Synthesis and properties of poly(amic acid)s and polyimides based on 2,2′,6,6′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride

Poly(amic acid)s (PAAs) having the high solution stability and transmittance at 365 nm for photosensitive polyimides have been developed. PAAs with a twisted conformation in the main chains were prepared from 2,2′,6,6′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (2,2′,6,6′‐BPDA) and aromatic diamines. Imidization of PAAs was achieved by chemical treatment using trifluoroacetic anhydride. Among them, the PAA derived from 2,2′,6,6′‐BPDA and 4,4′‐(1,3‐phenylenedioxy)dianiline was converted to the polyimide by thermal treatment. The heating at 300 °C under nitrogen did not complete thermal imidization of PAAs having glass‐transition temperatures (T_g)s higher than 300 °C to the corresponding PIs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6385–6393, 2006     

Conformational energies of cyclenes

An universal function for non-bonded interactions, which takes into account the relative orientation of the bonds is considered in calculating the conformational energies of cycloalkenes and cycloalkadienes. A comparison is made with previous results obtained by using usual 6-exp functions for non-bonded interactions.     

Reactions of esters of tetracoordinated phosphorus acids with nucleophilic reagents in highly organized media

Characteristic features of reactions involving esters of phosphorus-containing acids in highly organized media (micelles, liquid crystals, vesicles, and emulsions) are surveyed.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 298–312, February, 1996.     

Effect of substituents (NH2, OH, F) on structures and stability of lithofluorosilylenoids

Isomeric structures and energies of three kinds of lithofluorosilylenoids, R₂SiLiF (R = NH₂, OH, F) were studied using theab initio molecular orbital theory. The calculations show that thermal stability of the three-membered ring structures of these three kinds of silylenoids decreases in the order of substituents NH₂ > OH > F because of the conjugation between NH₂, OH or F and Si atom. The interaction of substituents R with Li atom makes R₂SiLiF have a structure with two Li-A-Si-F (A = N, O, F) four-membered rings, which is the most stable of the isomers of each of three kinds of silylenoids and whose stability decreases in the order of substituents F > OH > NH₂. Inductive effect of substituents influences the thermal stability of the linear structure of silylenoids.     

The comparison of thermal stability of some hydrofluoroethers and hydrofluoropolyethers

The thermal stability of representative hydrofluoropolyether (HFPE) and hydrofluoroether (HFE) compounds has been evaluated. The observed stability order appears to be correlated with the nature of the hydrogenated chain ends; in particular, molecules having fully hydrogenated chain ends (OCH₃ and OC₂H₅) show a significantly lower stability compared with the OCF₂H terminated compounds. The main degradation products suggest, however, that the same primary reaction is responsible for the decomposition of all the compounds examined; this reaction involves the fragmentation of the R_fOC_xH_yF_z bond with fluorine transfer between the two carbon atoms close to the oxygen, leading to the formation of a hydrofluorocarbon C_xH_yF_(z+1) and an acyl fluoride or a ketone.     

The Study on the Thermal Stability of CLA in Egg Yolk

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) have been a subject of extensive investigation for their anticarcinogenic, hypolipidemic, antiatherosclerotic and immune-enhancing activities. Stability of CLA in foods has not received much attention by both academics and industry. Although CLA has shown many beneficial effects, its decomposition must be prevented when CLA in foods is processed, stored and transported. However, no study to date has addressed the stability of CLA in foods. The present study was carried out further to examine the stability of CLA in egg yolk during the storage and frying, using gas liquid chromatography (GLC) and silver ion high-performance liquid chromatography (Agt-HPLC). The eggs, containing 4.0% CLA per gramme of egg yolk, were 40s. Either storage for 6 months or frying for 40 s did not significantly change the composition of CLA in egg yolk. However, the degradation of CLA was statistically significant when the CLA components of egg yolk protected CLA from degradation. It is concluded that CLA is well preserved in egg before it is consumed.     

A family of multiderivative methods for the numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation

A family of multiderivative methods with minimal phase-lag are introduced in this paper, for the numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation. The methods are called multiderivative since uses derivatives of order two, four or six. Numerical application of the new obtained methods to the Schrödinger equation shows their efficiency compared with other similar well known methods of the literature.Active Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts     

A review of the role of DSC analysis in the design of fluorozirconate glasses for fibre optic applications

The relatively poor thermal stability of fluorozirconate glasses is a major factor preventing the realisation of their true potential for fibre optic applications. A range of methods based on both isothermal and non-isothermal DSC techniques, which can be employed to evaluate the thermal stability of fluorozirconate glasses, are described. The relevance of these thermal stability criteria to the design of fluorozirconate compositions capable of yielding high quality optical fibres is discussed.     

Concentration and characterization of dilute colloidal samples by potential-barrier field-flow fractionation

Summary Potential-barrier field-flow fractionation, which is a combination of potential-barrier chromatography and sedimentation field-flow fractionation, is shown to be a convenient and accurate method for the concentration and analysis (separation and characterization) ofdilute colloidal samples. Two sizes (0.158 and 0.271 μm) of haematite (α-Fe₂O₃) monodisperse colloidal samples diluted in volumes of up to 20 cm³ are used as model colloids. The particle diameters found by the present concentration procedure under various experimental conditions are in good agreement with those determined by conventional sedimentation field-flow fractionation, in which a small concentrated sample volume was injected directly into the column.     

Synthesis and network structure of ionic poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogels: Comparison of swelling degree with theory

At four different charge densities, ionic hydrogels based on N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm), acrylamide (AAm), and itaconic acid (IA) were synthesized by free-radical cross-linking copolymerization in water with N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BAAm) as the cross-linker, ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiator, and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylenediamine (TEMED) as the activator. The swelling behaviors of these hydrogels were analyzed in buffer solutions at various pH. It was observed that the swelling behavior of cross-linked ionic poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) [P(DMAAm-co-AAm)] hydrogels at different pHs agreed with the modified Flory-Rehner equation based both on the phantom network and affine network models and the ideal Donnan theory. In addition, the kinetics of swelling of the hydrogels was studied in pH 2, 5 and 9 buffer solutions. The swelling curves exhibited the characteristic features of transport process, apparently the Fickian diffusion of fast rates.