UV/TiO2 and UV/TiO2-film for Degradation of Textile Dyes

Wastewaters fromtextile and dyeingindustries are highly colored by various non-biodegradable dyes whichcause serious environ-mental problems[1].The effluents of the wastewater introduced not only color but alsotoxicityinto aquatic system.The conventionalt…     

InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells grown on nonpolar facets of vertical GaN nanorod arrays

Uniform GaN nanorod arrays are grown vertically by selective area growth on (left angle bracket 0001 right angle bracket) substrates. The GaN nanorods present six nonpolar {1?100} facets, which serve as growth surfaces for InGaN-based light-emitting diode quantum well active regions. Compared to growth on the polar {0001} plane, the piezoelectric fields in the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) can be eliminated when they are grown on nonpolar planes. The capability of growing ordered GaN nanorod arrays with different rod densities is demonstrated. Light emission from InGaN/GaN MQWs grown on the nonpolar facets is investigated by photoluminescence. Local emission from MQWs grown on different regions of GaN nanorods is studied by cathodoluminescence (CL). The core-shell structure of MQWs grown on GaN nanorods is investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy in both axial and radial directions. The results show that the active MQWs are predominantly grown on nonpolar planes of GaN nanorods, consistent with the observations from CL. The results suggest that GaN nanorod arrays are suitable growth templates for efficient light-emitting diodes.     

Chemical Composition and Immunohistological Variations of a Growing Bamboo Shoot

Abstract

Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) is the most distributed bamboo species in Taiwan, and its newly grown biomass within one growing season is the highest compared to the other local bamboo species. However, little is known about the cell wall chemical composition variations and distributions in Ma bamboo during its growth. In this study, we use chemical analyses along with lignin staining and immunolocalization to characterize the distributions of cell wall components from a Ma bamboo shoot at different growing stages. The results show that lignin, crystalline cellulose, and xylan are preferentially accumulated at later stage of developments. Lignin heterogeneity varies among different growing stages, and their lignins contain significant amounts of acylated p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid. Depositions of xyloglucan in differentiating cell walls are associated with that of pectin and xylan; they might be masked with each other. Galactan and mannan are minor constituents of bamboo shoots, and galactan is potentially masked by other polysaccharides in specific growing stages.     

Effects of Seed Layer Characteristics on the Synthesis of ZnO Nanowires

Single crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were synthesized on sputter-deposited ZnO seed layers via hydrothermal reactions in an equimolar (20 mM) aqueous solutions of Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O and C₆H₁₂N₄ at 90°C. The sputter-deposited ZnO seed layers were prepared to exhibit different crystalline structures in order to examine their effects on the growth of ZnO nanowires. It was found that the nanowire diameter depends on the size of the (002) grains of the seed layer. This is attributed to the epitaxially growth of the nanowires from the columnar grains of the seed layer which is shown by the TEM analysis.     

Effect of preheating on synthesis of tantalum nitride by self-propagating combustion

An experimental investigation of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of tantalum nitride (TaN) was conducted with tantalum compacts in nitrogen of 0.27–1.82 MPa. Effects of sample density, nitrogen pressure, and preheating temperature on the flame-front propagation velocity, combustion temperature, degree of conversion, and product composition were studied. Results showed that the SHS process of the tantalum/nitrogen reaction was characterized by the steady propagation of a planar combustion front, followed by a prolonged afterburning reaction. The flame-front velocity increased with nitrogen pressure, but decreased with sample density. Preheating the sample prior to ignition contributed higher combustion temperatures, thus leading to an increase in the conversion percentage. For the unpreheated samples, the conversion increased significantly with nitrogen pressure and reached around 80% at 1.82 MPa of N₂. With preheating temperatures between 150 and 300 °C, the conversion was increased by about 15% when compared with that without preheating. The nitride phase TaN was identified by XRD as the dominant composition in the combustion product.     

Effectiveness of functionalized polyolefins as compatibilizers for polyethylene/wood flour composites

The effects of various types of compatibilizers on the mechanical properties of high‐density polyethylene/wood flour (HDPE/WF) composite were investigated. Functionalized polyolefins such as maleated and acrylic acid grafted polyethylenes, maleated polypropylene (PPgMA) and styrene‐ethylene/butylene‐styrene triblock copolymer (SEBSgMA) were incorporated to reduce the interfacial tension between the polyethylene matrix and the wood filler. Among them, it was found that maleated linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPEgMA) gave maximum tensile and impact strength of the composites, presumably because of better compatibility with the HDPE matrix. Similar but less enhanced improvements in the mechanical properties, depending on the compatibilizer loading, were seen for the SEBSgMA system. Whereas acrylic acid grafted high‐density polyethylene (HDPEgAA) and maleated polypropylene (PPgMA) only slightly improved tensile modulus and tensile strength; and they both increased with increasing loadings of compatibilizers. A scanning electron microscopic study was employed to reveal the interfacial region and confirm these findings. In addition, dynamical mechanical thermal measurements also revealed the interaction between filler and matrix, and FTIR spectroscopy was used to assign the chemical fixation and the various chemical species involved at the surface of the wood fillers before and after surface treatment.     

Usefulness of Plasma YKL-40 in Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Severity in Patients

Plasma YKL-40 level has been reported as playing a significant role in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, the correlation between plasma level of YKL-40 and the severity of CAP has not been reported. This study identifies the relationship between plasma level changes of the YKL-40 gene in adult patients hospitalized with CAP. The ELISA was used to measure the plasma YKL-40 level from 61 adult CAP patients before and after antibiotic treatment and from 60 healthy controls. The plasma YKL-40 levels were significantly increased in patients with CAP compared to normal controls. Moreover, the plasma concentration of YKL-40 correlated with the severity of CAP based on the pneumonia severity index (PSI) score (r = 0.630, p < 0.001), the CURB-65 (confusion, uremia, respiratory rate, BP, age 65 years) score (r = 0.640, p < 0.001), the Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score (r = 0.539, p < 0.001) and length of hospital stay (r = 0.321, p = 0.011), respectively. In conclusion, plasma YKL-40 may play a role in the diagnosis and clinical assessment of CAP severity, which could potentially guide the development of treatment strategies.     

Different approaches for creating nanocellular TPU foams by supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> foaming

In this study, three different approaches were applied to obtain thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanocellular foams. The TPU was synthesized with a 4, 4′-methylenebis (phenyl isocyanate) and 1, 4-butanediol (MDI/BD) hard segment system using a pre-polymer method. The three approaches included increasing the hard segment content, adding a graphene nucleation agent, and replacing the soft segments. Although the synthesized TPUs had a different hardness, it was possible to obtain nanocellular structures with all of the methods. The cell structure is not a function of hardness only. Crystallinity affects the cell structure as well. The addition of graphene and replacement of the soft segments were more effective at yielding nanocellular foams. Our best results showed that after adding 0.1 wt% of graphene, the average cell size of the TPU foam decreased to 715 nm, and the cell density was improved to 4.94 × 10¹¹ cells/cm³. The relative density of the foam could be as low as 0.77. This study first reported elastomer-based nanocellular structures with such low relative density.     

Ultradrawing behavior of gel films of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and low molecular weight polyethylene blends at varying drawing conditions

A systematic study of the influence of the drawing temperature and rate on the ultradrawing properties of film samples prepared from gel solutions of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and low molecular weight polyethylene blends is reported. At a fixed drawing rate, the achievable draw ratios reached a maximum value when each film specimen was drawn at a temperature near its optimum temperature (T_op). It is interesting to note that the T_op values of each film sample increased consistently with the drawing rate. The achievable draw ratio of each film sample drawn at a constant rate and a temperature near T_op is referred to as the D_raop, which reached another maximum value as the drawing rates approached an optimum value. Dynamic mechanical analysis of the film sample exhibited an extraordinary high transition peaked at temperature near 95°C, which is again very close to the T_op value found for the film sample drawn at a relatively low rate. On the other hand, the birefringence values and tensile strengths of the film specimen were found to improve significantly with the draw ratios, although the improvement of these properties reduced significantly at high draw ratios. Moreover, both the drawing temperature and rate showed beneficial influence on the birefringence, and tensile strengths of the drawn film specimens. Possible mechanisms accounting for these interesting deformation properties are suggested.     

On the nature of multiple melting in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and its copolymers with cyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate (PET/CT)

The multiple melting behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) homopolymers of different molecular weights and its cyclohexylene dimethylene (PET/CT) copolymers was studied by time-resolved simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering/wide-angle X-ray scattering diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry techniques using a heating rate of 2 °C/min after isothermal crystallization at 200 °C for 30 min. The copolymer containing random incorporation of 1,4-cyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate monomer cannot be cocrystallized with the ethylene terephthalate moiety. Isothermally crystallized samples were found to possess primary and secondary crystals. The statistical distribution of the primary crystals was found to be broad compared to that of the secondary crystals. During heating, the following mechanisms were assumed to explain the multiple melting behavior. The first endotherm is related to the non-reversing melting of very thin and defective secondary crystals formed during the late stages of crystallization. The second endotherm is associated with the melting of secondary crystals and partial melting of less stable primary crystals. The third endotherm is associated with the melting of the remaining stable primary crystals and the recrystallized crystals. Due to their large statistical distribution, the primary crystals melt in a broad temperature range, which includes both second and third melting endotherms. The amounts of secondary, primary and recrystallized crystals, being molten in each endotherm, are different in various PET samples, depending on variables such as isothermal crystallization temperature, time, molecular weight and co-monomer content.