Preparation of submicron‐scale,electrospun cellulose fibers via direct dissolution

Cellulose nonwoven mats of submicron‐sized fibers (150 nm–500 nm in diameter) were obtained by electrospinning cellulose solutions. A solvent system based on lithium chloride (LiCl) and N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc) was used, and the effects of (i) temperature of the collector, (ii) type of collector (aluminum mesh and cellulose filter media), and (iii) postspinning treatment, such as coagulation with water, on the morphology of electrospun fibers were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction studies of as‐spun fibers at room temperature reveal that the morphology of cellulose fibers evolves with time due to moisture absorption and swelling caused by the residual salt and solvent. Although heating the collector greatly enhances the stability of the fiber morphology, the removal of salt by coagulation and DMAc by heating the collector was necessary for the fabrication of dry and stable cellulose fibers with limited moisture absorption and swelling. The presence and removal of the salt before and after coagulation have been identified by electron microprobe and X‐ray diffraction studies. When cellulose filter media is used as a collector, dry and stable fibers were obtained without the coagulation step, and the resulting electrospun fibers exhibit good adhesion to the filter media. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1673–1683, 2005     

Hydroxyl chain‐end functionalization of polymeric organolithium compounds with oxetane

Hydroxyl chain‐end functionalizations of polymeric organolithium compounds with oxetane (trimethylene oxide) were studied in benzene at 25 °C. Functionalizations of poly(styryl)lithium and polystyrene‐oligo‐butadienyllithium proceed efficiently to form the corresponding ω‐hydroxypropyl‐functionalized polymers in 98 and 97% isolated yields, respectively. No nonfunctional polymer (≤1–2%) was detected by thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis for either polymer. All functionalized polymers were characterized by ¹³C and ¹H NMR analyses; no evidence for oxetane oligomerization at the chain end was observed. The MALDI‐TOF mass spectrum of ω‐hydroxypropylpolystyrene was consistent with the expected structure without any detectable oligomerization of oxetane. A small, but detectable series of peaks corresponding to nonfunctional polystyrene was also observed in the MALDI‐TOF mass spectrum. The functionalization of the adduct of 1,1‐diphenylethylene and PSLi produced the corresponding ω‐hydroxypropyl‐functionalized polymer in only 86% isolated yield. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2684–2693, 2006     

Catalytic removal of nitric oxides from diesel exhaust over supported metal oxides catalysts

Summary A number of supported metal oxide catalysts were prepared and tested for nitrogen oxide removal from diesel engine exhaust. More than 50% of nitrogen oxides were removed using many prepared catalysts in the temperature range of 150^oC-350^oC.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of (η-arene)tricarbonylchromium complexes

We have undertaken a study of the microwave-assisted synthesis of (η⁶-arene)tricarbonylchromium complexes. Under microwave irradiation, the reactions of hexacarbonylchromium with arenes gave high yields of (η⁶-arene)chromium tricarbonyl complexes.     

Buckling instabilities in coupled nano-layers

We study the dynamic buckling of a pair of dissimilar Euler-Bernoulli beams subject to compressive edge loading whose transverse displacements are coupled through non-linear interactions, a problem motivated by the mechanics of graphene layers. The transverse coupling models van der Waals interaction and is derived from a Lennard-Jones 12-6 potential. The beams are assumed to be a fixed distance apart at their ends, although this distance is not necessarily equal to the equilibrium distance as identified from the Lennard-Jones potential. Therefore, the equilibrium configuration is not necessarily straight. Via a Galerkin method, the governing equations are reduced to a system that can be used to calculate equilibrium configurations as well as the stability of these configurations. We show that the buckling instability in this model is significantly affected by the presence of the interaction force as well as the separation of the graphene layers at the boundaries.     

Generic initial ideals of Artinian ideals having Lefschetz properties or the strong Stanley property

For a standard Artinian k-algebra A=R/I, we give equivalent conditions for A to have the weak (or strong) Lefschetz property or the strong Stanley property in terms of the minimal system of generators of gin(I). Using the equivalent condition for the weak Lefschetz property, we show that some graded Betti numbers of gin(I) are determined just by the Hilbert function of I if A has the weak Lefschetz property. Furthermore, for the case that A is a standard Artinian k-algebra of codimension 3, we show that every graded Betti number of gin(I) is determined by the graded Betti numbers of I if A has the weak Lefschetz property. And if A has the strong Lefschetz (respectively Stanley) property, then we show that the minimal system of generators of gin(I) is determined by the graded Betti numbers (respectively by the Hilbert function) of I.     

White electroluminescence from a single polyfluorene containing bis‐DCM units

A series of fluorene‐based copolymers composed of blue‐ and orange‐light‐emitting comonomers were synthesized through palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki coupling reactions. 9,9‐Dihexylfluorene and 2‐(2,6‐bis‐{2‐[1‐(9,9‐dihexyl‐9H‐fluoren‐2‐yl)‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroquinolin‐6‐yl]‐vinyl}‐pyran‐4‐ylidene)‐malononitrile (DCMF) were used as the blue‐ and orange‐light‐emitting chromophores, respectively. The resulting single polymers exhibited simultaneous blue (423/450 nm) and orange (580–600 nm) emissions from these two chromophores. By adjusting the fluorene and DCMF contents, white light emission could be obtained from a single polymer; a device with an ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer/Ca/Al configuration was found to exhibit pure white electroluminescence with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.33, 0.31), a maximum brightness of 1180 cd/m², and a current efficiency of 0.60 cd/A. Furthermore, the white light emission of this device was found to be very stable with respect to variation of the driving voltage. The CIE coordinates of the device were (0.32, 0.29), (0.32, 0.29), and (0.33, 0.31) for driving voltages of 7, 8, and 10 V, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3380–3390, 2007     

Crystallinity and morphology dependent luminescence of Li-doped Y2−xGdxO3:Eu thin film phosphors

The influence of lithium doping on the crystallization, the surface morphology, and the luminescent properties of pulsed laser deposited Y_2−xGd_xO₃:Eu³⁺ thin film phosphors was investigated. The crystallinity, the surface morphology, and the photoluminescence (PL) of films depended highly on the Li-doping and the Gd content. The relationship between the crystalline and morphological structures and the luminescent properties was studied, and Li⁺ doping was found to effectively enhance not only the crystallinity but also the luminescent brightness of Y_2−xGd_xO₃:Eu³⁺ thin films. In particular, the incorporation of Li and Gd into the Y₂O₃ lattice could induce remarkable increase in the PL. The highest emission intensity was observed Li-doped Y_1.35Gd_0.6O₃:Eu³⁺ thin films whose brightness was increased by a factor of 4.6 in comparison with that of Li-doped Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ thin films.     

High-accuracy surface position sensor based on a two-lens system

Two optical lenses are used to compose a surface position measuring system. A measurand is positioned near the front focal point of the first lens. At the output end of the other lens, a beam splitter is used to split the beam into two paths. One photodetector is positioned before the focal point of the lens in one path and another after the focal point in the other so that the intensities falling onto the two detectors can be adjusted to be equal when the first lens is in focus. This device provides a compact and high-accuracy surface sensor. In this paper, the design and experimental study of the sensor system is described. It is shown that such a sensor embodiment can lead to a resolution of 1 μm.     

Nash Inequalities for Markov Processes in Dimension One

In this paper, we give characterizations of Nash inequalities for birth-death process and diffusion process on the line. As a by-product, we prove that for these processes, transience implies that the semigroups P(t) decay as ∥P(t)∥_1→∞≥Ct ₋₁. Sufficient conditions for general Markov chains are also obtained. Received November 29, 2000, Revised February 21, 2001, Accepted March 16, 2001