Corrosion inhibition of steel by hydrazine

The corrosion inhibition of steel in a closed system containing hydrazine at room temperature has been established. The steady-state potential measurements as well as weight loss measurements agree in indicating that hydrazine was found to behave in a similar manner to anodic inhibitors. A sharp ennoblement of potential occurs at concentration of 10^?2M accompanied by complete protection. The mechanism of inhibition by hydrazine is assumed to be due to its preferential adsorption on the local anodes inducing anodic polarization. After a certain critical concentration of hydrazine is reached complete blocking of the pores occurs which causes complete inhibition. For hydrazine-sulphate or hydrazine-chloride mixtures, a linear relationship is found between log hydrazine concentration and log maximum tolerated concentration of the aggressive ion. For hydrazine-sulphide mixtures, a concentration of 5 × 10^?2M hydrazine could tolerate a wide range of concentrations of sulphide ions.     

Progression from Graphene and Graphene Oxide to High Performance Polymer-Based Nanocomposite: A Review

In this article, various types of carbon nanofiller and modification of graphene oxide and graphene for the preparation of polymer-based nanocomposites are reviewed. Recently, polymer/graphene and graphene oxide-based materials have attracted tremendous interest due to high performance even at low filler content. The property enhancement is due to the high aspect ratio, high surface area and excellent electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of nanofiller. Different techniques have been employed to fabricate polymer/graphene and graphene oxide nanocomposite with uniform dispersion due to fine matrix/nanofiller interaction. Here we discuss the structure, properties and preparation of these nanocomposites.     

Optical parameters and absorption studies of UV‐irradiated azo dye‐doped PMMA films

PMMA and PMMA films doped with different contents of azo dye have been made by using the casting technique. The absorption spectral analysis showed that the doped films have two absorption bands attributed to the π‐π* and n‐π* transition of chromophore groups. These bands disappear upon UV‐irradiation, suggesting that the studied system undergoes a photo degradation process. The absorption coefficient and optical energy gap (E_g) have been obtained from the absorption edge in the 200–900 nm range. It was found that E_g decreases with increasing doping levels, whereas it increases with increasing irradiation time. The width of the tail of localized states in the band gap (ΔE) was evaluated using the Urbach edge method. Some optical parameters were determined from the reflection and transmission spectra in the spectral range of 200–2500 nm. The dependence of the refractive index on irradiation time and doping level have been discussed. It was found that the photo‐induced refractive index changes are very large. These changes suggest the applicability of the studied system in optical devices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

An Environmentally Benign,Highly Efficient Catalytic Reduction of p‐Nitrophenol using a Nano‐Sized Nickel Catalyst Supported on Silica‐Alumina

A green and effective method is reported for the reduction of p‐nitrophenol to p‐aminophenol using a nano‐sized nickel catalyst supported on silica‐alumina in the presence of hydrazine hydrate as an alternative source of hydrogen. It was found that nickel loaded on a silica‐alumina support is a very effective catalyst in the hydrogenation of p‐nitrophenol to p‐aminophenol. Thus it attained 100% conversion in only 69 seconds instead of 260 seconds for commercial Raney nickel. In addition, the possibility to reuse it more than one time with great efficiency gives it another advantage over commercial Rainey nickel which cannot be used more than once. This economical and environmentally friendly method provides a potentially new approach for the synthesis of the intermediate product of paracetamol in industry, which overcomes the drawbacks of the known reduction methods. The prepared catalysts were fully characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX), and electron spin resonance (ESR) tehniques.     

Semisynthetic Latrunculin Derivatives as Inhibitors of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Biological Evaluations,Preliminary Structure–Activity Relationship and Molecular Modeling Studies

The microfilament cytoskeleton protein actin plays an important role in cell biology and affects cytokinesis, morphogenesis, and cell migration. These functions usually fail and become abnormal in cancer cells. The marine‐derived macrolides latrunculins A and B, from the Red Sea sponge Negombata magnifica, are known to reversibly bind actin monomers, forming 1:1 stoichiometric complexes with G‐actin, disrupting its polymerization. To identify novel therapeutic agents for effective treatment of metastatic breast cancer, several semisynthetic derivatives of latrunculin A with diverse steric, electrostatic, and hydrogen bond donor and acceptor properties were rationally prepared. Analogues were designed to modulate the binding affinity toward G‐actin. Examples of these reactions are esterification, acetylation, and N‐alkylation. Semisynthetic latrunculins were then tested for their ability to inhibit pyrene‐conjugated actin polymerization, and subsequently assayed for their antiproliferative and anti‐invasive properties against MCF7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cells using MTT and invasion assays, respectively.     

Saudi tests of imported cements

As the pace of development increases in Saudi Arabia so imported materials become more numerous and competitive. The Materials Testing Laboratory in Riyadh recently compared samples of cements from abroad with those produced locally. The results, though primarily directed towards the cement chemists, may also be of more than local interest.     

Dielectric properties of new fully conjugated 2H‐ and metal‐pyrazinoporphyrazine network polymers

2,7‐Di‐tert‐butylpyrene was oxidized to 2,7‐di‐tert‐butylpyrene‐4,5,9,10‐tetraone. The latter through condensation reaction with vicinal diamine such as diaminomaleodinitrile afforded heterocyclic monomer, 2,7‐di‐tert‐butyl pyrene[4,5][9,10]bis(2,3‐pyrazine‐5,6‐dinitrile), which was cyclotetramerized to the corresponding 2H‐ and metal‐pyrazinoporphyrazine‐based network polymers (2H‐PyzPz and M‐PyzPz, M = Co, Ni, Zn, or Cu). Elemental analytical results, Infrared, and NMR spectral data of the new prepared molecules are consistent with their assigned formulations. Molecular masses and metal contents of the synthesized polymers proved to be of high molecular masses, which confirm the efficiency of tetramerization polymerization and complexation reactions. Dielectric permittivity, ε′, loss tangent, tan δ, and ac conductivity, σac(ω), of 2H‐PyzPz and M‐PyzPz films were studied as a function of temperature and frequency. It was found that dielectric permittivity, ε′, decreases with the increase of frequency and increases with the increase in temperature. Ac conductivity, σac(ω), is found to vary as Bωs and the frequency exponent, s, is less than unity around room temperature indicating a dominant hopping process. On the other hand, σac(T) of all samples is thermally activated with low activation energies. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.