• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.195-205
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• 2016

A series of aromatic poly(hydroxyamide)s (PHAs) containing varying oligo(oxyethylene) substituents and 1,3-phenylene imide ring unit in the main chain were synthesized by the direct polycondensation reaction. The inherent viscosities of the PHAs exhibited in the range of 0.89~1.12 dL/g in DMAc or DMAc/LiCl solution. The PH-2~5 copolymers were easily soluble in strong aprotic solvents: DMAc, NMP, DMSO etc. and the PH-5 copolymer was soluble in less polar solvents such as m-creasol and pyridine with LiCl salt on heating. However, all PBOs were quite insoluble in other solvents, but only partially soluble in sulfuric acid. All copolymers (PH-2~5) could afford the flexible and tough films by solution casting. We identified that the PHAs were converted to the PBOs by the thermal cyclization reaction in the range of $200{\sim}380^{\circ}C$. The 10% weight loss temperatures and char yields of the PBOs were recorded in the range of $382{\sim}647^{\circ}C$ and 38.7~73.1% values at $900^{\circ}C$. The tensile strength and initial modulus of the PH-5 in the copolmers showed the highest values of 2.46 GPa and 49.55 MPa, respectively. The LOI values of the PHAs were in the range 26.6~29.0%, and increased with increasing 1,3-phenylene imide ring unit.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.398-405
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• 2015

Facilitated transport is considered to be a possible solution to simultaneously improve permeability and selectivity, which is challenging in normal polymeric membranes based on solution-diffusion transport only. We investigated the effect of adding mesoporous $TiO_2$ ($m-TiO_2$) upon the separation performance of facilitated olefin transport membranes comprising poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), Ag nanoparticles, and 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane as the polymer matrix, olefin carrier, and electron acceptor, respectively. In particular, $m-TiO_2$ was prepared by means of a facile, mass-producible method using poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) graft copolymer as the template. The crystal phase of $m-TiO_2$ consisted of an anatase/rutile mixture, of crystallite size approximately 16 nm as determined by X-ray diffraction. The introduction of $m-TiO_2$ increased the membrane diffusivity, thereby increasing the mixed-gas permeance from 1.6 to 16.0 GPU ($1GPU=10^{-6}cm^3$(STP)/($s{\times}cm^2{\times}cmHg$), and slightly decreased the propylene/propane selectivity from 45 to 37. However, both the mixed-gas permeance and selectivity of the membrane containing $m-TiO_2$ rapidly decreased over time, whereas the membrane without $m-TiO_2$ had more stable long-term performance. This difference might be attributed to specific chemical interactions between $TiO_2$ and Ag nanoparticles, causing Ag to lose activity as an olefin carrier.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.112-115
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• 2010

We have investigated a surfactant-assisted sonochemical approach to produce monodisperse $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles (NPs). The non-ionic surfactant Igepal CO-520 (Poly(oxyethylene)(5) nonylphenyl ether) has been used for the preparation of NPs and the effects on the NP size, size distribution, and magnetic properties have been studied. The $Fe_3O_4$ NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The results reveal that the NPs prepared by a Igepal CO-520-assisted sonochemical method exhibit a narrow range of size distributions and a high monodispersity compared to the NPs from the conventional sonochemical method. The analysis of NPs prepared in the presence of the surfactant suggested that it could be used not only as a protector to prevent the oxidation of Fe (II), but also as a controller to vary the size of the NPs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.568-572
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• 2011

The preparation of $Y_2O_3$-doped $ZrO_2$ nanoparticles in Igepal CO-520/cyclohexane reverse micelle solutions is studied here. In this work, we synthesized nanosized $Y_2O_3$-doped $ZrO_2$ powders in a reverse micelle process using aqueous ammonia as the precipitant. In this way, a hydroxide precursor was obtained from nitrate solutions dispersed in the nanosized aqueous domains of a microemulsion consisting of cyclohexane as the oil phase, with poly (oxyethylene) nonylphenylether (Igepal CO-520) as the non-ionic surfactant. The synthesized and calcined powders were characterized by thermogravimetrydifferential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crystallite size was found to nearly identical with an increase in the water-to-surfactant (R) molar ratio. A FTIR analysis was carried to monitor the elimination of residual oil and surfactant phases from the microemulsion-derived precursor and the calcined powder. The average particle size and distribution of the synthesized $Y_2O_3$-doped $ZrO_2$ were below 5 nm and narrow, respectively. The TG-DTA analysis showed that the phase of the $Y_2O_3$-doped $ZrO_2$ nanoparticles changes from the monoclinic phase to the tetragonal phase at temperatures close to $530^{\circ}C$. The phase of the synthesized $Y_2O_3$-doped $ZrO_2$ when heated to $600^{\circ}C$ was tetragonal $ZrO_2$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.31-34
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• 2013

Trivalent cerium-ion-doped $Y_3(Al,\;Ga)_5O_{12}$ nanoparticle phosphor nanoparticles were synthesized using the reverse micelle process. The Ce doped $Y_3(Al,\;Ga)_5O_{12}$ particles were obtained from nitrate solutions dispersed in the nanosized aqueous domains of a micro emulsion consisting of cyclohexane as the oil phase and poly(oxyethylene) nonylphenyl ether (Igepal CO-520) as the non-ionic surfactant. The crystallinity, morphology, and thermal properties of the synthesized $Y_3(Al,\;Ga)_5O_{12}:Ce^{3+}$ powders were characterized by thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy. The crystallinity, morphology, and chemical states of the ions were characterized; the photo-physical properties were studied by taking absorption, excitation, and emission spectra for various concentrations of cerium. The photo physical properties of the synthesized $Y_3(Al,\;Ga)_5O_{12}:Ce^{3+}$ powders were studied by taking the excitation and emission spectra for various concentrations of cerium. The average particle size of the synthesized YAG powders was below $1{\mu}m$. Excitation spectra of the $Y_3Al_5O_{12}$ and $Y_3Al_{3.97}Ga_{1.03}O_{12}$ samples were 485 nm and 475 nm, respectively. The emission spectra of the $Y_3Al_5O_{12}$ and $Y_3Al_{3.97}Ga_{1.03}O_{12}$ were around 560 nm and 545 nm, respectively. $Y_3(Al,\;Ga)_5O_{12}:Ce^{3+}$ is a red-emitting phosphor; it has a high efficiency for operation under near UV excitation, and may be a promising candidate for photonic applications.