Dendrimer‐like miktoarm star terpolymers: A3‐(B‐C)3 via click reaction strategy

Two samples of dendrimer‐like miktoarm star terpolymers: (poly(tert‐butyl acrylate))₃‐(polystyrene‐poly(ε‐caprolactone))₃ (PtBA)₃‐(PS‐PCL)₃, and (PS)₃‐(PtBA‐poly(ethylene glycol)₃ were prepared using efficient Cu catalyzed Huisgen cycloaddition (click reaction). As a first step, azido‐terminated 3‐arm star polymers PtBA and PS as core (A) were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of tBA and St, respectively, followed by the conversion of bromide end group to azide. Secondly, PS‐PCL and PtBA‐PEG block copolymers with alkyne group at the junction as peripheral arms (B‐C) were obtained via multiple living polymerization mechanisms such as nitroxide mediated radical polymerization (NMP) of St, ring opening polymerization (ROP) of ε‐CL, ATRP of tBA. Thus obtained core and peripheral arms were linked via click reaction to give target (A)₃‐(B‐C)₃ dendrimer‐like miktoarm star terpolymers. (PtBA)₃‐(PS‐PCL)₃ and (PS)₃‐(PEG‐PtBA)₃ have been characterized by GPC, DSC, AFM, and SAXS measurements. (PtBA)₃‐(PS‐PCL)₃ did not show any self‐organization with annealing due to the miscibility of the peripheral arm segments. In contrast, the micro‐phase separation of the peripheral arm segments in (PS)₃‐(PtBA‐PEG)₃ resulted in self‐organized phase‐separated morphology with a long period of ～ 13 nm. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5916–5928, 2008     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer in a packed duct with unequal wall temperatures

Wall-to-air forced convective heat transfer has been measured in a rectangular duct with unequal wall temperatures. The measurements were taken for a developing region in laminar flow. A uniform heat flux was supplied to the front wall of the duct. Heat transfer coefficients were measured in the empty and packed duct for various airflow rates and for different diameters of Raschig ring type packings. Measurements indicate that there is a considerable increase in the value of heat transfer coefficient for a packed duct over that for a duct with an empty flow passage.     

Carotenoid and Fatty Acid Compositions of an Indigenous Ettlia texensis Isolate (Chlorophyceae) Under Phototrophic and Mixotrophic Conditions

Ettlia oleoabundance (formerly known as Neochloris oleoabundance) is an attractive candidate for biodiesel production because of its high lipid accumulation, and it’s taking the majority of the attention among the strains of Ettlia genus; however, potential of the other genus members is unknown. An indigenous strain from Salda Lake (South West Turkey) identified by 18S rDNA sequencing as Ettlia texensis (GenBank accession no: JQ038221), and its fatty acid and carotenoid compositions under phototrophic and mixotrophic conditions was investigated to evaluate the potential of the strain for commercial uses. A threefold increase was observed in total lipid content (total fatty acids; from 13 % to 37 %) in mixotrophic culture respect to the phototrophic growth conditions. The oleic acid (C18:1) and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3) were the major unsaturated fatty acids accounting for 40 % and 13.2 % of total fatty acids in mixotrophic culture, respectively. Carotenoid analyses of the mixotrophic culture revealed the metabolite canthaxanthin, a commercially valuable carotenoid used mainly for food coloring, was the major constituent among other pigments. The possible use of E. texensis in biotechnological applications is discussed.     

Global volume conservation in unsteady free surface flows with energy absorbing far‐end boundaries

A wave absorption filter for the far‐end boundary of semi‐infinite large reservoirs is developed for numerical simulation of unsteady free surface flows. Mathematical model is based on finite volume solution of the Navier–Stokes equations and depth‐integrated continuity equation to track the free surface. The Sommerfeld boundary condition is applied at the far‐end of the truncated computational domain. A dissipation zone is formed by applying artificial pressure on water surface to dissipate the kinetic energy of the outgoing waves. The computational scheme is tested to verify the conservation of total fluid volume in the domain for long simulation durations. Combination of the Sommerfeld boundary and dissipation zone can effectively minimize reflections and prevent cumulative changes in total fluid volume in the domain. Solitary wave, nonlinear periodic waves and irregular waves are simulated to illustrate the numerical developments. Earthquake excited surface waves and nonlinear hydrodynamic pressures in a dam–reservoir are computed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel Molecular Building Blocks Based on the Boradiazaindacene Chromophore: Applications in Fluorescent Metallosupramolecular Coordination Polymers

Bright polymers : Fluorescent coordination polymers made up of versatile functionalized bodipy (boron‐dipyrrin) chromophore building blocks, such as that depicted, are described. Polymerization is signaled by changes in fluorescence emission intensity and shifts in peak emission wavelengths.

     

Preparation of a Novel Polymer‐Modified Si Surface for DNA Immobilization

The design of a novel polymer‐modified overlayer composed of PPAPE and GPMS on a silicon wafer for immobilization of DNA molecules is described. After hydroxylation of Si(100) surfaces, GPMS molecules were self‐assembled onto these surfaces. PPAPE molecules were then covalently attached to the epoxy‐terminated surfaces. The incubation time and concentration of PPAPE was found to effect both layer thickness and water CA. The type of organic solvent and the pH were found to change the nature of the PPAPE‐modified surface for DNA immobilization. It is concluded that PPAPE‐modified surfaces show advantages for DNA immobilization by electrostatic interactions between DNA molecules and positively charged free amino groups of the PPAPE‐modified surfaces at the appropriate pH values.

     

Possible negative refraction in two dimensional ferromagnetic wire lattice

In this paper, we present theoretical and experimental results for the indication of negative refraction in ferromagnetic metallic wire lattice. We have studied microwave transmission through a two dimensional wire lattice made of ferromagnetic metallic wires under the applied static magnetic field. We have found that, the microwave transmission were significantly changed at ferromagnetic resonance frequency region. Thus the magnetic permeability can be tuned by external dc magnetic field. Since the dielectric permittivity of metallic wire lattice is negative and can take a value close to unity then the crystal exhibits negative index of refraction at microwave region under the external magnetic field.     

TSAI–TOKAD (T–T) Graph: The Combination of Non-oriented and Oriented Graphs for the Kinematics of Articulated Gear Mechanisms

The non-oriented and oriented linear graph techniques are used for the kinematic analysis of bevel-gear trains. In this paper, these two techniques are compared and the weaknesses of each technique are shown. In order to overcome the weaknesses of these techniques a new graphical technique called Tsai–Tokad (T–T) graph is introduced incorporating the important feature of the non-oriented graph which helps to determine the transfer vertex and the oriented graph technique. The theory is demonstrated by the kinematic analysis of articulated robotic mechanism used by Cincinnati Milacron T³     

The effect of nanoparticles on the surface hydrophobicity of polystyrene

The surface hydrophobicity of polystyrene-nanoparticle nanocomposites has been investigated as a function of the nanoparticle content. The addition of hydrophobically coated nanoparticles in polystyrene increased the contact angle θ of a water drop with respect to that on polystyrene surface due to change of surface composition and/or surface roughness. When the nanoparticles dispersed well in the polymer, cos θ decreased linearly with increasing amount of nanoparticles indicating a composite surface consisting of smooth polystyrene regions and rough nanoparticle regions. In case of formation of nanoparticle aggregates in polystyrene, cos θ decreased sharply at a critical concentration of nanoparticles. The observed behaviour was modeled in terms of a transition from Wenzel regime to Cassie-Baxter regime at a critical roughness length scale below which the Laplace pressure prevented the penetration of the water drop into the surface undulations. We argue that multiple length scales are needed below the critical roughness length scale to increase the contact angle further by decreasing the fraction of surface area of solid material (increasing the fraction of surface area of air) underlying the water drop.