Charge density effects in salt‐free polyelectrolyte solution rheology

Solution rheology of 2‐vinyl pyridine and N‐methyl‐2‐vinyl pyridinium chloride random copolymers in ethylene glycol was studied over wide ranges of concentration and effective charge. The fraction of quaternized monomers α and the fraction of monomers bearing an effective charge f of these copolymers were measured using counterion titration and dielectric spectroscopy, respectively. Ethylene glycol is a good solvent for neutral poly(2‐vinyl pyridine), with very few ionic impurities. The viscosity η and relaxation time τ of dilute and semidilute unentangled solutions exhibit the scaling with concentration and effective charge expected by the Dobrynin model. Reduced viscosity data are independent of concentration in dilute solution, giving an intrinsic viscosity that depends on effective charge, and the experimental data obey the Fuoss law in the semidilute unentangled regime. Scaling concentration with the overlap concentration (c/c*) reduces these data to common curves, and c* ～ f ^?12/7 as predicted by the Dobrynin model, where f is the fraction of monomers bearing an effective charge. While the overlap concentration depends strongly on effective charge until counterion condensation occurs, the entanglement concentration c_e is surprisingly insensitive to effective charge, indicating that entanglement effects are not understood using the Dobrynin model. The terminal modulus G = η/τ depends only on the number density of chains G = ckT/N for c* < c < c_e, and G ～ c^3/2 for c > c_e independent of the effective charge. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2001–2013, 2006     

Mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEM fuel cell durability

The life of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is currently limited by the mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In this paper, the authors report recent experimental and modeling work toward understanding the mechanisms of delayed mechanical failures of polymer electrolyte membranes and MEAs under relevant PEMFC operating conditions. Mechanical breach of membranes/MEAs in the form of pinholes and tears has been frequently observed after long‐term or accelerated testing of PEMFC cells/stacks. Catastrophic failure of cell/stack due to rapid gas crossover shortly follows the mechanical breach. Ex situ mechanical characterizations were performed on MEAs after being subjected to the accelerated chemical aging and relative humidity (RH) cycling tests. The results showed significant reduction of MEA ductility manifested as drastically reduced strain‐to‐failure of the chemically aged and RH‐cycled MEAs. Postmortem analysis revealed the formation and growth of mechanical defects such as cracks and crazing in the membranes and MEAs. A finite element model was used to estimate stress/strain states of an edge‐constrained MEA under rapid RH variations. Damage metrics for accelerated testing and life prediction of PEMFCs are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

Structural study of 12 MeV electron irradiated polypropylene by X-ray diffraction

12 MeV electron beams with different doses of 4, 8, 16 and 32 Mrad from LINAC designed by Nanjing University have been used to irradiate polypropylene films and their structures studied by X-ray diffraction afterwards. We have found that the electron irradiation does not change the total crystallinity of polypropylene but greatly inflences its crystal structure with increase of phase and decrease of phase as irradiation dose increases (within 16 Mrad). However, it is unexpected that the structure of irradiated sample with 32 Mrad are similar to that of the control sample. This behavior has also been observed in positron annihilation lifetime measurements.     

Two new compounds from Zingiber officinale

A new cyclic diarylheptanoid,1,5-epoxy-3-hydroxy-1-(3-methoxy-4,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-heptane (1),as well as a new monoterpene,10-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-hydroxy cineole (2) were isolated from the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were established based on their spectral data.In addition,the antioxidant activities of these compounds were also measured.     

Two—dimensional Network Crown Ether Complex.Synthesis and Crystal Structure of 18—Crown—6 Complex：[K（18—C—6）]2[Cd—（nmt）2]

The novel complex [K(18-C-6)]2[Cd(mnt)2][18-C-6-18-crown-6,nmt=1,2-dicyanoethene-1,2-dithiolate,C2S2-(CN)2^2-] was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis,IR spectrum and X-ray diffraction analysis.The complex displays two-dimensional network structure of [K(18-C-6)] complex segments and [Cd(nmt)2] complex segment bridged by S-K-S,S-K-N and N-K-N interactions between adjacent[K(18-C-6)] and [Cd(mnt)2]units.     

Synthèse d'hétérocycles en catalyse par transfert de phase

A general study of the chemical behavior of heterocyclic anions, dianions and dianionic reagents under phase transfer catalysis conditions allowed us to synthesize various heterocyclic compounds such as imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole and derivatives; imidazo[2,1-b]thiazine and imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazepine. Reaction conditions e.g., catalyst, solvent, temperature, etc., are indicated.     

土壤胡敏酸的^13C核磁共振研究

胡敏酸(HA)是土壤有机质的重要组分,其结构性质与土壤形成和肥力特性有密切关系,长期以来一直是土壤化学研究的难点和重点之一。NMR是研究HA结构的有效手段。自Bar-ton和Schnitzer(1963)首次用~1H NMR研究土壤有机质以来,国外已先后应用~1H、~(13)C NMR和CP-MAS-~(13)C NMR等对土壤及其它来源的HA进行了许多研究,并取得引人注目的进展。但在国内,这方面研究还刚刚开始。本文应用~(13)C NMR方法对东北几种主要耕作土壤以及泥炭和猪粪的HA进行了结构表征,为土壤腐殖酸化学的基础研究提供了资料。     

Alkylation d'anions ambidents en catalyse par transfert de phase. Cas des hydroxypyridines

Alkylation of ambident-anions derived from 2- and 4-pyridones yield by phase transfer catalysis, 80% of N-substitution and 20% of O-substitution. Change of salts, solvents, temperature and alkyl halide do not interfere very much with the N- and O-alkylation percentage of substitution. Overall yields range from 40 to 80% with primary or secondary alkyl halides.