• Computationally Efficient Field-Theoretic Simulations for Block Copolymer Melts 

  Beardsley, T.M.; Spencer, R.K.W.; Matsen, M.W. (American Chemical Society, 2019-11-12)

  Field-theoretic simulations (FTS) provide fluctuation corrections to self-consistent field theory (SCFT) by simulating its field-theoretic Hamiltonian rather than applying the saddle-point approximation. Although FTS work ...

• Thin film composite membranes via layer-by-layer assembly for pervaporation separation 

  Halakoo, Elnaz (University of Waterloo, 2019-12-06)

  The aim of this study was to develop LbL membranes based on polyethyleneimine and graphene oxide (PEI/GO) and to investigate them for three different applications, namely the pervaporative desalination of high-salinity ...

• A Novel Back-Off Algorithm for the Integration Between Dynamic Optimization and Scheduling of Batch Processes Under Uncertainty 

  Valdez Navarro, Yael Izamal (University of Waterloo, 2019-12-04)

  This thesis presents a decomposition algorithm for obtaining robust scheduling and control decisions. It iteratively solves scheduling and dynamic optimization problems while approximating stochastic uncertainty through ...

• Calibration of the Flory-Huggins Interaction Parameter in Field-Theoretic Simulations 

  Beardsley, Tom; Matsen, Mark (2019)

  Field-theoretic simulations (FTS) offer a versatile method of dealing with complicated block copolymer systems, but unfortunately they struggle to cope with the level of fluctuations typical of experiments. Although the ...

• Design of Polymeric Materials: Novel Functionalized Polymers for Enhanced Oil Recovery & Gas Sorption Applications 

  Scott, Alison J. (University of Waterloo, 2019-11-28)

  As material requirements for particular applications become more specific and strict, using a targeted approach to design polymeric materials becomes a necessity. Following a general design framework prevents researchers ...

• Flowable-Electrode Capacitive Deionization for Treatment of Mining Process-Affected Water 

  Young, Zachary William (University of Waterloo, 2019-11-26)

  Water is a critical resource in the mining and resources sector. It enables the extraction and materials processing operations that underpin this primary industry, and therefore everyday life. Water’s value in mining means ...

• Improved Electric Vehicle Powertrain Incorporating a Lithium-Ion Battery and a Range Extender Zinc-Air Battery, plus Associated Health and Economic Benefits 

  Sherman, Steven (University of Waterloo, 2019-11-26)

  As the world confronts the serious challenge posed by anthropogenic climate change, electric vehicles have emerged as a serious candidate to displace gasoline-burning vehicles. In spite of the environmental and operational ...

• Segregation of chain ends to the surface of a polymer melt: effect of surface profile versus chain discreteness 

  Mahmoudi, Pendar; Matsen, Mark (Springer, 2016)

  Silberberg has argued that the surface of a polymer melt behaves like a reflecting boundary on the random-walk statistics of the polymers. Although this is approximately true, independent studies have shown that violations ...

• Entropic segregation of short polymers to the surface of a polydisperse melt 

  Mahmoudi, Pendar; Matsen, Mark (Springer, 2017)

  Chain ends are known to have an entropic preference for the surface of a polymer melt, which in turn is expected to cause the short chains of a polydisperse melt to segregate to the surface. Here, we examine this entropic ...

• Testing the Universality of Entropic Segregation at Polymer Surfaces 

  Mahmoudi, Pendar; Forrest, William; Beardsley, Tom; Matsen, Mark (2018)

  This study addresses entropic segregation effects at the surfaces of monodisperse and bidisperse melts. For the monodisperse melts, we focus on the segregation of chain ends to the surface, and for the bidisperse melts, ...

• Spontaneous Tilting Transition in Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Brushes 

  Blaber, Steven; Abukhdeir, Nasser Mohieddin; Matsen, Mark (2019)

  The equilibrium phase behavior of main-chain liquid-crystalline polymer brushes in good solvent is investigated using self-consistent field theory. The calculation assumes semi-dilute brushes, where the grafting density ...

• Evaluating Polymeric Materials for Sensing of Gaseous Analytes 

  Majdabadifarahani, Noushin (University of Waterloo, 2019-10-18)

  Polymers have been widely used in gas sensing applications especially for detecting Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Some of these applications consist of disease diagnosis and breathalyzers as well as evaluation of ...

• Development of Active and Stable Nanostructured Ceria-based Catalysts for Soot Oxidation 

  Li, Boyu (University of Waterloo, 2019-09-25)

  The focus of this thesis is to improve catalytic activity and stability of ceria-based catalysts for soot oxidation. The main objective was to develop an inexpensive, active and stable catalyst through iron and samarium ...

• Hydrogel Composite Adhesives Inspired by Algae and Mussels 

  Cholewinski, Aleksander (University of Waterloo, 2019-09-25)

  The ocean is a vast source of a multitude of materials used in daily life, but has also provided numerous sources of inspiration for creating novel bio-inspired materials. Marine mussels are one of the best-known marine ...

• Fluctuation effects in blends of A+B homopolymers with AB diblock copolymer 

  Spencer, Russell; Matsen, Mark (AIP, 2018-05)

  Field-theoretic simulations (FTS) are performed on ternary blends of A- and B-type homopolymers of polymerization N_h and symmetric AB diblock copolymer of polymerization N_c. Unlike previous studies, our FTS are conducted ...

• Fluctuation correction for the critical transition of symmetric homopolymer blends 

  Beardsley, Tom; Matsen, Mark (AIP, 2017-07)

  Monte Carlo simulations are performed on structurally symmetric binary homopolymer blends over a wide range of invariant polymerization indexes, N. A finite-size scaling analysis reveals that certain critical exponents ...

• Calibration of a Lattice Model for High-Molecular-Weight Block Copolymer Melts 

  Willis, James; Beardsley, Tom; Matsen, Mark (AIP, 2019-05-06)

  The Morse calibration is applied to a lattice model designed for efficient simulations of two-component polymer melts of high molecular weight. The model allows multiple occupancy per site, which results in high invariant ...

• Development of Electrospun PAN Fibers Used as Electrodes for Flow Cell Applications 

  Murtaza, Muhammad (University of Waterloo, 2019-09-23)

  The increase in energy consumption coupled with global climate change have generated a keen interest in renewable energy resources in the scientific world. Grid scale energy storage solutions are required in order to bridge ...

• Stable Rechargeable Aqueous Zinc Ion Battery Achieved by Cation Deficient Cathode Material and Gelatin Modified Separator 

  Li, Shengkai (University of Waterloo, 2019-09-23)

  In this research, manganese deficient zinc manganese oxide was synthesized by oxidation-precipitation with different zinc and manganese ratio. The cathode material synthesized with 1:3 zinc to manganese ratio has the highest ...

• Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Cleavable Peptide-Based siRNA Delivery System for Cancer Treatment 

  Zhou, Yixin (University of Waterloo, 2019-09-23)

  Among all kinds of gene therapy, siRNA, a class of 20 to 25 nucleotide-long double-stranded RNA molecules, is one of the promising therapeutic solutions to regulate post-transcriptional process for cancer treatment. However, ...

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