Degradable,Ultraviolet-Crosslinked Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives Made from Thioester-Functional Acrylate Copolymers

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are made from soft, irreversibly lightly crosslinked polymers. Even after removal from surfaces, they retain insoluble networks which pose problems during the recycling of glass and cardboard. Herein, degradable PSAs are presented that provide the required performance in use but have networks that can be degraded after use. A series of copolymers was prepared through radical copolymerization of n-butyl acrylate, 4-acryloyloxy benzophenone (ABP) photo-crosslinker, and dibenzo[c,e]oxepin-5(7H)-thione (DOT) to provide degradable backbone thioesters. The optimum tack and peel strengths were found for molar contents of 0.05 mol% ABP and 0.25 mol% DOT. Degradation of the backbone thioesters through aminolysis or thiolysis led to the full dissolution of the networks, loss of adhesive properties of films (decreases in the measured tack and peel strengths), and the quick detachment of model labels from a substrate. Inclusion of DOT into PSAs offers a viable route toward degradable and recyclable packaging labels.     

The effect of shear on colloidal aggregation and gelation studied using small-angle light scattering

In situ light scattering measurements were performed to investigate the effect of low shear rates (0.13-3.56 s(-1)) on an aggregating colloidal system made of 20 nm polystyrene particles. The aggregating system was subjected to a shear for a short period (ca. 33 s) and only once at various times after the onset of aggregation. The effect of shear (aggregation kinetics and morphology) was studied both in a cluster dilute and in a cluster dense regime (see introduction). Our results have shown that shear can enhance the aggregation and gelation. Shear induced growth can yield hybrid superaggregates when the system is dense.     

Microencapsulation Preservation of the Stability and Efficacy of Citrus Grandis Oil-Based Repellent Formulation against Aedes aegypti during Storage

Essential oils have been widely used as an active ingredient in mosquito repellent products. However, essential oils are highly unstable and prone to degradation when exposed to the environment during storage. Microencapsulation techniques help to maintain the stability of molecules in essential oils that are sensitive to environmental stress, and therefore improve shelf life. In this study, the physical stability and efficacy of a repellent formulation consisting of encapsulated Citrus grandis essential oil (CGEO) were evaluated under different storage conditions over a 12-month period by comparing the formulation with a non-encapsulated formulation. The formulations were both stored under two different storage conditions, i.e., 25 ± 2 °C/60% ± 5% relative humidity (RH) and 40 ± 2 °C/75% RH ± 5%, for 12 months. Droplet size, zeta potential, and pH value were measured after 1, 6, and 12 months of storage to determine their stability. For the study of efficacy, each formulation was tested against Aedes aegypti under laboratory conditions. We found that the microencapsulated formulation’s physical characteristics showed insignificant changes as compared with the non-encapsulated formulation during storage. The microencapsulated formulation demonstrated better repellent effects, sustaining high protection (>80%) for 4 more hours of exposure after 12 months of storage as compared with the non-encapsulated formulation that demonstrated high protection for only an hour post application. Microencapsulation helped to preserve the stability of the formulation, which resulted in high protection being maintained for over 12 months of storage.     

Compositions of the seed oil of the Borago officinalis from Iran

In order to investigate the composition of borage (Borago officinalis L.) seed oil, this research was performed under the field conditions at Shahriyar and Garmsar zones, Iran during the 2012 planting year. The oil yield of borage was 31.46% and 33.7% at Shahriyar and Garmsar zone, respectively, and nine and eight fatty acids were identified in the seed oil of borage at Shahriyar and Garmsar, respectively – palmitic, linoleic, stearic and γ-linolenic acids were dominant in the seed oil of borage from both zones. Unsaturated fatty acid content was more than the saturated fatty acids in both zones. The ratio of linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid in the borage cultivated at Shahriyar and Garmsar zones was 2.13 and 2.29. The fatty acid profile of Garmsar borage, oleic and oleic/linoleic acid ratio, increased. Locations with different ecological conditions resulted in changes in both seed oil content and fatty acid profile of borage.     

Sonochemically synthesis of pyrazolones using reusable catalyst CuI nanoparticles that was prepared by sonication

A simple and green process to prepare copper iodide in nano scale via sonication was carried out. Subsequently, this nanoparticles was used as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 2-aryl-5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-3-pyrazolones via four-component reaction of hydrazine, ethyl acetoacetate, aldehyde and β-naphthol in water under ultrasound irradiation. The combinatorial synthesis was attained for this procedure with applying ultrasound irradiation while making use of water as green ambient. Simple work-up, excellent yield of products and short reaction times are some of the important features of this protocol. Notably, this catalyst could be recycled and reused for five times without noticeably decreasing the catalytic activity.     

Synthesis of 2‐Oxopyridine‐Fused 1,3‐Diazaheterocyclic Compounds via a Three‐Component Reaction

An efficient and simple route for the preparation of 2‐oxopyridine‐fused 1,3‐diazaheterocyclic compounds via a three component reaction is described. It involves the reaction between alkylenediamines 1 , 1,1‐bis(methylsulfanyl)‐2‐nitroethene, and alkyl prop‐2‐ynoates 2 in refluxing THF (Table). The structures were corroborated by spectroscopic (IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and EI‐MS) and elemental analyses. A plausible mechanism for this type of cyclization is proposed (Scheme).     

Wormhole Geometries in f(R,T) Gravity

We study wormhole solutions in the framework of f(R,T) gravity where R is the scalar curvature, and T is the trace of the stress-energy tensor of the matter. We have obtained the shape function of the wormhole by specifying an equation of state for the matter field and imposing the flaring out condition at the throat. We show that in this modified gravity scenario, the matter threading the wormhole may satisfy the energy conditions, so it is the effective stress-energy that is responsible for violation of the null energy condition.     

Interactions between photodegradation components

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The interactions of p-cresol photocatalytic degradation components were studied by response surface methodology. The study was designed by central composite design using the irradiation time, pH, the amount of photocatalyst and the p-cresol concentration as variables. The design was performed to obtain photodegradation % as actual responses. The actual responses were fitted with linear, two factor interactions, cubic and [left-to-right mark] quadratic model to select an appropriate model. The selected model was validated by analysis of variance which provided evidences such as high F-value (845.09), very low P-value (<.0.0001), non-significant lack of fit, the coefficient of R-squared (R2 = 0.999), adjusted R-squared (Radj2 = 0.998), predicted R-squared (Rpred2 = 0.994) and the adequate precision (95.94). RESULTS: From the validated model demonstrated that the component had interaction with irradiation time under 180 min of the time while the interaction with pH was above pH 9. Moreover, photocatalyst and p-cresol had interaction at minimal amount of photocatalyst (< 0.8 g/L) and 100 mg/L p-cresol. CONCLUSION: These variables are interdependent and should be simultaneously considered during the photodegradation process, which is one of the advantages of the response surface methodology over the traditional laboratory method.