Synthesis of discrete allyl-functional polyethylene glycol for efficient hydrophilization of dihydr (polydimethylsiloxane)

Amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)-block-pol (dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG-block-PDMS block-PEG) triblock copolymers have been successfully prepared via hydrosilylation using discrete and polydisperse PEG of various chain lengths. Facile synthesis of discrete PEG (dPEG) is achieved via systematic tosylation and etherification of lower glycols. Amphiphilicity of the dPEG block-PDMS-block-dPEG triblock copolymer is illustrated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and measurement of the critical micelle concentration (CMC).

A statistical model for combustion resonance from a DI diesel engine with applications

Introduced in this paper is a Bayesian model for isolating the resonant frequency from combustion chamber resonance. The model shown in this paper focused on characterising the initial rise in the resonant frequency to investigate the rise of in-cylinder bulk temperature associated with combustion. By resolving the model parameters, it is possible to determine: the start of pre-mixed combustion, the start of diffusion combustion, the initial resonant frequency, the resonant frequency as a function of crank angle, the in-cylinder bulk temperature as a function of crank angle and the trapped mass as a function of crank angle. The Bayesian method allows for individual cycles to be examined without cycle-averaging|allowing inter-cycle variability studies. Results are shown for a turbo-charged, common-rail compression ignition engine run at 2000 rpm and full load.

Remarkable Capacity Retention of Nanostructured Manganese Oxide upon Cycling as an Electrode Material for Supercapacitor

Electrochemical capacity retention of nearly X-ray amorphous nanostructured manganese oxide (nanoMnO2) synthesized by mixing directly KMnO4 with ethylene glycol under ambient conditions for supercapacitor studies is enhanced significantly. Although X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of nanoMnO2 shows poor crystallinity, it is found that by Mn K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurement that the nanoMnO2 obtained is locally arranged in a δ-MnO2-type layered structure composed of edge-shared network of MnO6 octahedra. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and XANES measurements show that nanoMnO2 contains nearly spherical shaped morphology with δ-MnO2 structure, and 1D nanorods of α-MnO2 type structure (powder XRD) in the annealed (600 °C) sample. Volumetric nitrogen adsorption−desorption isotherms, inductively coupled plasma analysis, and thermal analysis are carried out to obtain physicochemical properties such as surface area (230 m2 g−1), porosity of nanoMnO2 (secondary mesopores of diameter 14.5 nm), water content, composition, etc., which lead to the promising electrochemical properties as an electrode for supercapacitor. The nanoMnO2 shows a very high stability even after 1200 cycles with capacity retention of about 250 F g−1.

Crystallization Kinetics and Electrical Relaxation of BaO-0.5Li(2)O-4.5B(2)O(3) Glasses

Transparent glasses in the composition BaO-0.5Li(2)O-4.5B(2)O(3) (BLBO) were fabricated via the conventional melt-quenching technique. X-ray powder diffraction combined with differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies carried out on the as-quenched samples confirmed their amorphous and glassy nature, respectively. The crystallization behavior of these glasses has been studied by isothermal and nonisothermal methods using DSC. Crystallization kinetic parameters were evaluated from the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation. The value of the Avrami exponent (n) was found to be 3.6 +/- 0.1, suggesting that the process involves three-dimensional bulk crystallization. The average value of activation energy associated with the crystallization of BLBO glasses was 317 +/- 10 kJ/mol. Transparent glass-ceramics were fabricated by controlled heat-treatment of the as-quenched glasses at 845 K/40 min. The dielectric constants for BLBO glasses and glass-ceramics in the 100 Hz-10 MHz frequency range were measured as a function of the temperature (300-925 K). The electrical relaxation and dc conductivity characteristics were rationalized using electric modulus formalism. The imaginary part of the electric modulus spectra was modeled using an approximate solution of the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts relation. The temperature-dependent behavior of stretched exponent (beta) was discussed for the as-quenched and heat-treated BLBO glasses.

Simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature with a pair of matched fiber Bragg gratings

A novel approach for simultaneous measurement of static/dynamic strain and temperature with a pair of matched fiber Bragg grating(FBG)s is proposed. When a diode laser locked to the mid reflection frequency of reference FBG is used to illuminate the sensor FBG, reflected intensity changes with strain on sensor FBG. Reference FBG responds with temperature on sensor FBG and is immune to strain, hence, wavelength of the diode laser acts as a signature for temperature measurement. Theoretical sensitivity limit for static strain and temperature are 1.2n epsilon / root Hz and 0.0011 degrees C respectively. Proposed sensor shows a great potential in high sensitive strain measurements with a simplified experimental setup.

Oscillatory flow and temperature fields in an open tube with temperature difference across the ends

The oscillating flow and temperature field in an open tube subjected to cryogenic temperature at the cold end and ambient temperature at the hot end is studied numerically. The flow is driven by a time-wise sinusoidally varying pressure at the cold end. The conjugate problem takes into account the interaction of oscillatory flow with the heat conduction in the tube wall. The full set of compressible flow equations with axisymmetry assumption are solved with a pressure correction algorithm. Parametric studies are conducted with frequencies of 5-15 Hz, with one end maintained at 100 K and other end at 300 K. The flow and temperature distributions and the cooldown characteristics are obtained. The frequency and pressure amplitude have negligible effect on the time averaged Nusselt number. Pressure amplitude is an important factor determining the enthalpy flow through the solid wall. The frequency of operation has considerable effect on penetration of temperature into the tube. The density variation has strong influence on property profiles during cooldown. The present study is expected to be of interest in applications such as pulse tube refrigerators and other cryocoolers, where oscillatory flows occur in open tubes. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Particle image velocimetry and infrared thermography in a levitated droplet with nanosilica suspensions

Preferential accumulation and agglomeration kinetics of nanoparticles suspended in an acoustically levitated water droplet under radiative heating has been studied. Particle image velocimetry performed to map the internal flow field shows a single cell recirculation with increasing strength for decreasing viscosities. Infrared thermography and high speed imaging show details of the heating process for various concentrations of nanosilica droplets. Initial stage of heating is marked by fast vaporization of liquid and sharp temperature rise. Following this stage, aggregation of nanoparticles is seen resulting in various structure formations. At low concentrations, a bowl structure of the droplet is dominant, maintained at a constant temperature. At high concentrations, viscosity of the solution increases, leading to rotation about the levitator axis due to the dominance of centrifugal motion. Such complex fluid motion inside the droplet due to acoustic streaming eventually results in the formation of a ring structure. This horizontal ring eventually reorients itself due to an imbalance of acoustic forces on the ring, exposing larger area for laser absorption and subsequent sharp temperature rise.

Carrier concentration dependence of donor activation energy in n-type GaN epilayers grown on Si (111) by plasma-assisted MBE

The n-type GaN layers were grown by plasma-assisted MBE and either intentionally doped with Si or unintentionally doped. The optical characteristics of a donor level in Si-doped, GaN were studied in terms of photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy as a function of electron concentration. Temperature dependent PL measurements allowed us to estimate the activation energy of a Si-related donor from temperature-induced decay of PL intensity. PL peak positions, full width at half maximum of PL and activation energies are found to be proportional to the cube root of carrier density. The involvement of donor levels is supported by the temperature-dependent electron concentration measurements. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of zinc oxide porous structures by anodization with water as an electrolyte

We report a simple, reliable and one-step method of synthesizing ZnO porous structures at room temperature by anodization of zinc (Zn) sheet with water as an electrolyte and graphite as a counter electrode. We observed that the de-ionized (DI) water used in the experiment is slightly acidic (pH=5.8), which is due to the dissolution of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere forming carbonic acid. Porous ZnO is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) studies. The current-transient measurement is carried out using a Gamry Instruments Reference 3000 and the thickness of the deposited films is measured using a Dektak surface profilometer. The PL, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to confirm the presence of ZnO phase. We have demonstrated that the hybrid structures of ZnO and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) exhibit good rectifying characteristics. The evaluated barrier height and the ideality factor are 0.45 eV and 3.6, respectively.

Lead-free piezoelectric system (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-BaTiO3: Equilibrium structures and irreversible structural transformations driven by electric field and mechanical impact

The structure-property correlation in the lead-free piezoelectric (1 - x)(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-(x)BaTiO3 has been systematically investigated in detail as a function of composition (0 < x <= 0.11), temperature, electric field, and mechanical impact by Raman scattering, ferroelectric, piezoelectric measurement, x-ray, and neutron powder diffraction methods. Although x-ray diffraction study revealed three distinct composition ranges characterizing different structural features in the equilibrium state at room temperature: (i) monoclinic (Cc) + rhombohedral (R3c) for the precritical compositions, 0 <= x <= 0.05, (ii) cubiclike for 0.06 <= x <= 0.0675, and (iii) morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) like for 0.07 <= x < 0.10, Raman and neutron powder diffraction studies revealed identical symmetry for the cubiclike and the MPB compositions. The cubiclike structure undergoes irreversible phase separation by electric poling as well as by pure mechanical impact. This cubiclike phase exhibits relaxor ferroelectricity in its equilibrium state. The short coherence length (similar to 50A degrees) of the out-of-phase octahedral tilts does not allow the normal ferroelectric state to develop below the dipolar freezing temperature, forcing the system to remain in a dipolar glass state at room temperature. Electric poling helps the dipolar glass state to transform to a normal ferroelectric state with a concomitant enhancement in the correlation length of the out-of-phase octahedral tilt.

The influence of mesoporous silica in low T-g cyclic olefin copolymer nanocomposite films: Mechanical and moisture barrier studies

In this study, mesoporous silica-cyclic olefin copolymer nanocomposite films were fabricated by solution casting. With an increase in silica loading, the stiffness of the matrix increased. The nanocomposite film shows increased strain to failure with moisture after aging by matrix plasticization. The storage modulus and loss factor for samples with silica content show better results compared with pristine polymer, as indicated by dynamic mechanical analysis. The interaction between filler-polymer chain exhibit hydrophobicity compared to the neat polymer. Water absorption studies at room temperature and near the T-g of the polymer (similar to 64 degrees C) were carried out. The nanocomposites up to 4 wt% filler reduces the water diffusion by forming hydrogen and chemical bonding. The result by calcium degradation test method for moisture permeability and Schottky structured organic device encapsulation under weathering condition confirms the effective reinforcement effect of silica particles in the matrix. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of growth temperature on nonpolar a-plane InN grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Nonpolar a-plane InN films were grown on r-plane sapphire substrate by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy with GaN underlayer. Effect of growth temperature on structural, morphological, and optical properties has been studied. The growth of nonpolar a-plane (1 1 -2 0) orientation was confirmed by high resolution X-ray diffraction study. The film grown at 500 degrees C shows better crystallinity with the rocking curve FWHM 0.67 degrees and 0.85 degrees along 0 0 0 1] and 1 - 1 0 0] directions, respectively. Scanning electron micrograph shows formation of Indium droplets at higher growth temperature. Room temperature absorption spectra show growth temperature dependent band gap variation from 0.74-0.81 eV, consistent with the expected Burstein-Moss effect. The rectifying behaviour of the I-V curve indicates the existence of Schottky barrier at the InN and GaN interface. (C) 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Pt-Doped and Pt-Supported La1-xSrxCoO3: Comparative Activity of Pt4+ and Pt-0 Toward the CO Poisoning Effect in Formic Acid and Methanol Electro-oxidation

Pt-supported La1-xSrxCoO3 and Pt-doped La1-xSrxCoO3 are synthesized using chemical reduction and solution combustion method, respectively. Chemical reduction is carried out using formaldehyde as a reducing agent giving Pt-supported La1-xSrxCoO3. Solution combustion method is used to prepare Pt-doped La1-xSrxCoO3. Detailed characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is carried out to distinguish the Pt-supported and Pt-doped compounds in terms of their morphology and Pt oxidations states. TEM results indeed show the differences in their morphology. Further, electrochemical measurements are performed in neutral medium to differentiate their electrochemical activity. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) shows noticeable differences between Pt-supported La1-xSrxCoO3 and Pt-doped La1-xSrxCoO3. Importantly, our results show that Pt4+ in doped compound has poor to zero electrocatalytic activity toward formic acid and methanol electro-oxidation in comparison to Pt-0 in supported compound. This study shows that metallic Pt in zero oxidation state is a superior catalyst to Pt in +4 oxidation state.

Wide-Range Thermometry at Micro/Nano Length Scales with In2O3 Octahedrons as Optical Probes

We report the temperature-dependent photoluminescence and Raman spectra of In2O3 octahedrons synthesized by an evaporation condensation process. The luminescence obtained here is due to the defect-related deep level emission, which shows highly temperature-dependent behavior in 83-573 K range. Both the position as well as the intensity varies with temperature. Similarly, Raman spectroscopy in 83-303 K range shows temperature-dependent variation in peak intensity but no change in the peak position. Interestingly, the variation of intensity for different peaks is consistent with Placzek theory which invokes the possibility of temperature sensing. We demonstrate the reversibility of peak intensity with temperature for consecutive cycles and excellent stability of the octahedrons toward cryogenic temperature sensing. Overall, both the temperature-dependent photoluminescence and Raman spectra can be explored to determine temperature in the cryogenic range at micro/nano length scales. As an example, we evaluate the temperature-dependent Raman spectra of WO3 that undergoes a phase transition around 210 K and temperature-dependent luminescence of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) where intensity varies with temperature.

Multiplex CARS measurements in supersonic H-2/air combustion

H-2 and O-2 multiplex coherent anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) employing a single dye laser has been explored to simultaneously determine the temperature and concentrations of H-2 and O-2 in a hydrogen-fueled supersonic combustor. Systematic calibrations were performed through a well-characterized H-2/air premixed flat-flame burner. In particular, temperature measurement was accomplished using the intensity ratio of the H-2 S(5) and S(6) rotational lines, whereas extraction of the H-2 and O-2 concentrations was obtained from the H-2 S(6) and O-2 Q-branch, respectively. Details of the calibration procedure and data reduction are discussed. Quantification of the supersonic mixing and combustion characteristics applying the present technique has been demonstrated to be feasible. The associated detection limits as well as possible improvements are also identified.