Effect of multiple H‐bonding on the properties of polyimides containing the rigid rod groups

To investigate the influence of hydrogen bonding on the properties of polyimides (PIs) containing rigid rod‐like groups, five symmetrical diamines containing benzimidazole, benzoxazole, and hydroxy group were synthesized, and then a series of PIs were prepared. Results showed that hydroxyl‐containing poly(benzoxazole imide)s possess higher glass transition temperature (T_g) and dimensional stabilities than their corresponding poly(benzoxazole imide)s. Moreover, the corresponding poly(benzimidazole imide)s presented the best performances, such as the highest T_g, the highest char yield and the highest dimensional stabilities. The influence of hydrogen bonding of benzimidazole on the properties of PIs was stronger than that of hydroxyl groups. Hydroxyl‐containing poly(benzoxazole imide)s were formed in crosslinking structures after heat treatment at 400 °C. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 570–581     

Mild Synthesis of Pt/SnO2/Graphene Nanocomposites with Remarkably Enhanced Ethanol Electro‐oxidation Activity and Durability

We have designed a new Pt/SnO₂/graphene nanomaterial by using L ‐arginine as a linker; this material shows the unique Pt‐around‐SnO₂ structure. The Sn²⁺ cations reduce graphene oxide (GO), leading to the in situ formation of SnO₂/graphene hybrids. L ‐Arginine is used as a linker and protector to induce the in situ growth of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) connected with SnO₂ NPs and impede the agglomeration of Pt NPs. The obtained Pt/SnO₂/graphene composites exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity and stability for the ethanol oxidation reaction as compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst owing to the close‐connected structure between the Pt NPs and SnO₂ NPs. This work should have a great impact on the rational design of future metal–metal oxide nanostructures with high catalytic activity and stability for fuel cell systems.     

Michael Addition Catalyzed by Chiral Secondary Amine Phosphoramide Using Fluorinated Silyl Enol Ethers: Formation of Quaternary Carbon Stereocenters

A chiral secondary amine phosphoramide was developed and identified as a powerful catalyst for the Mukaiyama–Michael addition of fluorinated enol silyl ethers to tetrasubstituted olefins. The resulting products are obtained with high enantioselectivities and contain a quaternary carbon stereocenter bearing either a difluoroalkyl or monofluoroalkyl group.     

Reduced Graphene‐Wrapped MnO2 Nanowires Self‐Inserted with Co3O4 Nanocages: Remarkable Enhanced Performances for Lithium‐Ion Anode Applications

A simple synthetic approach for graphene‐templated nanostructured MnO₂ nanowires self‐inserted with Co₃O₄ nanocages is proposed in this work. The Co₃O₄ nanocages were penetrated in situ by MnO₂ nanowires. As an anode, the as‐obtained MnO₂–Co₃O₄–RGO composite exhibits remarkable enhanced performance compared with the MnO₂–RGO and Co₃O₄–RGO samples. The MnO₂–Co₃O₄–RGO electrode delivers a reversible capacity of up to 577.4 mA h g^?1 after 400 cycles at 500 mA g^?1 and the Coulombic efficiency of MnO₂–Co₃O₄–RGO is about 96 %.     

Determination of the Dominant Species and Reactions in Non-equilibrium CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Thermal Plasmas with a Two-Temperature Chemical Kinetic Model

It has become increasingly clear that deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium occur in thermal plasmas. This paper is devoted to investigating the non-equilibrium characteristics of CO₂ thermal plasmas, which have wide application in industry. A two-temperature chemical kinetic model with a comprehensive chemical system is developed to calculate the non-equilibrium characteristics of CO₂ thermal plasmas for a wide temperature range, from 12,000 to 500 K, at atmospheric pressure. The non-equilibrium results are compared to the equilibrium composition obtained by Gibbs free energy minimization, and significant deviations are found at lower temperatures. Based on the dependence of molar fractions on temperature, the dominant species are determined in three temperature ranges. The dominant reactions are then obtained by considering their contribution to the generation and loss of the dominant species. Using the dominant species and reactions, the full model is simplified into three simpler models and the accuracy of the simplified models is evaluated. It is shown that this approach greatly reduces the number of species and reactions considered, while showing good agreement with the full model, with a root-mean-square error of no more than 4 %. Thus, the complicated physicochemical processes in non-equilibrium CO₂ thermal plasmas can be characterized by relatively few species and reactions. It is suggested that the two-temperature chemical kinetic model developed in this paper can be applied to the full range of pressures that occur in arc welding, arc quenching and other industrial applications. In addition, the simplified methods can be applied in multi-dimensional models to reduce the chemical complexity and computing time while capturing the main physicochemical processes in non-equilibrium CO₂ thermal plasmas.     

Simulation of dielectric resonator for a high-T_c radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device

Nowadays,the high-critical-temperature radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device (high-T c rf SQUID) is usually coupled to a dielectric resonator that is a standard 10 × 10 × 1 mm 3 SrTiO 3 (STO) substrate with a YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) thin-film flux focuser deposited on it.Recently,we have simulated a dielectric resonator for the high-T c rf SQUID by using the ANSOFT High Frequency Structure Simulator (ANSOFT HFSS).We simulate the resonant frequency and the quality factor of our dielectric resonator when it is unloaded or matches a 50-impedance.The simulation results are quite close to the practical measurements.Our study shows that ANSOFT HFSS is quite suitable for simulating the dielectric resonator used for the high-T c rf SQUID.Therefore,we think the ANSOFT HFSS can be very helpful for investigating the characteristics of dielectric resonators for high-T c rf SQUIDs.     

Dicarboxylic acid promoted immortal copolymerization for controllable synthesis of low‐molecular weight oligo(carbonate‐ether) diols with tunable carbonate unit content

Low‐molecular weight oligo(carbonate‐ether) diols are important raw materials for polyurethane formation, which with tunable carbonate unit content (CU) may endow new thermal and mechanical performances to polyurethane. Herein, facile synthesis of oligo(carbonate‐ether) diols with number average molecular weight (M_n) below 2000 g mol^?1 and CU tunable between 40% and 75% are realized in high activity by immortal copolymerization of CO₂/propylene oxide (PO) using zinc‐cobalt double metal cyanide complex (Zn‐Co‐DMCC) in the presence of sebacic acid (SA). M_n of the oligomer is in good linear relationship to the mole ratio of PO and SA (PO/SA) and hence can be precisely controlled by adjusting PO/SA. Besides, the molecular weight distribution is quite narrow due to the rapid reversible chain transfer in the immortal copolymerization. High pressure and low temperature are favorable for raising CU. In all the reactions, the weight fraction of propylene carbonate (W_PC) can even be controlled as low as 2.0 wt %, and the catalytic activity of Zn‐Co‐DMCC is above 1.0 kgg^?1 cat. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012