Flame retardancy and mechanical properties of poly(decamethylene terephthalamide) filled with metal phosphinates

Flame retardancy and mechanical properties of poly(decamethylene terephthalamide) (PA10T) containing aluminum diethlyphosphinate (BEPAL) were investigated. The influence of BEPAL on the thermal degradation behavior of PA10T was studied using thermogravimetry, flammability test and chemical analysis. A decomposition model was given on the basis of Lewis acid-base interaction. The introduction of BEPAL led to reduced decomposition temperature, while the limiting oxygen index was greatly improved. The investigation of mechanical properties of PA10T/BEPAL composites indicated that the tensile strength firstly increased when low content BEPAL was added, then decreased with further increasing the concentration of BEPAL due to the agglomeration of filler particles. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results revealed that the presence of BEPAL hindered the movement of molecular chain.     

Analytic Solution for Magnetohydrodynamic Stagnation Point Flow towards a Stretching Sheet

A steady two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic stagnation point flow towards a stretching sheet with variable surface temperature is investigated. The analytic solution is obtained by homotopy analysis method. The convergence region is computed and the feature of the solution is discussed.     

Evolution of concentration fluctuation during phase separation of polystyrene/poly(vinyl methyl ether) blend in the presence of nanosilica

The influence of nanosilica on the concentration fluctuation of polystyrene/poly (vinyl methyl ether) (PS/PVME) mixtures was investigated during phase separation. The amplitude of concentration fluctuation was quantified by dielectric spectrums based on the idea of Lodge–Mcleish model and the linearized Cahn–Hilliard theory could describe the amplitude evolution of concentration fluctuation at the early stage of phase separation. Hydrophilic nanosilica A200 dispersed in PVME‐rich phase behaved an obvious inhibition effect on the concentration fluctuation of blend matrix, while hydrophobic nanosilica R974 dispersed in PS‐rich phase had little effect on the concentration fluctuation. The kinetics and amplitude evolution of concentration fluctuation during phase separation for PS/PVME/A200 nanocomposites were remarkably restrained due to the surface adsorption of PVME on A200. As the segmental dynamics of PVME and PS in homogeneous matrix was hardly influenced by A200 and R974, the enhanced miscibility and the significantly constrained flow relaxation of PVME chains might contribute to the retarded concentration fluctuation of PS/PVME/A200 nanocomposites. While the weak interaction between R974 and components of blend matrix and little effect of R974 on the molecular dynamics of PS chains may result in the weak retardation of concentration fluctuation for blend matrix. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1337–1349     

Thermodegradable multisegmented polymer synthesized by consecutive radical addition‐coupling reaction of α,ω‐macrobiradicals and dithioester

A consecutive radical addition‐coupling reaction involving dithioester is applied to produce thermodegradable multisegmented polymer using α,ω‐dibromo polymer as precursor. The macroradical generated by single electron transfer process promoted by Cu/ligand from α,ω‐dibromo polymer can efficiently add to ethyl dithiobenzoate, which results intermediate adduct radical. The in situ formed adduct radical immediately undergoes crosscoupling reaction with macroradical, generating segmented polymer bridged with C? S bond. The consecutive radical addition‐coupling reaction generates multisegmented polymer linked by C? S bond following step‐growth mechanism. The multisegmented polymer can be thermodegraded in the presence of hydrogen atom donor or air. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Covalently Assembled Dipeptide Nanospheres as Intrinsic Photosensitizers for Efficient Photodynamic Therapy in Vitro

Monodispersed diphenylalanine‐based nanospheres with excellent biocompatibility are fabricated through a facile covalent reaction‐induced assembly. Interestingly, the nanospheres exhibit red autofluorescence. Most importantly, such assembled dipeptide nanospheres can serve as intrinsic photosensitizer to convert O₂ to singlet oxygen (¹O₂). Thus, photodynamic therapy in vitro can be achieved effectively. The versatile strategy could be extended to other biomolecules containing a primary amine group for the fabrication of potential intrinsic photosensitizers.     

Reduced Graphene‐Wrapped MnO2 Nanowires Self‐Inserted with Co3O4 Nanocages: Remarkable Enhanced Performances for Lithium‐Ion Anode Applications

A simple synthetic approach for graphene‐templated nanostructured MnO₂ nanowires self‐inserted with Co₃O₄ nanocages is proposed in this work. The Co₃O₄ nanocages were penetrated in situ by MnO₂ nanowires. As an anode, the as‐obtained MnO₂–Co₃O₄–RGO composite exhibits remarkable enhanced performance compared with the MnO₂–RGO and Co₃O₄–RGO samples. The MnO₂–Co₃O₄–RGO electrode delivers a reversible capacity of up to 577.4 mA h g^?1 after 400 cycles at 500 mA g^?1 and the Coulombic efficiency of MnO₂–Co₃O₄–RGO is about 96 %.