Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Maximizing Poly(3-Butylthiophene-2,5-Diyl) Electrical Conductivity By Maximizing Transcrystal Growth, Edward Alexander Bicknell
Maximizing Poly(3-Butylthiophene-2,5-Diyl) Electrical Conductivity By Maximizing Transcrystal Growth, Edward Alexander Bicknell
Materials Engineering
Polymers are generally considered electrical insulators. Despite this, research in the mid 1970’s found that polymers consisting of a conjugated backbone structure could become electrically conductive upon doping.1 The conjugated polymer analyzed for this project was poly(3-butylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3BT). Transcrystals have been found as a way to promote electrical conductivity through mechanisms including π bond atomic orbital overlap and electron mobility.2 In theory, maximizing transcrystal length would also maximize P3BT electrical conductivity, increasing its applicable use in electronic devices. The goal of this project was to determine a methodological way to maximize P3BT electrical conductivity by producing the longest transcrystal length …
Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Miranda Miao, Isaac Blackburn, Erika Haley Yao
Non-Toxic Soil Thickeners For Reducing Mudslide Intensity, Miranda Miao, Isaac Blackburn, Erika Haley Yao
Materials Engineering
Non-toxic food thickeners were investigated as a solution for thickening mud to mitigate the effects of mudslides. All soil was obtained from a site on the California Polytechnic State University campus where a mudslide occurred in 2017. Guar gum was mixed into the soil at 1 wt% and 10 wt% of the moisture content in the soil. Whey protein was mixed into the soil at 2 wt% and 19 wt% of the moisture content in the soil. The soils’ liquid limit was found using the Casagrande cup testing method. Liquid limit testing indicated that thickeners raised the liquid limit, most …