An investigation of strontium nitrite and its role in the ageing of the magnesium-strontium nitrate pyrotechnic system using isothermal microcalorimetry and thermal analysis techniques

A sample of strontium nitrite has been synthesised and thermally characterised to investigate its role in the ageing of magnesium-strontium nitrate pyrotechnic compositions in the presence of water vapour. Studies by isothermal microcalorimetry show that the addition of strontium nitrite to a 50% magnesium-50% strontium nitrate composition eliminated the induction reaction normally observed in closed ampoule studies in air at 50 °C and relative humidities in the range 65-69%.     

Studies on the ageing of a magnesium-potassium nitrate pyrotechnic composition using isothermal heat flow calorimetry and thermal analysis techniques

The ageing behaviour of a pyrotechnic mixture of magnesium and potassium nitrate has been followed at 50 °C and 65% relative humidity by isothermal heat flow calorimetry. Measurements have been carried out with samples in air and in an inert atmosphere. The main reaction product was found to be magnesium hydroxide. This has been determined quantitatively by thermogravimetry and the amount formed correlated with the measured cumulative heat of ageing. The results have been compared with those obtained for magnesium powder studied under the same conditions. In addition the influence of the ageing process on the pyrotechnic reaction has been studied by high temperature differential scanning calorimetry under ignition conditions and modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry.     

Investigating the ageing behavior of polysiloxane nanocomposites by degradative thermal analysis

The ageing behavior of novel polysiloxane nanocomposite elastomers is reported. A series of model polysiloxane nanocomposites has been prepared incorporating the montmorillonite nanoclay Cloisite 6A. The nanoclay dispersion has been characterized with X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). TGA has been utilized to study the effects of ageing on the non-oxidative stability of the nanocomposite systems. The complex evolution of volatiles that occurs during ageing has been studied using Sub-Ambient Thermal Volatilization Analysis (SATVA). Results indicate that significant chemical changes take place within the nanocomposites upon ageing; acid catalyzed hydrolysis, chain backbiting and recombination reactions are re-structuring the polymer-filler network into a more thermodynamically stable form.     

微量热法研究单底物酶促反应的热力学和动力学性质及过渡态的分析

用LKB-2107型微量热系统, 测定了漆酶催化氧化3, 4-二羟基苯甲醛、邻甲氧基酚、邻苯三酚、3, 4, 5-三羟基苯甲酸反应的热谱图, 利用热谱图计算了米氏常数(Km)、反应速率常数(k2)和热力学参数(ΔrHm, ΔG0, ΔT^≠, Ea, ΔST^≠)。并应用过渡态理论对其催化过程进行了分析。结果表明: 稳定过渡态结构有利于酶促反应, 酶-底物在反应物时相互作用仅仅是降低酶的催化效率。提出两种可能提高酶催化效率的方法。由活化熵(ΔST)<0得出酶-底物在过渡态的结构较酶-底物复合物的结构更为有序。     

Feasibility of using isothermal microcalorimetry to evaluate the physical stability of amorphous nifedipine and phenobarbital

Feasibility of microcalorimetry to evaluate the physical stability of amorphous drugs was studied. Amorphous forms of nifedipine and phenobarbital were prepared by melting and subsequent cooling in a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) sample pan, and their heats of crystallization were monitored by isothermal microcalorimetry. The time required for 10% of the amorphous drug to crystallize (t₉₀), a direct measure of the crystallization rate, could be obtained from a single microcalorimetric trace of the amorphous nifedipine or phenobarbital. The t₉₀ values were also determined by conventional storage studies in which the heat of crystallization was determined by DSC. The t₉₀ values obtained by microcalorimetry were consistent with those obtained by DSC, within experimental error, indicating that microcalorimetry is a useful method for evaluating the physical stability of amorphous drugs.     

Studies on thermal, thermal ageing and morphological characteristics of EPDM-g-VTES/LLDPE

A novel graft copolymer of vinyltriethoxysilane onto ethylene propylene diene terpolymer has been developed by grafting varying contents of VTES using dicumyl peroxide as an initiator in a twin-screw extruder. Grafting of VTES and EPDM has been ascertained using FTIR. The EPDM-g-VTES developed has been blended with different weight percentage of linear low density polyethylene [LLDPE] by melt mixing. Thermal, thermal ageing and morphological behaviour of the blends are studied with respect to the effect of blend composition, static vulcanization and dynamic vulcanization with varying quantities of VTES and LLDPE. The incorporation of silane moiety onto EPDM raises the inception and final decomposition temperature. The stability EPDM-g-VTES/LLDPE blend increases with increase in concentration of EPDM-g-VTES due to thermally stable Si-O-Si linkage. It was ascertain from SEM micrograph that EPDM-g-VTES/LLDPE blends lead to formation of interpenetrating crosslinked network during hot water treatment and by treatment with DCP, respectively. The linear, statically vulcanized, dynamically vulcanized and filled blends of EPDM-g-VTES/LLDPE have been characterized to assess the suitability of the blends for high performance applications. In addition, it is also observed that the incorporation of fillers improves thermal stability of the blends.     

Studies of the heat of vaporization of water associated with cellulose fibers characterized by thermal analysis

The heat of vaporization (H _vap) of water associated with cellulose fibers versus moisture ratio was determined using modulated differential scanning calorimetry. A steep increase in the H _vap for decreasing moisture ratio was observed at low moisture ratios (0.0–0.3 g/g), indicating a higher energy required to evaporate water interacting with the cellulose. The water molecules with elevated H _vap correspond to non-freezing bound water. This may be attributed to (a) energy to break mono and/or multilayer sorption and (b) energy to overcome capillary forces. For polypropylene and glass fibers, H _vap was constant versus moisture ratio, in agreement with no non-freezing bound water existing in these systems. It is suggested that non-freezing bound water could be used as an indicator of H _vap, and vice versa, at low moisture ratios.     

Characterisation of the comonomer composition and distribution of copolymers using chemometric techniques

Chemometric techniques have been applied to FTIR and DSC data to correlate polymer composition. Since structural differences in the polymers with only hydrocarbon structure, often cause subtle changes in spectra, the ability of chemometric techniques is required to discern these differences. FTIR spectra and thermal fractionation using DSC were measured for 28 types of polyethylenes (PE) varying in chain branching type, content and distribution. Unsupervised clustering methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) and supervised discriminant analysis were used to classify the PEs according to their structural class. The DSC data was the more successful in both classifying PEs according to their class. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetic investigations on the basis of isothermal DSC measurements of hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of magnesium hydride

Results of kinetic investigations on the basis of isothermal DSC measurements by means of defined pressure changes are presented and interpreted for the Mg/MgH₂ system. From an evaluation of the experimentally obtained DSC-signals, the dependence of reaction rate on hydrogen pressure p₀, temperature and sample morphology could be described. Under certain conditions, it is possible to visualise individual rate-determining steps and, thus, to arrive at conclusions on the reaction mechanism.     

Studies on the binding of paeonol and two of its isomers to human serum albumin by using microcalorimetry and circular dichroism

Interactions of paeonol and two of its isomers with human serum albumin (HSA) in buffer solutions (pH 7.0) have been investigated by calorimetry and circular dichroism. Heats of the interactions have been determined with isothermal titration microcalorimetry at 298.15 K. Data process has been based on the supposition that there are several independent classes of binding sites on each HSA molecule for molecules of each one of the drugs. The results obtained by using this supposition combined with Langmuir adsorption model show that there are two classes of such binding sites. The binding constant, changes of enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy are obtained, which show that the two classes of binding are mainly driven by enthalpy except that the first-class binding of Ace is predominantly driven by entropy. On the same class of binding site, the negative value of binding enthalpy decreases in the order of Pae, Hma, and Ace. The difference of thermodynamic data is caused by the different locations of substituent groups on aromatic benzene ring of guest molecules. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra show that the three isomers change the secondary structure of HSA. These results indicate that the interaction includes contributions of the binding and the partial change of molecular structure of HSA induced by the three isomers.     

Catalytic degradation of polyethylene using thermal gravimetric analysis and a cycled-spheres-reactor

Commercial samples of pure polyethylene were decomposed over H-ZSM-5 and Y-type zeolites using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and a laboratory-scale-plant, so-called the cycled-spheres-reactor. By the TGA measurements, the activity and the deactivation behavior of the zeolite catalysts were determined. The plastic to catalyst ratio was varied to find out the optimal value for catalyst screening and for the operation of the cycled-spheres-reactor. In addition, the deactivation behavior of the zeolite catalysts was investigated. Y-type zeolites revealed lower activity and faster deactivation behavior than H-ZSM-5. Higher module of H-ZSM-5 and Y-type zeolite showed slower deactivation, but lower activity than lower module of those. Experiments in the cycled-spheres-reactor proved the results of the TGA measurements in terms of activity. The main products in the non-catalytic degradation were waxes, and when catalysts were applied, a high yield of oils was obtained at the expense of waxes. The product spectra of product oils obtained with catalysts lay mainly in the range C₄–C₁₀.     

聚缩水甘油硝酸酯的热安定性和相容性研究

采用DSC、TG热分析方法研究了聚缩水甘油硝酸酯(PolyGLYN)的热安定性和与1,3,5-三硝基-1,3,5-三氮杂环己烷(RDX)间的相容性.结果表明,PolyGLYN在100℃以前较为稳定.当加热速率趋于零时PolyGLYN的热分解峰温为196.4℃,由Ozawa法计算的热分解表观活化能为182.0 kJ·mol-1,分别比RDX的低15.1℃和高22.2 kJ·mol-1.PolyGLYN热稳定性与RDX接近,两者之间的相容性较好.     

Application of thermal analysis to study the macroredox polymerization of styrene with hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene

Ceric ammonium nitrate-hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene macroredox initiator has been investigated for the polymerization of styrene in nitric acid medium at 35 °C. Water inhibited the polymerization of styrene using this macroredox system. The products obtained were crosslinked and insoluble in water and organic solvents. A probable mechanism for the copolymerization reaction has been inferred from differential scanning calorimetry. Kinetic parameters for thermal degradation have been calculated by thermogravimetry (TG).     

Effect of nanosilica on the kinetics of cure reaction and thermal degradation of epoxy resin

Nanocomposites from nanoscale silica particles(NS),diglycidylether of bisphenol-A based epoxy(DGEBA),and 3,5-diamino-N-(4-(quinolin-8-yloxy) phenyl) benzamide(DQPB) as curing agent were obtained from direct blending of these materials.The effect of nanosilica(NS) particles as catalyst on the cure reaction of DGEBA/DQPB system was studied by using non-isothermal DSC technique.The activation energy(E_a) was obtained by using Kissinger and Ozawa equations. The E_a value of curing of DGEBA/DQPB/10%NS system showed a decrease of about 10 kJ/mol indicating the catalytic effect of NS particles on the cure reaction.The E_a values of thermal degradation of the cured samples of both systems were 148 kJ/mol and 160 kJ/mol,respectively.The addition of 10%of NS to the curing mixture did not have much effect on the initial decomposition temperature(T_i) but increased the char residues from 20%to 28%at 650℃.     

Polylactide compositions. The influence of ageing on the structure, thermal and viscoelastic properties of PLA/calcium sulfate composites

High-performance composites prepared by melt-blending polylactide (PLA, l/d isomer ratio of 96/4) with various amounts of β-anhydrite II (AII), the dehydrated form of calcium sulfate hemihydrate obtained by a specific thermal treatment at 500 °C, have been aged to study the evolution of their physical and mechanical properties with time. The effect of 1-year ageing under ambient conditions (below T_g of PLA) for selected composites, i.e., filled with 20 and 40 wt% AII, was determined and compared to unfilled PLA with the same processing and ageing history. Samples with an initial amorphous PLA matrix, obtained by fast quenching from the melt, were characterized before and during ageing. The changes in physical parameters have been studied using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and density measurements. Surprisingly, for all the samples, an increase of the storage modulus (E′) was recorded, as a result of ageing. This improvement was ascribed to the reorganization of the PLA structure induced by ageing. The structural reorganization was also reflected by a slight increase of PLA density and changes in thermal behaviour. The X-ray investigations showed unchanged crystallographic structure of AII both during blending with molten PLA and in the composite systems after ageing. The surprising stability of the thermo-mechanical properties of PLA and PLA/AII composites is in agreement with the results of size exclusion chromatography analysis (SEC) which did not show significant changes of PLA molecular weights brought out by ageing.     

Application of a new method for data analysis of isothermal titration calorimetry in the interaction between human serum albumin and Ni

The interaction of human serum albumin (HAS) with divalent nickel ion was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) in 30 mM Tris buffer, pH 7.0. There is a set of eight identical and independent binding sites for nickel ions on the protein at the temperature of 300 K. A new calorimetric data analysis allows the determination of the complete set of thermodynamic parameters. The binding isotherm for nickel-HSA interaction is easily obtained by carrying out two different ITC experiments. In the first experiment, the enthalpy of binding for one mole of nickel ion to one mole of binding site on HSA (ΔH=−36.5 kJ) is obtained, and is used in a second experiment to determine the binding isotherm and to find the number of binding sites (g=8) and the equilibrium constant (K=0.57 μM⁻¹).     

Scanning thermal microscopy techniques for polymeric thin films using temperature contrast mode to measure thermal diffusivity and a novel approach in conductivity contrast mode to the mapping of thermally conductive particles

Advances in production are leading to increasing use of polymeric thin films in applications such as automotive bearings. Two approaches have been developed to study the thermophysical properties of these thin films: The first technique based on Flash theory uses a scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) tip in temperature contrast mode to measure thermal diffusivity over a nano-scale area. The SThM tip is in contact with the upper surface of the film to detect a heat pulse delivered by a microelectromechanical heater platform from the lower surface. The second technique is a conductivity contrast mode SThM based approach for measuring the size and distribution of thermally conducting particles in thin film polymeric coatings. Topographical and thermal conductivity data are combined to produce a “correlation analysis value” 3D particle map of the coating. Good practice and a case study are highlighted.     

Characterization and kinetics analysis of the thermal decomposition of the humic substance from hazelnut husk

A humic substance was obtained from hazelnut husk using an alkali extraction. The chemical and morphological structure of the humic matter was characterized via elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric-FTIR (TG-FTIR). In addition, thermal analysis measurements TG analysis-differential thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DTG/DSC) were performed under dynamic air conditions to better determine the origin, physical and chemical structure, and decomposition process of the humic matter. The Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) methods were used to calculate the kinetic parameters of the high-temperature decomposition process. It was observed that the activation energy values were almost constant at certain conversion and temperature intervals. In addition, the structure of the humic substance at different temperatures was also investigated via FTIR analysis. It was found that the obtained humic substance had a very stable structure and decomposed at a high temperature. The stability of the humic matter can be a useful tool in the environmental quality research of soil.     

Studies on the number of contacts between ibuprofen and ethenzamide using thermal analysis

We studied a method of estimating the number of contacts in a solid dosage form using thermal analysis. Ibuprofen (IB) and Ethenzamide (ET) were used as model actives. IB and ET were granulated and sieved with each other. We prepared mixtures of IB and ET using different diameter granules. The number of contacts between the samples was calculated by the expression method of Ouchiyama and Tanaka. By thermal analysis, we measured the quantity of endotherm up to 60-63 degrees C from 56 degrees C. The quantity of endotherm up to 61 degrees C from 56 degrees C was in good proportion to the number of contacts calculated by the expression.     

Chemical and thermal analysis of the biopolymers in thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) has been known, long time ago, for its aromatic properties. It contains essential oils and polymers such as cellulose (mixture of hemicellulose and cellulose) and lignin. The thyme, studied in this work, was gathered from the same place, in the period from November 1999 to October 2000. The chemical analysis (water, total ash, essential oils, extractive substances, cellulose, holocellulose and lignin) can be used roughly in the characterisation of the four periods that correspond to the four seasons of the year. The cellulose level was found to be more than lignin level in the wet periods (growth of the plant). The opposite was found in the dry periods. The total ash and essential oil levels were found to be high during the period of high pluviometry. The thermal decomposition of cellulose and holocellulose was found to fit well with the first-order kinetics. The activation energy, under air flow, was 185 and 196 kJ mol⁻¹ for cellulose and holocellulose, respectively. The maximum decomposition rate and thermal analysis heating rate of lignin were found to have a direct linear relationship.