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We report the first demonstration of the growth of giant graphene domains on platinum (Pt), which results in a uniform bilayer graphene film with domain sizes of millimetre scale. These giant graphene domains are attributed to the giant Pt grains attained in post-deposition annealed Pt thin films that exhibit a strong dependency on the Pt film thickness. Giant grains have been claimed to occur in other metallic materials under appropriate film thicknesses and processing conditions. Our findings demonstrate a route towards rational large-scale uniform graphene synthesis for applications in nanoelectronics and sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles functionalized with a bi-functional coupling agent methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (MPS) were used to fabricate a vinyl-ester resin polymeric nanocomposite, which shows an improved interfacial interaction between the particle and matrix. As a result, in comparison to the unmodified particle-filled nanocomposites, the functionalized particle-filled composites possessed higher resistance to thermal degradation, and demonstrated improved UV shielding and enhanced photoluminescent properties. The more uniform particle dispersion, passivation of the particle surface with MPS and increased oxygen vacancies were justified to contribute to the increased thermal stability and the enhanced photoluminescent properties. Significant tensile strength improvement was closely related to the observed uniform particle distribution and the intimate interfacial interaction through the strong chemical bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of temperature and humidity on equilibrium moisture content of laminates was studied by response surface design. Two glass fabric‐reinforced laminated composite materials with different epoxy matrix resins, laminates A and B, were studied. Laminates A and B used are cyanate ester and polyphenylene oxide modified epoxy based laminate, respectively. The results show that the response surface profiles of moisture absorption for the two laminate materials are similar though their amounts of moisture absorption are different. The temperature‐humidity interaction effect and the quadratic effect of temperature are significant for laminate A. However, only the linear effects of temperature and humidity are significant for laminate B. Predictive models relating the important factors to the equilibrium moisture content were proposed in the article. The models developed can be used to predict and assess the reliability of the laminates for moisture related failures. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1539–1543, 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of dispersants on particle dispersion and flexural properties of SiC/vinyl ester nanocomposites was studied by factorial and response surface designs. The results show that the coupling agent ‘gamma-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxy silane (MPS)’ has no adverse side effect on the flexural properties as illustrated by the good correlation between maximizing the flexural strength and minimizing the agglomerates. However, the dispersant ‘BYK-W 966’ has a slight adverse side effect on the flexural properties although it improves dispersion at higher dosage. With an optimal dosage of MPS and W966, a small amount of SiC in 0.5 wt% results in 8% increase in strength and 14% increase in modulus. The flushing operation using the dispersant ‘1-octanol/decane’ achieves an excellent SiC dispersion but it does not result in improved flexural properties. This confirmed that a better state of nanoparticle dispersion does not necessarily lead to improved flexural properties. A good dispersion coupling with a strong filler/matrix interfacial bonding is the key to obtain enhanced flexural properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]