取向态聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯膜热弛豫过程的偏振红外光谱研究

用升温在位偏振红外光谱测量方法，研究了不同取向态的聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（ＰＥＴ）膜在热弛豫过程中的尺寸变化以及分子链构象和取向的变化．结果说明，ＰＥＴ小尺度取向链段的热弛豫较大尺度取向分子链的热弛豫在较低的温度下发生，取向ＰＥＴ膜的热收缩主要与分子链大尺度取向的弛豫有关，而其后的自发伸长是结晶过程引起的，分子链的取向程度对结晶伸长的幅度有着重要影响．     

Epitaxial growth of pentacene films on Cu110

The molecular structure of thin pentacene (C(22)H(14)) films grown on a Cu(110) surface has been studied by means of He atom scattering, low energy electron diffraction, thermal desorption spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Depending on the actual film thickness three different crystalline phases have been identified which reveal a characteristic reorientation of the molecular plane relative to the substrate surface. In the monolayer regime the molecules form a highly ordered commensurate (6.5x2) structure with a planar adsorption geometry. For thin multilayers (thickness <2 nm) a second phase is observed which is characterized by a lateral ((-0.65 5.69) ( 1.90 1.37)) structure and a tilting of the molecular plane of about 28 degrees around their long axis which remains parallel to the surface. Finally, when exceeding a thickness of about 2 nm subsequent growth proceeds with an upright molecular orientation and leads to the formation of crystalline films which are epitaxially oriented with respect to the substrate. The present study thus demonstrates that also on metal substrates highly ordered pentacene films with an upright orientation of the molecular planes can be grown. Photoelectron spectroscopy data indicate further that thick films do not grow in a layer-by-layer mode but reveal a significant degree of roughness.     

On the alpha --> beta transition of carbon-coated highly oriented PVDF ultrathin film induced by melt recrystallization

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is one of the polymers which exhibit pronounced polymorphic crystalline forms, depending on crystallization conditions. Four different crystalline modifications, i.e., alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, have been reported so far. Among them, even though the alpha-form is the most common one, the beta-phase is the one that has attracted the widest interest due to its extensive piezo- and pyroelectric applications. During the past few decades, a substantial amount of work has been done in attempts to characterize these crystal modifications and transformations among them. It was well documented that the alpha-form PVDF can be easily obtained through melt crystallization of the PVDF at atmospheric pressure. Its beta-counterpart can, however, only be directly obtained by growth from solution, molecular epitaxy on the surface of potassium bromide, melt crystallization at high pressures, or by applying with a strong electric field. Transformation from its alpha-phase to beta-phase has been achieved by mechanical deformation, while the retransformation could be conducted through melt recrystallization at atmospheric pressure. In the present work, the recrystallization behavior of carbon-coated melt-drawn oriented PVDF ultrathin films at atmospheric pressure was studied by means of transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. The results indicate that through vacuum evaporating a thin carbon layer on the surface of highly oriented alpha-PVDF ultrathin film, not only has its high orientation been preserved after a complete melting and recrystallization process, but an alpha --> beta transition of PVDF has also been achieved through melt recrystallization at atmospheric pressure. This technique can be successfully used for preparing highly oriented beta-PVDF ultrathin films, especially patterned microstructures of PVDF with its highly oriented polar beta-phase and nonoriented nonpolar alpha-phase.     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of side chain liquid crystalline polymers containing azobenzene push–pull chromophores

Azobenzene monomeric precursors bearing piperazine as donor moiety with different withdrawing groups and derived side chain polymethacrylates have been prepared and characterized. Monomers having terminal cyano or nitro groups, and the corresponding polymers, exhibited smectic A phases. Linear and nonlinear optical properties of every monomer and thin films of the cyano polymer ( pol‐PZ‐CN ) have been also studied. UV‐vis spectroscopy revealed out‐of‐plane orientation in the as prepared films, as confirmed by waveguide refractive index measurements. Moreover, absorption spectra indicated the presence of azo aggregates in these films. The initial molecular arrangement has been modified by applying thermal annealing within the mesophase range and UV‐blue irradiation. Although thermal annealing resulted in a significant amplification of the out‐of‐plane optical anisotropy due to thermotropic self‐organization of side chain azo moieties, irradiation with 440 nm light induced some disruption of aggregates. The nonlinear optical response of Corona poled films has been studied by second harmonic generation measurements, and the influence of the molecular arrangement on the nonlinear d_ij coefficients has been analyzed. The more efficient poling corresponded to preirradiated films. In any case, a noticeable degree of polar order (70% of the initial d₃₃ value) remained for several months after the poling in films kept at RT. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 232–242, 2010     

An All‐Inorganic Colloidal Nanocrystal Flexible Polarizer

Inorganic single crystals with anisotropic structures usually suffer from high brittleness and stiffness. Flexible polymers are used to replace inorganic crystals, but the hot‐stretching‐induced orientation process is tedious, and oriented molecular chains tend to revert to random coils during aging. To overcome these obstacles and using the similarities between sub‐1 nm nanowires (NWs) and linear polymers, we successfully fabricated anisotropic, transparent, flexible, and stable (ATFS) NW films with great potential for optical applications through a wet‐spinning method. The NW films show birefringence, and their birefractive index is higher than that of many polymers. They also showed polarized absorption of UV light and anisotropic scattering of visible light. The integrated films composed of NWs and quantum dots showed good fluorescence polarization. The tedious synthesis of quantum rods and fabrication of oriented polymer films can thus be avoided.     

Modifying thermal transport in electrically conducting polymers: effects of stretching and combining polymer chains

If their thermal conductivity can be lowered, polyacetylene (PA) and polyaniline (PANI) offer examples of electrically conducting polymers that can have potential use as thermoelectrics. Thermal transport in such polymers is primarily influenced by bonded interactions and chain orientations relative to the direction of heat transfer. We employ molecular dynamics simulations to investigate two mechanisms to control the phonon thermal transport in PANI and PA, namely, (1) mechanical strain and (2) polymer combinations. The molecular configurations of PA and PANI have a significant influence on their thermal transport characteristics. The axial thermal conductivity increases when a polymer is axially stretched but decreases under transverse tension. Since the strain dependence of the thermal conductivity is related to the phonon scattering among neighboring polymer chains, this behavior is examined through Herman's orientation factor that quantifies the degree of chain alignment in a given direction. The conductivity is enhanced as adjacent chains become more aligned along the direction of heat conduction but diminishes when they are orthogonally oriented to it. Physically combining these polymers reduces the thermal conductivity, which reaches a minimum value for a 2:3 PANI/PA chain ratio.     

Polarized fluorescence and electroluminescence from rubbing-aligned conjugated polymers and their composites with fluorescent dyes

Polarized fluorescence and optical absorption studies of rubbing-treated poly(2,5-diheptyloxybenzene) and poly (3-alkylthiophene)s (PATs) were carried out with the aim of obtaining polarized electroluminescence (EL). It was revealed that there exists an optimum alkyl chain length in PATs for the effect of rubbing. Polarized EL with a dichroic ratio of 2.6 was observed from a rubbing-aligned PAT-12 film. It was also demonstrated that the rubbing treatment of composite films of PAT and several fluorescent dyes such as 1,4-bis (2-methylstyryl)benzene enabled us to obtain polarized emission from oriented dye molecules. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphology and physical properties of a liquid–crystalline main-chain polymer with flexible side chains

A molecular laminate model is used to explain the properties of unoriented and oriented films of poly(p-phenylene-2,5-didodecyloxyterephthalate) cast from solution. In oriented films the two different crystal modifications, A and B, give rise to room temperature tensile moduli of 15 and 30 GPa respectively. The packing (in clusters) of the side chains in modification A, leading to a glass–like transition in the side-chain regions around ?40°C, is largely responsible for this difference. Oriented films of modification A and B have coefficients of thermal expansion of +0.3×10^?5 and ?1× 10^?5 K^?1 respectively. It is concluded that the properties of this class of polymers can be adjusted in a systematic way.     

High Refractive Index Polymers

Rodlike polymers with repeat units composed of groups with high π-electron density directly on the backbone, such as linearly conjugated double bonds and aromatic heterocyclic rings, exhibit high isotropic refractive indexes and high birefringence values when oriented. Typical polyamide birefringence values for oriented films far exceed 0.5 and several are as high as 0.85; the corresponding parallel and perpendicular indexes for these polymers are in the 2.2-2.4 and 1.5-1.7 range, respectively, depending on the molecular structure and degree of orientation. The isotropic index values may be as high as 1.8-2.0.

In order to make optical devices utilizing these highly birefringent films, it is frequently necessary to bond them to films or glass, which necessitates the use of index-matching, optical-quality bonding agents. We devised two synthetic strategies to obtain polymers that exhibit these properties. In one approach, we synthesized a series of colorless, nonbirefringent, polyacrylates (and methacry-lates) containing halogenated carbazole rings; these results will be reported in a forthcoming paper that is currently being prepared. We have also modified rodlike polyamides by substituting index-enhancing groups directly on the amide nitrogen; the refractive index values of the resulting materials are in the 1.60-1.67 range. The most important finding of the latter research was the realization that rodlike polyamides not only exhibit unusually high birefringence, but also greatly enhanced isotropic refractive indexes, which is directly related to their rodlike conformation.     

Structural evolution of perfluoro-pentacene films on Ag(111): transition from 2D to 3D growth

The structural evolution and thermal stability of perfluoro-pentacene (PF-PEN) thin films on Ag(111) have been studied by means of low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). Well-defined monolayer films can be prepared by utilizing the different adsorption energy of mono- and multilayer films and selectively desorbing multilayers upon careful heating at 380 K, whereas at temperatures above 400 K, a dissociation occurs. In the first monolayer, the molecules adopt a planar adsorption geometry and form a well-ordered commensurate (6 × 3) superstructure where molecules are uniformly oriented with their long axis along the <110> azimuth. This molecular orientation is also maintained in the second layer, where molecules exhibit a staggered packing motif, whereas further deposition leads to the formation of isolated, tall islands. Moreover, on smooth silver surfaces with extended terraces, growth of PF-PEN onto beforehand prepared long-range ordered monolayer films at elevated temperature leads to needle-like islands that are uniformly aligned at substrate steps along <110> azimuth directions.     

Unified study of the different physical properties of amorphous polymers

Uptil now it has not been possible to explain the different physical properties of amorphous polymers using a model based on a single conceptual scheme. In this paper, a phenomenological model is proposed which tries to explain the mechanical, optical and thermal properties (both thermal conductivity and expansivity) of amorphous polymers. The model has similarities with the composite model, proposed by the present authors, which has proved to be successful in interpreting the different physical properties of semicrystalline polymers. The present model considers the bulk form of the polymer as an aggregate of microscopic units possessing intrinsic physical properties. On drawing, the development of anisotropy in different physical properties is supposed to be due to the development of preferred orientation of these units. The development of the preferred orientation has been estimated directly from birefringence data. The agreement between the calculated and experimental values of the elastic modulus, thermal conductivity and thermal expansivity of PVC, PMMA and PS is found to be reasonable good.     

New technique of processing highly oriented poly(vinylidene fluoride) films exclusively in the β phase

Oriented β‐phase films were obtained by utilizing two different techniques: conventional uniaxial drawing at 80 °C of predominantly α‐phase films, and by drawing almost exclusively β‐phase films obtained by crystallization at 60 °C from dimethylformamide (DMF) solution with subsequent pressing. Wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and pole figure plots showed that with the conventional drawing technique films oriented at a ratio (R) of 5 still contained about 20% of phase α, a crystallinity degree of 40% and β‐phase crystallographic c ‐axis orientation factor of 0.655. Drawing at 90 °C and with R = 4 of originally β‐phase films results in exclusively β‐phase films with crystallinity degree of 45% and orientation factor of 0.885. Crystalline phase, crystallinity degree, and crystallographic c‐axis orientation factor of both phases were also determined for α‐phase oriented films obtained by drawing α‐phase films at 140 °C. For films drawn at 140 °C the α to β phase transition drops to about 22%. Reduction in crystallinity degree with increasing R is more pronounced at draw temperature of 140 °C compared with 80 °C. Moreover, for both phases the c ‐axis orientation parallel to the draw direction is higher at draw temperature of 140 °C than at 80 °C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2793–2801, 2007     

Well-defined micropatterns of polymers prepared by controlled crystallization process

Surface confined recrystallization of highly-oriented polyethylene (PE) thin films realized by carbon-coating was utilized to control the morphological structure of ultrathin PE films. Selective carbon-coating with the help of a mask and subsequent recrystallization of the pre-oriented PE thin film lead to a partially structural control of the PE thin film in the coated domains. A fully structural control of the PE film is then fulfilled through a combination of surface confinement and heteroepitaxy of PE on the oriented poly(tetrafluroethylene) (PTFE) thin film. The thus obtained structure can serve as a template to induce pattern structures of a variety of other polymers through epitaxial growth. The poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(butylenes adipate) (PBA) micropattern thin films are shown in this paper as examples. These thin films exhibit different birefringence in different regions depending on the molecular orientation and may find potential applications in the fields of polarization-dependent display or storage.     

Highly oriented structure formed in a lamella-forming diblock copolymer with high molar mass

Highly oriented films were prepared simply by annealing a lamella-forming block copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide-b-styrene) (PEO-b-PS), with high molar mass under a pressure of 0.2 MPa. The oriented structures were characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The SAXS measurements showed that the lamellar layers of the block copolymer are highly oriented parallel in the film plane. The WAXD images showed that the c-axis of PEO crystals was oriented normal to the film plane. The Hermans-Stein orientation functions for the lamellar layer and the crystal axis are 0.954 and −0.466, respectively, and are close to the values of perfect orientation. It was considered that the highly oriented structure was formed by the combined effects of shear flow and self-organization of the block copolymer during annealing under stress. The high degree of orientation both for the lamellar layer and crystal planes also suggested that the crystallization in the confined domains results in a high degree of orientation of PEO crystals with respect to the lamellar interface of the block copolymer.     

Elaboration of ZnO Thin Films with Preferential Orientation by a Soft Chemistry Route

Microcrystalline ZnO films presenting well-defined and tunable orientation were obtained by spin coating of alcoholic sols by two different approaches, based on controlled hydrolysis-condensation of Zn-ethanolamine complexes. As-deposited films are formed by amorphous zinc oxide-acetate submicronic particles, which are transformed into oriented ZnO after thermal treatment. The orientation of ZnO depends on the synthesis method, and the solvent. While in ethanol and [Zn] = 0.05 mol·L^–1, films consist of rectangular platelets oriented with the (100) planes parallel to the substrate (a//n), the orientation of the particles changes to (c//n) for systems in 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) and [Zn] = 0.75 mol·L^–1. A study of chemical factors that influence the orientation (precursor, solvent, MEA/Zn ratio, concentration, coating parameters, heat treatment) is presented.     

光散射方法表征聚对苯二甲酰对苯二胺薄膜的结构特征

采用光散射方法研究了聚对苯二甲酰对苯二胺(PPTA)浓硫酸溶液于不同凝固条件下成膜时得到的球晶和草席晶等结构。PPTA的球晶由一些各向异性棒状微晶呈辐射型有序排列聚集而成的。红外二向色性的研究证明,PPTA草席晶中分子链沿“草席方向”高度取向。基于光栅衍射效应的角度依赖性认为,草席结构中条带的亮暗主要是由于它们取向方向上稍有差异引起的。以光栅效应计算了PPTA草席晶结构的长周期数据值及条带的取向状况,得到了较好的结果。根据在切应力作用下液晶的光散射图象认为,草席状结构是在切应力作用下于各向异性液业已形成,快速凝聚的方法可以把该种结构的特征保留在所获得的薄膜之中。     

Raman characterization of orientation in poly(lactic acid) films

Poly(lactic acid) is a new biopolymer material which is marketed by Cargill Dow Polymers under the tradename Nature Works*. One major application for this material is biaxially oriented films for food packaging because it possesses excellent barrier for flavor constituents, deadfold and heat sealability. Shrinkage must be minimized when the film is heat sealed for these applications and, therefore, characterization of the orientation of the amorphous phase of PLA films is necessary. Raman spectroscopy methodology has been developed to quantify orientation in PLA films. Bands were assigned to crystalline and amorphous phases of PLA such that orientation in both phases could be monitored. Raman depolarization ratios were used to characterize uniaxial systems but were insufficient for most biaxial draws. A new phenomenon for oriented films involving Raman band shifts was observed in these systems, and was shown to be capable of determining orientation, even for symmetrical biaxially drawn films. The origin of these shifts, as well as their use for the quantification of orientation will be discussed. Further, since the line widths of the bands could be used to quantify crystallinity, both crystallinity and orientation could be determined with one measurement.     

Molecular orientation in liquid fibers of nematic polymers

The degree of macroscopic orientation of molten fibrous samples of nematic semiflexible polymers has been investigated by x-ray diffraction. Melting of highly oriented fibers is followed by a partial loss of macroscopic orientation but does not produce collapse of the fiber. The residual orientational order remains unaltered for a considerable time. The degree of orientational order depends on the temperature and undergoes odd-even fluctuations according to the parity of the number of carbon atoms contained in the flexible part of the monomer unit. Extrapolation of the order parameter to the isotropization temperature leads to a value of about 0.63 for even-type polymers and to about 0.47 for odd-type polymers. An intermediate value is found for a copolymer containing equal amounts of even and odd monomer units along the polymer chain.     

Sorption and swelling in ultra-thin polymer films

Different polymers were investigated with respect to the sorption of solvents and gases. Depending on the chemical nature of the polymers this sorption leads to polymer swelling. The degree of swelling D/D₀ was measured utilizing Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) as well as Surface plasmon resonance (SPR). From the change in film thickness after swelling in different solvents Hildebrand parameters of the polymers were determined. By crosslinking of the polymer films the degree of swelling can be controlled. In the case of ultra-thin polyimide films a higher degree of crosslinking led to a decreased selectivity of the transport of gases through the membrane. Reptation of macromolecules was also investigated and the influence of polymer swelling in different solvents has a great influence on the selectivity and diffusion coefficient.