Liquid crystals in the series of 2,4,6-tristyryl-1,3,5-triazines

Abstract Alkaline condensation reactions of 2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3,5-triazine ( 1 ) and substituted benzaldehydes ( 2a – n ) yield 2,4,6-tristyryl-1,3,5-triazines ( 3a – n ). A sufficient number and length of the alkoxy chains at the benzene rings provide liquid crystalline phases Col hd . A special structure was found for compound 3i with 9 hexyloxy chains; it exists in the solid state in a helical columnar arrangement, which is transformed by heating to a hexagonal columnar mesophase. Irradiation of the mesophases of 3i – 3m leads to partial cyclodimerization reactions, which cause different textures and lower the clearing points. The border line between the irradiated and the unirradiated z…

A version of DSC technique is proposed which ensures good accuracy in comparing the melting behaviour of two apparently similar samples. The information is obtained in the form of comparative thermograms recorded during simulataneous melting of both samples. The method is applied to observe the influence of cooling conditions and annealing on melting behaviour of low-density polyethylene.

Instabilities of the deformation process in cold drawing of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and other polymers

The relationship between drawing rate and drawing stress was studied for amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) under various experimental conditions. Three types of expriments were performed: simple drawing with necking at constant rate, drawing through a conical die, and drawing at constant stress. Under constant stress conditions a transition between two stable regimes of drawing can be observed. The transition occurs at a critical stress σc at which the rate of neck propagation changes by some orders of magnitude. Such a transition was found both below and above the glass transition of PET. With constant drawing rates instabilities of neck propagation were observed under certain e…

Nanowear on Polymer Films of Different Architecture

In this paper, we describe atomic force microscope (AFM) friction experiments on different polymers. The aim was to analyze the influence of the physical architecture of the polymer on the degree and mode of wear and on the wear mode. Experiments were carried out with (1) linear polystyrene (PS) and cycloolefinic copolymers of ethylene and norbornene, which are stabilized by entanglements, (2) mechanically stretched PS, (3) polyisoprene-b-polystyrene diblock copolymers, with varying composition, (4) brush polymers consisting of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) backbone and PS side chains, (5) PMMA and PS brushes grafted from a silicon wafer, (6) plasma-polymerized PS, and (7) chemically c…

Uniaxial Alignment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Solution Processing

The self-organization of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with different aromatic core sizes, dodecylphenyl-substituted hexa-peri- hexabenzocoronene and an extended disk consisting of 96 carbon atoms 6-fold-alkyl-substituted, on the surface from solution has been investigated. Highly ordered surface layers of both materials could be obtained by the zone-casting technique, despite an apparently low self-organization in drop-cast films. The zone-cast films revealed high macroscopic uniaxial orientation of the columns with a molecular edge-on arrangement on the glass support as confirmed by polarized optical microscopy, UV-vis measurements in polarized light, high-resolution transmission e…

Healon5 viscoadaptive formulation: Comparison to Healon and Healon GV

Abstract Purpose To compare the rheological characteristics of a viscoadaptive viscoelastic formulation with those of 2 standard ophthalmic viscosurgical devices (OVDs). Setting Department of Ophthalmology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, and Max Planck-Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. Methods An independent comparative study of 3 OVDs of sodium hyaluronate (Healon®, Healon GV®, and Healon®5) was performed using the Advanced Rheometric Expansion System to analyze rheologic behavior (eg, dynamic frequency dependence of the complex viscosity) as well as rheological parameters (eg, viscosity at zero shear rate, pseudoplasticity, relaxation time, elastic and viscous modulus). Resu…

Physicochemical Surface Properties of Various Intraocular Lenses

<i>Purpose:</i> It is of major interest to understand how intraocular lens (IOL) surfaces interact with aqueous humor or tissues after implantation. Important parameters to describe the physicochemical surface properties are the contact angle and critical surface tension. Therefore, we performed measurements of the contact angle and critical surface tension of several commercially available IOLs. <i>Setting:</i> Department of Ophthalmology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, University Eye Hospital, Tübingen, and Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. <i>Methods:</i> A total of 17 commercially available standard quality IOL types (6…

Endotoxins in ophthalmic viscosurgical devices.

Purpose To measure the endotoxin concentration (EC) of 25 commercially available, hyaluronic acid- and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose-based (HPMC) ophthalmic viscosurgical devices (OVDs). Methods The in vitro Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay, which indicates the presence of endotoxins originating from gram-negative bacteria, was used to determine the EC. The procedure was performed according to the European Pharmacopoeia/USP. EC including duplicate determinations, negative controls, dilution series with control standard endotoxin, dilution series with sample extract and positive sample control. Results 16 OVDs (Amvisc®, Amvisc® Plus, Biolon®, Coatel®, Healon®, Healon® GV, Healon®5, HPMC O…

Synthesis, Morphology and Rheological Behavior of Fluoropolymer-Polyacrylate Nanocomposites

Nanocomposite materials composed of a PTFE copolymer core and an acrylic copolymer shell have been prepared by seeded emulsion polymerization. The effect of seed particle number and shell polymer composition on secondary particle nucleation and film formation ability of the dispersions has been studied. While TEM reveals a core-shell structure present in the particles, AFM investigation of the film shows a nearly uniform dispersion of the fluorinated seed particles in a matrix formed by the shell polymer. Rheological measurements show composite behavior of the core-shell latex films, especially at elevated temperatures, and an increase in viscosity and storage modulus when compared with the…

A Zone-Casting Technique for Device Fabrication of Field-Effect Transistors Based on Discotic Hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene

Material properties of various intraocular lenses in an experimental study.

<i>Introduction:</i> With the recent introduction of small-incision cataract surgery, requirements for intraocular lens (IOL) flexibility, strength and hydrophilicity have rapidly evolved. The IOL surface, however, remains a critical factor influencing uveal biocompatibility. <i>Purpose:</i> To objectively quantify factors of material properties of various IOLs using contact angle measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic-mechanical measurements and scanning electron microscopy. <i>Material and Methods:</i> In our study, 17 currently available IOLs were investigated using contact angle measurements to assess hydrophilicity and biocompatibil…

Synthesis and solid state structures of macromolecular cylindrical brushes with varying side chain length

Abstract Cylindrical brushes with a macromolecular backbone and well-defined side chains of different length (4≤ P n sc ≤38) were synthesized by polymerization of macromonomers. The effect of side chain length on the intermolecular order has been investigated by means of X-ray scattering on the melt-extruded samples. The increase of the side chain molar mass results in an increase of the intermolecular distance d according to d ∼( M n sc ) 0.476 . The contour length of the cylindrical brush polymers per main chain monomer unit, l m , was determined to slightly vary with side chain molar mass M n sc according to l m ∼( M n sc ) 0.059 . The resulting values are much less than the maximum exte…