradiated test sample is added to the irradiated standard sample and subsequent substoichiometric extraction for the irradiated test and standard samples is carried out. Indium is extracted as diethyldithiocarbamate into carbon tetrachloride, nickel as dimethylglyoximate into chloroform and copper as dithizonate into carbon tetrachloride. The radioactivities of these extracts are measured by NaI(Tl) or Ge(Li) detector coupled with pulse-height analyser. The analytical results obtained by the method were in good agreement with our published values and certified values by NBS.     

Substoichiometric extraction of phosphorus

A study of the substoichiometric extraction of phosphorus is described. Phosphorus was extracted in the form of ternary compounds such as ammonium phosphomolybdate, 8-hydroxyquinolinium phosphomolybdate, tetraphenylarsonium phosphomolybdate and tri-n-octylamine phosphomolybdate. Consequently, phosphorus was extracted substoichiometrically by the addition of a substoichiometric amount of molybdenum for all four phosphomolybdate compounds. On the other hand, phosphorus could be separated substoichiometrically with a substoichiometric amount of tetraphenylarsonium chloride or tri-n-octylamine. Stoichiometric ratios of these ternary compounds obtained substoichiometrically were 1∶12∶3 for phosphorus, molybdenum and organic reagent. Applicability of these compounds to phosphorus determination was also discussed.     

Development of rectangular column structured titanium oxide photocatalysts anchored on silica sheets by a wet process

Commercially available powdered photocatalysts such as P-25 are known to show high photocatalytic performance. However, in practical use, their anchoring onto a substrate without any binders is still very difficult. The purpose of this study is to design and develop high-performance photocatalysts that can be anchored onto a substrate, and to this end we have prepared a titanium oxide photocatalyst using a wet process. The results of this study led to the successful development of rectangular column structured titanium oxide crystals which could be anchored onto silica sheets. The rectangular columnar crystal was 100- 500 nm wide and 1000- 5000 nm long. Moreover, investigations on the complete oxidation reaction of acetaldehyde into CO₂ and H₂O showed a high performance equivalent to that of the most efficient marketed powdered photocatalysts.     

Substoichiometric determination of phosphorus

Phosphorus in orchard leaves (NBS SRM-1571) and spinach (SRM-1570) was determined by various substoichiometric analytical methods such as the direct method, GRASHCHENKO's method and the method of carrier amount variation. All samples were labelled with³²P radioisotope. The data obtained by the method of carrier amount variation were also treated by the method of least squares instead of De VOE's method. Phosphorus concentration in orchard leaves was 0.206±0.011% by the direct method, 0.219±0.011% by GRASHCHENKO's method, 0.211±0.011% by the method of carrier amount variation and 0.207±0.007% by the method of least squares, respectively. These values agree with the value reported by NBS (0.21±0.01%). Furthermore, these concentrations obtained by various substoichiometric methods were compared with those by radioactivation reported in a prevoius paper.