Melt spinnabilities of thermoplastic paramylon mixed esters.

The low thermoplasticities of polysaccharide esters make them unsuitable for melt spinning. In this study, we aimed to overcome this problem by mixed esterification of paramylon, a euglenoid ß-1,3-glucan with short- and medium-chain acyl groups, as melt-spinnable materials. Thermal analyses revealed that all the synthesized paramylon mixed esters exhibited glass transition temperatures greater than 100 °C; some of them showed large differences between the melting and 5%-weight-loss temperatures (Td5s) and are extrudable through a spinneret at a temperature ~100 °C below Td5, rendering them potential candidates for the production of melt-spun filaments. Among the various compounds investigated, paramylon acetate propionates, in which the degrees of acetyl- and propionyl-group substitution were 0.5-0.7 and 2.2-2.5, respectively, could be melt-spun to yield mechanically tough crystalline monofilaments. In contrast, the melt spinning of cellulose acetate propionate, analogous to the paramylon acetate propionates in terms of acyl substituents, their substitution degrees, and molecular weights, but differs from it in terms of the glucose linkage mode (i.e., ß-1,3 vs ß-1,4), yielded brittle, charred, and short filaments. Curdlan acetate propionate, another analogue with a degree of polymerization five times larger than that of paramylon mixed esters, was not extrudable due to the lack of thermoplasticity. Therefore, we herein confirmed the superiority of paramylon as a primary raw material for melt-spun filaments.

Ion-exchange synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of hydrogen titanium oxide H2Ti3O7.

Hydrogen titanium oxide H2Ti3O7 was prepared from Na2Ti3O7 as a parent compound via Na(+)/H(+) ion exchange in acidic solution at 333 K. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group C2/m, and the lattice parameters of a = 16.0380(8) Å, b = 3.7533(1) Å, c = 9.1982(3) Å, and ß = 101.414(3)°. The crystal structure of H2Ti3O7 was refined to the conventional values of Rwp = 2.60% and Rp = 1.97% with a fit indicator of GOF = Rwp/Re = 1.90 by Rietveld analysis using powder neutron diffraction data. The basic (Ti3O7)(2-) framework in H2Ti3O7 was changed from that in the parent Na2Ti3O7. The atomic coordinate of hydrogen atoms were determined by this study for the first time. The hydrogen site in the layer space was refined with a strict H1-O3 distance of 0.80(2) Å and H2-O4 distance of 0.86(2) Å in H2Ti3O7, respectively. The structural stability of H2Ti3O7 was confirmed by bond valence sums. From these results, protons were suggested as the ordered occupation in the crystal structure.