Synthesis and luminescence properties of new blue‐light‐emitting polyconjugated poly{1,1′‐biphenyl‐4,4′‐diyl‐[1‐(4‐t‐butylphenyl)]vinylene} polymers and copolymers

Three new soluble polyconjugated polymers, all of which emitted blue light in photoluminescence and electroluminescence, were synthesized, and their luminescence properties were studied. The polymers were poly{1,1′‐biphenyl‐4,4′‐diyl‐[1‐(4‐t‐butylphenyl)]vinylene}, poly((9,9‐dioctylfluorene‐2,7‐diyl)‐alt‐{1,4‐phenylene‐[1‐(4‐t‐butylphenyl)vinylene‐1,4‐phenylene]}) [P(DOF‐PVP)], and poly([N‐(2‐ethyl) hexylcarbazole‐3,6‐diyl]‐alt‐{1,4‐phenylene‐[1‐(4‐t‐butylphenyl)]vinylene‐1,4‐phenylene}). The last two polymers had alternating sequences of the two structural units. Among the three polymers, P(DOF‐PVP) performed best in the light‐emitting diode devices of indium–tin oxide/poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrene sulfonate) (30 nm)/polymer (150 nm)/Li:Al (100 nm). This might have been correlated with the balance in and magnitude of the mobility of the charge carriers, that is, positive holes and electrons, and also the electronic structure, that is, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels, of the polymers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 307–317, 2006     

Synthesis of syndiotacticity‐rich high molecular weight poly(vinyl alcohol) by suspension polymerization of vinyl pivalate and saponification

Vinyl pivalate (VPi) was suspension‐polymerized to synthesize high molecular weight (HMW) poly(vinyl pivalate) (PVPi) with a high conversion above 95% for a precursor of syndiotacticity‐rich HMW poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Also, the effects of the polymerization conditions on the conversion, molecular weight, and degree of branching (DB) of PVPi and PVA prepared by the saponification of PVPi were investigated. Bulk polymerization was slightly superior to suspension polymerization in increasing the molecular weight of PVA. On the other hand, the latter was absolutely superior to the former in increasing the conversion of the polymer, indicating that the suspension polymerization rate of VPi was faster than that of the bulk one. These effects could be explained by a kinetic order of a 2,2′‐azobis(2,4‐dimethylvaleronitrile) concentration calculated by the initial rate method. Suspension polymerization of VPi at 55°C by controlling various polymerization factors proved to be successful in preparing PVA of HMW [number‐average degree of polymerization (P_n): 8200–10,500], high syndiotactic diad content (58%), and very high yield (ultimate conversion of VPi into PVPi: 94–98%). In the case of the bulk polymerization of VPi at the same conditions, the maximum P_n and conversion of 10,700–11,800 and 32–43% were obtained, respectively. The DB was lower and the P_n was higher with PVA prepared from PVPi polymerized at lower initiator concentrations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 832–839, 2003     

Preparation of Mesoporous Ni–alumina Catalyst by One-step Sol–gel Method: Control of Textural Properties and Catalytic Application to the Hydrodechlorination of o-dichlorobenzene

Mesoporous Ni–alumina catalysts (Ni–alumina-pre and Ni–alumina-post) were synthesized by one-step sol–gel method using micelle complex comprising lauric acid and nickel ion as a template with metal source and using aluminum sec-butoxide as an aluminum source. The Ni–alumina catalysts showed relatively high surface areas (303 m²/g for Ni–alumina-pre and 331 m²/g for Ni–alumina-post) and narrow pore size distributions centered at ca. 4 nm. Highly dispersed Ni particles were observed in the Ni–alumina catalysts (ca. 5.2 nm for Ni–alumina-pre and ca. 6.8 nm for Ni–alumina-post) after reduction at 550 °C, while a catalyst prepared without a template (NiAl-comp) exhibited inferior porosity with large metal particles (ca. 12.3 nm). Mesoporous Ni–alumina catalysts with different porosity were obtained by employing different hydrolysis step of aluminum source. When aluminum source was hydrolyzed under the presence of micelle complex, a supported Ni catalyst with highly developed framework mesoporosity was obtained (Ni–alumina-post). On the other hand, when aluminum source was pre-hydrolyzed followed by mixing with micelle solution, the resulting catalyst (Ni–alumina-pre) retained high portion of textural porosity. It was revealed that the hydrolysis method employed in this research affected not only textural properties but also metal-support interaction in the Ni–alumina catalysts. It was also found that the Ni–alumina-pre catalyst exhibited weaker interaction between nickel and alumina than the Ni–alumina-post, leading to higher degree of reduction in the Ni–alumina-pre catalyst. In the hydrodechlorination of o-dichlorobenzene, the Ni–alumina catalysts exhibited better catalytic performance than the NiAl-comp catalyst, which was attributed to higher metal dispersion in the Ni–alumina catalysts. In particular, the Ni–alumina-pre catalyst showing 1.5 times higher degree of reduction and larger amounts of o-dichlorobenzene adsorption exhibited better catalytic performance than the Ni–alumina-post catalyst.     

Synthesis of polystyrene/poly(butyl acrylate) core–shell latex and its surface morphology

A polystyrene (PS)/poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) composite emulsion was produced by seeded emulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate (BA) with PS seed particles which were prepared by emulsifier‐free polymerization of styrene with potassium persulfate (KPS) under a nitrogen atmosphere at 70°C for 24 h with stirring at 60 rpm and swelled with the BA monomer in an ethanol/water medium. The structure of the PS/PBA composite particles was confirmed by the presence of the characteristic absorption band attributed to PS and PBA from FTIR spectra. The particles for pure PS and PS/PBA with a low content of the BA monomer were almost spherical and regular. As the BA monomer content was increased, the particle size of the PS/PBA composite particles became larger, and more golf ball‐like particles were produced. The surface morphology of the PS/PBA composite particles was investigated by AFM and SEM. The T_g's attributed to PS and PBA in the PS/PBA composite particles were found at 110 and ?49°C, respectively. The thermal degradation of the pure PS and PS/PBA composite particles occurred in one and two steps, respectively. With an increasing amount of PBA, the initial thermal decomposition temperature increased. On the contrary the residual weight at 450°C decreased with an increasing amount of PBA. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 595–601, 2003     

Winglet geometry effects on tip leakage loss over the plane tip in a turbine cascade

The effects of winglet offset distance, winglet coverage, and winglet cross section on the over-tip leakage loss for the plane tip have been investigated experimentally in a turbine blade cascade for a tip gap height-to-span ratio of h/s = 1.36 %. The results show that the over-tip leakage loss for the full coverage winglet increases steeply with increasing the winglet offset distance. This loss generation is attributed to flow disturbances over the forward-facing and backward-facing steps within the tip gap. The winglet flush mounted to the tip surface provides the best result. With the leading edge winglet portion or without it, the both-side winglet always provides better aerodynamic performance than the corresponding pressure-side winglet or suction-side winglet. Longer coverage of the both-side winglet leads to lower loss. Therefore, the full coverage winglet performs best in the loss reduction for the plane tip. In general, thinner winglet leads to better aerodynamic result, and the winglet cross section having a slant bottom surface with the smallest thickness at its outer end is recommended.     

Prediction model for surface temperature of roller and densification of iron powder during hot roll pressing

The hot roll pressing of iron powder with several rotating speeds was carried out on a pilot-plant scale. From these experiments, it was confirmed that the surface temperature of roller was increased with increasing its rotating speed. It was also known that the heat transfer coefficient between the iron powder and the roller surface is closely related with the rotating speed of roller. These results were quantitatively described by using a mathematical model which was derived based on the steady-state heat transfer during hot roll pressing. In addition, the densification behavior of iron powder during the hot roll pressing was simulated by a finite element model based on the arbitrary Lagrangian and Eulerian (ALE) method and a yield criterion for metal powder. From these models, the maximum critical rotating speed of roller during the hot roll pressing, in which the roller could hold out against the thermal fracture, could be determined.     

Experiencing Nature: Embodying Animals in Immersive Virtual Environments Increases Inclusion of Nature in Self and Involvement With Nature

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) produce simulations that mimic unmediated sensory experiences. 3 experiments (N = 228) tested how different modalities increase environmental involvement by allowing users to inhabit the body of animals in IVEs or watch the experience on video. Embodying sensory‐rich experiences of animals in IVEs led to greater feeling of embodiment, perception of being present in the virtual world, and interconnection between the self and nature compared to video. Heightened interconnection with nature elicited greater perceptions of imminence of the environmental risk and involvement with nature, which persisted for 1 week. Although the effect sizes were small to moderate, findings suggest that embodied experiences in IVEs may be an effective tool to promote involvement with environmental issues.     

Ultrastructural investigation of intact orbital implant surfaces using atomic force microscopy

This study examined the surface nanostructures of three orbital implants: nonporous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), porous aluminum oxide and porous polyethylene. The morphological characteristics of the orbital implants surfaces were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM topography, phase shift and deflection images of the intact implant samples were obtained. The surface of the nonporous PMMA implant showed severe scratches and debris. The surface of the aluminum oxide implant showed a porous structure with varying densities and sizes. The PMMA implant showed nodule nanostructures, 215.56 ± 52.34 nm in size, and the aluminum oxide implant showed crystal structures, 730.22 ± 341.02 nm in size. The nonporous PMMA implant showed the lowest roughness compared with other implant biomaterials, followed by the porous aluminum oxide implant. The porous polyethylene implant showed the highest roughness and severe surface irregularities. Overall, the surface roughness of orbital implants might be associated with the rate of complications and cell adhesion. SCANNING 33: 211–221, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Lyapunov functional approach to robust stability analysis of continuous-time uncertain linear systems in polytopic domains

In this paper, a sufficient linear matrix inequality (LMI) condition is presented for robust stability analysis of continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems in polytopic domains. The underlying idea behind the proposed approach is to introduce a family of complex functions which map the closed right-hand side of the complex plane into the inside of the closed unit circle centered at the origin. Then, the mapping properties are used to assure that all the eigenvalues of a system are located in the open left-hand side of the complex plane. Examples show the validity of the proposed condition.