Single-particle light scattering study of polyethyleneglycol-grafted poly(ureaurethane) microcapsule in ethanol

Microcapsules having polyethyleneglycol-grafted poly(ureaurethane) (PUU) membrane and di-2ethylhexyl phthalate core have been prepared, and the structure when they were suspended in dispersing ethanol have been studied by means of single-particle light scattering method. The PUU membrane was synthesized from monomers with aromatic functional groups (microcapsule MC110) and hexamethylene functional groups (microcapsule MC160). Because the outer and inner solvent passed through the membrane easily, the outside and inside of the membrane were the same at the equilibrium state. The thickness of the wall membrane was significantly smaller than that calculated from the overall weight ratio of the wall-forming material and the core solvents. It was attributed to low affinity of PUU membranes and ethanol.     

The effect of UV irradiation on the reduction of Au(III) ions adsorbed on manganese dioxide.

The effect of UV (ultraviolet) irradiation on the adsorption of Au(III) ions on manganese dioxide and their reduction to Au(0) (gold with 0 valence state) was investigated using XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and 197Au M?ssbauer spectroscopy. The UV irradiation accelerated the adsorption and the reduction. From the fact that the proportion of Au(0) estimated from Au 4f XPS spectra for surface analysis was significantly smaller than that from 197Au M?ssbauer spectra for bulk analysis, we deduced that Au(0) was interpenetrated to the inside of manganese dioxide (into deeper places than about 30 A) where XPS is impossible to detect. The content of surface hydroxyl groups on manganese dioxide also increased due to the UV irradiation. The relationship between the charge in the content of hydroxyl groups and the interpenetration of Au(0) is discussed.     

Water revealed as molecular mirror when measuring low concentrations of sugar with near infrared light

Near infrared spectroscopy is an overtone spectroscopy regarded as a quick and non-destructive method that provides analytical solutions for components that represent approximately 1% or more of the total mass of the investigated composite samples. Aquaphotomics offers the possibility for disentanglement of information remaining hidden in the spectra when conventional data evaluation methods are used, since this concept utilizes changes of the water structure induced by the measured solute as specific molecular vibrations at water bands. Here, near infrared technique and aquaphotomics are applied for non-destructive identification and quantification of mono- and di-saccharide solutes at 100–0.02 mM concentration that is accepted as unachievable with near infrared spectroscopy. The results presented in this study support the aquaphotomics' water molecular mirror concept that explores spectral changes related to water molecular rearrangements caused by minute changes of the solutes in the aqueous systems. The method provides quick and accurate alternative for classical analytical measurements of saccharides even at millimolar concentration levels.     

Facile synthesis and crosslinking reaction of trifunctional five‐membered cyclic carbonate and dithiocarbonate

The trifunctional five‐membered cyclic carbonate 2 and dithiocarbonate 3 were successfully synthesized by the reaction of trifunctional epoxide 1 with carbon dioxide and carbon disulfide, respectively. The crosslinking reactions of 2 with p‐xylylenediamine or hexamethylenediamine were carried out in dimethyl sulfoxide at 100 °C for 48 h to produce the corresponding crosslinked poly(hydroxyurethane)s quantitatively. The crosslinking reactions of 3 with both p‐xylylenediamine and hexamethylenediamine, followed by acetylation of thiol moiety, produced the corresponding crosslinked poly(thioester–thiourethane)s quantitatively. The obtained crosslinked poly(hydroxyurethane)s were thermally more stable than the analogous crosslinked poly(thioester–thiourethane)s, probably because of less thermal stability of thiourethane moiety than hydroxyurethane moiety. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5983–5989, 2004     

The first total synthesis of (-) and (+)-2-hydroxy-24-oxooctacosanolide using an effective lactonization

[structure: see text] An effective method for the total synthesis of 2-hydroxy-24-oxooctacosanolide, a defensive salivary secretion of the African termite Pseudacanthotermes spiniger, has been developed. The key lactonization to form a 29-membered ring lactone core is performed using 2-methyl-6-nitrobenzoic anhydride with a catalytic amount of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine N-oxide.     

Combustion mechanism of ultralean rotating counterflow twin premixed flame

In our previous numerical studies [Nishioka Makihito, Zhenyu Shen, and Akane Uemichi. “Ultra-lean combustion through the backflow of burned gas in rotating counterflow twin premixed flames.” Combustion and Flame 158.11 (2011): 2188–2198. Uemichi Akane, and Makihito Nishioka. “Numerical study on ultra-lean rotating counterflow twin premixed flame of hydrogen–air.” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 34.1 (2013): 1135–1142]. we found that methane– and hydrogen–air rotating counterflow twin flames (RCTF) can achieve ultralean combustion when backward flow of burned gas occurs due to the centrifugal force created by rotation. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of ultralean combustion in these flames by the detailed numerical analyses of the convective and diffusive transport of the main species. We found that, under ultralean conditions, the diffusive transport of fuel exceeds its backward convective transport in the flame zone, which is located on the burned-gas side of the stagnation point. In contrast, the relative magnitudes of diffusive and convective transport for oxygen are reversed compared to those for the fuel. The resulting flows for fuel and oxygen lead to what we call a ‘net flux imbalance’. This net flux imbalance increases the flame temperature and concentrations of active radicals. For hydrogen–air RCTF, a very large diffusivity of hydrogen enhances the net flux imbalance, significantly increasing the flame temperature. This behaviour is intrinsic to a very lean premixed flame in which the reaction zone is located in the backflow of its own burned gas.