An investigation of glasses for capillary chromatography

An investigation was conducted of various glasses, other than soda lime or borosilicate, for use in glass capillary gas chromatography. The work has uncovered some unique chromatographic qualities in the use of potash soda lead and fused silica glasses as materials for making glass capillary columns. The fused silica proved to be an ideal material for capillary column construction, being inherently more inert than glass containing metal oxides. It has been shown that through the use of thin wall capillary tubing of high flexibility many of the mechanical problems associated with glass capillary columns, such as fragility and column straightening, can be avoided.     

Thermal characteristics of solid-solid phase transitions in long-chain dialkyl ammonium salts

A series of symmetrical dialkyl ammonium salts, DC_nX, has been prepared and characterized with respect to temperature and enthalpy of solid-solid phase transitions, temperature of melting, thermal stability as well as the reversibility of the phase transitions. The number of carbon atoms, C_n, was varied between 8 and 18 and as anions X halides, nitrate, chlorate, perchlorate and hydrogen sulphate had been chosen. In dependence on chain length and anion type transition temperatures from 20 to 100 °C were observed. Mass specific solid-solid transition enthalpies reach values of 185 J g⁻¹, which makes this class of substances attractive for heat storage applications. The influence of anion type on the transition enthalpies is explained in terms of packing requirements, hydrogen bond network formation and contributions from hindered anion rotation.     

Preparation and characterization of bismaleimide/1,3-dicyanatobenzene modified epoxy intercrosslinked matrices

An intercrosslinked network of cyanate ester (CE)-bismaleimide (BMI) modified epoxy matrix system was made by using epoxy resin, 1,3-dicyanatobenzene and bismaleimide (N,N^′-bismaleimido-4,4^′-diphenyl methane) with diaminodiphenylmethane as curing agent. BMI-CE-epoxy matrices were characterised using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and heat deflection temperature (HDT) analysis. The matrices, in the form of castings, were characterised for their mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and unnotched Izod impact test as per ASTM methods. Mechanical studies indicated that the introduction of cyanate ester into epoxy resin improves the toughness and flexural strength with reduction in tensile strength and glass transition temperature, whereas the incorporation of bismaleimide into epoxy resin influences the mechanical and thermal properties according to its percentage content. DSC thermograms of cyanate ester as well as BMI modified epoxy resin show an unimodal reaction exotherm. Electrical properties were studied as per ASTM method and the morphology of the BMI modified epoxy and CE-epoxy systems were studied by scanning electron microscope.     

冲击压缩下玻璃等脆性材料中失效波的研究进展

失效波的研究始于Rasorenov和Kanel发现K1 9玻璃样品后自由表面速度时程曲线上有反常再压缩信号。失效波是二十世纪九十年代冲击动力学研究领域的一个重要发现 ,它是指在一维平面应变冲击压缩下 ,在玻璃等脆性材料中由冲击波引起的一种独特的失效或破坏现象。较为系统地回顾近年来对失效波的研究工作 ,评述了研究现状、最新结果、发展趋势、研究方法和实验手段 ,对尚存的问题进行了分析讨论 ,并介绍了玻璃材料的基本特性。最后简单汇报了作者在这方面的研究工作和取得的阶段性结果。     

玻璃与玻璃化转变

玻璃与玻璃态的应用极其广泛。玻璃化转变是一种典型的非晶液-固转变,当转变发生时体系的结构并没有明显变化,因而我们无法将其归类于已有的任何相变类型。作为凝聚态物理和软物质领域的核心问题,玻璃化转变的研究已有近70年的历史。然而,时至今日,人们还是无法回答玻璃态的本质是什么这一基本问题。本文简述了玻璃态的性质以及伴随玻璃化转变发生的一些基本物理现象,并总结了半个世纪以来一些与玻璃化转变相关的理论,以期加深读者对玻璃及玻璃化转变的认识。     

Toward chromium speciation in solids using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry Cr Kβ lines

The determination of chromium speciation in solid samples is critical for environmental and industrial purposes. Several analytical methods exist to perform such a determination either directly in solid state or liquid state after an extraction step, each of them having some limitations. In this study, the use of a high-resolution wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine and quantify chromium species is investigated by looking at the differences in the Kβ transition profiles between Cr(0), Cr(III) and Cr(VI) compounds. Three different approaches were tested and compared to determine the Cr(VI) fraction of known mixtures: relative height and peak fitting using calibration mixtures, partial least square regression (PLS) of pure compounds, and principal component regression (PCR) of pure compounds. The accuracy of these methods was found to be about the same with an average relative error in the range of 15%. However, PLS and PCR can be easily implemented in an automated way contrary to peak fitting which can be sometimes perceived as analyst-dependant. Another advantage of using PLS and PCR is that information concerning the other oxidation states present in the sample can be retrieved. Finally, PLS and the peak height approach can be used up to 0.5% total chromium which make the XRF an alternative technique to X-ray induced photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for chromium speciation in solid state.     

Effect of external pressure on the Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios of 3d metals

The occupation numbers of the 3d transition metals are calculated as a function of pressure by means of the linear muffin-tin-orbital method. This data is used with the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) X-ray intensity ratios (R) to estimate the variation of the intensity ratios of 3d metals with pressure. It is found that R decreases with pressure for the early 3d metals whereas it increases for the heavier 3d transition metals.     

Photosensitivity,substituent and solvent-induced shifts in UV-visible absorption bands of naphthyl-ester liquid crystals: a comparative theoretical approach

The substituent- and solvent-induced shifts in UV-visible absorption bands of naphthyl-ester nematic liquid crystals, viz., 4-octylphenyl-6-octyloxy-2-naphthoate (NAPHE1) and 6-octyloxy-2-naphthylyl-4-octyloxybenzoate (NAPHE2), have been investigated using the DFT, CNDO/S and INDO/S methods. A correlation has been made between molecular charge distribution and phase stability based on Mulliken, Loewdin, AM1, PM3, MNDO, CNDO/S and INDO/S methods. The observed π→π* and n→π* electronic transitions have been reported. The substituent- and solvent-induced shifts in absorption bands, transition energies and energy gaps have been discussed. The photosensitivity of the molecules has been analysed based on these shifts. It has been observed that the substituent has a dominant role on both absorption maxima and energy band gap, whereas the solvent has a dominant role only on absorption maxima, and no effect has been observed on the energy gap. These shifts may provide beneficial consequences in determining the end use of compounds.