Living polymerization of styrene initiated by mercaptan/ε‐caprolactam

The bulk polymerization of styrene initiated by ?‐caprolactam (CL) and n‐dodecyl mercaptan (RSH) has been explored. This novel polymerization system shows living characteristics. For example, the molecular weight of the resulting polymers increases with conversion, and the system has the ability to form diblock copolymers and so forth. The polymer chain end contains thiol and lactam structures, which we have investigated with Fourier transform infrared, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR techniques. Electron spin resonance spectra and theoretical calculations by the Hartree–Fock methods have been used to examine the mechanism. The results reveal that the initial polymerization starts from thiol via a chain‐transfer reaction, and the propagation proceeds by the insertion of a monomer between the terminal group and the intermediate structure of lactam. Finally, the polymerization kinetics have been examined. The polymerization rate varies linearly with the concentration of CL and RSH, and this confirms the mechanism. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4976–4993, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of new segmented polyurethanes with side‐chain,liquid‐crystalline chain extenders

Liquid‐crystalline, segmented polyurethanes with methoxy–biphenyl mesogens pendant on the chain extender were synthesized by the conventional prepolymer technique and esterification reaction. Two, side‐chain, liquid‐crystalline (SCLC) polyurethanes with mesogens having spacers of six and eight methylene units were prepared. The structures of the mesogenic units and SCLC polyurethanes were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H NMR. Polymer properties were also examined by solubility tests, water uptakes, and inherent viscosity measurements. Differential scanning calorimetry studies indicated that the transition temperature of the isotropic to the liquid‐crystalline phase decreased with increasing spacer length. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) studies revealed the existence of liquid‐crystalline phases for both SCLC polyurethanes. Polarized optical microscopic investigations further confirmed the thermotropic liquid‐crystalline behaviors and nematic mesophases of both samples. Thermogravimetric analysis displayed better thermal stabilities for both SCLC polymers and indicated that the presence of mesogenic side chains may increase the thermal stability of segmented polyurethanes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 290–302, 2004     

Behavior and surface energies of polybenzoxazines formed by polymerization with argon,oxygen, and hydrogen plasmas

Polybenzoxazine (PBZZ) thin films can be fabricated by the plasma‐polymerization technique with, as the energy source, plasmas of argon, oxygen, or hydrogen atoms and ions. When benzoxazine (BZZ) films are polymerized through the use of high‐energy argon atoms, electronegative oxygen atoms, or excited hydrogen atoms, the PBZZ films that form possess different properties and morphologies in their surfaces. High‐energy argon atoms provide a thermodynamic factor to initiate the ring‐opening polymerization of BZZ and result in the polymer surface having a grid‐like structure. The ring‐opening polymerization of the BZZ film that is initiated by cationic species such as oxygen atoms in plasma, is propagated around nodule structures to form the PBZZ. The excited hydrogen atom plasma initiates both polymerization and decomposition reactions simultaneously in the BZZ film and results in the formation of a porous structure on the PBZZ surface. We evaluated the surface energies of the PBZZ films polymerized by the action of these three plasmas by measuring the contact angles of diiodomethane and water droplets. The surface roughness of the films range from 0.5 to 26 nm, depending on the type of carrier gas and the plasma‐polymerization time. By estimating changes in thickness, we found that the PBZZ film synthesized by the oxygen plasma‐polymerization process undergoes the slowest rate of etching in CF₄ plasma. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4063–4074, 2004     

Viscosity,particle size distribution,and structural investigation of tetramethyloxysilane/2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate sols during the sol–gel process with acid and base catalysts

The tetramethoxysilane (TMOS)/2‐hydroxylethyl methacrylate (HEMA) hybrid gels were synthesized with acid and base catalysts, via the in situ polymerization of HEMA, with and without the cosolvent methanol. With methanol in the TMOS/HEMA sol, the enhanced esterification and depolymerization reactions of the silanols resulted in a slower growth of silica particles. The silica particles that were synthesized with an acid catalyst were less than 40 nm. The thermal resistance of the poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) chains was enhanced by the addition of colloidal silica. The Fourier transform infrared characterizations and the exothermal peaks on the differential scanning calorimetry traces of these hybrid gels indicated chemical hybridization occurring as a result of condensation of the colloid silica and PHEMA at higher temperatures. Hence, the residual weight content of the hybrid gel after its synthesis with the base catalyst was even higher than the content of TMOS in the hybrid sol. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3476–3486, 2004     

Determination of polymeric aluminum in soil extracted with a modified anion-exchange resin as a solid-phase adsorbent by ICP-AES.

In the present work, a new method was established by applying solid-phase extraction (SPE) to preconcentrate and separate polymeric aluminum (Al) and using ICP-AES to determine the polymeric Al, the total monomeric Al, and the total Al in soil extracts, respectively. A modified resin was prepared with impregnated 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfoxinate (HQS) on the anion-exchange resin. It has good recognition ability for Al fractions, compared to the commonly used cation ion-exchange resin, which has a better ability to adsorb cations and a weak ability to recognize detailed Al species. The optimum conditions for Al fractionation sorption, elution and separation and the interference of foreign ions were studied with the prepared resin by continuous column and batch procedures. Monomeric Al was bound to Pyrocathecol Violet (PCV) at pH 6.2, whereas the polymeric Al species did not react with PCV for at least 15 min. Because a stable complex of Al-PCV was not absorbed on the HQS modified resin, the polymeric Al could be preconcentrated on-line by the HQS-modified resin. The adsorbed polymeric Al was eluted with 3 mL of 3 mol L(-1) of HCl, and then detected by ICP-AES. The method has been applied to directly determine polymeric Al in soil extracts with high selectivity as well as a high preconcentration factor. It gives a limit of detection of 0.6 ng mL(-1) with a relative standard deviation of less than 5.7% (n = 5, 0.24 microg mL(-1) Al).     

Toughness mechanism in polypropylene composites: Polypropylene toughened with elastomer and calcium carbonate

Polypropylene (PP) was modified with elastomer or CaCO₃ particles of two different sizes (1 μm and 50 nm) in various volume fractions. The dispersion morphology and mechanical properties of the two systems were investigated as functions of the particle size and volume fraction of the modifier. The brittle‐to‐tough transition occurred when the matrix ligament thickness was less than the critical ligament thickness, which was about 0.1 μm for the PP used here, being independent of the type of modifier. At the same matrix ligament thickness, the improvement of the toughness was obviously higher with the elastomer rather than with CaCO₃, but adding CaCO₃ increased the modulus of PP. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1656–1662, 2004     

Microwave-assisted extraction of quercetin and acid degradation of its glycosides in Psidium guajava leaves.

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and microwave-assisted hydrolysis (MAAH) were developed for the sample preparation of guava leaves prior to GC determination of quercetin and its glycosides. Ethanol was selected as the solvent. The optimum MAE temperature, particle size, solvent volume and MAE time are 120 degrees C, 40 - 60 mesh, 20 mL and 5 min, respectively; the optimum MAAH temperature and time, HCl concentration, solvent are 100 degrees C, 5 min, 1.2 mol L(-1) HCl and ethanol, respectively.     

Concentrations of hazardous heavy metals in environmental samples collected in Xiamen, China, as determined by vapor generation non-dispersive atomic fluorescence spectrometry.

Non-dispersive atomic fluorescence spectrometry (NDAFS) coupled with vapor generation (VG) sample introduction was applied to the determination of the concentrations of hazardous heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, in seawater, soils and total airborne particulate matter (PM) collected around the Xiamen area in China. Almost 100% sample introduction efficiency was achieved by using thiourea and ascorbic acid for the pre-reduction of As(V) to As(III), K3Fe(CN)6 and tartaric acid for pre-oxidation of Pb(II) to Pb(IV), and masking the interferences arising from the co-existing transition metals to As, Cd, Hg and Pb during their vapor generation process. Moreover, a novel sample pretreatment device was developed to avoid the loss of mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic during sample pretreatment. With such methods, the detection limit (DL) of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury was down to 0.08, 0.03, 0.05, 0.01 ng mL(-1) (3sigma), respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSD, n = 11) for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury at 10 ng mL(-1) were 0.9%, 1.6%, 1.3% and 2.0%, respectively. The concentrations of hazardous heavy metals in the environmental samples collected in Xiamen, China are in the range from 0.02 +/- 0.001 ng mL(-1) in seawater to 15.3 +/- 0.2 microg g(-1) in soils. Besides flame/GF-AAS and ICP-AES/MS, VG-NDAFS should be another choice for the determination of hazardous heavy metals in environmental samples.     

Minisum collection depots location problem with multiple facilities on a network

We investigate the problem of locating a set of service facilities that need to service customers on a network. To provide service, a server has to visit both the demand node and one of several collection depots. We employ the criterion of minimizing the weighted sum of round trip distances. We prove that there exists a dominating location set for the problem on a general network. The properties of the solution on a tree and on a cycle are discussed. The problem of locating service facilities and collection depots simultaneously is also studied. To solve the problem on a general network, we suggest a Lagrangian relaxation imbedded branch-and-bound algorithm. Computational results are reported.     

用楔形柱面光纤微透镜耦合的1.3μm SOA组件

运用激光模式耦合理论分析了半导体光放大器(SOA)与单模通信光纤的连接损耗,并设计制作了楔形柱面光纤微透镜用来实现两者的模斑匹配,有效地降低了器件的光耦合损耗.本文介绍了楔形柱面光纤微透镜耦合的1.3 μm半导体光放大器(SOA)组件及其制作方法.该组件的最大增益不小于14 dB,其偏振灵敏度小于1 dB,增益波动不大于0.5 dB.