Dechlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) using NaOH in ethylene glycol under atmospheric pressure

A solution of NaOH dissolved in ethylene glycol (EG) was effective in the dechlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) at atmospheric pressure. The degree of dechlorination increased with increasing temperature, reaching a maximum of 97.8% at 190 °C. The dechlorination proceeded under chemical control and exhibited first-order kinetics with an apparent activation energy of 170 kJ mol⁻¹. The apparent rate constant for dechlorination in 1.0 M NaOH/EG was approximately 150 times greater than that in 1.0 M NaOH/H₂O. In addition, dechlorination was faster at atmospheric pressure in NaOH/EG than under high pressure in NaOH/H₂O. The dechlorination reaction occurs via a combination of E2 and S_N2 mechanisms.     

Sodium hydroxide-assisted dechlorination of a poly(vinylidene chloride)-containing wrapping film in ethylene glycol solution

Poly(vinylidene chloride) (PVDC) wrapping film was dechlorinated using solutions of NaOH in ethylene glycol (EG) at temperatures between 150 and 190 °C. The reaction was comparable to that for PVDC powder; however, it occurred at a lower NaOH concentration, which can be explained by the dissolution of additives present in the wrapping film. Therefore, the best results for the dechlorination of the wrapping film were obtained at a temperature of 190 °C and NaOH concentrations of 0.1 M and 0.5 M, resulting in dechlorination yields of almost 90% after 135 min. For the dechlorination reaction, the activation energy of the PVDC wrapping film (185 kJ mol⁻¹) was determined to be higher than that of PVDC powder; this finding could be attributed to the presence of a stabilizer and the smaller surface area of the PVDC wrapping film.     

Dechlorination behaviour of flexible poly(vinyl chloride) in NaOH/EG solution

Flexible poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was found to be dechlorinated in NaOH/ethylene glycol (EG) solution at moderate temperature and at atmospheric pressure. The degree of dechlorination increased over time with all particle sizes and with decreasing particle size. Decreased particle size resulted in an increased effective surface area, increasing the contact between the material and OH⁻ in the NaOH/EG solution, which contributed to the high degree of dechlorination. The dechlorination of flexible PVC in NaOH/EG solution was expressed as a first-order reaction and proceeded under chemical reaction control. Diisononyl-phthalate (DINP) in the flexible PVC powder decomposed readily into phthalic acid and isononyl alcohol in a short time. For the dechlorination of the flexible PVC, the substitution (S_N2) of chloride by the hydroxyl group was considered to be preferential to the elimination (E2) of hydrogen chloride.     

Kinetics of copolymerization and degradation of poly[acrylonitrile-co-(amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate)]

Amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate was firstly used to successfully copolymerize with acrylonitrile in a H₂O/dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) mixture between 50 °C and 70 °C under N₂ atmosphere. This was achieved by using azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator. Kinetics of copolymerization of acrylonitrile with amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate was investigated. The kinetic equation of copolymerization was obtained and the apparent activation energy of degradation of poly[acrylonitrile-co-(amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate)] was determined. Increasing DMSO concentration in the solvent mixture leads to a rapid increase in the degradation apparent activation energy. The apparent activation energy decreases quickly with an increase in the comononer amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate concentration, and such a change becomes less prominent as the molar ratio of amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate/acrylonitrile goes beyond 2/100. The apparent activation energy also increases along with the copolymerization temperature. The resultant fibers prepared from poly[acrylonitrile-co-(amino ethyl-2-methyl propenoate)] were obtained with the fineness at 1.03 dtex and the tenacity at 6.18cN dtex⁻¹.     

Kinetics of the dehydrochlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) in the presence of NaOH and various diols as solvents

The dehydrochlorination of PVC in the presence of NaOH was investigated in different diols. Diethylene glycol (DEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), and propylene glycol (PG) were found to be effective in accelerating the dechlorination of PVC. The dehydrochlorination was promoted in the order TEG > DEG > PG, which was in agreement with the compatibility between PET and the diol. Compatibility resulted in an improved penetration of the PVC particle by the solvent, leading to the acceleration of the dehydrochlorination. The dehydrochlorination of PVC in NaOH/diol followed first-order kinetics, confirming the progress of the reaction under chemical reaction control. The apparent activation energies were 82 kJ mol⁻¹, 109 kJ mol⁻¹, and 151 kJ mol⁻¹ for TEG, DEG, and PG, respectively. The lower the activation energy became the faster the dehydrochlorination of PVC proceeded.     

Fabrication of high performance Matrimid/polysulfone dual-layer hollow fiber membranes for O2/N2 separation

Matrimid/polysulfone (PSf) dual-layer hollow fiber membranes were fabricated by using co-extrusion and dry-jet wet-spinning phase-inversion techniques. The effects of the spinning dope composition, spinneret dimension, spinneret temperature and the air gap distance on the hollow fiber membranes separation performance were studied. Aging phenomenon was also studied. After coated by 3 wt% silicon solution, the hollow fiber membranes have an O₂/N₂ selectivity of 7.55 at 25 °C, 506.625 kPa which exceeds the intrinsic value of Matrimid. The membranes have an O₂ permeance of 9.36 GPU with an apparent dense-layer thickness of 1421 Å calculated from the O₂ permeability. SEM images show the high porosity underneath the dense skin. It indicates that non-solvent addition is not necessary in the inner spinning dope to induce the macroviod formation. The binodals of the Matrimid/solvent/H₂O and PSf/solvent/H₂O indicate that the composition of the spinning dope plays an important role in the structure and the gas separation performance of the dual-layer hollow fiber membranes. The delayed demixing of the inner spinning dope may fabricate low resistance support layers in the dual-layer hollow fiber membranes.     

Conformation of oligo(ethylene glycol) grafted poly(norbornene) in solutions: A small angle neutron scattering study

The conformation of newly synthesized amphiphilic poly(methoxyoligo(ethylene oxide) norbornenyl esters) macro-homopolymers in dilute solutions of toluene-d8 and D₂O was investigated by small angle neutron scattering (SANS). The macro-homopolymers consist of a polynorbornene (PNB) backbone with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 50, and each repeat unit has a grafted ethylene glycol (EG) side chain with an average DP of 6.6. The hydrophobic backbone and hydrophilic side chains interact differently with solvents of different polarity, which makes the polymer conformation very sensitive to the solvent quality. It was found that in a 0.5 wt.% toluene solution the polymers assume coil-like conformation and gradually contract and become more compact with increasing polymer concentration. In D₂O, the conformation of the polymers were studied at different concentrations: 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 wt.% and at different temperatures: 25, 44, 60 and 74 °C. The polymers are partially contracted in D₂O and their shape can be described by the form factor of a rigid cylinder. The second virial coefficient A₂ was extracted at three temperatures (25, 44 and 60 °C) and the theta point was estimated to be reached at ∼45 °C. The attractive interactions between the polymers in D₂O increase with temperature, which leads to the polymer-solvent phase separation at the cloud point temperature (CPT). The polymer conformation remains virtually temperature independent below the CPT and at 74 °C polymers collapse and form compact structures with water soluble side chains in the shell.     

Glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) using basic ionic liquids as catalysts

The glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was studied using several ionic liquids and basic ionic liquids as catalysts. The basic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydroxyl ([Bmim]OH), exhibits higher catalytic activity for the glycolysis of PET, compared with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bicarbonate ([Bmim]HCO₃), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Bmim]Br). FT-IR, ¹H NMR and DSC were used to confirm the main product of glycolysis was bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) monomer. The influences of experimental parameters, such as the amount of catalyst, glycolysis time, reaction temperature, and dosages of ethylene glycol on the conversion of PET, yield of BHET were investigated. The results showed a strong influence of the mixture evolution of temperature and reaction time on depolymerization of PET. Under the optimum conditions of m(PET):m(EG): 1:10, dosage of [Bmim]OH at 0.1 g (5 wt%), reaction temperature 190 °C and time 2 h, the conversion of PET and the yield of BHET were 100% and 71.2% respectively. Balance between the polymerization of BHET and depolymerization of PET could be changed when the reaction time was more than 2 h and contents of catalyst and EG were changed.     

Evaluation of retention and release processes of two antibiotics from the biocompatible core-shell microparticles

By dropwise addition of a chitosan solution into different non-solvent, such as: 1 N and 2 N NaOH as well as 1 N NaOH: C₂H₅OH mixture (2:1, v/v) at temperature of 25 °C and 50 °C under stirring, the spherical pure chitosan microparticles were performed. As solvents for chitosan was used 0.1 N acetic acid or 0.1 N HCl. The immersion of the pure chitosan microparticles in hyaluronan solution led to complex microparticles, namely chitosan microparticles covered by a hyaluronan layer. For all the microparticles performed the behaviours in the retention process of two antibiotics: chloramphenicol succinate sodium salt and cefotaxime sodium salt were analyzed. Also, the study shows the release behaviour of cefotaxime sodium salt by the microparticles loaded with this drug. Among the microparticles performed a type of complex microparticles can be considered a suitable drug delivery system for cefotaxime. These microparticles were performed by dropwise addition of chitosan solution in 0.1 N acetic acid into the 1 N NaOH: C₂H₅OH (2:1, v/v) non-solvent at 20 °C for 3 h, followed by their washing up to alkalinity loss and the immersion in hyaluronan solution of 10 g/L concentration for 24 h.     

Highly efficient cyclopalladated ferrocenylimine catalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of 3-pyridylboronic pinacol ester with aryl halides

The Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of 3-pyridylboronic pinacol ester with aryl iodides, bromides and chlorides was carried out in DMF/H₂O (3/1, v/v) at 110 °C in the presence of cyclopalladated ferrocenylimine I and K₂CO₃ or CsCO₃ (1.0 equiv.) without the protection of inert gas. By using this method the synthesis of 3-pyridyl biaryl compounds could be readily achieved.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of nickel hydroxide nanostructures in mixed solvents of water and alcohol

Nickel hydroxide nanosheets and flowers have been hydrothermally synthesized using Ni(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O in mixed solvents of ethylene glycol (EG) or ethanol and deionized water at 200 °C for different time. The phase and morphology of the obtained products can be controlled by adjusting the experimental parameters, including the hydrothermal time and the volume ratio of water to EG or ethanol. The possible reaction mechanism and growth of the nanosheets and nanoflowers are discussed based on the experimental results. Porous nickel oxide nanosheets are obtained by heating nickel hydroxide nanosheets in air at 400 °C. The products were characterized by using various methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The electrochemical property of β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets was investigated through the cyclic voltammogram (CV) measurement.     

Synthesis and characterization of bimetallic Ni-Cu particles

Bimetallic Ni-Cu particles were synthesized from either suspensions of nickel carbonate and copper carbonate, and solutions of nickel nitrate and copper nitrate in ethylene glycol which acts both as solvent and reducing agent. The nature and composition of the powders depend on both the reaction temperature and time, and the reactants. Using the carbonates, bimetallic Ni-Cu powders composed of a nickel-rich and a copper-rich solid solution were obtained after 39 h at 140°C. Increasing the reaction temperature to 190°C gives a Ni-Cu powder composed of a copper-rich solid solution and nickel. Particles obtained under these conditions, however, are polydisperse. The nitrate solution gave bimetallic Ni-Cu particles with a narrow size distribution of about 140 nm after 4 h of reaction at 196°C. These particles are made of a copper core and a nickel shell. The mechanism of bimetallic particle formation is controlled by the solubility of the reactants, the formation of intermediate metal glycolates and Cu₂O, and the required reduction temperature.     

An efficient and simple Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction based on the N-methylpyrrolidine-Ba(OH)2 catalytic system

By using of precise catalytic amount of N-methylpyrrolidine (5 mol %) and Ba(OH)₂ (1.5 mol %) in H₂O/CH₃OH 5/1 or CH₃OH/CH₂Cl₂ 3/1 solvent mixtures at T=0 °C a Morita-Baylis-Hillman derivatives could be obtained in good to excellent yield from 2-cyclopenten-1-one, 2-cyclohexen-1-one and formaldehyde and diverse aryl aldehydes after suitable reaction time.     

Modified Raoult's law including the solvent structural constant and solute solvation; Aqueous sodium chloride solutions, 25 to 300°C; Other electrolytes and urea, 25°C

The form of Raoult's law is modified to express the activity of water [a(H₂O)] for aqueous electrolyte solutions by the mole fraction of a free (nonsolvating) solvent structural unit raised to the reciprocal power of the solvent structural constant. Relatively close agreement with experiment, is obtained for a(H₂O) of aqueous sodium chloride solutions up to 300°C and nearly saturated concentrations, and of other aqueous electrolyte solutions at 25°C. In an example for aqueous-organic systems, a(H₂O) for urea solutions at 25°C is described with an average deviation of 0.09% for molalities from 0 to 20m (54.6 wt%) by using the necessary (universal) structural constant and a single solvation parameter.     

Effect of solvent on reactions of coordination complexes. Part 12: Kinetics and mechanism of chloride substitution reactions ofcis-(chloro)(2-aminoethanol)bis(ethylenediamine) cobalt(III) andcis-(chloro)(1-aminopropan-2-ol)-bis(ethylenediamine) cobalt(III) ions in acidic and basic ethylene glycol-water media

Summary The loss of chloride ion from the title complexes resulted in the predominant formation of the chelated amino-alcohol productscis-[Co(en)₂(NH₂CH₂CH(X)O/H)]^2+/3+ (X=H or Me). The kinetics of chloride release were investigated in aqueous ethylene glycol (EG) media (0 to 80% by wt of EG) at 40°–65°C in acidic media and at 20°–35°C in basic media. The rate constants decreased linearly with increasing mol fraction of the cosolvent. The plots of log kversus D _s ^–1 (S_s=bulk dielectric constant, k=first order or second order rate constants) were essentially linear with negative slopes for the reactions in an acidic medium, and tended to be curved for the base catalysed reactions. The activation enthalpies and entropiesversus X_EG (X_EG=mol fraction of EG) plots indicated extrema which might be associated with the effects of the solvent structural changes on these thermodynamic parameters. The observed solvent isotope effect at 50°C, [HClO₄]=0.010 mol dm^–3 for Cl^– release was lower than the value for the aquation ofcis-[Co(en)₂(alkylamine)Cl]²⁺ complexes reported in the literature. This is consistent with the lack of direct solvent molecule participation in the actual act of substitution at the cobalt(III) centre, as expected for a true intramolecular reaction.Part-11: A. C. Dash and J. Pradhan,Ind. J. Chem.,29A, 167 (1990).     

Gas-diffusion flow injection determination of Hg(II) with chemiluminescence detection

A gas-diffusion flow injection method for the chemiluminescence detection of Hg(II) based on the luminol-H₂O₂ reaction was developed. The analytical procedure involved the injection of Hg(II) samples and standards into a 1.50 M H₂SO₄ carrier stream, which was subsequently merged with a reagent stream of 0.60% (w/v) SnCl₂ in 1.50 M H₂SO₄ to reduce Hg(II) to metallic Hg. The gas-diffusion cell was thermostated at 85 °C to enhance the vaporisation of metallic Hg. Mercury vapour, transported across the Teflon membrane of the gas-diffusion cell into the acceptor stream containing 1.00 × 10⁻⁴ M KMnO₄ in 0.30 M H₂SO₄, was oxidised back to Hg(II). The acceptor stream was merged with a reagent stream containing 2.50 M H₂O₂ in deionised water and then the combined stream was merged with another reagent stream containing 7.50 × 10⁻³ M luminol in 3.00 M NaOH at a confluence point opposite to the photomultiplier tube of the detection system. The chemiluminescence intensity of the luminol-H₂O₂ reaction was enhanced by the presence of Hg(II) in the acceptor stream. The corresponding increase was related to the original concentration of Hg(II) in the samples and standards. Under optimal conditions, the chemiluminescence gas-diffusion flow injection method was characterised by a linear calibration range between 1 μg L⁻¹ and 100 μg L⁻¹, a detection limit of 0.8 μg L⁻¹ and a sampling rate of 12 samples per hour. It was successfully applied to the determination of mercury in seawater and river samples.     

Highly stereoselective one-pot synthesis of tetrasubstituted alkenes via carbopalladation reaction of fluorine-containing acetylene derivatives

Treatment of fluoroalkylated alkynes with various aryl halides and arylboronic acids in the presence of Pd(0) in DMF/H₂O at 100 °C for 2 h led to the smooth three-component coupling reaction, the corresponding tetrasubstituted alkenes being obtained in high yields stereoselectively.     

Microwave-assisted arylation of rac-(E)-3-acetoxy-1,3-diphenylprop-1-ene with arylboronic acids

The palladium-catalyzed arylation of rac-(E)-3-acetoxy-1,3-diphenylprop-1-ene with arylboronic acids was studied under controlled microwave irradiation conditions. A variety of different catalysts, bases, and solvents were explored in order to achieve optimum yields in the shortest possible reaction times. The best isolated yields were obtained using Pd₂(dba)₃·CHCl₃/PPh₃ as the catalytic system, potassium phosphate monohydrate as the base, and toluene/H₂O as a solvent system. Microwave irradiation using 5 mol % of the palladium catalyst for 90 s (max. temp 170 °C) generally afforded the cross-coupling products in good to excellent yields.     

Facile fabrication of nanoporous PdFe alloy for nonenzymatic electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide and glucose

Nanoporous (NP) PdFe alloy is easily fabricated through one step mild dealloying of PdFeAl ternary source alloy in NaOH solution. Electron microscopy characterization demonstrates that selectively dissolving Al from PdFeAl alloy generates three-dimensional bicontinuous nanospongy architecture with the typical ligament size around 5 nm. Electrochemical measurements show that the NP-PdFe alloy exhibits the superior electrocatalytic activity and durability towards hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) detection compared with NP-Pd and commercial Pd/C catalysts. In addition, NP-PdFe performs high sensing performance towards H₂O₂ in a wide linear range from 0.5 to 6 mM with a low detection limit of 2.1 μM. This nanoporous structure also can sensitively detect glucose over a wide concentration range (1–32 mM) with a low detection limit of 1.6 μM and high resistance against chloride ions. Along with these attractive features, the as-made NP-PdFe alloy also has a good anti-interference towards ascorbic acid, uric acid, and dopamine.     

The effect of pressure on the ionization of water at various temperatures from molal-volume data1

The apparent molal volumes of dilute (0.002 to 1.0m) aqueous HCl and NaOH solutions have been determined at 0, 25, and 50°C and NaCl solutions at 50°C. The partial molal volumes ( ) of HCl, NaOH, and NaCl solutions have been determined from these apparent molal volumes and other reliable data from the literature. The partial-molal-volume changes ( ) for the ionization of water, H₂OH⁺+OH^–, have been determined from 0 to 50°C and 0 to 1m ionic strength from the partial molal volumes of HCl, NaOH, NaCl, and H₂O. The partial molal compressibilities ( for HCl, NaOH, NaCl, and H₂O have been estimated from data in the literature and used to determine the partial molal compressibility changes ( ) for the ionization of water from 0 to 50°C and 0 to 1m ionic strength. The effect of pressure on the ionization constant of water has been estimated from partial-molal-volume and compressibility changes using the relation from 0 to 50°C and 0 to 2000 bars. The results agree very well with the directly measured values.Contribution Number 1548 from the University of Miami.