Abstract: A test strip for determining the concentration of a component in a liquid composition is disclosed. The test strip comprises a carrier sheet coated with a layer of an adsorbent, and a chemical dye deposited on the test strip near but spaced apart from a bottom edge of the test strip. In some embodiments, the test strip is a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plate, and the retention factor of the chemical dye varies according to the concentration of the component in the liquid composition. A user can determine the concentration of the component based on the migration distance of the chemical dye on the test strip in a chromatography process. The test strip can be used to perform a fast and visual test to determine the ethanol content in a fuel sample.

Abstract: This invention relates to novel photochromic and electrochromic monomers and polymers based on 1,2-dithienylcyclopentene derivatives and method of using and synthesizing same. The compounds are reversibly interconvertible between different isomeric forms under suitable photochromic or electrochromic conditions. The electrochromic conversion may be catalytic. The application also relates to ultra-high density homopolymers prepared using ring-opening methathesis polymerization (ROMP) where the central ring of the 1,2-bis(3-thienyl)-cyclopentene is incorporated directly into the polymer backbone. The monomer units may be readily functionalized to enable the synthesis of polymers with diverse structural and electronic properties.