Essential Work of Fracture Parameters of Injection-Molded Polypropylene/Polyolefin Elastomer Blends

The influence of polyolefin elastomer (POE) content on the fracture behavior of injection-molded polypropylene (PP)/POE blends was evaluated by means of the essential work of fracture (EWF) method. The results indicated that the EWF approach worked well for the PP/POE blends when POE content was 0～7.5 wt% of the blends. The specific essential work of fracture (w _e) increased with increasing POE content, and the dominant factor that affected w _e was the necking and subsequent fracture process. The specific nonessential work of fracture (βw _p) slightly decreased with increasing POE content, while the specific plastic work (w _p) showed an increasing trend with the decrease of the shape factor (β) of the specimen. Finally, it was shown that w _e could be predicted reasonably well via the COD values.     

以时温等效方法研究尼龙1010应力松弛行为及使用寿命预测

以尼龙材料的应力松弛行为作为研究对象, 考察初始应变为1.0%, 2.8%和5.1%的尼龙1010样品在温度区间293353 K的松弛曲线, 采用时间-温度等效叠加方法得到了松弛模量主曲线, 计算出叠加过程中的表观活化能、 松弛过程中的活化体积和应力辅助功. 结果表明, 整个松弛过程中的表观活化能和应力辅助功表现出相同的变化趋势, 体现出松弛过程中克服运动单元位垒的过程. 当293323 K区间的松弛曲线叠加时, 随着初始应变的增加, 表观活化能和应力辅助功均逐渐降低, 有助于聚合物内部的运动单元越过能垒发生松弛, 与松弛过程中的应力辅助热活化理论相一致; 当333353 K区间的松弛曲线叠加时, 不同初始应变样品的表观活化能均为260 kJ/mol, 应力辅助功均为60 MPa·nm³, 说明松弛过程中克服运动单元的能垒与应力作用无关. 根据松弛主曲线, 计算出了尼龙1010在1.0%, 2.8%和5.1% 3种形变下, 长时间范围内应力衰减与时间的关系, 为预测实际使用过程中的应力松弛行为提供了依据.     

无机化学多元信息化教学模式的构建与实践研究

针对现代大学生的移动阅读习惯和信息化学习需求,构建了无机化学多元信息化教学模式。介绍了构建这种教学模式所需微信公众号、微助教和QQ群作业的使用方法。初步探讨了无机化学多元信息化教学模式在教学中的实践效果,弥补了传统教学中的不足。     

Criterion of homogeneous boiling-up of superheated liquids

It is difficult to eliminate the effect of vessel walls and impurities in practical studies of boiling-up of strongly superheated liquids. Therefore, some doubts are always cast upon validity of experiments and their agreement with the classical theory of homogeneous stationary nucleation, impairing the verification of theoretical considerations. This paper reports main results of the theory of homogeneous nucleation and presents formulas for calculating the work of formation of a critical nucleus by an incline of the accessible superheating boundary on isobars and isotherms. Matching of experimental and theoretical values of the work of formation was considered as the homogeneous boiling-up criterion. Calculations by isobars and isotherms were made for some liquids. The theoretical values of the work of formation of a critical nucleus were 1.23–4.5 times higher than the corresponding empirical values for all the liquids, i.e., they were much higher than the calculation error. Thus, boiling-up of the studied liquids was not homogeneous and, hence, it did not correspond to the classical theory of nucleation. The work was financially supported by the President of the Russian Federation (No. NSh-4429.2006.8) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 07-08-00575-a).     

Enrichment of HDL proteome and phospholipidome from human serum via IMAC/MOAC affinity

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and are potentially cardio-protective. Defective HDL function is caused by alterations in both the proteome and lipidome of HDL particles. As potential biomarkers, the development of analytical methods is necessary for the enrichment of HDLs. Therefore, a method for selective enrichment of HDLs using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and metal oxide affinity chromatography (MOAC) is presented. SPE-based isolation of HDLs from whole serum is adopted as an alternative to traditional ultracentrifugation methods followed by SDS–PAGE. The enrichment mechanism relies on isoelectric points of lipoproteins and metal oxide. Negatively charged lipoprotein particles interact with positively charged metal oxides and IMAC affinity, which acts as a cation. Identified proteins from HDL through MALDI–MS analysis are apo AI, AII, AIV, CI, CIII, E, J, M, H, serum amyloid A and other nonapoproteins that are part of HDL particles and perform cellular functions. This serum-based proteomics approach gives insight into the functional role of HDL. HDL-associated phospholipids have also been analyzed by LDI–MS. Results suggest that the adopted analytical strategy is a feasible idea to extract lipoproteins from serum. A comparative study of healthy and diseased samples using this approach will provide valuable information in future.     

Relationships between molar mass and fracture properties of segmented urethane and amide copolymers modified by chemical degradation

This publication highlights the structure–property relationships in several thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs): one poly(ether-block-amide) and two thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers with ester and ether soft blocks. Structural changes are induced by chemical degradation from virgin samples through hydrolysis and oxidation. Molar mass measurements show an exclusive chain scission mechanism for all TPEs, regardless of the chemical modification condition. Mechanical behavior was nevertheless obtained from uniaxial tensile testing and fracture testing while considering the essential work of fracture (EWF) concept. During the macromolecular scission process, elongation at break shows a plateau followed by a drop, while stress at break decreases steadily. Once again, the trend is identical for all TPEs in all conditions considered. The βw_p parameter determined using the EWF concept exhibits an interesting sensitivity to scissions (i.e., molar mas decrease). Plotting elongation at break as a function of molar mass reveals a strong correlation between these two parameters. This master curve is particularly remarkable considering the range of TPEs and chemical breakdown pathways considered (hydrolysis and oxidation at several temperatures). Relevant structure–property relationships are proposed, highlighting that molar mass is a predominant parameter for determining the mechanical properties of thermoplastic elastomers.     

XPS与UPS测量几种材料功函数的比较

为比较X射线光电子能谱(XPS)与紫外光电子能谱(UPS)测量材料功函数结果间的差异,依次对经氩离子清洁表面吸附层的Au、Ag薄膜样品和单晶硅片,以及未进行表面清洁的Au、Ag、MoO_3薄膜样品,单晶硅片及ITO导电玻璃的功函数进行测量。给出了XPS和UPS测量功函数的计算方法,并探讨了影响材料功函数测量结果不确定性的因素。研究发现XPS及UPS在测量表面清洁的金属样品时,测量结果基本一致,具有较高的准确度,表面清洁的Au、Ag样品一经暴露空气后其表面覆盖一层吸附层,功函数很快发生变化。利用UPS或XPS测量金属和半导体的功函数时应避免暴露空气,若金属样品在空气中暴露时建议使用氩离子清洁表面。研究结果对科研人员按实际测试需求合理选择测量方法具有一定的指导意义。     

Is there a relationship between protein thermal stability and the denaturation heat capacity change?

It is shown the non-occurrence of a correlation between the values of the denaturation temperature and those of the denaturation heat capacity change for a set of 13 proteins possessing the ‘SH3-type’ fold from both mesophilic and thermophilic microorganisms. This seems to be a rather general result, because, fixed the size and the folding pattern, the denaturation heat capacity change is a nearly constant quantity, within the uncertainty limits of experimental determinations, regardless of the thermal stability of the protein. A precise definition of the thermodynamics of the hydrophobic effect is presented to clarify that the above finding does not imply that the hydrophobic effect does not play a role in the extra-thermal stability of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic proteins.     

Investigation of 500 keV Si ion induced surface structuring of Ni and Ti for enhancement of field emission properties

The present paper reports the investigation of surface morphology, elemental composition, phase changes and field emission properties of Si ion irradiated nickel (Ni) and titanium (Ti). The Ni and Ti targets have been irradiated with 500 keV Si ions generated by Pelletron accelerator at various fluences ranging from 6.9 × 10¹³ to 77.1 × 10¹³ ions/cm². Stopping range of ions in matter analysis revealed higher values of electronic stopping and sputtering yield for Ni as compared with Ti. For both irradiated metals, electronic energy loss dominant over the nuclear stopping. The growth of induced surface structures have been analysed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. In case of Ni, as the ion fluence increases from 6.9 × 10¹³ to 65.8 × 10¹³ ions/cm², the formation of spherical particulates, agglomers and sputtering is observed. Although in the case of Ti, with the increase of Si ion fluence from 11.6 × 10¹³ to 77.1 × 10¹³ ions/cm², the formation of irregular-shaped particulates along with crater and sputtered channels is observed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that no new phase is identified. However, a significant increase in peak intensity is observed with increasing ion fluence. The variation in crystallite size and dislocation line density is also observed as a function of Si ion fluence. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis shows that no bands are formed after the Si ion irradiation. Field emission properties of ion-structured Ni and Ti are well correlated with the growth of surface structures observed by SEM and dislocation line density evaluated by XRD analysis.     

Role of Cu-doping in CdTe thin films: Experiments and simulations

Due to its outstanding physical properties, CdTe is used to fabricate high efficiency solar cells. However, its high work function poses a challenge, and hence, to fabricate an efficient CdTe-based solar cell, Cu-doping may be useful. Here, we present the role of temperature-dependent Cu-doping in radio frequency sputter-deposited CdTe films and the related changes occurring in their optical, electrical, structural and microstructural properties. For instance, Cu-doping at different temperatures leads to an increase in the grain size and a reduction in the optical reflectance with increasing temperature. In addition, Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements reveal that the work function is found to be smaller corresponding to the annealing temperature of 473 K, whereas resistivity measurements show that it decreases with increasing temperature (the lowest value of resistivity is found to be 1.8 × 10⁻² Ω-cm). To understand the electronic structure of CdTe before and after Cu-doping, we have carried out first-principles density functional theory (DFT) simulation, which reveals a strong hybridization among Cu, Cd and Te atoms. This study paves the way to fabricate efficient Cu-doped CdTe-based solar cells.