Poly(L-leucine)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(L-leucine) triblock copolymers were synthesized by a ring-opening polymerization ofα-amino acid N-carboxyanhydride with amino-terminated PEG as an initiator. The chloroform solution of these peptide copolymers showed a thermo-sensitive sol-gel transition. The transition temperature varied as a function of the length of peptide segments. Additionally, we used these peptide copolymers to remove an endocrine disruptor such as bisphenol A from its aqueous solution. As a result, it became clear that the peptide copolymer gel used in this study could capture bisphenol A efficiently.

The tests were performed on low carbon steel plate. In the tension fatigue tests, two angle values (ϕ=0°andϕ=45°,ϕis the angle between the loading and the rolling direction) have been chosen. The influence of strain path change on the subsequent initial work softening rate and the saturation stress has been investigated. Dislocation microstructure was observed by transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the strain amount of preloading in tension has obviously affected the cyclic softening phenomenon and the initial cyclic softening rate. It was observed that the reloading axial stress forϕ=45°case increased more than that ofϕ=0°case, due to the anisotropism of Q235. In the fatigue crack propagation tests, the experimental results show that with increasing the pretension deformation degree, the fatigue crack growth rate increases, especially at the near threshold section.

Phosphatic clay is a by-product of phosphate strip mining, particularly in Florida, USA. This waste material occupies about 100 000 acres of land which could be utilized for other causes. Thus, its use as an alternating cementing material for the addition into the mixing matrix of cement paste and concrete to yield higher strength would be profitable for both materials involved. But the biggest drawback faced is that the phosphatic clay possesses high water holding capacity. The water is thus not available for mixing purposes when added to cement paste and concrete and is thus known as bound water. It is therefore essential to determine the amount of bound water to phosphatic clay which shall not be available for the hydration reaction of cement in cement paste and concrete.

Keratin from wool is a reactive, biocompatible, and biodegradable material. As the biological structural component of skin (soft keratins) and of nails, claws, hair, horn, feathers, and scales (hard keratins) pure keratin comprises up to 90% by weight of wool. Wool was treated in alkaline solutions to extract from 68% to 82% keratin within 2 to 5 hours of exposure at . The keratin products were water-soluble and were confirmed to contain intermediate filament and microfibrillar component-proteins of fractured, residual cuticle, and cortical cells. Oxidation of wool by peroxycarboximidic acid in alkaline hydrogen peroxide produced keratin products with distinct microcrystalline structures: descaled fibers, fibrous matrices, and lyophilized powders. Morphology and confirmation of peptide functionality were documented by SEM, Amino Acid Analysis, SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF/TOF, and FTIR analyses. The reactivity of keratin from wool models the reactivity of keratin from low-value sources such as cattle hair.

Recently, we have discovered that some chiral Schiff-base nickel(II) complexes induced d-d bands of CD spectra of some achiral copper(II) complexes. However, the novel phenomenon could be observed only a few systems of hybrid materials or limited conditions so far. In order to test conditions about copper(II) ions, we investigated model systems (1) metal-dendrimer (Cu-PAMAM; G4-NH2terminal) containing relatively small amount of copper(II) ions (4.5 equivalent to PAMAM) for modeling separated systems of achiral copper(II) complex from chiral Schiff-base nickel(II) or zinc(II) complexes, Bis(N-R-1-naphtylethyl-3,5-dichlorosalicydenaminato)nickel(II) or zinc(II) by polymer matrix. (2) equilibrium of copper(II)N-ethylethylenediamine complexes to measure absorption spectra of d-d band, pH, and electron conductivity during titration of copper(II) ions. The results showed that (1) 4.5Cu-PAMAM could not be induced their d-d bands by the chiral nickel(II) or zinc(II) complexes, which suggested that separation by polymers prevented from inducing CD peaks. (2) Although 36Cu-PAMAM was known, uncoordinated copper(II) ions excess to ligands mainly attributed to increase electron conductivity by remained ions in methanol solutions, which was not associated with intermolecular interaction or dipole moments being effective for the induced CD mechanism by using molecular recognition between neutral molecules of metal complexes.

The efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-1,4-benzo-{2,1′-3}-thiadiazole)], F8BT, is optimized upon simultaneous doping with a hole and an electron trapping molecule, namely, N,N′-Bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine and 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole, respectively. It is shown that, for devices with poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonic acid as hole-injection layer material and magnesium cathodes, the efficiency is nearly doubled (from ca. 2.5 to 3.7 cd/A) upon doping with ca. 0.34% by weight of both compounds.

Flow through a two-scale porous medium is here investigated by a unique comparison between simulations performed with computational fluid dynamics and the boundary element method with microparticle image velocimetry in model geometries.

Earlier, we have published a paper on the preparation of silica sphere using propanol as cosurfactant. We report here a highly cost-effective method of preparation of mesoporous silica spheres with core shell structure using sodium silicate as silica precursor, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant, and methanol as cosurfactant. Thus after removal of the template by dissolutions or/and activation at higher temperature, mesoporous silica spheres with core shell structure were obtained. The products prepared with methanol to CTAB molar ratio 8.5 : 1 were confirmed to give best results. All the spherical products have very large surface area (∼589–1044 m2/g), pore volume (∼0.98–1.41 cm3/g), and ordered pore structure.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are dispersed into polyacrylonitrile polymer solution and then assembled into continuous nanocomposite yarns through the drum-tape co-electrospinning process to facilitate the translation of CNT properties to higher order structures. We explore the dispersion of CNTs in a polymer matrix, the process of obtaining continuous yarn through electrospinning, and the surface morphology and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite yarn.

Polylactide (PLA) latex particle covered with polypeptide chains were prepared by means of solvent exchange method from PLA and PLA-block-polypeptide block copolymer solutions. PLA segment of the block copolymer and PLA homopolymer formed a core of the particle, and the polypeptide segment of the block copolymer, which is designed as tightly fixed biodegradable emulsifier, formed corona around the particle surface. This picture was supported by the fact that zeta-potential of PLA latex particle covered with polypeptide segment was different from that of bare PLA particle because of the presence of the ionizable group in the polypeptide chains. To clarify the effect of the ionizable group on conformation of the polypeptide chain, the relation between the polypeptide chain length and the area occupied by the single block chain was evaluated. The result that the occupied area per a polypeptide chain was linearly increased with the increase in the polypeptide chain length indicates that the polypeptide chains trail on the particle surface and did not take helical structures.