Elastomeric Properties of Polysiloxane Networks. Bimodal Elastomers that are Spatially Inhomogeneous and Others that are Very Broadly Multimodal

End‐linking poly(dimethylsiloxane) was used to prepare bimodal elastomers networks so as to have inhomogeneous nanostructures, and also to prepare others having very broadly multimodal chain‐length distributions. Macroscopic phase separation, probably high crosslink density clusters, was observed to occur in some of the bimodal networks. The mechanical properties in simple extension and in equilibrium swelling were measured. The bimodal elastomers that were not obviously inhomogeneous showed very good mechanical properties, but the macroscopically phase‐separated networks, and the broadly multimodal network were weak. Analysis of the Mooney‐Rivlin profiles suggests that the reinforcing mechanism could have a structural component in addition to that from the limited extensibilities of the short chains. The mechanical properties and the extents of swelling support the cluster conjecture, in accord with previous morphological studies on spatially‐inhomogeneous polysiloxane elastomers.     

Application Properties of Stimuli-Responsive Polyglycerol Hydrogels

Transient state swelling behavior and swelling kinetics of novel stimuli-responsive polyglycerol hydrogels were studied at 293, 310 and 333 K. Depending on temperature, Fickian or anomalous diffusion behavior was observed. Mechanical properties of the hydrogels in the swollen and dry states were investigated and the average molecular weight between crosslinks was calculated. To assess the potential for biodegradation of hydrogels, initial swelling behavior in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution and mass loss profiles as a function of degradation time were investigated over a period of 30 days. All swelling behavior, mechanical properties and degradations were clearly affected by the degree of cross-linking. The hydrophilicity and biodegradability of polyglycerol hydrogels make them suitable for pharmaceutical, biomedical and biotechnological applications. They could potentially serve as a substitute for common fossil-based hydrogels such as poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels.     

Prediction of High Performance Fibers Strength Using Back Propagation Neural Network

Nowadays, quantification of the effects of basic parameters such as precursor, temperature oxidation, residence time, low temperature carbonization (LTC) and high temperature carbonization (HTC) on production process polyacrylonitrile based carbon fibers is not completely understood. In this way, there is not a completely theoretical model that accomplishes to quantitatively describe production process carbon fibers very accurately which needs to be used by engineers in design, simulation and operation of that process. This paper presents the development of a back propagation neural network model for the prediction of carbon fibers produced from PAN fibers. The model is based on experimental data. The precursors, temperature oxidation, residence time, LTC and HTC have been considered as the input parameters and the strength as output parameter to develop the model. The developed model is then compared with experimental results and it is found that the results obtained from the neural network model are accurate in predicting the strength of carbon fibers.     

Cure Kinetics of Poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) Modified Epoxy–Amine System

The cure kinetics of epoxy based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) modified with different amounts of poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) and cured with 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) was investigated by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The curing reaction was followed by using an isothermal approach over the temperature range 150–180°C. The amount of ABS in the blends was 3.6, 6.9, 10 and 12.9 wt%. Blending of ABS in the epoxy monomer did not change the reaction mechanism of the epoxy network formation, but the reaction rate seems to be decreased with the addition of the thermoplastic. A phenomenological kinetic model was used for kinetic analysis. Activation energies and kinetic parameters were determined by fitting the kinetic model with experimental data. Diffusion control was incorporated to describe the cure in the latter stages, predicting the cure kinetics over the whole range of conversion. The reaction rates for the epoxy blends were found to be lower than that of the neat epoxy. The reaction rates decreased when the ABS contents was increased, due to the dilution effect caused by the ABS on the epoxy/amine reaction mixture.     

Copolymerization of N‐tert‐Butylacrylamide with Ethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate

N‐tert‐butylacrylamide (NtBA) was copolymerized with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) in butanone solution over a wide composition and conversion range, using dibenzoyl peroxide (Bz₂O₂) as a free‐radical initiator. The copolymer composition was determined from the nitrogen content. Using only low conversion (≤20%) collected for the copolymerization reactions, monomer reactivity ratios were estimated using the Kelen‐Tüdos graphical method and were found to be r₁=0.26 (NtBA) and r₂=7.05 (EDMA). In order to get a better insight into the mechanism of nanoporous copolymers of NtBA with EDMA preparation by thermal degradation of copolymers of N‐acryl‐N,N′‐di‐tert‐butylurea (A‐DitBuU) with EDMA, nonporous copolymers (model compound), of the same chemical structure and composition, were prepared by performing copolymerization of NtBA with EDMA up to the high conversion of 97–100%. Thermal behavior of nanoporous and nonporous copolymers of NtBA with EDMA was studied.     

Spectral representation of reduced protein models

We consider a spectrum-like two-dimensional graphical representation of proteins based on a reduced protein model in which 20 amino acids are grouped into five classes. This particular grouping of amino acids was suggested by Riddle and co-workers in 1997. The graphical representation is based on depicting sequentially the amino acids on five horizontal lines at equal separations. One-letter codes, B, O, U, X and Y, to which numerical values 1 to 5 have been assigned, are suggested as labels for the fictional amino acids that represent all the amino acids within each group. The approach is illustrated on ND6 proteins of eight species having from 168 to 175 amino acids. While visual inspection of the novel spectral graphical representations of proteins may reveal local similarities and dissimilarities of protein sequences, arithmetic manipulations of spectra offer an elegant route to graphic visualization of the degree of similarity for selected pairs of proteins.