Discrimination of poly(vinyl chloride) samples with different plasticizers and prediction of plasticizer contents in poly(vinyl chloride) using near-infrared spectroscopy and neural-network analysis.

In the recycling of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), it is required to discriminate every plasticizer for quality control. For this purpose, the near-infrared spectra were measured for 41 kinds of PVC samples with different plasticizers (DINP, DOP, DOA, TOTM and Polyester) and different plasticizer contents (0-49%). A neural-network analysis was applied to the near-infrared spectra pretreated by second-derivative processing. They were discriminated from one another. The neural-network analysis also allowed us to propose a calibration model which predicts the contents of plasticizers in PVC. The correlation coefficient (R) and the root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) for the DINP calibration model were found to be 0.999 and 0.41 wt%, respectively. In comparison, a partial least-squares regression analysis was carried out. The R and RMSEP of the DINP calibration model were calculated to be 0.993 and 1.27 wt%, respectively. It is found that a near-infrared spectra measurement combined with a neural-network analysis is useful for plastic recycling.     

Preferential CO oxidation promoted by the presence of H2 over K-Pt/Al2O3

In preferential CO oxidation in H2-rich gas, K-Pt/Al2O3(K/Pt = 10) was very effective in decreasing CO concentration below 10 ppm in the 375-410 K range, and the turnover frequency of the K-Pt/Al2O3 was 20 times as high as that of Pt/Al2O3 at 353 K; furthermore, the activity of CO oxidation was promoted drastically by the presence of H2.     

Transportation of a microdroplet on an oriented liquid crystal surface

Wetting phenomena play important roles in several technological applications and in many physical and biological thin‐film phenomena, such as wetting, adhesion and friction. One of key issues of these studies is to control the surface energy (or wettability) dynamically for liquid transportation. We have developed a liquid crystal (LC) surface for use as a transport substrate since we expected that the surface energy of an LC surface can be controlled rapidly using an electric field. The rapid control of the polarisability (or wettability) of a liquid crystalline surface by an electric field has been demonstrated, together with the transportation of a liquid microdroplet.     

Exact analysis of ESR shift in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain

A systematic perturbation theory is developed for the ESR shift and is applied to the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain with a general anisotropic exchange interaction. Using the Bethe ansatz technique, the resonance shift is obtained exactly for the whole range of temperature and magnetic field in the first order of the anisotropy. The obtained g shift strongly depends on magnetic fields at low temperature, showing a significant deviation from the previous classical result.     

Synthesis and properties of cross-linkable DNA duplex using 4-amino-2-oxo-6-vinyl-1,3,5-triazine

We synthesized the DNA oligonucleotide containing a new cross-linkable 4-amino-2-oxo-6-vinyltriazine (AOVT) nucleobase analogue (Et-AOVT) and evaluated these properties. Our results of the cross-link assay and thermal denaturing assay of duplexes containing AOVT demonstrated that the additional aza of AOVT has an impact on the duplex stability and crosslink properties. Our data suggests that the additional 5-aza of AOVT is involved in the hydrogen bonding with the complementary guanine, and this hydrogen bonding system successfully flipped the reactive vinyl group out to the major groove of the duplex demonstrating a new paradigm of a “cross-linkable duplex”.     

Inelastic scattering on 12Be and disappearance of the N = 8 magic number

Experimental studies on in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy using a ¹²Be radioactive beam are presented. Inelastic scattering of the neutron-rich ¹²Be nucleus on ²⁰⁸Pb, ¹²C, and (CH₂)_n targets has been studied by measuring de-excitation γ-rays in coincidence with scattered particles. The level schemes and transition probabilities are determined for low-lying excited states in ¹²Be. The present paper presents a brief review of the spectroscopic results, which may be associated with the N = 8 shell quenching near the drip line. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Electrical resistivity anomaly in the vicinity of structural phase transition of p-SnTe

Electrical resistivity of p-SnTe is calculated taking into account the second-order scattering processes through the inter-band electron-phonon interaction based on the Kristoffel-Konsin model. The experimental results can be reasonably explained by our numerical results.     

A pilot study on improving the absorptivity of a thick microperforated panel absorber

Microperforated panel (MPP) absorbers are promising as a basis for the next-generation of sound absorbing materials. MPPs are typically made of a thin metal or plastic panel. However, thin limp panels are generally not suitable as an interior finish of room walls because they do not have sufficient strength, which prevents practical application of MPPs as an interior finish of room walls. In order to overcome the lack of appropriate strength required for room walls, it is possible to make an MPP out of a thick panel. However, thick MPPs are usually not efficient because the resistance and/or reactance become too high. In this study, trial production of thick MPPs and measurement of their normal absorption coefficients were carried out. Results show that efficient absorption can be given with a thick MPP by using a tapered perforation.