Nanodielectics (A "Universal" Panacea for Solving All Electrical Insualation Problems?)

This text summarizes the keynote presentation that is based on the full-length paper of the same title. Dr. Fréchette's oral presentation should not be seen as a summary of the “Brainstorm paper” but a glance at some major accomplishments, hinrances and still remaining questions relative to nanodielectrics. Are nanodielectrics a “universal” panacea? The answer to that question is no - but they've got a lot of potential

On the toughness of thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites as assessed by the essential work of fracture (EWF) approach

The essential work of fracture (EWF) approach is widely used to determine the plane stress fracture toughness of highly ductile polymers and related systems. To shed light on how the toughness is affected by nanofillers EWF-suited model polymers, viz. amorphous copolyester and polypropylene block copolymer were modified by multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT), graphene (GR), boehmite alumina (BA), and organoclay (MMT) in 1 wt% each. EWF tests were performed on deeply double-edge notched tensile-loaded specimens under quasistatic loading conditions. Data reduction occurred by energy partitioning between yielding and necking/tearing. The EWF prerequisites were not met with the nanocomposites containing MWCNT and GR by contrast to those with MMT and BA. Accordingly, the toughness of nanocomposites with homogeneously dispersed and low aspect ratio fillers may be properly determined using the EWF. Results indicated that incorporation of nanofillers may result in an adverse effect between the specific essential and non-essential EWF parameters

Equations of state for polyamide-6 and its nanocomposites. 1. Fundamentals and the matrix

The pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) surface of polyamide-6 (PA-6) was determined in the range of temperature T = 300\u2013600 K and pressure P = 0.1\u2013190 MPa. The data were analyzed separately for the molten and the noncrystalline phase using the Simha-Somcynsky (S-S) equation of state (eos) based on the cell-hole theory. At Tg(P) 64 T 64 Tm(P), the \u2018\u2018solid\u2019\u2019 state comprises liquid phase with crystals dispersed in it. The PVT behavior of the latter phase was described using Midha-Nanda-Simha- Jain (MNSJ) eos based on the cell theory. The data fitting to these two theories yielded two sets of the Lennard-Jones interaction parameters: e*(S-S) = 34.0 \ub1 0.3 and e*(MNSJ) = 22.8 \ub1 0.3 kJ/mol, whereas v*(S-S) = 32.00 \ub1 0.1 and v*(MNSJ) = 27.9 \ub1 0.2 mL/mol. The raw PVT data were numerically differentiated to obtain the thermal expansion and compressibility coefficients, \u3b1 and \u39a, respectively. At constant P, j followed the same dependence on both sides of the melting zone near Tm. By contrast, \u3b1 = \u3b1(T) dependencies were dramatically different for the solid and molten phase; at T < Tm, \u3b1 linearly increased with increasing T, then within the melting zone, its value step-wise decreased, to slowly increase at higher temperatures.NRC publication: Ye

Dielectric Properties of Polypropylene Containing Nano-Particles

Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Microphase Separation Induced by Differential Interactions in Diblock Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends

Phase behavior of diblock copolymer/homopolymer blends (AB/C) is investigated theoretically. The study focuses on a special case where all three binary pairs, A/B, B/C and C/A, are miscible. Despite the miscibility of the binary pairs, a closed-loop immiscible region exists in the AB/C blends when the A/C and B/C pair interactions are sufficiently different. Inside the closed-loop, the system undergoes microphase separation, exhibiting different ordered structures. This phenomenon is enhanced when the homopolymer (C) interacts more strongly to one of the blocks (A or B).Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Chem. Phy

Fluid-bicontinuous gels stabilized by interfacial colloids: low and high molecular weight fluids

Carefully tuned composite materials can have properties wholly unlike their separate constituents. We review the development of one example: colloid-stabilized emulsions with bicontinuous liquid domains. These non-equilibrium structures resemble the sponge mesophase of surfactants; however, in the colloid-stabilized case the interface separating the liquid domains is itself semi-solid. The arrangement of domains is created by arresting liquid-liquid phase separation via spinodal decomposition. Dispersed colloids exhibiting partial wettability become trapped on the newly created interface and jam together as the domains coarsen. Similar structures have been created in polymer blends stabilized using either interfacial nanoparticles or clay platelets. Here it has been possible to create the domain arrangement either by phase separation or by direct mixing of the melt. The low molecular-weight liquid and polymer based structures have been developed independently and much can be learnt by comparing the two.Comment: Topical Review, 17 pages, 10 figure

Heterogeneous Nucleation of Protein Crystals on Fluorinated Layered Silicate

Here, we describe an improved system for protein crystallization based on heterogeneous nucleation using fluorinated layered silicate. In addition, we also investigated the mechanism of nucleation on the silicate surface. Crystallization of lysozyme using silicates with different chemical compositions indicated that fluorosilicates promoted nucleation whereas the silicates without fluorine did not. The use of synthesized saponites for lysozyme crystallization confirmed that the substitution of hydroxyl groups contained in the lamellae structure for fluorine atoms is responsible for the nucleation-inducing property of the nucleant. Crystallization of twelve proteins with a wide range of pI values revealed that the nucleation promoting effect of the saponites tended to increase with increased substitution rate. Furthermore, the saponite with the highest fluorine content promoted nucleation in all the test proteins regardless of their overall net charge. Adsorption experiments of proteins on the saponites confirmed that the density of adsorbed molecules increased according to the substitution rate, thereby explaining the heterogeneous nucleation on the silicate surface