Thermal properties of poly(styrene) containing brominated aryl phosphate additives

General purpose poly(styrene) is a large volume commodity polymer widely used in a range of applications. For many of these the presence of an additive to impart some flammability resistance is required. Most commonly, brominated aromatics are used for this purpose. As the polymer undergoes combustion these compounds decompose to generate bromine atoms and/or hydrogen bromide which escape to the gas phase and trap flame propagating radicals. While these species are effective in inhibiting flame propagation they present the opportunity for loss of halogen to the atmosphere. For this reason, the use of these compounds is being limited in some parts of the world. Phosphorus compounds, on the other had, impart a flame retarding influence by promoting char formation at the surface of the burning polymer. This prevents heat feedback to the polymer and consequent pyrolysis to generate fuel fragments. The combination of both bromine and phosphorus present in a single compound might generate a superior flame-retarding additive in that both modes of retardancy might be promoted simultaneously. Should this be the case smaller amounts of additive might be necessary to achieve a satisfactory level of flame retardancy. A series of such additives, brominated aryl phosphates, has been synthesized and fully characterized spectroscopically. Blends of these additives, at various levels, with poly(styrene) have been examined by DSC, TG and in the UL-94 flame test. The flammability of the polymer is dramatically diminished by the presence of the additive.     

Specific features of separate and joint mastication of natural and 1,4-cis-butadiene rubbers in the presence of dibenzoylaminodiphenyl disulfide

Variation of the molecular structure characteristics and properties of natural and 1,4-cis-polybutadiene rubbers (gel content, molecular weight, degree of branching of macromolecules, viscosity) in the course of their separate and joint mastication in the presence of dibenzoylaminodiphenyl sulfide as mastication accelerator or without it was studied.     

Methods in carbon K-edge NEXAFS: Experiment and analysis

Near-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS) is widely used to probe the chemistry and structure of surface layers. Moreover, using ultra-high brilliance polarised synchrotron light sources, it is possible to determine the molecular alignment of ultra-thin surface films. However, the quantitative analysis of NEXAFS data is complicated by many experimental factors and, historically, the essential methods of calibration, normalisation and artefact removal are presented in the literature in a somewhat fragmented manner, thus hindering their integrated implementation as well as their further development. This paper outlines a unified, systematic approach to the collection and quantitative analysis of NEXAFS data with a particular focus upon carbon K-edge spectra. As a consequence, we show that current methods neglect several important aspects of the data analysis process, which we address with a combination of novel and adapted techniques. We discuss multiple approaches in solving the issues commonly encountered in the analysis of NEXAFS data, revealing the inherent assumptions of each approach and providing guidelines for assessing their appropriateness in a broad range of experimental situations.     

Deep trench etching in macroporous silicon

We present a method to create at the same time trenches and ordered macropore arrays during photo-electrochemical etching of n-type silicon. This novel method allows in situ separation of single devices with a submicrometer precision. It also enables new device structures in macroporous silicon in the areas of photonics, sensing and electronics. The limits of this new process are simulated using electrostatic models and are verified experimentally. PACS 82.45.Yz; 81.16.-c     

An externally cooled beetle type scanning tunneling microscope for imaging in cryogenic liquids

We describe a variable temperature cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope designed for imaging and research in cryogenic liquids. It has an external Dewar type large scale cooling system with a temperature control range of roughly 85-110 K using pressure controlled liquid nitrogen cooling. The liquid nitrogen is kept in a closed chamber surrounding the STM and maintained at a pressure to suit the chosen temperature. Several gases have triple points in this temperature range and can therefore be liquified, such as argon, methane, silane and germane. The STM is based on a beetle type design built into a small cube vacuum chamber to fit into the cooling dewar. The system has been used for atomic resolution of highly oriented graphite submerged in a methane liquid at a temperature of 100 K.     

A modular scanning tunneling microscope with an interchangeable elastic closed cell and external actuators

We introduce a novel modular cell based scanning tunneling microscope with external piezoelectric actuators. A tip and a sample are contained in a closed interchangeable cell, consisting of a stiff top plate and a bottom part, fastened together by an elastic material. The bottom part, containing a scanning tip, is fastened to a base unit while the top plate, containing a sample, is capable of scanning motion by external piezoelectric actuators mounted in the same base unit. The actuators are pre-loaded by the deformation of the elastic material of the cell, giving an increased stability. This design is expected to simplify the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operation in difficult environments greatly by enclosing only the tip and sample in a small cell-module, which is pluggable to a scanning mechanism and other supportive functionalities. A frequency characterization and an image scan showing atomic resolution of highly oriented graphite in air, at room temperature, is presented.     

Magnetic and transport properties of double distorted perovskites CaCuMn6O12 and CaCu2Mn5O12

Magnetic and transport properties of double distorted perovskites CaCuMn₆O₁₂ and CaCu₂Mn₅O₁₂ are studied in a range 2–300 K. The leading role in magnetism of these compounds belongs to antiferromagnetic exchange interaction of Cu²⁺ in square coordination with Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ in octahedral coordination. The values of saturation magnetization indicate that Mn³⁺ ions in square coordination are coupled ferromagnetically with Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ in octahedral coordination. The colossal magnetoresistance in the pellet samples is due assumingly to intergranular spin-polarized tunneling of current carriers.     

ENSTAR detector forη- mesic studies

We have initiated a search for a new type of nuclear matter, theη-mesic nucleus, using beams from the multi-GeV hadron facility, COSY at Juelich, Germany. A large acceptance scintillator detector, ENSTAR has been designed and built at BARC, Mumbai and fully assembled and tested at COSY. A test run for calibration and evaluation has been completed. In this contribution we present the design and technical details of the ENSTAR detector and how it will be used to detect protons and pions (the decay products ofη-mesic bound state). The detector is made of plastic scintillators arranged in three concentric cylindrical layers. The readout of the detectors is by means of optical fibres. The layers are used to generate ΔE –E spectra for particle identification and total energy information of stopped particles. The granularity of the detector allows for position (θ and ?ø determination making the event reconstruction kinematically complete     

In situ preparation of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting films by laser sputtering

Superconducting films of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O on (100) MgO substrates have been fabricated by XeCl-excimer-laser sputtering from ceramic targets of Bi_2.5Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_y in O₂ atmosphere. The films were polycrystalline with the c-axis (30.80±0.02Å) preferably oriented normal to the substrate surface. Without post-annealing the films showed metallic resistance behavior with zero resistance temperatures of up to T_c(0) }- 79 K. The critical current density of the films had values of up to j_c(50K)}- 10⁴ A/cm².