Pseudo-binary system Bi2O3-TeO2 in air

The phase equilibria in the pseudo-binary system Bi₂O₃-TeO₂ at 600° 950° C in air were examined by solid-state reaction techniques and X-ray powder diffraction method. Four pseudo-binary compounds appeared, i.e., -Bi₂O₃ type solid solution having a compositional range of (1-x)Bi₂O₃·xTeO₂ wherex=0 0.4 a new compound Bi₆Te₂O₁₅ which has an orthorhombic cell of a=2.27(4) nm, b=1.06(1) nm and c = 0.539(8) nm, 2Bi₂O₃ · 3TeO₂, and an unidentified phase Bi₂O₃·2TeO₂. The formation of the phase Bi₆Te₂O₁₅, in which all the Te ions are hexavalent, was confirmed by the thermogravimetry and by the Mössbauer spectra. The liquidus curves for whole system were determined by DTA method.     

Taxonomy for protective ability of rust layer using its composition formed on weathering steel bridge

For a quantitative evaluation of the protectiveness of a rust layer formed on a weathering steel bridge, the relationship between the corrosion rate of the bridge and the composition of the rust layers formed on the girders was first investigated. These corrosion rates were clearly classified by the protective ability index (PAI) of α/γ^∗ and (β + s)/γ^∗, where α, γ^∗, β and s are the mass ratio of crystalline α-FeOOH, the total of γ-FeOOH, β-FeOOH and the spinel-type iron oxide (mainly Fe₃O₄), β-FeOOH and spinel-type iron oxide, analyzed by XRD, respectively. The inequality of the former index α/γ^∗ > 1 expressed the protectiveness criterion of the rust layer, while that of the latter index, (β + s)/γ^∗< 0.5 or > 0.5, classified the corrosion rate of the non-protective rust layer. The PAI is useful for a quantitative evaluation of the protectiveness of a rust layer formed on a weathering steel bridge and is an important item for the corrosion assessment of the bridge.     

New ring-opening polymerization via a π-allylpalladium complex

Summary A binary system of a palladium complex as catalyst and zinc alkoxide as initiator conducted a novel ring-opening polymerization of cyclic carbonate, i. e., 5,5-dimethyl-4-ethenyl-1,3-dioxan-2-one. The polymerization proceeded along with releasing carbon dioxide to produce the corresponding polyether. The -allylpalladium complex generated from the monomer with the catalyst is the key intermediate for this new polymerization. The propagating end is zinc alkoxide, which nucleophilically attacks the monomer activated as the -allylpalladium complex in the propagation.     

Copolymerization of methylmethacrylate on a ball-milled surface of coal at 77 K

The ball-milling of coal with methylmethacrylate monomer was carried out under vacuum at 77 K and at room temperature and in air. The e.s.r. and i.r. spectra of ball-milled material showed that a copolymer of coal and methylmethacrylate was formed on the surfaces of coal created by ball-mining. Oxygen is an inhibitor to this process.     

Synthesis of Metastable Tetragonal (t') Zirconia–Ceria Solid Solutions by the Polymerized Complex Method

Homogeneous metastable tetragonal ( t ') solid solutions of ZrO₂— x mol% CeO₂ ( x = 20 and 50) were successfully synthesized by the organic polymerized complex method. The citric acid-ethylene glycol solution containing Zr and Ce ions was polymerized at about 140°C and then heat-treated at about 350°C to obtain a precursor. The black precursor was heated at 450°C and then fired up to 1300° or 1590°C, resulting in the homogeneous solid solutions.     

E.s.r. study of annealing and melting effects on the molecular motion of spin trapped chain-end radicals located on the polyethylene surface

E.s.r. spectra of chain-end spin labels on the surface of polyethylene powder were obtained for high and low density polyethylene samples at various stages of heat treatment process. The subsequent crystalline structures of the samples were examined with wide angle and small angle X-ray diffraction spectra. The effects of annealing on the motion of the labels were dependent on annealing temperature and the type of the samples. Higher temperature annealing decreased the rotational correlation times (τ_c) and their activation energy in high density polyethylene but did not affect those of low density polyethylene. Melting decreases the values of τ_c and ΔE for both high an low density polyethylene samples. The cause of these decreases were attributed to the changing of the sites of the chain-end labels. The motion of the labels appeared to be influenced by the local segmental motion of the polymer main chains.     

Decomposition of timed automata for solving scheduling problems

A decomposition algorithm for scheduling problems based on timed automata (TA) model is proposed. The problem is represented as an optimal state transition problem for TA. The model comprises of the parallel composition of submodels such as jobs and resources. The procedure of the proposed methodology can be divided into two steps. The first step is to decompose the TA model into several submodels by using decomposable condition. The second step is to combine individual solution of subproblems for the decomposed submodels by the penalty function method. A feasible solution for the entire model is derived through the iterated computation of solving the subproblem for each submodel. The proposed methodology is applied to solve flowshop and jobshop scheduling problems. Computational experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm compared with a conventional TA scheduling algorithm without decomposition.     

Promotion of hydrogen permeation on metal-dispersed alumina membranes and its application to a membrane reactor for methane steam reforming

A mesoporous membrane for selective separation of hydrogen was prepared usingthe sol-gel method. Some metal salts such as RuCl₃, Pd(NH₃)₄Cl₂, RhCl₃,, and H ₂PtCl₆, were added to the boehmite sol and coated on a porous alumina substrate before firing at 500°C. It was foundthat the permeability of hydrogen and the separation factor for a hydrogen-nitrogen gaseous mixture of these metaldispersed membranes exceeded the limitations of the Knudsen diffusion mechanism. Although the gas permeation through a neat alumina membrane is governed by the Knudsen diffusion, the metals dispersed in alumina membranes were effective in promoting hydrogen permeation. These metaldispersed alumina membranes were also used in a membrane reactor for methane steam reforming at low temperature. In the temperature range of 300 to 500°C, the membrane reactor attained a methane conversion twice as high as the equilibrium value of the packed bed catalytic reactor system as a result of the selective removal of hydrogen from the reaction system.     

Correction of color information of a 3D model using a range intensity image

Most active optical range sensors record, simultaneously with the range image, the amount of light reflected at each measured surface location: this information forms what is called a range intensity image, also known as a reflectance image. This paper proposes a method that uses this type of image for the correction of the color information of a textured 3D model. This color information is usually obtained from color images acquired using a digital camera. The lighting condition for the color images are usually not controlled, thus this color information may not be accurate. On the other hand, the illumination condition for the range intensity image is known since it is obtained from a controlled lighting and observation configuration, as required for the purpose of active optical range measurement. The paper describes a method for combining the two sources of information, towards the goal of compensating for a reference range intensity image is first obtained by considering factors such as sensor properties, or distance and relative surface orientation of the measured surface. The color image of the corresponding surface portion is then corrected using this reference range intensity image. A B-spline interpolation technique is applied to reduce the noise of range intensity images. Finally, a method for the estimation of the illumination color is applied to compensate for the light source color. Experiments show the effectiveness of the correction method using range intensity images.     

Photo-regulated metal coordination of azobenzene polymer having sterically controlled ion binding sites

Summary 2,2-Dimethylazobenzenes having metal chelating ligands at meta-positions were synthesized, and the interaction with metal ions were estimated for syn- and anti-ligands on thermal isomerization. The azobenzenes with the metal-interaction were transformed to vinyl azobenzenes and copolymerized with styrene. The metal extracting ability was found in photo-isomerized polymer having syn-bis(iminodiacetic acid) groups; the selectivity was high for Cu(II) ion.