Browsing by Subject "Polystyrenes"

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Open Access
Bacteria-immobilized electrospun fibrous polymeric webs for hexavalent chromium remediation in water
(Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2016) Sarioglu, O.F.; Celebioglu A.; Tekinay, T.; Uyar, Tamer
The development of hexavalent chromium remediating fibrous biocomposite mats through the immobilization of a hexavalent chromium reducing bacterial strain, Morganella morganiiSTB5, on the surfaces of electrospun polystyrene and polysulfone webs is described. The bacteria-immobilized biocomposite webs have shown removal yields of 93.60 and 93.79 % for 10 mg/L, 99.47 and 90.78 % for 15 mg/L and 70.41 and 68.27 % for 25 mg/L of initial hexavalent chromium within 72 h, respectively, and could be reused for at least five cycles. Storage test results indicate that the biocomposite mats can be stored without losing their bioremoval capacities. Scanning electron microscopy images of the biocomposite webs demonstrate that biofilms of M. morganii STB5 adhere strongly to the fibrous polymeric surfaces and are retained after repeated cycles of use. Overall, the results suggest that reusable bacteria-immobilized fibrous biocomposite webs might be applicable for continuous hexavalent chromium remediation in water systems.
Open Access
Charging / discharging of thin PS / PMMA films as probed by dynamic x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
(2007) Sezen, H.; Ertas, G.; Dâna, A.; Süzer, Şefik
Polystyrene / polymethyl methacrylate (PS-PMMA) thin films were analyzed for detecting phase separation as well as probing their electrical responses by XPS. It was also shown that electrical parameters like resistance or capacitance can also be extracted using dynamical XPS measurements. A Kratos ES300 electron spectrometer was used for XPS measurements, and a nearby filament provided low-energy electrons for charge neutralization. The results show that under a positive stress, low-energy electrons are attracted to the sample and yield less positive charge on the sample, due to partial neutralization.
Open Access
Chemical and topographical modification of PHBV surface to promote osteoblast alignment and confinement
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008) Kenar, H.; Kocabas, A.; Aydınlı, Atilla; Hasirci, V.
Proper cell attachment and distribution, and thus stronger association in vivo between a bone implant and native tissue will improve the success of the implant. In this study, the aim was to achieve promotion of attachment and uniform distribution of rat mesenchymal stem cell-derived osteoblasts by introducing chemical and topographical cues on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3- hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) film surfaces. As the chemical cues, either alkaline phosphatase was covalently immobilized on the film surface to induce deposition of calcium phosphate minerals or fibrinogen was adsorbed to improve cell adhesion. Microgrooves and micropits were introduced on the film surface by negative replication of micropatterned Si wafers. Both chemical cues improved cell attachment and even distribution on the PHBV films, but Fb was more effective especially when combined with the micropatterns. Cell alignment (<10° deviation angle) parallel to chemically modified microgrooves (1, 3, or 8 μm groove width) and on 10 μm-thick Fb lines printed on the unpatterned films was achieved. The cells on unpatterned and 5 μm-deep micropitted films were distributed and oriented randomly. Results of this study proved that microtopographies on PHBV can improve osseointegration when combined with chemical cues, and that microgrooves and cell adhesive protein lines on PHBV can guide selective osteoblast adhesion and alignment.
Open Access
The formation and characterization of cyclodextrin functionalized polystyrene nanofibers produced by electrospinning
(2009) Uyar, Tamer; Havelund, R.; Hacaloglu J.; Zhou X.; Besenbacher F.; Kingshott P.
Polystyrene (PS) nanofibers containing the inclusion complex forming beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were successfully produced by electrospinning aimed at developing functional fibrous nanowebs. By optimization of the electrospinning parameters, which included varying the relative concentration of PS and β-CD in the solutions, bead-free fibers were produced. Homogeneous solutions of β-CD and PS in dimethylformamide (DMF) were used with concentrations of PS varying from 10% to 25% (w/v, with respect to DMF), and β-CD concentrations of 1% to 50% (w/w, with respect to PS). The presence of β-CD facilitated the production of bead-free PS fibers even from lower polymer concentrations as a result of the higher conductivity of the PS/CD solutions. The morphology and the production of bead-free PS/CD fibers were highly dependent on the β-CD contents. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) images showed that incorporation of β-CD yielded PS fibers with rougher surfaces. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and direct insertion probe pyrolysis mass spectroscopy (DP-MS) results confirmed the presence of β-CD in the PS fibers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of the fibers indicated that the β-CD molecules are distributed within the PS matrix without any phase separated crystalline aggregates up to 40% (w/w) β-CD loading. Furthermore, chemical analyses by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy studies confirm that β-CD molecules are located within the PS fiber matrix. Finally, preliminary investigations using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight static secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-static-SIMS) show the presence of the cyclodextrin molecules in the outer molecular layers of the fiber surfaces. The XPS and ToF-SIMS findings indicate that cyclodextrin functionalized PS webs would have the potential to be used as molecular filters and/or nanofilters for the purposes of filtration/purification/separation owing to surface associated β-CD molecules which have inclusion complexation capability. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.
Open Access
Highly fluorescent pyrene-functional polystyrene copolymer nanofibers for enhanced sensing performance of TNT
(American Chemical Society, 2015) Senthamizhan, A.; Celebioglu A.; Bayir, S.; Gorur, M.; Doganci, E.; Yilmaz, F.; Uyar, Tamer
A pyrene-functional polystyrene copolymer was prepared via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction (Sharpless-type click recation) between azide-functional styrene copolymer and 1-ethynylpyrene. Subsequently, nanofibers of pyrene-functional polystyrene copolymer were obtained by using electrospinning technique. The nanofibers thus obtained, found to preserve their parent fluorescence nature, confirmed the avoidance of aggregation during fiber formation. The trace detection of trinitrotoluene (TNT) in water with a detection limit of 5 nM was demonstrated, which is much lower than the maximum allowable limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Interestingly, the sensing performance was found to be selective toward TNT in water, even in the presence of higher concentrations of toxic metal pollutants such as Cd2+, Co2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+. The enhanced sensing performance was found to be due to the enlarged contact area and intrinsic nanoporous fiber morphology. Effortlessly, the visual colorimetric sensing performance can be seen by naked eye with a color change in a response time of few seconds. Furthermore, vapor-phase detection of TNT was studied, and the results are discussed herein. In terms of practical application, electrospun nanofibrous web of pyrene-functional polystyrene copolymer has various salient features including flexibility, reproducibility, and ease of use, and visual outputs increase their value and add to their advantage.
Open Access
Methods for probing charging properties of polymeric materials using XPS
(2010) Sezen, H.; Ertas, G.; Süzer, Şefik
Various thin polystyrene, PS, and poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA and PS + PMMA blend films have been examined using the technique of recording X-ray photoelectron spectrum while the sample is subjected to ±10 V d.c. bias, and three different forms of (square-wave (SQW), sinusoidal (SIN) and triangular (TRG)), a.c. pulses. All films exhibit charging shifts as observed in the position of the corresponding C1s peak under d.c. bias. The a.c. pulses convert the single C1s peak to twinned peaks in the case of the square-wave form, and distort severely in the cases of the SIN, and TRG forms, and all three of them exhibit strong frequency dependence. In order to mimic and better understand the behavior of these polymeric materials, an artificial dielectric system consisting of a clean Si-wafer coupled to an external 1 MΩ resistor and 56 nF capacitor is created, and its response to different forms of voltage stimuli, is examined in detail. A simple electrical circuit model is also developed treating the system as consisting of a parallel resistor and a series capacitor. With the help of the model, the response of the artificial system is successfully calculated as judged by comparison with the experimental data. Using one high frequency SQW measurements, the off-set in the charging shift due to the extra low-energy neutralizing electrons is estimated. After correcting the corresponding off-set shifts, the XPS spectra of the three different PS films, one PMMA, and one PS + PMMA blend film are re-examined. As a result of these detailed analysis, there emerges a clear relationship between the thicknesses of the PS films with their charging abilities. In the blend film, PS and PMMA domains are electrically separated, and exhibit different charging shifts, however, the presence of one is felt by the other. Hence, the PS component shifts are larger in the blend, due to the presence of PMMA domains, which has intrinsically a larger Reff, and conversely the PMMA component shifts are smaller due to the presence of PS domains.
Open Access
Position-invariant surface recognition and localization using infrared sensors
(SPIE, 2003) Barshan, B.; Aytaç, T.
Low-cost infrared emitters and detectors are used for the recognition of surfaces with different properties in a location-invariant manner. The intensity readings obtained with such devices are highly dependent on the location and properties of the surface in a way that cannot be represented in a simple manner, complicating the recognition and localization process. We propose the use of angular intensity scans and present an algorithm to process them. This approach can distinguish different surfaces independently of their positions. Once the surface is identified, its position can also be estimated. The method is verified experimentally with the surfaces aluminum, white painted wall, brown kraft paper, and polystyrene foam packaging material. A correct differentiation rate of 87% is achieved, and the surfaces are localized within absolute range and azimuth errors of 1.2 cm and 1.0 deg, respectively. The method demonstrated shows that simple infrared sensors, when coupled with appropriate processing, can be used to extract a significantly greater amount of information than they are commonly employed for. © 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Open Access
Prism coupling technique investigation of elasto-optical properties of thin polymer films
(American Institute of Physics, 2004) Ay, F.; Kocabas, A.; Kocabas, C.; Aydınlı, Atilla; Agan, S.
The use of thin polymer films in optical planar integrated optical circuits is rapidly increasing. Much interest, therefore, has been devoted to characterizing the optical and mechanical properties of thin polymer films. This study focuses on measuring the elasto-optical properties of three different polymers; polystyrene, polymethyl-methacrylate, and benzocyclobutane. The out-of-plane elastic modulus, refractive index, film thickness, and birefringence of thin polymer films were determined by means of the prism coupling technique. The effect of the applied stress on the refractive index and birefringence of the films was investigated. Three-dimensional finite element method analysis was used so as to obtain the principal stresses for each polymer system, and combining them with the stress dependent refractive index measurements, the elasto-optic coefficients of the polymer films were determined. It was found that the applied stress in the out-of-plane direction of the thin films investigated leads to negative elasto-optic coefficients, as observed for all the three thin polymer films.