Interdiffusion/reaction at the polymer/polymer interface in multilayer systems probed by linear viscoelasticity coupled to FTIR and NMR measurements

This paper describes the experimental investigation of the interdiffusion/reaction mechanisms of asymmetric polymer-polymer interfaces. The study deals with the assessment of the chemical reactions occurring at the interface between two reactive polymers. A focal point of the investigation was to study these interfacial reactions by an array of techniques at very different space scales: from macroscopic viscoelastic investigations to IR and NMR spectroscopies at the molecular scale. The studied material pairs include PE-GMA/PA6 as the reactive system (RS) and PE/PA6 as the non-reactive one (NRS) - of coextruded multilayer polymers, i.e., after processing. The linear viscoelastic properties of the reactive multilayer systems were determined and the mechanisms were analyzed by NMR and FTIR measurements. Substantial reactions occurred during the rheological measurements and the results indicated the preferential formation of a copolymer at the interface, triggered by the neighboring layers. Moreover, the contribution of an interface/interphase effect was investigated along with the increase in the number of layers. The results showed that the variation in dynamic modulus of the multilayer system was a result of both diffusion and chemical reaction. Specific experiments were carried out to follow-up on the physicochemical phenomena, and the results were rationalized by comparing the obtained data with theoretical models. The effect of this interphase was quantified at a specific welding time and oscillation frequency thanks to rheological modeling. Because of the coupling between rheology and spectroscopical tools, potential reactions between the GMA functions and the amine/carboxylic polyamide chain ends were explored. The results highlighted that the main reaction mechanism was constituted by the crosslinking reaction between the GMA and carboxylic acid units, and not by that between GMA and amine end functions.     

A sensor based on silver nanoparticles synthesized on carbon graphite sheets for the electrochemical detection of nitrofurazone: Application: Tap water,commercial milk and human urine

Nitrofurazone is a nitrofuran-family synthetic chemical that has been used to treat bacterial infections since 1993. Silver nanoparticles synthesized by the thermal technique on graphite carbon sheets under optimal conditions were used to develop a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor. The main experimental characteristics are optimized to assure that this sensor functions correctly. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the chemical composition and morphology of the prepared pastes. With a maximal reduction peak of La nitrofurazone observed at ?0.57V/Ag-NPs@CPE versus Ag/AgCl, this sensor demonstrated good electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of La nitrofurazone. The influence of phosphate buffer solution pH indicates that the numbers of protons and electrons in the reaction at the surface of our constructed sensor were the same. The LOD and LOQ were calculated to be 1.2 × 10^?8 M and 1.3 × 10^?7 M, respectively. Using the differential pulse voltammetry technique, the calibration curve was established in the concentration range of 10^?4 M to 2 × 10^?7 M. Our Ag-NPs@CPE sensors were evaluated in order to detect nitrofurazone in real contaminated samples tap water, commercial milk, and human urine, in particular. The electroanalysis results show a very high recovery rate of more than 96% on average, permitting us to determine that our sensors are functional under optimum working conditions.     

An Efficient Strategy to Drive Nanoparticles into Carbon Nanotubes and the Remarkable Effect of Confinement on Their Catalytic Performance

Are you in? Bimetallic PtRu nanoparticles have been selectively confined inside or deposited outside carbon nanotubes (see picture). The confined nanoparticles display significantly higher selectivity and catalytic activity in hydrogenation reactions.

     

Preface to “Optimization,Convex and Variational Analysis”

Set-Valued and Variational Analysis -     

Synthesis and characterization of nanoheterostructures based on oligothiophene functionalized Ru nanoparticles

Monodisperse ruthenium nanoparticles functionalized by electroactive oligothiophenes have been prepared and characterized. Using TEM, UV-visible and FTIR we established that the organization of these nanoparticles into nanospheres can be directly controlled via modulation of the pi-pi interaction between the organic components adsorbed on the surface. This finding also shows that the self-assembled nanoheterostructures may be switched from monodisperse nanoparticles to ordered nanospheres by tuning the pH.     

Organic thin films based on a dicyanovinyl-quaterthiophene: Influence of electrode configuration on third-order nonlinear optical properties measured by electroabsorption spectroscopy

Electroabsorption (EA) studies at room temperature on organic thin films based on a dicyanovinyl-quaterthiophene 4T-V(CN)₂ are reported. An electric field modulation is applied to the samples for two different electrode geometries, i.e. sandwich and coplanar versus the organic layer. Changes in optical absorption coefficient of 4T-V(CN)₂ based thin films are measured and analyzed to determine the character of the optical transition in the visible range (400-800 nm). Depending on the experimental electrode configuration, magnitude of electroabsorption responses are different, possibly due to different distribution of the externally applied electric field. The results indicate a higher resolution of EA response for the sandwich electrode configuration and confirm the charge transfer exciton character of 4T-V(CN)₂ in contrast to the unsubstituted quaterthiophene 4T. Finally, a third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ (−ω; ω, 0, 0) of 16 × 10⁻¹² e.s.u. is obtained.     

How Can Brane Inflation Solve the Fine-Tuning Problem?

Brane inflation can provide a promising framework for solving the fine-tuning problem in standard inflationary models. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the mechanism by which this can be achieved. By considering the supersymmetric two-stage inflation model we show that the initial fine-tuning of the coupling parameter can be controlled through a relation between the coupling parameter and the brane tension.