scholarly journals Electro-responsive polyelectrolyte-coated surfaces

2017 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 335-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Sénéchal ◽  
H. Saadaoui ◽  
J. Rodriguez-Hernandez ◽  
C. Drummond

The anchoring of polymer chains at solid surfaces is an efficient way to modify interfacial properties like the stability and rheology of colloidal dispersions, lubrication and biocompatibility. Polyelectrolytes are good candidates for the building of smart materials, as the polyion chain conformation can often be tuned by manipulation of different physico-chemical variables. However, achieving efficient and reversible control of this process represents an important technological challenge. In this regard, the application of an external electrical stimulus on polyelectrolytes seems to be a convenient control strategy, for several reasons. First, it is relatively easy to apply an electric field to the material with adequate spatiotemporal control. In addition, in contrast to chemically induced changes, the molecular response to a changing electric field occurs relatively quickly. If the system is properly designed, this response can then be used to control the magnitude of surface properties. In this work we discuss the effect of an external electric field on the adhesion and lubrication properties of several polyelectrolyte-coated surfaces. The influence of the applied field is investigated at different pH and salt conditions, as the polyelectrolyte conformation is sensitive to these variables. We show that it is possible to fine tune friction and adhesion using relatively low applied fields.

1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Scheinbeim ◽  
B. A. Newman

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3567
Author(s):  
Faiza Faiza ◽  
Abraiz Khattak ◽  
Safi Ullah Butt ◽  
Kashif Imran ◽  
Abasin Ulasyar ◽  
...  

Silicone rubber is a promising insulating material that has been performing well for different insulating and dielectric applications. However, in outdoor applications, environmental stresses cause structural and surface degradations that diminish its insulating properties. This effect of degradation can be reduced with the addition of a suitable filler to the polymer chains. For the investigation of structural changes and hydrophobicity four different systems were fabricated, including neat silicone rubber, a micro composite (with 15% micro-silica filler), and nanocomposites (with 2.5% and 5% nanosilica filler) by subjecting them to various hydrothermal conditions. In general, remarkable results were obtained by the addition of fillers. However, nanocomposites showed the best resistance against the applied stresses. In comparison to neat silicone rubber, the stability of the structure and hydrophobic behavior was better for micro-silica, which was further enhanced in the case of nanocomposites. The inclusion of 5% nanosilica showed the best results before and after applying aging conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganna Gryn'ova ◽  
Michelle L. Coote

Accurate quantum-chemical calculations are used to analyze the effects of charges on the kinetics and thermodynamics of radical reactions, with specific attention given to the origin and directionality of the effects. Conventionally, large effects of the charges are expected to occur in systems with pronounced charge-separated resonance contributors. The nature (stabilization or destabilization) and magnitude of these effects thus depend on the orientation of the interacting multipoles. However, we show that a significant component of the stabilizing effects of the external electric field is largely independent of the orientation of external electric field (e.g. a charged functional group, a point charge, or an electrode) and occurs even in the absence of any pre-existing charge separation. This effect arises from polarization of the electron density of the molecule induced by the electric field. This polarization effect is greater for highly delocalized species such as resonance-stabilized radicals and transition states of radical reactions. We show that this effect on the stability of such species is preserved in chemical reaction energies, leading to lower bond-dissociation energies and barrier heights. Finally, our simplified modelling of the diol dehydratase-catalyzed 1,2-hydroxyl shift indicates that such stabilizing polarization is likely to contribute to the catalytic activity of enzymes.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ohseop Song ◽  
Liviu Librescu ◽  
Nam-Heui Jeong

Abstract Within this paper problems related with the vibration and stability control of circular flexible shafts spinning about their rotational axis are addressed. Due to the occurrence, as a result of the spinning speed, of gyroscopic forces in the system, the rotating shaft can experience, in some conditions, instabilities of the same nature as any nonconservative system, namely divergence and flutter instabilities. Whereas the former instability is of a static character, the latter one is of dynamic character and the results of its occurrence are catastrophic. By including collocated sending and actuating capabilities via integration in the system of piezoelectric devices and of a feedback control law, it is shown that a dramatic enhancement of both the free dynamic response and of the stability behavior from both the divergence and flutter points of view can be achieved. This implies that via the implementation of this technology an increase of the spinning speed can be achieved without the occurrence of these instabilities. Numerical simulations documenting these findings are provided and pertinent conclusions are outlined. It is also worthy to mention that the shaft is modeled as a thin-walled cylinder made of an anisotropic material and incorporating a number of non-classical features.


Author(s):  
Thomas Lintzen ◽  
Günther Boese ◽  
Michael Müller ◽  
Heinrich Falk ◽  
Joseph Eichmeier ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (33) ◽  
pp. 1750310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Ning Li ◽  
San-Lue Hu ◽  
Hao-Yu Dong ◽  
Xiao-Ying Xu ◽  
Jia-Fu Wang ◽  
...  

Under the tuning of an external electric field, the variation of the geometric structures and the band gaps of the wurtzite semiconductors ZnS, ZnO, BeO, AlN, SiC and GaN have been investigated by the first-principles method based on density functional theory. The stability, density of states, band structures and the charge distribution have been analyzed under the electric field along (001) and (00[Formula: see text]) directions. Furthermore, the corresponding results have been compared without the electric field. According to our calculation, we find that the magnitude and the direction of the electric field have a great influence on the electronic structures of the wurtzite materials we mentioned above, which induce a phase transition from semiconductor to metal under a certain electric field. Therefore, we can regulate their physical properties of this type of semiconductor materials by tuning the magnitude and the direction of the electric field.


Fine jets of slightly conducting viscous fluids and thicker jets or drops of less viscous ones can be drawn from conducting tubes by electric forces. As the potential of the tube relative to a neighbouring plate rises, viscous fluids become nearly conical and fine jets come from the vertices. The potentials at which these jets or drops first appear was measured and compared with calculations. The stability of viscous jets depends on the geometry of the electrodes. Jets as small as 20 μm in diameter and 5 cm long were produced which were quite steady up to a millimetre from their ends. Attempts to describe them mathematically failed. Their stability seems to be due to mechanical rather than electrical causes, like that of a stretched string, which is straight when pulled but bent when pushed. Experiments on the stability of water jets in a parallel electric field reveal two critical fields, one at which jets that are breaking into drops become steady and another at which these steady jets become unsteady again, without breaking into drops. Experiments are described in which a cylindrical soap film becomes unstable under a radial electric field. The results are compared with calculations by A. B. Basset and after a mistake in his analysis is corrected, agreement is found over the range where experiments are possible. Basset’s calculations for axisymmetrical disturbances are extended to those in which the jet moves laterally. Though this is the form in which the instability appears, calculations about uniform jets do not seem to be relevant. In an appendix M. D. Van Dyke calculates the attraction between a long cylinder and a perpendicular plate at a different potential.


Author(s):  
Shreyas Punacha ◽  
Sebastian Berg ◽  
Anupama Sebastian ◽  
Valentin I. Krinski ◽  
Stefan Luther ◽  
...  

Rotating spiral waves of electrical activity in the heart can anchor to unexcitable tissue (an obstacle) and become stable pinned waves. A pinned rotating wave can be unpinned either by a local electrical stimulus applied close to the spiral core, or by an electric field pulse that excites the core of a pinned wave independently of its localization. The wave will be unpinned only when the pulse is delivered inside a narrow time interval called the unpinning window (UW) of the spiral. In experiments with cardiac monolayers, we found that other obstacles situated near the pinning centre of the spiral can facilitate unpinning. In numerical simulations, we found increasing or decreasing of the UW depending on the location, orientation and distance between the pinning centre and an obstacle. Our study indicates that multiple obstacles could contribute to unpinning in experiments with intact hearts.


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