Polymer–surfactant interaction for controlling the rheological properties of aqueous surfactant solutions

Controlling viscosity of aqueous surfactant solutions is very important for practical formulations. This can be done by having polymers interact with surfactants, thereby forming interconnected physical networks, where main ways of interaction are electrostatic and hydrophobic forces. Polymer–surfactant interactions are long established for viscosity control, but there are many ongoing activities. They are driven by wanting more biocompatible systems, which depend intricately on the choice of surfactant and polymer, and general predictions are not simple for such systems. Surfactants form spherical or wormlike micelles or vesicles. By choice of (co)polymers one can construct systems responsive to external parameters, like temperature or pH, for having tailored rheological properties. Here we describe recent developments with a focus on systems of low concentration, being interesting for applications. In summary, rheological control of polymer–surfactant systems is a versatile topic and a field of colloid science with high relevance for practical formulations.     

Conformation of poly(L-lysine)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) molecular brushes in aqueous solution studied by small-angle neutron scattering

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been employed for the analysis of conformations of poly(L-lysine)-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLL-g -PEG) molecular bottle brushes in aqueous solutions. The degree of polymerisation of the PEG chains was systematically varied in order to unravel dependence of the conformational properties of the bottle brushes on the molecular weight of the grafted chains. The grafting density was kept constant and high enough to ensure strong overlap of the PEG chains. The scattering spectra were fitted on the basis of the model of an effective worm-like chain with the account of average radial distribution and local fluctuations of the PEG density in the bottle brush. The results of the fits indicate that molecular brushes retain weakly bent configuration on the length scale of the order of (or larger than) the brush thickness. This finding is in agreement with earlier simulation and recent theoretical results.     

Acoustic radiation force of high-order Bessel beam standing wave tweezers on a rigid sphere

Background and objective

Particle manipulation using the acoustic radiation force of Bessel beams is an active field of research. In a previous investigation, [F.G. Mitri, Acoustic radiation force on a sphere in standing and quasi-standing zero-order Bessel beam tweezers, Annals of Physics 323 (2008) 1604–1620] an expression for the radiation force of a zero-order Bessel beam standing wave experienced by a sphere was derived. The present work extends the analysis of the radiation force to the case of a high-order Bessel beam (HOBB) of positive order m having an angular dependence on the phase ?.

Method

The derivation for the general expression of the force is based on the formulation for the total acoustic scattering field of a HOBB by a sphere [F.G. Mitri, Acoustic scattering of a high-order Bessel beam by an elastic sphere, Annals of Physics 323 (2008) 2840–2850; F.G. Mitri, Equivalence of expressions for the acoustic scattering of a progressive high order Bessel beam by an elastic sphere, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control 56 (2009) 1100–1103] to derive the general expression for the radiation force function Y_Jm,st(ka,β,m), which is the radiation force per unit characteristic energy density and unit cross-sectional surface. The radiation force function is expressed as a generalized partial wave series involving the half-cone angle β of the wave-number components and the order m of the HOBB.

Results

Numerical results for the radiation force function of a first and a second-order Bessel beam standing wave incident upon a rigid sphere immersed in non-viscous water are computed. The rigid sphere calculations for Y_Jm,st(ka,β,m) show that the force is generally directed to a pressure node when m is a positive even integer number (i.e. Y_Jm,st(ka,β,m)>0), whereas the force is generally directed toward a pressure antinode when m is a positive odd integer number (i.e. Y_Jm,st(ka,β,m)<0).

Conclusion

An expression is derived for the radiation force on a rigid sphere placed along the axis of an ideal non-diffracting HOBB of acoustic standing (or stationary) waves propagating in an ideal fluid. The formulation includes results of a previous work done for a zero-order Bessel beam standing wave (m = 0). The proposed theory is of particular interest essentially due to its inherent value as a canonical problem in particle manipulation using the acoustic radiation force of a HOBB standing wave on a sphere. It may also serve as the benchmark for comparison to other solutions obtained by strictly numerical or asymptotic approaches.     

Comparative examination of the microstructure and high temperature oxidation performance of NiCrBSi flame sprayed and pack cementation coatings

Coatings formed from NiCrBSi powder were deposited by thermal spray and pack cementation processes on low carbon steel. The microstructure and morphology of the coatings were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Flame sprayed coatings exhibited high porosity and were mechanically bonded to the substrate while pack cementation coatings were more compact and chemically bonded to the substrate. The microhardness and the high temperature oxidation resistance of the coated samples were evaluated by a Vickers microhardness tester and by thermogravimetric measurements (TG), respectively. Pack cementation coatings showed higher hardness and were more protective to high temperature environments than the flame sprayed coatings.     

The effect of powder preparation method on the corrosion and mechanical properties of TiN-based coatings by reactive plasma spraying

TiN-based composite coatings with and without the addition of Cr were deposited by reactive plasma spraying (RPS) in air. Both sintered and mixed powder of Ti and B₄C were used for the RPS process. A thermodynamic model was firstly used to estimate the complicated phase composition of composite coatings prepared by RPS. The phase composition, structures and properties of TiN-based coatings were investigated using XRD, SEM and a Vickers microhardness tester. The results show that the phases in TiN-based coatings do not generate according to priority of Gibbs free energy value due to non-equilibrium reactive course during thermal spraying. The coating deposited using sintered Ti and B₄C powder is composed of two main phases (TiN and TiN_0.3), two minor phases (Ti₂O₃ and TiB₂), and a small fraction of TiC phase. The composition of the coating deposited using the mixed powder with Cr added is predominantly in the TiN and TiB₂ phases, a smaller phase fraction of Ti₂O₃ and TiO₂, and some unreacted Cr. The Vickers microhardness of the coating deposited using sintered powder is higher than that of using mixed powder. The composite coating deposited using mixed powder with the addition of Cr shows superior corrosion resistant to that using sintered powder when tested in 3.5 wt.% NaCl electrolytic solution.     

Effects of annealing in nitrogen atmosphere and HCl-etching on the photoluminescence spectra of spray-deposited CdS:In thin films

The aim of this work is to find the effect of processing on the photoluminescence (PL) of spray-deposited CdS:In thin films. So the PL spectra of the as-deposited, annealed and HCl-etched CdS:In thin films prepared by the spray pyrolysis (SP) technique were recorded at T = 23 K. The yellow and red bands were observed in the spectrum of the as-deposited film beside bands with weaker intensity in the infrared region. The PL signal was weakened by annealing in nitrogen atmosphere at T = 400 °C and HCl-etching. A deconvolution peak fit was established to find the effects of these treatments on the different bands. The spectrum of the as-deposited film was deconvoluted to 12 peaks, which were reduced to 6 peaks after both treatments. It was found that both treatments have approximately the same effects on the PL spectra; that is they removed most of the peaks and shoulders in the red and infrared regions and attenuated most of the peaks in the yellow region. Some peaks were blue-shifted after annealing which was explained by the growth of nanocrystallites due to the thermal stress that results from the different expansion coefficients of the film and the substrate. These changes were accompanied by a phase change from the mixed (cubic and hexagonal) phase to the hexagonal phase as shown in the X-ray diffractograms.     

Water in the Neck-Zipper Region of Kinesin

Neck linker （NL） is one of the most important mechanical elements of kinesin motors. The zipping up process of the neck-zipper （NZ） formed by NL and the related secondary structure elements is one of the major parts of kinesin＇s power stroke. All the weak interactions that are responsible for the formation of NZ are sensitive to or dependent on water. To investigate the role of water in the NZ region, a molecular dynamics （MD） model is set up with a crystal structure of kinesin 2KIN surrounded by a 10 A water layer, and minimization is performed to determine the positions of hydrogen atoms and other atoms. It is revealed that water molecules can assist the docking process of NL by forming hydrogen bonds at those positions where direct hydrogen bonding between the two sides of NZ is hindered and then acts as a constructive component of NZ at the docked state of NL. This result may improve the understanding of the mechanism for the docking of NL of kinesin wherein the function of water has not been comprehended sufficiently.     

The demonstration of hybrid n-ZnO nanorod/p-polymer heterojunction light emitting diodes on glass substrates

We report a demonstration of heterojunction light emitting diode (LED) based on a hybrid n-ZnO-nanorod/p-polymer layered structure. The ZnO was grown using the aqueous chemical growth (ACG) on top of the polymer(s) which were deposited on glass. The current–voltage (I–V) behavior of the heterojunctions showed good rectifying diode characteristics. Room-temperature electroluminescence (EL) spectra of the LEDs provided a broad emission band over a wide LED color range (430–650 nm), in which both zinc and oxygen vacancy peaks are clearly detected. We present here luminescent devices based on the use of ZnO-nanorods in combination with two different blended and multi-layered p-type polymers. Electroluminescence of the first batch of devices showed that white bluish strong emission for the presently used polymers is clearly observed. We obtained a turn-on voltage of 3 V and break-down voltage equal to −6 V for PVK-TFB blended device. The corresponding values for the NPD-PFO multilayer device were 4 V and −14 V, respectively. The rectification factors were equal to 3 and 10 for the two devices, respectively. The films and devices processed were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), DEKTAK 3ST Surface Profile, Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer, photoluminescence (PL), and electroluminescence (EL).     

Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO photoanode with scattering hollow cavities

Abstract ZnO nanoparticles with average diameter of 12 nm were used to fabricate ZnO photoanodes by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technique for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To enhance the light scattering and conversion efficiency, the ZnO film with scattering hollow cavities (HCs) was realized by calcining polystyrene spheres (PSs) in the film. The films had strong light scattering ability and the overall light to electricity conversion efficiency (η) was improved and reached 5.5% under illumination of simulated solar light (AM-1.5, 100 mW/cm²).     

Formation of extended straight molecular chains by pairing of thymine molecules on the Ag–Si(111) surface

Here, we report on the assembly of thymine molecules into extended straight chains of single and multiple dimer rows on a Si(111)/Ag R30° surface. Using variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, we follow the nucleation process and formation of self-assembled structures. Submonolayer coverages at 120 K are disordered and exhibit a high density of thymine dimers. Upon annealing the dimers assemble into extended dimer chains along three equivalent high-symmetry surface directions. At low coverages single dimer rows are favored. At increased coverage chains with multiple dimer rows are observed, with a preference to an even multiplicity. We show that a complex cross-talk between H-bond thymine–thymine interactions and commensurization of dimer chains to the Ag/Si surface leads to this specific layout.