Epoxy resins and epoxy blends studied by near infra-red spectroscopy

The cure and the final network of epoxy resins have been investigated by numerous techniques, nevertheless a clear understanding of this network structure has not yet been achieved. FTIR analysis of polymeric materials provides highly precise measurements that are widely interpretable in terms of chemical structure. Yet the high absorption of fundamental bands requires careful sample preparation to reduce the thickness of the sample or special reflection techniques are needed. Furthermore, the occurrence of overlapping bands for epoxy resin (N-H and O-H vibrations in the 3000 cm⁻¹ region) renders the quantitative analysis in the region mid IR particularly difficult. However, the overtone and combination bands are 10–100 times weaker than the fundamental ones and are observed in near infrared (NIR) region. Longer pathlengths than Mid IR ones can be used allowing transmission analysis of thick samples (1-20 mm) without special preparation. NIR absorption bands have different intensities depending on the anharmonicity of vibrations. The strongest absorption bands are due to protons connected to carbon, nitrogen, oxygen. Hydrogen bonding due to inter- and intramolecular interactions can cause band broadening, peak position shifts and intensity variations. NIR spectroscopy is therefore a useful technique to investigate polymeric materials and was used to study the cure reactions of various epoxy resins cured with amine hardener. Using different NIR techniques (reflectance, transmission and microscopy) we will briefly present some results concerning hydrogen bonding between epoxy and amine hardener before curing, epoxy resins, glass/epoxy composites and epoxy/PES (polyethersulfone) blends.     

A versatile and rapid coating method via a combination of plasma polymerization and surface‐initiated SET‐LRP for the fabrication of low‐fouling surfaces

In this work, we demonstrate the potential of surface‐initiated single electron transfer living radical polymerization for surface modification applications that confer low‐fouling properties. The versatility of the technique, which can be applied to a wide variety of substrates, has been displayed by the successful grafting of a range of monomers after immobilizing a bromine initiator on the surface via plasma polymerization. The thickness of the grafted surfaces can be controlled through variation of reaction parameters such as monomer concentration, reaction time, and the ratio between catalyst and ligand. Furthermore, the low‐fouling properties of the resulting surfaces were demonstrated against fully concentrated serum proteins and adhesive fibroblast cells, via grafting of N‐hydroxyethyl acrylamide (N‐HEA) or [2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl‐(3‐sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide (SBMA). This rapid and versatile coating technique, which has the ability to be applied to a wide range of substrates, can be performed in aqueous conditions without the exclusion of atmospheric oxygen, and shows excellent potential for the surface modification of biomaterial surfaces that require low‐fouling properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2527–2536     

Independent Control of Elastomer Properties through Stereocontrolled Synthesis

In most synthetic elastomers, changing the physical properties by monomer choice also results in a change to the crystallinity of the material, which manifests through alteration of its mechanical performance. Using organocatalyzed stereospecific additions of thiols to activated alkynes, high‐molar‐mass elastomers were isolated via step‐growth polymerization. The resulting controllable double‐bond stereochemistry defines the crystallinity and the concomitant mechanical properties as well as enabling the synthesis of materials that retain their excellent mechanical properties through changing monomer composition. Using this approach to elastomer synthesis, further end group modification and toughening through vulcanization strategies are also possible. The organocatalytic control of stereochemistry opens the realm to a new and easily scalable class of elastomers that will have unique chemical handles for functionalization and post synthetic processing.     

Probing the Methyl Torsional Barriers of the E and Z Isomers of Butadienyl Acetate by Microwave Spectroscopy

The Fourier transform microwave spectra of the E and Z isomers of butadienyl acetate were measured in the frequency range from 2 to 26.5 GHz under molecular‐jet conditions. The most stable conformer of each isomer, in which all heavy atoms are located in a symmetry plane, was identified after analyzing the spectrum by comparison with the results from quantum‐chemical calculations. The barriers to internal rotation of the acetyl methyl group were found to be 149.1822(20) and 150.2128(48) cm^?1 for the E and Z isomers, respectively, which are similar to that of vinyl acetate. A comparison between two theoretical approaches treating internal rotation, the rho axis method and combined axis method, was also performed. The influence of the alkyl R chain on the methyl torsional barriers in CH₃ ‐COOR acetates was explored.     

On well-posedness for parametric vector quasiequilibrium problems with moving cones

In this paper we consider weak and strong quasiequilibrium problems with moving cones in Hausdorff topological vector spaces. Sufficient conditions for well-posedness of these problems are established under relaxed continuity assumptions. All kinds of wellposedness are studied: (generalized) Hadamard well-posedness, (unique) well-posedness under perturbations. Many examples are provided to illustrate the essentialness of the imposed assumptions. As applications of the main results, sufficient conditions for lower and upper bounded equilibrium problems and elastic traffic network problems to be well-posed are derived.     

Oxidation of organic sulfur compounds with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of crown ethers

Hydrogen peroxide oxidizes methyl phenyl sulfide and benzothiophene in the presence of crown ethers to the corresponding sulfoxides and sulfones. The oxidation is retarded by amino acids. UV and NMR spectroscopies show that, at the initial stage of oxidation, complexation occurs between crown ether, hydrogen peroxide, and sulfide, as well as between crown ether and amino acid.     

Isolation and identification of novel α-amylase inhibitors from Euonymus laxiflorus Champ.

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Euonymus laxiflorus Champ. (ELC) has been reported to possess potential antidiabetic activity. The aim of this study is to isolate and identify the active...     

In vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition,and in vivo anti-hyperglycemic effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Psidium littorale</Emphasis> Raddi leaf extract

Guava, belonging to family Myrtaceae, is widely grown in tropical countries. Different parts of guava are reported to have long been used in folk medicine. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo anti-hyperglycemic activities of Psidium littorale Raddi leaves extract were investigated. The results indicated that the leaf extract demonstrates relatively high intestinal α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in rats, twice as high as acarbose. In addition, the extract also induced lowering fasting blood glucose levels in streptozotocin- induced diabetic rats at the dose of 150 mg/kg body weight, and without any effect on normal rats. Moreover, the extract did not significantly induce body weight loss in rats. The results suggest that P. littorale Raddi may prove to be useful in treating diabetes in humans.