Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Prototype Device (prototype + device)
Selected AbstractsSynthesis of Poly(4-vinylpyridine) Thin Films by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD) for Selective Nanotrench-Based Sensing of NitroaromaticsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 7 2010Wyatt E. Tenhaeff Abstract A new nanoscale sensing concept for the detection of nitroaromatic explosives is described. The design consists of nitroaromatic-selective polymeric layers deposited inside microfabricated trenches. As the layers are exposed to nitroaromatic vapors, they swell and contact each other to close an electrical circuit. The nitroaromatic selective polymer, poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP), is deposited in the trenches using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). P4VP is characterized for the first time as a selective layer for the absorption of nitroaromatic vapors. The Flory,Huggins equation is used to model the swelling response to nitroaromatic vapors. The Flory,Huggins interaction parameter for the P4VP,nitrobenzene system at 40,°C is 0.71 and 0.25 for P4VP,4-nitrotoluene at 60,°C. Sensing of nitrobenzene vapors is demonstrated in a prototype device, while techniques to improve the performance of the design in terms of response time and sensitivities are described. Modeling shows that concentration and mass limits of detection of 0.95,ppb and 3 fg, respectively, can be achieved. [source] Smart sunglasses based on electrochromic polymersPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 11 2008Chao Ma Smart sunglasses based on electrochromic polymers are proposed and developed in this study. This article discusses the design, processing, and the optical and electrical performance of a prototype smart sunglasses based on cathodic electrochromic (EC) polymers, which show several merits compared with traditional materials for sunglasses lens as well as other smart window materials. It is a multilayer design of device. The conjugated polymer, poly[3,3-dimethyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-thieno [3,4-b] [1,4]dioxepine] (PProDOT-Me2), is utilized as the electrochromic working layer. The counter layer of the device is vanadium oxide (V2O5) film, which serves as an ion storage layer. There is also a polymer gel electrolyte acting as the ionic transport layer, sandwiched between the working and counter layers. The characteristics of the prototype device are reported, including transmittance (%T), driving power, response time, open circuit memory, and lifetime. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] New design of actuator using shear piezoelectricity of a chiral polymer, and prototype devicePOLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010Michiya Sawano Abstract Chiral polymers have been known to exhibit small shear piezoelectricity for about fifty years. However, recently, we reported that poly(L -lactic acid) treated with supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-PLLA), which is a type of chiral polymer, exhibits much higher shear piezoelectricity than other chiral polymers. On the other hand, we found an important difference between motion due to shear piezoelectricity and that due to tensile piezoelectricity in piezoelectric materials through computer simulations. On the basis of these results, we fabricated a new type of electrically controlled tweezers constructed from a pair of sc-PLLA sheets with shear piezoelectricity. In general, when conventional tweezers open to the left and right, the trajectory of their motion becomes fanlike at the center of the connection (one end of the tweezers). In the new tweezers, the two small sheets making up the tweezers open parallel to each other, without the motion of parts near the connection. Moreover, a prototype ,finger' system using sc-PLLA sheets to realize complex motion in which the finger curled upon stretching of the sc-PLLA sheets was manufactured as a trial device. Using the prototype finger system, we demonstrated the firm grasping of a sample, but the sample could not be removed from a vessel. Thus, sc-PLLA increases the likelihood of realizing a device with highly operational pick-up in a very small region by using the shear piezoelectricity of a chiral polymer. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Soft Langmuir,Blodgett Technique for Hard NanomaterialsADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 29 2009Somobrata Acharya Abstract Materials and their assemblies of dimensions down to a few nanometers have attracted considerable scientific interest in physical, chemical, and biological sciences because of unique properties not available in their bulk counterparts. The Langmuir,Blodgett (LB) technique allows rigid nanomaterials to be aligned in particular structures through a flexible assembly process at liquid interfaces. In this review, we summarize the development of assembly of hard nanomaterials using soft LB techniques. An initial summary of the basic features of nanomaterials will include dimension-related effects, synthesis, characterization, and analysis, and will be followed by examples of LB assemblies of nanomaterials described according to their morphology: nanoparticles, nanorods, nanowires, nanotubes, and nanosheets. Some of the nanomaterials have been fabricated in orientation-controlled morphologies, and have been incorporated into prototype devices for gas sensing and photocurrent transport. In the final part of this review, the challenges remaining for LB techniques of hard nanomaterials will be overviewed, and will include a comparison with the widely-used LB technique involving soft materials. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||