Nano-tribological study on a super-hydrophobic film formed on rough aluminium substrates

A novel super-hydrophobic stearic acid (STA) film with a water contact angle of 166^o was prepared by chemical adsorption on aluminum wafer coated with polyethyleneimine (PEI) film. The micro-tribological behavior of the super-hydrophobic STA monolayer was compared with that of the polished and PEI-coated Al surfaces. The effect of relative humidity on the adhesion and friction was investigated as well. It was found that the STA monolayer showed decreased friction, while the adhesive force was greatly decreased by increasing the surface roughness of the Al wafer to reduce the contact area between the atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and the sample surface to be tested. Thus the friction and adhesion of the Al wafer was effectively decreased by generating the STA monolayer, which indicated that it could be feasible and rational to prepare a surface with good adhesion resistance and lubricity by properly controlling the surface morphology and the chemical composition. Both the adhesion and friction decreased as the relative humidity was lowered from 65% to 10%, though the decrease extent became insignificant for the STA monolayer. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50375151, 50323007, 10225209) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX-SW-L2)     

Photorefractive Four-Wave Mixing Switches Utilizing Pockels Effect -Longitudinal and Lateral Switches-

We carried out detailed calculations for photorefractive wave-mixing switches based on one of three crystals with high electro-optic coefficients, namely, BaTiO₃, Strontium Barium Niobate (SBN (0.75)), and Potasium Sodium Strontium Barium Niobate (KNSBN). A comparison of results for the three crystals shows that a 0_-cut BaTiO³ crystal is suitable for a longitudinal switch and requires a voltage of about 80 for a 2-mm-thick crystal to induce sufficient phase mismatch. The electrodes must be transparent for the incident and diffracted beams. A 45_-cut SBN (0.75) crystal, however, is suitable for a lateral switch and requires a voltage of about 150 for a 1-mm-wide crystal. The electrodes do not need to be transparent.     

Errata: “Universality in Orthogonal and Symplectic Invariant Matrix Models with Quartic Potential”

The errata concern mainly the last computations for the universality of the local statistics of eigenvalues at the edge of the spectrum in parts (iii) of Theorems 2.3 and 2.4.     

Color Zone Map in Peripheral Vision at Various Illuminance Levels

We measured the entire region of mesopic and photopic vision to determine the color zone covering the visual field with unique red, yellow, green, and blue hue components. Eight kinds of test stimuli in the natural color system (NCS) color notation system were used. These stimuli were presented at horizontal and vertical meridians, and at meridians inclined at 45° angles. The illuminance level was set at six levels: 0.01 lx-1000 lx. The evaluation method measured chromatic, white, and black components as well as the hue component of the stimuli. Results show that the color zone of the retina extended further into the periphery with increasing illuminance; the response of opponent colors y-b was shown to be greater than that of the opponent colors r-g.     

A realistic coronary artery phantom for particle image velocimetry

Myocardial infarction results from the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque, which occurs in response to both mechanical stress and inflammatory processes. In order experimentally observe flow into atherosclerotic coronary artery morphologies, a novel technique for molding realistic compliant phantom featuring injection-molded inclusions and multiple layers has been developed. This transparent phantom allows for particle image velocimetry (PIV) flow analysis and can supply experimental data to validate computational fluid dynamics algorithms and hypothesis.     

Real-time color holographic interferometry devoted to 2D unsteady wake flows

A new optical technique based on real time holographic interferometry in true colors has been implemented around the transonic wind tunnel of the ONERA-Lille center to analyze 2D unsteady wake flows. Tests realized in color interferometry, real time and double exposure, use simultaneously three wavelengths of a continuous waves laser (argon and krypton mixed) and holograms are recorded on silver-halide single-layer panchromatic Slavich PFG03c plates. The very principle of real-time true color holographic interferometry uses three primary wavelengths (red, green and blue) to record, under no-flow conditions, the interference among the three measurement beams and the three reference beams simultaneously on a single reference hologram. After the holographic plate is developed, it is placed on the test setup again in the position it occupied during exposure and the hologram is illuminated again by the three reference beams and three measurement beams. A flat, uniform color can then be observed behind the hologram. So a horizontal, vertical, or even circular fringe pattern can be formed and the achromatic central fringe can be made out very clearly. The single color is used to determine the path difference zero on the interferograms. The flow studied was the unsteady flow downstream of a cylinder placed crosswise in the test section. A sequence of hundred interferograms was recorded on the flow around the cylinder at Mach 0.37. The vortex formation and dissipation phases can be seen very clearly, along with the fringe beat to either side of the cylinder.     

Novel dinitroxide mediating agent for stable free‐radical polymerization

A novel dinitroxide mediating agent that was suitable for stable free‐radical polymerization was synthesized and used in the block copolymerization of styrene and t‐butyl styrene. Quantitative yields of a novel dinitroxide based on 1,6‐hexamethylene diisocyanate and 4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy were obtained. Various experimental parameters, including the nitroxide‐to‐initiator molar ratio, were examined, and it was determined that the polymerization was most controlled under conditions similar to those of conventional 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy‐mediated stable free‐radical polymerization. Moreover, the dinitroxide mediator proved to be a viable route for the facile two‐step synthesis of triblock copolymers of styrene and t‐butyl styrene. However, the dinitroxide mediation process resulted in a higher than expected level of nitroxide decomposition, which resulted in polymers possessing a terminal alkoxyamine and an adjacent hydroxylamine rather than a preferred internal bisalkoxyamine. This decomposition resulted in the formation of diblock copolymer species during the triblock copolymer synthesis. Gel permeation chromatography was used to monitor the chain‐end decomposition kinetics, and the determined observed rate constant (5.89 × 10^?5 s^?1) for decomposition agreed well with previous studies for other dinitroxide mediating agents. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1547–1556, 2004     

Rheological and physical properties of aliphatic hyperbranched polyesters

The effects of the size (pseudo‐generation number) and nature of end groups on physical and rheological properties were investigated for a series of hyperbranched polyesters based on an ethoxylated pentaerythritol core and 2,2‐bis‐(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid repeat units. The observed linear dependence of the melt viscosity on the molar mass in the high pseudo‐generation‐number limit indicated that entanglement effects were substantially absent. Moreover, the marked influence of end capping of the end groups on the physical and rheological properties suggested that intermolecular interactions were dominated by contacts between the outer shells of the molecules, in which the end groups were assumed to be concentrated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1218–1225, 2004