Passivation of Al–Cr–Fe and Al–Cu–Fe–Cr complex metallic alloys in 1 M H2SO4 and 1 M NaOH solutions

The corrosion mechanisms of Al–Cr–Fe and Al–Cu–Fe–Cr complex metallic alloys have been investigated by potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polarization. Very good passivation of the Al–Cr–Fe surface is exhibited from 1 M H₂SO₄ to 1 M NaOH solutions, which was confirmed by ICP-OES analysis over a period of 273 days. Potentiostatically formed passive films analysed by XPS revealed chromium enrichment in the outermost layer of the aluminium oxy-hydroxide film. Although Al–Cu–Fe–Cr showed passivation during potentiodynamic polarization, heavy active corrosion at OCP was revealed by ICP-OES. For the Al–Cu–Fe–Cr alloy, the 10% content of Cr is insufficient to maintain a protective “chemically stable” Cr oxide/hydroxide.     

Kinetics of intermetallic phase formation at the interface of Sn-Ag-Cu-X (X = Bi, In) solders with Cu substrate

The effects of Bi and In additions on intermetallic phase formation in lead-free solder joints of Sn-3.7Ag-0.7Cu; Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu-1.0Bi and Sn-1.5Ag-0.7Cu-9.5In (composition given in weight %) with copper substrate are studied. Soldering of copper plate was conducted at 250 °C for 5 s. The joints were subsequently aged at temperatures of 130-170 °C for 2-16 days in a convection oven. The aged interfaces were analyzed by optical microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) microanalysis. Two intermetallic layers are observed at the interface - Cu₃Sn and Cu₆Sn₅. Cu₆Sn₅ is formed during soldering. Cu₃Sn is formed during solid state ageing. Bi and In decrease the growth rate of Cu₃Sn since they appear to inhibit tin diffusion through the grain boundaries. Furthermore, indium was found to produce a new phase - Cu₆(Sn,In)₅ instead of Cu₆Sn₅, with a higher rate constant. The mechanism of the Cu₆(Sn,In)₅ layer growth is discussed and the conclusions for the optimal solder chemical composition are presented.     

A Direct Approach to Organic/Inorganic Semiconductor Hybrid Particles via Functionalized Polyfluorene Ligands

Controlled Suzuki–Miyaura coupling polymerization of 7′‐bromo‐9′,9′‐dioctyl‐fluoren‐2′‐yl‐4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐[1,3,2]dioxaborolane initiated by bromo(4‐tert‐butoxycarbonylamino‐phenyl)(tri‐tert‐butylphosphine)palladium ( 1 ) or bromo(4‐diethoxyphosphoryl‐phenyl)(tri‐tert‐butylphosphine)palladium ( 2 ) yields functionalized polyfluorenes (M_n = 4 × 10³ g mol^?1, M_w/M_n < 1.2) with a single amine or phosphonic acid, respectively, end‐group. High temperature synthesis of cadmium selenide quantum dots with these functionalized polyfluorenes as stabilizing ligands yields hybrid particles consisting of good quality (e.g. emission full width at half maximum of 30 nm; size distribution σ < 10%) inorganic nanocrystals with polyfluorene attached to the surface, as corroborated by transmission electron microscopy analysis and analytical ultracentrifugation. Sedimentation studies on particle dispersions show that a substantial portion (ca. half) of the phosphonic acid terminated polyfluorene ligands is bound to the inorganic nanocrystals, versus ca. 5% for the amino‐functionalized polyfluorene ligands. Single particle micro‐photoluminescence spectroscopy shows an efficient and complete energy transfer from the polyfluorene layer to the inorganic quantum dot.     

Polymer Fiber Probes Enable Optical Control of Spinal Cord and Muscle Function In Vivo

Restoration of motor and sensory functions in paralyzed patients requires the development of tools for simultaneous recording and stimulation of neural activity in the spinal cord. In addition to its complex neurophysiology, the spinal cord presents technical challenges stemming from its flexible fibrous structure and repeated elastic deformation during normal motion. To address these engineering constraints, we developed highly flexible fiber probes, consisting entirely of polymers, for combined optical stimulation and recording of neural activity. The fabricated fiber probes exhibit low‐loss light transmission even under repeated extreme bending deformations. Using our fiber probes, we demonstrate simultaneous recording and optogenetic stimulation of neural activity in the spinal cord of transgenic mice expressing the light sensitive protein channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2). Furthermore, optical stimulation of the spinal cord with the polymer fiber probes induces on‐demand limb movements that correlate with electromyographical (EMG) activity.     

Flow induced by ependymal cilia dominates near-wall cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in the lateral ventricles

While there is growing experimental evidence that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow induced by the beating of ependymal cilia is an important factor for neuronal guidance, the respective contribution of vascular pulsation-driven macroscale oscillatory CSF flow remains unclear. This work uses computational fluid dynamics to elucidate the interplay between macroscale and cilia-induced CSF flows and their relative impact on near-wall dynamics. Physiological macroscale CSF dynamics are simulated in the ventricular space using subject-specific anatomy, wall motion and choroid plexus pulsations derived from magnetic resonance imaging. Near-wall flow is quantified in two subdomains selected from the right lateral ventricle, for which dynamic boundary conditions are extracted from the macroscale simulations. When cilia are neglected, CSF pulsation leads to periodic flow reversals along the ventricular surface, resulting in close to zero time-averaged force on the ventricle wall. The cilia promote more aligned wall shear stresses that are on average two orders of magnitude larger compared with those produced by macroscopic pulsatile flow. These findings indicate that CSF flow-mediated neuronal guidance is likely to be dominated by the action of the ependymal cilia in the lateral ventricles, whereas CSF dynamics in the centre regions of the ventricles is driven predominantly by wall motion and choroid plexus pulsation.     

Finite and spectral cell method for wave propagation in heterogeneous materials

In the current paper we present a fast, reliable technique for simulating wave propagation in complex structures made of heterogeneous materials. The proposed approach, the spectral cell method, is a combination of the finite cell method and the spectral element method that significantly lowers preprocessing and computational expenditure. The spectral cell method takes advantage of explicit time-integration schemes coupled with a diagonal mass matrix to reduce the time spent on solving the equation system. By employing a fictitious domain approach, this method also helps to eliminate some of the difficulties associated with mesh generation. Besides introducing a proper, specific mass lumping technique, we also study the performance of the low-order and high-order versions of this approach based on several numerical examples. Our results show that the high-order version of the spectral cell method together requires less memory storage and less CPU time than other possible versions, when combined simultaneously with explicit time-integration algorithms. Moreover, as the implementation of the proposed method in available finite element programs is straightforward, these properties turn the method into a viable tool for practical applications such as structural health monitoring [1–3], quantitative ultrasound applications [4], or the active control of vibrations and noise [5, 6].     

Technofunctional Properties of Films Made From Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/Whey Protein Isolate Compounds

One challenge faced by the plastics industry is that crude oil will become scarcer and more expensive in the future. Furthermore, an increase in plastic waste is leading to a strongly growing demand for sustainable alternatives to traditional, crude oil‐based polymers in the packaging sector. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the incorporation of whey protein isolates (WPIs) on the technofunctional properties of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) films. The compounding EVA with WPI was conducted in a co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder at varying processing temperatures. WPI and hydrolysed WPI with a degree of hydrolysis of 10% were used up to 35% (w/w) as filler. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the resulting EVA‐based films decreased significantly with increasing filler content. Because of the hydrophilicity of WPI, the water vapour permeability of the films increased. Advantageously, the oxygen barrier was enhanced by 50–80% compared with that of pure EVA films, which offered the potential of using whey proteins as a filler in compounds for packaging materials for their oxygen barrier properties. In addition, this study provides a promising perspective on the thermoplastic processing of whey protein formulations in the future. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.