Structure of Sol-Gel-Derived Sodium Dititanate Glass

The sodium dititanate, Na₂O·2TiO₂ glass was prepared by the sol-gel method. The structure of the glass, especially local environment of Ti⁴⁺ ions was examined using X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analyses, and was compared with that of the melt-derived glass with the same composition. It was found that Ti⁴⁺ ions are rather in five-fold coordination state, forming TiO₅ pyramids with one doubly bonded Ti=O in the gel-glass, while they were in lower coordination state or four-fold coordination in the melt-derived glass.     

A quantum chemical study of interchain hopping model of negatively charged solitons in polyacetylene

Phonon-assisted interchain hopping of negatively charged solitons in polyacetylene has been studied using a local chemical reaction model CH + CH₄ → CH₄ + CH. Quantum chemical characteristics of the electron transfer process have been analyzed in terms of the dynamic electron density and the mutual polarization moment. The CH stretching vibrational motion of CH₄, which is a local model of the sp³ defect, has been found to play a significant role for the electron transfer. The excitation of the corresponding vibrational mode of the sp³ defect would promote the interchain hopping of the charged soliton. The electron transfer process has also been studied in terms of the “regional” density functional theory. It has been shown that the driving force of the electron transfer is represented by the regional chemical potentials.     

The study of electron beam flue gas treatment for coal-fired thermal plant in Japan

The fundamental research work with simulated coal-fired flue gas was performed in JAERI to get basic data for electron beam treatment of flue gas from thermal power plants in Japan. The standard condition of the experiments was set to be the same as that of next large scale pilot test in Nagoya. The concentrations of NO_x and SO_x were 225 ppm and 800 ppm, respectively. The temperature of the system was 65°C. The effect of multiple irradiation was observed for NO_x removal. The target SO_x and NO_x removals (94% and 80%, respectively) with low NH₃ leakage (less than 10 ppm) were achieved at 9 kGy irradiation with 0.9 NH₃ stoichiometry during 7 hours continuous operation. The facility for the pilot plant (12,000 Nm³/hr) has just built at the site of Shin-Nagoya power plant of Chubu Electric Power Company and will be started in full operation in November 1992.     

Simultaneous polymerization and formation of polyacetylene film on the surface of concentrated soluble Ziegler-type catalyst solution

A direct method of simultaneously polymerizing and forming acetylene monomer to produce uniformly thin films of polyacetylene was investigated in terms of catalyst system, catalyst concentration, and polymerization temperature. The best catalyst was a Ti(OC₄H₉)₄–Al(C₂H₅)₃ system (Al/Ti = 3–4) and the critical concentration was 3 mmole/l. of Ti(OC₄H₉)₄. Below the critical concentration, only a solid or a powder was obtained. The configuration of the polymers obtained depends strongly upon the polymerization temperature. Thus an all-cis polymer was obtained at temperatures lower than ?78°C, whereas an all-trans polymer resulted at temperatures higher than 150°C. Observations either in an electron microscope by direct transmission or in a scanning electron microscope showed that the film is composed of an accumulation of fibrils about 200–300 Å in width and of indefinite length.     

Property of TS-16N solid state nuclear track detectors as an imaging medium for macroautoradiography of alpha-emitters in biological specimens

Feasibility of TS-16N solid state nuclear track detectors for an imaging medium of rapid autoradiography of alpha-emitters is described. Though a little longer etching time was required, the contrast of autoradiographic image on this detector proved to be superior to CR-39 detectors whose property for macroautoradiography was previously reported by the authors. The resolutions of these two different type detectors were almost equivalent to each other. The autoradiography taken by way of trial proved that this detector could be used to study metabolism and dosimetry of internally deposited alpha-emitters. With further study, the inherent properties of this detector such as low background or high sensitivity should extend the field of track etch imaging technique such as fast neutron radiography.     

Development and prevalidation of a method for phenol determination by solid-phase spectrophotometry

A simple, sensitive and rapid solid-phase spectrophotometric procedure was developed for the determination of traces of phenol with 4-aminoantipyrine as a reagent (AAP-SPS), and the optimal experimental conditions were established. This method was performed by sorption and direct absorbance measurements of the product phenol-AAP sorbed on the anion-exchanger Dowex 1-X4 (0.2 g) at 495 nm (absorption maximum) and 700 nm (non-absorption wavelength). The sensitivity offered by the AAP-SPS procedure was higher by a factor of 40 compared with the respective conventional spectrophotometric method. Metrological characteristics were established using a prevalidation strategy. The AAP-SPS procedure is characterized by a linear calibration function in the working range of 0.05–0.50 μmol, low standard deviation of procedure (±0.012), low limit of determination (0.021 μmol), and favorable random (±0.85 to ±11.27%) and systematic deviations (−4.55 to +11.50%). Moreover, the accuracy of the system investigated by the recovery test is acceptable (99–102%). Favorable working and performance characteristics make the new SPS method ideal for phenol monitoring in pharmaceutical preparations as well as other matrices.     

Trans-hydrometalation of alkynes by a combination of InCl3 and DIBAL-H: one-pot access to functionalized (Z)-alkenes

[reaction: see text] Triethylborane-induced hydrometalation of alkynes proceeds in an anti manner to afford the corresponding (Z)-alkenylmetal compounds stereoselectively, where dichloroindium hydride would play a key role. A variety of functional groups including hydroxy, carbonyl, and carboxy groups were tolerant under the reaction conditions. Following iodolysis and cross-coupling reaction of the (Z)-alkenylmetal species show the usefulness of this strategy.     

Control of viscoelasticity using redox reaction

The viscoelasticity of a fluid was tuned with the Faradaic reaction of (11-ferrocenylundecyl)trimethylammonium bromide (FTMA), a "redox-switchable" surfactant. An aqueous solution of the reduced form of FTMA exhibited a remarkable viscoelasticity in the presence of sodium salicylate (NaSal) because of the formation of three-dimensional entanglement of wormlike micelles. Electrolytic oxidation of FTMA caused the viscosity of the system to dramatically decrease and the elasticity to disappear. This drastic decrease in viscoelasticity arose from the disruption of wormlike micelles. This novel electrorheological phenomenon is expected to be applicable to ink for inkjet printers, the electrochemically controlled release of substances entrapped in wormlike micelles of FTMA, and fluid flow rate control using electric signals.     

Hydrogen-bonded networks in organic conductors: crystal structures and electronic properties of charge-transfer salts of tetracyanoquinodimethane with 4,4'-biimidazolium having multiprotonated States

[structure: see text] Novel hydrogen-bonded charge-transfer salts of TCNQ with mono- and diprotonated 4,4'-biimidazolium were synthesized in order to demonstrate the high potential of the 4,4'-biimidazole system in a molecular conductor from the viewpoint of crystal engineering and electronic modulation. Crystal structure analyses of neutral 4,4'-biimidazole and TCNQ salts revealed the formation of two types of hydrogen-bonding modes of the 4,4'-biimidazole moiety depending on the protonated states. Neutral 4,4'-biimidazole possessed a linear chain mode of hydrogen-bonding to construct two-dimensional network. In the TCNQ salt of monoprotonated 4,4'-biimidazolium, the 4,4'-biimidazole moiety formed a dimer by a complementary mode of hydrogen-bonding. In contrast, the salt of diprotonated 4,4'-biimidazolium showed a double linear chain mode of hydrogen-bonding to construct a three-dimensional network. The formation of two types of hydrogen-bonding modes made the difference in the stacking patterns of TCNQ columns and in their transport properties. The TCNQ salt of diprotonated 4,4'-biimidazolium exhibited high electrical conductivity (sigma(rt) = 1.1 x 10(-1) S cm(-1)).