A variational framework for the modeling of glassy polymers under finite strains

Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics - In this paper, a viscoelastic model able to capture important mechanical features of a wide class of glassy polymers is presented. Among them, the ability...     

Susceptibility Amplitude Ratio for Generic Competing Systems

We calculate the susceptibility amplitude ratio near a generic higher character Lifshitz point up to one-loop order. We employ a renormalization group treatment with L independent scaling transformations associated to the various inequivalent subspaces in the anisotropic case in order to compute the ratio above and below the critical temperature and demonstrate its universality. Furthermore, the isotropic results with only one type of competition axes have also been shown to be universal. We describe how the simpler situations of m-axial Lifshitz points as well as ordinary (noncompeting) systems can be retrieved from the present framework.     

Nematic Triphenyltriazine Triesters and the Induction of the Columnar Mesophase by Fluorine Substitution

Whereas their para homologs are not mesogenic, the disk-shaped triphenyltriazine meta-trialkylesters obtained via trimerization of 3-cyanobenzoic alkylester, which are configurationally more flexible, exhibit a monotropic nematic mesophase. Introduction of fluorine atoms into the alkyl chains or into the phenyl moieties leads to the appearance of an enantiotropic columnar mesophase. If fluorine is introduced both in the chains and in the phenyl moieties, only a monotropic mesophase remains. Fluorination of either the alkyl chains or the aromatic core, but not both, appears thus as a simple means of inducing or stabilizing columnar self-assembly in disk-shaped systems. As the homeotropically alignable columnar mesophase can thus be made to persist at room temperature, as energies higher than 3 eV of the first excited triplet state are computed in agreement with the value reported for the parent arene, and as they are not fluorescent themselves, these compounds are of promise as aligning host matrices for blue-emitting TADF devices with improved light outcoupling. Dilution of a columnar with a nonmesogenic homolog induces the nematic state, indicating that the nanoscopic make-up of both mesophases is closely related.     

Transport and thermodynamic properties of a 2DEG in the presence of tilted magnetic field: the influence of Dresselhauss interaction

The effect of Dresselhauss spin-orbit coupling on transport and thermodynamic properties of a non-interacting two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is investigated. The Hamiltonian used also includes a tilted magnetic field and a Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The Dresselhauss spin-orbit interaction, likewise the Rashba spin-orbit interaction, introduces a beating pattern in the conductivity tensor and in the magnetization along the field direction. A method to estimate the contribution of the Rashba and Dresselhauss interactions to the beating pattern is given using the periodicity of the beating patterns.     

Free and Ca-Alginate Beads Immobilized Horseradish Peroxidase for the Removal of Reactive Dyes: an Experimental and Modeling Study

The aim of this work was to remove the dyes Reactive Blue 221 (RB 221) and Reactive Blue 198 (RB 198) of synthetic effluent using the immobilized enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in Ca-alginate beads. Experimental parameters affecting the dye removal process such as the effect of pH, temperature, hydrogen peroxide concentration, mass capsules, and reuse were evaluated, and a numerical model of mass transfer was developed. A maximum removal of 93 and 75%, respectively, for the dyes RB 221 and RB 198, at pH 5.5 and temperature of 30 °C, concentration of hydrogen peroxide of 43.75 μM for dye RB 221 and 37.5 μM for the dye of RB 198 was obtained. A removal reaction of 180 min for RB 221 and 240 min for RB 198 was observed. Three reuse cycles of use of immobilized enzyme were achieved for both dyes. The numerical model proposed led to a good fit compared to experimental data. The HRP enzyme immobilized in Ca-alginate capsules showed a great potential for biotechnological applications, especially for the removal of reactive dyes.     

Evaluation of the thermal stability of biodiesel blends of castor oil and passion fruit

The diversity of raw materials and technological routes employed in the biodiesel production has resulted in products with different chemical properties. This non-uniformity in the biodiesel composition may influence to the fuel quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate biodiesel blends of passion fruit and castor oil in different proportions and their thermal stability. Biodiesel blends of passion fruit and castor oil presented parameters in the standards of the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels National Agency. The TG curves indicated that castor oil biodiesel was more stable. Passion fruit biodiesel has a high content of oleic and linoleic acids, which are more susceptible to oxidation. Biodiesel blend of passion fruit and castor oil 1:1 increased the thermal stability in relation to passion fruit biodiesel. Biodiesel blend of passion fruit and castor oil 1:2 presented higher thermal stability, because castor oil has a high content of ricinoleic acid.