Surface and interfacial properties of PVDF/acrylic copolymer blends before and after UV exposure

Morphological and chemical properties of both the surface and interface of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate)-co-poly(ethyl acrylate) (PVDF/PMMA-co-PEA) blend films have been investigated before and after the samples were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation using a xenon arc lamp at 50 °C and 9% relative humidity (RH) for 7 months. Surface and interfacial morphologies were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Chemical composition information was obtained by confocal Raman microscopy, attenuated total reflection-FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. Results show an enrichment of the PVDF material at the air surface, while the acrylic copolymer enriches the interface. Blends having greater than 50% mass fraction of PVDF show little change in the surface morphology after UV exposure for 7 months. However, for a lower PVDF content, blends exhibit significant degradation of PMMA-co-PEA copolymer and a much rougher surface after UV exposure. Microstructural changes in the PVDF spherulites are also observed after UV degradation. It is found that the surface and interfacial morphologies are correlated with the chemical properties.     

Latex particles bearing hydrophilic grafted hairs with controlled chain length and functionality synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer

A method is described for synthesizing latex particles with anchored hairs by the grafting of hydrophilic chains, synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer, onto functionalized latex particles. These have the potential to bind biologically active species. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1188–1195, 2003     

Preparation of Phosphoric-Carboxylic Cation Exchangers from Wood Cellulose

Phosphorus-containing cellulose cation exchangers were synthesized by reaction of wood cellulose with orthophosphoric acid and the ternary polymer from glycidylmethacrylate, styrene, and maleic anhydride. The effects of the ratio of reactants, temperature, and duration of the reaction on the phosphorylation and exchange capacity of the modified cellulose material were studied.     

On‐line Determination of Particle Size Distributions in Flowing Dispersions

Emulsions are of great importance to industry. They are involved in many engineering operations, including chemical reactions, extraction, emulsification and suspension polymerization, etc. However, an important problem for these processes is how to control the size distribution of the dispersed phase. Indeed, off‐line analysis of the emulsion may generate uncertainties due to sampling and dilution of the product, which are likely to change the dispersion state and physico‐chemical properties. In this work, an on‐line optical method is proposed to characterize dispersed media in real flowing conditions. This method is based on the time‐analysis of back‐scattered light fluctuations. The present paper deals with the development of this method and its application to dispersions of alumina in water. The results obtained with the on‐line optical method are compared with those acquired by classical laser light scattering and microscopy.     

Physicochemical studies on hydrophobic PEO‐PPO‐PEO triblock copolymer micelles in SDS micellar environment

The shape, size, aggregation, hydration, and correlation times of water insoluble PEO‐PPO‐PEO triblock copolymer micelles with sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) micelles were investigated using transport studies and dynamic light scattering technique. From the conductance of micellar solutions of the polymer in 25 mM SDS and 5 mM NaCl, the hydration of polymer micelles were determined using the principle of obstruction of electrolyte migration by the polymer. The asymmetry of the micellar particles of polymer and polymer‐SDS mixed micellar systems in 5 mM NaCl and their average axial ratios were calculated using intrinsic viscosity and hydration data obeying Simha–Einstein equation. Hydration number and micellar sizes were variable with temperature. The shape of the polymer micelles has been ellipsoidal rather than spherical. The micellar volume, hydrodynamic radius, radius of gyration, diffusional coefficients as well as translational, rotational and effective correlation times have been calculated from the absolute values of the axes. The partial molal volume of polymer micelles has also been determined and its comparison with the molar volume of pure polymer suggested a volume contraction due to immobilization of the water phase by the hydrophilic head groups of the polymer. The thermodynamic activation parameters for viscous flow favor a more ordered water structure around polymer micelles at higher temperatures. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2410–2420, 2007     

Features of the total disintegration events of heavyemulsion targets caused by 4.5A GeV/c16O

Total disintegration events produced by 4.5\,A GeV/c $^{16}$O--AgBr interactions are analysed to investigate the characteristics of secondary charged particles produced in such collisions. The multiplicity distributions of grey, black, and relativistic charged particles can be well represented by Gaussian distribution. The average multiplicity of grey particles is found to increase with the mass of projectile increasing, while that of black particles is found to decrease with the mass of projectile increasing. This result is in good agreement with the prediction of fireball model. Finally, the linear dependence between grey and black particles is observed, but there is no distinct dependence between the production of relativistic charged particles and the target excitation.     

The effect of ITO films thickness on the properties of flexible organic light emitting diode

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on cyclic olefin copolymer substrate at room temperature by an inverse target sputtering system. The crystal structure and the surface morphology of the deposited ITO films were examined by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, separately. The electrical properties of the conductive films were explored by four-point probing. Visible spectrometer was used to measure the optical properties of ITO-coated films. The performance of the flexible organic light emitting diode device with different thickness anode was investigated in this study.     

Properties of polystyrene-poly(methylmethacrylate) random and diblock copolymers in dilute and semidilute solutions

Solution properties for random and diblock copolymers of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) have been measured by dynamic and total intensity light scattering in solvents of differing quality. The results are compared with the corresponding properties for PS and PMMA homopolymers of similar molecular weight, in order to determine if interactions between unlike monomers are significant. The hydrodynamic radius (R_h) and diffusion second virial coefficient (k_d) for the random copolymer are found to be larger than the corresponding values for the homopolymers in a solvent which is near-theta for the two homopolymers, whereas no such effect is observed for the block copolymer. This suggests that most intrachain interactions occur a relatively short distance along the chain backbone. In a mutual good solvent R_h and k_d of the random copolymer are comparable to the average of the values for the homopolymers, indicating that in a good solvent monomer/solvent interactions dominate over monomer/monomer interactions. For an isolated diblock copolymer in a mutual good solvent, there is no evidence that interactions between unlike monomers lead to additional expansion of the entire molecule, as measured by R_h, nor expansion of the individual blocks as probed by light scattering with one block optically masked. However, at low but finite concentration there is evidence (the coefficients of the binary interaction terms in the viscosity and the mutual diffusion coefficient, and the second and third virial coefficients) that a weak ordering effect may exist in block copolymer solutions, far from the conditions where microphase separation occurs. Finally, measurements of ternary polymer-polymer-solvent solutions show no dependence on monomer composition or monomer distribution for the tracer diffusion of probe PS-PMMA copolymers in a PMMA/toluene matrix. This indicate that the frictional interaction is largely unaffected by interactions between unlike monomers. However, there is evidence that the thermodynamic interaction is more unfavorable between a random copolymer and the homopolymer matrix than between a diblock and the matrix. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

三组元乳化液雾化特性的研究

采用Malvern粒度仪对柴油、甲醇和水三组元乳化液的雾化特性进行了研究。实验发现:对于压力雾化喷嘴来说,本文所涉及的乳化液由于粘度高于纯柴油,因此雾化效果比纯柴油差,而且喷射压力、乳化剂的粘度和乳化液的组份对乳化液的雾化特性具有显著的影响。随着喷射压力的升高,乳化液喷雾粒径将随之减小;若乳化液中柴油的含量(柴油不少于50％)降低,乳化液的雾化粒径将随之增加;若采用高粘度的乳化剂,相应乳化液喷雾的粒径也大。     

Synthesis of side‐chain liquid‐crystalline homopolymers and triblock copolymers with p‐methoxyazobenzene moieties and poly(ethylene glycol) as coil segments by atom transfer radical polymerization and their thermotropic phase behavior

A series of side‐chain liquid‐crystalline (LC) homopolymers of poly[6‐(4‐methoxy‐4′‐oxy‐azobenzene) hexyl methacrylate] with different degrees of polymerization were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), which were prepared with a wide range of number‐average molecular weights from 5.1 × 10³ to 20.6 × 10³ with narrow polydispersities of around 1.17. Thermal investigation showed that the homopolymers exhibit two mesophases, a smectic phase, and a nematic phase, and the phase‐transition temperatures of the homopolymers increase clearly with increasing molecular weights. A series of novel LC coil triblock copolymers with narrow polydispersities was synthesized by ATRP, and their thermotropic phase behavior was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. The LC coil triblocks were designed to have an LC conformation of poly[6‐(4‐methoxy‐4′‐oxy‐azobenzene) hexyl methacrylate] with a wide range of molecular weights from 3.5 × 10³ to 1.7 × 10⁴ and the coil conformation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (number‐average molecular weight: 6000 or 12,000) segment. Their characterization was investigated with ¹H NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and gel permeation chromatography. Triblock copolymers exhibited a crystalline phase, a smectic phase, and a nematic phase. The phase‐transition temperatures from the smectic to nematic phase and from the nematic to isotropic phase increased, and the crystallization of PEG depressed with increasing molecular weight of the LC block. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2854–2864, 2003