Effect of functional groups on the triboelectric charging property of polymer particles

Triboelectrification of small polymer particles (< 10 microns) in which various functional groups are introduced by addition of substituted comonomers is studied. The particles are produced by suspension polymerization and mechanical crushing of larger particles. The effect of the different production methods on the particle is described. The particles produced by the polymerization method have a spherical shape with a smooth surface, and those produced by the crushing method have an irregular shape. Studies show that particles that have easily ionizable functional groups are charged more effectively. It is believed the iontransfer route is the dominant mechanism in the triboelectrification charging of the particle. The magnitude of charge becomes saturated after 0.5% addition of substituted comonomers in the particles. The particles produced by the polymerization method have a tendency to be charged effectively compared with those produced by the crushing method. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Carbons from furan-polymers prepared in the presence of a double-chain amphiphile

Furfuryl alcohol was polymerized in the presence of a double-chain amphiphile using malonic acid or phosphoric acid as the catalyst, leading to an aggregate of spherical particles with a long period of 2.6 nm. On calcination at 1000 °C in nitrogen gas, the polymer particles were converted into lamella-patterned carbons with a long spacing of some micrometers that are composed of carbon layers 0.4 nm in spacing. The lamella-patterned carbon particles were further developed into a highly ordered structure in an appreciable portion on calcination at 2800 °C in argon gas. The present results demonstrate that the presence of a double-chain amphiphile in the polymerization process is effective for the synthesis of such a structurally modified carbon from non-graphitizable furan polymers.     

Phase formation of Mn-doped zinc silicate in water at high-temperatures and high-pressures

Phase formation of Mn-doped zinc silicate (Zn₂SiO₄:Mn²⁺, ZSM) in high-temperature and high-pressure water was studied by in situ observations with a hydrothermal diamond anvil cell (HDAC). Precursor was prepared with zinc oxalate dihydrate, manganese oxalate, and silica, where the Zn/Mn/Si molar ratio was 192/8/120 to 199/1/120. Conditions of particle formation were at temperatures up to 650 °C and at pressures up to 1250 MPa. Precursors dissolved at temperatures of 145–203 °C and needle-like particles formed through homogeneous nucleation at temperatures from 357 to 374 °C, close to the critical point of water. The needle-like particles grew at growth rates of 0.5–3.8 μm/s and were identified to be ZSM as evident from their green luminescence. ZSM synthesized in supercritical water (400 °C for 180 min) by batch reactions had comparable luminescence with that of ZSM produced by solid-state reaction (1200 °C for 240 min) using the same precursor. The key finding in this work is that the precursors can be made to dissolve in near-critical water and that this allows ZSM to form via a homogeneous nucleation process.     

The Study and Development of Roll Heat Pipe Performance

A new type of heat pipe called roll heat pipe (RHP) is considered in this study. In RHP, the evaporator and the condenser are separated in the radial direction, and the energy is moved in radial direction. RHP is composed of two concentric annular pipes of unequal diameter, wick structure, and bridge wicks, which provide the return path of the working fluid to evaporator. A heat source is inserted in the inner pipe, which works as the evaporator region. RHP can be applied as heat roll in the laser printers or copy machines where isothermal heating as well as rapid response is desired. Three RHP samples are fabricated and tested in this work. They differ in the number of bridge wicks and inner tube diameter. The length of all samples is 300 mm. In this paper, the transient thermal characteristics of RHP samples are investigated experimentally and compared with numerical analysis results. Also, the effects of fill charge on the performance of RHP samples are studied. By using infrared thermography camera, we observed that the level of temperature uniformity on the outer surface of heat roll is very good in comparison with real heat roll.     

How does heme axial ligand deletion affect the structure and the function of cytochrome b562?

We have recently generated a new mutant of cytochrome b₅₆₂ (cytb₅₆₂)in which Met7, one of the axial heme ligands, is replaced byAla (M7A cytb₅₆₂). The M7A cytb₅₆₂ can bind heme and the UV-visibleabsorption spectrum is of a typical high-spin ferric heme. Toinvestigate the effect of the lack of Met7 ligation on the structuralintegrity of cytb₅₆₂, thermal transition analyses of M7A cytb₅₆₂were conducted. From the thermodynamic parameters obtained,it is concluded that the folding of M7A cytb₅₆₂ is comparableto the apoprotein despite the presence of heme. On the otherhand, exogenous ligands such as cyanide and azide ions are readilybound to the heme iron, indicating that the axial coordinationsite is available for substrate binding. The peroxidase activityof this mutant is thus examined to evaluate new enzymatic functionat this site and M7A cytb₅₆₂ was found to catalyze an oxidationreaction of aromatic substrates with hydrogen peroxide. Theseobservations demonstrate that the Met7/His102 bis-ligation tothe heme iron is crucial for the stable folding of cytb₅₆₂,whereas the functional conversion of cytb₅₆₂ is successfullyachieved by the loose folding together with the open coordinationsite.     

Growth and characterization of n-type polycrystalline silicon ingots

n-type polycrystalline silicon ingots were grown by directional solidification, and the grown ingots were sliced to wafers. The wafers were subjected to phosphorus gettering and hydrogen passivation. The minority carrier lifetimes of wafers before and after the processes were measured. The average lifetimes of the wafers after both the processes were improved by a factor of 2–3 times compared to those of as-grown wafers. The wafers were etched with a Secco solution to detect crystallographic defects. The effect of phosphorus gettering in the region where many etch-pits were observed is lower than that in the other region. On the contrary, the effect of hydrogen passivation in the region where many etch-pits were observed is higher than that in the other region.