Development of antifouling poly(vinyl chloride) blend membranes by atom transfer radical polymerization

In this study, antifouling poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blend membranes were prepared by blending the PVC based amphiphilic copolymer PVC‐g‐poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PVC‐g‐PHEMA), synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), into the hydrophobic PVC matrix via the nonsolvent‐induced phase separation method. The in situ ATRP reaction solutions were also used as the blend additives to improve membrane performance. Attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the blend membranes based on the two blend routes exhibited similar surface chemical compositions. The membrane morphology and surface wettability were determined by scanning electronic microscopy and water contact angle measurement, respectively. The blend membranes showed improved water permeability, comparable rejections and enhanced antifouling properties compared with the pure PVC membrane. The PVC blend membranes also had excellent long‐term stability in terms of chemical compositions and fouling resistance. The results demonstrated that ATRP was a promising technique to synthesize amphiphilic copolymer and prepare stable blend antifouling membranes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45832.     

Growth of AlN Crystals on SiC Substrates by Thermal Nitridation of Al2O3

The growth of AlN crystals on c‐plane 6H–SiC substrates by thermal nitridation of Al₂O₃ pellets in the presence of graphite and ZrO₂ was demonstrated. Addition of graphite and ZrO₂ effectively accelerated the evaporation of Al₂O₃, yielding c‐axis oriented AlN films on SiC substrates. The SiC substrate was severely deteriorated at 2173 K, which produced a porous interface between the AlN film and substrate, resulting in low‐quality AlN crystals. The deterioration of SiC was successfully suppressed by introducing a pre‐deposited homo‐buffer layer, allowing two‐dimensional‐like growth of AlN. The buffer layer promoted the formation of a high‐quality AlN film. At 2173 K, the full‐width at half maximum of the X‐ray rocking curves of the (0002) and (10–10) planes of the AlN film was 360 and 425 arcsec, respectively.     

Hetero-stereocomplex formation between substituted poly(lactic acid)s with linear and branched side chains,poly(l-2-hydroxybutanoic acid) and poly(d-2-hydroxy-3-methylbutanoic acid)

Differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray diffractometry first revealed the formation of hetero-stereocomplex (HTSC) between biodegradable, optically active, and isotactic poly(2-hydroxyalkanoic acid)s having different chemical structures and opposite configurations, i.e., l-configured substituted poly(lactic acid) (PLA) [poly(l-2-hydroxybutanoic acid), P(l-2HB)] with linear side chains (ethyl groups) and d-configured substituted PLA [poly(d-2-hydroxy-3-methylbutanoic acid), P(d-2H3MB)] with branched side chains (isopropyl groups) in solution and in bulk from the melt. The melting temperature of P(l-2HB)/P(d-2H3MB) HTSC crystallites was 197–204 °C, which is much higher those of P(l-2HB) and P(d-2H3MB) homo-crystallites (100–101 °C and 158–165 °C, respectively). The interplain distances and crystalline lattice sizes of P(l-2HB)/P(d-2H3MB) HTSC crystallites were respectively larger and smaller than those of P(l-2HB)/P(d-2HB) and P(l-2H3MB)/P(d-2H3MB) homo-stereocomplexes. The HTSC formation of substituted PLA with opposite configurations reported in the present study will provide a versatile way to prepare poly(2-hydroxyalkanoic acid)-based biodegradable materials having a wide variety of physical properties and biodegradability.     

土体大变形单剪试验的SPH数值模拟

针对目前常规数值计算方法的局限,该文采用一种纯拉格朗日、无网格方法-光滑粒子流体动力学法(简称SPH法)对土体的大变形力学行为进行数值模拟.首先,根据SPH法的基本理论,对弹塑性力学控制方程进行了离散,构造了应力-应变关系的SPH求解格式,并采用Jaumann应力率进行土体应力.应变与内部质点运动间的转换.然后,进行两...     

Self-diffusion Measurements of Liquid Sn Using the Shear Cell Technique and Stable Density Layering

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - By utilizing the shear cell technique and achieving stable density layering with the addition of an alloying element Bi, the self-diffusion coefficients...     

The role of ion-membrane interactions in fast and selective mono/multivalent ion separation with hierarchical nanochannels

Precise control over the nanofluid behavior of polyelectrolyte-based membranes is a primary step toward understanding the structure-morphology-property relationships to ultimately determine the mass transfer characteristics. In this study, a high-performance multistacked polyelectrolyte-based cation exchange membrane (CEM) with a heterogeneous structure and versatile surface chemistry was developed to achieve selective ion conductance. The self-assembled CEM can facilitate ion permeation with fluxes of 2.9 mol m⁻² h⁻¹ for K⁺ and 0.22 mol m⁻² h⁻¹ for Mg²⁺, reaching a mono/multivalent ionic selectivity of up to 13, outperforming mono/divalent fractionation when compared with state-of-the-art membranes. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations illustrated the ionic transport trajectory in hierarchical channels with angstrom-scale cavities using multilayered CEMs. Both the experimental measurements and theoretical simulations indicated that ionic fractionation was associated with a large disparity in the energy barrier between mono/multivalent cations, which was the primary origin of the differences in the ion dehydration-rehydration processes in the angstrom-confinement membrane ion channels.