Growth of Al2O3 whiskers by vapour-phase reactions

Needle-like or wool-like Al₂O₃ whiskers can be grown on a substrate by the hydrolysis of aluminium fluoride vapour. Effects of the growth conditions on the morphology of the crystals and growth processes of the whisker were investigated, and the optimum growth condition of whiskers was examined. Adequate vapour pressure conditions of the reactant gases for the growth of the wool-like whisker were found to be . Aluminium oxyfluoride was assumed to be the most probable intermediate species for the growth of Al₂O₃ whiskers. A variety of crystal morphologies are also shown and described with respect to the experimental conditions.     

Photoelectrochemical energy conversion system modeled on the photosynthetic process

Photo-excitable electrodes were prepared by incorporating magnesium chlorophyll (MgChl) or manganese chlorophyll (MnChl) into the thin layer of such liquid cyrstals as N-(p-methoxybenzylidene)-p-butylaniline (MBBA) and 4′-heptyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (HCB), being attached to the platinum surface. The MgChl—MBBA electrode gave the positive photo-induced potential shift in an acidic solution. In sharp contrast, the negative photo-induced potential shift was developed by the MnChl—HCB electrode in an alkaline solution. The involvement of a liquid crystal prominently enhanced the photo-response of the immobilized chlorophylls. The photoelectrochemical energy conversion system modeled on the photosynthetic process was assembled by employing the MgChl—MBBA and the MnChl—HCB electrodes as a cathode and an anode, respectively. The photocurrent derived from the system was concluded to result from the decomposition of water, since an evidence for the molecular oxygen evolution at the MnChl—HCB electrode was obtained. Furthermore, the incorporation of β-carotene was found to markedly enhance the stability of the MnChl—HCB electrode.     

WATER MIST FLOW IN A SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNET INCLINED AT VARIOUS ANGLES

Water mist (diamagnetic) flow in a superconducting magnet of 10 T at various angles is studied experimentally and numerically. Water mist is produced by ultrasonic atomizers and fed into a cylindrical Plexiglas pipe (inner diameter, 90 mm) placed in a bore space of an inclined superconducting magnet. The water mist is found to stop at some locations in the magnet at inclined angles ψ ≤ π/6. At ψ ≥ π/4, the amount of mist flowing out of the other opening of the pipe increases with an increase in inclined angle. In the computation of this phenomenon, water mist is simulated with 1000 water droplets of 3 μm diameter. Brownian motion is considered and the Langevin equation is solved. The numerical results show that at ψ ≤ π/6, most of the water droplets accumulate above the magnetic coil. However, at ψ ≥ π/4, with an increase in inclined angle, the number of water droplets passing through the magnetic coil increases.     

Synthesis of Cubic Boron Nitride from Boron Nitride Synthesized by Pressure Pyrolysis of Borazine

Cubic BN was synthesized under high-temperature and -pressure conditions from BN powder formed by pressure pyrolysis of borazine below 700°C and 100 MPa. The conversion of BN powder to cubic BN was strongly influenced by the residual hydrogen identified by the BH/BN ratio of IR absorption band. The activation energy for cubic BN synthesis from BN powder-20 mol% AIN was 46 kJ/mol, when the starting BN was synthesized at 250°C. A mixture of BN powder and cubic BN particles was converted to cubic BN in a 100% yield by heat treatment at 1800°C and 6.5 GPa without any catalyst. The presence of cubic BN particles does enhance the conversion to cubic BN from BN powder. The energy required for the transformation of starting BN to cubic BN in the presence of cubic BN seed was 355 kJ/mol.     

Brillouin-Scattering Study of the Elastic Constants of ErVO4

The room-temperature elastic constants of ErVO₄ were considerably smaller than those of isostructural silicate and phosphate analogs. The generally "less-rigid" crystalline lattice and weaker metal-oxygen bond-strength in the RVO₄ (R = rare earth elements) phases indicates that these materials are of interest for potential applications as an interphase component in toughened oxide ceramic composites.     

Intrinsic Elastic, Dielectric, and Piezoelectric Losses in Lead Zirconate Titanate Ceramics Determined by an Immittance-Fitting Method

The material coefficients of "soft" and "hard" lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics were determined as complex values by the nonlinear least-squares-fitting of immittance data measured for length-extensional bar resonators. The piezoelectric d -constant should be a complex value to obtain a best fitting between observed and calculated results. Because the elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric losses determined in this process were not "intrinsic" losses, a calculation process to evaluate the "intrinsic" losses was proposed. It was confirmed that the intrinsic losses were smaller than the corresponding extrinsic losses. The intrinsic piezoelectric loss existed in both soft and hard PZTs; ∼50% of the loss of piezoelectric d -constant was derived from the elastic and dielectric losses. The most notable difference between the soft and hard PZTs was observed in their elastic losses.     

Copolymerizations of macromonomer prepared by addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of methyl acrylate trimer

Summary An oligomer of the methyl acrylate unsaturated trimer bearing 2-carbomethoxy-2-propenyl ω-end group (M _n = 1300, M _w/M _n = 1.7, and functionality > 0.7) was copolymerized as a macromonomer (0.02 mol/L) with styrene (1.0 mol/L) in benzene at 60 °C. The amounts of monomer and macromonomer in the feed simultaneously decreased with increasing time to indicate copolymer formation, and the macromonomer was found to be as reactive as styrene toward poly(styrene) radicals. The M _ns of the copolymers were 13900–22000 depending on conversion. No resonance due to the unsaturated <ω-end group bound to the poly(styrene) chain was detected by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, indicating that no fragmentation of adduct radical of the end group to expel the poly(methyl acrylate trimer) radical. Polymerization of ethyl methacrylate (1.0 mol/L) in the presence of the macromonomer (0.02 mol/L) resulted in a mixture of the unreacted macromonomer and homopolymer of ethyl methacrylate. No end group bound to the poly(ethyl methacrylate) was detected by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, excluding the possibility of addition fragmentation chain transfer to the macromonomer to expel an oligomer radical of the methyl acrylate trimer. Addition of the poly(methacrylate) radical to the macromonomer is extremely slow under the present conditions of copolymerization. Received: 27 March 2003/Revised version: 30 April 2003/ Accepted: 30 April 2003 Correspondence to Bunichiro Yamada     

A new concept for determining triglyceride composition of fats and oils by liquid chromatography

The matrix concept was used to characterize the chromatographic rules in the elution of molecular species of triglyceride. To prove the hypothesis experimentally, cacao butter, palm oil, linseed oil, olive oil, rapeseed oil and triglyceride of “Ogonori” (Gracilaria verrucosa) were examined. A matrix model was suggested to help determine the individual molecular species of naturally occurring triglycerides.     

Striped‐pattern deterioration and morphological analysis of injection moldings comprising polypropylene/ethylene α‐olefin rubber blends. I. Influence of ultraviolet irradiation

Unique deterioration with a periodical striped pattern on the injection moldings of polypropylene/rubber blends is reported. After exposure to ultraviolet irradiation with a sunshine fade meter, striped patterns appeared on the injection moldings along the flow direction of the molten resin during the filling process of injection molding, even though the initial specimen showed no sign of any stripe pattern on its surface. The stripe was carefully observed with ultrasonic echo imaging, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. As a result, a number of microvoids were observed inside the injected body at a depth of 50–100 μm from the surface. It became clear that the difference in the number of voids along the flow direction formed the stripe pattern. Surprisingly, these voids occurred in domains comprising a rubber phase. The distribution of voids in depth indicated the existence of a trace of a snakelike flow caused inside the injected body during the injection‐molding process. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007