Poly(p-phenylene terephtalamide) (PPTA), a high-performance polymer with high modulus and good hydrophilicity, is often used as a reinforced material. However, due to its high crystallity, micro-phase separation often occurs in the blends. In this paper, PPTA/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) compatible blend solution was synthesized by in situ polycondensation. Blend ultra-filtration membrane w...

Nanometer films composed of model ternary blend of deuterated polystyrene (dPS), poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PVP) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were studied after spin-coating from a common solvent. Surface undulations and the distribution of phase-separated domains at the surface and in the bulk are closely related as revealed by atomic (AFM) and lateral (LFM) force microscopy. For the first...

Pseudo-splines form a family of subdivision schemes that provide a natural blend between interpolating schemes and approximating schemes, including the Dubuc-Deslauriers schemes and B-spline schemes. Using a generating function approach, we derive expressions for the symbols of the symmetric m-ary pseudo-spline subdivision schemes. We show that their masks have positive Fourier transform, makin...

The major components of the sex pheromone of Dioryctria abietivorella (Groté) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) were recently identified as (9 Z ,11 E )-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate (9 Z ,11 E -14:Ac) and a polyunsaturated, long-chain hydrocarbon (3 Z ,6 Z ,9 Z ,12 Z ,15 Z )-pentacosapentaene (C25 pentaene). The optimal ratio of these components and the role of potential minor components were not fully de...

We present a simple and intriguing device that generates highly circularly polarized white light. It comprises white polymer light-emitting diodes (WPLEDs) attached to a wideband cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) reflector with a wide photonic bandgap (PBG) covering the visible range. The degree of circular polarization realized is very high over the visible range. The wide PBG was realized by i...

– We consider microand macro-phase separation in blends of AB and BC flexible diblock copolymers. We show that, depending on architecture, a number of phase diagram topologies are possible. Microphase separation or macrophase separation can occur, and there are a variety of possible Lifshitz points. Because of the rich parameter space, Lifshitz points of multiple order are possible. We demonstr...

Miscibility is an important issue in biopolymer blends for analysis of the behavior of polymer pairs through the detection of phase separation and improvement of the mechanical and physical properties of the blend. This study presents the formulation of a stable and one-phase mixture of collagen and regenerated silk fibroin (RSF), with the highest miscibility ratio between these two macromolecu...

Three cyanate ester monomer or oligomer species: 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)propane 1, 1-1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)ethane (2), and the oligomeric phenolic cyanate (Primaset TM PT30) (3), are blended in various ratios with bis(4-maleimidophenyl)methane, (4), to form binary and ternary mixtures (11 in total) and cured, in the absence of catalysts (3 K/min to 150 °C + 1 hour; 3 K/min to 200 °C + 3 hours)...