Hydrogen bonding interactions,crystallization, and surface hydrophobicity in nanostructured epoxy/block copolymer blends

Hydrogen bonding interactions, phase behavior, crystallization, and surface hydrophobicity in nanostructured blend of bisphenol A‐type epoxy resin (ER), for example, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(dimethyl siloxane)‐block‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL–PDMS–PCL) triblock copolymer were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, small‐angle X‐ray scattering, and contact angle measurements. The PCL–PDMS–PCL triblock copolymer consisted of two epoxy‐miscible PCL blocks and an epoxy‐immiscible PDMS block. The cured ER/PCL–PDMS–PCL blends showed composition‐dependent nanostructures from spherical and worm‐like microdomains to lamellar morphology. FTIR study revealed the existence of hydrogen bonding interactions between the PCL blocks and the cured epoxy, which was responsible for their miscibility. The overall crystallization rate of the PCL blocks in the blend decreased remarkably with increasing ER content, whereas the melting point was slightly depressed in the blends. The surface hydrophobicity of the cured ER increased upon addition of the block copolymer, whereas the surface free energy (γ_s) values decreased with increasing block copolymer concentration. The hydrophilicity of the epoxy could be reduced through blending with the PCL–PDMS–PCL block copolymer that contained a hydrophobic PDMS block. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 790–800, 2010     

Predicted radiolysis yield in a Fricke solution irradiated with various heavy ions

Experimental data on the spatial distribution of the energy deposited around an energetic heavy ion, from 1 MeV proton to 5.9 MeV/n uranium ion, which have been reported in the literature were documented to obtain a scaled radial dose distribution; (β/Z*)² D(Z*, β,t)=200 (for t=0–1), 200/t² (for t=1t_c), and 200 t_c/t³ (for t>t_c) where Z* and β are the effective charge and velocity relative to c, the velocity of light, of the incident ion, respectively, D the dose in unit of Gy, t the radial distance in unit of nm, t_c the critical distance empirically determined.

Then, if we know the yield of any chemical reaction as a function of dose from the results of experiments using γ-radiations or fast electrons or theoretical calculations, we can calculate the probability for the yield of the chemical reaction in the system bombarded with a heavy ion of the effective charge Z* and velocity β. The results of the present calculation of the LET-values and of G(Fe³⁺) in the ferrous sulfate acidic solution are presented and compared with reported experimental results.     

Formation of a liquid organic ion associate in aqueous solution and its application to the GF-AAS determination of trace cadmium in environmental water as a complex with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(N-propyl-N-sulfopropylamino)phenol

The formation of a liquid organic ion associate in an aqueous sample was applied to the concentration and determination of cadmium in environmental water samples. Cadmium was converted into a complex with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(N-propyl-N-sulfopropylamino)phenol (5-Br-PAPS) in a 40-mL sample solution, and was extracted into a liquid ion associate of phenolsulfonate and benzethonium during phase formation. More than 400-fold enrichment was easily attained by this technique, because the volume of the liquid organic phase formed was very small, ca. 2 microL. After dilution of the organic phase with a small volume of 2-methoxyethanol, the cadmium in the solution was determined by GF-AAS. The detection limit was 0.09 ng/L (3sigma(b)). This method was applied to the determination of cadmium in river water and seawater.     

Photometric, colorimetric, and acid-base characteristics of nitroso-R-salt

Optical and colorimetric characteristics of 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid (nitroso-R-salt) are studied in aqueous solutions at pH 4–10. Equations of calibration plots are obtained as the colorimetric functions of the concentration, and the molar coefficients of the colorimetric functions are calculated. The dissociation constants of nitroso-R-salt are determined by colorimetry at an ionic strength of 0.1–0.5, reduced to zero ionic strength, and compared with the literature data. Advantages of colorimetry over spectrophotometry in the determination of the dissociation constants of colored reagents are demonstrated.     

Field Patterns of the TE Modes in Ridge-Trough Waveguide

A single-ridge waveguide with a symmetrical longitudinal trough, designated as a ridge-trough waveguide has been used as a transition in a V-band (50-75 GHz) wafer probe recently. In this paper, the field patterns for the dominant TE mode and the first higher TE mode in ridge-trough waveguide with different configurations are presented by finite element method. The field patterns in this paper have important values for us to understand the transmission characteristics of ridge-trough waveguide, and will be of practical significance in designing ridge-trough waveguide components in microwave and millimeter wave engineering.     

Energetic properties of nio surface examined by heat-of-adsorption measurement

Heat of adsorption and isotherm of water vapor on NiO samples were measured simultaneously at 301 K to examine the energetic properties of the surface. They revealed that NiO has a relatively uniform surface. The heat of adsorption ranging 80–90 kJ·mol^–1 indicates the production of surface hydroxyl groups on the (100) plane of NiO. It is relatively small compared with that of other metal oxides, which suggests a weak nature of the Ni²⁺ ion sites for chemisorption of water. It is suspected that half of the surface Ni²⁺ ions are covered with hydroxyl groups and the remainings act as relatively strong physisorption sites for water molecules.The authors are grateful for the help of Prof. S. Kittaka of Okayama University of Science in taking electron micrographs. This work was partly supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research No. 02640348 from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japanese Government.     

A Cartesian‐grid collocation method based on radial‐basis‐function networks for solving PDEs in irregular domains

This paper reports a new Cartesian‐grid collocation method based on radial‐basis‐function networks (RBFNs) for numerically solving elliptic partial differential equations in irregular domains. The domain of interest is embedded in a Cartesian grid, and the governing equation is discretized by using a collocation approach. The new features here are (a) one‐dimensional integrated RBFNs are employed to represent the variable along each line of the grid, resulting in a significant improvement of computational efficiency, (b) the present method does not require complicated interpolation techniques for the treatment of Dirichlet boundary conditions in order to achieve a high level of accuracy, and (c) normal derivative boundary conditions are imposed by means of integration constants. The method is verified through the solution of second‐ and fourth‐order PDEs; accurate results and fast convergence rates are obtained. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2007