A novel type of Si-containing poly(urethane-imide)s: synthesis, characterization and electrical properties

A novel type of a Si-containing poly(urethane-imide) (PUI) was prepared by two different methods. In the first method, Si-containing polyurethane (PU) prepolymer having isocyanate end groups was prepared by the reaction of diphenylsilanediol (DSiD) and toluene diisocyanate (TDI). Subsequently the PU prepolymer was reacted with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) or benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) in N-methyl pyrolidone (NMP) to form Si-containing modified polyimide directly. In the second method, PU prepolymer was reacted with diaminodiphenylether (DDE) or diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) in order to prepare an amine telechelic PU prepolymer. Finally, the PU prepolymer having diamine end groups was reacted with PMDA or BTDA to form a Si-containing modified polyimide. Cast films prepared by second method were thermally treated at 160 °C to give a series of clear, transparent PUI films. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the thermal degradation of PUI starts at 265 °C which is higher than degradation temperature of conventional PU, confirming that the introduction of imide groups improved the thermal stability of PU.To characterize the modified polyimides and their films, TGA, FTIR, SEM and inherent viscosity analyses were carried out. The dielectrical properties were investigated by the frequency-capacitance method. Dielectric constant, dielectric breakdown strength, moisture uptake and solubility properties of the films were also investigated.     

Dielectric relaxation of ball-like labels in polyisoprene

Ball-like molecules with strong dipoles (labels) were mixed with synthetic polyisoprene (IR305) in low concentrations (<1%) and measured dielectrically in the frequency range 10^–2–10⁷ Hz and the temperature range –70–0°C (glass relaxation region). Calorimetric measurements showed that this type of label has a plasticizing effect on the polymeric matrix. The dielectric measurements showed that these ball-like molecules relax through cooperative rotations with the polymeric segments and at the same relaxation frequency. In addition, the label molecules showed a high-frequency local relaxation process. The relaxation strength ratio of the local process (X _local) to the total relaxation strength of the label was found to be dependent on the volume as well as on the shape of the label. A comparison between the relaxation behaviors of the ball-and rod-like molecules, having the same volume, showed that the length of the label is also an important parameter for the determination of the local contribution as well as of the cooperative relaxation mechanism of the label. The label relaxation process is discussed in relation to the molecular packing of the host polymer.     

Novel Catalytic Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor for Gas-Phase Abatement of Isopropanol

Catalytic gas-phase abatement of air containing 250 ppm of isopropanol (IPA) was carried out with a novel dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with the inner catalytic electrode made of sintered metal fibers (SMF). The optimization of the reactor performance was carried out by varying the voltage from 12.5 to 22.5 kV and the frequency in the range 200–275 Hz. The performance was significantly improved by modifying SMF with Mn and Co oxide. Under the experimental conditions used, the MnO _x /SMF showed a higher activity towards total oxidation of IPA as compared to CoO _x /SMF and SMF electrodes. The complete destruction of 250 ppm of IPA was attained with a specific input energy of ∼235 J/L using the MnO _x /SMF catalytic electrode, whereas, the total oxidation was achieved at 760 J/L. The better performance of the MnO _x /SMF compared to other catalytic electrodes suggests the formation of short-lived active species on its surface by the in-situ decomposition of ozone.     

Evolution and characterization of fluorite-like nano-SrBi2Nb2O9 phase in the SrO-Bi2O3-Nb2O5-Li2B4O7 glass system

Transparent glasses of various compositions in the system (100−x)Li₂B₄O₇−x(SrO-Bi₂O₃-Nb₂O₅) (where x=10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60, in molar ratio) were fabricated via splat quenching technique. The glassy nature of the as-quenched samples was established by differential thermal analyses. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic studies confirmed the amorphous nature of the as-quenched and crystallinity in the heat-treated samples. Fluorite phase formation prior to the perovskite SrBi₂Nb₂O₉ phase was analyzed by both the XRD and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Dielectric and the optical properties (transmission, optical band gap and Urbach energy) of these samples have been found to be compositional dependent. Refractive index was measured and compared with the values predicted by Wemple-Didomemenico and Gladstone-Dale relations. The glass nanocomposites comprising nanometer-sized crystallites of fluorite phase were found to be nonlinear optic active.     

Role of plasticizer's dielectric constant on conductivity modification of PEO-NH4F polymer electrolytes

The addition of plasticizer to the polyethylene oxide (PEO)-ammonium fluoride (NH₄F) polymer electrolytes has been found to result in an increase in conductivity value and the magnitude of increase has been found to depend upon the dielectric constant of the plasticizer used. The addition of dimethylacetamide as a plasticizer with dielectric constant (?=37.8) higher than that of PEO (?∼5) results in an increase of conductivity by more than three orders of magnitude whereas the addition of diethylcarbonate as a plasticizer with dielectric constant (?=2.82) lower than that of PEO does not enhance the conductivity of PEO-NH₄F polymer electrolytes. The increase in conductivity has further been found to depend upon the concentration of plasticizer, the concentration of salt in the polymer electrolyte as well as on the dielectric constant value of the plasticizer used. The conductivity modification with the addition of plasticizer has been explained on the basis of dissociation of ion aggregates formed in PEO-NH₄F polymer electrolytes at higher salt concentrations.     

μs级负充电时不同体积分数去离子水与乙二醇混合液电性能的实验研究

 以去离子水与乙二醇的混合液（体积分数分别为36.5%,48.7%,59.0%及71.2%，以下简称混合液）作为同轴传输线的绝缘介质，进行了μs级高电压负充电条件下的正电极击穿实验，研究了混合液的击穿电压、击穿时间、相对介电常数及电阻率与体积分数的关系。实验结果表明：在充电电压为20kV时，71.2%的混合液比36.5%的混合液的平均击穿电压提高25.1%，平均击穿时间延长10.49%，而相对介电常数减小868%。同时，随着充电时间的缩短，混合液的击穿电压提高。     

High-temperature dielectric properties of Gd2CuO4 ceramics

A sample of Gd₂CuO₄ (GCO) has been prepared through the solid state reaction technique. Dielectric properties of this material have been measured in detail as functions of temperature (between 285 and 450 K) and frequency (20 Hz-10 MHz). A step-like increase below 330 K and a broad peak around 360 K were observed in the real part of the permittivity (ε′) which were found to be originated from the oxygen vacancy hopping motions that cause a dipolar relaxation, followed by a Maxwell-Wagner relaxation as the hopping carriers are blocked by the interfaces and surfaces of the sample.     

Dielectric studies of a bioactive tetramic acid and its complexes with Cu(II) and Co(II)

The 3-acyl tetramic acids constitute a growing class of natural products displaying a range of biological activities. The g , g ' tricarbonyl moiety present in the 3-acyl tetramic acid provides a suitable site for bidentate complexation to a metal, which increases the biological activity. For the dielectric study of N-acetyl-3-butanoyl tetramic acid and a series of its complexes with Cu(II) and Co(II) in symmetric and asymmetric forms, we used the Thermally Stimulated Depolarization Currents (TSDC) technique. The drastic decrease of the intensity of the TSDC peaks of the symmetric and asymmetric complexes, compared to the above mentioned ligand, suggested that the polarizability of the side groups is considerably reduced. This result enhances the proposed complexation mode of the ligand through oxygen next to carbons 3 and 4 of the 5-member ring.     

Protein dielectrophoresis: Key dielectric parameters and evolving theory

Globular proteins exhibit dielectrophoresis (DEP) responses in experiments where the applied field gradient factor ∇E² appears far too small, according to standard DEP theory, to overcome dispersive forces associated with the thermal energy kT of disorder. To address this a DEP force equation is proposed that replaces a previous empirical relationship between the macroscopic and microscopic forms of the Clausius–Mossotti factor. This equation relates the DEP response of a protein directly to the dielectric increment δε⁺ and decrement δε⁻ that characterize its β-dispersion at radio frequencies, and also indirectly to its intrinsic dipole moment by way of providing a measure of the protein's effective volume. A parameter Γ_pw, taken as a measure of cross-correlated dipole interactions between the protein and its water molecules of hydration, is included in this equation. For 9 of the 12 proteins, for which an evaluation can presently be made, Γ_pw has a value of ≈4600 ± 120. These conclusions follow an analysis of the failure of macroscopic dielectric mixture (effective medium) theories to predict the dielectric properties of solvated proteins. The implication of a polarizability greatly exceeding the intrinsic value for a protein might reflect the formation of relaxor ferroelectric nanodomains in its hydration shell.     

On the structure of the microscopic dielectric tensor in incommensurate crystals

A microscopic model for calculating the optical response of incommensurately modulated phases in insulating crystals is presented. The dominant contribution to the dielectric permittivity tensor is shown to originate from the lowest-index reciprocal lattice vectors, thus proving the validity of the mesoscopic approach developed in several earlier studies. The expression for the mesoscopic Fourier component of the dielectric tensor is obtained. These results may be useful in relation to the controversial problem of the optical activity observed in the incommensurate phases of some A₂BX₄ family crystals.