Investigation of the ceriumIV oxidation of poly(vinyl alcohol)

Initiation of ceric ion-induced grafting from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) was studied by examining the formation and lifetime of colored complexes between cerium^IV and (1) a commercial PVOH, (2) a diol-free PVOH, and (3) several model 1,2-diols. UV/visible spectroscopy was employed using a wavelength of 520 nm. Results showed that the 1,2-diols, which are an inherent defect in PVOH, are the sites most reactive toward ceric ion. The observed rate constant for the reaction was found to increase with decreasing [Ce^IV] until the maximum rate was reached at which time reaction took place exclusively with 1,2-diols. The activation energy for oxidation of commercial PVOH at the maximum rate was 15.4 kcal/mol while that for diol-free PVOH was 22.4 kcal/mol. The 1,2-diols of PVOH displayed a high equilibrium constant for complexation with ceric ion, compared to the model 2,3-butanediol. It was suggested that the PVOH chain segments bring about crowding of the diol group, and this leads to a higher equilibrium constant for complexation. The lowest energy conformation of a PVOH chain segment containing a 1,2-diol linkage was calculated using the CHEMLAB-II molecular design program, and the 1,2-diol was predicted to be at the center of a sharp bend in the chain brought about by its presence.     

Styrene emulsion polymerization: Particle-size distributions

Data are presented on the time evolution of particle-size distributions (PSDs) in seeded and ab initio styrene emulsion polymerization systems. Initiation was by chemical reagent (potassium persulfate) or γ-radiation. The unswollen PSDs at various times during interval II of the polymerization were obtained by direct measurement of calibrated electron micrographs. Experimental results were fitted with the equations that describe the time evolution of an initial PSD. Analytic solutions to these equations that allow for entry, exit, and propagation of free radicals were obtained. The values of the rate coefficients for these processes used to fit the experimental data were in excellent agreement with those obtained from dilatometric kinetics experiments.     

Benzothiazolium derivatives. III. Nucleophilic substitution reactions of benzothiazolium salts

The reactions of 2,3-dihydrothiazolo[2,3-b]benzothiazolium bromide 1 (A^? ?Br^?) with certain nucleophilic reagents have been performed for the purpose of ascertaining the reaction pathways and identifying the group that is displaced from the central carbon atom of the dithiocarbamate system. The nature of complex salt-like intermediates formed initially from 1 (A^? ?Br^?) has been studied and confirmed. For comparison, a number of nucleophilic substitution reactions of 2-methylthio-3-methylbenzothiazolium iodide 17 and 2-dimethylamino-3-methylbenzothiazolium perchlorate 18 have been examined.     

Obtaining partial widths from siegert wavefunctions

It is shown that a simple expression for the partial widths in a multichannel decay problem can be readily obtained from a Siegert wavefunction.     

Electron pairing and chemical bonds. Molecular structure from the analysis of pair densities and related quantities

The Fermi holes are presented as a new means of analysis and visualisation of molecular structure. Based on these quantities it is possible to get clear and highly visual insight into the structure of molecular fragments (functional groups) even in molecules with complex bonding patterns like multicenter bonding, hypervalence, etc. In addition to allowing the detection and localization of multicenter bonding, the new approach also brings some new interesting possibilities for the quantitative evaluation of molecular similarity. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluation of heats of transition in scanning calorimetry

A procedure for the evaluation of heats of transition in scanning calorimetry has been developed. A formula for evaluation of the energy of fusion of a compound at its melting point is derived that takes into account the baseline shift that is attributable to the heat capacity change on melting. Several other calorimeter parameters of importance are discussed. These include heat exchange between calorimeter vessel and jacket, the time constant of the instrument, the scanning rate, and the heater placement.     

Li(thf)3cyclo-(P4tBu4CH)]--synthesis, molecular structure and dynamic behaviour

[Li(thf)3cyclo-(P4tBu4CH)] (2-Li), containing the first tetraphosphacyclopentanide anion cyclo-(P4tBu4CH)- (2), was prepared, and its dynamic behaviour in solution analysed by variable-temperature 31P NMR spectroscopy.     

Phase discrimination by automated BKD

Automated backscatter Kikuchi diffraction in the SEM enables rapid discrimination of phases and the automated acquisition of phase-distribution maps at sub-micron resolution, if the phases belong to different Laue groups and/or if their lattice constants are significantly different. The acquired database can be further used for quantitative determination of phase contents, for construction of crystal orientation maps, for characterization of grain and phase boundaries, for crystal texture analysis on a grain-specific level by calculating pole figures and orientation density functions separately for each phase, and for orientation stereology in general. Pattern-quality maps provide a clear reproduction of the microstructure on a meso-scale level.