Linear viscoelasticity of thermoassociative chitosan-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymer

Chitosan-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (chitosan-g-PNIPAM) was synthesized and characterized rheologically in aqueous solutions. The copolymer solution exhibits a thermoassociative behavior in which its elastic response dramatically increases when temperature is above the critical temperature or the association temperature, T _assoc. The copolymer at low concentration shows typical solution property. When the temperature is increased up to the critical temperature, the copolymer exhibits a gel-like characteristic due to the formation of physical cross-links between chitosan backbones through the self-aggregation of PNIPAM side chains. At high concentration, the system exhibits a weak elastic response due to the entanglement of the copolymer at 25°C. As temperature is raised above T _assoc, the system shows a strong elastic behavior due to the formation of additional physical cross-links via the aggregation of PNIPAM side chains. Chitosan-g-PNIPAM offers an attractive associating behavior in aqueous solution at temperature close to the body temperature, thus providing potential applications in pharmaceutical and medical industries.     

Amphiphilic maleic acid-containing alternating copolymers—2. Dilute solution characterization by light scattering,intrinsic viscosity,and PGSE NMR spectroscopy

The dilute solution behavior of several alternating copolymers of maleic acid has been characterized by static and dynamic light scattering, intrinsic viscosity, and pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR spectroscopy. The copolymer of maleic acid–sodium salt and isobutylene (IBMA-Na, M_w ∼350 kg/mol) dissolves readily in concentrated aqueous salt solutions. Changes in chain dimensions with ionic strength and pH are similar to those of the lesser salt solution-soluble poly(acrylic acid-sodium salt). The hydrophobically modified (with n-butyl, n-hexyl, n-octyl, and phenethyl amines) copolymers of maleic acid–sodium salts and isobutylene (IBMA-NHR-Na) show no sign of large intermolecular aggregation in 0.1 N sodium acetate (NaAc). However, the sizes of the copolymers are relatively small compared to that of the ionized parent copolymer (IBMA-Na, M_w ∼350 kg/mol), suggesting intramolecular aggregation of the alkyl side-chain groups along the polymer backbone. The copolymer modified with the longer chain n-decyl, on the other hand, forms stable large intermolecular aggregates containing 33 chains/aggregate. The copolymers of maleic acid–sodium salt and styrene (SMA-Na) appear to have no signs of aggregation, despite being a hydrophobic polyelectrolyte. The copolymer of maleic acid–sodium salt and di-isobutylene (DIBMA-Na) has a similar salting-out concentration as SMA-Na. The radius of gyration measurements by static light scattering suggest that at least some fraction of the DIBMA-Na chains form large intermolecular aggregates. The copolymers of maleic acid–sodium salt with n-alkenes (n-C_mMA-Na) in 0.1 N NaAc form small intermolecular aggregates (three to five chains/aggregate). In contrast to these static light scattering results, PGSE NMR diffusion measurements for the above aggregated systems indicate only one diffusion coefficient consistent with the motion of single isolated chains. A plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that the population of the aggregates is too small to be sufficiently detected in the PGSE NMR experiment. Furthermore, it is likely that the aggregate has a larger relaxation rate than the nonaggregate, and therefore has a comparatively reduced signal in the PGSE NMR experiment. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3584–3597, 2004     

A Mathematical Model of Water Pollution Control Using the Finite Element Method

Water pollution assessment problems arise frequently in environmental science. In this research, the finite element method for solving the one-dimensional steady convection-diffusion equation with constant coefficients is presented; it is then used to optimize water treatment costs. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electrical and Sensing Properties of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Network: Effect of Alignment and Selective Breakdown

The electrical transport and NH₃ sensing properties of randomly oriented and aligned SWNT networks were presented and discussed. The results indicate that aligned SWNT‐FETs have better FET characteristics due to the reduced number of interconnected nodes. This was particularly true as the resistance of the devices increased. Gated electrical breakdown was implemented to selectively remove metallic (m‐) SWNTs, thereby reducing scattering centers. This technique provided significant improvements in FET characteristics resulting in greater on/off ratio (e.g. 10⁴). AC dielectrophoretic alignment followed by selective electrical breakdown of m‐SWNTs can significantly enhance the semiconducting properties of SWNT networks which resulted in highly sensitive sensors.     

Stable polydiacetylene/ZnO nanocomposites with two-steps reversible and irreversible thermochromism: the influence of strong surface anchoring

The influence of pH value on gold nanoparticle production in the presence of Pluronic stabilizers is systematically investigated. The reactions are studied as a function of pH and at fixed concentrations of the two reactants, HAuCl(4) and P123 block copolymer. Results indicate that the reaction pathway during the nanoparticle formation can be controlled by varying pH. The nanoparticles synthesized at pH=11.12 have an average diameter of 9.6 nm with a narrow size distribution, and the Pluronics are adsorbed on individual gold particle surfaces to form core-shell structures via hydrophobic interactions. The present work provides an economic way to improve the dispersion and stabilization of gold nanoparticles and throws further light on the understanding of gold nanoparticle production using block copolymers.     

A numerical computation of the non-dimensional form of a non-linear hydrodynamic model in a uniform reservoir

A mathematical model is used to simulate the water current and the elevation in a uniform reservoir. A non-linear hydrodynamic model that provides the velocity field and elevation of the water flow is considered. In the simulating process, the Lax–Wendroff technique is used to approximate the solutions. The numerical solution can be the input data for a water-quality model that is applicable for the optimal control of water treatment in the system to achieve minimum cost.     

A numerical computation of a non-dimensional form of stream water quality model with hydrodynamic advection–dispersion–reaction equations

Mathematical models of water quality assessment problems often arise in environmental science. The modelling often involves numerical methods to solve the equations. In this research, two mathematical models are used to simulate pollution due to sewage effluent in the nonuniform flow of water in a stream with varied current velocity. The first is a hydrodynamic model that provides the velocity field and elevation of the water flow. The second is a dispersion model, where the commonly used governing factor is the one-dimensional advection–dispersion–reaction equation that gives the pollutant concentration fields. In the simulation processes, we used the Crank–Nicolson method system of a hydrodynamic model and the backward time central space scheme for the dispersion model. Finally, we present a numerical simulation that confirms the results of the techniques.     

Conversion enhancement of tubular fixed-bed reactor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis using static mixer

Recently,Fischer-Tropsch synthesis(FTS) has become an interesting technology because of its potential role in producing biofuels via Biomassto-Liquids(BTL) processes.In Fischer-Tropsch(FT) section,biomass-derived syngas,mainly composed of a mixture of carbon monoxide(CO) and hydrogen(H2),is converted into various forms of hydrocarbon products over a catalyst at specified temperature and pressure.Fixed-bed reactors are typically used for these processes as conventional FT reactors.The fixed-bed or packed-bed type reactor has its drawbacks,which are heat transfer limitation,i.e.a hot spot problem involved highly exothermic characteristics of FT reaction,and mass transfer limitation due to the condensation of liquid hydrocarbon products occurred on catalyst surface.This work is initiated to develop a new chemical reactor design in which a better distribution of gaseous reactants and hydrocarbon products could be achieved,and led to higher throughput and conversion.The main goal of the research is the enhancement of a fixed-bed reactor,focusing on the application of KenicsTM static mixer insertion in the tubular packed-bed reactor.Two FTS experiments were carried out using two reactors i.e.,with and without static mixer insertion within catalytic beds.The modeled syngas used was a mixed gas composed of H2/CO in 2:1 molar ratio that was fed at the rate of 30mL(STP)min1(GHSV≈136mL g1 cat h1) into the fixed Ru supported aluminum catalyst bed of weight 13.3g.The reaction was carried out at 180℃ and atmospheric pressure continuously for 36h for both experiments.Both transient and steady-state conversions(in terms of time on stream) were reported.The results revealed that the steady-state CO conversion for the case using the static mixer was approximately 3.5 times higher than that of the case without static mixer.In both cases,the values of chain growth probability of hydrocarbon products(α) for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis were 0.92 and 0.89 for the case with and without static mixer,respectively.     

Amphiphilic maleic acid-containing alternating copolymers—1. Dissociation behavior and compositions

The dissociation of the two adjacent carboxylic acids in maleic acid-containing copolymers is expected to differ from those of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methacrylic acid) where the acids are separated by two carbons on the backbone. In this work, we have employed potentiometric titration and NMR spectroscopy to characterize the dissociation behavior and chemical compositions of several water-soluble maleic acid-containing copolymers. A distinct two-step process corresponding to the dissociation of the two adjacent carboxylic acids is observed in aqueous CaCl₂ (0.02 N) solution for copolymers of maleic acid and isobutylene, diisobutylene, and styrene. Such a two-step ionization process is less recognizable, however, for the copolymers of maleic acid and linear alkenes ranging from n-hexene to n-octadecene. Nevertheless, the compositions of all copolymers, including the extent of neutralization and the ratio of the comonomer moieties, are estimated from the titration curves. The chemical composition derived from potentiometry and NMR spectroscopy for all copolymers are approximately 1 : 1 (maleic acid : comonomer). With the exception of the hydrophobically modified copolymer of isobutylene-maleic acid, no obvious conformational transition was observed over the whole range of ionization for these hydrophobic maleic acid-containing copolymers. This is related to the aggregated state of these copolymers in aqueous media. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3571–3583, 2004