Studies of photooxidative degradation of poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(ethylene oxide) blends

The photooxidative degradation of blends (in a full range of compositions) of amorphous poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with semicrystalline poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in the form of thin films is investigated using absorption spectroscopy (UV–visible and Fourier transform infrared) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The amount of insoluble gel formed as a result of photocrosslinking is estimated gravimetrically. It is found that the PVC/PEO blendsí susceptibility to photooxidative degradation differs from that pure of the components and depends on the blend composition and morphology. Photoreactions such as degradation and oxidation are accelerated whereas dehydrochlorination is retarded in blends. The photocrosslinking efficiency in PVC/PEO blends is higher than in PVC; moreover, PEO is also involved in this process. AFM images showing the lamellar structure of semicrystalline PEO in the blend lead to the conclusion that the presence of PVC does not disturb the crystallization process of PEO. The changes induced by UV irradiation allow the observation of more of the distinct PEO crystallites. This is probably caused by recrystallization of short, more mobile chains in degraded PEO or by partial removal of the less stable amorphous phase from the film surface. These results confirm previous information on the miscibility of PVC with PEO. The mechanism of the interactions between the components and the blend photodegradation are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 585–602, 2004     

Microcalorimetric Adsorption of Alumina Oxide Catalysts for Combination of Ethylbenzene dehydrogenation and carbon Dioxide Shift-reaction

Styrene (STY) is now produced industrially in fairly large quantities by the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EB) using promoted iron oxide catalyst with superheated steam.In this case, small amount of carbon dioxide formed as a by-product was known to inhibit the catalytic activity of commercial catalyst. Recently, there have been some reports which carbon dioxide showed positive effects to promote catalytic activities on the reaction over several catalysts.In this study, we attempted to combine the dehydrogenation of EB to STY with the carbon dioxide shift-reaction. The combine reaction (EB + CO2 → STY + H2O + CO) can be considered as one of the ways of using CO2 resources and can yield simultaneously STY and Carbon oxide.Alumina oxide catalysts such as Al2O3, Na2O/Al2O3 and K2O/Al2O3 were prepared by the usual impregnation method with an aqueous solution of NaNO3 and KNO3, and then calcined at 650℃ for 5 h in a stream of air. The reaction condition is 600℃, flow of CO2 38ml/mon and space velocity (EB) 1.28h-1.     

Hydroxylation-induced modifications of the Al2O3/NiAl(0 0 1) surface at low water vapour pressure

STM, STS, LEED and XPS data for crystalline θ-Al₂O₃ and non-crystalline Al₂O₃ ultra-thin films grown on NiAl(0 0 1) at 1025 K and exposed to water vapour at low pressure (1 × 10⁻⁷-1 × 10⁻⁵ mbar) and room temperature are reported. Water dissociation is observed at low pressure. This reactivity is assigned to the presence of a high density of coordinatively unsaturated cationic sites at the surface of the oxide film. The hydroxyl/hydroxide groups cannot be directly identify by their XPS binding energy, which is interpreted as resulting from the high BE positions of the oxide anions (O_1s signal at 532.5-532.8 eV). However the XPS intensities give evidence of an uptake of oxygen accompanied by an increase of the surface coverage by Al³⁺ cations, and a decrease of the concentration in metallic Al at the alloy interface. A value of ∼2 for the oxygen to aluminium ions surface concentration ratio indicates the formation of an oxy-hydroxide (AlO_xOH_y with x + y ∼ 2) hydroxylation product. STM and LEED show the amorphisation and roughening of the oxide film. At P(H₂O) = 1 × 10⁻⁷ mbar, only the surface of the oxide film is modified, with formation of nodules of ∼2 nm lateral size covering homogeneously the surface. STS shows that essentially the valence band is modified with an increase of the density of states at the band edge. With increasing pressure, hydroxylation is amplified, leading to an increased coverage of the alloy by oxy-hydroxide products and to the formation of larger nodules (∼7 nm) of amorphous oxy-hydroxide. Roughening and loss of the nanostructure indicate a propagation of the reaction that modifies the bulk structure of the oxide film. Amorphisation can be reverted to crystallization by annealing under UHV at 1025 K when the surface of the oxide film has been modified, but not when the bulk structure has been modified.     

Luminescence properties of anodic aluminum oxide films with organic luminophores embedded into pores

Luminescence properties of porous anodic aluminum oxide films formed in a 0.6 M solution of citric acid and luminescence of paraterphenyl, perylene, coumarin 7, and rhodamine 6G dyes adsorbed by the films are investigated. The nature of emitting centers in anodic aluminum oxide is revealed. Intense photoluminescence of all tested dyes embedded into pores of anodic aluminum oxide has been found. A redshift of fluorescence spectra of dyes adsorbed by the matrix and emergence of an additional longwave band have been detected. Data obtained can be used in developing new thin-film luminescent coatings for future applications in optoelectronics and molecular electronics. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No 4, pp. 483–488, July–August, 1997.     

The 2D Rancieite-type manganic acid and its alkali-exchanged derivatives: Part I — Chemical characterization and thermal behavior

The 2D Rancieite type manganic acid was prepared by reduction of KMnO₄ in acidic medium. Its ion exchange behavior allows to prepare alkali derivatives. All compounds were characterized with use of a combination of X-ray diffraction, chemical analyses, TGA, magnetic measurements and spectroscopic techniques. The evolution of their chemical composition versus temperature was studied between 180 and 400 °C. It shows that the dehydration process is partly reversible in these compounds whereas the weak reduction is irreversible. The 2D Rancieite-type manganic acid is readily different from a Birnessite-type phyllomanganate, as shown by several features: the interlayer distance, the ion exchange capacity, the thermal behavior, the interlayer cation content, the manganese average oxidation state, the magnetic behavior and the IR spectrum.     

Heat-treatment studies of molybdenum oxide-monohydrate

The dehydration of molybdic acid, MoO₃---H₂O, was studied by thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry and FTIR spectroscopy. The results show that an intermediate phase, MoO₃-2/3H₂O is formed at 216 °C and the monoclinic form of MoO₃ is grown above 350 °C. The mechanism of dehydration and structural rearrangement were confirmed by the features of the infrared spectra showing formation of corner-shared MoO₆ octahedra.     

Phase transfer of highly monodisperse iron oxide nanocrystals with Pluronic F127 for biomedical applications

Iron oxide nanoparticles made from the thermal decomposition method are highly uniform in all respects (size, shape, composition and crystallography), making them ideal candidates for many bioapplications. The surfactant coating on the as-synthesized nanoparticles renders the nanoparticles insoluble in aqueous solutions. For biological applications nanoparticles must be water soluble. Here we demonstrate the phase transfer of our nanoparticles with the biocompatible copolymer Pluronic F127. Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering indicate that the nanoparticles are coated discretely. Magnetic measurements show that the nanoparticles remain superparamagnetic with saturation magnetization ∼96% of the maximum theoretical value.     

Effect of oxygen exposure on the magnetic properties of ultrathin Co/Ge(1 1 1) films

Influences of oxygen exposure on the magnetic properties of Co/Ge(1 1 1) ultrathin films have been investigated by surface magneto-optic Kerr effect technique. As the oxygen exposure increases on Co/Ge(1 1 1) films, their magnetic properties could be modified. As an example for 15 ML Co/Ge(1 1 1) films, the coercivity increases from 730 to 920 Oe and the remanence Kerr intensity is reduced for 500 Langmuir (L) of oxygen exposure. Corresponding compositions analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy measurement shows that the amount of oxygen on the surface layers increases with increasing the oxygen exposure time. Oxygen distributes on the topmost layers of the film. The adsorbed oxygen influences the electronic density of states of Co and results in the changes of the magnetic properties. Besides, the appearance of O/Co/Ge interface could modify the stress anisotropy, and as a result the coercivity of ultrathin Co/Ge(1 1 1) film is enhanced.     

Dextran-modified iron oxide nanoparticles

Dextran-modified iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by precipitation of Fe（Ⅱ） and Fe（Ⅲ） salts with ammonium hydroxide by two methods. Iron oxide was precipitated either in the presence of dextran solution, or the dextran solution was added after precipitation. In the second method, the iron oxide particle size and size distribution could be controlled depending on the concentration of dextran in the solution. The nanoparticles were characterized by size-exclusion chromatography, transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Optimal conditions for preparation of stable iron oxide colloid particles were determined, The dextran/iron oxide ratio 0-0,16 used in precipitation of iron salts can be recommended for synthesis of nanoparticles suitable for biomedical applications, as the colloid does not contain excess dextran and does not coagulate.