Electrogenicity at the donor/acceptor sides of cyanobacterial photosystem I

To study electrogenesis the photosystem I particles from Synechococcus elongatus were incorporated into asolectin liposomes, and fast kinetics of laser flash-induced electric potential difference generation has been measured by a direct electrometric method in proteoliposomes absorbed on a phospholipid-impregnated collodion film. The photoelectric response has been found to involve three electrogenic stages associated with (i) iron-sulfur center Fx reduction by the primary electron donor P700, (ii) electron transfer between iron-sulfur centers Fx and FA/FB, and (iii) reduction of photo-oxidized P700+ by reduced cytochrome C553. The relative magnitudes of phases (ii) and (iii) comprised about 20% of phase (i).     

Shape memory polymer system of semi-interpenetrating network structure composed of crosslinked poly (methyl methacrylate) and poly (ethylene oxide)

Shape memory semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) composed of crystalline poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) and crosslinked poly (methyl methacrylate) (x-PMMA) have been investigated. The selected compositions show shape memory property with a reasonable fast recovery (recovery time ∼1 min) and shape recovery ratio of 99%. Effects of composition (x-PMMA/PEO = 80/20…60/40) and crosslinker (triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) concentration (up to 6 wt.%) on the creep property were also studied. The recovery time of the semi-IPNs increased and the creep compliance decreased with increasing crosslinker concentration. The network structure containing PEO crystal was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the PEO, present confined in the semi-IPN, melts at a lower temperature compared to the pure PEO. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed a decrease in the glass transition (T_g) of the semi-IPN due to the phase mixing of amorphous PEO and PMMA. Both the glassy and rubbery moduli (E_g and E_r, respectively) were lower for the semi-IPNs than for the x-PMMA network. On the other hand, the E_g/E_r ratio was markedly increased for the semi-IPNs supporting an easy shaping along with a good shape fixing.     

Novel moisture-cured hyperbranched urethane alkyd resin for coating application

A hyperbranched polyol (HBP) was synthesized using dipentaerythritol as a core material and 2,2-bis(methylol) propionic acid as a chain extender. This was reacted with varying concentrations of soya fatty acid to make hyperbranched alkyd (HBA) resins. The HBA resins containing unreacted hydroxyl groups were reacted with isophorone diisocyanate at NCO/OH ratio of 1.6:1 to make high solid hyperbranched urethane alkyd (HBUA) resins. The excess NCO content in the HBUA resins was used to cure with atmospheric moisture, and thus moisture-cured HBUA coatings were formed. The resins were characterized by FTIR, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic analysis. A series of such resins were made using different fatty acid/isocyanate ratios with respect to the hydroxyl groups present in the HBP. The effect of compositions on the mechanical and weathering properties of the cured resins was investigated. It was observed that there was an optimum fatty acid–isocyanate ratio in terms of the requirements of solvent, mechanical and weathering properties of the resin. The requirement of solvents for formulating HBUA coatings is much lower compared to linear alkyd-based coatings. The present study reveals that the moisture-cured HBUA resins can be used as a binder material in the field of low-pollution weather-resistance coatings.     

Distributed Control Techniques for Effective Current Sharing and Voltage Regulation in DC Distributed Systems

DC microgrid is one of the feasible and effective solutions to supply reliable electricity as well as to integrate renewable energy resources. The control objectives of the DC microgrid are equal current sharing in per unit and the bus voltage regulation within permissible limits. The droop control is a reliable method adopted to implement the control of the distributed power system with multiple energy units. However, in the application of the distributed power system, the nominal voltage reference mismatch and unequal cable line parameters require a trade-off between bus voltage regulation and current sharing error. In this paper, a simplified compensation structure is proposed to minimize trade-off between proportional equal current sharing and the bus voltage regulation within permissible limits for unequal cable resistances. The proposed control scheme is improved transient performance of output current sharing and the bus voltage by using a voltage droop control and hysteretic current control. The global stability is also insured for the communication time delay. The performance of the proposed model is verified in the MATLAB/Simulink environment.     

Coprecipitation synthesis of Ca14Al10Zn6O35:Mn4+ deep-red phosphor and silica-modified waterproofing ability

Ca₁₄Al₁₀Zn₆O₃₅:Mn⁴⁺ (CAZ:Mn) phosphor material, which shows deep-red luminescence, was synthesized by the coprecipitation (COP) method using a Na₂CO₃/NaOH solution as the precipitant. COP–CAZ:Mn phosphor exhibited a 2.1 times higher luminescence intensity than the corresponding phosphor prepared using the conventional solid-state reaction (SSR) method. This substantial increase in luminescence was mainly ascribed to the existence of a greater proportion of tetravalent manganese in COP–CAZ:Mn phosphor. Furthermore, COP–CAZ:Mn phosphor was modified with SiO₂ via hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) to waterproof the compound because it is easily decomposed through hydrolysis under humid conditions. The SiO₂-modified CAZ:Mn phosphor maintained its crystal structure and high photoluminescence intensity after the water-resistance test. Therefore, waterproof CAZ:Mn phosphor with a high luminescence intensity was successfully discovered by utilizing the coprecipitation method and SiO₂ modification.     

Novel method of dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in a flexible epoxy matrix

We describe a simple and novel method for dispersing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a flexible epoxy matrix. The MWCNTs were modified with half‐neutralized dicarboxylic acids having different numbers of carbon atoms. The modified MWCNTs were prereacted with epoxy in the presence of triphenylphosphine. The dispersion of the MWCNTs and the enhancement in the tensile properties were found to be better for composites prepared with a solvent. Among the half‐neutralized dicarboxylic acids used, half‐neutralized adipic acid (HNAA) exhibited the best performance. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies clearly indicated an improvement in the level of dispersion of the MWCNTs with the addition of the modifier. The good dispersion of the MWCNTs and the resulting improvement in their properties were attributed to the cation–π interactions (the cation of HNAA and the π‐electron clouds of the MWCNTs) between the HNAA and MWCNTs and the chemical bonding of ? COOH groups of HNAA and the epoxy resin. The cation–π interaction and chemical bonding was assessed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. This approach did not destroy the π–electron clouds of the MWCNTs in contrast to a chemical functionalization strategy. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2610–2618, 2013