Thermochemically induced binding of methyl orange to polycations containing primary amine groups

The thermochemical transformation of electrostatically formed complexes of methyl orange (MO) with polycations containing primary amine groups such as ammonium salts afforded new polymers with a high concentration of covalently bound 4‐N,N‐dimethylaminoazobenzene groups in the side chain. Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and poly(β‐aminoethylene acrylamide hydrochloride) were employed as support polycations for MO. The transformation of sulfonate–ammonium ion pairs into sulfonamide bonds, via heating at an elevated temperature, was supported by the polymer properties before and after the thermal treatment. The polymer structure changes were monitored with elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared, ¹H NMR, and ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The spacer length between the backbone and azobenzene structures used as side chains strongly influenced the polymer properties before and after the heat‐induced reaction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5898–5908, 2006     

Synthesis,characterization, and electrical properties of polypyrrole/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites

Size‐controllable polypyrrole (PPy)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites have been synthesized by in situ chemical oxidation polymerization directed by various concentrations of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Raman spectra, FTIR, SEM, and TEM were used to characterize their structure and morphology. These results showed that the composites are core (MWCNT)–shell (PPy) tubular structures with the thickness of the PPy layer in the range of 20–40 nm, depending on the concentration of CTAB. Raman and FTIR spectra of the composites are almost identical to those of PPy alone. The electrical conductivities of these composites are 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than those of PPy without MWCNTs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6449–6457, 2006     

Structural anisotropy in friction‐deposited layers of polystyrene

Friction‐deposited layers of atactic polystyrene (PS) on inert and OH‐grafted gold substrates were the subject of this study to establish a relationship between the friction process and the resulting anisotropy of the transferred polymer chains. We show, by using polarization‐modulation infrared reflection‐absorption spectroscopy that the deposited PS chains involve an anisotropy in which PS main backbone is rather perpendicular to the friction support, fact that is surprising when compared with the majority of polymers where the anisotropy is along the sliding direction. Moreover, our calculation of the orientation angles revealed that PS chains are more perpendicular in the transferred layers than in spin‐coated films. This particular anisotropy is probably due to a parallel reorientation of the phenyl ring on the friction support whatever the surface chemistry is. On the other hand, this study was useful to rectify the assignment of infrared bands unclearly reported in the literature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3272–3281, 2006     

Characterization and electrical properties of polypyrrole/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization

This study describes the preparation of polypyrrole (PPy)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. Various ratios of MWNTs, which served as hard templates, were first dispersed in aqueous solutions with the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide to form micelle/MWNT templates and overcome the difficulty of MWNTs dispersing into insoluble solutions of pyrrole monomer, and PPy was then synthesized via in situ chemical oxidative polymerization on the surface of the templates. Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the fabricated composites. Structural analysis using FESEM and HRTEM showed that the PPy/MWNT composites were core (MWNT)–shell (PPy) tubular structures. Raman and FTIR spectra of the composites were almost identical to those of PPy, supporting the idea that MWNTs served as the core in the formation of a coaxial nanostructure for the composites. The conductivities of these PPy/MWNT composites were about 150% higher than those of PPy without MWNTs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1413–1418, 2006     

Efficient Synthesis of Nitroflavones by Cyclodehydrogenation of 2′-Hydroxychalcones and by the Baker-Venkataraman Method

Summary. Several nitroflavone derivatives were synthesized by cyclodehydrogenation of 2′-hydroxychalcones and by the Baker-Venkataraman approach, starting from 2′-hydroxyacetophenones and benzoic acid derivatives. Nitroflavones synthesised by the first synthetic approach were obtained in better global yields than those obtained by the later method. The structures of all new compounds were elucidated by microanalyses, 1D and 2D NMR, IR, and mass spectroscopic measurements.     

Electrocatalytic activity of ordered intermetallic PtSb for methanol electro-oxidation

Ordered intermetallic PtSb had been synthesized by arc-melted and then sintering treatment. The electro-oxidation of liquid methanol on PtSb was investigated at room temperature by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results are compared to those at a polycrystalline platinum electrode surface. It was found that PtSb intermetallic was catalytically more active than pure platinum according to the onset potential and current density. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and XPS technologies had been used to investigate the crystal structure and electron effect.     

Identification of chlorinated sulfur compounds in pulp mill effluents by GC-MS and GC-AED

Summary Three chlorinated dimethyl sulfones and five chlorinated thiophenes have been identified in the alkaline extraction liquor from a bleach plant by gas chromatography with atomic emission detection (GC-AED) and with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The information on elemental content obtained by GC-AED enabled a rapid screening of the sulfur compounds and provided important structural information complementary to the mass spectral data. Quantitation was accomplished by GC-AED based on universal calibration.     

1,3-diallyl-5-[ω-(diphenylphosphino)alkyl] isocyanurates in reactions of complex formation with palladium(ii) dichloride

The reactions of phosphine derivatives of diallyl isocyanurates with palladium(ii) dichloride lead to the formation of complexes, whose structure, composition, and stability depend on the length of the methylene chain between the isocyanurate and diphenylphosphine fragments in the ligand. 1,3-Diallyl-5-[5′-(diphenylphosphino)pentyl and 10′-(diphenyl-phosphino)decyl] isocyanurates with PdCl₂ form monomeric L₂PdCl₂ trans-complexes in which P atoms of the ligands participate in coordination with the metal. 1,3-Diallyl-5-[2′-(diphenylphosphino)ethyl] isocyanurate with PdCl₂ forms a dimeric (LPdCl₂)₂ complex, which decomposes in a solution to the monomer including solvent molecule into the coordination sphere of the metal. The reactions of 1,3-diallyl-5-[4′-(diphenylphosphino)butyl] isocyanurate and 1,3-diallyl-5-[6′-(diphenylphosphino)hexyl] isocyanurate with PdCl₂ give monomeric chelate LPdCl₂ complexes in which one of the allyl groups of the isocyanurate cycle participates in coordination with the central ion along with the phosphorus atom. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1859–1865, September, 1998.