The loss and recovery of the surface hydrophobicity areimportant phenomena when highvoltage insulators, with a shedmaterial composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), are used. Theloss of hydrophobicity is mostly due to the oxidativecrosslinking which takes place on the PDMS surface duringexposure to electrical discharges, e. g. corona discharges. Thecrosslinking reaction leads to the formation of anoxygen-enriched, silica-like layer, which is brittle and henceprone to cracking, either spontaneously or upon mechanicaldeformation. Repetitive cracking leads to the propagation ofcracks into the core of the material, which is believed todeteriorate the insulator’s performance and reduce itsservice-life. Hence, an approach to make PDMS more resistant tothe build-up of the silica-like layer is beneficial for theperformance of PDMS in high voltage insulators. In this work the effect of antioxidative stabilizers on thecorona- and air-plasma-induced surface oxidation of PDMS isstudied. Three commercial stabilizers, a hindered phenol(Irganox® 1076), a hindered amine light stabilizer(Tinuvin® 770) and a bifunctional stabilizer withchainbreaking hindered phenol and secondary amine andhydroperoxide-decomposing sulfide moieties (Irganox® 565),have been used. Surface oxidation was achieved by exposure of amodel crosslinked PDMS to an air plasma or a corona discharge,and the surface characteristics of the exposed samples wereassessed by contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectronspectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy, andsurface profilometry before and after uniaxial stretching. A reliable rapid method for the assessment of stabilizerconcentration in PDMS was established. PDMS samples containingknown stabilizer concentrations of a phenolic antioxidant(Irganox® 1010) and a hindered amine stabilizer(Tinuvin® 144) were prepared. It was shown that thestabilizer concentration in PDMS could be determined by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the microwaveassisted solvent extracts (MAE) of stabilized PDMS samplesusing acetone (a non-swelling solvent). This method wasemployed to measure the stabilizer concentration in PDMSsamples exposed to air plasma and corona discharges. Thestabilizer concentration in PDMS was varied by using diluteswelling solutions (0.005 wt% to 0.2 wt%) of the stabilizers inhexane. Samples stabilized with Irganox 565 showed stabilizerprecipitation on the surface after swelling in solutions with astabilizer concentration greater than 0.05 wt%. Samplescontaining Irganox 1076 and Tinuvin 770 showed no surfaceprecipitation except after swelling in a solution of 0.2 wt%stabilizer concentration. The air plasma and corona exposure time required for theformation of the silica-like surface layer increased,essentially, in a linear fashion with increasing stabilizerconcentration. Tinuvin 770 showed the strongest overallprotecting effect during, as well air plasma as coronaexposures, whereas Irganox 565 showed the strongest protectingeffect per mass fraction stabilizer during air plasmaexposures. Irganox 1076 was of moderate efficiency. The resultssuggest that efficient protection towards discharge-inducedsurface oxidation is achieved with hindered amine stabilizersor with stabilizers combining chain-breaking andhydroperoxide-decomposing functions. The diffusion of the stabilizers Irganox 1010 and Tinuvin144 from PDMS to water at elevated temperatures (75 °C and95 °C for Irganox 1010 and 95 °C for Tinuvin 144) wasstudied. For Irganox 1010 the diffusion constant (D), accordingto Fick’s second law for uni-dimensional penetrantdiffusion was assessed to 3.1 X 10-9cm2s-1at 95 °C and to 5.46 X 10-10cm2s-1at 75 °C. An estimate for the activationenergy for the diffusion of Irganox 1010 to the surroundingmedia was obtained (Ea=93 kJ mol-1), on the basis of the diffusion data. For Tinuvin144, no diffusion constant could be calculated due to poorseparation of the stabilizer peak from the impurities in theextract when using the HPLC method developed earlier.

<p>The loss and recovery of the surface hydrophobicity areimportant phenomena when highvoltage insulators, with a shedmaterial composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), are used. Theloss of hydrophobicity is mostly due to the oxidativecrosslinking which takes place on the PDMS surface duringexposure to electrical discharges, e. g. corona discharges. Thecrosslinking reaction leads to the formation of anoxygen-enriched, silica-like layer, which is brittle and henceprone to cracking, either spontaneously or upon mechanicaldeformation. Repetitive cracking leads to the propagation ofcracks into the core of the material, which is believed todeteriorate the insulator’s performance and reduce itsservice-life. Hence, an approach to make PDMS more resistant tothe build-up of the silica-like layer is beneficial for theperformance of PDMS in high voltage insulators.</p><p>In this work the effect of antioxidative stabilizers on thecorona- and air-plasma-induced surface oxidation of PDMS isstudied. Three commercial stabilizers, a hindered phenol(Irganox® 1076), a hindered amine light stabilizer(Tinuvin® 770) and a bifunctional stabilizer withchainbreaking hindered phenol and secondary amine andhydroperoxide-decomposing sulfide moieties (Irganox® 565),have been used. Surface oxidation was achieved by exposure of amodel crosslinked PDMS to an air plasma or a corona discharge,and the surface characteristics of the exposed samples wereassessed by contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectronspectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy, andsurface profilometry before and after uniaxial stretching.</p><p>A reliable rapid method for the assessment of stabilizerconcentration in PDMS was established. PDMS samples containingknown stabilizer concentrations of a phenolic antioxidant(Irganox® 1010) and a hindered amine stabilizer(Tinuvin® 144) were prepared. It was shown that thestabilizer concentration in PDMS could be determined by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the microwaveassisted solvent extracts (MAE) of stabilized PDMS samplesusing acetone (a non-swelling solvent). This method wasemployed to measure the stabilizer concentration in PDMSsamples exposed to air plasma and corona discharges. Thestabilizer concentration in PDMS was varied by using diluteswelling solutions (0.005 wt% to 0.2 wt%) of the stabilizers inhexane. Samples stabilized with Irganox 565 showed stabilizerprecipitation on the surface after swelling in solutions with astabilizer concentration greater than 0.05 wt%. Samplescontaining Irganox 1076 and Tinuvin 770 showed no surfaceprecipitation except after swelling in a solution of 0.2 wt%stabilizer concentration.</p><p>The air plasma and corona exposure time required for theformation of the silica-like surface layer increased,essentially, in a linear fashion with increasing stabilizerconcentration. Tinuvin 770 showed the strongest overallprotecting effect during, as well air plasma as coronaexposures, whereas Irganox 565 showed the strongest protectingeffect per mass fraction stabilizer during air plasmaexposures. Irganox 1076 was of moderate efficiency. The resultssuggest that efficient protection towards discharge-inducedsurface oxidation is achieved with hindered amine stabilizersor with stabilizers combining chain-breaking andhydroperoxide-decomposing functions.</p><p>The diffusion of the stabilizers Irganox 1010 and Tinuvin144 from PDMS to water at elevated temperatures (75 °C and95 °C for Irganox 1010 and 95 °C for Tinuvin 144) wasstudied. For Irganox 1010 the diffusion constant (D), accordingto Fick’s second law for uni-dimensional penetrantdiffusion was assessed to 3.1 X 10^-9cm²s^-1at 95 °C and to 5.46 X 10^-10cm²s^-1at 75 °C. An estimate for the activationenergy for the diffusion of Irganox 1010 to the surroundingmedia was obtained (E_a=93 kJ mol^-1), on the basis of the diffusion data. For Tinuvin144, no diffusion constant could be calculated due to poorseparation of the stabilizer peak from the impurities in theextract when using the HPLC method developed earlier.</p>

No description available.

No description available.

Entsprechend der Theorie des freien Volumens hinsichtlich der Diffusion in Kautschuken wird der Diffusionskoeffizient einer permeierenden Substanz im hohen Maße von der Mikrostruktur eines Kautschuks bestimmt. Daher war es Ziel dieser Arbeit Polydimethylsiloxannetzwerke mit definierten Mikrostrukturen zu entwickeln. Die Abhängigkeit der Permeationsprozesse von der Mikrostruktur der Netzwerke, sowie die Abhängigkeit dieser Prozesse von den physiko-chemischen Eigenschaften permeierender Substanzen wurde untersucht. Ein besseres Verständnis dieser Zusammenhänge kann zu Fortschritten in der Entwicklung von nichtporösen homogenen Membranen führen. Derartige Membranen werden unter anderem als Kontrollelement in therapeutischen Systemen oder in der Separationstechnik eingesetzt. / According to the free-volume theory of diffusion in rubbers, the diffusion coefficient of a permeating substance is strongly determined by the microstructure of the rubber. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to develop polydimethylsiloxane networks with regular, well-defined microstructures. The dependence of the permeation processes on the microstructure of the polymer networks and on the physico-chemical properties of the permeating substances has been investigated. A better understanding of these interrelations can lead to improvements in the development of nonporous homogeneous membranes. Among other applications, such membranes are used in therapeutic systems and in separation technology.

In this thesis the effect of mechanical stimuli on A549 lung cancer cells is studied. Modifications of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces are employed to alter the mechanical stimuli applied to the cells. Flat substrates are first studied and then micropillared substrates are designed, fabricated, and tested as a method to alter the mechanical properties of the PDMS surfaces. Molds with micro-pillars are designed then fabricated from silicon using deep reactive ion etching. From these molds, a negative then a positive replicate is made using PDMS. The pillared PDMS substrates are fabricated in 10 geometries and used for experiments. A549 cells are cultured on these surfaces then analyzed using fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Fluorescence microscopy images processed by ImageJ software measure the cell spreading area (m2) while AFM quantifies the cell stiffness (kPa). For flat substrates, the cell stiffness and spreading area increase with increasing substrate stiffness. Further, results on pillared substrates show a similar trend based on pillar geometry changes. For pillared substrates, the A549 cell stiffness and spreading area increase as the height decreases, yet there is decreased cell stiffness and spreading area as the diameter and spacing decreases. The experiments show that changes in surface properties and only mechanical stimuli alter cellular morphology and biomechanics

Due to the thesis embargo no abstract is provided.

Nowadays, the common method to make an alignment layer of liquid crystal display is rubbing Polyimide (P.I.) thin film, Unfortunately, the rubbing method will reduce the yield of LCDs because of the particles, electrons, etc. created during rubbing on the surface of PI film. therefore many effort have been made to develop the non-contacting method such as photo alignment, plasma alignment, etc. This research focus on the non-contacting method, we hope it will reduce many pollution compared to rubbing alignment. Comparing with PI, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) possess higher transparency, batter stability in thermal and chemical, and lower surface free energy about 19 mJ/m^2. Due to the low surface free energy, PDMS can be used as a vertical alignment layer without any surface treatment. Methyl Red (MR) PDMS mixed with PDMS will be used as an alignment layer in this experiment. And the rod-like azo-dye will change its molecular to rotate because the absorption of linear polarized light. By changing the s MR to rotate, we can obtain a micro groove structure on PDMS surface and control the direction of liquid crystals further. Xenon lamp(100nm-1200nm) and the ultraviolet ray lamp (300-500nm) were used in this experiment for thin film. Samples were exposure with different incident angle and intensity of light, respectively, and discussed with different temperature as a factor. According to atomic force microscope ( AFM ) result, we can obtain a PDMS surface with micro groove structure by using Xe lamp and ultraviolet ray, and we can observe the changing tilt angle of liquid crystals by polarized optical microscope (POM).

Aachen, Techn. Hochsch., Thesis (doctoral), 2001.

The ultimate goal of this research was to develop a “self-fitting” shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffold for the repair of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) bone defects. CMF defects may be caused by trauma, tumor removal or congenital abnormalities and represent a major class of bone defects. Their repair with autografts is limited by availability, donor site morbidity and complex surgical procedures. In addition, shaping and positioning of these rigid grafts into irregular defects is difficult. Herein, we have developed SMP scaffolds which soften at T > ~56 °C, allowing them to conformally fit into a bone defect. Upon cooling to body temperature, the scaffold becomes rigid and mechanically locks in place. This research was comprised of four major studies. In the first study, photocrosslinkable acrylated (AcO) SMP macromers containing a poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) segment and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) segments were synthesized with the general formula: AcO-PCL40-block-PDMSm-block-PCL40-OAc. By varying the PDMS segment length (m), solid SMPs with highly tunable mechanical properties and excellent shape memory abilities were prepared. In the second study, porous SMP scaffolds were fabricated based on AcO-PCL40-block-PDMS37-block-PCL40-OAc via a revised solvent casting particulate leaching (SCPL) method. By tailoring scaffold parameters including salt fusion, macromer concentration and salt size, scaffold properties (e.g. pore features, compressive modulus and shape memory behavior) were tuned. In the third study, porous SMP scaffolds were produced from macromers with variable PDMS segment lengths (m = 0 – 130) via an optimized SCPL method. The impact on pore features, thermal, mechanical, and shape memory properties as well as degradation rates were investigated. In the final study, a bioactive polydopamine coating was applied onto pore surfaces of the SMP scaffold prepared from PCL diacrylate. The thin coating did not affect intrinsic bulk properties of the scaffold. However, the coating significantly increased its bioactivity, giving rise to the formation of “bone-bonding” hydroxyapatite (HAp) when exposed to simulated body fluid (SBF). It was also shown that the coating largely enhanced the scaffold’s capacities to support osteoblasts adhesion, proliferation and osteogenesis. Thus, the polydopamine coating should enhance the performance of the “self-fitting” SMP scaffolds for the repair of bone defects.