Growth Mechanism of Large Monodispersed Silica Particles Prepared from Tetraethoxysilane in the Presence of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

Monodispersed silica particles up to ca. 1.2 μm in diameter were prepared by hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The particle size was increased with an increase of SDS added. The geometrical standard deviation of the particles was decreased with an increase of SDS. In the earlier reaction stage, double spherical particles by the coalescence of the particles were frequently observed when large amounts of SDS were added. Particle size was gradually increased after the coalescence occurred and spherical particles were finally obtained. The results of Nielsen’s chronomal analysis suggest that the polynuclear layer growth took place after the coalescence of the particles in the presence of larger amount of SDS.     

Preparation and Ferroelectric Properties of YMnO3 Thin Films with c-Axis Preferred Orientation by the Sol-Gel Method

Hexagonal YMnO₃ has a ferroelectric property with an optimal remanent polarization along the c-axis. The c-axis oriented YMnO₃ thin films with a small leakage current were prepared by the sol-gel dipping method. The c-axis orientation of the films was promoted by the addition of diethanolamine to the Mn precursor solution. A heat treatment with multiple steps led to a dense film structure with fine grains. The dense structure resulted in the decrease of the leakage current. Furthermore, when the films were heat-treated in a vacuum, the leakage current became considerably small and the ferroelectricity of the YMnO₃ thin films was observed even at room temperature.     

Application of Protonic Acid-Doped Silica Gels to Electric Double-Layer Capacitors

Silica gels doped with several protonic acids such as HClO₄, H₂SO₄ and H₃PO₄ have been prepared by the sol-gel method and totally solid electric double-layer capacitors have been successfully fabricated using the highly proton-conductive silica gels as an electrolyte and activated carbon powder (ACP) hybridized with the silica gels as a polarizable electrode. It was found that the addition of HClO₄, which had the highest value of acid dissociation constant among these three acids, most effectively increased the proton conductivity of the resultant acid-doped silica gels. Tablets of the HClO₄-doped silica gels exhibited conductivities as high as 10^–5–10^–2 S cm^–1 at room temperature in dry N₂ atmosphere. One of the capacitors fabricated using the protonic acid-doped silica gels had a capacitance of 44 F/(gram of total ACP in the capacitor), which was comparable to those of conventional capacitors using liquid electrolytes.     

Synthesis of ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles for liquid scintillators used in the detection of neutrinoless double beta decay

We synthesized liquid scintillators incorporating ZrO₂ nanoparticles for application in neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. ZrO₂ nanoparticles of less than 10 nm in size were synthesized with sub- and supercritical hydrothermal methods. The Zr concentrations in the liquid scintillators were determined to be up to 1.4 wt% with inductively coupled plasma analysis, and the liquid scintillators were transparent to scintillation. These results indicate that these methods are applicable for the preparation of liquid scintillators for neutrinoless double beta decay experiments.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of anti HIV-1 active (+)-calanolide A through a quinine-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular oxo-Michael addition

Enantioselective total synthesis of anti HIV-1 active (+)-calanolide A was achieved by a quinine-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular oxo-Michael addition as a key step.     

High modulus polyimide/polyimide molecular composite films that utilize acetylene unit as a crosslink site

Polyimide/polyimide molecular composite (MC) films comprised of a rigid polyimide derived from biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and p-phenylenediamine (PDA) and a flexible polyimide derived from BPDA and bis (3,3'-diaminodiphenyl) acetylene (intA) and/or oxydianiline (ODA) were prepared by blending the polyamic acid solutions in 7 : 3 weight ratio, and then imidizing the blend films. Acetylene content in the flexible polyimide backbone was controlled by the ratio of intA and ODA. Cold-drawing of the blend polyamic acid films, followed by imidization, gives high modulus polyimide/polyimide MC films. The modulus of the MC films increased almost linearly with the draw ratio, reaching 25.5 GPa for the 40% drawn film. Acetylene groups in the flexible polyimide can be thermally cured to crosslink. The onset of exotherm appeared at 340°C on DSC, reaching maximum at 398°C. After the thermal crosslinking, the MC films maintained the high modulus, though elongation became small. Taking advantage of the crosslinkable acetylene units, two MC films were laminated and processed at 400°C for 20 min under 100 kg/cm² to give a good-quality laminate film. The interface of the two films was strongly bonded through the crosslinking of acetylene groups. Laminate films maintained the high modulus afforded by the cold-drawing. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Reactions of 1,2-dimethoxytetramethyldisilane with styrenes: Formation of a new type of silacyclopentanes having phenyl substituents on ring carbons

The reaction of 1,2-dimethoxytetramethyldisilane with styrene and α-methylstyrene in the presence of NaOMe catalyst in tetrahydrofuran (THF) gave the new silacyclopentanes 1,1-dimethyl-2,4-diphenyl-1-silacyclopentane (IIIa) and 1,1,2,4-tetramethyl-2,4-diphenyl-1-silacyclopentane (IIIb), respectively. These silacyclopentanes were found to exist as cis-trans mixtures. The use of sodium metal in place of NaOMe afforded similar results. Reactions of a polysilane mixture, MeO-(SiMe₂)_nOMe (n ≧ 3), with the styrenes also gave similar results. In some cases, polysilacycloalkanes such as 1,2,3-trisilacyclopentanes (IV) and 1,2,3,4-tetrasilacyclohexanes (V) were obtained as by-products. A mechanism for the formation of the silacyclopentanes and polysilacycloalkanes is presented. It was found that electron impact decomposition of silacyclopentanes IIIa and IIIb, trisilacycloalkane IV and tetrasilacycloalkane V gave molecular ions corresponding to the silacyclopropane, cyclotrisilane and cyclotetrasilane systems.     

Solvent extraction and spectrophotometric determination of iron(II) with 2,2′-dipyridyl-2-furancarbothiohydrazone

2,2′-Dipyridyl-2-furancarbothiohydrazone (DPFTH) was used for the spectrophotometric determination of trace amount of iron(II) after the extraction process. Iron(II) can be quantitatively extracted with DPFTH in benzene from aqueous solution buffered to 3.0–8.0. The extracted species has absorption maxima at 440, 477, and 738 nm and obeyed Beer's law over the range 0–40 μg of iron in 10 ml at 738 nm. The molar absorptivity at this wave length is 1.17 × 10⁴ liters mole^?1 cm^?1. The proposed method is relatively selective for iron(II) and is satisfactorily applied to the determination of the total iron in natural waters. The proton dissociation constants of the ligand determined spectrophotometrically were pK_a1 = 2.88 and pK_a1 = 6.70 at 25 °C and μ = 0.1.