Scanning electronic microscopy phase-separation

Scanning electron microscopy shows the cement to consist of zinc oxide particles embedded in an amorphous matrix (Smith, 1982a). As with the zinc phosphate cement, a separate globular water phase exists since the cement becomes uniformly porous on dehydration. Porosity diminishes as the water content is decreased. Wilson, Paddon Crisp (1979) distinguish between two types of water in dental cements non-evaporable (tightly bound) and evaporable (loosely bound). They found, in the example they examined, that the ratio of tightly bound to loosely bound water was 0-22 1-0, the lowest for all dental cements. They considered that loosely bound water acted as a plasticizer and weakened the cement. 

In addition to enzymatic hydrolysis of natural lipids in polymeric membranes as discussed in chapter 4.2.2., other methods have been applied to trigger the release of vesicle-entrapped compounds as depicted in Fig. 37. Based on the investigations of phase-separated and only partially polymerized mixed liposomes 101, methods to uncork polymeric vesicles have been developed. One specific approach makes use of cleavable lipids such as the cystine derivative (63). From this fluorocarbon lipid mixed liposomes with the polymerizable dienoic acid-containing sulfolipid (58) were prepared in a molar ratio of 1 9 101115>. After polymerization of the matrix forming sulfolipids, stable spherically shaped vesicles are obtained as demonstrated in Fig. 54 by scanning electron microscopy 114>. 

The determination of the evolution of concentrations of different species and functional groups enables one to discern different paths present in the reaction mechanism. For example, Fig. 5.13 shows that as the molar ratio of styrene to polyester C=C double bonds (MR) increases from 1/1 to 4/1, the curves tend to shift downward. For MR = 4/1 there is a very low styrene consumption until the polyester double bonds are converted to 40%. On the other hand, SEM (scanning electron microscopy) shows phase separation of a UP-rich phase in the early stages of the polymerization. Most radicals are probably trapped in this phase, which explains the higher initial conversion of the UP double bonds than styrene double bonds. A kinetic model would have to take this observation into account. 

TEOS-derived gel is immersed in water. Unreacted TEOS present at the gel point phase separates into sufficiently large droplets that light scattering is observed (61). Artifacts of these droplets are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on fracture surfaces of the corresponding dried gels (61). 

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