Enhanced thermal properties and flame retardancy from a thermosetting blend of a phosphorus‐containing bismaleimide and epoxy resins

Epoxy resins modified by an organosoluble phosphorus‐containing bismaleimide (3,3′‐bis(maleimidophenyl) ­phenylphosphine oxide; BMPPPO) were prepared by simultaneously curing epoxy/diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM), and BMPPPO. The resulted epoxy resins were found to exhibit glass transition temperatures as high as 212 °C, thermal stability at temperatures over 350 °C, and excellent flame retardancy with Limited oxygen index (LOI) values around 40. Incorporation of BMPPPO into epoxy resins via the thermosetting blend was demonstrated to be an effective way to enhance the thermal properties and flame retardancy simultaneously. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tricarbonyl Complexes of Rhenium(I) with Acetylpyridine Benzoylhydrazone and Related Ligands

Novel rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes have been prepared by reactions of (Et₄N)₂[Re(CO)₃Br₃] with acetylpyridine benzoylhydrazone, Hapbhyd, di(2‐pyridyl)ketone benzoylhydrazone, Hpy₂bhyd, bis(2‐pyridine)ketone, py₂CO, and pyridinealdehyde terephtalaldehydebishydrazone, pytehyd. The ligands remain protonated when no supporting base is added and the following complexes have been isolated: [Re(CO)₃Br(Hapbhyd)], [Re(CO)₃Br(Hpy₂bhyd‐py, hyd)], [Re(CO)₃Br(Hpy₂bhyd‐py¹, py²)], [Re(CO)₃Br(py₂CO‐N, N)] and [Re(CO)₃Br(pytehyd)]. Addition of triethyl amine results in deprotonation of Hapbhyd and the formation of [Re(CO)₃(OH₂)(apbhyd)], whereas Hpy₂bhyd is hydrolysed and a rhenium complex with the monoanionic bis(2‐pyridyl)hydroxymethanolato ligand, {py₂C(OH)O}^‐, is formed. The same compound, [Re(CO)₃{py₂C(OH)O}], is obtained when triethyl amine and water are added to a mixture of (Et₄N)₂[Re(CO)₃Br₃] and py₂CO. The air‐stable products have been studied by spectroscopic methods and X‐ray crystallography.     

Silicon Carbide Supported Palladium‐Iridium Bimetallic Catalysts for Efficient Selective Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde

Selective hydrogenation of α,β‐unsaturated carbonyls into saturated carbonyls is important to obtain remunerative products. However, it is still a challenge to achieve high activity and selectivity under mild conditions. Herein, Pd, Ir and bimetallic Pd‐Ir nanoparticles were uniformly deposited with high dispersity on the surface of SiC by a facile impregnation method, respectively. The as‐prepared Pd/SiC catalysts efficiently hydrogenate cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamaldehyde at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and the activity of Pd/SiC is observed further enhanced by adding Ir component (conversion of 100%). In addition, the dependence of Pd‐Ir catalyst activity on Pd/Ir molar ratio confirms a synergistic effect between Ir and Pd, which originates from the electron transfer between Pd and Ir.     

Blends of starch with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers: effect of water,glycerol, and amino acids as plasticizers

Blends of thermoplastic starch with poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) copolymer (EVOH) were melt extruded with water/glycerol as plasticizer and a series of amino acid additives. The biggest factor in end‐use mechanical properties proved to be the relative humidity (RH) during storage. Plasticized starch‐EVOH blends stored at 0 and 50% RH changed significantly over time, with, for example, the tensile strength (TS) of the glycerol‐plasticized blend increasing from 4.7 to 26.3 MPa over 8 weeks when maintained at 0% RH. In contrast, the TS of this same sample stored at 75% RH remained unchanged for 8 weeks. Amino acids provided relatively minor, but significant changes in mechanical properties with time. Based on TS, elongation‐to‐break, and modulus, it may be concluded that β‐alanine, sarcosine, and L ‐proline were more effective than glycerol at maintaining strong flexible blends. Increases in crystallinity and changes in morphology with time, as described by modulated DSC were correlated to these changes in mechanical properties. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Iron(II)‐ and Cobalt(II) Complexes with Tridentate Bis(imino)pyridine Nitrogen Ligands Bearing Chiral Bulky Aliphatic and Aromatic Substituents: Crystal Structure of [CoCl2{2, 6‐bis[R‐(+)‐(bornylimino)methyl]pyridine}]

Iron(II) and cobalt(II) complexes ( 7 ‐ 15 ) based on new aldimine 2, 6‐bis[(imino)methyl]pyridine ( 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 ) and ketimine (2, 6‐bis[(imino)ethyl]pyridine ( 3 , 5 ) ligands with bulky chiral aliphatic or aromatic terminal groups have been prepared and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR‐, mass spectroscopy (EI), and elemental analysis. The complex [CoCl₂(BBoMP)]·¹/₂ CHCl₃ ( 13 ) (BBoMP: 2, 6‐bis{(R‐(+)‐(bornylimino)‐methyl}pyridine) crystallizes in monoclinic space group P2₁ with cell dimensions: a = 7.6603(11) Å, b = 28.3153(14) Å, c = 13.537(2) Å, V = 2908.1(6) ų, Z = 4. The coordination sphere around Co is distorted trigonal bipyramidal.     

乙醇和甲苯组成的最低共沸混合物热力学性质的研究

The molar heat capacity of the azeotropic mixture composed of ethanol and toluene was measured by a high precision adiabatic calorimeter from 80 to 320 K. The glass transition and phase transitions of the azeotropic mixture were determined based on the heat capacity measurements. A glass transition at 103.350 K was found. A solid-solid phase transition at 127.282 K, two solid-liquid phase transitions at 153.612 and 160.584 K were observed, which correspond to the transition of metastable crystal to stable crystal of ethanol and the melting of ethanol and toluene, respectively. The thermodynamic functions and the excess ones of the mixture relative to the standard temperature 298.15 K were derived based on the relationships of the thermodynamic functions and the function of the measured heat capacity with respect to temperature.     

Synthesis of Functionalized o‐, m‐, and p‐Terphenyl Derivatives by Consecutive Cross‐Coupling Reactions of Triazene‐Substituted Arylboronic Esters

Triazene‐substituted arylboronic esters were prepared readily from the corresponding aryl magnesium derivatives and shown to function as a new class of donor–acceptor‐substituted coupling reagents. The selective functionalization of these aromatic derivatives led to a wide variety of terphenyl derivatives in which the original bifunctional unit (often further substituted with another functional group) formed the central aromatic ring. The functionalized terphenyl derivatives were formed in two efficient cross‐coupling steps from the triazene‐substituted boronic esters: Suzuki cross‐coupling with an aryl halide was followed by BF₃?OEt₂‐induced palladium‐catalyzed coupling of the diazonium salt generated in situ from the triazene with an arylboronic acid.     

Electroanalytical Study of the Composition of the Raw Pigment Mixtures that Yield the Metallic Lustre on Ceramics. A Link Between Composition and Final Result

Voltammetry of immobilized microparticles was used to study the electrochemistry of the raw pigments that produce the metallic lustre on ceramics after a successful firing. To study this influence of the mixture components on the reduction properties to achieve the metallic lustre, 14 mixtures of illitic clay, Fe₂O₃, HgS, CuO and AgNO₃ were prepared and studied in different media. Iron oxide improves the yield of the reduction of the metals and cinnabar helps a closer reduction of silver to copper reduction and prevents the Ag? Cu alloying because of the formation of silver–mercury adducts. The presence of one of the metals influences the peak position of the other metal. The use of vinegar as diluting agent is not casual, because in this media the reduction of silver takes place at a potential closer to the copper. This electroanalytical technique allowed to distinguish between powders of different composition and offered some information about the role of the components in the reduction of copper and silver and the selection of vinegar to prepare the raw pigment suspensions.     

Semiempirical Molecular Orbital Studies of the Acylation Step in the Lipase‐Catalyzed Ester Hydrolysis

In this study, we present the results from the semiempirical molecular orbital calculations for the acylation step in the lipase‐catalyzed ester hydrolysis. The results reveal that the lowest energy path for the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate is for the serine residue of the catalytic triad to attack the substrate, followed by coupling heavy atom movement and proton transfer. The calculations of four active site models show that the cooperation of the aspartate group and the oxyanion hole is capable of lowering the activation energy by about 16 kcalmol^?1. Our results further suggest that the lipase‐catalyzed ester hydrolysis adopts the single proton transfer mechanism.     

Theoretical Study of Weakly Bound Dimers between Hydrogen Fluoride and Some Polar Molecules

Weakly bound linear and bent dimers, FH—X (where X = CO, OC, CNH, NCH, N₂O and ON₂), are investigated using the DFT B3LYP and ab initio MP2 methods with the same basis sets (6–311++G(3df,2pd)). The strengths of the H—C or H—N H‐bonds in dimers FH—CO, FH—CNH, and FH—N₂O are compared with those of the H—O or H—N H‐bonds in dimers FH—OC, FH—NCH, and FH—ON₂. The results obtained for the H‐bond distances, the elongation effect of the HF bond, the red shift of the HF stretching frequency, and the energy difference between the dimer and the charge transfer reveal that the H‐bonds of the first group of dimers are stronger than those of the second. The Gibbs energies calculated for the six dimer formations indicate that the weakly bound dimers are unstable at room temperature (T = 298 K) (FH—X's → FH + X's, ΔG < 0).