A Monte Carlo study of the coil-to-globule transition of model polymer chains near an attractive surface

When a polymer chain in solution interacts with an atomically smooth solid substrate, its conformational properties are strongly modified and deviate substantially from those of chains in bulk. In this work, the interplay of two competing transitions that affect the conformations of polymer chains near an energetically attractive surface is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations on a cubic lattice. The transition from an extended to a compact conformation of a polymer chain near an attractive wall, as solubility deteriorates, exhibits characteristics akin to the “coil-to-globule” transition in bulk. An effective θ-temperature is determined. Its role as the transition point is confirmed in a variety of ways. The nature of the coil-to-compact transition is not qualitatively different from that in the bulk. Adsorbed polymer chains may assume “globular” or “pancake” configurations depending on the competition among adsorption strength, cohesive energy, and entropy. In a very relevant range of conditions, the dependence of the adsorbate thickness on chain-length is intermediate between that of 3-d (“semidroplets”) and 2-d (“pancake”) objects. The focus of this study is on rather long polymer chains. Several crucial features of the transitions of the adsorbed chains are N-dependent and various aspects of the adsorption and “dissolution” process are manifested clearly only at the “long chain” limit. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 2462–2476, 2009     

Surface immobilization of poly(ethylene oxide): Structure and properties

We covalently immobilized poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chains onto a fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer (FEP) surface. On the FEP surface, aldehyde groups were first deposited by plasma polymerization of acetaldehyde or acrolein. Then, amino‐PEO chains were immobilized through Schiff base formation, which was followed by reduction stabilization with sodium cyanoborohydride. The PEO‐grafted polymer surfaces thus prepared were characterized by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, contact‐angle measurements, and protein adsorption. The dramatic increase in the C O intensity of the high‐resolution XPS C 1s spectrum, together with an overall increase in oxygen content, indicated the successful attachment of PEO chains onto the acetaldehyde plasma surfaces. The amount of grafted PEO chains depended on the superfacial density of the plasma‐generated aldehyde groups. The grafted monoamino‐PEO chains formed a brushlike structure on the polymer surface, whereas the bisamino‐PEO chains predominately adopted a looplike conformation. The PEO surface had a regular morphology with greater roughness than the aldehyde surface underneath. Surface hydrophilicity increased with the grafting of PEO. Also, the bisamino‐PEO‐grafted surface had slightly higher surface hydrophilicity than its monoamino‐PEO counterpart. These PEO coatings reduced fibrinogen adsorption by 43% compared with the substrate FEP surface. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2323–2332, 2000     

Enhanced ionic conductivity in PEO/PMMA glassy miscible blends: Role of nano‐confinement of minority component chains

AC impedance spectroscopy was used to investigate the ionic conductivity of solution cast poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends doped with lithium perchlorate. At low PEO contents (below overlap weight fraction w^*), ionic conductivities are almost low. This could be due to nearly distant PEO chains in blend, which means ion transportation cannot be performed adequately. However, at weight fractions well above w^*, a significant increase in ionic conductivity was observed. This enhanced ionic conductivity mimics the PEO segmental relaxation in rigid PMMA matrix, which can be attributed to the accelerated motions of confined PEO chains in PMMA matrix. At PEO content higher than 20 wt % the conductivity measured at room temperature drops due to crystallization of PEO. However by increasing temperature to temperatures well above the melting point of PEO, a sudden increase of conductivity was observed which was attributed to phase transition from crystalline to amorphous state. The results indicate that some PEO/PMMA blends with well enough PEO content, which are structurally solid, can be considered as an interesting candidate for usage as solid‐state electrolytes in Lithium batteries. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 2065–2071, 2010     

In situ FT‐Raman spectroscopic study of the conformational changes occurring in isotactic polypropylene during its melting and crystallization processes

The conformational changes occurring in isotactic polypropylene during the melting and crystallization processes have been carefully investigated using FT‐Raman spectroscopy at temperatures below, at, and above the polymer melting point. Results confirmed the retention of some crystallinity up to +210 °C, which is 50 °C above the melting point. It was found that, at temperatures just above the melting point (1–10 °C), there is still some short range order of at least 12 monomer units long in certain regions of the melt. At 10 °C above the melting point, the short range order drops below 12 monomer units resulting in the disappearance of the Raman band at 841 cm^–1. Vice versa, the experimental measurements show that the iPP melt system is stable when the persistence length of helical sequences is less than 12 monomer units. As soon as the helix length exceeds 12 units, the 3₁ helix conformation extends quickly and then crystallization occurs. These results are discussed in terms of Imai's microphase separation theory and it agreed very well with it. Also, from our observations for correlation splitting, Raman bands related to conformational states were identified. This analysis indicates the existence of three different conformational states at 808, 830, and 841 cm^–1. The 808 cm^–1 band was assigned to helical chains within crystals (representing crystalline phase). The 841 cm^–1 band was shown to be composed of a band at 841 cm^–1, assigned to shorter chains in helical conformation with isomeric defects (representing the isomeric defect phase), and a broader band at 830 cm^–1 assigned to chains in nonhelical conformation (representing the melt‐like amorphous phase). This indicates the detection of a three‐phase structure in iPP, where a third phase could be due to the presence of defect regions within the crystalline region, or due to the presence of an amorphous–crystal interphase. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2173–2182, 2006     

Polymer chain diffusion in polymer blends: A theoretical interpretation based on a memory function formalism

The diffusion of polymer chains in miscible polymer blends with large dynamic asymmetry—those where the two blend components display very different segmental mobility—is not well understood yet. In the extreme case of the blend system of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA), the diffusion coefficient of PEO chains in the blend can change by more than five orders of magnitude while the segmental time scale hardly changes with respect to that of pure PEO. This behavior is not observed in blend systems with small or moderate dynamic asymmetry as, for instance, polyisoprene/poly(vinyl ethylene) blends. These two very different behaviors can be understood and quantitatively explained in a unified way in the framework of a memory function formalism, which takes into account the effect of the collective dynamics on the chain dynamics of a tagged chain. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1239–1245     

Associated inter‐ and intrachain conformational transitions in polystyrene solutions

Understanding the conformational changes of polymeric chains in solutions is an essential and integral part of polymer physics. By increasing the concentration of polymer solutions from dilute to semidilute regime, the critical chain overlapping has been reported at the concentration termed as C*. In this study, the associated inter‐ and intrachain conformational transitions in polystyrene (PS) solutions are reported. By comparing the spectroscopic intensity ratio versus concentration for an intrachain PS system, a break point was observed in good solvent which coincided with the theoretically predicted C*. Moreover, the intrachain conformation showed no obvious change below C*, while significant collapse started to occur above C*. This result reveals a new insight in polymer physics, since traditionally the size of polymer chains is considered to decrease weakly regarding the concentration change in the semidilute regime. It is important to find such an abrupt intrachain conformational transition between the dilute and semidilute solutions and provide the first experimental observation that inter‐ and intrachain conformational transitions are correlated to one the other. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1373–1379     

Synthesis of high‐molecular‐weight linear methacrylate copolymers with spiropyran side groups: Conformational changes of single molecules in solution and on surfaces

P(BMA‐co‐HEMA‐spiropyran) was synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA) and 2‐(trimethylsilyloxy)‐ethyl methacrylate (HEMA‐TMS), removal of the TMS‐protective groups, and the polymer analogous esterification of the hydroxyethyl side chains with a spiropyran containing a carboxylic acid group. UV‐induced conformational changes of the synthesized macromolecules and low‐molecular‐weight spiropyran molecules were studied. Rate constants and half‐life times of the ring closure reaction from zwitterionic merocyanine to the spiropyran species were determined in the presence and absence of mica‐dispersed particles in toluene both with the free spiropyran and the polymer‐bound spiropyran. Scanning force microscopy was used to visualize the conformation of spiropyran‐decorated single macromolecular chains and agglomerated polymer‐bound merocyanine adsorbed on mica. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 1274–1283, 2009     

Isothermal crystallization kinetics of PEO in poly(ethylene terephthalate)–poly(ethylene oxide) segmented copolymers. I. Effect of the soft‐block length

The isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block in two poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)–PEO segmented copolymers was studied with differential scanning calorimetry. The Avrami equation failed to describe the overall crystallization process, but a modified Avrami equation, the Q equation, did. The crystallizability of the PET block and the different lengths of the PEO block exerted strong influences on the crystallization process, the crystallinity, and the final morphology of the PEO block. The mechanism of nucleation and the growth dimension of the PEO block were different because of the crystallizability of the PET block and the compositional heterogeneity. The crystallization of the PEO block was physically constrained by the microstructure of the PET crystalline phase, which resulted in a lower crystallization rate. However, this influence became weak with the increase in the soft‐block length. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 3230–3238, 2000     

Characterization of the interaction of poly(ethylene oxide) with nanosize fumed silica: Surface effects on crystallization

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) of 4600 molar mass (PEO‐4600) was crystallized from methanol in the presence of hydrophilic fumed silicas (A380, A200, and OX50) with nominal surface areas of 380, 200, and 50 m²/g and a hydrophobic fumed silica (R812s) modified with methyl groups. The composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The inhibition of crystallization and the tendency for chain reorganization after melting were in the order of A380 > A200 > OX50 > R812s, respectively, that is, both were least for the hydrophobic silica and increased with increasing specific surface area for the hydrophilic silica. The interaction of PEO with the silica increased in the melt state as compared with the solution‐cast samples, resulting in enhanced suppression of crystallization. The following took place at a high silica content: (1) crystallization occurred at crystallization temperatures [T_c < T_c (bulk)], suggesting that the silica inhibited crystallization; (2) crystallites with melt temperatures [T_m < T_m (bulk)] were observed, indictive of smaller and/or less perfect crystals; and (3) melt entropies [ΔS_m (surface) < ΔS_m (bulk)] suggested that the interaction of surface silanols, Si_sOH, with PEO decreased both the melt entropy and crystallite size/perfection. Crystallinity was observed in solution‐cast composites when there were greater than ～0.03 PEO molecules/nm² for native and ～0.01 PEO molecules/nm² for methylated fumed silica, similar to reported plateau equilibrium adsorption values from methanol. These results were consistent with a model in which PEO interacted more strongly with native fumed silica as compared with hydrophobically modified silica because of hydrogen bonding of the ether oxygens of PEO with the acidic silanols, preventing chain mobility and crystallization. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1978–1993, 2003     

Solution‐crystallization and related phenomena in 9,9‐dialkyl‐fluorene polymers. II. Influence of side‐chain structure

Solution‐crystallization is studied for two polyfluorene polymers possessing different side‐chain structures. Thermal analysis and temperature‐dependent optical spectroscopy are used to clarify the nature of the crystallization process, while X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy reveal important differences in the resulting microstructures. It is shown that the planar‐zigzag chain conformation termed the β‐phase, which is observed for certain linear‐side‐chain polyfluorenes, is necessary for the formation of so‐called polymer‐solvent compounds for these polymers. Introduction of alternating fluorene repeat units with branched side‐chains prevents formation of the β‐phase conformation and results in non‐solvated, i.e. melt‐crystallization‐type, polymer crystals. Unlike non‐solvated polymer crystals, for which the chain conformation is stabilized by its incorporation into a crystalline lattice, the β‐phase conformation is stabilized by complexation with solvent molecules and, therefore, its formation does not require specific inter‐chain interactions. The presented results clarify the fundamental differences between the β‐phase and other conformational/crystalline forms of polyfluorenes. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1492–1506     

Poly(ethylene imine)‐graft‐poly(ethylene oxide) brush‐like copolymers: Preparation,thermal properties,and selective supramolecular inclusion complexation with α‐cyclodextrin

Poly(ethylene imine)‐graft‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PEI‐g‐PEO) copolymers were synthesized via Michael addition reaction between acryl‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide) methyl ether (PEO) and poly(ethylene imine) (PEI). The brush‐like copolymers were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It is found that the crystallinity of the PEO side chains in the copolymers remained unaffected by the PEI backbone whereas the crystal structure of PEO side chains was altered to some extent by the PEI backbone. The crystallization behavior of PEO blocks in the copolymers suggests that the bush‐shaped copolymers are microphase‐separated in the molten state. The PEO side chains of the copolymers were selectively complexed with α‐cyclodextrin (α‐CD) to afford hydrophobic side chains (i.e., PEO/α‐CD inclusion complexes). The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the inclusion complexes (ICs) of the PEO side chains displayed a channel‐type crystalline structure. It is identified that the stoichiometry of the inclusion complexation of the PEI‐g‐PEO with α‐CD is close to that of the control PEO with α‐CD. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 2296–2306, 2008     

Characterization of the stable and metastable poly(ethylene oxide)–urea complexes in electrospun fibers

Solution electrospinning was used for the first time to prepare nanofibers of the stable (α) and metastable (β) complexes between poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and urea. Both types of fibers were highly crystalline and presented a large level of molecular orientation. Detailed characterization of the ill‐studied β complex was performed using wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results reveal that it possesses a 3:2 PEO:urea stoichiometry and suggest that it belongs to the orthorhombic system with a = 1.907 nm, b = 0.862 nm, and c = 0.773 nm. The PEO chains are oriented along the fiber axis and present a conformation significantly affected by strong hydrogen bonding with urea when compared with the pure polymer and the stable complex. A layered structure model is suggested for the metastable complex, in which the urea molecules would be arranged into a ribbon‐like structure intercalated between two PEO layers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 1903–1913, 2008     

Conformational analysis of dipeptide‐derived polyisocyanides

The conformational properties of polymers derived from isocyanodipeptides have been investigated with a combination of model calculations, X‐ray diffraction, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Depending on the configuration of the side chains, defined arrays of hydrogen bonds along the polymeric backbone are formed. This leads to a well‐defined conformation as, for example, expressed in the formation of lyotropic liquid‐crystalline phases and increased helical stability. Upon the disruption of the hydrogen bonds by a strong acid, a less well‐defined macromolecular conformation is observed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1725–1736, 2003     

Synthesis and self‐assembly morphologies of amphiphilic multiblock copolymers [poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐polystyrene]n via trithiocarbonate‐embedded PEO macro‐RAFT agent

An amphiphilic multiblock copolymer [poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐polystyrene]_n [(PEO‐b‐PS)_n] is synthesized by using trithiocarbonate‐embedded PEO as macro‐RAFT agent. PEO with four inserted trithiocarbonate (M_n = 9200 and M_w/M_n = 1.62) groups is prepared first by condensation of α, ω‐dihydroxyl poly(ethylene oxide) with S, S′‐Bis(α, α′‐dimethyl‐α″‐acetic acid)‐trithiocarbonate (BDATC) in the presence of pyridine, then a series of goal copolymers with different St units (varied from 25 to 218 per segment) are obtained by reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The synthesis process is monitored by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ¹H NMR and FT‐IR. The self‐assembled morphologies of the copolymers are strongly dependent of the length of PS block chains when the chain length of PEO is fixed, some new morphologies as large leaf‐like aggregates (LLAs), large octopus‐like aggregates (LOAs), and coarse‐grain like micelles (CGMs) are observed besides some familiar aggregates as large compound vesicles (LCVs), lamellae and rods, and the effect of water content on the morphologies is also discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6071–6082, 2006     

Interfacial effect on confined crystallization of poly(ethylene oxide)/silica composites

The impact of nanoconfinement introduced by nanoparticles on polymer crystallization has attracted extensive attention because it plays an important role in the ultimate properties of polymer nanocomposites. In this study, interfacial and spatial confinement effects of silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles on the crystallization behaviors of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/SiO₂ composites were systematically investigated by changing the size and concentration of SiO₂ in PEO matrix. The composites with high silica loadings exhibit two crystallization peaks of PEO as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The first peak at 7–43 °C is related to the bulk PEO, while the second peak at ?20 to ?30 °C is attributed to the restricted PEO segments. Three‐layer (amorphous, interfacial, and bulk) model is proposed to interpret the confined crystallization of PEO/SiO₂ composites, which is supported by the results of thermogravimetric analysis and solid‐state ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance. In amorphous layer, most PEO segments are directly adsorbed on SiO₂ surface via hydrogen bonding. The interfacial PEO layer, which is nonuniform, is composed of crystallizable loops and tails extending from amorphous layer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 414–423     

From poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) triblock copolymer to poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) hydrogels: Synthesis and rapid deswelling and reswelling behavior of hydrogels

Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm‐b‐PEO‐b‐PNIPAAm) triblock copolymer was synthesized via the reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer/macromolecular design via the interchange of xanthate (RAFT/MADIX) process with xanthate‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the macromolecular chain transfer agent. The successful synthesis of the ABA triblock copolymer inspired the preparation of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PNIPAAm‐b‐PEO) copolymer networks with N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as the crosslinking agent with the similar approach. With the RAFT/MADIX process, PEO chains were successfully blocked into poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) networks. The unique architecture of PNIPAAm‐b‐PEO networks allows investigating the effect of the blocked PEO chains on the deswelling and reswelling behavior of PNIPAAm hydrogels. It was found that with the inclusion of PEO chains into the PNIPAAm networks as midblocks, the swelling ratios of the hydrogels were significantly enhanced. Furthermore, the PNIPAAm‐b‐PEO hydrogels displayed faster response to the external temperature changes than the control PNIPAAm hydrogel. The accelerated deswelling and reswelling behaviors have been interpreted based on the formation of PEO microdomains in the PNIPAAm networks, which could act as the hydrophilic tunnels to facilitate the diffusion of water molecules in the PNIPAAm networks. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Crystallization and structure formation in polymer blends with strong intermodular interactions: blends of poly(ethylene oxide) and styrene-hydroxystyrene copolymers

Time-resolved synchrotron wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering experiments were used to investigate crystallization behavior and microstructure development of a nearly monodisperse poly(ethylene oxide) [PEO] (M_w = 53,500), and its melt-miscible blends with two fractionated styrene - hydroxystyrene random copolymers [SHS]. PEO crystallization rates decrease significantly in the presence of the melt-miscible SHS copolymers. All low and high molecular weight SHS blends exhibit a crystallization process at relatively short times characterized by large Avrami exponents (n), followed by a dominant process with n near that of neat PEO. A model for the crystallization of these blends is proposed.     

Crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide) confined in semicrystalline poly(vinylidene) fluoride

Polymer blends based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) have been prepared to analyze the crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide) confined in semicrystalline PVDF with different ratios of both polymers. Both blend components were dissolved in a common solvent, dimethyl formamide. Blend films were obtained by casting from the solution at 70 °C. Thus, PVDF crystals are formed by crystallization from the solution while PEO (which is in the liquid state during the whole process) is confined between PVDF crystallites. The kinetics of crystallization of the confined PEO phase was studied by isothermal and nonisothermal experiments. Fitting of Avrami model to the experimental DSC traces allows a quantitative comparison of the influence of the PVDF/PEO ratio in the blend on the crystallization behavior. The effect of melting and further recrystallization of the PVDF matrix on PEO confinement is also studied. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 588–597     

Crystallization and chain conformation of semicrystalline and amorphous polymer blends studied by wide‐angle and small‐angle scattering

We examine the crystallization and chain conformation behavior of semicrystalline poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and amorphous poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) mixtures with wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), and small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments. For blends with PEO weight fractions (wt_PEO) greater than or equal to 0.3, below the melting point of PEO, the WAXD patterns reveal that crystalline PEO belongs to the monoclinic system. The unit‐cell parameters are independent of wt_PEO. However, the bulk crystallinity determined from WAXD decreases as wt_PEO decreases. The scattered intensities from SAXS experiments show that the systems form an ordered crystalline/amorphous lamellar structure. In a combination of WAXD and SAXS analysis, the related morphological parameters are assigned correctly. With the addition of amorphous PVAc, both the average amorphous layer thickness and long spacing increase, whereas the average crystalline layer thickness decreases. We find that a two‐phase analysis of the correlation function from SAXS, in which the scattering invariant is linearly proportional to the volume fraction of lamellar stacks, describes quantitatively the crystallization behavior of PEO in the presence of PVAc. When wt_PEO is close to 1, the samples are fully spaced‐filled with lamellar stacks. As wt_PEO decreases from 1.0 to 0.3, more PVAc chains are excluded from the interlamellar region into the interfibrillar region. The fraction outside the lamellar stacks, which is completely occupied with PVAc chains, increases from 0 to 58%. Because the radius of gyration of PVAc with a random‐coil configuration determined from SANS is smaller than the average amorphous layer thickness from SAXS, we believe that the amorphous PVAc chains still persist with a random‐coil configuration even when the blends form an ordered structure. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2705–2715, 2001