Charge transport and microstructure in PFO:MEH-PPV polymer blend thin films

Current density–voltage characteristics of poly(9,9′-dihexyl fluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) thin films (～120 nm) have been studied in hole only device configuration at different temperatures (100–290 K) in pure form and with blending (～0.25–50 wt%) of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV). It has been found that in the case of pure PFO the charge transport at low fields show an ohmic region which is followed by space charge limited conduction region. Blending of PFO with MEH-PPV at low ratio (up to 2 wt%) increases the current density. As the ratio is increased further, the current density decreases. Analysis show that there is a change in conduction mechanism up to 6 V from SCLC to thermally activated ohmic conduction upon blending indicating the creation of new energy level near the transport states of PFO. Morphology of the polymer blended thin films was obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. It has been found that the surface roughness of the investigated films is significantly increased upon blending indicating aggregation as well as phase separation at high blending ratios. The decrease in conductivity at high blending ratio can be related to the change in morphology of the films.     

Deep eutectic solvents: designer fluids for chemical processes

The increasing demand for multi‐task green solvents has spurred the development of next‐generation liquid media such as deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which have recently attracted increased attention. DESs are mixtures of salts and complexing agents, having freezing points lower than those of starting individual components. Similarly to ionic liquids, DESs exhibit distinctive properties such as chemical and thermal stability, biodegradability, non‐flammability, and cost effectiveness. These features account for their wide range of applications, e.g. as extractants, reactants, catalysts, reaction media, additives, and lubricants. This review summarizes the recent research efforts directed at exploring the potential applications of DESs in various chemical processes. With the rapid publication of reports on this new generation of solvents, other roles also are expected to be seen sooner or later. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and characterization of novel ion-exchange resin based on polyimide containing 8-hydroxyquinoline as a pendent groups

Novel ion-exchange resin (PBMDDMCMHQ polyimide) having 8-hydroxyuinoline as a pendent groups was prepared using phenylenebismaleimide-diamine polyimide (PBMDDM) and 5-chloromethyl-8-hydroxyquinoline hydrochloride (CMHQ). Phenylenebismaleimide-diamine polyimide (PBMDDM) was prepared by Michael addition reaction of 1,3-phenylenebismaleimide (PBM) and 4,4’-diaminodiphenyl methane (DDM). The resulting ion-exchange resin was characterized by spectral techniques. Polymeric metal chelates of ion-exchange resin were also prepared using transition metal ions Zn(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Mn(II), and were duly characterized. Ion-exchange properties of ion-exchange resin (PBMDDMCMHQ) for Fe(III), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) metal ions were also studied by batch-equilibration method. The produced ion-exchange resin (PBMDDMCMHQ) has thermal stability up to 220°C and can be used over a wide pH range. It has good metal up take capacity at varying pH range and can be recycled.     

Carboxymethylation of cellulosic material (average degree of polymerization 2600) isolated from cotton (Gossypium) linters with respect to degree of substitution and rheological behavior

Carboxymethylation of cellulosic material (average degree of polymerization 2600) containing 76.5% cellulose and 23.6% xylose isolated from cotton (Gossypium) linters was studied under varying reaction conditions with respect to maximum degree of substitution (DS). The influence of reaction conditions on the apparent viscosity of the prepared derivatives was also studied. The conditions optimized were sodium hydroxide concentration 3.75M, monochloroacetic acid concentration 2.05 mol/AGU, carboxymethylation time 3.5 h, and temperature 55°C, to yield carboxymethyl cellulose of DS 0.77. Rheological studies of 1 and 2% solutions of the optimized product revealed their non‐Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior. Repeating units of the optimized product were also determined by HPLC after complete depolymerization of the polymer. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 1477–1482, 2005     

Preparation of monodispersed oil-in-water emulsions through semi-metal microfluidic EDGE systems

EDGE (Edge-based Droplet GEneration) emulsification systems with the ability to produce multiple droplets simultaneously from a single nozzle, were used for the preparation of monodispersed oil-in-water emulsions. The devices (with plateau height of 1 µm) were coated with metals (Cu, CuNi and CuNi/Cu) and had different surface roughness and wettability properties. This influenced the emulsification behavior significantly. The large surface roughness of the CuNi/Cu coated system resulted in stronger non-uniform filling of the plateau as compared to the smoother surfaces of Cu and less rough CuNi, and less droplet formation points in the CuNi/Cu coated system relative to the Cu and CuNi systems. The less hydrophilic CuNi surface, however, provided wider pressure stability than the more hydrophilic Cu and CuNi/Cu surface. A narrower pressure stability (Cu surface) and lower number of droplet formation points (CuNi/Cu surface) resulted in lower overall droplet formation frequency when compared with CuNi system. All metal coated EDGE systems reliably produced monodispersed droplets (with sizes being 6 times the plateau height), similar to the silicon-based EDGE systems having much smoother surfaces. The pressure stability for CuNi coated surfaces was wider, while the droplet formation frequency was comparable to that with the silicon system. This indicated that the use of metal is not a limitation in these systems as initially expected, but may be used for more robust and productive emulsification systems, which lend themselves well for scale-out to practical productivity rates.     

ENHANCED HYDROCARBON EXTRACTION FROM CALOTROPIS PROCERA - A PETROCROP

ABSTRACT

With fast disappearing petroleum reserves renewable resources like biomass are of great significance. Petrocrop, Calotropis procera is a wild shrub and does not compete with food and fodder crops for land. This paper presents an investigation on enhancement of hydrocarbon extraction from Calotropis procera. An extraction yield of 8% has been obtained with toluene, as solvent. Increase in extraction to 11.5% has been achieved by modification of design of conventional “Soxhlet extractor”. Further enhancement in extraction has been achieved by pre-treatment of the biomass with alkali or acid. Pre-treatment results in extractive or hydrolytic breakdown of plant structure and hence exposes hyrocarbons to solvent attack. Alkali pretreatment of ground biomass resulted in much higher extraction. So it was studied in further detail with more alkalies of varying strength. An enhancement from 8% to 18% has been achieved by pre-treatment with IN sodium hydroxide.     

提高DC-DC变换器效率用高单元密度屏蔽栅功率MOSFET

本文介绍了飞兆半导体公司最新开发的高单元密度、屏蔽栅功率MOSFET的结构。这种屏蔽栅结构有助于建立电荷平衡,从而减少MOSFET的通态电阻和栅电荷。这种新技术能使通态电阻比前一代减少50%以上。为进一步改善器件特性,一种肖特基器件也被单片集成在这种新型MOSFET中,使得反向恢复电荷减少了将近20%。上述措施直接减小了在高频、大电流和高输入电压下非常关键的体二极管损耗。该新型器件在典型的同步降压变换器应用中,能提供1.5%的最高效率改进。     

Optimal replacement policy for a repairable system with multiple vacations and imperfect fault coverage

The present investigation deals with the reliability analysis of a repairable system consisting of single repairman who can take multiple vacations. The system failure may occur due to two types of faults termed as major and minor. When the system has failed due to minor faults, it is perfectly recovered by the repairman. If the system failure is due to major faults, there are some recovery levels/procedures that recover the faults imperfectly with some probability. However, the system cannot be repaired in ‘as good as new’ condition. It is assumed that the repairman can perform some other tasks when either the system is idle or waiting for recovery from the faults. The life time of the system and vacation time of the repairman are assumed to be exponential distributed while the repair time follows the general distribution. By assuming the geometric process for the system working/vacation time, the supplementary variable technique and Laplace transforms approach are employed to derive the reliability indices of the system. We propose the replacement policy to maximize the expected profit after a long run time. The validity of the analytical results is justified by taking numerical illustrations.     

A low cost optical hydrogen sensing device using nanocrystalline Pd grating

A Pd grating of periodicity of 1.5 μm comprising of 1 μm wide nanocrystalline Pd lines has been obtained by a direct micromolding method to serve as Hydrogen sensor element in an optical diffraction set up. The device uses a low power diode laser and a photodetector and works with sensitivity of ∼20%. The hydrogen sensing action is based on monitoring the changes in the diffraction efficiency (DE) which is defined as the ratio of the first and the zeroth order diffracted beam intensities. The diffraction efficiency undergoes large and sudden changes as the nanocrystalline grating becomes disordered due to PdH_x formation, as monitored using in-situ microscopy and optical profilometric measurements. This is truly a low cost, portable hydrogen sensor meant for large installations.     

Electronic properties of WC nano-compound: Compton spectroscopy and band structure calculations

We present the electronic properties of tungsten carbide (WC) nano-compound using the Compton scattering technique. We have measured the Compton profile (CP) of nano-powder using our ¹³⁷Cs Compton spectrometer. To determine the theoretical CPs of WC nano-compound, we have employed linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) with Hartree-Fock and density functional theory. Although all the LCAO-based calculations show similar agreement with the experiment, the second-order generalised gradient approximation gives a marginally better agreement with the measured CP data. Layered structures and slight over-lapping in energy bands show a small role of exchange and correlation potentials in case of WC nano-compound, which is in contrast to bulk WC.