Search

As an electrolyte solvent for lithium ion capacitors (LICs), tetrahydrofuran (THF) showed lots of advantages on increasing the discharge capacity, suppressing the potential drop at charged state, and improving the slope of discharge curve. Several electrochemical studies were conducted to verify these effects of THF on LICs. The open circuit potentials of AC/Li beaker-cells with THF were shifted to more positive potentials because of the lowered electrostatic potential of the electrolyte, the weakened solvation energy with LiBF4, and the easier adsorption of BF4− ions to AC electrode in aging step. Although the concentration of LiBF4 decreased with adding THF, the electrolyte conductivity increased by the improved mobility of ions more than enough to compensate to the electrolyte conductivity decreasing by the reduced salt concentration. The capacitive resistance of activated carbon (AC)/Li cell was little changed by adding THF in fully charged state but was much smaller in fully discharged state than the reference condition. These results imply that THF seldom disturbed the behavior of BF4− ions but accelerated the mobility of Li+ ions at AC electrode.

As one of obvious electrolyte design technologies of Li ion batteries (LIBs) to meet durable high-rate capability at elevated temperatures for battery electric vehicles, this study assesses the superiority of gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) based on experimental results supporting its working mechanism. Our previous study indicated that degradation of cathode electrode under high-rate cycling at elevated temperature was a major cause of the decrease in performance of LIBs, and the single full cells (SFCs) with a GPE designed from dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate and methyl ether methacrylate was re-verified to have superior 3.0C cycling performance at 80 °C. The superiority of the GPE is studied from comparing mid-voltages of discharge profiles of the SFCs, observing the cross-sectional morphology of the electrodes by field emission scanning electron microscopy, assessing the interacting force among the electrolyte components by thermogravimetric analysis, and examining each resistance component of the SFCs by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Gel polymerization of liquid electrolyte results in a significant increase of durable high-rate capability of LIBs due to the mechanisms of not only its buffering effect on solvating process of Li+ ions being extracted from the active materials during high rate operation, but also higher thermal stability of electrolyte components, lower susceptibility of the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte to a temperature change, and lower energy barrier to breakup of solvated structures during conducting of Li+ ions in gel polymer matrix.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of cross-sectional area (CSA) and wrist to forearm ratio (WFR) in patients with electro-diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) with or without diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods We retrospectively studied 256 CTS wrists and 77 healthy wrists in a single center between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2013. The CSA and WFR were calculated for each wrist. Patients were classified into four groups according to the presence of DM and CTS: group 1, non-DM and non-CTS patients; group 2, non-DM and CTS patients; group 3, DM and non-CTS patients; and group 4, DM and CTS patients. To determine the optimal cut-off value, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed. Results The CSA and WFR were significantly different among the groups (p

This paper presents a method to enhance the rate performance of high voltage capacitors using an electrolyte additive, 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene (TFB). With increasing discharge rate, the capacity of the activated carbon (AC)/lithium (Li) cell decreases with increasing the slope of the discharge curve and its potential drop at 4.6 V. By adding TFB, the discharge slope improves to increase the rate performance of the cell, and EIS showed that the charge transfer resistance (Rc) of the AC cell decreases. These results suggest that TFB affects the distribution of the electrolyte components near the microporous AC and improves the rate performance of the AC cell.

In this study theories of earth pressure such as Rankine, Coulomb, Trial Wedge, Improved Trial Wedge, used in the design for onshore and offshore structures, are analyzed and the characteristics of loaded pressure to virtual back (wall, plane) and wall surface in accordance with the structure type are suggested. To investigate characteristics of earth pressure, gravity retaining wall with inclined angle and cantilever wall with inclined ground are movilized for onshore structures and caisson and block type quay wall are mobilized for offshore structures. Based on various theories, the earth pressure applied angle(wall friction angle) and sliding angle toward the wall, which is influenced by the heel length, are calculated and compared. In the case of long heel, the pressure by Rankine`s method in virtual plane and the mobilized angle are most reasonably estimated by the ground slope, and in the case of short heel, the pressure by Coulomb`s method and the mobilized angle by the angle of wall friction. In addition, the sliding angle toward the wall estimated by the improved trial wedge method is large than the value of Rankine`s method. Finally, in this study the reasonable method for calculating the pressure and the mobilized angle that can be applied to the routine design of port structures is proposed. The proposed method can decide the earth pressure with length of a heel and a self weight of retaining wall according to sliding angle toward the wall.

This study aimed to investigate the possible changes in anterior chest tightness after breast cancer surgery. We also try to investigate whether anterior chest tightness is associated with upper-limb dysfunction after breast cancer surgery. Eighty-three women who underwent breast cancer surgery were evaluated before and 2 weeks, 3 months, and 9 months after surgery. Anterior chest tightness was measured using the length of the pectoralis minor muscle through 2 methods (length from the coracoid process to the fourth rib and linear distance from the table to the posterior acromion with supine position). Shoulder range of motion and the K-DASH (Korean version of Disability Arm and Shoulder Questionnaire) score were measured to quantify functional performance of upper limb. Anterior chest tightness of patients with breast cancer significantly increased after surgery. Upper limb dysfunction was observed such as reduced shoulder range-of-motion and increased K-DASH score over time. Increase in chest tightness was correlated with shoulder range-of-motion reduction. Chest tightness was not correlated with K-DASH score directly. However, shoulder range-of-motion reduction was significantly correlated with K-DASH score. Chest tightness and upper limb dysfunction increased in breast cancer survivor. Increase in chest tightness after surgery is associated with upper limb dysfunction and careful attention is required.

The electronic spatial extent (ESE) of ions was defined as a major concept for assessing the cause of overpotential in the charging and discharging processes of a nanoporous activated carbon (AC) electrode. The performance degradation of AC/Li half-cells was caused by the overpotential, which was in discord with the electrolyte conductivity and ion size. Compared to the overpotential with the salt concentration, the AC/Li half-cell with a high concentration had a smaller overpotential, and its discharge patterns were similar to the curves obtained from the half-cells with a smaller ESE of BF 4 − ion. The ESE is a more realistic solution for determining the overpotential of the nanoporous capacitor, such as supercapacitor and Li ion capacitor, because its capacity is dependent on the electron density at the electric double layer of the capacitor electrode.

Recently, there has been much interest in the converged platform that enables the harmonized collection, integration, exchange, presentation and analysis of various kinds of marine information by using the ICT means. Regarding such the converged platform, S-100 standards including the international hydrographic data model are being announced and various studies have been published based on the S-100 standards. However, the existing studies have presented simple solutions for only given problems on the converged service of the maritime information. They could not propose the design concept of the converged platform which makes it possible to provide the standardized and integrated services among the geospatial data, the real-time maritime data, and the next ENC. Therefore, we propose design and implementation details of the converged service platform for the geospatial and the maritime data based on the S-100, WMS, WMTS, WPS, SOS standards. The proposed platform has advantages of supporting both the S-57 and the S-101, supporting the converged services of heterogeneous geospatial data and ENC data, supporting the real-time services of sensor data such as weather, AIS, and CCTV, and supporting the development of various kinds of maritime systems such as ECDIS, ECS, VTS based on the WebApp service. Finally, we proved the effectiveness of our proposed platform through the actual implementation of the converged service of geospatial data, S-101 data, and KWeather data.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a group of pattern-recognition receptors that play an important role in the induction of innate immune responses, recognizing conserved microbial structural molecules. The microbial pathogens trigger the activation of myeloid differential factor 88 (MyD88)- and toll-interleukin-1 receptor domain-containing adapter inducing interferon-β (TRIF)-dependent pathways, leading to proinflammatory cytokine production. Here, we investigated the effect of the ethanol extracts of Carpesium abrotanoides (CAB), a traditional Korean medicine, on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) by TLR agonists in murine macrophages. CAB suppressed COX-2 expression induced by lipopolysaccharide (TLR4 agonist), polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (TLR3 agonist), and macrophage-activating lipopeptide 2-kDa (TLR2 and TLR6 agonist). These results suggest that CAB can regulate the TLR signaling pathways to treat chronic inflammatory diseases.

Objective To observe the contrast spread in superoposterior transforaminal epidural steroid injection (SP TFESI) and investigate the correlation between spread patterns and efficacy. Methods Thirty-one patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy underwent single-level TFESI under fluoroscopy. The final needle tip position was targeted toward the SP quadrant of the intervertebral foramen. To observe the spread, 1 mL of contrast material was injected, followed by a steroid injection. The contrast spread was graded anteroposteriorly and vertically in the epidural space. The effect of SP TFESI was evaluated by proportional pain score reduction. Results Levels injected were L4-5 (n=20) and L5-S1 (n=11). Seventeen cases were lateral, and 14 were central herniated disc (HD). Baseline mean visual analog scale score was 6.23. Contrast dispersed dorsally in all the cases, and 45.2% cases showed a concurrent ventral spread. The proportion of the pain reduction after 2 weeks showed no difference between the two groups. In vertical spreading analysis, mean cephalic/caudal grades were 1.40/1.55 at L4-5 level and 1.73/1.64 at L5-S1 level. The HD location had no effect on contrast dispersion. Conclusion In SP TFESI, ventral contrast spread did not guarantee a better effect; however, the extent of cephalic flow in ventral expansion group correlated with the proportion of pain reduction.

The aim of this study was to determine the optimal laparoscopic approach for wedge resection of gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs) based on tumor characteristics.Between March 2008 and June 2010, 57 patients underwent laparoscopic wedge resection for suspected gastric SMT. Of these 57 patients, 40 underwent exogastric wedge resection (EWR), with the remaining undergoing transgastric wedge resection (TWR).Fifty-seven consecutive patients undergoing surgical resection of gastric SMT were reviewed, with 40 and 17 tumors treated with EWR and TWR, respectively. The average tumor size was significantly greater in the EWR group (p = 0.004). A circular tumor location was a decisive factor for selecting the laparoscopic approach (p = 0.011). Tumors presenting with exophytic growths were predominantly found in the EWR group, and those with endophytic growth were dominant in the TWR group (p0.001). A multivariate analysis to determine the independent factors influencing the choice for EWR or TWR revealed that tumor size (95% CI, 1.1 to 20.0; p = 0.033) and circular location of tumor (95% CI, 1.4 to 106.9; p = 0.021) were statistically significant factors.These data suggest a strategy for selection of appropriate laparoscopic wedge resection strategies based on tumor characteristics. This decision is affected by tumor size, location, and growth pattern.

No previous robotic studies present an equivalent surgical quality comparison in an experienced setting for gastric cancer. In addition, a reliable postoperative complication assessment is needed to accurately evaluate surgical outcomes. After 20 cases of robotic-assisted gastrectomy (RAG), a total of 121 consecutive gastric cancer patients underwent gastrectomy (38 RAG vs 83 laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy [LAG]) from February 2009 to November 2010 at the Department of Surgery, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Korea. The Clavien-Dindo (C-D) classification was used to classify surgical complications. The granulocyte-to-lymphocyte (G:L) ratio was analyzed to evaluate surgical stress. The baseline characteristics, with the exception of age, were similar. The mean total operation time for RAG (234.4 ± 48.0 min) was not significantly different than that for LAG (220.0 ± 60.6 min; P = 0.198). However, in obese patients, fewer lymph nodes were harvested by RAG (23.4 ± 7.0) than by LAG (32.2 ± 12.5, P = 0.006). Overall C-D complications were more common for RAG (47.3 vs 38.5 %), but the difference was not significant (P = 0.361). The mean hospital stay was similar for the 2 groups. Surgical stress as estimated by the G:L ratio was comparable between the 2 groups. RAG performed by an experienced surgeon resulted in similar postoperative outcomes and complications to those of LAG. Assessment of operation time, C-D complication grade, and G:L ratio revealed that RAG is a practical and feasible alternative to LAG, with the possible exception of obese patients.

Egg allergy has been reported as the most prevalent food hypersensitivity among children. One of the major egg allergens is ovalbumin (OVA). OVA is the major protein in the egg white, comprising 54% of its total protein content. Curcumin isolated from Curcuma longa has been used as folk remedies in order to treat many chronic diseases for many years. In the present report, we present biochemical evidence that curcumin inhibits the NF- activation induced by OVA. Curcumin also inhibits OVA-induced iNOS expression and nitrite production. These data suggest new approaches for the development of efficient anti-allergic strategies.

『太平記』に登場する正成は、智仁勇の三徳を兼備した武将で、天皇のために命を捧げた英雄として広く知られているが、近世期以降はその教訓的な側面が正成伝説の普及を支える肝要な要素となっていく。 『太平記』において正行の母は、父正成の戦死を悲しみ自ら命を絶とうとする正行を諌め、正成の遺訓の意味を再度教え諭す。このエピソードが端緒となり、その後正成の妻は良妻賢母として顕彰されていくことになる。 一方、近世前期に流行した「太平記読み」のテクストであった『理尽鈔』は、兵学中心の合戦談という性格から、正成の妻が正行に父の遺訓を教え諭す場面を省略し、その代わりに正成の首をめぐって足利直義と楠家の家臣間で繰り広げられた駆け引きに関するエピソードを挿入している。これは、合戦談の中では女性の存在が副次的にしか認識されないことから、『太平記』における正成の妻の情緒性豊かな描写が省略された結果と見られる。 このような『理尽鈔』における扱いとは別に、正成の妻は近世の早い時期から啓蒙目的の女訓書に登場している。仮名草子女訓書『本朝女鑑』では、『太平記』原典の正成の妻に関するエピソードが簡略な形で引かれており教訓を主眼とする女訓書の性質に即して、母として息子の誤りを戒める内容が中心になっている。 さらに、時代浄瑠璃においてはそれ以前とはやや異なる正成の妻のイメージが形成される。近松門左衛門の『吉野都女楠』において、正成の妻「菊水」は従来と同様に夫の遺志を継ぎ、息子を訓戒する良妻賢母として登場するが、その上に大力という性質をも兼ね備えた逞しい女性として描かれる。ここでは、男性のために自己を犠牲にする時代浄瑠璃の典型的な女性とは異なる、戦乱という苦難を生き抜く強い女性像が正成の妻に付与されていると言える。 一方、西沢一風・田中千柳の『南北軍問答』においては新しい趣向が設定され、正成の妻は女色に溺れる正行を訓戒する。正行の誤った行動を戒めるという点では、『太平記』と軌を一にするものの、正行が好色者として描かれる点に加えて、「泣男」杉本佐兵衛が正成の妻に代わって訓戒の内容を伝えるという点が新しい構想となっている。 このように、正成の妻は『太平記』から時代浄瑠璃に至るまで、良妻賢母としてのイメージを保ちながらも、その上に新たな趣向を取り入れつつ受容されていくことになる。, As he appears in the Taiheiki, Kusunoki Masashige is a military official who had a combination of the three virtues of wisdom, benevolence, and valor, and he is broadly known as a medieval hero who gave his life for the Emperor. After the passing of the Edo era, the instructive aspect of Kusunoki Masashige came to be emphasized, and this was the primary reason for dissemination of his legend.In the Taiheiki, the wife of Masashige persuades their son Masatsura, who is distraught over the death on the battlefield of his father, not to kill himself by reminding him of the meaning of the instruction which Masashige had left behind. With this episode as starting point, the wife of Masashige afterward became known to society as, in the Meiji-era phrase, “a good wife and wise mother.”However, in the Rijinshō, a retelling of the Taiheiki tales that was popular in the first half of the Edo era, the text treating Masashige’s legend consists mainly of war talk and military science. It omits the scene in which the wife of Masashige taught her son the dying injunctions of his father and instead inserts the episode about the confrontation between the enemy camp and the members of Masashige’s household over the treatment of Masashige’s severed head. This substitution for the extensive description of Masashige’s wife in the Taiheiki is seen as an example of the relegation of the existence of females to secondary position when the main subject is war talk.In contrast to the Rijinshō, the wife of Masashige appeared for the purpose of edification in the lesson books of the early Edo period addressed to women. In the instruction for women, Honchō jokan, the episode about the wife of Masashige in the original text of the Taiheiki is quoted in simplified form to suit the nature of instruction for women, the major purpose of which was to teach the example of a mother reasoning with her son to correct his wrongs.In the jidai jōruri genre, the image of the wife of Masashige is formed a little differently. In Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s Yoshino miyako onna Kusunoki, the wife of Masashige appears as in previous versions as a good wife and wise mother who disciplines her son to succeed to the legacy of her deceased husband, but in addition she is described as a sturdily built woman with physical strength and a strong character. Here, unlike the typical woman who sacrifices herself for a man in the jidai jōruri genre, the image of a strong woman who overcomes the troubles of war is granted to the wife of Masashige.In another example of this genre, Nanboku ikusa mondō, the authors, Nishizawa Ippû and Tanaka Senryû, added a new feature. In their account, the wife of Masashige preaches at the son for indulging in sex with women. The point at which she preaches at him for his wrongdoing is the same as in the Taiheiki. But in addition to the description of the son as a womanizer, there is another change: It is the servant Nakiotoko who delivers the admonition on behalf of the wife of Masashige. This can be said to be a new conception.In short, although the wife of Masashige maintained the image of good wife and wise mother from the medieval Taiheiki through the early modern jidai jōruri genre, over time new elements were added to the image and accepted.

Recently, there has been much interest in the middleware that can smoothly acquire and analyze Geosensor information which includes sensor readings, location, and its surrounding spatial information. In relation to development of the middleware, researchers have proposed various algorithms for energy-efficient information filtering in Geosensor networks and have proposed Geosensor web technologies which can efficiently mash up sensor readings with spatial information on the web, also. The filtering algorithms and Geosensor Web technologies have contributions on energy-efficiency and OpenAPI, however the algorithms and technologies could not support easy and rapid development of u-GIS applications that need various Geosensor networks. Therefore, we propose a new Geosensor network middleware that can dramatically reduce the time and cost required for development of u-GIS applications that integrate heterogeneous Geosensor networks. The proposed middleware has several merits of being capable of acquiring heterogeneous Geosensor information using the standard SWE and an extended SQL, optimally performing various attribute and spatial operators, and easily integrating various Geosensor networks. Finally, we clarify our middleware's distinguished features by developing a prototype that can monitor environmental information in realtime using spatial information and various sensor readings of temperature, humidity, illumination, imagery, and location.

The mobile robot controller is designed to track the target and to maintain the formation at the same time. Formation control is included in mobile robot controller by extending the trajectory tracking algorithm. The dynamic model of mobile robot is used with kinematic model considering the practical physical parameters of mobile robot. The dynamic model of mobile robot transforms velocity control input of kinematic model into torque control input which is the practical control input of mobile robot. Formation controller of mobile robot is designed to satisfy Lyapunov stability by backstepping method. The designed formation controller is applied to the mobile robot for various target movements and simulated to confirm the Lyapunov stability.

Intermittent catheterization is an effective bladder management strategy for patients with incomplete bladder emptying. For self-catheterization, sufficient hand function in both hands is necessary. We have developed a novel automatic urinary catheterization device to induce self-IC for patients with bladder dysfunction and upper extremity disability. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of this novel automatic catheterization device.This study was performed using 4 fresh cadavers. First, 400 mL of normal saline was filled into the cadaver bladder. Then, the catheter was inserted using the newly developed device. The catheter insertion was performed 3 times for each cadaver, with the penis positioned at 45°, 90°, and 135°, respectively. A transrectal ultrasonography was performed during the catheterization. We evaluated whether the catheter was successfully inserted into the bladder at each position of penis and whether the urethrovesical junction was injured when inserting the catheter. We also measured the volume of normal saline evacuated from the bladder after successful catheterization.With the penis positioned at 45° and 90°, catheter insertion was successful without any damage to the urethrovesical junction. However, when the penis was at 135°, the catheter could not be inserted into the bladder. When the automatic catheter insertion was successful, the bladder was successfully emptied. On average, 81.56 ± 3.26% of normal saline was discharged from the bladder and 11.13 ± 2.09% was remained.The newly developed automatic urinary catheterization device could insert the catheter effectively and safely. This device would be a useful tool for the urinary catheterization of bladder dysfunction patients with upper extremity disability.

The present study has been carried out to investigate the driving performance characteristics for the vibration and torsional strength of the automotive tubular driveshaft manufactured by a rotary swaging process. A maximum torque and a total number of torsional repetitions for the tubular driveshaft is measured to know the respective strengths through the static torsion test and torsional endurance test. The weight of the tubular driveshaft product is reduced by about 12.8 per cent over that of the solid driveshaft with the same performance. The stiffness of the tubular driveshaft is greater than that of the solid driveshaft because the natural frequency of the tubular driveshaft is higher by about 21 per cent than that of the solid driveshaft in the experiment. The total number of the torsional repetitions up to the fracture for the tubular driveshaft is greater than 250 000. From these results, the tubular driveshaft has been proven to be more useful in many aspects such as weight reduction and improvement of vibration and stiffness characteristics compared to the solid driveshaft.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) rarely originate in the rectum. We investigated the clinicopathologic characteristics of rectal GISTs.We analyzed the medical records of seven patients who underwent surgery for GIST of the rectum between 1998 and 2003.There were two men and five women with a median age of 55 years (range, 41-72 years) at the time of diagnosis. The median follow-up period was 23 months (range, 7-75 months). The chief symptoms were hematochezia, constipation, and anal pain. All patients underwent curative resection; in the form of abdominoperineal resection in five patients, transanal excision in one, and Hartmann's operation with prostatectomy in one. The median tumor size was 6.6 cm (range, 1-12 cm). Four patients received adjuvant radiation therapy. Local recurrence developed in two patients; 54 months and 23 months after surgery, respectively.The common symptoms of rectal GIST were the same as those of other rectal tumors. Curative surgical resection should be done, but further studies are necessary to investigate better adjuvant treatment strategies for patients with rectal GISTs.

As an effective way to enhance various properties of polymer, polymer/clay nanocompoiste is being adopted since it can hybrid the properties of the two components, showing superior physical and mechanical properties. In this study, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanocomposites using an organoclay were prepared by a solution intercalation method, and their unique internal structures and rheological properties induced by the presence of organoclay at nano level were studied using WAXD and a rotational rheometer.

Conductive pastes have drawn significant interest due to their advantageous physical properties as well as their potential in electronic material industries. Conductive pastes consist of conductive fillers, organic binders, solvents and additives. Metal powders, such as Au, Ag, Ni, Cu, etc. are used for conductive filler. Filler dispersion is a very important and yet a difficult process in conductive paste manufacturing. Meanwhile, there are some metal powders such as copper, nickel etc that are used for pastes which have serious surface corrosion problems. This problem leads to change of the color and decrease in conductivity and affect storage stability of conductive pastes. To overcome these problems, we adopted two kinds of surface modification method. One is a method involving coating of silane coupling agent to conductive metal powders to overcome the corrosion stability and the other is a method involving addition of a dispersing agent to increase the degree of dispersion of metal powders. A coupling agent and dispersing agent are used to reduce the interfacial energy between filler and organic binder to enhance dispersion and its stability. By using silane coupling agent and dispersion agent, we can ensure both the corrosion stability and long term storage stability, and enhance the high performance electrical and mechanical properties of EMI shielding silicone sealant.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility and effects of the particulated and surface modified Ostrich eggshell (OES) as bone graft substitutes in healing of calvarial defects in rats. Additionally we compared the bone forming ability of the surface modified OES to that of BioCoral (Inoteb, France), which has the same chemical compositions as OES, calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Surface modified OES particles were fabricated by alkaline etching (microroughened-OES) and biomimetic calcium phosphate coating (CaP coated-OES). 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was performed to evaluate cell viability at 1, 4, and 7days using ROS 17/2.8 cells, a rat osteosarcoma cell line. To evaluate the bone forming ability, surface modified OES and BioCoral were filled in the calvarial defects of fourteen adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. After 4 weeks of healing, animals were sacrificed and evaluated histologically and histomorphometrically. The MTT assay indicated the increases in viable cell numbers of all groups according to the time, and significantly increased cell numbers were observed on CaP coated-OES and BioCoral at 7 day (P

The ordering behavior of the nanocomposites of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) with a cylindrical triblock copolymer of polystyrene-block-poly-(ethylene-co-butylene)-block-polystyrene (SEBS) has been investigated by temperature-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and rheometrys X-Ray diffraction (XRD) confirms that the polymer chains are successfully intercalated with the interlayer gallery of the silicates. The data obtained from the SAXS and rheological measurements show that the addition of OMMT leads to a change in the microphase separation behavior of SEBS in the nanocomposites. The molecular interaction between OMMT and the polystyrene (PS) chains of SEBS decreases the structural perfection of the self-assembling, phase-separated domain structure of the nanocomposites. Rheological data exhibit that the order-order (T OOT ) and order-disorder transitions (T ODT ) of the SEBS/OMMT nanocomposites decrease with the addition of OMMT. The highest elongation at break is obtained at approximately 2% OMMT and its further addition to the mixture leads to decreases in tensile strength and elongation.

Intercalated polymer/clay nanocomposites were prepared using a polystyrene‐b‐poly(ethylene‐r‐butylene)‐b‐polystyrene (SEBS) cylindrical triblock copolymer. Dynamic rheological measurements, x‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) were conducted to investigate the internal structure and physical and phase characteristics of the nanocomposites. The XRD data confirmed that the interlayer distance between the anisotropic silicates increased due to the intercalation of SEBS into the clay interlayers. As the clay loading increased, the onset points of the order–disorder transition (ODT) and order–order transition (OOT) were found to decrease, whereas the thermal decomposition temperatures, monitored by TGA, increased with the clay loading.