New method for strength improvement of silica optical fibers

The reliability and the expected lifetime of optical fibers used in telecommunication technologies are closely related to the chemical environment action on the silica network. To ensure the long-term mechanical strength of the optical fibers, a polymer coating was applied onto the fiber surface during fiber fabrication. This external coating is vital to ensure a long optical fiber lifetime. Its protective action includes several functions, such as to protect glass fiber from any external damage, to limit chemical attack, in particular that of water, and finally to ensure fatigue protection and bending insensitivity, especially during handling and in-service installation. Since the mechanical strength of the fiber is controlled by its surface characteristics, we propose a new method for increasing fiber strength.The silica optical fibers used were 125 μm in diameter, with a 62.5 μm thick epoxy-acrylate coating. Fibers were rolled up around two similar cylinders. Using a screw, these cylinders moved away from one another and thus subjected the fibers to stretching. Submitted to this mechanical loading, the distended fibers were plunged into hot water at 65 or 85 °C and aged for several days. Then, the fibers were removed from the water and various weights were suspended on the fiber ends. Thus, the fibers were subjected to a tensile loading in static fatigue for several days. Just before fiber rupture, the fibers were unloaded and subjected to dynamic tensile tests at different velocities.Result analysis proved that the aging in hot water increased the fiber strength. The Weibull's diagram study shows a bimodal dispersion of defects on the fiber surface and the important role of polymer coating.     

Optimal method for preparing sulfonated polyaryletherketones with high ion exchange capacity by acid-catalyzed crosslinking for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Sulfonated polyaryletherketones (SPAEK) bearing four sulfonic acid groups on the phenyl side groups were synthesized. The benzophenone moiety of polymer backbone was further reduced to benzydrol group with sodium borohydride. The membranes were crosslinked by acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction without sacrifice of sulfonic acid groups and ion exchange capacity (IEC) values. Crosslinked membranes with the same IEC value but different water uptake could be prepared. The optimal crosslinking condition was investigated to achieve lower water uptake, better chemical stability (Fenton's test), and higher proton conductivity. In addition, the hydrophilic ionic channels from originally course and disordered could be modified to be narrow and continuous by this crosslinking method. The crosslinked membranes, CS4PH-40-PEKOH (IEC = 2.4 meq./g), reduced water uptake from 200 to 88% and the weight loss was reduced from 11 to 5% during the Fenton test compared to uncrosslinked one (S4PH-40-PEK). The membrane showed comparable proton conductivity (0.01–0.19 S/cm) to Nafion 212 at 80°C from low to high relative humidity (RH). Single H₂/O₂ fuel cell based on the crosslinked SPAEK with catalyst loading of 0.25 mg/cm² (Pd/C) exhibited a peak power density of 220.3 mW/cm², which was close to that of Nafion 212 (214.0 mW/cm²) at 80°C under 53% RH. These membranes provide a good option as proton exchange membrane with high ion exchange capacity for fuel cells.     

Physical and photo-electrochemical properties of oxygen-rich delafossite CuYO2.25

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - CuYO2.25, prepared by soft chemistry, crystallizes in a pseudo delafossite structure and exhibits p-type conductivity. The oxygen inserts reversibly in the...     

Crystal structure of penthylenediammonium pentachlorothallate(III)

The penthylenediammonium pentachlorothallate(III) salt is orthorhombic with the following unit cell dimensions: a = 7.696(3) Å, b = 13.2890(17) Å, and c = 13.503(18) Å, space group P2₁2₁2₁ with Z = 4. The structure was solved by Patterson methods and refined to a final R value of 0.0387 for 1991 observed reflections. The structure consists of penthylenediammonium cations and polynuclear anions in which slightly distorted [TlCl₆]^3– octahedral sharing two vertices are interconnected into chains. These chains are themselves interconnected by means of the N–HCl bonds originating from the [NH₃(CH₂)₅NH₃]²⁺ entities forming a three-dimensional network.     

The synthesis of silica-supported chiral BINOL: Application in Ti-catalyzed asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

Chiral BINOL was covalently anchored on two different pore sized mesoporous silica (SBA-15 (7.5 nm) and MCF (14 nm)). These heterogenized ligands were used in Ti-catalyzed asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes. High catalytic activity with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 94% ee) for secondary alcohols was achieved using MCF supported chiral BINOL under heterogeneous reaction conditions. Good to excellent enantioselectivity (ee, 68–91%) was also achieved with various small to bulkier aldehydes. The MCF supported catalyst was reused in multiple catalytic runs without loss of enantioselectivity.     

On the computation of material forces in continuum‐atomistic modelling

Material forces govern the behavior and evolution of defects in solids. In elastic materials these forces which are associated with the Eshelby stress tensor are used to describe fracture sensitivities and can be employed to compute the J‐integral [2]. Since crack propagation begins with a variety of fundamental processes which occur within highly localized ultra–fine volume of material that constitute the fracture process zone surrounding a crack tip [3], the question of appropriate growth criteria, i.e. how far and in which direction a crack will glide under a certain loading condition is implied by the material force. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Optical band gap and conductivity measurements of polypyrrole-chitosan composite thin films

Electrical conductivity and optical properties of polypyrrole-chitosan（PPy-CHI） conducting polymer composites have been investigated to determine the optical transition characteristics and energy band gap of composite films.The two electrode method and I-V characteristic technique were used to measure the conductivity of the PPy-CHI thin films,and the optical band gap was obtained from their ultraviolet absorption edges.Depending upon experimental parameter,the optical band gap（E_g） was found within 1.30-2.32 eV as estimated from optical absorption data.The band gap of the composite films decreased as the CHI content increased.The room temperature electrical conductivity of PPy-CHI thin films was found in the range of 5.84×10^-7-15.25×10^-7 S·cm^-1 depending on the chitosan content.The thermogravimetry analysis（TGA） showed that the CHI can improve the thermal stability of PPy-CHI composite films.     

Immobilized dimeric chiral Mn(III) salen complex on short channel ordered mesoporous silica as an effective catalyst for the epoxidation of non-functionalized alkenes

Chiral dimeric Mn(III) salen complex with 1R, 2R-(?)-diaminocyclohexane collar was immobilized on short channel large pore sized silica through a long linker of {(CH₂)₃–NH–melamine–piperazine} to investigate its performance in enantioselective epoxidation of chromenes, indene, styrene and cis β-methyl styrene in the presence of pyridine N-oxide (PyNO) as an axial base using aqueous NaOCl as an oxidant at 0 °C. The immobilized catalyst system showed high turnover frequency (TOF) and enantioselectivity for the smaller and bulkier alkenes like styrene, indene, 2,2-dimethylchromene and 6-cyano-2,2-dimethylchromene (ee up to 98%). These results are the best reported for heterogeneous catalyst under biphasic reaction conditions and were comparable to the dimeric Mn(III) salen system under homogeneous condition. The performance of the immobilized catalyst was retained for six reuse experiments. This protocol was extended to the synthesis of an antihypertensive drug (S)-Levchromakalim (ee 98%) at 1 g level.