Nucleating agent for poly(L‐lactic acid)—An optimization of chemical structure of hydrazide compound for advanced nucleation ability

A series of compounds having hydrazide groups was prepared and evaluated as nucleating agent for poly(L ‐lactic acid) by differential scanning calorimetry. Hydrazide compounds derived from benzoic acid, 2‐hydroxybenzoic acid, 3‐tert‐butylbenzoic acid, and 2‐aminobenzoic acid, where two of hydrazide compounds connected by four methylene chain were evaluated in series. Benzoylhydrazide type was found to be more effective on the enhancement of crystallization of poly(L ‐lactic acid). Effects of connecting length of methylene chain numbers between two of benzoylhydrazide on the nucleation ability were also evaluated. Benzoylhydrazide‐type compound having 10 methylenes, that is, decamethylenedicarboxylic dibenzoylhydrazide demonstrated excellent nucleation ability, and the resulted crystallization temperature and enthalpy of PLA with the compound of 1 wt % loading were 131°C and 46 J g^?1. The achieved crystallization temperature and enthalpy were over 10°C and over 10 J g^?1 higher than PLA with conventional nucleating agents, such as talc and ethylenebis (12‐hydroxystearylamide). Thus, the improvement in processability, productivity, and heat resistance of PLA is suggested to be achieved by using decamethylenedicarboxylic dibenzoylhydrazide as a nucleating agent. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 198–203, 2007     

Pyrolysis of melamine–formaldehyde and urea–formaldehyde resins

Pyrolysis of melamine–formaldehyde and urea–formaldehyde resins in helium and air was investigated by means of TG and gravimetry with isothermal heating, as well as elemental and HCN analyses. Weight loss curves suggest three kinds of reactions involved in the pyrolysis, namely, initiation reactions, reactions splitting off volatile fragments, and reactions forming stabilized structures. In TG, in both helium and air atmospheres, the active weight loss of the melamine resin was completed in two steps, and that of the urea resin was completed in one step, which, however, consisted of a few small successive steps. The isothermal heating weight losses progressed through a few stages of first- and zeroth-order reactions. Arrhenius parameters were obtained for the weight losses in TG and with isothermal heating. The residue from the melamine resin is rich in carbon and nitrogen, and poor in oxygen and hydrogen, while that from the urea resin is rich in carbon, and poor in nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. The effects of temperature on HCN yield changed, depending on the amount of air fed. The melamine resin evolved much more HCN than the urea resin because of the more stable C—N linkages in the resin.     

Facilitated permeation of myoglobin through porous membranes: Different permeation behavior through membranes of polyoxyethylene- and dextran-conjugated polyamides prepared by quasi-living polymerization of a bicyclic lactam

In the ultrafiltration test of a myoglobin solution through porous membranes of the ABA-type block copolymers composed of polyamide as outer segments and polyoxyethylene (M_n = 1.9–2.0 × 10⁴) as an inner segment, in which the values of weight fraction of the polyamide segments (W) were 0.90, 0.84, 0.82, 0.81, and 0.73, the concentration of the permeate was found to be much higher than that in feed under the pressure difference of 1–2 kg/cm². Such singularly facilitated permeation was observed also in the test through the dense membranes of the polyamide–polyoxyethylene block copolymer with W of 0.81 and 0.73. On the other hand, neither porous nor dense membranes of the graft copolymer (W = 0.83) having a dextran stock (M_n = 1.8 × 10⁴) and 2.6 pieces of polyamide branches showed similar facilitated permeation, although dextran was soluble in water as well as polyoxyethylene. The apparent interaction of myoglobin with dextran may be stronger than that with polyoxyethylene. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation and Electric Properties of Dense Nanocrystalline Zinc Oxide Ceramics

This communication reports on the preparation and electric properties of dense nanocrystalline ZnO ceramics. By spark plasma sintering, nanocrystalline (∼100 nm) ZnO ceramics with a high density of 98.5% were obtained at a very low temperature of 550°C. Electric property measurement revealed a novel conduction nonlinearity in the sample sintered at 500°C. This phenomenon is due to the nanometerization of ZnO crystal and the grain boundary layer with an amorphous interfacial layer.     

Effect of the preparation condition on the properties of titania-silica derived from tetraisopropyl titanate(IV) and tetraethyl orthosilicate

Titania-silica mixed oxide was prepared by hydrolyzing tetraethyl orthosilicate and tetraisopropyl titanate(IV) with a mixture of ethanol and 0.01 N aqueous acetic acid. Surface Ti content, BET surface area, and the number of acid sites increased with an increase in 0.01 N aqueous acetic acid. Thus hydrolysis of both alkoxides occurred simultaneously with a large amount of the acetic acid solution, and there was extensive interaction between TiO₂ and SiO₂ phases. With small amount of 0.01 N aqueous acetic acid, however, titanium hydroxide was first formed and, then, it was covered with the silica phase produced in a later stage of the hydrolysis. Increase in the acetic acid solution also led to the formation of a large amount of tetrahedral Ti species, which were active for the epoxidation of oct-1-ene usingt-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant.     

Barus effect in nylon 6 polymer melts

The maximum diameter of broadening of nylon 6 polymer melts due to the Barus effect d_max were measured under various conditions of spinneret die dimensions and polymer temperatures. The results obtained were formulated and compared with the typical past theories on the mechanism of occurrence of the Barus effect. The Barus effect was formulated by using the relation between stress and strain in the theory of rubber elasticity: where τs is the shear stress generated inside the spinneret die, T is the absolute temperature of polymer melts, λ is the elongation ratio parallel to the polymer stream, and d₀ is the diameter of spinneret die. This formula coincides with the experimental results.     

Reduction and Sintering of a Nickel–Dispersed-Alumina Composite and Its Properties

High-density nickel–dispersed-alumina (Al₂O₃/nickel) composites with superior mechanical properties were obtained by the hydrogen reduction and the hot pressing of alumina–nickel oxide (Al₂O₃/NiO) mixed powders. The mixtures were prepared by using NiO or nickel nitrate (Ni(NO₃)₂· n H₂O) as a dispersion source of nickel metal. Microstructural investigations of the composite fabricated using nitrate powder revealed that fine nickel particles, } 100 nm in diameter, dispersed homogeneously at the matrix grain boundaries, forming the intergranular nanocomposite. High strength (.1 GPa) and high-temperature hardness were registered for the composite that contained a small amount of nickel dispersion. The ferromagnetic properties of nickel, such as high coercive force, were observed, because of the fine magnetic dispersions, which indicates a functional value of structural composites.     

Electrical and electroluminescent properties of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) LB films based LEDs using aluminum metal as the electrode

The electrical properties of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films were investigated, wherein transparent indium-tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum (Al) were used as the electrodes. Their I–V characteristics depended strongly on the thickness of PPV LB film, and the electric conductivity of the PPV LB film was in the range of 10⁻²–10⁻¹⁵ (S/cm). Their C–V characteristics showed that the capacitance was reversibly proportional to the thickness of PPV LB film and was kept constant when the applied voltage changed from −1.0 V to +1.0 V. These results indicated that PPV LB film was an insulator in this range of applied voltage without doping. Under forward bias, yellow-green light emission was observed in PPV LB film based light emitting diodes (LEDs), the highest light emission reached more than 100 cd/m² in the case that PPV LB film was deposited for 80 layers, i.e. a ITO/PPV(80L)/Al device.     

The development of pivot bearing with multiple degrees of freedom: 1st report: Prototype of pivot bearing with two degrees of freedom

This paper deals with the prototype of a new pivot bearing having two degrees of freedom. The idea of the pivot bearing is based on a continuous velocity joint (CVJ). The experimental axial stiffness and contact pressure are compared with those determined by theoretical analysis. Then, it is confirmed that the pivot bearing swings smoothly with a range of ±25°. Furthermore, the stiffness of the bearing increases as the swinging angle becomes larger. Therefore, this newly developed pivot bearing may be applied to a parallel mechanism, a joint of robot and so on.     

Highly Reproducible and Regulated Conductance Quantization in a Polymer‐Based Atomic Switch

A detailed understanding of the conductance quantization and resistive switching phenomena in redox‐based memories is crucial for realizing atomic‐scale memory devices and for finding the adequate design principles on which they can be based. Here, the emergence of quantized conductance states and their correlation with resistive switching characteristics in polymer‐based atomic switches are investigated using combinations of current–voltage measurements and first‐principles density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Various conductance states, including integer and half‐integer multiples of a single atomic point contact and fractional conductance variations, are observed in an Ag/polyethylene oxide/Pt device under sweeping of bias voltage. Moreover, highly controllable and reproducible quantized conductance behaviors by tuning the voltage sweep rate and the sweep voltage range, suggesting well‐controlled formation of the atomic point contact, are demonstrated. The device also exhibits longer retention times for higher conductance states. The DFT simulations reveal the transmission eigenstate of geometrically optimized atomic point contact structures and the impact of the atomic configurations and structural stability on the conductance state, which also explains their resistive switching behaviors. The well‐defined, multiple quantized conductance states observed in these polymer‐based atomic switches show promise for the development of new multilevel memory devices.