SYNOPSISThe process of depolymerization of P E T resin by EG glycolysis under pressure is investigated. The kinetics of this pressurized depolymerization of PET resin is discussed. It was found that the rate of depolymerization is dependent of temperature, pressure, and concentration ratio of EG to PET. The rate of depolymerization is proportional to the square of EG concentration and faster than that under atmospheric pressure. Glycolyzed products under pressure consist of the PET monomer, BHET, and oligomers, mostly dimer and trimer. An equilibrium between BHET and oligomers is attained quickly soon after the depolymerization step is completed in the case of a higher ratio of E G / P E T used. In the case of lower ratio of EG/PET, the final product now consists of higher molecular weight of oligomers rather than monomer, dimer, and trimer.

Microstructural and mechanical properties of organic surfactant templated nanoporous thin silica films have been studied by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nanoindentation. Compared with many other porous low-k dielectrics, the self-assembled molecularly templated nanoporous silica films demonstrate better mechanical properties. This is ascribed to the presence of a well-ordered pore channel structure in the nanoporous silica thin films. Hardness and elastic modulus are strongly dependent on film preparation and modification methods. Trimethylsilylation by hexamethylsilazane vapor treatment effectively enhances the mechanical strength of the nanoporous silica films. When the sol precursor solution is mixed with trimethylchlorosilane ͑TMCS͒, the resulting nanoporous films have a weaker mechanical strength. The pore channel structure of the nanoporous silica film becomes less ordered for the TMCS derivatized nanoporous films. In addition, the chemical structure in the silica solid matrix of the TMCS derivatized films is more disordered than those without TMCS modification. The nanoindentation measurement results are discussed in terms of the pore microstructure of the nanoporous silica network and the springback effect due to the presence of trimethylsilyl groups in the nanopores.

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Metal oxide nanostructures have been investigated extensively due to their wide range of physical properties; zinc oxide is one of the most promising materials. It exhibits fascinating functional properties and various types of morphologies. In particular, ZnO heterostructures have attracted great attention because their performance can be modified and further improved by the addition of other materials. In this study, we successfully transformed ZnO nanowires (NWs) into multiple ZnO/AlO heterostructure NWs via a solid-state cation exchange reaction. The experiment was carried out in situ via an ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscope (UHV-TEM), which was equipped with a video recorder. Moreover, we analyzed the structure and composition of the heterostructure NWs by Cs-corrected STEM equipped with EDS. Based on these experimental results, we inferred a cation exchange reaction ion path model. Additionally, we investigated the defects that appeared after the cation reaction, which resulted from the remaining zinc ions. These multiple heterostructure ZnO/AlO NWs exhibited excellent UV sensing sensitivity and efficiency.