Influence of nonionic surfactant additive on the properties of ionic surfactant solutions

The interaction of sodium dodecyl sulfate with a nonionic surfactant (a block copolymer of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide) has been investigated by the measurement of conductivity, surface tension and viscosity. The break point on the equivalent conductivity-square root of concentration diagram which gives the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of sodium dodecyl sulfate became less definite by the addition of the nonionic surfactant, because of the decrease in conductivity below the cmc and increase above the cmc. The steep decrease in reduced viscosity took place in dilute concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions. In the surface tension vs. concentration diagram, the concentration at which the two linear portions of the curve intersect represents the cmc. The addition of nonionic surfactant decreases this crossed point of sodium dodecyl sulfate and finally obscures the crossed point. These reults are interpreted in terms of an interaction between sodium dodecyl sulfate and nonionic surfactant.     

Surface properties in binary mixtures of aerosol OT and nonionic surfactants

The surface tensions of the mixed systems consisting of sodium di-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT) and homogeneous polyoxyethylene glycol-n-dodecyl ether (nED; n=5 to 8) were measured in the absence and presence of sodium chloride (NaCl) by a modified Wilhelmy plate method. In the case of the system containing nED and Aerosol OT, the nED concentrations were fixed at various amounts, and all the surface tension curves approached 32 or 33 mN/m as the concentration of Aerosol OT approached 1 × 10⁻³ mol/l. On the other hand, when the Aerosol OT concentration was fixed at 1 × 10⁻³ mol/l, the surface tension curves for the mixed system showed a flat portion in the range where mixed micelle in the solution and the two dimensional ones on the water surface were formed. Further, molecular interaction parameter B was calculated by the Rosen extension of the regular solution treatment of Rubingh. The average values of B in the nED-AOT systems increased as the value of n increased. The values of B increased with increasing activity of AOT. In the case of the system containing 6ED, AOT and NaCl, the surface tension curves showed inflection points shifted to higher concentrations of AOT as the concentration of nED increased.     

Modifying carbonization properties of pitches. 2. Attempts to improve the yield of fusible material from the quinoline-insoluble fraction of a petroleum pitch

Some attempts to modify the quinoline-insoluble fraction (QI) of a petroleum pitch with the aim of increasing the yield of fusible matter which yields anisotropic needle coke on carbonization are reported. Alkylation with ethyl iodide and metallic potassium converted 60% of the QI into material soluble in benzene (BS) but this was infusible. In contrast Birch reduction yielded fusible chloroform-soluble material, but in a yield of only 15%. By combining both methods of modification, the yield of fusible matter reached 70%. The modification of unfractionated petroleum pitch by these reactions was also studied and it was found that the presence of quinoline-soluble material helped to increase the conversion of QI to fusible soluble matter to 80%. Catalytic hydrogenation of the alkylated QI was also tried, but resulted in thermal dealkylation, reconverting the alkylated QI to insoluble QI; on the other hand, the quinoline-soluble fraction was smoothly hydrogenated.     

Carbonization of coals to produce anisotropic cokes: 3. Evaluation of low-rank bituminous and subbituminous coals by single and co-carbonizations with pitch

Single carbonizations and co-carbonizations of 17 low-rank bituminous and subbituminous coals have been studied to evaluate their suitability as sources of blast furnace coke in terms of pore-wall profile and anisotropic development within the cokes. Co-carbonizations suggest the possible use of low-rank coals which from single carbonizations would not have been considered suitable. To evaluate semi-quantitatively the coke quality, two structural characteristics of the cokes produced by single and co-carbonizations are graded on a scale of 1 to 5. Overall assessments for each coal are plotted against the atomic H/C and 0/C ratios of the original coals. Although there are a few exceptions, coals with similar assessments are located in the same region of the plot, indicating that, to a first approximation, the H/C and 0/C ratios are suitable indicators of the single and co-carbonization properties of a coal. The presence of cations in the coal appears to be an additional factor influencing the carbonization properties and may explain the exceptional behaviour of some coals. Removal of these cations by pretreatment of the coals improves the carbonization properties.     

Short contact time liquefaction of coal using hydrogen donor solvent

Liquefaction of coals to form benzene-soluble materials was studied at 400 °C under autogenous pressure conditions using tetrahydroquinoline (THQ), tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) and tetralin (TL) as the hydrogen donating solvents. THQ was the best solvent with a conversion rate of 90% within 15 min for low rank coals (< 80% C). In contrast, it took 50 min to achieve a conversion of 80% when TL was used as the solvent, although both solvents could achieve almost complete conversion of coals into quinoline-soluble material within 10 min. THQ also showed excellent activity with blended coals. Some binary solvents exhibited activities which varied with the THQ content. A 1:3 by weight mixture of THQ and petroleum pitch produced the highest conversion of 100%.     

Modifying carbonization properties of pitches. 1. Conversion of benzene-insoluble matter of coal-tar pitch into graphitizable carbon

Reactivities of benzene-insoluble/quinoline-soluble matter (QS—BI) and quinoline insolubles (QI) of coal-tar pitch in reductive alkylation and hydrogenation with the aid of alkali metals were investigated, to obtain basic information on the possibility of changing their graphitizability and the orientation of their cokes. Alkylation increased the solubility in benzene of both components; however only the soluble fraction of QS—BI was fusible. In contrast, the soluble fractions produced by hydrogenation from both QS—BI and QI were fusible giving a flow-pattern structure and graphitizable carbon. Fusibility of pitches in the early stage of carbonization is discussed from the viewpoints of graphitization and orientation of cokes obtained by subsequent heat treatment.     

Tumor-Specificity,Neurotoxicity, and Possible Involvement of the Nuclear Receptor Response Pathway of 4,6,8-Trimethyl Azulene Amide Derivatives

Background: Very few papers covering the anticancer activity of azulenes have been reported, as compared with those of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. This led us to investigate the antitumor potential of fifteen 4,6,8-trimethyl azulene amide derivatives against oral malignant cells. Methods: 4,6,8-Trimethyl azulene amide derivatives were newly synthesized. Anticancer activity was evaluated by tumor-specificity against four human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines over three normal oral cells. Neurotoxicity was evaluated by cytotoxicity against three neuronal cell lines over normal oral cells. Apoptosis induction was evaluated by Western blot and cell cycle analyses. Results: Among fifteen derivatives, compounds 7, 9, and 15 showed the highest anticancer activity, and relatively lower neurotoxicity than doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and melphalan. They induced the accumulation of a comparable amount of a subG₁ population, but slightly lower extent of caspase activation, as compared with actinomycin D, used as an apoptosis inducer. The quantitative structure–activity relationship analysis suggests the significant correlation of tumor-specificity with a 3D shape of molecules, and possible involvement of inflammation and hormone receptor response pathways. Conclusions: Compounds 7 and 15 can be potential candidates of a lead compound for developing novel anticancer drugs.     

Highly Stretchable Metallic Nanowire Networks Reinforced by the Underlying Randomly Distributed Elastic Polymer Nanofibers via Interfacial Adhesion Improvement

On‐skin electronics require conductive, porous, and stretchable materials for a stable operation with minimal invasiveness to the human body. However, porous elastic conductors that simultaneously achieve high conductivity, good stretchability, and durability are rare owing to the lack of proper design for good adhesion between porous elastic polymer and conductive metallic networks. Here, a simple fabrication approach for porous nanomesh‐type elastic conductors is shown by designing a layer‐by‐layer structure of nanofibers/nanowires (NFs/NWs) via interfacial hydrogen bonding. The as‐prepared conductors, consisting of Ag NWs and polyurethane (PU) NFs, simultaneously achieve high conductivity (9190 S cm^?1), high stretchability (310%), and good durability (82% resistance increase after 1000 cycles of deformation at 70% tensile strain). The direct contact between the Ag NWs enables the high conductivity. The synergistic effect of the layer‐by‐layer structure and good adhesion between the Ag NWs and the PU NFs enables good mechanical properties. Furthermore, without any adhesive gel/tape, the conductors can be utilized as breathable strain sensors for precise joint motion monitoring, and as breathable sensing electrodes for continuous electrophysiological signal recording.     

High Operation Stability of Ultraflexible Organic Solar Cells with Ultraviolet‐Filtering Substrates

Ultralightweight and flexible power sources are essential for driving textile or wearable electronic devices and soft robots because they do not induce discomfort or limit movement when they are attached to human skin, textiles, or soft actuators. Organic solar cells (OSCs) are good candidates for developing such power sources because they have the advantages of being lightweight and flexible. However, achieving operational stability and ultrathin shape simultaneously remains difficult because the ultrathin substrate cannot prevent the penetration of ultraviolet (UV) light, which is major a cause for the degradation of OSCs. Here, ultrathin OSCs that show great operational stability and high performance are reported. The 1.3 µm thick transparent polyimide utilized as a substrate can block light of 350 nm wavelength in the UV range by 90%. The ultrathin OSCs with the transparent polyimide substrate produce a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.0% and realize both photostability and operational stability. The PCE was maintained at 90% after 3 h in a maximum power point tracking test, indicating much better operational stability than the reference rigid OSCs.