Independence of the brittle–ductile transition from the rubber particle size for impact‐modified poly(vinyl chloride)

A series of acrylic impact modifiers (AIMs) with different particle sizes ranging from 55.2 to 927.0 nm were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization, and the effect of the particle size on the brittle–ductile transition of impact‐modified poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was investigated. For each AIM, a series of PVC/AIM blends with compositions of 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 phr AIM in 100 phr PVC were prepared, and the Izod impact strengths of these blends were tested at 23 °C. For AIMs with particle sizes of 55.2, 59.8, 125.2, 243.2, and 341.1 nm, the blends fractured in the brittle mode when the concentration of AIM was lower than 10 phr, whereas the blends showed ductile fracture when the AIM concentration reached 10 phr. It was concluded that the brittle–ductile transition of the PVC/AIM blends was independent of the particle size in the range of 55.2–341.1 nm. When the particle size was greater than 341.1 nm, however, the brittle–ductile transition shifted to a higher AIM concentration with an increase in the particle size. Furthermore, the critical interparticle distance was found not to be the criterion of the brittle–ductile transition for the PVC/AIM blends. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 696–702, 2006     

Effect of glass bead packing on the fibrillation of liquid‐crystalline polymer in polycarbonate

Polycarbonate (PC) was melt blended with small amount of liquid‐crystalline polymer (LCP) and various contents of glass beads (GB) having different diameters. The rheological measurements indicated that the GB addition increased the viscosity ratio and seemed unfavorable to the LCP fibrillation. However, the morphological observation showed that the LCP fibrillation was promoted by the GB addition and varied with the GB packing. With the increased GB packing by increasing the GB content and/or decreasing the GB diameter, LCP deformed from spheres and ellipsoids into stretched ellipsoids at lower shear rates and into long fibrils at higher shear rates. Although higher content of smaller GB jammed into the larger LCP droplets and inhibited the LCP fibrillation, very long LCP fibrils formed at higher shear rates at a high enough packing of GB. The relationship between GB packing and LCP fibrillation revealed two kinds of hydrodynamic effects of GB promoting the LCP fibrillation: at lower GB packing, the shear flow was enhanced by the high local shear between GB, in quantity; and for a high enough GB packing, the shear flow was changed, in quality, into elongational flow, which was more effective for the LCP fibrillation. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1020–1030, 2006     

Melting behaviors,crystallization kinetics,and spherulitic morphologies of poly(butylene succinate) and its copolyester modified with rosin maleopimaric acid anhydride

This article investigated the melting behaviors, crystallization kinetics, and spherulitic morphologies of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and its copolyester (PBSR) modified with rosin maleopimaric acid anhydride, using wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and polarized optical microscope. Subsequent DSC scans of isothermally crystallized PBS and PBSR exhibited two melting endotherms, respectively, which was due to the melt‐recrystallization process occurring during the DSC scans. The equilibrium melting point of PBSR (125.9 °C) was lower than that of PBS (139 °C). The commonly used Avrami equation was used to describe the isothermal crystallization kinetics. For nonisothermal crystallization studies, the model combining Avrami equation and Ozawa equation was employed. The result showed a consistent trend in the crystallization process. The crystallization rate was decreased, the perfection of crystals was decreased, the recrystallization was reduced, and the spherulitic morphologies were changed when the huge hydrogenated phenanthrene ring was added into the chain of PBS. The activation energy (ΔE) for the isothermal crystallization process determined by Arrhenius method was 255.9 kJ/mol for PBS and 345.7 kJ/mol for PBSR. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 900–913, 2006     

Reinforcement effect of MAA on nano‐CaCo3‐filled EPDM vulcanizates and possible mechanism

Methacrylic acid (MAA) was used as in situ surface modifier to improve the interface interaction between nano‐CaCO₃ particle and ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (EPDM) matrix, and hence the mechanical properties of nano‐CaCO₃‐filled EPDM vulcanizates. The results showed that the incorporation of MAA improved the filler–matrix interaction, which was proved by Fourier transformation infrared spectrometer (FTIR), Kraus equation, crosslink density determination, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The formation of carboxylate and the participation of MAA in the crosslinking of EPDM indicated the strong filler–matrix interaction from the aspect of chemical reaction. The results of Kraus equation showed that the presence of MAA enhanced the reinforcement extent of nano‐CaCO₃ on EPDM vulcanizates. Crosslink density determination proved the formation of the ionic crosslinks in EPDM vulcanizates with the existence of MAA. The filler particles on tensile fracture were embedded in the matrix and could not be observed obviously, indicating that a strong interfacial interaction between the filler and the matrix had been achieved with the incorporation of MAA. Meanwhile, the presence of MAA remarkably increased the modulus and tensile strength of the vulcanizates, without negative effect on the high elongation at break. Furthermore, the ionic bond was thought to be formed only on filler surface because of the absolute deficiency of MAA, which resulted in the possible structure where filler particles were considered as crosslink points. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1226–1236, 2006     

Enhanced sensitivity in flow injection analysis using a long pathlength liquid waveguide capillary flow cell for spectrophotometric detection.

Incorporation of a liquid waveguide capillary flow cell into a flow injection instrument enhances the sensitivity of flow injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection by two orders of magnitude. Nitrite determination at nM levels has been used to demonstrate the feasibility of this novel technique for trace analysis. Combining the long pathlength spectrophotometry with flow injection analysis, this technique has advantages of low detection limit, good precision and high sample throughput.     

Chiral separation of synthetic vicinal diol compounds by capillary zone electrophoresis with borate buffer and beta-cyclodextrin as buffer additive.

The investigation on capillary electrophoretic enantioseparation of six synthetic compounds containing vicinal diol groups has been undertaken to acquire the optimum conditions using native beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) as chiral selector and borate as a background electrolyte. The separation was carried out in an uncoated capillary (58.5 cm x 75 microm i.d., effective length 48.5 cm) and the effects of several important factors were investigated in detail. The results showed that beta-CD as a chiral selector exhibited good enantioselectivity and that the enantioseparation was greatly influenced by the structure of the diols, the borate concentration and the buffer pH. The optimum performance was obtained for the chiral vicinal diols under the conditions of 200 mM borate buffer of pH 9.8 containing 1.7% beta-CD at an applied voltage of 15 kV and a capillary temperature of 20 degrees C. Under the conditions, four diols were baseline separated with fast analysis time and the good theoretical plate numbers (above 10 x 10(4)) and favorable migration-time reproducibilities (RSDs below 3.0%) were obtained. The separation results were satisfactory.     

薄膜法布里-珀罗滤光片中的超棱镜效应

基于薄膜法布里珀罗滤光片在其峰值波长处具有较大群延迟的特性,设计并从实验上验证了光束倾斜入射时这种结构中存在的超棱镜效应。根据光学薄膜理论中的特征矩阵法,数值模拟计算了器件的群延迟和空间色散曲线,镀制并对器件进行了测试。测试结果表明器件在透射峰值波长处因超棱镜效应引起的空间色散最大位移值达到65μm,与理论计算结果非常吻合;相对于传统的光栅和棱镜器件而言器件具有更高的空间角度色散,实际测试在784.5 nm至786.5 nm波长范围内器件的角色散达到30°/nm。     

Local control of electric current driven shell etching of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

We report on a novel method for local control of shell engineering in multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) using Joule-heating induced electric breakdown. By modulating the heat dissipation along a nanotube, we can confine its thinning and shell breakdown to occur within localized regions of peak temperatures, which are distributed over one-half of the NT length. The modulation is achieved by using suitably designed nanomachined heat sinks with different degrees of thermal coupling at different parts of a current-carrying nanotube. The location of electric breakdown occurs precisely at the regions of high temperatures predicted by the classical finite-element model of Joule heating in the MWNT. The experiments herein provide new insight into the electric breakdown mechanism and prove unambiguously that shell removal occurs due to thermal stress, underpinning the diffusive nature of MWNTs. The method demonstrated here has the potential to be a powerful tool in realizing MWNT bearings with complex architectures for use in integrated nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). In addition, the breakdown current and power in the nanotubes are significantly higher than those observed in nanotubes without heat removal via additional heat sinks. This indicates future avenues for enhancing the performance of MWNTs in electrical interconnect and nanoelectronic applications. PACS  73.63.Fg; 65.80.+n     

Tunable negative refraction by electro-optical control in two-dimensional photonic crystal

This paper describes a simple hydrothermal procedure for high-yield synthesis of single-crystalline ZnO hexagonal nanoplates in a surfactant-free system at 70 °C. The structures and morphologies of the synthesized ZnO nanoplates are derived from characterisation by X-ray diffraction, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Their optical properties are recorded by Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. These ZnO hexagonal nanoplates exhibit the enhanced photocatalytic activity of phenol photodecomposition, suggesting that they could be served as an active system for the treatment of the waste water, in addition to their common applications. PACS 81.10.Dn; 61.10.Nz; 68.37.Hk; 78.55.Hx     

Energy levels in doped SiGe quantum well studied by admittance spectroscopy

SiGe/Si quantum wells (QWs) with different Boron doping concentrations were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on p-type Si(1 0 0) substrate. The activation energies of the heavily holes in ground states of QWs, which correspond to the energy differences between the heavy hole ground states and Si valence band, were measured by admittance spectroscopy. It is found that the activation energy in a heavily doped QW increases with doping concentration, which can be understood by the band alignment changes due to the doping in the QWs. Also, it is found that the activation energy in a QW with a doping concentration of 2 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ becomes larger after annealing at a temperature of 685 °C, which is attributed to more Boron atoms activation in the QW by annealing.