Use of 9,10-diphenylanthracene as a contrast agent in chemiluminescence imaging: The observation of spreading of oxidative degradation in thin polypropylene films

Thin films of polypropylene were doped with a chemiluminescence (CL) activator, 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA), and were thermally oxidised in a CL imaging apparatus to determine whether heterogeneous oxidation processes such as spreading of oxidation could be observed. The presence of DPA resulted in significantly more intense CL images compared with undoped polymer, due to the efficient chemically induced electron exchange luminescence reaction between DPA and hydroperoxides. Hence, the CL images from DPA-doped PP were used to locate the position of hydroperoxides in the oxidising polymer. For thermal oxidation at 150 and 140 °C hydroperoxides were observed to form in localised regions of the films, whilst other areas remained hydroperoxide free. As the oxidation time increased the concentration of hydroperoxides in these areas increased and they were observed to spread to the remainder of the polymer. Time-resolved line maps from the images indicated that zones with high concentration of hydroperoxides travel through the polymer during oxidation. Integrals of CL images from the thermal oxidation of DPA-doped polymers indicated that a significant degree of oxidation had occurred by the end of the “induction period” for a conventional CL-intensity oxidation-time profile. This is a likely reason why spreading of oxidation has not previously been observed for undoped PP films.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy applications in pharmaceutical analysis

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a fast and non-destructive analytical technique that offers many advantages for a broad range of industrial applications. In this work, we reviewed recent developments in the pharmaceutical domain where it can be applied from raw material identification to final product release. The characteristics of NIR allow the technique to be implemented as a process analytical technology (PAT). Moreover, recent instrumental developments open the perspectives of numerous applications in the NIR imaging area. After “Introduction”, according to their subject, the applications are discussed in the parts “Identification”, “Water content”, “Assay” and “Other applications”.     

A polymer imidazole salt as phase-transfer catalyst in halex fluorination irradiated by microwave

A new imidazole polymer salt was synthesized in order to develop a high efficiency phase-transfer catalyst for multi-phase reactions. The polymer salt was prepared easily by co-polymerization of 1-1′-(1,4-butamethylene)bis(imidazole) and 1,2-dibromoethane, and has the properties of excellent chemical and thermal stability and high ionic conductivity. It was applied as phase-transfer catalyst in the fluorination of chloronitrobenzenes under the irradiation of microwave and gave excellent yields of corresponding fluoronitrobenzenes. In addition, the enhanced mechanism of microwave was studied and found “non-thermal” effect was a great factor.     

Condition monitoring methods applied to degradation of chlorosulfonated polyethylene cable jacketing materials

Three promising polymer material condition monitoring (CM) methods were applied to eight commercial chlorosulfonated polyethylene cable jacket materials aged under both elevated temperature and high-energy radiation conditions. The CM methods examined, cross-sectional modulus profiling, solvent uptake and NMR T₂ relaxation time measurements of solvent-swelled samples, are closely related since they are all strongly influenced by the changes in overall crosslink density of the materials. Each approach was found to correlate well with ultimate tensile elongation measurements, the most widely used method for following degradation of elastomeric materials. In addition approximately universal failure criteria were found to be applicable for the modulus profiling and solvent uptake measurements, independent of the CSPE material examined and its degradation environment. For an arbitrarily assumed elongation “failure” criterion of 50% absolute, the CSPE materials typically reached “failure” when the modulus increased to ∼35 MPa and the uptake factor in p-xylene decreased to ∼1.6.     

The analysis of café espresso using two-dimensional reversed phase-reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV-absorbance and chemiluminescence detection

In this study, an activity based screening technique combining two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2DHPLC) with UV-absorbance and chemiluminescence detection was applied to study “Ristretto”, “Decaffeinatto” and “Volluto” espresso coffees. This technique, which coupled the separation power of 2DHPLC with the sensitivity and selectivity of the chemiluminescence detection, offers great potential for screening complex samples for antioxidant compounds. Detailed information regarding the complexity of the sample, and the variation between these three coffees could be obtained using this multidimensional-hyphenated method of analysis.     

Kinetic analysis and modelling of PET macromolecular changes during its mechanical recycling by extrusion

The rheometer cavity has been chosen to analyze, in carefully controlled exposure conditions, the PET macromolecular changes generated during its mechanical recycling by extrusion. Isothermal ageing experiments at 280 °C, under constant or variable oxygen partial pressures (between 0% and 21% of the atmospheric pressure), have allowed us to establish that two types of oxidative macromolecular changes take place successively in an extruder reactor. Chain scissions predominate in the “strongly oxygenated” zones (at the feeder and die), whereas chain couplings (mainly chain branching) predominate in “poorly oxygenated” zones (in the middle of the reactor). Thus, it appears that the relative predominance of both types of modifications is closely related to the extruder geometry and size (in particular, the feeder and die sections and the screw length). A kinetic model of thermal ageing of molten PET has been built to check these assumptions. It describes satisfyingly all the rheometric results obtained in the present study.     

About different types of water in swollen polyelectrolyte multilayers

The review addresses swelling of polyelectrolyte multilayers in water. Different models for the determination of the water content are compared. It is clearly shown that voids under dry conditions present cavities for water which contribute to the water content of the multilayer in the swollen state. This so-called “void water” does not lead to any changes in thickness but in scattering length density during swelling. The “swelling water” leads to both changes in scattering length density and in thickness. Depending on the preparation conditions like the type polymers, polymer charge density, ionic strength and type of salt the ratio of “void water” differs between 1 and 15 vol.% while the amount of “swelling water” is of several ten's of vol.%.     

Lifetime predictions of EPR materials using the Wear-out approach

The Wear-out approach for lifetime prediction, based on cumulative damage concepts, is applied to several ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) cable insulation materials. EPR materials typically follow “induction-time” behavior in which their material properties change very slowly until just before failure, precluding the use of such time-dependent properties to predict failure. In the Wear-out approach, a material that has been aged at its ambient aging temperature T_a or at a low accelerated aging temperature is subsequently aged at a higher “Wear-out” temperature T_w in order to cause the material to reach its “failure” condition. In the simplest case, which involves the same chemical processes underlying degradation at T_a and T_w, a linear relationship is predicted between the time spent at T_a and the time required at T_w to complete the degradation. Data consistent with this expectation are presented for one of the EPR insulation materials. When the degradation chemistry at the two temperatures is different, a linear relationship between the time spent at T_a and the time required at T_w to complete the degradation is not generally expected. Even so, the Wear-out results for a second EPR material, which has evidence of changing chemistry, are reasonably linear and therefore useful from a predictive point-of-view. The Wear-out approach can therefore be used to transform non-predictive time-dependent material property results into predictive lifetime estimates. As a final example, the Wear-out approach is applied to an EPR insulation that had been aged in a nuclear power plant environment (∼51 °C) for times up to 23 years to show its likely viability for the hundreds of years predicted at this aging temperature from accelerated aging tests on EPR insulation materials.     

Characterization of thermo-oxidative stability of polymer optical fibers using chemiluminescence technique

The thermo-oxidative stability of commercially available polymer optical fibers (POFs) and their components (cores and claddings) was investigated. All the bare POFs (core and cladding only) studied here were based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) core. The fibers were exposed to 100 °C/low humidity for about 4200 h. Chemiluminescence (CL) technique was applied to investigate the thermo-oxidative stability and for measuring the transmission loss during exposure a prototype device called multiplexer was used. POFs exhibited variation in thermo-oxidative stability although they possessed identical core material PMMA. This was due to difference in the chemical compositions of claddings. Claddings were more susceptible to the thermo-oxidative degradation compared to cores. The thermo-oxidative degradation of both the cladding and the core was found in POFs as a result of climatic exposure. POFs showed an early drop-off followed by a slow decline of transmission. The early drop-off of transmission was attributed to physical changes like thermal expansion and the slow decline of transmission to chemical changes like oxidative degradation of POFs. A good linear relationship between optical transmission stability and thermo-oxidative stability of POFs was established from these studies.     

ESR imaging and FTIR study of thermally treated poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) containing a hindered amine stabilizer: Effect of polymer morphology, and butadiene and stabilizer content

Electron spin resonance imaging (ESRI) was applied to the study of thermal degradation at 393 K of poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) prepared by emulsion polymerization and containing 25% wt butadiene (ABS-25B). The polymer was doped with 1 or 2% wt Tinuvin 770 as the hindered amine stabilizer (HAS). The spatial distribution of the HAS-derived nitroxide radicals, obtained by 1D ESRI, was initially homogeneous, but became heterogeneous through sample depth with increasing treatment time, t. The spatial variation of ESR line shaping with sample depth was visualized by 2D spectral-spatial ESRI. ESR spectra along the sample depth, obtained by nondestructive (“virtual”) slicing of the 2D images, were used to deduce the relative intensity of nitroxide radicals present in two dynamically distinct sites; the sites were assigned to butadiene-rich (fast component) and SAN-rich domains (slow component), respectively. 1D and 2D ESRI allowed the determination of the extent of degradation within morphologically-distinct domains as a function of sample depth and treatment time. The results from the ESRI experiments were substantiated by attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-FTIR spectroscopy of the outer layer (500 μm thick) of the polymer. Both techniques indicated faster degradation of polymer samples that contained the higher HAS content, 2% wt. Comparison with the results obtained for a parallel study of ABS prepared by mass polymerization and containing 10% wt butadiene (ABS-10B) indicated clearly that the rate of degradation of the polymer prepared by emulsion polymerization (ABS-25B) is significantly reduced. This result can be explained by the formation of cross-linked “composite” networks during emulsion polymerization, which leads to greater thermal stability.     

Lifetime predictions for semi-crystalline cable insulation materials: I. Mechanical properties and oxygen consumption measurements on EPR materials

Long-term accelerated aging studies (up to 7 years of aging) were conducted on four typical EPR materials used as cable insulation in nuclear power plant safety applications with the goal of establishing lifetime estimates at typical aging conditions of ∼50 °C. The four materials showed slow to moderate changes in mechanical properties (tensile elongation) until just before failure where abrupt changes occurred (so-called “induction-time” behavior). Time-temperature superposition was applied to derive shift factors and probe for Arrhenius behavior. Three of the materials showed reasonable time-temperature superposition with the empirically derived shift factors yielding an approximate Arrhenius dependence on temperature. Since the elongation results for the fourth material could not be successfully superposed, consistency with Arrhenius assumptions was impossible. For this material the early part of the mechanical degradation appeared to have an Arrhenius activation energy E_a of ∼100 kJ/mol (24 kcal/mol) whereas the post-induction degradation data had an E_a of ∼128 kJ/mol. Oxygen consumption measurements were used to confirm the 100 kJ/mol E_a found from early-time elongation results and to show that the chemistry responsible before the induction time is likely to remain unchanged down to 50 °C. Reasonable extrapolations of the induction-time results indicated 50 °C lifetimes exceeding 300 years for all four materials.     

The application of simultaneous chemiluminescence and thermal analysis for studying the glass transition and oxidative stability of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)

A computer-controlled chemiluminescence (CL) instrument incorporating a differential scanning calorimeter was used to simultaneously acquire photochemical and enthalpic data for poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP). Samples were subjected to a linear temperature ramp under nitrogen and their luminescence response recorded. The resultant dynamic CL peak is attributable to the decomposition of hydroperoxide groups and the subsequent mutual termination of secondary polymer peroxyl radicals. It is shown that dynamic CL can be used to characterize the level of oxidation in PVP, which in commercial samples, may be partly related to the level of residual polymerization inititor and to the drying process. The temperature at which maximum CL emission occurs correlates with the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymer and increases with increasing molecular weight. A marked increase in the T_g of PVP occurs after it is aged in air for 24 h at 120°C. This is due to the loss of adsorbed moisture from the polymer which was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. Oxidation profiles of PVP were obtained by plotting the integrated CL peak area as a function of aging time. The profiles are compared with data obtained from isothermal CL and viscosity measurements. Gas perturbation experiments suggest that when drying PVP under nitrogen at elevated temperatures significant populations of longlived macroalkyl radicals are formed which can peroxidize the polymer on exposure to air. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Investigation of the influence of different commercial softeners on the stability of poly(lactic acid) fabrics during storage

We have studied the potential degradation of poly(lactic acid)-based fabrics treated with commercial softeners and stored under two sets of conditions for one year. Initial wet-processing caused a fall in molecular weight of about 28%, irrespective of after-treatment. Storage at 40 °C and 80% RH produced further degradation which, with few exceptions, was aggravated by the presence of softeners. Ultimately, all samples degraded beyond the point of commercial usefulness. No clear distinction could be made between the effects of softeners having differing compositions. In contrast, fabrics stored under milder conditions of 23 °C and 50% RH showed no significant time-dependent polymer degradation, irrespective of the treatment applied. There were slight changes in tensile properties and some evidence of physical structural effects having occurred, which we attribute to physical aging. However, we do not believe these to be so serious as to call into question the long-term viability of PLA-based textile products.     

Chemical origins of permanent set in a peroxide cured filled silicone elastomer - tensile and H NMR analysis

The aging of a commercial filled siloxane polymeric composite in states of high stress and Co-60 γ-radiation exposure has been studied. DC-745 is a commercially available silicone elastomer consisting of dimethyl, methyl-phenyl, and vinyl-methyl siloxane monomers crosslinked with a peroxide vinyl specific curing agent. It is filled with ∼ 30 wt.% mixture of high and low surface area silicas. This filled material is shown to be subject to permanent set if exposed to radiation while under tensile stress. Tensile modulus measurements show that the material becomes marginally softer with combined radiation exposure and tensile strain as compared to material exposed to radiation without tensile strain. In addition, the segmental dynamics as measured by both uniaxial NMR relaxometry and Multiple Quantum NMR methods indicate that the material undergoes radiatively-induced crosslinking in the absence of tensile strain. In the presence of tensile strain, relaxometry and MQ NMR studies show a strain dependent change in the dynamic order parameter and in the number of polymer chains associated with the filler surface. Solvent swelling measurements indicated no dependence on network crosslink density on strain ratio. Variable tau CPMG echo experiments indicate that a fraction of the polymer chains diffuses through areas of strong magnetic field gradients both at the filler-polymer interface and adjacent to micro-voids within the network. The population of the polymer chains influenced by the field gradients was observed to be dependent on the cumulative dose and degree of tensile strain applied during exposure. The relative change in crosslink density from the NMR and solvent swelling data deviates from that predicted from the Tobolsky model, particularly at higher doses. The likely reasons for this deviation are changes in the filler-polymer interface, increasing deviation from Gaussian chain statistics, and/or the formation of increased numbers of elastically ineffective network chains.     

Custom synthesis of molecular imprinted polymers for biotechnological application: Preparation of a polymer selective for tylosin

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) selective for tylosin was designed and synthesised using a computational method (MIP “dialling”). In re-binding experiments the MIP demonstrated high affinity for tylosin in aqueous solutions and in organic solvents. The synthesised polymer was tested for re-binding with the template and related metabolites such as tylactone, narbomycin and picromycin. The HPLC analysis showed that the computationally designed polymer is specific and capable of separating the template from its structural analogues. The MIP was capable of recovering tylosin from broth samples. The polymer capacity for tylosin was estimated as 6.4 mg/g for MIP, which was suitable for practical application and tylosin recovery from broth samples. Among the advantages of this was the possibility to adsorb tylosin from a complex media with easy removal of oils and other impurities which are present in significant quantities, which can create problems for its chromatographic purification procedure. The MIP “dialling” procedure can have a general significance for the fast preparation of specific adsorbents for biotechnological applications.     

FTIR study on the nature of water sorbed in polypropylene (PP)/ethylene alcohol vinyl (EVOH) films

FTIR transmission spectroscopy, along with gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), have been used to investigate the structure of water sorbed in PP/EVOH films. Aims of this investigation were to determine water content spectroscopically, to elucidate the different types of interaction that water molecules form with the macromolecular network and their change as a function of blend composition, morphology and the state (gaseous or liquid) of the water contacting with the PP/EVOH system at equilibrium.The extinction coefficients (ε) of the water sensitive bands (ν_OH, δ_OH, 2150 and 700 cm⁻¹) are proportional to the EVOH content. These results are explained by the phase separation between PP and EVOH and the increasing size of the dispersed EVOH spheres with the EVOH content. Moreover, the ε values suggest that when the films are in contact with water vapor, most of the water sorbed locates around the hydrogen bonding sites of the polymer although the effective hydration region around the EVOH residues should be much larger than the primary hydration region. Besides, “bulk water”, generally categorized as “free water”, is lacking in the polymer blends under our experimental conditions. When they contact with liquid water both the water uptake and the ε values are changed, but these variations are not large enough to assume the formation of “bulk water”. Band decomposition of the O-H stretching vibration (ν_OH) on the basis of the four-state model supports the assumption of the absence of “water-rich domains”, regardless of the blend composition or whether the PP/EVOH film contacts with liquid water or water vapor. Besides, either in contact with water vapor or liquid water, the more hydrophobic mixtures (90/10) show the greatest effect of perturbation with respect to pure water for the “weaker hydrogen bonded” water. Conversely, the interactions between the “strongly bound” water and OH groups in the EVOH chains become stronger with increasing hydrophilicity of the blends and this type of water has a greater plasticising efficiency. Furthermore, these structural changes are greater for liquid water than for water vapor and this trend is equally observed for mixtures of different hydrophilicity.     

Prediction of thermal stability of fresh and aged parchment

The hyphenated thermal analysis-mass spectrometry technique (TA-MS) was applied for the investigation of the thermal behavior of reference and aged parchment samples. The kinetic parameters of the process were calculated independently from all recorded TA and MS signals. The kinetic analysis showed the distinct dependence of the activation energy on the reaction progress. Such behavior is characteristic for the multistage mechanism of the reaction. The comparison of the kinetic parameters calculated from the different signals i.e. TG, DSC, MS for H₂O, NO and CO₂, however, indicated that they were differently dependent on the aging of the sample. For the parchment samples, the aging almost does not change the kinetics of the decomposition calculated from the DSC data: the influence of aging seems to be too negligible to be detected by these techniques. On the other hand, the much more sensitive mass spectrometric technique applied to the kinetic analysis allowed monitoring of visible changes in the thermal behavior of the parchment samples due to the aging process. The influence of aging was especially visible when the MS signals of water and nitric oxide were applied for the determination of the kinetic parameters. The applied method of the kinetic analysis allowed also the prediction of the thermal behaviour of reference and aged parchment samples under isothermal and modulated temperature conditions. Presented results have confirmed the usefulness of thermoanalytical methods for investigating behaviour of such complicated systems as leather or parchment.     

Melt crystallized polyamide 6.6 and its copolymers, Part I. Melting point - Lamellar thickness relations in the homopolymer

The effect of isothermal crystallization temperature and time on the lamellar thickness and the melting behavior of polyamide 66 has been studied. Measurements were made of the melting temperature, crystallinity, and the long period. When calculated in the conventional direct manner, for samples crystallized isothermally, the calculated lamellar thickness was found to vary only from 2.4 to 3.2 nm over the entire range of conditions considered. When viewed in a non-critical fashion the polymer appears to conform to normal behavior including typical T_c vs. T_m behavior on a Hoffman-Weeks plot and apparent linearity in a Gibbs-Thompson plot. SAXS data indicates that there are only small changes in the lamellar thickness occurring over the entire crystallization range despite major changes in the melting point. Accordingly the Gibbs-Thompson plot shows major amounts of scatter, which are well beyond the experimental errors involved. The changes in melting temperature appear to be a result of changes in the structure of the fold surface on the basis of the conventional lamellar thickness analysis. In particular they appear to be due to changes in the character of the surface related to the hydrogen bonding and to the relative amounts of acid and amine segments present in the folds.When a more thorough analysis of the SAXS data are conducted, using a one dimensional correlation function approach, calculation of the crystal core thicknesses and “interfacial layer” thicknesses, a different picture emerges. In this case, the total lamellar thickness remains approximately constant at 2 repeat units in length with isothermal crystallization temperature, however, the core thickness increases with increasing crystallization temperature and time, from 1.5 to 2 repeat units in length, whereas the “interfacial layer” thickness is substantial at lower temperatures and times. When the core thickness is used in a Gibbs-Thompson plot the equilibrium melting temperature is found to be 303.7 °C (cf. 301 °C from solution grown crystals). However, the fold surface free energy is found to be 23.7 erg/cm² much lower than the value of 74.6 erg/cm² characteristic of solution grown crystals. Such a large discrepancy is believed to be a result of the highly polar solvents used in solution based studies generating the widely accepted “acid folds”. The difference may be because of a switch to folds containing six methylene groups from the diamine mer in the bulk case.Since the polymer is known to crystallize in the hexagonal state and reorganize during cooling to the regularly reported structure it is possible that the “interfacial thickness” is indeed a disordered surface layer within the crystalline lamella that originates from the precursor hexagonal phase during its formation, rather than the conventional disordered surface interpretation, applicable to polymers such as polyethylene. It is also possible that it is reflective of disorder induced in surface layers within the crystal due to the conformational changes occurring during this crystal-crystal transition. For these reasons, we prefer to refer to the “interfacial layer” obtained from SAXS calculations as an innerlayer.     

Force mode atomic force microscopy as a tool for protein folding studies

The advent of a new class of force microscopes designed specifically to “pull” biomolecules has allowed non-specialists to use force microscopy as a tool to study single-molecule protein unfolding. This powerful new technique has the potential to explore regions of the protein energy landscape that are not accessible in conventional bulk studies. It has the added advantage of allowing direct comparison with single-molecule simulation experiments. However, as with any new technique, there is currently no well described consensus for carrying out these experiments. Adoption of standard schemes of data selection and analysis will facilitate comparison of data from different laboratories and on different proteins. In this review, some guidelines and principles, which have been adopted by our laboratories, are suggested. The issues associated with collecting sufficient high quality data and the analysis of those data are discussed. In single-molecule studies, there is an added complication since an element of judgement has to be applied in selecting data to analyse; we propose criteria to make this process more objective. The principal sources of error are identified and standardised methods of selecting and analysing the data are proposed. The errors associated with the kinetic parameters obtained from such experiments are evaluated. The information that can be obtained from dynamic force experiments is compared, both quantitatively and qualitatively to that derived from conventional protein folding studies.     

Classical and recent free-volume models for polymer solutions: A comparative evaluation

In this work, two “classical” (UNIFAC-FV, Entropic-FV) and two “recent” free-volume (FV) models (Kannan-FV, Freed-FV) are comparatively evaluated for polymer–solvent vapor–liquid equilibria including both aqueous and non-aqueous solutions. Moreover, some further developments are presented here to improve the performance of a recent model, the so-called Freed-FV. First, we propose a modification of the Freed-FV model accounting for the anomalous free-volume behavior of aqueous systems (unlike the other solvents, water has a lower free-volume percentage than polymers). The results predicted by the modified Freed-FV model for athermal and non-athermal polymer systems are compared to other “recent” and “classical” FV models, indicating an improvement for the modified Freed-FV model for aqueous polymer solutions. Second, for the original Freed-FV model, new UNIFAC group energy parameters are regressed for aqueous and alcohol solutions, based on the physical values of the van der Waals volume and surface areas for both FV-combinatorial and residual contributions. The prediction results of both “recent” and “classical” FV models using the new regressed energy parameters are significantly better, compared to using the classical UNIFAC parameters, for VLE of aqueous and alcohol polymer systems.