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By constantly trying to change the amount of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), monodispersed P(St-MMA-AA) colloids with diameters about 211 nm and 221 nm was synthesized successfully using e...

The structure and anisotropic magnetization of One-dimensional (1D) Nd/Co/PA66 coaxial nanocables prepared by a low cost physical infiltration and electrodeposition methods are investigated. The preparation of Co nanotubes, Co/PA66 two-layer nanotubes and Nd/Co/PA66 three-layer nanocales is described, respectively. The structure, chemical composition and magnetic properties of various nanomaterials were investigated. The results show that the magnetic properties were affected by the rare earth metal Nd and the structural properties. The residual magnetization ratio of Nd/Co/PA66 nanocables is the biggest due to the synergistic effect of Nd and Co. In addition, the magnetization processes of the nanostructure were discussed in detail. We believe that these methods may provide an idea for ferromagnetic alloys and permanent magnet material and suitable for future applications in perpendicular recording media.

The mechanical strength of polymeric membranes is one of the limitations for their applications. Carbon materials are effective in reinforcing polymeric materials, but it is unknown whether they would degrade the membranes’ gas separation performance. In this paper, using brominated poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPO) as matrix, nanocomposite membranes of BPPO/graphene, BPPO/carbon back and BPPO/fullerene were prepared. The CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivity of the nanocomposite membranes were studied. Different from the BPPO/carbon black and BPPO/fullerene membranes, the BPPO/graphene membrane was found having improved gas separation performance after incorporation 2 wt. % graphene.

The neutral silicone glass sealant was prepared and the mechanical performance of this silicone glass sealant was researched in this paper. The recipe of neutral silicone glass sealant was studied. Besides, the influence of different cross-linking agents was researched; meanwhile, the effect of plasticizer and reinforcing agent on the mechanical properties of the material was studied. To obtain the best properties of neutral silicone glass sealant, the recipe should be taken further efforts to optimize.

A isoporous brominated poly (phenylene oxide) (BPPO) microfiltration membrane system, fabricated by figure breath method, was demonstrated for the effective removal of impurity from contaminated water. The water permeation flux of BPPO membrane is higher. Such ordered isoporous membranes can also be applied in other size-based separation systems, enabling new opportunities in bioseparation and biosensors.

In this article, we creatively incorporated Ag–SiO2 core–shell nanoparticles (Ag–SiO2-NPs) into photo-/electro-active layers consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in polymer solar cells (PSCs). By this way, the photovoltaic performances of PSCs have largely been enhanced. The results demonstrate a 13.50% enhancement of short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc) and a 15.11% enhancement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) as the weight percent of doped Ag–SiO2-NPs is 1.5 wt% in the active layer of corresponding PSCs. We attribute the enhancement to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Ag–SiO2-NPs, by which the incident light harvesting is enlarged. Whereas, the incorporated bare Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) in the active layer of PSCs decreases the PCE, which is ascribed to the quenching of excitons at the surface of Ag-NPs and the poor dispersion of Ag-NPs in the active layer. Importantly, this work provides a new approach to enhance the performance of PSCs via the LSPR effect of Ag–SiO2-NPs other than via non-circular nanometals.

Currently, the fabrication of electrodes for microchip electrophoresis (ME) is rather complex. Usually, the electrodes have not been integrated completely with ME, which often lead to poor efficiency and reproducibility for the surface contamination. In this paper, we design and develop a new method for miniaturization of electrodes for ME. And the integrated microelectrodes show good detection performance for the ME analysis of ascorbic acid.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by wet spinning method using lithium chloride (LiCl) or calcium chloride (CaCl2) as porogen and dimethyl formamide (DMF) as solvent. The effects of PAN/LiCl and PAN/CaCl2 ratios in the spinning solution on the permeation properties of the formed membranes were studied.

The recipe of silicone glass sealant was studied, and the influence of crosslinking agent, plasticiser and reinforcing agent on its property was investigated. After compositing the glass sealant with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticles, a novel superhydrophobic silicone/PTFE glass sealant was obtained with contact angle of water more than 150o, and the effect of PTFE nanoparticles on superhydrophobicity of the nanocomposites was researched.

Monodisperse polyethylene glycol (PEG) microspheres were prepared using microfluidic chips coupled with photopolymerization technique. Based on sheath effect in T-junction microfluidic channels, dispersions of uniform PEG prepolymer droplets in silicon oil are formed. The diameters of the formed PEG prepolymer droplets in the dispersions were controlled very well by altering the relative sheath/sample flow rate ratios. After photopolymerization under UV exposure, the uniform PEG prepolymer droplets isolated by silicon oil underwent photocrosslinking and became monodisperse PEG microspheres.

Monodisperse polystyrene nanospheres with different diameters and functional groups were synthesized by soap-free emulsion polymerization. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was applied to the separation and detection of the nanospheres. Baseline separation was achieved for carboxylic and sulfonic functionalized colloids due to their difference in diameter and surface charge. The electrophoretic mobility of the sulfonic functionalized colloids decreased with increasing of particle size, and three sulfonic functionalized nanosphere samples with diameters of 190, 250 and 330 nm were separated successfully by CE.

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) modified poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by wet spinning method using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as pore-foaming agent and mixture of dimethyl formamide (DMF)/methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as solvent. The effects of PVDF, PMMA, PVP, and solvent ratios in the spinning solution on the permeation properties of the formed membranes were studied. The results showed that the performance of the membrane is the best with a pure water flux of 117 L/m2•h and rejection rate of 82% to bovine serum albumin (BSA), when the concentrations of PVDF, PMMA, PVP, DMF and MEK are 17, 3, 3, 60 and 17 wt%, respectively.

Liquid marbles are hydrophilic liquid drops encapsulated with hydrophobic powder materials. The liquid marbles have potential applications in drug delivery, water purification, ferrofluidic device and sensor microfabrication. In this work, a new type of polytetrafluoroethylene nanoparticle (PTFE-NP) liquid marbles were fabricated successfully using mixing method. The morphology of the formed liquid marbles was characterized under different conditions, and novel properties of the PTFE-NP liquid marbles were investigated and demonstrated.

In this work, the ternary copolymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and quadruple copolymer of MST-PEG (MSTE) were synthesized by sol-gel method. And their trivalent terbium complexes were prepared through hybrid strategy. FT-IR data confirmed that the cross-linked network of either ternary copolymer MST or quadruple copolymer of MSTE was formed by Si‒O‒Si, Si‒O‒C and Si-C bonding with molecular framework of poly (MMA-MSPMA). Trivalent terbium cooperates with ether characteristic groups of Si‒O‒Si, Si‒O‒C and C‒O‒C. The thermal behavior study of these samples by DSC indicated that MST, MST-Tb3+ and MSTE-Tb3+ behave a critical transition temperature (TTr) to accelerate the rate of sol-gel reactions while the PEG in MSTE- Tb3+ mitigates acceleration. The terbium-containing samples with or without PEG can emit sharp fluorescence at 548 nm and the fluorescent strength increases with the content of PEG. However, the emitting peak at 417 nm shows a maximum value at critical concentration of PEG. Based on the obser...

Nanocomposites of polyphenylene oxide (PPO) that are obtained through modification of PPO have been used for a few decades and are well established among engineering plastics. Modified PPO (MPPO) is known for its higher heat resistance, higher thermal and dimensional stability, better gas permeability, and lower water absorption. Because of these attractive performances, the research on PPO nanocomposites has surprisingly blossomed during recent decades, and many practical materials based on MPPO with potential applications in gas separation and in automotive and battery industries have been generated. In this chapter, we give a systematic, balanced, and comprehensive summary of the main aspects of these nanocomposites with PPO related to its synthesis methodologies, filler–polymer compatiblization, thermal and dimensional stability, phase and surface morphology, and its applications in different areas.

Stable, ultrathin DNA micropatterns were fabricated from photosensitive polymer diazoresin (DR) through a self-assembly technique. The micropatterns were achieved on LBL ultrathin film after UV exposure through a photomask. The patterns were characterized systematically with scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. All of the results indicate that the combined LBL self-assembly and photolithography technique is a promising method for constructing stable, well-defined micropatterns with a nanoscale thickness.