Search results for "NODAL"
showing 10 items of 264 documents
Spinodal demixing, percolation and gelation of biostructural polymers
1990
We present a variety of new experiments which concern the self-assembly of a polymeric network from homogeneous solutions of Agarose, a representative biostructural polysaccharide used for previous studies at our laboratories. They allow deriving a semi-quantitative phase diagram in the T, C plane. The diagram includes both the spinodal and gelation lines. Below a value of about 2% w/v, concentration is not sufficient for direct gelation; however, quenching of the sol from high temperatures to below the spinodal line initiates the spinodal demixing. The latter generates two sets of regions having respectively, higher- and lower-than-average polymer concentrations. In the higher-concentratio…
Time-Resolved study of network self-organization from a biopolymeric solution
1991
Time-resolved studies of network self-organization from homogeneous solutions of the representative biostructural polymer agarose are presented. Solutions are temperature quenched and observed by several techniques. Consistent with previous suggestions by the authors, experiments at concentrations up to about 1.75% w/v provide direct kinetic evidence for the occurrence of at least two distinct processes, leading, in sequence, to self-assembly. These are as follows: (a) a liquid–liquid phase separation of the solution occurring via spinodal demixing and resulting in two sets of regions that have, respectively, higher and lower than average concentrations of random-coiled polymers; and (b) th…
Scattering function and the dynamics of phase separation in polymer mixtures under shear flow
1988
The phenomenological mean-field theory describing concentration fluctuations and spinodal decomposition of binary mixtures of long flexible macromolecules is generalized to mixtures under steady shear flow. This shear flow leads to a partial orientation and stretching of the coils, as well as to an anisotropic deformation of concentration fluctuations. Generalizing the approach of Onuki and Kawasaki, we obtain the collective scattering function describing these concentration fluctuations in the mixture under shear flow. Both the steady-state situation in the one-phase region and the initial stages of spinodal decomposition for concentrations inside of the spinodal curve are considered.
Interrelation between the thermodynamic and viscometric behaviour of aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose
2000
Abstract Aqueous solutions of a commercial sample of hydrophobically modified ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (HC, Mw=100 kg/mol, nonylphenol substitution ca. 1.7 mol%) were studied with respect to their demixing behaviour and flow characteristics. Phase separation temperatures were measured turbidimetrically and by determining the first discernible macroscopic phase separation. In some cases demixing was also monitored viscometrically. Phase volume ratios yielded a critical polymer concentration of 1.87 wt.% HC (displaced considerably out of the minimum of the demixing curve towards higher polymer concentrations) and a lower critical solution temperature of 47°C. Model calculations of the spi…
Experimental studies of the rheological behavior of a demixing biopolymeric sol
1995
Experimental data are presented concerning a large transient viscosity surge occurring in the course of spinodal demixing of agarose aqueous solutions. The study includes the effects of water perturbation by minor proportions of compatible cosolutes. Three observations are noteworthy. One concerns an upward or downward shift of the spinodal temperature, caused by cosolutes, which agrees with their expected modulation of solvent-induced forces. The second concerns the time of appearance of the viscosity surge. This is observed to follow a critical law, with an exponent independent of polymer concentration and solvent perturbation. The third concerns the inverse-power-law dependence of the vi…
Multiple interactions between molecular and supramolecular ordering
1999
We report studies of the interplay among processes of molecular conformational changes, spinodal demixing of the solution, and molecular crosslinking involved in the physical gelation of a biopolysaccharide-water system. Multiple interactions and kinetic competition among these processes were studied under largely different absolute and relative values of their individual rates by appropriate choices of the quenching temperature at constant polymer concentration. Quenching temperature strongly affects the rate of growth but not the final value of the fractal dimension of the gel. Kinetic competition plays a central role in determining the final conformation of individual molecules and the s…
On The Incompatibility of Dextran and Pullulan in Aqueous Solutions and Its Modeling
2012
Joint aqueous solutions of branched dextran and linear pullulan are investigated with respect to their phase separation. The experiments demonstrate that the polymers are – depending on the molar mass of dextran – incompatible in aqueous solutions despite their chemical similarity. This finding can be modeled on the basis of an approach accounting for chain connectivity and conformational relaxation of the components. According to these calculations, the polymers exhibit a miscibility gap in joint solutions despite the favorable interactions between them. Using information on the subsystems H2O/dextran and H2O/pullulan, the assumption of complete miscibility of the polysaccharides is requir…
MCM-41 silica monoliths with independent control of meso- and macroporosity
2007
Centimetre sized macroporous silica monoliths consisting of MCM-41 have been prepared by a two-step procedure allowing an independent control of the meso- and macro-porosity. In the first step a monolith with a macroporosity tailored between 2 and 20 μm is prepared under acidic medium by a phase separation, named spinodal decomposition, leading to a bicontinuous structure of a silica/polymer phase and a water phase. The monolith is then reacted in an alkaline solution of cetyltrimethyl ammonium to transform the silica skeleton into MCM-41 under conditions which preserve the original morphology and macroporosity of the material. The combination of spinodal decomposition and pseudomorphic tra…
Multiple solutions for semilinear Robin problems with superlinear reaction and no symmetries
2021
We study a semilinear Robin problem driven by the Laplacian with a parametric superlinear reaction. Using variational tools from the critical point theory with truncation and comparison techniques, critical groups and flow invariance arguments, we show the existence of seven nontrivial smooth solutions, all with sign information and ordered.
United by the same concern. Ecumenical impulses of Pope Francis in the context of integral ecology
2020
Jednym z istotnych zadań Kościoła w porządku doczesnym jest troska o dzieło stworzenia i samego człowieka, a czasami wręcz obrona ludzkości przed zagrożeniami, wyzwolonego od jakichkolwiek odniesień etyczno-moralnych, postępu technicznego. Troska o wspólny dom nie jest tyko domeną Kościoła katolickiego, również inne kościoły i wspólnoty chrześcijańskie – podobnie jak i inne religie, dokonują refleksji nad zagadnieniami związanymi z degradacją środowiska ludzkiego i naturalnego (LS, 7). Celem artykułu jest próba dostrzeżenia i analizy ekumenicznych impulsów papieża Franciszka w kontekście całościowej ekologii, uwzgledniającej wzajemne powiązania różnych wymiarów rzeczywistości. Dlatego w tra…