Dispersion and distribution of organically modified montmorillonite in nylon‐66 matrix

Nylon‐66 nanocomposites were prepared by melt‐compounding nylon‐66 with an alkyl ammonium surfactant pretreated montmorillonite (MMT). The thermal stability of the organic MMT powders was measured by thermogravimetric analysis. The decomposition of the surfactant on the MMT occurred from 200 to 500 °C. The low onset decomposition temperature of the organic MMT is one shortcoming when it is used to prepare polymer nanocomposites at high melt‐compounding temperatures. To provide greater property enhancement and better thermal stability of the polymer/MMT nanocomposites, it is necessary to develop MMT modified with more thermally stable surfactants. The dispersion and spatial distribution of the organic MMT layers in the nylon‐66 matrix were characterized by X‐ray diffraction. The organic MMT layers were exfoliated but not randomly dispersed in the nylon‐66 matrix. A model was proposed to describe the spatial distribution of the organic MMT layers in an injection‐molded rectangular bar of nylon‐66/organic MMT nanocomposites. Most organic MMT layers were oriented in the injection‐molding direction. Layers near the four surfaces of the bar were parallel to their corresponding surfaces; whereas those in the bulk differed from the near‐surface layers and rotated themselves about the injection‐molding direction. The influence of the spatial distribution of the organic MMT on crystallization of nylon‐66 was also investigated. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1234–1243, 2003     

Synthesis of New Plant Growth Regulators,Isomeric 1-(Dimethyloctyl)- and 1-Alkylpiperidinium and -morpholinium Halides by Telomerization of Isoprene with Secondary Amines

The known plant growth regulator, Al'den [1-(3,7-dimethyloctyl)-1-allylpiperidinium bromide], and also 1-(3,7-dimethyloctyl)-1-methylpiperidinium iodide were synthesized by treatment with allyl bromide and methyl iodide, respectively, of exhaustively hydrogenated 1-nerylpiperidine which was obtained by anionic telomerization of isoprene with piperidine. Various quaternary ammonium salts having a terpene sub- stituent with unnatural dimethyloctane skeleton, which effectively stimulate florification of Aster Chinensis L., were prepared by the action of alkyl halides on telomerization products derived from isoprene and piperidine or morpholine in the presence of palladium complexes.     

Effects of tributyltin(IV) chloride on the gametes and fertilization of Ascidia malaca (Ascidiacea: Tunicata)

Ascidia malaca gametes before fertilization incubated in 10^?5 or 10^?7 M solutions of tributyltin(IV) chloride, TBTCl, for 3 h appear highly damaged under transmission electron microscopy observation. Also, the fertilization process is affected by the compound: the damaged spermatozoa are present in the vitelline coat and the egg does not cleave. An increase of microbodies, structurally similar to peroxisomes, have been detected in the egg peripheral cytoplasm, probably in relation to their role in alleviating damage to some cellular components. The results have shown that the reproduction of ascidians under unfavourable environmental conditions is prevented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitive and simple cloud-point preconcentration atomic absorption spectrometry: application to the determination of cobalt in urine samples.

A new approach for developing a cloud-point extraction-flame atomic absorption spectrometric method has been described and used for the determination of cobalt. In this approach, water was removed from the final diluted surfactant rich phase obtained in cloud-point extraction procedure. The results indicated that removing water from this phase increased the enhancement factor by 4-fold. 1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) and octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) were used as a hydrophobic ligand and a nonionic surfactant, respectively. The chemical variables affecting the preconcentration step were optimized. The effect of the water concentration in the final diluted methanolic surfactant solution on the analytical signal was investigated. The results showed that the analytical signal decreased by 30% and 52% in 15% and 25% water concentrations in methanol, respectively. An enhancement factor of 115 was obtained for cobalt extracted from only 10 ml of a sample. The detection limit obtained under the optimal condition was 0.38 microg l(-1). The proposed procedure was applied to the determination of cobalt in urine samples.     

Depth profile analysis of polyimide film treated by potassium hydroxide

The structural change in the depth direction of a polyimide (UPILEX‐S) film treated in alkaline solution, which was a representative surface treatment used to form a seed layer for plating and to improve the adhesive strength, was analyzed by means of micro Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection (FTIR‐ATR) line analysis with gradient shaving preparation. The polyimide film was treated with KOH. The imide ring opened through the alkaline treatment, and the amide structure and carboxylic acid salt were formed. The attainment depth of this structural change was almost proportional to the treatment time, and it reached about 8 μm after a 30‐min treatment. The degree of structural change through the alkaline treatment was almost constant after it reached a considerably degraded stage, and the chemically changed region penetrated into the inner part of the film from the surface. An intermediate layer before the final degraded stage appeared in the treated layer, and its thickness increased with the treatment time. The region that was changed chemically by the alkaline treatment progressed to the inner part simultaneously and continuously as the treatment time increased. The combined use of gradient shaving preparation and micro FTIR‐ATR line analysis was found to be extremely effective for the depth profiling of organic materials. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2071–2078, 2003     

Focusing of singular beams

The process of focusing of an inhomogeneously polarized beam passed through a system consisting of a uniaxial crystal and a polarization filter is considered. It is shown that the action of this system is equivalent to the action of a phase transparency with a complex relief of the refractive index. In particular, if the angle between the axes of the quarter-wave plate and the polarizer is equal to 45°, this transparency has a helicoidal relief. Simultaneously, two singular beams with different curvatures of their wavefronts arise in the transparency. The action of the lens consists in formation of a combined singular beam having three focal waists. The boundary wave arising upon focusing is able not only to form a new spectrum of toroidal vortices, but also to straighten the focusing region, forming a fairly extended range with a weak divergence.     

Photoluminescence of liquid-crystal azo derivatives in nanopores

Optics and Spectroscopy - The fluorescence of the nematic liquid crystal n-butyl-n′-methoxyazoxybenzene (BMAOB) in the form of a layer and in porous glasses with pores of different diameter...     

Preface

Journal of Statistical Physics -