Sorption Kinetics and Capacity of Composite Materials Made up of Polymeric Fabric and Expanded Perlite for Oil in Water

The oil sorption capacity of composite materials made up of different polymeric fabrics (namely acrylic fabric (AF), polypropylene nonwoven (PP), and silk stocking (SS) as composite out-packing materials) and expanded perlite (EP) was evaluated for oil removal from the water. The effects of sorbent dosage, desorption time, oil amount in the water, and contact time on composite materials sorption were investigated. The results showed that the optimum quantity of EP was between 0.5 g and 1.0 g for 25 cm2 polymeric fabrics bags. Oil removal efficiency for 6 L/m2 of oil amount in the water was 52%-72%, 44%-63%, and 37%-48% for AF, PP, and SS composite materials, respectively. Oil/water selectivity analysis of different composite materials showed that AF composite material had a very high degree of hydrophobicity and oil sorption capacity of approximately 10.17 g/g. Both oil sorption kinetics and equilibrium studies were carried out, and the equilibrium process of composite materials was described well by the Langmuir isotherm, and the oil sorption kinetics of composite materials showed good correlation coefficients for the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Intra-particle diffusion studies showed that oil sorption mechanism was controlled by the three processes, involving in external liquid membrane diffusion, surface sorption, and intra-particle diffusion.

Femtosecond fabrication of waveguide-like micro-structures in a photorefractive polymer

In this letter, we report on, for the first time, the successful femtosecond micro-fabrication of continuous waveguide-like channels in the photorefractive polymer consisting of the nonlinear chromophore 2,5-dimethyl-4-(p-nitrophenylazo)anisole (DMNPAA), the photosensitive compound 2,4,7-trinitro-9-flourenone (TNF), and the plasticiser N-ethylcarbazole (ECZ) all doped in the polymer matrix poly (methyl methacry-late) (PMMA). These channels are caused by the change in refractive index as a result of the localised heating of the polymer and therefore have an important potential for micro-photonic devices in future.

Arrayed Lensed Fibers Collectively Fabricated Utilizing UV-Curable Fluorinated Polymer

A novel fabrication method for lensed fiber array has been proposed utilizing UV-curable fluorinated polymer, whose refractive index is matched to fused silica. The structure is composed of three segments; single mode fiber, coreless silica fiber and UV-curable polymer lens-tip. Flexible control of the curvature of lens-tip was realized by control of deposited volume of the liquid polymer and free-space interconnection performances are characterized.

Emission properties and energy transfer in Perylene-Rhodamine 6 G co-doped polymeric fiber

This Letter presents the fabrication and characterization of a perylene（Per） and Rhodamine 6 G（Rh 6 G）co-doped polymeric fiber. The spectroscopic properties（luminescence spectra, attenuation, energy transfer）of the co-doped polymethyl methacrylate（PMMA） fiber are presented. Two different concentrations of Rh 6 G（2.2 × 10^（-4） and 4.1 × 10^（-4）mol∕L） and a constant Per concentration（6.2 × 10^（-4）mol∕L） are used in the experiments. The luminescence spectrum changes versus the fiber length are discussed. Additionally, the ratio of the maximum fluorescence peaks of the used dyes is calculated versus the fiber length. The obtained results show the energy transfer from Per（donor） to Rh 6 G（acceptor）. The proposed co-doped fiber can be used in applications in lighting and sensor technology.

Dual Thermal-and p H-responsive Polypeptide-based Hydrogels

Smart hydrogels have received increasing attention for their great potential for the applications in many fields. Herein, we report a facile approach to prepare a class of dual-responsive hydrogels assembled from synthetic statistical/block thermal-responsive copoly（L-glutamate）s copolymerized with poly（ethylene glycol）, which were prepared by ring-opening polymerization（ROP） and post-modification strategy. The incorporation of oligo（ethylene glycol）（OEG） and glutamic acid residues offers the gels with thermal-and p H-responsive properties simultaneously. We have systematically studied the influence of both temperature and p H on the gelation behaviors of these copolymers. It is found that the increase of glutamic acid content and solution p H values can significantly suppress the gelation ability of the samples. Circular dichroism（CD） results show that the α-helix conformation appears to be the dominant secondary conformation. More interestingly, the gelation property of the block copolymer with statistical thermal-responsive copoly（L-glutamate）s shows greater dependence on p H as compared to that with block segments due to the distinct morphology of the self-assemblies. The obtained hydrogels exhibit p H-dependent and thermal-responsive gelation behaviors, which enable them as an ideal smart hydrogel system for biomedical applications.

Luminescent properties of Tb^(3+)-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) fiber

Lanthanide-doped polymers are very attractive, since they can be used for luminescent optical fiber fabrications.This Letter presents the terbium-ions-doped poly（methyl methacrylate） fiber fabrication and spectroscopic characterization. The measured excited state（5D4） lifetime of 0.741 ms confirms that a used organometallic can be used to obtain an intense luminescence in a polymeric fiber. The luminescence spectrum shape modification versus the fiber length is also investigated.