Formation of ordered phases of (hydroxypropyl)cellulose in miscible and immiscible isobutyric acid-water mixtures

(Hydroxypropyl)cellulose (HPC) is known to form birefringent liquid-crystalline phases at elevated polymer concentrations in either water or isobutyric acid (IBA). The HPC concentration at which the polymeric phase exhibits birefringence decreases as the IBA content in mixed H₂O/IBA solvents decreases, even though the concentration ?ⁱ_c for the formation of an ordered phase of HPC in water is greater than that in IBA. Water is a spectator component and apparently does not participate in the formation of a birefringent phase when IBA is present. A birefringent phase forms once the concentration of HPC in the solution omitting the H₂O equals the ?ⁱ_c of binary HPC/IBA solutions for temperatures from 23 to 95°C. The strong preferential affinity of HPC for IBA is visually evident as an HPC coagulate separates from dilute solution when the solvent mixture contains as little as 5% IBA. The coagulate dissolves to give a monophasic isotropic solution as the IBA content in the solvent is increased. A heterogeneous system in which a clear supernatant fluid covers a pearly white polymeric phase forms when the solvent mixture is immiscible and the HPC content is less than 50%. At high HPC content, the classical appearance associated with concentrated HPC solutions is seen. The optical and rheological properties of the heterogeneous systems are compared with those of homogeneous solutions at several HPC concentrations.     

Viscometric behavior of mesomorphic ethyl cellulose solution in chloroform

A simple modification of the viscometer used to determine the viscosity of concentrated solutions is described which permits the ready measurement of viscosity versus shear rate behavior above room temperature. Basic experimental viscometry was performed on the ethyl cellulose–chloroform system using a B-type (Brookfield-like) rotating-cylinder viscometer. Data are compared with theoretical predictions. The flow curves exhibit yield stress at low shear rate. The yield stress is dependent on concentration and temperature. The viscosity versus concentration curves show typical mesomorphic behavior. The concentration dependences of viscosity and yield stress are similar. The critical concentration increases with temperature. In the single-phase region (isotropic or anisotropic state) the viscosity decreases with temperature and the apparent activation energy (E_a) for flow is positive, but in the biphasic range the viscosity increases with temperature and E_a is negative. The experimental results for the critical concentration appear to agree with Flory's theory of rodlike molecules when the ratio of persistence length to diameter of the chain is taken as the aspect ratio.     

Phase transitions and rheology of aramid solutions

Clearing temperatures of solutions of poly(4-4′-benzanilidylene-terephthalamide) in concentrated sulphuric acid are presented as a function of polymer concentration and average molecular weight. The orientational order parameter <P ₂> is obtained from birefringence measurements. The experimental results are explained by a mean-field type theory similar to the Maier-Saupe model for thermotropic liquid crystals. Molecular flexibility, concentration and molecular weight are taken into account by using simple scaling factors. The birefringence induced by shear flow in an isotropic solution of poly(para-phenylene-terephthalamide) shows a strong pretransitional behaviour. This indicates the occurrence of a flow-induced phase transition.     

Concentration and temperature dependence of the refractive index increment of a polystyrene sample in trans-decalin

The refractive index increment of macromolecules in solution has been observed to be a function of concentration, temperature, molecular weight, wavelength of light, and solvent. Most of the studies have been performed in dilute or semidilute solutions, and therefore the concentration dependence of the refractive index increment was too small to be accurately observed. This study was performed on solutions of polystyrene in trans-decalin at mass fractions, w₂, from 0.01 to 0.11 and at 436 and 546 nm wavelengths. The concentration and temperature dependence of the refractive index increment were measured, and comparisons were made with previous theories.     

Rheology and gelation of cellulose/ammonia/ammonium thiocyanate solutions

Liquid crystalline solutions of cellulose in an ammonia/ammonium thiocyanate solvent will form thermoreversible gels at temperatures below 30°C. These gels are of interest both for processing the cellulose/ammonia/ammonium thiocyanate system and because they have an unusual structure, containing neither crystalline nor covalently bonded crosslinks. Although these gels contain neither crystalline nor covalently bonded crosslinks, the dynamic rheological behavior of the system at the gel point was found to be the same as for gels with covalent or crystalline crosslinks with a loss tangent, tan δ, independent of frequency. The kinetics of the gelation process was monitored via dynamic elastic modulus, G′. All samples revealed an exponential increase in G′ with time during gelation, very different from that observed in covalently bonded or crystalline crosslinked systems. Measurements of the loss tangent enabled precise determination of the gelation time for these systems as a function of cellulose concentration and temperature. We found the gel time to be inversely related to cellulose concentration and directly related to temperature. The strong dependence of gel time on these parameters offers a windows of spinnability that can be tailored for processing high modulus cellulose fibers. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Physical Properties of Aqueous Solutions of the Ionic Liquid [BMIM][BF4]

We report here the systematic study of the effect of concentration on the physical properties of aqueous solutions of the room-temperature ionic liquid [BMIM][BF₄]. The measurements of density, ρ, refractive index △n, viscosity η, specific conductivity κ and surface tension, γ, were made over the whole concentration range. The equivalent conductance Λ _m was calculated. The observed linear variations of density and refractive index with the molar concentration are established as those of an ideal solution. The surface tension varied most rapidly in the dilute region whereas the viscosity changed much more rapidly in the concentrated region. Two regions with different composition dependences were found after the analyses of the relationship between the conductivity and the concentration of [BMIM][BF₄]. A proposed model for a structural change in the mixtures was described. The physical origin of the observed concentration dependence of these properties is discussed. The physical properties of the solutions vary with changes of association between anions and cations and the interaction between [BMIM][BF₄] and water.     

Entanglement properties of cellulose and amylose in an ionic liquid

Concentrated solutions of cellulose and amylose were prepared with an ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl), which was chosen as a good solvent for these polysaccharides. Dynamic viscoelasticity of the concentrated solutions was examined to obtain the molecular weight between entanglements, M_e. The value of M_e in the molten state (M_e,melt), a material constant that reflecting the entanglement properties, was determined for cellulose and amylose by extrapolating M_e to the “melt.” A marked difference in M_e,melt was found: 3.2 × 10³ for cellulose and 2.5 × 10⁴ for amylose. The value of M_e,melt for cellulose, which is composed of β‐(1,4) bonding of D ‐glucose units, is very close to those for polysaccharides with a random‐coil conformation such as agarose and gellan in BmimCl. The much larger M_e,melt for amylose can be attributed to the helical nature of the amylose chain, α‐(1,4)‐linked D ‐glucose units. The effect of concentration on the zero‐shear viscosity for the solutions of cellulose and amylose was also examined. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Viscometric behavior of liquid-crystalline solutions of hydroxypropyl cellulose in N,N-dimethylacetamide and in dimethylsulfoxide: Effects of temperature and concentration

Viscometric properties of two kinds of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) solutions which exhibit liquid-crystalline behavior under certain conditions were determined by using a cone–plate viscometer. Measurements included the temperature and concentration dependences of viscosity. A phenomenological superposition for the viscosity was also tried. The viscosity for the solutions of HPC both in N,N-dimethylacetamide and in dimethylsulfoxide displayed a minimum and a maximum with respect to temperature and the specific viscosities at the minimum and the maximum decreased with increasing concentration. Concentration–temperature superposition for the viscosity of both systems could be applied over a limited concentration range. The physical interpretation is still obscure.     

Oriented cellulose films and fibers from a mesophase system

Cellulose mesophases were obtained by preparing concentrated solutions of cellulose (20–55%) in a mixture of N-methyl-morpholine N-oxide (MMNO) and water. The anisotropy depends on four interconnected parameters: the temperature of the solution which, in general, must be lower than 90°C; the concentration of cellulose which must exceed 20%; a water content such that the mole ratio water/anhydrous MMNO is smaller than unity; and the degree of polymerization of the dissolved cellulose. The anisotropic cellulose solutions can readily be oriented during extrusion or casting thus giving fibers or films which upon regeneration exhibit high orientation.     

Dependence of cooperative relaxation of amorphous polymers on diluent concentration

The Adam–Gibbs molecular theory, which describes the temperature dependence of relaxation phenomena in the main transition region in terms of the configurational entropy of a system, has been extended to include the effect of concentration of a low-molecular-weight compound on the viscoelastic behavior of concentrated polymer solutions. The concentration dependence of relaxation times in the polymer–diluent mixture leads to an expression of the concentration dependence both of the shift factor in the Williams–Landel–Ferry (WLF) equation and of the glass transition temperature T_g of the mixture. The constants of the WLF equation and the concentration dependence of T_g are given in terms of a difference between the specific heats of the liquid and glass ΔC_p of the equilibrium temperature T₂ of the second-order transition, and of the parameter Δμs/k, which includes the chemical potential Δμ and the configurational entropy s of the smallest cooperatively rearranging region. The resulting relationships also predict the temperature dependence of the constants of the concentration WLF equation. Good agreement was found between theory and the viscoelastic and T_g data on the systems poly(vinyl acetate) + diethyl phthalate, poly(methyl methacrylate) + diethyl phthalate and polystyrene + dibutyl phthalate. This finding indicates that the configurational entropy, at least in the first approximation, is responsible for the concentration dependence of relaxation phenomena in concentrated polymer solutions.     

Rheological properties of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solutions

In this study, we investigated the way of predicting two critical concentrations of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solutions using simple experimental procedures with a rotational rheometer. It was found that, above a critical shear rate, all CMC solutions (0.2 to 7 wt.%) exhibit shear-thinning behavior and the flow curves could be described by the Cross model. A first critical CMC concentration c*, transition to semidilute network solution, was determined using the following methods (1) study of the flow curve shapes, (2) Cross model parameters, (3) plot of the specific viscosity vs the overlap parameter, and (4) empirical structure–properties relationships. Furthermore, both creep and frequency-sweep measurements showed that the solutions behaved as viscoelastic materials above a second critical CMC concentration c** (transition to concentrated solution). The characterization of CMC solutions was completed with a time-dependent viscosity study that showed that the CMC solutions exhibited strong thixotropic behavior, especially at the highest CMC concentrations.     

On the refractive indexes and birefringence of nylon 6 yarns as a function of draw ratio and strain

A systematic study of the dispersion curves of the refractive indexes of nylon 6 yarns was made. The parameters were the draw ratio and strain. The measurements show that the dispersions of the refractive indexes n_∥ and n_⊥, parallel and perpendicular to the fiber axis, are equal, independently of draw ratio and strain. The average dispersion equals n_F ? n_C = 109 × 10^?4. Consequently, the birefringence is, within experimental accuracy, independent of the wavelength. The refractive indexes and the birefringence show a change in trend at 10–12% strain. This point corresponds to the yield strain in the stress–strain diagrams. The inference is that beyond the yield point the overall molecular orientation must increase less strongly with strain than before. An analysis shows that the Lorentz–Lorenz relation holds for the average refractive index n? = ? (n_∥ + 2n_⊥). So the change in n? versus draw ratio is mainly due to the change in density. By applying the Lorentz–Lorenz relation to the change of n? on straining, a value of Poisson's ratio (μ) could be derived. The average value found for nylon 6 yarns was μ = 0.48, which means that the density hardly changes with strain.     

AgGa(S1-xSex)2固溶体的电子结构和光学性质

采用基于赝势平面波基组的密度泛函理论方法, 对一系列具有黄铜矿结构的AgGa(S_1-xSe_x)₂固溶体的构型、电子结构、线性和二阶非线性光学性质进行了系统研究. 结果表明, 各固溶体具有类似的能带结构, 体系带隙随x值增加而逐渐减小. 当所引入的Hartree-Fock交换项贡献为22.56%时, 对应的杂化PBE泛函得到的带隙值与实验结果相近. 固溶体的各种光学性质, 包括折射率、双折射率、反射率、吸收系数和二阶倍频系数等均随着组成的改变呈现出有规律的变化趋势, 变化范围介于AgGaS₂和AgGaSe₂二者之间. 因此, 利用固溶体光学性质的变化规律, 可从中寻找出具有特定光学性能的晶体材料.     

Behavior of [`(a)] 20 \bar \alpha _2^0 T of aqueous urea near the singularity point

Relations for the apparent molar heat capacity ϕ_c of urea in an aqueous solution depending on the molality m and temperature were obtained. A transition to the relations ϕ_c(m,T) for D₂O-(ND₂)₂CO and T₂O-(NT₂)₂CO systems was effected by temperature scaling. At low temperatures, the isotherms of the molar heat capacity C _p(m) of the protium and deuterium systems have minima shifted to more dilute solutions at elevated temperatures. At m = 1, C _p of a solution does not depend on temperature in both systems. The dependences C _p(T) also have minima at constant concentrations. The temperature of the minimum heat capacity is most effectively lowered by small additions of urea. For m = 0.25, T _min is 7.5 K lower than T _min of pure water, and its heat capacity is 0.08 J/(mol K) higher. A transition from m = 1.5 to m = 2 lowers the temperature of the minimum heat capacity by 3.6 K; thus, the heat capacity of solutions differs by 0.02 J/(mol K) only.     

Effects of pressure on the behavior of (hydroxypropyl)cellulose in aqueous solution

The effects of pressure and temperature on the phase behavior of aqueous solutions of (hydroxypropyl)cellulose (HPC) were in¶vestigated at low and high concentrations. In dilute solutions, the transition temperature (T _t) as measured by apparent light scattering increased with an increase in pressure at lower pressures, but decreased with increasing pressure above 100?MPa. At lower temperatures, the transition pressure (P _t) increased slightly with increasing temperature, but decreased with at temperatures above 10–15?°C. Both T _t and P _t showed a moderate polymer-concentration dependence and they also showed strong concentration dependence on salt; T _t and P _t decreased with increasing concentrations of KCl and K₂SO₄, whereas the addition of KI or KSCN increased T _t and P _t. The apparent absorbance of concentrated solutions (62.5%) of HPC, in a cholesteric (chiral nematic) mesophase, was also measured. The spectrum shifted to a longer wavelength under high pressure. These results could be explained by assuming that the helicoidal pitch was increased under elevated pressure, probably due to a decrease in the angle between the two semiflexible and twisted HPC molecules in adjacent planes under high pressure.     

Frequency dependence of intrinsic viscosity of macromolecules with finite internal viscosity

In order to explain the observed nonvanishing limiting value of dynamic intrinsic viscosity of polymer solutions at ω = ∞ one has considered the necklace model with finite resistance to the rate of coil deformation introduced long ago by Cerf for the study of gradient dependence of intrinsic viscosity and streaming birefringence. The calculation need not take into account change of hydrodynamic interaction as a consequence of coil deformation because the experimental data are always either obtained at very low gradient or extrapolated to zero gradient so that in the experiment the macromolecule has the same conformation as in the solution at rest. The model indeed yields a finite [η]′_{ω = ∞} in good agreement with experiments on polystyrene in Aroclor. According to the theory [η]′_{ω = ∞}/[η]₀ decreases with increasing molecular weight as M^?1 and M^?1/2 for the free-draining and impermeable coil, respectively. The absolute limiting value [η]_∞′, therefore turns out to be nearly independent of M, at least for small values of internal viscosity. From the observed value [η]_∞′/[η₀] one can obtain the coefficient of internal viscosity of the macromolecule. The value for polystyrene in Aroclor calculated from dynamic experiments on rather concentrated solutions is close to that derived by Cerf from streaming birefringence observations of polystyrene in a series of solvents of widely differing viscosity.     

Density and refractive index measurements in hexaheptyloxytriphenylene,a discotic liquid crystal

Density and refractive index measurements in the discotic liquid crystal hexaheptyloxytriphenylene were performed in the hexagonal columnar Col_ho and isotropic I phases. The temperature dependence of the density ρ(T) for this compound was obtained by combining small angle X-ray data and capillary methods. The ordinary n _o extraordinary n _e and isotropic liquid n _i refractive indices were measured using a modified Abbe refractometer to an accuracy of about 10^?3. To check the consistency of the density and the refractometry experiments we used the Lorentz–Lorenz relation. An anomaly in the empirical relationship at the Col_ho–I phase transition, which holds for many uniaxial liquid crystals, was detected. A discrepancy between low birefringence Δn～0.109 and a relatively high local electric field anisotropy for hexaheptyloxytriphenylene is discussed.     

An EPR study of solid solutions ZnAl2O4ZnCr2O4

We studied the EPR spectra of ZnAl₂O₄-ZnCr₂O₄ solid solutions. The changes observed in the spectrum with increasing chromium concentration are attributed to the gradual development of magnetic interactions between paramagnetic ions in the solid solution. From the concentration dependence of the intensity of the isolated ions spectrum an approximate value of the range of the exchange interactions is deduced. The spectrum observed at high chromium concentrations is attributed to clusters of chromium ions coupled by exchange; the temperature dependence of its intensity indicates an antiferromagnetic character of the concentrated solid solutions.     

Electrochemical characteristics of propylene carbonate solutions of tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate

The specific and molar electric conductivities of propylene carbonate solutions of Et₄NBF₄ with concentrations of 0.15–1.4 m were determined at 283.15, 298.15, and 313.15 K. The temperature dependence of the electric conductivity of the system was analyzed. The concentration dependence of electric conductivity was described in terms of the Castell-Amis equation. A comparative analysis of the charge transfer in Et₄NBF₄ and LiAsF₆ systems in propylene carbonate was performed using the concept of quasicrystallinity of concentrated electrolyte solutions. The range of potentials in which the electrolyte solutions are stable on a platinum electrode was determined.