Kinetic and catalytic aspects of dimethylterephtalate transesterification also through the use of model molecules

Kinetic and catalytic aspects of DMT transesterification reaction, key step in the industrial production of polyethylenterephtalate (PET), have been deepened also through the use of model molecules such as CH₃COO–Ph–X. These molecules give the same reactions with ethylene glycol occurring in the DMT transesterification too. The use of model molecules in the study of this reaction seems therefore to be promising in perspective. As we observed, however, the nature of the para-substituent X has a very strong influence on the reaction rate, when salts of bivalent metals such as Zn, Cd, Co, Mg, Mn, are used as catalysts, while this influence is much smaller when a tetravalent metal, as Ti, is used. This fact suggests that the transesterification mechanism operating in the two cases is different and this suggestion has been confirmed by applying Hammett's approach to the available kinetic data. Experimental kinetic runs were all performed at 193°C, by withdrawing small samples of the reaction mixture at different reaction times. These samples were gaschromatographically analyzed. We found volcano shaped curves of the reaction rates as a function of the metal ion acidities and we obtained different trends with a maximum of activity shifted from a metal to another for different substrates. A comparison of the kinetic results obtained, respectively, with the model molecules and DMT will be reported too.     

Photochemistry of artificial photosynthetic reaction centers in liquid crystals probed by multifrequency EPR (9.5 and 95 GHz)

Photoinduced charge separation and recombination in a carotenoid-porphyrin-fullerene triad C-P-C(60)(1) have been followed by multifrequency time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) at intermediate magnetic field and microwave frequency (X-band) and high field and frequency (W-band). The electron-transfer process has been characterized in the different phases of two uniaxial liquid crystals (E-7 and ZLI-1167). The triad undergoes photoinduced electron transfer, with the generation of a long-lived charge-separated state, and charge recombination to the triplet state, localized in the carotene moiety, mimicking different aspects of the photosynthetic electron-transfer process. Both the photoinduced spin-correlated radical pair and the spin-polarized recombination triplet are observed starting from the crystalline up to the isotropic phase of the liquid crystals. The W-band TREPR radical pair spectrum has allowed unambiguous assignment of the spin-correlated radical pair spectrum to the charge-separated state C(.+)-P-C(60)(.-). The magnetic interaction parameters have been evaluated by simulation of the spin-polarized radical pair spectrum and the spin-selective recombination rates have been derived from the time dependence of the spectrum. The weak exchange interaction parameter (J = +0.5 +/- 0.2 G) provides a direct measure of the dominant electronic coupling matrix element V between the C(.+)-P-C(60)(.-) radical pair state and the recombination triplet state (3)C-P-C(60). The kinetic parameters have been analyzed in terms of the effect of the liquid crystal medium on the electron-transfer process. Effects of orientation of the molecular triad in the liquid crystal are evidenced by simulations of the carotenoid triplet state EPR spectra at different orientations of the external magnetic field with respect to the director of the mesophase. The order parameter (S = 0.5 +/- 0.05) has been evaluated.     

Radioanalytical investigation on rhodium extraction behaviour with tri-N-butylphosphate from iodide solutions

Radioanalytical techniques are used in this work to investigate the extraction behaviour with TBP of rhodium (III) chloride solutions to which a large excess of iodide is added. Extraction yields and distribution coefficients are determined as a function of HClO₄ or H₂SO₄ content in the aqueous phase. Rhodium-stripping from the organic phase with ammonia solutions is also tested.     

Ereditarietà delle misure di Caratheodory

Let μ be a diffuse Carathéodory measure. The purpose of this paper is to prove that, for every open setU inR, μ(·∩U) is a Carathéodory measure too.     

一种改进的2×2 SOI Mach-Zehnder热光开关

本文设计并制作了基于强限制多模干涉耦合器的2×2 SOI马赫-曾德热光开关.这种光开关采用了深刻蚀结构的多模干涉耦合器和输入/输出波导,较大地提高了干涉耦合器的性能并减少了连接耦合损耗.同时,在调制臂区域采用浅刻蚀结构,保持其单模调制状态.深刻蚀多模干涉耦合器具有优越的特性,在实验中测得不均衡度只有0.03 dB,插入损耗－0.6 dB.基于这种耦合器的新型热光开关,其插入损耗为－6.8 dB,其中包括光纤-波导耦合损耗－4.3 dB,开关时间为6.8 μs.