Effect of hydrolysis degree and mass molecular weight on the structure and properties of PVA films

In this work, we aim to analyze the variation of structural, thermal, and dielectric properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films by varying the molecular weight (Mw) and the hydrolysis degree (HD). The XRD study revealed the improvement of the crystallinity degree by the increase of HD or the decrease of Mw. The DSC study showed the decrease of the molecular mobility with the increase of either the hydrolysis degree or the molecular weight. The dielectric measurements showed four dielectric processes attributed to electrode/sample polarization, α _a-relaxation, α _c-relaxation, and β-relaxation. The activation energy attributed to α _a-relaxation and α _c-relaxation, increase with the increase of the molecular weight Mw, and the decrease of HD. The Ac conductivity is well fitted to the universal Jonsher law in the frequency range where the electrode/sample polarization can be neglected.     

Coulomb Sturmians in spheroidal coordinates and their application for diatomic molecular calculations

Coulomb Sturmians are obtained in prolate spheroidal coordinates by separation of variables in the Schrödinger equation and direct solution of the appropriate one-dimensional equations. Molecular orbitals are expressed as linear combinations of the introduced Coulomb Sturmians and some low-lying energy terms and corresponding wave functions are calculated for one-electron diatomic molecules. It is shown that similarity of the one- and two-centre orbitals in spheroidal coordinates, combined with completeness and good convergence properties of Coulomb Sturmians, substantially speeds up convergence and makes the calculated results closer to the exact ones. Application of the elaborated calculating scheme for diatomic many-electron molecules is discussed.     

Production of nanosized aluminum powders and their application as fillers for composite materials based on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)

A modified levitation-in-flow Gen-Miller technique is developed to produce nanodisperse aluminum particles 40–200 nm in size with a barrier coating of controlled thickness made of aluminum oxides and (oxy)nitrides for the use as a dielectric filler in composite materials. The polymerization filling technique (in situ polymerization) is used to synthesize new highly filled nanocomposite materials based on UHMWPE and nanodisperse aluminum with the barrier coating combining dielectric, heat-conducting, and plastic properties, which can replace brittle ceramics in a number of fields. The samples of such nanocomposites with a content of nanoaluminum ranging from 20 to 80 wt % were synthesized and characterized by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis.     

GoldMag nanoparticles with core/shell structure: characterization and application in MR molecular imaging

GoldMag is a kind of bi-functional nanoparticle, composed of a gold nanoshell and an iron oxide core. GoldMag combines the antibody immobilization property of gold nanoshell with the superparamagnetic feature of the iron oxide core. Rabbit anti-mouse IgG was immobilized on the surface of GoldMag to synthesize GoldMag-IgG in a single-step process. Transmission electron microscopy, UV/Vis spectrophotometry, zeta potential analysis, dynamic light scattering, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were employed to characterize the nanostructures and the spectroscopic and magnetic properties of GoldMag and GoldMag-IgG. The antibody encapsulation efficiency of GoldMag was measured as 58.7%, and the antibody loading capacity was 88 μg IgG per milligram of GoldMag. The immunoactivity of GoldMag-IgG was estimated to be 43.3% of that of the original IgG. The cytotoxicity of GoldMag was assessed by MTT assay, which showed that it has only little influence on human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells. MR imaging of different concentrations of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide, GoldMag, and GoldMag-IgG showed that 3 μg/mL of nanoparticles could significantly affect the MRI signal intensity of GRE T2*WI. The results demonstrate that GoldMag nanoparticles can be effectively conjugated with biomacromolecules and possess great potential for MR molecular imaging.     

High performance PEO-based polymer electrolytes and their application in rechargeable lithium polymer batteries

Solvent-free, lithium-ion-conducting, composite polymer electrolytes have been prepared by a double dispersion of an anion trapping compound, i.e., calyx(6)pyrrole, CP and a ceramic filler, i.e., super acid zirconia, S-ZrO₂ in a poly(ethylene oxide)-lithium bis(oxalate) borate, PEO–LiBOB matrix. The characterization, based on differential thermal analysis and electrochemical analysis, showed that while the addition of the S-ZrO₂ has scarce influence on the transport properties of the composite electrolyte, the unique combination of the anion-trapping compound, CP, with the large anion lithium salt, LiBOB, greatly enhances the value of the lithium transference number without depressing the overall ionic conductivity. These unique properties make polymer electrolytes, such as PEO₂₀LiBOB(CP)_0.125, of practical interest, as in fact confirmed by tests carried out on lithium battery prototypes.     

Three-dimensional solitons in ferrites and their stability

The study is made of soliton solution of nonlinear equations describing dynamics of some magnets as well as the field theory models. Three-dimensional solitons are analysed to which non-uniform magnetization precession corresponds.Necessary and sufficient conditions for soliton stability according to Lyapunov are obtained. The soliton without nodes is proved to be stable over a wide range of the precission frequencies and unstable beyond this range. Solitons with nodes are unstable at all frequencies.     

Combustion waves in a model with chain branching reaction and their stability

In this paper the travelling wave solutions in the adiabatic model with the two-step chain branching reaction mechanism are investigated both numerically and analytically in the limit of equal diffusivity of reactant, radicals and heat. The properties of these solutions and their stability are investigated in detail. The behaviour of combustion waves are demonstrated to have similarities with the properties of non-adiabatic one-step combustion waves in that there is a residual amount of fuel left behind the travelling waves and the solutions can exhibit extinction. The difference between the non-adiabatic one-step and adiabatic two-step models is found in the behaviour of the combustion waves near the extinction condition. It is shown that the flame velocity drops down to zero as the extinction condition is reached. Prospects of further work are also discussed.     

Preparation of multi-walled carbon nanotube–Fe composites and their application as light weight and broadband electromagnetic wave absorbers

Multi-walled carbon nanotube （MWCNT）-Fe composites were prepared via the metal organic chemical vapor deposi- tion by depositing iron pentacarbonyl on the surface of MWCNTs. The structural and morphological analyses demonstrated that Fe nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the MWCNTs. The electromagnetic properties of the MWCNTs were significantly changed, and the absorbing capacity evidently improved after the Fe deposition on the MWCNT surface. A minimum reflection loss of -29.4 dB was observed at 8.39 GHz, and the less than -10 dB bandwidth was about 10.6 GHz, which covered the whole X band （8.2-12.4 GHz） and the whole Ku band （12.4-18 GHz）, indicating that the MWCNT-Fe composites could be used as an effective microwave absorption material.     

Classical gravitons and their stability in higher dimensions

Some exact solutions are presented of the Einstein equations and generalised Einstein equations containing “Zwiebach terms” representing gravitational waves moving through higher dimensional Minkowski or AdS background spacetimes. The stability of the backgrounds is discussed. Also some new selection rules are derived for the decay of massive (“pyrgon”) states in Kaluza-Klein theory.     

High electric-field-induced strain of Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 crystals and their application in multilayer actuators

Electric-field-induced strain behavior of differently oriented and componential (1-x)Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃xPbTiO₃ (PMNT) crystals was investigated. An optimum composition range (29%≤x≤31%) of 〈001〉-oriented PMNT crystals was ascertained for multilayer actuator applications, which exhibited high-strain and low-hysteresis behavior. The rhombohedral (monoclinic)–tetragonal phase-transition behavior in PMNT single crystals is dependent on their thermal and electric history, which markedly impacts on the strain performance of the crystals. In contrast to PZT-SF (doped PZT ceramics) multilayer actuators, the strain values for 20-layer PMNT actuators with individual element sizes of 6×6×0.3 mm³ are larger by more than five times at 20 kV/cm (0.373% compared to 0.072%), and 23-μm displacements can been achieved. Against 40-N load, the displacements are decreased to 20.2 μm. PACS 77.80.Bh; 77.80.-e; 77.65.Dq; 77.65.Ly; 77.22.-d     

铁电单晶Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3的高场致应变及其在层叠式驱动器中的应用

通过研究(1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (PMNT)单晶在不同方向、不同组分下高场致应变的特性,确定了〈001〉取向PMNT单晶(29%≤x≤31%)为制作层叠式驱动器的最佳组分范围,这组分的单晶具有高场致应变、低滞后而且性能较稳定的特点.研究结果表明,在保证应变曲线的线性和低滞后的前提下,将近-2kV/cm的负电场能够运用于〈001〉方向的PMNT晶体上. 40层(每片晶片尺寸为7mm×7mm×0.7mm)PMNT层叠式驱动器在电场 -1.5-10kV/cm的驱动下,可以获得38.1μm的纵向位移,负载40N的重量后,位移量减为34μm.     

聚乙烯吡咯烷酮相对分子质量对银纳米结构的影响

探讨了相对分子质量不同的聚乙烯吡咯烷酮对多元醇法制备银纳米结构的影响,采用扫描电镜和X射线衍射仪对样品进行了表征及分析,并用紫外可见分光光度计研究了粒子的光学性质。实验结果表明：在相同的实验条件下,不同相对分子质量聚乙烯吡咯烷酮将得到不同形貌的银纳米粒子;相对分子质量为1×104的聚乙烯吡咯烷酮得到的银纳米线产率最大,随着聚乙烯吡咯烷酮相对分子质量增加,银纳米线将减少,相应的银纳米立方体将增多。     

Improved efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells with molecular ameliorating of ZnO nanorod/perovskite interface and Mg-doping ZnO

Despite the advanced efficiency of perovskite solar cells(PSCs),electron transportation is still a pending issue.Here the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)is used to enhance the electron injection,which is thanks to the passivation of the defects at the interface between the ZnO electron transporting layer(ETL)and the perovskite.The application of the PVP layer inhibits the device degradation,and 80%of the primary efficiency is kept after 30 d storage in air condition.Additionally,the efficiency of the device is further enhanced by improving the conductivity and crystallinity of the ZnO ETL via Magnesium(Mg)doping in the ZnO nanorods(ZnO NRs).Moreover,the preparation parameters of the ZnO NRs are optimized.By employing the high-crystallinity ZnO ETL and the PVP layer,the power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the champion device is increased from 16.29%to 19.63%.These results demonstrate the advantages of combining mesoscale manipulation with interface modification and doping together.     

Effect of fuel/air ratio and aromaticity on the molecular weight distribution of soot in premixed n-heptane flames

Soot growth from inception to mass-loading is studied in a wide range of molecular weights (MW) from 10⁵ to 10¹⁰u by means of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled with on-line UV-visible spectroscopy. The evolution of MW distributions of soot is also numerically predicted by using a detailed kinetic model coupled with a discrete-sectional approach for the modeling of the gas-to-particle process. Two premixed flames burning n-heptane in slightly sooting and heavily sooting conditions are studied. The effect of aromatic addition to the fuel is studied by adding n-propylbenzene (10% by volume) to n-heptane in the heavily sooting condition. A progressive reduction of the MW distribution from multimodal to unimodal is observed along the flames testifying the occurrence of particle growth and agglomeration. These processes occur earlier in the aromatic-doped n-heptane flame due to the overriding role of benzene on soot formation which results in bigger young soot particles. Modeled MW distributions are in reasonable agreement with experimental data although the model predicts a slower coagulation process particularly in the slightly sooting n-heptane flame. Given the good agreement between model predictions and experiments, the model is used to explore the role of fuel chemistry on MW distributions. Two flames of n-heptane and n-heptane/n-propylbenzene in heavily sooting conditions with the same temperature profile and inert dilution are modeled. The formation of larger soot particles is still evident in the n-heptane/n-propylbenzene flame with respect to the n-heptane flame in the same operating conditions of temperature and dilution. In addition the model predicts a larger formation of molecular particles in the flame containing n-propylbenzene and shows that soot inception occurs in correspondence of their maximum formation thus indicating the importance of molecular growth in soot inception.     

Evaluation and optimization of coherence transfer in high molecular weight systems

For very large proteins in the highest magnetic fields, the large chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) of carbonyl carbon deteriorates coherence transfer efficiency in experiments designed for unambiguous sequential backbone assignment. In this communication, coherence throughput of several TROSY experiments is evaluated. Two new experiments, MP-HNCA and HN(CO)CANH, are also introduced as attractive alternatives for sequential assignment purposes of large proteins with correlation time over 50 ns. Their theoretical coherence transfer efficiencies for the interresidual (13)C(alpha) correlations are significantly better than in recently introduced MP-CT-HNCA and sequential HNCA experiments. The improvement with the new experiments is observed already on 60.8 kDa homodimer of protein Cel6A at 800 (1)H MHz.