WinHPC System Configuration | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

), login node (WinHPC02) and worker/compute nodes. The head node acts as the file, DNS, and license server . The login node is where the users connect to access the cluster. Node 03 has dual Intel Xeon E5530 2008 R2 HPC Edition. The login node, WinHPC02, is where users login to access the system. This is where

HPC Test Results Analysis with Splunk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, Jennifer Kathleen [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-04-21

This PowerPoint presentation details Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) outstanding computing division. LANL’s high performance computing (HPC) aims at having the first platform large and fast enough to accommodate resolved 3D calculations for full scale end-to-end calculations. Strategies for managing LANL’s HPC division are also discussed.

Actinic-radiation curable polymers prepared from a reactive polymer, halogenated cyclic anhydride and glycidyl ester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pastor, S.D.

1979-01-01

A novel class of photosensitive polymers are disclosed which are prepared by the reaction, preferably in the presence of a catalyst, of a reactive polymer, a halogenated cyclic anhydride and glycidyl ester of an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid. These polymers are capable of undergoing vinyl-type polymerization when exposed to actinic radiation

HPC s Pivot to Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parete-Koon, Suzanne [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Caldwell, Blake A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Canon, Richard Shane [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Dart, Eli [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Sciences Network (ESnet); Hick, Jason [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Hill, Jason J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Layton, Chris [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Pelfrey, Daniel S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Shipman, Galen M [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Skinner, David [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Nam, Hai Ah [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Wells, Jack C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Zurawski, Jason [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Sciences Network (ESnet)

2014-05-03

Computer centers such as NERSC and OLCF have traditionally focused on delivering computational capability that enables breakthrough innovation in a wide range of science domains. Accessing that computational power has required services and tools to move the data from input and output to computation and storage. A ''pivot to data'' is occurring in HPC. Data transfer tools and services that were previously peripheral are becoming integral to scientific workflows. Emerging requirements from high-bandwidth detectors, high-throughput screening techniques, highly concur- rent simulations, increased focus on uncertainty quantification, and an emerging open-data policy posture toward published research are among the data-drivers shaping the networks, file systems, databases, and overall compute and data environment. In this paper we explain the pivot to data in HPC through user requirements and the changing resources provided by HPC with particular focus on data movement. For WAN data transfers we present the results of a study of network performance between centers.

Preparation and properties of the magnetic absorbent polymer via the chemical transformation process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Shengyu, E-mail: liusytyut@sina.com [Department of Mineral Processing, College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Key Laboratory of In-situ Property-improving Mining of Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Zhang, Suhong, E-mail: zhangsh04@sina.com [Department of Mineral Processing, College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Guo, Jianying; Wen, Jing; Qiao, Yan [Department of Mineral Processing, College of Mining Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China)

2017-01-15

Magnetic polyacrylic acid sodium polymer (MPAAS) was prepared by chemical transformation method. Key parameters were investigated in the synthesis process of the magnetic polymer and an optimum preparation condition was gained. The structure of the magnetic polymer was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrosocopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Magnetic property of the magnetic polymer was measured by the magnet and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Both the swelling ratio and kinetics and the water retention ratio and kinetics were investigated. Based on the results, it can be gained that both swelling rate and equilibrium swelling rate were lowered after magnetization while the water retention ability of the magnetic polymer is stronger than that of the polymer. - Highlights: • The preparation mechanism of the magnetic polymer was proposed. • The magnetic property of the magnetic polymer was related to reaction conditions. • Swelling ratio and kinetics of polymer and magnetic polymer were studied. • Water retention ratio and kinetics of polymer and magnetic polymer were studied.

Preparation and properties of the magnetic absorbent polymer via the chemical transformation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Shengyu; Zhang, Suhong; Guo, Jianying; Wen, Jing; Qiao, Yan

2017-01-01

Magnetic polyacrylic acid sodium polymer (MPAAS) was prepared by chemical transformation method. Key parameters were investigated in the synthesis process of the magnetic polymer and an optimum preparation condition was gained. The structure of the magnetic polymer was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrosocopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Magnetic property of the magnetic polymer was measured by the magnet and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Both the swelling ratio and kinetics and the water retention ratio and kinetics were investigated. Based on the results, it can be gained that both swelling rate and equilibrium swelling rate were lowered after magnetization while the water retention ability of the magnetic polymer is stronger than that of the polymer. - Highlights: • The preparation mechanism of the magnetic polymer was proposed. • The magnetic property of the magnetic polymer was related to reaction conditions. • Swelling ratio and kinetics of polymer and magnetic polymer were studied. • Water retention ratio and kinetics of polymer and magnetic polymer were studied.

ATLAS utilisation of the Czech national HPC center

CERN Document Server

Svatos, Michal; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The Czech national HPC center IT4Innovations located in Ostrava provides two HPC systems, Anselm and Salomon. The Salomon HPC is amongst the hundred most powerful supercomputers on Earth since its commissioning in 2015. Both clusters were tested for usage by the ATLAS experiment for running simulation jobs. Several thousand core hours were allocated to the project for tests, but the main aim is to use free resources waiting for large parallel jobs of other users. Multiple strategies for ATLAS job execution were tested on the Salomon and Anselm HPCs. The solution described herein is based on the ATLAS experience with other HPC sites. ARC Compute Element (ARC-CE) installed at the grid site in Prague is used for job submission to Salomon. The ATLAS production system submits jobs to the ARC-CE via ARC Control Tower (aCT). The ARC-CE processes job requirements from aCT and creates a script for a batch system which is then executed via ssh. Sshfs is used to share scripts and input files between the site and the HPC...

Electrocatalysts using porous polymers and method of preparation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Di-Jia; Yuan, Shengwen; Goenaga, Gabriel A.

2016-08-02

A method of producing an electrocatalyst article using porous polymers. The method creates a porous polymer designed to receive transition metal groups disposed at ligation sites and activating the transition metals to form an electrocatalyst which can be used in a fuel cell. Electrocatalysts prepared by this method are also provided. A fuel cell which includes the electrocatalyst is also provided.

Electrocatalysts using porous polymers and method of preparation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Di-Jia; Yuan, Shengwen; Goenaga, Gabriel A.

2015-04-21

A method of producing an electrocatalyst article using porous polymers. The method creates a porous polymer designed to receive transition metal groups disposed at ligation sites and activating the transition metals to form an electrocatalyst which can be used in a fuel cell. Electrocatalysts prepared by this method are also provided. A fuel cell which includes the electrocatalyst is also provided.

WinHPC System Policies | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

) cluster. The WinHPC login node (WinHPC02) is intended to allow users with approved access to connect to also be run from the login node. There is a single login node for this system so any applications

One-step preparation of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles in polymer matrix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyutakov, O., E-mail: lyutakoo@vscht.cz; Kalachyova, Y. [Institute of Chemical Technology, Department of Solid State Engineering (Czech Republic); Solovyev, A. [Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the ASCR (Czech Republic); Vytykacova, S. [Institute of Chemical Technology, Department of Glass and Ceramics (Czech Republic); Svanda, J.; Siegel, J. [Institute of Chemical Technology, Department of Solid State Engineering (Czech Republic); Ulbrich, P. [Institute of Chemical Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology (Czech Republic); Svorcik, V. [Institute of Chemical Technology, Department of Solid State Engineering (Czech Republic)

2015-03-15

Simple one-step procedure for in situ preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the polymer thin films is described. Nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by reaction of N-methyl pyrrolidone with silver salt in semi-dry polymer film and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, XPS, and UV–Vis spectroscopy techniques. Direct synthesis of NPs in polymer has several advantages; even though it avoids time-consuming NPs mixing with polymer matrix, uniform silver distribution in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) films is achieved without necessity of additional stabilization. The influence of the silver concentration, reaction temperature and time on reaction conversion rate, and the size and size-distribution of the AgNPs was investigated. Polymer films doped with AgNPs were tested for their antibacterial activity on Gram-negative bacteria. Antimicrobial properties of AgNPs/PMMA films were found to be depended on NPs concentration, their size and distribution. Proposed one-step synthesis of functional polymer containing AgNPs is environmentally friendly, experimentally simple and extremely quick. It opens up new possibilities in development of antimicrobial coatings with medical and sanitation applications.

One-step preparation of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles in polymer matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyutakov, O.; Kalachyova, Y.; Solovyev, A.; Vytykacova, S.; Svanda, J.; Siegel, J.; Ulbrich, P.; Svorcik, V.

2015-01-01

Simple one-step procedure for in situ preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the polymer thin films is described. Nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by reaction of N-methyl pyrrolidone with silver salt in semi-dry polymer film and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, XPS, and UV–Vis spectroscopy techniques. Direct synthesis of NPs in polymer has several advantages; even though it avoids time-consuming NPs mixing with polymer matrix, uniform silver distribution in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) films is achieved without necessity of additional stabilization. The influence of the silver concentration, reaction temperature and time on reaction conversion rate, and the size and size-distribution of the AgNPs was investigated. Polymer films doped with AgNPs were tested for their antibacterial activity on Gram-negative bacteria. Antimicrobial properties of AgNPs/PMMA films were found to be depended on NPs concentration, their size and distribution. Proposed one-step synthesis of functional polymer containing AgNPs is environmentally friendly, experimentally simple and extremely quick. It opens up new possibilities in development of antimicrobial coatings with medical and sanitation applications

The clinical phenotype of hereditary versus sporadic prostate cancer: HPC definition revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cremers, R.G.H.M.; Aben, K.K.H.; Oort, I.M. van; Sedelaar, J.P.M.; Vasen, H.F.A.; Vermeulen, S.H.; Kiemeney, L.A.L.M.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The definition of hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) is based on family history and age at onset. Intuitively, HPC is a serious subtype of prostate cancer but there are only limited data on the clinical phenotype of HPC. Here, we aimed to compare the prognosis of HPC to the sporadic form

Modular HPC I/O characterization with Darshan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snyder, Shane; Carns, Philip; Harms, Kevin; Ross, Robert; Lockwood, Glenn K.; Wright, Nicholas J.

2016-11-13

Contemporary high-performance computing (HPC) applications encompass a broad range of distinct I/O strategies and are often executed on a number of different compute platforms in their lifetime. These large-scale HPC platforms employ increasingly complex I/O subsystems to provide a suitable level of I/O performance to applications. Tuning I/O workloads for such a system is nontrivial, and the results generally are not portable to other HPC systems. I/O profiling tools can help to address this challenge, but most existing tools only instrument specific components within the I/O subsystem that provide a limited perspective on I/O performance. The increasing diversity of scientific applications and computing platforms calls for greater flexibililty and scope in I/O characterization.

Preparing Methods and Its Influencing Factors about Nanoparticles Based on Dendritic Polymer

OpenAIRE

Zhang Jianwei; Li Jeff

2017-01-01

Based on the properties, structure and application of dendritic polymer, this paper analysed the methods of the preparation of nanoparticles using dendritic polymer, detailed preparation process, technical parameters and application effect about a single metal nanoparticles, bimetallic nanoparticles, sulfide and halide nanoparticles. The influencing factors of the preparation about nanoparticles were discussed, including the molecular algebra, the molar ratio of the metal ions to the dendriti...

A novel approach in preparing polymer/nano-CaCO3 composites

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhengying LIU; Runze YU; Mingbo YANG; Jianmin FENG; Wei YANG; Bo YIN

2008-01-01

An novel compounding process using nano-CaCO3 aqueous suspension for preparing polymer/ nano-CaCO3 composites with nanoparticles dispersed at the nanoscale is reported. The process is called the mild mixing method. In this method, the pre-dispersed nano-particle suspensions are blended with melting polymers in a weak shearing field using an extruder, followed by removing the water from the vent. The four typical poly-meric nanocomposites were prepared by mild mixing method. The dispersion of nano-CaCO3 in the matrix of the polymer at the nanoscale was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The molecular weights of polycarbonate (PC) and its nanocomposite showed that the degradation had not occurred during the mild mixing processing. The mechanical properties of the composite with 1.5 wt-% nano-CaCO3 improve slightly. It proved that this approach is suitable for the preparation of nano-composites based on both polar and non-polar polymers.

Big Data and HPC: A Happy Marriage

KAUST Repository

Mehmood, Rashid

2016-01-25

International Data Corporation (IDC) defines Big Data technologies as “a new generation of technologies and architectures, designed to economically extract value from very large volumes of a wide variety of data produced every day, by enabling high velocity capture, discovery, and/or analysis”. High Performance Computing (HPC) most generally refers to “the practice of aggregating computing power in a way that delivers much higher performance than one could get out of a typical desktop computer or workstation in order to solve large problems in science, engineering, or business”. Big data platforms are built primarily considering the economics and capacity of the system for dealing with the 4V characteristics of data. HPC traditionally has been more focussed on the speed of digesting (computing) the data. For these reasons, the two domains (HPC and Big Data) have developed their own paradigms and technologies. However, recently, these two have grown fond of each other. HPC technologies are needed by Big Data to deal with the ever increasing Vs of data in order to forecast and extract insights from existing and new domains, faster, and with greater accuracy. Increasingly more data is being produced by scientific experiments from areas such as bioscience, physics, and climate, and therefore, HPC needs to adopt data-driven paradigms. Moreover, there are synergies between them with unimaginable potential for developing new computing paradigms, solving long-standing grand challenges, and making new explorations and discoveries. Therefore, they must get married to each other. In this talk, we will trace the HPC and big data landscapes through time including their respective technologies, paradigms and major applications areas. Subsequently, we will present the factors that are driving the convergence of the two technologies, the synergies between them, as well as the benefits of their convergence to the biosciences field. The opportunities and challenges of the

Process for the preparation of a vinylidene chloride polymer composite

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2013-01-01

Process for the preparation of a vinylidene chloride polymer composite comprising a solid particulate encapsulated in the vinylidene chloride polymer. The process comprises providing a dispersion of a solid particulate material in a liquid phase, said dispersion comprising a RAFT/MADIX agent;

Preparation and rheological behavior of polymer-modified asphalts

Science.gov (United States)

Yousefi, Ali Akbar

1999-09-01

Different materials and methods were used to prepare and stabilize polymer-modified asphalts. Addition of thermoplastic elastomers improved some technically important properties of asphalt. Due to inherent factors like large density difference between asphalt and polyethylene, many physical methods in which the structure of asphalt is unchanged, failed to stabilize this system. The effect of addition of copolymers and a pyrolytic oil residue derived from used tire rubber were also studied and found to be ineffective on the storage stability of the polymer-asphalt emulsions while high and moderate temperature properties of the asphalt were found to be improved. Finally, the technique of catalytic grafting of polymer on the surface of high-density particles (e.g. carbon black) was used to balance the large density difference between asphalt and polymer. The resulting polymer-asphalts were stable at high temperatures and showed enhanced properties at low and high temperatures.

Preparation and characterization of conjugated polymers made by postpolymerization reactions of alternating polyketones.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Chen; Guironnet, Damien; Barborak, James; Brookhart, Maurice

2011-06-29

Conjugated polymers possessing a poly(2,5-dimethylene-2,5-dihydrofuran) backbone were prepared through postpolymerization reaction of styrenic polyketones with bromine in one-pot reactions. The modification is proposed to proceed via condensation of two repeating units to form a fully characterized polymer with a poly(2,5-dimethylenetetrahydrofuran) backbone. Subsequent bromination and elimination of HBr yield a polymer with a fully conjugated carbon backbone. The new conjugated polymers were characterized by NMR, IR, and UV-vis spectroscopies and by CV. These polymers have strong absorption in the visible region, with the absorption peaks shifted to the NIR region upon doping with acids. The ease of the synthesis of the starting polyketone and of the modifications allows large-scale preparation of those conjugated polymers.

An Integrated Laboratory Approach toward the Preparation of Conductive Poly(phenylene vinylene) Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Knoerzer, Timm A.; Balaich, Gary J.; Miller, Hannah A.; Iacono, Scott T.

2014-01-01

Poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) represents an important class of conjugated, conducting polymers that have been readily exploited in the preparation of organic electronic materials. In this experiment, students prepare a PPV polymer via a facile multistep synthetic sequence with robust spectroscopic evaluation of synthetic intermediates and the…

Preparation of nanocrystalline iron-carbon materials as fillers for polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narkiewicz, U; Pelech, I; Roslaniec, Z; Kwiatkowska, M; Arabczyk, W

2007-01-01

This paper presents a method of preparing nanocrystalline iron-carbon materials which can be applied as fillers for polymers. Nanocrystalline iron samples were carburized either under ethylene/hydrogen mixture or under pure ethylene. Three kinds of samples were prepared: cementite/carbon (Fe 3 C/C), iron/cementite (Fe/Fe 3 C) and iron/carbon (Fe/C) ones. After carburization the samples were characterized using XRD and SEM methods. The obtained samples of iron-carbon nanoparticles were applied as fillers to polymer nanocomposites prepared in a polycondensation reaction (in situ) in a poly(ether-ester) matrix. The nanofillers were dispersed in monomers (diols) using a sonificator and a high-speed rotary stirrer. The obtained nanocomposites were characterized as regards their structure (SEM method) and mechanical behaviour

MARIANE: MApReduce Implementation Adapted for HPC Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fadika, Zacharia; Dede, Elif; Govindaraju, Madhusudhan; Ramakrishnan, Lavanya

2011-07-06

MapReduce is increasingly becoming a popular framework, and a potent programming model. The most popular open source implementation of MapReduce, Hadoop, is based on the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). However, as HDFS is not POSIX compliant, it cannot be fully leveraged by applications running on a majority of existing HPC environments such as Teragrid and NERSC. These HPC environments typicallysupport globally shared file systems such as NFS and GPFS. On such resourceful HPC infrastructures, the use of Hadoop not only creates compatibility issues, but also affects overall performance due to the added overhead of the HDFS. This paper not only presents a MapReduce implementation directly suitable for HPC environments, but also exposes the design choices for better performance gains in those settings. By leveraging inherent distributed file systems' functions, and abstracting them away from its MapReduce framework, MARIANE (MApReduce Implementation Adapted for HPC Environments) not only allows for the use of the model in an expanding number of HPCenvironments, but also allows for better performance in such settings. This paper shows the applicability and high performance of the MapReduce paradigm through MARIANE, an implementation designed for clustered and shared-disk file systems and as such not dedicated to a specific MapReduce solution. The paper identifies the components and trade-offs necessary for this model, and quantifies the performance gains exhibited by our approach in distributed environments over Apache Hadoop in a data intensive setting, on the Magellan testbed at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC).

Thermally Stable Bulk Heterojunction Prepared by Sequential Deposition of Nanostructured Polymer and Fullerene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heewon Hwang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A morphologically-stable polymer/fullerene heterojunction has been prepared by minimizing the intermixing between polymer and fullerene via sequential deposition (SqD of a polymer and a fullerene solution. A low crystalline conjugated polymer of PCPDTBT (poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl-4H-cyclopenta [2,1-b;3,4-b′]dithiophene-alt-4,7(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole] has been utilized for the polymer layer and PC71BM (phenyl-C71-butyric-acid-methyl ester for the fullerene layer, respectively. Firstly, a nanostructured PCPDTBT bottom layer was developed by utilizing various additives to increase the surface area of the polymer film. The PC71BM solution was prepared by dissolving it in the 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE, exhibiting a lower vapor pressure and slower diffusion into the polymer layer. The deposition of the PC71BM solution on the nanostructured PCPDTBT layer forms an inter-digitated bulk heterojunction (ID-BHJ with minimized intermixing. The organic photovoltaic (OPV device utilizing the ID-BHJ photoactive layer exhibits a highly reproducible solar cell performance. In spite of restricted intermixing between the PC71BM and the PCPDTBT, the efficiency of ID-BHJ OPVs (3.36% is comparable to that of OPVs (3.87% prepared by the conventional method (deposition of a blended solution of polymer:fullerene. The thermal stability of the ID-BHJ is superior to the bulk heterojunction (BHJ prepared by the conventional method. The ID-BHJ OPV maintains 70% of its initial efficiency after thermal stress application for twelve days at 80 °C, whereas the conventional BHJ OPV maintains only 40% of its initial efficiency.

Characteristics of porous polymer composite columns prepared by radiation cast-polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumakura, Minoru; Kaetsu, Isao; Asami, Kazuhiro; Suzuki, Shuichi

1989-01-01

Porous polymer composite columns having porous structure were prepared by radiation cast-polymerization of hydrophilic monomers at low temperature and their characteristics were studied. The porosity of the polymer increased with decreasing monomer concentration. The elution time of water in the polymer column increased with increasing monomer concentration and with decreasing irradiation temperature. The elution time was dependent on the degree of hydration of the polymer. The polymer with a degree of hydration of 0.2 to 0.4 gave the minimum elution time. The elution time decreased with the addition of porous inorganic substances. (author)

Development of technology for the large-scale preparation of 60Co polymer film source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Udhayakumar, J.; Pardeshi, G.S.; Gandhi, Shymala S.; Chakravarty, Rubel; Kumar, Manoj; Dash, Ashutosh; Venkatesh, Meera

2008-01-01

60 Co sources (∼37 kBq) in the form of a thin film are widely used in position identification of perforation in offshore oil-well explorations. This paper describes the large-scale preparation of such sources using a radioactive polymer containing 60 Co. 60 Co was extracted into chloroform containing 8-hydroxyquinoline. The chloroform layer was mixed with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer. A large film was prepared using the polymer solution containing the complex. The polymer film was then cut into circular sources, mounted on a source holder and supplied to various users

ISC High Performance 2016 International Workshops, ExaComm, E-MuCoCoS, HPC-IODC, IXPUG, IWOPH, P^3MA, VHPC, WOPSSS

CERN Document Server

Mohr, Bernd; Kunkel, Julian M

2016-01-01

This book constitutes revised selected papers from 7 workshops that were held in conjunction with the ISC High Performance 2016 conference in Frankfurt, Germany, in June 2016. The 45 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this book. They stem from the following workshops: Workshop on Exascale Multi/Many Core Computing Systems, E-MuCoCoS; Second International Workshop on Communication Architectures at Extreme Scale, ExaComm; HPC I/O in the Data Center Workshop, HPC-IODC; International Workshop on OpenPOWER for HPC, IWOPH; Workshop on the Application Performance on Intel Xeon Phi – Being Prepared for KNL and Beyond, IXPUG; Workshop on Performance and Scalability of Storage Systems, WOPSSS; and International Workshop on Performance Portable Programming Models for Accelerators, P3MA.

The Application of Template Selectophores for the Preparation of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basil Danylec

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Molecularly imprinted polymers are versatile materials with wide application scope for the detection, capture and separation of specific compounds present in complex feed stocks. A major challenge associated with their preparation has been the need to sacrifice one mole equivalent of the template molecule to generate the complementary polymer cavities that selectively bind the target molecule. Moreover, template molecules can often be difficult to synthesise, expensive or lack stability. In this study, we describe a new approach, directed at the use of synthetic selectophores, chosen as readily prepared and low cost structural analogues with recognition groups in similar three-dimensional arrangements as found in the target molecule. To validate the approach, a comparative study of selectophores related to the polyphenolic compound (E-resveratrol has been undertaken using traditional and green chemical synthetic approaches. These molecular mimic compounds were employed as polymer templates and also as binding analytes to interrogate the recognition sites associated with the molecularly imprinted polymers. Importantly, the study confirms that the use of selectophores has the potential to confer practical advantages, including access to more efficient methods for selection and preparation of suitable template molecules with a broader range of molecular diversity, as well as delivering imprinted polymers capable of recognizing the target compound and structurally related products.

The Fifth Workshop on HPC Best Practices: File Systems and Archives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hick, Jason; Hules, John; Uselton, Andrew

2011-11-30

The workshop on High Performance Computing (HPC) Best Practices on File Systems and Archives was the fifth in a series sponsored jointly by the Department Of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and DOE National Nuclear Security Administration. The workshop gathered technical and management experts for operations of HPC file systems and archives from around the world. Attendees identified and discussed best practices in use at their facilities, and documented findings for the DOE and HPC community in this report.

Process to prepare stable trifluorostyrene containing compounds grafted to base polymers using a solvent/water mixture

Science.gov (United States)

Roelofs, Mark Gerrit; Yang, Zhen-Yu; Han, Amy Qi

2010-06-15

A fluorinated ion exchange polymer is prepared by grafting at least one grafting monomer derived from trifluorostyrene on to at least one base polymer in a organic solvent/water mixture. These ion exchange polymers are useful in preparing catalyst coated membranes and membrane electrode assemblies used in fuel cells.

Synthetic Strategies in the Preparation of Polymer/Inorganic Hybrid Nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Hood, Matthew A.; Mari, Margherita; Muñoz-Espí, Rafael

2014-01-01

This article reviews the recent advances and challenges in the preparation of polymer/inorganic hybrid nanoparticles. We mainly focus on synthetic strategies, basing our classification on whether the inorganic and the polymer components have been formed in situ or ex situ, of the hybrid material. Accordingly, four types of strategies are identified and described, referring to recent examples: (i) ex situ formation of the components and subsequent attachment or integration, either by covalent or noncovalent bonding; (ii) in situ polymerization in the presence of ex situ formed inorganic nanoparticles; (iii) in situ precipitation of the inorganic components on or in polymer structures; and (iv) strategies in which both polymer and inorganic component are simultaneously formed in situ. PMID:28788665

Radiolytic preparation of PFA-g-PVBSA membranes as a polymer electrolyte membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fei Geng [Department of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Nansanhuan Road 99, Changshu, Jiangsu 215-500 (China); Hwang, Mi-Lim; Sohn, Joon-Yong; Nho, Young Chang [Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1266 Sinjeong-dong, Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do 580-185 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Junhwa, E-mail: shinj@kaeri.re.kr [Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1266 Sinjeong-dong, Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do 580-185 (Korea, Republic of)

2012-03-01

In this study, a polymer electrolyte membrane, PFA-g-PVBSA was prepared through the radiation-induced graft copolymerization of vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) monomer onto a poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-perfluoropropylvinyl ether) (PFA) film and subsequent sulfonation processes. The IEC values and water uptakes of the prepared membranes increased when increasing the contents of the poly(vinylbenzyl sulfonic acid) (PVBSA) graft polymers in the membranes. Compared with Nafion 212, the degree of grafting (DOG) of membranes of 50% and 70% showed higher proton conductivity with significantly lower methanol permeability. The combination of these properties suggests that the prepared membranes are promising for future application in direct methanol fuel cells.

Gamma radiation-induced preparation of some acrylamide polymers for treatment of waste water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siyam, T.; Hanna, E.

1992-01-01

Water-soluble acrylamide copolymers such as: poly (acrylamide-co-sodium) [P(AM-CO-AA Na)], (acrylamide-CO-diallylethylamine-hydrochloride) [P(AM-CO-DAEA-H Cl)] and poly (acrylamide-sodium acrylate-diallylethylamine-hydrochloride) [P(AM-AANa-DAEA-H Cl)] were prepared by gamma radiation-initiated polymerization of the corresponding co monomer or termonomer solutions. The prepared copolymers were used in the treatment of water (metal sulphate solutions). It was found that the polymer efficiency increases with increasing the PH-value and the polymer concentration. The efficiency of the different polymers compared in what concerns elimination of Cu++ and Mg++. The polymer dosage depends on the hydration sheath of the cation. The mechanism for interaction of each polymeric chains with the ions of waste water was also discussed. 3 figs, 1 tab

Enabling parallel simulation of large-scale HPC network systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mubarak, Misbah; Carothers, Christopher D.; Ross, Robert B.; Carns, Philip

2016-01-01

Here, with the increasing complexity of today’s high-performance computing (HPC) architectures, simulation has become an indispensable tool for exploring the design space of HPC systems—in particular, networks. In order to make effective design decisions, simulations of these systems must possess the following properties: (1) have high accuracy and fidelity, (2) produce results in a timely manner, and (3) be able to analyze a broad range of network workloads. Most state-of-the-art HPC network simulation frameworks, however, are constrained in one or more of these areas. In this work, we present a simulation framework for modeling two important classes of networks used in today’s IBM and Cray supercomputers: torus and dragonfly networks. We use the Co-Design of Multi-layer Exascale Storage Architecture (CODES) simulation framework to simulate these network topologies at a flit-level detail using the Rensselaer Optimistic Simulation System (ROSS) for parallel discrete-event simulation. Our simulation framework meets all the requirements of a practical network simulation and can assist network designers in design space exploration. First, it uses validated and detailed flit-level network models to provide an accurate and high-fidelity network simulation. Second, instead of relying on serial time-stepped or traditional conservative discrete-event simulations that limit simulation scalability and efficiency, we use the optimistic event-scheduling capability of ROSS to achieve efficient and scalable HPC network simulations on today’s high-performance cluster systems. Third, our models give network designers a choice in simulating a broad range of network workloads, including HPC application workloads using detailed network traces, an ability that is rarely offered in parallel with high-fidelity network simulations

Sensing of environmental pollutant by conductive composite from prepared from hyperbranched polymer-grafted carbon black and crystalline polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taniguchi, Y.; Chen, J.; Ogawa, M.; Yokoyama, K.; Shimizu, H.; Tsubokawa, N.; Maekawa, Y.; Yoshida, M.

2002-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. The hyperbranched (HB) polymer-grafted (PG) carbon blacks (CB) have the possibility of utilizing as a support of catalyst and enzyme, and a curing agent of epoxy resin, because they have much terminal amino or hydroxyl groups. The postgrafting of crystalline polymer onto HB PG CB and the sensing of environmental pollutant by the conductive composite prepared from the polymer-postgrafted CB was discussed. The grafting of poly(amidoamide) onto CB surface was achieved by repeating either Michael addition of methyl acrylate to amino group on the surface or the amidation of the resulting terminal methyl ester group with ethylene diamine. HB polyester onto CB surface was grafted by stepwise growth of 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (bis-MPA) from surface carboxyl and hydroxyl groups on CB as a core in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA). The one-pot grafting of HB polyester onto CB as core was also achieved by the polycondensation of bis-MPA in the presence of p-TSA. Postgrafting of crystalline polymer onto HB polymer-grafted CB was achieved by the reaction of terminal amino or hydroxyl groups of grafted chain with COCl-terminated crystalline polymer. The electric resistance of the composite prepared from crystalline polymer-postgrafted CB was found to increase drastically in hexane, containing environmental pollutant, such as chloroform and trichloroethane, and returned immediately to the initial resistance when it was transferred into pure hexane. Based on the above results, it is concluded that the composite can be used as a novel sensor for environmental pollutant in solution

Using ion-selective electrodes to study the drug release from porous cellulose matrices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vakili, Hossein; Genina, Natalja; Ehlers, Henrik

2012-01-01

-polymer solutions were prepared with the model drugs, using different blend ratios of ethylcellulose (EC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC). Two different solid dosage forms were used. Polymer films were produced by solvent casting method and drug containing porous cellulose samples were prepared by depositing...... the drug-polymer solutions onto filter paper substrates. The quality of the electrodes and the release profile of Pr+ and Ld+ were investigated with \\r\

Preparation and Characterization of Nonylphenol Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, F. Y.; Ba, S. P.; Tang, Y. B.; Wang, X. G.

2015-01-01

Nonylphenol (NP) is a toxic xenobiotic compound classified as an endocrine disrupter, which can interface with the hormonal system of numerous organisms, and then cause a series of pathological changes. It is of great significance to remove nonyl phenol from the environment. In this paper, an effective method for the preparation of molecularly imprinted nanoparticles was reported. Firstly, Fe/sub 3/O/sub 4/ at the rate SiO/sub 2/ magnetic carrier material modified by trimethoxysilane was achieved through three-step reaction. After that, the selective magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer sorbent for NP (Fe/sub 3/O/sub 4/ at the rate SiO/sub 2/-MIP) was synthesized by surface molecular imprinting technique, using NP as template, 4-vinyl pyridine(4-Vpy) as functional monomers, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as cross linker and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. The morphous, composition, structure and performance of polymer adsorbent was characterized by SEM, TEM, FT-IR, XRD, EDS, VSM and nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. The results indicated that the polymer adsorbent was successfully prepared. The size of the polymer particle was about 50 nm, the aperture on the surface was 3.71 nm, the BET specific surface area was 61.80 m/sup 2/g and the Langmuir specific surface area was 101.24 m/sup 2/g. The selective adsorption rate for NP of 0.5 mmol/L attained value of 86.5%, and for NP with low concentration (less than 2.0 mg/L), the selective adsorption rate reached more than 90%. The synthesized magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer had higher selective recognition ability towards the template molecule nonylphenol. It has good magnetism and can be rapidly separated after being employed by using adscititious magnetic field. It has potential application value in treatment and enrichment of nonylphenol. (author)

Energy efficient HPC on embedded SoCs : optimization techniques for mali GPU

OpenAIRE

Grasso, Ivan; Radojkovic, Petar; Rajovic, Nikola; Gelado Fernandez, Isaac; Ramírez Bellido, Alejandro

2014-01-01

A lot of effort from academia and industry has been invested in exploring the suitability of low-power embedded technologies for HPC. Although state-of-the-art embedded systems-on-chip (SoCs) inherently contain GPUs that could be used for HPC, their performance and energy capabilities have never been evaluated. Two reasons contribute to the above. Primarily, embedded GPUs until now, have not supported 64-bit floating point arithmetic - a requirement for HPC. Secondly, embedded GPUs did not pr...

Could Blobs Fuel Storage-Based Convergence between HPC and Big Data?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matri, Pierre; Alforov, Yevhen; Brandon, Alvaro; Kuhn, Michael; Carns, Philip; Ludwig, Thomas

2017-09-05

The increasingly growing data sets processed on HPC platforms raise major challenges for the underlying storage layer. A promising alternative to POSIX-IO- compliant file systems are simpler blobs (binary large objects), or object storage systems. Such systems offer lower overhead and better performance at the cost of largely unused features such as file hierarchies or permissions. Similarly, blobs are increasingly considered for replacing distributed file systems for big data analytics or as a base for storage abstractions such as key-value stores or time-series databases. This growing interest in such object storage on HPC and big data platforms raises the question: Are blobs the right level of abstraction to enable storage-based convergence between HPC and Big Data? In this paper we study the impact of blob-based storage for real-world applications on HPC and cloud environments. The results show that blobbased storage convergence is possible, leading to a significant performance improvement on both platforms

Ceramic sealants prepared by polymer pyrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Sung Jin; Kim, Deug Joong; Yoo, Young Sung

2011-02-01

The formation and properties of ceramic seals for SOFC applications prepared by polymer pyrolysis are investigated. A mixture with polymethylsiloxane and fillers are pyrolyzed in a N2 atmosphere. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the ceramic composites was controlled by fillers with a high coefficient of thermal expansion such as AlCo. The morphology of the ceramic composites derived from the mixture with polymethylsiloxane and fillers is composed of fillers embedded in a Si-O-C glass matrix. The thermal expansion behavior and sealing characteristics are measured and discussed

Preparation of mixed molecularly imprinted polymer magnetic nanoparticles and its application in separation of Chinese traditional medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Yihui; Ma, Yajuan; Bai, Wenting; Zhu, Xiaofang; Liu, Min; Huang, Liping

2017-08-01

A mixed imprinted polymer which can rapidly adsorb all flavonoids from raspberry extract was prepared and recycled. The hybrid molecular surface imprinted polymers were prepared by using quercetin as the template molecule and Fe3O4 magnetic nanospheres as the carrier. The molecular imprinting polymer was prepared by using the "initial template molecule, molecularly imprinted polymer, mixed template molecule, molecularly imprint ted polymers (MIPS)". The adsorption performance and durability of the hybrid molecularly imprinted polymers were investigated by using the fingerprints of the ethyl acetate fraction of raspberry as an index. The adsorption of flavonoids from raspberry extract, lindenoside, cis-lindenin, quercetin, kaempferol and other flavonoids was completely adsorbed by mixed molecular-imprinted polymer, and the other components were basically adsorbed. When Mix-IMPs were repeatedly used 10 times, the fingerprints showed that the content and content of flavonoids were basically the same. The experimental results show that Mix-IMPs has good adsorption performance, can be recycled and used for rapid enrichment of flavonoids in raspberry.

NATO Advanced Study Institute on Preparation and Properties of Stereoregular Polymers

CERN Document Server

Ciardelli, Francesco

1980-01-01

This book contains the texts of the main lectures presented at the NATO Advanced Studies Institute on "Advances in Preparation and Properties of Stereoregular Polymers" held at Tirrenia near Pisa, Italy, from October 3 to 14, 1978. A few contributed papers have also been included because they were concerned with topics not included in the main lectures. The primary objective of the Institute was to assist in the further development of stereoregular polymers because of the ever-increasing demand for new products with exceptional chemical and physical properties. This need has reawakened interest in the field. Indeed there is now a rapidly increasing activity in the study of stereoregular polymerization and the preparation of structurally-ordered polymers with the aim of achieving apprecia­ ble improvements in existing polymeric materials through new developments in synthesis and properties as well as in discovering new polymeric structures. In order to achieve these objectives, a broad interdiscipli­ nary co...

Synthesis and application of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers in sample preparation.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shuyao; Xu, Jianqiao; Zheng, Jiating; Zhu, Fang; Xie, Lijun; Ouyang, Gangfeng

2018-04-12

Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) have superior advantages in sample pretreatment because of their high selectivity for target analytes and the fast and easy isolation from samples. To meet the demand of both good magnetic property and good extraction performance, MMIPs with various structures, from traditional core-shell structures to novel composite structures with a larger specific surface area and more accessible binding sites, are fabricated by different preparation technologies. Moreover, as the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) layers determine the affinity, selectivity, and saturated adsorption amount of MMIPs, the development and innovation of the MIP layer are attracting attention and are reviewed here. Many studies that used MMIPs as sorbents in dispersive solid-phase extraction of complex samples, including environmental, food, and biofluid samples, are summarized. Graphical abstract The application of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in the sample preparation procedure improves the analytical performances for complex samples. MITs molecular imprinting technologies.

Preparation and characterization of PTFE coating in new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor for testing liquor products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Yu; Li Qiang

2015-01-01

A new method was developed based on the electron beam vacuum dispersion (EBVD) technology to prepare the PTFE polymer coating of the new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor for testing liquor products. The new method was applied in the new EBVD equipment which we designed. A real-time system monitoring the polymer coating’s thickness was designed for the new EBVD equipment according to the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) principle, playing an important role in preparing stable and uniform PTFE polymer coatings of the same thickness. 30 pieces of PTFE polymer coatings on the surface of the quartz crystal basis were prepared with the PTFE polymer ultrafine powder (purity ≥ 99.99%) as the starting material. We obtained 30 pieces of new PTFE polymer sensors. By using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the structure of the PTFE polymer coating’s column clusters was studied. One sample from the 30 pieces of new PTFE polymer sensors was analysed by SEM in four scales, i.e., 400×, 1000×, 10000×, and 25000×. It was shown that under the condition of high bias voltage and low bias current, uniformly PTFE polymer coating could be achieved, which indicates that the new EBVD equipment is suitable for mass production of stable and uniform polymer coating. (paper)

All solid-state polymer electrolytes prepared from a hyper-branched graft polymer using atom transfer radical polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higa, Mitsuru; Fujino, Yukiko; Koumoto, Taihei; Kitani, Ryousuke; Egashira, Satsuki

2005-01-01

We propose an all solid-state (liquid free) polymer electrolyte (SPE) prepared from a hyper-branched graft copolymer. The graft copolymer consisting of a poly(methyl methacrylate) main chain and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate side chains was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization changing the average chain distance between side chains, side chain length and branched chain length of the proposed structure of the graft copolymer. The ionic conductivity of the SPEs increases with increasing the side chain length, branched chain length and/or average distance between the side chains. The ionic conductivity of the SPE prepared from POEM 9 whose POEM content = 51 wt% shows 2 x 10 -5 S/cm at 30 deg. C. The tensile strength of the SPEs decreases with increases the side chain length, branched chain length and/or average distance between the side chains. These results indicate that a SPE prepared from the hyper-branched graft copolymer has potential to be applied to an all-solid polymer electrolyte

Preparation of alanine/ESR dosimeter using different binder of polymer blend

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Razzak, M.T.; Sudiro, Sutjipto; Sudradjat, Adjat; Waskito, Ashar; Djamili, M.F.

1995-01-01

Different composition of polymer blend of low density polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) have been studied to be used as a binder for the preparation of Alanine/ESR dosimeter. The polymer binder and Alanine powder were blended in Laboplastomil Mixer at 140 o C and then it was pressed into a plastic film of 0.50 mm thickness. The film was cut into sample size of 250 mm x 2.5 mm and irradiated by gamma rays from a cobalt-60 source at different dose and dose rate. It was found that a blend of Alanine, PS and PE in composition of 60:30:10 is appropriate to prepare the Alanine/ESR dosimeter. (author)

Preformulation Studies of Furosemide-Loaded Electrospun Nanofibrous Systems for Buccal Administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Kovács

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Furosemide loaded electrospun fibers were prepared for buccal administration, with the aim of improving the oral bioavailability of the poorly soluble and permeable crystalline drug, which can be achieved by the increased solubility and by the circumvention of the intensive first pass metabolism. The water soluble hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC was chosen as a mucoadhesive polymer. In order to improve the electrospinnability of HPC, poly (vinylpyrrolidone (PVP was used. During the experiments, the total polymer concentration was kept constant at 15% (w/w, and only the ratio of the two polymers (HPC-PVP = 5:5, 6:4, 7:3, 8:2, 9:1 was changed. A combination of rheological measurements with scanning electron microscopic morphological images of electrospun samples was applied for the determination of the optimum composition of the gels for fiber formation. The crystalline–amorphous transition of furosemide was tracked by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A correlation was found between the rheological properties of the polymer solutions and their electrospinnability, and the consequent morphology of the resultant samples. With decreasing HPC ratio of the system, a transition from the spray-dried droplets to the randomly oriented fibrous structures was observed. The results enable the determination of the polymer ratio for the formation of applicable quality of electrospun fibers.

Inorganic-organic hybrid polymer for preparation of affiliating material using electron beam irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Jaeseung; Kim, Seongeun; Kim, Byounggak; Lee, Jongchan; Park, Jihyun; Lee, Byeongcheol

2011-01-01

Recently, silver nano materials have gained a lot of attentions in a variety of applications due to the unique biological, optical, and electrical properties. Especially, the antifouling property of these material is considered to be an important character for biomedical field, marine coatings industry, biosensor, and drug delivery. In this study, we design and synthesize the inorganic-organic hybrid polymer for preparation of affiliating materials. Silver nano materials having antifouling property with different shapes are prepared by control the electron beam irradiation conditions. Inorganic-organic hybrid polymer was synthesized and characterized. → Morphology and size controlled nano materials are prepared using electron beam irradiation. → Silver nano materials having various shapes can be used for antifouling material

Trends in Data Locality Abstractions for HPC Systems

KAUST Repository

Unat, Didem; Dubey, Anshu; Hoefler, Torsten; Shalf, John; Abraham, Mark; Bianco, Mauro; Chamberlain, Bradford L.; Cledat, Romain; Edwards, H. Carter; Finkel, Hal; Fuerlinger, Karl; Hannig, Frank; Jeannot, Emmanuel; Kamil, Amir; Keasler, Jeff; Kelly, Paul H J; Leung, Vitus; Ltaief, Hatem; Maruyama, Naoya; Newburn, Chris J.; Pericas, Miquel

2017-01-01

The cost of data movement has always been an important concern in high performance computing (HPC) systems. It has now become the dominant factor in terms of both energy consumption and performance. Support for expression of data locality has been explored in the past, but those efforts have had only modest success in being adopted in HPC applications for various reasons. them However, with the increasing complexity of the memory hierarchy and higher parallelism in emerging HPC systems, locality management has acquired a new urgency. Developers can no longer limit themselves to low-level solutions and ignore the potential for productivity and performance portability obtained by using locality abstractions. Fortunately, the trend emerging in recent literature on the topic alleviates many of the concerns that got in the way of their adoption by application developers. Data locality abstractions are available in the forms of libraries, data structures, languages and runtime systems; a common theme is increasing productivity without sacrificing performance. This paper examines these trends and identifies commonalities that can combine various locality concepts to develop a comprehensive approach to expressing and managing data locality on future large-scale high-performance computing systems.

Trends in Data Locality Abstractions for HPC Systems

KAUST Repository

Unat, Didem

2017-05-12

The cost of data movement has always been an important concern in high performance computing (HPC) systems. It has now become the dominant factor in terms of both energy consumption and performance. Support for expression of data locality has been explored in the past, but those efforts have had only modest success in being adopted in HPC applications for various reasons. them However, with the increasing complexity of the memory hierarchy and higher parallelism in emerging HPC systems, locality management has acquired a new urgency. Developers can no longer limit themselves to low-level solutions and ignore the potential for productivity and performance portability obtained by using locality abstractions. Fortunately, the trend emerging in recent literature on the topic alleviates many of the concerns that got in the way of their adoption by application developers. Data locality abstractions are available in the forms of libraries, data structures, languages and runtime systems; a common theme is increasing productivity without sacrificing performance. This paper examines these trends and identifies commonalities that can combine various locality concepts to develop a comprehensive approach to expressing and managing data locality on future large-scale high-performance computing systems.

Study of ageing side effects in the DELPHI HPC calorimeter

CERN Document Server

Bonivento, W

1997-01-01

The readout proportional chambers of the HPC electromagnetic calorimeter in the DELPHI experiment are affected by large ageing. In order to study the long-term behaviour fo the calorimeter, one HPC module was extracted from DELPHI in 1992 and was brought to a test area where it was artificially aged during a period of two years; an ageing level exceeding the one expected for the HPC at the end of the LEP era was reached. During this period the performance of the module was periodically tested by means of dedicated beam tests whose results are discussed in this paper. These show that ageing has no significant effects on the response linearity and on the energy resolution for electromagnetic showers, once the analog response loss is compensated for by increasing the chamber gain through the anode voltage.

Preparation and characterization of super absorbent polymer from sugarcane bagasse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiwien Andriyanti; Suyanti; Ngasifudin

2012-01-01

Sugarcane bagasse is a source of biomass which large enough numbers and has not been fully exploited. At this time has developed a super absorbent polymer material of sugarcane bagasse that can absorb water up to several times of its own weight and keep this water. Super absorbent polymers can be used as a soil conditioner that can be used as an absorber and storage of ground water, the giver of nutrients for plants, and can improve soil properties. The purpose of this study is to make and characterization of super absorbent polymer (PCS) from sugarcane bagasse. Preparation of super absorbent polymers (PCS) has been done by grafting method using ionizing radiation from Electron Beam Engineering (MBE) 350 mA keV/10. Irradiation process carried out with a dose variation of 20, 35, and 50 kGy. Increasing doses of radiation will increase the percentage fraction of transplantation (grafting) and the fraction of water absorption ability (swelling ratio). (author)

HPC Annual Report 2017

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennig, Yasmin [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-10-01

Sandia National Laboratories has a long history of significant contributions to the high performance community and industry. Our innovative computer architectures allowed the United States to become the first to break the teraFLOP barrier—propelling us to the international spotlight. Our advanced simulation and modeling capabilities have been integral in high consequence US operations such as Operation Burnt Frost. Strong partnerships with industry leaders, such as Cray, Inc. and Goodyear, have enabled them to leverage our high performance computing (HPC) capabilities to gain a tremendous competitive edge in the marketplace. As part of our continuing commitment to providing modern computing infrastructure and systems in support of Sandia missions, we made a major investment in expanding Building 725 to serve as the new home of HPC systems at Sandia. Work is expected to be completed in 2018 and will result in a modern facility of approximately 15,000 square feet of computer center space. The facility will be ready to house the newest National Nuclear Security Administration/Advanced Simulation and Computing (NNSA/ASC) Prototype platform being acquired by Sandia, with delivery in late 2019 or early 2020. This new system will enable continuing advances by Sandia science and engineering staff in the areas of operating system R&D, operation cost effectiveness (power and innovative cooling technologies), user environment and application code performance.

STAR Data Reconstruction at NERSC/Cori, an adaptable Docker container approach for HPC

Science.gov (United States)

Mustafa, Mustafa; Balewski, Jan; Lauret, Jérôme; Porter, Jefferson; Canon, Shane; Gerhardt, Lisa; Hajdu, Levente; Lukascsyk, Mark

2017-10-01

As HPC facilities grow their resources, adaptation of classic HEP/NP workflows becomes a need. Linux containers may very well offer a way to lower the bar to exploiting such resources and at the time, help collaboration to reach vast elastic resources on such facilities and address their massive current and future data processing challenges. In this proceeding, we showcase STAR data reconstruction workflow at Cori HPC system at NERSC. STAR software is packaged in a Docker image and runs at Cori in Shifter containers. We highlight two of the typical end-to-end optimization challenges for such pipelines: 1) data transfer rate which was carried over ESnet after optimizing end points and 2) scalable deployment of conditions database in an HPC environment. Our tests demonstrate equally efficient data processing workflows on Cori/HPC, comparable to standard Linux clusters.

Radiation preparation of interpenetrating polymer networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheikh, N.; Ahmadi, M.; Afshar Taromi, F.

2002-01-01

Sequential interpenetrating polymer netwoks were prepared using gamma radiation. Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were used as elastomer and plastomer components respectively. Dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) were also used as the curing agent of SBR and crosslinker for MMA monomer. The resulting IPNs were characterized by evaluating their mechanical properties. The effect of the amount of DCP on the final properties of product was examined. It was found that amount of curing agent had an important role on the properties of obtained IPNS. The results of the mechanical properties of IPNs showed very good synergistic behavior. (Author)

Design, preparation, and application of ordered porous polymer materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Qingquan; Tang, Zhe; Ou, Baoli; Liu, Lihua; Zhou, Zhihua; Shen, Shaohua; Duan, Yinxiang

2014-01-01

Ordered porous polymer (OPP) materials have extensively application prospects in the field of separation and purification, biomembrane, solid supports for sensors catalysts, scaffolds for tissue engineering, photonic band gap materials owing to ordered pore arrays, uniform and tunable pore size, high specific surface area, great adsorption capacity, and light weight. The present paper reviewed the preparation techniques of OPP materials like breath figures, hard template, and soft template. Finally, the applications of OPP materials in the field of separation, sensors, and biomedicine are introduced, respectively. - Highlights: • Breath figures involve polymer casting under moist ambience. • Hard template employs monodisperse colloidal spheres as a template. • Soft template utilizes the etched block in copolymers as template

Luminescent sensing of organophosphates using europium(III) containing imprinted polymers prepared by RAFT polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Southard, Glen E.; Van Houten, Kelly A.; Ott, Edward W.; Murray, George M.

2007-01-01

Molecularly imprinted polymers capable of sensing organophosphorous compounds by luminescence have been prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The polymer contained a dithiobenzoate substituted tris(β-diketonate) europium(III) complex which served as a polymerization substrate and as a luminescent binding site for pinacolyl methylphosphonate (PMP), the hydrolysis product of the nerve agent Soman. The resultant polymer allowed quantitation of PMP in the low ppb range with minimal interference from similar compounds. Polymers were characterized by luminescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy

Special Issue on Automatic Application Tuning for HPC Architectures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siegfried Benkner

2014-01-01

Full Text Available High Performance Computing architectures have become incredibly complex and exploiting their full potential is becoming more and more challenging. As a consequence, automatic performance tuning (autotuning of HPC applications is of growing interest and many research groups around the world are currently involved. Autotuning is still a rapidly evolving research field with many different approaches being taken. This special issue features selected papers presented at the Dagstuhl seminar on “Automatic Application Tuning for HPC Architectures” in October 2013, which brought together researchers from the areas of autotuning and performance analysis in order to exchange ideas and steer future collaborations.

Diffusion coefficients of tracers in glassy polymer systems prepared by gamma radiolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tonge, M.P.; Gilbert, R.G.

1996-01-01

Diffusion-controlled reactions are common in free radical polymerisation reactions, especially in glassy polymer matrices. Such reactions commonly have an important influence on the polymerisation process and final polymer properties. For example, the dominant growth-stopping event (bimolecular termination) is generally diffusion-controlled. In glassy polymer systems, where molecular mobility is very low, the chain growth mechanism (propagation) may become diffusion-controlled. At present, the mechanism for propagation in glassy polymers is poorly understood, but it is expected by the Smoluchowski expression applied to propagation to depend strongly on the diffusion coefficient of monomer. The objective of this study is to measure reliable diffusion coefficients of small tracer molecules in glassy polymers, and compare these with propagation rate coefficients in similar systems, by the prediction above. Samples were initially prepared in a sealed sampled cell containing monomer, inert diluent, and tracer dye. After irradiation for several days, complete conversion of monomer to polymer can be obtained. The diffusion coefficients for two tracer dyes have been measured as a function of weight fraction polymer glassy poly(methyl methacrylate) samples

International Energy Agency's Heat Pump Centre (IEA-HPC) Annual National Team Working Group Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

Broders, M. A.

1992-09-01

The traveler, serving as Delegate from the United States Advanced Heat Pump National Team, participated in the activities of the fourth IEA-HPC National Team Working Group meeting. Highlights of this meeting included review and discussion of 1992 IEA-HPC activities and accomplishments, introduction of the Switzerland National Team, and development of the 1993 IEA-HPC work program. The traveler also gave a formal presentation about the Development and Activities of the IEA Advanced Heat Pump U.S. National Team.

A simple nanostructured polymer/ZnO hybrid solar cell - preparation and operation in air

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krebs, Frederik C; Thomann, Yi; Thomann, Ralf

2008-01-01

without notable loss in efficiency. The devices do not require any form of encapsulation to gain stability, while a barrier for mechanical protection may be useful. The devices are based on soluble zinc oxide nanoparticles mixed with the thermocleavable conjugated polymer poly-(3-(2-methylhexan-2-yl......A detailed description is given of the preparation of a polymer solar cell and its characterization. The solar cell can be prepared entirely in the ambient atmosphere by solution processing without the use of vacuum coating steps, and it can be operated in the ambient atmosphere with good...

2014 HPC Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jennings, Barbara [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2014-10-01

Our commitment is to support you through delivery of an IT environment that provides mission value by transforming the way you use, protect, and access information. We approach this through technical innovation, risk management, and relationships with our workforce, Laboratories leadership, and policy makers nationwide. This second edition of our HPC Annual Report continues our commitment to communicate the details and impact of Sandia’s large-scale computing resources that support the programs associated with our diverse mission areas. A key tenet to our approach is to work with our mission partners to understand and anticipate their requirements and formulate an investment strategy that is aligned with those Laboratories priorities. In doing this, our investments include not only expanding the resources available for scientific computing and modeling and simulation, but also acquiring large-scale systems for data analytics, cloud computing, and Emulytics. We are also investigating new computer architectures in our advanced systems test bed to guide future platform designs and prepare for changes in our code development models. Our initial investments in large-scale institutional platforms that are optimized for Informatics and Emulytics work are serving a diverse customer base. We anticipate continued growth and expansion of these resources in the coming years as the use of these analytic techniques expands across our mission space. If your program could benefit from an investment in innovative systems, please work through your Program Management Unit ’s Mission Computing Council representatives to engage our teams.

Hydrolysis of 4-Acetoxystyrene Polymers Prepared by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Xianyi; Jankova, Katja; Kops, Jørgen

1999-01-01

Hydrolysis of 4-acetoxystyrene polymers prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization was carried out under various reaction conditions. It was found that hydrazinolysis of 4-acetoxystyrene homopolymers, random and block copolymers with styrene in 1,4-dioxane, afforded the corresponding narrow...

Recent progress on preparation and properties of nanocomposites from recycled polymers: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zare, Yasser

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The article determines the current status of nanotechnology in polymer recycling. ► The addition of nanofillers to waste polymers, composites and blends is discussed. ► The future challenges in polymer recycling using nanoparticles are explained. - Abstract: Currently, the growing consumption of polymer products creates the large quantities of waste materials resulting in public concern in the environment and people life. Nanotechnology is assumed the important technology in the current century. Recently, many researchers have tried to develop this new science for polymer recycling. In this article, the application of different nanofillers in the recycled polymers such as PET, PP, HDPE, PVC, etc. and the attributed composites and blends is studied. The morphological, mechanical, rheological and thermal properties of prepared nanocomposites as well as the future challenges are extensively discussed. The present article determines the current status of nanotechnology in the polymer recycling which guide the future studies in this attractive field

The effect of polymeric excipients on the physical properties and performance of amorphous dispersions: Part I, free volume and glass transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinjiang; Zhao, Junshu; Tao, Li; Wang, Jennifer; Waknis, Vrushali; Pan, Duohai; Hubert, Mario; Raghavan, Krishnaswamy; Patel, Jatin

2015-02-01

To investigate the structural effect of polymeric excipients on the behavior of free volume of drug-polymer dispersions in relation to glass transition. Two drugs (indomethacin and ketoconazole) were selected to prepare amorphous dispersions with PVP, PVPVA, HPC, and HPMCAS through spray drying. The physical attributes of the dispersions were characterized using SEM and PXRD. The free volume (hole-size) of the dispersions along with drugs and polymers was measured using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). Their glass transition temperatures (Tgs) were determined using DSC and DMA. FTIR spectra were recorded to identify hydrogen bonding in the dispersions. The chain structural difference-flexible (PVP and PVPVA) vs. inflexible (HPC and HPMCAS)-significantly impacts the free volume and Tgs of the dispersions as well as their deviation from ideality. Relative to Tg, free volume seems to be a better measure of hydrogen bonding interaction for the dispersions of PVP, HPC, and HPMCAS. The free volume of polymers and their dispersions in general appears to be related to their conformations in solution. Both the backbone chain rigidity of polymers as well as drug-polymer interaction can impact the free volume and glass transition behaviors of the dispersions.

Project Final Report: HPC-Colony II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, Terry R [ORNL; Kale, Laxmikant V [University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Moreira, Jose [IBM T. J. Watson Research Center

2013-11-01

This report recounts the HPC Colony II Project which was a computer science effort funded by DOE's Advanced Scientific Computing Research office. The project included researchers from ORNL, IBM, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The topic of the effort was adaptive system software for extreme scale parallel machines. A description of findings is included.

Comparative performance of conventional OPC concrete and HPC designed by densified mixture design algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Huynh, Trong-Phuoc; Hwang, Chao-Lung; Yang, Shu-Ti

2017-12-01

This experimental study evaluated the performance of normal ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete and high-performance concrete (HPC) that were designed by the conventional method (ACI) and densified mixture design algorithm (DMDA) method, respectively. Engineering properties and durability performance of both the OPC and HPC samples were studied using the tests of workability, compressive strength, water absorption, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and electrical surface resistivity. Test results show that the HPC performed good fresh property and further showed better performance in terms of strength and durability as compared to the OPC.

DOD HPC Insights. Spring 2012

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-01

petascale and exascale HPC concepts has led to new research thrusts including power efficiency. Now, power efficiency is an important area of expertise... exascale supercomputers. MHPCC is also working on the gen- eration side of the energy equation. We have deployed a 100 KW research so- lar array... exascale su- percomputers. Within the HPCMP, en- ergy costs take an increasing amount of the limited budget that could be better used for service

Perm State University HPC-hardware and software services: capabilities for aircraft engine aeroacoustics problems solving

Science.gov (United States)

Demenev, A. G.

2018-02-01

The present work is devoted to analyze high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure capabilities for aircraft engine aeroacoustics problems solving at Perm State University. We explore here the ability to develop new computational aeroacoustics methods/solvers for computer-aided engineering (CAE) systems to handle complicated industrial problems of engine noise prediction. Leading aircraft engine engineering company, including “UEC-Aviadvigatel” JSC (our industrial partners in Perm, Russia), require that methods/solvers to optimize geometry of aircraft engine for fan noise reduction. We analysed Perm State University HPC-hardware resources and software services to use efficiently. The performed results demonstrate that Perm State University HPC-infrastructure are mature enough to face out industrial-like problems of development CAE-system with HPC-method and CFD-solvers.

HPC Colony II Consolidated Annual Report: July-2010 to June-2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, Terry R [ORNL

2011-06-01

This report provides a brief progress synopsis of the HPC Colony II project for the period of July 2010 to June 2011. HPC Colony II is a 36-month project and this report covers project months 10 through 21. It includes a consolidated view of all partners (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IBM, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) as well as detail for Oak Ridge. Highlights are noted and fund status data (burn rates) are provided.

Delivering LHC software to HPC compute elements

CERN Document Server

Blomer, Jakob; Hardi, Nikola; Popescu, Radu

2017-01-01

In recent years, there was a growing interest in improving the utilization of supercomputers by running applications of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN when idle cores cannot be assigned to traditional HPC jobs. At the same time, the upcoming LHC machine and detector upgrades will produce some 60 times higher data rates and challenge LHC experiments to use so far untapped compute resources. LHC experiment applications are tailored to run on high-throughput computing resources and they have a different anatomy than HPC applications. LHC applications comprise a core framework that allows hundreds of researchers to plug in their specific algorithms. The software stacks easily accumulate to many gigabytes for a single release. New releases are often produced on a daily basis. To facilitate the distribution of these software stacks to world-wide distributed computing resources, LHC experiments use a purpose-built, global, POSIX file system, the CernVM File System. CernVM-FS pre-processes dat...

Stacking layered structure of polymer light emitting diodes prepared by evaporative spray deposition using ultradilute solution for improving carrier balance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Youichi; Shakutsui, Masato; Fujita, Katsuhiko

2009-01-01

Polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) with staking layered structures are prepared by the evaporative spray deposition using ultradilute solution (ESDUS) method, which has enabled forming a polymer layer onto another polymer layer even if both polymers are soluble in a solvent used for the preparation. By this method, polymers having various HOMO and LUMO levels can be stacked as a hole transport layer, an emitting layer and an electron transport layer as commonly employed in small molecule-based organic light emitting diodes. Here we demonstrated that a PLED having a tri-layer structure using three kinds of polymers showed significant improvement in quantum efficiency compared with those having a single or bi-layer structure of corresponding polymers.

Antisolvent precipitation for the preparation of high polymeric procyanidin nanoparticles under ultrasonication and evaluation of their antioxidant activity in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zaizhi; Yang, Lei

2018-05-01

An improved method of ultrasonic antisolvent precipitation was used to prepare micronized high polymeric procyanidins (HPC). Response surface methodology (Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design) was employed to predict the optimal preparation conditions and satisfactory mean particle size. Among seven parameters, three parameters (i.e., ultrasonic irradiation power, ultrasonic-stirring time, and stirring speed) were identified as the most significant variables using Plackett-Burman design; thus, these three parameters were further optimized using Box-Behnken design. The optimal preparation conditions for micronized HPC were obtained as follows: dropping speed of 4 mL/min, HPC solution concentration of 0.3 mg/mL, ratio of antisolvent and solvent of 5 mL/mL, precipitation temperature of 10 °C, ultrasonic-stirring time of 14 min, ultrasonic irradiation power of 620 W, and stirring speed of 760 r/min. A minimum mean particle size of 96 ± 2 nm was achieved under the aforementioned conditions. The obtained micronized HPC was analysed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and X-ray powder diffraction patterns. Micronized HPC enjoyed the higher quantity dissolved and exhibited stronger antioxidant activity in compared to the unprocessed HPC. These results demonstrated that the improved method has great potential for the production of micronized particles. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Porous Polystyrene Monoliths and Microparticles Prepared from Core Cross-linked Star (CCS) Polymers-Stabilized Emulsions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qijing; Shi, Ting; Han, Fei; Li, Zihan; Lin, Chao; Zhao, Peng

2017-08-17

A hydrophobic CCS polymer of poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PBzMA) was prepared in toluene by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated dispersion polymerization. The CCS polymer, with poly(benzyl methacrylate) as the arm and crosslinked N, N'-bis(acryloyl)cystamine (BAC) as the core, was confirmed by characterization with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Three kinds of oils (toluene, anisole and styrene) were chosen to study the emulsification properties of PBzMA CCS polymer. The oils can be emulsified by CCS polymer to form water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. Moreover, w/o high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) can be obtained with the increase of toluene and styrene volume fractions from 75% to 80%. Porous polystyrene monolith and microparticles were prepared from the emulsion templates and characterized by the scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). With the internal phase volume fraction increased, open-pore porous monolith was obtained.

Bringing ATLAS production to HPC resources. A case study with SuperMuc and Hydra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duckeck, Guenter; Walker, Rodney [LMU Muenchen (Germany); Kennedy, John; Mazzaferro, Luca [RZG Garching (Germany); Kluth, Stefan [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Collaboration: ATLAS-Collaboration

2015-07-01

The possible usage of Supercomputer systems or HPC resources by ATLAS is now becoming viable due to the changing nature of these systems and it is also very attractive due to the need for increasing amounts of simulated data. The ATLAS experiment at CERN will begin a period of high luminosity data taking in 2015. The corresponding need for simulated data might potentially exceed the capabilities of the current Grid infrastructure. ATLAS aims to address this need by opportunistically accessing resources such as cloud and HPC systems. This contribution presents the results of two projects undertaken by LMU/LRZ and MPP/RZG to use the supercomputer facilities SuperMuc (LRZ) and Hydra (RZG). Both are Linux based supercomputers in the 100 k CPU-core category. The integration of such HPC resources into the ATLAS production system poses many challenges. Firstly, established techniques and features of standard WLCG operation are prohibited or much restricted on HPC systems, e.g. Grid middleware, software installation, outside connectivity, etc. Secondly, efficient use of available resources requires massive multi-core jobs, back-fill submission and check-pointing. We discuss the customization of these components and the strategies for HPC usage as well as possibilities for future directions.

Virtualization of the ATLAS software environment on a shared HPC system

CERN Document Server

Schnoor, Ulrike; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

High-Performance Computing (HPC) and other research cluster computing resources provided by universities can be useful supplements to the collaboration’s own WLCG computing resources for data analysis and production of simulated event samples. The shared HPC cluster "NEMO" at the University of Freiburg has been made available to local ATLAS users through the provisioning of virtual machines incorporating the ATLAS software environment analogously to a WLCG center. The talk describes the concept and implementation of virtualizing the ATLAS software environment to run both data analysis and production on the HPC host system which is connected to the existing Tier-3 infrastructure. Main challenges include the integration into the NEMO and Tier-3 schedulers in a dynamic, on-demand way, the scalability of the OpenStack infrastructure, as well as the automatic generation of a fully functional virtual machine image providing access to the local user environment, the dCache storage element and the parallel file sys...

Rational preparation of dibenzothiophene-imprinted polymers by surface imprinting technique combined with atom transfer radical polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Wenming; Liu, Lukuan; Zhou, Zhiping; Liu, Hong; Xie, Binze; Xu, Wanzhen

2013-01-01

A computational simulation method is introduced to simulate the dibenzothiophene-monomer pre-assembly system of molecular imprinted polymers. The interaction type and intensity between dibenzothiophene and monomer are discussed from the binding energy and spatial position distribution. The simulation and analysis results indicate that the amount of the function monomer is not the more the better in preparing molecular imprinted polymers. Based on the above results, a novel dibenzothiophene-imprinted polymers with the favorable specific adsorption effect was prepared by surface imprinting technique combined with atom transfer radical polymerization. This combined technologies are used for preparing a desulfurization adsorbent for the first time. Various measures were selected to characterize the structure and morphology of the prepared adsorbent. The characterization results show that the adsorbent has suitable features for further adsorption process. A series of static adsorption experiments were conducted to analyze its adsorption performance. The adsorption process follows Elovich model by the kinetic analysis and Sips equation by the isothermal analysis. The approach we described will provide another opportunity in the deep desulfurization field.

High Temperature Exposure of HPC – Experimental Analysis of Residual Properties and Thermal Response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlík Zbyšek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of high temperature exposure on properties of a newly designed High Performance Concrete (HPC is studied in the paper. The HPC samples are exposed to the temperatures of 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000°C respectively. Among the basic physical properties, bulk density, matrix density and total open porosity are measured. The mechanical resistivity against disruptive temperature action is characterised by compressive strength, flexural strength and dynamic modulus of elasticity. To study the chemical and physical processes in HPC during its high-temperature exposure, Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA is performed. Linear thermal expansion coefficient is determined as function of temperature using thermodilatometry (TDA. In order to describe the changes in microstructure of HPC induced by high temperature loading, MIP measurement of pore size distribution is done. Increase of the total open porosity and connected decrease of the mechanical parameters for temperatures higher than 200 °C were identified.

Preparation of a zeolite-modified polymer monolith for identification of synthetic colorants in lipsticks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Huiqi; Li, Zheng [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Niu, Qian [Jilin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Changchun 130062 (China); Ma, Jiutong [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Jia, Qiong, E-mail: jiaqiong@jlu.edu.cn [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China)

2015-10-30

Graphical abstract: Poly(methacrylic acid-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic column embedded with zeolites was prepared and employed for the polymer monolith microextraction of colorants combined with HPLC. - Highlights: • Zeolite, as a kind of mesoporous material, was firstly combined with PMME. • Zeolite@poly(MAA-EDMA) monolith columns were prepared for the enrichment of colorants. • Zeolite@poly(MAA-EDMA) monolith columns demonstrated relatively high extraction capacity. - Abstract: A novel zeolite-modified poly(methacrylic acid-ethylenedimethacrylate) (zeolite@poly(MAA-EDMA)) monolithic column was prepared with the in situ polymerization method and employed in polymer monolith microextraction for the separation and preconcentration of synthetic colorants combined with high performance liquid chromatography. The polymer was characterized by scanning electronmicroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermo-gravimetric analysis. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum experimental conditions, we obtained acceptable linearities, low limits of detection, and good intra-day/inter-day relative standard deviations. The method was applied to the determination of synthetic colorants in lipsticks with recoveries ranged from 70.7% to 109.7%. Compared with conventional methacrylic acid-based monoliths, the developed monolith exhibited high enrichment capacity because of the introduction of zeolites into the preparation process. The extraction efficiency followed the order: zeolite@poly(MAA-EDMA) > poly(MAA-EDMA) > direct HPLC analysis.

Nano-structured polymer composites and process for preparing same

Science.gov (United States)

Hillmyer, Marc; Chen, Liang

2013-04-16

A process for preparing a polymer composite that includes reacting (a) a multi-functional monomer and (b) a block copolymer comprising (i) a first block and (ii) a second block that includes a functional group capable of reacting with the multi-functional monomer, to form a crosslinked, nano-structured, bi-continuous composite. The composite includes a continuous matrix phase and a second continuous phase comprising the first block of the block copolymer.

Radiation preparation of drug carriers based polyacrylic acid (PAAc) using poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a template polymer

Science.gov (United States)

Abd El-Rehim, H. A.; Hegazy, E. A.; Khalil, F. H.; Hamed, N. A.

2007-01-01

The present study deals with the radiation synthesis of stimuli response hydrophilic polymers from polyacrylic acid (PAAc). To maintain the property of PAAc and control the water swellibility for its application as a drug delivery system, radiation polymerization of AAc in the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a template polymer was carried out. Characterization of the prepared PAA/PVP inter-polymer complex was investigated by determining gel content, swelling property, hydrogel microstructure and the release rate of caffeine as a model drug. The release rate of caffeine from the PAA/PVP inter-polymer complexes showed pH-dependency, and seemed to be mainly controlled by the dissolution rate of the complex above a p Ka of PAAc. The prepared inter-polymer complex could be used for application as drug carriers.

HPC Cloud for Scientific and Business Applications: Taxonomy, Vision, and Research Challenges

OpenAIRE

Netto, Marco A. S.; Calheiros, Rodrigo N.; Rodrigues, Eduardo R.; Cunha, Renato L. F.; Buyya, Rajkumar

2017-01-01

High Performance Computing (HPC) clouds are becoming an alternative to on-premise clusters for executing scientific applications and business analytics services. Most research efforts in HPC cloud aim to understand the cost-benefit of moving resource-intensive applications from on-premise environments to public cloud platforms. Industry trends show hybrid environments are the natural path to get the best of the on-premise and cloud resources---steady (and sensitive) workloads can run on on-pr...

HPC Access Using KVM over IP

Science.gov (United States)

2007-06-08

Lightwave VDE /200 KVM-over-Fiber (Keyboard, Video and Mouse) devices installed throughout the TARDEC campus. Implementation of this system required...development effort through the pursuit of an Army-funded Phase-II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) effort with IP Video Systems (formerly known as...visualization capabilities of a DoD High- Performance Computing facility, many advanced features are necessary. TARDEC-HPC’s SBIR with IP Video Systems

Crystal nuclei templated nanostructured membranes prepared by solvent crystallization and polymer migration

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo; Ji, Jing; Li, Kang

2016-09-01

Currently, production of porous polymeric membranes for filtration is predominated by the phase-separation process. However, this method has reached its technological limit, and there have been no significant breakthrough over the last decade. Here we show, using polyvinylidene fluoride as a sample polymer, a new concept of membrane manufacturing by combining oriented green solvent crystallization and polymer migration is able to obtain high performance membranes with pure water permeation flux substantially higher than those with similar pore size prepared by conventional phase-separation processes. The new manufacturing procedure is governed by fewer operating parameters and is, thus, easier to control with reproducible results. Apart from the high water permeation flux, the prepared membranes also show excellent stable flux after fouling and superior mechanical properties of high pressure load and better abrasion resistance. These findings demonstrate the promise of a new concept for green manufacturing nanostructured polymeric membranes with high performances.

Hard dental tissue minimal-invasive preparation using contemporary polymer rotating instruments and laser

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beloica Miloš

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Goal of contemporary dentistry is to decrease the patient’s discomfort during treatment. Dentists aim to achieve maximum with the newly developed dental materials as well as with new cavity preparation techniques in the shortest time span. Since the development of the first constructed borer (drilling machine for caries removal, the preparation techniques have considerably changed. The progress of dental materials as well as the cavity preparation techniques has led us to contemporary carbide tungsten and diamond borers that are used with obligatory water cooling. The innovation within this field represents newly developed polymer borers that can detect the difference between carious lesions and healthy tooth structure. In this way the cavity preparation may be performed without damaging dental healthy tissue. This is possible owing to their hardness which is lower than the hardness of intact dentin. Polymer borer preparation is painless with less vibration, while the increase in temperature is negligible. Lasers have been used in clinical dentistry since 1980s so it can be said that they represent a new technology. The function of lasers is based on ablation which requires water. Erbium lasers have shown the highest potential with their ability to produce effective ablation of hard dental tissues. Laser application in dentistry requires special training as well as some protective measures. Laser advantages, compared to traditional preparation techniques, involve the absence of vibration, painless preparation, possibility of preparation without anesthetic and easier patient’s adjustment to dental intervention which is of importance, especially in pediatric dentistry. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 46009

Virtualization of the ATLAS software environment on a shared HPC system

CERN Document Server

Gamel, Anton Josef; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The shared HPC cluster NEMO at the University of Freiburg has been made available to local ATLAS users through the provisioning of virtual machines incorporating the ATLAS software environment analogously to a WLCG center. This concept allows to run both data analysis and production on the HPC host system which is connected to the existing Tier2/Tier3 infrastructure. Schedulers of the two clusters were integrated in a dynamic, on-demand way. An automatically generated, fully functional virtual machine image provides access to the local user environment. The performance in the virtualized environment is evaluated for typical High-Energy Physics applications.

Preparation of degradable porous structures based on 1,3-trimethylene carbonate and D,L-lactide (co)polymers for heart tissue engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pego, AP; Siebum, B; Van Luyn, MJA; Van Seijen, XJGY; Poot, AA; Grijpma, DW; Feijen, J

2003-01-01

Biodegradable porous scaffolds for heart tissue engineering were prepared from amorphous elastomeric (co)polymers of 1,3-trimethylene carbonate (TMC) and D,L-lactide (DLLA). Leaching of salt from compression-molded polymer-salt composites allowed the preparation of highly porous structures in a

Reutilization of discarded biomass for preparing functional polymer materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jianfeng; Qian, Wenzhen; He, Yufeng; Xiong, Yubing; Song, Pengfei; Wang, Rong-Min

2017-07-01

Biomass is abundant and recyclable on the earth, which has been assigned numerous roles to human beings. However, over the past decades, accompanying with the rapid expansion of man-made materials, such as alloy, plastic, synthetic rubber and fiber, a great number of natural materials had been neglected and abandoned, such as straw, which cause a waste of resource and environmental pollution. In this review, based on introducing sources of discarded biomass, the main composition and polymer chains in discarded biomass materials, the traditional treatment and novel approach for reutilization of discarded biomass were summarized. The discarded biomass mainly come from plant wastes generated in the process of agriculture and forestry production and manufacturing processes, animal wastes generated in the process of animal husbandry and fishery production as well as the residual wastes produced in the process of food processing and rural living garbage. Compared with the traditional treatment including burning, landfill, feeding and fertilizer, the novel approach for reutilization of discarded biomass principally allotted to energy, ecology and polymer materials. The prepared functional materials covered in composite materials, biopolymer based adsorbent and flocculant, carrier materials, energy materials, smart polymer materials for medical and other intelligent polymer materials, which can effectively serve the environmental management and human life, such as wastewater treatment, catalyst, new energy, tissue engineering, drug controlled release, and coating. To sum up, the renewable and biodegradable discarded biomass resources play a vital role in the sustainable development of human society, as well as will be put more emphases in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation of polymer/LDH nanocomposite by UV-initiated photopolymerization of acrylate through photoinitiator-modified LDH precursor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Lihua; Yuan, Yan; Shi, Wenfang

2011-01-01

Graphical abstract: This is the HR-TEM micrograph of UV cured nanocomposite at 5 wt% LDH-2959 loading for a-5 sample. The dark lines are the intersections of LDH platelets. It can be seen that samples a-5 dispersed in the polymer matrix and lost the ordered stacking-structure and show the completely exfoliation after UV curing. This can be explained by the fact that the sample a-5 only containing LDH-2959 exhibited a relative lower photopolymerization rate, which was propitious to further expand the LDH intergallery to form the exfoliated structure. Research highlights: → The UV cured polymer/LDH nanocomposites were prepared through the photopolymerization initiated by the photoinitiator-modified LDH precursor, LDH-2959. → The exfoliated UV cured nanocomposites were achieved in the presence of LDH-2959 only. However, the UV cured nanocomposites prepared using both LDH-2959 and Irgacure 2959 showed the intercalated structure. → Compared with the pure polymer, the exfoliated polymer/LDH nanocomposite showed remarkable enhanced thermal stability and mechanical properties because of their well dispersion in the polymer matrix. -- Abstract: The exfoliated polymer/layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposite by UV-initiated photopolymerization of acrylate systems through an Irgacure 2959-modified LDH precursor (LDH-2959) as a photoinitiator complex was prepared. The LDH-2959 was obtained by the esterification of 2-hydroxy-4'-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-2-methylpropiophenone (Irgacure 2959) with thioglycolic acid, following by the addition reaction with 3-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)propyltrimethoxysilane (KH-560), finally intercalation into the sodium dodecyl sulfate-modified LDH. For comparison, the intercalated polymer/LDH nanocomposite was obtained with additive Irgacure 2959 addition. From the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements and HR-TEM observations, the LDH lost the ordered stacking-structure and well dispersed in the polymer matrix at 5 wt% LDH-2959 loading. The glass

Preparation of Metallic and Polymer Nanoparticles, Responsive Nanogels and Nanofibers by Radiation Initiated Reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, K. -Pill; Gopalan, A. I. [Department of Chemistry Education, Kyungpook National University (Korea, Republic of)

2009-07-01

Synthesis of nanomaterials have become the focus of intensive research due to their numerous applications in diverse fields such as electronics, optics, ceramics, metallurgy, pulp and paper, environmental, pharmaceutics, biotechnology and biomedical fields. Due to expanding demand for the nanomaterials with defined properties, extensive research activities have been focused on the synthesis and characterization of “functional nanomaterials”. Our research group launched into research activities on the preparation of varieties of functional materials using radiation as the source for inducing functionalities ino these new nanomaterials. Importantly, we kept final goals for specific applications. Thus, we have prepared few interesting functional nanomaterials such as metal nanoparticles decorated multi wall carbon nanotubes, pore filled functional electrospun nanofibers and nanocables based on conducting polymer and carbon nanotubes and demonstrated their applications toward electrocatalysts, polymer electrolyte in energy devices and biosensors. In the forthcoming sections, a brief outline on the use of radiation for the preparation of those functional nanomaterials are presented. (author)

Preparation of Electrospun Polymer Fibers Using a Copper Wire Electrode in a Capillary Tube

Science.gov (United States)

Shinbo, Kazunari; Onozuka, Shintaro; Hoshino, Rikiya; Mizuno, Yoshinori; Ohdaira, Yasuo; Baba, Akira; Kato, Keizo; Kaneko, Futao

2010-04-01

Polymer fibers were prepared by an electrospinning method utilizing a copper wire electrode in a capillary tube. The morphology of electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) fibers was observed, and was found to be dependent on the wire electrode tip position in the capillary tube, the concentration of the polymer solution, the distance between the electrodes, and the applied voltage. By using the wire electrode, the experimental setup is simple and the distance between the electrodes and the applied voltage can be easily reduced. Furthermore, the preparation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) fibers was carried out. P3HT fibers were successfully prepared by mixing poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in P3HT solution. Orientation control was also carried out by depositing the fibers on a rotating collector electrode, and the alignment of the P3HT:PEO fibers was confirmed. Anisotropy of the optical absorption spectra was also observed for the aligned fibers.

Performance Analysis Tool for HPC and Big Data Applications on Scientific Clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Wucherl [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Koo, Michelle [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Cao, Yu [California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Sim, Alex [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Nugent, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Wu, Kesheng [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-09-17

Big data is prevalent in HPC computing. Many HPC projects rely on complex workflows to analyze terabytes or petabytes of data. These workflows often require running over thousands of CPU cores and performing simultaneous data accesses, data movements, and computation. It is challenging to analyze the performance involving terabytes or petabytes of workflow data or measurement data of the executions, from complex workflows over a large number of nodes and multiple parallel task executions. To help identify performance bottlenecks or debug the performance issues in large-scale scientific applications and scientific clusters, we have developed a performance analysis framework, using state-ofthe- art open-source big data processing tools. Our tool can ingest system logs and application performance measurements to extract key performance features, and apply the most sophisticated statistical tools and data mining methods on the performance data. It utilizes an efficient data processing engine to allow users to interactively analyze a large amount of different types of logs and measurements. To illustrate the functionality of the big data analysis framework, we conduct case studies on the workflows from an astronomy project known as the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and the job logs from the genome analysis scientific cluster. Our study processed many terabytes of system logs and application performance measurements collected on the HPC systems at NERSC. The implementation of our tool is generic enough to be used for analyzing the performance of other HPC systems and Big Data workows.

Preparation of diclofenac-imprinted polymer beads for selective molecular separation in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Tongchang; Kamra, Tripta; Ye, Lei

2018-03-01

Molecular imprinting technique is an attractive strategy to prepare materials for target recognition and rapid separation. In this work, a new type of diclofenac (DFC)-imprinted polymer beads was synthesized by Pickering emulsion polymerization using 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate as the functional monomer. The selectivity and capacity of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were investigated in aqueous solution. Equilibrium binding results show that the MIPs have a high selectivity to bind DFC in a wide range of pH values. Moreover, in liquid chromatography experiment, the imprinted polymer beads were packed into column to investigate the binding selectivity under nonequilibrium conditions. The retention time of DFC on the MIP column is significantly longer than its structural analogues. Also, retention of DFC on the MIP column was significantly longer than on the nonimprinted polymer column under aqueous condition. As the new MIP beads can be used to achieve direct separation of DFC from water, the synthetic method and the affinity beads developed in this work opened new possibilities for removing toxic chemicals from environmental and drinking water. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preparation of Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (MIONs with Improved Saturation Magnetization Using Multifunctional Polymer Ligand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Irfan Majeed

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the preparation of ultra-small magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MIONs coated with water-soluble thioether end-functionalized polymer ligand pentaerythritol tetrakis 3-mercaptopropionate-polymethacrylic acid (PTMP-PMAA. The MIONs were prepared by co-precipitation of aqueous iron precursor solution at a high temperature. The polymer modified MIONs were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, and vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM. It was found that these MIONs were successfully modified by this water-soluble polymer ligand with a fairly uniform size and narrow size distribution. The dried powder of MIONs could be stored for a long time and re-dispersed well in water without any significant change. Additionally, the polymer concentration showed a significant effect on size and magnetic properties of the MIONs. The saturation magnetization was increased by optimizing the polymer concentration. Furthermore, the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2-5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT-assay demonstrated that these MIONs were highly biocompatible and they could be successfully coupled with fluorescent dye Rhodamine due to the formation of amide bond between carboxylic acid groups of MIONs and amine groups of dye. The obtained results indicated that these multifunctional MIONs with rich surface chemistry exhibit admirable potential in biomedical applications.

The rise of HPC accelerators: towards a common vision for a petascale future

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2011-01-01

Nowadays new exciting scientific discoveries are mainly driven by large challenging simulations. An analysis of the trends in High Performance Computing clearly show that we hit several barriers (CPU frequency, power consumption, technological limits, limitations of the present paradigms) that we cannot easily overcome. In this context, accelerators became the concrete alternative to increase the compute capabilities of the deployed HPC clusters inside Universities and research centers across Europe. Within the EC funded "Partnership of Advanced Computing in Europe" (PRACE) project, several actions has been taken and will be taken to enable community codes to exploit accelerators in modern HPC architectures. In this talk, the vision and the strategy adopted by the PRACE project will be presented, focusing on new HPC programming model and paradigm. Accelerators are a fundamental piece to innovate in this direction, from both the hardware and the software point of view. This work started dur...

Preparation and application of PVDF-HFP composite polymer electrolytes in LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 lithium-polymer batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chun-Chen; Lian, Zuo-Yu; Lin, S.J.; Shih, Jeng-Ywan; Chen, Wei-Houng

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • PVDF-HFP/SBA15 membrane and NCM cathode material were prepared for Li ion battery. • SBA15 fillers can trap more liquid electrolytes to enhance the ionic conductivity. • Modified fillers with functional groups play a key role in reducing impedance. • LiNi 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 polymer battery showed excellent electrochemical performance. - Abstract: This study reports the preparation of a composite polymer electrolyte for application in LiNi 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 lithium-polymer batteries. Poly(vinylidiene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (denoted as PVDF-HFP) was used as the polymer host and mesoporous modified-silica fillers (denoted as m-SBA15) used as the solid plasticizer were added into the polymer matrix. The characteristic properties of the composite polymer membranes were examined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and an AC impedance method. The discharge capacities of LiNi 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 polymer batteries with a PE separator, pure PVDF-HFP polymer membrane, or a PVDF-HFP/10 wt.%m-SBA15 composite at 0.1 C were determined to be 155.5, 159.5, and 198.6 mAh g −1 , respectively. The LiNi 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 polymer battery containing the PVDF-HFP/10 wt.%m-SBA15 composite achieved discharge capacities of 194, 170, 161, 150, 129, 115, and 87 mAh g −1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, and 10 C, respectively. The lithium-polymer battery demonstrated a high coulomb efficiency of ca. 99%. The PVDF-HFP/m-SBA15 composite membrane is a strong candidate for application in LiNi 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 lithium-polymer batteries

Preparation and Property Recognition of Nimodipine Molecularly Imprinted Polymer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei-fei CHEN

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the application of molecular imprinting technique in the separation and detection of nimodipine. Methods: Methacrylic acid as functional monomer, pentaerythritol triacrylate as cross-linking agent were used to prepare molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP with the feature of specific recognition performance on imprinting molecule nimodipine under condition of template molecule nimodipine. The preparation conditions, recognition performance of MIP on nimodipine, different proportions of template molecule and functional monomer, the selectivity to other substrate, and the relationship between adsorption quantity (Q and time were observed. Results: MIP was prepared successfully bynimodipine as template and pentaerythritol triacrylate as cross-linking agent, with the feature of specific recognition performance on nimodipine. The static adsorption distribution coefficient (KD was 0.2264. The equation of Q and the concentration of substrate of template MIP was y = -0.21x+0.2204. Combining capacity of template molecule at the same concentration enhanced with the increasing proportion of functional monomer.Conclusion: Nimodipine MIP based on molecular imprinting technique may become a new approach to chiral separation for nimodipine.

Optimizing new components of PanDA for ATLAS production on HPC resources

CERN Document Server

Maeno, Tadashi; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The Production and Distributed Analysis system (PanDA) has been used for workload management in the ATLAS Experiment for over a decade. It uses pilots to retrieve jobs from the PanDA server and execute them on worker nodes. While PanDA has been mostly used on Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) resources for production operations, R&D work has been ongoing on cloud and HPC resources for many years. These efforts have led to the significant usage of large scale HPC resources in the past couple of years. In this talk we will describe the changes to the pilot which enabled the use of HPC sites by PanDA, specifically the Titan supercomputer at Oakridge National Laboratory. Furthermore, it was decided in 2016 to start a fresh redesign of the Pilot with a more modern approach to better serve present and future needs from ATLAS and other collaborations that are interested in using the PanDA System. Another new project for development of a resource oriented service, PanDA Harvester, was also launched in 2016. The...

Easy Access to HPC Resources through the Application GUI

KAUST Repository

van Waveren, Matthijs

2016-11-01

The computing environment at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is growing in size and complexity. KAUST hosts the tenth fastest supercomputer in the world (Shaheen II) and several HPC clusters. Researchers can be inhibited by the complexity, as they need to learn new languages and execute many tasks in order to access the HPC clusters and the supercomputer. In order to simplify the access, we have developed an interface between the applications and the clusters and supercomputer that automates the transfer of input data and job submission and also the retrieval of results to the researcher’s local workstation. The innovation is that the user now submits his jobs from within the application GUI on his workstation, and does not have to directly log into the clusters or supercomputer anymore. This article details the solution and its benefits to the researchers.

Continuous Security and Configuration Monitoring of HPC Clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Lomeli, H. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Bertsch, A. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Fox, D. M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-05-08

Continuous security and configuration monitoring of information systems has been a time consuming and laborious task for system administrators at the High Performance Computing (HPC) center. Prior to this project, system administrators had to manually check the settings of thousands of nodes, which required a significant number of hours rendering the old process ineffective and inefficient. This paper explains the application of Splunk Enterprise, a software agent, and a reporting tool in the development of a user application interface to track and report on critical system updates and security compliance status of HPC Clusters. In conjunction with other configuration management systems, the reporting tool is to provide continuous situational awareness to system administrators of the compliance state of information systems. Our approach consisted of the development, testing, and deployment of an agent to collect any arbitrary information across a massively distributed computing center, and organize that information into a human-readable format. Using Splunk Enterprise, this raw data was then gathered into a central repository and indexed for search, analysis, and correlation. Following acquisition and accumulation, the reporting tool generated and presented actionable information by filtering the data according to command line parameters passed at run time. Preliminary data showed results for over six thousand nodes. Further research and expansion of this tool could lead to the development of a series of agents to gather and report critical system parameters. However, in order to make use of the flexibility and resourcefulness of the reporting tool the agent must conform to specifications set forth in this paper. This project has simplified the way system administrators gather, analyze, and report on the configuration and security state of HPC clusters, maintaining ongoing situational awareness. Rather than querying each cluster independently, compliance checking

Connecting to HPC VPN | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

visualization, and file transfers. NREL Users Logging in to Peregrine Use SSH to login to the system. Your login and password will match your NREL network account login/password. From OS X or Linux, open a terminal login for the Windows HPC Cluster will match your NREL Active Directory login/password that you use to

Conjugated Polymers Atypically Prepared in Water

Science.gov (United States)

Invernale, Michael A.; Pendergraph, Samuel A.; Yavuz, Mustafa S.; Ombaba, Matthew; Sotzing, Gregory A.

2010-01-01

Processability remains a fundamental issue for the implementation of conducting polymer technology. A simple synthetic route towards processable precursors to conducting polymers (main chain and side chain) was developed using commercially available materials. These soluble precursor systems were converted to conjugated polymers electrochemically in aqueous media, offering a cheaper and greener method of processing. Oxidative conversion in aqueous and organic media each produced equivalent electrochromics. The precursor method enhances the yield of the electrochromic polymer obtained over that of electrodeposition, and it relies on a less corruptible electrolyte bath. However, electrochemical conversion of the precursor polymers often relies on organic salts and solvents. The ability to achieve oxidative conversion in brine offers a less costly and a more environmentally friendly processing step. It is also beneficial for biological applications. The electrochromics obtained herein were evaluated for electronic, spectral, and morphological properties. PMID:20959869

Independent assessment of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) sample preparation quality: Effect of sample preparation on MALDI-MS of synthetic polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kooijman, Pieter C; Kok, Sander; Honing, Maarten

2017-02-28

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) provides detailed and in-depth information about the molecular characteristics of synthetic polymers. To obtain the most accurate results the sample preparation parameters should be chosen to suit the sample and the aim of the experiment. Because the underlying principles of MALDI are still not fully known, a priori determination of optimal sample preparation protocols is often not possible. Employing an automated sample preparation quality assessment method recently presented by us we quantified the sample preparation quality obtained using various sample preparation protocols. Six conventional matrices with and without added potassium as a cationization agent and six ionic liquid matrices (ILMs) were assessed using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as samples. All sample preparation protocols were scored and ranked based on predefined quality parameters and spot-to-spot repeatability. Clearly distinctive preferences were observed in matrix identity and cationization agent for PEG, PTHF and PMMA, as the addition of an excess of potassium cationization agent results in an increased score for PMMA and a contrasting matrix-dependent effect for PTHF and PEG. The addition of excess cationization agent to sample mixtures dissipates any overrepresentation of high molecular weight polymer species. Our results show reduced ionization efficiency and similar sample deposit homogeneity for all tested ILMs, compared with well-performing conventional MALDI matrices. The results published here represent a start in the unsupervised quantification of sample preparation quality for MALDI samples. This method can select the best sample preparation parameters for any synthetic polymer sample and the results can be used to formulate hypotheses on MALDI principles. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

UV-Induced Radical Photo-Polymerization: A Smart Tool for Preparing Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Energy Storage Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Gerbaldi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available In the present work, the preparation and characterization of quasi-solid polymer electrolyte membranes based on methacrylic monomers and oligomers, with the addition of organic plasticizers and lithium salt, are described. Noticeable improvements in the mechanical properties by reinforcement with natural cellulose hand-sheets or nanoscale microfibrillated cellulose fibers are also demonstrated. The ionic conductivity of the various prepared membranes is very high, with average values approaching 10^-3 S cm^-1 at ambient temperature. The electrochemical stability window is wide (anodic breakdown voltages > 4.5 V vs. Li in all the cases along with good cyclability in lithium cells at ambient temperature. The galvanostatic cycling tests are conducted by constructing laboratory-scale lithium cells using LiFePO₄ as cathode and lithium metal as anode with the selected polymer electrolyte membrane as the electrolyte separator. The results obtained demonstrate that UV induced radical photo-polymerization is a well suited method for an easy and rapid preparation of easy tunable quasi-solid polymer electrolyte membranes for energy storage devices.

UV-Induced Radical Photo-Polymerization: A Smart Tool for Preparing Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Energy Storage Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Gerbaldi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In the present work, the preparation and characterization of quasi-solid polymer electrolyte membranes based on methacrylic monomers and oligomers, with the addition of organic plasticizers and lithium salt, are described. Noticeable improvements in the mechanical properties by reinforcement with natural cellulose hand-sheets or nanoscale microfibrillated cellulose fibers are also demonstrated. The ionic conductivity of the various prepared membranes is very high, with average values approaching 10-3 S cm-1 at ambient temperature. The electrochemical stability window is wide (anodic breakdown voltages > 4.5 V vs. Li in all the cases along with good cyclability in lithium cells at ambient temperature. The galvanostatic cycling tests are conducted by constructing laboratory-scale lithium cells using LiFePO4 as cathode and lithium metal as anode with the selected polymer electrolyte membrane as the electrolyte separator. The results obtained demonstrate that UV induced radical photo-polymerization is a well suited method for an easy and rapid preparation of easy tunable quasi-solid polymer electrolyte membranes for energy storage devices.

Preparation of polymer electrolyte membranes for lithium batteries by radiation-induced graft copolymerization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nasef, Mohamed Mahmoud [Business and Advanced Technology Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Semarak, 54100 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Suppiah, Raja Rajeswary [Chemical Engineering Program, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 37150 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia); Dahlan, Khairul Zaman Mohd [Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research, Bangi, 43000 Kajang (Malaysia)

2004-07-30

Polymer electrolyte membranes with different degrees of grafting were prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of styrene monomer onto poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films and subsequent chemical activation with liquid electrolyte consisting of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF{sub 6}) in a mixture of ethylene carbonate/diethylene carbonate (EC/DEC). The chemical changes in the PVDF films after styrene grafting and subsequent chemical activation were monitored by FTIR spectroscopic analysis and the crystallinity was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis. The swelling in electrolyte solution (electrolyte uptake) and the ionic conductivity of the membranes were determined at various degrees of grafting. The conductivity of the membranes was found to increase with the increase in the degree of grafting and reached a magnitude of 10{sup -3} S/cm at a degree of grafting of 50%. The results of this work suggest that radiation-induced graft polymerization provides an alternative method to substitute blending in preparation of polymer electrolyte membranes for application in lithium batteries.

Sodium ion conducting polymer electrolyte membrane prepared by phase inversion technique

Science.gov (United States)

Harshlata, Mishra, Kuldeep; Rai, D. K.

2018-04-01

A mechanically stable porous polymer membrane of Poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) has been prepared by phase inversion technique using steam as a non-solvent. The membrane possesses semicrystalline network with enhanced amorphicity as observed by X-ray diffraction. The membrane has been soaked in an electrolyte solution of 0.5M NaPF6 in Ethylene Carbonate/Propylene Carbonate (1:1) to obtain the gel polymer electrolyte. The porosity and electrolyte uptake of the membrane have been found to be 67% and 220% respectively. The room temperature ionic conductivity of the membrane has been obtained as ˜ 0.3 mS cm-1. The conductivity follows Arrhenius behavior with temperature and gives activation energy as 0.8 eV. The membrane has been found to possess significantly large electrochemical stability window of 5.0 V.

Preparation, characterization, magnetic and thermal studies of some chelate polymers of first series transition metal ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ukey, Vaishali V.; Juneja, H.D.; Borkar, S.D.; Ghubde, R.S.; Naz, S.

2006-01-01

Azelaoyl-bis-hydroxamic acid used as bis ligand for the preparation of chelate polymers of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II). These chelate polymers have been synthesized by refluxing the metal acetate and bis ligand as 1:1 stoichiometry. In the present work, structural determination of these newly synthesized chelate polymers has been studied on the basis of elemental analyses, infrared and reflectance spectral, magnetic and thermal studies. The decomposition temperature and the order of reaction have been determined by TGA analysis. On the basis of these studies, the Zn(II) chelate polymer has tetrahedral geometry, whereas Mn(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) chelate polymers have octahedral geometry and have the thermal stability in the order Ni(II) > Mn(II) > Zn(II) > Co(II)

Mechanisms of adhesion and subsequent actions of a haematopoietic stem cell line, HPC-7, in the injured murine intestinal microcirculation in vivo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dean P J Kavanagh

Full Text Available Although haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs migrate to injured gut, therapeutic success clinically remains poor. This has been partially attributed to limited local HSC recruitment following systemic injection. Identifying site specific adhesive mechanisms underpinning HSC-endothelial interactions may provide important information on how to enhance their recruitment and thus potentially improve therapeutic efficacy. This study determined (i the integrins and inflammatory cyto/chemokines governing HSC adhesion to injured gut and muscle (ii whether pre-treating HSCs with these cyto/chemokines enhanced their adhesion and (iii whether the degree of HSC adhesion influenced their ability to modulate leukocyte recruitment.Adhesion of HPC-7, a murine HSC line, to ischaemia-reperfused (IR injured mouse gut or cremaster muscle was monitored intravitally. Critical adhesion molecules were identified by pre-treating HPC-7 with blocking antibodies to CD18 and CD49d. To identify cyto/chemokines capable of recruiting HPC-7, adhesion was monitored following tissue exposure to TNF-α, IL-1β or CXCL12. The effects of pre-treating HPC-7 with these cyto/chemokines on surface integrin expression/clustering, adhesion to ICAM-1/VCAM-1 and recruitment in vivo was also investigated. Endogenous leukocyte adhesion following HPC-7 injection was again determined intravitally.IR injury increased HPC-7 adhesion in vivo, with intestinal adhesion dependent upon CD18 and muscle adhesion predominantly relying on CD49d. Only CXCL12 pre-treatment enhanced HPC-7 adhesion within injured gut, likely by increasing CD18 binding to ICAM-1 and/or CD18 surface clustering on HPC-7. Leukocyte adhesion was reduced at 4 hours post-reperfusion, but only when local HPC-7 adhesion was enhanced using CXCL12.This data provides evidence that site-specific molecular mechanisms govern HPC-7 adhesion to injured tissue. Importantly, we show that HPC-7 adhesion is a modulatable event in IR injury and

Preparation and characterization of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide with silicon-rich stoichiometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masuda, Takashi, E-mail: mtakashi@jaist.ac.jp [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Iwasaka, Akira [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Takagishi, Hideyuki [Faculty of Symbiotic System Science, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima 960-1296 (Japan); Shimoda, Tatsuya [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)

2016-08-01

Polydihydrosilane with pendant hexyl groups was synthesized to obtain silicon-rich amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) films via the solution route. Unlike conventional polymeric precursors, this polymer requires neither catalysts nor oxidation for its synthesis and cross-linkage. Therefore, the polymer provides sufficient purity for the fabrication of semiconducting a-SiC. Here, we investigated the correlation of Si/C stoichiometry between the polymer and the resultant a-SiC film. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films with various carbon contents were also explored. Experimental results suggested that the excess carbon that did not participate in Si−C configurations was decomposed and was evaporated during polymer-to-SiC conversion. Consequently, the upper limit of the carbon in resultant a-SiC film was < 50 at.%; namely, the polymer provided silicon-rich a-SiC, whereas the conventionally used polycarbosilane inevitably provides carbon-rich one. These features of this unusual polymer open up a frontier of polymer-derived SiC and solution-processed SiC electronics. - Highlights: • Polymeric precursor solution for silicon carbide (SiC) is synthesized. • Semiconducting amorphous SiC is prepared via solution route. • The excess carbon is decomposed during cross-linking resulting in Si-rich SiC films. • The grown SiC films contain substantial amount of hydrogen atoms as SiH{sub n}/CH{sub n} entities. • Presence of CH{sub n} entities induces dangling bonds, causing poor electrical properties.

New infrared transmitting material via inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur to prepare high refractive index polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Griebel, Jared J; Namnabat, Soha; Kim, Eui Tae; Himmelhuber, Roland; Moronta, Dominic H; Chung, Woo Jin; Simmonds, Adam G; Kim, Kyung-Jo; van der Laan, John; Nguyen, Ngoc A; Dereniak, Eustace L; Mackay, Michael E; Char, Kookheon; Glass, Richard S; Norwood, Robert A; Pyun, Jeffrey

2014-05-21

Polymers for IR imaging: The preparation of high refractive index polymers (n = 1.75 to 1.86) via the inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur is reported. High quality imaging in the near (1.5 μm) and mid-IR (3-5 μm) regions using high refractive index polymeric lenses from these sulfur materials was demonstrated. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Simplifying the Access to HPC Resources by Integrating them in the Application GUI

KAUST Repository

van Waveren, Matthijs

2016-06-22

The computing landscape of KAUST is increasing in complexity. Researchers have access to the 9th fastest supercomputer in the world (Shaheen II) and several other HPC clusters. They work on local Windows, Mac, or Linux workstations. In order to facilitate the access of the HPC systems, we have developed interfaces to several research applications that automate input data transfer, job submission and retrieval of results. The user now submits his jobs to the cluster from within the application GUI on his workstation, and does not have to physically go onto the cluster anymore.

Development of polymer film dosage forms of lidocaine for buccal administration: II. Comparison of preparation methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Okamoto, Hirokazu; Nakamori, Takahiko; Arakawa, Yotaro; Iida, Kotaro; Danjo, Kazumi

2002-11-01

In previous studies, we prepared film dosage forms of lidocaine (LC) with hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) as a film base using the solvent evaporation (SE) method. However, from the viewpoint of environmental issues, a reduction in organic solvent use in pharmaceutical and other industries is required. In this study, we prepared the LC films by direct compression of the physical mixture (DCPM method) and direct compression of the spray dried powder (DCSD method). Magnesium stearate, which was required as a lubricant for direct compression, showed no effect on the LC release rate. The LC release rate (%/h) was independent of the compression pressure, but a higher pressure was preferable to easily remove the film from the punches. An increase in the film weight decreased the LC release rate expressed in %/h, whereas no significant effect of film weight was observed on the LC release rate from unit surface area expressed in mg/h/cm(2). The LC release rate (%/h) was independent of the LC content, suggesting that the LC release rate (mg/h) can be quantitatively controlled by changing the LC content in the formulation. The LC release rate and penetration rate were affected by the preparation method; that is, DCPM method dosage form. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 91:2424-2432, 2002

On-demand provisioning of HEP compute resources on cloud sites and shared HPC centers

Science.gov (United States)

Erli, G.; Fischer, F.; Fleig, G.; Giffels, M.; Hauth, T.; Quast, G.; Schnepf, M.; Heese, J.; Leppert, K.; Arnaez de Pedro, J.; Sträter, R.

2017-10-01

This contribution reports on solutions, experiences and recent developments with the dynamic, on-demand provisioning of remote computing resources for analysis and simulation workflows. Local resources of a physics institute are extended by private and commercial cloud sites, ranging from the inclusion of desktop clusters over institute clusters to HPC centers. Rather than relying on dedicated HEP computing centers, it is nowadays more reasonable and flexible to utilize remote computing capacity via virtualization techniques or container concepts. We report on recent experience from incorporating a remote HPC center (NEMO Cluster, Freiburg University) and resources dynamically requested from the commercial provider 1&1 Internet SE into our intitute’s computing infrastructure. The Freiburg HPC resources are requested via the standard batch system, allowing HPC and HEP applications to be executed simultaneously, such that regular batch jobs run side by side to virtual machines managed via OpenStack [1]. For the inclusion of the 1&1 commercial resources, a Python API and SDK as well as the possibility to upload images were available. Large scale tests prove the capability to serve the scientific use case in the European 1&1 datacenters. The described environment at the Institute of Experimental Nuclear Physics (IEKP) at KIT serves the needs of researchers participating in the CMS and Belle II experiments. In total, resources exceeding half a million CPU hours have been provided by remote sites.

Optical packet switching in HPC : an analysis of applications performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyer, Hugo; Sancho, Jose Carlos; Mrdakovic, Milica; Miao, Wang; Calabretta, Nicola

2018-01-01

Optical Packet Switches (OPS) could provide the needed low latency transmissions in today large data centers. OPS can deliver lower latency and higher bandwidth than traditional electrical switches. These features are needed for parallel High Performance Computing (HPC) applications. For this

Helix-sense-selective co-precipitation for preparing optically active helical polymer nanoparticles/graphene oxide hybrid nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Huajun; Li, Weifei; Shi, Yan; Deng, Jianping

2017-05-25

Constructing optically active helical polymer based nanomaterials without using expensive and limited chirally helical polymers has become an extremely attractive research topic in both chemical and materials science. In this study, we prepared a series of optically active helical polymer nanoparticles/graphene oxide (OAHPNs/GO) hybrid nanocomposites through an unprecedented strategy-the co-precipitation of optically inactive helical polymers and chirally modified GO. This approach is named helix-sense-selective co-precipitation (HSSCP), in which the chirally modified GO acted as a chiral source for inducing and further stabilizing the predominantly one-handed helicity in the optically inactive helical polymers. SEM and TEM images show quite similar morphologies of all the obtained OAHPNs/GO nanocomposites; specifically, the chirally modified GO sheets were uniformly decorated with spherical polymer nanoparticles. Circular dichroism (CD) and UV-vis absorption spectra confirmed the preferentially induced helicity in the helical polymers and the optical activity of the nanocomposites. The established HSSCP strategy is thus proven to be widely applicable and is expected to produce numerous functional OAHPNs/GO nanocomposites and even the analogues.

Radiation Synthesis of Superabsorbent Polymers Based on Natural Polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sen, Murat; Hayrabolulu, Hande

2010-01-01

The objectives of proposed research contract were first synthesize superabsorbent polymers based on natural polymers to be used as disposable diapers and soil conditioning materials in agriculture, horticulture and other super adsorbent using industries. We have planned to use the natural polymers; locust beam gum, tara gum, guar gum and sodium alginate on the preparation of natural superabsorbent polymers(SAP). The aqueous solution of natural polymers and their blends with trace amount of monomer and cross-linking agents will be irradiated in paste like conditions by gamma rays for the preparation of cross-linked superabsorbent systems. The water absorption and deswellling capacity of prepared super adsorbents and retention capacity, absorbency under load, suction power, swelling pressure and pet-rewet properties will be determined. Use of these materials instead of synthetic super absorbents will be examined by comparing the performance of finished products. The experimental studies achieved in the second year of project mainly on the effect of radiation on the chemistry of sodium alginate polymers in different irradiation conditions and structure-property relationship particularly with respect to radiation induced changes on the molecular weight of natural polymers and preliminary studies on the synthesis of natural-synthetic hydride super adsorbent polymers were given in details

When to Renew Software Licences at HPC Centres? A Mathematical Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Baolai, Ge; MacIsaac, Allan B.

2010-11-01

In this paper we study a common problem faced by many high performance computing (HPC) centres: When and how to renew commercial software licences. Software vendors often sell perpetual licences along with forward update and support contracts at an additional, annual cost. Every year or so, software support personnel and the budget units of HPC centres are required to make the decision of whether or not to renew such support, and usually such decisions are made intuitively. The total cost for a continuing support contract can, however, be costly. One might therefore want a rational answer to the question of whether the option for a renewal should be exercised and when. In an attempt to study this problem within a market framework, we present the mathematical problem derived for the day to day operation of a hypothetical HPC centre that charges for the use of software packages. In the mathematical model, we assume that the uncertainty comes from the demand, number of users using the packages, as well as the price. Further we assume the availability of up to date software versions may also affect the demand. We develop a renewal strategy that aims to maximize the expected profit from the use the software under consideration. The derived problem involves a decision tree, which constitutes a numerical procedure that can be processed in parallel.

When to Renew Software Licences at HPC Centres? A Mathematical Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baolai, Ge; MacIsaac, Allan B

2010-01-01

In this paper we study a common problem faced by many high performance computing (HPC) centres: When and how to renew commercial software licences. Software vendors often sell perpetual licences along with forward update and support contracts at an additional, annual cost. Every year or so, software support personnel and the budget units of HPC centres are required to make the decision of whether or not to renew such support, and usually such decisions are made intuitively. The total cost for a continuing support contract can, however, be costly. One might therefore want a rational answer to the question of whether the option for a renewal should be exercised and when. In an attempt to study this problem within a market framework, we present the mathematical problem derived for the day to day operation of a hypothetical HPC centre that charges for the use of software packages. In the mathematical model, we assume that the uncertainty comes from the demand, number of users using the packages, as well as the price. Further we assume the availability of up to date software versions may also affect the demand. We develop a renewal strategy that aims to maximize the expected profit from the use the software under consideration. The derived problem involves a decision tree, which constitutes a numerical procedure that can be processed in parallel.

Nanocomposite metal/plasma polymer films prepared by means of gas aggregation cluster source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polonskyi, O.; Solar, P.; Kylian, O.; Drabik, M.; Artemenko, A.; Kousal, J.; Hanus, J.; Pesicka, J.; Matolinova, I. [Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, V Holesovickach 2, 18000 Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Kolibalova, E. [Tescan, Libusina trida 21, 632 00 Brno (Czech Republic); Slavinska, D. [Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, V Holesovickach 2, 18000 Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Biederman, H., E-mail: bieder@kmf.troja.mff.cuni.cz [Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, V Holesovickach 2, 18000 Prague 8 (Czech Republic)

2012-04-02

Nanocomposite metal/plasma polymer films have been prepared by simultaneous plasma polymerization using a mixture of Ar/n-hexane and metal cluster beams. A simple compact cluster gas aggregation source is described and characterized with emphasis on the determination of the amount of charged clusters and their size distribution. It is shown that the fraction of neutral, positively and negatively charged nanoclusters leaving the gas aggregation source is largely influenced by used operational conditions. In addition, it is demonstrated that a large portion of Ag clusters is positively charged, especially when higher currents are used for their production. Deposition of nanocomposite Ag/C:H plasma polymer films is described in detail by means of cluster gas aggregation source. Basic characterization of the films is performed using transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopies. It is shown that the morphology, structure and optical properties of such prepared nanocomposites differ significantly from the ones fabricated by means of magnetron sputtering of Ag target in Ar/n-hexane mixture.

Method of preparing Ru-immobilized polymer-supported catalyst for hydrogen generation from NaBH{sub 4} solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Ching-Wen; Chen, Chuh-Yung; Huang, Yao-Hui [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, Tainan City 70101 (China)

2009-03-15

A method of preparing a polymer-supported catalyst for hydrogen generation is introduced in this article. This polymer-supported catalyst is the structure of ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticle immobilized on a monodisperse polystyrene (PSt) microsphere. The diameter of the Ru nanoparticle is around 16 nm, and the diameter of the PSt microsphere is 2.65 um. This preparation method is accomplished by two unique techniques: one is sodium lauryl sulfate/sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (SLS/SFS) interface-initiated system, the other is 2-methacrylic acid 3-(bis-carboxymethylamino)-2-hydroxy-propyl ester (GMA-IDA) chelating monomer. By taking advantage of these two techniques, Ru{sup 3+} ion will be chelated and then reduced to Ru{sup (0)} nanoparticle over PSt surface predominantly. The hydrolysis of alkaline sodium borohydride (NaBH{sub 4}) solution catalyzed by this Ru-immobilized polymer-supported catalyst is also examined in this article. It reveals that the hydrogen generation rate is 215.9 ml/min g-cat. in a diluted solution containing 1 wt.% NaBH{sub 4} and 1 wt.% NaOH, and this Ru-immobilized polymer-supported catalyst could be recycled during the reaction. (author)

Integrated analysis of hematopoietic differentiation outcomes and molecular characterization reveals unbiased differentiation capacity and minor transcriptional memory in HPC/HSC-iPSCs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Shuai; Hou, Xinfeng; Jiang, Yonghua; Xu, Zijian; Cai, Tao; Chen, Jiajie; Chang, Gang

2017-01-23

Transcription factor-mediated reprogramming can reset the epigenetics of somatic cells into a pluripotency compatible state. Recent studies show that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) always inherit starting cell-specific characteristics, called epigenetic memory, which may be advantageous, as directed differentiation into specific cell types is still challenging; however, it also may be unpredictable when uncontrollable differentiation occurs. In consideration of biosafety in disease modeling and personalized medicine, the availability of high-quality iPSCs which lack a biased differentiation capacity and somatic memory could be indispensable. Herein, we evaluate the hematopoietic differentiation capacity and somatic memory state of hematopoietic progenitor and stem cell (HPC/HSC)-derived-iPSCs (HPC/HSC-iPSCs) using a previously established sequential reprogramming system. We found that HPC/HSCs are amenable to being reprogrammed into iPSCs with unbiased differentiation capacity to hematopoietic progenitors and mature hematopoietic cells. Genome-wide analyses revealed that no global epigenetic memory was detectable in HPC/HSC-iPSCs, but only a minor transcriptional memory of HPC/HSCs existed in a specific tetraploid complementation (4 N)-incompetent HPC/HSC-iPSC line. However, the observed minor transcriptional memory had no influence on the hematopoietic differentiation capacity, indicating the reprogramming of the HPC/HSCs was nearly complete. Further analysis revealed the correlation of minor transcriptional memory with the aberrant distribution of H3K27me3. This work provides a comprehensive framework for obtaining high-quality iPSCs from HPC/HSCs with unbiased hematopoietic differentiation capacity and minor transcriptional memory.

Preparation and optimization of CdWO_4-polymer nano-composite film as an alpha particle counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziluei, Hossein; Azimirad, Rouhollah; Mojtahedzadeh Larijani, Majid; Ziaie, Farhoud

2017-01-01

In this research work, CdWO_4/polymer composite films with different thicknesses were prepared using Poly-methyl acrylate polymer and synthesized CdWO_4 powder. The CdWO_4 powder was synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method in the laboratory. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy proved that the CdWO_4 powder was successfully prepared. Moreover, photoluminescence analysis showed that adding polymer does not change the emission peak of CdWO_4. Also, the responses of all samples were measured using an "2"4"1Am alpha source with 1860 Bq activity. Results showed that the sample having thickness of 177 mg/cm"2 has the best counting efficiency (over 2π geometry) among the others. The efficiency measurement was further evaluated using a "2"3"0Th source whose activity is 190.7 Bq. It revealed that the counting efficiency of this sample for both "2"4"1Am and "2"3"0Th was nearly equal.

Tuneable light-emitting carbon-dot/polymer flexible films prepared through one-pot synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Bhunia, Susanta Kumar; Nandi, Sukhendu; Shikler, Rafi; Jelinek, Raz

2016-02-01

Development of efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally-friendly light emitters, particularly devices that produce white light, have drawn intense interest due to diverse applications in the lighting industry, photonics, solar energy, and others. We present a simple strategy for the fabrication of flexible transparent films exhibiting tuneable light emission through one-pot synthesis of polymer matrixes with embedded carbon dots assembled in situ. Importantly, different luminescence colours were produced simply by preparing C-dot/polymer films using carbon precursors that yielded C-dots exhibiting distinct fluorescence emission profiles. Furthermore, mixtures of C-dot precursors could be also employed for fabricating films exhibiting different colours. In particular, we successfully produced films emitting white light with attractive properties (i.e. ``warm'' white light with a high colour rendering index) - a highly sought after goal in optical technologies.Development of efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally-friendly light emitters, particularly devices that produce white light, have drawn intense interest due to diverse applications in the lighting industry, photonics, solar energy, and others. We present a simple strategy for the fabrication of flexible transparent films exhibiting tuneable light emission through one-pot synthesis of polymer matrixes with embedded carbon dots assembled in situ. Importantly, different luminescence colours were produced simply by preparing C-dot/polymer films using carbon precursors that yielded C-dots exhibiting distinct fluorescence emission profiles. Furthermore, mixtures of C-dot precursors could be also employed for fabricating films exhibiting different colours. In particular, we successfully produced films emitting white light with attractive properties (i.e. ``warm'' white light with a high colour rendering index) - a highly sought after goal in optical technologies. Electronic supplementary information (ESI

Adsorption characteristics, recognition properties, and preliminary application of nordihydroguaiaretic acid molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by sol–gel surface imprinting technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao, Sen; Zhang, Wen; Long, Wei; Hou, Dan; Yang, Xuechun; Tan, Ni, E-mail: tannii@21cn.com

2016-02-28

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Nordihydroguaiaretic acid imprinted polymer with imprinting factor 2.12 was prepared for the first time through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction between the template molecules and the bifunctional monomers. • The obtained surface molecularly imprinting polymers exhibited high affinity and selectivity to the template molecules. • The prepared surface molecularly imprinted polymers were used in separation the natural active component nordihydroguaiaretic acid from medicinal plants. - Abstract: In this paper, a new core-shell composite of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) molecularly imprinted polymers layer-coated silica gel (MIP@SiO{sub 2}) was prepared through sol–gel technique and applied as a material for extraction of NDGA from Ephedra. It was synthesized using NDGA as the template molecule, γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) as the functional monomers, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the cross-linker and ethanol as the porogenic solvent in the surface of silica. The non-imprinted polymers layer-coated silica gel (NIP@SiO{sub 2}) were prepared with the same procedure, but with the absence of template molecule. In addition, the optimum adsorption affinity occurred when the molar ratio of NDGA:APTS:MTEOS:TEOS was 1:6:2:80. The prepared MIP@SiO{sub 2} and NIP@SiO{sub 2} were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Their affinity properties to NDGA were evaluated through dynamic adsorption, static adsorption, and selective recognition experiments, and the results showed the saturated adsorption capacity of MIP@SiO{sub 2} could reach to 5.90 mg g{sup −1}, which was two times more than that of NIP@SiO{sub 2}. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to evaluate the extraction of NDGA from the medicinal plant ephedra by the above prepared materials, and the results

Adsorption characteristics, recognition properties, and preliminary application of nordihydroguaiaretic acid molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by sol–gel surface imprinting technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Sen; Zhang, Wen; Long, Wei; Hou, Dan; Yang, Xuechun; Tan, Ni

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Nordihydroguaiaretic acid imprinted polymer with imprinting factor 2.12 was prepared for the first time through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction between the template molecules and the bifunctional monomers. • The obtained surface molecularly imprinting polymers exhibited high affinity and selectivity to the template molecules. • The prepared surface molecularly imprinted polymers were used in separation the natural active component nordihydroguaiaretic acid from medicinal plants. - Abstract: In this paper, a new core-shell composite of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) molecularly imprinted polymers layer-coated silica gel (MIP@SiO_2) was prepared through sol–gel technique and applied as a material for extraction of NDGA from Ephedra. It was synthesized using NDGA as the template molecule, γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) as the functional monomers, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the cross-linker and ethanol as the porogenic solvent in the surface of silica. The non-imprinted polymers layer-coated silica gel (NIP@SiO_2) were prepared with the same procedure, but with the absence of template molecule. In addition, the optimum adsorption affinity occurred when the molar ratio of NDGA:APTS:MTEOS:TEOS was 1:6:2:80. The prepared MIP@SiO_2 and NIP@SiO_2 were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Their affinity properties to NDGA were evaluated through dynamic adsorption, static adsorption, and selective recognition experiments, and the results showed the saturated adsorption capacity of MIP@SiO_2 could reach to 5.90 mg g"−"1, which was two times more than that of NIP@SiO_2. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to evaluate the extraction of NDGA from the medicinal plant ephedra by the above prepared materials, and the results indicated that the MIP@SiO_2 had

Fire performance of basalt FRP mesh reinforced HPC thin plates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hulin, Thomas; Hodicky, Kamil; Schmidt, Jacob Wittrup

2013-01-01

An experimental program was carried out to investigate the influence of basalt FRP (BFRP) reinforcing mesh on the fire behaviour of thin high performance concrete (HPC) plates applied to sandwich elements. Samples with BFRP mesh were compared to samples with no mesh, samples with steel mesh...

Preparation of polymer-blended quinine nanocomposite particles by spray drying and assessment of their instrumental bitterness-masking effect using a taste sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Taki, Moeko; Tagami, Tatsuaki; Ozeki, Tetsuya

2017-05-01

The development of taste-masking technologies for foods and drugs is essential because it would enable people to consume and receive healthy and therapeutic effect without distress. In the current study, in order to develop a novel method to prepare nanocomposite particles (microparticles containing bitter nanoparticles) in only one step, by using spray drying, a two-solution mixing nozzle-equipped spray dryer that we previously reported was used. The nanocomposite particles with or without poorly water-soluble polymers prepared using our spray-drying technique were characterized. (1) The organic solution containing quinine, a model of bitter compound and poorly water-soluble polymers and (2) sugar alcohol (mannitol) aqueous solution were separately flown in tubes and two solutions were spray dried through two-solution type spray nozzle to prepare polymer-blended quinine nanocomposite particles. Mean diameters of nanoparticles, taste-masking effect and dissolution rate of quinine were evaluated. The results of taste masking by taste sensor suggested that the polymer (Eudragit EPO, Eudragit S100 or Ethyl cellulose)-blended quinine nanocomposite particles exhibited marked masking of instrumental quinine bitterness compared with the quinine nanocomposite particles alone. Quinine nanocomposite formulations altered the quinine dissolution rate, indicating that they can control intestinal absorption of quinine. These results suggest that polymer-blended quinine composite particles prepared using our spray-drying technique are useful for masking bitter tastes in the field of food and pharmaceutical industry.

Electro-Optical and Electrochemical Properties of a Conjugated Polymer Prepared by the Cyclopolymerization of Diethyl Dipropargylmalonate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeong-Soon Gal

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The electro-optical and electrochemical properties of poly(diethyl dipropargylmalonate were measured and discussed. Poly(diethyl dipropargylmalonate prepared by (NBDPdCl2 catalyst was used for study. The chemical structure of poly(diethyl dipropargylmalonate was characterized by such instrumental methods as NMR (1H-, 13C-, IR, and UV-visible spectroscopies to have the conjugated cyclopolymer backbone system. The microstructure analysis of polymer revealed that this polymer have the six-membered ring moieties majorly. The photoluminescence peak of polymer was observed at 543 nm, which is corresponded to the photon energy of 2.51 eV. The cyclovoltamograms of the polymer exhibited the irreversible electrochemical behaviors between the doping and undoping peaks. It was found that the kinetics of the redox process of this conjugated cyclopolymer might be controlled by the diffusion-control process from the experiment of the oxidation current density of polymer versus the scan rate.

Perovskite/polymer solar cells prepared using solution process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, E. S.; Shobih; Nursam, N. M.; Saputri, D. G.

2016-01-01

We report a simple solution-based process to fabricate a perovskite/polymer tandem solar cell using inorganic CH 3 NH 3 PM 3 as an absorber and organic PCBM (6,6 phenyl C61- butyric acid methyl ester) as an electron transport layer. The absorber solution was prepared by mixing the CH 3 NH 3 I (methyl ammonium iodide) with PbI 2 (lead iodide) in DMF (N,N- dimethyl formamide) solvent. The absorber and electron transport layer were deposited by spin coating method. The electrical characteristics generated from the cell under 50 mW/cm 2 at 25 °C comprised of an open circuit voltage of 0. 3 1 V, a short circuit current density of 2.53 mA/cm 2 , and a power conversion efficiency of 0.42%. (paper)

Programming Models in HPC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shipman, Galen M. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-06-13

These are the slides for a presentation on programming models in HPC, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Parallel Computing Summer School. The following topics are covered: Flynn's Taxonomy of computer architectures; single instruction single data; single instruction multiple data; multiple instruction multiple data; address space organization; definition of Trinity (Intel Xeon-Phi is a MIMD architecture); single program multiple data; multiple program multiple data; ExMatEx workflow overview; definition of a programming model, programming languages, runtime systems; programming model and environments; MPI (Message Passing Interface); OpenMP; Kokkos (Performance Portable Thread-Parallel Programming Model); Kokkos abstractions, patterns, policies, and spaces; RAJA, a systematic approach to node-level portability and tuning; overview of the Legion Programming Model; mapping tasks and data to hardware resources; interoperability: supporting task-level models; Legion S3D execution and performance details; workflow, integration of external resources into the programming model.

Plasma-polymerized SiOx deposition on polymer film surfaces for preparation of oxygen gas barrier polymeric films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inagaki, N.

2003-01-01

SiOx films were deposited on surfaces of three polymeric films, PET, PP, and Nylon; and their oxygen gas barrier properties were evaluated. To mitigate discrepancies between the deposited SiOx and polymer film, surface modification of polymer films was done, and how the surface modification could contribute to was discussed from the viewpoint of apparent activation energy for the permeation process. The SiOx deposition on the polymer film surfaces led to a large decrease in the oxygen permeation rate. Modification of polymer film surfaces by mans of the TMOS or Si-COOH coupling treatment in prior to the SiOx deposition was effective in decreasing the oxygen permeation rate. The cavity model is proposed as an oxygen permeation process through the SiOx-deposited Nylon film. From the proposed model, controlling the interface between the deposited SiOx film and the polymer film is emphasized to be a key factor to prepare SiOx-deposited polymer films with good oxygen gas barrier properties. (author)

Molecularly imprinted polymers for sample preparation and biosensing in food analysis: Progress and perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ashley, Jon; Shahbazi, Mohammad-Ali; Kant, Krishna

2017-01-01

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are biomimetics which can selectively bind to analytes of interest. One of the most interesting areas where MIPs have shown the biggest potential is food analysis. MIPs have found use as sorbents in sample preparation attributed to the high selectivity and high...... the imprinting methods which are applicable for imprinting food templates, summarize the recent progress in using MIPs for preparing and analysing food samples, and discuss the current limitations in the commercialisation of MIPs technology. Finally, future perspectives will be given....

Preparation and in vitro evaluation of folate-receptor-targeted SPION-polymer micelle hybrids for MRI contrast enhancement in cancer imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Mahajan, Shveta; Koul, Veena; Choudhary, Veena; Shishodia, Gauri; Bharti, Alok C.

2013-01-01

Polymer-SPION hybrids were investigated for receptor-mediated localization in tumour tissue. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) prepared by high-temperature decomposition of iron acetylacetonate were monodisperse (9.27 ± 3.37 nm), with high saturation magnetization of 76.8 emu g-1. Amphiphilic copolymers prepared from methyl methacrylate and PEG methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization were conjugated with folic acid (for folate-receptor specificity). The folate-conjugated polymer had a low critical micellar concentration (0.4 mg l-1), indicating stability of the micellar formulation. SPION-polymeric micelle clusters were prepared by desolvation of the SPION dispersion/polymer solution in water. Magnetic resonance imaging of the formulation revealed very good contrast enhancement, with transverse (T2) relaxivity of 260.4 mM-1 s-1. The biological evaluation of the SPION micelles included cellular viability assay (MTT) and uptake in HeLa cells. These studies demonstrated the potential use of these nanoplatforms for imaging and targeting.

Understanding the compaction behaviour of low-substituted HPC: macro, micro, and nano-metric evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

ElShaer, Amr; Al-Khattawi, Ali; Mohammed, Afzal R; Warzecha, Monika; Lamprou, Dimitrios A; Hassanin, Hany

2018-06-01

The fast development in materials science has resulted in the emergence of new pharmaceutical materials with superior physical and mechanical properties. Low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose is an ether derivative of cellulose and is praised for its multi-functionality as a binder, disintegrant, film coating agent and as a suitable material for medical dressings. Nevertheless, very little is known about the compaction behaviour of this polymer. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the compaction and disintegration behaviour of four grades of L-HPC namely; LH32, LH21, LH11, and LHB1. The macrometric properties of the four powders were studied and the compaction behaviour was evaluated using the out-of-die method. LH11 and LH22 showed poor flow properties as the powders were dominated by fibrous particles with high aspect ratios, which reduced the powder flow. LH32 showed a weak compressibility profile and demonstrated a large elastic region, making it harder for this polymer to deform plastically. These findings are supported by AFM which revealed the high roughness of LH32 powder (100.09 ± 18.84 nm), resulting in small area of contact, but promoting mechanical interlocking. On the contrary, LH21 and LH11 powders had smooth surfaces which enabled larger contact area and higher adhesion forces of 21.01 ± 11.35 nN and 9.50 ± 5.78 nN, respectively. This promoted bond formation during compression as LH21 and LH11 powders had low strength yield.

Langmuir-Blodgett films prepared from pre-formed cholestanic liquid-crystalline polymers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tundo, P.; Hodge, P.; Valli, L.; Davis, F. (Venice Univ. (Italy). Dip. di Scienze Ambientali Lecce Univ. (Italy). Dip. di Scienza dei Materiali Manchester Univ. (United Kingdom). Dep. of Chemistry)

1992-01-01

A series of alternating copolymers of maleic anhydride and a-olefins functionalized through different alkyl chains with cholestanic groups were synthetised and derivatives prepared by reactions of the anhydride residues with methanol, water, dimethylamine and morpholine, respectively. The same starting functionalized a-olefins were used to prepare other suitable compounds in order to correlate the features of the liquid-crystalline behaviour of the mesogenic cholestanic group with the stability of the forthcoming polymeric or not polymeric Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films. For some copolymers surface pressure against area per molecule isotherms are reported. In some multilayer (LB) films, the spacings between the layers were determined by the detection of BRAGG peaks by X-ray diffraction. The (LB) films of these polymers are closed packed, owing to either the polymeric skeleton or liquid-crystalline interaction.

Towards Spherical Mesh Gravity and Magnetic Modelling in an HPC Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, R. J.; Brodie, R. C.; de Hoog, M.; Navin, J.; Chen, C.; Du, J.; Liang, Q.; Wang, H.; Li, Y.

2013-12-01

Staff at Geoscience Australia (GA), Australia's Commonwealth Government geoscientific agency, have routinely performed 3D gravity and magnetic modelling as part of geoscience investigations. For this work, we have used software programs that have been based on a Cartesian mesh spatial framework. These programs have come as executable files that were compiled to operate in a Windows environment on single core personal computers (PCs). To cope with models with higher resolution and larger extents, we developed an approach whereby a large problem could be broken down into a number of overlapping smaller models (';tiles') that could be modelled separately, with the results combined back into a single output model. To speed up the processing, we established a Condor distributed network from existing desktop PCs. A number of factors have caused us to consider a new approach to this modelling work. The drivers for change include; 1) models with very large lateral extents where the effects of Earth curvature are a consideration, 2) a desire to ensure that the modelling of separate regions is carried out in a consistent and managed fashion, 3) migration of scientific computing to off-site High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities, and 4) development of virtual globe environments for integration and visualization of 3D spatial objects. Some of the more surprising realizations to emerge have been that; 1) there aren't any readily available commercial software packages for modelling gravity and magnetic data in a spherical mesh spatial framework, 2) there are many different types of HPC environments, 3) no two HPC environments are the same, and 4) the most common virtual globe environment (i.e., Google Earth) doesn't allow spatial objects to be displayed below the topographic/bathymetric surface. Our response has been to do the following; 1) form a collaborative partnership with researchers at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and the China University of Geosciences (CUG

Bringing ATLAS production to HPC resources - A use case with the Hydra supercomputer of the Max Planck Society

CERN Document Server

Kennedy, John; The ATLAS collaboration; Mazzaferro, Luca; Walker, Rodney

2015-01-01

The possible usage of HPC resources by ATLAS is now becoming viable due to the changing nature of these systems and it is also very attractive due to the need for increasing amounts of simulated data. In recent years the architecture of HPC systems has evolved, moving away from specialized monolithic systems, to a more generic Linux type platform. This change means that the deployment of non HPC specific codes has become much easier. The timing of this evolution perfectly suits the needs of ATLAS and opens a new window of opportunity. The ATLAS experiment at CERN will begin a period of high luminosity data taking in 2015. This high luminosity phase will be accompanied by a need for increasing amounts of simulated data which is expected to exceed the capabilities of the current Grid infrastructure. ATLAS aims to address this need by opportunistically accessing resources such as cloud and HPC systems. This paper presents the results of a pilot project undertaken by ATLAS and the MPP and RZG to provide access to...

ISC High Performance 2017 International Workshops, DRBSD, ExaComm, HCPM, HPC-IODC, IWOPH, IXPUG, P^3MA, VHPC, Visualization at Scale, WOPSSS

CERN Document Server

Yokota, Rio; Taufer, Michela; Shalf, John

2017-01-01

This book constitutes revised selected papers from 10 workshops that were held as the ISC High Performance 2017 conference in Frankfurt, Germany, in June 2017. The 59 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this book. They stem from the following workshops: Workshop on Virtualization in High-Performance Cloud Computing (VHPC) Visualization at Scale: Deployment Case Studies and Experience Reports International Workshop on Performance Portable Programming Models for Accelerators (P^3MA) OpenPOWER for HPC (IWOPH) International Workshop on Data Reduction for Big Scientific Data (DRBSD) International Workshop on Communication Architectures for HPC, Big Data, Deep Learning and Clouds at Extreme Scale Workshop on HPC Computing in a Post Moore's Law World (HCPM) HPC I/O in the Data Center ( HPC-IODC) Workshop on Performance and Scalability of Storage Systems (WOPSSS) IXPUG: Experiences on Intel Knights Landing at the One Year Mark International Workshop on Communicati...

Facile preparation of hierarchically porous polymer microspheres for superhydrophobic coating

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Jiefeng; Wong, Julia Shuk-Ping; Hu, Mingjun; Li, Wan; Li, Robert. K. Y.

2013-12-01

electrospraying influence the morphology of finally obtained products. In this paper, the influence of polymer concentration, the weight ratio between nonsolvent and polymer and the flowing rate on the morphology of the porous microsphere is carefully studied. The hierarchically porous microsphere significantly increases the surface roughness and thus the hydrophobicity, and the contact angle can reach as high as 152.2 +/- 1.2°. This nonsolvent assisted electrospraying opens a new way to fabricate superhydrophobic coating materials. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: SEM images of microspheres prepared from electrospraying PMMA solution without nonsolvent. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr05281h

Structural Characterization of Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites Prepared by Co-Precipitation Using EPR Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Udo Kielmann

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCNCs containing either a rubber or an acrylate polymer were prepared by drying or co-precipitating polymer latex and nanolayered clay (synthetic and natural suspensions. The interface between the polymer and the clay nanoparticles was studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR techniques by selectively addressing spin probes either to the surfactant layer (labeled stearic acid or the clay surface (labeled catamine. Continuous-wave (CW EPR studies of the surfactant dynamics allow to define a transition temperature T* which was tentatively assigned to the order-disorder transition of the surfactant layer. CW EPR studies of PCNC showed that completely exfoliated nanoparticles coexist with agglomerates. HYSCORE spectroscopy in PCNCs showed couplings within the probe −assigned with DFT computations− and couplings with nuclei of the environment, 1H and 23Na for the surfactant layer probe, and 29Si, 7Li, 19F and 23Na for the clay surface probe. Analysis of these couplings indicates that the integrity of the surfactant layer is conserved and that there are sizeable ionic regions containing sodium ions directly beyond the surfactant layer. Simulations of the very weak couplings demonstrated that the HYSCORE spectra are sensitive to the composition of the clay and whether or not clay platelets stack.

Preparation and characterization of high performance Schiff-base liquid crystal diepoxide polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Huan; Fu Zien; Xu Kai; Cai Hualun; Liu Xin; Chen Mingcai

2012-01-01

Graphical abstract: The specific effects of highly conjugated Schiff-base moiety on thermal properties of the Schiff-base epoxy polymer were proposed first by us. From the point of view of structure-properties relationship, it can be considered that owing to the presence of the Schiff-base group, the high performance liquid crystal diepoxide polymer displayed improved thermal stability. Highlights: ► In this work, we first proposed that specific effects of highly conjugated Schiff-base moiety on thermal properties of the Schiff-base epoxy polymer. ► As one aim of this study, the thermal and thermal-oxidative stabilities of the thermosets were studied by TGA under nitrogen and under air. ► The second aim of this study was to further understand the thermal degradation mechanism. ► For thermal degradation mechanism of this polymer under nitrogen, TG-IR was used to investigate volatile components, and SEM/EDS was used to explore morphologies and chemical components of the residual char. ► From the point of view of structure-properties relationship, it can be considered that owing to the presence of the Schiff-base group, the high performance liquid crystal diepoxide polymer displayed the improved thermal stability. - Abstract: A novel Schiff-base liquid crystal diepoxide polymer was prepared via a thermal copolymerization of a Schiff-base epoxy monomer (PBMBA) with a diamine co-monomer (MDA). We first proposed that specific effects of highly conjugated Schiff-base moiety on thermal properties of the Schiff-base epoxy polymer (PBMBA/MDA). Thermal degradation behavior of the polymer was characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under nitrogen and under air, respectively. Thermogravimetric data obtained from TGA under nitrogen and under air reveal that PBMBA/MDA exhibits higher thermal stability compared with bisphenol-A type epoxy polymer (DGEBA/MDA) and other mesogene-containing epoxy polymer. It is worth pointing out that the outstanding residual

Simplifying the Development, Use and Sustainability of HPC Software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Cohen

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Developing software to undertake complex, compute-intensive scientific processes requires a challenging combination of both specialist domain knowledge and software development skills to convert this knowledge into efficient code. As computational platforms become increasingly heterogeneous and newer types of platform such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS cloud computing become more widely accepted for high-performance computing (HPC, scientists require more support from computer scientists and resource providers to develop efficient code that offers long-term sustainability and makes optimal use of the resources available to them. As part of the libhpc stage 1 and 2 projects we are developing a framework to provide a richer means of job specification and efficient execution of complex scientific software on heterogeneous infrastructure. In this updated version of our submission to the WSSSPE13 workshop at SuperComputing 2013 we set out our approach to simplifying access to HPC applications and resources for end-users through the use of flexible and interchangeable software components and associated high-level functional-style operations. We believe this approach can support sustainability of scientific software and help to widen access to it.

Preparation and optimization of CdWO{sub 4}-polymer nano-composite film as an alpha particle counter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ziluei, Hossein [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, AEOI, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Azimirad, Rouhollah [Malek-Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mojtahedzadeh Larijani, Majid, E-mail: mmojtahedfr@yahoo.com [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, AEOI, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ziaie, Farhoud [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, AEOI, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2017-04-21

In this research work, CdWO{sub 4}/polymer composite films with different thicknesses were prepared using Poly-methyl acrylate polymer and synthesized CdWO{sub 4} powder. The CdWO{sub 4} powder was synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method in the laboratory. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy proved that the CdWO{sub 4} powder was successfully prepared. Moreover, photoluminescence analysis showed that adding polymer does not change the emission peak of CdWO{sub 4}. Also, the responses of all samples were measured using an {sup 241}Am alpha source with 1860 Bq activity. Results showed that the sample having thickness of 177 mg/cm{sup 2} has the best counting efficiency (over 2π geometry) among the others. The efficiency measurement was further evaluated using a {sup 230}Th source whose activity is 190.7 Bq. It revealed that the counting efficiency of this sample for both {sup 241}Am and {sup 230}Th was nearly equal.

Comparison of non-electrophoresis grade with electrophoresis grade BIS in NIPAM polymer gel preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Khodadadi, Roghayeh; Khajeali, Azim; Farajollahi, Ali Reza; Hajalioghli, Parisa; Raeisi, Noorallah

2015-01-01

Introduction:The main objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing electrophoresis cross-linker with non-electrophoresis N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide (BIS) in N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel and its possible effect on dose response. Methods: NIPAM polymer gel was prepared from non-electrophoresis grade BIS and the relaxation rate (R2) was measured by MR imaging after exposing the gel to gamma radiation from Co-60 source. To compare the response of this gel with the one that contains electrophoresis grade BIS, two sets of NIPAM gel were prepared using electrophoresis and non-electrophoresis BIS and irradiated to different gamma doses. Results: It was found that the dose–response of NIPAM gel made from the non-electrophoresis grade BIS is coincident with that of electrophoresis grade BIS. Conclusion:Taken all, it can be concluded that the non-electrophoresis grade BIS not only is a suitable alternative for the electrophoresis grade BIS but also reduces the cost of gel due to its lower price. PMID:26457250

How do monomeric components of a polymer gel dosimeter respond to ionising radiation: A steady-state radiolysis towards preparation of a 3D polymer gel dosimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozicki, Marek

2011-01-01

Ionising radiation-induced reactions of aqueous single monomer solutions and mixtures of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (Bis) in a steady-state condition are presented below and above gelation doses in order to highlight reactions in irradiated 3D polymer gel dosimeters, which are assigned for radiotherapy dosimetry. Both monomers are shown to undergo radical polymerisation and cross-linking, which result in the measured increase in molecular weight and radius of gyration of the formed polydisperse polymer coils. The formation of nanogels was also observed for Bis solutions at a low concentration. In the case of PEGDA-Bis mixtures, co-polymerisation is suggested as well. At a sufficiently high radiation dose, the formation of a polymer network was observed for both monomers and their mixture. For this reason a sol-gel analysis for PEGDA and Bis was performed gravimetrically and a proposition of an alternative to this method employing a nuclear magnetic resonance technique is made. The two monomers were used for preparation of 3D polymer gel dosimeters having the acronyms PABIG and PABIG nx . The latter is presented for the first time in this work and is a type of the formerly established PABIG polymer gel dosimeter. The elementary characteristics of the new composition are presented, underlining the ease of its preparation, low dose threshold, and slightly increased sensitivity but lower quasi-linear range of dose response in comparison to PABIG. - Highlights: → Steady-state radiolysis of Bis, PEGDA and Bis-PEGDA is examined. → High Mw products are formed at low absorbed doses. → Formation of Bis nanogels is likely; PEGDA solutions form hydrogels. → NMR technique can be used for sol-gel analysis. → Features of 3D polymer gel dosimeters made from PEGDA and Bis are shown.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers for strychnine by precipitation polymerization and multistep swelling and polymerization and their application for the selective extraction of strychnine from nux-vomica extract powder.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Yukari; Matsunaga, Hisami; Haginaka, Jun

2016-04-01

Monodisperse molecularly imprinted polymers for strychnine were prepared by precipitation polymerization and multistep swelling and polymerization, respectively. In precipitation polymerization, methacrylic acid and divinylbenzene were used as a functional monomer and crosslinker, respectively, while in multistep swelling and polymerization, methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate were used as a functional monomer and crosslinker, respectively. The retention and molecular recognition properties of the molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by both methods for strychnine were evaluated using a mixture of sodium phosphate buffer and acetonitrile as a mobile phase by liquid chromatography. In addition to shape recognition, ionic and hydrophobic interactions could affect the retention of strychnine in low acetonitrile content. Furthermore, molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by both methods could selectively recognize strychnine among solutes tested. The retention factors and imprinting factors of strychnine on the molecularly imprinted polymer prepared by precipitation polymerization were 220 and 58, respectively, using 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.0)/acetonitrile (50:50, v/v) as a mobile phase, and those on the molecularly imprinted polymer prepared by multistep swelling and polymerization were 73 and 4.5. These results indicate that precipitation polymerization is suitable for the preparation of a molecularly imprinted polymer for strychnine. Furthermore, the molecularly imprinted polymer could be successfully applied for selective extraction of strychnine in nux-vomica extract powder. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Experimental Optimization In Polymer BLEND Composite Preparation Based On Mix Level of Taguchi Robust Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Aziz Mohamed; Jaafar Abdullah; Dahlan Mohd; Rozaidi Rasid; Megat Harun AlRashid Megat Ahmad; Mahathir Mohamad; Mohd Hamzah Harun

2012-01-01

L 18 orthogonal array in mix level of Taguchi robust design method was carried out to optimize experimental conditions for the preparation of polymer blend composite. Tensile strength and neutron absorption of the composite were the properties of interest. Filler size, filler loading, ball mixing time and dispersion agent concentration were selected as parameters or factors which are expected to affect the composite properties. As a result of Taguchi analysis, filler loading was the most influencing parameter on the tensile strength and neutron absorption. The least influencing was ball-mixing time. The optimal conditions were determined by using mix-level Taguchi robust design method and a polymer composite with tensile strength of 6.33 MPa was successfully prepared. The composite was found to fully absorb thermal neutron flux of 1.04 x 10 5 n/ cm 2 / s with only 2 mm in thickness. In addition, the filler was also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis (EDX). (Author)

A harmonic polynomial cell (HPC) method for 3D Laplace equation with application in marine hydrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shao, Yan-Lin, E-mail: yanlin.shao@dnvgl.com; Faltinsen, Odd M.

2014-10-01

We propose a new efficient and accurate numerical method based on harmonic polynomials to solve boundary value problems governed by 3D Laplace equation. The computational domain is discretized by overlapping cells. Within each cell, the velocity potential is represented by the linear superposition of a complete set of harmonic polynomials, which are the elementary solutions of Laplace equation. By its definition, the method is named as Harmonic Polynomial Cell (HPC) method. The characteristics of the accuracy and efficiency of the HPC method are demonstrated by studying analytical cases. Comparisons will be made with some other existing boundary element based methods, e.g. Quadratic Boundary Element Method (QBEM) and the Fast Multipole Accelerated QBEM (FMA-QBEM) and a fourth order Finite Difference Method (FDM). To demonstrate the applications of the method, it is applied to some studies relevant for marine hydrodynamics. Sloshing in 3D rectangular tanks, a fully-nonlinear numerical wave tank, fully-nonlinear wave focusing on a semi-circular shoal, and the nonlinear wave diffraction of a bottom-mounted cylinder in regular waves are studied. The comparisons with the experimental results and other numerical results are all in satisfactory agreement, indicating that the present HPC method is a promising method in solving potential-flow problems. The underlying procedure of the HPC method could also be useful in other fields than marine hydrodynamics involved with solving Laplace equation.

Design, preparation, surface recognition properties, and characteristics of icariin molecularly imprinted polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohe Jia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Icariin molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs were prepared by precipitation polymerization. Prior to the polymerization, computer simulation was performed to sketchily choose the suitable functional monomer and the corresponding polymerization solvent. The optimized synthesis parameters, including the functional monomer acrylamide, the mixture of methanol and acetonitrile (V:V = 3:1 as the polymerization solvent, and the reaction molar ratio (1:6:80 of template molecule, functional monomer and cross-linker, were respectively obtained by single factor analysis and orthogonal design methods. The results of the adsorption experiments showed that the resultant MIPs exhibited good adsorption and recognition abilities to icariin. Scatchard analysis illustrated that the homogeneous binding sites only for icariin molecules were formed in the prepared MIPs.

Molecular Design for Preparation of Hexagonal-Ordered Porous Films Based on Side-chain Type Liquid-Crystalline Star Polymer.

Science.gov (United States)

Naka, Yumiko; Takayama, Hiromu; Koyama, Teruhisa; Le, Khoa V; Sasaki, Takeo

2018-05-02

Fabrication of regularly porous films by the breath-figure method has attracted much attention. The simple, low-cost technique uses the condensation of water droplets to produce these structures, but the phenomenon itself is complex, requiring control over many interacting parameters that change throughout the process. Developing a unified understanding for the molecular design of polymers to prepare ordered porous films is challenging, but required for further advancements. In this article, the effects of the chemical structure of polymers in the breath-figure technique were systematically explored using side-chain type liquid-crystalline (LC) star polymers. The formation of porous films was affected by the structure of the polymers. Although the entire film surface of poly(11-[4-(4-cyanobiphenyl)oxy]undecyl methacrylate) (P11CB) had a hexagonal ordered porous structure over a certain Mn value, regularly arranged holes did not easily form in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), even though the main chain of PMMA is similar to that of P11CB. Comparing P11CB and poly(11-[(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-yloxy]undecyl methacrylate) (P11B) (P11CB without cyano groups) showed that the local polar groups in hydrophobic polymers promoted the formation of ordered porous films. No holes formed in poly(4-cyanobiphenyl methacrylate) (P0CB) (P11CB without alkyl spacers) films due to its hydrophilicity. The introduction of alkyl chains in P0CB allowed the preparation of honeycomb-structured films by increasing the internal tension. However, alkyl chains in the side chain alone did not result in a porous structure, as in the case of poly(11-[(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-yloxy]undecyl methacrylate) (P11). Aromatic rings are also required to increase the Tg and improve film formability. In the present study, suitable molecular designs of polymers were found, specifically hydrophobic polymers with local polar groups, to form a regularly porous structure. Development of clear guidelines for the molecular

Preparation and DMFC performance of a sulfophenylated poly(arylene ether ketone) polymer electrolyte membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Baijun, E-mail: liubj@jlu.edu.c [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Hu Wei [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Kim, Yu Seung [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Electronic and Electrochemical Materials and Devices, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Zou Haifeng [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Robertson, Gilles P. [Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6 (Canada); Jiang Zhenhua [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Guiver, Michael D. [Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6 (Canada); Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of)

2010-04-15

A sulfonated poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK) having a well-defined rigid homopolymer-like chemical structure was synthesized from a readily prepared PEEKK by post-sulfonation with concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature within several hours. The polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) cast from the resulting polymer exhibited an excellent combination of thermal resistance, oxidative and dimensional stability, low methanol fuel permeability and high proton conductivity. Furthermore, membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) were successfully fabricated and good direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance was observed. At 2 M MeOH feed, the current density at 0.5 V reached 165 mA/cm, which outperformed our reported similarly structured analogues and MEAs derived from comparative Nafion membranes.

Preparation of polymer-organo clay nano composites through the spray drying process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardo, Paulo R.A.; Pessan, Luiz A.; Carvalho, Antonio J.F. de; Vidotti, Suel E.

2011-01-01

The objective of the work was the study and preparation of polymer nano composites with montmorillonite organo clays (MMT) through the spray drying process. A new technique was proposed and tested to obtaining polymer nano composites, based on the use of the spray drying process to produce a nano composite with high clay content. The process consisted of the following stages: clay intercalation in water solution, with after addition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and a hydro soluble polyester ionomer (GEROLPS20) as exfoliation agents; spray drying the mixture obtained; incorporation powder in EVOH, PET e PP matrix. The effects of exfoliation agent on morphological and thermal properties of the nano composites were studied by XRD, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and TGA. The results demonstrate that the process of spray drying is an innovative way to obtain a nano composite with high clay content. (author)

Preparation and Characterization of Conducting Polymer Latices by Chemical Polymerization of Aniline or Anisidine in Presence of Latex: Study of Their Electroactivity and Anti-Corrosion Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bakhshali Massoumi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Poly (vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate was prepared in presence of potassium persulphate as an oxidizing agent in aqueous solution of dodecylbenzene sulfonate sodium as an emulsifying agent. Then, aniline was polymerized by chemical oxidation method at three different concentrations of aniline monomer (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 M in toluene in presence of poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate in order to obtain polyaniline/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate. To prepare conducting-latex of polyanisidine/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate the same method was employed as above for aniline monomer in obtaining conducting polyaniline/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate latex. In addition, the purification of conducting-latex polymers, polyaniline/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate and polyanisidine/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate was conducted and preparation of tin layer films of conducting-latex polymers was carried out by casting method on glassy lames. The electroactivity properties of the prepared latex-polymers, polyaniline/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate and polyanisidine/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate were investigated by cyclic voltammetery (CV. The voltamogrames showed that the latex films were electroactive. Because of conductivity and electroactivity, the obtained films may find applications in anti-corrosion coatings. The anti-corrosion properties of conducting-latex polymers were studied on aluminum surface by impedance technique. The structure of the prepared conducting-latex polymers was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR. Finally, the electrical conductivity of synthesized conducting-latex polymers, polyaniline/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate and polyanisidine/poly(vinylacetate-co-butylmethacrylate was measured by four probe technique.

Low latency network and distributed storage for next generation HPC systems: the ExaNeSt project

Science.gov (United States)

Ammendola, R.; Biagioni, A.; Cretaro, P.; Frezza, O.; Lo Cicero, F.; Lonardo, A.; Martinelli, M.; Paolucci, P. S.; Pastorelli, E.; Pisani, F.; Simula, F.; Vicini, P.; Navaridas, J.; Chaix, F.; Chrysos, N.; Katevenis, M.; Papaeustathiou, V.

2017-10-01

With processor architecture evolution, the HPC market has undergone a paradigm shift. The adoption of low-cost, Linux-based clusters extended the reach of HPC from its roots in modelling and simulation of complex physical systems to a broader range of industries, from biotechnology, cloud computing, computer analytics and big data challenges to manufacturing sectors. In this perspective, the near future HPC systems can be envisioned as composed of millions of low-power computing cores, densely packed — meaning cooling by appropriate technology — with a tightly interconnected, low latency and high performance network and equipped with a distributed storage architecture. Each of these features — dense packing, distributed storage and high performance interconnect — represents a challenge, made all the harder by the need to solve them at the same time. These challenges lie as stumbling blocks along the road towards Exascale-class systems; the ExaNeSt project acknowledges them and tasks itself with investigating ways around them.

Users and Programmers Guide for HPC Platforms in CIEMAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz Roldan, A.

2003-01-01

This Technical Report presents a description of the High Performance Computing platforms available to researchers in CIEMAT and dedicated mainly to scientific computing. It targets to users and programmers and tries to help in the processes of developing new code and porting code across platforms. A brief review is also presented about historical evolution in the field of HPC, ie, the programming paradigms and underlying architectures. (Author) 32 refs

Behavior of HPC with Fly Ash after Elevated Temperature

OpenAIRE

Shang, Huai-Shuai; Yi, Ting-Hua

2013-01-01

For use in fire resistance calculations, the relevant thermal properties of high-performance concrete (HPC) with fly ash were determined through an experimental study. These properties included compressive strength, cubic compressive strength, cleavage strength, flexural strength, and the ultrasonic velocity at various temperatures (20, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500∘C) for high-performance concrete. The effect of temperature on compressive strength, cubic compressive strength, cleavage strength,...

Accelerating Memory-Access-Limited HPC Applications via Novel Fast Data Compression, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A fast-paced continual increase on the ratio of CPU to memory speed feeds an exponentially growing limitation for extracting performance from HPC systems. Breaking...

Accelerating Memory-Access-Limited HPC Applications via Novel Fast Data Compression, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A fast-paced continual increase on the ratio of CPU to memory speed feeds an exponentially growing limitation for extracting performance from HPC systems. Ongoing...

Application of radiation grafting techniques to prepare the high molecular weight water-soluble polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Hai; Nguyen Quoc Hien; Nguyen Tan Man; Truong Thi Hanh; Le Huu Tu; Tran Thi Tam; Pham Thi Sam; Pham Anh Tuan; Le Dinh Lang

2003-01-01

The results of the study on the preparation of the high molecular weight water-soluble polymers by radiation grafting and their properties is presented as follows: 1/ by radiation grafting, the molecular weight of PVA was increased 20 times and PAM was increased only 3 times; 2/ the thermal and medium stability of poly(vinyl alcohol) grafted with acrylamide was obviously improved. (LH)

Preparation of PbS and PbO nanopowders from new Pb(II)(saccharine) coordination polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslani, Alireza; Musevi, Seyid Javad; Şahin, Ertan; Yilmaz, Veysel T.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The complex of compounds “[Pb(H 2 O)(μ-OAc)(μ-sac)] n ” are synthesized at nano and bulk size structurally diverse and show interesting three-dimensional coordination polymers. • Reduction of the particle size of the coordination polymers to a few dozen nanometers results in lower thermal stability when compared to the single crystalline samples. • This study demonstrates that the metal–organic framework may be suitable precursors for the preparation of nanoscale materials with interesting morphologies. - Abstract: Nanopowders and single crystal of new Pb(II) three-dimensional coordination polymer, [Pb(H 2 O)(μ-OAc)(μ-sac)] n “PASAC” were synthesized by a sonochemical and branched tube methods (Yılmaz et al., Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 629 (2003) 172). The new nano-structures of Pb(II) coordination polymer were characterized by X-ray crystallography analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), surface analysis (BET), and IR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of these compounds consists of three-dimensional polymeric units. The thermal stability of compounds was studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). PbS and PbO nano-structures were obtained by calcinations of the nano-structures of this coordination polymer at 600 °C

The HARNESS Workbench: Unified and Adaptive Access to Diverse HPC Platforms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sunderam, Vaidy S.

2012-03-20

The primary goal of the Harness WorkBench (HWB) project is to investigate innovative software environments that will help enhance the overall productivity of applications science on diverse HPC platforms. Two complementary frameworks were designed: one, a virtualized command toolkit for application building, deployment, and execution, that provides a common view across diverse HPC systems, in particular the DOE leadership computing platforms (Cray, IBM, SGI, and clusters); and two, a unified runtime environment that consolidates access to runtime services via an adaptive framework for execution-time and post processing activities. A prototype of the first was developed based on the concept of a 'system-call virtual machine' (SCVM), to enhance portability of the HPC application deployment process across heterogeneous high-end machines. The SCVM approach to portable builds is based on the insertion of toolkit-interpretable directives into original application build scripts. Modifications resulting from these directives preserve the semantics of the original build instruction flow. The execution of the build script is controlled by our toolkit that intercepts build script commands in a manner transparent to the end-user. We have applied this approach to a scientific production code (Gamess-US) on the Cray-XT5 machine. The second facet, termed Unibus, aims to facilitate provisioning and aggregation of multifaceted resources from resource providers and end-users perspectives. To achieve that, Unibus proposes a Capability Model and mediators (resource drivers) to virtualize access to diverse resources, and soft and successive conditioning to enable automatic and user-transparent resource provisioning. A proof of concept implementation has demonstrated the viability of this approach on high end machines, grid systems and computing clouds.

OCCAM: a flexible, multi-purpose and extendable HPC cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Aldinucci, M.; Bagnasco, S.; Lusso, S.; Pasteris, P.; Rabellino, S.; Vallero, S.

2017-10-01

The Open Computing Cluster for Advanced data Manipulation (OCCAM) is a multipurpose flexible HPC cluster designed and operated by a collaboration between the University of Torino and the Sezione di Torino of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. It is aimed at providing a flexible, reconfigurable and extendable infrastructure to cater to a wide range of different scientific computing use cases, including ones from solid-state chemistry, high-energy physics, computer science, big data analytics, computational biology, genomics and many others. Furthermore, it will serve as a platform for R&D activities on computational technologies themselves, with topics ranging from GPU acceleration to Cloud Computing technologies. A heterogeneous and reconfigurable system like this poses a number of challenges related to the frequency at which heterogeneous hardware resources might change their availability and shareability status, which in turn affect methods and means to allocate, manage, optimize, bill, monitor VMs, containers, virtual farms, jobs, interactive bare-metal sessions, etc. This work describes some of the use cases that prompted the design and construction of the HPC cluster, its architecture and resource provisioning model, along with a first characterization of its performance by some synthetic benchmark tools and a few realistic use-case tests.

Self-service for software development projects and HPC activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Husejko, M; Høimyr, N; Gonzalez, A; Koloventzos, G; Asbury, D; Trzcinska, A; Agtzidis, I; Botrel, G; Otto, J

2014-01-01

This contribution describes how CERN has implemented several essential tools for agile software development processes, ranging from version control (Git) to issue tracking (Jira) and documentation (Wikis). Running such services in a large organisation like CERN requires many administrative actions both by users and service providers, such as creating software projects, managing access rights, users and groups, and performing tool-specific customisation. Dealing with these requests manually would be a time-consuming task. Another area of our CERN computing services that has required dedicated manual support has been clusters for specific user communities with special needs. Our aim is to move all our services to a layered approach, with server infrastructure running on the internal cloud computing infrastructure at CERN. This contribution illustrates how we plan to optimise the management of our of services by means of an end-user facing platform acting as a portal into all the related services for software projects, inspired by popular portals for open-source developments such as Sourceforge, GitHub and others. Furthermore, the contribution will discuss recent activities with tests and evaluations of High Performance Computing (HPC) applications on different hardware and software stacks, and plans to offer a dynamically scalable HPC service at CERN, based on affordable hardware.

Preparation and characterization of polymer nanocomposites based on chitosan and clay minerals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiori, Ana Paula Santos de Melo; Gabiraba, Victor Parizio; Praxedes, Ana Paula Perdigao; Nunes, Marcelo Ramon da Silva; Balliano, Tatiane L.; Silva, Rosanny Christhinny da; Tonholo, Josealdo; Ribeiro, Adriana Santos

2014-01-01

In this work nanocomposites based on chitosan and different clays were prepared using polyethyleneglycol (PEG) as plasticizer. The samples obtained were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG) and by mechanical characterization (tensile test) with the aim of investigating the interactions between chitosan and clay. The nanocomposite films prepared using sodium bentonite (Ben) showed an increase of 81.2% in the maximum tensile stress values and a decrease of 16.0% in the Young’s modulus when compared to the chitosan with PEG (QuiPEG) films, evidencing that the introduction of the clay into the polymer matrix provided a more flexible and resistant film, whose elongation at break was 93.6% higher than for the QuiPEG film. (author)

Independent assessment of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) sample preparation quality : Effect of sample preparation on MALDI-MS of synthetic polymers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooijman, Pieter C.; Kok, Sander; Honing, Maarten

2017-01-01

Rationale: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) provides detailed and in-depth information about the molecular characteristics of synthetic polymers. To obtain the most accurate results the sample preparation parameters should be chosen to suit the sample and the

Preparation and evaluation of molecularly imprinted polymer for selective recognition and adsorption of gossypol.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi, Keke; Wang, Lulu; Zhang, Yagang; Zhang, Xuemin; Zhang, Letao; Liu, Li; Yao, Jun; Xiang, Wei

2018-03-01

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were designed and prepared via bulk thermal polymerization with gossypol as the template molecule and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate as the functional monomer. The morphology and microstructures of MIPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas. Static adsorption tests were performed to evaluate adsorption behavior of gossypol by the MIPs. It was found that adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms data of MIPs for gossypol were fit well with the pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich model, respectively. Scatchard analysis showed that heterogeneous binding sites were formed in the MIPs, including lower-affinity binding sites with the maximum adsorption of 252 mg/g and higher-affinity binding sites with the maximum adsorption of 632 mg/g. Binding studies also revealed that MIPs had favorable selectivity towards gossypol compared with non-imprinted polymers. Furthermore, adsorption capacity of MIPs maintained above 90% after 5 regeneration cycles, indicating MIPs were recyclable and could be used multiple times. These results demonstrated that prepared MIPs could be a promising functional material for selective adsorption of gossypol. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modification of inkjet printer for polymer sensitive layer preparation on silicon-based gas sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tianjian Li

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Inkjet printing is a versatile, low cost deposition technology with the capabilities for the localized deposition of high precision, patterned deposition in a programmable way, and the parallel deposition of a variety of materials. This paper demonstrates a new method of modifying the consumer inkjet printer to prepare polymer-sensitive layers on silicon wafer for gas sensor applications. A special printing tray for the modified inkjet printer to support a 4-inch silicon wafer is designed. The positioning accuracy of the deposition system is tested, based on the newly modified printer. The experimental data show that the positioning errors in the horizontal direction are negligibly small, while the positioning errors in the vertical direction rise with the increase of the printing distance of the wafer. The method for making suitable ink to be deposited to form the polymer-sensitive layer is also discussed. In the testing, a solution of 0.1 wt% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA was used as ink to prepare a sensitive layer with certain dimensions at a specific location on the surface of the silicon wafer, and the results prove the feasibility of the methods presented in this article.

Polymer dispersed liquid crystals. Pt.1 Concept, Preparation and Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakemi, H. A.; Santangelo, M.

1998-01-01

It is more than a decade since Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) film technology became the subject of a world-wide scientific and industrial research and development for commercial applications as large-area reflective displays and electrooptical windows, for privacy, security and light transmission control. In view of current interest and intensive fundamental and industrial research on PDLC, the authors attempt to provide a review of the state-of-art of this technology, from concept to its industrial production, in a series of articles. In the present introductory part, the authors discuss the basic concept, the principle of operation, the materials and the preparation techniques of a PDLC device by phase separation method [it

Lightweight HPC beam OMEGA

Science.gov (United States)

Sýkora, Michal; Jedlinský, Petr; Komanec, Jan

2017-09-01

In the design and construction of precast bridge structures, a general goal is to achieve the maximum possible span length. Often, the weight of individual beams makes them difficult to handle, which may be a limiting factor in achieving the desired span. The design of the OMEGA beam aims to solve a part of these problems. It is a thin-walled shell made of prestressed high-performance concrete (HPC) in the shape of inverted Ω character. The concrete shell with prestressed strands is fitted with a non-stressed tendon already in the casting yard and is more easily transported and installed on the site. The shells are subsequently completed with mild steel reinforcement and cores are cast in situ together with the deck. The OMEGA beams can also be used as an alternative to steel - concrete composite bridges. Due to the higher production complexity, OMEGA beam can hardly substitute conventional prestressed beams like T or PETRA completely, but it can be a useful alternative for specific construction needs.

Polymer containing functional end groups is base for new polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Hirshfield, S. M.

1971-01-01

Butadiene is polymerized with lithium-p-lithiophenoxide to produce linear polymer containing oxy-lithium group at one end and active carbon-lithium group at other end. Living polymers represent new approach to preparation of difunctional polymers in which structural features, molecular weight, type and number of end groups are controlled.

HPC CLOUD APPLIED TO LATTICE OPTIMIZATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Changchun; Nishimura, Hiroshi; James, Susan; Song, Kai; Muriki, Krishna; Qin, Yong

2011-03-18

As Cloud services gain in popularity for enterprise use, vendors are now turning their focus towards providing cloud services suitable for scientific computing. Recently, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) introduced the new Cluster Compute Instances (CCI), a new instance type specifically designed for High Performance Computing (HPC) applications. At Berkeley Lab, the physicists at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) have been running Lattice Optimization on a local cluster, but the queue wait time and the flexibility to request compute resources when needed are not ideal for rapid development work. To explore alternatives, for the first time we investigate running the Lattice Optimization application on Amazon's new CCI to demonstrate the feasibility and trade-offs of using public cloud services for science.

HPC Cloud Applied To Lattice Optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Changchun; Nishimura, Hiroshi; James, Susan; Song, Kai; Muriki, Krishna; Qin, Yong

2011-01-01

As Cloud services gain in popularity for enterprise use, vendors are now turning their focus towards providing cloud services suitable for scientific computing. Recently, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) introduced the new Cluster Compute Instances (CCI), a new instance type specifically designed for High Performance Computing (HPC) applications. At Berkeley Lab, the physicists at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) have been running Lattice Optimization on a local cluster, but the queue wait time and the flexibility to request compute resources when needed are not ideal for rapid development work. To explore alternatives, for the first time we investigate running the Lattice Optimization application on Amazon's new CCI to demonstrate the feasibility and trade-offs of using public cloud services for science.

Preparation and drug-loading properties of Fe3O4/Poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) magnetic polymer nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Wensheng; Shen, Yuhua; Xie, Anjian; Zhang, Weiqiang

2013-01-01

Fe 3 O 4 /poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) magnetic polymer nanocomposites were synthesized by the dispersion polymerization method using styrene as hard monomer, acrylic acid as functional monomer, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles modified with oleic acid as core, and poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) as shell. Drug-loading properties of magnetic polymer nanocomposites with curcumin as a model drug were also studied. The results indicated that magnetic polymer nanocomposites with monodisperse were obtained, the particle size distribution was 50–120 nm, and the average size was about 100 nm. The contents of poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) and Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles in magnetic polymer nanocomposites were 74% and 24.7%, respectively. The drug-loading capacity and entrapment efficiency were 2.5% and 44.4%, respectively. The saturation magnetization of magnetic polymer nanocomposites at 300 K was 20.2 emu/g without coercivity and remanence. The as-prepared magnetic polymer nanocomposites have not only lots of functional carboxyl groups but also stronger magnetic response, which might have potential applications in drug carrier and targeted drug release

End-to-end experiment management in HPC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bent, John M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kroiss, Ryan R [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Torrez, Alfred [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Wingate, Meghan [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

Experiment management in any domain is challenging. There is a perpetual feedback loop cycling through planning, execution, measurement, and analysis. The lifetime of a particular experiment can be limited to a single cycle although many require myriad more cycles before definite results can be obtained. Within each cycle, a large number of subexperiments may be executed in order to measure the effects of one or more independent variables. Experiment management in high performance computing (HPC) follows this general pattern but also has three unique characteristics. One, computational science applications running on large supercomputers must deal with frequent platform failures which can interrupt, perturb, or terminate running experiments. Two, these applications typically integrate in parallel using MPI as their communication medium. Three, there is typically a scheduling system (e.g. Condor, Moab, SGE, etc.) acting as a gate-keeper for the HPC resources. In this paper, we introduce LANL Experiment Management (LEM), an experimental management framework simplifying all four phases of experiment management. LEM simplifies experiment planning by allowing the user to describe their experimental goals without having to fully construct the individual parameters for each task. To simplify execution, LEM dispatches the subexperiments itself thereby freeing the user from remembering the often arcane methods for interacting with the various scheduling systems. LEM provides transducers for experiments that automatically measure and record important information about each subexperiment; these transducers can easily be extended to collect additional measurements specific to each experiment. Finally, experiment analysis is simplified by providing a general database visualization framework that allows users to quickly and easily interact with their measured data.

HPC4Energy Final Report : GE Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Steven G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Van Zandt, Devin T. [GE Energy Consulting, Schenectady, NY (United States); Thomas, Brian [GE Energy Consulting, Schenectady, NY (United States); Mahmood, Sajjad [GE Energy Consulting, Schenectady, NY (United States); Woodward, Carol S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2014-02-25

Power System planning tools are being used today to simulate systems that are far larger and more complex than just a few years ago. Advances in renewable technologies and more pervasive control technology are driving planning engineers to analyze an increasing number of scenarios and system models with much more detailed network representations. Although the speed of individual CPU’s has increased roughly according to Moore’s Law, the requirements for advanced models, increased system sizes, and larger sensitivities have outstripped CPU performance. This computational dilemma has reached a critical point and the industry needs to develop the technology to accurately model the power system of the future. The hpc4energy incubator program provided a unique opportunity to leverage the HPC resources available to LLNL and the power systems domain expertise of GE Energy to enhance the GE Concorda PSLF software. Well over 500 users worldwide, including all of the major California electric utilities, rely on Concorda PSLF software for their power flow and dynamics. This pilot project demonstrated that the GE Concorda PSLF software can perform contingency analysis in a massively parallel environment to significantly reduce the time to results. An analysis with 4,127 contingencies that would take 24 days on a single core was reduced to 24 minutes when run on 4,217 cores. A secondary goal of this project was to develop and test modeling techniques that will expand the computational capability of PSLF to efficiently deal with systems sizes greater than 150,000 buses. Toward this goal the matrix reordering implementation time was sped up 9.5 times by optimizing the code and introducing threading.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers simazine as material potentiometric sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bow Yohandri

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Molecular imprinting technology is a promising technique for creating recognition elements for selected compounds and has been successfully applied for synthesis of environmental pollutants such as simazine. Simazine is a pesticide ingredient that is commonly used in agriculture, which has devastating effects on the environment if used excessively. Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP provides cavities to form a particular space generated by removing the template when the polymer has formed. In this study, MIP using simazine as template had been made by the cooling-heating method and used as a material potentiometric sensor for detecting simazine. A template (simazine was incorporated into a pre-polymerization solution that contains a methacrylic acid as functional monomer, an ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross linker, and benzoyl peroxide as initiator. Characterization was performed by scanning electron microscope (SEM and fourier transforms infra-red (FTIR. The FTIR spectra of the MIP showed that the peaks of amine group decrease significantly, indicating that the simazine concentration decreases drastically. Characterization by SEM images showing the broadest pore size distribution with the highest number of pores in the MIP prepared under the heating time of 150 min. The MIPs therefore could be applied as a simazine sensor.

Microporous Organic Polymers Based on Hyper-Crosslinked Coal Tar: Preparation and Application for Gas Adsorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Hui; Ding, Lei; Bai, Hua; Li, Lei

2017-02-08

Hyper-crosslinked polymers (HCPs) are promising materials for gas capture and storage, but high cost and complicated preparation limit their practical application. In this paper, a new type of HCPs (CTHPs) was synthesized through a one-step mild Friedel-Crafts reaction with low-cost coal tar as the starting material. Chloroform was utilized as both solvent and crosslinker to generate a three-dimensional crosslinked network with abundant micropores. The maximum BET surface area of the prepared CTHPs could reach up to 929 m 2  g -1 . Owing to the high affinity between the heteroatoms on the coal-tar building blocks and the CO 2 molecules, the adsorption capacity of CTHPs towards CO 2 reached up to 14.2 wt % (1.0 bar, 273 K) with a high selectivity (CO 2 /N 2 =32.3). Furthermore, the obtained CTHPs could adsorb 1.27 wt % H 2 at 1.0 bar and 77.3 K, and also showed capacity for the capture of high organic vapors at room temperature. In comparison with other reported porous organic polymers, CTHPs have the advantages of low-cost, easy preparation, and high gas-adsorption performance, making them suitable for mass production and practical use in the future. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Preparation of a microporous polymer electrolyte based on poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) blend for Li-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Zheng; Pu, Weihua; He, Xiangming; Wan, Chunrong; Jiang, Changyin

2007-01-01

Poly(acrylonitrile-co-butyl acrylate) (P(AN-co-BuA))/poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blend-based gel polymer electrolyte (BGPE) was prepared for lithium-ion batteries. The P(AN-co-BuA)/PVC BGPE consists of an electrolyte-rich phase, which is mainly composed of P(AN-co-BuA) and liquid electrolyte, acting as a conducting channel and a PVC-rich phase that provides mechanical strength. The dual phase was just simply developed by the difference of miscibility properties in solvent, PC, between P(AN-co-BuA) and PVC. The mechanical strength of this new blend electrolyte was found to be much higher, with a fracture stress as high as 29 MPa in dry membrane and 21 MPa in gel state, than that of a previously reported P(AN-co-BuA)-based gel polymer electrolyte. The blended gel polymer electrolyte showed ionic conductivity of higher than 1.5 x 10 -3 S cm -1 and electrochemical stability up to at least 4.8 V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for lithium-ion batteries

Preparation of a microporous polymer electrolyte based on poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) blend for Li-ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian, Zheng; Pu, Weihua; He, Xiangming; Wan, Chunrong; Jiang, Changyin [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2007-02-15

Poly(acrylonitrile-co-butyl acrylate) (P(AN-co-BuA))/poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blend-based gel polymer electrolyte (BGPE) was prepared for lithium-ion batteries. The P(AN-co-BuA)/PVC BGPE consists of an electrolyte-rich phase, which is mainly composed of P(AN-co-BuA) and liquid electrolyte, acting as a conducting channel and a PVC-rich phase that provides mechanical strength. The dual phase was just simply developed by the difference of miscibility properties in solvent, PC, between P(AN-co-BuA) and PVC. The mechanical strength of this new blend electrolyte was found to be much higher, with a fracture stress as high as 29 MPa in dry membrane and 21 MPa in gel state, than that of a previously reported P(AN-co-BuA)-based gel polymer electrolyte. The blended gel polymer electrolyte showed ionic conductivity of higher than 1.5 x 10{sup -3} S cm{sup -1} and electrochemical stability up to at least 4.8 V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for lithium-ion batteries. (author)

Influence of Basalt FRP Mesh Reinforcement on High-Performance Concrete Thin Plates at High Temperatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hulin, Thomas; Lauridsen, Dan H.; Hodicky, Kamil

2015-01-01

A basalt fiber–reinforced polymer (BFRP) mesh was introduced as reinforcement in high-performance concrete (HPC) thin plates (20–30 mm) for implementation in precast sandwich panels. An experimental program studied the BFRP mesh influence on HPC exposed to high temperature. A set of standard...... furnace tests compared performances of HPC with and without BFRP mesh, assessing material behavior; another set including polypropylene (PP) fibers to avoid spalling compared the performance of BFRP mesh reinforcement to that of regular steel reinforcement, assessing mechanical properties......, requiring the use of steel. Microscope observations highlighted degradation of the HPC-BFRP mesh interface with temperature due to the melting polymer matrix of the mesh. These observations call for caution when using fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement in elements exposed to fire hazard....

Hierarchical ZnO particles grafting by fluorocarbon polymer derivative: Preparation and superhydrophobic behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Dahai; Jia, Mengqiu, E-mail: jiamq@mail.buct.edu.cn

2015-07-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The hierarchical particles were prepared by a simple, mild hydrothermal process. • The obtained “chestnut” ZnO particles show dual-scale morphology with high roughness. • FEVE derivative was creatively imported to graft onto hierarchical particles. • Superhydrophobic surfaces were obtained, on which the contact angles surpass 150°. • A special model was proposed to explain the wetting state in this work. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces on the basis of hierarchical ZnO particles grafted by fluoroethylene-vinylether (FEVE) polymer derivative were prepared using a facile, mild and low-cost method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that the resulting ZnO particles via hydrothermal process exhibit micro–nano dual-scale morphology with high purity under a suitable surfactant amount and alkali concentration. The grafting of FEVE derivative was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), suggesting that hierarchical surface of ZnO particles was an imported monomolecular layer of fluorocarbon polymer. The obtained surface fabricated by drop-casting shows considerably high contact angle and good resistance to water immersion. The wetting behavior in this work was furthermore analyzed by theoretical wetting model. This work demonstrates that the sufficient low-wettable surface and high roughness both take a vital role in the superhydrophobic behavior.

Biocompatible, biodegradable polymer-based, lighter than or light as water scaffolds for tissue engineering and methods for preparation and use thereof

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Mohammed Yusuf (Inventor); Laurencin, Cato T. (Inventor); Lu, Helen H. (Inventor); Botchwey, Edward (Inventor); Pollack, Solomon R. (Inventor); Levine, Elliot (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Scaffolds for tissue engineering prepared from biocompatible, biodegradable polymer-based, lighter than or light as water microcarriers and designed for cell culturing in vitro in a rotating bioreactor are provided. Methods for preparation and use of these scaffolds as tissue engineering devices are also provided.

Preparation of Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Chlorpyrifos Adsorption and Enrichment

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, M.; Ma, X.; Sheng, J.

2017-11-01

Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) for chlorpyrifos was prepared and characterized. The adsorption performance of MMIP for chlorpyrifos was evaluated under various conditions. The results showed that the adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 1 h, the adsorption capacity was 16.8 mg/g, and the adsorption process could be well described by Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The MMIP was used as the selective sorbent for solid-phase extraction of chlorpyrifos from environmental water and vegetable samples. Combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, a LOD of 30 ng/L, spiked recovery of 89.6%-107.3% and RSD of 1.9%-3.8% for chlorpyrifos were obtained.

I/O load balancing for big data HPC applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paul, Arnab K. [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Goyal, Arpit [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Wang, Feiyi [ORNL; Oral, H Sarp [ORNL; Butt, Ali R. [Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA; Brim, Michael J. [ORNL; Srinivasa, Sangeetha B. [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

2018-01-01

High Performance Computing (HPC) big data problems require efficient distributed storage systems. However, at scale, such storage systems often experience load imbalance and resource contention due to two factors: the bursty nature of scientific application I/O; and the complex I/O path that is without centralized arbitration and control. For example, the extant Lustre parallel file system-that supports many HPC centers-comprises numerous components connected via custom network topologies, and serves varying demands of a large number of users and applications. Consequently, some storage servers can be more loaded than others, which creates bottlenecks and reduces overall application I/O performance. Existing solutions typically focus on per application load balancing, and thus are not as effective given their lack of a global view of the system. In this paper, we propose a data-driven approach to load balance the I/O servers at scale, targeted at Lustre deployments. To this end, we design a global mapper on Lustre Metadata Server, which gathers runtime statistics from key storage components on the I/O path, and applies Markov chain modeling and a minimum-cost maximum-flow algorithm to decide where data should be placed. Evaluation using a realistic system simulator and a real setup shows that our approach yields better load balancing, which in turn can improve end-to-end performance.

Preparation and characterization of plasticized palm-based polyurethane solid polymer electrolyte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daud, Farah Nadia; Ahmad, Azizan; Badri, Khairiah Haji [School of Chemical Science and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan (Malaysia)

2013-11-27

Palm-based polyurethane solid polymer electrolyte was prepared via prepolymerization method between palm kernel oil based polyols (PKO-p) and 2,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (2,4’-MDI) in acetone at room temperature with the vary amount of lithium trifuoromethanesulfonate (LiCF{sub 3}SO{sub 3}) salt and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The film was analyzed using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). EIS result indicated ionic conductivity obtained with 30 wt% LiCF3SO3 increased to 6.55 × 10{sup −6} S cm{sup −1} when 10 wt.% of plasticizer was added into the system. FTIR analysis showed the interaction between lithium ions and amine (-N-H) at 3600–3100 cm{sup −1}, carbonyl (-C=O) at 1750–1650 cm{sup −1} and ether (-C-O-C-) at 1150–1000 cm{sup −1} of the polyurethane forming polymer-salt complexes. The XRD result confirmed that LiCF{sub 3}SO{sub 3} salt completely dissociated within the polyurethane film with the absence of crystalline peaks of LiCF{sub 3}SO{sub 3}.

Preparation and characterization of plasticized palm-based polyurethane solid polymer electrolyte

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daud, Farah Nadia; Ahmad, Azizan; Badri, Khairiah Haji

2013-01-01

Palm-based polyurethane solid polymer electrolyte was prepared via prepolymerization method between palm kernel oil based polyols (PKO-p) and 2,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (2,4’-MDI) in acetone at room temperature with the vary amount of lithium trifuoromethanesulfonate (LiCF 3 SO 3 ) salt and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The film was analyzed using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). EIS result indicated ionic conductivity obtained with 30 wt% LiCF3SO3 increased to 6.55 × 10 −6 S cm −1 when 10 wt.% of plasticizer was added into the system. FTIR analysis showed the interaction between lithium ions and amine (-N-H) at 3600–3100 cm −1 , carbonyl (-C=O) at 1750–1650 cm −1 and ether (-C-O-C-) at 1150–1000 cm −1 of the polyurethane forming polymer-salt complexes. The XRD result confirmed that LiCF 3 SO 3 salt completely dissociated within the polyurethane film with the absence of crystalline peaks of LiCF 3 SO 3

Morphology and Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanocoatings Prepared from Pyrolysed Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcin Molenda

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Conductive carbon nanocoatings (conductive carbon layers—CCL were formed on α-Al2O3 model support using three different polymer precursors and deposition methods. This was done in an effort to improve electrical conductivity of the material through creating the appropriate morphology of the carbon layers. The best electrical properties were obtained with use of a precursor that consisted of poly-N-vinylformamide modified with pyromellitic acid (PMA. We demonstrate that these properties originate from a specific morphology of this layer that showed nanopores (3-4 nm capable of assuring easy pathways for ion transport in real electrode materials. The proposed, water mediated, method of carbon coating of powdered supports combines coating from solution and solid phase and is easy to scale up process. The optimal polymer carbon precursor composition was used to prepare conductive carbon nanocoatings on LiFePO4 cathode material. Charge-discharge tests clearly show that C/LiFePO4 composites obtained using poly-N-vinylformamide modified with pyromellitic acid exhibit higher rechargeable capacity and longer working time in a battery cell than standard carbon/lithium iron phosphate composites.

Degradation of 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol (TNP) by Arthrobacter sp. HPC1223 Isolated from Effluent Treatment Plant

OpenAIRE

Qureshi, Asifa; Kapley, Atya; Purohit, Hemant J.

2012-01-01

Arthrobacter sp. HPC1223 (Genebank Accession No. AY948280) isolated from activated biomass of effluent treatment plant was capable of utilizing 2,4,6 trinitrophenol (TNP) under aerobic condition at 30 °C and pH 7 as nitrogen source. It was observed that the isolated bacteria utilized TNP up to 70 % (1 mM) in R2A media with nitrite release. The culture growth media changed into orange-red color hydride-meisenheimer complex at 24 h as detected by HPLC. Oxygen uptake of Arthrobacter HPC1223 towa...

Osmotic load from glucose polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, W W; Poh, D; Leong, M; Tam, Y K; Succop, P; Checkland, E G

1991-01-01

Glucose polymer is a carbohydrate source with variable chain lengths of glucose units which may result in variable osmolality. The osmolality of two commercial glucose polymers was measured in reconstituted powder infant formulas, and the change in osmolality of infant milk formulas at the same increases in energy density (67 kcal/dL to 81 and 97 kcal/dL) from the use of additional milk powder or glucose polymers was compared. All samples were prepared from powders (to nearest 0.1 mg), and osmolality was measured by freezing point depression. For both glucose polymers the within-batch variability of the measured osmolality was less than 3.5%, and between-batch variability of the measured osmolality was less than 9.6%. The measured osmolality varies linearly with energy density (p less than 0.001) and was highest in infant formula reconstituted from milk powder alone. However, there exist significant differences in the measured osmolality between different glucose polymer preparations. At high energy densities (greater than or equal to 97 kcal/dL), infant milk formulas prepared with milk powder alone or with the addition of certain glucose polymer preparation may have high osmolality (greater than or equal to 450 mosm/kg) and theoretically predispose the infant to complications of hyperosmotic feeds.

Economic Model For a Return on Investment Analysis of United States Government High Performance Computing (HPC) Research and Development (R & D) Investment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joseph, Earl C. [IDC Research Inc., Framingham, MA (United States); Conway, Steve [IDC Research Inc., Framingham, MA (United States); Dekate, Chirag [IDC Research Inc., Framingham, MA (United States)

2013-09-30

This study investigated how high-performance computing (HPC) investments can improve economic success and increase scientific innovation. This research focused on the common good and provided uses for DOE, other government agencies, industry, and academia. The study created two unique economic models and an innovation index: 1 A macroeconomic model that depicts the way HPC investments result in economic advancements in the form of ROI in revenue (GDP), profits (and cost savings), and jobs. 2 A macroeconomic model that depicts the way HPC investments result in basic and applied innovations, looking at variations by sector, industry, country, and organization size. A new innovation index that provides a means of measuring and comparing innovation levels. Key findings of the pilot study include: IDC collected the required data across a broad set of organizations, with enough detail to create these models and the innovation index. The research also developed an expansive list of HPC success stories.

DOE High Performance Computing Operational Review (HPCOR): Enabling Data-Driven Scientific Discovery at HPC Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerber, Richard; Allcock, William; Beggio, Chris; Campbell, Stuart; Cherry, Andrew; Cholia, Shreyas; Dart, Eli; England, Clay; Fahey, Tim; Foertter, Fernanda; Goldstone, Robin; Hick, Jason; Karelitz, David; Kelly, Kaki; Monroe, Laura; Prabhat,; Skinner, David; White, Julia

2014-10-17

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities are on the verge of a paradigm shift in the way they deliver systems and services to science and engineering teams. Research projects are producing a wide variety of data at unprecedented scale and level of complexity, with community-specific services that are part of the data collection and analysis workflow. On June 18-19, 2014 representatives from six DOE HPC centers met in Oakland, CA at the DOE High Performance Operational Review (HPCOR) to discuss how they can best provide facilities and services to enable large-scale data-driven scientific discovery at the DOE national laboratories. The report contains findings from that review.

Preparation and performance of lipophilic α-zirconium phosphate with high thermal stability and its application in thermal-plastic polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ya Du

2015-10-01

Full Text Available To prepare lipophilic α-zirconium phosphate with high grafting ratio and thermal stability (OZrP-HT and explore its potential application in thermal-plastic polymers, a novel method was developed by surface lipophilicity enhancement strategy. The commercial α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP was pre-intercalated by n-propylamine (PA and grafted by silane coupling agents. Then the pre-intercalated PA was removed by heat-treatment, and the obtained OZrP-HT was utilized to fabricate the phosphorous-containing polyester (P-co-PET/OZrP-HT nanocomposites by melt-blending method. The prepared OZrP-HT and P-co-PET/OZrP-HT nanocomposites were characterized by Wide Angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM, etc. The results show that OZrP-HT with high grafting ratio (13.78 wt% and thermal stability (Tonset=368 °C was successfully prepared via this novel method and was uniformly intercalated by P-co-PET molecular chains. OZrP-HT had no significant effect on the fiber processability of P-co-PET polymer, and flame retardant properties of (P-co-PET/OZrP-HT nanocomposites were improved. This method may be suitable for organic modification of general inorganic layered compounds and could extend the potential applications in thermo-plastic polymers.

Electrical characterization of proton conducting polymer electrolyte based on bio polymer with acid dopant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalaiselvimary, J.; Pradeepa, P.; Sowmya, G.; Edwinraj, S.; Prabhu, M. Ramesh, E-mail: email-mkram83@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi – 630 004, India. (India)

2016-05-06

This study describes the biodegradable acid doped films composed of chitosan and Perchloric acid with different ratios (2.5 wt %, 5 wt %, 7.5 wt %, 10 wt %) was prepared by the solution casting technique. The temperature dependence of the proton conductivity of complex electrolytes obeys the Arrhenius relationship. Proton conductivity of the prepared polymer electrolyte of the bio polymer with acid doped was measured to be approximately 5.90 × 10{sup −4} Scm{sup −1}. The dielectric data were analyzed using Complex impedance Z*, Dielectric loss ε’, Tangent loss for prepared polymer electrolyte membrane with the highest conductivity samples at various temperature.

Preparation of micro-porous gel polymer for lithium ion polymer battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Je Young; Kim, Seok Koo; Lee, Seung-Jin; Lee, Sang Young; Lee, Hyang Mok; Ahn, Soonho

2004-01-01

We have developed a micro-porous gelling polymer layer which is formed on both the sides of support polyolefin separator with wet or dry processing technique. Morphologies of gel-coated layer are dependent on the compositions and process conditions, such as solvent/non-solvent combination and stretching ratios. The micro-porous gelling layer is used for the assembly of the lithium ion polymer battery of LG Chemical Ltd. The structure of battery is given elsewhere and the battery has excellent discharge performance with 94% of 2C discharge performance at room temperature

Preparation and antifouling properties of 2-(meth-acryloyloxy)ethyl cholinephosphate based polymers modified surface with different molecular architectures by ATRP.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yuchen; Su, Yuling; Zhao, Lili; Meng, Fancui; Wang, Quanxin; Ding, Chunmei; Luo, Jianbin; Li, Jianshu

2017-08-01

Choline phosphate (CP) containing polymers modified surfaces have been shown good resist to the adhesion of proteins while prompt the attaching of mammalian cells due to the dipole pairing between the CP groups of the polymer and the phosphorylcholine (PC) groups on the cell membrane. However, the antifouling activities of CP modified surface against microbes have not been investigated at present. In addition, CP containing polymers modified surface with different molecular architectures has not been prepared and studied. To this end, glass slides surface modified with two different 2-(meth-acryloyloxy)ethyl cholinephosphate (MCP) containing polymer (PMCP) structures, i.e. brush-like (Glass-PMCP) and bottle brush-like (Glass-PHEMA-g-PMCP) architectures, were prepared in this work by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The surface physichemical and antifouling properties of the prepared surfaces were characterized and studied. The Glass-PMCP shows improved antifouling properties against proteins and bacteria as compared to pristine glass slides (Glass-OH) and glass slides grafted with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (Glass-PHEMA). Notably, a synergetic fouling resistant properties of PHEMA and PMCP is presented for Glass-PHEMA-g-PMCP, which shows superior antifouling activities over Glass-PHEMA and Glass-PMCP. Furthermore, glass slides containing PMCP, i.e. Glass-PMCP and Glas-PHEMA-g-PMCP, decrease platelet adhesion and prevent their activation significantly. Therefore, the combination of antifouling PHEMA and PMCP into one system holds potential for prevention of bacterial fouling and biomaterial-centered infections. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy storage in ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites filled with core-shell structured polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles: understanding the role of polymer shells in the interfacial regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ming; Huang, Xingyi; Yang, Ke; Zhai, Xing; Zhang, Jun; He, Jinliang; Jiang, Pingkai

2014-11-26

The interfacial region plays a critical role in determining the electrical properties and energy storage density of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. However, we still know a little about the effects of electrical properties of the interfacial regions on the electrical properties and energy storage of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. In this work, three types of core-shell structured polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles with polymer shells having different electrical properties were used as fillers to prepare ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites. All the polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles were prepared by surface-initiated reversible-addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and the polymer shells were controlled to have the same thickness. The morphology, crystal structure, frequency-dependent dielectric properties, breakdown strength, leakage currents, energy storage capability, and energy storage efficiency of the polymer nanocomposites were investigated. On the other hand, the pure polymers having the same molecular structure as the shells of polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles were also prepared by RAFT polymerization, and their electrical properties were provided. Our results show that, to achieve nanocomposites with high discharged energy density, the core-shell nanoparticle filler should simultaneously have high dielectric constant and low electrical conductivity. On the other hand, the breakdown strength of the polymer@BaTiO3-based nanocomposites is highly affected by the electrical properties of the polymer shells. It is believed that the electrical conductivity of the polymer shells should be as low as possible to achieve nanocomposites with high breakdown strength.

Approaches for Making High Performance Polymer Materials from Commodity Polymers

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xu Xi

2004-01-01

A brief surrey of ongoing research work done for improving and enhancing the properties of commodity polymers by the author and author's colleagues is given in this paper. A series of high performance polymers and polymer nanomaterials were successfully prepared through irradiation and stress-induced reactions of polymers and hydrogen bonding. The methods proposed are viable, easy in operation, clean and efficient.1. The effect of irradiation source (UV light, electron beam, γ -ray and microwave), irradiation dose, irradiation time and atmosphere etc. on molecular structure of polyolefine during irradiation was studied. The basic rules of dominating oxidation, degradation and cross-linking reactions were mastered. Under the controlled conditions, cross-linking reactions are prevented, some oxygen containing groups are introduced on the molecular chain of polyolefine to facilitate the interface compatibility of their blends. A series of high performance polymer materials: u-HDPE/PA6,u-HDPE/CaCO3, u-iPP/STC, γ-HDPE/STC, γ-LLDPE/ATH, e-HDPE, e-LLDPE and m-HDPEfilled system were prepared (u- ultraviolet light irradiated, γ- γ-ray irradiated, e- electron beam irradiated, m- microwave irradiated)2. The effect of ultrasonic irradiation, jet and pan-milling on structure and changes in properties of polymers were studied. Imposition of critical stress on polymer chain can cause the scission of bonds to form macroradicals. The macroradicals formed in this way may recombine or react with monomer or other radicals to form linear, branched or cross-linked polymers or copolymers. About 20 kinds of block/graft copolymers have been synthesized from polymer-polymer or polymer-monomer through ultrasonic irradiation.Through jet-milling, the molecular weight of PVC is decreased somewhat, the intensity of its crystalline absorption bonds becomes indistinct. The processability, the yield strength, strength at break and elongation at break of PVC get increased quite a lot after

Performance Analysis, Modeling and Scaling of HPC Applications and Tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhatele, Abhinav [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-01-13

E cient use of supercomputers at DOE centers is vital for maximizing system throughput, mini- mizing energy costs and enabling science breakthroughs faster. This requires complementary e orts along several directions to optimize the performance of scienti c simulation codes and the under- lying runtimes and software stacks. This in turn requires providing scalable performance analysis tools and modeling techniques that can provide feedback to physicists and computer scientists developing the simulation codes and runtimes respectively. The PAMS project is using time allocations on supercomputers at ALCF, NERSC and OLCF to further the goals described above by performing research along the following fronts: 1. Scaling Study of HPC applications; 2. Evaluation of Programming Models; 3. Hardening of Performance Tools; 4. Performance Modeling of Irregular Codes; and 5. Statistical Analysis of Historical Performance Data. We are a team of computer and computational scientists funded by both DOE/NNSA and DOE/ ASCR programs such as ECRP, XStack (Traleika Glacier, PIPER), ExaOSR (ARGO), SDMAV II (MONA) and PSAAP II (XPACC). This allocation will enable us to study big data issues when analyzing performance on leadership computing class systems and to assist the HPC community in making the most e ective use of these resources.

Novel salicylazo polymers for colon drug delivery: dissolving polymers by means of bacterial degradation.

Science.gov (United States)

Saphier, Sigal; Karton, Yishai

2010-02-01

Novel azo polymers were prepared for colonic drug delivery with a release mechanism based on structural features of azo derivatives designed for rapid bacterial degradation leading to soluble polymers. Two Salicylazo derivatives were prepared and conjugated as side chains at different ratios to methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate copolymers (Eudragits). The azo compounds were designed to have a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic part on opposite sides of the azo bond. Upon reduction of the azo bonds, the hydrophobic part is released, resulting in a more water soluble polymer. The solubility of the polymeric films was studied relative to Eudragit S known to dissolve toward the end of the small intestine. One of the two azo derivatives prepared gave rise to polymers, which showed reduced solubility relative to Eudragit S. These polymers were subjected to reduction tests in anaerobic rat cecal suspensions by following the release of the hydrophobic product. Reduction rate was found to be rapid, comparable to that of Sulfasalazine. Studies on the azopolymeric films in anaerobic rat cecal suspensions, showed that these polymers dissolve faster than in sterilized suspensions. Solid dosage forms may be coated with these polymers to provide an efficient delivery system to the colon with a rapid release mechanism. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Photoinitiated grafting of porous polymer monoliths and thermoplastic polymers for microfluidic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Frechet, Jean M. J. [Oakland, CA; Svec, Frantisek [Alameda, CA; Rohr, Thomas [Leiden, NL

2008-10-07

A microfluidic device preferably made of a thermoplastic polymer that includes a channel or a multiplicity of channels whose surfaces are modified by photografting. The device further includes a porous polymer monolith prepared via UV initiated polymerization within the channel, and functionalization of the pore surface of the monolith using photografting. Processes for making such surface modifications of thermoplastic polymers and porous polymer monoliths are set forth.

Evaluation of polyvinyl alcohols as mucoadhesive polymers for mucoadhesive buccal tablets prepared by direct compression.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeuchi-Takahashi, Yuri; Ishihara, Chizuko; Onishi, Hiraku

2017-09-01

The purpose of the present work was to evaluate polyvinyl alcohols (PVAs) as a mucoadhesive polymer for mucoadhesive buccal tablets prepared by direct compression. Various polymerization degree and particle diameter PVAs were investigated for their usability. The tensile strength, in vitro adhesive force, and water absorption properties of the tablets were determined to compare the various PVAs. The highest values of the tensile strength and the in vitro adhesive force were observed for PVAs with a medium viscosity and small particle size. The optimal PVA was identified by a factorial design analysis. Mucoadhesive tablets containing the optimal PVA were compared with carboxyvinyl polymer and hydroxypropyl cellulose formulations. The optimal PVA gives a high adhesive force, has a low viscosity, and resulted in relatively rapid drug release. Formulations containing carboxyvinyl polymer had high tensile strengths but short disintegration times. Higher hydroxypropyl cellulose concentration formulations had good adhesion forces and very long disintegration times. We identified the optimal characteristics of PVA, and the usefulness of mucoadhesive buccal tablets containing this PVA was suggested from their formulation properties.

Preparing polymer brushes on polytetrafluoroethylene films by free radical polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Wei; Chen Yiwang; Deng Qilan; Chen Lie; Zhou Lang

2006-01-01

Films of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were exposed to sodium naphthalenide (Na/naphtha) etchant so as to defluorinate the surface for obtaining hydroxyl functionality. Surface-initiators were immobilized on the PTFE films by esterification of 4,4'-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid) (ACP) and the hydroxyl groups covalently linked to the surface. Grafting of polymer brushes on the PTFE films was carried out by the surface-initiated free radical polymerization. Homopolymers brushes of methyl methacrylate (MMA) were prepared by free radical polymerization from the azo-functionalized PTFE surface. The chemical composition and topography of the graft-functionalized PTFE surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FT-IR spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Water contact angles on PTFE films were reduced by surface grafting of MMA

Preparation and in vitro evaluation of folate-receptor-targeted SPION–polymer micelle hybrids for MRI contrast enhancement in cancer imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahajan, Shveta; Choudhary, Veena; Koul, Veena; Shishodia, Gauri; Bharti, Alok C

2013-01-01

Polymer–SPION hybrids were investigated for receptor-mediated localization in tumour tissue. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) prepared by high-temperature decomposition of iron acetylacetonate were monodisperse (9.27 ± 3.37 nm), with high saturation magnetization of 76.8 emu g −1 . Amphiphilic copolymers prepared from methyl methacrylate and PEG methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization were conjugated with folic acid (for folate-receptor specificity). The folate-conjugated polymer had a low critical micellar concentration (0.4 mg l −1 ), indicating stability of the micellar formulation. SPION–polymeric micelle clusters were prepared by desolvation of the SPION dispersion/polymer solution in water. Magnetic resonance imaging of the formulation revealed very good contrast enhancement, with transverse (T 2 ) relaxivity of 260.4 mM −1 s −1 . The biological evaluation of the SPION micelles included cellular viability assay (MTT) and uptake in HeLa cells. These studies demonstrated the potential use of these nanoplatforms for imaging and targeting. (paper)

Effect of thiolated polymers to textural and mucoadhesive properties of vaginal gel formulations prepared with polycarbophil and chitosan.

Science.gov (United States)

Cevher, Erdal; Sensoy, Demet; Taha, Mohamed A M; Araman, Ahmet

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to design and evaluate of mucoadhesive gel formulations for the vaginal application of clomiphene citrate (CLM) for local treatment of human papilloma virus (HPV) infections. Chitosan (CHI) and polycarbophil (PC) were covalently modified using the thioglycolic acid and L-cysteine, respectively. The formation of thiol conjugates of chitosan (CHI-TG) and polycarbophil (PC-CYS) were confirmed by FT-IR analysis and PC-CYS and CHI-TG were found to have 148.42 +/- 4.16 and 41.17 +/- 2.34 micromol of thiol groups per gram of polymer, respectively. One percent CLM gels were prepared by combination of various concentrations of PC and CHI with thiolated conjugates of these polymers. Hardness, compressibility, elasticity, adhesiveness and cohesiveness of the gels were measured by Texture profile analysis and the vaginal mucoadhesion was investigated by mucoadhesion test. The increasing in the amount of the thiol conjugates was found to enhance the elasticity, cohesiveness, adhesiveness and mucoadhesion of the gel formulations but not their hardness and compressibility when compared to gels prepared using their respective parent formulations. Slower release rate of CLM from gels was achieved when the polymer concentrations were increased in the gel formulations. PC and its thiol conjugate were found to prolong the release of CLM longer than 70 h unlike gel formulations prepared using CHI and its thiol conjugate which were able to release CLM up to 12 h. Stability of CLM was preserved during the 3 month stability analysis under controlled room temperature and accelerated conditions.

Synthetic approaches to uniform polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Monzur; Brocchini, Steve

2006-12-30

Uniform polymers are characterised by a narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD). Uniformity is also defined by chemical structure in respect of (1) monomer orientation, sequence and stereo-regularity, (2) polymer shape and morphology and (3) chemical functionality. The function of natural polymers such as polypeptides and polynucleotides is related to their conformational structure (e.g. folded tertiary structure). This is only possible because of their high degree of uniformity. While completely uniform synthetic polymers are rare, polymers with broad structure and MWD are widely used in medicine and the biomedical sciences. They are integral components in final dosage forms, drug delivery systems (DDS) and in implantable devices. Increasingly uniform polymers are being used to develop more complex medicines (e.g. delivery of biopharmaceuticals, enhanced formulations or DDS's for existing actives). In addition to the function imparted by any new polymer it will be required to meet stringent specifications in terms of cost containment, scalability, biocompatibility and performance. Synthetic polymers with therapeutic activity are also being developed to exploit their polyvalent properties, which is not possible with low molecular weight molecules. There is need to utilise uniform polymers for applications where the polymer may interact with the systemic circulation, tissues or cellular environment. There are also potential applications (e.g. stimuli responsive coatings) where uniform polymers may be used for their more defined property profile. While it is not yet practical to prepare synthetic polymers to the same high degree of uniformity as proteins, nature also effectively utilises many polymers with lower degrees of uniformity (e.g. polysaccharides, poly(amino acids), polyhydroxyalkanoates). In recent years it has become possible to prepare with practical experimental protocols sufficient quantities of polymers that display many aspects of uniformity. This

Advanced High and Low Fidelity HPC Simulations of FCS Concept Designs for Dynamic Systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sandhu, S. S; Kanapady, R; Tamma, K. K

2004-01-01

...) resources of many Army initiatives. In this paper we present a new and advanced HPC based rigid and flexible modeling and simulation technology capable of adaptive high/low fidelity modeling that is useful in the initial design concept...

[New polymer-drug systems based on natural and synthetic polymers].

Science.gov (United States)

Racoviţă, Stefania; Vasiliu, Silvia; Foia, Liliana

2010-01-01

The great versatility of polymers makes them very useful in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. The combination of natural and synthetic polymers leads to new materials with tailored functional properties. The aim of this work consists in the preparation of new drug delivery system based on chitosan (natural polymer) and polybetaines (synthetic polymers), by a simple process, well known in the literature as complex coacervation methods. Also, the adsorption and release studies of two antibiotics as well as the preservation of their bactericidal capacities were performed.

Electrochemical performance of trimethylolpropane trimethylacrylate-based gel polymer electrolyte prepared by in situ thermal polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Dong; Fan, Li-Zhen; Fan, Huanhuan; Shi, Qiao

2013-01-01

Cross-linked trimethylolpropane trimethylacrylate-based gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) were prepared by in situ thermal polymerization. The ionic conductivity of the GPEs are >10 −3 S cm −1 at 25 °C, and continuously increased with the increase of liquid electrolyte content. The GPEs have excellent electrochemical stability up to 5.0 V versus Li/Li + . The LiCoO 2 |TMPTMA-based GPE|graphite cells exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 129 mAh g −1 at the 0.2C, and good cycling stability with around 83% capacity retention after 100 cycles. Both the simple fabricating process of polymer cell and outstanding electrochemical performance of such new GPE make it potentially one of the most promising electrolyte materials for next generation lithium ion batteries

Preparation of Sandy Soil Stabilizer for Roads Based on Radiation Modified Polymer Composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elnahas, H.H.

2016-01-01

Radiation modified polymer composite (RMPC) was studied to build an extremely durable sandy road, construct a trail or bath, or control dust and erosion. A dilute solution of composite binds sandy soil fines through a coagulation bonding process. The result is a dense soil structure that has superior resistance to cracks and water penetration and can also solve erosion control problems. In erosion control applications, diluted composite is merely sprayed into sandy soil without compaction, effectively sealing the surface to prevent air-born dust or deterioration from erosion. The prepared composite has an elastic and melt-able film formation that imparts thermal compacting to the stabilized sandy soil after full dryness for sandy road leveling, repairing and restoration processes. The prepared composite is environmentally economical when compared with traditional sandy soil stabilizing (SSS) or sealing methods.

Preparation and stability investigation of tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained release pellets containing acrylic resin polymers with two different techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Fan

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to prepare tamsulosin hydrochloride-sustained release (TSH-SR pellets which showed good release stability with frame-controlled method. TSH was added to Eudragit®NE30D and Eudragit®L30D-55 polymers to form drug-loaded inner core. Afterwards, enteric Eudragit®L30D-55 polymer was modified on the surface of it to the final product. Dissolution studies showed that TSH-SR pellets were more stable during the coating process, different curing temperatures and storage conditions compared with TSH pellets produced by film-controlled technique. Appearances and glass transition temperatures (Tgs of free films and surface morphologies observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM of blank sustained release pellets prepared by different ratios of Eudragit®NE30D and Eudragit®L30D-55 further indicated that temperature and relative humidity (RH were the key factors when Eudragit®NE30D blended with Eudragit®L30D-55 were applied to sustained/controlled release preparations. In addition, SEM identified the surface morphologies of TSH-SR pellets before and after dissolution, which showed intact surface structure and great correlation with release curve respectively.

Innovative HPC architectures for the study of planetary plasma environments

Science.gov (United States)

Amaya, Jorge; Wolf, Anna; Lembège, Bertrand; Zitz, Anke; Alvarez, Damian; Lapenta, Giovanni

2016-04-01

DEEP-ER is an European Commission founded project that develops a new type of High Performance Computer architecture. The revolutionary system is currently used by KU Leuven to study the effects of the solar wind on the global environments of the Earth and Mercury. The new architecture combines the versatility of Intel Xeon computing nodes with the power of the upcoming Intel Xeon Phi accelerators. Contrary to classical heterogeneous HPC architectures, where it is customary to find CPU and accelerators in the same computing nodes, in the DEEP-ER system CPU nodes are grouped together (Cluster) and independently from the accelerator nodes (Booster). The system is equipped with a state of the art interconnection network, a highly scalable and fast I/O and a fail recovery resiliency system. The final objective of the project is to introduce a scalable system that can be used to create the next generation of exascale supercomputers. The code iPic3D from KU Leuven is being adapted to this new architecture. This particle-in-cell code can now perform the computation of the electromagnetic fields in the Cluster while the particles are moved in the Booster side. Using fast and scalable Xeon Phi accelerators in the Booster we can introduce many more particles per cell in the simulation than what is possible in the current generation of HPC systems, allowing to calculate fully kinetic plasmas with very low interpolation noise. The system will be used to perform fully kinetic, low noise, 3D simulations of the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere of the Earth and Mercury. Preliminary simulations have been performed in other HPC centers in order to compare the results in different systems. In this presentation we show the complexity of the plasma flow around the planets, including the development of hydrodynamic instabilities at the flanks, the presence of the collision-less shock, the magnetosheath, the magnetopause, reconnection zones, the formation of the

Personalized cloud-based bioinformatics services for research and education: use cases and the elasticHPC package.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Kalioby, Mohamed; Abouelhoda, Mohamed; Krüger, Jan; Giegerich, Robert; Sczyrba, Alexander; Wall, Dennis P; Tonellato, Peter

2012-01-01

Bioinformatics services have been traditionally provided in the form of a web-server that is hosted at institutional infrastructure and serves multiple users. This model, however, is not flexible enough to cope with the increasing number of users, increasing data size, and new requirements in terms of speed and availability of service. The advent of cloud computing suggests a new service model that provides an efficient solution to these problems, based on the concepts of "resources-on-demand" and "pay-as-you-go". However, cloud computing has not yet been introduced within bioinformatics servers due to the lack of usage scenarios and software layers that address the requirements of the bioinformatics domain. In this paper, we provide different use case scenarios for providing cloud computing based services, considering both the technical and financial aspects of the cloud computing service model. These scenarios are for individual users seeking computational power as well as bioinformatics service providers aiming at provision of personalized bioinformatics services to their users. We also present elasticHPC, a software package and a library that facilitates the use of high performance cloud computing resources in general and the implementation of the suggested bioinformatics scenarios in particular. Concrete examples that demonstrate the suggested use case scenarios with whole bioinformatics servers and major sequence analysis tools like BLAST are presented. Experimental results with large datasets are also included to show the advantages of the cloud model. Our use case scenarios and the elasticHPC package are steps towards the provision of cloud based bioinformatics services, which would help in overcoming the data challenge of recent biological research. All resources related to elasticHPC and its web-interface are available at http://www.elasticHPC.org.

Stimuli responsive ion gels based on polysaccharides and other polymers prepared using ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, Kamalesh; Mondal, Dibyendu; Sharma, Mukesh; Freire, Mara G; Mukesh, Chandrakant; Bhatt, Jitkumar

2018-01-15

Ion gels and self-healing gels prepared using ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been largely investigated in the past years due to their remarkable applications in different research areas. Herewith we provide an overview on the ILs and DESs used for the preparation of ion gels, highlight the preparation and physicochemical characteristics of stimuli responsive gel materials based on co-polymers and biopolymers, with special emphasis on polysaccharides and discuss their applications. Overall, this review summarizes the fundamentals and advances in ion gels with switchable properties prepared using ILs or DESs, as well as their potential applications in electrochemistry, in sensing devices and as drug delivery vehicles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BEAM: A computational workflow system for managing and modeling material characterization data in HPC environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lingerfelt, Eric J [ORNL; Endeve, Eirik [ORNL; Ovchinnikov, Oleg S [ORNL; Borreguero Calvo, Jose M [ORNL; Park, Byung H [ORNL; Archibald, Richard K [ORNL; Symons, Christopher T [ORNL; Kalinin, Sergei V [ORNL; Messer, Bronson [ORNL; Shankar, Mallikarjun [ORNL; Jesse, Stephen [ORNL

2016-01-01

Improvements in scientific instrumentation allow imaging at mesoscopic to atomic length scales, many spectroscopic modes, and now with the rise of multimodal acquisition systems and the associated processing capability the era of multidimensional, informationally dense data sets has arrived. Technical issues in these combinatorial scientific fields are exacerbated by computational challenges best summarized as a necessity for drastic improvement in the capability to transfer, store, and analyze large volumes of data. The Bellerophon Environment for Analysis of Materials (BEAM) platform provides material scientists the capability to directly leverage the integrated computational and analytical power of High Performance Computing (HPC) to perform scalable data analysis and simulation via an intuitive, cross-platform client user interface. This framework delivers authenticated, push-button execution of complex user workflows that deploy data analysis algorithms and computational simulations utilizing the converged compute-and-data infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory s (ORNL) Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) and HPC environments like Titan at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). In this work we address the underlying HPC needs for characterization in the material science community, elaborate how BEAM s design and infrastructure tackle those needs, and present a small sub-set of user cases where scientists utilized BEAM across a broad range of analytical techniques and analysis modes.

Boronic Acid functionalized core-shell polymer nanoparticles prepared by distillation precipitation polymerization for glycopeptide enrichment.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Yanyan; Liu, Jianxi; Yang, Kaiguang; Liang, Zhen; Zhang, Lihua; Zhang, Yukui

2012-07-16

The boronic acid-functionalized core-shell polymer nanoparticles, poly(N,N-methylenebisacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid)@4-vinylphenylboronic acid (poly(MBA-co-MAA)@VPBA), were successfully synthesized for enriching glycosylated peptides. Such nanoparticles were composed of a hydrophilic polymer core prepared by distillation precipitation polymerization (DPP) and a boronic acid-functionalized shell designed for capturing glycopeptides. Owing to the relatively large amount of residual vinyl groups introduced by DPP on the core surface, the VPBA monomer was coated with high efficiency, working as the shell. Moreover, the overall polymerization route, especially the use of DPP, made the synthesis of nanoparticles facile and time-saving. With the poly(MBA-co-MAA)@VPBA nanoparticles, 18 glycopeptides from horseradish peroxidase (HRP) digest were captured and identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis, relative to eight glycopeptides enriched by using commercially available meta-aminophenylboronic acid agarose under the same conditions. When the concentration of the HRP digest was decreased to as low as 5 nmol, glycopeptides could still be selectively isolated by the prepared nanoparticles. Our results demonstrated that the synthetic poly(MBA-co-MAA)@VPBA nanoparticles might be a promising selective enrichment material for glycoproteome analysis. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Divide and Conquer (DC BLAST: fast and easy BLAST execution within HPC environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Won Cheol Yim

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Bioinformatics is currently faced with very large-scale data sets that lead to computational jobs, especially sequence similarity searches, that can take absurdly long times to run. For example, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST and BLAST+ suite, which is by far the most widely used tool for rapid similarity searching among nucleic acid or amino acid sequences, is highly central processing unit (CPU intensive. While the BLAST suite of programs perform searches very rapidly, they have the potential to be accelerated. In recent years, distributed computing environments have become more widely accessible and used due to the increasing availability of high-performance computing (HPC systems. Therefore, simple solutions for data parallelization are needed to expedite BLAST and other sequence analysis tools. However, existing software for parallel sequence similarity searches often requires extensive computational experience and skill on the part of the user. In order to accelerate BLAST and other sequence analysis tools, Divide and Conquer BLAST (DCBLAST was developed to perform NCBI BLAST searches within a cluster, grid, or HPC environment by using a query sequence distribution approach. Scaling from one (1 to 256 CPU cores resulted in significant improvements in processing speed. Thus, DCBLAST dramatically accelerates the execution of BLAST searches using a simple, accessible, robust, and parallel approach. DCBLAST works across multiple nodes automatically and it overcomes the speed limitation of single-node BLAST programs. DCBLAST can be used on any HPC system, can take advantage of hundreds of nodes, and has no output limitations. This freely available tool simplifies distributed computation pipelines to facilitate the rapid discovery of sequence similarities between very large data sets.

Experiments to Understand HPC Time to Development (Final report for Department of Energy contract DE-FG02-04ER25633) Report DOE/ER/25633-1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basili, Victor, R.; Zelkowitz, Marvin, V.

2007-11-14

In order to understand how high performance computing (HPC) programs are developed, a series of experiments, using students in graduate level HPC classes and various research centers, were conducted at various locations in the US. In this report, we discuss this research, give some of the early results of those experiments, and describe a web-based Experiment Manager we are developing that allows us to run studies more easily and consistently at universities and laboratories, allowing us to generate results that more accurately reflect the process of building HPC programs.

Effect of low-molecular-weight beta-cyclodextrin polymer on release of drugs from mucoadhesive buccal film dosage forms.

Science.gov (United States)

Arakawa, Yotaro; Kawakami, Shigeru; Yamashita, Fumiyoshi; Hashida, Mitsuru

2005-09-01

We investigated the effect of low-molecular-weight beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CyD) polymer on in vitro release of two drugs with different lipophilicities (i.e., lidocaine and ketoprofen) from mucoadhesive buccal film dosage forms. When beta-CyD polymer was added to hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) or polyvinylalcohol (PVA) film dosage forms, the release of lidocaine into artificial saliva (pH 5.7) was reduced by 40% of the control. In contrast, the release of ketoprofen from the polymer film was enhanced by addition of beta-CyD polymer to the vehicle. When lidocaine and ketoprofen was incubated with beta-CyD polymer in the artificial saliva, concentration of free lidocaine molecules decreased in a beta-CyD polymer concentration-dependent manner. The association constant with beta-CyD polymer was 6.9+/-0.6 and 520+/-90 M(-1) for lidocaine and ketoprofen, respectively. Retarded release of the hydrophilic lidocaine by beta-CyD polymer might be due to the decrease in thermodynamic activity by inclusion complex formation, whereas enhanced release of the lipophilic ketoprofen by the beta-CyD polymer might be due to prevention of recrystallization occurring after contacting the film with aqueous solution. Thus, effects of low-molecular-weight beta-CyD polymer to the drug release rate from film dosage forms would vary according to the strength of interaction with and the solubility of active ingredient.

Fast and Easy Drying Method for the Preparation of Activated [{sup 18}F]Fluoride Using Polymer Cartridge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seo, Jai Woong [Inha University, Inchon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Byoung Se; Chi, Dae Yoon [FutureChem Co., Ltd., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sang Ju [Sogang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Oh, Seung Jun [Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2011-01-15

An efficient nucleophilic [{sup 18}F]fluorination has been studied to reduce byproducts and preparation time. Instead of conventional aqueous solution of K{sub 2}CO{sub 3}-K{sub 222}, several organic solution containing inert organic salts were used to release [{sup 18}F]fluoride ion and anion bases captured in the polymer cartridge, concluding that methanol solution is the best choice. Comparing to azeotropic drying process, one min was sufficient to remove methanol completely, resulting in about 10% radioactivity saving by reducing drying time. The polymer cartridge, Chromafix (PS-HCO{sub 3}) was pretreated with several anion bases to displace pre-loaded bicarbonate base. Phosphate bases showed better results than carbonate bases in terms of lower basicity. tert-Butanol solvent used as a reaction media played another critical role in nucleophilic [{sup 18}F]fluorination by suppressing eliminated side product. Consequent [{sup 18}F]fluorination under the present condition afforded fast preparation of reaction solution and high radiochemical yields (98% radio-TLC, 84% RCY) with 94% of precursor remained.

Preparation of polymer composites using nanostructured carbon produced at large scale by catalytic decomposition of methane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suelves, I.; Utrilla, R.; Torres, D.; Llobet, S. de; Pinilla, J.L.; Lázaro, M.J.; Moliner, R.

2013-01-01

Polymer-based composites were prepared using different concentrations of nanostructured carbons (NCs), produced by catalytic decomposition of methane (CDM). Four carbonaceous nanostructures were produced using different catalysts (with Ni and Fe as active phases) in a rotary bed reactor capable of producing up to 20 g of carbon per hour. The effect of nanostructured carbon on the thermal and electrical behaviour of epoxy-based composites is studied. An increase in the thermal stability and the decrease of electrical resistivity were observed for the composites at carbon contents as low as 1 wt%. The highest reduction of the electrical resistivity was obtained using multi-walled carbon nanotubes obtained with the Fe based catalysts. This effect could be related to the high degree of structural order of these materials. The results were compared with those obtained using a commercial carbon nanofibre, showing that the use of carbon nanostructures from CDM can be a valid alternative to the commercial nanofibres. -- Highlights: ► Preparation of polymer nanocomposites with enhanced thermal and electrical properties. ► Formation of nanostructured carbon materials with different textural and structural properties at large scale. ► Catalytic decomposition of methane to simultaneously produce hydrogen and carbon materials.

Facile preparation of polymer electrolytes based on the polymerized ionic liquid poly((4-vinylbenzyl)trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonylimide)) for lithium secondary batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Mingtao; Wang, Lu; Yang, Bolun; Du, Tingting; Zhang, Ying

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: (A) The main components of PIL electrolytes, (B) A PIL electrolyte sample. - Highlights: • A new polymer electrolyte incorporating a DEME-TFSI liquid is prepared. • The ionic conductivity of the electrolytes reaches 7.58 × 10 −4 S cm −1 at 60 °C. • Batteries discharge 130 mAh g −1 at 0.1 C rates with good capacity retention. - Abstract: The polymer electrolytes based on a novel poly((4-vinylbenzyl)trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonylimide)) polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) as polymer host and containing DEME-TFSI ionic liquid, LiTFSI salt and nano silica are prepared. The polymer electrolyte is chemically stable even at a higher temperature of 60 °C in contact with lithium anode. Particularly, the electrolyte exhibits high lithium ion conductivity, wide electrochemical stability window and good lithium stripping/plating performance. When the IL content reaches 60% (the weight ratio of DEME-TFSI/PIL), the PIL electrolyte presents a higher ionic conductivity, and it is 7.58 × 10 −4 S cm −1 at 60 °C. Preliminary battery tests show that Li/LiFePO 4 cells with the PIL electrolytes are capable to deliver above 130 mAh g −1 at 60 °C with very good capacity retention

Poly(vinylpyridine-co-styrene) based in situ cross-linked gel polymer electrolyte for lithium-ion polymer batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Sijin; Kim, Dong Wook; Lee, Changjin; Lee, Myong-Hoon; Kang, Yongku

2011-01-01

A gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) was successfully prepared by means of an in situ cross-linking reaction of poly(2-vinylpyridine-co-styrene) and oligo(ethylene oxide) with epoxide functional groups at 65 °C without using a polymerization initiator. A stable gel polymer electrolyte could be obtained by adding only 1% of a polymer gelator. The ionic conductivity of the GPE containing 99 wt% of liquid electrolyte was measured to be ca. 10 −2 S/cm at the ambient temperature. The ionic conductivity of the resulting GPE was comparable to that of a pure liquid electrolyte. The electrochemical stability window of the prepared gel polymer electrolytes was measured to be 5.2 V. The test cell carried a discharge capacity of 133.2 mAh/g at 0.1 C and showed good cycling performance with negligible capacity fading after the 200th cycle, maintaining 99.5% coulombic efficiency throughout 200 cycles. The resulting gel polymer electrolyte prepared by in situ thermal cross-linking without a polymerization initiator holds promise for application to on the high power lithium-ion polymer batteries.

Preparation and evaluation of open-tubular capillary column combining a metal-organic framework and a brush-shaped polymer for liquid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kai; Zhang, Lingyi; Zhang, Weibing

2018-03-30

In this work, an open-tubular capillary liquid-phase column was prepared by modifying chain polymer on the inner surface of capillary and chemical bonding of metal organic frameworks, NH 2 -UiO-66, to the brushes of chain polymer (poly(glycidyl methacrylate)). Besides advantages of facial preparation and good permeability, the chain polymer effectively increases the modification amount of NH 2 -UiO-66 nanoparticles to increase the phase ratio of open-tubular capillary column and enhance the interactions with analytes. The results of scanning electron microscope energy-dispersive X-ray spectra indicated that NH 2 -UiO-66 nanoparticles were successfully bonded to the chain polymer. Because of the hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding interaction between the analytes and the ligand of NH 2 -UiO-66, different analytes were well separated on the NH 2 -UiO-66-modified poly(glycidyl methacrylate) capillary (1.12 m × 25 μm id × 365 μm od) with the high absolute column efficiency reaching 121 477 plates, benefiting from an open-tubular column and low mass transfer resistance provided by polymer brush and metal-organic framework crystal. The relative standard deviations of the retention time for run-to-run, day-to-day, and column-to-column (n = 3) runs are below 4.28%, exhibiting good repeatability. Finally, the column was successfully applied to separation of flavonoids in licorice. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Low Band Gap Polymers for Roll-to-Roll Coated Polymer Solar Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bundgaard, Eva; Hagemann, Ole; Manceau, Matthieu

2010-01-01

connected cells were prepared with a total module active area of 96 cm2. The devices were tested for operational stability under simulated sunlight (AM1.5G) and natural sunlight, and the photochemical stability of the polymer was examined using a combination of UV−vis and IR spectroscopy.......We present the synthesis of a low band gap copolymer based on dithienothiophene and dialkoxybenzothiadiazole (poly(dithienothiophene-co-dialkoxybenzothiadiazole), PDTTDABT). The optical properties of the polymer showed a band gap of 1.6 eV and a sky-blue color in solid films. The polymer...... around a 1:2 mixing ratio. Roll-to-roll coated polymer solar cell devices were prepared under ambient conditions employing solution processing in all steps including the metallic back electrode that was printed as a grid giving semitransparent solar cell devices. Solar cell modules comprising 16 serially...

ENHANCING PERFORMANCE OF AN HPC CLUSTER BY ADOPTING NONDEDICATED NODES

OpenAIRE

Pil Seong Park

2015-01-01

Persona-sized HPC clusters are widely used in many small labs, because they are cost-effective and easy to build. Instead of adding costly new nodes to old clusters, we may try to make use of some servers’ idle times by including them working independently on the same LAN, especially during the night. However such extension across a firewall raises not only some security problem with NFS but also a load balancing problem caused by heterogeneity. In this paper, we propose a meth...

Preparation and evaluation of microparticles from thiolated polymers via air jet milling.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyer, Herbert; Schlocker, Wolfgang; Krum, Kafedjiiski; Bernkop-Schnürch, Andreas

2008-06-01

Microparticles were formulated by incorporation of the model protein horseradish peroxidase in (thiolated) chitosan and (thiolated) poly(acrylic acid) via co-precipitation. Dried protein/polymer complexes were ground with an air jet mill and resulting particles were evaluated regarding size distribution, shape, zeta potential, drug load, protein activity, release pattern, swelling behaviour and cytotoxicity. The mean particle size distribution was 0.5-12 microm. Non-porous microparticles with a smooth surface were prepared. Microparticles from (thiolated) chitosan had a positive charge whereas microparticles from (thiolated) poly(acrylic acid) were negatively charged. The maximum protein load for microparticles based on chitosan, chitosan-glutathione (Ch-GSH), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and for poly(acrylic acid)-glutathione (PAA-GSH) was 7+/-1%, 11+/-2%, 4+/-0.2% and 7+/-2%, respectively. The release profile of all microparticles followed a first order release kinetic. Chitosan (0.5mg), Ch-GSH, PAA and PAA-GSH particles showed a 31.4-, 13.8-, 54.2- and a 42.2-fold increase in weight, respectively. No significant cytotoxicity could be found. Thiolated microparticles prepared by jet milling technique were shown to be stable and to have controlled drug release characteristics. After further optimizations the preparation method described here might be a useful tool for the production of protein loaded drug delivery systems.

Physical and Degradable Properties of Mulching Films Prepared from Natural Fibers and Biodegradable Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhijian Tan

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The use of plastic film in agriculture has the serious drawback of producing vast quantities of waste. In this work, films were prepared from natural fibers and biodegradable polymers as potential substitutes for the conventional non-biodegradable plastic film used as mulching material in agricultural production. The physical properties (e.g., mechanical properties, heat preservation, water permeability, and photopermeability and degradation characteristics (evaluated by micro-organic culture testing and soil burial testing of the films were studied in both laboratory and field tests. The experimental results indicated that these fiber/polymer films exhibited favorable physical properties that were sufficient for use in mulching film applications. Moreover, the degradation degree of the three tested films decreased in the following order: fiber/starch (ST film > fiber/poly(vinyl alcohol (PVA film > fiber/polyacrylate (PA film. The fiber/starch and fiber/PVA films were made from completely biodegradable materials and demonstrated the potential to substitute non-biodegradable films.

Selective Template Wetting Routes to Hierarchical Polymer Films: Polymer Nanotubes from Phase-Separated Films via Solvent Annealing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Hao-Wen; Cheng, Ming-Hsiang; Chi, Mu-Huan; Chang, Chun-Wei; Chen, Jiun-Tai

2016-03-01

We demonstrate a novel wetting method to prepare hierarchical polymer films with polymer nanotubes on selective regions. This strategy is based on the selective wetting abilities of polymer chains, annealed in different solvent vapors, into the nanopores of porous templates. Phase-separated films of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), two commonly used polymers, are prepared as a model system. After anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates are placed on the films, the samples are annealed in vapors of acetic acid, in which the PMMA chains are swollen and wet the nanopores of the AAO templates selectively. As a result, hierarchical polymer films containing PMMA nanotubes can be obtained after the AAO templates are removed. The distribution of the PMMA nanotubes of the hierarchical polymer films can also be controlled by changing the compositions of the polymer blends. This work not only presents a novel method to fabricate hierarchical polymer films with polymer nanotubes on selective regions, but also gives a deeper understanding in the selective wetting ability of polymer chains in solvent vapors.

Photo- and thermochromic and adsorption properties of porous coordination polymers based on bipyridinium carboxylate ligands.

Science.gov (United States)

Toma, Oksana; Mercier, Nicolas; Allain, Magali; Kassiba, Abdel Adi; Bellat, Jean-Pierre; Weber, Guy; Bezverkhyy, Igor

2015-09-21

The zwitterionic bipyridinium carboxylate ligand 1-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4'-bipyridinium (hpc1) in the presence of 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate anions (BDC(2-)) and Zn(2+) ions affords three porous coordination polymers (PCPs): [Zn5(hpc1)2(BDC)4(HCO2)2]·2DMF·EtOH·H2O (1), [Zn3(hpc1)(BDC)2(HCO2)(OH)(H2O)]·DMF·EtOH·H2O (2), and [Zn10(hpc1)4(BDC)7(HCO2)2(OH)4(EtOH)2]·3DMF·3H2O (3), with the formate anions resulting from the in situ decomposition of dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent molecules. 1 and 3 are photo- and thermochromic, turning dark green as a result of the formation of bipyridinium radicals, as shown by electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. Particularly, crystals of 3 are very photosensitive, giving an eye-detectable color change upon exposure to the light of the microscope in air within 1-2 min. A very nice and interesting feature is the regular discoloration of crystals from the "edge" to the "core" upon exposition to O2 (reoxidation of organic radicals) due to the diffusion of O2 inside the pores, with this discoloration being slower in an oxygen-poor atmosphere. The formation of organic radicals is explained by an electron transfer from the oxygen atoms of the carboxylate groups to pyridinium cycles. In the structure of 3', [Zn10(hpc1)4(BDC)7(OH)6(H2O)2], resulting from the heating of sample 3 (desolvation and loss of CO molecules due to the decomposition of formate anions), no suitable donor-acceptor interaction is present, and as a consequence, this compound does not exhibit any chromic properties. The presence of permanent porosity in desolvated 1, 2, and 3' is confirmed by methanol adsorption at 25 °C with the adsorbed amount reaching 5 wt % for 1, 10 wt % for 3', and 13 wt % for 2. The incomplete desorption of methanol at 25 °C under vacuum points to strong host-guest interactions.

Accelerated Characterization of Polymer Properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. Wroczynski; l. Brewer; D. Buckley; M. Burrell; R. Potyrailo

2003-07-30

This report describes the efforts to develop a suite of microanalysis techniques that can rapidly measure a variety of polymer properties of industrial importance, including thermal, photo-oxidative, and color stability; as well as ductility, viscosity, and mechanical and antistatic properties. Additional goals of the project were to direct the development of these techniques toward simultaneous measurements of multiple polymer samples of small size in real time using non-destructive and/or parallel or rapid sequential measurements, to develop microcompounding techniques for preparing polymers with additives, and to demonstrate that samples prepared in the microcompounder could be analyzed directly or used in rapid off-line measurements. These enabling technologies are the crucial precursors to the development of high-throughput screening (HTS) methodologies for the polymer additives industry whereby the rate of development of new additives and polymer formulations can be greatly accelerated.

Preparation of mucosal nanoparticles and polymer-based inactivated vaccine for Newcastle disease and H9N2 AI viruses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heba M. El Naggar

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Aim: To develop a mucosal inactivated vaccines for Newcastle disease (ND and H9N2 viruses to protect against these viruses at sites of infections through mucosal immunity. Materials and Methods: In this study, we prepared two new formulations for mucosal bivalent inactivated vaccine formulations for Newcastle and Avian Influenza (H9N2 based on the use of nanoparticles and polymer adjuvants. The prepared vaccines were delivered via intranasal and spray routes of administration in specific pathogen-free chickens. Cell-mediated and humoral immune response was measured as well as challenge trial was carried out. In addition, ISA71 water in oil was also evaluated. Results: Our results showed that the use of spray route as vaccination delivery method of polymer and nanoparticles MontanideTM adjuvants revealed that it enhanced the cell mediated immune response as indicated by phagocytic activity, gamma interferon and interleukin 6 responses and induced protection against challenge with Newcastle and Avian Influenza (H9N2 viruses. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate the potentiality of polymer compared to nanoparticles adjuvantes when used via spray route. Mass application of such vaccines will add value to improve the vaccination strategies against ND virus and Avian influenza viruses.

Preparation and drug-loading properties of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}/Poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) magnetic polymer nanocomposites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Wensheng [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230039 (China); Coordination Chemistry Institute, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Life Science, Chaohu University, Chaohu 238000 (China); Shen, Yuhua, E-mail: s_yuhua@163.com [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230039 (China); Xie, Anjian [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230039 (China); Zhang, Weiqiang [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230039 (China); Coordination Chemistry Institute, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Life Science, Chaohu University, Chaohu 238000 (China)

2013-11-15

Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}/poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) magnetic polymer nanocomposites were synthesized by the dispersion polymerization method using styrene as hard monomer, acrylic acid as functional monomer, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles modified with oleic acid as core, and poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) as shell. Drug-loading properties of magnetic polymer nanocomposites with curcumin as a model drug were also studied. The results indicated that magnetic polymer nanocomposites with monodisperse were obtained, the particle size distribution was 50–120 nm, and the average size was about 100 nm. The contents of poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles in magnetic polymer nanocomposites were 74% and 24.7%, respectively. The drug-loading capacity and entrapment efficiency were 2.5% and 44.4%, respectively. The saturation magnetization of magnetic polymer nanocomposites at 300 K was 20.2 emu/g without coercivity and remanence. The as-prepared magnetic polymer nanocomposites have not only lots of functional carboxyl groups but also stronger magnetic response, which might have potential applications in drug carrier and targeted drug release.

Controlled release system for ametryn using polymer microspheres: Preparation, characterization and release kinetics in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grillo, Renato; Pereira, Anderson do Espirito Santo; Ferreira Silva de Melo, Nathalie; Porto, Raquel Martins; Feitosa, Leandro Oliveira; Tonello, Paulo Sergio; Dias Filho, Newton L.; Rosa, Andre Henrique; Lima, Renata; Fraceto, Leonardo Fernandes

2011-01-01

The purpose of this work was to develop a modified release system for the herbicide ametryn by encapsulating the active substance in biodegradable polymer microparticles produced using the polymers poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) or poly(hydroxybutyrate-valerate) (PHBV), in order to both improve the herbicidal action and reduce environmental toxicity. PHB or PHBV microparticles containing ametryn were prepared and the efficiencies of herbicide association and loading were evaluated, presenting similar values of approximately 40%. The microparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which showed that the average sizes of the PHB and PHBV microparticles were 5.92 ± 0.74 μm and 5.63 ± 0.68 μm, respectively. The ametryn release profile was modified when it was encapsulated in the microparticles, with slower and more sustained release compared to the release profile of pure ametryn. When ametryn was associated with the PHB and PHBV microparticles, the amount of herbicide released in the same period of time was significantly reduced, declining to 75% and 87%, respectively. For both types of microparticle (PHB and PHBV) the release of ametryn was by diffusion processes due to anomalous transport (governed by diffusion and relaxation of the polymer chains), which did not follow Fick's laws of diffusion. The results presented in this paper are promising, in view of the successful encapsulation of ametryn in PHB or PHBV polymer microparticles, and indications that this system may help reduce the impacts caused by the herbicide, making it an environmentally safer alternative.

Optimization of Error-Bounded Lossy Compression for Hard-to-Compress HPC Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di, Sheng; Cappello, Franck

2018-01-01

Since today’s scientific applications are producing vast amounts of data, compressing them before storage/transmission is critical. Results of existing compressors show two types of HPC data sets: highly compressible and hard to compress. In this work, we carefully design and optimize the error-bounded lossy compression for hard-tocompress scientific data. We propose an optimized algorithm that can adaptively partition the HPC data into best-fit consecutive segments each having mutually close data values, such that the compression condition can be optimized. Another significant contribution is the optimization of shifting offset such that the XOR-leading-zero length between two consecutive unpredictable data points can be maximized. We finally devise an adaptive method to select the best-fit compressor at runtime for maximizing the compression factor. We evaluate our solution using 13 benchmarks based on real-world scientific problems, and we compare it with 9 other state-of-the-art compressors. Experiments show that our compressor can always guarantee the compression errors within the user-specified error bounds. Most importantly, our optimization can improve the compression factor effectively, by up to 49% for hard-tocompress data sets with similar compression/decompression time cost.

Metal-containing radiation-sensitive polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, A.Y.

1986-01-01

The copolymers of methyl methacrylate with alkali metal salts (Na, K, and Cs) of methacrylic acid have been prepared by saponification K, and Cs) of methylacrylic acid have been prepared by saponification of the homopolymer poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA. Low degrees of hydrolysis have been achieved by a heterogeneous system, and from the infrared spectra it has been confirmed that the ester groups of the methyl methacrylates are directly converted to the metal salts of methacrylic acid. These ionomers exhibit pseudo high molecular weights in gel permeation chromatogram, but no appreciable increase in intrinsic viscosities is observed in comparison to PMMA. The coordinated inorganic polymers poly[(dithio-2,2'-diacetato)bis(dimethylsulfoxide)dioxouranium(VI)] and poly[{methylenebis(thio)-2,2'-bis(acetato)}bis(dimethylsulfoxide)dioxouranium(VI)]have been synthesized in dimethyl sulfoxide solution with about 90% yield. The degree of polymerization and the number of average molecular weights of these polymers have been assessed by high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance, with which the acetato end group to the bridging ligand group ratios have been determined. The polymers bridging ligand group ratios have been determined. The polymers have been characterized by employing various techniques: infrared spectra, thermal gravimetric analysis, 13 C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, and gel permeation chromatography. The prepared polymer samples have been subjected to various doses of 137 Cs gamma radiation under which the polymers predominantly undergo chain scission. The radiation sensitivities of the polymers are assessed by G values which are obtained from gel permeation chromatograms. These uranyl polymers exhibit unusually high G values

Educational program on HPC technologies based on the heterogeneous cluster HybriLIT (LIT JINR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir V. Korenkov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article highlights the issues of training personnel for work with high-performance computing systems (HPC, as well as of support of the software and information environment which is necessary for the efficient use of heterogeneous computing resources and the development of parallel and hybrid applications. The heterogeneous computing cluster HybriLIT, which is one of the components of the Multifunctional Information and Computing Complex of JINR, is used as the main platform for training and re-training specialists, as well as for training students, graduate students and young scientists. The HybriLIT cluster is a dynamic, actively developing structure, incorporating the most advanced HPC computing architectures (graphics accelerators, Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors, and also it has a developed software and information environment, which in turn, makes it possible to build educational programs on the up-to-date level, and enables the learners to master both modern computing platforms and modern IT technologies.

Porous Polymer Drug-Eluting Coating Prepared by Radiation Induced Polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veres, M.; Beiler, B.; Himics, L.; Tóth, S.; Koós, M.

2010-01-01

Many areas of modern medicine are almost unimaginable without the use of different kinds of implants. They used as replacements, supports, auxiliary devices etc. for various parts or functions of the body. Their use has many advantages, however there could be some drawbacks too, like the possibility of rejection, inflammation and other side-effects. Many of these drawbacks are directly related to the materials used for the implant fabrication. Coatings are widely used to eliminate the unwanted effects appearing after the implantation. In addition to the protection and separation of tissues from the implant material they could also enhance the functionality and the acceptance of the artificial device and also promote the regeneration of the tissues after the intervention. Drug-eluting coatings are a good example for the latter. By delivery and controlled elution of drugs they could actively suppress inflammatory reactions, allergy and rejection of the implant, and their activity is localized to the place where these effects could mainly occur – to the region of the implant. This project is aimed to develop a drug-eluting porous polymer coating by radiation induced polymerization that can be used in different medical implants. The primary objects for this research are coronary stents however these porous layers could have perspective in other types of medical devices too. The main objectives are to develop a method for coating the surface of medical grade metallic alloy wires, plates and tubes with a porous polymer nanocomposite layer prepared by radiation induced polymerization and to characterize the obtained coatings

Porous Polymer Drug-Eluting Coating Prepared by Radiation Induced Polymerization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veres, M.; Beiler, B.; Himics, L.; Tóth, S.; Koós, M., E-mail: vm@szfki.hu [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Department of Laser Applications, Konkoly Thege Miklós ut 29-33, 1121 Budapest, P.O. Box 49, 1525 Budapest (Hungary)

2010-07-01

Many areas of modern medicine are almost unimaginable without the use of different kinds of implants. They used as replacements, supports, auxiliary devices etc. for various parts or functions of the body. Their use has many advantages, however there could be some drawbacks too, like the possibility of rejection, inflammation and other side-effects. Many of these drawbacks are directly related to the materials used for the implant fabrication. Coatings are widely used to eliminate the unwanted effects appearing after the implantation. In addition to the protection and separation of tissues from the implant material they could also enhance the functionality and the acceptance of the artificial device and also promote the regeneration of the tissues after the intervention. Drug-eluting coatings are a good example for the latter. By delivery and controlled elution of drugs they could actively suppress inflammatory reactions, allergy and rejection of the implant, and their activity is localized to the place where these effects could mainly occur – to the region of the implant. This project is aimed to develop a drug-eluting porous polymer coating by radiation induced polymerization that can be used in different medical implants. The primary objects for this research are coronary stents however these porous layers could have perspective in other types of medical devices too. The main objectives are to develop a method for coating the surface of medical grade metallic alloy wires, plates and tubes with a porous polymer nanocomposite layer prepared by radiation induced polymerization and to characterize the obtained coatings.

Climate simulations and services on HPC, Cloud and Grid infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Cofino, Antonio S.; Blanco, Carlos; Minondo Tshuma, Antonio

2017-04-01

Cloud, Grid and High Performance Computing have changed the accessibility and availability of computing resources for Earth Science research communities, specially for Climate community. These paradigms are modifying the way how climate applications are being executed. By using these technologies the number, variety and complexity of experiments and resources are increasing substantially. But, although computational capacity is increasing, traditional applications and tools used by the community are not good enough to manage this large volume and variety of experiments and computing resources. In this contribution, we evaluate the challenges to run climate simulations and services on Grid, Cloud and HPC infrestructures and how to tackle them. The Grid and Cloud infrastructures provided by EGI's VOs ( esr , earth.vo.ibergrid and fedcloud.egi.eu) will be evaluated, as well as HPC resources from PRACE infrastructure and institutional clusters. To solve those challenges, solutions using DRM4G framework will be shown. DRM4G provides a good framework to manage big volume and variety of computing resources for climate experiments. This work has been supported by the Spanish National R&D Plan under projects WRF4G (CGL2011-28864), INSIGNIA (CGL2016-79210-R) and MULTI-SDM (CGL2015-66583-R) ; the IS-ENES2 project from the 7FP of the European Commission (grant agreement no. 312979); the European Regional Development Fund—ERDF and the Programa de Personal Investigador en Formación Predoctoral from Universidad de Cantabria and Government of Cantabria.

Effect of Polymer Matrix on the Structure and Electric Properties of Piezoelectric Lead Zirconatetitanate/Polymer Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Li

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric lead zirconatetitanate (PZT/polymer composites were prepared by two typical polymer matrixes using the hot-press method. The micromorphology, microstructure, dielectric properties, and piezoelectric properties of the PZT/polymer composites were characterized and investigated. The results showed that when the condition of frequency is 103 Hz, the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT/poly(vinylidene fluoride were both better than that of PZT/polyvinyl chloride (PVC. When the volume fraction of PZT was 50%, PZT/PVDF prepared by the hot-press method had better comprehensive electric property.

COMPOSE-HPC: A Transformational Approach to Exascale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernholdt, David E [ORNL; Allan, Benjamin A. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL); Armstrong, Robert C. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL); Chavarria-Miranda, Daniel [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Dahlgren, Tamara L. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Elwasif, Wael R [ORNL; Epperly, Tom [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Foley, Samantha S [ORNL; Hulette, Geoffrey C. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL); Krishnamoorthy, Sriram [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Prantl, Adrian [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Panyala, Ajay [Louisiana State University; Sottile, Matthew [Galois, Inc.

2012-04-01

The goal of the COMPOSE-HPC project is to 'democratize' tools for automatic transformation of program source code so that it becomes tractable for the developers of scientific applications to create and use their own transformations reliably and safely. This paper describes our approach to this challenge, the creation of the KNOT tool chain, which includes tools for the creation of annotation languages to control the transformations (PAUL), to perform the transformations (ROTE), and optimization and code generation (BRAID), which can be used individually and in combination. We also provide examples of current and future uses of the KNOT tools, which include transforming code to use different programming models and environments, providing tests that can be used to detect errors in software or its execution, as well as composition of software written in different programming languages, or with different threading patterns.

Enzyme production in immobilized Trichoderma reesei cells with hydrophobic polymers prepared by radiation polymerization method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luzhao Xin; Kumakura, Minoru; Kaetsu, Isao

1993-01-01

Trichoderma reesei cells were immobilized on paper covered with hydrophobic monomer, trimethylpropane triacrylate by radiation polymerization. The effect of immobilization condition on enzyme productivity was studied by measuring filter paper and cellobiose activity. The cells were adhered and grew on the surface of the carrier with the polymer giving high enzyme productivity in the immobilized cells in comparison with the free cells. Optimum concentration and volume of the coating monomer for the preparation of the immobilized cells were obtained. (author)

Preparation of candidate reference materials for the determination of phosphorus containing flame retardants in styrene-based polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Thomas; Urpi Bertran, Raquel; Latza, Andreas; Andörfer-Lang, Katrin; Hügelschäffer, Claudia; Pöhlein, Manfred; Puchta, Ralph; Placht, Christian; Maid, Harald; Bauer, Walter; van Eldik, Rudi

2015-04-01

Candidate reference materials (RM) for the analysis of phosphorus-based flame retardants in styrene-based polymers were prepared using a self-made mini-extruder. Due to legal requirements of the current restriction for the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, focus now is placed on phosphorus-based flame retardants instead of the brominated kind. Newly developed analytical methods for the first-mentioned substances also require RMs similar to industrial samples for validation and verification purposes. Hence, the prepared candidate RMs contained resorcinol-bis-(diphenyl phosphate), bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate), triphenyl phosphate and triphenyl phosphine oxide as phosphorus-based flame retardants. Blends of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile-co-butadiene-co-styrene as well as blends of high-impact polystyrene and polyphenylene oxide were chosen as carrier polymers. Homogeneity and thermal stability of the candidate RMs were investigated. Results showed that the candidate RMs were comparable to the available industrial materials. Measurements by ICP/OES, FTIR and NMR confirmed the expected concentrations of the flame retardants and proved that analyte loss and degradation, respectively, was below the uncertainty of measurement during the extrusion process. Thus, the candidate RMs were found to be suitable for laboratory use.

In vitro evaluation of mucoadhesive vaginal tablets of antifungal drugs prepared with thiolated polymer and development of a new dissolution technique for vaginal formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Baloglu, Esra; Ay Senyıgıt, Zeynep; Karavana, Sinem Yaprak; Vetter, Anja; Metın, Dilek Yesim; Hilmioglu Polat, Suleyha; Guneri, Tamer; Bernkop-Schnurch, Andreas

2011-01-01

The main objective of this work was to develop antifungal matrix tablet for vaginal applications using mucoadhesive thiolated polymer. Econazole nitrate (EN) and miconazole nitrate (MN) were used as antifungal drugs to prepare the vaginal tablet formulations. Thiolated poly(acrylic acid)-cysteine (PAA-Cys) conjugate was synthesized by the covalent attachment of L-cysteine to PAA with the formation of amide bonds between the primary amino group of L-cysteine and the carboxylic acid group of the polymer. Vaginal mucoadhesive matrix tablets were prepared by direct compression technique. The investigation focused on the influence of modified polymer on water uptake behavior, mucoadhesive property and release rate of drug. Thiolated polymer increased the water uptake ratio and mucoadhesive property of the formulations. A new simple dissolution technique was developed to simulate the vaginal environment for the evaluation of release behavior of vaginal tablets. In this technique, daily production amount and rate of the vaginal fluid was used without any rotational movement. The drug release was found to be slower from PAA-Cys compared to that from PAA formulations. The similarity study results confirmed that the difference in particle size of EN and MN did not affect their release profile. The release process was described by plotting the fraction released drug versus time and n fitting data to the simple exponential model: M(t)/M(∞)=kt(n). The release kinetics were determined as Super Case II for all the formulations prepared with PAA or PAA-Cys. According to these results the mucoadhesive vaginal tablet formulations prepared with PAA-Cys represent good example for delivery systems which prolong the residence time of drugs at the vaginal mucosal surface.

Supercritical transitiometry of polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Randzio, S L; Grolier, J P

1998-06-01

Employing supercritical fluids (SCFs) during polymers processing allows the unusual properties of SCFs to be exploited for making polymer products that cannot be obtained by other means. A new supercritical transitiometer has been constructed to permit study of the interactions of SCFs with polymers during processing under well-defined conditions of temperature and pressure. The supercritical transitiometer allows pressure to be exerted by either a supercritical fluid or a neutral medium and enables simultaneous determination of four basic parameters of a transition, i.e., p, T, Δ(tr)H and Δ(tr)V. This permits determination of the SCF effect on modification of the polymer structure at a given pressure and temperature and defines conditions to allow reproducible preparation of new polymer structures. Study of a semicrystalline polyethylene by this method has defined conditions for preparation of new microfoamed phases with good mechanical properties. The low densities and microporous structures of the new materials may make them useful for applications in medicine, pharmacy, or the food industry, for example.

Concept of polymer alloy electrolytes: towards room temperature operation of lithium-polymer batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noda, Kazuhiro; Yasuda, Toshikazu; Nishi, Yoshio

2004-01-01

Polymer alloy technique is very powerful tool to tune the ionic conductivity and mechanical strength of polymer electrolyte. A semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) polymer alloy electrolyte, composed of non-cross-linkable siloxane-based polymer and cross-linked 3D network polymer, was prepared. Such polymer alloy electrolyte has quite high ionic conductivity (more than 10 -4 Scm -1 at 25 o C and 10 -5 Scm -1 at -10 o C) and mechanical strength as a separator film with a wide electrochemical stability window. A lithium metal/semi-IPN polymer alloy solid state electrolyte/LiCoO 2 cell demonstrated promising cycle performance with room temperature operation of the energy density of 300Wh/L and better rate performance than conventional PEO based lithium polymer battery ever reported

Towards anatomic scale agent-based modeling with a massively parallel spatially explicit general-purpose model of enteric tissue (SEGMEnT_HPC).

Science.gov (United States)

Cockrell, Robert Chase; Christley, Scott; Chang, Eugene; An, Gary

2015-01-01

Perhaps the greatest challenge currently facing the biomedical research community is the ability to integrate highly detailed cellular and molecular mechanisms to represent clinical disease states as a pathway to engineer effective therapeutics. This is particularly evident in the representation of organ-level pathophysiology in terms of abnormal tissue structure, which, through histology, remains a mainstay in disease diagnosis and staging. As such, being able to generate anatomic scale simulations is a highly desirable goal. While computational limitations have previously constrained the size and scope of multi-scale computational models, advances in the capacity and availability of high-performance computing (HPC) resources have greatly expanded the ability of computational models of biological systems to achieve anatomic, clinically relevant scale. Diseases of the intestinal tract are exemplary examples of pathophysiological processes that manifest at multiple scales of spatial resolution, with structural abnormalities present at the microscopic, macroscopic and organ-levels. In this paper, we describe a novel, massively parallel computational model of the gut, the Spatially Explicitly General-purpose Model of Enteric Tissue_HPC (SEGMEnT_HPC), which extends an existing model of the gut epithelium, SEGMEnT, in order to create cell-for-cell anatomic scale simulations. We present an example implementation of SEGMEnT_HPC that simulates the pathogenesis of ileal pouchitis, and important clinical entity that affects patients following remedial surgery for ulcerative colitis.

Preparation and mechanical property of polymer-based biomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, P; Chen, G; Zheng, X F

2010-01-01

The porous polymer-based biomaterial has been synthesized from PLGA, dioxane and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) by low-temperature deposition process. The deformation behaviours and fracture mechanism of polymer-based biomaterials were investigated using the compression test and the finite element (FE) simulation. The results show that the stress-strain curve of compression process includes linear elastic stage I, platform stage II and densification stage III, and the fracture mechanism can be considered as brittle fracture.

Extraction of uranium by hydroxybenzamide type polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakuragi, Masako; Ichimura, Kunihiro; Suda, Yoshio; Marumo, Tomofuyu; Iwaki, Takao; Abe, Yoshimoto; Misono, Takahisa.

1985-01-01

Polyethyleneimine crosslinked with N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide was treated with substituted phenyl hydroxybenzoates to give the polymers having corresponding hydroxybenzamide groups. In these polymers I-V, polymer having 2-hydroxybenzamide group (I) and that having 2,4-dihydroxybenzamide group (II) showed the adsorption abilities of 45 and 87 μg-U/g in 4 days in seawater, respectively. The polymers having 2-hydroxybenzamide group in concentration from 1 to 20 mol % were prepared and the adsorption property for uranium was examined. Three mol % is most suitable concentration for treatment for 2-4 days, while 20 mol % is suitable for treatment for 30 days. The polymer prepared from porous polyethyleneimine bead showed higher adsorption ability than usual ones. (J.P.N.)

Preparation of polymer brushes grafted graphene oxide by atom transfer radical polymerization as a new support for trypsin immobilization and efficient proteome digestion.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Cong; Zhao, Xinyuan; Zhang, Wanjun; Bai, Haihong; Qin, Weijie; Song, Haifeng; Qian, Xiaohong

2017-08-01

Highly efficient protein digestion is one of the key issues in the "bottom-up" strategy-based proteomic studies. Compared with the time-consuming solution-based free protease digestion, immobilized protease digestion offers a promising alternative with obviously improved sample processing throughput. In this study, we proposed a new immobilized protease digestion strategy using two kinds of polymer-grafted graphene oxide (GO) conjugated trypsin. The polymer brush grafted GO was prepared using in situ polymer growth on initiator-functionalized GO using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and characterized by AFM, TEM, TGA, and XPS. The polymer brush grafted GO supports three-dimensional trypsin immobilization, which not only increases the loading amount but also improves accessibility towards protein substrates. Both of the two types of immobilized trypsin provide 700 times shorter digestion time, while maintaining comparable protein/peptide identification scale compared with that of free trypsin digestion. More interestingly, combined application of the two types of immobilized trypsin with different surface-grafted polymers leads to at least 18.3/31.3% enhancement in protein/peptide identification compared with that obtained by digestion using a single type, indicating the potential of this digestion strategy for deeper proteome coverage using limited mass spectrometer machine hour. We expect these advantages may find valuable application in high throughput clinical proteomic studies, which often involve processing of a large number of samples. Graphical abstract Preparation of polymer brushes grafted and trypsin immobilized graphene oxide and its application in proteome digestion and mass spectrometry identification.

Fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer thin films for specific protein detection prepared with dansyl ethylenediamine-conjugated O-acryloyl L-hydroxyproline.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Yuki; Kuwahara, Atsushi; Ohmori, Kohei; Sunayama, Hirobumi; Ooya, Tooru; Takeuchi, Toshifumi

2013-10-15

Protein-imprinted polymers, capable of specific transduction of protein binding events into fluorescent signal change, were designed and synthesized by using dansyl ethylenediamine-conjugated O-acryloyl L-hydroxyproline (Hyp-En-Dans). Human serum albumin (HSA) was used as a model target protein and HSA-imprinted polymers (HSA-IP) were prepared on glass substrates. Specific fluorescence change was observed for HSA binding on the imprinted polymer thin film, whereas a weaker response was observed for other proteins, including bovine serum albumin, chymotrypsin, lysozyme, and avidin. The binding specificity was found to derive from the rigid structure of the hydrogen-bondable pyrrolidine moiety. Compared with SPR measurements, the non-specific binding caused by the polymer matrix and/or randomly located fluorescent monomer residues that did not compose specific binding sites did not contribute to the observed fluorescence change. These results revealed that the proposed protein-imprinting technique using Hyp-En-Dans could provide a highly selective protein-sensing platform, in which only specific binding events would be detected by fluorescent measurements. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation and characterization of MWCNT nanofiller incorporated polymer composite for lithium battery applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pradeepa, P.; Raj, S. Edwin; Selvakumar, K.; Sowmya, G.; Prabhu, M. Ramesh, E-mail: mkram83@gmail.com [School of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi-630 003, Tamil Nadu (India)

2015-06-24

Poly (ethyl methacrylate) based polymer electrolyte films were prepared by solution casting technique incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as filler and characterized using XRD and Ac impedance analysis. The electrical conductivity is increased with increasing filler concentration (upto 6wt %), which is attributed to the formation of charge transfer complexes. The maximum ionic conductivity value is found to be 1.171×10{sup −3} Scm{sup −1} at 303K for PEMA (19wt %) -LiClO{sub 4} (8wt %) -MWCNT (6wt %) -PC (67wt %) electrolyte system. The temperature dependent ionic conductivity plot seems to obey Vogel -Tamman-Fulcher relation.

Mechanical properties of polymer-modified porous concrete

Science.gov (United States)

Ariffin, N. F.; Jaafar, M. F. Md.; Shukor Lim, N. H. Abdul; Bhutta, M. A. R.; Hussin, M. W.

2018-04-01

In this research work, polymer-modified porous concretes (permeable concretes) using polymer latex and redispersible polymer powder with water-cement ratio of 30 %, polymer-cement ratios of 0 to 10 % and cement content of 300 kg/m3 are prepared. The porous concrete was tested for compressive strength, flexural strength, water permeability and void ratio. The cubes size of specimen is 100 mm ×100 mm × 100 mm and 150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm while the beam size is 100 mm × 100 mm × 500 mm was prepared for particular tests. The tests results show that the addition of polymer as a binder to porous concrete gives an improvement on the strength properties and coefficient of water permeability of polymer-modified porous concrete. It is concluded from the test results that increase in compressive and flexural strengths and decrease in the coefficient of water permeability of the polymer-modified porous concrete are clearly observed with increasing of polymer-cement ratio.

Transition state analogue imprinted polymers as artificial amidases for amino acid p-nitroanilides: morphological effects of polymer network on catalytic efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Divya; Thomas, Benny; Devaky, K S

2017-11-13

The morphology of the polymer network - porous/less porous - plays predominant role in the amidase activities of the polymer catalysts in the hydrolytic reactions of amino acid p-nitroanilides. Polymers with the imprints of stable phosphonate analogue of the intermediate of hydrolytic reactions were synthesized as enzyme mimics. Molecular imprinting was carried out in thermodynamically stable porogen dimethyl sulphoxide and unstable porogen chloroform, to investigate the morphological effects of polymers on catalytic amidolysis. It was found that the medium of polymerization has vital influence in the amidase activities of the enzyme mimics. The morphological studies of the polymer catalysts were carried out by scanning electron microscopy and Bruner-Emmett-Teller analysis. The morphology of the polymer catalysts and their amidase activities are found to be dependent on the composition of reaction medium. The polymer catalyst prepared in dimethyl sulphoxide is observed to be efficient in 1:9 acetonitrile (ACN)-Tris HCl buffer and that prepared in chloroform is noticed to be stereo specifically and shape-selectively effective in 9:1 ACN-Tris HCl buffer. The solvent memory effect in catalytic amidolysis was investigated using the polymer prepared in acetonitrile.

Roles of ethylene glycol solvent and polymers in preparing uniformly distributed MgO nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunxi Hai

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study focus on specifying the roles of solvent ethylene glycol (EG and polymers for synthesis of uniformly distributed magnesium oxide (MgO nanoparticles with average crystallite size of around 50 nm through a modified polyol method. Based on different characterization results, it was concluded that, Mg2+ ions was precipitated by the −OH and CO32− ions decomposed from urea in ethylene glycol (EG medium (CO(NH22 → NH3 + HNCO, HNCO + H2O → NH3 + CO2, thus forming well crystallized Mg5(CO34(OH2 (H2O4 precursor which could be converted to MgO by calcination. Surface protectors PEG and PVP have no obvious influences on cyrtsal structure, morphology and size uniformity of as-prepared precursors and target MgO nanoparticles. In comparison with polymers PEG and PVP, solvent EG plays an important role in controlling the morphology and diameter uniformity of MgO nanoparticles.

Metal doped fluorocarbon polymer films prepared by plasma polymerization using an RF planar magnetron target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biederman, H.; Holland, L.

1983-01-01

Fluorocarbon films have been prepared by plasma polymerization of CF 4 using an RF planar magnetron with an aluminium target. More than one order of magnitude higher deposition rate has been achieved in comparison with an r.f. diode system operated under similar conditions of monomer pressure and flow rate and power input. A glow discharge in a CF 4 [25%]-argon[75%] mixture was used to incorporate aluminium from a target electrode into the polymer films. The foregoing mixture and another based on CF 4 [87%]-argon[13%] were used in the RF discharge with a copper target. Some experiments with a gold target and pure CF 4 as the inlet gas were also made. The film structure was examined by SEM and TEM and characteristic micrographs are presented here. The composition of the films was estimated from an EAS study. The sheet resistivity of the metal/polymer film complexes was determined. (orig.)

Metal doped fluorocarbon polymer films prepared by plasma polymerization using an RF planar magnetron target

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biederman, H.; Holland, L. (Sussex Univ., Brighton (UK). Lab. for Plasma Materials Processing)

1983-07-01

Fluorocarbon films have been prepared by plasma polymerization of CF/sub 4/ using an RF planar magnetron with an aluminium target. More than one order of magnitude higher deposition rate has been achieved in comparison with an R.F. diode system operated under similar conditions of monomer pressure and flow rate and power input. A glow discharge in a CF/sub 4/(25%)-argon(75%) mixture was used to incorporate aluminium from a target electrode into the polymer films. The foregoing mixture and another based on CF/sub 4/(87%)-argon(13%) were used in the RF discharge with a copper target. Some experiments with a gold target and pure CF/sub 4/ as the inlet gas were also made. The film structure was examined by SEM and TEM and characteristic micrographs are presented here. The composition of the films was estimated from an EAS study. The sheet resistivity of the metal/polymer film complexes was determined.

Thin polymer films prepared by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rangel, Elidiane C.; Silva, Paulo A.F.; Mota, Rogerio P.; Schreiner, Wido H.; Cruz, Nilson C.

2005-01-01

This work describes an investigation of the properties of polymer films prepared by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition. Films were synthesized from low pressure benzene glow discharges, biasing the samples with 25 kV negative pulses. The total energy deposited in the growing layer was varied tailoring simultaneously pulse frequency and duty cycle. The effect of the pulse characteristics on the chemical composition and mechanical properties of the films was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and nanoindentation, respectively. Analysis of the deconvoluted C 1s XPS peaks demonstrated that oxygen was incorporated in all the samples. The chemical modifications induced structural reorganization, characterized by chain cross-linking and unsaturation, affecting material properties. Hardness and plastic resistance parameter increased under certain bombardment conditions. An interpretation is proposed in terms of the total energy delivered to the growing layer

Possible use of ionic polymers for treatment of radioactive liquid waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siyam, T.; Nofal, M.; Eldessouky, M.I.; Aly, H.F.

1992-01-01

Water-soluble nonionic polymers such as polyacrylamide is recently introduced for treatment of radioactive liquid waste. Eater-soluble ionic polymers such as: poly (sodium acrylate) [anionic polymer], poly (acrylamide-CO-sodium acrylate) [anionic copolymer] and poly (acrylamide-sodium acrylate-diallyldiethylammonium chloride) [amphoteric terpolymer] were prepared by gamma radiation-initiated polymerization of the corresponding monomer solutions. The prepared polymers were assessed for use in treatment of radionuclides that might be present in radioactive waste effluents. It was found that the polymer efficiency for cobalt-60 was affected by the composition of the copolymer and the degree of ionization of the polymer. The efficiency of the polymer increases with increasing the concentration of the polymer. The mechanism of sludge formation for each type of polymer was discussed. It was found that the anionic copolymer is more selective for cobalt than the prepared polymers. Amphoteric terpolymer has different selectivity for cations and anions. 3 figs, 1 tab

Utilization of star-shaped polymer architecture in the creation of high-density polymer brush coatings for the prevention of platelet and bacteria adhesion

Science.gov (United States)

Totani, Masayasu; Terada, Kayo; Terashima, Takaya; Kim, Ill Yong; Ohtsuki, Chikara; Xi, Chuanwu; Tanihara, Masao

2014-01-01

We demonstrate utilization of star-shaped polymers as high-density polymer brush coatings and their effectiveness to inhibit the adhesion of platelets and bacteria. Star polymers consisting of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) and/or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), were synthesized using living radical polymerization with a ruthenium catalyst. The polymer coatings were prepared by simple drop casting of the polymer solution onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) surfaces and then dried. Among the star polymers prepared in this study, the PHEMA star polymer (star-PHEMA) and the PHEMA/PMMA (mol. ratio of 71/29) heteroarm star polymer (star-H71M29) coatings showed the highest percentage of inhibition against platelet adhesion (78–88% relative to noncoated PET surface) and Escherichia coli (94–97%). These coatings also showed anti-adhesion activity against platelets after incubation in Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline or surfactant solution for 7 days. In addition, the PMMA component of the star polymers increased the scratch resistance of the coating. These results indicate that the star-polymer architecture provides high polymer chain density on PET surfaces to prevent adhesion of platelets and bacteria, as well as coating stability and physical durability to prevent exposure of bare PET surfaces. The star polymers provide a simple and effective approach to preparing anti-adhesion polymer coatings on biomedical materials against the adhesion of platelets and bacteria. PMID:25485105

Polymer and Polymer Gel of Liquid Crystalline Semiconductors

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Teppei Shimakawa; Naoki Yoshimoto; Jun-ichi Hanna

2004-01-01

It prepared a polymer and polymer gel of a liquid crystalline (LC) semiconductor having a 2-phenylnaphthalene moiety and studied their charge carrier transport properties by the time-of-flight technique. It is found that polyacrylate having the mesogenic core moiety of 2-phenylnaphtalene (PNP-acrylate) exhibited a comparable mobility of 10-4cm2/Vs in smectic A phase to those in smectic A (SmA) phase of small molecular liquid crystals with the same core moiety, e.g., 6-(4'-octylphenyl)- 2-dodecyloxynaphthalene (8-PNP-O12), and an enhanced mobility up to 10-3cm2/Vs in the LC-glassy phase at room temperature, when mixed with a small amount of 8-PNP-O12. On the other hand, the polymer gel consisting of 20 wt %-hexamethylenediacrylate (HDA)-based cross-linked polymer and 8-PNP-O12 exhibited no degraded mobility when cross-linked at the mesophase. These results indicate that the polymer and polymer composite of liquid crystalline semiconductors provide us with an easy way to realize a quality organic semiconductor thin film for the immediate device applications.

Influence of the composition of hydroxypropyl cellulose/maleic acid-alt-styrene copolymer blends on their properties as matrix for drug release

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Poly(carboxylic acid-polysaccharide compositions have been found suitable for obtaining drug formulations with controlled release, most formulations being therapeutically efficacious, stable, and non-irritant. The influence of the characteristics of the aqueous solutions from which the polymer matrix is prepared (i.e. the total concentration of polymer in solutions and the mixing ratio between the partners, hydroxypropyl cellulose, HPC and maleic acid-alternating-styrene copolymer, MAc-alt-S on the kinetics of some drugs release in acidic environment (pH = 2 has been followed by ‘in vitro’ dissolution tests. It has been established that the kinetics of procaine hydrochloride release from HPC/MAc-alt-S matrix depends on its composition; the diffusion exponent, n is close to 0.5 for matrices where one of the components is in large excess and n~0.02 for middle composition range. The lower value of diffusion exponent for middle composition range could be caused by the so called ‘burst effect’, therefore the kinetic evaluation is difficult.

Preparation and Characterization of Biomimetic Hydroxyapatite-Resorbable Polymer Composites for Hard Tissue Repair

Science.gov (United States)

Hiebner, Kristopher Robert

Autografts are the orthopedic "gold standard" for repairing bone voids. Autografts are osteoconductive and do not elicit an immune response, but they are in short supply and require a second surgery to harvest the bone graft. Allografts are currently the most common materials used for the repair of segmental defects in hard tissue. Unlike autografts, allografts can cause an undesirable immune response and the possibility of disease transmission is a major concern. As an alternative to the above approaches, recent research efforts have focused on the use of composite materials made from hydroxyapatite (HA) and bioresorbable polymers, such as poly-L-lactide (PLLA). Recent results have shown that the surface hydroxides on HA can initiate the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide and other lactones creating a composite with superior interfacial strength. This thesis demonstrates that the surface of porous biologically derived HA substrates, such as coralline HA and trabecular bone, can be used to initiate the ROP of L-lactide and other lactones from the vapor phase. This process increases the strength of the porous scaffold through the deposition of a thin, uniform polymer coating, while maintaining the porous structure. The kinetics of the chemical vapor deposition polymerization (CVDP) are described using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The reaction temperature and monomer vapor pressure are found to affect the rate of the polymerization. Also described in this thesis is the preparation of a porous polymer scaffold that mimics the structure of demineralized bone matrix (DBM). This demineralized bone matrix simulant (DBMS) is created using anorganic bovine bone as a template to initiate the polymerization of various lactones, followed by the removal of the HA scaffold. This material retained its shape and exhibits mechanical properties superior to DBM. Finally it is shown that HA can be used to initiate the ROP of a-caprolactam and the biocompatibility

INFN-Pisa scientific computation environment (GRID, HPC and Interactive Analysis)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arezzini, S; Carboni, A; Caruso, G; Ciampa, A; Coscetti, S; Mazzoni, E; Piras, S

2014-01-01

The INFN-Pisa Tier2 infrastructure is described, optimized not only for GRID CPU and Storage access, but also for a more interactive use of the resources in order to provide good solutions for the final data analysis step. The Data Center, equipped with about 6700 production cores, permits the use of modern analysis techniques realized via advanced statistical tools (like RooFit and RooStat) implemented in multicore systems. In particular a POSIX file storage access integrated with standard SRM access is provided. Therefore the unified storage infrastructure is described, based on GPFS and Xrootd, used both for SRM data repository and interactive POSIX access. Such a common infrastructure allows a transparent access to the Tier2 data to the users for their interactive analysis. The organization of a specialized many cores CPU facility devoted to interactive analysis is also described along with the login mechanism integrated with the INFN-AAI (National INFN Infrastructure) to extend the site access and use to a geographical distributed community. Such infrastructure is used also for a national computing facility in use to the INFN theoretical community, it enables a synergic use of computing and storage resources. Our Center initially developed for the HEP community is now growing and includes also HPC resources fully integrated. In recent years has been installed and managed a cluster facility (1000 cores, parallel use via InfiniBand connection) and we are now updating this facility that will provide resources for all the intermediate level HPC computing needs of the INFN theoretical national community.

Immobilization of Enzymes in Polymer Supports.

Science.gov (United States)

Conlon, Hugh D.; Walt, David R.

1986-01-01

Two experiments in which an enzyme is immobilized onto a polymeric support are described. The experiments (which also demonstrate two different polymer preparations) involve: (1) entrapping an enzyme in an acrylamide polymer; and (2) reacting the amino groups on the enzyme's (esterase) lysine residues with an activated polymer. (JN)

Magnetic polymer nanospheres for anticancer drug targeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

JurIkova, A; Csach, K; Koneracka, M; Zavisova, V; Tomasovicova, N; Lancz, G; Kopcansky, P; Timko, M; Miskuf, J [Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01 Kosice (Slovakia); Muckova, M, E-mail: akasard@saske.s [Hameln rds a.s., 900 01 Modra (Slovakia)

2010-01-01

Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) polymer (PLGA) nanospheres loaded with biocom-patible magnetic fluid as a magnetic carrier and anticancer drug Taxol were prepared by the modified nanoprecipitation method with size of 200-250 nm in diameter. The PLGA polymer was utilized as a capsulation material due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility. Taxol as an important anticancer drug was chosen for its significant role against a wide range of tumours. Thermal properties of the drug-polymer system were characterized using thermal analysis methods. It was determined the solubility of Taxol in PLGA nanospheres. Magnetic properties investigated using SQUID magnetometry showed superparamagnetism of the prepared magnetic polymer nanospheres.

Preparation of a Mini-Library of Thermo-Responsive Star (NVCL/NVP-VAc Polymers with Tailored Properties Using a Hexafunctional Xanthate RAFT Agent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norma Aidé Cortez-Lemus

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A mini-library of star-shaped thermoresponsive polymers having six arms was prepared using a hexafunctional xanthate by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT polymerization. Star polymers with homopolymeric arms of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam (PNVCL, copolymeric arms of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PNVCL-co-PNVP and also arms of block copolymers of PNVCL-b-PVAc, (PNVCL-co-PNVP-b-PVAc, and combinations of them changing the order of the block was achieved exploiting the R-RAFT synthetic methodology (or R-group approach, wherein the thiocarbonyl group is transferred to the polymeric chain end. Taking advantage of the RAFT benefits, the molecular weight of the star polymers was controlled (Mn = 11,880–153,400 g/mol to yield star polymers of different sizes and lower critical solution temperature (LCST values. Removing the xanthate group of the star polymers allowed for the introduction of specific functional groups at the ends of the star arms and resulted in an increase of the LCST values. Star PNVCL-b-PVAc diblock copolymers with PVAc contents of 5–26 mol % were prepared; the hydrophobic segment (PVAc is located at the end of the star arms. Interestingly, when the PVAc content was 5–7 mol %, the hydrodynamic diameter (Dh value of the aggregates formed in water was almost the same sa the Dh of the corresponding PNVCL star homopolymers. It is proposed that these star block copolymers self-assemble into single flowerlike micelles, showing great stability in aqueous solution. Star block copolymers with the PVAc hydrophobic block in the core of the star, such as PVAc-b-(PNVCL-co-PNVP, form micellar aggregates in aqueous solution with Dh values in the range from ~115 to 245 nm while maintaining a thermoresponsive behavior. Micellar aggregates of selected star polymers were used to encapsulate methotrexate (MTX showing their potential in the temperature controlled release of this antineoplasic drug. The importance

Preparation of polymer blends from glycerol, fumaric acid and of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) recycled

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medeiros, Marina A.O.; Guimaraes, Danilo H.; Brioude, Michel M.; Jose, Nadia M.; Prado, Luis A.S. de A.

2011-01-01

Polymer blends based on recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(glycerol fumarate) polyesters were prepared in different PET concentrations. The PET powder was dispersed during the poly(glycerol fumarate) synthesis at 260 deg C. The resulting blends were characterized by X-ray diffraction. The thermal stability of the materials was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The morphology was studies by scanning electron microscopy. The blends were clearly immiscible. The possibility of (interfacial) compatibilization of the PET domains, caused by transesterification reactions between PET and glycerol were discussed. (author)

Preparation of dielectrics HR mirrors from colloidal oxide suspensions containing organic polymer binders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, I.M.

1994-01-01

Colloidal suspensions of oxides have been used to prepare dielectric HR (high reflective) mirrors, specifically for high power fusion case applications, on substrates up to 38 cm square using a meniscus coater. These coatings consist of porous quarterwave layers of alternating high and low refractive index oxides. Silica was used as the low index oxide and AlOOH, ZrO 2 , or HfO 2 as the high index material. Coatings were weak because of low particle-to-particle adhesion. Use of organic polymer binders in the high index component was found to increase strength, thereby improving the laser damage threshold and also reducing the number of layers required for 99% reflection due to increased refractive index

Laser patterning of transparent polymers assisted by plasmon excitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Elashnikov, R; Trelin, A; Otta, J; Fitl, P; Mares, D; Jerabek, V; Svorcik, V; Lyutakov, O

2018-06-13

Plasmon-assisted lithography of thin transparent polymer films, based on polymer mass-redistribution under plasmon excitation, is presented. The plasmon-supported structures were prepared by thermal annealing of thin Ag films sputtered on glass or glass/graphene substrates. Thin films of polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene and polylactic acid were then spin-coated on the created plasmon-supported structures. Subsequent laser beam writing, at the wavelength corresponding to the position of plasmon absorption, leads to mass redistribution and patterning of the thin polymer films. The prepared structures were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy and confocal and AFM microscopy. The shape of the prepared structures was found to be strongly dependent on the substrate type. The mechanism leading to polymer patterning was examined and attributed to the plasmon-heating. The proposed method makes it possible to create different patterns in polymer films without the need for wet technological stages, powerful light sources or a change in the polymer optical properties.

Interpenetrating networks of two conducting polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winther-Jensen, Bjørn; West, Keld

2005-01-01

Interpenetrating networks (IPNs) of two conjugated polymers are prepared by a combination of a chemical oxidation step and a vapour phase polymerisation step on non-conducting surfaces. In this work ferric tosylate was used as the oxidant as it gives very smooth and homogeneous coatings, and beca......Interpenetrating networks (IPNs) of two conjugated polymers are prepared by a combination of a chemical oxidation step and a vapour phase polymerisation step on non-conducting surfaces. In this work ferric tosylate was used as the oxidant as it gives very smooth and homogeneous coatings......, and because its reaction products can be removed efficiently after the formation of the composite. Several combinations of polymers are demonstrated, and the versatility of the proposed method allows extensions to a wide range of conjugated polymers. The IPNs show optical and electrochemical characteristics......, which are sums of the characteristics from the participating conducting polymers....

Preparation and performance of a novel gel polymer electrolyte based on poly(vinylidene fluoride)/graphene separator for lithium ion battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Jiuqing; Wu, Xiufeng; He, Junying; Li, Jie; Lai, Yanqing

2017-01-01

Poly(vinylidenefluoride)/graphene (PVDF/graphene) gel polymer electrolyte is prepared via non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) technique for lithium ion battery application. The effect of graphene on the ion conductivity is investigated by AC impedance measurement. The relationship among the chemical structure, PVDF crystallinity, the graphene on macroporous formation and the ion conductivity are investigated. The results indicate that the graphene disperses homogenously in PVDF, and it also increases the porosity and decreases the crystallinity of the PVDF. At the same time, the unique structure increases the liquid uptake capability of PVDF/graphene polymer electrolyte. The ionic conductivity of the PVDF/graphene polymer electrolyte increases significantly from 1.85 mS cm"−"1 in pristine PVDF to 3.61 mS cm"−"1 with 0.002 wt% graphene. It is found that graphene not only increases the ionic conductivity but also markedly enhances the rate capability and the cycling performances of coin cell. This study shows that PVDF/graphene gel polymer electrolyte is a very promising material for lithium ion batteries.

Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium/Sulfur Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

The Nam Long Doan

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This review evaluates the characteristics and advantages of employing polymer electrolytes in lithium/sulfur (Li/S batteries. The main highlights of this study constitute detailed information on the advanced developments for solid polymer electrolytes and gel polymer electrolytes, used in the lithium/sulfur battery. This includes an in-depth analysis conducted on the preparation and electrochemical characteristics of the Li/S batteries based on these polymer electrolytes.

Synthesis, characterization and applications of polymer-metal ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. 4-Acryloxy acetophenone was prepared and subjected to suspension polymerization with divinyl- benzene as a cross-linking agent. The resulting network polymer was ligated with benzoyl hydrazone. The functional polymer was treated with metal ions [Cu(II), Fe(II)]. The polymer-metal complexes obtained.

Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite polymer electrolytes poly(vinylidone fluoride)/nanoclay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahmawati, Suci A.; Sulistyaningsih,; Putro, Alviansyah Z. A.; Widyanto, Nugroho F.; Jumari, Arif; Purwanto, Agus; Dyartanti, Endah R., E-mail: endahrd@uns.ac.id [Research Group of Battery & Advanced Material, Department of Chemical Engineering, Sebelas Maret University, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36 A Kentingan, Surakarta Indonesia 57126 (Indonesia)

2016-02-08

Polymer electrolytes are defined as semi solid electrolytes used as separator in lithium ion battery. Separator used as medium for transfer ions and to prevent electrical short circuits in battery cells. To obtain the optimal battery performance, separator with high porosity and electrolyte uptake is required. This can reduce the resistance in the transfer of ions between cathode and anode. The main objective of this work is to investigate the impact of different solvent (Dimethyl acetamide (DMAc), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and dimethyl formamide (DMF)), pore forming agent poly(vinylpyrolidone) (PVP) and nanoclay as filler in addition of membrane using phase inversion method on the morphology, porosity, electrolyte uptake and degree of crystallinity. The membrane was prepared by the phase inversion method by adding PVP and Nanoclay using different solvents. The phase inversion method was prepared by dissolving Nanoclay and PVP in solvent for 1-2 hours, and then add the PVDF with stirring for 4 hours at 60°C. The membranes were characterized by porosity test, electrolyte uptake test, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that DMAc as solvent gives the highest value of porosity and electrolyte uptake. The addition of nanoclay and PVP enlarge the size of the pores and reduce the degree of crystallinity. So, the usage of DMAc as solvent is better than NMP or DMF.

Advanced polymer chemistry of organometallic anions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chamberlin, R.M.; Abney, K.D.; Balaich, G.J.; Fino, S.A.

1997-01-01

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective of the project was to prepare and characterize new polymers incorporating cobalt dicarbollide. Specific goals were to prepare polymerizable cobalt dicarbollide monomers using the nucleophilic substitution route discovered in laboratories and to establish the reaction conditions required to form polymers from these complexes. This one-year project resulted in two publications (in press), and provided the foundation for further investigations into polymer synthesis and characterization using cobalt dicarbollide and other metallocarboranes. Interest in synthesizing organometallic polymers containing the cobalt bis(dicarbollide) anion is motivated by their possible application as cation exchange materials for the remediation of cesium-137 and strontium-90 from nuclear wastes

Microwave-assisted preparation of carbon nanofiber-functionalized graphite felts as electrodes for polymer-based redox-flow batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenke, A. M.; Janoschka, T.; Stolze, C.; Martin, N.; Hoeppener, S.; Schubert, U. S.

2016-12-01

A simple and fast microwave-assisted protocol to functionalize commercially available graphite felts (GFs) with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) for the application as electrode materials in redox-flow batteries (RFB) is demonstrated. As catalyst for the CNF synthesis nickel acetate is applied and ethanol serves as the carbon source. By the in-situ growth of CNFs, the active surface of the electrodes is increased by a factor of 50, which is determined by the electrochemical double layer capacities of the obtained materials. Furthermore, the morphology of the CNF-coating is investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the functionalized electrodes are applied in a polymer-based redox-flow battery (pRFB) using a TEMPO- and a viologen polymer as active materials. Due to the increased surface area as compared to an untreated graphite felt electrode, the current rating is improved by about 45% at 80 mA cm-2 and, furthermore, a decrease in overpotentials is observed. Thus, using this microwave-assisted synthesis approach, CNF-functionalized composite electrodes are prepared with a very simple protocol suitable for real life applications and an improvement of the overall performance of the polymer-based redox-flow battery is demonstrated.

Preparation and characterization of molecularly-imprinted polymers for extraction of sanshool acid amide compounds followed by their separation from pepper oil resin derived from Chinese prickly ash (Zanthoxylum bungeanum).

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaolong; Jin, Xinkai; Li, Yao; Chen, Guangjing; Chen, Kewei; Kan, Jianquan

2018-01-01

Molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared using the molecular structure analogs of sanshool as template molecule, 2-vinylpyridine and β-cyclodextrin as double functional monomers, ethylene dimethacrylate as cross linker, and azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The structural characteristics of the polymers were determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Dynamic adsorption and isothermal adsorption were also investigated. The molecularly imprinted polymers were used to prepare a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction column in order to separate acid amide components from pepper oil resin derived from Chinese prickly ash (Zanthoxylum bungeanum). After eluting, the percentage of acid amide components was enhanced to 92.40 ± 1.41% compared with 23.34 ± 1.21% in the initial pepper oil resin, indicating good properties of purification of molecularly imprinted polymers and potential industrial application. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synergy between the CIMENT tier-2 HPC centre and the HEP community at LPSC in Grenoble (France)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biscarat, C; Bzeznik, B

2014-01-01

Two of the most pressing questions in current research in Particle Physics are the characterisation of the newly discovered Higgs-like boson at the LHC and the search for New Phenomena beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Physicists at LPSC in Grenoble are leading the search for one type of New Phenomena in ATLAS. Given the rich multitude of physics studies proceeding in parallel in ATLAS, one limiting factor in the timely analysis of data is the availability of computing resources. Another LPSC team suffers from the same limitation. This team is leading the ultimate precision measurement of the W boson mass with DØ data, which yields an indirect constraint on the Higgs boson mass which can be compared with the direct measurements of the mass of the newly discovered boson at LHC. In this paper, we describe the synergy between CIMENT, a regional multidisciplinary HPC centre, and the HEP community in Grenoble in the context of the analysis of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC collider and the D0 experiment at the Tevatron collider. CIMENT is a federation of twelve HPC clusters, of about 90 TFlop/s, one of the most powerful HPC tier-2 centres in France. The sharing of resources between different scientific fields, like the ones discussed in this article, constitutes a great asset because the spikes in need of computing resources are uncorrelated in time between different fields.

Adsorption characteristics, recognition properties, and preliminary application of nordihydroguaiaretic acid molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by sol-gel surface imprinting technology

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Sen; Zhang, Wen; Long, Wei; Hou, Dan; Yang, Xuechun; Tan, Ni

2016-02-01

In this paper, a new core-shell composite of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) molecularly imprinted polymers layer-coated silica gel (MIP@SiO2) was prepared through sol-gel technique and applied as a material for extraction of NDGA from Ephedra. It was synthesized using NDGA as the template molecule, γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) as the functional monomers, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the cross-linker and ethanol as the porogenic solvent in the surface of silica. The non-imprinted polymers layer-coated silica gel (NIP@SiO2) were prepared with the same procedure, but with the absence of template molecule. In addition, the optimum adsorption affinity occurred when the molar ratio of NDGA:APTS:MTEOS:TEOS was 1:6:2:80. The prepared MIP@SiO2 and NIP@SiO2 were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Their affinity properties to NDGA were evaluated through dynamic adsorption, static adsorption, and selective recognition experiments, and the results showed the saturated adsorption capacity of MIP@SiO2 could reach to 5.90 mg g-1, which was two times more than that of NIP@SiO2. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to evaluate the extraction of NDGA from the medicinal plant ephedra by the above prepared materials, and the results indicated that the MIP@SiO2 had potential application in separation of the natural active component NDGA from medicinal plants.

Fabrication of flexible polymer dispersed liquid crystal films using conducting polymer thin films as the driving electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yang-Bae; Park, Sucheol; Hong, Jin-Who

2009-01-01

Conducting polymers exhibit good mechanical and interfacial compatibility with plastic substrates. We prepared an optimized coating formulation based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl acrylate and fabricated a transparent electrode on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate. The surface resistances and transmittance of the prepared thin films were 500-600 Ω/□ and 87% at 500 nm, respectively. To evaluate the performance of the conducting polymer electrode, we fabricated a five-layer flexible polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) device as a PET-PEDOT-PDLC-PEDOT-PET flexible film. The prepared PDLC device exhibited a low driving voltage (15 VAC), high contrast ratio (60:1), and high transmittance in the ON state (60%), characteristics that are comparable with those of conventional PDLC film based on indium tin oxide electrodes. The fabrication of conducting polymer thin films as the driving electrodes in this study showed that such films can be used as a substitute for an indium tin oxide electrode, which further enhances the flexibility of PDLC film

Aza‐Michael addition reaction: Post‐polymerization modification and preparation of PEI/PEG‐based polyester hydrogels from enzymatically synthesized reactive polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Christian; Stuparu, Mihaiela C.; Daugaard, Anders Egede

2015-01-01

The utility of aza‐Michael addition chemistry for post‐polymerization functionalization of enzymatically prepared polyesters is established. For this, itaconate ester and oligoethylene glycol are selected as monomers. A Candida Antarctica lipase B catalyzed polycondensation reaction between the two...... monomers provides the polyesters, which carry an activated carbon‐carbon double bond in the polymer backbone. These electron deficient alkenes represent suitable aza‐Michael acceptors and can be engaged in a nucleophilic addition reaction with small molecular mono‐amines (aza‐Michael donors) to yield...... functionalized linear polyesters. Employing a poly‐amine as the aza‐Michael donor, on the other hand, results in the formation of hydrophilic polymer networks....

Stratified polymer brushes from microcontact printing of polydopamine initiator on polymer brush surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Qiangbing; Yu, Bo; Wang, Xiaolong; Zhou, Feng

2014-06-01

Stratified polymer brushes are fabricated using microcontact printing (μCP) of initiator integrated polydopamine (PDOPBr) on polymer brush surfaces and the following surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). It is found that the surface energy, chemically active groups, and the antifouling ability of the polymer brushes affect transfer efficiency and adhesive stability of the polydopamine film. The stickiness of the PDOPBr pattern on polymer brush surfaces is stable enough to perform continuous μCP and SI-ATRP to prepare stratified polymer brushes with a 3D topography, which have broad applications in cell and protein patterning, biosensors, and hybrid surfaces. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Toward Transparent Data Management in Multi-layer Storage Hierarchy for HPC Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wadhwa, Bharti [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Computer Science; Byna, Suren [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Butt, Ali R. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Computer Science

2018-04-17

Upcoming exascale high performance computing (HPC) systems are expected to comprise multi-tier storage hierarchy, and thus will necessitate innovative storage and I/O mechanisms. Traditional disk and block-based interfaces and file systems face severe challenges in utilizing capabilities of storage hierarchies due to the lack of hierarchy support and semantic interfaces. Object-based and semantically-rich data abstractions for scientific data management on large scale systems offer a sustainable solution to these challenges. Such data abstractions can also simplify users involvement in data movement. Here, we take the first steps of realizing such an object abstraction and explore storage mechanisms for these objects to enhance I/O performance, especially for scientific applications. We explore how an object-based interface can facilitate next generation scalable computing systems by presenting the mapping of data I/O from two real world HPC scientific use cases: a plasma physics simulation code (VPIC) and a cosmology simulation code (HACC). Our storage model stores data objects in different physical organizations to support data movement across layers of memory/storage hierarchy. Our implementation sclaes well to 16K parallel processes, and compared to the state of the art, such as MPI-IO and HDF5, our object-based data abstractions and data placement strategy in multi-level storage hierarchy achieves up to 7 X I/O performance improvement for scientific data.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Synthesis Using RAFT Polymerisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cormack, P.A.G.; Faizatul Shimal Mehamod; Faizatul Shimal Mehamod

2013-01-01

In this paper, the synthesis and characterisation of caffeine-imprinted polymers are described. The polymers were prepared in monolithic form via both reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerisation and conventional free radical polymerisation, using methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the functional monomer and crosslinking agent, respectively. The potential benefits in applying RAFT polymerisation techniques towards the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are explored and elucidated. The pore structures of the polymers produced were characterised by nitrogen sorption porosimetry and the molecular recognition properties of representative products were evaluated in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) mode. Molecular imprinting effects were confirmed by analysing the relative retentions of analytes on imprinted and non-imprinted HPLC stationary phases. It was found that a caffeine-imprinted polymer synthesised by RAFT polymerisation was superior to a polymer prepared using a conventional synthetic approach; the imprinting factor and column efficiency were found to be higher for the former material. (author)

POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL CELLS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2001-01-01

A method for preparing polybenzimidazole or polybenzimidazole blend membranes and fabricating gas diffusion electrodes and membrane-electrode assemblies is provided for a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Blend polymer electrolyte membranes based on PBI and various...... thermoplastic polymers for high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells have also been developed. Miscible blends are used for solution casting of polymer membranes (solid electrolytes). High conductivity and enhanced mechanical strength were obtained for the blend polymer solid electrolytes....... With the thermally resistant polymer, e.g., polybenzimidazole or a mixture of polybenzimidazole and other thermoplastics as binder, the carbon-supported noble metal catalyst is tape-cast onto a hydrophobic supporting substrate. When doped with an acid mixture, electrodes are assembled with an acid doped solid...

Development of polymer films by the coalescence of polymer particles in powdered and aqueous polymer-modified mortars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afridi, M.U.K.; Ohama, Y.; Demura, K.; Iqbal, M.Z.

2003-01-01

This paper evaluates and compares the coalescence of polymer particles (continuous polymer films formation) in powdered polymer-modified mortars (PPMMs) and aqueous polymer-modified mortars (APMMs). Polymer-modified mortars (PMMs) using various redispersible polymer powders (powdered cement modifiers) and polymer dispersions (aqueous cement modifiers) were prepared by varying the polymer-cement ratio (P/C) and were tested for the characterization of polymer films using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) after curing for 28 days. It is concluded from the test results that mortar constituents of unmodified mortar (UMM) are loosely joined with each other due to the absence of polymer films, thus having a structure with comparatively lower mechanical and durability characteristics. By contrast, mortar constituents in PPMMs and APMMs are compactly joined with each other due to the presence of interweaving polymer films, thereby forming a monolithic structure with improved mechanical and durability characteristics. However, the results make obvious the poor coalescence of polymer particles or development of inferior quality polymers films in PPMMs as compared to that observed in APMMs. Moreover, PPMMs show less uniform distribution of polymer films as compared to that in APMMs. Different powdered cement modifiers have different film-forming capabilities. However, such difference is hardly recognized in aqueous cement modifiers. The polymer films in PPMMs and APMMs may acquire different structures. They may appear as mesh-like, thread-like, rugged, dense or fibrous with fine or rough surfaces. Development of coherent polymer films is not well pronounced at a P/C of 5% in PPMMs, whereas sometimes coherent polymer films are observed at a P/C of 5% in APMMs. At a P/C of 10% or more, fully developed, coherent polymer films are observed in both PPMMs and APMMs

Nanoparticle/Polymer Nanocomposite Bond Coat or Coating

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Sandi G.

2011-01-01

This innovation addresses the problem of coatings (meant to reduce gas permeation) applied to polymer matrix composites spalling off in service due to incompatibility with the polymer matrix. A bond coat/coating has been created that uses chemically functionalized nanoparticles (either clay or graphene) to create a barrier film that bonds well to the matrix resin, and provides an outstanding barrier to gas permeation. There is interest in applying clay nanoparticles as a coating/bond coat to a polymer matrix composite. Often, nanoclays are chemically functionalized with an organic compound intended to facilitate dispersion of the clay in a matrix. That organic modifier generally degrades at the processing temperature of many high-temperature polymers, rendering the clay useless as a nano-additive to high-temperature polymers. However, this innovation includes the use of organic compounds compatible with hightemperature polymer matrix, and is suitable for nanoclay functionalization, the preparation of that clay into a coating/bondcoat for high-temperature polymers, the use of the clay as a coating for composites that do not have a hightemperature requirement, and a comparable approach to the preparation of graphene coatings/bond coats for polymer matrix composites.

Novel Polymers with Carboxylic Acid Loading

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Anders Daugaard; Malmström, Eva; Hvilsted, Søren

2006-01-01

Click chemistry has been used to prepare a range of novel polymers with pendant carboxylic acid side groups. Four azido carboxylic acids, either mono- or difunctional and aliphatic or aromatic, have been prepared and thoroughly characterized. Extensive model reactions with 1-ethyl-4-hydroxybenzene......, the simplest model for poly(4-hydroxystyrene), and the four azido carboxylic acids have been conducted to establish the proper reaction conditions and provide an analytical frame for the corresponding polymers. Poly(4-hydroxystyrene) moieties in three different polymers—poly(4-hydroxystyrene), poly(4...... the polymers in general exhibit [when poly(4-hydroxystyrene) is a substantial part] significant changes in the glass-transition temperature from the polar poly(4-hydroxystyrene) (120–130 °C) to the much less polar alkyne polymers (46–60 °C). A direct correlation between the nature of the pendant groups...

Wood and concrete polymer composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singer, K.

1974-01-01

There are several ways to prepare and use wood and concrete polymer composites. The most important improvements in the case of concrete polymer composites are obtained for compressive and tensile strengths. The progress in this field in United States and other countries is discussed in this rview. (M.S.)

First experience with particle-in-cell plasma physics code on ARM-based HPC systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sáez, Xavier; Soba, Alejandro; Sánchez, Edilberto; Mantsinen, Mervi; Mateo, Sergi; Cela, José M.; Castejón, Francisco

2015-09-01

In this work, we will explore the feasibility of porting a Particle-in-cell code (EUTERPE) to an ARM multi-core platform from the Mont-Blanc project. The used prototype is based on a system-on-chip Samsung Exynos 5 with an integrated GPU. It is the first prototype that could be used for High-Performance Computing (HPC), since it supports double precision and parallel programming languages.

NCI's High Performance Computing (HPC) and High Performance Data (HPD) Computing Platform for Environmental and Earth System Data Science

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Ben; Allen, Chris; Antony, Joseph; Bastrakova, Irina; Gohar, Kashif; Porter, David; Pugh, Tim; Santana, Fabiana; Smillie, Jon; Trenham, Claire; Wang, Jingbo; Wyborn, Lesley

2015-04-01

increasing data volumes at NCI. Traditional HPC and data environments are still made available in a way that flexibly provides the tools, services and supporting software systems on these new petascale infrastructures. But to enable the research to take place at this scale, the data, metadata and software now need to evolve together - creating a new integrated high performance infrastructure. The new infrastructure at NCI currently supports a catalogue of integrated, reusable software and workflows from earth system and ecosystem modelling, weather research, satellite and other observed data processing and analysis. One of the challenges for NCI has been to support existing techniques and methods, while carefully preparing the underlying infrastructure for the transition needed for the next class of Data-intensive Science. In doing so, a flexible range of techniques and software can be made available for application across the corpus of data collections available, and to provide a new infrastructure for future interdisciplinary research.

Preparation and characterization of a Polyacrylonitrile based gel polymer electrolyte for redox capacitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.M. Bandaranayake

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE consisting with polyacrylonitrile (PAN, ethylene carbonate (EC, propylene carbonate (PC and magnesium trifluromethane sulfonate (Mg(CF3SO32 was prepared using the hot pressed method. The starting materials were heated at 130 oC for 2 hours and the resulting hot viscous mixture was pressed in between two well cleaned glass plates. The composition was fine-tuned by varying the salt and the polymer concentration in order to obtain a mechanically stable, thin and flexible film with a high ionic conductivity. It was found that the composition, 105 PAN : 150 MgTF : 400 EC : 400 PC gives the maximum conductivity of 1.06 x 10-2 Scm-1. DC polarization test done with blocking electrodes confirmed the ionic nature of the sample while the results obtained with non-blocking electrodes proved that the anionic contribution for the conductivity is dominant. The sample was used in redox capacitors having two identical polypyrrole electrodes doped with dodecylbenzesulfonate. Cyclic Voltammetry, Galvanostatic Charge Discharge and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy techniques were used to evaluate the performance of the redox capacitors. The specific capacitance was high at low scan rates. The electrolyte was quite stable when use in the redox capacitors. Further, redox capacitor was having a good cycleability which is one of the important key issues to be considered for practical applications.

Preparation of polymer monolithic column functionalized by arsonic acid groups for mixed-mode capillary liquid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Zhang-Na; Yu, Qiong-Wei; Wang, Ren-Qi; Feng, Yu-Qi

2018-04-27

A mixed-mode polymer monolithic column functionalized by arsonic acid groups was prepared by single-step in situ copolymerization of monomers p-methacryloylaminophenylarsonic acid (p-MAPHA) and pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA). The prepared poly(p-MAPHA-co-PETA) monolithic column has a homogeneous monolithic structure with good permeability and mechanical stability. Zeta potential measurements reveal that the monolithic stationary phase holds a negative surface charge when the mobile phase resides in the pH range of 3.0-8.0. The retention mechanisms of prepared monolithic column are explored by the separation of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nucleosides, and three basic compounds. The results indicate that the column functions in three different separation modes associated with reversed-phase chromatography based on hydrophobic interaction, hydrophilic interaction chromatography, and cation-exchange chromatography. The column efficiency of prepared monolithic column is estimated to be 70,000 and 76,000 theoretical plates/m for thiourea and naphthalene, respectively, at a linear flow velocity of 0.85 mm/s using acetonitrile/H 2 O (85/15, v/v) as the mobile phase. Furthermore, an analysis of the retention factors obtained for the PAHs indicates that the prepared monolithic column exhibits good reproducibility with relative standard deviations of 2.9%, 4.0%, and 4.7% based on run-to-run injections, column-to-column preparation, and batch-to-batch preparation, respectively. Finally, we investigate the separation performance of the proposed monolithic column for select phenols, sulfonamides, nucleobases and nucleosides. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluorinated bio-acceptable polymers via an ATRP macroinitiator approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Natanya Majbritt Louie; Haddletion, D.M.; Hvilsted, Søren

2007-01-01

Polymers derived from bio-acceptable poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA), and poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (PPEGMA) have been prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) utilizing an initiator prepared from a fluoroalkoxy-t...... in the advancing water contact angles of all fluoro-containing polymers....

Nanocomposites from polymers and layered minerals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fischer, H.R.; Gielgens, L.H.; Koster, T.P.M.

1999-01-01

Composites consisting of polymer matrix materials and natural or synthetic layered minerals e.g. clays were prepared by using special compatibilizing agents betsveen these two intrinsically non-miscible components. Block or graft copolymers combining one part of the polymer that is identically

Preparation and thermo-optical characteristics of a smart polymer-stabilized liquid crystal thin film based on smectic A–chiral nematic phase transition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Jian; Wang, Huihui; Cao, Hui; Ding, Hangjun; Yang, Zhou; Yang, Huai; Wang, Ling; Xie, Hui; Luo, Xueyao; Xiao, Jiumei

2014-01-01

A smart polymer stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC) thin film with temperature-controllable light transmittance was prepared based on a smectic-A (SmA)–chiral nematic (N*) phase transition, and then the effect of the composition and the preparation condition of the PSLC film on its thermo-optical (T-O) characteristics has been investigated in detail. Within the temperature range of the SmA phase, the PSLC shows a strong opaque state due to the focal conic alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules, while the film exhibits a transparent state result from the parallel alignment of N* phase LC molecules at a higher temperature. Importantly, the PSLC films with different temperature of phase transition and contrast ratio can be prepared by changing the composition of photo-polymerizable monomer/LC/chiral dopant. According to the competition between the polymerization of the curable monomers and the diffusion of LC molecules, the ultraviolet (UV) curing surrounding temperature and the intensity of UV irradiation play a critical role in tuning the size of the polymer network meshes, which in turn influence the contrast ratio and the switching speed of the film. Our observations are expected to pave the way for preparing smart PSLC thin films for applications in areas of smart windows, thermo-detectors and other information recording devices. (paper)

Electrospun nanocomposite fibrous polymer electrolyte for secondary lithium battery applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padmaraj, O.; Rao, B. Nageswara; Jena, Paramananda; Satyanarayana, N.; Venkateswarlu, M.

2014-01-01

Hybrid nanocomposite [poly(vinylidene fluoride -co- hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-co-HFP)/magnesium aluminate (MgAl 2 O 4 )] fibrous polymer membranes were prepared by electrospinning method. The prepared pure and nanocomposite fibrous polymer electrolyte membranes were soaked into the liquid electrolyte 1M LiPF 6 in EC: DEC (1:1,v/v). XRD and SEM are used to study the structural and morphological studies of nanocomposite electrospun fibrous polymer membranes. The nanocomposite fibrous polymer electrolyte membrane with 5 wt.% of MgAl 2 O 4 exhibits high ionic conductivity of 2.80 × 10 −3 S/cm at room temperature. The charge-discharge capacity of Li/LiCoO 2 coin cells composed of the newly prepared nanocomposite [(16 wt.%) PVdF-co-HFP+(5 wt.%) MgAl 2 O 4 ] fibrous polymer electrolyte membrane was also studied and compared with commercial Celgard separator

Bio-Based Polymers with Potential for Biodegradability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas F. Garrison

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A variety of renewable starting materials, such as sugars and polysaccharides, vegetable oils, lignin, pine resin derivatives, and proteins, have so far been investigated for the preparation of bio-based polymers. Among the various sources of bio-based feedstock, vegetable oils are one of the most widely used starting materials in the polymer industry due to their easy availability, low toxicity, and relative low cost. Another bio-based plastic of great interest is poly(lactic acid (PLA, widely used in multiple commercial applications nowadays. There is an intrinsic expectation that bio-based polymers are also biodegradable, but in reality there is no guarantee that polymers prepared from biorenewable feedstock exhibit significant or relevant biodegradability. Biodegradability studies are therefore crucial in order to assess the long-term environmental impact of such materials. This review presents a brief overview of the different classes of bio-based polymers, with a strong focus on vegetable oil-derived resins and PLA. An entire section is dedicated to a discussion of the literature addressing the biodegradability of bio-based polymers.

Preparation of irritant polymer samples for an in vitro round robin study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coleman, Kelly P; Grailer, Thomas P; McNamara, Lori R; Rollins, Beau L; Christiano, Nicholas J; Kandárová, Helena; De Jong, Wim H

2018-01-01

A round robin study using reconstructed human epidermis (RhE) tissues was conducted to test medical device polymer extracts for skin irritation potential. Test samples were four irritant and three non-irritant medical device polymers. Five of these polymer samples were developed and two were

Biomolecule-functionalized polymer brushes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Hui; Xu, Fu-Jian

2013-04-21

Functional polymer brushes have been utilized extensively for the immobilization of biomolecules, which is of crucial importance for the development of biosensors and biotechnology. Recent progress in polymerization methods, in particular surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), has provided a unique means for the design and synthesis of new biomolecule-functionalized polymer brushes. This current review summarizes such recent research activities. The different preparation strategies for biomolecule immobilization through polymer brush spacers are described in detail. The functional groups of the polymer brushes used for biomolecule immobilization include epoxide, carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, aldehyde, and amine groups. The recent research activities indicate that functional polymer brushes become versatile and powerful spacers for immobilization of various biomolecules to maximize their functionalities. This review also demonstrates that surface-initiated ATRP is used more frequently than other polymerization methods in the designs of new biomolecule-functionalized polymer brushes.

Behavior of HPC with Fly Ash after Elevated Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huai-Shuai Shang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available For use in fire resistance calculations, the relevant thermal properties of high-performance concrete (HPC with fly ash were determined through an experimental study. These properties included compressive strength, cubic compressive strength, cleavage strength, flexural strength, and the ultrasonic velocity at various temperatures (20, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500∘C for high-performance concrete. The effect of temperature on compressive strength, cubic compressive strength, cleavage strength, flexural strength, and the ultrasonic velocity of the high-performance concrete with fly ash was discussed according to the experimental results. The change of surface characteristics with the temperature was observed. It can serve as a reference for the maintenance, design, and the life prediction of high-performance concrete engineering, such as high-rise building, subjected to elevated temperatures.

Polymers for Protein Conjugation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianfranco Pasut

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Polyethylene glycol (PEG at the moment is considered the leading polymer for protein conjugation in view of its unique properties, as well as to its low toxicity in humans, qualities which have been confirmed by its extensive use in clinical practice. Other polymers that are safe, biodegradable and custom-designed have, nevertheless, also been investigated as potential candidates for protein conjugation. This review will focus on natural polymers and synthetic linear polymers that have been used for protein delivery and the results associated with their use. Genetic fusion approaches for the preparation of protein-polypeptide conjugates will be also reviewed and compared with the best known chemical conjugation ones.

Rapid Polymer Sequencer

Science.gov (United States)

Stolc, Viktor (Inventor); Brock, Matthew W (Inventor)

2013-01-01

Method and system for rapid and accurate determination of each of a sequence of unknown polymer components, such as nucleic acid components. A self-assembling monolayer of a selected substance is optionally provided on an interior surface of a pipette tip, and the interior surface is immersed in a selected liquid. A selected electrical field is impressed in a longitudinal direction, or in a transverse direction, in the tip region, a polymer sequence is passed through the tip region, and a change in an electrical current signal is measured as each polymer component passes through the tip region. Each of the measured changes in electrical current signals is compared with a database of reference electrical change signals, with each reference signal corresponding to an identified polymer component, to identify the unknown polymer component with a reference polymer component. The nanopore preferably has a pore inner diameter of no more than about 40 nm and is prepared by heating and pulling a very small section of a glass tubing.

Preorganization of Nanostructured Inks for Roll-to-Roll-Coated Polymer Solar Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krebs, Frederik C; Senkovskyy, Volodymyr; Kiriy, Anton

2010-01-01

, a preorganized ink was obtained that was used to make polymer solar cell modules in a full roll-to-roll coating and printing process operating in ambient air. The polymer solar cells were thus prepared by a mixture of slot die and flat-bed screen printing. Various polymer solar cell modules were prepared ranging...

Preparation and characterization of corn reinforced polymer sheet of fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, Tatiana Martinez; Seo, Emilia Satoshi Miyamaru

2016-01-01

There is a global trend in seeking plant fibers to replace the synthetic fibers to obtain reinforced composites aimed at the use of renewable resources. In this context, this paper aims to develop the process of preparing maize leaf fibers, characterizing them and adapting them for applications in the construction industry and develop a reinforced polymer composite with these fibers. Corn leaves were dried in environmental temperature, treated by mercerizing, then neutralized with acid solution and washed in running water. The characterization of the corn leaf fibers was carried out by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, specific surface area, thermogravimetry and specific mass. The mercerizing treatment was effective, because the maize fibers have characteristics similar to synthetic fibers, leading to a possibility of new technological uses. The polymeric composite material was developed by extrusion processes and injection and tested for tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy, thus reused an organic waste that would be disposed of by inserting it in a technological process, contributing to the research and development of new polymeric materials as well as to reduce waste discarded as scrap. (author)

Preparation and application of conducting polymer/Ag/clay composite nanoparticles formed by in situ UV-induced dispersion polymerization

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Limin; Qiu, Jianhui; Yang, Chao; Sakai, Eiichi

2016-02-01

In this work, composite nanoparticles containing polypyrrole, silver and attapulgite (PPy/Ag/ATP) were prepared via UV-induced dispersion polymerization of pyrrole using ATP clay as a templet and silver nitrate as photoinitiator. The effects of ATP concentration on morphology, structure and electrical conductivity were studied. The obtained composite nanoparticles with an interesting beads-on-a-string morphology can be obtained in a short time (10 min), which indicates the preparation method is facile and feasible. To explore the potential applications of the prepared PPy/Ag/ATP composite nanoparticles, they were served as multifunctional filler and blended with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) matrix to prepare biodegradable composite material. The distribution of fillers in polymer matrix and the interfacial interaction between fillers and PBS were confirmed by scanning electron microscope, elemental mapping and dynamic mechanical analysis. The well dispersed fillers in PBS matrix impart outstanding antibacterial property to the biodegradable composite material as well as enhanced storage modulus due to Ag nanoparticles and ATP clay. The biodegradable composite material also possesses modest surface resistivity (106 ~ 109 Ω/◻).

Preparation and application of conducting polymer/Ag/clay composite nanoparticles formed by in situ UV-induced dispersion polymerization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Limin; Qiu, Jianhui; Yang, Chao; Sakai, Eiichi

2016-02-03

In this work, composite nanoparticles containing polypyrrole, silver and attapulgite (PPy/Ag/ATP) were prepared via UV-induced dispersion polymerization of pyrrole using ATP clay as a templet and silver nitrate as photoinitiator. The effects of ATP concentration on morphology, structure and electrical conductivity were studied. The obtained composite nanoparticles with an interesting beads-on-a-string morphology can be obtained in a short time (10 min), which indicates the preparation method is facile and feasible. To explore the potential applications of the prepared PPy/Ag/ATP composite nanoparticles, they were served as multifunctional filler and blended with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) matrix to prepare biodegradable composite material. The distribution of fillers in polymer matrix and the interfacial interaction between fillers and PBS were confirmed by scanning electron microscope, elemental mapping and dynamic mechanical analysis. The well dispersed fillers in PBS matrix impart outstanding antibacterial property to the biodegradable composite material as well as enhanced storage modulus due to Ag nanoparticles and ATP clay. The biodegradable composite material also possesses modest surface resistivity (10(6)~ 10(9) Ω/◻).

Molecularly imprinted polymers for sample preparation and biosensing in food analysis: Progress and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashley, Jon; Shahbazi, Mohammad-Ali; Kant, Krishna; Chidambara, Vinayaka Aaydha; Wolff, Anders; Bang, Dang Duong; Sun, Yi

2017-05-15

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are biomimetics which can selectively bind to analytes of interest. One of the most interesting areas where MIPs have shown the biggest potential is food analysis. MIPs have found use as sorbents in sample preparation attributed to the high selectivity and high loading capacity. MIPs have been intensively employed in classical solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction. More recently, MIPs have been combined with magnetic bead extraction, which greatly simplifies sample handling procedures. Studies have consistently shown that MIPs can effectively minimize complex food matrix effects, and improve recoveries and detection limits. In addition to sample preparation, MIPs have also been viewed as promising alternatives to bio-receptors due to the inherent molecular recognition abilities and the high stability in harsh chemical and physical conditions. MIPs have been utilized as receptors in biosensing platforms such as electrochemical, optical and mass biosensors to detect various analytes in food. In this review, we will discuss the current state-of-the-art of MIP synthesis and applications in the context of food analysis. We will highlight the imprinting methods which are applicable for imprinting food templates, summarize the recent progress in using MIPs for preparing and analysing food samples, and discuss the current limitations in the commercialisation of MIPs technology. Finally, future perspectives will be given. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation and Properties of Polyhedral Oligosilsesquioxanes/Polymers Blends

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blanski, Rusty

2000-01-01

.... These materials have the advantage of combining a well defined ceramic type molecule with an organic polymer which can result in a material that may bridge the performance gap between the two systems...

Preparation of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Zheng; He Xiangming; Pu Weihua; Wan Chunrong; Jiang Changyin

2006-01-01

Poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel polymer electrolyte was prepared for lithium ion batteries. The preparation started with synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) by radical emulsion polymerization, followed by phase inversion to produce microporous membrane. Then, the microporous gel polymer electrolytes (MGPEs) was prepared with the microporous membrane and LiPF 6 in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate. The dry microporous membrane showed a fracture strength as high as 18.98 MPa. As-prepared gel polymer electrolytes presented ionic conductivity in excess of 3.0 x 10 -3 S cm -1 at ambient temperature and a decomposition voltage over 6.6 V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for Li-ion batteries

Diagnosis at a glance of biological non-Newtonian fluids with Film Interference Flow Imaging (FIFI)

Science.gov (United States)

Hidema, R.; Yamada, N.; Furukawa, H.

2012-04-01

In the human body, full of biological non-Newtonian fluids exist. For example, synovial fluids exist in our joints, which contain full of biopolymers, such as hyaluronan and mucin. It is thought that these polymers play critical roles on the smooth motion of the joint. Indeed, luck of biopolymers in synovial fluid cause joint pain. Here we study the effects of polymer in thin liquid layer by using an original experimental method called Film Interference Flow Imaging (FIFI). A vertically flowing soap film containing polymers is made as two-dimensional flow to observe turbulence. The thickness of water layer is about 4 μm sandwiched between surfactant mono-layers. The interference pattern of the soap film is linearly related to the flow velocity in the water layer through the change in the thickness of the film. Thus the flow velocity is possibly analyzed by the single image analysis of the interference pattern, that is, FIFI. The grid turbulence was made in the flowing soap films containing the long flexible polymer polyethyleneoxide (PEO, Mw=3.5x106), and rigid polymer hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC, Mw > 1.0 x106). The decaying process of the turbulence is affected by PEO and HPC at several concentrations. The effects of PEO are sharply seen even at low concentrations, while the effects of HPC are gradually occurred at much higher concentration compared to the PEO. It is assumed that such a difference between PEO and HPC is due to the polymer stretching or polymer orientation under turbulence, which is observed and analyzed by FIFI. We believe the FIFI will be applied in the future to examine biological fluids such as synovial fluids quickly and quantitatively.

PE-g-MMA polymer electrolyte membrane for lithium polymer battery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao Kun [Departments of Applied Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)]. E-mail: gaokun@hit.edu.cn; Hu Xinguo [Departments of Applied Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Yi Tingfeng [Departments of Applied Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Dai Changsong [Departments of Applied Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2006-10-25

PE-g-MMA membranes with different degrees of grafting (DG) were prepared by electron beam radiation-induced graft copolymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) monomer onto polyethylene (PE) separator. The grafted membranes (GMs) were characterized using SEM, FTIR. The new polymer electrolytes based on GMs were prepared through immersion in a solution of LiPF{sub 6}-EC/DMC (1:1 by volume). It was found that the GMs with different DG exhibited the different uptake and retention ability of liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the ion conductivities of activated polymer electrolytes (APEs) were also found to vary with the different DG and reached a magnitude of 10{sup -3} S cm{sup -1} at the DG of 42%. Compared with those containing PE separators, the LiCoO{sub 2}-MCMB coin cells containing GMs demonstrated better cycle life and excellent rate performance.

PE-g-MMA polymer electrolyte membrane for lithium polymer battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Kun; Hu Xinguo; Yi Tingfeng; Dai Changsong

2006-01-01

PE-g-MMA membranes with different degrees of grafting (DG) were prepared by electron beam radiation-induced graft copolymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) monomer onto polyethylene (PE) separator. The grafted membranes (GMs) were characterized using SEM, FTIR. The new polymer electrolytes based on GMs were prepared through immersion in a solution of LiPF 6 -EC/DMC (1:1 by volume). It was found that the GMs with different DG exhibited the different uptake and retention ability of liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the ion conductivities of activated polymer electrolytes (APEs) were also found to vary with the different DG and reached a magnitude of 10 -3 S cm -1 at the DG of 42%. Compared with those containing PE separators, the LiCoO 2 -MCMB coin cells containing GMs demonstrated better cycle life and excellent rate performance

PE-g-MMA polymer electrolyte membrane for lithium polymer battery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Kun; Hu, Xinguo; Yi, Tingfeng; Dai, Changsong [Departments of Applied Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2006-10-25

PE-g-MMA membranes with different degrees of grafting (DG) were prepared by electron beam radiation-induced graft copolymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) monomer onto polyethylene (PE) separator. The grafted membranes (GMs) were characterized using SEM, FTIR. The new polymer electrolytes based on GMs were prepared through immersion in a solution of LiPF{sub 6}-EC/DMC (1:1 by volume). It was found that the GMs with different DG exhibited the different uptake and retention ability of liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the ion conductivities of activated polymer electrolytes (APEs) were also found to vary with the different DG and reached a magnitude of 10{sup -3}Scm{sup -1} at the DG of 42%. Compared with those containing PE separators, the LiCoO{sub 2}-MCMB coin cells containing GMs demonstrated better cycle life and excellent rate performance. (author)

Polymer Light-Emitting Diode Prepared by Floating-Off Film-Transfer Technique

KAUST Repository

Park, Jihoon; Kim, Eugene

2015-01-01

© 2015 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Floating-off film-transfer technique was used for the formation of semiconducting polymer multi-layers and the effect on the performance of polymer light-emitting diode (PLED) was studied. This method

Molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization for selective solid-phase extraction of eight bisphenols from human urine samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jiajia; Li, Yun; Wang, Jincheng; Sun, Xiaoli; Cao, Rong; Sun, Hao; Huang, Chaonan; Chen, Jiping

2015-01-01

Highlights: • BPA imprinted polymer microspheres were prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization. • Regular spherical shape and narrow diameter distribution. • Good specific adsorption capacity for BPA. • Good class-selectivity and clean-up efficiency for bisphenols in human urine under SPE mode. • Good recoveries and sensitivity for bisphenols using the MIPMS-SPE coupled with HPLC-DAD method. - Abstract: The bisphenol A (BPA) imprinted polymer microspheres were prepared by simple Pickering emulsion polymerization. Compared to traditional bulk polymerization, both high yields of polymer and good control of particle sizes were achieved. The characterization results of scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements showed that the obtained molecularly imprinted polymer microsphere (MIPMS) particles possessed regular spherical shape, narrow diameter distribution (30–60 μm), a specific surface area (S BET ) of 281.26 m 2 g −1 and a total pore volume (V t ) of 0.459 cm 3 g −1 . Good specific adsorption capacity for BPA was obtained in the sorption experiment and good class selectivity for BPA and its seven structural analogs (bisphenol F, bisphenol B, bisphenol E, bisphenol AF, bisphenol S, bisphenol AP and bisphenol Z) was demonstrated by the chromatographic evaluation experiment. The MIPMS as solid-phase extraction (SPE) packing material was then evaluated for extraction and clean-up of these bisphenols (BPs) from human urine samples. An accurate and sensitive analytical method based on the MIPMS-SPE coupled with HPLC-DAD has been successfully established for simultaneous determination of eight BPs from human urine samples with detection limits of 1.2–2.2 ng mL −1 . The recoveries of BPs for urine samples at two spiking levels (100 and 500 ng mL −1 for each BP) were in the range of 81.3–106.7% with RSD values below 8.3%

Using Formal Grammars to Predict I/O Behaviors in HPC: The Omnisc'IO Approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dorier, Matthieu; Ibrahim, Shadi; Antoniu, Gabriel; Ross, Rob

2016-08-01

The increasing gap between the computation performance of post-petascale machines and the performance of their I/O subsystem has motivated many I/O optimizations including prefetching, caching, and scheduling. In order to further improve these techniques, modeling and predicting spatial and temporal I/O patterns of HPC applications as they run has become crucial. In this paper we present Omnisc'IO, an approach that builds a grammar-based model of the I/O behavior of HPC applications and uses it to predict when future I/O operations will occur, and where and how much data will be accessed. To infer grammars, Omnisc'IO is based on StarSequitur, a novel algorithm extending Nevill-Manning's Sequitur algorithm. Omnisc'IO is transparently integrated into the POSIX and MPI I/O stacks and does not require any modification in applications or higher-level I/O libraries. It works without any prior knowledge of the application and converges to accurate predictions of any N future I/O operations within a couple of iterations. Its implementation is efficient in both computation time and memory footprint.

Heparin release from thermosensitive polymer coatings: in vivo studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gutowska, Anna; Bae, You Han; Jacobs, Harvey; Mohammad, Fazal; Mix, Donald; Feijen, Jan; Kim, Sung Wan

1995-01-01

Biomer/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/[poly(NiPAAm)] thermosensitive polymer blends were prepared and their application as heparin-releasing polymer coatings for the prevention of surface-induced thrombosis was examined. The advantage of using poly(NiPAAm)-based coatings as heparin-releasing polymers

Synthesis and characterization of oxytetracycline imprinted magnetic polymer for application in food

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Sneha; Rajput, Yudhishthir Singh; Singh, Gulab; Sharma, Rajan

2016-02-01

Magnetic imprinted polymer was prepared by polymerization of methacrylate and ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate in the presence of oxytetracycline on the surface of iron magnetite. Selectivity of prepared polymer was calculated from ratio of partition coefficient of oxytetracycline for imprinted and non- imprinted polymer in water, acetonitrile, methanol and at different pH in aqueous buffer. pH of solvent exhibited pronounced effect on selectivity. Selectivity at pH 7.0, 6.0 and 5.0 was 36.0, 2.25 and 1.61 fold higher than at pH 4.0. Imprinted polymer was not selective for oxytetracycline in methanol. However, selectivity in water and acetonitrile was 19.42 and 2.86, respectively. Oxytetracycline did bind to imprinted polymer in water or aqueous buffer (pH 7.0) and could be eluted with methanol. Prepared polymer extracted 75-80 % oxytetracycline from water, honey and egg white.

A Study of Functional Polymer Colloids Prepared Using Thiol-Ene/Yne Click Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Durham, Olivia Z.

This project demonstrates the first instance of thiol-ene chemistry as the polymerization method for the production of polymer colloids in two-phase heterogeneous suspensions, miniemulsions, and emulsions. This work was also expanded to thiol-yne chemistry for the production of polymer particles containing increased crosslinking density. The utility of thiol-ene and thiol-yne chemistries for polymerization and polymer modification is well established in bulk systems. These reactions are considered 'click' reactions, which can be defined as processes that are both facile and simple, offering high yields with nearly 100% conversion, no side products, easy product separation, compatibility with a diverse variety of commercially available starting materials, and orthogonality with other chemistries. In addition, thiol-ene and thiol-yne chemistry follow a step-growth mechanism for the development of highly uniform polymer networks, where polymer growth is dependent on the coupling of functional groups. These step-growth polymerization systems are in stark contrast to the chain-growth mechanisms of acrylic and styrenic monomers that have dominated the field of conventional heterogeneous polymerizations. Preliminary studies evaluated the mechanism of particle production in suspension and miniemulsion systems. Monomer droplets were compared to the final polymer particles to confirm that particle growth occurred through the polymerization of monomer droplets. Additional parameters examined include homogenization energy (mechanical mixing), diluent species and concentration, and monomer content. These reactions were conducted using photoinitiation to yield particles in a matter of minutes with diameters in the size range of several microns to hundreds of microns in suspensions or submicron particles in miniemulsions. Improved control over the particle size and size distribution was examined through variation of reaction parameters. In addition, a method of seeded suspension

Enhanced dissolution and oral bioavailability of valsartan solid dispersions prepared by a freeze-drying technique using hydrophilic polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei-Juan; Xie, Hong-Juan; Cao, Qing-Ri; Shi, Li-Li; Cao, Yue; Zhu, Xiao-Yin; Cui, Jing-Hao

2016-01-01

This study aimed to improve the dissolution rate and oral bioavailability of valsartan (VAL), a poorly soluble drug using solid dispersions (SDs). The SDs were prepared by a freeze-drying technique with polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC 100KV) as hydrophilic polymers, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as an alkalizer, and poloxamer 188 as a surfactant without using any organic solvents. In vitro dissolution rate and physicochemical properties of the SDs were characterized using the USP paddle method, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, respectively. In addition, the oral bioavailability of SDs in rats was evaluated by using VAL (pure drug) as a reference. The dissolution rates of the SDs were significantly improved at pH 1.2 and pH 6.8 compared to those of the pure drug. The results from DSC, XRD showed that VAL was molecularly dispersed in the SDs as an amorphous form. The FT-IR results suggested that intermolecular hydrogen bonding had formed between VAL and its carriers. The SDs exhibited significantly higher values of AUC 0-24 h and Cmax in comparison with the pure drug. In conclusion, hydrophilic polymer-based SDs prepared by a freeze-drying technique can be a promising method to enhance dissolution rate and oral bioavailability of VAL.

Development of polymer concrete radioactive waste management containers - Effect of ceramic fillers on the mechanical and physico-chemical properties of polymer concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jae Chun; Park, Min Jin; Shin, Hyun Ick; Choi, Yong Jin [Myongji University, Seoul (Korea)

1999-11-01

Particle size distribution of the ceramic filler is the primary factor to influence the composition of polymer concrete. The estimated optimum compositions of the polymer concretes prepared in the study are 62 {approx} 71wt% for fine aggregates, 6 {approx} 29wt% for ceramic fillers and 9 {approx}13wt% for polymer resin. Calcium Carbonate and silica are the ceramic fillers practically usable for manufacturing polymer concrete. Less polymer resin is required for the preparation of polymer concrete at lower relative packing volume of ceramic fillers. It has been found that depended on the type of fine aggregates, the effect of ceramic filler on the mechanical behavior of polymer concrete can be opposite. Strength and elastic modulus of polymer concrete are affected by gamma radiation. Crosslinking of unsaturated polyester resin and epoxy resin are promoted by gamma radiation up to 00 MRad and 50 MRad, respectively. However, higher dose of radiation degrades the mechanical properties of polymer concrete. Hydrothermal treatment of polymer concrete at 80 deg. C and 1bar for 30 days causes about 25% reduction of bending strength and elastic modulus. The strength reduction arises from the hydrolysis of ester groups in unsaturated polyester catalyzed by hydrothermal condition. 13 refs., 37 figs., 15 tabs. (Author)

Radiation stress relieving of polymer articles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frisch, D.C.; Weber, W.

1982-01-01

A method of rapidly relieving stress in an extruded or molded polymer article is disclosed. The method can be used in the preparation of printed circuit boards. An article comprised of the polymer is exposed to electromagnetic radiation, for a time period sufficient to absorb enough energy to stress relieve the polymer against stress cracking therein. Exposure occurs at one or more ranges of frequencies which are capable of being absorbed by the polymer and which are effective for stress relieving without or substantially without causing heat induced softening or flowing of the polymer. The electromagnetic radiation is selected from the ranges of infrared, microwave or ultraviolet radiation

Mechanical Properties of Renewable Polymer with Thermoplastics Endurance to Ultraviolet irradiation Exposure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salim Nurul Syamimi M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available At present the disposal of waste tyre rubber (WTR has become a major waste management problem in the world. Therefore in this study, polymer blended based on Polyethylene which is Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE or High Density Polyethylene (HDPE, with Renewable Polymer (RP and waste tyre rubber (WTR is prepared via injection molding. Blended polymer such as LDPE/RP/WTR and HDPE/RP/WTR is known as LRT and HRT respectively. The preparation of polymer blend steps start with the preparation of RP. The RP is prepared by crosslinking the renewable monomer with Polymethane Polyphenyl Isocyanate (MDI at composition ratio of 1:0.5. The second steps involved by adding 10 gm of liquid RP prepared earlier on with fixed amount of LDPE and HDPE of 100 gm. Then the blended LDPE/RP or HDPE/RP namely as LR or HR respectively is further added with WTR with different percentages ratio of 5 %, 10 % and 15 %. The manually blended polymer mixture and filler is then melt mixing using injection moulding to fabricate the tensile specimen for mechanical tensile test and physical determination such as density, distribution of WTR in polymer blend and surface fracture morphology using scanning electron microscope. The samples were then exposed to UV irradiation exposure in UV Accelerated Weathering for 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 hours to evaluate the photostability of the polymer blends. The optimum amount of WTR ratio composition is at 5 % for both LRT and HRT blends which indicate the stability of polymer blends towards UV irradiation exposure at 1000 hours.

Thinking Outside the 'Block': Alternative Polymer Compositions for Micellar Drug Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Marie-Christine

2015-01-01

With a number of formulations currently in clinical trials, the interest in polymer micelles as drug carriers in unlikely to subside. Historically, linear diblock copolymers have been used as the building blocks for micelle preparation. Yet, recent advances in polymer chemistry have meant that a wider variety of polymer architectures and compositions have become available and been trialed for pharmaceutical applications. This mini-review aims to provide an overview of recent, exciting developments in triblock, graft and hyperbranched polymer chemistries that may change the way polymeric micelles drug formulations are prepared.

Handbook of polymer nanocomposites processing, performance and application

CERN Document Server

Mohanty, Amar; Misra, Manjusri; Kar, Kamal K; Pandey, Jitendra; Rana, Sravendra; Takagi, Hitoshi; Nakagaito, Antonio; Kim, Hyun-Joong

Volume A forms one volume of a Handbook about Polymer Nanocomposites. In some 20 chapters the preparation, architecture, characterisation, properties and application of polymer nanocomposites are discussed by experts in their respective fields.

Silicon-containing polymer-derived ceramic nanocomposites (PDC-NCs): preparative approaches and properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Ionescu, Emanuel; Kleebe, Hans-Joachim; Riedel, Ralf

2012-08-07

Composites consist by definition of at least two materials (Gibbsian phases) with rather different properties. They exhibit a heterogeneous microstructure and possess improved properties with respect to their components. Furthermore, the design of their microstructure allows for tailoring their overall properties. In the last decades, intense work was performed on the synthesis of nanocomposites, which have the feature that at least one of their components is nanoscaled. However, the microstructure-property relationship of nanocomposite materials is still a challenging topic. This tutorial review paper deals with a special class of nanocomposites, i.e. polymer-derived ceramic nanocomposites (PDC-NCs), which have been shown to be promising materials for various structural and functional applications. Within this context, different preparative approaches for PDC-NCs as well as some of their properties will be presented and discussed. Furthermore, recent results concerning the relationship between the nano/microstructure of PDC-NCs and their properties will be highlighted.

Behaviour of slag HPC submitted to immersion-drying cycles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rabah Chaid

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This article is part of a summary of the work developed in conjunction with the Laboratory of Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from INSA Rennes and Research Unit: Materials, Processes and Environment, University of Boumerdes. One of the objectives was indeed to promote, through studies of variants, the use of local cementitious additions in the formulation of high performance concretes (HPC. The binding contribution of mineral additions to the physical, mechanical and durability of concrete was evaluated by an experimental methodology to subjugate their original granular and pozzolanic effect. The results show that the contribution of couple cement -slag intensification of the matrix is higher than that obtained when the cement is not substituted by addition. Therefore, a significant improvement in performance of concretes was observed, despite the adverse action immersion cycles - drying maintained for 365 days.

Comparison of ethylcellulose matrix characteristics prepared by solid dispersion technique or physical mixing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Sadeghi

2003-07-01

Full Text Available The characteristics of ethylcellulose matrices prepared from solid dispersion systems were compared with those prepared from physical mixture of drug and polymer. Sodium diclofenac was used as a model drug and the effect of the drug:polymer ratio and the method of matrix production on tablet crushing strength, friability, drug release profile and drug release mechanism were evaluated. The results showed that increasing the polymer content in matrices increased the crushing strengths of tablets. However the friability of tablets was independent of polymer content. Drug release rate was greatly affected by the amount of polymer in the matrices and considerable decrease in release rate was observed by increasing the polymer content. It was also found that the type of mixture used for matrix production had great influence on the tablet crushing strength and drug release rate. Matrices prepared from physical mixtures of drug and polymer was harder than those prepared from solid dispersion systems, but their release rates were considerably faster. This phenomenon was attributed to the encapsulation of drug particles by polymer in matrices prepared from solid dispersion system which caused a great delay in diffusion of the drug through polymer and made diffusion as a rate retarding process in drug release mechanism.

Preparation and Properties of Polyhedral Oligosilsesquioxanes/Polymers Blends

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blanski, Rusty

2000-01-01

... (polycarbonate, SB rubber, etc.) resulting in a clear blend. We also report that aliphatic POSS compounds are also dispersible in high density polyethylene. The synthesis of POSS/polymer blends as well as some physical properties will be discussed.

Preparation of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian Zheng [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); He Xiangming [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)]. E-mail: hexm@tsinghua.edu.cn; Pu Weihua [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Wan Chunrong [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Jiang Changyin [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2006-10-25

Poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel polymer electrolyte was prepared for lithium ion batteries. The preparation started with synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) by radical emulsion polymerization, followed by phase inversion to produce microporous membrane. Then, the microporous gel polymer electrolytes (MGPEs) was prepared with the microporous membrane and LiPF{sub 6} in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate. The dry microporous membrane showed a fracture strength as high as 18.98 MPa. As-prepared gel polymer electrolytes presented ionic conductivity in excess of 3.0 x 10{sup -3} S cm{sup -1} at ambient temperature and a decomposition voltage over 6.6 V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for Li-ion batteries.

Synthesis of biocidal polymers containing metal NPs using an electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Kwonyong; Kim, Seong-Eun; Kim, Hee-Yeon; Yoon, Jeyong; Lee, Jong-Chan

2012-01-01

Metal containing antibacterial polymers were prepared by the polymerization of methylmethacrylate and methacrylic acid with copper or zinc. When the thin film of the polymers coated on a glass was irradiated with an electron beam, nanoparticles were obtained. It was found that these polymers exhibited a potent antibacterial activity against the Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli. The metal containing polymers showed a 99.999% (5.0 logs) reduction in E. coli at a contact time of 12 h. In addition, polymers had a good antifouling effect against marine organisms. - Graphical abstract: Biocidal activity of Cu nanoparticle/polymer composite film against Gram-negative bacteria. Highlights: ► Metal containing antibacterial polymers were prepared with copper. ► Using the electron beam, nanoparticles were obtained. ► It was found that these polymers exhibited potent biocidal activity against E. coli. ► The metal containing polymers showed a 99.999% reduction of E. coli.

Structural, vibrational and electrical characterization of PVA-NH4Br polymer electrolyte system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hema, M.; Selvasekerapandian, S.; Sakunthala, A.; Arunkumar, D.; Nithya, H.

2008-01-01

Polymer electrolyte based on PVA doped with different concentrations of NH 4 Br has been prepared by solution casting technique. The complexation of the prepared polymer electrolytes has been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infra red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The maximum ionic conductivity (5.7x10 -4 S cm -1 ) has been obtained for 25 mol% NH 4 Br-doped PVA polymer electrolyte. The temperature dependence of ionic conductivity of the prepared polymer electrolytes obeys Arrhenius law. The ionic transference number of mobile ions has been estimated by dc polarization method and the results reveal that the conducting species are predominantly ions. The dielectric behavior of the polymer electrolytes has been analyzed using dielectric permittivity and electric modulus spectra

Poly(vinyl Alcohol) Borate Gel Polymer Electrolytes Prepared by Electrodeposition and Their Application in Electrochemical Supercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Mengjin; Zhu, Jiadeng; Chen, Chen; Lu, Yao; Ge, Yeqian; Zhang, Xiangwu

2016-02-10

Gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) have been studied for preparing flexible and compact electrochemical energy storage devices. However, the preparation and use of GPEs are complex, and most GPEs prepared through traditional methods do not have good wettability with the electrodes, which retard them from achieving their performance potential. In this study, these problems are addressed by conceiving and implementing a simple, but effective, method of electrodepositing poly(vinyl alcohol) potassium borate (PVAPB) GPEs directly onto the surfaces of active carbon electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors. PVAPB GPEs serve as both the electrolyte and the separator in the assembled supercapacitors, and their scale and shape are determined solely by the geometry of the electrodes. PVAPB GPEs have good bonding to the active electrode materials, leading to excellent and stable electrochemical performance of the supercapacitors. The electrochemical performance of PVAPB GPEs and supercapacitors can be manipulated simply by adjusting the concentration of KCl salt used during the electrodeposition process. With a 0.9 M KCl concentration, the as-prepared supercapacitors deliver a specific capacitance of 65.9 F g(-1) at a current density of 0.1 A g(-1) and retain more than 95% capacitance after 2000 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 1 A g(-1). These supercapacitors also exhibit intelligent high voltage self-protection function due to the electrolysis-induced cross-linking effect of PVAPB GPEs.

Functionalized polymer film surfaces via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Y.; Li, J.S.; Yang, W.T.; Xu, F.J.

2013-01-01

The ability to manipulate and control the surface properties of polymer films, without altering the substrate properties, is crucial to their wide-spread applications. In this work, a simple one-step method for the direct immobilization of benzyl chloride groups (as the effective atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators) on the polymer films was developed via benzophenone-induced coupling of 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC). Polyethylene (PE) and nylon films were selected as examples of polymer films to illustrate the functionalization of film surfaces via surface-initiated ATRP. Functional polymer brushes of (2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, sodium 4-styrenesulfonate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate, as well as their block copolymer brushes, have been prepared via surface-initiated ATRP from the VBC-coupled PE or nylon film surfaces. With the development of a simple approach to the covalent immobilization of ATRP initiators on polymer film surfaces and the inherent versatility of surface-initiated ATRP, the surface functionality of polymer films can be precisely tailored. - Highlights: ► Atom transfer radical polymerization initiators were simply immobilized. ► Different functional polymer brushes were readily prepared. ► Their block copolymer brushes were also readily prepared

New method for preparing a liquid crystal polymer that exhibits linearly polarized white fluorescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Shijun; Kun, Wang; Kobayashi, Takaomi

2011-01-01

With the aim of developing a single-chain white-light-emitting polymer, liquid crystal (LC) polymers with a shish-kebab-type moiety on their cross-conjugated (p-phenylene)s-poly(p-phenylenevinylene)s main chain were synthesized by Gilch polymerization. They were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). 1 H-NMR indicated that the polymers had a shish-kebab structure, which strongly suppressed the formation of structural defects in the polymers. DSC revealed that the polymers had thermotropic LC properties, indicating that the LC polymers were enantiotropic. XRD showed that the polymers had a mesophase, which implies that they were in a smectic LC phase. A polymer with 'kebabs' of 2,5-bis(4'-alkoxyphenyl)benzene was combined with an aligned polyimide film with orientated microgrooves. The polymer main chain was aligned due to the orientation of the 'kebabs' of the uniform cross-conjugated structure. It lay between the kebabs and the 'shish' of the polymer main chains. The aligned polymer main chain emitted yellow light while and the oriented LC side chains emitted blue light emission. These two emissions resulted in linearly polarized white fluorescence.

Selective metal-vapor deposition on solvent evaporated polymer surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamaguchi, Koji; Tsujioka, Tsuyoshi, E-mail: tsujioka@cc.osaka-kyoiku.ac.jp

2015-12-31

We report a selective metal-vapor deposition phenomenon based on solvent printing and evaporation on polymer surfaces and propose a method to prepare fine metal patterns using maskless vacuum deposition. Evaporation of the solvent molecules from the surface caused large free volumes between surface polymer chains and resulted in high mobility of the chains, enhancing metal-vapor atom desorption from the surface. This phenomenon was applied to prepare metal patterns on the polymer surface using solvent printing and maskless metal vacuum deposition. Metal patterns with high resolution of micron scale were obtained for various metal species and semiconductor polymer substrates including poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] and poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl). - Highlights: • Selective metal-vapor deposition using solvent evaporation on polymer was attained. • Metal patterns with high resolution were obtained for various metal species. • This method can be applied to achieve fine metal-electrodes for polymer electronics.

The VERCE Science Gateway: enabling user friendly seismic waves simulations across European HPC infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Spinuso, Alessandro; Krause, Amy; Ramos Garcia, Clàudia; Casarotti, Emanuele; Magnoni, Federica; Klampanos, Iraklis A.; Frobert, Laurent; Krischer, Lion; Trani, Luca; David, Mario; Leong, Siew Hoon; Muraleedharan, Visakh

2014-05-01

The EU-funded project VERCE (Virtual Earthquake and seismology Research Community in Europe) aims to deploy technologies which satisfy the HPC and data-intensive requirements of modern seismology. As a result of VERCE's official collaboration with the EU project SCI-BUS, access to computational resources, like local clusters and international infrastructures (EGI and PRACE), is made homogeneous and integrated within a dedicated science gateway based on the gUSE framework. In this presentation we give a detailed overview on the progress achieved with the developments of the VERCE Science Gateway, according to a use-case driven implementation strategy. More specifically, we show how the computational technologies and data services have been integrated within a tool for Seismic Forward Modelling, whose objective is to offer the possibility to perform simulations of seismic waves as a service to the seismological community. We will introduce the interactive components of the OGC map based web interface and how it supports the user with setting up the simulation. We will go through the selection of input data, which are either fetched from federated seismological web services, adopting community standards, or provided by the users themselves by accessing their own document data store. The HPC scientific codes can be selected from a number of waveform simulators, currently available to the seismological community as batch tools or with limited configuration capabilities in their interactive online versions. The results will be staged out from the HPC via a secure GridFTP transfer to a VERCE data layer managed by iRODS. The provenance information of the simulation will be automatically cataloged by the data layer via NoSQL techonologies. We will try to demonstrate how data access, validation and visualisation can be supported by a general purpose provenance framework which, besides common provenance concepts imported from the OPM and the W3C-PROV initiatives, also offers

Structural, microstructural and electrochemical properties of dispersed-type polymer nanocomposite films

Science.gov (United States)

Arya, Anil; Sharma, A. L.

2018-01-01

Free-standing solid polymer nanocomposite (PEO-PVC)  +  LiPF6-TiO2 films have been prepared through a standard solution-cast technique. The improvement in structural, microstructural and electrochemical properties has been observed on the dispersion of nanofiller in polymer salt complex. X-ray diffraction studies clearly reflect the formation of complex formation, as no corresponding salt peak appeared in the diffractograms. The Fourier transform infrared analysis suggested clear and convincing evidence of polymer-ion, ion-ion and polymer-ion-nanofiller interaction. The highest ionic conductivity of the prepared solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) films is ~5  ×  10-5 S cm-1 for 7 wt.% TiO2. The linear sweep voltammetry provides the electrochemical stability window of the prepared SPE films, about ~3.5 V. The ion transference number has been estimated, t ion  =  0.99 through the DC polarization technique. Dielectric spectroscopic studies were performed to understand the ion transport process in polymer electrolytes. All solid polymer electrolytes possess good thermal stability up to 300 °C. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis confirms the decrease of the melting temperature and signal of glass transition temperature with the addition of nanofiller, which indicates the decrease of crystallinity of the polymer matrix. An absolute correlation between diffusion coefficient (D), ion mobility (µ), number density (n), double-layer capacitance (C dl), glass transition temperature, melting temperature (T m), free ion area (%) and conductivity (σ) has been observed. A convincing model to study the role of nanofiller in a polymer salt complex has been proposed, which supports the experimental findings. The prepared polymer electrolyte system with significant ionic conductivity, high ionic transference number, and good thermal and voltage stability could be suggested as a potential candidate as electrolyte cum separator for the fabrication of a

Substituted Polyacetylenes Prepared with Rh Catalysts: From Linear to Network-Type Conjugated Polymers

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Sedláček, J.; Balcar, Hynek

2017-01-01

Roč. 57, č. 1 (2017), s. 31-51 ISSN 1558-3724 Institutional support: RVO:61388955 Keywords : conjugated polymers * polyacetylenes * conjugated polymer networks Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry OBOR OECD: Polymer science Impact factor: 6.459, year: 2016

Immobilization of cellulase using porous polymer matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumakura, M.; Kaetsu, I.

1984-01-01

A new method is discussed for the immobilization of cellulase using porous polymer matrices, which were obtained by radiation polymerization of hydrophilic monomers. In this method, the immobilized enzyme matrix was prepared by enzyme absorbtion in the porous polymer matrix and drying treatment. The enzyme activity of the immobilized enzyme matrix varied with monomer concentration, cooling rate of the monomer solution, and hydrophilicity of the polymer matrix, takinn the change of the nature of the porous structure in the polymer matrix. The leakage of the enzymes from the polymer matrix was not observed in the repeated batch enzyme reactions

Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Galaska, Alexandra Maria; Song, Haixiang; Guo, Zhanhu

With more awareness of energy conversion/storage and saving, different strategies have been developed to utilize the sustainable and renewable energy. Introducing nanoscale fillers can make inert polymer matrix possess unique properties to satisfy certain functions. For example, alumina nanoparticles have strengthened the weak thermosetting polymers. A combined mixture of carbon nanofibers and magnetite nanoparticles have made the inert epoxy sensitive for magnetic field for sensing applications. Introducing silica nanoparticles into conductive polymers such as polyaniline has enhanced the giant magnetoresistance behaviors. The introduced nanoparticles have made the transparent polymer have the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding function while reduce the density significantly. With the desired miniaturization, the materials combining different functionalities have become importantly interesting. In this talk, methodologies to prepare nanocomposites and their effects on the produced nanocomposites will be discussed. A variety of advanced polymer nanocomposites will be introduced. Unique properties including mechanical, electrical, magnetoresistance etc. and the applications for environmental remediation, energy storage/saving, fire retardancy, electromagnetic interference shielding, and electronic devices will be presented.

Investigation of Thermal and Viscoelastic Properties of Polymers Relevant to Hot Melt Extrusion, IV: Affinisol™ HPMC HME Polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Simerdeep Singh; Solanki, Nayan; Serajuddin, Abu T M

2016-02-01

Most cellulosic polymers cannot be used as carriers for preparing solid dispersion of drugs by hot melt extrusion (HME) due to their high melt viscosity and thermal degradation at high processing temperatures. Three HME-grade hydroxypropyl methylcelluloses, namely Affinisol™ HPMC HME 15 cP, Affinisol™ HPMC HME 100 cP, and Affinisol™ HPMC HME 4 M, have recently been introduced by The Dow Chemical Co. to enable the preparation of solid dispersion at lower and more acceptable processing temperatures. In the present investigation, physicochemical properties of the new polymers relevant to HME were determined and compared with that of Kollidon(®) VA 64. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), modulated differential scanning calorimetry (mDSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), moisture sorption, rheology, and torque analysis by melt extrusion were applied. PXRD and mDSC showed that the Affinisol™ polymers were amorphous in nature. According to TGA, the onset of degradation for all polymers was >220°C. The Affinisol™ polymers exhibited less hygroscopicity than Kollidon(®) VA 64 and another HPMC polymer, Methocel™ K100LV. The complex viscosity profiles of the Affinisol™ polymers as a function of temperature were similar. The viscosity of the Affinisol™ polymers was highly sensitive to the shear rate applied, and unlike Kollidon(®) VA 64, the viscosity decreased drastically when the angular frequency was increased. Because of the very high shear rate encountered during melt extrusion, Affinisol™ polymers showed capability of being extruded at larger windows of processing temperatures as compared to that of Kollidon(®) VA 64.

Study of optical properties of Erbium doped Tellurite glass-polymer composite

Science.gov (United States)

Sushama, D.

2014-10-01

Chalcogenide glasses have wide applications in optical device technology. But it has some disadvantages like thermal instability. Among them Tellurite glasses exhibits high thermal Stability. Doping of rare earth elements into the Tellurite glasses improve its optical properties. To improve its mechanical properties composites of this Tellurite glasses with polymer are prepared. Bulk samples of Er2O3 doped TeO2-WO3-La2O3 Tellurite glasses are prepared from high purity oxide mixtures, melting in an alumina crucible in air atmosphere. Composites of this Tellurite glasses with polymer are prepared by powder mixing method and the thin films of these composites are prepared using polymer press. Variations in band gap of these composites are studied from the UV/Vis/NIR absorption.

Mussel inspired preparation of MoS{sub 2} based polymer nanocomposites: The case of polyPEGMA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeng, Guangjian; Liu, Meiying; Liu, Xinhua; Huang, Qiang; Xu, Dazhuang; Mao, Liucheng; Huang, Hongye; Deng, Fengjie [Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China); Zhang, Xiaoyong, E-mail: xiaoyongzhang1980@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China); Wei, Yen [Department of Chemistry and the Tsinghua Center for Frontier Polymer Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China)

2016-11-30

Graphical abstract: A facile and universal strategy has been developed for surface modification of MoS{sub 2} nanosheets via combination of mussel inspired chemistry and chain transfer free radical polymerization. - Highlights: • Fabrication of MoS{sub 2}-PDA-PPEGMA polymer nanocomposites through mussel inspired chemistry. • MoS{sub 2}-PDA- PPEGMA polymer nanocomposites showed enhanced stability in water. • The experimental conditions are rather mild. • The strategy described in this work is also useful for fabrication of many other MoS{sub 2} based polymer nanocomposites. - Abstract: In this work, we report a facile strategy to prepare PEGylated MoS{sub 2} nanosheets through the combination of mussel inspired chemistry and Michael addition reaction. The MoS{sub 2} nanosheets were obtained from lithium intercalation and exfoliation method. Meanwhile, the amino-contained poly((polyethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (PPEGMA) were obtained via chain transfer free radical polymerization using cysteamine hydrochloride as the chain transfer agents and PEGMA as the monomer. To introduce PPEGMA on MoS{sub 2} nanosheets, polydopamine (PDA) thin films were first coated on the surface of MoS{sub 2} nanosheets through self polymerization of dopamine as the ad-layers, which can react with amino-terminated PPEGMA through Michael addition reaction. The structure, morphology and chemical compositions of MoS{sub 2} nanosheets and MoS{sub 2}-PDA-PPEGMA have been characterized by various characterization techniques. The results demonstrated that the amino-terminated PPEGMA can be successfully immobilized on MoS{sub 2} nanosheets via PDA thin films as the ad-layers. More importantly, the strategy described in this work could also be utilized for surface immobilization of various polymers on many other materials and surfaces because of the universal adhesion of PDA and the good monomer applicability of chain transfer free radical polymerization. Taken together, we

Direct Photopatterning of Electrochromic Polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jacob; Dyer, Aubrey L.; Shen, D. Eric

2013-01-01

Propylenedioxythiophene (ProDOT) polymers are synthesized using an oxidative polymerization route that results in methacrylate substituted poly(ProDOTs) having a Mn of 10–20 kDa wherein the methacrylate functionality constitutes from 6 to 60% of the total monomer units. Solutions of these polymers...... show excellent film forming abilities, with thin films prepared using both spray‐casting and spin‐coating. These polymers are demonstrated to crosslink upon UV irradiation at 350 nm, in the presence of an appropriate photoinitiator, to render the films insoluble to common organic solvents....... Electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and colorimetric analyses of the crosslinked polymer films are performed to establish that they retain the same electrochromic qualities as the parent polymers with no detriment to the observed properties. To demonstrate applicability for multi‐film processing...

A Platform for Functional Conductive Polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daugaard, Anders Egede; Hoffmann, Christian; Lind, Johan Ulrik

Conductive polymers have been studied extensively during recent years. In order to broaden the application field of conductive polymers different methods have been tested and recently an azide functional poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT-N3) was developed(1, 2). The azide functional...... conductive polymer can be postpolymerization functionalized to introduce a large number of functionalities through click chemistry(3). Through selection of reaction conditions it is possible control the depth of the reaction into the polymer film to the upper surface or the entire film(4). Thus a conductive...... polymer can be prepared with a subsurface layer of highly conductive polymer where only the upper surface has been grafted with functional groups to ensure selectivity of the surface layer for e.g. interaction with specific biospecies. The conductive polymer can be patterned using selective etching, which...

The VERCE Science Gateway: Enabling User Friendly HPC Seismic Wave Simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Casarotti, E.; Spinuso, A.; Matser, J.; Leong, S. H.; Magnoni, F.; Krause, A.; Garcia, C. R.; Muraleedharan, V.; Krischer, L.; Anthes, C.

2014-12-01

The EU-funded project VERCE (Virtual Earthquake and seismology Research Community in Europe) aims to deploy technologies which satisfy the HPC and data-intensive requirements of modern seismology.As a result of VERCE official collaboration with the EU project SCI-BUS, access to computational resources, like local clusters and international infrastructures (EGI and PRACE), is made homogeneous and integrated within a dedicated science gateway based on the gUSE framework. In this presentation we give a detailed overview on the progress achieved with the developments of the VERCE Science Gateway, according to a use-case driven implementation strategy. More specifically, we show how the computational technologies and data services have been integrated within a tool for Seismic Forward Modelling, whose objective is to offer the possibility to performsimulations of seismic waves as a service to the seismological community.We will introduce the interactive components of the OGC map based web interface and how it supports the user with setting up the simulation. We will go through the selection of input data, which are either fetched from federated seismological web services, adopting community standards, or provided by the users themselves by accessing their own document data store. The HPC scientific codes can be selected from a number of waveform simulators, currently available to the seismological community as batch tools or with limited configuration capabilities in their interactive online versions.The results will be staged out via a secure GridFTP transfer to a VERCE data layer managed by iRODS. The provenance information of the simulation will be automatically cataloged by the data layer via NoSQL techonologies.Finally, we will show the example of how the visualisation output of the gateway could be enhanced by the connection with immersive projection technology at the Virtual Reality and Visualisation Centre of Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ).

“Electro-Click” on Conducting Polymer Films

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Thomas Steen; Lind, Johan Ulrik; Daugaard, Anders Egede

for their own functionalization with high spatial resolution. Interdigitated microelectrodes prepared from the azide-containing conducting polymer were selectively functionalized in sequence by two alkyne-modified fluorophores by control of the applied potentials. “Electro-click” on conducting polymer films......An azide substituted 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene monomer is polymerised to yield a PEDOT like polymer with available azide groups (Figure 1). The azide groups enable post polymerization functionalization of the conducting polymer using a 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition reaction – also denoted “click...

Claisen thermally rearranged (CTR) polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Tena, Alberto; Rangou, Sofia; Shishatskiy, Sergey; Filiz, Volkan; Abetz, Volker

2016-01-01

Thermally rearranged (TR) polymers, which are considered the next-generation of membrane materials because of their excellent transport properties and high thermal and chemical stability, are proven to have significant drawbacks because of the high temperature required for the rearrangement and low degree of conversion during this process. We demonstrate that using a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, the temperature required for the rearrangement of a solid glassy polymer was reduced by 200°C. Conversions of functionalized polyimide to polybenzoxazole of more than 97% were achieved. These highly mechanically stable polymers were almost five times more permeable and had more than two times higher degrees of conversion than the reference polymer treated under the same conditions. Properties of these second-generation TR polymers provide the possibility of preparing efficient polymer membranes in a form of, for example, thin-film composite membranes for various gas and liquid membrane separation applications. PMID:27482538

Preparation of monodisperse curcumin-imprinted polymer by precipitation polymerization and its application for the extraction of curcuminoids from Curcuma longa L.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitabatake, Tomoko; Tabo, Hiromi; Matsunaga, Hisami; Haginaka, Jun

2013-08-01

A monodisperse molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for curcumin was first prepared by precipitation polymerization using methacrylamide (MAM) and 4-vinylpyridine as functional co-monomers, divinylbenzene as a crosslinker, and a mixture of acetonitrile and toluene as a porogen. The use of MAM as the co-monomer resulted in the formation of a monodisperse MIP and non-imprinted polymer (NIP). MIP and NIP, respectively, were monodispersed with a narrow particle size distribution (3.3 ± 0.09 and 3.5 ± 0.10 μm). In addition to shape recognition, hydrophobic and hydrogen-bonding interactions affected the retention and molecular-recognition of curcumin on the MIP. The MIP for curcumin could extract curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin) in Curcuma longa L.

Preparation and characterization of novel solid polymer blend electrolytes based on poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) with various concentrations of lithium perchlorate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kesavan, K., E-mail: kesavanphysics@gmail.com [School of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, Tamilnadu (India); Mathew, Chithra M. [School of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, Tamilnadu (India); Rajendran, S., E-mail: sraj54@yahoo.com [School of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, Tamilnadu (India); Ulaganathan, M. [Energy Research Institute @ NTU, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637 553 (Singapore)

2014-05-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The maximum ionic conductivity value was found to be 0.2307 × 10{sup −5} S cm{sup −1} for PEO(90 wt%)/PVP(10 wt%)/LiClO{sub 4}(8 wt%) based electrolyte at room temperature. • The structural and functional groups were studied by XRD and FTIR. • Both direct and indirect optical band gap values were evaluated from UV–vis analysis. • The change in viscosity of the polymer electrolytes was studied by photoluminescence spectra. - Abstract: A series of conducting novel solid polymer blend electrolytes (SPE) based on the fixed ratio of poly (ethylene oxide)/poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PEO/PVP) and various concentrations of salt lithium perchlorate (LiClO{sub 4}) were prepared by solvent casting technique. Structural and complex formation of the prepared electrolytes was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and FTIR analyses. The maximum ionic conductivity value was found to be 0.2307 × 10{sup −5} S cm{sup −1} for 8 wt% of LiClO{sub 4} based system at ambient temperature. Thermal stability of the present system was studied by thermo gravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA). Surface morphology of the sample having maximum ionic conductivity was studied by atomic force microscope (AFM). Optical properties like direct and indirect band gaps were investigated by UV–vis analysis. The change in viscosity of the polymer complexes were also identified using photoluminescence emission spectra. PEO(90)/PVP(10)/LiClO{sub 4}(8) has the highest conductivity which is supported by the lowest optical band gap and lowest intensity in photoluminescence spectroscopy near 400–450 nm.

Structural and Electrical Properties of Graphene Oxide-Doped PVA/PVP Blend Nanocomposite Polymer Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. K. Shahenoor Basha

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Graphene oxide (GO nanoparticles were incorporated in PVA/PVP blend polymers for the preparation of nanocomposite polymer films by the solution cast technique. XRD, FTIR, DSC, SEM, and UV-visible studies were performed on the prepared nanocomposite polymer films. XRD revealed the amorphous nature of the prepared films. Thermal analysis of the nanocomposite polymer films was analyzed by DSC. SEM revealed the morphological features and the degree of roughness of the samples. DC conductivity studies were under taken on the samples, and the conductivity was found to be 6.13 × 10−4 S·cm−1 for the polymer film prepared at room temperature. A solid-state battery has been fabricated with the chemical composition of Mg+/(PVA/PVP  :  GO/(I2 + C + electrolyte, and its cell parameters like power density and current density were calculated.

Preparation of anatase TiO{sub 2} thin film by low temperature annealing as an electron transport layer in inverted polymer solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noh, Hongche [Department of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Oh, Seong-Geun, E-mail: seongoh@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Im, Seung Soon, E-mail: imss007@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Organic and Nano Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-04-01

Highlights: • Anatase thin film of TiO{sub 2} was prepared by low temperature annealing. • Anatase TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was obtained from amorphous form through solvothermal process. • Anatase TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was used to prepare thin film on ITO glass. • Polymer solar cell fabricated on anatase TiO{sub 2} thin film showed 2.6% of PCE. - Abstract: To prepare the anatase TiO{sub 2} thin films on ITO glass, amorphous TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was synthesized through the simple sol-gel method by using titanium (IV) isopropoxide as a precursor. This amorphous TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was spread on ITO glass by spin-coating, then treated at 450 °C to obtain anatase TiO{sub 2} film (for device A). For other TiO{sub 2} films, amorphous TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was treated through solvothermal process at 180 °C to obtain anatase TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution. This anatase TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was spread on ITO glass by spin coating, and then annealed at 200 °C (for device B) and 130 °C (for device C), respectively. The average particle size of amorphous TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was about 1.0 nm and that of anatase TiO{sub 2} colloidal solution was 10 nm. The thickness of TiO{sub 2} films was about 15 nm for all cases. When inverted polymer solar cells were fabricated by using these TiO{sub 2} films as an electron transport layer, the device C showed the highest PCE (2.6%) due to the lack of defect, uniformness and high light absorbance of TiO{sub 2} films. The result of this study can be applied for the preparation of inverted polymer solar cell using TiO{sub 2} films as a buffer layer at low temperature on plastic substrate by roll-to roll process.

Editorial of the Special Issue Antimicrobial Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iolanda Francolini

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The special issue “Antimicrobial Polymers” includes research and review papers concerning the recent advances on preparation of antimicrobial polymers and their relevance to industrial settings and biomedical field. Antimicrobial polymers have recently emerged as promising candidates to fight microbial contamination onto surfaces thanks to their interesting properties. In this special issue, the main strategies pursued for developing antimicrobial polymers, including polymer impregnation with antimicrobial agents or synthesis of polymers bearing antimicrobial moieties, were discussed. The future application of these polymers either in industrial or healthcare settings could result in an extremely positive impact not only at the economic level but also for the improvement of quality of life.

Utilizing HPC Network Technologies in High Energy Physics Experiments

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2088631; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Because of their performance characteristics high-performance fabrics like Infiniband or OmniPath are interesting technologies for many local area network applications, including data acquisition systems for high-energy physics experiments like the ATLAS experiment at CERN. This paper analyzes existing APIs for high-performance fabrics and evaluates their suitability for data acquisition systems in terms of performance and domain applicability. The study finds that existing software APIs for high-performance interconnects are focused on applications in high-performance computing with specific workloads and are not compatible with the requirements of data acquisition systems. To evaluate the use of high-performance interconnects in data acquisition systems a custom library, NetIO, is presented and compared against existing technologies. NetIO has a message queue-like interface which matches the ATLAS use case better than traditional HPC APIs like MPI. The architecture of NetIO is based on a interchangeable bac...

Sulfur polymer cement concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, H.H.; McBee, W.C.

1990-01-01

Sulfur-based composite materials formulated using sulfur polymer cement (SPC) and mineral aggregates are described and compared with conventional portland cement based materials. Materials characteristics presented include mechanical strength, chemical resistance, impact resistance, moisture permeation, and linear shrinkage during placement and curing. Examples of preparation and placement of sulfur polymer cement concrete (SC) are described using commercial scale equipment. SC applications presented are focused into hostile chemical environments where severe portland cement concrete (PCC) failure has occurred

Charliecloud: Unprivileged containers for user-defined software stacks in HPC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Priedhorsky, Reid [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Randles, Timothy C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2016-08-09

Supercomputing centers are seeing increasing demand for user-defined software stacks (UDSS), instead of or in addition to the stack provided by the center. These UDSS support user needs such as complex dependencies or build requirements, externally required configurations, portability, and consistency. The challenge for centers is to provide these services in a usable manner while minimizing the risks: security, support burden, missing functionality, and performance. We present Charliecloud, which uses the Linux user and mount namespaces to run industry-standard Docker containers with no privileged operations or daemons on center resources. Our simple approach avoids most security risks while maintaining access to the performance and functionality already on offer, doing so in less than 500 lines of code. Charliecloud promises to bring an industry-standard UDSS user workflow to existing, minimally altered HPC resources.

Preparation and characterization of PAN–KI complexed gel polymer ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The conductivity-temperature dependence of these polymer electrolyte films obeys Arrhenius behaviour with activa- ... oxide (PEO), polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) ... chemical, flame resistance and electrochemical stability.

Thermoresponsive AuNPs Stabilized by Pillararene-Containing Polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Xiaojuan; Guo, Lei; Chang, Junxia; Liu, Sha; Xie, Meiran; Chen, Guosong

2015-08-01

Pillararene-containing thermoresponsive polymers are synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization using pillararene derivatives as the effective chain transfer agents for the first time. These polymers can self-assemble into micelles and form vesicles after guest molecules are added. Furthermore, such functional polymers can be further applied to prepare hybrid gold nanoparticles, which integrate the thermoresponsivity of polymers and molecular recognition of pillararenes. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improving the high performance concrete (HPC behaviour in high temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cattelan Antocheves De Lima, R.

2003-12-01

Full Text Available High performance concrete (HPC is an interesting material that has been long attracting the interest from the scientific and technical community, due to the clear advantages obtained in terms of mechanical strength and durability. Given these better characteristics, HFC, in its various forms, has been gradually replacing normal strength concrete, especially in structures exposed to severe environments. However, the veiy dense microstructure and low permeability typical of HPC can result in explosive spalling under certain thermal and mechanical conditions, such as when concrete is subject to rapid temperature rises, during a f¡re. This behaviour is caused by the build-up of internal water pressure, in the pore structure, during heating, and by stresses originating from thermal deformation gradients. Although there are still a limited number of experimental programs in this area, some researchers have reported that the addition of polypropylene fibers to HPC is a suitable way to avoid explosive spalling under f re conditions. This change in behavior is derived from the fact that polypropylene fibers melt in high temperatures and leave a pathway for heated gas to escape the concrete matrix, therefore allowing the outward migration of water vapor and resulting in the reduction of interned pore pressure. The present research investigates the behavior of high performance concrete on high temperatures, especially when polypropylene fibers are added to the mix.

El hormigón de alta resistencia (HAR es un material de gran interés para la comunidad científica y técnica, debido a las claras ventajas obtenidas en término de resistencia mecánica y durabilidad. A causa de estas características, el HAR, en sus diversas formas, en algunas aplicaciones está reemplazando gradualmente al hormigón de resistencia normal, especialmente en estructuras expuestas a ambientes severos. Sin embargo, la microestructura muy densa y la baja permeabilidad t

First experience with particle-in-cell plasma physics code on ARM-based HPC systems

OpenAIRE

Sáez, Xavier; Soba, Alejandro; Sánchez, Edilberto; Mantsinen, Mervi; Mateo, Sergio; Cela, José M.; Castejón, Francisco

2015-01-01

In this work, we will explore the feasibility of porting a Particle-in-cell code (EUTERPE) to an ARM multi-core platform from the Mont-Blanc project. The used prototype is based on a system-on-chip Samsung Exynos 5 with an integrated GPU. It is the first prototype that could be used for High-Performance Computing (HPC), since it supports double precision and parallel programming languages. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Com- munity's Seventh...

Large area modules based on low band gap polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bundgaard, Eva; Krebs, Frederik C

2010-01-01

The use of three low band gap polymers in large area roll-to-roll coated modules is demonstrated. The polymers were prepared by a Stille cross coupling polymerization and all had a band gap around 1.6 eV. The polymers were first tested in small area organic photovoltaic devices which showed...

Study of optical properties of Erbium doped Tellurite glass-polymer composite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sushama, D., E-mail: sushasukumar@gmail.com [Research Awardee, LAMP, Dept. of Physics, Nit, Calicut, India and Dept. of Physics, M.S.M. College, Kayamkulam, Kerala (India)

2014-10-15

Chalcogenide glasses have wide applications in optical device technology. But it has some disadvantages like thermal instability. Among them Tellurite glasses exhibits high thermal Stability. Doping of rare earth elements into the Tellurite glasses improve its optical properties. To improve its mechanical properties composites of this Tellurite glasses with polymer are prepared. Bulk samples of Er{sub 2}O{sub 3} doped TeO{sub 2}‐WO{sub 3}‐La{sub 2}O{sub 3} Tellurite glasses are prepared from high purity oxide mixtures, melting in an alumina crucible in air atmosphere. Composites of this Tellurite glasses with polymer are prepared by powder mixing method and the thin films of these composites are prepared using polymer press. Variations in band gap of these composites are studied from the UV/Vis/NIR absorption.

Study of optical properties of Erbium doped Tellurite glass-polymer composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sushama, D.

2014-01-01

Chalcogenide glasses have wide applications in optical device technology. But it has some disadvantages like thermal instability. Among them Tellurite glasses exhibits high thermal Stability. Doping of rare earth elements into the Tellurite glasses improve its optical properties. To improve its mechanical properties composites of this Tellurite glasses with polymer are prepared. Bulk samples of Er 2 O 3 doped TeO 2 ‐WO 3 ‐La 2 O 3 Tellurite glasses are prepared from high purity oxide mixtures, melting in an alumina crucible in air atmosphere. Composites of this Tellurite glasses with polymer are prepared by powder mixing method and the thin films of these composites are prepared using polymer press. Variations in band gap of these composites are studied from the UV/Vis/NIR absorption

Water-soluble light-emitting nanoparticles prepared by non-covalent bond self-assembly of a hydroxyl group functionalized oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene) with different water-soluble polymers

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

Water-soluble light-emitting nanoparticles were prepared from hydroxyl group functionalized oligos(p-phenyleneethynylene) (OHOPEL) and water-soluble polymers(PEG,PAA,and PG) by non-covalent bond self-assembly.Their structure and optoelectronic properties were investigated through dynamic light scattering(DLS) ,UV and PL spectroscopy.The optical properties of OHOPEL-based water-soluble nanoparticles exhibited the same properties as that found in OHOPEL films,indicating the existence of interchain-aggregation of OHOPELs in the nanoparticles.OHOPEL-based nanoparticles prepared from conjugated oligomers show smaller size and lower dispersity than nanoparticles from conjugated polymers,which means that the structures of water-soluble nanoparticles are linked to the conjugated length.Furthermore,the OHOPEL/PG and OHOPEL/PAA systems produced smaller particles and lower polydispersity than the OHOPEL/PEG system,indicating that there may exist influence of the strength of non-covalent bonds on the size and degree of dispersity of the nanoparticles.

Physical properties of wood-polymer composites prepared by an electron beam accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshizawa, S.; Handa, T.; Fukuoka, M.; Hashizume, Y.; Nakamura, T.

1981-01-01

The dual characteristics in the performance of polymers in wood-polymer composites systems have been pursued with regard to the resolution of mechanical anisotropy of wood and the improvement in dimensional stability. The objective of the present study is to pursue the polymerization mechanism in wood under electron beam irradiation and the temperature dependence of polymer-wood interactions induced at various levels of higher order structure of wood in order to understand the polymer performance. Veneers used in the study were of rotary-cut beech (Fagus crenata Blume) 0.65 mm thick. All samples were oven-dried in vacuo at 80 0 C for 30 hr. The monomers used in the study were methyl methacrylate, styrene, acrylic acid, acrylonitrile, and unsaturated polyester. Experimental details are given. Results are given and discussed. (U.K.)

Oral matrix tablet formulations for concomitant controlled release of anti-tubercular drugs: design and in vitro evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiremath, Praveen S; Saha, Ranendra N

2008-10-01

The aim of the present investigation was to develop controlled release (C.R.) matrix tablet formulations of rifampicin and isoniazid combination, to study the design parameters and to evaluate in vitro release characteristics. In the present study, a series of formulations were developed with different release rates and duration using hydrophilic polymers hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC). The duration of rifampicin and isoniazid release could be tailored by varying the polymer type, polymer ratio and processing techniques. Further, Eudragit L100-55 was incorporated in the matrix tablets to compensate for the pH-dependent release of rifampicin. Rifampicin was found to follow linear release profile with time from HPMC formulations. In case of formulations with HPC, there was an initial higher release in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) followed by zero order release profiles in simulated intestinal fluid (SIFsp) for rifampicin. The release of isoniazid was found to be predominantly by diffusion mechanism in case of HPMC formulations, and with HPC formulations release was due to combination of diffusion and erosion. The initial release was sufficiently higher for rifampicin from HPC thus ruling out the need to incorporate a separate loading dose. The initial release was sufficiently higher for isoniazid in all formulations. Thus, with the use of suitable polymer or polymer combinations and with the proper optimization of the processing techniques it was possible to design the C.R. formulations of rifampicin and isoniazid combination that could provide the sufficient initial release and release extension up to 24h for both the drugs despite of the wide variations in their physicochemical properties.

π-Donors microstructuring on surface of polymer film by their noncovalent interactions with iodine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Traven, Valerii F., E-mail: valerii.traven@gmail.com [Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, Moscow 125047, Miusskaya sq., 9 (Russian Federation); Ivanov, Ivan V.; Dolotov, Sergei M. [Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, Moscow 125047, Miusskaya sq., 9 (Russian Federation); Veciana, Jaume Miro; Lebedev, Victor S. [Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona–CSIC, Campus de la UAB, 08193, Bellaterra (Spain); Shulga, Yurii M.; Khasanov, Salavat S. [Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Acad. N.N. Semenov Prosp., 1, Chernogolovka, 142432 (Russian Federation); Medvedev, Michael G. [A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Vavilova str., 28 (Russian Federation); Laukhina, Elena E. [The Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine, ICMAB-CSIC, Bellaterra, 08193 (Spain)

2015-06-15

Noncovalent (charge transfer) interaction between perylene and iodine in polycarbonate film provides formation of microstructured perylene layer on the polymer surface upon exposure of polymer film which contains dissolved perylene to solvent + iodine vapors. The prepared bilayer film possesses a sensing effect to iodine vapors which can be observed by both fluorescence and electrical conductivity changes. Similar bilayer films have been prepared also with anthracene and phenothiazine as π-donors with use of different polymer matrixes. Interaction of iodine with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) has also been studied by the M06-2x DFT calculations for better understanding of phenomenon of π-donors microstructuring on surface of polymer film. - Highlights: • Preparation of bilayer polymer films with π-donors on surface for the first time. • π-Donor phase purity is confirmed by XRD, IR spectroscopy, SEM. • Perylene bilayer polymer films possess fluorescence. • Perylene bilayer polymer films loss fluorescence under iodine vapors. • Perylene bilayer polymer films possess electrical conductivity when treated by iodine vapors.

Conductive polymer/superconductor bilayer structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDevitt, J.T.; Haupt, S.G.; Riley, D.R.; Zhao, J.; Grassi, J.; Lo, R.K.; Jones, C.

1994-01-01

The preparation of a hybrid conducting polymer/high-temperature superconductor device consisting of a polypyrrole-coated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-∂ microbridge is reported. Electrochemical techniques are exploited to alter the oxidation state of the polymer and, in doing so, it is found for the first time that superconductivity can be modulated in a controllable and reproducible fashion by a polymer layer. Whereas the neutral (insulating) polypyrrole only slightly influences the electrical properties of the underlying YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-∂ film, the oxidized (conductive) polymer depresses Tc by up to 50K. In a similar fashion, the oxidation state of the polymer is found to modulate reversibly the magnitude of J c , the superconducting critical current. Thus, a new type of molecular switch for controlling superconductivity is demonstrated. Electrochemical, resistance vs. temperature, conact resistance, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy measurements are utilized to explore the polymer/superconductor interactions

Spatially Selective Functionalization of Conducting Polymers by "Electroclick" Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Thomas Steen; Daugaard, Anders Egede; Hvilsted, Søren

2009-01-01

Conducting polymer microelectrodes can electrochemically generate the catalyst required for their own functionalization by "click chemistry" with high spatial resolution. Interdigitated microelectrodes prepared from an azide-containing conducting polymer are selectively functionalized in sequence...

Conductive polymer composition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2010-01-01

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a conductive polymer composition comprising graphene and the articles obtained by this process. The process comprises the following steps: A) contacting graphite oxide in an aqueous medium with a water-soluble or dispersible

Preparation, Single-Molecule Manipulation, and Energy Transfer Investigation of a Polyfluorene-graft-DNA polymer.

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, Mikael; Christensen, Rasmus S; Krissanaprasit, Abhichart; Bakke, Mette R; Riber, Camilla F; Nielsen, Karina S; Zelikin, Alexander N; Gothelf, Kurt V

2017-08-04

Conjugated polymers have been intensively studied due to their unique optical and electronic properties combined with their physical flexibility and scalable bottom up synthesis. Although the bulk qualities of conjugated polymers have been extensively utilized in research and industry, the ability to handle and manipulate conjugated polymers at the nanoscale lacks significantly behind. Here, the toolbox for controlled manipulation of conjugated polymers was expanded through the synthesis of a polyfluorene-DNA graft-type polymer (poly(F-DNA)). The polymer possesses the characteristics associated with the conjugated polyfluorene backbone, but the protruding single-stranded DNA provides the material with an exceptional addressability. This study demonstrates controlled single-molecule patterning of poly(F-DNA), as well as energy transfer between two different polymer-DNA conjugates. Finally, highly efficient DNA-directed quenching of polyfluorene fluorescence was shown. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Initial Drug Dissolution from Amorphous Solid Dispersions Controlled by Polymer Dissolution and Drug-Polymer Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yuejie; Wang, Shujing; Wang, Shan; Liu, Chengyu; Su, Ching; Hageman, Michael; Hussain, Munir; Haskell, Roy; Stefanski, Kevin; Qian, Feng

2016-10-01

To identify the key formulation factors controlling the initial drug and polymer dissolution rates from an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD). Ketoconazole (KTZ) ASDs using PVP, PVP-VA, HMPC, or HPMC-AS as polymeric matrix were prepared. For each drug-polymer system, two types of formulations with the same composition were prepared: 1. Spray dried dispersion (SDD) that is homogenous at molecular level, 2. Physical blend of SDD (80% drug loading) and pure polymer (SDD-PB) that is homogenous only at powder level. Flory-Huggins interaction parameters (χ) between KTZ and the four polymers were obtained by Flory-Huggins model fitting. Solution (13)C NMR and FT-IR were conducted to investigate the specific drug-polymer interaction in the solution and solid state, respectively. Intrinsic dissolution of both the drug and the polymer from ASDs were studied using a Higuchi style intrinsic dissolution apparatus. PXRD and confocal Raman microscopy were used to confirm the absence of drug crystallinity on the tablet surface before and after dissolution study. In solid state, KTZ is completely miscible with PVP, PVP-VA, or HPMC-AS, demonstrated by the negative χ values of -0.36, -0.46, -1.68, respectively; while is poorly miscible with HPMC shown by a positive χ value of 0.23. According to solution (13)C NMR and FT-IR studies, KTZ interacts with HPMC-AS strongly through H-bonding and dipole induced interaction; with PVPs and PVP-VA moderately through dipole-induced interactions; and with HPMC weakly without detectable attractive interaction. Furthermore, the "apparent" strength of drug-polymer interaction, measured by the extent of peak shift on NMR or FT-IR spectra, increases with the increasing number of interacting drug-polymer pairs. For ASDs with the presence of considerable drug-polymer interactions, such as KTZ/PVPs, KTZ/PVP-VA, or KTZ /HPMC-AS systems, drug released at the same rate as the polymer when intimate drug-polymer mixing was ensured (i.e., the SDD systems

Design of molecular imprinted polymers compatible with aqueous environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Piletska, Elena V; Guerreiro, Antonio R; Romero-Guerra, Maria; Chianella, Iva; Turner, Anthony P F; Piletsky, Sergey A

2008-01-21

The main problem of poor water compatibility of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was addressed in examples describing design of synthetic receptors with high affinity for drugs of abuse. An extensive potentiometric titration of 10 popular functional monomers and corresponding imprinted and blank polymers was conducted in order to evaluate the subtleties of functional groups ionisation under aqueous conditions. It was found that polymers prepared using 2-trifluoromethacrylic acid (TFMAA) in combination with toluene as porogen possess superior properties which make them suitable for effective template recognition in water. The potential impact of phase separation during polymerisation on formation of high quality imprints has been discussed. Three drugs of abuse such as cocaine, deoxyephedrine and methadone were used as template models in polymer preparation for the practical validation of obtained results. The polymer testing showed that synthesized molecularly imprinted polymers have high affinity and selectivity for corresponding templates in aqueous environment, with imprinting factors of 2.6 for cocaine and 1.4 for methadone and deoxyephedrine. Corresponding blank polymers were unable to differentiate between analytes, suggesting that imprinting phenomenon was responsible for the recognition properties.

Development and assessment of a fiber reinforced HPC container for radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roulet, A.; Pineau, F.; Chanut, S.; Thibaux, Th.

2007-01-01

As part of its research into solutions for concrete disposal containers for long-lived radioactive waste, Andra defined requirements for high-performance concretes with enhanced porosity, diffusion, and permeability characteristics. It is the starting point for further research into severe conditions of containment and durability. To meet these objectives, Eiffage TP consequently developed a highly fibered High Performance Concrete (HPC) design mix using CEM V cement and silica fume. Then, mockups were produced to characterize the performance various concepts of containers with this new concrete mix. These mockups helped to identify possible manufacturing problems, and particularly the risk of cracking due to restrained shrinkage. (authors)

Molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization for selective solid-phase extraction of eight bisphenols from human urine samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Jiajia [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Li, Yun; Wang, Jincheng [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); Sun, Xiaoli; Cao, Rong [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Sun, Hao [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); Department of Chemistry, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110000 (China); Huang, Chaonan [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Chen, Jiping, E-mail: chenjp@dicp.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China)

2015-05-04

Highlights: • BPA imprinted polymer microspheres were prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization. • Regular spherical shape and narrow diameter distribution. • Good specific adsorption capacity for BPA. • Good class-selectivity and clean-up efficiency for bisphenols in human urine under SPE mode. • Good recoveries and sensitivity for bisphenols using the MIPMS-SPE coupled with HPLC-DAD method. - Abstract: The bisphenol A (BPA) imprinted polymer microspheres were prepared by simple Pickering emulsion polymerization. Compared to traditional bulk polymerization, both high yields of polymer and good control of particle sizes were achieved. The characterization results of scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements showed that the obtained molecularly imprinted polymer microsphere (MIPMS) particles possessed regular spherical shape, narrow diameter distribution (30–60 μm), a specific surface area (S{sub BET}) of 281.26 m{sup 2} g{sup −1} and a total pore volume (V{sub t}) of 0.459 cm{sup 3} g{sup −1}. Good specific adsorption capacity for BPA was obtained in the sorption experiment and good class selectivity for BPA and its seven structural analogs (bisphenol F, bisphenol B, bisphenol E, bisphenol AF, bisphenol S, bisphenol AP and bisphenol Z) was demonstrated by the chromatographic evaluation experiment. The MIPMS as solid-phase extraction (SPE) packing material was then evaluated for extraction and clean-up of these bisphenols (BPs) from human urine samples. An accurate and sensitive analytical method based on the MIPMS-SPE coupled with HPLC-DAD has been successfully established for simultaneous determination of eight BPs from human urine samples with detection limits of 1.2–2.2 ng mL{sup −1}. The recoveries of BPs for urine samples at two spiking levels (100 and 500 ng mL{sup −1} for each BP) were in the range of 81.3–106.7% with RSD values below 8.3%.

Increasing sodium pantoprazole photostability by microencapsulation: effect of the polymer and the preparation technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Raffin, R P; Colomé, L M; Schapoval, E E S; Pohlmann, A R; Guterres, S S

2008-08-01

Pantoprazole sodium is a proton pump inhibitor, used in acid-related disorders, like peptic ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux. This drug is unstable in acid solution and in the presence of salts. The aim of this work was to study the photostability under UVC radiation of pantoprazole and to determine its kinetics. A methanol solution and the solid pantoprazole were evaluated by HPLC within 120 min and 10 days, respectively. The work was also dedicated to evaluate and compare the ability of microencapsulation in stabilizing pantoprazole after UVC radiation. Pantoprazole-loaded microparticles prepared by emulsification/solvent evaporation or spray drying were compared. Pantoprazole was encapsulated using Eudragit S100 or its blend with poly(epsilon-caprolactone) or HPMC. In methanol solution, pantoprazole was completely degraded after 120 min and presented zero-order kinetics with t1/2 of 6.48 min. In the solid form, after 10 days, pantoprazole concentration was reduced to 27% following zero-order kinetic. The microparticles prepared only with Eudragit S100 demonstrated an increase of the drug photostability. After 10 days of irradiation, 56 and 44% of the drug was stable when encapsulated by emulsification/solvent evaporation and spray drying, respectively. The use of polymer blends did not improve the pantoprazole photostability.

Structure/property relationships in polymer membranes for water purification and energy applications

Science.gov (United States)

Geise, Geoffrey

Providing sustainable supplies of purified water and energy is a critical global challenge for the future, and polymer membranes will play a key role in addressing these clear and pressing global needs for water and energy. Polymer membrane-based processes dominate the desalination market, and polymer membranes are crucial components in several rapidly developing power generation and storage applications that rely on membranes to control rates of water and/or ion transport. Much remains unknown about the influence of polymer structure on intrinsic water and ion transport properties, and these relationships must be developed to design next generation polymer membrane materials. For desalination applications, polymers with simultaneously high water permeability and low salt permeability are desirable in order to prepare selective membranes that can efficiently desalinate water, and a tradeoff relationship between water/salt selectivity and water permeability suggests that attempts to prepare such materials should rely on approaches that do more than simply vary polymer free volume. One strategy is to functionalize hydrocarbon polymers with fixed charge groups that can ionize upon exposure to water, and the presence of charged groups in the polymer influences transport properties. Additionally, in many emerging energy applications, charged polymers are exposed to ions that are very different from sodium and chloride. Specific ion effects have been observed in charged polymers, and these effects must be understood to prepare charged polymers that will enable emerging energy technologies. This presentation discusses research aimed at further understanding fundamental structure/property relationships that govern water and ion transport in charged polymer films considered for desalination and electric potential field-driven applications that can help address global needs for clean water and energy.

Halloysite-based dopamine-imprinted polymer for selective protein capture.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xiaohong; Li, Hui; Liu, Hui; Peng, Wei; Zhong, Shian; Wang, Yan

2016-06-01

We describe a facile, general, and highly efficient approach to obtain polydopamine-coated molecularly imprinted polymer based on halloysite nanotubes for bovine serum albumin. The method combined surface molecular imprinting and one-step immobilized template technique. Hierarchically structured polymer was prepared in physiological conditions adopting dopamine as functional monomer. A thin layer of polydopamine can be coated on the surface of amino-modified halloysite nanotubes by self-polymerization, and the thickness of the imprinted shells can be controlled by the mass ratio of matrix and dopamine. The polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The prepared material showed high binding capacity (45.4 mg/g) and specific recognition behavior toward the template protein. In addition, stability and regeneration analyses indicated that the imprinted polymer exhibited excellent reusability (relative standard deviation < 9% for batch-to-batch evaluation). Therefore, the developed polymer is effective for protein recognition and separation. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

In-situ preparation of poly(ethylene oxide)/Li3PS4 hybrid polymer electrolyte with good nanofiller distribution for rechargeable solid-state lithium batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shaojie; Wang, Junye; Zhang, Zhihua; Wu, Linbin; Yao, Lili; Wei, Zhenyao; Deng, Yonghong; Xie, Dongjiu; Yao, Xiayin; Xu, Xiaoxiong

2018-05-01

Nano-sized fillers in a polymer matrix with good distribution can play a positive role in improving polymer electrolytes in the aspects of ionic conductivity, mechanical property and electrochemical performance of Li-ion cells. Herein, polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Li3PS4 hybrid polymer electrolyte is prepared via a new in-situ approach. The ionic conductivities of the novel hybrid electrolytes with variable proportions are measured, and the optimal electrolyte of PEO-2%vol Li3PS4 presents a considerable ionic conductivity of 8.01 × 10-4 S cm-1 at 60 °C and an electrochemical window up to 5.1 V. The tests of DSC and EDXS reveal that the Li3PS4 nanoparticles with better distribution, as active fillers scattering in the PEO, exhibit a positive effect on the transference of lithium ion and electrochemical interfacial stabilities. Finally, the assembled solid-state LiFePO4/Li battery presents a decent cycling performance (80.9% retention rate after 325 cycles at 60 °C) and excellent rate capacities with 153, 143, 139 and 127 mAh g-1 at the discharging rate of 0.1 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C and 1 C at 60 °C. It is fully proved that it is an advanced strategy to preparing the new organic/inorganic hybrid electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries applications.

Synthesis of a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Dioxin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magda Brattoli

2006-08-01

Full Text Available A molecularly imprinted polymer for recognising selectively 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD was made by a new non-covalent method employing a“dummy” template. The proposed way represents a simplification of a synthetic schemeproposed by Lübke et al.[1] for covalent imprinting. Comparison of extraction yields of thenovel polymer, a non imprinted polymer and an imprinting polymer, prepared by theoriginal procedure demonstrates the binding capacity of the proposed polymer, which is inprinciple applicable to solid phase extraction (SPE of dioxin.

Performance of polymer nano composite membrane electrode assembly using Alginate as a dopant in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell [Journal of Physics. Conference Series (Online), v. 795(1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulijani, S.

2017-01-01

Polymer membrane and composite polymer for membrane electrode assembly (MEAs) are synthesized and studied for usage in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In this study, we prepared 3 type of MEAs, polystyrene (PS), sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) and composite polymer SPS-alginat membrane via catalyst hot pressed method. The performance and properties of prepared MEAs were evaluated and analyzed by impedance spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The result showed that, water up take of MEA composite polymer SPS-alginate was obtained higher than that in SPS and PS. The proton conductivity of MEA-SPS-alginate was also higher than that PS and PSS. SEM characterization revealed that the intimate contact between the carbon catalyst layers (CL) and the membranes, and the uniformly porous structure correlate positively with the MEAs prepared by hot pressed method, exhibiting high performances for DMFC. (paper)

Partial discharge characteristics of polymer nanocomposite materials in electrical insulation: a review of sample preparation techniques, analysis methods, potential applications, and future trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Izzati, Wan Akmal; Arief, Yanuar Z; Adzis, Zuraimy; Shafanizam, Mohd

2014-01-01

Polymer nanocomposites have recently been attracting attention among researchers in electrical insulating applications from energy storage to power delivery. However, partial discharge has always been a predecessor to major faults and problems in this field. In addition, there is a lot more to explore, as neither the partial discharge characteristic in nanocomposites nor their electrical properties are clearly understood. By adding a small amount of weight percentage (wt%) of nanofillers, the physical, mechanical, and electrical properties of polymers can be greatly enhanced. For instance, nanofillers in nanocomposites such as silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3) and titania (TiO2) play a big role in providing a good approach to increasing the dielectric breakdown strength and partial discharge resistance of nanocomposites. Such polymer nanocomposites will be reviewed thoroughly in this paper, with the different experimental and analytical techniques used in previous studies. This paper also provides an academic review about partial discharge in polymer nanocomposites used as electrical insulating material from previous research, covering aspects of preparation, characteristics of the nanocomposite based on experimental works, application in power systems, methods and techniques of experiment and analysis, and future trends.

Survey on Projects at DLR Simulation and Software Technology with Focus on Software Engineering and HPC

OpenAIRE

Schreiber, Andreas; Basermann, Achim

2013-01-01

We introduce the DLR institute “Simulation and Software Technology” (SC) and present current activities regarding software engineering and high performance computing (HPC) in German or international projects. Software engineering at SC focusses on data and knowledge management as well as tools for studies and experiments. We discuss how we apply software configuration management, validation and verification in our projects. Concrete research topics are traceability of (software devel...

High-Bandwidth Tactical-Network Data Analysis in a High-Performance-Computing (HPC) Environment: Packet-Level Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

individual fragments using the hash-based method. In general, fragments 6 appear in order and relatively close to each other in the file. A fragment...data product derived from the data model is shown in Fig. 5, a Google Earth12 Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file. This product includes aggregate...System BLOb binary large object FPGA field-programmable gate array HPC high-performance computing IP Internet Protocol KML Keyhole Markup Language

FTIR Drug-Polymer Interactions Studies of Perindopril Erbumine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Modni, A.; Ahmad, S.; Din, I.; Hussain, Z.

2014-01-01

The present study was carried out to prepare different combinations of Perindopril Erbumine with different polymers like Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose, Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose K4M, Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose K15M, Xanthan gum and Ethyl cellulose, thereby to determine any possible interactions between Perindopril erbumine and polymers. The analytical technique Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to take spectra of individual drug, polymers and combination of drug with polymers. The results were analyzed to find out any interactions of Perindopril erbumine and polymers. From this study it was concluded that there were no any significant changes in characteristic peaks of drug after combinations with polymers which indicated no interaction between Perindopril erbumine and polymers. (author)

Preparation and characterization of polymer nanocomposites coated magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prabha, G., E-mail: gprabhagovinn@gmail.com; Raj, V., E-mail: alaguraj2@rediffmail.com

2016-06-15

In the present research work, the anticancer drug ‘curcumin’ is loaded with Chitosan (CS)-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (CS-PEG-PVP) polymer nanocomposites coated with superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) nanoparticles. The system can be used for targeted and controlled drug delivery of anticancer drugs with reduced side effects and greater efficiency. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Curcumin drug loaded Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG-PVP nanoparticles exhibited the mean particle size in the range of 183–390 nm with a zeta potential value of 26–41 mV as measured using Malvern Zetasizer. The encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity and in-vitro drug release behavior of curcumin drug loaded Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG-PVP nanoparticles were studied using UV spectrophotometer. Besides, the cytotoxicity of the prepared nanoparticles using MTT assay was also studied. The curcumin drug release was examined at different pH medium and it was proved that the drug release depends upon the pH medium in addition to the nature of matrix. - Highlights: • The considered drug carrier Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG-PVP nanoparticles were prepared and entrapping (Curcumin). • The amount of the drug had great effect on the drug LC and EE and zeta potential Nanocomposites. • The Curcumin- loaded Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CS-PEG-PVP nanocomposites showed pH responsive drug release.

Preparation and characterization of polymer nanocomposites coated magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prabha, G.; Raj, V.

2016-01-01

In the present research work, the anticancer drug ‘curcumin’ is loaded with Chitosan (CS)-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (CS-PEG-PVP) polymer nanocomposites coated with superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles. The system can be used for targeted and controlled drug delivery of anticancer drugs with reduced side effects and greater efficiency. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Curcumin drug loaded Fe 3 O 4 -CS, Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG and Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG-PVP nanoparticles exhibited the mean particle size in the range of 183–390 nm with a zeta potential value of 26–41 mV as measured using Malvern Zetasizer. The encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity and in-vitro drug release behavior of curcumin drug loaded Fe 3 O 4 -CS, Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG and Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG-PVP nanoparticles were studied using UV spectrophotometer. Besides, the cytotoxicity of the prepared nanoparticles using MTT assay was also studied. The curcumin drug release was examined at different pH medium and it was proved that the drug release depends upon the pH medium in addition to the nature of matrix. - Highlights: • The considered drug carrier Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG-PVP nanoparticles were prepared and entrapping (Curcumin). • The amount of the drug had great effect on the drug LC and EE and zeta potential Nanocomposites. • The Curcumin- loaded Fe 3 O 4 -CS, Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG and Fe 3 O 4 -CS-PEG-PVP nanocomposites showed pH responsive drug release.

Architectural improvements and 28 nm FPGA implementation of the APEnet+ 3D Torus network for hybrid HPC systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ammendola, Roberto; Biagioni, Andrea; Frezza, Ottorino; Cicero, Francesca Lo; Paolucci, Pier Stanislao; Lonardo, Alessandro; Rossetti, Davide; Simula, Francesco; Tosoratto, Laura; Vicini, Piero

2014-01-01

Modern Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are now considered accelerators for general purpose computation. A tight interaction between the GPU and the interconnection network is the strategy to express the full potential on capability computing of a multi-GPU system on large HPC clusters; that is the reason why an efficient and scalable interconnect is a key technology to finally deliver GPUs for scientific HPC. In this paper we show the latest architectural and performance improvement of the APEnet+ network fabric, a FPGA-based PCIe board with 6 fully bidirectional off-board links with 34 Gbps of raw bandwidth per direction, and X8 Gen2 bandwidth towards the host PC. The board implements a Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) protocol that leverages upon peer-to-peer (P2P) capabilities of Fermi- and Kepler-class NVIDIA GPUs to obtain real zero-copy, low-latency GPU-to-GPU transfers. Finally, we report on the development activities for 2013 focusing on the adoption of the latest generation 28 nm FPGAs and the preliminary tests performed on this new platform.

Architectural improvements and 28 nm FPGA implementation of the APEnet+ 3D Torus network for hybrid HPC systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ammendola, Roberto [INFN Sezione Roma Tor Vergata (Italy); Biagioni, Andrea; Frezza, Ottorino; Cicero, Francesca Lo; Paolucci, Pier Stanislao; Lonardo, Alessandro; Rossetti, Davide; Simula, Francesco; Tosoratto, Laura; Vicini, Piero [INFN Sezione Roma (Italy)

2014-06-11

Modern Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are now considered accelerators for general purpose computation. A tight interaction between the GPU and the interconnection network is the strategy to express the full potential on capability computing of a multi-GPU system on large HPC clusters; that is the reason why an efficient and scalable interconnect is a key technology to finally deliver GPUs for scientific HPC. In this paper we show the latest architectural and performance improvement of the APEnet+ network fabric, a FPGA-based PCIe board with 6 fully bidirectional off-board links with 34 Gbps of raw bandwidth per direction, and X8 Gen2 bandwidth towards the host PC. The board implements a Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) protocol that leverages upon peer-to-peer (P2P) capabilities of Fermi- and Kepler-class NVIDIA GPUs to obtain real zero-copy, low-latency GPU-to-GPU transfers. Finally, we report on the development activities for 2013 focusing on the adoption of the latest generation 28 nm FPGAs and the preliminary tests performed on this new platform.

Development and characterization of rosin-based polymer and its application as a cream base.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhanorkar, V T; Gawande, R S; Gogte, B B; Dorle, A K

2002-01-01

The literature contains many references to the wide range of uses of rosin-based polymers, but little has appeared in the area of rosin-based polymers used as cream bases. Various rosin polymers based on glycerol, sorbitol, and pentaerythritol were prepared and screened for efficacy as cream bases. Among these polymers, polymer 2 (glycerol-based) is reported in the present study as it produced creams with a better stability and release profile as compared to other creams. The creams were formulated employing polymer 2 (P2) and Tween 60 as surfactants. The stability of the prepared creams, as well as the diclofenac diethylammonium release pattern, was investigated using particle size analysis, conductivity, relative dielectric constant, spreadability, and irritation potential measurement, and was compared with that of creams containing Tween 60 (RT) prepared in the laboratory. The release of the drug, diclofenac diethylammonium, was measured after eight hours and compared with a standard cream (RT) and a marketed cream (RM).

Conductive polymer switch for controlling superconductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDevitt, J.T.; Haupt, S.G.; Riley, D.R.; Zhao, J.; Grassi, J.; Lo, K.; Jones, C.

1994-01-01

The preparation of a hybrid conducting polymer/high-temperature superconductor device consisting of a polypyrrole coated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-σ microbridge is reported. Electrochemical techniques are exploited to alter the oxidation state of the polymer and, in doing so, it is found for the first time that superconductivity can be modulated in a controllable and reproducible fashion by a polymer layout. Whereas the neutral (insulating) polypyrrole only slightly influences the electrical properties of the underlying YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-σ film, the oxidized (conductive) polymer depresses T c by up to 50K. In a similar fashion, the oxidation state of the polymer is found to reversibly modulate the magnitude of J c , the superconducting critical current. Thus, a new type of molecule switch for controlling superconductivity is demonstrated

Synthesis and characterization of an electrolyte system based on a biodegradable polymer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Sownthari

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A polymer electrolyte system has been developed using a biodegradable polymer namely poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL in combination with zinc triflate [Zn(CF3SO32] in different weight percentages and characterized during this investigation. Free-standing thin films of varying compositions were prepared by solution casting technique. The successful doping of the polymer has been confirmed by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR by analyzing the carbonyl (C=O stretching region of the polymer. The maximum ionic conductivity obtained at room temperature (25°C was found to be 8.8x10–6 S/cm in the case of PCL complexed with 25 wt% Zn(CF3SO32 which is five orders of magnitude higher than that of the pure polymer host material. The increase in amorphous phase with an increase in salt concentration of the prepared polymer electrolyte has also been confirmed from the concordant results obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC and scanning electron microscopic (SEM analyses. Furthermore, the electrochemical stability window of the prepared polymer electrolyte was found to be 3.7 V. An electrochemical cell has been fabricated based on Zn/MnO2 electrode couple as an application area and its discharge characteristics were evaluated.

Preparation and application of epitope magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers for enrichment of sulfonamide antibiotics in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yufeng; Wang, Cheng; Li, Xiangdao; Liu, Lifen

2017-10-01

Sulfonamides, which are widely used synthetic antibiotics, are hydrophilic and stable. They can easily migrate into the environment and aquatic animals, and increase the risk of cancer, drug resistance, and allergic symptoms if consumed by humans. Here, we developed an epitope magnetic imprinting approach to enrich multiple sulfonamide antibiotics from a water sample. Epitope magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (EMMIPs) were prepared by free-radical polymerization using vinyl-functioned Fe 3 O 4 as a core, sulfanilamide (SA) as a dummy template, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker. The performance of the EMMIPs was first evaluated by rebinding SA, and then an adsorption experiment was conducted to assess the extraction of multiple sulfonamide antibiotics containing the SA group. The binding experiments showed that the EMMIPs reached adsorption equilibrium in only 5 min with adsorption of SA at 2040 μg/g, compared with just 462 μg/g for the epitope magnetic non-imprinted polymers. EMMIPs were combined with HPLC for the detection of six sulfonamide antibiotics in surface water samples. The recoveries ranged from 79.3 to 92.4% and the relative standard deviations from 0.9 to 7.3%. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Preparation of psoralen polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles and their reversal of multidrug resistance in MCF-7/ADR cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Qingqing; Cai, Tiange; Li, Qianwen; Huang, Yinghong; Liu, Qian; Wang, Bingyue; Xia, Xi; Wang, Qi; Whitney, John C C; Cole, Susan P C; Cai, Yu

2018-11-01

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the leading cause of failure for breast cancer in the clinic. Thus far, polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (PLN) loaded chemotherapeutic agents has been used to overcome MDR in breast cancer. In this study, we prepared psoralen polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (PSO-PLN) to reverse drug resistant MCF-7/ADR cells in vitro and in vivo. PSO-PLN was prepared by the emulsification evaporation-low temperature solidification method. The formulation, water solubility and bioavailability, particle size, zeta potential and entrapment efficiency, and in vitro release experiments were optimized in order to improve the activity of PSO to reverse MDR. Optimal formulation: soybean phospholipids 50 mg, poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) 15 mg, PSO 3 mg, and Tween-80 1%. The PSO-PLN possessed a round appearance, uniform size, exhibited no adhesion. The average particle size was 93.59 ± 2.87 nm, the dispersion co-efficient was 0.249 ± 0.06, the zeta potential was 25.47 ± 2.84 mV. In vitro analyses revealed that PSO resistance index was 3.2, and PSO-PLN resistance index was 5.6, indicating that PSO-PLN versus MCF-7/ADR reversal effect was significant. Moreover, PSO-PLN is somewhat targeted to the liver, and has an antitumor effect in the xenograft model of drug-resistant MCF-7/ADR cells. In conclusion, PSO-PLN not only reverses MDR but also improves therapeutic efficiency by enhancing sustained release of PSO.

Study of Preparation and Properties on Polymer-modified Magnetite ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

NICOLAAS

encapsulated before and during the synthesis of the polymer.27. The particle size ... Ferric chloride (FeCl3) was purchased from Sinopharm Chemical. Reagent ..... propyl-b-cyclodextrin/polyethylene glycol 400, modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles ...

Preparation and controlled drug delivery applications of mesoporous silica polymer nanocomposites through the visible light induced surface-initiated ATRP

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Long; Liu, Meiying; Mao, Liucheng; Xu, Dazhuang; Wan, Qing; Zeng, Guangjian; Shi, Yingge; Wen, Yuanqing; Zhang, Xiaoyong; Wei, Yen

2017-08-01

The mesoporous materials with large pore size, high specific surface area and high thermal stability have been widely utilized in a variety of fields ranging from environmental remediation to separation and biomedicine. However, surface modification of these silica nanomaterials is required to endow novel properties and achieve better performance for most of these applications. In this work, a new method has been established for surface modification of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) that relied on the visible light induced atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). In the procedure, the copolymers composited with itaconic acid (IA) and poly(ethylene glycol)methyl acrylate (PEGMA) were grafted from MSNs using IA and PEGMA as the monomers and 10-Phenylphenothiazine(PTH) as the organic catalyst. The successful preparation of final polymer nanocomposites (named as MSNs-NH2-poly(IA-co-PEGMA)) were evidenced by a series of characterization techniques. More importantly, the anticancer agent cisplatin can be effectively loaded on MSNs-NH2-poly(IA-co-PEGMA) and controlled release it from the drug-loading composites with pH responsive behavior. As compared with conventional ATRP, the light induced surface-initiated ATRP could also be utilized for preparation of various silica polymer nanocomposites under rather benign conditions (e.g. absent of transition metal ions, low polymerization temperature and short polymerization time). Taken together, we have developed a rather promising strategy method for fabrication of multifunctional MSNs-NH2-poly(IA-co-PEGMA) with great potential for biomedical applications.

Pedot and PPy Conducting Polymer Bilayer and Trilayer Actuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zainudeen, Umer Lebbe; Careem, Mohamed Abdul; Skaarup, Steen

2008-01-01

attempts have been made to improve the actuator performance. We report electromechanical measurements on actuators of bilayer and trilayer free standing films prepared with polypyrrole (PPy) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) conducting polymers. Both types of conducting polymer are pre...

Exploiting HPC Platforms for Metagenomics: Challenges and Opportunities (MICW - Metagenomics Informatics Challenges Workshop: 10K Genomes at a Time)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canon, Shane

2011-10-12

DOE JGI's Zhong Wang, chair of the High-performance Computing session, gives a brief introduction before Berkeley Lab's Shane Canon talks about "Exploiting HPC Platforms for Metagenomics: Challenges and Opportunities" at the Metagenomics Informatics Challenges Workshop held at the DOE JGI on October 12-13, 2011.

Green aqueous surface modification of polypropylene for novel polymer nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Vijay Kumar; Vennerberg, Danny; Kessler, Michael R

2014-06-25

Polypropylene is one of the most widely used commercial commodity polymers; among many other applications, it is used for electronic and structural applications. Despite its commercial importance, the hydrophobic nature of polypropylene limits its successful application in some fields, in particular for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites. Here, a facile, plasma-assisted, biomimetic, environmentally friendly method was developed to enhance the interfacial interactions in polymer nanocomposites by modifying the surface of polypropylene. Plasma treated polypropylene was surface-modified with polydopamine (PDA) in an aqueous medium without employing other chemicals. The surface modification strategy used here was based on the easy self-polymerization and strong adhesion characteristics of dopamine (DA) under ambient laboratory conditions. The changes in surface characteristics of polypropylene were investigated using FTIR, TGA, and Raman spectroscopy. Subsequently, the surface modified polypropylene was used as the matrix to prepare SiO2-reinforced polymer nanocomposites. These nanocomposites demonstrated superior properties compared to nanocomposites prepared using pristine polypropylene. This simple, environmentally friendly, green method of modifying polypropylene indicated that polydopamine-functionalized polypropylene is a promising material for various high-performance applications.

Final Report for File System Support for Burst Buffers on HPC Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, W. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Mohror, K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-11-27

Distributed burst buffers are a promising storage architecture for handling I/O workloads for exascale computing. As they are being deployed on more supercomputers, a file system that efficiently manages these burst buffers for fast I/O operations carries great consequence. Over the past year, FSU team has undertaken several efforts to design, prototype and evaluate distributed file systems for burst buffers on HPC systems. These include MetaKV: a Key-Value Store for Metadata Management of Distributed Burst Buffers, a user-level file system with multiple backends, and a specialized file system for large datasets of deep neural networks. Our progress for these respective efforts are elaborated further in this report.

Characterization of ethyl cellulose polymer.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahnaj, Tazin; Ahmed, Salah U; Plakogiannis, Fotios M

2013-01-01

Ethyl cellulose (EC) polymer was characterized for its property before considering the interactions with the plasicizer. Ethocel Std.10 FP Premium from Dow chemical company USA was tested for its solubility, morphology and thermal properties. Seven percentage of EC solution in ethanol was found to be the right viscosity used to prepare the film. The EC polymer and EC film without any plasticizers showed almost identical thermal behavior, but in X-ray diffraction showed different arrangements of crystallites and amorphous region. Dynamic mechanical analysis of film showed that without a plasticizer, EC film was not flexible and had very low elongation with high applied force. The aim of the work was to avoid using the commercially available EC dispersions Surelease® and Aquacoat®; both already have additives on it. Instead, Ethocel EC polymer (powder) was characterized in our laboratory in order to find out the properties of polymer before considering the interactions of the polymer with various plasticizers.

Polymer Electrolyte Prepared from Highly Deproteinized Natural Rubber Having Epoxy Group

Science.gov (United States)

Klinklai, W.; Kawahara, S.; Isono, Y.; Mizumo, T.; Yoshizawa, M.; Ohno, H.

Deproteinized natural rubber having epoxy group (EDPNR) was applied to transport Li+ as a solid polymer electrolyte. The deproteinized natural rubber, incubated with proteolytic enzyme and surfactant, was subjected to epoxidation followed by oxidative depolymerization in latex stage. The resulting rubber was proved to be a liquid deproteinized natural rubber (LEDPNR) having polar epoxy groups, low Tg, low Mn and well-defined terminal units. Ionic conductivity of LEDPNR mixed with alkali metal salts was investigated through impedance analysis to clarify an effect of proteins present in the rubber. The ionic conductivity of the resulting LEDPNR depended on the kind of salts, their concentrations and temperature. The ionic conductivity of LEDPNR/lithium bis(trifluoromethan sulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) was higher than that of LEDPNR/ lithium perchlorate (LiClO4). The difference in the ionic conductivity was attributed to the solubility of the salts as results of both high-resolution solid-state 13C-NMR spectroscopy and measurements of spin-lattice relaxation time. The conductivity of LEDPNR/LiTFSI was also dependent upon concentrations of LiTFSI and it reached the highest value at 20 wt%, which was different from the monotonic increase in the Li+ conductivity of liquid epoxidized natural rubber prepared from untreated natural rubber.

Ultrasonic-assisted preparation of graphene oxide carboxylic acid polyvinyl alcohol polymer film and studies of thermal stability and surface resistivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yongshen; Li, Jihui; Li, Yuehai; Li, Yali; Song, Yunan; Niu, Shuai; Li, Ning

2018-01-01

In this paper, flake graphite, nitric acid and acetic anhydride are used to prepare graphene oxide carboxylic acid (GO-COOH) via an ultrasonic-assisted method, and GO-COOH and polyvinyl alcohol polymer (PVA) are used to synthesize graphene oxide carboxylic acid polyvinyl alcohol polymer (GO-COOPVA) via the ultrasonic-assisted method, and GO-COOPVA is used to manufacture graphene oxide carboxylic acid polyvinyl alcohol polymer film (GO-COOPVA film) via a solidification method, and the structure and morphology of GO-COOH, GO-COOPVA and GO-COOPVA film are characterized, and the thermal stability and surface resistivity are measured in the case of the different amount of GO-COOH. Based on the characterization and measurement, it has been successively confirmed and attested that carboxyl groups implant on 2D lattice of GO to form GO-COOH, and GO-COOH and PVA have the esterification reaction to produce GO-COOPVA, and GO-COOPVA consists of 2D lattice of GO-COOH and the chain of PVA connected in the form of carboxylic ester, and GO-COOPVA film is composed of GO-COOPVA, and the thermal stability of GO-COOPVA film obviously improves in comparison with PVA film, and the surface resistivity of GO-COOPVA film clearly decreases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oriented thin films of mixture of a low-bandgap polymer and a fullerene derivative prepared by friction-transfer method

Science.gov (United States)

Tanigaki, Nobutaka; Mizokuro, Toshiko; Miyadera, Tetsuhiko; Shibata, Yousei; Koganezawa, Tomoyuki

2018-02-01

We have been studying oriented thin films of polymers fabricated by the friction-transfer method, which allows the alignment of a variety of conjugated polymers into highly oriented films. In this study, we prepared oriented blend films of a mixture of a low-bandgap polymer, poly{4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b‧]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-4,6-diyl} (PTB7), and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM), which is a promising combination for application in organic solar cells. We obtained oriented blend films of PTB7 and PC71BM by the friction-transfer method from a solid block. Polarized UV-visible spectra show that the PTB7 chains were aligned parallel to the friction direction in the blend films. Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) studies with synchrotron radiation suggested that the preferred orientation of PTB7 crystallites was face-on in the blend films. The GIXD results also showed the high uniaxial orientation of PTB7 chains in blend films. Photovoltaic devices were fabricated using the friction-transferred blend films of the PTB7 and PC71BM. These bulk heterojunction devices showed better performance than planar heterojunction devices fabricated using pure friction-transferred PTB7 films.

Improved electrical properties of free standing blend polymer for renewable energy resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arya, Anil; Sharma, Sweety; Sharma, A. L., E-mail: alsharmaiitkgp@gmail.com [Centre for Physical Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda-151001 (India)

2016-05-23

Blend polymer electrolytes are prepared for salt concentration (Ö/Li = 4) with the constant ratio (0.5 gm) of PEO and PAN using solution casting technique. The prepared free standing solid polymeric film is characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) which confirms the homogeneous distribution of dissociated salt in blend polymer matrix. After addition of salt the ionic conductivity value is found to be of the order of 7.13 × 10{sup −5} Scm{sup −1} which is three orders higher when compared with pure blend polymer films. The microscopic interaction among the polymer-ion, ion-ion has been confirmed by the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. A very fine correlation has been built in the electrical conductivity and FTIR result. On the basis of above finding, a prepared free standing solid polymeric film appears to be appropriate for the energy storage/conversion device applications.

Thermal Protective Coating for High Temperature Polymer Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, Andrew R.

1999-01-01

The central theme of this research is the application of carboxylate-alumoxane nanoparticles as precursors to thermally protective coatings for high temperature polymer composites. In addition, we will investigate the application of carboxylate-alumoxane nanoparticle as a component to polymer composites. The objective of this research was the high temperature protection of polymer composites via novel chemistry. The significance of this research is the development of a low cost and highly flexible synthetic methodology, with a compatible processing technique, for the fabrication of high temperature polymer composites. We proposed to accomplish this broad goal through the use of a class of ceramic precursor material, alumoxanes. Alumoxanes are nano-particles with a boehmite-like structure and an organic periphery. The technical goals of this program are to prepare and evaluate water soluble carboxylate-alumoxane for the preparation of ceramic coatings on polymer substrates. Our proposed approach is attractive since proof of concept has been demonstrated under the NRA 96-LeRC-1 Technology for Advanced High Temperature Gas Turbine Engines, HITEMP Program. For example, carbon and Kevlar(tm) fibers and matting have been successfully coated with ceramic thermally protective layers.

Strippable core-shell polymer emulsion for decontamination of radioactive surface contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Ho-Sang; Seo, Bum-Kyoung; Lee, Kune-Woo

2011-01-01

In this study, the core-shell composite polymer for decontamination from the surface contamination was synthesized by the method of emulsion polymerization and blends of polymers. The strippable polymer emulsion is composed of the poly(styrene-ethyl acrylate) [poly(St-EA)] composite polymer, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The morphology of the poly(St-EA) composite emulsion particle was core-shell structure, with polystyrene (PS) as the core and poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) as the shell. Core-shell polymers of styrene (St)/ethyl acrylate (EA) pair were prepared by sequential emulsion polymerization in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an emulsifier using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator. Related tests and analysis confirmed the success in synthesis of composite polymer. The products are characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA that were used, respectively, to show the structure, the thermal stability of the prepared polymer. Two-phase particles with a core-shell structure were obtained in experiments where the estimated glass transition temperature and the morphologies of emulsion particles. Decontamination factors of the strippable polymeric emulsion were evaluated with the polymer blend contents. (author)

"Chameleon" Macromolecules: Synthesis, Structures and Applications of Stimulus Responsive Polymers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sui, Xiaofeng

2012-01-01

This thesis describes the preparation and characterization of addressable responsive polymer structures and their versatile applications. Stimuli responsive polymer chains including temperature responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, pH responsive poly(methacrylic acid), PMAA and redox

Synthesis and characterization of telechelic polymers prepared by RAFT

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lima, V.G.R.; Brokken-Zijp, J.C.M.; Klumperman, B.; Benthem - van Duuren, van A.M.G.; Linde, van der R.

2003-01-01

The reversible addn.-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymn. technique was employed to synthesize telechelic polymers. Me methacrylate, Bu methacrylate were polymd. using RAFT polymn. The polymns. exhibit the usual characteristics of living processes, and were followed by a two-step chain-end

Lysozyme-loaded lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles: preparation, characterization and colloidal stability evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Devrim, Burcu; Kara, Aslı; Vural, İmran; Bozkır, Asuman

2016-11-01

Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNPs) are polymeric nanoparticles enveloped by lipid layers, which have emerged as a potent therapeutic nanocarrier alternative to liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. The aim of this work was to develop, characterize and evaluate LPNPs to deliver a model protein, lysozyme. Lysozyme-loaded LPNPs were prepared by using the modified w/o/w double-emulsion-solvent-evaporation method. Poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) was used as polymeric core material and tripalmitin:lechitin mixture was used to form a lipid shell around the LPNPs. LPNPs were evaluated for particle size distribution, zeta potential, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro drug release, stability and cytotoxicity. The DLS measurement results showed that the particle size of LPNPs ranged from 58.04 ± 1.95 nm to 2009.00 ± 0.52 nm. The AFM and TEM images of LPNPs demonstrate that LPNPs are spherical in shape. The protein-loading capacity of LPNPs ranged from 5.81% to 60.32%, depending on the formulation parameters. LPNPs displayed a biphasic drug release pattern with a burst release within 1 h, followed by sustained release afterward. Colloidal stability results of LPNPs in different media showed that particle size and zeta potential values of particles did not change significantly in all media except of FBS 100% for 120 h. Finally, the results of a cellular uptake study showed that LPNPs were significantly taken up by 83.3% in L929 cells. We concluded that the LPNPs prepared with PCL as polymeric core material and tripalmitin:lechitin mixture as lipid shell should be a promising choice for protein delivery.

Preparation and characterization of lamivudine microcapsules using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to prepare and evaluate microcapsules for the controlled release of lamivudine using various cellulose polymers. Methods: The microcapsules were prepared by the solvent evaporation method. The prepared microcapsules were characterized for the percent drug content, ...

Development of a SaaS application probe to the physical properties of the Earth's interior: An attempt at moving HPC to the cloud

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Qian

2014-09-01

Scientific computing often requires the availability of a massive number of computers for performing large-scale simulations, and computing in mineral physics is no exception. In order to investigate physical properties of minerals at extreme conditions in computational mineral physics, parallel computing technology is used to speed up the performance by utilizing multiple computer resources to process a computational task simultaneously thereby greatly reducing computation time. Traditionally, parallel computing has been addressed by using High Performance Computing (HPC) solutions and installed facilities such as clusters and super computers. Today, it has been seen that there is a tremendous growth in cloud computing. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), the on-demand and pay-as-you-go model, creates a flexible and cost-effective mean to access computing resources. In this paper, a feasibility report of HPC on a cloud infrastructure is presented. It is found that current cloud services in IaaS layer still need to improve performance to be useful to research projects. On the other hand, Software as a Service (SaaS), another type of cloud computing, is introduced into an HPC system for computing in mineral physics, and an application of which is developed. In this paper, an overall description of this SaaS application is presented. This contribution can promote cloud application development in computational mineral physics, and cross-disciplinary studies.

Lanthanum Containing Polymer's Modification to PP

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Dai Shaojun; Zhang Ming

2004-01-01

Polypropylene (PP)'s low impact strength limits its usages. Adding some a rare earth polymer can enhance PP's tensile strength and impact strength. Acrylic lanthanum was prepared by the reaction between lanthanum oxide and acrylic acid. The IR spectrum prove that and optimum reacting conditions are that the bulk ratio of La(AA) 3 and MMA is not less than one and temperature is about 80 ℃. Lanthanum containing Polymer were added into PP. When percent of addition only was 3%, strength were enhanced 10% , and impact strength 40%. SEM shows the compatibility of rare earth polymer and PP; lanthanum containing polymer can form physical crosslinking between PP's molecules, then every particle's surface connect with several PP molecules and the PP mechanical property were enhanced.

Improved power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells using side chain liquid crystal polymer embedded in polymer electrolytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Woosum [Department of Chemistry Education, and Department of Frontier Materials Chemistry, and Institute for Plastic Information and Energy Materials, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jae Wook, E-mail: jlee@donga.ac.kr [Department of Chemistry, Dong-A University, Busan 604-714 (Korea, Republic of); Gal, Yeong-Soon [Polymer Chemistry Lab, College of General Education, Kyungil University, Hayang 712-701 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Mi-Ra, E-mail: mrkim2@pusan.ac.kr [Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of); Jin, Sung Ho, E-mail: shjin@pusan.ac.kr [Department of Chemistry Education, and Department of Frontier Materials Chemistry, and Institute for Plastic Information and Energy Materials, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-02-14

Side chain liquid crystal polymer (SCLCP) embedded in poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-co-HFP)-based polymer electrolytes (PVdF-co-HFP:side chain liquid crystal polymer (SCLCP)) was prepared for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application. The polymer electrolytes contained tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), iodine (I{sub 2}), and 8 wt% PVdF-co-HFP in acetonitrile. DSSCs comprised of PVdF-co-HFP:SCLCP-based polymer electrolytes displayed enhanced redox couple reduction and reduced charge recombination in comparison to those of the conventional PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte. The significantly increased short-circuit current density (J{sub sc}, 10.75 mA cm{sup −2}) of the DSSCs with PVdF-co-HFP:SCLCP-based polymer electrolytes afforded a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.32% and a fill factor (FF) of 0.64 under standard light intensity of 100 mW cm{sup −2} irradiation of AM 1.5 sunlight. - Highlights: • We developed the liquid crystal polymer embedded on polymer electrolyte for DSSCs. • We fabricated the highly efficient DSSCs using polymer electrolyte. • The best PCE achieved for P1 is 5.32% using polymer electrolyte.

Improved power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells using side chain liquid crystal polymer embedded in polymer electrolytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Woosum; Lee, Jae Wook; Gal, Yeong-Soon; Kim, Mi-Ra; Jin, Sung Ho

2014-01-01

Side chain liquid crystal polymer (SCLCP) embedded in poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-co-HFP)-based polymer electrolytes (PVdF-co-HFP:side chain liquid crystal polymer (SCLCP)) was prepared for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) application. The polymer electrolytes contained tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), iodine (I 2 ), and 8 wt% PVdF-co-HFP in acetonitrile. DSSCs comprised of PVdF-co-HFP:SCLCP-based polymer electrolytes displayed enhanced redox couple reduction and reduced charge recombination in comparison to those of the conventional PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte. The significantly increased short-circuit current density (J sc , 10.75 mA cm −2 ) of the DSSCs with PVdF-co-HFP:SCLCP-based polymer electrolytes afforded a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.32% and a fill factor (FF) of 0.64 under standard light intensity of 100 mW cm −2 irradiation of AM 1.5 sunlight. - Highlights: • We developed the liquid crystal polymer embedded on polymer electrolyte for DSSCs. • We fabricated the highly efficient DSSCs using polymer electrolyte. • The best PCE achieved for P1 is 5.32% using polymer electrolyte

Preparation and characterization of perovskite structure lanthanum gallate and lanthanum aluminate based oxides

OpenAIRE

Li, Shuai

2009-01-01

The present work was initiated to study the synthesis and properties of lanthanum gallate based oxides as intermediate temperature electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells. The wet chemical method, polymer complexing route, was used to prepare the precursor powders. To further investigate the polymer complexing method, it was also applied to the preparation of lanthanum aluminate based oxides.   Single perovskite phase La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.83Mg0.17O2.815 can be prepared by the polymer complexing meth...

Preparation, thermal properties and thermal reliabilities of microencapsulated n-octadecane with acrylic-based polymer shells for thermal energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, Xiaolin; Song, Guolin; Chu, Xiaodong; Li, Xuezhu; Tang, Guoyi

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► n-Octadecane was encapsulated by p(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) and p(butyl acrylate). ► Microcapsules using divinylbenzene as crosslinking agent have better quality. ► Microcapsule with butyl methacrylate–divinylbenzene has highest latent heat. ► Microcapsule with butyl methacrylate–divinylbenzene has greatest thermal stability. ► Phase change temperatures and enthalpies of the microcapsules varied little after thermal cycle. - Abstract: Microencapsulation of n-octadecane with crosslinked p(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) and p(butyl acrylate) (PBA) as shells for thermal energy storage was carried out by a suspension-like polymerization. Divinylbenzene (DVB) and pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) were employed as crosslinking agents. The surface morphologies of the microencapsulated phase change materials (microPCMs) were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal properties, thermal reliabilities and thermal stabilities of the as-prepared microPCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The microPCMs prepared by using DVB exhibit greater heat capacities and higher thermal stabilities compared with those prepared by using PETA. The thermal resistant temperature of the microPCM with BMA–DVB polymer was up to 248 °C. The phase change temperatures and latent heats of all the as-prepared microcapsules varied little after 1000 thermal cycles.

Theoretical and Experimental Studies of New Polymer-Metal High-Dielectric Constant Nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Ginzburg, Valeriy; Elwell, Michael; Myers, Kyle; Cieslinski, Robert; Malowinski, Sarah; Bernius, Mark

2006-03-01

High-dielectric-constant (high-K) gate materials are important for the needs of electronics industry. Most polymers have dielectric constant in the range 2 materials with K > 10 it is necessary to combine polymers with ceramic or metal nanoparticles. Several formulations based on functionalized Au-nanoparticles (R ˜ 5 -— 10 nm) and PMMA matrix polymer are prepared. Nanocomposite films are subsequently cast from solution. We study the morphology of those nanocomposites using theoretical (Self-Consistent Mean-Field Theory [SCMFT]) and experimental (Transmission Electron Microscopy [TEM]) techniques. Good qualitative agreement between theory and experiment is found. The study validates the utility of SCMFT as screening tool for the preparation of stable (or at least metastable) polymer/nanoparticle mixtures.

Polymer-Supported Raney Nickel Catalysts for Sustainable Reduction Reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haibin Jiang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Green is the future of chemistry. Catalysts with high selectivity are the key to green chemistry. Polymer-supported Raney catalysts have been found to have outstanding performance in the clean preparation of some chemicals. For example, a polyamide 6-supported Raney nickel catalyst provided a 100.0% conversion of n-butyraldehyde without producing any detectable n-butyl ether, the main byproduct in industry, and eliminated the two main byproducts (isopropyl ether and methyl-iso-butylcarbinol in the hydrogenation of acetone to isopropanol. Meanwhile, a model for how the polymer support brought about the elimination of byproducts is proposed and confirmed. In this account the preparation and applications of polymer-supported Raney catalysts along with the corresponding models will be reviewed.

Preparation and anti-cancer activity of polymer-encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Phuong Thu; Tran, Dai Lam; Nguyen, Xuan Phuc; Le, Mai Huong; Ha Tran, Thi Hong; Hoang, Thi My Nhung; Huong Le, Thi Thu; Duong, Tuan Quang

2012-01-01

Curcumin (Cur) is a yellow compound isolated from rhizome of the herb curcuma longa. Curcumin possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and antimicrobial properties, and suppresses proliferation of many tumor cells. However, the clinical application of curcumin in cancer treatment is considerably limited due to its serious poor delivery characteristics. In order to increase the hydrophilicity and drug delivery capability, we encapsulated curcumin into copolymer PLA-TPGS, 1,3-beta-glucan (Glu), O-carboxymethyl chitosan (OCMCs) and folate-conjugated OCMCs (OCMCs-Fol). These polymer-encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles (Cur-PLA-TPGS, Cur-Glu, Cur-OCMCs and Cur-OCMCs-Fol) were characterized by infrared (IR), fluorescence (FL), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and found to be spherical particles with an average size of 50–100 nm, being suitable for drug delivery applications. They were much more soluble in water than not only free curcumin but also other biodegradable polymer-encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles. The anti-tumor promoting assay was carried out, showing the positive effects of Cur-Glu and Cur-PLA-TPGS on tumor promotion of Hep-G2 cell line in vitro. Confocal microscopy revealed that the nano-sized curcumin encapsulated by polymers OCMCs and OCMCs-Fol significantly enhanced the cellular uptake (cancer cell HT29 and HeLa). (paper)

Preparation and anti-cancer activity of polymer-encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Thu Ha, Phuong; Huong Le, Mai; Nhung Hoang, Thi My; Thu Huong Le, Thi; Quang Duong, Tuan; Tran, Thi Hong Ha; Tran, Dai Lam; Phuc Nguyen, Xuan

2012-09-01

Curcumin (Cur) is a yellow compound isolated from rhizome of the herb curcuma longa. Curcumin possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and antimicrobial properties, and suppresses proliferation of many tumor cells. However, the clinical application of curcumin in cancer treatment is considerably limited due to its serious poor delivery characteristics. In order to increase the hydrophilicity and drug delivery capability, we encapsulated curcumin into copolymer PLA-TPGS, 1,3-beta-glucan (Glu), O-carboxymethyl chitosan (OCMCs) and folate-conjugated OCMCs (OCMCs-Fol). These polymer-encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles (Cur-PLA-TPGS, Cur-Glu, Cur-OCMCs and Cur-OCMCs-Fol) were characterized by infrared (IR), fluorescence (FL), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and found to be spherical particles with an average size of 50-100 nm, being suitable for drug delivery applications. They were much more soluble in water than not only free curcumin but also other biodegradable polymer-encapsulated curcumin nanoparticles. The anti-tumor promoting assay was carried out, showing the positive effects of Cur-Glu and Cur-PLA-TPGS on tumor promotion of Hep-G2 cell line in vitro. Confocal microscopy revealed that the nano-sized curcumin encapsulated by polymers OCMCs and OCMCs-Fol significantly enhanced the cellular uptake (cancer cell HT29 and HeLa).

Multiple encapsulation of LANL waste using polymers. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwartz, R.L.

1994-01-01

Polymer encapsulation of lead shielding/blasting grit (surrogate) mixed waste was optimized at bench scale using melamine formaldehyde, polyurethane, and butadiene thermosetting polymers. Three pellet-based intermediate waste forms, and a final waste form, were prepared, each providing an additional level of integrity. Encapsulated waste integrity was measured by chemical and physical techniques. Compliance was established using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. Equipment appropriate to pilot-scale demonstration of program techniques was investigated. A preliminary equipment list and layout, and process block flow diagram were prepared

Durable polymer-aerogel based superhydrophobic coatings, a composite material

Science.gov (United States)

Kissel, David J; Brinker, Charles Jeffrey

2014-03-04

Provided are polymer-aerogel composite coatings, devices and articles including polymer-aerogel composite coatings, and methods for preparing the polymer-aerogel composite. The exemplary article can include a surface, wherein the surface includes at least one region and a polymer-aerogel composite coating disposed over the at least one region, wherein the polymer-aerogel composite coating has a water contact angle of at least about 140.degree. and a contact angle hysteresis of less than about 1.degree.. The polymer-aerogel composite coating can include a polymer and an ultra high water content catalyzed polysilicate aerogel, the polysilicate aerogel including a three dimensional network of silica particles having surface functional groups derivatized with a silylating agent and a plurality of pores.

Durable polymer-aerogel based superhydrophobic coatings: a composite material

Science.gov (United States)

Kissel, David J.; Brinker, Charles Jeffrey

2016-02-02

Provided are polymer-aerogel composite coatings, devices and articles including polymer-aerogel composite coatings, and methods for preparing the polymer-aerogel composite. The exemplary article can include a surface, wherein the surface includes at least one region and a polymer-aerogel composite coating disposed over the at least one region, wherein the polymer-aerogel composite coating has a water contact angle of at least about 140.degree. and a contact angle hysteresis of less than about 1.degree.. The polymer-aerogel composite coating can include a polymer and an ultra high water content catalyzed polysilicate aerogel, the polysilicate aerogel including a three dimensional network of silica particles having surface functional groups derivatized with a silylating agent and a plurality of pores.

Selective separation of lambdacyhalothrin by porous/magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization.

Science.gov (United States)

Hang, Hui; Li, Chunxiang; Pan, Jianming; Li, Linzi; Dai, Jiangdong; Dai, Xiaohui; Yu, Ping; Feng, Yonghai

2013-10-01

Porous/magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (PM-MIPs) were prepared by Pickering emulsion polymerization. The reaction was carried out in an oil/water emulsion using magnetic halloysite nanotubes as the stabilizer instead of a toxic surfactant. In the oil phase, the imprinting process was conducted by radical polymerization of functional and cross-linked monomers, and porogen chloroform generated steam under the high reaction temperature, which resulted in some pores decorated with easily accessible molecular binding sites within the as-made PM-MIPs. The characterization demonstrated that the PM-MIPs were porous and magnetic inorganic-polymer composite microparticles with magnetic sensitivity (M(s) = 0.7448 emu/g), thermal stability (below 473 K) and magnetic stability (over the pH range of 2.0-8.0). The PM-MIPs were used as a sorbent for the selective binding of lambdacyhalothrin (LC) and rapidly separated under an external magnetic field. The Freundlich isotherm model gave a good fit to the experimental data. The adsorption kinetics of the PM-MIPs was well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicating that the chemical process could be the rate-limiting step in the adsorption of LC. The selective recognition experiments exhibited the outstanding selective adsorption effect of the PM-MIPs for target LC. Moreover, the PM-MIPs regeneration without significant loss in adsorption capacity was demonstrated by at least four repeated cycles. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Conjugated Polymer Chains Confined in Vertical Nanocylinders of a Block-Copolymer Film: Preparation, Characterization, and Optoelectronic Function

KAUST Repository

Dong, Ban Xuan; Honmou, Yoshihiro; Komiyama, Hideaki; Furumaki, Shu; Iyoda, Tomokazu; Vacha, Martin

2013-01-01

Hybrid materials composed of phase-separated block copolymer films and conjugated polymers of the phenylenevinylene family (PPV) are prepared. The PPV chains are embedded in vertical cylinders of nanometer diameter in the block-copolymer films. The cylinders span continuously the whole film thickness of 70 nm. Incorporation of the PPV chains into the one-dimensional cylinders leads to modified photoluminescence spectra and to large absorption anisotropy. The hybrid films show electroluminescence from the PPV chains in a simple light-emitting device at minute doping concentrations, and also exhibit a factor of 19 increase in electron transport efficiency along the single PPV chains. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Conjugated Polymer Chains Confined in Vertical Nanocylinders of a Block-Copolymer Film: Preparation, Characterization, and Optoelectronic Function

KAUST Repository

Dong, Ban Xuan

2013-01-15

Hybrid materials composed of phase-separated block copolymer films and conjugated polymers of the phenylenevinylene family (PPV) are prepared. The PPV chains are embedded in vertical cylinders of nanometer diameter in the block-copolymer films. The cylinders span continuously the whole film thickness of 70 nm. Incorporation of the PPV chains into the one-dimensional cylinders leads to modified photoluminescence spectra and to large absorption anisotropy. The hybrid films show electroluminescence from the PPV chains in a simple light-emitting device at minute doping concentrations, and also exhibit a factor of 19 increase in electron transport efficiency along the single PPV chains. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A novel co-processed directly compressible release-retarding polymer: In vitro, solid state and in vivo evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prashant Kumar Choudhari

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Directly compressible (DC co-processed excipient capable of providing nearly zero order release with improved functionality was developed without any chemical modification by employed various techniques such as physical mixing, high shear mixer granulation and spray drying. Co-processed excipient was developed by using release retarding polymer Eudragit RSPO, separately, in combination with different concentration of hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose 100 cps (Methocel K100 LV, HPMC, ethyl cellulose (Ethocel N50, EC and hydroxyl propyl cellulose (Klucel EF, HPC. All co-processed excipients were evaluated for their flow properties in terms of angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, compressibility index and Hausner's ratio. Out of eighteen combinations, the nine co-processed excipients exhibited promising flow properties were found suitable for direct compression and formulated as tablets. Metoprolol succinate, a BCS Class I drug, was selected as a model drug and the formulation was developed employing direct compression approach. The developed tablets were evaluated for physical parameters like uniformity of weight, thickness, hardness, friability and assay. In vitro dissolution study confirms that formulation prepared using co-processed excipient showed sustained drug release. The optimized tablet formulation was characterized by DSC, FTIR and PXRD which confirms the absence of any chemical change during co-processing. The optimized formulation was kept for stability study for six months as per ICH guidelines and found to be stable. In vivo pharmacokinetic study of optimized formulation in rats showed similar pharmacokinetic behaviour as was observed with the marketed brand. Study revealed that co-processed excipient has advantage over polymers with single property and can be utilised for sustained release formulation. Keywords: Co-processed excipient, Metoprolol succinate, Extended-release, Direct compression, Zero-order release

Preparation of polymer-rare earth complex using salicylic acid-containing polystyrene and its fluorescence emission property