Structure and Mechanical Properties of 50/50 NR/SBR Blend/Pristine Clay Nanocomposites

A blend/clay nanocomposites of 50/50 (wt%) NR/SBR was prepared via mixing the latex of a 50/50 NR/SBR blend with an aqueous clay dispersion and co‐coagulating the mixture. The structure of the nanocomposite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Nanocomposites containing less than 10 phr clay showed a fully exfoliated structure. After increasing the clay content to 10 phr, both nonexfoliated (stacked layers) and exfoliated structures were observed in the nanocomposites. The results of mechanical tests showed that the nanocomposites presented better mechanical properties than clay‐free NR/SBR blend vulcanizate. Furthermore, tensile strength, tensile strain at break, and hardness (shore A) increased with increasing clay content, up to 6 phr, and then remained almost constant.     

Study of the critical current density and the thermodynamic critical field in deuterated κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br organic superconductor

ABSTRACT

We have studied the reversible and irreversible part of the hysteresis loops as a function of slow cooling rate through the order–disorder transformation near 80?K for the deuterated (κ-D₈-Br) κ-(BEDT-TTF)₂Cu[N(CN)₂]Br organic superconductor. We estimated the critical current density J_C and the thermodynamic critical field H_C from the magnetic hysteresis loops. Temperature dependence of the critical current density derived from the irreversible part using Bean’s model. The thermodynamic critical field H_C has been obtained from the reversible part of the hysteresis loops.     

On selecting portfolio of international mutual funds using goal programming with extended factors

This paper proposes and investigates the use of several factors for portfolio selection of international mutual funds. Three of the selected factors are specific to mutual funds, additional three factors are taken from Macroeconomics and one factor represents regional and country preferences. Each factor is treated as an objective in the multiple objective approach of goal programming. Three variants of goal programming are utilized.     

Ultrasound promoted aminolysis of epoxides in aqueous media: a rapid procedure with no pH adjustment for additive-free synthesis of beta-aminoalcohols

An efficient and environmentally friendly procedure promoted by ultrasound irradiation is developed for stereoselective ring opening of various epoxides with aromatic and aliphatic amines under aqueous conditions in the presence of no catalyst or additive. Chemoselectivity of the protocol is shown by competition of piperidine and aniline to react with different epoxides resulting in exclusive formation of the respective products of piperidine.     

Rapid Learning-Based and Geologically Consistent History Matching

Various types of data become available at different stages of a reservoir’s life. The production data are integrated into the flow simulation models through a process referred to as history matching. The history-matching process is iterative, and it usually involves a large number of simulation runs. Hence, this process requires significant computational time. In most history-matching methods, the initial geological assumptions in the reservoir model are destroyed or significantly altered in the process. Furthermore, they do not account for the information obtained during the previous trials, and lack learning from the previous failures. In this paper, we introduce a new methodology that maintains the geological realism. The candidate realizations are selected through a learning-based history-matching (LHM) algorithm by which all the previously successful patterns are preserved and used to assist the construction of the next realizations. The various pieces of matching regions are assembled together to make a pool of the successful candidates. Such regions are then utilized for making an auxiliary dataset in a multiscale framework by which the next model is generated. To prevent from trapping in local minima, ideas from the genetic algorithm is adapted. The LHM algorithm can be applied to both categorical and continuous distributions. The LHM provides a conditional map by which the new production data are immediately incorporated into the existing reservoir models. We apply the LHM algorithm to various 2D and 3D examples with very complex binary and continuous properties. The algorithm is shown to produce history-matched models with significantly smaller CPU times.     

Structural and Electronic Properties of New Materials Based on Thiophene and Phenylene

Theoretical study on the geometries and electronic properties of new conjugated compounds based on thiophene and phenylene was carried out. The theoretical ground-state geometries and electronic structures of the studied molecules were obtained using the density functional theory (DFT) method at B3LYP level with 6-31G(d) basis set. The electronic properties were determined by ZINDO/s, CIS/3-21G(d), and TD//B3LYP/3-21G(d) calculations performed on the B3LYP/6-31(d) optimized geometries. The effects of the ring structure and the substituents on the geometries and electronic properties of these materials were discussed. The results of this study indicate how the electronic properties can be tuned by the backbone ring or side group and suggest these compounds as good candidates for opto-electronic applications.     

Fabrication of bulk-modified carbon paste electrode containing alpha-PW12O40(3-) polyanion supported on modified silica gel: Preparation, electrochemistry and electrocatalysis

Alpha-PW(12)O(40)(3-) (PW(12)) supported on the surface of silica gel derivatized by 3-aminopropyl(triethoxy)silane (devoted briefly as SiNH(3)PW(12)) was synthesized and used as bulk modifier to fabricate a renewable three-dimensional chemically modified electrode. The electrochemical behavior of the modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry. There is an ionic bonding character between PW(12) and the surface amino groups of modified silica, which greatly improves the stability of SiNH(3)PW(12)-modified carbon paste electrode due to insolubility of silica gel in water. The SiNH(3)PW(12) bulk-modified carbon paste electrode not only maintains the electrochemical activity of PW(12), but also exhibits remarkable advantages of renewability, as well as simple preparation and inexpensive material. The modified electrode offers an excellent and stable electrocatalytic response for the reduction of IO(3)(-) and hydrogen peroxide. The SiNH(3)PW(12)-CPE is successfully applied as an electrochemical detector to monitor IO(3)(-) in flow injection analysis (FIA). The catalytic peak current was found to be linear with the IO(3)(-) concentration in the range 5x10(-6) to 1x10(-3)molL(-1). The detection limit of the proposed method was found to be 3.1x10(-6)molL(-1) for IO(3)(-) determination.     

A Simple Indirect Route for the Synthesis of N-Alkyl-4-imino-1,4-dihydro-2H-3,1-benzoxazin-2-ones

Summary. Novel N-alkyl-4-imino-1,4-dihydro-2H-3,1-benzoxazin-2-ones were synthesized in a single step by Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of N-alkyl-3-imino-2-indolinone derivatives in high yields. The structures of the products were determined by spectral data and by X-ray diffraction. Besides their novel structures, these compounds may have important biological activities and industrial applications.     

Transition metal-free synthesis of quinolino[2′,3′:3,4]pyrazolo[5,1-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]quinazolin-8(6<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>)-ones via cascade dehydrogenation and intramolecular <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-arylation

2-(2-Chloroquinolin-3-yl)-3-(arylamino)-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one was converted to quinolino[2′,3′:3,4]pyrazolo[5,1-b]quinazolin-8(6H)-ones in the presence of KOtBu in DMSO at room temperature. The present method has the advantages of easy conditions, construction of highly novel five heterocycles, transition metal-free conditions, cascade dehydrogenation and intramolecular N-arylation and good to high yield of products.