Influence of the sulfonate countercation on the thermal stability of nafion perfluorosulfonate membranes

We report a strong dependence of the thermal stability of Nafion® perfluorosulfonate ionomer on the nature of the counterion associated with the fixed sulfonate site. These results were obtained using thermal gravimetric analysis on a series of alkali metal and alkyl ammonium cation-exchanged Nafion films. We have found that the temperature of decomposition of Nafion is inversely dependent on the size of the exchanged cation; i.e., Nafion films show improved thermal stability as the size of the counter cation decreases. We attribute this inverse relationship of thermal stability with counterion size to an initial decomposition reaction which is strongly influenced by the strength of the sulfonate-coun-terion interaction. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Finitely additive integration and local integration with respect to upper integrals

Summary We study the integration theory for general integral metrics when restricted to upper integrals q, finding improvements in the relation between the classes of the q-integrable and the q_l-integrable functions. We give new results and notions which lead to the desirable characterizations of q-integrable functions as q_l-integrable f with q(|f|) < ∞, and of q_l-integrable functions via the integrability of their upper truncations, under natural conditions which are fulfilled in most finitely additive integration theories.     

Semiconvergence in distribution of random closed sets with application to random optimization problems

The paper considers upper semicontinuous behavior in distribution of sequences of random closed sets. Semiconvergence in distribution will be described via convergence in distribution of random variables with values in a suitable topological space. Convergence statements for suitable functions of random sets are proved and the results are employed to derive stability statements for random optimization problems where the objective function and the constraint set are approximated simultaneously. The author is grateful to two anonymous referees for helpful suggestions.     

Balanced contributions for TU games with awards and applications

Calleja et al. [Calleja, P., Borm, P., Hendrickx, R., 2005. Multi-issue allocation situations. European Journal of Operational Research 164, 730–747] introduced multi-issue allocation situations with awards. In this paper, we extend the classical model of cooperative games with transferable utility to the cooperative games with transferable utility and awards. We define a run-to-the-bank rule for cooperative games with transferable utility and awards and characterise it in terms of a property of balanced contributions. We apply our main result to bankruptcy problems and multi-issue allocation situations with awards.     

AFM, SEM and GIXRD studies of thin films of red polycarbazolyldiacetylenes

In this paper we report the results of a morphological and structural investigation on film properties of a soluble polydiacetylene, the poly[1,6-bis(3,6-dihexadecyl-N-carbazolyl)-2,4-hexadiyne] (polyDCHD-HS). The red films of this polymer, prepared by standard spin-coating techniques, revealed absence of linear dichroism and birefringence in contrast with the ordered mesophases detected by powder X-ray studies. In order to interpret the optical behavior of this polymer, we performed AFM and SEM studies of polyDCHD-HS films spun on hydrophylic and hydrophobic glass substrates. We found the presence of surfaces organized in rod-like particles, more regularly oriented on the hydrophylic substrate. GIXRD studies, carried out on films sufficiently thick to allow the observation of the diffraction pattern, reveled the presence of a lamellar structure with a spacing of 3.22 nm. The low intensity of the diffraction peaks and the isotropic linear optical properties of the films show that the lamellar mesophases are not extended over large areas. These findings were compared with the data obtained from AFM and SEM studies on films of two other polydiacetylenes, the poly[1-(3,6-dihexadexyl-N-carbazolyl)-6-(N-carbazolyl)-2,4-hexadyine] (polya-DCHD) and the poly[1,6-bis(3,6-dipalmitoyl-N-carbazolyl)-2,4-hexadyine] (polyDPCHD), spun on hydrophylic glass substrate. The results confirmed the presence of nodular morphologies which seem to be a general characteristic of this class of materials. The particles organization appears instead related to the chemical nature of the substituents on the carbazolyl rings.     

Sandwich Techniques in flow injection analysis : Part 1. Continuous recalibration techniques for process control

Flow injection methodology based on sample insertion between two different standard solutions used as carrier streams is described. This approach provides a simple system for continuous recalibration in process control; spectrophotometric and ion-selective electrode procedures are outlined.     

151Eu Mössbauer studies on Eu1+x Ba2−x Cu3O7+δ oxide systems

Mössbauer parameters of¹⁵¹Eu in Eu_1+x Ba_2?x Cu₃O_7+δ have been studied as a function of temperature, forx=0.15 andx=0.25. The areas of the absorption spectra for the two samples are almost equal. This could mean that thef-Mössbauer factor for¹⁵¹Eu at the barium sites is much smaller than that for¹⁵¹Eu at the rare earth sites, i.e. we only observe the spectra of the latter sites. According to this, the fits of the spectra with a single quadrupolar pattern and with two quadrupolar patterns have given equivalent χ² values.