Numerical calculation of effective permittivity of losslessdielectric mixtures using boundary integral method

The electrostatic environment in a lossless composite structure made of three dielectrics and two dividing closed and disjoined surfaces has been determined, using appropriate surface integrals on these interfaces. These integral equations are transformed to approximate matrix equations and then are solved numerically. The electrostatic potential distribution, dipole moment and the effective permittivity of different composite structures are calculated     

Fragmentation and film growth in supersonic nanoaggregate aerosol deposition

Aerosol deposition with gas phase-synthesized chain-like nanoaggregates can yield dense coatings from the impaction of particles on a substrate; however, dense coating formation is not well understood. Here, we study coating consolidation at the single nanoaggregate level. Flame spray pyrolysis-made tin oxide nanoaggregates are mobility (size) filtered, accelerated through a de Laval nozzle, and impacted on alumina substrates. TEM images obtained from low velocity collection and supersonic deposition are compared via quantitative image analysis, which reveals that upon supersonic impact nanoaggregates fragment into smaller aggregates. This suggests that fragmentation is a key step in producing coatings denser than the depositing nanoaggregates themselves. We supplement experiments with detailed particle trajectory calculations, which show that the impact energies per atom during nanoaggregate deposition are below 0.2 eV/molecule. These results suggest that fragmentation can only occur at locations where nanoaggregates bonded by van der Waals and capillary interactions.     

Molecular dynamics study on growth of carbon dioxide and methane hydrate from a seed crystal

In the current work, molecular dynamics simulation is employed to understand the intrinsic growth of carbon dioxide and methane hydrate starting from a seed crystal of methane and carbon dioxide respectively. This comparison was carried out because it has relevance to the recovery of methane gas from natural gas hydrate reservoirs by simultaneously sequestering a greenhouse gas like CO₂. The seed crystal of carbon dioxide and methane hydrate was allowed to grow from a super-saturated mixture of carbon dioxide or methane molecules in water respectively. Two different concentrations (1:6 and 1:8.5) of CO₂/CH₄ molecules per water molecule were chosen based on gas–water composition in hydrate phase. The molecular level growth as a function of time was investigated by all atomistic molecular dynamics simulation under suitable temperature and pressure range which was well above the hydrate stability zone to ensure significantly faster growth kinetics. The concentration of CO₂ molecules in water played a significant role in growth kinetics, and it was observed that maximizing the CO₂ concentration in the aqueous phase may not result in faster growth of CO₂ hydrate. On the contrary, methane hydrate growth was independent of methane molecule concentration in the aqueous phase. We have validated our results by performing experimental work on carbon dioxide hydrate where it was seen that under conditions appropriate for liquid CO₂, the growth for carbon dioxide hydrate was very slow in the beginning.     

In situ Measurement of the Adhesion Strength and Effective Elastic Stiffness of Single Soft Micropillar

We report the deformation behavior and mechanical properties of a polymeric micropillar, which measures approximately 10 μm by 30 μm in size by measuring the loading/unloading response using an in situ force measurement system. When the single poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) micropillar was subjected to compression, we observed a periodic wrinkle and global (Euler) buckling at the sidewall. During unloading, we found the pull-off force (adhesion force) to increase for higher values of preloading and also for lower loading/unloading rates. From the slope of the load–displacement curves measured in situ, we calculated the effective elastic stiffness of the PDMS micropillar to be about 2.03 MPa. In addition to the current work, we report that this method can be used more broadly for in situ measurement of the intrinsic mechanical and adhesion properties of polymers and other relatively soft materials.     

Thermal Characterization of Polyhydroxyalkanoates and Poly(lactic acid) Blends Obtained by Injection Molding

In this work we present the thermal characterization of the full scope of polyhydroxyalcanoate and poly(lactic acid) blends obtain by injection molding. Blends of polyhydroxyalcanoate and poly(lactic acid) (PHA/PLA) were prepared in different compositions ranging from 0–100% in steps of 10%. The blends were injection molded and then characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The increment of PHA fraction increased the degree of crystallinity of the blend and the miscibility of the base polymers as verified by the Fox model. The WAXD analysis indicates that the presence of PHA hindered the PLA crystallization. The crystallization evolution trough PHA weight fraction (wf) shows a phase inversion around 50-60%. SEM analyses confirmed that the miscibility of PHA/PLA blends increased with the incorporation of PHA and became total for values of PHA higher that 50%.     

Electro-Fenton treatment of synthetic organic dyes: Influence of operational parameters and kinetic study

This work investigates oxidative decolorization of two different dyes, Methylene blue and Titan yellow in aqueous solution using an environmentally friendly advanced electro-chemical oxidation (electro-Fenton) process. The effect of operating conditions like H₂O₂ concentration, current density, initial dye concentration was studied in a batch stirred cell. Individual decolorization decay kinetics for both dyes was investigated. The second-order absolute rate constants (L mol^?1 s^?1) between hydroxyl radical and dye have been calculated from experimental data by fitting it to the decolorization model. The apparent kinetic constants, k _app (s^?1) for Methylene blue and Titan yellow dye decolorization were also determined. The experimental data showed a good fit to the theoretical model, which can predict data in a wide range of % dye decolorization. This process also reduces COD of the dye solution, and the unit energy demand (UED) in kWh/kg COD removed for different electrical current has been reported.     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of new siloxane grafted copolyimides

Three new siloxane containing grafted copolyimides have been prepared by one‐pot solution imidization technique. The polymers are made by the reaction of 4,4′‐(4,4′‐isopropylidenediphenoxy)bis(phthalic anhydride) (BPADA) with commercially available diamine 4,4′‐oxydianiline (ODA) with variation of silicon containing diamine, namely 3,5‐diaminobenzoate terminated polydimethylsiloxane (DBPDMS), as a comonomer to 10, 20, and 30 wt %. The films of the polymers were prepared by casting the polymer solution in dichloromethane. The polymers have been well‐characterized by GPC, IR, and NMR techniques. Thermal stabilities and decomposition behavior of the copolyimides were studied by DSC and TGA. The water contact angle values of the films indicate hydrophobic nature of the polymers. Thermal, flame retardant, mechanical, and surface properties of these polymers have been compared with the homopolyimide and with polyimides where polysiloxane is incorporated in the main chain. DSC revealed melting of the grafted siloxane chain at sub‐ambient temperature and a glass transition corresponding to the main polymer chain above 200°C. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Effect of the surface roughness of conducting polypyrrole thin-film electrodes on the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene

Conducting polypyrrole (PPy) thin-film electrodes were prepared by the electropolymerization of pyrrole on gold-coated glass plates. Films of various roughnesses were obtained by the variation of the scan rates during electropolymerization. These thin films were modified by doping with 6mM of the dopant NiCl₂. The surface morphology of the films was studied by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which suggested films prepared with a high scan rate were rougher in nature than the films produced with a low scan rate. The electrocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene was carried out with these electrodes with the cyclic voltammetry technique in acetonitrile containing 0.1M HClO₄ as a supporting electrolyte. The various results obtained show that the conducting PPy thin-film electrodes were catalytically active toward the electroreduction process. The modified PPy film electrodes doped with NiCl₂ were more active toward nitrobenzene electroreduction than the PPy film alone. The results indicate that the roughness of the films played a very important role in determining their catalytic activity. The PPy films that were more rough in nature were catalytically more active than the smooth films; this may have been due to the availability of more reactive sites in the case of rough films. The apparent diffusion coefficients of the PPy film electrodes were also calculated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Preparation and characterization of graphene and Ni-decorated graphene using flower petals as the precursor material

A simple method is reported for preparing graphene and nickel-decorated graphene from the petals of lotus and hibiscus flowers by heating the original petals and petals soaked in a nickel(II) chloride solution ranging 800–1600 °C under a flowing argon atmosphere for 0.5 h. The products have been characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Graphene prepared at high temperature (>1200 °C) is purer than that obtained at a lower temperature (800 °C). The presence of nickel has been found to have improved the quality of the graphene and electron density near the Fermi energy level.