Ultrasound-assisted one-pot, three-component synthesis of 1H-pyrazolo[1,2-b]phthalazine-5,10-diones

Triethylamine was found to be an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 1H-pyrazolo[1,2-b]phthalazine-5,10-diones by one-pot reaction of phthalhydrazide, aromatic aldehydes, and malononitrile or ethyl cyanoacetate in ethanol under ultrasonic irradiation. The advantages of this method are the use of an inexpensive and readily available catalyst, easy workup, improved yields, and the use of ethanol as a solvent that is considered to be relatively environmentally benign.     

High-temperature hydrogen production by solar thermochemical reactors,metal interfaces,and nanofluid cooling

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Solar thermochemical reactors have been considered in recent studies because of converting the solar energy to a fuel, which is called solar fuel. In...     

Polyaniline-Supported Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles: An Active and Stable Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Friedel–Crafts Acylation Reaction

We report herein the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles incorporating a polyaniline (PANI) matrix in aqueous medium and its catalytic performance toward Friedel–Crafts acylation reactions. The acylation reactions demonstrate that polyaniline/nano-ZnO composites are very active catalysts and are able to activate the reactant at ambient temperature. The obtained nanocatalyst was characterized by Fourier transform–infrared, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction, and particle-size analysis techniques. The catalyst was reusable for five cycles without appreciable loss in activity.     

Electroviscous sphere-wall interactions

A theoretical analysis is presented to determine the forces of interaction between an electrically charged spherical particle and a charged plane wall when the particle translates parallel to the wall and rotates around its axis in a symmetric electrolyte solution at rest. The electroviscous effects, arising from the coupling between the electrical and hydrodynamic equations, are determined as a solution of three partial differential equations, derived from Cox's general theory [R.G. Cox, J. Fluid Mech. 338 (1997) 1], for electroviscous ion concentration, electroviscous potential and electroviscous flow field. It is a priori assumed that the double layer thickness surrounding each charged surfaces is much smaller than the particle size. Using the matched asymptotic expansion technique, the electroviscous forces experienced by the sphere are explicitly determined analytically for small particle-wall distances, but low and intermediate Peclet numbers.     

Experimental investigation of the adhesion force of single and double-layer coatings on MEMS surfaces

Adhesion force is one of the most important factors in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), especially for microassembly. It depends on operating conditions and is affected by the contact area. In this study, the adhesion force between MEMS materials and AFM tips was analysed using AFM's point-mode spectroscopy. The aim was to study the effectiveness of various coatings in MEMS adhesion surfaces. For this purpose, five silicon surfaces were used, four of which were coated, and one was noncoated. Two of them were deposited by single-layer coating (Au and Ag). The other two were deposited by double-layer coating (TiO₂/Au, TiO₂/Ag) on a Si (1 0 0) substrate. The depositing was accomplished by the thermal evaporation method. Composite materials and analysis were reviewed by observing the SEM image. The experimental results showed that the method of deposition helped to decrease the adhesion force between the probe tip and the surface of the specimens, and double-layer coating had stronger effect on decreasing the adhesion force than the single-layer coating.     

Effects of polyethyleneimine-functionalized MCM-41 on flame retardancy and thermal stability of polyvinyl alcohol

Hyperbranched polyethylenimine（PEI）-functionalized mesoporous silica（MCM@PEI） was synthesized and used to produce poly（vinyl alcohol）（PVA） nanocomposites.The modified nanofiller was characterized with infrared spectroscopy,thermogravimetric analysis,X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,and N₂ adsorption.When compared with pure mesoporous silica（MCM）,the MCM@PEI nanoparticles exhibited better dispersion in the PVA matrix.The effects of MCM@PEI on the thermal and flame properties of PVA nanocomposites were also studied.Improvement in the thermal properties was confirmed by enhanced thermal stability and char yield.Incorporation of MCM@PEI in PVA led to a significant drop in the heat release rate and the total heat release.     

Thermal,combustion and optical properties of new polyimide/ODA-functionalized Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanocomposites containing xanthene and amide groups

Polypropylene (PP), due to its chemical stability, is considered one of the main responsible of the increasing amount of plastic wastes on earth. To overcome this problem and to reduce the dependence of oil feedstocks, the use of lignocellulosics as fillers or reinforcements in thermoplastic materials has been increasing enormously in the last decades. In the present work, Liquid Wood (a mixture of cellulose, hemp, fax and lignin) was used to prepare, by mechanical mixing followed by thermal extrusion, blends of various PP/Liquid Wood ratios. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis experiments were performed in order to verify whether and how much the composition of the blends affects the thermal properties of the obtained compounds. Both calorimetric and thermogravimetric results indicate that the application of PP as a matrix does not limit the processing temperature of Liquid Wood, which may lead to a perfect marketable composite from these components. The addition of Liquid Wood also resulted in enhanced mechanical properties for the PP/Liquid Wood blends.     

New clay-reinforced polyamide nanocomposite based on 4-phenylenediacrylic acid: Synthesis and properties

New type of aromatic polyamide/montmorillonite nanocomposites were produced using solution intercalation technique in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. High-molecular-weight amide chains were synthesized from 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether and 4-phenylenediacrylic acid in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The resulting nanocomposite films containing 5–20 wt.% of organoclay (Cloisite® 20A) were characterized for FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), optical transparency and water absorption measurements. The distribution of organoclay and nanostructure of the composites were investigated by (XRD) and SEM analyses. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated an increase in thermal stability of nanocomposites as compared to pristine polyamide. The percentage optical transparency and water absorption of these hybrids was found to be much reduced upon the addition of modified layered silicate indicating decreased permeability.     

Polymerization of ethylene using a series of binuclear and a mononuclear Ni (II)‐based catalysts

A novel series of homo‐, bi‐, and mononuclear Ni(II)‐based catalysts (BNC_n n = 1–4, MNC₄) were used for ethylene polymerization. The optimum conditions for the catalyst BNC₄ (the highest catalytic activity) was obtained at [Al]/[Ni]=2000/1, T_p = 42 °C, and t_p = 20 min that was 1073 g PE/mmol Ni h. In theoretical study, steric and electronic effects of substituents and diimine backbone led to prominent influence on the catalyst behavior. The highest M_V was resulted from polymerization using BNC₄; however, the highest unsaturation content was obtained from BNC₁. GPC analysis showed a broad MWD (PDI = 17.8). BNC₁ and BNC₂ in similar structures showed broad peaks in DSC thermogram, while BNC₃ and BNC₄ with more electronic effects showed a peak along with a wide shoulder. Monomer pressure increasing showed enhancing in activity of the BNC₄, meanwhile a peak with shoulder to a single peak in DSC thermogram and uniformity in morphology of the resulted polymer were observed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 3000–3011