Reintroduced solids increase inhibitor levels in a pretreated corn stover hydrolysate

Following detoxification of the liquid hydrolysate produced in a corn stover pretreatment process, inhibitor levels are seen to increase with the re-addition of solids for the ensuing hydrolysis and fermentation processes. The solids that were separated from the slurry before detoxification of the liquor contain approx 60% (w/w) moisture, and contamination occurs owing to the diffusion of inhibitors from the moisture entrained in the porous structure of the corn stover solids into the bulk fluid. This evidence suggests the need for additional separation and detoxification steps to purge residual inhibitors entrained in the moisture in the solids. An overliming process to remove furans from the hydrolysate failed to reduce total organic acids concentration, so acids were removed by treatment with an activated carbon powder. Smaller carbon doses proved more efficient in removing organic acids in terms of grams of acid removed per gram of carbon powder. Sugar adsorption by the activated carbon powder was minimal.     

The analysis of volatile trace compounds in landfill gases,compost heaps and forest air

Landfill gas, cryotrapped on a loop fashioned from a length of a capillary gas chromatography (GC) column, was examined for volatile organometallic compounds (VOMCs) and for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by using GC–mass spectrometry (MS). A large number of organic components were present and many were identified, but the only VOMCs present in high enough concentrations to be detected were trimethylstibine and tetramethyltin. The use of inductively coupled plasma (ICP)‐MS as an element‐specific detector allowed the identification of a number of other organometallic species in the landfill gas, including trimethylarsine and trimethylbismuth, and, for the first time, butyltrimethyltin and dibutyldimethyltin. The presence of molybdenum hexacarbonyl was confirmed. Gas from a large‐scale compost heap and from compost incubated in the laboratory contained iodomethane but no common VOMCs (GC–ICP‐MS). Only VOCs were present in forest air (GC–MS). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrical properties and memory effect in the field effect transistor based on organic ferroelectric insulator and pentacene

We have fabricated a field effect transistor (FET) based on an organic ferroelectric insulator and molecular conductor, and investigated the electrical properties and memory effects on the PEN-FET. We have observed a drastic change in the drain current at around the coercive electric fieldE _c of the organic ferroelectric insulator in not only a FET (PEN-FET) based on a pentacene (PEN) film but also a FET (IPEN-FET) based on an iodine doped PEN film. The magnitude of the change of the drain current for the IPEN-FET is 200 times larger than that for the PEN-FET. It is expected from these results that the PEN-FET (especially the IPEN-FET) is an improvement in such devices, since it operates at a low gate electric field accompanied by the appearance of the spontaneous polarization in the organic ferroelectric insulator. In addition, we have found that the drain current for the PEN-FET does not return to the initial drain current ofE _G =0 V/cm for more than one week, even if the gate electric field is changed to 0 V/cm from 500 V/cm(>E _c ). From these results, it is suggested that the PEN-FET becomes a memory device.     

Laser spectroscopic investigation of a new precursor-type polyparaphenylenevinylene

Optical, structural and morphological properties of thin films of polyparaphenylenevinylene (PPV) formed by an alkyl sulfinyl precursor route have been studied. Thin films were fabricated on an optical glass and on quartz glass either by spin-coating of the precursor solution or by layer-by-layer deposition using Langmuir–Blodgett technique. PPV precursor films were also spin-coated on gold-coated glass in order to study thin-film optical parameters by surface plasmon spectroscopy. We have been successful in forming about 40 precursor mono layers on quartz glass by Langmuir–Blodgett technique using optimized surface pressure and dipping conditions. After thermal conversion of the precursor layers good quality fluorescent PPV films of yellow colour have been obtained. Optical characterization of the films was carried out by linear absorption and emission spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and surface plasmon spectroscopy. Structural and morphological studies on the thin films were carried out by using X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy. Wave-guided travelling-wave laser action has been achieved in a PPV film on quartz glass. The sample was transversally pumped with picosecond laser pulses (wavelength 347.15 nm, duration 35 ps). Laser emission occurred at 550 nm for pump pulse energy densities above .     

An Efficient Method for the Synthesis of 3-Cyano-6-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridinones under Microwave Irradiation and Solvent-free Conditions

Summary. Three component condensation of alkylacetoacetates, primary amines, and alkyl cyanoacetates catalyzed by solid supports under microwave irradiation gave N-alkyl 3-cyano-6-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridinones with high yields. Upon carrying out the reaction under the same condition on acidic alumina, zeolite HY, silica gel, and montmorillonite K-10, the best yields were achieved by silica gel. Corresponding author. E-mail: balalaie@yahoo.com Received August 28, 2002; accepted September 3, 2002     

Organic synthesis based on cathodic deprotonation of acids

The results of studies on electrosynthesis involving carb- and heteroanions generated by cathodic deprotonation of acids (CDA), carried out in the laboratory headed by the author, are surveyed. These studies resulted in the elaboration of efficient electrochemical versions of the known Michaelis-Becker, Wittig-Horner, and Perkin reactions; electrochemical analogs of homolytic aromatic substitution, alkylation, heterocyclization,etc. were developed. Based on CDA, convenient and promising methods for preparing variousN-, O-, P-, S-, andC-alkylated and arylated substances have been developed.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1411–1422, August, 1995.The author is grateful to Professor V. A. Dorokhov, Professor V. P. Litvinov, and researchers from the laboratories of N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry headed by them, who participated in joint studies.The work was carried out with financial support from the International Science Foundation (Grant No. MHYOO).     

Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline doped with organic acids

Spectroscopic [UV–visible and Fourier transform IR (FTIR)] and thermal properties of chemically synthesized polyanilines are found to be affected by varying the protonation media (acetic, citric, oxalic, and tartaric acid). The optical spectra show the presence of a greater fraction of fully oxidized insulating pernigraniline phase in polyaniline doped with acetic acid. In contrast, the selectivity in the formation of the conducting phase is higher in oxalic acid as a protonic acid media. The FTIR spectra of these polymers reveal a higher ratio of the relative intensities of the quinoid to benzenoid ring modes in acetic acid doped polyaniline. Scanning electron micrographs revealed a sponge‐like structure derived from the aggregation of the small granules in acetic acid and oxalic acid doped polyaniline. A three‐step decomposition pattern is observed in all the polymers, regardless of the protonic acid used for the doping. The second step loss related to the loss of dopant is found to be higher in the oxalic acid doped polymer. In accordance with these results the conductivity is also found to be higher in oxalic acid doped material. The temperature dependent conductivity measurements show the thermal activated behavior in all the polymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2043–2049, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of white‐light‐emitting polyfluorenes containing orange phosphorescent moieties in the side chain

Two orange phosphorescent iridium complex monomers, 9‐hexyl‐9‐(iridium (III)bis(2‐(4′‐fluorophenyl)‐4‐phenylquinoline‐N,C^2′)(tetradecanedionate‐11,13))‐2,7‐dibromofluorene (Br‐PIr) and 9‐hexyl‐9‐(iridium(III)bis(2‐(4′‐fluorophenyl)‐4‐methylquinoline‐N,C^2′)(tetradecanedionate‐11,13))‐2,7‐dibromofluorene (Br‐MIr), were successfully synthesized. The Suzuki polycondensation of 2,7‐bis(trimethylene boronate)‐9,9‐dioctylfluorene with 2,7‐dibromo‐9,9‐dioctylfluorene and Br‐PIr or Br‐MIr afforded two series of copolymers, PIrPFs and MIrPFs, in good yields, in which the concentrations of the phosphorescent moieties were kept small (0.5–3 mol % feed ratio) to realize incomplete energy transfer. The photoluminescence (PL) of the copolymers showed blue‐ and orange‐emission peaks. A white‐light‐emitting diode with a configuration of indium tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/PIr05PF (0.5 mol % feed ratio of Br‐PIr)/Ca/Al exhibited a luminous efficiency of 4.49 cd/A and a power efficiency of 2.35 lm/W at 6.0 V with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.46, 0.33). The CIE coordinates were improved to (0.34, 0.33) when copolymer MIr10PF (1.0 mol % feed ratio of Br‐MIr) was employed as the white‐emissive layer. The strong orange emission in the electroluminescence spectra in comparison with PL for these kinds of polymers was attributed to the additional contribution of charge trapping in the phosphorescent dopants. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. JPolym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1746–1757, 2007     

有机薄膜器件负电阻特性的影响因素

研究了影响有机染料掺杂聚合物薄膜器件负电阻特性的因素，为探索有机负电阻的机理提供实验依据。实验中制备了多种有机染料掺杂聚合物薄膜器件，研究了有机小分子染料、聚合物基体、薄膜组成及厚度、ITO和聚苯胺阳极等对有机染料掺杂聚合物薄膜器件负电阻特性的影响。在室温、大气环境下，所制备的多种有机染料掺杂聚合物器件在所加电压为3～4V时，观察到明显的负电阻特性，电流峰谷比最大约为8。负电阻现象及峰谷比的大小受膜厚和器件的结构、制备工艺等影响。提出用负电阻和二极管并联组成的等效电路模型解释影响负电阻特性的因素，认为负电阻特性与载流子的不平衡注入有关。在此基础上设计、合成了主链含唔二唑电子传输基团的可溶性聚对苯撑乙烯衍生物，该聚合物兼具空穴和电子传输功能，在空气中具有较稳定的N型负电阻特性。进一步控制相关材料和工艺条件，有可能得到易于控制的负阻效应，开发出新型的有机负电阻器件。