The influence of segmented block copolymers in immiscible polymer blends

One mechanism for compatibilization of immiscible polymer blends is adding block copolymers (BCP) that consist of segments chemically comparable to the parent homopolymers in the blend. BCP do both, emulsify the disperse phase to give smaller particles as well as increase the interfacial adhesion between the phases. The influence of segmented BCP in blends of immiscible high‐performance polymers was investigated systematically by variation of the flexibility of the BCP segments. It was shown that the stiffness of the second segment in polysulfone (PSU) block copolymers as well as the PSU segment molecular weight determine the intermixing between the BCP and the PSU matrix.     

Surface morphology and growth mechanisms of argyrodite-type Cu6PS5 hal crystals

Single crystals of Cu₆PS₅Hal (Hal = Cl, Br, I) have been grown by dissociative sublimation and by chemical vapour transport with P, S, Hal, CuHal and combinations thereof as transporting agents in the temperature range 800 to 1000 K. Microscopic observation of the tetrahedral faces revealed several growth features. Macrosteps, closed loop steps and surface protuberances are always accompanied with the presence of liquid CuHal/Cu₂S droplets on the growing crystal surface. The phenomena are characteristic for a two-dimensional Vapour-Liquid-Solid growth mechanism. In the absence of CuHal/Cu₂S liquid phase, direct growth from the gas phase (VS growth) takes place leading to hillocks and growth spirals with low step heights (∼ 5–10 Å).     

The effect of target texture and topography on the spatial distribution of material sputtered from tungsten

The spatial distributions of sputtered particles have been investigated both experimentally and by computer simulation using the TRIM.SP code for 30 keV argon-ion bombardment of tungsten in a wide range of primary-ion incidence angles (0°–80°). Two sets of the targets were used. One of them was prepared from fine-grained polycrystalline ingot, another one from rolled sheet W. It was found that the experimental results for these targets were different. For rolled tungsten a typical Wehner-spot picture, although smeared, is observed. For fine-grained tungsten the sputtered particle spatial distributions are practically cupola-shaped. Some differences between the experimental results and computer-simulation data can be attributed to the effect of surface topography either initial or developed during the ion bombardment.     

Laboratory robotics — Past,present, and future

In the past four years, laboratory robotics has emerged as an important subset of automation technology. It offers chemists an approach to tackling the difficult problems that arise when attempting to automate sample preparation procedures. Successful implementations of this technology yield cost and labor savings, improved assay precision, increased data output, improved morale, and improved worker safety. This paper introduces the principles of this growing technology, summarizes the current state of the art, and suggests some of its future possibilities. The principles of laboratory robotics are discussed in the context of a system developed from an in-house technology base. This system has been performing pH and fluoride determinations for the past two years. The current state of laboratory robotics technology is examined by presenting our experiences with an all-commercial immunoassay system from Zymark. The future of this technology is very promising. Recent innovations by a variety of vendors promise to make the technology easier to use. In the next decade, the combination of more powerful microcomputers and software should produce systems that can learn and optimize their own performance.     

Synthesis and phase‐separation behavior of α,ω‐difunctionalized diblock copolymers

A series of diblock copolymers of n‐pentyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate (PPMA/PMMA BCP) with one or two terminal functional groups was prepared by sequential anionic polymerization of PMA and MMA using an allyl‐functionalized initiator and/or and end‐capping with allyl bromide. Allyl functional groups were successfully converted into OH groups by hydroboration. The morphology in bulk was examined by temperature‐dependent small‐angle X‐ray measurements (T‐SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showing that functional groups induced a weak change in d‐spacings L₀ as well as in the thermal expansion behavior. T‐SAXS proved that the lamellar morphologies were stable over multiple heating/cooling cycles without order‐disorder transition (ODT) until 300 °C. While non‐functionalized BCP formed parallel lamellae morphologies, additional OH‐termination at the PMMA block forced in very thin films (ratio between film thickness and lamellar d‐spacing below 1) the generation of perpendicular lamellae morphology through the whole film thickness, as shown by Grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering experiments (GISAXS) measurements. Functionalized BCP were successfully used in thin films as templates for silica nanoparticles in an in‐situ sol–gel process. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

A contribution to the identification of the E5 defect level as tri-vacancy (V3)

Silicon particle detectors in tracking devices for the high luminosity Large Hadron Collider will suffer from an extremely intense radiation field of mainly hadronic particles. The main radiation induced deep defect centres in silicon, responsible for the increase of the dark current and corresponding noise, are the cluster related defect levels E5 and E205a. This work confirms the identification of the E5 level as tri-vacancy (V₃). This defect transforms into the tri-vacancy-oxygen complex (V₃O) at temperatures above 200 °C. The defect concentrations were obtained by means of Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and Thermally Stimulated Current technique (TSC) performed on float zone (FZ), epitaxially grown (Epi) and Magnetic Czochralski (MCz) silicon diodes, irradiated with 1 MeV neutrons and 23 GeV protons.     

Double-Regularization Proximal Methods, with Complementarity Applications

We consider the variational inequality problem formed by a general set-valued maximal monotone operator and a possibly unbounded “box” in , and study its solution by proximal methods whose distance regularizations are coercive over the box. We prove convergence for a class of double regularizations generalizing a previously-proposed class of Auslender et al. Using these results, we derive a broadened class of augmented Lagrangian methods. We point out some connections between these methods and earlier work on “pure penalty” smoothing methods for complementarity; this connection leads to a new form of augmented Lagrangian based on the “neural” smoothing function. Finally, we computationally compare this new kind of augmented Lagrangian to three previously-known varieties on the MCPLIB problem library, and show that the neural approach offers some advantages. In these tests, we also consider primal-dual approaches that include a primal proximal term. Such a stabilizing term tends to slow down the algorithms, but makes them more robust. This author was partially supported by CNPq, Grant PQ 304133/2004-3 and PRONEX-Optimization.