Ferroelectric polarization switching in nylon-11

Cold-drawn Nylon-11 films, which were prepared by stretching the melt-quenched films to a draw ratio of 2.8: 1 at room temperature, were found to exhibit an electric displacement versus electric field hysteresis loop. The results confirmed that the Nylon-11 film exhibited ferroelectric behavior at or below room temperature. The coercive fields were 65, 98, 125, 160, and 215 MV/m at 20, 0, ?20, ?40, and ?60°C and the remanent polarization at ?20°C (where there was considerably less dc conduction) was 56 mC/m². Switching of the polarization was almost completed within 20 ms.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel perfluorinated polyimides with 3D‐controlled structures for photonic applications

We have designed and synthesized novel perfluorinated polyimides with 3D controlled structure. At first, we successfully developed the new synthetic routes to diamines with pendant bulky perfluorinated aromatic units in a multi‐step synthetic procedure. Novel perfluorinated polyimides were prepared in a two‐step reaction in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone (NMP) solution: The first step was for the synthesis of polyamic acids (PAAs) and the second reaction was for the imidization of PAA. The polymer yield was over 89% and the inherent viscosity of PAAs was in the range of 0.24–0.36 dL/g. The thin films were prepared by spin‐coating the PAA solution in NMP onto various substrates such as a Si wafer or a KBr pellet, dried at 80 °C and further cured at 230 °C. The resultant polyimides are thermally stable over 400 °C. The refractive index and birefringence of the resultant polyimides are 1.5858–1.6452 and 0.01–0.005, respectively. The refractive index of polyimide decreases with increasing the fluorine content. The copolymerization and the ether linkages into the backbone reduce the birefringence of polyimides. Surprisingly, the pendant ether linkage is not a crucial factor in reducing the polyimide birefringence. Their birefringence is comparatively very low, compared with that of previous polyimides. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1326–1342, 2006     

Radiation Effects on Concentrated Potassium Hexacyanoferrate(III) Solutions

The neutron irradiated potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) solutions were analyzed for Fe(CN)₆^4?, Fe(CN)₆^3?, and Prussian blue. The retention values (1.1%) were constant throughout the pH and concentration ranges studied, and did not change with the length of irradiation. The complex behavior of the radiochemical yield of the Fe(CN)₆^4? and Prussian blue was attributed to the competition of the various reactions involved in the irradiation.