Research articles

Thermo-responsive liquid marbles can be prepared using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) powder and Na₂SO₄ aqueous solution, which were transferred to the surface of bulk water containing Na₂SO₄ aqueous solution. They remained stable at room temperature. When the bulk aqueous solution was cooled, the liquid marbles disintegrated because powder wettability increased. Thus, the remote triggering of chemical reactions using liquid marbles can be achieved by cooling.

Laminated film composite was fabricated by stacking the surface-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) films using the initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) method, with a ultraviolet (UV)-curable methacrylate-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) inorganic polymer interlayer binder to develop an alternative glass material. The 11-layered PET film/POSS composites were consolidated by UV exposure, and it increased modulus and maintained transmittance and haze.

STEP Isodiametric design space based deposition of polymeric micro/nanofibers in hierarchical multi-layer assemblies with control on fiber diameter, spacing and orientation.

In this paper, we have provided the first conclusive evidence that the Ni particle dispersed poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) composites, which do not exhibit melting phenomenon, exhibit the positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect when Ni content were 20 and 25vol.%. In particular, the composite with Ni content of 25vol.% exhibited PTC effect comparable to that of composites composed of crystalline polymer, and it demonstrated conductor/insulator transition. We assumed that these composites have few conductive paths, and so disconnection of conductive path occurred from slight volume expansion of PMMA by temperature rising.