On distribution of molecular weight in anionic polymerizates of caprolactam

Measurement has been made of the dependence of the molecular weight distribution on the ratio of the catalytic system components and on the polymerization time for polycaprolactam obtained by anionic polymerization. A bimodal character of the curves was observed for products made using molar ratios of activator (N-benzoylcaprolactam) to initiator (sodium dihydro-bis(methoxyethoxy)aluminate) of 1:1 and 1:3, when the polymerization times were less than 1 hr. This course is explained by the influence of fast side-reactions, mainly condensations. For a ratio of 3:1 of the components of the catalytic system, smooth integral distribution curves are obtained, accounting for a very fast decrease in the strong base concentration in the initial stages of the polymerization.     

Sandwich structures at oil-water interfaces under alkaline conditions

Equilibrium liquid crystal (LC) layer on an interface between crude oils and water was observed at high pH. This layer is composed mainly of sodium naphthenates produced in situ at the water/oil interface. Transient LC layer was also evolved at the interface of aqueous phase of sodium hydroxide solutions and oleic phase of naphthenic acid (NA) solutions as result of a chemical reaction between NaOH and NA. This chemical reaction causes transport process resulting in a disturbance of the interface. Optical observation of this interface disturbance reviled that the interface covered with LC shows considerably lower flexibility as compared to LC free interface. The LC layer eventually dissolves in the water phase at low oil-to-water ratio, while at high oil-to-water ratio it can form an equilibrium phase, which spreads spontaneously at the oil-water interface.     

Zur entmischung der Lösungsmittel bei der chromatographischen trennung—v: Sorption von fliessmitteldämpfen an cellulose

The sorption of solvent vapours onto dried cellulose has been investigated. The time-dependence and the effect of the solvent-water ratio is discussed. The studies concerned the properties of methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol.     

Secondary kinetic isotope effects: Deuterium abstraction by chlorine atoms from the CD3 group in CD3CH2Cl,CD3CHDCl,and CD3CD2Cl

The occurrence and magnitude of secondary kinetic isotope effects in the gas phase has been determined for deuterium abstraction from the CD₃ group in CD₃CH₂Cl, CD₃CHDCl, and CD₃CD₂Cl by photochemically generated ground-state chlorine atoms. Over the temperature range 10–94°C a discernible “inverse” kinetic isotope effect is observed. Both the pre-exponential factors and activation energies decrease with deuterium substitution in the vicinal chloromethyl group. The opposing trends result in a net effect close to unity.     

The fluorescence quenching rate constant for the distance-dependent quenching processes in the presence of diffusion

It is shown that the fluorescence quenching constant is given by the Laplace transform of the time-dependent bimolecular rate constant k(t). The dependence of the quenching rate constant on the transformation parameter can be obtained from measurements of the fluorescence decay functions and a Stern-Volmer-type analysis in the Laplace domain. The advantages of this type of investigation of the quenching rate function are demonstrated by a numerical calculation for the distance-dependentquenching process in     

An empirical force field. II. Crystalline alkanes

The EFF'93 force field is used to study crystalline alkanes. In addition to detailed molecular geometries, the sublimation enthalpy, heat capacity, and lattice vibrations for a number of saturated hydrocarbons are reported and compared with experiment. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hydrogen bond studies: 80. A deuteron magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopic study of the water molecule in lithium formate monohydrate,LiHCOO · H2O

A deuteron magnetic resonance and infrared study of the water molecules in lithium formate monohydrate, LiHCOO · H₂O, has been made. The quadrupole coupling constants (e²qQ/h) and asymmetry parameters (η) were found to be 198.7±0.4 and 231.3±0.6 kHz, and 0.060±0.005 and 0.097±0.003, respectively, at 25 ° C.An interpretation is given of the infrared spectra in the OH-stretching region in terms of intra- and intermolecular couplings of the water molecules. It is found that the water molecules are vibrationally distorted by their environments such that the OH-stretching modes consist of independent stretchings of the two O-H bonds.     

Studies on the photooxidation mechanism of polymers. IV. Effect of ultraviolet light (2537 Å) on solid PVC particles suspended in different liquids

The photolysis of virgin PVC powder suspended in water, methanol, n-hexane, aqueous NH₄OH (30 wt-%), and 0.1 wt-% iodine in methanol and also as dry powder was studied. The mechanism of photolysis of PVC powder has been investigated by using ESR spectroscopy, conductivity titration, gel-permeation chromatography (GPC), and absorption spectroscopy. Photolysis of PVC has been found to occur by a free-radical mechanism. ESR spectroscopy permits a partial identification of several different types of free radicals in PVC such as alkyl, polyenyl, and peroxy radicals. An interpretation is proposed of the mechanism of formation of conjugated polyene structures, and also a new explanation of the crosslinking mechanism, in which transfer of unpaired electrons to double bonds occurs, is suggested. It has also been found that conjugated double bonds can photosensitize free-radical formation as a result of increased ultraviolet absorption due to polyene structures.     

Asymptotics of heavy atoms in high magnetic fields: II. Semiclassical regions

The ground state energy of an atom of nuclear chargeZe in a magnetic fieldB is exactly evaluated to leading order asZ in the following three regions:BZ ^4/3,BZ ^4/3 andZ ^4/3BZ³. In each case this is accomplished by a modified Thomas-Fermi (TF) type theory. We also analyze these TF theories in detail, one of their consequences being the nonintuitive fact that atoms are spherical (to leading order) despite the leading order change in energy due to theB field. This paper complements and completes our earlier analysis [1], which was primarily devoted to the regionsBZ ³ andBZ³ in which a semiclassical TF analysis is numerically and conceptually wrong. There are two main mathematical results in this paper, needed for the proof of the exactitude of the TF theories. One is a generalization of the Lieb-Thirring inequality for sums of eigenvalues to include magnetic fields. The second is a semiclassical asymptotic formula for sums of eigenvalues that isuniform in the fieldB.Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant PHY90-19433 A02Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant DMS 92-03829Work partially supported by the Heraeus Stiftung and the Research Fund of the University of Iceland.     

Influence of a background gas on expanding plasma clots

An expansion of finite plasma clots into the background neutral gas is studied numerically. The presented model includes the quasineutrality violation as well as the interpenetration of plasma and neutral gas at the boundary of the plasma. We estimate the region of plasma parameters where the model is correct. Space distributions of main plasma parameters, cooling of electrons and the process of inter-penetration of the plasma and the neutral gas are analysed as well as an empiric formula for electron temperature is found. Finally, it is shown that the most intensive plasma-gas inter-penetration occurs in the case where the initial plasma and gas densities are the same.