Linear amphiphilic diblock copolymers of lactide and 2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate using bifunctional-initiator and one-pot approaches

Linear amphiphilic diblock copolymers of polylactide (PLA) and poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of DMAEMA followed by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of LLA using the bifunctional initiator, 2′-hydroxyethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate. NMR showed that the resulting PLA block was racemic and a quaternization/precipitation technique showed that there were significant amounts of racemic PLA homopolymer. In addition, simultaneous ATRP of DMAEMA and ROP of l-lactide by tin octoate were conducted at varied temperatures, indicating 90 °C as a suitable compromise temperature; this one-pot process also led to racemization and P(L)LA homopolymer. The racemization was attributed to reversible deprotonation of LLA by the N(CH₃)₂ moiety of (P)DMAEMA and the PLA homopolymer impurity was related to in situ formation of lactoyl lactate (LA–LA) due to nucleophilic ring opening of lactide by the amino moieties of (P)DMAEMA. The methods presented can be useful for the preparation of PDMAEMA–b–PLA/PLA composites in a two-step process or in a single step, one-pot process.     

Dispersive mixing efficiency of an elongational flow mixer on PP/EPDM blends: Morphological analysis and correlation with viscoelastic properties

Polypropylene and ethylene‐propylene‐diene terpolymer (PP/EPDM) blends were melt compounded in a new mixing device, designed in our laboratory under the trademark of RMX®, which predominantly generates elongational flows. Dispersion of the EPDM minor phase in PP was carried out in both RMX® and in an internal mixer (Haake Rheomix 600) at equivalent specific mixing energies and the resultant morphologies obtained by SEM were analyzed and compared. A better dispersive mixing efficiency of the RMX® mixer, i.e., lower D_n and D_v of the dispersed EPDM phase was observed. The impact of elongational flow was more pronounced for blends having a high viscosity ratio p, indicating an enhanced droplet break‐up mechanism, which was attributed to the combination of high shear rates inside the mixing element and important elongational flows in the convergent/divergent zones. The morphology of the blends was correlated with their linear viscoelastic properties by using the Palierne model. Very good agreement was found for the PP/EPDM 80/20 blends but for higher EPDM content, the Palierne model failed to describe the rheological behavior, which was attributed to percolation of the minor phase with increasing the concentration. Higher elasticity at low frequencies was observed for blends processed in the RMX®, which was attributed to a higher generated interfacial area. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1444–1457, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

水杨酸对气相色谱-质谱法检测化妆品中苯酚的影响

2007版《化妆品卫生规范》规定,使用HPLC-DAD法检测化妆品中的苯酚,如有阳性结果,必须用GC-MS法进行验证。采用GC-MS法对含有水杨酸的化妆品进行检测,考察水杨酸对苯酚测定的影响。结果表明,水杨酸对热不稳定,在GC-MS检测条件下会高温分解并释放出苯酚,且热降解程度随着进样口温度的升高而显著增强。用GC-MS法检测含有水杨酸的化妆品时,会得到苯酚含量偏高或假阳性的检测结果。     

“Greening Up” Cross-Coupling Chemistry

New methodologies that enable palladium catalyzed cross-coupling reactions to be performed under environmentally benign conditions (in water and/or at room temperature) have been developed. Described approaches involve in situ activation of carbon–halogen or carbon–hydrogen bonds using zinc metal, or cationic palladium, respectively.     

Mechanical Property of HVOF Inconel 718 Coating for Aeronautic Repair

The module of elasticity is one of the most important mechanical properties defining the strength of a material which is a prerequisite to design a component from its early stage of conception to its field of application. When a material is to be thermally sprayed, mechanical properties of the deposited layers differ from the bulk material, mainly due to the anisotropy of the highly textured coating microstructure. The mechanical response of the deposited layers significantly influences the overall performance of the coated component. It is, therefore, of importance to evaluate the effective module of elasticity of the coating. Conventional experimental methods such as microindentation, nanoindentation and four-point bending tests have been investigated and their results vary significantly, mainly due to inhomogeneous characteristics of the coating microstructure. Synchrotron radiation coupled with a tensile test rig has been proposed as an alternative method to determine the coating anisotropic elastic behavior dependence on crystallographic orientations. The investigation was performed on Inconel 718 (IN718) HVOF coatings sprayed on IN718 substrates. Combining these experimental techniques yield a deeper understanding of the nature of the HVOF coating Young’s modulus and thus a tool for Design Practice for repair applications.     

5-Axis tool path smoothing based on drive constraints

In high speed machining, the real feedrate is often lower than the programmed one. This reduction of the feedrate is mainly due to the physical limits of the drives, and affects machining time as well as the quality of the machined surface. Indeed, if the tool path presents sharp geometrical variations the feedrate has to be decreased to respect the drive constraints in terms of velocity, acceleration and jerk. Thus, the aim of this paper is to smooth 5-axis tool paths in order to maximize the real feedrate and to reduce the machining time.Velocity, acceleration and jerk limits of each drive allow to compute an evaluation of the maximum reachable feedrate which is then used to localize the areas where the tool path has to be smoothed. So starting from a given tool path, the proposed algorithm iteratively smoothes the joint motions in order to raise the real feedrate. This algorithm has been tested in 5-axis end milling of an airfoil and in flank milling of an impeller for which a N-buffer algorithm is used to control the geometrical deviations. An important reduction of the measured machining time is demonstrated in both examples.     

Retail competition in electricity markets

The introduction of competition into retail electricity supply gave rise to great expectations. However, to date, its performance has proven less than stellar, owing primarily to the theoretical concepts underpinning this reform, which draw heavily on the Austrian school. Neither consumers’ decision processes nor this sector's technical paradigm were adequately accounted for, leading to an uncorrect estimation of the expected impact of opening to competition. Short- and medium-term prospects for the evolution of retail markets must be reconsidered from the perspective of greater stability: not a generalization of competition, but rather a persistent segmentation between active and inactive clients; not a large and rapid diffusion of radical innovations in commercialisation, with the potential for undermining the incumbents’ positions.     

开关电源环路中的TL431

在此前一系列的3篇文章中，指出了如何采用TL431来实现1类和2类补偿器。如果前述补偿器类型适合大多数电流模式控制配置工作，其它控制模式则可能需要3类补偿器。举例来说，如果需要对连续导电模式（CCM）电压模式转换器进行补偿，就需要额外的极点和零点。在这3类配置中，TL431并不太有利于实践这样的设计：眼前的快通道（fast lane）显然会使设计工作复杂化。本文提出了简单的构想，以与所观测到交流输入完全解耦的外部直流偏置来消除快通道。这样一来，设计工作被简化，类似于采用运放来构建传统的3类补偿器。     

Isolation and analysis of macromolecular fractions responsible for the surface properties in native Champagne wines

Macromolecules present in Champagne wines from the three grape varieties Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay, were isolated by ultra-concentration on 10 K molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) membranes, then purified by dia-filtration and freeze-dried. Measurements of the surface activity of reconstituted wines from the resulting dry ultra-concentrates by ellipsometry showed the formation of adsorption layers analogous to those observed at the surface of native wines, and responsible for their foam stability. Sequential fractionation of Pinot Noir at decreasing MWCO within the 10–30 K and 30–100 K molecular weight range showed the formation of adsorption layers with both fractions. NMR and chemical analysis indicated that all fractions were mainly composed of polysaccharides and proteins. Monosaccharide analysis gave mannose, galactose, arabinose and glucose as the prominent constituting sugars. Careful bottle rinsing was found to enable thorough macromolecule recovery.