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We studied decorative Portuguese furniture from the 18th century Clérigos Church in Porto, to identify the woods used, to analyze their possible origin and understand the criteria for wood choice, according to sample location. We identified wood from Acacia sp., Castanea sativa, Couratari sp. and Dalbergia nigra. D. nigra, Acacia sp. and Couratari sp. may have arrived from Brazil, according to their natural distribution and the Portuguese colonial routes; C. sativa was abundant in the North Region of Portugal. In the 18th century, golden metal brass over black furniture was in fashion in Portuguese ecclesiastical cabinet making. Due to its dark colour, Dalbergia nigra was a desirable wood for the exposed structures of ecclesiastical furniture, such as top drawers and top tables. Couratari is a pale wood. Therefore, it was used in the inner structure of the drawers and legs. Acacia wood was also used in internal parts due to its durability. C. sativa was local and extensive; its wood was used in the inner structures, where it could not be seen. Marks were found in the Couratari wood, which indicated that the timber from chest boards employed to carry sugar from Brazil to Portugal was reused. The high silica content of Couratari wood makes it ideal for building "sugar chests". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 18th century Portuguese church furniture represents an extraordinary richness recognised worldwide, which demands safeguarding and valorisation. The identification of the wood of furniture artworks is the most important component for its comprehension and preservation. In this work wood anatomical characters of an 18th century Portuguese decorative furniture set from the Colegiada de São Martinho de Cedofeita, in Porto, were analysed to identify the woods used for manufacturing and to clarify their common names. Furthermore, the objectives were to recognise some of the criteria for choice of wood as well as the source of each wood. The woods identified from 16 fragments belong to Apuleia sp., Acacia sp., Neolamarckia sp. and Castanea sativa. Apuleia sp. and Acacia sp. woods most likely arrived from Brazil, while the Neolamarckia sp. woods likely arrived from India and the C. sativa woods from Portugal. The results are in accordance with the known Portuguese colonial sea routes of the 15th -18th centuries. Interestingly the terms found in the inventories can refer to finishing methods instead to the name of the woods, as for instance "oil wood" can refer to "oiled wood" or "linseed oiled wood". The species choice may be related to the mechanical properties of the wood as well as the original tree size. Two large planks of Acacia sp. were used for the top of the "Portuguese arcaz", and Apuleia sp. was found on main structural elements of this set of furniture, suggesting that wood colour was also important. Woods from Neolamarckia sp. and C. sativa, were also identified, being Castanea wood present only in the most recent pieces of the furniture set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equimolar alternating copolymers of vinyl acetate and electrophilic trisubstituted ethylene monomers, halogen ring‐disubstituted methyl (E)‐2‐cyano‐3‐phenyl‐2‐propenoates, RC 6 H 3 CH&dbnd;C(CN)CO 2 CH 3 (where R=2,3‐dichloro, 2,4‐dichloro, 2,6‐dichloro, 3,4‐dichloro, 3,5‐dichloro, 2,4‐difluoro, 2,5‐difluoro, 2,6‐difluoro, and 3,4‐difluoro) were prepared via copolymerization in solution with radical initiation (ABCN) at 70°C. The compositions of the copolymers were calculated from nitrogen analysis and the structures were analyzed by IR, 1 H‐ and 13 C‐NMR. High glass transition temperatures of the copolymers in comparison with that of polyvinyl acetate indicate a decrease in chain mobility of the copolymers due to the high dipolar character of the trisubstituted ethylene monomer unit. The gravimetric analysis indicated that the decomposition of the copolymers occurs in two steps. The first step is relatively fast weight loss in 272–370°C range followed by very slow decomposition of the formed residue in 370–950°C range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrophilic trisubstituted ethylene monomers, ring-substituted methyl 2-cyano-3-phenyl2-propenoates, RC6H4CH=C(CN)CO2 CH3 (where R = H, 2-CH3, 3-CH3, 4-CH3, 2-C2H5, 4-C2H5, 4-iC3H7, 4-C4H9 and 2,4,6-(CH3)3), were synthesized by the piperidine-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring-substituted benzaldehydes and methyl cyanoacetate, and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR. Co-polymerization of the propenoates and vinyl acetate in solution with radical initiation (AIBN) at 70°C yielded equimolar alternating co-polymers. The composition of the co-polymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis and the structures were analyzed by IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR, GPC, DSC and TGA. The high Tg of the co-polymers in comparison with that of polyvinyl acetate indicates a substantial decrease in chain mobility of the co-polymer due to the high dipolar character of the trisubstituted ethylene monomer unit. The gravimetric analysis indicated that the co-polymers decompose in the 214–400°C range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]