Effect of bulk density on flame resistance of rockwool in combined fire-resistant facings

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Fire protection of steel structures is playing an increasingly important role nowadays. The fire protection of steel structures can be solved with...     

Morphology transformation of thermosensitive metronidazol by spray freeze-drying

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Spray freeze-drying (SFD) is an effective method for reducing the size of thermosensitive organic substances that are sparingly soluble in water....     

Prebiotic Route to Thymine from Formamide—A Combined Experimental–Theoretical Study

Synthesis of RNA nucleobases from formamide is one of the recurring topics of prebiotic chemistry research. Earlier reports suggest that thymine, the substitute for uracil in DNA, may also be synthesized from formamide in the presence of catalysts enabling conversion of formamide to formaldehyde. In the current paper, we show that to a lesser extent conversion of uracil to thymine may occur even in the absence of catalysts. This is enabled by the presence of formic acid in the reaction mixture that forms as the hydrolysis product of formamide. Under the reaction conditions of our study, the disproportionation of formic acid may produce formaldehyde that hydroxymethylates uracil in the first step of the conversion process. The experiments are supplemented by quantum chemical modeling of the reaction pathway, supporting the plausibility of the mechanism suggested by Saladino and coworkers.     

Acid-Catalyzed RNA-Oligomerization from 3’,5’-cGMP

The assembly of ancient informational polymers from nucleotide precursors is the central challenge of life's origin on our planet. Among the possible solutions, dry polymerization of 3’,5’-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (3’,5’-cGMP) has been proposed as a candidate to create oligonucleotides of 15–20 units in length. However, the reported sensitivity of the reaction to the presence of cations raised questions of whether this chemistry could be relevant in a geological context. The experiments in this study show that the presence of cations is not restrictive as long as the reaction is conducted in an acidic environment, in contrast to previous reports that suggested optimal conditions at pH 9.     

The novel application of Fourier thermal analysis in foundry technologies

The process of casting in sand moulds is used for a large volume of castings manufactured in the world. Internal channels and complex geometries of these products are formed by the placement of cores within the mould cavity. Resin-bound sand mixtures are essential ingredients in engine component manufacturing. In this study, a state-of-the-art application of Fourier thermal analysis in foundry technologies is presented. Investigation of decomposition phenomena of resin-bound moulding materials during casting production is a brand new area to use the potential of thermal sciences. Temperature measurements in test samples of standard types of moulding mixtures were performed. The registered cooling curves were processed by a numerical iteration algorithm to determine the amount of heat absorbed during degradation of the moulding material. Thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) of sand mixtures were carried out to compare the results of the Fourier thermal analysis with TG and DTA curves.