Theoretical Considerations on the Possibility of Enhancing the Effect of Temperature upon the Melt Viscosity of Linear Polymers by the Incorporation of Weak Bonds in the Chains. II. Kinetic Factors

On the basis of a realization of thermodynamic requirements as given in part I, simple kinetic considerations are applied to the processes of weak bond fission and block recombination from two distinct bases: (a) independence of rate constants and viscosity (or average molecular weight) of the polymer system; and (b) a diffusion-controlled situation where the rate of block recombination is governed by the viscosity of the medium. On the independent rate constant model, an activation energy for the recombination process of less than 40 kJ [mole (of weak bonds)]^?1 gives an acceptable rate of equilibration at ambient temperatures; this criterion ought to be readily satisfied in practice. However, considerations of diffusion control suggest that equilibration may be too slow to be practicable and this is probably the major limitation on preparing rigid polymers with temperature-varying molecular weights     

Influence of Gold Nanoparticle Film Porosity on the Chemiresistive Sensing Performance

The porosity of 1‐hexanethiol‐functionalised gold nanoparticle films was assessed and utilised as chemiresistor sensors. Electrochemical capacitance measurements showed that the accessibility of electrolytes of different ionic strengths into the pores depended on the thickness of the electric double layer formed. A large variation in capacitance was measured in 0.01–1000 mM NaClO₄, implying a wide pore size distribution. The change in morphology of the nanoparticle films upon storage in air, water and ethanol for two weeks was investigated. There was a significant decrease in the electrochemical capacitance at high electrolyte concentrations for the ethanol‐stored films compared to the freshly‐prepared films suggesting a decrease in the number of small pores of radii in the range of 0.3–3 nm. This was further supported by optical topographical measurements where a decrease in the thickness of ethanol‐stored films was observed relative to the freshly‐prepared films. The porous nature of the nanoparticle films was found to have an effect on the chemical sensing behaviour. When used as chemiresistor sensors, for the detection of heptane in water, the ethanol‐stored films provided larger resistance changes and longer response times. This suggests that the more densely packed ethanol‐stored films provided more sites that enabled film swelling, and that diffusion of the analyte occurred through the narrower water‐filled pores. This demonstrates the effect of different storage conditions on film morphology and subsequently sensor response.     

New Methods for β-Lactam Formation from β-Amino Acids Using (C6H5)3P/CC14 and (C6H5)3P/NBS

Triphenylphosphine/carbon tetrachloride and triphenyl-phosphine/N-bromosuccinimide were found to be very effective for β-lactam formation from β-amino acids in acetonitrile.     

POLYIMIDES,POLYQUINOLINES AND POLYQUINOXALINES: Tg-STRUCTURE RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

Since polyimides were invented more than 30 years ago, several books dealing with the subject have been published [33, 34, 40u, 48b, 55, 64]. While some of these books [33–35] have very thorough and systematic coverage of the chemistry and general physical, mechanical, and electrical properties of polyimides, most of the literature [40, 48b, 64] is made up of collections of results derived from application-related research on various polyimides. None of the earlier treatises is totally devoted to an understanding of the underlying principles involved in just a single, important property such as the glass transition temperatures of polyimides.     

One Pot Phase Transfer Synthesis of Trithiocarbonates from Carbon Bisulphide and Alkyl Halides

Symmetrical and cyclic alkyl trithiocarbonates were synthesized by reacting CS₂ and 33% aqueous NaOH with alkyl hal-ides under phase transfer catalysis conditions     

Polyvinyl alcohol-borate hydrogel containing Prussian blue for surface decontamination

A polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-borate hydrogel-based strippable surface decontaminant containing an ammonium salt and Prussian blue (PB) was developed for the removal of ¹³⁷Cs from various surfaces. This surface decontaminant can be easily prepared by the simple mixing of commercially available materials, such as PVA, borax, NH₄Cl and PB, in water, and the decontaminant can be peeled off surfaces due to its high elastic property after surface decontamination. The hydrogel displayed an effective removal performance for Cs from painted cement, aluminum, stainless steel, and cement surfaces and a potential for reusability. Therefore, the PB/PVA-borate hydrogel has good potential as a new surface decontaminant.     

CR Embeddings and Kähler Manifolds with Pseudo-Conformally Flat Curvature Tensors

Under certain conditions on co-dimension and curvature tensors, the image of some CR or holomorphic maps are proved to be totally geodesic.     

Deposition of a Continuous and Conformal Copper Seed Layer by a Large-Area Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Source with Embedded Lisitano Antenna

To deposit copper seed layer on ultra large scale integration devices, a large-area (Ø 378 mm) electron cyclotron resonance plasma has been generated by using permanent magnets-embedded Lisitano antenna. The plasma source operates in the pressure range of 0.2–1.5 mTorr with microwave power range of 500–2,000 W. By using a Langmuir probe, the electron density and temperature have been measured near the DC sputter target position. Measurements indicate argon plasmas having electron densities of ~5 × 10¹⁰/cm and electron temperatures of 5 eV with 750 W microwave power at gas pressures of 0.5 mTorr. Using this plasma source and a DC sputter, we obtained excellent conformal copper seed layer with high aspect ratios of 12:1. This is in contrast with conventional methods using magnetron sputter, which has aspect ratios of 2–3:1. Also, improvements are observed in the smoothness (root mean square roughness of 1.345 nm), uniformity (2.5 % at 300 mm wafer), and sidewall symmetricity (more than 95 %) of the copper seed layer.     

Highly efficient antimicrobial electrospun PVP/CS/PHMGH nanofibers membrane: preparation,antimicrobial activity and in vitro evaluations

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A highly efficient oligomer antimicrobial agent, polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMGH), is added to mixtures of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/chitosan...