Polydimethylsiloxane Substrates for passive UHFRFID Sensors

PDMS has previously shown to be a suitable substrate for UHF-RFID strain sensor tags due to their elastomer characteristics. However, PDMS has further properties such as polymer swelling which could be utilized in gas sensing. Macroporous PDMS sponges have been proposed as suitable substrates for passive gas sensors. Porous sponges were fabricated using sugar templates and their absorption capacity was investigated along with standard PDMS elastomers. Possible applications could include food package and air quality monitoring

Skin-Mounted RFID Sensing Tattoos for Assistive Technologies

UHF RFID technology is presented that can facilitate new passive assistive technologies. Tongue control for human computer interfaces is first discussed where a tag is attached to the hard palate of the mouth and the tag turn-on power is observed to vary in response to tongue proximity. Secondly, a stretchable tag is fabricated from Lycra fabric that contains conducting silver fibres. The application of strain to the elastic tag again causes the required power at the reader to activate the tag to vary in proportion. This elastic tag is proposed as a temporary skin mounted strain gauge that could detect muscle twitch in the face or neck of an otherwise physically incapacitated person. Either design might be applied to the steering function of a powered wheelchair, or to facilitate the control of a computer mouse. Better than 3dB isolation is achieved in the tongue switching case and approximately 0.25dBm per percentage stretch is observed for the strain gauge

Swell and Destroy: A Metal–Organic Framework-Containing Polymer Sponge That Immobilizes and Catalytically Degrades Nerve Agents

Organophosphorus chemical warfare agents function as potent neurotoxins. Whilst the destruction of nerve agents is most readily achieved by hydrolysis, their storage and transport are hazardous and lethal in milligram doses, with any spillage resulting in fatalities. Furthermore, current decontamination and remediation measures are limited by a need for stoichiometric reagents, solvents, and buffered solutions, complicating the process for the treatment of bulk contaminants. Herein, we report a composite polymer material capable of rendering bulk VX unusable by immobilization within a porous polymer until a metal–organic framework (MOF) catalyst fully hydrolyzes the neurotoxin. This is an all-in-one capability that minimizes the use of multiple reagents, facilitated by a porous high internal phase emulsion-based polystyrene monolith housing an active zirconia MOF catalyst (MOF-808); the porous polymer absorbs and immobilizes the liquid agents, while the MOF enables hydrolysis. The dichotomous hierarchy of porous materials facilitates the containment and rapid hydrolysis of VX (>80% degradation in 8 h) in the presence of excess H2O. This composite can further enable the hydrolysis of neat VX with reliance on ambient humidity (>95% in 11 days). Potentially, 4.5 kg of the composite can absorb, immobilize, and degrade the contents of a standard chemical drum/barrel (208 L, 55 gal) of the chemical warfare agent (CWA). We believe that this composite is the first example of what will be the go-to approach for CWA immobilization and degradation in the future. Furthermore, we believe that this demonstration of a catalytically reusable absorbent sponge provides a signpost for the development of similar materials where immobilization of a substrate in a catalytically active environment is desirable

The polymerisation of oligo(ethylene glycol methyl ether) methacrylate from a multifunctional poly(ethylene imine) derived amide: a stabiliser for the synthesis and dispersion of magnetite nanoparticles

A facile synthetic route to poly(ethylene imine)-graft-poly(oligo(ethylene glycol methyl ether)) (PEI-graft-POEGMA) functionalised superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles is described. The polymerisation of OEGMA from a model molecular amide demonstrated the feasibility of POEGMA synthesis under mild ATRP conditions (20 °C in ethanol) albeit with low initiator efficiencies. DFT studies suggest that the amide functionality is intrinsically of lower activity than ester functional monomers and initiators for atom transfer polymerisation (ATRP) as a consequence of higher bond dissociation energies and bond dissociation free energies (BDFE). However these studies further highlighted that use of an appropriate solvent could reduce the free energy of dissociation thereby reducing the relative difference in BDFE between the ester and amide groups. A commercial branched PEI sample was functionalised by reaction with 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoyl bromide giving an amide macroinitiator suitable for the atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) of oligo(ethylene glycol methyl ether) methacrylate. The resulting PEI-graft-POEGMA copolymers were characterised by SEC, FT-IR and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. PEI-graft-POEGMA coated magnetite nanoparticles were synthesised by a basic aqueous co-precipitation method and were characterised by transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and vibrating sample magnetometry and dynamic light scattering. These copolymer coated magnetite nanoparticles were demonstrated to be effectively stabilised in an aqueous medium. Overall the particle sizes and magnetic and physical properties of the coated samples were similar to those of uncoated samples

Theory of Dynamic Stripe Induced Superconductivity

Since the recently reported giant isotope effect on T* [1] could be consistently explained within an anharmonic spin-charge-phonon interaction model, we consider here the role played by stripe formation on the superconducting properties within the same model. This is a two-component scenario and we recast its basic elements into a BCS effective Hamiltonian. We find that the stripe formation is vital to high-Tc superconductivity since it provides the glue between the two components to enhance Tc to the unexpectedly large values observed experimentally.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Inhibiting the Thermal Gelation of Copolymer Stabilized Nonaqueous Dispersions and the Synthesis of Full Color PMMA Particles

Polymeric particle dispersions have numerous potential applications; currently one of the most relevant is their use as inks in electrophoretic displays. These colloidal particles are synthesized from the appropriate monomer using nonaqueous dispersion (NAD) polymerization in a nonpolar solvent, which requires a stabilizer to control particle size and morphology. We have previously reported the facile synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-poly(octadecyl acrylate) (PMMA-b-PODA) by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and its use in the NAD polymerization of MMA in hexane/dodecane solvent mixtures. Here we report the synthesis of monodisperse PMMA particles in dodecane following a standard “industrial” procedure using these PMMA-b-PODA stabilizers. However, it was observed that the particle suspensions solidified when they were left at temperatures below ?18 °C yet redispersed upon being heated. Differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic light scattering, and rheological studies demonstrated that this thermoresponsive behavior was due to a liquid–gel transition occurring at 17.5 °C as a consequence of the upper critical solution temperature of PODA in dodecane being traversed. Consequently, new copolymers were synthesized by ATRP with an ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA) co-monomer incorporated into the lyophilic (dodecane compatible) block. Dispersions stabilized by these PMMA-b-P(ODA-co-EHA) polymers with high EHA contents exhibited lower gelation temperatures because of the greater solvent compatibility with dodecane. The use of a PMMA65-b-(ODA10-co-EHA45) copolymer stabilizer (with the highest EHA content) gave PMMA dispersions that showed no gelation down to 4 °C and monodisperse cross-linked PMMA particles containing organic dyes (cyan, magenta, red, and black) giving colored particles across the size range of approximately 100–1300 nm

Controlling Internal Pore Sizes in Bicontinuous Polymeric Nanospheres

Complex polymeric nanospheres were formed in water from comb-like amphiphilic block copolymers. Their internal morphology was determined by three-dimensional cryo-electron tomographic analysis. Varying the polymer molecular weight (MW) and the hydrophilic block weight content allowed for fine control over the internal structure. Construction of a partial phase diagram allowed us to determine the criteria for the formation of bicontinuous polymer nanosphere (BPN), namely for copolymers with MW of up to 17?kDa and hydrophilic weight fractions of ?0.25; and varying the organic solvent to water ratio used in their preparation allowed for control over nanosphere diameters from 70 to 460?nm. Significantly, altering the block copolymer hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance enabled control of the internal pore diameter of the BPNs from 10 to 19?nm

Surface induced selective delamination of amphiphilic ABA block copolymer thin films

This is the result of an ongoing collaboration with Dr. N. Sommerdijk’s Biomaterials group at the University of Eindhoven (the Netherlands) and illustrates the close collaboration that exists in pursuing the design and application of novel polymeric materials between the two groups. This details work on a physical phenomenon (selective delamination) and key materials (amphiphilic block copolymers) that have subsequently been applied in the design of novel biomaterials. These results have appeared in a larger body of work including Advanced Materials, Angewandtie Chemie International Edition and the Journal of Materials Chemistry

Passive UHF RFID Voice Prosthesis Mounted Sensor for Microbial Growth Detection

Capacitive loading due to human tissue can lead to low efficiency for implantable Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antennas. The presented passive UHF antenna sensor provides read distances above 0.5 meters (within a body phantom) by utilizing a convoluted half-wave dipole design. It is able to detect simulated early to mature Candida albicans biofilm growth when mounted upon a voice prosthesis (up to a 30 μm biofilm thickness). Depending on the propagation frequency of interest, as early 4-hour growth (5 to 10 μm biofilm thickness) equivalent could be detected and before any device failure could occur due to the colonization. This was accomplished by utilising thin layers of polyurethane to decouple the saliva from the presented UHF sensor (biofilm growth is known to increase layer hydrophobicity). This presented sensor has better functionality within the US UHF frequency band as it detects changes above 5 μm. If there is a need for implantation within additional tissues with variable dielectric properties, a shunt capacitance of 2.6 pF could allow the system functionality within the permittivity range of 21 to 58. Allowing for immediate medical intervention before medical prosthesis failur