Investigation of glow discharge plasma for surface modification of polypropylene

Material surface properties of polymers, plastics, ceramics and textiles can be modified by atmospheric or low‐pressure glow discharge plasma. The aim of the present work is to study the surface modification of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film in order to improve its hydrophilic and wetting properties. In this article we used low‐pressure, low‐temperature oxygen plasma for the surface treatment of BOPP. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that plasma treatment causes mainly physical changes by creating microcraters and roughness on the surface and increasing surface friction. Attenuated total reflectance infrared spectra show oxygen‐containing groups such as ? OH at 3513 cm^?1 and C?O at 1695 cm^?1. Microscopic investigations of water droplets on BOPP (treated, untreated) show that the interfacial adhesion of treated surfaces is increased. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phosphorescence lifetime of naphthalene and phenanthrene in aggregated aromatic molecule-β-cyclodextrin-precipitant complexes

Aggregated aromatic molecule--cyclodextrin-precipitant complexes exhibit long-lived phosphorescence at room temperature in water after the chemical binding of oxygen. The temperature dependences of the phosphorescence lifetimes of naphthalene-h₈, naphthalene-de, and phenanthrene in the aggregates were measured. For example, the phosphorescence lifetimes of naphthalene-d₈ aggregated with -cyclodextrin and cyclohexane are equal to 25.1, 17.6, and 6.8 s at 77, 276, and 347 K, respectively, and that of phenanthrene aggregated with isooctane and -cyclodextrin are 3.24, 3.06, and 1.26 s at 268, 274, and 335 K, respectively. The temperature dependences of the phosphorescence lifetimes at room temperature are determined by the rate constants of the radiative and nonradiative transitions from the triplet state of an aromatic molecule.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2225–2228, September, 1996.     

Investigation of the thermophysical properties of polymers by the temperature wave technique

The technique of temperature waves to measure the complex thermophysical characteristics of materials has been proposed. The relations for the moduli and arguments of these characteristics for the case of plane temperature waves have been calculated. The temperature dependences of the moduli and arguments of complex thermophysical characteristics of polyvinylacetate (PVAc) at different frequencies and also the temperature dependences of its vibrational and configurational heat capacities have been determined. It has been shown that the vibrational heat capacity of PVAc in the region of softening grows sharply and its configurational heat capacity goes through a peak. The segmental mobility has been found to affect the heat transfer in the polymer in an ambivalent way causing both a decrease and increase of thermal conductivity.

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Zusammenfassung Zur Bestimmung der komplexen thermophysischen Eigenschaften von Stoffen wurde eine Temperaturwellentechnik vorgeschlagen. Für den Fall zweidimensionaler Temperatur-wellen wurden die Verhältnisse von Moduli und Argumenten dieser Eigenschaften berechnet. Die Temperaturabhängigkeit von Moduli und Argumenten der komplexen thermophysischen Eigen-schaften von Polyvinylacetat (PVAc) bei verschiedenen Frequenzen und auch die Temperatur-abhängigkeit seiner Vibrations- und Konfigurations-Wärmekapazitäten wurden bestimmt. Es wurde gezeigt, daß die Vibrations-Wärmekapazität von PVAc im Erweichungsbereich scharf zunimmt und die Konfigurations-Wärmekapazität durch einen Peak geht. Man fand, daß die Segment-Mobilität den Wärmetransport im Polymer auf eine ambivalente Weise beeinflußt, in dem die Wärmeleit-fähigkeit entweder gesenkt oder angehoben wird.

     

Dielectric relaxation of polystyrene with side-chain- and chain-end-labels

Polystyrenes with different concentrations of side groups with cyano groups were prepared and complex dielectric constants were measured in the range of the glass transition temperature and the frequency range of 10^–2–10⁷ Hz.The GPC and DSC measurements showed that the molecular weight of these polystyrenes was about 10500 g/mole and the glass transition temperatures were 89.5°C for all samples.The dielectric relaxation spectra obtained for the side group polystyrene labels and also the chain-end polystyrene labels prepared before [9] were analyzed to find out the degree of coupling of the chain-end and side-group labels with the cooperative reorientation of the polymeric matrix. The analysis of the spectra was carried out using the analysis method developed by Mansour and Stoll [6].The results obtained showed that both end- and side-group labels are strongly coupled with the segmental reorientation and relax with relaxation times longer than that of the segments.The value of logf _m = (logf _m(label)) – logf _m(matrix)) was obtained from the recently designed comparison diagram suggested by Mansour and Stoll [6, 14]. The value of logf _m depends on the label length in the case of chain-end labels.It was surprising to find that the side groups relax slower than the segments by only 0.9 decades. These results obtained implied that the label relaxes through a multistep relaxation mechanism of the side and end groups and not through a diffusion mechanism of the whole chain. In addition, the effective lengths of the relaxing units were determined using the empirical equation obtained before in the case of rodlike molecules in polyisoprene [7].     

RuO2 electrode surface effects in electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose

We have studied the electrocatalytic activity of RuO₂-PVC film electrodes, fabricated using RuO₂ powders prepared at five different temperatures, viz., 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700°C, for the oxidation of glucose in high alkaline media, 1 to 3 M NaOH. The RuO₂-PVC film electrodes have been first characterized in 1 to 3 M NaOH solution by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disc electrode (RDE) techniques in a wide potential range −1,100 to 450 mV (SCE), and three redox pairs representing Ru(IV)/Ru(III), Ru(VI)/Ru(IV) and Ru(VII)/Ru(VI) transitions have been identified. The voltammetric peaks at low sweep rates have been analyzed using surface activity theory formulated for interacting electroactive adsorption sites, and interaction terms have been evaluated. The total voltammetric surface charges have been analyzed as per Trassatti’s formalism with respect to their dependence on potential sweep rate, and charges associated with less accessible and more accessible surface sites have been calculated. For glucose oxidation, the results have indicated that RuO₂ (700°C)-PVC electrode shows two oxidation peaks in contrast to RuO₂ (300°C)-PVC electrode. Also, RuO₂ (700°C)-PVC electrode exhibits higher intrinsic electrocatalytic activity than the 300°C electrode, although the former possesses lower electrochemically active surface area. Additionally, kinetic analyses made from RDE results with reference to Michealis–Menten (MM) enzyme catalysis has shown that RuO₂ (700°C) electrode possesses extended glucose-sensing range in terms of MM kinetic constant, K _M , compared to other electrodes. Possible reasons for such differences in the behavior of the electrodes of different temperatures towards glucose oxidation are identified from studies on oxidation of glucose in solutions of different pH, oxidation of different glucose derivatives, and also from physicochemical results from BET, XRD, SEM, DTGA, XPS analysis of RuO₂ powder samples.     

Formatation of pore structure in tape-cast alumina membranes – effects of binder content and firing temperature

Disc type ceramic aluminium oxide membrane has been prepared by tape casting technique. Thickness of this single layer membrane is in the range 200–300 μm. Porosity and pore size distribution have been determined by mercury porosimetry. Polymeric binder content of the green tape and the firing temperature are found to have strong influence on the average pore size, pore size distribution and overall porosity. Higher binder content promotes agglomeration of the ceramic particles, which on firing leads to wider pore size distribution and formation of closed pores. Pore coarsening is observed with increasing firing temperature.     

Influence of velocity and surface temperature of alumina particles on the properties of plasma sprayed coatings

In this paper are described the main characteristics of the plasma spraying process of alumina deposits, i.e., the temperature and flow field of the plasma jets obtained with the classical spraying torches, the injection of the particles into the plasma jet, the particle surface temperature and velocities in the plasma (measured for calibrated alumina particles), and the coating generation. The measurements on the alumina particles are compared with the predictions of a mathematical model. The experimental and computed particle velocities are in rather good agreement. However, this is not the case for the particle surface temperature. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are proposed (influence of the carrier gas, thermophoretic forces, and poor penetration of the particles into the plasma core even for an injection velocity twice that of the optimal calculated one, as shown by recent measurements). Finally the correlations between the particle velocities and surface temperature, and the properties of the alumina coating (porosity, crystal structure, mechanical properties) are studied.     

Growth transition and morphology change in polypropylene

The growth rate of isotactic polypropylene is deduced from microscopic observations during isothermal crystallizations. A change in the growth regime is observed at 138 C and interpreted as a Regime III Regime II transition, according to Hoffman's kinetic theory of polymer crystallization. A Regime II Regime I transition is also theoretically predicted at 155 C, i. e. at a temperature outside the investigated temperature range. The Regime III Regime II transition is related to the positive to negative change in the spherulite birefringence, which is generally attributed to a change in the organization of crystalline lamellae: quadritic arrays of intercrossing lamellae atT _c < 138 C (Regime III) and preferentially radiating lamellae atT _c > 138 C (Regime II). It is suggested that such a morphological change could be interpreted using the concept of non-adjacent re-entry introduced in Hoffman's kinetic theory. This interpretation could also explain the interspherulitic ruptures observed in negative spherulites.     

Isotopic effects in hydrogen-bonded crystals with order–disorder type phase transitions

The influence of geometric isotopic effects on the Curie temperature of hydrogen-containing crystals was considered. The experimental pressure and concentration dependencies of the Curie temperature have been explained in a framework of the pseudo-spin Ising model, by taking into account the changes in geometry of hydrogen bonds under pressure and due to isotopic exchange.