Access to nonisocyanate poly(thio)urethanes: A comparative study

This article describes the synthesis of new cyclic compounds able to react with amines to get nonisocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs). The contribution of the most studied five‐membered cyclic carbonate was compared to five‐membered cyclic dithiocarbonate analogous and to a six‐membered cyclic carbonate. Difunctional reactive species were obtained by a simple substitution reaction or an efficient thiol–ene coupling reaction. The products, obtained with high yields, were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and Fourier tansform infrared spectroscopy analysis. The dicyclocarbonates were then used to synthesize NIPUs by step growth polymerization with several diamines. These materials exhibited glass transition temperatures from 19 to ?29 °C, molar mass from 1800 to 20,400 g mol^?1, and a 20% mass loss temperature (T_d = 20%) between 249 and 296 °C. Such materials are interesting candidates for coating applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3284–3296     

A numerical investigation of the influence of the aspect ratio in three‐dimensional separated flows

The influence of aspect ratio in three‐dimensional, numerical experiments of separated flows is studied in the case of the backward‐facing step at Reynolds numbers 600, 800, and 950. The computational domain is designed as an actual laboratory experiment. The governing equations are the steady state, isothermal, and incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The expansion ratio of the computational domain is 1:2. The aspect ratio varies from 1:10 to 1:40. The results of the computations focus on the spanwise variations of the length and the strength of the two eddies along the lower and upper wall. It is concluded that both numerical and laboratory experiments should be designed with an aspect ratio of at least 1:20, if only the accuracy of the position of the detachment and the re‐attachment points matters. If the accuracy of the shear‐stress distributions is also taken into account, then an aspect ratio of at least 1:30 should be chosen. Finally, if the magnitudes of the vortex centers are also considered, then only the aspect ratio of 1:40 qualifies for a realization of two‐dimensional flow conditions in the plane of symmetry. This is contrary to the common practice in the field, at least from the side of laboratory experiments, where an aspect ratio of 1:10 is still considered adequate for this purpose. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ADSORPTION BEHAVIOR OF AMINO ACIDS ON COPPER SURFACES

The major results of a series of our recent investigations on the adsorption of eight amino acids on Cu(001) and (111) surfaces are reviewed in the present paper. In all studied cases the molecules adsorb onto the surface in their anionic form. With the increase of the coverage three different 2D phases of the adsorbates, that is, the 2D lattice gas, intermediate, and solid phases, appear sequentially, although for few systems one or two of them do not appear. In both the 2D lattice gas and intermediate phases the molecules "stand" with their two oxygen "feet" on the surface and the intermolecular interactions are repulsive, although in the former they can diffuse frequently whereas in the latter they are discommensurate in one direction with the substrate. In the solid phase the molecules "lie" down on the surface to form commensurate superstructures. Adsorption of amino acids may often induce step faceting as well as bunching to form facets. Adsorption of L-lysine on Cu(001) may cause steps bunching to form facets with all the same chirality. Our preliminary results show that it is possible to manipulate individual molecules with the STM tip even at room temperature. These results may have applications in nano-materials, nano-technology, and very likely also in chiral separations or enantioselective heterogeneous catalysis.     

色散补偿和色散位移光纤实现光脉冲压缩

根据超短光脉冲在光纤中传输的非线性薛定谔方程，模拟了不同色散参量情况下色散补偿和色散位移光纤对增益开关半导体激光器产生的光脉冲的压缩，给出了光脉冲在经过色散补偿光纤前后的啁啾曲线。结果表明，使用色散参量D分别为-150，-180和-20ps/(nm·km)的色散补偿光纤可以实现其他脉冲压缩方法的压缩效果，最大压缩因子达到6.09，但色散参量越大，所需光纤长度就越短。此外，脉冲经过色散补偿光纤后线性啁啾几乎为零。还利用色散位移光纤对脉冲进行孤子压缩，脉冲宽度由最初的45ps减小到1.23ps。指出采用这2种光纤相结合的方法可以对光脉冲实现高效压缩。     

A problem of determining a special spatial part of 3D memory kernel in an integro‐differential hyperbolic equation

The inverse problem of determining 2D spatial part of integral member kernel in integro‐differential wave equation is considered. It is supposed that the unknown function is a trigonometric polynomial with respect to the spatial variable y with coefficients continuous with respect to the variable x. Herein, the direct problem is represented by the initial‐boundary value problem for the half‐space x>0 with the zero initial Cauchy data and Neumann boundary condition as Dirac delta function concentrated on the boundary of the domain . Local existence and uniqueness theorem for the solution to the inverse problem is obtained.     

Effect of pH value on the growth morphology of KH2PO4 crystal grown in defined crystallographic direction

KH₂PO₄ single crystals were grown in aqueous solution at different pH values by using “point seeds” with a defined crystallographic direction at 59 degree to the Z axis. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) was applied to observe the surface morphology of (100) face. It was found that at the same supersaturation, the larger steps appeared at the lower pH value before appearance of 2D nucleus. We found that 2D nucleus was occurred at σ ≤ 0.04 when pH value is <2.8. The occurrence of 2D nucleus was caused by the decreasing step‐edge free energy with the decreasing of pH value in the growth solution. In this paper, we observed the morphologies of (100) faces of KDP crystals which grew in solutions with different pH values. 2D nucleuses appeared on the terrace of growth steps when pH value down to 2.8 and 3.2 at supersaturation of 0.04, while pH value down to 2.4, only 2D nucleation control the growth. Therefore, the pH value can change the growth mechanism of KDP crystals.     

COMPUTATION OF DILUTE PARTICULATE LAMINAR FLOW OVER A BACKWARD-FACING STEP

Particle-laden flows are calculated for a classical laminar backward- facing step problem. The particle tracks are calculated using a recently developed exponential Lagrangian tracking scheme. The behaviour of the particle-laden flow is considered for various inlet for Reynolds number, Stokes numbers and void fractions. Doping the flow with low-Stokes-number particles has the effect of increasing the inlet inertia of the flow and this increases the strength of the recirculation behind the step. High-Stokes- number particles are dominated by gravitational effects which affect the flow accordingly. Differences between the single-phase flow and the particle-laden flows are therefore dependent on the Stokes number and increase linearly with void fraction.     

Experimental Study on Wave Characteristics of Stilling Basin with a Negative Step

Stilling basin with a negative step is an important structure in hydraulic systems, because it can avoid atomization and decrease scouring problems. Although stilling basins with a negative step have attracted much attention from researchers, few researchers have focused on the wave characteristics. In this research, an experimental study on the wave characteristics of stilling basins with a negative step was carried out. The wave height, average period, wave probability density and power spectrum along the flow direction of different stilling basins with a negative step were described based on the wave theory, and the results indicate discharge and step height have a significant effect on the wave characteristics. The relationships between the different characteristic wave heights, and the empirical formula for the relative characteristic wave height are obtained. Finally, the dimensionless standard deviation at the end of the stilling basin with a negative step is linearly related to the flow-energy ratio and the relative step height under B-jump.     

Rapid Screening of Lipase Inhibitors from Ophiopogonis Radix Using High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography by Two Step Gradient Elution Combined with Bioautographic Method

In this study, a high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method by two step gradient elution with two mobile phases was developed for the simultaneous analysis of seven constituents in Ophiopogonis Radix. The chromatography was performed on silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ plate with dichloromethane-methanol-ethyl acetate-water (70:25:12:3, v/v/v/v) and dichloromethane-methanol (300:1, v/v) as the mobile phase for two step gradient elution. Then, the HPTLC profiles were observed after derivatization with 10% sulfuric acid in ethanol solution. The obtained HPTLC images were further analyzed by chemometric approaches and the samples could be clustered based on regions and/or growth years, which were two important factors affecting the constituents in Ophiopogonis Radix. Furthermore, five compounds including ophiopogonin D, ophiopojaponin C, ophiopogonin D’, ophiopogonin C’ and methylophiopogonanone B were screened as potential lipase inhibitors from Ophiopogonis Radix by the HPTLC-bioautographic method. The binding modes and interactions between the five compounds and lipase were further explored by molecular docking analysis. The developed HPTLC method could be used for quality control of Ophiopogonis Radix and screening of the potential lipase inhibitors.