Relaxation of polyvinylchloride compositions

The relaxation of polyvinyl chloride, stabilized by dibasic lead carbonate or lead stearate and plasticized by a small amount of diisooctyl phthalate, was investigated. It was found that the lead stabilizers and diisooctyl phthalate accelerate the relaxation processes in the polymer. There is a correlation between the rate of the relaxation processes and the glass-transition temperature.Higher Chemicotechnological Institute, Sofia. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 916–919, September–October, 1972.     

Studies on some materials suitable for use as internal standards in high energy EPR dosimetry

EPR-spectroscopic properties (line-intensity,-width, andg-factors) of pyrolized at 550°C sucrose, MgO and MgO doped with Mn²⁺ ions (500∶1) remain unchanged after high-dose (1–100 kGy) irradiation, whereas CaO gives an EPR signal. These properties of these materials make it possible to use them as internal reference EPR standards in the work under conditions of strong ionisation environment, for precise determination of theG-values of other materials, for obtaining exact magnitudes of increase of the EPR response when the method of additional dose is applied, to follow the kinetics of decay of some radiation induced defects.     

Optical,film surface and photovoltaic properties of PTB7-Fx-based polymer-organic solar cells prepared in ambient conditions

Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on active layer of PTB7-Fx (x?=?0–100), conjugated block copolymer incorporating benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene and partly fluorinated thieno[3,4-b]thiophene units, and fullerene derivatives as phenyl C₆₁ and phenyl C₇₁ butyric acid methyl esters sandwiched between a transparent anode of indium tin oxide, a hole conducting layer of either poly(ethylene dioxythiophene) : polystyrene sulfonate or magnetron-sputtered molybdenum oxide and evaporated aluminum cathodes were fabricated. Polymer-organic thin films were prepared at 1:1.5 mass ratio of the donor:acceptor mixture and deposited from dichlorobenzene solution of different concentrations by spin coating in ambient conditions. To control the active layer morphology, the films were subjected either to post-deposition treatments (annealing) at different temperatures or incorporation of an additive such as diiodooctane. Optical transmission, film surface topography and thickness measurements were used to characterize the active layer. Test devices with the architecture described above were prepared and their current–voltage characteristics, quantum efficiency and impedance spectra were measured and used to compare the different active layers, architectures and deposition sequences.     

Sorption of inorganic nanoparticles in woven cellulose fabrics

Titanium dioxide was deposited from aqueous suspension onto cellulosic surfaces.Titania was sourced from Degussa (P25TM,70:30 anatase:rutile).Dry uptake of particles was shown to be rapid and dominant with one-third of the deposition occurring in less than 30 s and over one-half in the first minute.Isotherms were recorded to compare the rate of titanium deposition on dry and pre-wetted cotton.In the dry case uptake reached a maximum in 30 min whereas in the pre-wetted case the uptake was seen to continue beyond 180 min.A broad trend of higher deposition occurring at lower pH was seen,corresponding to the region where surface charges were opposite and thus attractive.Dry pickup was less significant at high pH.The response to varying ionic strength was complex and was attributed to the combined effect of charge screening,particle aggregation and consequent particle entrapment or occlusion.Titania deposition into the interstices of woven cotton sheets resulted in the formation of inorganic,nanoparticulate skeletons which could be isolated by controlled combustion of the cellulose and thus cotton was suggested to have potential for the templated synthesis of high surface area semiconductor materials.     

Synthesis of nylon‐6 triblock copolymers with bifunctional polymeric activators

ABA‐type copolymers were synthesized by the anionic polymerization of hexanelactam with the sodium salt of hexanelactam as an initiator and amino‐terminated polytetrahydrofuran telechelic functionalized with diisocyanates. Two types of diisocyanates, hexamethylene diisocyanate (1,6‐diisocyanatohexane) and isophorone diisocyanate (IF; 5‐isocyanato‐1‐isocyanatomethyl‐1,3,3‐trimethylcyclohexane), were used as precursors for polymeric activators (PACs). IF was used for the first time. It was proven that the PACs were incorporated as soft, flexible midblocks in the chains of hard nylon‐6 segments. The polymers were isolated and characterized with various spectroscopic techniques. The effects of the central PAC block (according to the type, molecular weight, and content) and the polymerization conditions on the kinetics, activation energies, molecular weights, and structures of the triblock copolymers were investigated. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4154–4164, 2000     

Inclusive and exclusive measurements in the projectile breakup of 7Li

The inclusive and exclusive measurements were carried out for ⁷Li projectile breakup on ²⁷Al target at 48 MeV. In the inclusive data we have observed a broad peak around the beam velocity for alphas and tritons. The exclusive data for alpha-triton coincidences show good agreement with the post-form DWBA theory of breakup reactions.     

Comparative investigation of irradiated meat by the methods of electron paramagnetic resonance and gas chromatography

A comparative study of irradiated pork meat containing bone was made by the methods of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and gas chromatography (GC). In this investigation EPR has the advantage to be a very fast and unambiguous method even in the cases of thermal treatment of bones. On the other hand, GC analysis is a time consuming procedure however, it becomes very valuable for meat samples that contain no bones.     

Tailor-made polymers and copolymers from aziridines and 1,3-oxacyclanes

Telechelic poly(tert-butylaziridine)s (polyTBA) and poly(1,3,6-trioxocane)s (polyTOC) and macromonomers were synthesized mainly by living cationic polymerization. Both, molecular weight and end-functionality distributions of polyTOC oligomers and polymers were studied using a combination of HPLC under “critical conditions”, gradient HPLC and SEC with double detection following a preparative HPLC fractionation. Monofunctional and bifunctional polyTBA with various end-groups were synthesized by the end-capping method. Several modification reactions were examined for terminal transformation of polyTBA and polyTOC hydroxy-telechelics into mono- and bifunctional vinyl ether macromonomers. Various tailor-made polymers based on uniform size telechelics and macromonomers were prepared using: 1. polymer-polymer coupling to produce block copolymers; 2. polyaddition of amino-functionalized telechelics to bisacrylamides; 3. addition of amino-polyTBA to polydienes; 4. synthesis of graft copolymers with well-defined graft component and networks.