Synthesis and characterization of novel perfluorinated polyimides with 3D‐controlled structures for photonic applications

We have designed and synthesized novel perfluorinated polyimides with 3D controlled structure. At first, we successfully developed the new synthetic routes to diamines with pendant bulky perfluorinated aromatic units in a multi‐step synthetic procedure. Novel perfluorinated polyimides were prepared in a two‐step reaction in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone (NMP) solution: The first step was for the synthesis of polyamic acids (PAAs) and the second reaction was for the imidization of PAA. The polymer yield was over 89% and the inherent viscosity of PAAs was in the range of 0.24–0.36 dL/g. The thin films were prepared by spin‐coating the PAA solution in NMP onto various substrates such as a Si wafer or a KBr pellet, dried at 80 °C and further cured at 230 °C. The resultant polyimides are thermally stable over 400 °C. The refractive index and birefringence of the resultant polyimides are 1.5858–1.6452 and 0.01–0.005, respectively. The refractive index of polyimide decreases with increasing the fluorine content. The copolymerization and the ether linkages into the backbone reduce the birefringence of polyimides. Surprisingly, the pendant ether linkage is not a crucial factor in reducing the polyimide birefringence. Their birefringence is comparatively very low, compared with that of previous polyimides. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1326–1342, 2006     

Melting behaviors,crystallization kinetics,and spherulitic morphologies of poly(butylene succinate) and its copolyester modified with rosin maleopimaric acid anhydride

This article investigated the melting behaviors, crystallization kinetics, and spherulitic morphologies of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and its copolyester (PBSR) modified with rosin maleopimaric acid anhydride, using wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and polarized optical microscope. Subsequent DSC scans of isothermally crystallized PBS and PBSR exhibited two melting endotherms, respectively, which was due to the melt‐recrystallization process occurring during the DSC scans. The equilibrium melting point of PBSR (125.9 °C) was lower than that of PBS (139 °C). The commonly used Avrami equation was used to describe the isothermal crystallization kinetics. For nonisothermal crystallization studies, the model combining Avrami equation and Ozawa equation was employed. The result showed a consistent trend in the crystallization process. The crystallization rate was decreased, the perfection of crystals was decreased, the recrystallization was reduced, and the spherulitic morphologies were changed when the huge hydrogenated phenanthrene ring was added into the chain of PBS. The activation energy (ΔE) for the isothermal crystallization process determined by Arrhenius method was 255.9 kJ/mol for PBS and 345.7 kJ/mol for PBSR. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 900–913, 2006     

Complex homogeneous splines on the torus

We construct functions M_α which are piecewise homogeneous polynomials on the (d+1)-dimensional torus U^d+1. These functions possess complete symmetry with respect to the independent variables. The symmetry and homogeneous relations for these functions are exploited to obtain a recurrence relation and explicit representations. Furthermore, we show that , where ω=e^12x/k, 0≤j_t≤k−1, are linearly independent. By restricting M_α to U^d, we obtain the complex analogue of polynomial box splines on a (d+1)-direction mesh on U^d, which is a multivariate analogue of B-splines on the circle studied by I.J. Schoenberg^[8].     

Acetic anhydride as a synthetic reagent

Acetic anhydride has been used widely in synthetic organic chemistry, especially in syntheses and transformations of heterocyclic compounds. These utilities are reviewed under the following classification.     

Radiation Effects on Concentrated Potassium Hexacyanoferrate(III) Solutions

The neutron irradiated potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) solutions were analyzed for Fe(CN)₆^4?, Fe(CN)₆^3?, and Prussian blue. The retention values (1.1%) were constant throughout the pH and concentration ranges studied, and did not change with the length of irradiation. The complex behavior of the radiochemical yield of the Fe(CN)₆^4? and Prussian blue was attributed to the competition of the various reactions involved in the irradiation.