Effect of a novel green modification of alumina nanoparticles on the curing kinetics and electrical insulation properties of epoxy composites

A novel green surface modification was successfully implemented on alumina nanoparticles using chitosan (CS) to prevent nanoparticles' aggregation. To evaluate the surface changes of nanoparticles, FTIR, TGA, TEM, and SEM analyses were used. The cure kinetics of the uncured samples was analyzed by DSC. Different methods such as KAS, Friedman, Starink, and FWO were applied to measure the activation energy. The activation energy of epoxy reinforced with chitosan-functionalized alumina (epoxy/[CS-EPO-alumina]) was less than that of epoxy reinforced with alumina (epoxy/alumina), which was a confirmation of the positive effect of CS on curing reaction kinetics. Using the Malek method, the Sestak-Berggren autocatalytic equation was chosen to investigate the cure kinetics of the epoxy. It was found that the Sestak-Berggren equation is well matched with the experimental data and the model was suitable to predict the epoxy curing reaction reliably. Moreover, the glass transition temperatures of all samples were approximately the same. The effect of surface modification of alumina on the electrical insulating behavior of epoxy was also studied. It was found that CS functionalized alumina (CS-EPO-alumina) increased volume resistivity of epoxy at a temperature range of 30 to 80°C more than that of alumina. Electric stability and breakdown strength of epoxy/alumina and epoxy/(CS-EPO-alumina) also enhanced, where epoxy/(CS-EPO-alumina) experienced a further increase compared to epoxy.     

FT‐IR characterization and hydrolysis of PLA‐PEG‐PLA based copolyester hydrogels with short PLA segments and a cytocompatibility study

A series of the biodegradable copolyester hydrogels was prepared using a redox‐initiated polymerization with a constant 1:9 mole ratio of the Boltorn‐based acrylate and diacrylate triblock comacromonomers. The Boltorn® macromonomer was derived from the hyperbranched polyester Boltorn H20, which was functionalized at each terminus with poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate, and the diacrylate triblock macromonomer was poly (lactide‐b‐ethylene glycol‐b‐lactide) diacrylate. The hydrolysis of the copolyesters at pH 7.4 in a phosphate buffered saline solution at 37 °C was studied using ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy. It was found that the presence of the Boltorn, the PEG, and lactide block lengths both play vital roles in determining the structure‐property relationships in these materials. The ATR‐FTIR studies showed that with increasing lactide segment length, the rate of ester hydrolysis increased due to the increased concentration of the hydrolytically sensitive poly(lactic acid) (PLA) ester groups in the network. However, incorporation of Boltorn into the PLA‐PEG‐PLA copolymer did not significantly change the kinetic rate constant for hydrolysis of the PLA segments. The cytocompatibility of a typical one of these materials in the presence of its degradation by‐products was assessed using cultured osteoblasts from the rat. The hydrogel was degraded for 28 days and found to be cytocompatible with osteoblasts over days 23 to 28 of the hydrolysis period. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 5163–5176     

On the Maximal and Minimal Left Ideals of Certain Banach Algebras on Locally Compact Groups

Let ${L_0^\infty(G)}$ be the Banach space of all essentially bounded measurable functions on a locally compact group G vanishing at infinity. In this paper, we describe maximal and minimal left ideals in the Banach algebra ${L_0^\infty(G)^*}$ equipped with an Arens type product. We also investigate some spectral properties of ${L_0^\infty(G)^*}$ .     

Volumetric and Viscometric Studies of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>′-Bis(salicylaldehyde)-1,3-diaminopropane Schiff Base (Salpr) in Ionic Liquid + DMF solutions

The apparent molar volumes and viscosities of N,N′-bis(salicylaldehyde)-1,3-diaminopropane Schiff base (Salpr) have been determined in ionic liquid {1-pentyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([PnMIm]Br)} + N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solutions at 298.15 K from density and viscosity measurements using a vibrating tube densimeter and übbelohde type viscometer, respectively. These data have been used to calculate standard partial molar volumes, V_f ⁰V_{\phi} ^{0}, transfer partial molar volumes, Δ_tr V ⁰, and viscosity B-coefficients of the solutions. The transfer partial molar volumes are negative, and decrease with increasing the concentration of ionic liquid for all of the investigated solutions. It found that this ionic liquid interacts strongly with the Schiff base (Salpr) and has desolvation effect on the Schiff base molecules.     

The double negation of the intermediate value theorem

In the context of intuitionistic analysis, we consider the set F consisting of all continuous functions ? from [0,1] to R such that ?(0)=0 and ?(1)=1, and the set I₀ consisting of ?’s in F where there exists x∈[0,1] such that . It is well-known that there are weak counterexamples to the intermediate value theorem, and with Brouwer’s continuity principle we have I₀≠F. However, there exists no satisfying answer to . We try to answer to this question by reducing it to a schema (which we call ) about intuitionistic decidability that asserts “there exists an intuitionistically enumerable set that is not intuitionistically decidable”. We also introduce the notion of strong Specker double sequence, and prove that the existence of such a double sequence is equivalent to the existence of a function ?∈F_mon where .     

The study of the weibel electromagnetic instability growth rate in the presence of the body stress

Body stress flow can be expected in the fast ignition imploding of the inertial fusion process that strongly damps small‐scale velocity structures. The Weibel instability is one of the plasma instabilities that require anisotropy in the distribution function. The body stress effect was neglected in the calculation of the Weibel instability growth rate. In this article, the propagation condition of impinging waves and the growing modes of the Weibel instability on the plasma density gradient of the fuel fusion with the body stress flow are investigated. Calculations show that the minimum value of the body stress rate threshold in the linear polarization is about 2.96 times greater than that of the circular polarization. Increasing 10 times of the density gradient and decreasing 2 times of the wavelength in the linear polarization and the circular polarization, respectively, lead to about 1.78 × 10⁶ times increment and 0.019 times decrement in the maximum of the Weibel instability growth rate. Also, the Weibel instability growth rate maximum in the circular polarization is about 10⁷ times greater than that of the linear polarization. The body stress flow and the density gradient tend to stabilize the Weibel instability in the circular polarization and act as a destabilizing source in the linear polarization. Therefore, by increasing steps of the density gradient plasma near the relativistic electron beam‐emitting region, in the circular polarization, the Weibel instability occurs at a higher stress flow.     

Supertough spontaneously self-healing polymer based on septuple dynamic bonds integrated in one chemical group

The development of spontaneously self-healing materials with excellent mechanical properties remains a formidable challenge despite the extensive interest in such materials. This is because the self-healing and mechanical properties of a material are usually optimized via contradictory routes. The present study demonstrated a supertough spontaneously self-healing polymer,Fe-(2,6-diacetylpyridine dioxime)-urethane-based polyurethane(Fe-PPOU) based on septuple dynamic bonds integrated in one chemical group. A synergistic effect was induced by the presence of multiple dynamic crosslinking points, which comprised the integrated dynamic interactions, and the hidden lengths of the folded polymeric chains in Fe-PPOU. Thus, the mechanical and self-healing properties of the polymer were simultaneously optimized. Fe-PPOU demonstrated the highest reported toughness(139.8 MJ m^-3) among all the room-temperature spontaneously self-healing polymers with a nearly 100% healing rate. Fe-PPOU exhibited instant(30 s) self-healing to reach a strength of 1.6 MPa that was higher than the original strength of numerous recently reported self-healing polymers.     

Quantification of Density-Driven Natural Convection for Dissolution Mechanism in CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Sequestration

Dissolution of CO₂ into brine causes the density of the mixture to increase. The density gradient induces natural convection in the liquid phase, which is a favorable process of practical interest for CO₂ storage. Correct estimation of the dissolution rate is important because the time scale for dissolution corresponds to the time scale over which free phase CO₂ has a chance to leak out. However, for this estimation, the challenging simulation on the basis of convection–diffusion equation must be done. In this study, pseudo-diffusion coefficient is introduced which accounts for the rate of mass transferring by both convection and diffusion mechanisms. Experimental tests in fluid continuum and porous media were performed to measure the real rate of dissolution of CO₂ into water during the time. The pseudo diffusion coefficient of CO₂ into water was evaluated by the theory of pressure decay and this coefficient is used as a key parameter to quantify the natural convection and its effect on mass transfer of CO₂. For each experiment, fraction of ultimate dissolution is calculated from measured pressure data and the results are compared with predicted values from analytical solution. Measured CO₂ mass transfer rate from experiments are in reasonable agreement with values calculated from diffusion equation performed on the basis of pseudo-diffusion coefficient. It is suggested that solving diffusion equation with pseudo diffusion coefficient herein could be used as a simple and rapid tool to calculate the rate of mass transfer of CO₂ in CCS projects.     

Evaluation of electrical and optical characteristics of ZnO/CdS/CIS thin film solar cell

In this study, device modeling and simulation are conducted to explain the effects of each layer thickness and temperature on the performance of ZnO/CdS/CIS thin film solar cells. Also, the thicknesses of the CIS and CdS absorber layers are considered in this work theoretically and experimentally. The calculations of solar cell performances are based on the solutions of the well-known three coupling equations: the continuity equation for holes and electrons and the Poisson equation. Our simulated results show that the efficiency increases by reducing the CdS thickness. Increasing the CIS thickness can increase the efficiency but it needs more materials. The efficiency is more than 19% for a CIS layer with a thickness of 2 μm. CIS nanoparticles are prepared via the polyol route and purified through centrifugation and precipitation processes.Then nanoparticles are dispersed to obtain stable inks that could be directly used for thin-film deposition via spin coating.We also obtain x-ray diffraction(XRD) peak intensities and absorption spectra for CIS experimentally. Finally, absorption spectra for the CdS window layer in several deposition times are investigated experimentally.     

Viscous fluid damping in a laterally oscillating finger of a comb-drive micro-resonator based on micro-polar fluid theory

Viscous damping is a dominant source of energy dissipation in laterally oscillating micro-structures. In micro-resonators in which the characteristic dimensions are compa-rable to the dimensions of the fluid molecules, the assumption of the continuum fluid theory is no longer justified and the use of micro-polar fluid theory is indispensable. In this paper a mathematical model was presented in order to predict the viscous fluid damping in a laterally oscillating finger of a micro-resonator considering micro-polar fluid theory. The coupled governing partial differential equations of motion for the vibration of the finger and the micro-polar fluid field have been derived. Considering spin and no-spin boundary conditions, the related shape functions for the fluid field were presented. The obtained governing differential equations with time varying boundary conditions have been trans-formed to an enhanced form with homogenous boundary conditions and have been discretized using a Galerkin-based reduced order model. The effects of physical properties of the micro-polar fluid and geometrical parameters of the oscillat-ing structure on the damping ratio of the system have been investigated.