Synthesis and optoelectronic properties of silole‐containing polyfluorenes with binary structures

2,5‐Bis(2‐bromofluorene‐7‐yl)silole was prepared by a modified one‐pot synthesis with a reverse addition procedure, from which novel silole‐containing polyfluorenes with binary random and alternating structures (silole contents between 4.5 and 25% and high M_w up to 509 kDa were successfully synthesized. The well‐defined repeating unit of the alternating copolymer comprises a terfluorene and a silole ring. Optoelectronic properties including UV absorption, electrochemistry, photoluminescence (PL), and electroluminescence (EL) of the copolymers were examined. The different excitation energy transfers from fluorene to silole of the copolymers in solution and in the solid state were compared. The films of the copolymers showed silole‐dominant green emissions with high absolute PL quantum yields up to 83%. EL devices of the copolymers with a configuration of ITO/PEDOT/copolymer/Ba/Al displayed exclusive silole emissions peaked at around 543 nm and the highest EL efficiency was achieved with the alternating copolymer. Using the alternating copolymer and poly(9,9‐dioctylfluorene) as the blend‐type emissive layer, a maximum external quantum efficiency of 1.99% (four times to that of the neat film) was realized, which was a high efficiency so far reported for silole‐containing polymers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 756–767, 2007     

Syntheses and characterization of 16‐arm star and star diblock copolymer and AB8 9‐miktoarm star copolymer via NMRP and ROP from dendritic multifunctional macroinitiators

A dendritic macroinitiator having 16 TEMPO‐based alkoxyamines, Star‐16 , was prepared by the reaction of a dendritic macroinitiator having eight TEMPO‐based alkoxyamines, [G‐3]‐OH , with 4,4′‐bis(chlorocarbonyl)biphenyl. The nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization (NMRP) of styrene (St) from Star‐16 gave 16‐arm star polymers with PDI of 1.19–1.47, and NMPR of 4‐vinylpyridine from the 16‐arm star polymer gave 16‐arm star diblock copolymers with PDI of 1.30–1.43. The ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone from [G‐3]‐OH and the subsequent NMRP of St gave AB₈ 9‐miktoarm star copolymers with PDI of 1.30–1.38. The benzyl ether linkages of the 16‐arm star polymers and the AB₈ 9‐miktoarm star copolymers were cleaved by treating with Me₃SiI, and the resultant poly(St) arms were investigated by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The SEC results showed PDIs of 1.23–1.28 and 1.18–1.22 for the star polymers and miktoarm stars copolymers, respectively, showing that they have well‐controlled poly(St) arms. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1159–1169, 2007.     

Ring‐opening grafting polymerization of cyclic monomers onto human hair

Natural human hair was successfully modified by the graft polymerization of trimethylene carbonate, β‐propiolactone, ε‐caprolactone, glycidol, ε‐caprolactam, and 5,5‐dimethyl‐1,3‐dioxane‐2‐thione. In contrast, we could not modify natural human hair by the graft polymerization of oxetane under similar conditions. The model reaction suggested that the main initiating species in these polymerizations were the amino, thiol, and hydroxyl groups in hair, which could induce ring‐opening polymerization. Among the tested monomers, β‐propiolactone was most effective for hair modification with its graft polymer, whose concentration was as high as 0.5 g/g of hair though polymerization under mild conditions. The effects of the hair pretreatment and polymerization temperature on the weight ratio of the grafted polymers were also investigated. Hair modified by grafted polymers was characterized with scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared measurements. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 736–744, 2007     

Bipyridinophane‐containing conjugated polymers modulated with an intramolecular aromatic C?H/π interaction

Bipyridinophane–fluorene conjugated copolymers have been synthesized via Suzuki and Heck coupling reactions from 5,8‐dibromo‐2,11‐dithia[3]paracyclo[3](4,4′)‐2,2′‐bipyridinophane and suitable fluorene precursors. Poly[2,7‐(9,9‐dihexylfluorene)‐co‐alt‐5,8‐(2,11‐dithia[3]paracyclo[3](4,4′)‐2,2′‐bipyridinophane)] ( P7 ) exhibits large absorption and emission redshifts of 20 and 34 nm, respectively, with respect to its planar reference polymer Poly[2,7‐(9,9‐dihexylfluorene)‐co‐alt‐1,4‐(2,5‐dimethylbenzene)] ( P11 ), which bears the same polymer backbone as P7 . These spectral shifts originate from intramolecular aromatic C? H/π interactions, which are evidenced by ultraviolet–visible and ¹H NMR spectra as well as X‐ray single‐crystal structural analysis. However, the effect of the intramolecular aromatic C? H/π interactions on the spectral shift in poly[9,9‐dihexylfluorene‐2,7‐yleneethynylene‐co‐alt‐5,8‐(2,11‐dithia[3]paracyclo[3](4,4′)‐2,2′‐bipyridinophane)] ( P10 ) is much weaker. Most interestingly, the quenching behaviors of these two conjugated polymers are largely dependent on the polymer backbone. For example, the fluorescence of P7 is efficiently quenched by Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Ag⁺ ions. In contrast, only Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺ ions can partially quench the fluorescence of P10 , but much less efficiently than the fluorescence of P7 . The static Stern–Volmer quenching constants of Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺ ions toward P7 are of the order of 10⁶ M^?1, being 1300, 2500, and 37,300 times larger than those of P10 , respectively. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4154–4164, 2006     

Continuous peeling extrusion of SEBS block copolymers

During continuous peeling, a central polymer rod free of visible defects was continuously extruded while being peeled at the die exit. Continuous peeling can occur at flow rates orders of magnitude higher than those at which initial surface cracking is observed. Thus, if continuous peeling can be controlled it may have potential industrial applications. The aim of this work was to study how different extrusion parameters (temperature, flow rate, die length and diameter) affect the presence of continuous peeling. The melt exiting the die has been filmed to link physical measurements and observations and to determine whether or not continuous peeling is present. Different criteria have been considered to represent the extrusion conditions under which continuous peeling may occur. Surface tension criteria can be used to try to predict the appearance and disappearance of continuous peeling. A correlation formula is also proposed for the rod diameter in terms of surface tension. Our results show that the ratio of the rod diameter to the die diameter is approximately 25% greater in the case of short-orifice dies (L/D ≈ 0) than for long capillaries (L/D ≈ 10). The correlations obtained allow analysis and discussion of flow regimes for possible applications.     

Thermal stability of poly(mono-n-alkylitaconates) and mono-n-alkylitaconate-co-vinylpyrrolidone copolymers I

Poly(monoitaconates) containing octyl, decyl and dodecyl groups and random monoalkylitaconate-co-vinylpyrrolidone copolymers were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. Copolymers of mono-n-octylitaconate (MOI), mono-n-decylitaconate (MDI), and mono-n-dodecylitaconate (MDoI), respectively, with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) of different compositions were studied by dynamic thermogravimetric analysis. The thermal stability of the copolymers depends on the structure of the monoitaconate comonomer and on the composition of the copolymer The kinetic analysis of the degradation data shows that the thermal decomposition of these copolymers can be described by several kinetic orders depending on the copolymer and on the composition. The relative thermal stability of the copolymers increases as the VP content increases and as the length of the side chain of the itaconate increases, following the same trend as the flexibility of the copolymers in solution.     

Reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene in miniemulsion

In the reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of two monomers, even with the simple terminal model, there are two kinds of macroradical and two kinds of polymeric RAFT agent with different R groups. Because the structure of the R group could exert a significant influence on the RAFT process, RAFT copolymerization may behave differently from RAFT homopolymerization. The RAFT copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) in miniemulsion was investigated. The performance of the RAFT copolymerization of MMA/St in miniemulsion was found to be dependent on the feed monomer compositions. When St is dominant in the feed monomer composition, RAFT copolymerization is well controlled in the whole range of monomer conversion. However, when MMA is dominant, RAFT copolymerization may be, in some cases, out of control in the late stage of copolymerization, and characterized by a fast increase in the polydispersity index (PDI). The RAFT process was found to have little influence on composition evolution during copolymerization. The synthesis of the well‐defined gradient copolymers and poly[St‐b‐(St‐co‐MMA)] block copolymer by RAFT miniemulsion copolymerization was also demonstrated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6248–6258, 2004     

Chelate polymers: II. Some novel transition metals complexes with azomethine‐containing siloxanes and their polyesters

New Schiff bases of 2,4‐dihydroxybenzaldehyde with siloxane‐α,ω‐diamines having different numbers of siloxane units in the chain have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopy, elemental and thermal analyses. These azomethines were found to form complexes readily with copper(II), nickel(II), cobalt(II), cadmium(II) and zinc(II). From IR and UV–Vis studies, the phenolic oxygen and imine nitrogen of the ligand were found to be the coordination sites. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data indicate the chelates to be more stable than the corresponding ligands. The melting points increase with shortening of the siloxane segment from azomethine, as well as the result of complexation. The chelates obtained were covalently inserted in polymeric linear structures by polycondensation through the OH‐difunctionalized ligand with 1,3‐bis(carboxypropyl)tetramethyldisiloxane. Direct polycondensation, assisted either by acetic anhydride or N,N′‐dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as dehydrating agent and the complex 4‐(dimethylamino)pyridinium 4‐toluenesulfonate as catalyst, was used for the synthesis of these compound types. The structures of the polymers obtained were confirmed by IR, UV and ¹H NMR. Characterization was undertaken by TGA, solubility tests and viscosity measurements. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular weight dependence of diblock copolymer segregation at a polymer/polymer interface

Utilizing forward recoil spectrometry (FRES), we have determined the segregation isotherm which describes the interfacial excess z_i^* of diblock copolymers of poly (d₈-styrene-b-2-vinylpyridine) (dPS-PVP) at the interface between the homopolymers PS and PVP as a function of ?_∞, the volume fraction of diblock copolymer remaining in the host homopolymer. All the samples were analyzed after annealing at temperatures and times sufficient to achieve equilibrium segregation. The effect of the degree of polymerization of both the diblock copolymers and the host homopolymers on the segregation isotherm is investigated. When the degree of polymerization of the homopolymer is much larger than that of the diblock copolymer, the normalized interfacial excess (z_i^*/R_g), where R_g is the radius of gyration of an isolated block copolymer chain, is a universal function of that portion of the block copolymer chemical potential due to chain stretching. The existence of such a universal function is predicted by theory and its form is in good agreement with self-consistent mean field calculations. Using these results, one can predict important aspects of the block copolymer segregation (e.g., the saturation interfacial excess) without recourse to the time-consuming numerical calculations. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Influence of heat treatment conditions on the porosity changes of sulfonated styrene/divinylbenzene copolymers

Sulfonic cation exchangers with two ion exchange group concentrations (0.5 and 2.4 mmol/g, samples A and B, respectively) were obtained by sulfonation of a porous styrene (S) and divinylbenzene (DVB) copolymer with chlorosulfonic acid. Strong thermal decomposition of the sulfonated copolymer A, accompanied by significant changes in its porous structure, starts at ca. 400°C. The char has no sulfonic groups. After heat treatment at 400°C in steam, a sorbent was obtained (yield 65%) that shows higher phenol sorption than the untreated sample when related to the bed volume. The chlorosulfonic derivatives of the initial copolymer were less thermally resistant than the sulfonic ones obtained by hydrolysis. Pyrolysis of the cation exchanger B, in its H+ and Ca²⁺ forms, was carried out at 900°C (yield of both chars close to 30%). By subsequent steam activation at 800°C to a 50% burn-off of the char, sorbents with well-developed, but distinctly different, porous structures were obtained. The activated char from the sulfonated copolymer in its hydrogen form was highly microporous and indicated an effective surface area of 1180 m²/g. However, because of a low contribution of mesopores, its ability to adsorb phenol from the liquid phase was not very high. The activated char from the calcium-doped copolymer, indicating a smaller surface area (580 m²/g) but characterized by a well-developed mesoporosity, was a better sorbent for phenol. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.