Preparation of Mullite Fibers by the Sol-Gel Method

Mullite fibers were synthesized from an aqueous solution of aluminum isopropoxide, aluminum nitrate and tetraethylorthosilicate by the Sol-Gel method. The starting solution was prepared by adding aluminum isopropoxide and tetraethylorthosilicate simultaneously to an aluminum nitrate aqueous solution. The spinnability of the starting solution was investigated by varying the molar ratio of aluminum isopropoxide/aluminum nitrate in the solution. Gel fibers were obtained from solutions in a composition range of aluminum isopropoxide/aluminum nitrate of 3 to 5. Gels obtained from spinnable solutions appeared to have high homogeneity in the mixing of the Al/Si components, leading to a sharp 980°C exothermic peak in the DTA curve and a mullitization temperature of 1000°C. However, in the case of gels obtained from unspinnable solutions, a small 980°C exothermic peak was detected, and the mullitization temperature was as high as 1200°C, probably due to greater heterogeneity in the mixing of the Al/Si components.     

Characterization of Autocatalytic Reactions in Modified Cellulose/NMMO Solutions by Thermal Analysis and UV/VIS Spectroscopy

The thermal stability of cellulose/N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) solutions were investigated using UV/VIS spectrometry with a temperature programming cuvette and caloric measurements by means of the Systag calorimeter RADEX (mini-autoclave). Both analytical methods allow to characterize the influences of stabilizers and additives. With the temporal course of the optical density, temperature and pressure thermal runaway reactions with gas evolution and accumulation of chromophoric degradation products were recognized. Kinetic model calculations compared with UV/VIS measurements demonstrate the existence of autocatalytic reactions in cellulose/NMMO solutions. Varying the heating rate autocatalysis can be proved by dynamic caloric measurements as well.     

Sol-Gel Fabrication and Properties of Silica Cores of Optical Fibers Doped with Yb3+, Er3+, Al2 O3 or TiO2

Optical cores of preforms for drawing optical fibers doped with Er3+ and Yb3+ were fabricated by the sol-gel method with the aim of increasing the thickness of glass layers coated in a single coating cycle and to determine the relation between the preparation conditions and optical properties of the fibers. Al2O3-P2O5-SiO2 and TiO2-P2O5-SiO2 glasses have been studied as matrices for entrapping the rare-earth elements. Input sols have been prepared from silicon and titanium alkoxides, AlCl3, ErCl3, YbCl3, POCl3, water and a modifier under acidic catalysis of HCl. The sols were coated on the inner wall of a silica substrate tube and the gel layers were sintered at high temperatures up to 2000°C after which the tube was collapsed into the preform. Continuous and homogenous glass films with the maximum thickness of about 8 m were fabricated. The influence of high-temperature heat treatment of the layers on their composition and optical attenuation was observed. The amplified stimulated emission of Er3+ around 1.55 m was measured under the excitation of the fibers by an Nd : YAG laser at 1.064 m.     

Sol-Gel Processing of Transparent PLZT((Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3) Fibers

PLZT((Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O₃) ceramic fibers were prepared by the sol-gel method from a solution of lead acetate trihydrate, lanthanum isopropoxide, zirconium n-propoxide and titanium isopropoxide containing 2-methoxyethanol as the solvent. The as-drawn gel fibers were pretreated in an autoclave and preheated in flowing H₂O vapor prior to the heat-treatment for crystallization. The effects of autoclaving and preheating in flowing H₂O vapor on the structure and composition of the resultant fibers were investigated. Optically transparent single phase perovskite PLZT fibers of 5–15 m in thickness and 5 cm in length were successfully prepared when the autoclave-treatment and the preheating in flowing H₂O vapor were conducted prior to crystallization. These treatments are thought to promote hydrolysis of the organic groups and polycondensation reaction in the gel fibers, leading to the successful formation of dense, crack-free transparent PLZT fibers.     

Effect of surface treatment on the Hamaker constant of intermediate modulus carbon fibers

The Hamaker constant of unsized intermediate modulus carbon fibers was evaluated by contact angle measurement following the Fowkes theory of interfacial energetics. The effects of a surface treatment (performed by the manufacturer) and an oxygen plasma treatment (performed by us), both of oxidizing nature, proved to slightly increase the value of the Hamaker constant to a level that enhanced by about 9% the Lifshitz-van der Waals contribution to the theoretical adhesion force between the fiber and an epoxy matrix. A possible explanation of the observed increase of the Hamaker constant is the higher contribution to the overall Lifshitz-van der Waals interaction of Keesom (orientation) and Debye (induction) forces.     

Sol-gel-derived micron scale optical fibers for chemical sensing

We report for the first time on the preparation of organically-doped room temperature processed sol-gel-derived micron scale optical fibers as platforms for chemical- and bio-sensors. Micron scale optical fibers are drawn from fluorescent dye-doped tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-derived sol-gel solution processed under ambient conditions. Such a simple methodology to entrap organic and even bioactive species within the optical fiber offers many advantages over more conventional ways of immobilizing organic probes for the development of optical sensors. Specifically, we report on the photophysical properties of fluorescein (a pH sensitive fluorescent dye) and rhodamine 6G (R6G; laser dye) entrapped within sol-gel-derived optical fibers. We present the preliminary results on the viability of such doped optical fibers for chemical sensing. Our results demonstrate that a fluorescein-doped sol-gel-derived optical fiber responds to ammonia and acid vapors with a response time of 1–2 seconds.     

Strukturuntersuchungen an naßersponnenen Polyacrylnitrilfasern nach der Gefriertrocknung

Zusammenfassung An unterschiedlich verstreckten und hydrothermisch nachbehandelten, danach gefriergetrockneten Polyacrylnitril-Gelfasern (PAN) wurden Messungen der Röntgenkleinwinkelstreuung (RKWS), Röntgenweitwinkelstreuung (RWWS) und Tieftemperatur-Gassorption (TTGA) durchgeführt. Die RKWS-Messungen zeigen, daß sowohl in den isotropen als auch in den orientierten Proben eine exponentialstatistische Verteilung der Form und Größe der Inhomogenitäten (Hohlräume, Cluster) vorliegt, welche durch die Kohärenzlängel _c bestimmt wird. Eine erhöhte Röntgenabsorption wurde bei den verstreckten Proben festgestellt. Die Analyse der aus der Kohärenzlänge und den Volumsanteilen der Phasen berechneten charakteristischen RK WS-Parameter (z.B. innere Oberfläche, Durchschußlänge) ergibt, daß jede Behandlung der Gelfasern eine Zu- oder Abnahme der etwa gleich großen Hohlräume verursacht (nucleotic change). Das relative Ausmaß dieser Veränderungen wird besprochen.Der Vergleich mit den Ergebnissen der TTGA an den gleichen Fasern zeigt, daß die Tendenzen bei der spezifischen Oberfläche und dem Porenvolumen (Zu- bzw. Abnahme) bei beiden Methoden annähernd gleich sind. Die Absolutwerte des Hohlraumvolumens unterscheiden sich aber z.T. um den Faktor 40. Dies führt zur Schlußfolgerung, daß mit der RK WS Faserbereiche als Hohlräume erfaßt werden, die bei der TTGA nicht angezeigt werden, weil sie für das Meßgas unzugänglich sind.

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Structural studies on wet-spun freeze-dried polyacrylonitrile fibers

Summary Polyacrylonitrile fibers (PAN) were drawn to different extents, hydrothermally aftertreated, and at last freeze-dried. The products were studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and low temperature gassorption (LTGS). The SAXS data show that the shape and the size of the inhomogeneities (voids, clusters) have an exponential statistical distribution determined by the correlation lengthl _c, both in the isotropic fibers and in the fiber-oriented ones. It has also been observed that stretching always causes a higher X-ray absorption. An analysis of the characteristic SAXS parameters (e.g., internal surface, mean chord length), which were calculated from the correlation length and the volume fractions of the phases, evidences that in all samples an augmentation or diminution of the number of the voids with nearly the same shape and size takes place (nucleotic change). Its relative number has been pointed out.Comparison with the results of the LTGS investigations at the same fibers shows that the tendencies of the specific surface and porosity (increase, decrease) are approximately the same with both methods. However, the absolute values of void volume differ in some cases by the factor 40. This leads to the conclusion that the SAXS method records domains of these fibers as voids which are not registered by LTGS (voids not accessible for the gas).

Herrn em.o.Univ. Prof. Dr.Josef Schurz zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

耐超高温SiC(Al)纤维先驱体——聚铝碳硅烷纤维的研究

以聚硅碳硅烷(PSCS)与乙酰丙酮铝(Al(AcAc)3)为原料,在常压高温条件下反应制备出聚铝碳硅烷(PACS),经过熔融纺丝制备了PACS纤维.应用GPC、IR、XPS、29Si-NMR、27Al-NMR、TG、SEM、元素分析和增重等一系列分析,分别对PACS纤维的微观组成、结构以及性能进行了分析.研究结果表明,以原料质量配比为6∶100(Al(AcAc)3∶PSCS)合成的PACS化学式为SiC2.0H7.5O0.13Al0.018,数均分子量为1700左右,最适宜制备PACS纤维;PACS纤维中主要存在SiC4、SiC3H等结构,同时存在Si—O—Al键;在氮气气氛中,PACS纤维的陶瓷产率达到52%左右;预氧化处理,PACS纤维中Si—H键与空气中的氧反应形成Si—O—Si交联结构,较聚碳硅烷(PCS)纤维易于氧化,经过预氧化的PACS纤维陶瓷产率达到80%左右,是制备耐超高温SiC(Al)陶瓷纤维的合适纤维;用预氧化PACS纤维制备的SiC(OAl)纤维和SiC(Al)纤维抗拉强度高,耐高温性能好.     

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study of the effect of pH on anion and cation adsorption onto poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine)

The role of hydrogen bonding in the chemistry of transition‐metal complexes remains a topic of intense scientific and technological interest. Poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine) was synthesized to study the effects of hydrogen bonding on complexes at different pHs. The polymer was synthesized through the coupling of diethylene triamine with polyacrylonitrile fiber in the presence of AlCl₃ · 6H₂O addition. The adsorption capacity of this polymer was 11.4 mequiv/g. The ions used for the adsorption test were CrO, PO, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Ag⁺. All experiments were confirmed with Fourier transform infrared. In the study of anion adsorption, at low pHs, only ionic bonds existed, whereas at high pHs, no bonds existed. However, in the middle pH region, both ionic bonds and hydrogen bonds formed between poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine) and the chromate ion or phosphate ion. When poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine) and metal ions (Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Ag⁺) formed complexes, a hydrogen‐bonding effect was not observed with Fourier transform infrared. The quantity of metal ions adsorbed onto poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine) followed the order Ag⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Fe²⁺ > Ni²⁺. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2010–2018, 2004     

Hapten immobilization for antibody sensing using a dynamic modification protocol

Optical fiber (OF) sensors are often limited by the immobilization technique used to associate a specific sensing ligand with the OF surface. This is particularly true when the ligand is biologically active as, for example, in the case of immobilized haptens or antibodies. The dynamic modification protocol is a regenerable and experimentally simple way to immobilize a variety of sensing molecules on an OF surface. Furthermore, the protocol is immune to hydrolysis and not limited by diffusion through a membrane or sol–gel. In this publication the approach is extended by immobilizing the hydrophobic hapten (octadecyl 6-(2,4 dinitrophenyl)aminohexanoic acid) as a means to prepare an OF sensor for antibodies specific for 2,4 dinitrophenyl (DNP). The LOD for anti-DNP is 0.5 nanomolar and the K_apparent is 1.0±0.2×10⁶. Nonspecific antibody adsorption is problematic in this sensing approach and was found to limit the quantitative capabilities of the sensor. However, time discrimination can be used to allow the nonspecific antibody to desorb prior to measurement thus minimizing the influence of nonspecific binding on sensor performance.