A protocol for measuring the interaction, deformation and adhesion of soft polymeric substrates with the atomic force microscope (AFM) is described. The technique obtains the photodiode response of the AFM (constant compliance factor) by independent calibration against the rigid substrate adjacent to the deformable particle or patchy film. The zero of separation is taken as the end-point of the...

Polymer nanocomposite films (PNCFs) with extremely high concentrations of nanoparticles are important components in energy storage and conversion devices and also find use as protective coatings in various applications. PNCFs with high loadings of nanoparticles, however, are difficult to prepare because of the poor processability of polymer-nanoparticle mixtures with high concentrations of nano...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different covers (oil, plastic film, perforated polystyrene float, peat and zeolites) on slurry settling characteristics and ammonia emission during storage and following surface application in the field. Laboratory trials were carried out for 15 days using a pilot scale device. Samples of 5 kg slurry were used. At the end of the storage peri...

Thin films of fluids are playing a leading role in countless natural and industrial processes. Here we study the stability and dewetting dynamics of viscoelastic polymer thin films. The dewetting of polystyrene close to the glass transition reveals unexpected features: asymmetric rims collecting the dewetted liquid and logarithmic growth laws that we explain by considering the nonlinear velocit...

Nano-composite films have been the subject of extensive work for developing the energy-storage efficiency of electrostatic capacitors. Factors such as polymer purity, nanoparticle size, and film morphology drastically affect the electrostatic efficiency of the dielectric material that forms the insulating film between the conductive electrodes of a capacitor. This in turn affects the energy sto...

A photocrosslinkable trehalose derivative carrying mesogenic groups was synthesized by esterification reactions. The derivative (TC-HBPHA) was synthesized by the reaction of partially cinnamoyl-modified trehalose (TC4) with 4-(4-hexyloxybenzoyloxy)phenoxy-6-oxohexanoic acid (HBPHA) as a mesogenic unit. TC-HBPHA showed a nematic liquid crystalline mesophase at a temperature range from 150 °C to ...

We have developed a sensitive experiment which allows the measurement of the growth of holes in thin freely standing polystyrene ~PS! films at elevated temperatures. In the experiment, a constant small pressure difference is applied and maintained across the freely standing film, and the formation and growth of holes is detected as a flow of air through the film. From measurements of freely sta...

Nanocomposites composed of diblock copolymer/ferroelectric nanoparticles were formed by selectively constraining ferroelectric nanoparticles (NPs) within diblock copolymer nanodomains via judicious surface modification of ferroelectric NPs. Ferroelectric barium titanate (BaTiO3) NPs with different sizes that are permanently capped with polystyrene chains (i.e., PS-functionalized BaTiO3NPs) were...

The microphase separation of block copolymer (BCP) thin films can afford a simple and cost-effective means to studying nanopattern surfaces, and especially the fabrication of nanocircuitry. However, because of complex interface effects and other complications, their 3D morphology, which is often critical for application, can be more complex than first thought. Here, we describe how emerging mic...