Depth profiling of latex blends of fluorinated and fluorine‐free acrylates with laser‐induced secondary mass spectrometry

We explored phase separation and self‐assembly of perfluoroalkyl segments at the surface of polymer films obtained from latices of semifluorinated acrylate copolymers and the corresponding latex blends of nonfluorinated and semifluorinated polyacrylates. With laser‐induced secondary mass spectrometry the fluorine distribution was measured after annealing above the minimum film‐forming temperature of the polymers up to a depth of several micrometers. Depth profiles of a semifluorinated acrylate homopolymer and latex blends thereof with fluorine‐free alkylacrylates with 25, 50, and 75 mol % semifluorinated acrylate as well as a copolymer comprised of alkyl acrylate and semifluorinated acrylate (50/50 mol %) were investigated. In the case of latex blends containing both semifluorinated polyacrylates and fluorine‐free or low‐fluorine polymers, self‐assembly accounted for enrichment of the perfluoroalkyl segments at the surface. Coatings exhibiting low surface energy and having a substantially reduced total fluorine content were obtained. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 360–367, 2003     

Synthesis and cationic photopolymerization of new fluorinated,polyfunctional propenyl ether oligomers

New fluorinated, polyfunctional propenyl ether functionalized resins were synthesized, and their behavior in cationic photopolymerization was investigated. The photopolymerization proceeded efficiently with a high double‐bond conversion (>90%), giving rise to UV‐cured coatings characterized by low glass‐transition temperatures (?33 °C ≤ glass‐transition temperature ≤ ?15 °C) and hydrophobic surface properties. A fluorinated additive was also employed as a reactive additive in the cationic photopolymerization of trimethylolpropane tripropenyl ether, increasing the double‐bond conversion, polymer network flexibility, thermal stability, and surface hydrophobicity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6943–6951, 2006     

Mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEM fuel cell durability

The life of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is currently limited by the mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In this paper, the authors report recent experimental and modeling work toward understanding the mechanisms of delayed mechanical failures of polymer electrolyte membranes and MEAs under relevant PEMFC operating conditions. Mechanical breach of membranes/MEAs in the form of pinholes and tears has been frequently observed after long‐term or accelerated testing of PEMFC cells/stacks. Catastrophic failure of cell/stack due to rapid gas crossover shortly follows the mechanical breach. Ex situ mechanical characterizations were performed on MEAs after being subjected to the accelerated chemical aging and relative humidity (RH) cycling tests. The results showed significant reduction of MEA ductility manifested as drastically reduced strain‐to‐failure of the chemically aged and RH‐cycled MEAs. Postmortem analysis revealed the formation and growth of mechanical defects such as cracks and crazing in the membranes and MEAs. A finite element model was used to estimate stress/strain states of an edge‐constrained MEA under rapid RH variations. Damage metrics for accelerated testing and life prediction of PEMFCs are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

Reducible Dupin submanifolds

Pinkall's standard constructions for obtaining a Dupin hypersurface W in ^N from a Dupin hypersurface M in ⁿ , N>n, are studied in the context of Lie sphere geometry. It is shown that a compact Dupin hypersurface W in ^N with g distinct principal curvatures at each point is reducible to a compact Dupin hypersurface M in ⁿ if and only if g=2.This research was supported by NSF Grant No. DMS 87-06015.     

Intra- versus intermolecular hydrogen bonds in salicylamide derivatives

The crystal structures, solid-state infrared patterns, and thermal properties of two polymorphs of 4-nitrosalicylanilide are presented. In both polymorphs, intramolecular hydrogen bonds are found between the phenol oxygen and the amide proton, and intermolecular hydrogen bonds are found between the amide carbonyl oxygen and the phenol proton. These hydrogen bond patterns are compared to those found in other known salicylamide derivatives and an analysis is given of the factors contributing to preferences for intra- or intermolecular hydrogen bonds in these structures. Crystal data: polymorph, orthorhombic,Pbca,a=11.003(4),b=27.959(7),c=7.622(5) Å,Z=4,V=2345(3) ų, andR=0.038 (1351 reflections); polymorph, monoclinic,P2₁/a,a=28.36(1),b=11.64(1),c=7.293(8) Å,=90.68(6)°,Z=8,V=2408 ų, andR=0.043 (2425 reflections).     

Periodic solutions of some infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems associated with non-linear partial difference equations. II

This is our second paper devoted to the study of some non-linear Schrödinger equations with random potential. We study the non-linear eigenvalue problems corresponding to these equations. We exhibit a countable family of eigenfunctions corresponding to simple eigenvalues densely embedded in the band tails. Contrary to our results in the first paper, the results established in the present paper hold for an arbitrary strength of the non-linear (cubic) term in the non-linear Schrödinger equation.