Dynamic behavior of a droplet on a moving wall

A two-dimensional immiscible droplet deformation phenomenon on a moving channel bottom wall is simulated using the lattice Boltzmann method. We considered the effect of the initial static contact angle, the capillary number, and the size of the droplet on the dynamic behavior of the moving droplet. When the initial static contact angle is less than 90°, the moving droplet is deformed and stretched, resulting in increasing width and decreasing height of the droplet. This is due to the hydrophilic (wetting) characteristic of the channel’s bottom wall. However, when the initial static contact angle is larger than 90°, the deformed and stretched droplet on the moving channel bottom wall is broken up, and is then pinched off or detached from the moving channel bottom wall, depending on the initial static contact angle and capillary number. This is due to the hydrophobic (non-wetting) characteristic of the wall.     

Microscope system for Blu-ray disc samples

We introduce a microscope system using a solid immersion lens (SIL) to image Blu-ray disc samples without removing the protective cover layer. The aberration caused by the cover layer is minimized with a truncated SIL. A subsurface imaging simulation is achieved by using the rigorous coupled wave theory, partial coherence, vector diffraction, and the Babinet principle. Simulated results are compared with experimental images and atomic force microscopy measurements.     

Supercapacitive properties of polyaniline/Nafion/hydrous RuO2 composite electrodes

Chemically prepared polyaniline is tested for its supercapacitive behaviour in an aqueous electrolyte of 1.0 M H₂SO₄. In order to improve the cycleability of the polyaniline electrode, it is made into a composite with Nafion. This composite electrode shows improved cycleability and higher specific capacitance compared with a pure polyaniline electrode. It is therefore used as a matrix for the electrochemical deposition of hydrous RuO₂. The resulting ternary composite electrode has a high specific capacitance of 475 F g⁻¹ at 100 mV s⁻¹ and 375 F g⁻¹ at 1000 mV s⁻¹ in the voltage range of −0.2 to 0.8 V versus Ag/AgCl. All three types of electrode are characterized by cyclic voltammetry and impedance anaylsis.     

Investigation of Pt/WC/C catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation and oxygen electro-reduction

A Pt/WC/C catalyst is developed to increase the methanol electro-oxidation (MOR) and oxygen electro-reduction (ORR) activities of the Pt/C catalyst. Cyclic voltammetry and CO stripping results show that spill-over of H⁺ occurs in Pt/WC/C, and this is confirmed by comparing the desorption area values for H⁺ and CO. A significant reduction in the potential of the CO electro-oxidation peak from 0.81 V for Pt/C to 0.68 V for Pt/WC/C is observed in CO stripping test results. This indicates that an increase in the activity for CO electro-oxidation is achieved by replacing the carbon support with WC. Preferential deposition of Pt on WC rather than on the carbon support is investigated by complementary analysis of CO stripping, transmission electron microscopy and concentration mapping by energy dispersive spectroscopy. The Pt/WC/C catalyst exhibits a specific activity of 170 mA m⁻² for MOR. This is 42% higher than that for the Pt/C catalyst, viz., 120 mA m⁻². The Pt/WC/C catalyst also exhibits a much higher current density for ORR, i.e., 0.87 mA cm⁻² compared with 0.36 mA cm⁻² for Pt/C at 0.7 V. In the presence of methanol, the Pt/WC/C catalyst still maintains a higher current density than the Pt/C catalyst.     

Synthesis of Porous Microparticles with Aligned Porosity

Microparticles with controlled porosity have been widely used in various applications. In this Full Paper, a new method of freezing emulsions has been developed to prepare porous microparticles with unique aligned porosity. Aligned porous poly(?‐caprolactone) microparticles are formed on an aligned porous polymeric composite. The aligned porous microparticles can be released simply by dissolving the supporting composite in water. The formation mechanism for the aligned porosity is discussed. The effects of freezing temperature and stirring speed are investigated. This method is also demonstrated to be generic in preparing porous microparticles with controlled porosity. As an example, polystyrene microparticles with different types of pores are produced. A preliminary study on the application of the porous microparticles in supporting stem cell growth is performed. It is found that poly(?‐caprolactone) microparticles can support the growth of mouse embryo stem cells.     

Analysis of Macrobenthic Communities in a Post-Mining Sulphur Pit Lake (Poland)

The objective of the study was to define the primary environmental factors affecting the composition of the macrobenthic community in an abandoned open cast sulphur mine pit lake that had been filled with water from a nearby river. We investigated habitats at various depths and the macrobenthic communities; samples were collected by scuba divers. Although rush and submerged vegetation in the subsaline pit lake was abundant and provided potentially good habitat conditions for mayflies, caddisflies, coleopterans, or damselflies, the native insects were scarce. The taxa do not have many representatives in waters with elevated salinity, so those present in the Machów pit lake were mainly euryhaline species. Chironomids were the most abundant macroinvertebrates in shallower zones, whereas non-native zebra mussels were the quantitatively dominant taxon in deep-water zones. Moreover, these non-native mussels were the dominant biomass of invertebrates at all sites in all seasons. The current composition of the invertebrate assemblage was probably primarily determined by the salinated water, which limited the abundance of native species and gave non-native species an edge.

     

Accelerated convergence in numerical simulations of surface supersaturation for crystal growth in solution under steady‐state conditions

This is an investigative paper which reports the results of comparisons of two numerical techniques for the solution of the Burton Cabrera and Frank (BCF) equation for the growth on crystal surfaces under steady state conditions. A successive over‐relaxation (SOR) scheme for the equivalent finite difference equation gives rapid convergence to the static solution. It is known that a suitable choice of scattering parameters in a transmission line matrix (TLM) network analogue of the Laplace equation yields ultra‐fast convergence. The results of numerical experiments which are reported here suggests that a similar situation also applies to the solution of the Poisson equation with shunt losses (the BCF equation), although the choice of optimum conditions appears to be different for different spatial positions within the solution space. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improvement of electrical and optical properties of ingan/ganbased lightemitting diodes with triangular quantum well structure

Substantial improvement of electrical and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) was obtained with a triangular band structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images from the–50 nm. The light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with the triangular QWs showed a lower operation voltage, a higher light output power, and higher intensities and narrower line widths of electroluminescence spectra than those with the rectangular QWs. Very bright and uniform light emission from the triangular MQW LEDs was also observed at a low injection current, but spatially non-uniform emission from the rectangular ones.     

Stability constants of amidoximated chitosan‐g‐poly(acrylonitrile) copolymer for heavy metal ions

Amidoximated chitosan‐g‐poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) copolymer was prepared by a reaction between hydroxylamine and cyano group in chitosan‐g‐PAN copolymer prepared by grafting PAN onto crosslinked chitosan with epychlorohydrine. The adsorption and desorption capacities for heavy metal ions were measured under various conditions. The adsorption capacity of amidoximated chitosan‐g‐PAN copolymer increased with increasing pH values, and was increased for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ but a little decreased for Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺ with increasing PAN grafting percentage in amidoximated chitosan‐g‐PAN copolymer. In addition, desorption capacity for all metal ions was increased with increasing pH values in contrast to the adsorption results. Stability constants of amidoximated chitosan‐g‐PAN copolymer were higher for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ but lower for Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺ than those of crosslinked chitosan. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 469–476, 1999