Application of citric acid as natural adhesive for wood

The development of natural adhesives derived from nonfossil resources is very important for the future. Besides, it is desirable to be safe adhesives without using harmful chemical substances. In this study, application of citric acid as a natural adhesive was investigated. Citric acid powder and bark powder obtained from Acacia mangium were used as raw materials. Citric acid powder was mixed with the bark powder, and the resulting powder mixture was poured into a metal mold. The mold was hot‐pressed at 180°C and 4 MPa for 10 min, and a bark molding was then obtained. The specific modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity values of the molding containing 20 wt % citric acid were 18.1 MPa and 4.9 GPa, respectively. The molding did not decompose during a repeated boiling treatment. To clarify the effect of tannin on the adhesiveness of molding, bark was separated into tannin and residue. The molding was not obtained while using the tannin due to the marked fluidity, whereas it was obtained while using the residue, the same as while using the bark. It was considered that components other than tannin contributed to the adhesiveness. Based on the results of Fourier transform infrared spectra, the formation of ester linkages between carboxyl groups derived from citric acid and hydroxyl groups in the bark was confirmed. Accordingly, citric acid brought an adhesion by chemical bonding, and it could be used as a safe natural adhesive. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Silver(I)-Ion-Mediated Cytosine-Containing Base Pairs: Metal Ion Specificity for Duplex Stabilization and Susceptibility toward DNA Polymerases

Spectroscopic characterization of Ag^I-ion-mediated C-Ag^I-A and C-Ag^I-T base pairs found in primer extension reactions catalyzed by DNA polymerases was conducted. UV melting experiments revealed that C-A and C-T mismatched base pairs in oligodeoxynucleotide duplexes are specifically stabilized by Ag^I ions in 1:1 stoichiometry in the same manner as a C-C mismatched base pair. Although the stability of the mismatched base pairs in the absence of Ag^I ions is in the order C-A≈C-T>C-C, the stabilizing effect of Ag^I ions follows the order C-C>C-A≈C-T. However, the comparative susceptibility of dNTPs to Ag^I-mediated enzymatic incorporation into the site opposite templating C is dATP>dTTP≫dCTP, as reported. The net charge, as well as the size and/or shape complementarity of the metal-mediated base pairs, or the stabilities of mismatched base pairs in the absence of metal ions, would be more important than the stability of the metallo-base pairs in the replicating reaction catalyzed by DNA polymerases.     

Electrochemical corrosion and materials properties of reactively sputtered TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings

TiN/TiAlN multilayers of 2 μm thickness were successfully prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering method. XRD pattern showed the (1 1 1) preferential orientation for both TiN and TiAlN layers. XPS characterization showed the presence of different phases like TiN, TiO₂, TiON, AlN and Al₂O₃. Cross sectional TEM indicated the columnar growth of the coatings. The average RMS roughness value of 4.8 nm was observed from AFM analysis. TiN/TiAlN coating showed lower friction coefficient and lower wear rate than single layer coatings. The results of electrochemical experiments indicated that a TiN/TiAlN multilayer coating has superior corrosion resistance in 3.5% NaCl solution.     

Adsorption characteristics of superplasticizers on cement component minerals

Adsorption characteristics of various superplasticizers on portland cement component minerals were investigated. Adsorption isotherms of various types of superplasticizers and ζ-potentials of cement component minerals at the maximum adsorption of the superplasticizers were measured. The value of the adsorption isotherm was calculated from the amount of the superplasticizer adsorbed on a cement component mineral in an equilibrated solution. The maximum amounts of adsorption and the adsorption isotherms varied with types of component mineral and superplasticizer. For all types of superplasticizers, a larger amount of superplasticizer was adsorbed on C₃A and C₄AF than C₃S and C₂S. However, the equilibrated concentration of each superplasticizer at the maximum adsorption was not influenced by types of superplasticizer. Without superplasticizer, C₃S and C₂S had negative ζ-potential. On the contrary, C₃A and C₄AF had positive ζ-potential. Therefore, accelerated coagulation of cement particles might occur due to their electrostatic potentials that are opposite each other. However, all component minerals of cement had negative ζ-potential when they were mixed with any superplasticizer. Fluidity of fresh cement paste is improved due to electrostatic repulsion acting between particles.     

Effects of dietary lipids on daunomycin-induced nephropathy in mice: comparison between cod liver oil and soybean oil

Although it is well known that dietary lipids affect the course of glomerulonephritis in rats and humans, the precise mechanisms involved have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different types of dietary lipids (fish oil and vegetable oil) on daunomycin (DM)-induced nephropathy in mice fed on soybean oil (SO) or cod liver oil (CLO). Urinary protein excretion, serum albumin, creatinine, total cholesterol, and TG were measured, and glomerular histological changes were evaluated. Antioxidant enzymes were also measured, along with the levels of lipid peroxide, GSH, thromboxane (Tx) B_2′ and 6-keto prostaglandin F_1α in renal cortical tissue. Dietary CLO significantly reduced urinary albumin excretion and ameliorated the histological changes induced by DM. The increase of tissue lipid peroxide levels seen in SO-fed mice was suppressed in CLO-fed mice, whereas CLO-fed mice showed higher GSH levels than SO-fed mice throughout the experiment. In addition, renal tissue GSH peroxidase activity was significantly higher at 72 h after DM injection in CLO-DM mice than in SO-DM mice. Both renal cortical TxB₂ and 6-keto PGF_1α levels were significantly lower in CLO-DM mice than in SO-DM mice. These results suggest that inhibition of oxidative damage by dietary CLO played an important role in the prevention of DM nephropathy in this mouse model. The effect of CLO was closely associated with the inhibition of Tx synthesis.     

Crystal orientation of β-phase isotactic polypropylene induced by magnetic orientation of N,N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide

Melt crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP), containing crystallites of N,N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide (DCNDCA) as a nucleating agent of the the β-phase iPP crystal, is carried out under a magnetic field (6 T) to obtain the alignment of the iPP crystal induced by magnetic alignment of DCNDCA. In a previous paper, DCNDCA was reported to undergo magnetic alignment in a liquid suspension. The obtained iPP sample exhibits alignment of the β-phase crystal with the c-axis aligned perpendicular to the magnetic field. The comparison of this alignment of iPP with the reported magnetic alignment of DCNDCA indicates that the β-phase crystal grows epitaxially on the DCNDCA crystal. The (330)_β plane of the iPP crystal lies on the bc-plane of the DCNDCA crystal in which the direction of the c-axis of the iPP coincides with the direction of the b-axis of the DCNDCA crystal.     

Piezoresistivity of Hi-Nicalon Type-S Silicon Carbide-Based Fiber

Piezoresistivity effect of a silicon carbide-based ceramic fiber (Nicalon family) was evaluated when a single fiber was buried at the tensile plane in a plastic rectangular bar subjected to bending to apply a stable tensile strain. Electrical resistivity change during the bending was monitored by a digital high-resistance meter. From the fracture strain, Young's modulus, and the resistivity change, the piezoresistance coefficient is calculated to be 1.6 × 10⁻¹¹ m²/N, which is in agreement with the reported value for silicon carbide single crystals and our own reported value for polycrystalline silicon carbide ceramics.     

Template synthesis of novel porous carbons using various types of zeolites

As previously reported, high surface area microporous carbons with long-range order can be synthesized by using zeolite Y as a template. In this work, an attempt is made to synthesize porous carbon using several other types of zeolites (zeolite β, ZSM-5, mordenite and zeolite L). Special attention is paid to whether the structural regularity of each zeolite can be transferred to the carbon structure as well as with the case of zeolite Y. The carbon filling method was then examined to see which gives the highest regularity to the carbon structure. It has been found that the optimum carbon filling method for zeolite Y is not an optimum one for the other zeolites and the degree of the regularity of long-range ordering in the carbons strongly depends on zeolite type. The order of the regularity in the resultant carbons is zeolite β>>zeolite L>mordenite>ZSM-5. The effect of zeolite type on the regularity is discussed in relation to the size and the shape of the zeolite channels.     

Design of new catalysts for ecological high-quality transportation fuels by combinatorial computational chemistry and tight-binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics approaches

Recently, we introduced a concept of combinatorial chemistry to computational chemistry and proposed a new method called “combinatorial computational chemistry”, which enables us to perform a theoretical high-throughput screening of catalysts. In the present paper, we reviewed our recent application of our combinatorial computational chemistry approach to the design of new catalysts for high-quality transportation fuels. By using our combinatorial computational chemistry techniques, we succeeded to predict new catalysts for methanol synthesis and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Moreover, we have succeeded in the development of chemical reaction dynamics simulator based on our original tight-binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics method. This program realizes more than 5000 times acceleration compared to the regular first-principles molecular dynamics method. Electronic- and atomic-level information on the catalytic reaction dynamics at reaction temperatures significantly contributes the catalyst design and development. Hence, we also summarized our recent applications of the above quantum chemical molecular dynamics method to the clarification of the methanol synthesis dynamics in this review.