Propylene oxide-ethylene oxide block copolymers as demulsifiers for water-in-oil emulsions,I. Effect of molecular weight and hydrophilic-lipophylic balance on the demulsification efficiency

Summary A series of propylene oxide (PO)-ethylene oxide (EO) block copolymers with differentEO/PO ratios and molecular weights have been prepared and tested for their demulsification potency in breaking synthetic water-in-benzene emulsions stabilized by asphaltenes. Their partition coefficients between benzene and water were determined by means of UV absorption. NMR spectroscopic analysis was used for determining the actualPO/EO ratios of these block copolymers. The effects of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) and molecular weight of the prepared surfactants on their demulsification efficiency were investigated. It was found that the demulsification efficiency is directly proportional to both HLB and molecular weight.

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Propylenoxid-Ethylenoxid-Blockcopolymere als Emulsionsbrecher für Wasser-in-Öl-Emulsionen, 1. Mitt. Effekt des Molekulargewichts und des Hydrophilie-Lipophilie-Gleichgewichts auf die Effizienz der Emulsionsbrechung

Zusammenfassung Eine Reihe von Propylenoxid (PO)-Ethylenoxid (EO) Blockcopolymeren mit verschiedenenEO/PO-Verhältnissen und Molekulargewichten wurden hergestellt und auf ihre Effizienz bezüglich des Brechens von durch Asphalt stabilisierten synthetischen Wasser/Benzol-Emulsionen untersucht. Ihre Verteilungskoeffizienten zwischen Benzol und Wasser wurden mittels UV-Spektroskopie ermittelt. DasPO/EO-Verhältnis wurde NMR-spektroskopisch bestimmt. Die Effekte von Hydrophilie-Lipophilie-Gleichgewicht (HLB) und Molekulargewicht auf die Effizienz der Wirkung wurden untersucht. Das Emulsionsbrechungsvermögen ist direkt proportional zu HLB und indirekt proportional zum Molekulargewicht.

     

Syntheses and properties of ethoxylated double‐tail trisiloxane surfactants containing a propanetrioxy spacer

A new type of ethoxylated double‐tail trisiloxane surfactants containing a propanetrioxy spacer of the general formula ROCH₂CH(OR)CH₂O(CH₂CH₂O)_xCH₃ [R = Me₃SiOSiMe(CH₂)₃OSiMe₃, x = 8.4, 12.9, 22] has been synthesized. Their structures were characterized by ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR and ²⁹Si‐NMR spectroscopy. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values of these double‐tail trisiloxane surfactants were at the level of 10⁻⁵ mol l⁻¹, and the surface tension values of their aqueous solutions at CMC were in the range of 21‐24.9 mN m⁻¹. Only the double‐tail trisiloxane surfactant with average ethoxy units of 8.4 ( 1P ) possesseda good spreading ability (SA) value. Its SA values of aqueous solutions (5.0 × 10⁻³ mol l⁻¹) on parafilm and Ficus microcarpa leaf surfaces were more than 15 (within 10 min) and 13 (within 3 min), respectively. The trisiloxane surfactant 1P was also found to have the strongest hydrolysis resistant ability among all of the double‐tail trisiloxane surfactants prepared. Its aqueous solutions were stable for 130 days in an acidic environment (pH 4.0) and 59 days in an alkaline environment (pH 10.0) with surface tension values less than 23 mN m⁻¹. It is suggested that this surfactant can be used as a wetting agent or spreading agent in certain extreme pH environments. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantum dot fluorescence as a function of alkyl chain length in aqueous environments

In this work, we examine the dependence of the fluorescence quantum yield of water-soluble CdSe/ZnS quantum dots on the local environment. The hydrophobicity of the local environment was modified by using different alkyl chain lengths in a set of oligo-ethylene glycols. Our results show that the quantum yield of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots is highest for the longest alkyl chain length, suggesting that a more hydrophobic environment is beneficial for generating bright, water-soluble quantum dots.     

Regulation of pattern dimension as a function of vacuum pressure: alkyl monolayer lithography

Photopatterning of a hexadecyl (HD) monolayer has been demonstrated using vacuum ultraviolet (VUV; lambda = 172 nm) light under controlled vacuum pressure with the objective of minimizing the pattern dimension. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and lateral force microscopy (LFM) studies reveal that photodegradation of the HD monolayer not only is limited to the regions exposed to VUV but also spreads under the masked regions. The strong oxidants generated by VUV irradiation to atmospheric oxygen and water vapor diffuse toward the masked regions through the nanoscopic channels and photodissociate the monolayer under the masked area, near the photomask apertures, resulting in broadening of the photopattern. Such broadening decreases with decreased vacuum pressure inside the VUV chamber, associated with a decrease of oxidant concentration and reduction of their diffusion. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were immobilized on the VUV patterned features to probe the dimension of the chemically active pattern. Field emission electron microscopy reveals the construction of 565 nm wide pattern features at a vacuum pressure of 10 Pa. This pattern widens to 1,030 nm at 10 (4) Pa using the same size apertures (500 nm) as printed on the photomask. This study provides insight for fabricating submicron patterns with high reproducibility and its exploitation for different applications, which includes the patterning of nanoparticles, biopolymers, and other nano-objects at submicron dimensions.     

Equilibrium contact angles as a function of the concentration of nonionic surfactants on quartz plate

The contact angles of aqueous solution of Triton X-100 and Triton X-305 for airwater-quartz and cyclohexane-water quartz systems have been studied. It has been found that the equilibrium contact angle (measured through water) against quartz is increased by the addition of small amounts of nonionic surfactants, but beyond a certain concentration the angle decreases again. Based on the bilayer adsorption model on quartz/water interface, the experimental results can be explained.     

Indium as a radical initiator in aqueous media: intermolecular alkyl radical addition to CN and CC bond

The carbon-carbon bond-forming method in aqueous media was investigated by using indium as a single-electron transfer radical initiator. The indium-mediated intermolecular alkyl radical addition to imine derivatives and electron-deficient CC bond proceeded effectively.     

Multiple headspace extraction—A procedure for eliminating the influence of the sample matrix in quantitative headspace,gas chromatography

Summary A stepwise gas extraction procedure is described for the quantitative gas chromatographic analysis of volatile compounds in solid and liquid samples. This procedure is a modification of the usual headspace analysis and can be carried out with the same equipment, provided a pressure and time controlled sampling system is used. This procedure is called Multiple Headspace Extraction (MHE) therefore. This method has first been developed for the analysis of monomers in polymers and residual solvents in printed films, but it is shown that can be applied to various other sample types also including even liquid samples.Dedicated to L. S. Ettre on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Adsorption of ionic surfactants on polar surfaces with a low content of chemically adsorbed alkyl chains

Colloidal silica and titanium dioxide were surface-modified by chemisorption of octadecyl dimethylmethoxy silane. The surface density of these alkyl silane groups was adjusted to less than 7% of the available surface hydroxyls, leaving the adsorbents hydrophilic and electrically charged in aqueous solution.Ionic surfactants (tetradecylpyridinium chloride and sodium lauryl sulfate) are adsorbed onto the surface-modified silica and titanium dioxide from aqueous solution, even in the case where the surface of the adsorbents exhibits the same sign of electrical charge as the surfactant ionic head groups. According to the adsorption model of Gu the chemiadsorbed alkyl chains are supposed to serve as anchors for small surface aggregates of the ionic surfactants.     

Theoretical investigation of luminescence behavior as a function of alkyl chain size in 4-aminobenzonitrile alicyclic derivatives

There is still controversy about the structure of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) emitting species in pi-electron donor-acceptor systems that show dual fluorescence. Although the twisted ICT model is quite generally accepted, the planar ICT model is not ruled out because firm experimental evidence supports it. Among these it is the fact that some rigidized systems such as bicyclic 4-aminobenzonitrile derivatives exhibit dual fluorescence. We present here an ab initio CASSCF/CASPT2 study of a series of these compounds with the alicyclic chain ranging from 5 to 7 carbon atoms and compare their ICT mechanism with the more flexible 4-aminobenzonitrile (ABN) and 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN). We present the energetics, geometries, and valence bond structures of the critical points of the potential-energy surfaces of the ground, local excited (LE), and ICT states. Our results show that the photophysical differences of the studied systems may be rationalized by two factors: the position of the ICT and LE potential-energy surfaces at the first stages of the ICT reaction and the relative energies of the excited-state minima. Computational evidence is presented that a twisted ICT structure can be adopted in some molecules such as NXC6 and NXC7 and that the anomalous band of the fluorescence spectra of these systems is emitted from a twisted ICT species.     

Semi-quantitative determination of cationic surfactants in aqueous solutions using gold nanoparticles as reporter probes

Concentrations of cationic surfactants in aqueous solutions have been estimated on the basis of changes in the color of gold nanoparticles, used as reporter probes. We have shown that the colors of gold nanoparticles with anionic protective groups on their surfaces shift from red to indigo/purple and then back to red in a range of cationic surfactant solutions in which concentrations vary from very low to above the theoretical CMCs. The color changes occur near the theoretical CMCs, presumably because the presence of surfactant micelles in the solution prevents the gold nanoparticles from aggregating. We have used gold nanoparticles as reporter probes to determine the concentrations of cationic surfactants in products such as hair conditioners, which often contain large amounts of alkyltrimethylammonium halides. Although this approach can only provide an estimate, it can be performed simply by addition of a given amount of gold nanoparticles to a series of diluted solutions, without the need for instruments or labor-intensive procedures. Figure Photographs of a series of diluted hair conditioner solutions with added gold nanoparticles

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Liquid crystal alignment on a ZrO2 thin film as a function of ion beam incident angle

Nematic liquid crystal alignment capabilities and electro-optical performance characteristics have first been embodied in a ZrO₂ layer using ion-beam irradiation. The study demonstrates that liquid crystal layers can be aligned homogeneously as a function of the incident angle of the ion beam device, which causes a uniform dense plasma. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that full oxidation of the ZrO₂ thin-film surfaces was produced by ion irradiation, shifting the Zr 3d spectra to lower binding energies. In addition, the electro-optical performance characteristics of twisted nematic cells on a ZrO₂ thin-film layer after ion beam irradiation showed similar characteristics to those of a rubbed polyimide cell.     

甲醇、水及乙烯在氧化铌薄膜上吸附行为研究

由Nb（110）氧化制得均匀的氧化铌薄膜，用紫外光电子能谱表征了在不同温度下，甲醇、水及乙烯在该薄膜上的吸附行为．结果表明，在氧化铌表面吸附甲醇、水和乙烯，在140K时，是非解离吸附，一般由化学吸附到物理吸附．在室温时都发生解离吸附．表面缺陷位活性最强，不仅优先被吸附，而且对吸附质的影响也比较大．氧化铌薄膜表面的Nb5 是主要吸附中心，但表面气离子也是一种吸附位．     

Sol-gel material as a support of organometallic catalyst for ethylene polymerization

The sol-gel procedure was applied to obtain powdery materials with different structures and morphology. It was possible to produce almost non-porous silica powder, with an extremely low surface area (ca. 4 m²/g) and very high uniformity of spherical particles as well as materials with various uniformity of particles and different porosity, most likely associated with increasing pore volume. Dependent on the properties of the carrier, the resulting supported vanadium catalysts (VOCl₃/AlEt₂Cl) showed significant differences concerning activity and stability. It was confirmed that improved hydrophobicity of the carrier’s surface may be useful and improve the activity of the system in the polymerization. It was found that the two-step modification procedure, involving a reaction with alkylaluminum, acts beneficially for the efficiency of supported catalysts. The system supported on sol-gel material with methyl groups, additionally pre-treated with diethylaluminum chloride, showed the highest activity as well as the lowest deactivation rate constant among all those studied.     

Ethylene oxide-bridged bipyridine oligomers that function as selective host molecules for the encapsulation of small alkali cation guests

Two novel ethylene oxide-bridged bipyridine oligomers were synthesized that contain host pockets with four (1) or six (2) oxygen donor atoms and a pyridyl nitrogen donor. The alkali picrate extracting ability and selectivity of these free ligands was investigated using a liquid–liquid dichloromethane–water extraction study. Both open-chain oligomer frameworks display unexpectedly high extraction efficiency (EE) values for specific guest ions (EE = 57% Na⁺ extracted by 1, and EE = 39% Cs⁺ extracted by 2). These extraction values are comparable to macrocyclic analogues and their ion selectivities follow the ‘same-fit’ concept that has been extensively reported for fixed pocket systems. The shorter chain oligomer (1) binds ions in the series (Na⁺ > K⁺ > Cs⁺), while the larger oligomer (2) binds ions in the reverse order (Cs⁺ > K⁺ > Na⁺). Formation of the host–guest ligand–ion complexes were verified by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry experiments. A Job’s plot analysis based on UV spectral data also supported the 1:1 (oligomer to ion) complexation observed in the MALDI mass spectra.     

Errors in the determination of activation energies of solid-state reactions by the Piloyan method,as a function of the reaction mechanism

The errors in the activation energies of solid-state reactions determined with the Piloyan method are more larger than those previously assumed in the literature. On the other hand, the errors in the kinetic parameters are strongly dependent on the kinetic law obeyed by the reaction. A theoretical explanation of this behaviour is given.

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Zusammenfassung Die Fehler der nach der Piloyan-Methode bestimmten Aktivierungsenergien von Festkörperreaktionen sind grö\er als bisher in der Literatur angenommen und stark abhÄngig von der Reaktionsordnung. Eine theoretische ErklÄrung dieses Verhaltens wird gegeben.

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新型表面聚合联萘胺型手性固定相的制备及评价

采用(R)-(+)-1,1'-联萘2,2'-二胺(DABN)作为手性单体, 以键合在3-氨基硅胶上的4,4'-偶氮-二(4-腈基)戊酸(ACVA)作为引发剂, 通过直接引发表面聚合反应, 制备了一种新型HPLC刷型手性固定相(CSP-a). 采用庚烷-醇-有机调节剂-有机酸为流动相, 在柱温30 ℃和UV 254 nm检测条件下实现了在CSP-a上联萘酚衍生物、3,5-二硝基苯甲酰-氨基酸甲酯和乙酯以及一种反式环氧乙烷衍生物对映体的色谱拆分, 考察了有机调节剂和有机酸对样品在CSP-a上拆分的影响. 结果表明, CSP-a对于π-酸及π-碱类化合物都有明显拆分效果, 三氟醋酸调节作用优于冰醋酸, 流动相中加入CH2Cl2和CHCl3可增强保留, 改善分离度.     

Metathesis of a novel dienediyne system: A unique example involving the usage of in situ generated ethylene as cross-enyne metathesis partner

A unique example of sequential ring-closing metathesis and cross-enyne metathesis is reported. Here, the in situ generated ethylene by product from ring-closing metathesis is trapped by alkyne moiety. No metathesis product formation was observed with more reactive second generation catalyst in the absence of ethylene. Differential chemoselectivity with the first and second generation Grubbs’ catalyst has been observed when the reaction was performed in presence of the external source of ethylene.     

Hydrosilanes are not always a reducing reagent: a ruthenium-catalyzed introduction of primary alkyl groups to electron-rich aromatic rings using esters as a source of the alkyl groups

A triruthenium cluster, (μ₃, η², η³, η⁵-acenaphthylene)Ru₃(CO)₇ effectively catalyzes primary-alkylation reaction of electron-rich aromatic rings using a combination of hydrosilane and ester as a source of the primary-alkyl group. The reaction involves electrophilic substitution of arenes by carbocationic species stabilized by a neighboring alkoxy or siloxy group generated during the reduction of esters giving alkylated arenes after reductive removal of the alkoxy or siloxy group at the benzylic position.     

Comparative energies of Zn(II) cation localization as a function of the distance between two forming cation position aluminium ions in high-silica zeolites

Periodical calculations of Zn(II) metal cation stabilization in cationic positions with distantly placed aluminium ions has been performed for high-silica ferrierite. It was found that decrease of the stabilization energy at large distances between Al ions (more than 10 Å) is about of 2 eV in comparison with nearest possible position of two Al ions in the zeolite lattice and weekly depended on following increase of the Al-Al distance. Main changes in stabilization energy occured within a 3-Å interval of these distances. Only for the localizations of both Al ions in one zeolite ring zinc cationic form is more stable than hydrogen form.