Preparation of E-glass/waterborne epoxy prepregs containing natural nanoclay and properties of their composites are presented. Prepregs were prepared by wetting randomly oriented, chopped glass fiber preforms with aqueous dispersion of EpiRez 3522-W-60 resin, dicyandiamide, 2-methylimidazole and natural nanoclay (Cloisite Naþ). The nanoclay content of the aqueous dispersion was adjusted to yiel...

We have experimentally verified that the emission of visible light from dye doped polymers can be enhanced with the use of surface plasmon coupling. By matching the plasmon frequency of a thin unpatterned silver film to the emission of a dye doped polymer deposited onto this metal surface, we have observed a eleven-fold enhancement of light emission. By patterning the silver layer, we estimate ...

Atomically uniform silver films grown on highly doped n-type Si(111) substrates show fine-structured electronic fringes near the silicon valence band edge as observed by angle-resolved photoemission. No such fringes are observed for silver films grown on lightly doped n-type substrates or p-type substrates, although all cases exhibited the usual quantum-well states corresponding to electron con...

Silver doped hydroxyapatite was prepared by the precipitation method, using the precursor of hydroxyapatite, CaCl2-0.5M and (NH4) 2HPO4-0.3M; silver sulfate (Ag2SO4) is added to the precursors in order to bring the ions of silver (Ag at 10%) in the structure of hydroxyapatite. The morphology, structure and composition of prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, the complex ther...

Physical, mechanical and antimicrobial properties of nylon 6 (polycaprolactam) doped with different amounts of silver nanoparticles were investigated in this study. Two series of filament yarns counts (20 and 70 Denier) were produced by melt spinning method with different amounts of silver nanoparticles contents (0, 0.5, 1 and 4 wt%). Elemental analysis of silver and titanium dioxide (present i...

The colonisation of clinical and industrial surfaces with pathogenic microorganisms has prompted increased research into the development of effective antibacterial and antifouling coatings. There is evidence that implanted biomedical surfaces coated with metallic silver can be inactivated by physiological fluids, thus reducing the bioactivity of the coating. In this work, we report the biofilm ...

A novel approach for characterisation of nanoclay dispersion in polymeric composites using electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) is presented. Dispersion analysis was performed on three sets of centre-gated discs fabricated by resin transfer moulding. The first set was neat epoxy polymer without reinforcement, whereas the second set comprised 17 vol.-% randomly oriented chopped glass fibre prefor...

The mechanisms responsible for spontaneous silver precipitation in silver-doped sol-gel materials are identified. The chemistry of the solvent phase is found to be the critical factor in controlling this phenomenon. The addition of HCl as catalyst leads to the formation of AgCl and subsequent formation of silver upon light exposure. Another factor leading to silver precipitation is the reducing...

The mechanisms responsible for spontaneous silver precipitation in silver-doped sol-gel materials are identified. The chemistry of the solvent phase is found to be the critical factor in controlling this phenomenon. The addition of HCl as catalyst leads to the formation of AgCl and subsequent formation of silver upon light exposure. Another factor leading to silver precipitation is the reducing...

Thermoplastic elastomers are a special class of polymeric materials that combine the properties of thermo plasticity during processing and rubber-like behaviour in service. They can be processed in conventional plastic processing equipment, such as twin screw extruders, internal batch mixers, extruders and injection moulding machine, but exhibit vulcanized rubber like ultimate properties (i.e. ...