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.

     

Determination of Diffusion Coefficients for Binary Nonelectrolyte Mixtures. A Free-Volume Predictive Approach

A diaphragm cell has been used to measure mutual diffusion coefficients at 25°C for four binary nonelectrolyte mixtures: ethylbenzene + n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride + ethylbenzene, cyclohexane + p-xylene, and 1,2-dichloroethane + cyclohexane. A free-volume predictive approach for binary mutual diffusion coefficients was developed and tested. Only infinite dilution diffusion coefficients, some readily available pure substance data, and UNIFAC group contribution parameters are used in the model. No binary equilibrium thermodynamic information is required. For 73 binary systems with an overall average absolute deviation of 5.2%, it has been shown that the developed method is better than two commonly available reference methods for the prediction of liquid diffusion coefficients.     

Lithium bromide in acetonitrile: Thermodynamics,theory, and simulation

A variety of methods has been used for the study of lithium bromide solutions in acetonitrile yielding by their combination reliable information on different levels of approximation. Osmotic coefficients based on precise vapor pressure measurements are reproduced by CM (chemical model) and HNC (hypernetted chain) calculations and by BD (brownian dynamics) simulations. The results of neutron scattering experiments are treated with the help of HNC and BD methods. Hartree-Fock calculations on isolated LiBr pairs and solvated lithium ions yield reliable particle distances and reveal the geometry of the lithium solvation sphere.     

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.     

1,3-二烯基-1,1,3,3-四甲基二硅氧烷/苯乙烯共聚合的环化率与竞聚率

对１３０℃下１，３ 二烯基 １，１，３，３ 四甲基二硅氧烷（ＤＶＤＳ）／苯乙烯（Ｓｔ）的溶液环化共聚合动力学进行了研究．根据低转化率（＜１０％）的共聚物组成及环状结构比例，通过参数估计方法，求得环化率与竞聚率，分别为ｒ１＝０１０２、ｒ２＝３４８、ｒｃ＝００２１０、Ｋｃ＝３８１ｍｏｌ／Ｌ、Ｋ′ｃ＝０３８９ｍｏｌ／Ｌ，同时得到它们９５％置信概率的联合置信区间及其交互影响的联合置信区间．表明ＤＶＤＳ的反应活性较Ｓｔ低，其非环状结构自由基具有较强的分子内环化反应能力；环的位阻效应使环状结构ＤＶＤＳ自由基的活性低于其非环状结构自由基．     

Microwave and RF surface wave sustained discharges as plasma sources for plasma chemistry and plasma processing

The surface wave produced plasma belongs to a class of RF and microwave induced plasmas. It results from the propagation of an electromagnetic wave which uses the plasma column it sustains and the plasma tube as its sole propagating media. This type of plasma offers several advantages compared to the positive column plasma of dc discharges or to other RF and microwave produced plasmas. Surface wave plasmas require no internal electrodes, and they can be applied over an extremely broad range of wave frequencies (27 MHz to 10 GHz demonstrated) and gas pressures (about 10^–4 Torr to a few times the atmospheric pressures). Using the surface wave plasma technique, a large variety of plasma column diameters have been created (0.5–150 mm demonstrated) and no limitation on plasma column length (column up to 6 m long demonstrated) has been found. The surface wave produced plasma is used in elemental analysis and to sustain emission in lasing media. This article is intended as a guide for potential users of surface wave plasmas in the field of plasma processing and plasma chemistry.     

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.     

Parametric study of the flow and temperature fields in an inductively coupled r.f. plasma torch

A theoretical investigation of the effect of different parameters on the flow and the temperature fields in a radiofrequency inductively coupled plasma is carried out. The parameters studied are: central injection gas flow rate, total gas flow rate, input power, and the type of plasma gas. The results obtained for argon and nitrogen plasmas at atmospheric pressure indicate that the flow and the temperature fields in the coil region, as well as the heat flux to the wall of the plasma confinement tube, are considerably altered by the changes in the torch operating conditions.     

Synthesis and Stereochemistry of New Bis(1,3-Oxathian-2-yl) Derivatives: Epimerisation and Chair–Twist Equilibria

The synthesis and stereochemistry of some new bis(1,3-oxathian-2-yl) derivatives are reported. The conformational behavior of these compounds and the orientation of their substituents are deduced from the NMR spectra, from the X-ray crystal structures of two compounds and from the ab-initio level calculations. The epimerization of diastereoisomers and the chair ⇌ 22,5-twist equilibria were studied by variable temperature NMR.