Semiconducting organic polymer from polyacrylamide–Cu++ chelate and iodine

Semiconducting organic polymer was obtained by the modification of polyacrylamide (PAAm)–Cu⁺⁺ chelate with iodine in acetone. Favorable conditions for preparing the chelate effective for the conduction were investigated. Surface resistivities were affected by the amounts of cupric salts and iodine, satisfactory results being given by about 25 wt % of the salts based on PAAm and more than 1 wt % of iodine on the chelate. The conductivity was also varied with the degree of neutralization of the chelate in solution, and optimal values were obtained by addition of about an equimolar amount of potassium hydroxide to cupric salts. Effective structures of the polymer chelate in solution were assumed on the basis of the visible and the NMR spectra and potentiometric titration.     

SMSI effect on ceria supported Cu-Pd catalysts in the hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene

Ceria-supported copper-palladium catalysts have been tested in the hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene. The SMSI behavior of the bimetallic catalysts depended on the temperature of reduction. They were analyzed by H₂ chemisorption and XPS.     

Trace element exposure in man by instrumental neutron activation analysis of hair

A nondestructive instrumental neutron activation technique was used to analyze human hair samples collected from people living in metropolitan and rural areas in Korea. Samples were also collected from factory workers and cancer patients. Hair from metropolitan area residents contain higher concentrations of Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Na, Br, Mn, I and S than rural area residents. Concentrations of I and S from cancer patients, Mg, Zn, Al, Na, Mn and As from glassware workers were relatively higher. The results show that the trace element concentrations of the hair are possibly related to the trace element concentrations in the body.     

Nonenzymatic Glucose Detection with Good Selectivity Against Ascorbic Acid on a Highly Porous Gold Electrode Subjected to Amalgamation Treatment

A nonenzymatic glucose sensor with good selectivity for the ascorbic acid oxidation is presented. After the gold polycrystalline electrode was subjected to amalgamation treatment, two advantageous effects were observed. One is the enhancement of the surface roughness and the other is an increase in the catalytic current in the glucose oxidation. Besides the known first effect, the latter provided another advantageous effect in a fabrication of nonenzymatic glucose sensor. Using a gold electrode subjected to amalgamation treatment for 60 s, two calibration curves for glucose oxidation at two different potentials of ?0.1 V and 0.25 V were obtained and compared. At the potential of ?0.1 V, at which no ascorbic acid was oxidized and no interference effect was observed, a current sensitivity of 16 μA cm^?2 mM^?1 from zero to 10 mM glucose concentration range was obtained. At the other potential of 0.25 V, at which ascorbic acid was easily oxidized, a satisfactory calibration curve with negligible ascorbic acid interference was also obtained together with a more enhanced current sensitivity of 32 μA cm^?2 mM^?1.     

Biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyalkanoates) by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strains

Biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) consisting of 3-hydroxyalkanoates (3HAs) of 4 to 10 carbon atoms was examined in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strains. When the fadA and/or fadB mutant E. coli strains harboring the plasmid containing the Pseudomonas sp. 61-3 phaC2 gene and the Ralstonia eutropha phaAB genes were cultured in Luria-Bertani (LB) medium supplemented with 2 g/L of sodium decanoate, all the recombinant E. coli strains synthesized PHAs consisting of C4, C6, C8, and C10 monomer units. The monomer composition of PHA was dependent on the E. coli strain used. When the fadA mutant E. coli was employed, PHA containing up to 63 mol% of 3-hydroyhexanoate was produced. In fadB and fadAB mutant E. coli strains, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) was efficiently incorporated into PHA up to 86 mol%. Cultivation of recombinant fadA and/or fadB mutant E. coli strains in LB medium containing 10 g/L of sodium gluconate and 2 g/L of sodium decanoate resulted in the production of PHA copolymer containing a very high fraction of 3HB up to 95 mol%. Since the material properties of PHA copolymer consisting of a large fraction of 3HB and a small fraction of medium-chain-length 3HA are similar to those of low-density polyethylene, recombinant E. coli strains constructed in this study should be useful for the production of PHAs suitable for various commercial applications.     

Filler-elastomer interactions: influence of silane coupling agent on crosslink density and thermal stability of silica/rubber composites

In this work, the crosslink density and thermal stability of the silica/rubber composites treated by silane coupling agents, i.e., gamma-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APS), gamma-chloropropyl trimethoxysilane (CPS), and gamma-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (MPS), were investigated. The chemical structures of modified silicas were studied in term of solid-state 29Si NMR spectroscopy. The crosslink density of the composites was determined by swelling measurement. The development of organic functional groups on silica surfaces treated by coupling agents led to an increase in the crosslink density of the composites, resulting in increasing final thermal stability of the composites. The composites treated by MPS showed the superior crosslink density and thermal stability in these systems. The results could be explained by the fact that the organic functional groups of silica surfaces by silane surface treatments led to an increase of the adhesion at interfaces between silicas and the rubber matrix.