Investigation by infrared absorption of the by-products of the cyanoethylation of cotton cellulose

The soluble cyanoethyl ether of cellulose, prepared by reaction in the presence of NaOH catalyst to high degrees of substitution (DS = 2.95), can be precipitated by various organic media and contains more nitrogen than can be accounted for by simple addition of acrylonitrile at each cellulose hydroxyl group. Infrared absorption spectra of such samples and of the reacted residues show various types of vibrational absorption bands, characteristic of amino groups. At advanced stages of the reaction the characteristic broad unresolved band of cellulose extending from 1200–950 cm.^?1 largely disappears, leaving only a few weaker bands which likely overlap those due to C–N stretching. Comparison is made of the spectra of the partially cyanoethylated cellulose and the polyacrylonitrile which forms in the stock acrylonitrile, to characterize the products. It is inferred that the highly cyanoethylated cellulose, partly dissolved in the acrylonitrile, further degrades and changes under a complex mechanism to various forms of amines. The yellow to orange color of the samples is assumed to be due to these by-products. The thermogravimetric analysis reveals that these products are more heat-resistant than the cyanoethylated cellulose.     

Thiourea as a transfer agent in the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in aqueous solution at 42

Chain transfer involving thiourea in radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in acidic aqueous media has been studied by polymer endgroup analysis using the dye-partition technique. Thiourea has feeble reactivity in chain transfer, the transfer constant with respect to poly (methyl methacrylate) radicals being 1.21 × 10^?4 at 42°. This chain transfer study led to the development of a new method for studying the tautomeric equilibrium between the thione and thiol forms of thiourea. The equilibrium is pH dependent and the equilibrium constant at 42° is 232. The ratios of the equilibrium concentrations of the thiol to thione forms of thiourea at various pH's have been calculated. The thiol form is responsible for the chain transfer reactivity; it predominates in strongly acidic media and is almost absent above pH 3.5. This new method may be used for studying the thione-thiol tautomerism of other thiourea derivates.     

Preferred conformers in n-propanol: A PCILO study

Preferred conformers around the central C-C and C-O bonds in n-propanol have been determined using the quantum-mechanical PCILO method and compared with those observed experimentally by microwave spectroscopy. The agreement between theory and experiment is excellent, thus minimizing time consuming searches for microwave transitions corresponding to the preferred conformers.     

Theoretical analysis of the multi-rotational line TEA CO2 laser

A theoretical model for the multiline TEA CO₂ laser has been developed which takes into account the overlap of the P(20) line of (00⁰1) (10⁰0) regular band transition with the R(23) line of (01¹1) (11¹0) hot band transition. The model is used for the study of the influence of different parameters like laser gas temperature, gas mixture and pump rates on laser intensities of different rotational lines. This study explains the experimental results of the high power multiline TEA CO₂ laser very well.     

Stability,Formation and Dissociation Kinetics of the Pentacoordinate Ni2+ and CO2+ Complexes with 1,5-Diazacyclooctane-N,N′-diacetic Acid

The stability constants of the Ni²⁺ and Co²⁺ complexes with 1,5-diazacyclooctane-N,N′-diacetic acid (H₂DACODA) have been determined potentiometrically in 0.5M KNO₃ at 25°. Only M(DACODA) and M(DACODA)OH^? were observed. In addition the formation and dissociation kinetics of the pentacoordinate complexes M(DACODA) has been studied in aqueous solution using a stopped-flow technique. Formation follows the rate law v_f = k_f [M²⁺] [HDACODA^?]/[H⁺], which can be interpreted as a bimolecular process either between M²⁺ and DACODA^2? (k) or between MOH⁺ and HDACODA^? (k). The second order rate constants k are much higher than those expected from water exchange and can only be explained by a strong internal conjugate base effect. In the limiting case, however, this is equivalent to the second possible explanation, which assumes MOH⁺ and HDACODA^? as reactive species. The dissociation rate is given by v_d = (k^ML + k [H⁺]) · [M(DACODA)].     

Effect of monomer functional groups on the composition of some three component random phenolic copolymers

Some three-component random phenolic copolymers were prepared from three typical phenolic monomers; for example, p-chlorophenol, p-aminophenol, and p-cresol. Several samples of the copolymer were prepared by changing the feed composition and the composition of the copolymers was established by estimating ? NH₂ and ? OH groups by electrometric titration techniques in nonaqueous media. Halogen was estimated by Volhard's method. The average degree of polymerization (DP) of the copolymers was calculated from the features of the electrometric titration curves, and the effects of monomer functional groups on the composition of the copolymers were interpreted in terms of the electron-donating and electron-attracting nature of the substituents present in the monomers.     

Kinetics of heterogeneous cellulose reactions. I. Cyanoethylation of cotton cellulose

Sakurada's equation and fundamental kinetic laws were applied to the heterogeneous cyanoethylation of cellulose, performed by reacting fiber with liquid acrylonitrile, with sodium hydroxide as the catalyst. The data fit Sakurada's equation better at higher temperatures; deviation occurs at the initial stage, and the rate of reaction falls abruptly at a later stage. The degree of substitution at which the abrupt rate change occurred decreased as the temperature increased from 31 to 60°C. and also as the crystallinity of the fiber decreased. Diluting the reagent with different solvents decreased the rate of reaction and changed its transition points, but did not change the essential nature of the reaction, each segment of which fits Sakurada's equation very well. A uniform distribution of the catalyst (sodium hydroxide) throughout the fiber was attempted, and then the reaction was studied at 50°C. Diffractograms of the samples provided further evidence that the position of the rate change is associated with the change of cellulose (I) crystalline structure. Approximate energy of activation has been calculated, from the specific rate constants, between 31 and 40°C. as 10.6 kcal. and between 45 and 50°C. as 16.7 kcal. At other temperatures the determination was handicapped, due to temperature dependence of the order of reaction. An empirical relation between the constants of Sakurada's equation and the reaction temperature has been sought and correlated with the Arrhenius equation. Energies of activation, determined from this relationship, have been found to be very close to the above values. The change of order of reaction with temperature suggests that the reaction is affected by diffusion and the mechanism is interpreted as a diffusion-controlled reaction where hydrogen bonds play a significant role in diffusion.     

A Sensitive Spectrophotometric Determination of Nitrite in Water and Soil

A highly sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of nitrite in water and soil has been developed. The reaction of nitrite with acidified potassium iodide to liberate iodine which oxidizes leuco‐crystal violet (LCV) to form crystal violet having absorption maxima at 590 nm forms the bases of this method. In aqueous medium the system obeys Beer's law in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 μg per 25 mL (0.004–0.04 ppm), while in an extractive system the range is 0.025–0.25 μg in 100 mL (0.00025–0.0025 ppm). The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 1.54 × 10⁶ 1 mol^?1 cm^?1 and 44 pg cm^?2, respectively.     

A validated HPLC‐PDA method for identification and quantification of two bioactive alkaloids,ephedrine and cryptolepine,in different Sida species

A simple, rapid, accurate and reproducible reverse‐phase HPLC method has been developed for the identification and quantification of two alkaloids ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species using photodiode array detection. Baseline separation of the two alkaloids was achieved on a Waters RP‐18 X‐terra column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using a solvent system consisting of a mixture of water containing 0.1% Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and acetonitrile in a gradient elution mode with detection at 210 and 280 nm for ephedrine and cryptolepine, respectively. The calibration curves were linear in a concentration range of 10–250 µg/mL for both the alkaloids with correlation coefficient values >0.99. The limits of detection and quantification for ephedrine and cryptolepine were 5 and 10 µg/mL and 2.5 and 5 µg/mL, respectively. Relative standard deviation values for intra‐day and inter‐day precision were 1.22 and 1.04% for ephedrine and 1.71 and 2.06% for cryptolepine, respectively. Analytical recovery ranged from 92.46 to 103.95%. The developed HPLC method was applied to identify and quantify ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.