A new method for the synthesis of 3-hydroxymethylbenzofuran

A new one-step synthesis of 3-hydroxymethylbenzofuran, based on intramolecular cyclization of 2- （methoxymethyl）-2-（2＇-methoxymethyl-4＇-methylphenyl）-butanone I under diluted hydrochloric acid in THF, was developed. The mechanism for this process was investigated via chemical equilibrium shift of tautomer in acidic conditions. The applicability of this new method was studied further in this paper.     

Reliability of flexible electrically conductive adhesives

Based on our previous work about electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs), a flexibilizer named 1,3‐propanediol bis (4‐aminobenzoate) was used to fabricate flexible ECAs (FECAs). ECAs, FECAs, and electronic devices connected by them were carried out the hot and humid aging test under constant humidity level of 85% relative humidity at 85 °C for 600 h. After aging, the bulk resistance change of ECAs was about 26%, that of FECAs was a little higher, about 29%. The contact resistance change of devices connected by ECAs and FECAs was very great, about 450% and 410%, respectively. The bonding area at connection interface between colloids and devices had delamination, even cracks. The delamination of ECAs was calculated about 60%, the average shear strength of ECAs was reduced about 45%, and those of FECAs were about 50% and 30%, respectively, so FECAs had a higher bonding stability in hot and humid environment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal properties stability of UV irradiated PVA nanohybrid composites

Zn‐Al‐salicylic nanohybrid layers have been prepared and used as fillers for polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Nanohybrid layers of a broad absorption area in UV region were completely and uniformly dispersed in a continuous polymer matrix. PVA and PVA nanohybrid composite (NHC) films were exposed to UV irradiation. Thermal properties (diffusivity, effusivity, and conductivity) of both have been measured through photoacoustic technique before and after UV irradiation. Thermal parameters of PVA suffered from a quick deterioration with UV exposure due to reduction of the phonon mean free path as a result of molecular chain scissions. However, significant stability in such parameters of NHC has been obtained under the influence of UV irradiation. This thermal properties stability may be an important step on the way of obtaining photostable polymer NHC. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insight into industrial PLA aging process by complementary use of rheology,HPLC, and MALDI

Nowadays, there is a growing availability of biodegradable industrial materials intended to food contact applications whose service life behavior needs to be further investigated. This article is focused on the degradation of two materials based on polylactic acid. The correlation between the rate of degradation and the amount of trapped degradation products was investigated applying three characterization techniques in parallel, namely rheology, high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI). The rate of degradation was studied through the evaluation of their rheological properties and calculation of the number of average molecular weights, and weight‐average molecular weights. Water‐soluble oligomers and lactic acid were quantified by HPLC‐ultraviolet. Changes in cyclic and linear oligomers were monitored by MALDI‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. Specimens of 4‐mm thickness of each biopolymer were subjected to hydrolysis in deionized water up to 6 months at two temperatures, simulating service conditions of food packaging. The diminution in viscosity and consequently in molecular weight distribution (20–60%) showed the degradation of the molecular structure of both polylactic acids. The chain scission was followed through the increasing values of lactic acid and hydrolyzed oligomers (twofold to eightfold), and the predominant signal of the linear oligomers over the cyclic ones with aging. Rheology, HPLC, and MALDI showed to be complementary tools to better understand the changes in the molecular structure. The obtained results showed the necessity of adding suitable stabilizers for each particular food packaging application. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhanced chemical reworkability of DGEBA thermosets cured with rare earth triflates using aromatic hyperbranched polyesters (HBP) and multiarm star HBP‐b‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) as modifiers

A hyperbranched aromatic polyester (HBPOH) has been synthesized, and poly(ε‐caprolactone) arms have been grown on some of its end hydroxyl groups (HBPCL). These modifiers have been used in cationic diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A formulations cured with ytterbium triflate as cationic initiator. The effect of HBPOH and HBPCL on the curing kinetics has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The obtained materials have been characterized by dynamomechanical analysis, DSC, thermogravimetric analysis and mechanical tests. The modifiers are incorporated into the thermosetting network because of the participation of the end hydroxyl groups in the cationic curing of epoxides by the activated monomer mechanism. Homogeneous thermosets have been obtained with a remarkable increase in impact strength without sacrificing elastic modulus or hardness. A compromise between the rigid structure of the aromatic hyperbranched core and the flexibilizing effect of the poly(ε‐caprolactone) arms is believed to be responsible for the overall thermal and mechanical properties of the materials. The use of these polymeric modifiers increases the thermal stability of the resulting materials because of the low degradability of the aromatic ester groups in the hyperbranched core and the incorporation of the modifier into the network structure. However, the presence of such ester groups makes them reworkable by hydrolysis or alcoholysis in an alkaline medium, thus opening a way for recovery of valuable substrates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of Gold Nanoparticle Film Porosity on the Chemiresistive Sensing Performance

The porosity of 1‐hexanethiol‐functionalised gold nanoparticle films was assessed and utilised as chemiresistor sensors. Electrochemical capacitance measurements showed that the accessibility of electrolytes of different ionic strengths into the pores depended on the thickness of the electric double layer formed. A large variation in capacitance was measured in 0.01–1000 mM NaClO₄, implying a wide pore size distribution. The change in morphology of the nanoparticle films upon storage in air, water and ethanol for two weeks was investigated. There was a significant decrease in the electrochemical capacitance at high electrolyte concentrations for the ethanol‐stored films compared to the freshly‐prepared films suggesting a decrease in the number of small pores of radii in the range of 0.3–3 nm. This was further supported by optical topographical measurements where a decrease in the thickness of ethanol‐stored films was observed relative to the freshly‐prepared films. The porous nature of the nanoparticle films was found to have an effect on the chemical sensing behaviour. When used as chemiresistor sensors, for the detection of heptane in water, the ethanol‐stored films provided larger resistance changes and longer response times. This suggests that the more densely packed ethanol‐stored films provided more sites that enabled film swelling, and that diffusion of the analyte occurred through the narrower water‐filled pores. This demonstrates the effect of different storage conditions on film morphology and subsequently sensor response.     

Design and Performances of a Carbon Monoxide Sensor Using Mid-Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy Technique at 4.6 µm

Based on infrared absorption spectroscopy technique, a carbon monoxide sensor was developed using the fundamental absorption band of carbon monoxide molecule at the wavelength around 4.6 µm. The developed sensor consists of pulse-modulated wideband incandescence, open ellipsoid light-collector gas-cell, dual-channel detector, and control and signal-processing module. With the prepared standard carbon monoxide gas sample, sensing characteristics on carbon monoxide were investigated using the sensor. Experimental results reveal that the limit of detection is about 10 ppm, the relative error at the limit of detection point is less than 14%, and that is less than 7.8% within the low concentration range of 20～180 ppm. The maximum absolute errors of 50 min long-term measurement on the 0 and 14 ppm CO gas samples are about 3 and 3.17 ppm, respectively, and the standard deviations are as small as 0.18 and 1.25 ppm, respectively. Compared with the reported carbon monoxide detection systems utilizing quantum cascaded lasers and distributed feedback lasers, the proposed sensor shows potential applications in carbon monoxide detection under the circumstances of coal-mine and environmental protection, by virtue of high performance, low cost, simple optical structure, and so on.