Precise Synthesis and Thin Film Self-Assembly of PLLA-b-PS Bottlebrush Block Copolymers

The ability of bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) to self-assemble into ordered large periodic structures could greatly expand the scope of photonic and membrane technologies. In this paper, we describe a two-step synthesis of poly(l-lactide)-b-polystyrene (PLLA-b-PS) BBCPs and their rapid thin-film self-assembly. PLLA chains were grown from exo-5-norbornene-2-methanol via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of l-lactide to produce norbornene-terminated PLLA. Norbonene-terminated PS was prepared using anionic polymerization followed by a termination reaction with exo-5-norbornene-2-carbonyl chloride. PLLA-b-PS BBCPs were prepared from these two norbornenyl macromonomers by a one-pot sequential ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). PLLA-b-PS BBCPs thin-films exhibited cylindrical and lamellar morphologies depending on the relative block volume fractions, with domain sizes of 46–58 nm and periodicities of 70–102 nm. Additionally, nanoporous templates were produced by the selective etching of PLLA blocks from ordered structures. The findings described in this work provide further insight into the controlled synthesis of BBCPs leading to various possible morphologies for applications requiring large periodicities. Moreover, the rapid thin film patterning strategy demonstrated (>5 min) highlights the advantages of using PLLA-b-PS BBCP materials beyond their linear BCP analogues in terms of both dimensions achievable and reduced processing time.     

浅析二阶齐次线性变系数微分方程的一个可积类型

本文讨论了二阶齐次线性变系数微分方程的特殊形式，给出了这种微分方程的一个可积类型．     

Changes in the kurtosis parameter of super-Gaussian beams passing through a spherically aberrated lens

Based on the Collins formula and irradiance moments definition, the propagation of the kurtosis parameter of super-Gaussian beams through a spherically aberrated lens is studied. Detailed numerical results are given. It is shown that, as compared with aberration-free super-Gaussian beams, the profile of spherically aberrated super-Gaussian beams can be leptokurtic, mesokurtic or platykurtic, depending on the aberration and propagation distance. The results for the spherically aberrated Gaussian beams can be dealt with as a special case treated in this paper. Finally, the advantage of our method is pointed out.     

Estimating functionals of one-dimensional Gibbs states

Summary Some estimators of maximum likelihood type are constructed for estimating functionals of one-dimensional Gibbs states. We also show that those estimators are strongly consistent, asymptotically normal and asymptotically efficient.     

Bounds to optimal burn‐in and optimal work size

Burn‐in is a widely used method to improve the quality of products or systems after they have been produced. In this paper, we consider the problem of determining the optimal burn‐in time and optimal work size maximizing the long‐run average amount of work saved per time unit in the computer applications. Assuming that the underlying lifetime distribution of the computer has an initially decreasing or/and eventually increasing failure rate function, an upper bound for the optimal burn‐in time is derived for each fixed work size and a uniform (with respect to the burn‐in time) upper bound for the optimal work size is also obtained. Furthermore, it is shown that a non‐trivial lower bound for the optimal burn‐in time can be derived if the underlying lifetime distribution has a large initial failure rate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the condensate values in QCD

Conclusions The sets (3) and (4) of condensates have been compared using the QCD sum rules (2) with indefinite weight functions. A bad matching between both sets of condensates and experimental data has been obtained. The standard values (3) appear to be closer to data but some increase ofQ is necessary to improve the agreement. Only higher values ofm ₀ ² could change the results of this analysis. It is interesting that negative values ofm ₀ ² considerably improve the agreement with data; note that this quantity cannot be determined with a sufficient accuracy. We conclude that the QCD sum rules (2) cannot definitely determine a privileged set of condensates.Dedicated to Academician Václav Votruba on the occasion of his eightieth birthday.     

Control of self‐organized low‐dimensional morphology in poly(styrene‐b‐4vinylpyridine)/polystyrene blend thin films

The surface morphologies of poly(styrene‐b‐4vinylpyridine) (PS‐b‐P4VP) diblock copolymer and homopolystyrene (hPS) binary blend thin films were investigated by atomic force microscopy as a function of total volume fraction of PS (?_PS) in the mixture. It was found that when hPS was added into symmetric PS‐b‐P4VP diblock copolymers, the surface morphology of this diblock copolymer was changed to a certain degree. With ?_PS increasing at first, hPS was solubilized into the corresponding domains of block copolymer and formed cylinders. Moreover, the more solubilized the hPS, the more cylinders exist. However, when the limit was reached, excessive hPS tended to separate from the domains independently instead of solubilizing into the corresponding domains any longer, that is, a macrophase separation occurred. A model describing transitions of these morphologies with an increase in ?_PS is proposed. The effect of composition on the phase morphology of blend films when graphite is used as a substrate is also investigated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3496–3504, 2004     

Detection of Pb2+ using a hydrogel swelling microcantilever sensor.

Hydrogels containing benzo-18-crown-6 were used to modify microcantilevers for measurements of the concentration of Pb2+ in aqueous solutions. These microcantilevers undergo bending deflection upon exposure to solutions containing various Pb2+ concentrations as the result of a swelling of the hydrogels. It was found that a concentration of 10(-6) M Pb2+ can be detected using this technology. Other cations, such as Na+, have no effect on the deflection of this cantilever. The cation K+, which also complexes with benzo-18-crown-6, could interfere with Pb2+ detection, but only at high concentrations (> 10(-4) M).