Surfactant Synthesis via Lipase Esterification of Methyl α-d-Glucopyranoside with Selected Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids

Lipase‐catalyzed esterification and properties of synthesized carbohydrate esters were investigated. Methyl α‐d ‐glucopyranoside was the acyl group acceptor and different carbon atom chain lengths of aliphatic carboxylic acids (C12, C14 and C16) as the acyl group donors were applied in the esterification. Physico‐chemical studies on the synthesized carbohydrate esters were carried out. It was found that melting point for the methyl 6‐O‐hexadecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside was the highest consecutively followed by methyl 6‐O‐tetradecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside and methyl 6‐O‐dodecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside. Liquid crystal properties of the synthesized carbohydrate ester synthesized were evaluated via optical polarized microscopy. It was found that the liquid crystal textures for mono‐substituted carbohydrate esters were of the smectic phase. In a quaternary system (carbohydrate ester/n‐butanol/n‐hexadecane/water), a maximum 34 % of water (by mass) was contained in the monophasic region of methyl 6‐O‐tetradecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside and a maximum of 52 % water (by mass) was contained in a monophasic methyl 6‐O‐dodecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside. For methyl‐6‐O‐dodecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside, its concentration at aggregation was 5.2 × 10^?4 mM, with minimum air/water surface tension of 26 mN m^?1. The Gibbs energy of micellization was calculated at ?50 kJ mol^?1. The maximum adsorption density of methyl 6‐O‐dodecanoyl‐α‐d ‐glucopyranoside was determined at 4 × 10^?6 mol m^?2 while its minimum area per surfactant molecule at the air/water surface was 47 Ų.     

Mathematical modeling of polyethylene terephthalate pyrolysis in a spouted bed

A model has been developed for pyrolysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in a spouted bed reactor based on the conservation equations for heat, mass, and momentum transports. A spouted bed has been constructed and the kinetic parameters have been obtained within the temperature range of 723–833 K, using two particle size ranges, (0.1–1.0) × 10^?3 and (1.0–3.0) × 10^?3 m. The model' predictions for the radial distributions of temperature and concentration confirm the excellent mixing of particles. Thus, spouted beds are appropriate equipments for performing kinetic studies of PET pyrolysis. The inlet gas temperature and the mass of PET highly affect PET conversion. The amount of inert particles has a negligible effect on the conversion and it can be reduced as far as a stable spouting is preserved. The gas flow suffices to eliminate the external heat and mass‐transfer limitations. It can be reduced to the minimum value to decrease the energy consumption. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1900–1911, 2015     

TGA studies of asphaltenes derived from cold-lake (Canada) bitumen

The pyrolysis of the asphaltene fraction from Cold-Lake, Canada, bitumen in a nitrogen environment in the temperature range 20–845°C has been studied by TGA. A rate equation for the decomposition of asphaltenes was derived and a second order decomposition of asphaltenes was observed. The apparent activation energy and the Arrhenius constant for the decomposition of the asphaltenes were calculated and found to be 56.5 kcal/mol and 5.2 × 10¹⁸g^?1 min^?1, respectively.     

Electrical conduction mechanism in plasma polymerized 2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate thin films

Thin films of different thicknesses were prepared through glow discharge of 2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA) using a capacitively coupled reactor. Current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics for plasma polymerized (PP) DEAEMA thin films of thicknesses 100, 200, 250, and 300 nm in aluminum/PPDEAEMA/aluminum sandwich configuration were studied over the temperature range from 298 to 423 K. J–V curves reveal that in the low‐voltage region, the conduction current obeys Ohm's law while in the high‐voltage region the behavior attributed to be space charge‐limited conduction in PPDEAEMA thin films. The carrier mobility was calculated to be about 6.80 × 10^?19 to 2.38 × 10^?18 m^?2 V^?1s^?1 for various thicknesses. The free carrier density was found to be about 1.78 × 10²³ to 2.04 × 10²³ m^?3, and the trap density was found to be about 6.93 × 10²³ to 15.9 × 10²³ m^?3 for different thicknesses. The activation energies were estimated to be about 0.005–0.016 eV for 2 and 30 V of PPDEAEMA thin films of different thicknesses. The low‐activation energies indicate that the thermally activated hopping conduction is operative in PPDEAEMA thin films. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2729–2734, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Synthesis and characterization of homo‐ and copolymers of 3‐(2‐cyano ethoxy)methyl‐ and 3‐[methoxy(triethylenoxy)]methyl‐3′‐methyl‐oxetane

Two oxetane‐derived monomers 3‐(2‐cyanoethoxy)methyl‐ and 3‐(methoxy(triethylenoxy)) methyl‐3′‐methyloxetane were prepared from the reaction of 3‐methyl‐3′‐hydroxymethyloxetane with acrylonitrile and triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, respectively. Their homo‐ and copolyethers were synthesized with BF₃· Et₂O/1,4‐butanediol and trifluoromethane sulfonic acid as initiator through cationic ring‐opening polymerization. The structure of the polymers was characterized by FTIR and¹H NMR. The ratio of two repeating units incorporated into the copolymers is well consistent with the feed ratio. Regarding glass transition temperature (T_g), the DSC data imply that the resulting copolymers have a lower T_g than pure poly(ethylene oxide). Moreover, the TGA measurements reveal that they possess in general a high heat decomposition temperature. The ion conductivity of a sample (P‐AN 20) is 1.07 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 at room temperature and 2.79 × 10^?4 S cm^?1 at 80 °C, thus presenting the potential to meet the practical requirement of lithium ion batteries for polymer electrolytes. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Graft copolymerization of acrylic acid onto methylcellulose by potassium permanganate‐p‐xylene redox pair

Poly(acrylic acid) was grafted onto methylcellulose in aqueous media by a potassium permanganate‐p‐xylene redox pair. Within the concentration range from 0.93 × 10^?3 to 9.33 × 10^?3M, p‐xylene, the graft copolymerization reaction exhibited minimum and maximum graft yields and was associated with two precursor‐initiating species, a p‐xylyl radical and its diradical derivative. The efficiency of the graft was low, not higher than 12.9% at a p‐xylene concentration of 0.93 × 10^?3M and suggested the dominance of a competitive homopolymerization reaction under homogeneous conditions. The effect of permanganate on the graft yield was normal and optimal at 135% graft yield, corresponding to a concentration of the latter of 33.3 × 10^?3M over the range from 8.3 × 10^?3 to 66.7 × 10^?3M. The conversion in graft yield showed a negative dependence on temperature in the range 30–60°C and suggested a preponderance of high activation energy transfer reaction processes. The calculated composite activation energy for the graft copolymerization was 7.6 kcal/mol. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 278–281, 2004     

Fast pyrolysis of glucose‐based carbohydrates with added NaCl part 2: Validation and evaluation of the mechanistic model

A mechanistic model considering the significant catalytic effects of Na⁺ on fast pyrolysis of glucose‐based carbohydrates was developed in Part 1 of this study. A computational framework based on continuous distribution kinetics and mass action kinetics was constructed to solve the mechanistic model. Agreement between model yields of various pyrolysis products with experimental data from fast pyrolysis of glucose‐based carbohydrates dosed with NaCl ranging from 0–0.34 mmol/g at 500 °C validated the model and demonstrated the robustness and extendibility of the mechanistic model. The model was able to capture the yields of major and minor products as well as their trends across NaCl concentrations. Modeling results showed that Na⁺ accelerated the rate of decomposition and reduced the time for complete thermoconversion of carbohydrates. The sharp reduction in the yield of levoglucosan (LVG) from fast pyrolysis of cellulose in the presence of NaCl was mainly caused by reduced decomposition of cellulose chains via end‐chain initiation and depropagation due to Na⁺ favoring competing dehydration reactions. Analysis of the contributions of reaction pathways showed that the decomposition of LVG made a minor contribution to its yield reduction and contributed less than 0.5% to the final yield of glycolaldehyde from fast pyrolysis of glucose‐based carbohydrates in the presence of NaCl. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 778–791, 2016     

Ultrafast preparation of branched poly(methyl Acrylate) through single electron transfer living radical polymerization at room temperature

Ultrafast preparation of branched poly(methyl acrylate) (BPMA) with high‐molecular weight through single electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET‐LRP) of inimer at 25°C has been attempted, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) at 60°C was also carried out for comparison. Gas chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and triple detection size exclusion chromatography were used to analyze these polymerizations. As expected, SET‐LRP system showed much faster polymerization rate than ATRP system, the calculated apparent propagation rate constants (k_p^app) are 3.69 × 10^?2 min^?1 and 6.23 × 10^?3 min^?1 for SET‐LRP and ATRP system, respectively. BPMA with high‐molecular weight (M_w._MALLS = 86,400 g mol^?1) compared with that in ATRP (M_w.MALLS = 61,400 g mol^?1) has been prepared. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1579–1584, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Role of thermodynamic and kinetic interaction of poly(vinylidene fluoride) with various solvents for tuning phase inversion membranes

An extensive study of thermodynamics and kinetics of non‐solvent induced phase separation was carried out for poly(vinylidene fluoride)/solvent/water system for four different solvents. Literature available on semicrystalline polymers was mostly based on experimental cloud points, obtained to a narrow range of polymer concentration (<10 wt%), much less than the working range for membrane preparation (20–25 wt%). Aim of this work was to model the thermodynamic phase diagram using extended Flory–Huggins theory which was used as a tool, along with the kinetic data to obtain tailor‐made membranes with desired morphology and properties. Interaction parameters involving solvent, nonsolvent, and polymer played an important role to tune the porosity of the membrane. Thermodynamic calculation showed solvent N,N‐dimethyl acetamide resulted in the most porous membrane (permeability 5.4 × 10^?11 m Pa^?1 s^?1) followed by N,N‐dimethyl formamide (permeability 4.2 × 10^?11 m Pa^?1 s^?1), N‐methyl pyrrolidone (permeability 3.8 × 10^?11 m Pa^?1 s^?1), and acetone (impermeable to water even at 1380 kPa), which was the densest one. Prepared membranes were characterized in terms of surface morphology, molecular weight cut‐off, tensile strength, pore volume distribution, crystallinity, and surface roughness, which were correlated to inferences based on thermodynamic and kinetic calculations. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1062–1073, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of polymer–clay interaction on solvent transport behavior of fluoroelastomer–clay nanocomposites and prediction of aspect ratio of nanoclay

Diffusion and sorption of methyl ethyl ketone and tetrahydrofuran through fluoroelastomer‐clay nanocomposites were investigated in the temperature range of 30–60°C by swelling experiments. Slightly non‐Fickian transport behavior was found for these nanocomposites, having variation of type of nanoclay and loading. Different transport parameters depend on the size and shape of the penetrant molecules. The results were used to study the effect of nanoclay on the solvent transport‐properties of nanocomposites and their interactions with solvents. The diffusion coefficient of methyl ethyl ketone at 30°C for neat rubber was 1.43 × 10^?8 cm² s^?1, while those of the unmodified and the modified clay filled samples at 4 phr loading were 0.24 × 10^?8 and 0.50 × 10^?8 cm² s^?1, respectively. At 8 and 16 phr loading of the unmodified clay, it was found to be 0.44 × 10^?8 and 0.64 × 10^?8 cm² s^?1, respectively. The samples were also reswelled after deswelling. Surprisingly, transport behavior became Fickian on reswelling. Interestingly, ratio of diffusion coefficients of the filled system to the neat system was found to be almost same for the first time swelling and reswelling experiments. The results showed that better polymer‐clay interaction in the case of the unmodified‐clay filled nanocomposites is responsible for enhanced solvent‐resistance property. From the permeation data, for the first time, aspect ratio of nanoclays in different composites was calculated and found to have good correlation with the morphology data obtained from transmission electron microscopy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

New low bandgap conjugated polymer derived from 2, 7‐carbazole and 5, 6‐bis(octyloxy)‐4, 7‐di(thiophen‐2‐yl) benzothiadiazole: Synthesis and photovoltaic properties

To develop conjugated polymers with low bandgap, deep HOMO level, and good solubility, a new conjugated alternating copolymer PC‐DODTBT based on N‐9′‐heptadecanyl‐2,7‐carbazole and 5, 6‐bis(octyloxy)‐4,7‐di(thiophen‐2‐yl)benzothiadiazole was synthesized by Suzuki cross‐coupling polymerization reaction. The polymer reveals excellent solubility and thermal stability with the decomposition temperature (5% weight loss) of 327°C. The HOMO level of PC‐DODTBT is ‐5.11 eV, indicating that the polymer has relatively deep HOMO level. The hole mobility of PC‐DODTBT as deduced from SCLC method was found to be 2.03 × 10^?4 cm²/Versus Polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on the blends of PC‐DODTBT and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) with a weight ratio of 1:2.5 were fabricated. Under AM 1.5 (AM, air mass), 100 mW/cm^?2 illumination, the devices were found to exhibit an open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.73 V, short‐circuit current density (J_sc) of 5.63 mA/cm^?2, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.44%. This photovoltaic performance indicates that the copolymer is promising for polymer solar cells applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis,characterization, and thermo‐optical properties of azobenzene polyurethane containing chiral units

An optically active levoazobenzene polyurethane (PU) was synthesized and was based on the chromophore 4‐(4′‐nitrophenylazo) phenylamine, the chiral reagent L (?)‐tartaric acid, and toluene diisocyanate. The chemical structure and thermal properties were characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The PU had high number‐ and weight‐average molecular weights up to 52 300, a large glass‐transition temperature of 235.7°C, and an optical rotation of ?18.06°, The optical parameters, including the refractive index (n) and thermo‐optic coefficient (dn/dT); the dielectric constant (?) and its variation with temperature; and the thermal volume expansion coefficient and its variation with temperature of PU were obtained. The dn/dT and ? values for the polymer were in the range ?4.1200 to 3.6257 × 10^?4 °C^?1 and 2.00 ± 0.11, respectively. The dn/dT values were one order of magnitude larger than those of inorganic glasses, such as zinc silicate glass (5.5 × 10^?6 °C^?1) and borosilicate glass (4.1 × 10^?6 °C^?1), and were larger than organic materials, such as polystyrene (?1.23 × 10^?4 °C^?1) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (?1.20 × 10^?4 °C^?1). The ? values were lower than that of alicyclic polyimide and semiaromatic polyimide. The obtained PU is expected to be useful for optical switching and optical waveguide areas. The conclusion has a little significance for the development of a new digital optical switch. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

First‐principles based group additivity values for thermochemical properties of substituted aromatic compounds

A set of 7 Benson group additive values (GAV) together with 15 correction terms for non‐nearest neighbor interactions (NNI) is developed to calculate the gas phase standard enthalpies of formation, entropies and heat capacities of monocyclic aromatic compounds containing methyl, ethyl, vinyl, formyl, hydroxyl, and methoxy substituents. These GAVs are obtained through least squares regression of a database of thermodynamic properties of 143 molecules, calculated at the post‐Hartree–Fock G4 composite method. Out of the 15 NNIs, which account for several well‐known substituent effects in aromatic molecules, 13 have been determined for the first time. All but two group additively calculated standard enthalpies of formation agree within 4 kJ mol^?1. The entropies and the heat capacities generally deviate less than 4 J mol^?1 K^?1 from the ab initio results. Natural bond orbital analysis is utilized to identify the underlying causes of the observed NNIs. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3858–3870, 2015     

A kinetic model for pyrolysis of cellulose

It has been shown that the pyrolysis of cellulose at low pressure (1.5 Torr) can be described by a three reaction model. In this model, it is assumed that an “initiation reaction” leads to formation of an “active cellulose” which subsequently decomposes by two competitive first-order reactions, one yielding volatiles and the other char and a gaseous fraction. Over the temperature range of 259–341°C, the rate constants of these reactions, k_i (for cellulose → “active cellulose”), k_v (for “active cellulose” → “volatiles”), and k_c (for “active cellulose” → char + the gaseous fraction) are given by k_i = 1.7 × 10²¹e^{? (58,000/RT)} min ^?1, k_v = 1.9 × 10¹⁶e^{? (47,300/RT)} min^?1, and k_c = 7.9 × 10¹¹e^{? (36,600/RT)} min^?1, respectively.     

Biodiesel production from Stichococcus strains at laboratory scale

BACKGROUND: This paper reports the results of an experimental campaign of autotrophic cultures of Stichococcus strains aiming at selecting the most promising strain for biofuel production. The strain selected—S. bacillaris 158/11—was cultivated in 1 L lab‐scale bubble column photobioreactors under fed‐batch and semi‐continuous conditions. A Bold basal medium supplemented with NaNO₃ as nitrogen source was adopted. Tests were carried out at 23 °C, 140 µE m^?2 s^?1, and air flow rate ranging between 0.4 and 4 vvm. Cultures were characterized in terms of pH, concentration of total nitrogen, total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, biomass, lipid fraction and methyl‐ester distribution of transesterified lipids. RESULTS: S. bacillaris 158/11 proved to be the best strain to produce biodiesel. Methyl‐ester distribution was characterized by a large fraction of methyl palmitate, methyl linolenate, methyl linoleate, and methyl oleate along with phytol. The process photosynthetic efficiency—fraction of available light stored as chemical energy ‐ was about 1.5%. Specific biomass productivity was ～60 mg_DM L^?1 day^?1 under the semi‐continuous conditions tested. Total lipid productivity was 14 mg L^?1 day^?1 at a dilution rate of 0.050 L day^?1. CONCLUSION: S. bacillaris 158/11 is a potential strain for massive microalgae cultures for biofuel production. Higher biomass/total‐lipid productivity could be obtained in sunlight. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Viscoelastic properties of branched polyacrylate melts

The viscoelastic properties of poly(n‐butyl acrylate), poly(ethyl acrylate) and poly(methyl acrylate) melts have been studied using samples that varied in both molar mass and the mol% branched repeat units, these properties having been previously determined by gel permeation chromatography and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, respectively. Poly(n‐butyl acrylate) was studied most extensively using seven samples; one sample of poly(n‐butyl acrylate), two samples of poly(ethyl acrylate) and one sample of poly(methyl acrylate) were used to study the effect of side‐group size. Storage and loss moduli were measured over a range of frequency (1 × 10^?3 to 1 × 10² rad s^?1) at temperatures from T_g + 20 °C to T_g + 155 °C and then shifted to form master curves at T_g + 74 °C through use of standard superposition procedures. The plateau regions were not distinct due to the broad molar mass distributions of the polyacrylates. Hence, the upper and lower limits of shear storage modulus from the nominal ‘plateau’ region of the curves for the seven poly(n‐butyl acrylate) samples were used to calculate the chain molar mass between entanglements, M_e, which gave the range 13.0 kg mol^?1 < M_e < 65.0 kg mol^?1. The Graessley–Edwards dimensionless interaction density and dimensionless contour length concentration were calculated for poly(n‐butyl acrylate) using the mean value of plateau modulus (1.2 × 10⁵ Pa) and three different methods for estimation of the Kuhn length; the data fitted closely to the Graessley–Edwards universal plot. The Williams–Landel–Ferry C₁ and C₂ parameters were determined for each of the polyacrylates; the data for the poly(n‐butyl acrylate) samples indicate an overall reduction in C₁ and C₂ as the degree of branching increases. Although the values of C₁ and C₂ were different for poly(n‐butyl acrylate), poly(ethyl acrylate) and poly(methyl acrylate), there is no trend for variation with structure. Thus the viscoelastic properties of the polyacrylate melts are similar to those for other polymer melts and, for the samples investigated, the effect of molar mass appears to dominate the effect of branching. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Investigations of the electrical conduction mechanisms of polyaniline‐DBSA/poly(acrylonitrile‐butadiene styrene) blends

The electrical properties of Al/PANI‐DBSA/ABS/Au blend with PANI (5%) w/w have been investigated by using of current‐voltage (I‐V) measurements, in a temperature range of 100–313 K. The analysis of I‐V characteristics in the forward direction was based on thermionic emission mechanism for applied electrical field till ～3 × 10² V/cm. The thickness dependence of the current‐voltage relationship, clearly demonstrates that the electrical current for larger fields is space charge limited current (SCLC). Temperature dependences of the ideality factor, barrier height, and series resistance have been calculated. The mobility of carriers which is temperature dependent was calculated using the trap free SCLC as 1.53 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1 at room temperature. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40688.     

Isothermal gravimetric analysis of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) was investigated by isothermal thermogravimetry in nitrogen at six temperatures, including 304, 309, 314, 319, 324, and 336°C. The isothermal data have been analyzed using both a peak maximum technique and an iso‐conversional procedure. Both techniques gave apparent activation energies of 201 and 192 kJ mol^?1, respectively, for the isothermal degradation of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) in nitrogen. The decomposition reaction order is calculated to be 1.0. The natural logarithms of the frequency factor based on the peak maximum and the iso‐conversional techniques are 36 and 34 min^?1, respectively, for poly(trimethylene terephthalate) decomposed isothermally in nitrogen. These isothermal kinetic parameters are in good agreement with those derived by the Kissinger technique on the basis of the dynamic thermogravimetric data reported elsewhere (209 kJ mol^?1, 1.0 and 37 min^?1). The isothermal decomposition of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) in nitrogen undergoes two processes, a relative fast degradation process in the initial period and a subsequent one with a slower weight‐loss rate. The former process may be due to the removal of ester groups, trimethylene groups, and aromatic hydrogen atoms from the chain of poly(trimethylene terethphalate). The latter one may be ascribed to the further pyrolysis of the carbonaceous char. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 1600–1608, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10476     

Study on physiochemical structure and in vitro release behaviors of doxycycline‐loaded PCL microspheres

This study aimed to develop drug delivery system of doxycycline‐loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) microspheres. The investigated microsphere formulation can be considered for local application in bone infections and degenerative joint diseases, which generally require long‐term treatments via systemic drugs. PCL‐14 kDa and 65 kDa were used in microsphere preparation. Before release, the microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The mean particle size of microspheres was in the range of 74–122 µm and their drug loadings ranged between 10 and 30%. In vitro release profiles were described using the Higuchi and the Korsmeyer–Peppas equations. Diffusion model was applied to experimental data for estimating diffusion coefficients of microspheres; calculated as between 4.5 × 10^?10 and 9.5 × 10^?10 cm²/s. Although long‐term release from microspheres of PCL‐14 kDa obeyed diffusion model, PCL‐65 kDa microspheres showed this tendency only for some period. Modeling studies showed that the drug release mechanism was mainly dependent on loading and molecular weight differences. Release behavior of PCL‐65 kDa microspheres, however, might be better represented by derivation of a different equation to model for the total release period. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41768     

Stress development in supported polymer films during thermal cycling

A simple and in-situ bending-beam technique has been used to investigate the stress-temperature relationships for three different polymer coatings (viz, poly(methyl methacrylate), FR-4 epoxy resin, and an amide-imide polymer) during thermal cycling. With this technique, we were able to detect stress relaxation near the polymer's glass transition or caused by cracking of the polymer. Knowing the Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus for the polymer, this technique also allows calculation of the polymer's thermal expansion coefficient from measured thermal stress data. The calculated thermal expansion coefficient of poly(methyl methacrylate) (7 × 10^?5/°C) is in good agreement with literature values (5 to 9 × 10^?5/°C).