Crown Ether Phase Transfer Catalysts for An Ionic Polymerization of Bisphenol A / 4,4′‐Dichlorodiphenyl Sulfone

Various crown ethers were prepared and applied as phase transfer catalysts for the an ionic copolymerization of bisphenol A and 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenyl sulfone monomers with alkali salts, e.g., NaNH₂, NaOH and KOH, as initiators. The catalytic abilities of various crown ethers for the an ionic polymerization of bisphenol A / 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenyl sulfone were found to be in the order: 15‐crown‐5 ? monobenzo‐15‐crown‐5 > 18‐crown‐6 > Dicyclohexano‐18‐crown‐6 > Dibenzo‐18‐crown‐6 > 12‐crown‐4 with sodium amide (NaNH₂) as initiator. Sodium amide was shown to be a better initiator than NaOH or KOH with monobenzo‐ 15‐crown‐5 as a catalyst. Effects of solvents and temperature on the crown ether catalytic polymerization were also investigated. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) exhibited much better for the polymerization than other organic solvents, e.g., toluene, p‐xylene, dimethyl formamide and dioxane. Higher polymerization was found at higher temperatures and about 100% yield of poly(bisphenol A / sulfone) was obtained at 125 °C in 3 hr. The molecular weight of poly(bisphenol A / sulfone) as a function of reaction time was determined with gel permeation chromatography. Concentration effects of crown ether on % yield and molecular weight of poly(bisphenol A / sulfone) were also investigated and discussed.     

An Iron‐Catalyzed Cascade Approach to Benzo[b]carbazole Synthesis Followed by 1,4‐Sulfonyl Migration

A simple and straightforward approach was developed to construct 5H‐benzo[b]carbazole derivatives by iron catalysis in a cascade sequence. The notable features of this work include an atom‐economical cascade sequence, unprecedented 1,4‐sulfonyl migration, tolerance of a variety of functional groups, good yields, and an economical catalytic system.     

Fixed point theorems for multifunctions having KKM property on almost convex sets

In this paper, for two nonempty subsets X and Y of a linear space E, we define the class KKM(X,Y) and investigate the fixed point problem for T∈KKM(X,X) with X an almost convex subset of a locally convex space. Our fixed point theorem contains Lassonde fixed point theorem for Kakutani factorizable multifunctions as special case.     

Two-grid discretization schemes for nonlinear Schrödinger equations

We study efficient two-grid discretization schemes with two-loop continuation algorithms for computing wave functions of two-coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations defined on the unit square and the unit disk. Both linear and quadratic approximations of the operator equations are exploited to derive the schemes. The centered difference approximations, the six-node triangular elements and the Adini elements are used to discretize the PDEs defined on the unit square. The proposed schemes also can compute stationary solutions of parameter-dependent reaction–diffusion systems. Our numerical results show that it is unnecessary to perform quadratic approximations.     

Stable CdTe thin film solar cells with a MoOx back‐contact buffer layer

MoO_x thin films were employed as a buffer layer in the back contact of CdTe solar cells. A monograined CdS layer was employed as the window layer to reduce light absorption. The insertion of a MoO_x buffer layer in the back contact greatly reduced the Schottky barrier leading to increased fill factor and open‐circuit voltage. A CdTe solar cell, with an efficiency as high as 14.2%, was fabricated. The use of a MoO_x buffer layer made it possible to fabricate high‐efficient CdTe solar cell with much less Cu in the back contact, thus greatly enhancing the cell stability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymmetric Polymer Particles with Anisotropic Curvatures by Annealing Polystyrene Microspheres on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Films

Anisotropic polymer particles such as Janus particles have attracted significant attention in recent years because of their unique properties and unusual self‐assembly behavior. Most anisotropic polymer particles synthesized so far, however, only have different chemical regions compartmentalized on the particles. It remains a great challenge to fabricate anisotropic polymer particles with different shapes within a single particle. A novel approach is developed to prepare anisotropic polymer particles that contain two hemispheres with different curvatures by annealing polystyrene microspheres on poly(vinyl alcohol) films. During the annealing process, the polymer microspheres gradually sink into the polymer films and transform to asymmetric polymer particles, driven by the surface and interfacial tensions of the polymers. Selective removal techniques are also used to confirm the morphologies of the asymmetric particles.

     

Characterization of TiOxNy nanoparticles embedded in HfOxNy as charge trapping nodes for nonvolatile memory device applications

Silicon-oxide–nitride-oxide–silicon devices with nanoparticles (NPs) as charge trapping nodes (CTNs) are important to provide enhanced performance for nonvolatile memory devices. To study these topics, the TiO_xN_y metal oxide NPs embedded in the HfO_xN_y high-k dielectric as CTNs of the nonvolatile memory devices were investigated via the thermal synthesis using Ti thin-film oxidized in the mixed O₂/N₂ ambient. Well-isolated TiO_xN_y NPs with a diameter of 5–20 nm, a surface density of ～3 × 10¹¹ cm^?2, and a charge trap density of around 2.33 × 10¹² cm^?2 were demonstrated. The writing characteristic measurements illustrate that the memory effect is mainly due to the hole trapping.     

Continuation and stability analysis for Bloch waves of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation

We describe a two-parameter continuation algorithm for computing Bloch waves of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in optical lattices which is governed by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE). The Fourier collocation method and fourth-order Adini’s elements with penalty are used to discretize the GPE. We propose two different approaches so that the two-parameter continuation algorithm can be modified to compute closed tubes at the four corners of the Bloch band. We also study linear stability analysis for the GPE. We show that all the discrete steady-state solutions are numerically neutrally stable. Numerical results show that the four edges of the Bloch waves are surrounded by closed loops if the coefficient of the cubic nonlinear term is greater than that of the periodic potential. Moreover, closed tubes at the four corners of the Bloch band are obtained. The numerical results display superfluidity of BEC.     

Numerical simulation of Taylor Couette flow of Bingham fluids

The Bingham fluid flow between two concentric cylinders is studied using numerical simulation. The cylinders are assumed to rotate independently, and with an imposed axial sliding. The flow field is decomposed with linearity arguments of the base circular Couette shear flow and corresponding deviation field. The numerical methods are based on the expression of the deviation field in terms of complete sets of orthogonal functions and Chebyshev series. The Galerkin projection method is used with the pressure term being eliminated. The Adams Bashforth scheme is adopted for time marching. The results show that the vortices are squeezed toward the inner cylinder due to the effect of yield stress. When the outer cylinder is held stationary, the yield stress plays a role in weakening the vortex flow. However, for the co-rotation situation, the vortex flow is initially strengthened with an increase of yield stress, and then weakened as the yield stress is raised large enough. The annular unyielded regions emerge and stick to the outer cylinder. In case of Taylor Couette flow with an imposed axial sliding, a spiral vortex flow is visible with spiral unyielded region being obtained.     

Electrostatic Reliability Characteristics of GaN Flip-Chip Power Light-Emitting Diodes With Metal–Oxide–Silicon Submount

The electrostatic reliability characteristics of gallium nitride flip-chip (FC) power light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) with metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) submount are investigated for the first time. The electrostatic damage reliability of the reported diode submount and that of our proposed simple structure MOS submount are fabricated and compared. Their corresponding electrostatic protection capabilities are increased from 200 V (conventional PLED) to 500 V (FC-PLED on diode submount), to 500 V (FC-PLED on MOS submount with a SiO₂ thickness of 297 A?), and even to a value as high as 1000 V (FC-PLED at a SiO₂ thickness of 167 A?), which are much higher than the PLED industrial test value of 150 V at -5 V/-10 ? A criterion and are also much more robust than the previous academic reports.