A macroscopic compression test utilizing a simple custom-built instrument was employed to measure polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastic modulus. PDMS samples with varying crosslinking density were prepared with the elastomer base to the curing agent ratio ranging from 5 : 1 to 33 : 1. The PDMS network elastic modulus varied linearly with the amount of crosslinker, ranging from 0.57 MPa to 3.7 MPa for the samples tested. PDMS elastic modulus in MPa can be expressed as 20 MPa/PDMS base to curing agent ratio. This article describes a simple method for measuring elastic properties of soft polymeric materials.

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Corrosion product formed on zinc sample during 2 weeks immersion in saline solution has been investigated. The corrosion layer morphology as well as its chemical composition, was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Electrochemical measurement was used to analyze the corrosion behavior. Zinc oxide, zinc hydroxide and zinc hydroxide chloride were formed on zinc surface in saline solution. The thickness of corrosion layer increased with the time increased. The pure Zn has an estimated corrosion rate of 0.063 mm y−1 after immersion for 336 h. Probable mechanisms of zinc corrosion products formation are presented.

Nanostructured ion beam-modified Ge electrodes fabricated directly on Ni current collector substrates were found to exhibit excellent specific capacities during electrochemical cycling in half-cell configuration with Li metal for a wide range of cycling rates. Structural characterization revealed that the nanostructured electrodes lose porosity during cycling but maintain excellent electrical contact with the metallic current collector substrate. These results suggest that nanostructured Ge electrodes have great promise for use as high performance Li ion battery anodes. V

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