Two-component initiator systems for the ring-opening polymerization of oligomeric cyclic bisphenol-A carbonates: The in situ cleavage of disulfides by triarlyphosphines

A two-component initiator system based on the in situ cleavage of phenyl disulfide by a triarylphosphine has been developed for the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic bisphenol-A (BPA) carbonate oligomers. This development has potential use in composite applications such that the prepolymer can suitably wet the composite material before being converted to high-molecular-weight polymer. The initiator precursors (phenyl disulfide and triphenylphosphine) do not independently initiate significant ring-opening polymerization of the oligomeric cyclic BPA carbonate mixture. A mixture of cyclic BPA carbonate oligomers and one of the initiator components (phenyl disulfide), combined and heated at 300°C with a mixture of the cyclics and the other initiator component (triphenylphosphine), does produce a high-molecular-weight polymer (M_w = ∼ 70,000). The polymerization-initiating species is thought to be thiophenyltriphenylphosphonium thiophenoxide. The effects of concentration of the initiator components, reaction temperature, time, and so forth on polymerization were studied; in general, the degree of polymerization ranged from about 65 to 75%. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2251–2255, 1997     

Studies of post drawing relaxation phenomena in poly(ethylene terephthalate) by infrared spectroscopy

In this paper, we study the relaxation behavior of initially amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films drawn, at 80°C using a draw rate of 2 cm/min, to a draw ratio (λ) from 1 to 5 and then quenched to room temperature. These films were then heated at different temperatures from 68 to 80°C for different times and their orientation determined. The orientation measurements were performed by transmission infrared spectroscopy and the bands used for the determination of orientation were those at 1340 and 970 cm^?1 for the trans conformers, normalized using the 1410 cm^?1 benzene ring vibration. The crystallinity was determined by thermal analysis. It is shown that when PET is drawn to λ values up to 2–2.5 (before stress-induced crystallization), the orientation relaxes rapidly at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature of PET. For λ values of 3 or higher, the orientational relaxation of the amorphous regions is hindered. This effect is ascribed to the development of strain-induced crystallites, which are believed to act as pseudo-crosslinks.     

Intermodulation Performance of Solid-State UHF Class-C Power Amplifiers

In any frequency-division-multiple-access (FDMA) satellite communication system the control of intermodulation noise must be considered if all signals are amplified by a single nonlinear power amplifier in the satellite transponder. The subject of this paper is the use of Fourier-Bessel series expansion models in the prediction of the intermodulation performance of both traveling-wave-tube (TWT) amplifiers and solid-state class-C UHF amplifiers. Both theoretical and experimental results are described and compared. It is shown that in the case of the solid-state amplifiers a dynamic characteristic measurement technique must be used before reliable predictions can be achieved. A simple intermodulation noise reduction scheme is described for use with high-power efficient class-C solidstate amplifiers. It is demonstrated that a carrier-carrier-to-intermodulation noise power ratio improvement of 10 dB can be achieved with a minimal decrease in prime-power efficiency.     

如何解决物料的干燥问题

尽管粒料的干燥是一个较为简单的过程,但偶尔它还是会令人头痛。有的时候,粒料就是干燥不好。如果你已经按照树脂供应商建议的干燥条件做了．还不能彻底干燥的的话．一般说来,其原因总是可以归结于以下四个方面。     

Enhancing the carbon sink in European agricultural soils: including trace gas fluxes in estimates of carbon mitigation potential

The possibility that the carbon sink in agricultural soils can be enhanced has taken on great political significance since the Kyoto Protocol was finalised in December 1997. The Kyoto Protocol allows carbon emissions to be offset by demonstrable removal of carbon from the atmosphere. Thus, forestry activities (Article 3.3) and changes in the use of agricultural soils (Article 3.4) that are shown to reduce atmospheric CO₂levels may be included in the Kyoto emission reduction targets. The European Union is committed to a reduction in CO₂ emissions to 92% of baseline (1990) levels during the first commitment period (2008–2012). We have shown recently that there are a number of agricultural land-management changes that show some potential to increase the carbon sink in agricultural soils and others that allow alternative forms of carbon mitigation (i.e. through fossil fuel substitution), but the options differ greatly in their potential for carbon mitigation. The changes examined were, (a) switching all animal manure use to arable land, (b) applying all sewage sludge to arable land, (c) incorporating all surplus cereal straw, (d) conversion to no-till agriculture, (e) use of surplus arable land to de-intensify 1/3 of current intensive crop production (through use of 1/3 grass/arable rotations), (f) use of surplus arable land to allow natural woodland regeneration, and (g) use of surplus arable land for bioenergy crop production. In this paper, we attempt for the first time to assess other (non-CO₂) effects of these land-management changes on (a) the emission of the other important agricultural greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, and (b) other aspects of the ecology of the agroecosystems. We find that the relative importance of trace gas fluxes varies enormously among the scenarios. In some such as the sewage sludge, woodland regeneration and bioenergy production scenarios, the inclusion of trace gases makes only a small (<10%) difference to the CO₂-C mitigation potential. In other cases, for example the no-till, animal manure and agricultural de-intensification scenarios, trace gases have a large impact, sometimes halving or more than doubling the CO₂-C mitigation potential. The scenarios showing the greatest increase when including trace gases are those in which manure management changes significantly. In the one scenario (no-till) where the carbon mitigation potential was reduced greatly, a small increase in methane oxidation was outweighed by a sharp increase in N₂O emissions. When these land-management options are combined to examine the whole agricultural land area of Europe, most of the changes in mitigation potential are small, but depending upon assumptions for the animal manure scenario, the total mitigation potential either increases by about 20% or decreases by about 10%, shifting the mitigation potential of the scenario from just above the EU's 8% Kyoto emission reduction target (98.9 Tg C y⁻¹) to just below it. Our results suggest that (a) trace gas fluxes may change the mitigation potential of a land management option significantly and should always be considered alongside CO₂-C mitigation potentials and (b) agricultural management options show considerable potential for carbon mitigation even after accounting for trace gas fluxes. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Inactivation Kinetics of Probiotic Bacteria during the Drying of Single Milk Droplets

The changes in the droplet temperature, the droplet water content, and the survival of two probiotic bacterial strains with time during the drying of single milk droplets were measured experimentally and modelled mathematically. A new model of the inactivation kinetics, which is dependent on the rate of change in the droplet water content during the drying process, was established. The model parameters were obtained using the genetic algorithm parameter optimization scheme devised in MATLAB for drying at different air temperatures, and this procedure yielded the kinetics model that best fitted with the experimental results, after examining a number of possible formulations.     

Off-Optimum Cure of Aerospace Epoxy Adhesives

Four epoxy film adhesives used in aircraft manufacture and repair have been examined to establish the effect of deviation from the cure cycle specified by the manufacturer. In addition to the variation of the cure cycle, two surface preparations of the aluminium adherends (chromic acid etch or grit blast followed by silane treatment) were evaluated. Thermal analysis was used to examine the cure envelope of the adhesive, and its extent of cure and glass transition temperature. The adhesive properties were assessed by shear strength (in both single lap joints and in Iosipescu configuration), durability (Boeing wedge test) and chemical resistance to selected aggressive fluids. The sensitivity of the performance of a particular adhesive to offoptimum cure conditions depends on its composition and needs to be determined, not predicted.     

Atmospheric Effects on Compressive Creep of SiC-Whisker-Reinforced Alumina

A SiC-whisker-reinforced alumina composite was crept in compression at 1200° to 1400°C in an air ambient and in nitrogen. The data were described by a power-law-type constitutive relation. The measured value of the stress exponent was n = 1 at 1200°C and n = 3 at 1300° and 1400°C in both ambients. TEM observations were correlated with the measured creep response to determine active deformation mechanisms. Values of n = 1 were associated with diffusional creep and unaccommodated grain-boundary sliding, while values of n = 3 were associated with increased microstructural damage in the form of cavities. Experiments conducted in circulated air resulted in higher creep rates than comparable experiments in nitrogen. The accelerated creep rates were caused by the thermal oxidation of SiC and the resultant formation of a vitreous phase along composite interfaces. The glassy phase facilitated cavitation, weakened interfaces, and enhanced boundary diffusion.