Degradation of polyethylene terephthalate films in the presence of lubricants for HFC 134a: a critical issue for hermetic motor insulation systems

Earlier studies conducted in the use of sealed tubes with polyalkylene glycol lubricants and polyethylene terephthalete (PET) films revealed that the PET films exhibited embrittlement and (visual) degradation. This led to an investigation of PET embrittlement mechanisms with the new lubricants used with HFC 134a. The lubricants studied were three polypropylene glycols (the monol, the diol and the completely end-capped glycols), pentaerythritol ester and a blend of monol and ester. The effects of moisture content, temperature and lubricant structure were studied. All lubricants in this study were of viscosity grade ISO-32 (150 SUS). The results were compared to PET film embrittlement in the presence of CFC 12 and mineral oil. This study reconfirmed the earlier findings that the PET films must be dried to lower than 0.1 wt.% moisture content for use in hermetic systems. This paper discusses the effect of the moisture content of the lubricant and the effect of the lubricant structure on PET films. The dependence of the various mechanisms on temperature is shown. Esters and end-capped polyalkylene glycols are recommended for use with HFC 134a.     

Deposition mechanisms in langmuir-blodgett films

As part of a study of the possible application of polymerisable Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films as ultra-fine-line e-beam resists, an investigation of the variation of film structure of 22-tricosenoic acid with differing deposition conditions has been made. Unexpected effects with significant implications for deposition speed and resist sensitivity have been observed, and the new techniques for film characterisation developed during the investigation have resulted in a revised model of deposition explaining the observed independence of the disorder causing optical scattering and the macroscopic features observed by polarised microscopy.     

非晶软磁合金的巨磁阻抗效应及应用

近来在ＦｅＣｏＳｉＢ等Ｃｏ基非晶体丝带中现了巨磁阻抗效应，由于在一小的直流纵向偏置场下该效应能使丝带两端的交流电压发生大而灵敏的变化，因而在磁记录头和传顺技术中具有巨大的应用科学潜能，受到各国学者的关注，本文简单介绍了巨磁阻抗效应的来源，并综述了近年来非晶体软磁合金材料的的巨磁阻抗效应及应用的研究进展，文章最后说明了尚待深入解决的问题。     

电容位移法精确测量磁性薄膜的磁致伸缩系数

介绍了一种精确测量磁性薄膜磁致伸缩系数方法－电容位移法，并自行研制组装了一套测量装置，通过误差分析，仪器的精确标定，对稀土－铁超磁致伸缩薄膜的磁致伸缩系数进行了测量，获得满意的结果。     

Properties of Edible Films from Total Milk Protein

The mechanical properties and water vapor permeability of edible films made from various total milk proteins (TMPs) were investigated. Two TMPs obtained from nonfat dry milk (NDM) by removing lactose and three TMPs obtained from a commercial source were studied. Lactose was extracted from NDM by ultrafiltration or suspension in ethanol followed by filtration. TMP concentrate obtained by ultrafiltration (UF) produced films with the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) and the highest tensile strength at break. Commercial TMP concentrates produced films more ductile than those from the UF-TMP or retentate from ethanol extraction. Further research is needed to improve mechanical properties of UF-TMP films without increasing the WVP.     

Block Copolymer Surface Reconstuction: A Reversible Route to Nanoporous Films

Thin films of block copolymers have been used as templates and scaffolds for the fabrication of arrays of nanostructured materials. In general, a chemical modification of the film or the removal of one of the components by photodegradative methods is required to produce a nanoporous film that serves as a template or scaffold. Here, however, the preferential interaction of one of the components with a solvent is shown to produce a reconstruction of the block copolymer film that, upon drying, leads to the generation of a nanoporous template. The area density of the pores is identical to that of the original copolymer thin film. Since no chemical reactions occurr, the process is fully reversible. Upon heating the copolymer film above its glass‐transition temperature, mobility is imparted to the copolymer and the original copolymer film with oriented domains is recovered. The film reconstruction significantly simplifies the generation of nanoporous templates.     

High temperature transport kinetics in heteroepitaxial LaFeO3 thin films

Heteroepitaxial LaFeO₃(1 1 0) thin films with a thickness of 150 nm were grown on LaAlO₃(0 0 1) by reactive sputtering in an inverted cylindrical magnetron geometry. Equilibrium conductivity was measured as a function of partial pressure of oxygen at T=1000 °C, and logσ plotted vs. logP(O₂) showed a minimum in conductivity for P(O₂)=10⁻¹¹ atm and a linear response between 10⁻¹⁰ and 1 atm. This linear response makes thin films of LaFeO₃ a promising material for oxygen sensor applications. We have also measured the time response of the film conductivity upon an abrupt change in the partial pressure of ambient oxygen from 10⁻² to 10⁻³ atm, which was determined at 60 s for T=700 °C and <3.5 s at T=1000 °C.     

Thermally stimulated discharge current studies in pure and fe-doped polystyrene films

Studies were made on the thermally stimulated discharge currents (TSDCs) in pure (undoped) and Fe-doped polystyrene films as a function of polarizing field, polarizing temperature and dopant concentration. While undoped films exhibited a single peak, doped films showed two peaks one at low temperatures and another at high temperatures. The low temperature peak, which exhibits a shift towards lower temperatures with increasing dopant concentration, is attributed to the relaxation of the main chain, while the high temperature peak, which shows a tendency to shift towards higher temperatures with dopant concentration, is due to space charge polarization. The TSDCs were higher for low dopant concentrations than their undoped counterparts, while for high concentrations of the dopant, the TSDCs decreased. Formation of charge transfer complexes at low dopant concentrations and molecular aggregates at higher dopant concentrations are suggested as the possible reasons for this behaviour.     

Oxygen Tracer Diffusion in Vitreous Silica

Oxygen diffusion in vitreous silica glass is studied using the gas exchange technique. The tracer concentration profiles are consistent with a model based on two mechanisms, one network and the other interstitial. These processes are coupled through limited network–interstitial exchange. Nuclear reaction analysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques are performed and compared. These results are compared to experiments on transport in thin silica films grown on single-crystal silicon.     

Surface tailoring of an ethylene propylene diene elastomeric terpolymer via plasma‐polymerized coating of tetramethyldisiloxane

In the research presented here, we explore the use of a low‐energy plasma to deposit thin silicone polymer films using tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDSO) (H(CH₃)₂? Si? O? Si? (CH₃)₂H) on the surface of an ethylene propylene diene elastomeric terpolymer (EPDM) in order to enhance the surface hydrophobicity, lower the surface energy and improve the degradation/wear characteristics. The processing conditions were varied over a wide range of treatment times and discharge powers to control the physical characteristics, thickness, morphology and chemical structure of the plasma polymer films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that pore‐free homogeneous plasma polymer thin films of granular microstructure composed of small grains are formed and that the morphology of the granular structure depends on the plasma processing conditions, such as plasma power and time of deposition. The thicknesses of the coatings were determined using SEM, which confirmed that the thicknesses of the deposited plasma‐polymer films could be precisely controlled by the plasma parameters. The kinetics of plasma‐polymer film deposition were also evaluated. Contact angle measurements of different solvent droplets on the coatings were used to calculate the surface energies of the coatings. These coatings appeared to be hydrophobic and had low surface energies. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoacoustic Fourier‐transform infrared (PA‐FT‐IR) spectroscopy were used to investigate the detailed chemical structures of the deposited films. The optimum plasma processing conditions to achieve the desired thin plasma polymer coatings are discussed in the light of the chemistry that takes place at the interfaces. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry