Overcoming the “retention vs. voltage” trade-off in nonvolatile organic memory: Ag nanoparticles covered with dipolar self-assembled monolayers as robust charge storage nodes

Organic non-volatile memory devices with significantly enhanced retention are explored with C₆₀ thin-film transistors containing silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) within gate dielectrics as charge storage nodes. Dipolar self-assembled monolayers covering Ag-NPs effectively prevent stored charges from being lost by providing an additional energy threshold for back-tunneling process. This enables long retention even with ultrathin tunneling dielectric layers, providing a simple means to realize long retention without causing an excessive increase in operation voltage.     

Negative mold transfer patterned conductive polymer electrode for flexible organic light-emitting diodes

We demonstrate flexible organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs) that use flexible conductive polymer electrodes patterned by negative mold transfer printing (nMTP). Because pristine poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is unsuitable for nMTP owing to problems with wettability, additives are used to improve the surface wetting properties of the polymer on the mold to successfully employ nMTP. Moreover, the additives improve the conductivity of the polymer electrode. FOLEDs fabricated with the modified PEDOT:PSS using nMTP exhibit electrical properties comparable to those of a device having an indium tin oxide (ITO) anode. These results show that the highly conductive PEDOT:PSS patterned by nMTP can be used as transparent high-resolution electrodes in low-cost ITO-free FOLEDs.     

Control of Current Hysteresis of Networked Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Transistors by a Ferroelectric Polymer Gate Insulator

Films made of 2D networks of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are one of the most promising active‐channel materials for field‐effect transistors (FETs) and have a variety of flexible electronic applications, ranging from biological and chemical sensors to high‐speed switching devices. Challenges, however, still remain due to the current hysteresis of SWNT‐containing FETs, which has hindered further development. A new and robust method to control the current hysteresis of a SWNT‐network FET is presented, which involves the non‐volatile polarization of a ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) gate insulator. A top‐gate FET with a solution‐processed SWNT‐network exhibits significant suppression of the hysteresis when the gate‐voltage sweep is greater than the coercive field of the ferroelectric polymer layer (≈50 MV m^?1). These near‐hysteresis‐free characteristics are believed to be due to the characteristic hysteresis of the P(VDF‐TrFE), resulting from its non‐volatile polarization, which makes effective compensation for the current hysteresis of the SWNT‐network FETs. The onset voltage for hysteresis‐minimized operation is able to be tuned simply by controlling the thickness of the ferroelectric film, which opens the possibility of operating hysteresis‐free devices with gate voltages down to a few volts.     

Experimental investigation of decomposition and evaporation characteristics of HAN-based monopropellants

Hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN)-based monopropellants are among the most promising candidates for eco-friendly rocket engine propellants. They are not carcinogenic or mutagenic, and their thermal decomposition reactions are sufficiently exothermic for military and aerospace applications. Here, an experimental analysis was performed to investigate the characteristics of HAN-based mixtures for monopropellant applications. Three kinds of propellants were prepared for this study: a HAN–water solution, a HAN–water solution with methanol added at a stoichiometric ratio, and a third solution where water was added to further dilute the solution. Two different experimental techniques were used under atmospheric pressure of nitrogen gas environment: thermal analysis and droplet evaporation analysis. Thermal and catalytic decomposition were analyzed using thermo gravimetric analysis. Droplet evaporation was analyzed using a cylindrical vessel equipped with a heating system and a droplet feed, and a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. These data were post-processed to calculate the temporal variation of the droplet diameters.     

Comparison of Antioxidant Capacities of Rosmarinate Alkyl Esters in Riboflavin Photosensitized Oil-in-Water Emulsions

Effects of the alkyl chain length of rosmarinate alkyl esters on the oxidative stability in photosensitized oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions were determined by lipid hydroperoxides and headspace volatile analyses. Antioxidant capacities of 20 μM rosmarinate esters with alkyl chain length of 0, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 20 were tested in O/W emulsion containing stripped soybean oil, Tween 20 as an emulsifier, and riboflavin as a photosensitizer. Synergistic or antagonistic effects of 20 μM α-tocopherol in the presence of rosmarinate alkyl esters were also determined. Samples containing rosmarinate with 4 and 8 alkyl esters showed lower lipid hydroperoxides and headspace volatiles than those without rosmarinate and those with 0, 12, 18, and 20 alkyl esters, which indicates that phenolic free radical scavengers showed antioxidant capacities non-linearly in riboflavin photosensitized O/W emulsions. Antagonistic rather than synergistic effects were observed in all rosmarinate alkyl esters with α-tocopherol in current conditions although rosmarinates with 4, 8, and 12 alkyl esters showed better antioxidant capacities than those with other alkyl chain length. The results of this study clearly showed that rosmarinates need the proper length of non-polar groups to show optimum antioxidant capacities in O/W emulsions with Tween 20 as an emulsifier under riboflavin photosensitization.     

Dynamic mechanical properties of polystyrene‐co‐styrenesulfonic acid copolymers neutralized with aliphatic diamines

In this article, we reported the effects of the addition of various aliphatic diamines (ADAs) on the dynamic mechanical properties of poly(styrene‐co‐styrenesulfonic acid) copolymers. It was found that the ionic modulus decreased with increasing chain length of ADAs but increased for the ADA12‐containing ionomers. Upon the neutralization of the copolymers with ADAs, a minor change in the size and position of the matrix loss tangent peak was observed. However, the position of the cluster loss tangent peaks shifted to lower temperatures, and the shift rate depended on the chain length of ADAs. Thus, it was suggested that the ADAs acted mainly as preferential plasticizer for the cluster regions. In addition, the effect of the amount of ADA on the difference between the matrix and cluster temperatures of the ionomers was strongest than that of the type of ADA or ion content. The X‐ray peak of ADA12 suggested that the ADA12 acted both as plasticizer and as filler. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Potential Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Function of Gynura procumbens Polyphenols Ligand

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potentials of polyphenols contained in Gynura procumbens (GP) extract were systematically analyzed. Polyphenols in GP were analyzed for nine peaks using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with mass spectrometry (MS), and quantitatively determined through each standard. A total of nine polyphenolic compounds were identified in the samples and their MS data were tabulated. To determine the potential of bioactive ingredients targeting DPPH and COX-2, we analyzed them by ultrafiltration combined with LC. The results identified the major compounds exhibiting binding affinity for DPPH and COX-2. Caffeic acid, kynurenic acid, and chlorogenic acid showed excellent binding affinity to DPPH and COX-2, suggesting that they can be considered as major active compounds. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory effect of GP was confirmed in vitro. This study will not only be used to provide basic data for the application of GP to the food and pharmaceutical industries, but will also provide information on effective screening methods for other medicinal plants.     

A study on the compressive characteristics of co‐cured foam‐composite sandwich structures according to the crimp angle variations

A foam‐composite sandwich column composed of two‐ply carbon/epoxy fabric prepreg as a skin and PVC foam for a core material was investigated to determine the effect of crimp angle variations of the fabric prepreg on the compressive characteristics of the sandwich column. The crimp angle of the composite skin was observed and measured in terms of the forming pressure and the foam density as correlated with the foam deformation regimes. End compression tests for the foam‐composite sandwich columns were carried out to obtain the values of the compressive modulus and strength depending on the crimp angle variations. From the tests and observation results, it was found that the crimp angle and compressive strength were highly correlated; as the crimp angle increased, the compressive strength decreased as a large‐crimp angle caused the composite skin to fail due to simple microbuckling of the longitudinal tows. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers