Synthesis and kinetic analysis of isothermal and non-isothermal decomposition of ammonium dinitramide prills

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) prills were prepared by emulsion crystallization and characterized by optical microscopic, thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) techniques. The isothermal and non-isothermal decomposition kinetics of ADN prills were studied by TG. The differential isoconversional method of Friedman (FR) and integral isoconversional method of Vyazovkin were used to investigate the dependence of activation energy (E _a) with conversion (α) and the results were compared with literature data. The dependence of activation energy was also derived from isothermal data. A strong dependence of E _a with α is observed for the ADN prills. All the methods showed an initial increase in E _a up to α=∼0.2 and later decreases over the rest of conversion. The apparent E _a values of FR method are higher than that of Vyazovkin method up to α=∼0.45. The calculated mean E _a values by FR, Vyazovkin and standard isoconversional method for α between 0.05 and 0.95 were 211.0, 203.9 and 156.9 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively.     

Synthesis and thermal decomposition of GAP-Poly(BAMO) copolymer

An energetic copolymer of glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) and poly(bis(azidomethyl)oxetane (Poly(BAMO)) was synthesized using the Borontrifluoride-dimethyl ether complex/diol initiator system. The synthesized copolymer exhibited the characteristics of an energetic thermoplastic elastomer (ETPE). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to study the thermal decomposition behavior and the results were compared with that of the constituent homopolymers. The main weight loss step in all the polymers coincides with the exothermic dissociation of the azido groups in the side chain. In contrast with the behavior of the homopolymers, the copolymer shows a broad exothermic shoulder peak at 298 °C after the main exothermic decomposition peak at 228 °C. Kinetic analysis was performed by Vyazovkin's model-free method, which suggests that the activation energy of the main decomposition step is around 145 kJ/mol and for the second shoulder it is around 220 kJ/mol. Fourier transform infra red (FTIR) spectra of the degradation residues show that the azido groups in the copolymer decompose in two stages at different temperatures which is responsible for the double decomposition behavior.     

Abatement of Gas-phase p-Xylene via Dielectric Barrier Discharges

The effectiveness of applying dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) to remove p-xylene from gas streams was experimentally investigated in this study. Parameters investigated include applied voltage, gas flow rate, gas temperature and gas composition. Experimental results indicate that as high as 100% p-xylene removal efficiency is achieved for the gas stream containing low p-xylene concentration of 26 ppmv. Removal efficiency of p-xylene achieved with DBDs increases with increasing applied voltage. However, energy consumption is also increased with increasing applied voltage. The best energy efficiency of 7.1 g/kWh is achieved for the gas streams containing 500 ppmv p-xylene, 5% O₂, 1.6% H₂O_(g), and balanced N₂ at the applied voltage of 18 kV. Product analysis indicates that around 70 or 95% of the carbons in p-xylene molecules are transformed into carbon dioxide for the gas streams without or with water vapor, respectively.     

Polymer-induced fractal patterns of [60]fullerene containing poly(methacrylic acid) in salt solutions

Well-defined water-soluble pH-responsive [60]fullerene (C60) containing poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA-b-C60) was synthesized using the atom transfer radical polymerization technique. By varying pH and salt concentration, different types of fractal patterns at nano- to microscopic dimensions were observed for negatively charged PMAA-b-C60, while such structure was not observed for positively charged poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-b-C60. We demonstrated that negatively charged fullerene containing polymeric systems can serve as excellent nanotemplates for the controlled growth of inorganic crystals at the nano- to micrometer length scale, and the possible mechanism was proposed.     

Operational control based on environmental detector for floating LNG connection system during side-by-side offloading operation

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper addresses the dynamic positioning problem for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier with unknown shielding effect via a sea state detector and robust control design....     

Enthalpies of transfer from water to methanol of cations complexed with 18-crown-6

Enthalpies of transfer from water to methanol have been obtained via a thermochemical cycle for the [M⁺18C6] complexes where M⁺  Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, Cs⁺, and Ag⁺. Variation of the transfer enthalpy with M⁺ is small.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Cytotoxic Activity of S-Benzyldithiocarbazate Schiff Bases Derived from 5-Fluoroisatin, 5-Chloroisatin, 5-Bromoisatin and Their Crystal Structures

Abstract  

Schiff bases were prepared from S-benzyldithiocarbazate with 5-fluro-, 5-chloro- and 5-bromoisatin. All are potential tridentate nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur donors. They were found to be selectively active against MCF-7 cell line (Human non-metastatic mammary gland adenocarcinoma cell line). The bromide and fluoride compounds were the most active with IC₅₀ values of 6.40 μM (2.6 μg/mL) and 9.26 μM (3.2 μg/mL) respectively while the chloride derivative was weakly active with an IC₅₀ value of 38.69 μM (14.0 μg/mL). The cytotoxic activity of the halo substituted isatins against the breast cancer cell lines tested is in the order of Br > F > Cl. Planarity of the isatin ring in the Schiff bases can be arranged in the following order SB5FISA > SB5ClISA > SB5BrISA while the perpendicularity of the benzyl ring towards the dithiocarbazate plane can be ordered as follows, SB5FISA > SB5BrISA > SB5ClISA.