Investigation of the scaling law on cellulose solution prepared at low temperature

Cellulose was dissolved rapidly in a 9.5 wt % NaOH/4.5 wt % thiourea aqueous solution pre-cooled to -5 degrees C to prepare its concentrated solution, in which inclusion complexes (ICs) associated with cellulose, NaOH, thiourea, and water clusters were created. Physical gels could form in the cellulose solution at either high temperature or after long storage time, because of aggregation between the ICs. To clarify whether the Winter and Chambon theory could describe the gelation process of this complex system, we have investigated carefully the viscoelastic behavior of the cellulose solution with the advanced rheological expanded system (ARES). In the temperature range from 10 to 25 degrees C, we have successfully measured the loss tangent (tan delta) at the gel point according to the Winter and Chambon theory, showing the independence of tan delta on the frequency for the cellulose solution. The exponents of the scaling laws eta 0 proportional, variant epsilon-gamma and Ge proportional, variant epsilon z for the cellulose solution at 10 degrees C before and beyond the gel point were confirmed to be in agreement with the predicted values based on the percolation theory. The high sensitivity of the cellulose solution on temperature poses a limit for the application of the scaling law for the wide temperature range. The gel formed from the cellulose solution at 30 degrees C at long storage time could undergo a transition to a transparent liquid state after stirring at -5 degrees C. At the same time, the loss modulus (G' ') exceeds the storage modulus (G'), indicating a partially reversible sol-gel transition, as a result of the reconstruction of the hydrogen-bond networks between the solvent and cellulose.     

Deviation of the plane-wave approximation for optical fields in thin metallic films at various frequencies and temperatures

The frequency and temperature dependence of the size effect on the profile distribution of electromagnetic fields inside thin metallic films within the anomalous skin-effect region is theoretically studied. The relaxation time of conduction electrons is stated as (aT +b ²)^–1 in accord with Matthiessen's rule for current conduction. The errors of using the plane wave solution e^–uWz turns out to be as large as 5.5% compared to the total field including the higher-order terms for silver films with a thickness of 30 nm. However, the imaginary parts of the electric field for thinner metal films at lower temperatures are less affected by higher-order terms.     

Electronic structure and optical spectra of YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films in the infrared and UV region

Optical reflectance of YBa₂Cu₃O_7- thin films grown by laser ablation is measured within photon energies of 0.1 eV to 3.5 eV at room temperature. The spectra can be fit congruently with the anisotropic dielectric constants which take account of the intraband free carrier transition and interband transition. The anisotropic plasma frequencies are simulated to be _pl=2.18 eV and _ch=2.80 eV contributed from free carriers on the plane and in the chain, respectively. The interband transition occurs near 2.5 eV and is pertinent to a rather broad line width.     

CNDO/S Method Interpretation of Ultraviolet Spectra of Phenylthiazoles.

The uv spectra of three phenylthiazoles are reported. These experimental results are interpreted using CNDO/S method (Complete Neglect of Differential Overlap for Spectroscopy). Calculations show that the observed transitions, except two, are pseudo Π→Π* type transitions.     

Properties and Bioapplications of Blended Cellulose and Corn Protein Films

A series of blend films have been prepared from cellulose and corn protein in a NaOH/urea solution by a simple, low cost, and ‘green’ pathway. Their structure and properties are characterized by amino acid analysis, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, and tensile testing. The results reveal that a certain miscibility exists between cellulose and corn protein and their thermal stability and mechanical properties are improved significantly, compared with the protein materials, when the protein content is less than 18 wt.‐%. The protein, which contains tyrosine and histidine, could remain in the blend films after being washed for ten days, which indicates the strong hydrogen bonding between the hydroxy groups of cellulose and the hydroxyphenyl of tyrosine and imidazolyl of histidine in the protein. Furthermore, they exhibit good biocompatibility capable of supporting cell adhesion and proliferation.

     

Helical structures from an isotropic homopolymer model

We present Monte Carlo simulation results for square-well homopolymers at a series of bond lengths. Although the model contains only isotropic pairwise interactions, under appropriate conditions this system shows spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, where the chain exists in either a left- or a right-handed helical structure. We investigate how this behavior depends upon the ratio between bond length and monomer radius.