Dynamic light scattering experiments on thermoreversible pregels from chemically modified PVC

 Dynamic light-scattering experiments have been performed on solutions of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and chemically modified PVC (HPVC) in diethyl oxalate (DEO). Hydrodynamic sizes of the clusters in the solution were measured as a function of temperature, concentration and quenching temperature. The higher the starting concentration of the PVC and HPVC solutions the larger the size of the aggregates formed. However, clusters formed by pure PVC are smaller than those formed by modified PVC. Aggregate sizes decrease with increasing temperature whereby a change in the cluster melting process is observed at 55 °C. Successive dilution of highly concentrated aggregate solutions causes reduction of the cluster size until a critical dilution concentration is reached below which no further reduction in size occurs. The lower the temperature at which the solutions are quenched the larger the clusters which are formed. We believe that all results can be interpreted using a model developed by Guenet [1–4] which describes the molecular structure of PVC/DEO gels and pregels. Received: 9 September 1997 Accepted: 2 February 1998     

Influence of temperature on natural and chemically modified zeolites

Zeolites from Nižny Hrabovec (Slovak Republic) were, modified with solutions of NaOH. The changes of zeolites in the temperature range 20–1200 °C were studied by thermal analysis (DTA, TG, ETA), X-ray analysis and REM analysis. Thermal analysis showed that the process of dehydration started between temperatures 20 and 600 °C, over this temperature the dealumination and structural changes have taken place. X-ray analysis and REM analysis showed the structural changes of natural zeolites and gradual loss of cristallinity of the chemically modified zeolites.     

Effect of solvent on glass transition temperature in chemically modified polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Polyvinylchloride has been chemically modified with sodium benzene thiolate at different temperatures, in solvents promoting the formation of polymer gels, in solvents favoring light polymer interactions and in the absence of solvent, that is, in the melt. From the¹³C-NMR results it is shown that the substitution reactions on PVC, in all media and temperatures studied, are stereospecific and the nature of substituted chlorines the same.The glass transition temperature of modified polymers has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The glass transition temperature of the modified polymers in the absence of solvent decreases linearly with degree of substitution. When the reaction is carried out in solvents containing carbonyl groups, such as diethyl malonate, cyclohexanone and 2-butanone, the evolution of the glass transition up to about 25% substitution does not follow the above behavior. At higher levels of substitution the evolution ofT _g is similar to that in the melt. For the ether-containing solvents, such as tetrahydrofurane and dioxane, the evolution lies between the two previous curves.When the reactions of PVC with sodium benzene thiolate are carried out in cyclohexanone at different temperatures, between 15–90°C, the evolution of the glass transition temperature with conversion is different for each temperature, and if the reaction temperature increases, the slope of the initial part moves to that in the absence of solvent.These results are related to the formation of PVC gels or interactions. As the nature and percentage of substituted chlorine for a given chemical composition are the same in all the solvents and conditions studied, we propose that Cl-atoms of isotactic and/or heterotactic configurations are implied in the formation of PVC gels or interactions.     

Application of a bio‐based polyester plasticizer modified by hydrosilicon‐hydrogenation reaction in soft PVC films

A kind of bio‐based plasticizer, poly (hexanediol maleic) (MH), was synthesized using 1,6‐hexalene and maleic acid as raw materials, and it was modified by hydrosilicon‐hydrogenation reaction to improve its plasticizing efficiency. The chemical structure and plasticizing performance of MH and its modification product (MHA) were characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). It was found that the hydrosilicon‐hydrogenation modification effectively improved the plasticizing efficiency of MH, reflecting on the decreased T_g and the increased elongation at break of PVC blends. The migration resistance of PVC blends was tested and analyzed by solubility parameters, which revealed that the migration stabilities of PVC blends were promoted after modification. It was verified that the hydrogen bonding interaction between the C?O group of plasticizers and α‐hydrogen of PVC exhibited in FTIR analysis was the main reason for the improvement of plasticizer performance of MH. Moreover, a new hydrogen bonding formed between Si? O? Si of MHA and the α‐hydrogen of PVC derived from XPS also caused the further improvement of plasticity for MHA.     

Influence of HCL on polypyrrole films prepared chemically from ferric chloride

Smooth, adherent films of the electrically conducting polypyrrole formed on surfaces in contact with unstirred aqueous solutions containing the pyrrole monomer and the oxidant, FeCl₃. Contradictory reports in the literature concerning the influence of HCl on the growth rate and electrical conductivity of polypyrrole grown in this manner prompted this study of the growth rate and conductivity of films. With no intentional addition of HCl, the growth rate of the films, measured using a quartz crystal microbalance, was fit to a simple second-order model in which the rate was limited by the bulk depletion of reactants. The conductivity of the films was found to be about 1 S cm^?1. Both the growth rate and the electrical conductivity initially increased with the deliberate addition of HCl to the solution. The conductivity was found to peak at a value about 20 S cm^?1 at an initial HCl concentration of 0.3 M. At initial HCl concentration of 2M or more, films could not be grown. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cationic grafting of olefins from PVC: The effect of reaction conditions

The cationic grafting of isobutylene, styrene, α-methylstyrene, and β-pinene from a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) backbone was investigated. Grafting-from was induced by Et₂AlCl in 1,2-dichloroethane and methylene dichloride solutions from 20 to −70 °C. The effects of temperature and proton trap [2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine (DtBP)] on grafting-from efficiency (G_eff), extent of grafting, branch length (molecular weight), and number of branches per PVC molecule were determined. Reducing the temperature invariably increased the G_eff and the molecular weight of polyisobutylene, polystyrene, poly(α-methylstyrene), and poly(β-pinene) branches attached to PVC. The magnitude of the effects was different with the various olefins and depended on the reaction conditions. The effect of DtBP was examined in the 5 × 10⁻⁴–4 × 10⁻³ mol/L range. By increasing the DtBP concentration the G_eff increased; however, the number-average molecular weight of the grafted branches decreased. The lengths of the grafted branches can be controlled, and G_eff's close to 100% were obtained. The fact that the proton trap reduced the molecular weights of grafted branches suggests that besides proton scavenging, DtBP may also abstract protons from the growing carbenium ion site. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1675–1680, 2001     

Effects of UV-irradiation on the formation of oxide thin films from chemically modified metal-alkoxides

The effects of UV-irradiation on the properties of ZrO₂ and TiO₂ gel films prepared from corresponding metal-butoxides modified with acetylacetone (AcAc) or benzoylacetone (BzAc) have been studied. It was found that the chelate bonds of -diketones remaining in the gel films were dissociated by the UV-irradiation. The UV-irradiation also changed the properties of the gel films such as solubility; the solubility in acidic solutions was decreased for ZrO₂ gel films modified with AcAc and TiO₂ gel films modified with BzAc became insoluble in alcohol. Based on these findings, a new fine-patterning process has been established, which enables us to make fine-patterns of ZrO₂ and TiO₂ films on a variety of substrates.     

Surface properties of oxidized LDPE by scanning force microscopy with chemically modified probes

In this article, we present the results of a study on the surface properties of chromic acid-oxidized low-density polyethylene (LDPE) by scanning force microscopy (SFM) and contact angle measurements. LDPE films were surface modified by a chromic acid treatment with subsequent annealing in argon and reconstruction in boiling water as described by Rasmussen, Stedronsky, and Whitesides [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 99 , 4736 (1977)]. The LDPE oxidation in chromic acid was monitored in situ by contact mode SFM. Initially stacks of lamellae became exposed, and at later stages a granular morphology was observed. By tapping mode SFM, the sample roughness was shown to increase during the first 10 min of oxidation from initially ca. 20 nm to ca. 50 nm. Gold-coated SFM probes (tips) functionalized with self-assembled monolayers were used to determine the pull-off force characteristics in ethanol. Variations in the contact area between SFM tips and polymer surfaces that exposed sharp crystalline features were shown to obscure the results of pull-off force measurements. However, on annealed and subsequently reconstructed samples with lower roughness, the results of force measurements correlated well with the measured contact angles. Over the range of surface energies studied, the normalized pull-off force between carboxylic acid-modified tips and these smooth samples was shown to depend approximately linearly on the cosine of the contact angle. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. B Polym. Phys. 36: 2483–2492, 1998     

Surface characterization of pure and chemically modified minerals by laser microprobe mass spectrometry

Applications of the laser microprobe mass analyzer for characterizing the surface of chemically modified minerals (crown ether/montmorillonite and organosilane/sepiolite) and for detecting micro-crystallites at the surface of an inorganic matrix (brucite surface layer of chrysotile fibers) were investigated using laser desorption conditions. The laser microprobe is shown to be a versatile tool for these applications.     

Effects of a chemically modified multiwall carbon nanotubes on electro-optical properties of PDLC films

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films are fabricated by well-known polymerization-induced phase separation method. In this paper, the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in liquid crystals has been enhanced by chemical modification and we have investigated their effects on the morphology, electro-optical properties and conductivity of the PDLC films. Results indicated that the threshold voltage and the saturation voltage of PDLC films decreased with the increase of the doping concentration of MWCNT or chemically modified MWCNT, because carbon nanotubes can enhance the electric field by reducing the resistivity of the medium and increasing the capacitance of the cells. It can be viewed obviously that the contrast ratio of the PDLC films doped with the chemically modified MWCNT is higher than that of the MWCNT.     

Direct electrochemistry and superficial characterization of DNA-cytochrome c-MUA films on chemically modified gold surface

Cytochrome c (Cyt. c) was immobilized on the 11-mercaptohendecanoic acid (MUA)-modified gold electrode. The electrode was stable and sensitive to Cyt. c. Later, DNA was also immobilized on the two-layer modified electrode. Cyclic voltammetry studies show that Cyt. c can interact with dsDNA and ssDNA. The binding site sizes were determined to be 15 base pairs per Cyt. c molecule with dsDNA and 30 nucleotides binding 1 Cyt. c molecule with ssDNA. The modified electrodes were characterized by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), impedance spectroscopy and atomic force microscope (AFM). The modified electrode can be used for determining DNA.     

Geometry of chemically modified silica

The effect of alkyl chain length on adsorbent pore volume and void volume of HPLC columns is described. The results provide evidence that alkyl chains attached on silica surface are densely packed. A correlation of a decrease of pore volume with an increase of the alkyl modifier chain length was found. Effective molecular volume of bonded chains was found to be similar to the molecular volume of corresponding liquid alkanes. An absence of noticeable penetration of acetonitrile, methanol, or tetrahydrofuran molecules between bonded chains at any water-organic eluent composition was found.     

Properties of PVC. I. Properties of PVC films prepared by casting and by precipitation

This investigation compares the properties of PVC films prepared both by casting from tetrahydrofuran solution and from samples obtained by precipitation with properties of samples from the original PVC. The differences in properties are explained on the basis of solvent residues remaining in the samples even after tempering at higher temperatures and after extremely long times of drying. Attention was given to the difficulties caused by this fact, namely, in observing the influence of molecular weight and of distribution of molecular weights of fractions on PVC properties. Reasons were given for the retention of the tetrahydrofuran by PVC.     

Influence of ionizing radiation on physical properties of native and chemically modified starches

Cationic and anionic starches (chemically modified) and native starch (non-modified) were exposed to electron-beam irradiation at doses of 25, 75 and 150 kGy. The increasing solubility in water, due to chain scission and creation of polar groups as already mentioned in the literature, has been confirmed using several physical methodologies. Impedance Spectroscopy (IS) on water solutions was carried out in order to calculate the relaxation parameters of the Cole–Cole model and α and β parameters of the Jones–Dole equation, which show the influence of radiation dose on increasing polarity, decreasing of molecular mass and increasing of electrostatic attraction between chains. Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) confirm the formation of polar groups that retain water. The aim of this work was to confirm that the control of chain scission and functionalization of starches with irradiation could then be used in a future work to create nanoparticles by complex coacervation in an aqueous base.     

Surface characteristics of low-density polyethylene films modified by oxyfluorination-assisted graft polymerization

In this study, a unique two-step process, i.e., an oxyfluorination-assisted graft polymerization (OAGP), was used to modify the surface properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films. Based on the results of the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, which was performed to estimate the amount of hydroperoxides generated by oxyfluorination, oxyfluorination conditions that maximize the amount of hydroperoxide groups were selected. Hydroperoxides were generated by oxyfluorination to provide active sites for the OAGP of the different monomers. Depending on the type of monomers used, two different graft polymerization behaviors were observed. Hydrophilic methacrylic acid (MA) monomers were graft polymerized onto the oxyfluorinated LDPE (OFPE) surface in a perpendicular direction, forming a spike-shaped morphology. On the other hand, hydrophobic styrene (ST) monomers were graft polymerized parallel to the OFPE surface, forming a valley-shaped morphology. By changing the type of vinyl monomers, two different surfaces could be prepared using the hydroperoxides generated by oxyfluorination. After OAGP with MA monomers, a hydrophilic surface following the Wenzel model was obtained, whereas after OAGP with ST monomers, a hydrophobic surface following the Cassie–Baxter model was obtained. Therefore, the OAGP process may be an efficient method for preparing two different surfaces by changing the monomer used.     

Unusual selectivities of radical reactions. Experimental studies on alkyl versus phenoxyl reaction systems

Radical reactions involving two or more intermediates and many mutual reaction channels may lead to the specific formation of one cross-reaction product if one species is rather persistent and if transient and persistent species are produced with equal rates. A previous kinetic analysis of the phenomenon revealed that the concentrations of the intermediates and the selectivities of product formation depend critically on the relative initiation rates. The present experimental ESR studies on systems involving simultaneously generated phenoxyl radicals as persistent and alkyl radicals as transient species confirm the predicted behavior. They also lead to absolute rate constants for reactions of alkyl with phenoxyl radicals and for hydrogen atom transfer from phenols to alkyl radicals.     

介体溶剂在碱金属PVC膜离子电极中选样性的研究

考察了不同介溶剂(苯基膦酸二正辛酯, 磷酸三丁酯, 硝基苯, 邻硝基苯正辛醚, 邻苯二甲酸二辛酯癸二酸二丁酯)的四苯硼酸盐PVC膜对碱金属离子的选择性, 探讨了不同介体溶剂的膜对选择性的影响. 所得结论与实验结果一致. 也就是硝基芳香族化合物介体溶剂适用于大半径碱金属离子, 而膦酸酯类介体溶剂适用于具有小离子半径的碱金属离子.     

Energetically driven reorganization of a modified catalytic surface under reaction conditions

The compositional and structural rearrangements at the catalyst surface during chemical reactions are issues of great importance for understanding and modeling the catalytic processes. Low-energy electron microscopy and photoelectron spectromicroscopy studies of the real-space structure and composition of a Au-modified Rh(110) surface during water formation reveal reorganization processes due to Au mass transport triggered by the propagating reaction fronts. The temporal evolution of the surface reaction results in a 'patterned' surface consisting of separated Au-rich and Au-poor phases with different oxygen coverage, Rh surface structure, and reactivity. The experimental results are complemented by ab initio electronic-structure calculations of the O and Au adsorption phases, which demonstrate that the reorganization of the Au adlayer by the propagating reaction fronts is an energetically driven process. Our findings suggest that reaction-induced spatial inhomogeneity in the surface composition and structure is a common feature of metal catalysts modified with adatoms which become mobile under reaction conditions.     

Infrared optical properties and AFM of spin-cast chitosan films chemically modified with 1,2 Epoxy-3-phenoxy-propane

Chemical modification of spin-cast chitosan films has been performed. This modification involves the attachment of 1,2 Epoxy-3-phenoxy-propane, commonly known as glycidyl phenyl ether (GPE), to the amine group of the chitosan molecule. Optical properties of modified films have been determined in the infrared region of the spectrum using spectroscopic ellipsometry, and are reported in this paper. Special attention is paid to the infrared region where the index of refraction and extinction coefficients from 750 to 4000 cm(-1) were determined. Difference plots of IR optical data before and after chemical modification were generated to confirm that modification had occurred. Optical modeling of infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IRSE) data with respect to chemical bond vibrations has also been performed. This modeling involved curve fitting of resonant chemical bond absorptions using Lorentz oscillators. These oscillator models allow for comparison of modified chitosan to unmodified chitosan. The purpose of this research was to determine infrared optical constants of chemically modified chitosan films This work shows that surface chemistry of biomaterials can be studied quite sensitively with spectroscopy ellipsometry, detecting as little as 100 ng/cm(2) of GPE.