High diffusion barrier and piezoelectric nanocomposites based on polyvinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene copolymer and hydrophobized clay

Nanocomposites based on polyvinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene copolymer and up to 4 vol % of hydrophobized clay nanoparticles are investigated. The structure, piezoelectric properties, and oxygen permeability of solvent cast films are analyzed before and after annealing above the Curie temperature of the polymer. Exfoliation of the clay takes place at concentrations up to 1 vol %, beyond which it rapidly drops and is absent at a concentration of 4 vol %. The presence of clay does not change the crystallinity of the polymer, but leads to a threefold decrease of the oxygen permeability at a concentration of 0.5 vol %. Annealing at 130 °C increases the crystallinity, the proportion of β phase up to 94%, and the piezoelectric coefficient by 20–40% at clay fractions below 1 vol %. Annealing also leads to a remarkable 3‐ to 10‐fold decrease of O₂ permeability and to intriguing changes of the activation energy for O₂ transport, which decreases from 56 kJ/mol for the as‐cast polymer to below 10 kJ/mol for the polymer and exfoliated composite. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1828–1836     

Asynchronous sampling for ultrafast experiments with low momentum compaction at the ANKA ring

A high‐repetition‐rate pump–probe experiment is presented, based on the asynchronous sampling approach. The low‐α mode at the synchrotron ANKA can be used for a time resolution down to the picosecond limit for the time‐domain sampling of the coherent THz emission as well as for hard X‐ray pump–probe experiments, which probe structural dynamics in the condensed phase. It is shown that a synchronization of better than 1 ps is achieved, and examples of phonon dynamics of semiconductors are presented.     

Spring-block approach for crack patterns in glass

Fracture patterns resulting from point-like impact acting perpendicularly on the plane of a commercial sodalime glass plate is modelled by a spring-block system. The characteristic patterns consist of crack lines that are spreading radially from the impact point and concentric arcs intersecting these radial lines. Experimental results suggest that the number of radial crack lines is scaling linearly with the energy dissipated during the crack formation process. The elaborated spring-block model reproduces with success the observed fracture patterns and scaling law.     

Laser ultrasonics in copy paper: bending stiffness dependence on temperature and moisture content

The A0 Lamb mode in copy paper is generated and detected by using laser ultrasonics. The frequency dependence of the group velocity of the A0 mode is found from the wavelet transform of the measured signal. A best fit of the dispersion curve against predictions based on orthotropic plate theory yields an estimate of the bending stiffness of the sample. The sample is enclosed in an environmental chamber so that the effects of temperature and humidity can be controlled. Results indicate that the bending stiffness decreases with increasing temperature at an approximate rate of 4 x 10(-6) N m/degrees C, and that it decreases with increasing percent moisture content (PMC) at an approximate rate of 2 x 10(-5) (N m)/PMC.     

An unprecedented surface oxidation of polystyrene substrates by wet chemistry under basic conditions

The surface of polystyrene substrates has been modified by wet chemistry consisting of a treatment with sodium hydroxide in a water-methanol solution at 50 degrees C for 15 h, under air atmosphere. The resulting samples were analyzed by XPS and AFM. The surface functional groups (hydroxyl and carboxyl functions) were assayed by radiolabeling. All the results are consistent with a surface oxidation process.