TY  - JOUR
A1  - McCarthy, Denis N.
A1  - Stoyanov, Hristiyan
A1  - Rychkov, Dmitry
A1  - Ragusch, Huelya
A1  - Melzer, Michael
A1  - Kofod, Guggi
T1  - Increased permittivity nanocomposite dielectrics by controlled interfacial interactions
JF  - Composites science and technology
N2  - The use of nanoparticles in polymer composite dielectrics has promised great improvements, but useful results have been elusive. Here, the importance of the interfacial interactions between the nanoparticles and the polymer matrix are investigated in TiO2 nanocomposites for dielectric materials using surface functionalisation. The interface is observed to dominate the nanocomposite properties and leads to a threefold increase in permittivity at volume fractions as low as 10%. Surface functionalisation of the filler nanoparticles with silanes allows control of this interface, avoiding significant degradation of the other important material properties, particularly electrical breakdown strength, and resulting in a material that is demonstrated successfully as an active material in a dielectric elastomer actuator application with increased work output compared to the pure polymer. Although further permittivity increases are observed when the interface regions have formed a percolation network, the other material properties deteriorate. The observation of percolation behaviour allows the interface thickness to be estimated.
KW  - Ceramics
KW  - Nanocomposites
KW  - Actuator
KW  - Interface
KW  - Electrical properties
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2012.01.026
SN  - 0266-3538
VL  - 72
IS  - 6
SP  - 731
EP  - 736
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Meyer, Rhonda C.
A1  - Witucka-Wall, Hanna
A1  - Becher, Martina
A1  - Blacha, Anna Maria
A1  - Boudichevskaia, Anastassia
A1  - Dörmann, Peter
A1  - Fiehn, Oliver
A1  - Friedel, Svetlana
A1  - von Korff, Maria
A1  - Lisec, Jan
A1  - Melzer, Michael
A1  - Repsilber, Dirk
A1  - Schmidt, Renate
A1  - Scholz, Matthias
A1  - Selbig, Joachim
A1  - Willmitzer, Lothar
A1  - Altmann, Thomas
T1  - Heterosis manifestation during early Arabidopsis seedling development is characterized by intermediate gene expression and enhanced metabolic activity in the hybrids
JF  - The plant journal
N2  - Heterosis-associated cellular and molecular processes were analyzed in seeds and seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions Col-0 and C24 and their heterotic hybrids. Microscopic examination revealed no advantages in terms of hybrid mature embryo organ sizes or cell numbers. Increased cotyledon sizes were detectable 4 days after sowing. Growth heterosis results from elevated cell sizes and numbers, and is well established at 10 days after sowing. The relative growth rates of hybrid seedlings were most enhanced between 3 and 4 days after sowing. Global metabolite profiling and targeted fatty acid analysis revealed maternal inheritance patterns for a large proportion of metabolites in the very early stages. During developmental progression, the distribution shifts to dominant, intermediate and heterotic patterns, with most changes occurring between 4 and 6 days after sowing. The highest incidence of heterotic patterns coincides with establishment of size differences at 4 days after sowing. In contrast, overall transcript patterns at 4, 6 and 10 days after sowing are characterized by intermediate to dominant patterns, with parental transcript levels showing the largest differences. Overall, the results suggest that, during early developmental stages, intermediate gene expression and higher metabolic activity in the hybrids compared to the parents lead to better resource efficiency, and therefore enhanced performance in the hybrids.
KW  - heterosis
KW  - seedlings
KW  - metabolite profiling
KW  - transcript profiling
KW  - morphological analysis
KW  - Arabidopsis thaliana
KW  - biomass
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2012.05021.x
SN  - 0960-7412
VL  - 71
IS  - 4
SP  - 669
EP  - 683
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -