Needle-free electrospinning of nanofibrillated cellulose and graphene nanoplatelets based sustainable poly (butylene succinate) nanofibers

Sustainable materials have slowly overtaken the nanofiber research field while the tailoring of their properties and the upscaling for industrial production are some of the major challenges. We report preparation of nanofibers that are bio-based and biodegradable prepared from poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) with the incorporation of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and graphene nanoplatelets (GN). NFC and GN were combined as hybrid filler, which led to the improved morphological structure for electrospun nanofibers. A needleless approach was used for solution electrospinning fabrication of nanofiber mesh structures to promote application scalability. The polymer crystallization process was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the thermal stability was evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), while the extensive investigation of the nanofibers structure was carried out with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). NFC and GN loadings were 0.5 and 1.0 wt %; while poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) was employed as a compatibilizer to enhance fillers’ interaction within the polymer matrix. The interactions in the interface of the fillers and matrix components were studied by FTIR and Raman spectroscopies. The hybrid filler approach proved to be most suitable for consistent and high-quality nanofiber production. The obtained dense mesh-based structures could have foreseeable potential application in biomedical field like scaffolds for the tissue and bone recovery, while other applications could focus on filtration technologies and smart sensors.     

Synthesis and spectral properties of new N-substituted naphthalimide luminophores for structural coloration of polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene

Two new unsaturated acryloxide derivatives of 4-amino-substituted-1,8-naphthalimide luminophores were synthesized. Their absorption and fluorescent properties were determined in both CHCl₃ and C₂H₅OH. The luminophores display a broad absorption band in the visible spectral region (halfband-width up to 4433 cm⁻¹) and a fluorescence in the yellow-green region (526–530 nm). The compounds are yellow colored, with a high brightness (from 2.92 up to 6.75) and a purity of color. The possibility of including naphthalimide luminophores in copolymerization process with ST and MMA resulting in the formation of colored polymers was investigated. It was found that no changes in the chemical structure of the chromophore group occurred during copolymerization. More than 92% of the initial luminophores were bound to the polymer chain. The influence of the luminophores on the kinetics of polymerization was studied, and the average viscosimetric molecular weight, M_v, of the obtained colored polymers estimated. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1069–1076, 1997     

On continuation of a topology from a system of generators of a group to a topology on the group

In this paper we establish conditions under which a topology is continued from a subset of a group to a topology on the group coordinated with the group operation.     

Influence of substituted 1,4-anthraquinones on the chlorophyll fluorescence and photochemical activity of pea thylakoid membranes

The effect of substituted 1,4-anthraquinones on the photochemical activity and chlorophyll fluorescence of thylakoid membranes was examined. Both the fluorescence and the photochemical activity depend on the 1,4-anthraquinone substituent. Stronger quinone-induced quenching of the chlorophyll fluorescence than quinone-induced changes in the activity of photosystem II is observed. The type (Cl or Br) and the position (Cl) of the chalogen atom strongly influence the degree of inhibition of PSII electron transport and the quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence. The data suggest that the quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence is due rather to the interaction of the 1,4-anthraquinones and chlorophyll molecules than to an indirect effect caused by stimulation of the photochemistry.     

Role of LHCII organization in the interaction of substituted 1,4-anthraquinones with thylakoid membranes

The chlorophyll fluorescence, photochemical activity and surface electric properties of thylakoid membranes with different stoichiometry of pigment-protein complexes and organization of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex of photosystem II (LHCII) were studied in the presence of substituted 1,4-anthraquinones. Data show strong dependence of the quenching of the chlorophyll fluorescence on the structural organization of LHCII. The increase of the LHCII oligomerization, which is associated with significant reduction of the transmembrane electric charge asymmetry and electric polarizability of the membrane, correlates with enhanced quenching effect of substituted 1,4-athraquinones. Crucial for the large quinone-induced changes in the membrane electric dipole moments is the structure of the quinone molecule. The strongest reduction in the values of the dipole moments is observed after interaction of thylakoids with 3-chloro-9-hydroxy-1,4-anthraquinone (TF33) which has the highest quenching efficiency. The quinone induced changes in the photochemical activity of photosystem II (PSII) correlate with the total amount of the supramolecular LHCII-PSII complex and depend on the number of substituents in the 1,4-anthraquinone molecule.     

Testing the Pauli exclusion principle with the NEMO-2 detector

The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) was tested with the NEMO-2 detector. Limits at the 90% C.L. on the violation of PEP for p-shell nucleons in ¹²C were obtained. Specifically, transitions to the fully occupied 1s _1/2-shell yielded a limit of 4.2 · 10²⁴ y for the process with emission of a γ-quantum. Similarly limits of 3.1 · 10²⁴ y for β⁻ and 2.6 · 10²⁴ y for β⁺ Pauli-forbidden transitions of ¹²C →¹²?¹²B) are reported here. Received: 25 August 1999     

Electrical properties of a novel fluorinated polycarbonate

The relative permittivity, loss and dielectric strength have been measured for a polycarbonate-based material, tetraaryl bisphenol A polycarbonate, that has been fluorine substituted (DiF p-TABPA-PC). The new material has a glass transition temperature, T_g = 489 K, that is higher than that for either conventional bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPA-PC) for which T_g = 421 K or for a copolymer of tetraaryl bisphenol A (TABPA) and bisphenol A (BPA) (TABPA-BPA-PC) for which T_g = 464 K. In addition, the dielectric strength of DiF p-TABPA-PC is almost identical to that for purified BPA-PC and slightly larger than the value for TABPA-BPA-PC. The relative permittivity and loss measurements were carried out from 10 to 10⁵ Hz over a wide temperature range and at pressures up to 0.25 GPa. Variable temperature results for the α relaxation and both temperature and pressure results for the γ relaxation regions are reported. The α relaxation exhibits standard behavior. The γ relaxation exhibits unusual characteristics such as a strong increase in peak height as temperature increases and a strong decrease in peak height with increasing pressure. The data for the γ relaxation have been analyzed using several formulations. Expressions for the peak height and peak position based on a two state (inequivalent well) model and the resulting parameters are discussed in terms of the insight they provide into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the sub-T_g relaxation. Ab initio SCF results for a related model compound are presented. Finally, the real part of the relative permittivity for the new polymer is about 10% higher than for BPA-PC.     

N-Alkylation of 4-nitro-1,2,3-triazole revisited. Detection and characterization of the N3-ethylation product, 1-ethyl-5-nitro-1,2,3-triazole

The products of the alkylation of sodium 4-nitro-1,2,3-triazolate with ethyl bromide were investigated using ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy. It was found that alkylation proceeds on the triazole nitrogen atoms giving a mixture of three isomeric N-ethyl-4-nitro-1,2,3-triazoles. The molar ratio of N1, N2, and N3-alkylation products was 4:8:1. The formation of a minor N3-isomer, namely 1-ethyl-5-nitro-1,2,3-triazole was confirmed by X-ray structural analysis of single crystals of its tetranuclear copper(II) complex obtained by reaction of copper(II) chloride dihydrate with a mixture of the N2 and N3-isomers.     

Thermochemical and structural properties of anthraquinones

We have investigated the energetic, structural, and other physical–chemical properties (aromaticity, intrinsic strain, hydrogen bond interaction) of 1,4-anthraquinone (1), its better known isomer 9,10-anthraquinone (2) and the derivatives 9-hydroxy-1,4-anthraquinone (3) and 9-methoxy-1,4-anthraquinone (4). In particular, the standard enthalpy of formation in the gas phase at 298.15 K of 1,4-anthraquinone was determined [ $\Updelta_{\text{f}}^{{}} H_{\text{m}}^{\text{o}} \left( {{\text{g}},{\mathbf{1}}} \right) \, = \, - 4 4. 9 { } \pm { 5}. 7\;{\text{kJ}}\;{\text{mol}}^{ - 1} ]$ . Using isodesmic/homodesmotic reaction schemes, we have experimentally estimated: (i) the stabilization energy of 1 (162.2 ± 7.2 kJ mol^?1) and 2 (193.2 ± 5.2 kJ mol^?1), (ii) strength of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in 3 (HB = 79.8 ± 10.8 kJ mol^?1), and (iii) additional strain energy due to peri-oxygen interaction in 4 (?34.2 ± 7.6 kJ mol^?1). A computational study of these species, at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) level, sheds light on structural, aromatic, intrinsic strain, or hydrogen bond effects and further confirmed the consistency of the experimental results.