Electro-Optical and Thermophysical Characterization of Poly (Tripropylene Glycol Di-Acrylate)/Liquid Crystal Composite Materials Prepared by Polymerization Induced Phase Separation

Abstract

This work examines the development and characterization of tripropylene glycol di-acrylate/liquid crystal E7 (TPGDA/LC E7) PDLCs composite materials (polymer-dispersed-liquid-crystals). These systems were produced by UV irradiation photopolymerization (PIPS) of a mixture of the monomer tripropylene glycol di-acrylate (TPGDA) and the liquid crystal E7 (LC E7, a mixture of three cyano-biphenyl and one cyano-terphenyl LCs), in the presence of 2?wt% (of the acrylate/E7 mixture) of a photoinitiator. Electro-optical, thermal and optical characterization was used to understand the effect of the LC concentration on the electro-optical and thermo-physical properties of these materials. Polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were performed to observe the system morphology and to determine the transition temperatures of these materials, both as a function of their composition. The findings showed a slight variation of the nematic-isotropic transition temperature, T_NI, of the LC E7 and of the glass transition temperature, T_g, of the TPGDA polymeric matrix as a function of the mass percentage of the LC E7. A very good electro-optical response for the composition 30/70?wt % TPGDA/LC E7 was obtained.     

γ-Keto Esters and γ-Butyrolactones From the Reaction of Dialkoxydihydrofurans With Trimethylsilyl Iodide

Dimethoxydihydrofurans are converted into γ-keto esters and γ-butyrolactones by a new procedure using an equimolar quantity and an excess of trimethylsilyl iodide, respectively.     

Responsive hyperbranched poly(formyl-1,2,3-triazole)s toward quadruple-modal information security protection

Science China Chemistry - Secrecy has received tremendous attention in modern information society. Innovative polymer-based fluorescent materials with multiple mode emission are quite desirable to...     

Neumann-like integrable models

A countable class of integrable dynamical systems, with four-dimensional phase space and conserved quantities in involution (Hn,In)$(H_n,I_n)$ are exhibited. For n=1$n=1$ we recover Neumann system on T^∗S²$T^{\ast }{S}^2$. All these systems are also integrable at the quantum level.     

Phosphorylated cellulose for water purification: a promising material with outstanding adsorption capacity towards methylene blue

Cellulose - Enhancing the sorption properties of cellulose is a prerequisite for its efficient use in water purification as an alternative to costly activated carbon. Here, solvent-free...     

Magnetic Coupling Constants of Self‐Assembled CuII [3×3] Grids: Alternative Spin Model from Theoretical Calculations

This paper reports a theoretical analysis of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic Cu^II [3×3] grid. A two‐step strategy, combining calculations on the whole grid and on binuclear fragments, has been employed to evaluate all the magnetic interactions in the grid. The calculations confirm an S=7/2 ground state, which is in accordance with the magnetisation versus field curve and the thermal dependence of the magnetic moment data. Only the first‐neighbour coupling terms present non‐negligible amplitudes, all of them in agreement with the structure and arrangement of the Cu 3d magnetic orbitals. The results indicate that the dominant interaction in the system is the antiferromagnetic coupling between the ring and the central Cu sites (J₃=J₄≈?31 cm^?1). In the ring two different interactions can be distinguished, J₁=4.6 cm^?1 and J₂=?0.1 cm^?1, in contrast to the single J model employed in the magnetic data fit. The calculated J values have been used to determine the energy level distribution of the Heisenberg magnetic states. The effective magnetic moment versus temperature plot resulting from this ab initio energy profile is in good agreement with the experimental curve and the fitting obtained with the simplified spin model, despite the differences between these two spin models. This study underlines the role that the theoretical evaluations of the coupling constants can play on the rationalisation of the magnetic properties of these complex polynuclear systems.     

Preparation of Stereoregular Isotactic Poly(mandelic acid) through Organocatalytic Ring‐Opening Polymerization of a Cyclic O‐Carboxyanhydride

Poly(mandelic acid) (PMA) is an aryl analogue of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and a biodegradable analogue of polystyrene. The preparation of stereoregular PMA was realized using a pyridine/mandelic acid adduct (Py?MA) as an organocatalyst for the ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of the cyclic O‐carboxyanhydride (manOCA). Polymers with a narrow polydispersity index and excellent molecular‐weight control were prepared at ambient temperature. These highly isotactic chiral polymers exhibit an enhancement of the glass‐transition temperature (T_g) of 15 °C compared to the racemic polymer, suggesting potential future application as high‐performance commodity and biomedical materials.     

New complex macromolecular architectures based on organosilicon chemistry

Polycarbosilane networks were prepared from well-defined α, ω-difunctional oligomers: X-[Si(CH₃)₂-CH₂-CH₂]_n-X with X = H ( 1 ) and X = CH=CH₂ ( 2 ). Crosslinking reactions were performed by hydrosilylation of tetramethyltetravinylcyclotetrasiloxane (V₄) or of tetravinylsilane with SiH end groups of 1 . Hydrosilylation of Si-CH=CH₂ end groups of 2 with tetramethyltetrahydrocyclotetrasiloxane (D₄H) was also successfully tried. Some physicochemical properties of these new networks will be presented.¹⁾ Interpenetrating networks based on polysiloxanes and polycarbonates were synthesized by the in situ method: a polysiloxane bearing various proportions of room temperature crosslinkable -Si(OEt)₃ side groups was mixed with bis(allyl ethylene glycol) biscarbonate and a free-radical initiator. After the formation of the first network at room temperature, the cross-linking of the polycarbonate network was performed by raising the temperature up to 80°C. Various chemical modifications of the polysiloxane component in the IPN were performed in order to improve the degree of interpenetration as estimated from turbidity, density, refractive index and DSC measurements.²⁾     

A Comparative Study of Various Pretreatment Approaches for Bio-Ethanol Production from Willow Sawdust,Using Co-Cultures and Mono-Cultures of Different Yeast Strains

The effect of different pretreatment approaches based on alkali (NaOH)/hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) on willow sawdust (WS) biomass, in terms of delignification efficiency, structural changes of lignocellulose and subsequent fermentation toward ethanol, was investigated. Bioethanol production was carried out using the conventional yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as three non-conventional yeasts strains, i.e., Pichia stipitis, Pachysolen tannophilus, Wickerhamomyces anomalus X19, separately and in co-cultures. The experimental results showed that a two-stage pretreatment approach (NaOH (0.5% w/v) for 24 h and H₂O₂ (0.5% v/v) for 24 h) led to higher delignification (38.3 ± 0.1%) and saccharification efficiency (31.7 ± 0.3%) and higher ethanol concentration and yield. Monocultures of S. cerevisiae or W. anomalus X19 and co-cultures with P. stipitis exhibited ethanol yields in the range of 11.67 ± 0.21 to 13.81 ± 0.20 g/100 g total solids (TS). When WS was subjected to H₂O₂ (0.5% v/v) alone for 24 h, the lowest ethanol yields were observed for all yeast strains, due to the minor impact of this treatment on the main chemical and structural WS characteristics. In order to decide which is the best pretreatment approach, a detailed techno-economical assessment is needed, which will take into account the ethanol yields and the minimum processing cost.     

Quantum Transport in Crystals: Effective Mass Theorem and K·P Hamiltonians

In this paper the effective mass approximation and the k·p multi-band models, describing quantum evolution of electrons in a crystal lattice, are discussed. Electrons are assumed to move in both a periodic potential and a macroscopic one. The typical period e{\epsilon} of the periodic potential is assumed to be very small, while the macroscopic potential acts on a much bigger length scale. Such homogenization asymptotic is investigated by using the envelope-function decomposition of the electron wave function. If the external potential is smooth enough, the k·p and effective mass models, well known in solid-state physics, are proved to be close (in the strong sense) to the exact dynamics. Moreover, the position density of the electrons is proved to converge weakly to its effective mass approximation.