Development of the continuously variable volume reactor for flow injection analysis: Part 1. Design, capabilities and testing

A new apparatus for mixing sample and reagent in flow injection analysis (FIA) is described. The continuously variable volume reactor (CVVR) replaces the conventional mixing coil in a flow injection (FI) manifold to provide mixing and dilution. A linear actuator motor allows control of the chamber volume via LabVIEW software. The chamber volume can be incremented in steps of 1 μl over the range 68-1704 μl. In addition, the chamber has an integral variable-speed stirring unit that is also under computer control. Experiments were performed to evaluate the dispersion characteristics of this new device, evaluate the volume reproducibility, and understand the mixing characteristics. Use of the chamber is shown in the determination of iron(II) in pond water, and in NIST SRM 1643d with excellent results and a detection limit of 3.7 μg/l iron(II). Advantages of the CVVR and future research activities using the device are discussed.     

Cyclodextrins as chiral stationary phases in capillary gas chromatography. Part VII: Cyclodextrins with an inverse substitution pattern – synthesis and enantioselectivity

Transferring the site of specific substitution of dipentylated cyclodextrins with methyl or acyl residues from the secondary 3-hydroxyl group to the primary 6-hydroxyl group was expected to provide new information on the mechanism of chiral recognition. The 3-position points towards and the 6-position points away from the cyclodextrin cavity which via inclusion complex formation is supposed to play a major role in chiral separation. The “inverse” 6-O-acyl-2,3-di-O-pentyl-cyclodextrins displayed almost no enantioselectivity but the corresponding 6-O-methyl derivatives are a versatile supplement to the chiral capillary GC phases nowadays available. Among the compounds that could be enantiomerically resolved are alcohols, amino acids, alkyl halides, bicyclic ethers, acetals, olefins, other hydrocarbons and chiral pharmaceuticals.     

Dissipative structures formed in the course of drying the colloidal crystals of silica spheres on a cover glass

Macroscopic and microscopic dissipative structural patterns formed in the course of drying the deionized aqueous colloidal crystal suspensions of silica spheres (diameter: 103 nm) on a cover glass have been observed. Spoke-like and ring-like patterns are formed in the macroscopic scale; the former is the crack in the sphere film and the latter is the hill accumulated with spheres formed around the outside edge. The neighbored inter-spoke angle, thickness of the film, and other morphological parameters have been discussed as a function of sphere concentration, concentration of sodium chloride, and the inclined angle of the cover glass. Fractal patterns of the mud cracks are observed in the microscopic scale. Capillary forces between spheres at the air-liquid surface and the relative rates between the water flow at the drying front and the convection flow of spheres are important for the pattern formation. Electronic Publication     

X-ray, Raman and FTIRS studies of the microstructural evolution of zirconia particles caused by the thermal treatment

Genesis of the structure of zirconia particles prepared by precipitation of amorphous hydrated zirconia by ammonia from the ZrO(NO₃)₂ solution followed by a mild hydrothermal treatment (HTT) of precipitate, washing and calcination under air up to 1000 °C has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and FTIRS. As revealed by FTIRS of lattice modes, the local structure of amorphous zirconia subjected to HTT is close to that in m-ZrO₂. This helps to obtain nearly single-phase monoclinic nanozirconia (particle size 5-15 nm) already after a mild calcination at 500 °C. Stability of this phase with nanoparticles sizes below the critical value determined by thermodynamic constraints is due to its excessive hydroxylation demonstrated by FTIRS. Dehydroxilation and sintering of these nanoparticles at higher (600-650 °C) temperatures of calcination leads to reappearance of the (111) “cubic” reflection in XRD patterns. Modeling of XRD patterns revealed that this phenomenon could be explained by polysynthetic (001) twinning earlier observed by HRTEM.     

Drying dissipative structures of the aqueous suspensions of monodisperse bentonite particles

Macroscopic and microscopic dissipative structural patterns formed in the course of drying the fractionated and monodisperse bentonite particles (plate-like in their shape) in aqueous deionized suspension and in the presence of NaCl have been studied on a cover glass. The patterns coexisted with the broad ring of the hill accumulated with the particles and with the round hills are formed around the outside edges of the film and in the center, respectively, in the macroscopic scale. By the addition of NaCl the pattern shifts from the broad ring to the round hill in the center. The spoke-like cracks, which have been observed for the suspensions of the spherical particles so often hitherto, are not observed at all for the bentonite suspensions. The characteristic convection flow of the particles and the interactions among the particles and substrate are important for the macroscopic pattern formation. Wrinkled, branch-like and/or star-like fractal patterns are observed in the microscopic scale. These patterns are determined mainly by the electrostatic and polar interactions between the particles and/or between the particle and the substrate in the course of drying.     

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL BLUE LIGHT EMITTING ROD-COIL DIBLOCK OLIGOMER

Four new rod-coil diblock molecules, which had well-defined para-phenylene oligomers (PPP, from biphenyl toquinquephenyl) as rigid segments and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, M_w ca. 750) as flexible segments, were synhesized. Thechemical structure and the number of repeating unit in PEO coil and PPP rod were characterized by ~1H-NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectromeny. The diblock oligomers showed good solubility in common organic solvents and aggregated in wateras characterized by a blue shift in UV-vis absorption spectra, a red shift in emission spectra, quenching of the fluorescenceand formation of the microfibrilla and fractal-like structures. The formation of different supramolecular structures meant thatthis effort might lead to commercial important highly organized functional materials.     

TiO2-Al2O3复合载体的比较研究

对用混胶法和共沉淀法分别制备的ＴｉＯ２－Ａｌ２Ｏ３复合载体（ＴｉＯ２含量为０．０８ｇ／ｇγ－Ａｌ２Ｏ３）进行了对比研究，采用的表征方法有ＸＲＤ，ＸＲＳ，ＬＲＳ等，得出的结论如下：两种载体均保持了γ－Ａｌ２Ｏ３的骨架结构，但ＴｉＯ２的分散状态不尽相同，混胶样品中ＴｉＯ２主要以表面富集的形式分散在γ－Ａｌ２Ｏ３表面，这有利于集二者的优点于一体，共沉淀样品中ＴｉＯ２趋于整个体相均匀分散，这有利于相互作用     

Fluctuating hydrodynamics and principal oscillation pattern analysis

Principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis was recently introduced into climatology to analyze multivariate time series x_i(t) produced by systems whose dynamics are described by a linear Markov process x=Bx + . The matrixB gives the deterministic feedback and is a white noise vector with covariances (t) _j (t*Q _ij (t–t. The POP method is applied to data from a direct simulation Monte Carlo program. The system is a dilute gas with 50,000 particles in a Rayleigh-Bénard configuration. The POP analysis correctly reproduces the linearized Navier-Stokes equations (in the matrixB) and the stochastic fluxes (in the matrixQ) as given by Landau-Lifschitz fluctuating hydrodynamics. Using this method, we find the Landau-Lifschitz theory to be valid both in equilibrium and near the critical point of Rayleigh-Bénard convection.     

Effect of Electrode Pattern on the Column Structure and Yield Stress of Electrorheological Fluids

For electrorheological (ER) suspensions, the aggregate structures of particles were observed in electric fields by the use of transparent cells with different electrode patterns. Although the suspension is dispersed to noninteracting particles without electric fields, many aggregates are formed on the electrode surface in electric fields. Since the dipole–dipole interactions cause chain structures of particles and equilibrium conformations of chains are always aligned with electric field, the aggregates indicate the presence of columns spanning the electrode gap. The particle concentration in columns which are developed between parallel-plate electrodes is about 22 vol %. In striped electrodes, the particles construct striped aggregates along the electrodes and no particles remain in the insulating region. The particle concentration in striped aggregates is about 35 vol %. The nonuniformity of electric field is responsible for the high particle concentration. The increase in particle concentration of column lead to the high yield stress of electrified suspension. Therefore, the ER performance of suspension as an overall response can be improved by the electrode design.     

用电子散斑干涉法测量材料热膨胀系数

 利用双光束电子散斑干涉法（ESPI）对试件受热变形进行了实时观测，针对一次实验过程中得到的图片较多（300～500幅）的特点，在图像处理时摒弃了以往的手动识别等位移线的办法，用MATLAB语言编写了批处理程序，能够在采集的大量散斑图片中自动快速准确地标定等位移线，得到相应的位移和应变，并结合实时测量的温度值，获得了45钢和LY12铝合金在不同温升率下的热膨胀系数及其随温度的变化。实验结果表明，在涉及的温升率范围内，温升率的改变对材料热膨胀系数的影响不明显，材料的热膨胀系数随温度的升高略有上升。