Electrical and Structural Properties of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) Doped Potassium Iodide (KI) Solid Polymer Electrolyte

A high-conducting salt-doped polymer electrolyte layer has been created here for use in photocell technologies. The solution casting method is used to produce ion conducting film where poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is used as the host polymer and potassium iodide (KI) as the dopant. The conductivity and amorphic increases of the polymer electrolytes with the addition of salt concentrations helps in the enhancement of the charge transfer properties. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), ionic conductivity is evaluated where maximum conductivity is 3.99 × 10⁻⁶ S cm^-1 at 20 wt% KI concentration. Polarized optical microscopy (POM) shows the reduction in crystallinity by salt doping, while Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows the complexation as well as composite nature of the film. Ionic transference number (t_ion) measurement shows the predominantly ionic nature of this polymer electrolyte.     

Remotely detected MRI velocimetry in microporous bead packs

Many NMR and MRI methods probe fluid dynamics within macro- and mesoporous materials, but with few exceptions, they report on its macroscopically averaged properties. MRI methods are generally unable to localize microscopic features of flow within macroscopic samples because the fraction of the enclosing detector volume occupied by these features is so small. We have recently overcome this problem using remotely detected MRI velocimetry, a technique in which spatial, chemical, and velocity information about elements of the flow is encoded with a conventional NMR coil and detected sensitively at the sample outflow by a volume-matched microdetector. Here, we apply this method to microporous model systems, recording MRI images that correlate local velocity, spin relaxation, and time-of-flight in microscopic resolution and three spatial dimensions. Our results illustrate that remotely detected MRI is an effective approach to elucidate flow dynamics in porous materials including bead pack microreactors and chromatography columns.     

A Critique of Literature on Thickeners in Textile Printing

Abstract

“Thickeners” [1,2] used in textile printing are high molecular weight compounds, giving viscous pastes in water. These impart stickiness and plasticity to the printing paste so that it can be applied to a fabric surface without spreading and be capable of maintaining the design outlines even under high pressure. Their main function is to hold or adhere the dye particles in the desired place on the fabric until the transfer of dye into the fabric and its fixation are complete.     

Flexible polyurethane foam modelling and identification of viscoelastic parameters for automotive seating applications

A hereditary model and a fractional derivative model for the dynamic properties of flexible polyurethane foams used in automotive seat cushions are presented. Non-linear elastic and linear viscoelastic properties are incorporated into these two models. A polynomial function of compression is used to represent the non-linear elastic behavior. The viscoelastic property is modelled by a hereditary integral with a relaxation kernel consisting of two exponential terms in the hereditary model and by a fractional derivative term in the fractional derivative model. The foam is used as the only viscoelastic component in a foam-mass system undergoing uniaxial compression. One-term harmonic balance solutions are developed to approximate the steady state response of the foam-mass system to the harmonic base excitation. System identification procedures based on the direct non-linear optimization and a sub-optimal method are formulated to estimate the material parameters. The effects of the choice of the cost function, frequency resolution of data and imperfections in experiments are discussed. The system identification procedures are also applied to experimental data from a foam-mass system. The performances of the two models for data at different compression and input excitation levels are compared, and modifications to the structure of the fractional derivative model are briefly explored. The role of the viscous damping term in both types of model is discussed.     

Band-selective chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging with hyperpolarized xenon-based molecular sensors

Molecular imaging based on saturation transfer in exchanging systems is a tool for amplified and chemically specific magnetic resonance imaging. Xenon-based molecular sensors are a promising category of molecular imaging agents in which chemical exchange of dissolved xenon between its bulk and agent-bound phases has been use to achieve sub-picomolar detection sensitivity. Control over the saturation transfer dynamics, particularly when multiple exchanging resonances are present in the spectra, requires saturation fields of limited bandwidth and is generally accomplished by continuous wave irradiation. We demonstrate instead how band-selective saturation sequences based on multiple pulse inversion elements can yield saturation bandwidth tuneable over a wide range, while depositing less RF power in the sample. We show how these sequences can be used in imaging experiments that require spatial-spectral and multispectral saturation. The results should be applicable to all CEST experiments and, in particular, will provide the spectroscopic control required for applications of arrays of xenon chemical sensors in microfluidic chemical analysis devices.     

Cryogenic sample exchange NMR probe for magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization

We describe a cryogenic sample exchange system that dramatically improves the efficiency of magic angle spinning (MAS) dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) experiments by reducing the time required to change samples and by improving long-term instrument stability. Changing samples in conventional cryogenic MAS DNP/NMR experiments involves warming the probe to room temperature, detaching all cryogenic, RF, and microwave connections, removing the probe from the magnet, replacing the sample, and reversing all the previous steps, with the entire cycle requiring a few hours. The sample exchange system described here—which relies on an eject pipe attached to the front of the MAS stator and a vacuum jacketed dewar with a bellowed hole—circumvents these procedures. To demonstrate the excellent sensitivity, resolution, and stability achieved with this quadruple resonance sample exchange probe, we have performed high precision distance measurements on the active site of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin. We also include a spectrum of the tripeptide N-f-MLF-OH at 100 K which shows 30 Hz linewidths.     

Enhanced Production of Poly (γ-glutamic acid) from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus licheniformis</Emphasis> NCIM 2324 by Using Metabolic Precursors

The aim of the present work was to study the effect of addition of different amino acids and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates as metabolic precursors on the production of poly (γ-glutamic acid) (PGA) by Bacillus licheniformis NCIM 2324. A maximum yield of 35.75 g/l was obtained with the medium supplemented with 0.5 mM l-glutamine and 10 mM α-ketoglutaric acid as compared to 26.12 g/l PGA achieved with the control in the absence of metabolic precursors. Addition of precursors also enhanced the utilization of l-glutamic acid during fermentation.     

Intercalation and controlled release of vitamin B<Subscript>6</Subscript> from montmorillonite–vitamin B<Subscript>6</Subscript> hybrid

Controlled release of a therapeutic agent to patients is gaining enormous importance during the recent past. The present paper focused on the intercalation of vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine, VB₆) into montmorillonite (MMT) as a controlled release drug carrier. MMT used in this study is of Indian origin. Intercalation of VB₆ into MMT at different times, temperatures, pH values, and initial concentration is illustrated. The MMT–VB₆ hybrid was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and thermogravimetric analysis. VB₆ was successfully adsorbed on the surface of MMT and also intercalated into the interlayer of MMT. The release processes were monitored under in vitro conditions using simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) and simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) at 37 ± 0.5 °C. In vitro release experiments revealed that VB₆ was released from the MMT–VB₆ hybrid steadily and was pH-dependent.     

Nonlinear Normal Modes and Their Bifurcations for an Inertially Coupled Nonlinear Conservative System

This work concerns the nonlinear normal modes (NNMs) of a 2 degree-of-freedom autonomous conservative spring–mass–pendulum system, a system that exhibits inertial coupling between the two generalized coordinates and quadratic (even) nonlinearities. Several general methods introduced in the literature to calculate the NNMs of conservative systems are reviewed, and then applied to the spring–mass–pendulum system. These include the invariant manifold method, the multiple scales method, the asymptotic perturbation method and the method of harmonic balance. Then, an efficient numerical methodology is developed to calculate the exact NNMs, and this method is further used to analyze and follow the bifurcations of the NNMs as a function of linear frequency ratio p and total energy h. The bifurcations in NNMs, when near 1:2 and 1:1 resonances arise in the two linear modes, is investigated by perturbation techniques and the results are compared with those predicted by the exact numerical solutions. By using the method of multiple time scales (MTS), not only the bifurcation diagrams but also the low energy global dynamics of the system is obtained. The numerical method gives reliable results for the high-energy case. These bifurcation analyses provide a significant glimpse into the complex dynamics of the system. It is shown that when the total energy is sufficiently high, varying p, the ratio of the spring and the pendulum linear frequencies, results in the system undergoing an order–chaos–order sequence. This phenomenon is also presented and discussed.     

Nonlinear normal modes in multi-mode models of an inertially coupled elastic structure

Nonlinear normal modes for elastic structures have been studied extensively in the literature. Most studies have been limited to small nonlinear motions and to structures with geometric nonlinearities. This work investigates the nonlinear normal modes in elastic structures that contain essential inertial nonlinearities. For such structures, based on the works of Crespo da Silva and Meirovitch, a general methodology is developed for obtaining multi-degree-of-freedom discretized models for structures in planar motion. The motion of each substructure is represented by a finite number of substructure admissible functions in a way that the geometric compatibility conditions are automatically assured. The multi degree-of-freedom reduced-order models capture the essential dynamics of the system and also retain explicit dependence on important physical parameters such that parametric studies can be conducted. The specific structure considered is a 3-beam elastic structure with a tip mass. Internal resonance conditions between different linear modes of the structure are identified. For the case of 1:2 internal resonance between two global modes of the structure, a two-mode nonlinear model is then developed and nonlinear normal modes for the structure are studied by the method of multiple time scales as well as by a numerical shooting technique. Bifurcations in the nonlinear normal modes are shown to arise as a function of the internal mistuning that represents variations in the tip mass in the structure. The results of the two techniques are also compared.