A comparative study of the emotional assessment of automotive exterior colors in Asia

This article compares color assessments of automotive exteriors at four locations in China, Thailand and Japan. This study employed painted panels of twelve colors, thirty sensory words and fifteen pairs of emotion variables. It also used reference figures of nine cars that included four styling categories, namely sedans, compacts, sport utility vehicles and sports cars. The results of like-dislike tests revealed that basic automotive exterior colors, such as black, white and red, were highly preferred across locations. However, geographical differences are apparent in the preference for some non-basic colors. To elucidate these geographical differences, a Chi-square test and principal component analysis were performed on the data on emotion variables. The results revealed both similarities and differences in color preferences among the four locations. Color preferences were similar in Hong Kong and Shanghai when simply evaluated by color samples. However, similar preferences for automotive exterior colors were observed in Hong Kong, Kyoto and Bangkok, but not in Shanghai. These results suggest that there is fluctuation in the emotion evoked by a color when the color is considered in the context of automotive exteriors. Therefore, this study indicates that automotive sales can be secured in the global marketplace by creating a single palette of exterior colors based on similar color preferences across countries. However, these results also indicate that preparing market-specific automotive-color line-ups can be an effective marketing strategy.     

Electroreductive block copolymerization of dichlorosilanes in the presence of disilane additives

The electroreductive polymerization of dichloromethylphenylsilane in the presence of triphenylsilyl group‐containing disilanes such as hexaphenyldisilane followed by the electroreductive termination with chlorotriphenylsilane afforded triphenylsilyl group‐terminated polymethylphenylsilane in 15–32% yield. The isolated polymethylphenylsilane (M_n = 3350 g mol^?1, M_w/M_n = 1.4) was found to react as a macroinitiator to copolymerize with dibutyldichlorosilane under electroreductive conditions producing the corresponding block copolymer (M_n = 4730 g mol^?1, M_w/M_n = 1.2) in 38% yield. The ratio of monomer units (? MeSiPh? to? BuSiBu? ) of the copolymer was determined to be 75:25 using ¹H NMR analysis, which was in good agreement with the calculated ratio (74:26) on the assumption that molecular weight of the macroinitiator was not changed. The block structure of the resulting copolymer, poly(methylphenylsilane)‐block‐poly(dibutylsilane), was also confirmed by comparing its ¹H NMR and UV absorption spectra with those of polymethylphenylsilane, polydibutylsilane and a statistical copolymer prepared by electroreductive polymerization of dichloromethylphenylsilane with dibutyldichlorosilane. This method is applicable to the preparation of other types of macroinitiator such as triphenylsilyl group‐terminated polydibutylsilane, and polydibutylsilane‐block‐polymethylphenylsilane was also obtained using this macroinitiator. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

N.m.r. study of egg yolk lecithin in aromatic solvents. Magnetic nonequivalence in the methylene protons of the fatty acyl chains

¹H and ¹³C n.m.r. chemical shifts and also spin-lattice relaxation times of phospholipids, mainly egg yolk lecithin, were measured in organic solvents, especially aromatic solvents. The use of aromatic solvents promotes the difference in the magnetic shielding environment of the internal methylene protons of the fatty acyl chains and as a result, a doublet peak for the methylene groups was observed in the solvents, especially mesitylene. The ¹H and ¹³C n.m.r. T₁ measurements indicate the remarkable gradient in the motional freedom along the fatty acyl chains as well as the marked decrease in the motional freedom of the polar head group and also, the high-field component of the doublet peak for internal methylene protons has a shorter T₁ value than the low-field component. Thus, it was concluded that the low-field component in the doublet comes from the methylene protons located relatively in the neighbourhood of the carbonyl groups and the high-field component the methylene protons located relatively in the neighbourhood of the terminal methyl groups of the fatty acyl chains.     

Repeatable change in electrical resistance of Si surface by mechanical and electrical nanoprocessing

The properties of mechanically and electrically processed silicon surfaces were evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Silicon specimens were processed using an electrically conductive diamond tip with and without vibration. After the electrical processing, protuberances were generated and the electric current through the silicon surface decreased because of local anodic oxidation. Grooves were formed by mechanical processing without vibration, and the electric current increased. In contrast, mechanical processing with vibration caused the surface to protuberate and the electrical resistance increased similar to that observed for electrical processing. With sequential processing, the local oxide layer formed by electrical processing can be removed by mechanical processing using the same tip without vibration. Although the electrical resistance is decreased by the mechanical processing without vibration, additional electrical processing on the mechanically processed area further increases the electrical resistance of the surface.     

Structural analysis of polyacenic semiconductor (PAS) materials with Xenon NMR measurements

Structural analysis of the polyacenic semiconductor (PAS) material prepared by the pyrolysis of phenol-formaldehyde resin at relatively low temperature (680 °C) has been performed by applying ¹²⁹Xe nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. One can obtain information on the microporous structure of the PAS material through adsorption of Xe atoms, since a ¹²⁹Xe nucleus is a very sensitive probe of its microscopic environment. All the introduced Xe atoms were adsorbed on the internal surface of the pure PAS sample, which indicated remarkably large surface area of the PAS material. The average pore size of the pure PAS sample has been determined to be 7.7 ± 1.6 Å from the pressure dependence of the Xe NMR chemical shift. In connection with the application of the PAS material to the electrode of the Li rechargeable battery, changes in the Xe NMR spectrum brought about by extrinsic additives such as binder, electrolyte solvent, and the doped Li have been investigated. In particular, it has been found that the Li-doping entirely prevents Xe atoms from entering into the micropores of the PAS material, probably due to adsorption of the solvent molecules on the internal surface of the micropores.     

Disorders and oxygen vacancies in p-type Sn2B2O7 (B = Nb,Ta): Role of the B-site element

Sn₂Nb_2−xTa_xO₇ (x = 0.0–2.0) with pyrochlore structure is a promising material for p-type oxide semiconductors. A systematic study of its Nb/Ta ratio indicated that the hole–generation efficiency of the Nb end (Sn₂Nb₂O₇) was an order of magnitude lower than that of the Ta end (Sn₂Ta₂O₇). Although this occurs due to differences in oxygen-vacancy formation, the origins of the hole–generation efficiencies remain unclear due to limited information on local and global crystal-structure disorders in pyrochlore Sn₂Nb₂O₇ and Sn₂Ta₂O₇. In this study, the crystal structures of Sn₂B₂O₇ (B = Nb, Ta), composed of BO₆ octahedra and Sn₄O tetrahedra, were investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. A detailed investigation of the local and global crystal structures indicated a larger amount of disorder in the Sn₄O tetrahedra in Sn₂Nb₂O₇ compared to Sn₂Ta₂O₇; disorder in the BO₆ octahedra occurred only in Sn₂Ta₂O₇. This study indicates that an appropriate selection of the B-site element is vital for suppressing defect and disorder formation in Sn₄O tetrahedra and subsequently improving the hole–carrier–generation efficiency.     

Composition Regulation by Flow Copolymerization of Methyl Methacrylate and Glycidyl Methacrylate with Free Radical Method

It is important to match the feeding ratio of comonomers to the composition ratio in the resulting copolymers as closely as possible in industrial production, where the goal is often to produce more a homogeneous composition in copolymers. In this study, a flow copolymerization system with a conventionally initiated free radical method, together with randomly selected polymerization conditions is investigated. It is succeeded in achieving a closer match between the composition ratio and feeding ratio than previously reported in the copolymerization of styrene with methyl methacrylate and of glycidyl methacrylate with methyl methacrylate, which will widen the range of applications, by precisely controlling the mixing and heating in a flow polymerization apparatus. This is confirmed by the fact that the estimated values of reactivity ratios, r₁ and r₂, which are used in the reaction kinetics of copolymerization, are close to 1.     

Production of finely ground natural graphite particles with high electrical conductivity by controlling the grinding atmosphere

Natural graphite particles with high crystallinity sieved to obtain a particle size range of under 63 μm were ground with a ball mill, under various well-controlled grinding atmospheres such as N₂, O₂, He, H₂, and vacuum. The ratio, X_dif50/X_st50, i.e. between the 50 wt.% Stokes diameter and the 50 wt.% laser diffraction diameter, of the ground particles, was used as an index of the flakiness of the particles. The specific resistance of films composed of the ground graphite particles was systematically measured. The rate of reduction in the size of the particles by grinding was slow under an O₂-rich atmosphere such as 100% O₂ and dry air. On the other hand, it was relatively fast in vacuum, or under an N₂ or He atmosphere, and a gas mixture of 99% N₂ and 1% O₂. The rate of size reduction by grinding under a H₂ atmosphere was intermediate. In our experimental conditions, the flakiness of the ground particles increased with the decrease in the particles’ sizes. The electrical conductivity of the ground particles, however, tended to decrease with the decrease in their sizes. Under the condition that the Stokes diameter of the ground particles remains constant, the electrical conductivity of films made from the ground particles increases with the increase in the flakiness of the particles. It was finally determined from our systematic grinding experiments that small flaky particles, which had a size, X_st of ∼1 μm, with a high electrical conductivity can be produced by grinding in a gas mixture of 99% N₂ and 1% O₂. In this case, the flaky shape of the ground particles was visually confirmed by scanning electron microscopy.     

Effect of Agglomeration on Mechanical Properties of Porous Zirconia Fabricated by Partial Sintering

Porous ZrO₂ ceramics were fabricated by compacting a fine ZrO₂ powder, followed by pressureless sintering. Two unidirectional pressures of 30 and 75 MPa were used to prepare the green compacts. The strength and the fracture toughness of porous ZrO₂ specimens sintered from the compacts prepared by 75 MPa were substantially higher than those by 30 MPa, especially for the specimens with low porosity. However, the corresponding Young's moduli were identical. This caused the strain to failure of these porous bodies to increase significantly with increasing compaction pressure. Microstructural analyses showed that a number of voids and small flaws existed in the green compacts prepared by the lower pressure, due to the agglomeration of fine ZrO₂ grains. It was revealed that the ZrO₂ agglomeration resulted in a localized nonuniform shrinkage and degraded the mechanical properties of porous ZrO₂ ceramics.     

Single-Component Pheromone Consisting of Bombykal in a Diurnal Hawk Moth, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neogurelca himachala sangaica</Emphasis>

Recent work has suggested that hawk moths share pheromone components but are sexually separated by qualitative and quantitative differences in their pheromone blends. During field assays on the sex pheromones of other species, a diurnal hawk moth, Neogurelca himachala sangaica (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), was frequently captured, but the composition of the sex pheromone of this species was not known. Analysis of hexane extracts of the pheromone glands of calling female by gas chromatography (GC) using an electroantennographic detector (EAD) revealed two components that elicited EAD responses from male moth antennae. These components were identified by their mass spectra and retention indices on two GC columns as (10E,12Z)-10,12-hexadecadienal (E10,Z12–16:Ald) and a trace of its (10E,12E)-isomer (E10,E12–16:Ald) in 98:2 ratio. In field experiments, E10,Z12–16:Ald alone attracted male moths, and addition of E10,E12–16:Ald significantly reduced the attractiveness, even at the naturally-occurring ratio. Analysis of the data using a generalized linear mixed model showed that E10,Z12–16:Ald positively contributed to attractiveness, whereas E10,E12–16:Ald did so negatively, and it was concluded that the sex pheromone of N. himachala sangaica consists solely of E10,Z12–16:Ald, bombykal. The negative effect of E10,E12–16:Ald on attractiveness could promote the species-specificity of this single-component pheromone system.