Preparation and properties of multiwalled carbon nanotube/polycaprolactone nanocomposites

Multiwalled carbon nanotube/polycaprolactone nanocomposites (MWNT/PCL) were prepared by in situ polymerization, whereby as‐received MWNTs (P‐MWNTs) and purified MWNTs (A‐MWNTs) were used as reinforcing materials. The A‐MWNTs were purified by nitric acid treatment, which introduced the carboxyl groups (COOH) on the MWNT. The micrographs of the fractured surfaces of the nanocomposites showed that the A‐MWNTs in A‐MWNT/PCL were better dispersed than P‐MWNTs in PCL matrix (P‐MWNT/PCL). Percolation thresholds of the P‐MWNT/PCL and A‐MWNT/PCL, which were studied by rheological properties, were found at ～2 wt % of the MWNT. The conductivity of the P‐MWNT/PCL was between 10^?1 and 10^?2 S/cm by loading of 2 wt % of MWNT although that of the A‐MWNT/PCL reached ～10^?2 S/cm by loading of 7 wt % of MWNT. The conductivity of the P‐MWNT/PCL was higher than that of the A‐MWNT/PCL at the entire range of the studied MWNT loading, which might be due to the destruction of π‐network of the MWNT by acid treatment, although the A‐MWNT/PCL was better dispersed than the P‐MWNT/PCL. The amount of the MWNT at which the conductivity of the nanocomposite started to increase was strongly correlated with the percolation threshold. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1957–1963, 2007     

An applicable electrospinning process for fabricating a mechanically improved nanofiber mat

Engineered polymer scaffolds play an important role in tissue engineering. An ideal scaffold should have good mechanical properties and provide a biologically functional implant site. Considering their large surface area and high porosity, nanofibers have good potential as biomimetic scaffolds. However, the main shortcomings of scaffolds consisting of nanofibers are their mechanical inability to sustain a stress environment for neotissues and shape‐ability to form a variety of shapes and sizes. In this study, we produced design‐based poly (ε‐carprolactone) (PCL) nanofiber mats using an electrospinning method with various auxiliary electrodes and an x‐y moving system. To achieve stable initial solution at a nozzle tip of the electrospinning, various types of auxiliary electrodes were introduced. To characterize the effect of the electrodes in the electric‐field distribution near the nozzle tip, we calculated the electric field concentration factor and compared it with the experimental results. The nanofiber mat produced using the moving x‐y target system demonstrated orthotropic mechanical properties due to the fiber orientation, and human dermal fibroblasts seeded on the structure tended to grow according to nanofiber orientation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:707–712, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Characterization of (1'R,4S,4aR,7S,7aR)-dihydronepetalactol as a semiochemical for lacewings,including Chrysopa spp. and Peyerimhoffina gracilis

The enantiomerically pure diastereoisomers (1R,4S,4aR,7S,7aR)- (1) and (1R,4R,4aR,7S,7aR)-dihydronepetalactol (2) were synthesized diastereoselectively from a renewable resource, (4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactone (3), isolated as the main constituent of the essential oil of the catmint plant Nepeta cataria. The stereochemistry of the compounds was determined by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, and the compounds were identified, respectively, as neomatatabiol and isoneomatatabiol, natural products from Actinidia polygama, for which the lactol stereochemistry was previously incompletely defined. Compound 1 was found to catch significant numbers of three species of lacewing in the field: in Korea, Chrysopa cognata, and in the United Kingdom, Nineta vittata and most notably Peyerimhoffina gracilis. All species caught in significant numbers were found more frequently in traps releasing 1 than 2, while more C. cognata, C. formosa, and C. phyllochroma were found in traps releasing (1R,4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactol (4). The catch of P. gracilis with 1 is of particular interest as this lacewing has only recently been recorded in the United Kingdom. Where sexed, the lacewings of all species trapped were found to be male, implying a possible pheromonal role for these or structurally related compounds.     

Effect of oxygen flow rate on the structural and electrochemical properties of lithium nickel oxides synthesized by the sol–gel method

The structural and electrochemical properties of LiNiO₂ powders were investigated as a function of the oxygen flow rate employed in the preparation of lithium nickel oxide. It was found that oxygen played an important role in the synthesis of highly crystallized LiNiO₂(R3¯m). In the crystallization process of LiNiO₂, a deficiency of oxygen in the calcination reactor induced the formation of impurities and cubic rock-salt structure (Fm3m) in LiNiO₂ powders. For LiNiO₂ prepared at higher oxygen flow rates, the electrode delivered high discharge capacities with relatively good retention rates. But very low electrode capacity was obtained from LiNiO₂ prepared at lower oxygen flow rates.     

A numerical analysis of rate data for packed bed reactors in gas-solid reaction systems

A numerical solution of the pseudo-steady state governing equations on the basis of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood type rate equation was obtained by the approximate finite difference method in packed bed reactors for gas-solid reaction system. It was proved that the numerical method has good accuracy compared with the strict solution in the special case that the reaction rate can be represented by the first-order kinetics in terms of gaseous reactant and the effectiveness factor is unity druing the reaction. The numerical method is proposed to predict the transient of exit-gas compositions of a packed bed reactor used for gas-solid reaction systems. The exit-gas composition can be predicted from the conversion data of a single particle with varying reaction time. The present method can be easily applied to the systems involving adsorptive gaseous reactants and complex reaction behavior with structural changes of particles.     

Flow control in paper-based microfluidic device for automatic multistep assays: A focused minireview

Although lateral flow tests (LFTs) are easy-to-use diagnostics, they have fundamental limitations for sequential multistep assay that can be reduced to a single chemical reaction step. Paper-based microfluidic devices have attracted considerable attention for use in automatic multi-step assays because paper can be an excellent platform to control sequential fluid flow without external equipment. This review focuses on recent developments on how to control flow rate in paper-based microfluidic devices for automating sequential multi-step assays. The aim of this review is to discuss the limitations of LFTs and potential paper-based microfluidic devices for automated sequential multi-step assays in developing countries; and the existing fluidic control technologies for sequential multi-step assays. In addition, we present future challenges for commercialization of paper-based microfluidic devices to perform automatic multi-step assays.     

Discontinuous Dissolution of a Liquid Phase in Ba(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 Ceramics

Discontinuous dissolution of a liquid phase accompanied by diffusion-induced grain-boundary migration (DIGM) in Ba(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (BNN) ceramics has been studied. When the liquid-phase-sintered BNN specimens are heat-treated at low temperatures, the liquid phase formed during sintering is dissolved discontinuously and during the reaction grain boundaries migrate. As the heat-treatment temperature is lowered, the degree of grain boundary migration and dissolution of the liquid phase increase. These results are qualitatively consistent with the coherency strain energy model proposed for the driving force for DIGM.     

Synthesis of aminated glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk and investigation of its anion‐adsorption properties

In this study, we focused on the synthesis, characterization, and adsorption capacity testing of aminated glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk (RH‐g‐GMA–Am). Our goal was to obtain a high‐performance surface for the adsorption of various anions. Glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk (RH‐g‐GMA) was prepared by the graft copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate with rice husk; the product was further subjected to an amination reaction. The surface properties, sorption characteristic functional groups, isotherm and kinetic studies, pore diffusion models, and effects of the temperature and pH on the material properties were studied under batch conditions. The IR spectroscopy results show additional surface functional groups for RH‐g‐GMA–Am. The adsorptions of and on RH‐g‐GMA–Am were found to follow pseudo‐second‐order kinetics; this indicated a possible dominant role played by chemisorption. The rate‐limiting step for mass transfer was found to be boundary layer diffusion. Furthermore, the sorption isotherms for and fit the Langmuir model. The amination of RH‐g‐GMA drastically increased the removal efficiency from 3 to 82% and from 6 to 93% for and , respectively. Moreover, RH‐g‐GMA–Am exhibited a better removal efficiency in the pH range of 4–6.5. Regeneration studies revealed that the surface of RH‐g‐GMA–Am could be regenerated repetitively by simple acid washing with an insignificant decrease in the active surface for consecutive adsorptions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43002.     

Laccase‐catalyzed synthesis of polypyrrole‐multiwalled carbon nanotube composites as energy storage materials for capacitors

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were coated with polypyrrole (PPy) using in situ enzymatic polymerization of pyrrole catalyzed by a laccase (benzenediol:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.10.3.2) from Trametes versicolor. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the MWNTs were uniformly coated with very thin layers of PPy without any indication of globular polymer aggregate formations. The enzymatic synthesis of the MWNTs/PPy composites was quite simple being performed in a one‐pot aqueous solution (pH 4.0) under mild reaction conditions. The potential of the composites with respect to the development of energy storage devices was demonstrated by fabricating a two‐electrode coin cell capacitor (diameter 20 mm, thickness 1.6 mm) utilizing the composites as electrode materials. The capacitance of the cell was 28.0 F g^?1 for the electrode material as measured by a galvanostatic charge–discharge method. The energy density and power density were 2.55 and 805 W kg^?1, respectively, which were close to those of the capacitors classified as ultracapacitors. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43307.     

Synthesis and properties of styrene–EPDM–vinyl acetate graft polymer

The styrene–EPDM–vinylacetate (SEV) graft polymer, which linked respectively the styrene (St) unit and vinylacetate the (VAc) unit to the ethylene–propylene–diene terpolymer (EPDM) backbone was synthesized by two‐step graft polymerizations: First the graft polymerization of VAc onto EPDM was carried out, and then St was added successively in the prepolymerized solution and further polymerized for a given period to obtain SEV. The effects of concentration of EPDM and an initiator, mole ratio of VAc to St, polymerization time, temperature, and solvent were examined on the graft polymerizations. The synthesized graft polymers (SEVs) that have different contents of St or VAc were identified by Fourier transform IR spectrum. The highest graft ratio has been obtained by 10 wt % of EPDM, 1.0 mole ratio of VAc to St, and 1.0 wt % of BPO in toluene for 48 h at 70°C. The glass transition temperature of SEV is lower than that of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and polystyrene (PS). The thermal stability of SEV is higher than that of PVAc, PS, and the acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) resin. The tensile strength of SEV was improved as compared with that of EPDM. The light resistance and weatherability of SEV were better than those of ABS. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 2296–2304, 2000