Kinetic study of the crosslinking reaction of 1,2‐polybutadiene with dicumyl peroxide in the absence and presence of vinyl acetate

The crosslinking reaction of 1,2-polybutadiene (1,2-PB) with dicumyl peroxide (DCPO) in dioxane was kinetically studied by means of Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (FTNIR). The crosslinking reaction was followed in situ by the monitoring of the disappearance of the pendant vinyl group of 1,2-PB with FTNIR. The initial disappearance rate (R₀) of the vinyl group was expressed by R₀ = k[DCPO]^0.8[vinyl group]^−0.2 (120 °C). The overall activation energy of the reaction was estimated to be 38.3 kcal/mol. The unusual rate equation was explained in terms of the polymerization of the pendant vinyl group as an allyl monomer involving degradative chain transfer to the monomer. The reaction mixture involved electron spin resonance (ESR)-observable polymer radicals, of which the concentration rapidly increased with time owing to a progress of crosslinking after an induction period of 200 min. The crosslinking reaction of 1,2-PB with DCPO was also examined in the presence of vinyl acetate (VAc), which was regarded as a copolymerization of the vinyl group with VAc. The vinyl group of 1,2-PB was found to show a reactivity much higher than 1-octene and 3-methyl-1-hexene as model compounds in the copolymerization with VAc. This unexpectedly high reactivity of the vinyl group suggested that an intramolecular polymerization process proceeds between the pendant vinyl groups located on the same polymer chain, possibly leading to the formation of block-like polymer. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4437–4447, 2004     

Preparation and properties of sol-gel coating films

The present state of our knowledge on sol-gel coating films has been reviewed. A qualitative discussion is made on the limit of the film thickness which can be achieved in the sol-gel method and the factors affecting the film thickness. Considering that properties of the film are intimately related to the microstructure, types of microstructures accomplished by the sol-gel coating are introduced with examples.     

Preparation of Polycrystalline Antimonic Acid Films by Electrophoretic Deposition

Cubic antimonic acid (Sb₂O₅·nH₂O) films were successfully prepared on stainless steel and Si(100) substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) using two types of sols. The sols were prepared by reacting an H₂O₂ aqueous solution with Sb(O-i-C₃H₇)₃ or metallic Sb powder. The resulting films were found to consist of fine particles of cubic Sb₂O₅·nH₂O single crystals with uniform particle sizes of 30 nm and 150 nm. The weight of the Sb₂O₅·nH₂O deposit on the anode Si(100) substrate by EPD increased linearly with the current density in the range of 0–0.67 mA cm^–2, when the sol pH was over 7. The proton conductivity of the polycrystalline Sb₂O₅·nH₂O discs, formed from the two types of sols, was evaluated by an ac impedance method at room temperature under controlled levels of relative humidity.     

Control of optical properties of gel-derived oxide coating films containing fine metal particles

Control of the optical properties of gel-derived oxide films containing fine metal particles is described. The duration of the aging of Si(OC₂H₅)₄-derived sols and the amount of water for hydrolyzing Si(OC₂H₅)₄ were found to greatly affect the size and the shape of Au particles formed in the silica matrix, and accordingly the optical absorption of the Au/SiO₂ composite films. Employing dielectric media with high refractive indices like TiO₂ was shown to shift the absorption peak of Au particles to longer wavelengths. Pd/TiO₂ and Pt/TiO₂ composite films showed absorption in the visible region.     

A mesoporous non-precious metal boride system: synthesis of mesoporous cobalt boride by strictly controlled chemical reduction

Generating high surface area mesoporous transition metal boride is interesting because the incorporation of boron atoms generates lattice distortions that lead to the formation of amorphous metal boride with unique properties in catalysis. Here we report the first synthesis of mesoporous cobalt boron amorphous alloy colloidal particles using a soft template-directed assembly approach. Dual reducing agents are used to precisely control the chemical reduction process of mesoporous cobalt boron nanospheres. The Earth-abundance of cobalt boride combined with the high surface area and mesoporous nanoarchitecture enables solar-energy efficient photothermal conversion of CO₂ into CO compared to non-porous cobalt boron alloys and commercial cobalt catalysts.

Generating high surface area mesoporous transition metal boride is challenging but interesting because incorporation of boron atoms can generate lattice distortion to form amorphous metal boride which has unique properties in catalysis.     

Performance of throughout in-capillary derivatization capillary electrophoresis employing an on-line sample and run buffer loading device

We report on the effect on performance of varying the length of the capillary during throughout in-capillary derivatization (TICD) capillary electrophoresis (CE). Performance was evaluated by on-line coupling with a sample and CE runbuffer loading device that was newly introduced for this study. The device was assembled with a low cost using two 5 mm inner diameter (ID) disposable polyethylene syringes. First, a sequence was manually formed consisting of a 200 microL run buffer solution plug, a 100 microL sample plug and another 200 microL run buffer solution plug. Each plug was separated from its neighbor by a 100 microL air plug. When each plug reached the injection point where both a platinum-wire anode and the end of the separation capillary tube were located, 340 V/cm separation voltage (electrophoresis voltage) and 34 V/cm injection voltage were applied to the capillary for 3 s. Then the analytes were derivatized during migration in 50 microm ID capillaries filled with 2 mM o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a 20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10), followed by separating and detecting of OPA derivatives by absorbance of 340 nm. Derivatization, separation, and detection were performed systematically using capillaries which varied in length from 5 to 80 cm. In the case of TICD-CE of a mixture containing 1 mM aspartic acid (Asp) and 20 mM m-nitorophenol (MNP) as a test solution, it was determined that peak area and peak width ratios of Asp to MNP did not depend on capillary length. Enantiomeric separations of DL-alanine (Ala) and Asp were examined using a run buffer consisting of a 45 microM beta-cyclodextrin (CD)-2 mM OPA/NAC-20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10). Even though the resolution of these enantiomeric pairs decreased with decreasing capillary length, as expected, the peaks corresponding to both enantiomeric amino acids were identified even when a 5 cm capillary was used. An 8-component amino acid mixture was also tested with 5 cm and 10 cm capillaries.