Comparison of Bottom-up Filling in Electroless Plating with an Addition of PEG,PPG and EPE

The bottom‐up filling capabilities of electroless copper plating bath with an addition of additives, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene glycol (PPG) and triblock copolymers of PEG and PPG with ethylene oxide terminal blocks termed EPE, were investigated by the cross‐sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation of sub‐micrometer trenches. Though three additives had inhibition for electroless copper deposition, the suppression degrees of three additives were different. EPE‐2000 had the strongest suppression for electroless copper deposition, and the suppression of PEG‐2000 was the weakest. The bottom‐up filling capability of electroless copper was investigated in a plating bath containing different additives with the concentration of 2.0 mg/L. The cross‐sectional SEM observation indicated the trenches with the width of 280 nm and the depth of 475 nm were all completely filled by the plating bath with an addition of EPE‐2000, but the trenches were not completely filled by the plating bath with an addition of PEG‐2000 or PPG‐2000, and some voids appeared. Linear sweep voltammetry measurement indicated that three additives all inhibited the cathodic reduction reaction and the anodic oxidation reaction, and the inhibition of EPE‐2000 was the strongest among three additives, which agreed with that of the deposition rate of electroless copper. Significant differences in surface roughness of deposited copper film were observed by UV‐visible near‐infrared for different suppressors, and the bright and smooth of deposited copper film were in accordance with the inhibition of three additives.     

Design equations for the assessment and FRP-strengthening of reinforced rectangular concrete columns under combined biaxial bending and axial loads

A simple procedure is proposed for the assessment of reinforced rectangular concrete columns under combined biaxial bending and axial loads and for the design of a correct amount of FRP-strengthening for underdesigned concrete sections. Approximate closed-form equations are developed based on the load contour method originally proposed by Bresler for reinforced concrete sections. The 3D failure surface is approximated along its contours, at a constant axial load, by means of equations given as the sum of the acting/resisting moment ratio in the directions of principal axes of the sections, raised to a power depending on the axial load, the steel reinforcement ratio, and the section shape. The method is extended to FRP-strengthened sections. Moreover, to make it possible to apply the load contour method in a more practical way, simple closed-form equations are developed for rectangular reinforced concrete sections with a two-way steel reinforcement and FRP strengthenings on each side. A comparison between the approach proposed and the fiber method (which is considered exact) shows that the simplified equations correctly represent the section interaction diagram. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 443–462, May–June, 2008.     

Dynamical analysis of a delayed ratio-dependent Holling-Tanner predator-prey model

In this paper, a delayed Holling-Tanner predator-prey model with ratio-dependent functional response is considered. It is proved that the model system is permanent under certain conditions. The local asymptotic stability and the Hopf-bifurcation results are discussed. Qualitative behaviour of the singularity (0,0) is explored by using a blow up transformation. Global asymptotic stability analysis of the positive equilibrium is carried out. Numerical simulations are presented for the support of our analytical findings.     

EXISTENCE AND UNIQUENESS RESULTS FOR VISCOUS, HEAT-CONDUCTING 3-D FLUID WITH VACUUM

We prove the local existence and uniqueness of the strong solution to the 3-D full Navier-Stokes equations whose the viscosity coefficients and the thermal conductivity coefficient depend on the density and the temperature. The initial density may vanish in an open set and the domain could be bounded or unbounded. Finally, we show the blow-up of the smooth solution to the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in R^n （n 〉 1） when the initial density has compactly support and the initial total momentum is nonzero.     

Rheology and microstructures formation of immiscible model polymer blends under steady state and transient flows

Viscoelastic properties of model immiscible blend were studied here under steady state condition at different initial conditions and transient flow conditions. The flow‐induced microstructure has been studied on these model blends. For this system, the elastic properties of the blend are mainly governed by the interface. Measurement of the dynamic modulus and of the first normal stress difference, both reflecting this enhanced elasticity, have been used to prove the blend morphology. The dynamic moduli after cessation of shear flow, the mean diameter of the disperse phase as generated by the shear flow, have been calculated using the model of Palierne. A procedure based on a direct fitting of the dynamic moduli with the model is compared with the one that uses a weight relaxation spectrum. On the other hand, the steady state normal stress data have been related to the morphology of the blend by means of Doi and Ohta model. The specific interfacial area is found to be inversely proportional to the ratio of interfacial tension over shear stress for the blend. The flow behavior during transient shear flow was also discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3519–3533, 2005     

Blow up of critical semilinear wave equations on Schwarzschild spacetime

In this paper, we established the blow up theorem for critical semilinear wave equations with focusing nonlinear term on Schwarzschild spacetime. Concavity method is used to prove the main result, which was introduced by Levine–Payne in the papers Levine and Payne (1974)  and  and Levine (1973) [7] in 1970s. Also, a new auxiliary function with parameter β$\beta$ is constructed following the idea from Payne (1975) [13], in order to guarantee that the result holds without any assumption on the initial data and initial energy.     

On solution sequences of the singular Liouville equations with an integral constraint

In this paper,we analyze the blow-up behavior of sequences{uk}satisfying the following conditionsΔuk=|x|2αk V k eukinΩ,(0.1)whereΩR2,V k→V in C1,|Vk|≤A,0a≤Vk≤b,0≤αk→α∈(0,∞),andΩ|x|2αkeuk dx≤Λ1.(0.2)Furthermore,we assume that there exists someq∈(1,2)such that rq 2Br(p)|uk|qdx≤Λ2(0.3)for anyB r(p)Ω.As a result,we give a new proof of the concentration-compactness theorem for the mean feld equation.     

Lie algebroid modules and representations up to homotopy

We establish a relationship between two different generalizations of Lie algebroid representations: representation up to homotopy and Vaĭntrob’s Lie algebroid modules. Specifically, we show that there is a noncanonical way to obtain a representation up to homotopy from a given Lie algebroid module, and that any two representations up to homotopy obtained in this way are equivalent in a natural sense. We therefore obtain a one-to-one correspondence, up to equivalence.     

Soluble polybenzimidazoles with intrinsic porosity: Synthesis,structure, properties and processability

We have explored two novel comonomers, namely, 4,16‐dicarboxyl[2.2]paracyclophane and 5,5′,6,6′‐tetraamino‐3,3,3′,3′‐tetramethyl‐1,1′‐spirobi[indane], for the synthesis of co‐polybenzimidazoles (co‐PBIs) with intrinsic porosity. Both these monomers possess twisted structures that can lead to “awkward” macromolecular shapes that cannot pack efficiently. The consequences of introducing these two monomers on the structure and properties of PBIs are reported. The random copolymers synthesized are amorphous and possess glass transition temperatures (T_gs) greater than 400 °C. T_g decreases with increasing comonomer content indicating an increase in fractional free volume. The copolymers have low surface area. TEM and BET measurements show evidence of mesopore formation. The copolymers show significant carbon dioxide adsorption. Single chain molecular dynamics simulation of 24‐mer repeat units shows intramolecular void spaces arising as a result of distorted polymer chain with reduced conformational mobility. These studies define a new synthetic strategy for “bottoms‐up” synthesis of PBIs with intrinsic porosity. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1046–1057