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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Enhancement Of Electrospun Nanofiber Properties Via Automated Track Post-Draw Processing, David Anthony Brennan
Enhancement Of Electrospun Nanofiber Properties Via Automated Track Post-Draw Processing, David Anthony Brennan
Theses and Dissertations
Electrospinning is an alternative manufacturing method, capable of producing fibers with nanoscale diameters from a wide range of different polymers in a process which is relatively simple and inexpensive in comparison to other forms of nanofiber production. This has made electrospinning the subject a great deal of research as a method of producing nanofibers for various high-performance applications. However, electrospun nanofiber tensile strength is weak in comparison to conventional fibers of the same material, preventing widespread use and marketization. This disparity in mechanical strength is attributed to poor polymer chain alignment in individual fibers, caused by the absence of a …
Self-Assembled Metal Nanoparticle/Polymer Nanocomposites As Nanoreactors For One-Pot Reactions, Andrew Harrison
Self-Assembled Metal Nanoparticle/Polymer Nanocomposites As Nanoreactors For One-Pot Reactions, Andrew Harrison
Theses and Dissertations
Polymer nanoreactors incorporating gold nanoparticle catalysts were self-assembled via Flash Nanoprecipitation. The incorporated gold nanoparticles maintained catalytic activity, which was evaluated using reduction of 4-nitrophenol with sodium borohydride as a model reaction. The diffusion coefficient for 4-nitrophenol was determined by NMR and used to calculate the second Damköhler number, which indicated that the systems were not diffusion limited. Despite similar diffusion coefficients, catalytic performance was strongly affected by the co-precipitant. For example, the apparent reaction rate per surface area using castor oil was over 8-fold greater than polystyrene. Thus, we measured the partition coefficient of 4-nitrophenol between water and castor …
Toward Polymer Coating With Easy Ice Release, Chenyu Wang
Toward Polymer Coating With Easy Ice Release, Chenyu Wang
Theses and Dissertations
Minimizing adhesion of ice has been the subject of extensive studies for applications such aircraft wings, wind turbine blades spacecraft, power transmission wires, while a growing interest concerns coatings for aerospace applications. The work described here describes progress for coatings and ice release test method development over the last few years. Major achievements include: (1) New Rigid Adherent-Resistant Elastomers (RARE), (2) A new Epoxied Cylinder (EC) adhesion test, (3) Validation of an ice release test, and (4) Study of ice adhesion strength on coating thickness for a PDMS elastomer. Rigid Adhesion-Resistance Elastomers (RARE) are comprised of 3F 1 terminated with …