Emulsion polymerization of styrene. III. Effect of Ti(III) and Cl(1) on the polymerization of styrene initiated by potassium persulfate

The emulsion polymerization of styrene initiated by potassium persulfate catalyzed by Ti⁺³ ions was studied. Two sources of Ti⁺³ ions were used: the titanium trichloride and titanium sulfate. It was found that the titanium ions used in conjunction with potassium persulfate decrease both the reaction rate and the average molecular weight. An even greater drop of reaction rate was noted when chlorine anions (TiCl₃) were present. The presence of these ions had a stabilizing effect on the polydispersity.     

Effect of flame-sprayed Al–12Si coatings on the failure behaviour of pressurized fibre-reinforced composite tubes

Internal pressurization testing at room temperature was performed to evaluate the effect of flame-spraying aluminum-12silicon on the leakage behavior of fibre-reinforced composite tubes fabricated by filament winding, and covered with garnet sand. A group of specimens were completely coated with flame-sprayed metal particles and another set remained uncoated. t-tests were conducted at a significance level of α = 0.05 to analyze the effect of the coating on the leakage behavior of the specimens. Ultraviolet imaging was used to illustrate a characteristic leakage pattern of the composite tubes. Coated specimens exhibited slightly higher mean leakage and burst pressures than the uncoated specimens. The t-test results provided strong statistical evidence that the flame spraying process employed did not damage the filament wound tubes covered with garnet sand.     

Esters flash point prediction using artificial neural networks

In this article, an artificial neural network to predict the flash point of 95 esters was implemented. Four variables were used for its development. A neural network with 4‐5‐8‐5‐1 topology was encountered to gain the best agreement of the experimental results with those predicted (square correlation coefficient (R²) and root mean square error were 0.99 and 5.46 K for the training phase and 0.96 and 13.02 K for the testing set). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Microwave spectrum and Structure of Benzenesulphonyl chloride

The microwave spectrum has been investigated for the molecule of Benzenesulphonyl chloride within the 8–18 Ghz frequency region. Several a and b type bands corresponding to the Cl³⁵ and Cl³⁷ Isotopes were observed and assigned.

We have also used the CNDO/2 method in order to estimate some molecular parameters and the dipole moment. The theoretical calculation and the experimental data have been joined to derive a reliable structure of the molecule concluding that the Cl is located on the plane of the benzene ring.     

Metal Oxide Assisted Preparation of Core–Shell Beads with Dense Metal–Organic Framework Coatings for the Enhanced Extraction of Organic Pollutants

Dense and homogeneous metal–organic framework (MOF) coatings on functional bead surfaces are easily prepared by using intermediate sacrificial metal oxide coatings containing the metal precursor of the MOF. Polystyrene (PS) beads are coated with a ZnO layer to give ZnO@PS core–shell beads. The ZnO@PS beads are reactive in the presence of 2‐methylimidazole to transform part of the ZnO coating into a porous zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) external shell positioned above the internal ZnO precursor shell. The obtained ZIF‐8@ZnO@PS beads can be easily packed in column format for flow‐through applications, such as the solid‐phase extraction of trace priority‐listed environmental pollutants. The prepared material shows an excellent permeance to flow when packed as a column to give high enrichment factors, facile regeneration, and excellent reusability for the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A. It also shows an outstanding performance for the simultaneous enrichment of mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (bisphenol A, 4‐tert‐octylphenol and 4‐n‐nonylphenol), facilitating their analysis when present at very low levels (<1 μg L^?1) in drinking waters. For the extraction of the pollutant bisphenol A, the prepared ZIF‐8@ZnO@PS beads also show a superior extraction and preconcentration capacity to that of the PS beads used as precursors and the composite materials obtained by the direct growth of ZIF‐8 on the surface of the PS beads in the absence of metal oxide intermediate coatings.