scholarly journals A 3D-polyphenylalanine network inside porous alumina: Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic–organic composite membrane

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 938-951
Author(s):  
Jonathan Stott ◽  
Jörg J Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Composite Membrane ◽  
Polymer Films ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Porous Alumina ◽  
Dichloroacetic Acid ◽  
Solvent Mixtures ◽  
Grafted Polymer

Surface functionalization of porous materials allows for the introduction of additional functionality coupled with high mechanical stability of functionalized inner pores. Herein, we investigate the surface-initiated ring-opening polymerization (SI-ROP) of phenylalanine-N-carboxyanhydride (PA-NCA) in porous alumina membranes (ALOX-membranes) with respect to different solvent mixtures (tetrahydrofuran (THF) and dichloromethane (DCM)). It was found that increasing the volume fraction of DCM leads to an increasing amount of fibrillar polymer structures within the porous ALOX-membrane. A three-dimensional fibrillar network with intrinsic porosity was formed in DCM, whereas in THF, a dense and smooth polypeptide film was observed. A post-treatment with a mixture of chloroform and dichloroacetic acid leads to rearrangement of the morphology of the grafted polymer films. The analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and contact angle measurements (CA) reveals a change in morphology of the grafted polymer films, which is due to the rearrangement of the secondary structure of the polypeptides. No significant loss of the surface-grafted polypeptides was determined by thermogravimetric (TG) measurements, which indicates that the change in morphology of the polymer films is solely a result of a conformational change of the surface-grafted polypeptides. Furthermore, adsorption of a test analyte (chloroanilic acid) was investigated with respect to different polymer functionalization schemes for reversed-phase solid phase extraction applications. The adsorption capability of the functionalized composite membrane was increased from 16.7% to 38.1% compared to the native ALOX-membrane.

Computational Study of Slurry Flow in Pipes to Determine Profiles Sensed in Near Infrared Slurry Measurements

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Pasangulapati ◽  
N. R. Kesana ◽  
G. Sharma ◽  
F. W. Chambers ◽  
M. E. McNally ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Solid Volume Fraction ◽  
Density Ratio ◽  
Optical Measurements ◽  
Concentration Profiles ◽  
Horizontal Pipe ◽  
Volume Fractions

It is desired to perform accurate Near Infrared sensor measurements of slurries flowing in pipes leaving large batch reactors. A concern with these measurements is the degree to which the slurry sensed is representative of the material in the reactor and flowing through the pipe. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been applied to the flow in the pipe to determine the flow fields and the concentration profiles seen by the sensors. The slurry was comprised of a xylene liquid phase and an ADP (2-amino-4, 6-dimethylpyrimidine) solid phase with a density ratio of 1.7. Computations were performed for a horizontal pipe with diameter 50.8 mm, length 2.032 m, and 1.76 m/s and 3.26 m/s mixture velocities. The corresponding pipe Reynolds numbers were 1.19E+05 and 2.21E+05. The flow through a slotted cylindrical probe inserted radially in the pipe also was considered. Spherical slurry particles with diameters from 10 μm to 1000 μm were considered with solid volume fractions of 12%, 24%, and 35%. Computations were performed with ANSYS FLUENT 12 software using the Realizable k-ε turbulence model and the enhanced wall treatment function. Comparisons of computed vertical profiles of solid volume fraction to results in the literature showed good agreement. Symmetric, nearly flat solid volume fraction profiles were observed for 38 μm particles for all three initial solid volume fractions. Asymmetric solid volume fraction profiles with greater values toward the bottom were observed for the larger particles. Changes in the profiles of turbulent kinetic energy also were observed. These changes are important for optical measurements which depend upon the mean concentration profiles as well as the turbulent motion of the slurry particles.

scholarly journals Integrated Optical Phased Arrays for Beam Forming and Steering

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4017
Author(s):  
Yongjun Guo ◽  
Yuhao Guo ◽  
Chunshu Li ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyan Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Phased Arrays ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Beam Forming ◽  
Integrated Optical ◽  
Optical Phased Arrays ◽  
Infrared Spectral ◽  
Spectral Ranges

Integrated optical phased arrays can be used for beam shaping and steering with a small footprint, lightweight, high mechanical stability, low price, and high-yield, benefiting from the mature CMOS-compatible fabrication. This paper reviews the development of integrated optical phased arrays in recent years. The principles, building blocks, and configurations of integrated optical phased arrays for beam forming and steering are presented. Various material platforms can be used to build integrated optical phased arrays, e.g., silicon photonics platforms, III/V platforms, and III–V/silicon hybrid platforms. Integrated optical phased arrays can be implemented in the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared spectral ranges. The main performance parameters, such as field of view, beamwidth, sidelobe suppression, modulation speed, power consumption, scalability, and so on, are discussed in detail. Some of the typical applications of integrated optical phased arrays, such as free-space communication, light detection and ranging, imaging, and biological sensing, are shown, with future perspectives provided at the end.

scholarly journals Bi-Functional Composting the Sulfonic Acid Based Proton Exchange Membrane for High Temperature Fuel Cell Application

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1000
Author(s):  
Guoxiao Xu ◽  
Juan Zou ◽  
Zhu Guo ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Liying Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Composite Membrane ◽  
Sulfonic Acid ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Nafion Membrane ◽  
Silica Nanofiber

Although sulfonic acid (SA)-based proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) dominate fuel cell applications at low temperature, while sulfonation on polymers would strongly decay the mechanical stability limit the applicable at elevated temperatures due to the strong dependence of proton conduction of SA on water. For the purpose of bifunctionally improving mechanical property and high-temperature performance, Nafion membrane, which is a commercial SA-based PEM, is composited with fabricated silica nanofibers with a three-dimensional network structure via electrospinning by considering the excellent water retention capacity of silica. The proton conductivity of the silica nanofiber–Nafion composite membrane at 110 °C is therefore almost doubled compared with that of a pristine Nafion membrane, while the mechanical stability of the composite Nafion membrane is enhanced by 44%. As a result, the fuel cell performance of the silica nanofiber-Nafion composite membrane measured at high temperature and low humidity is improved by 38%.

Micro Palm and Kenaf Fibers Reinforced PLA Composite: Effect of Volume Fraction on Tensile Strength

2011 ◽  
Vol 145 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.W. Neoh ◽  
Kim Yeow Tshai ◽  
P.S. Khiew ◽  
Chin Hua Chia
Keyword(s):  
Tensile Strength ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Kenaf Fiber ◽  
Composite Effect ◽  
Fiber Loading ◽  
Biodegradable Composite ◽  
Kenaf Fibers

Extensive environmental concern associated with the disposal of solid plastic wastes has stirred tremendous interest in the production and use of sustainable biodegradable polymers. Among the vast variety of available materials, Polylactic Acid (PLA) standout as the most commercially viable mass produced resin to date. However, its low thermal and mechanical stability, excessive brittleness, and relatively higher cost have led to numerous research efforts in producing biodegradable polymer composite filled with natural organic fibers. This paper describes the preparation and the mechanical characteristics of a compression molded biodegradable composite made entirely of renewable raw materials. The composites were reinforced with pulverized palm, kenaf and alkali (1M NaOH:fiber in ratio 2:1) treated kenaf fibers, at a fiber mass proportion of 20 to 60% blended PLA and processed in a custom-built compression mold. SEM microscan revealed that the kenaf fiber has a mean diameter of 40μm, length 1236.6μm, and aspect ratio of 31 while the measured values for palm fiber was 58.7μm, 1041.2μm, and 17.7, respectively. All resulting composites showed significant enhancement in tensile strength. At 20, 40 and 60% fiber loading, the palm/PLA composite recorded tensile strength increment of 46.9, 47.8 and 36.6%, respectively. For the kenaf/PLA composite, greatest improvement was achieved at 40% fiber loading with alkali treated kenaf, with approximately 54% higher than the neat PLA while only 12.6% was recorded for the non-treated kenaf/PLA composite, signifying that the surface modification greatly improved fiber-matrix adhesion. SEM observations on the fracture surface showed similar findings. Compared to commercially available palm/Polypropylene (palm/PP) composite at 50% fiber loading, our measured tensile strength for the PLA composite loaded with 40% alkali treated kenaf fiber was still about 20% lower. Further enhancement in the mechanical characteristic of the kenaf/PLA composite is required to push for its wider utilization in the polymer industry.

scholarly journals Mercury determination and speciation analysis in surface waters

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1175-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisaveta Mladenova ◽  
Ivanka Dakova ◽  
Dimiter Tsalev ◽  
Irina Karadjova
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Speciation Analysis ◽  
Regeneration Ability ◽  
Mercury Species ◽  
Icp Ms ◽  
Relative Standard

AbstractA sorbent L-cysteine grafted silica gel has been evaluated for separation and enrichment of dissolved inorganic i-Hg(II) and methylmercury CH3Hg(I) from surface waters at sub-µg L−1 concentrations. Chemical parameters for mercury species enrichment and separation have been optimized. Analytical schemes for the determination of Hg species, using selective column solid phase extraction (SPE) with continuous flow chemical vapor generation atomic absorption spectrometry (CF-CVG-AAS) or inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were developed. Possibilities for on-site SPE enrichment were demonstrated as well. The limits of quantification were 1.5 and 5 ng L−1 for dissolved i-Hg(II) and CH3Hg(I) by CF-CVG-AAS and 1 and 2.5 ng L−1 by ICP-MS with relative standard deviations between 7–12% and 7–14%, respectively. The chemically modified SPE sorbent has demonstrated high regeneration ability, chemical and mechanical stability, acceptable capacity and good enrichment factors. Results for total dissolved mercury were in reasonable agreement with those from independent analyses by direct ICP-MS determinations for river waters and for estuarine water certified reference material.

Shock-Induced Multiphase Instability in a High Volume Fraction Finite-Thickness Particle Layer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Rollin ◽  
Frederick Ouellet ◽  
Bradford Durant ◽  
Rahul Babu Koneru ◽  
S. Balachandar
Keyword(s):  
Shock Tube ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Particle Volume Fraction ◽  
Finite Thickness ◽  
Spherical Particles ◽  
Shock Strength ◽  
Particle Volume ◽  
Particle Cloud ◽  
Particle Layer

Abstract We study the interaction of a planar air shock with a perturbed, monodispersed, particle curtain using point-particle simulations. In this Eulerian-Lagrangian approach, equations of motion are solved to track the position, momentum, and energy of the computational particles while the carrier fluid flow is computed in the Eulerian frame of reference. In contrast with many Shock-Driven Multiphase Instability (SDMI) studies, we investigate a configuration with an initially high particle volume fraction, which produces a strongly two-way coupled flow in the early moments following the shock-solid phase interaction. In the present study, the curtain is about 4 mm in thickness and has a peak volume fraction of about 26%. It is composed of spherical particles of d = 115μm in diameter and a density of 2500 kg.m−3, thus replicating glass particles commonly used in multiphase shock tube experiments or multiphase explosive experiments. We characterize both the evolution of the perturbed particle curtain and the gas initially trapped inside the particle curtain in our planar three-dimensional numerical shock tube. Control parameters such as the shock strength, the particle curtain perturbation wavelength and particle volume fraction peak-to-trough amplitude are varied to quantify their influence on the evolution of the particle cloud and the initially trapped gas. We also analyze the vortical motion in the flow field. Our results indicate that the shock strength is the primary contributor to the cloud particle width. Also, a classic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability mixes the gas initially trapped in the particle curtain and the surrounding gas. Finally, we observe that the particle cloud contribute to the formation of longitudinal vortices in the downstream flow.

scholarly journals Synthesis of Ge1−xSnx Alloy Thin Films by Rapid Thermal Annealing of Sputtered Ge/Sn/Ge Layers on Si Substrates

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Mahmodi ◽  
Md Hashim ◽  
Tetsuo Soga ◽  
Salman Alrokayan ◽  
Haseeb Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Annealing ◽  
Rapid Thermal Annealing ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Annealing Temperature ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Infrared Region ◽  
Alloy Formation ◽  
Phase Mixing ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Msm Photodetector

In this work, nanocrystalline Ge1−xSnx alloy formation from a rapid thermal annealed Ge/Sn/Ge multilayer has been presented. The multilayer was magnetron sputtered onto the Silicon substrate. This was followed by annealing the layers by rapid thermal annealing, at temperatures of 300 °C, 350 °C, 400 °C, and 450 °C, for 10 s. Then, the effect of thermal annealing on the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of the synthesized Ge1−xSnx alloys were investigated. The nanocrystalline Ge1−xSnx formation was revealed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) measurements, which showed the orientation of (111). Raman results showed that phonon intensities of the Ge-Ge vibrations were improved with an increase in the annealing temperature. The results evidently showed that raising the annealing temperature led to improvements in the crystalline quality of the layers. It was demonstrated that Ge-Sn solid-phase mixing had occurred at a low temperature of 400 °C, which led to the creation of a Ge1−xSnx alloy. In addition, spectral photo-responsivity of a fabricated Ge1−xSnx metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector exhibited its extending wavelength into the near-infrared region (820 nm).

scholarly journals Adhesion and Stability of Nanocellulose Coatings on Flat Polymer Films and Textiles

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raha Saremi ◽  
Nikolay Borodinov ◽  
Amine Mohamed Laradji ◽  
Suraj Sharma ◽  
Igor Luzinov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polymer Films ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Polymer Coatings ◽  
High Specific Surface Area ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Polycarboxylic Acids ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Filtration Properties ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Renewable nanocellulose materials received increased attention owing to their small dimensions, high specific surface area, high mechanical characteristics, biocompatibility, and compostability. Nanocellulose coatings are among many interesting applications of these materials to functionalize different by composition and structure surfaces, including plastics, polymer coatings, and textiles with broader applications from food packaging to smart textiles. Variations in porosity and thickness of nanocellulose coatings are used to adjust a load of functional molecules and particles into the coatings, their permeability, and filtration properties. Mechanical stability of nanocellulose coatings in a wet and dry state are critical characteristics for many applications. In this work, nanofibrillated and nanocrystalline cellulose coatings deposited on the surface of polymer films and textiles made of cellulose, polyester, and nylon are studied using atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, and T-peel adhesion tests. Methods to improve coatings adhesion and stability using physical and chemical cross-linking with added polymers and polycarboxylic acids are analyzed in this study. The paper reports on the effect of the substrate structure and ability of nanocellulose particles to intercalate into the substrate on the coating adhesion.

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