Effect of reactive and nonreactive surface modifications and compatibilizer use on mechanical and flame-retardant properties of linear low-density polyethylene filled with huntite and hydromagnesite mineral

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the current study, huntite and hydromagnesite (HH) was used as flame-retardant additive in linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The effect of HH...     

Electroinitiated Polymerization of N-Vinylcarbazole by Direct Electron Transfer

Electroinitiated polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole has been accomplished by constant potential electrolysis. It was found that direct electron transfer from the monomer to the anode initiates the polymerization even at a potential as low as +0.95 V versus Ag^?/ Ag⁺. Dichloromethane was used as the solvent, and the electrolyte was tetrabutylammonium fluoroborate. Conversions as high as 86% were reached even when a microelectrode was used. Effects of electrode area, temperature, and electrode potential on polymerization were studied. Percent conversion was followed by cyclic voltammetry.     

Characterization of Electroinitiated and Radiation Polymerized Poly(Butadiene Sulfone)

Polymerization of butadiene sulfone was accomplished by using two different methods. The first method involves electrochemical polymerization of the monomer using the constant potential electrolysis technique. Oxidation of the monomer under nitrogen atmosphere in an acetonitrile-tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate system yields brown, tarry polymers. On the other hand, the second initiation method, which was radiation polymerization, yields white, powdery polymers. Structural analyses of the two polymers by various spectroscopic methods suggest a structure consisting of two different units in different proportions.     

Thiadiazoloquinoxaline and benzodithiophene bearing polymers for electrochromic and organic photovoltaic applications

Abstract

Two novel thiadiazoloquinoxaline and benzodithiophene (BDT) bearing copolymers were designed and synthesized. Different BDT units (alkoxy and thiophene substituted) were used as donor materials and the effect of alkoxy and thiophene substitution on the electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical and photovoltaic properties were investigated. Both polymers exhibited low oxidation potentials at around 0.90 V and low optical band gaps at around 1.00?eV due to the insertion of electron poor thiadiazoloquinoxaline unit into the polymer backbone. Both P1 (poly-6,7-bis(3,4-bis(decyloxy)phenyl)-4-(4,8-bis(nonan-3-yloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophen-2-yl)-[1, 2, 5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline) and P2 (poly- 4-(4,8-bis(5-(nonan-3-yl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophen-2-yl)-6,7-bis(3,4-bis(decyloxy)phenyl)-[1, 2, 5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline) exhibited multichromic behavior with different tones of greenish yellow and gray in the neutral and fully oxidized states, respectively. In addition, both polymers revealed very high optical contrasts (～87%) in the NIR region which make these promising polymers good candidates for NIR applications. Finally, in order to explore the organic photovoltaic performances, P1 and P2 were mixed with PC₇₁BM in the active layer of organic solar cells (OSCs) by conventional device structure. As a result P1 and P2 based devices revealed power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 0.33% and 0.60% respectively. However, the additive treatment enhanced PCE from 0.49 to 0.73% for P2 based devices.     

Syntheses,electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical characterization of benzothiadiazole and benzoselenadiazole based random copolymers

Three novel donor-acceptor-donor type random copolymers based on benzothiadiazole (BTh) and benzoselenadiazole (BSe) were synthesized via Pd (0) catalyzed Suzuki polycondensation reaction. The two acceptor units were coupled with electron rich moieties which are carbazole (CZ), fluorene (FL) and silafluorene (SiFL). Monomers were characterized using ¹H and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The number and weight average molecular weights of the polymers were calculated using gel permeation chromatography (GPC). All three polymers were electrochemically and spectroelectrochemically characterized. PBThBSeCZ, PBThBSeFL and PBThBSeSiFL showed only p-dopable character and their doping/dedoping potentials were determined as 1.4 V/1.2 V, 1.53 V/1.27 V and 1.8 V/1.3 V, respectively. Corresponding HOMO energy levels were calculated as ?5.85 eV, ?6.05 eV and ?6.15 eV whereas LUMO energy levels were found to be ?3.67 eV, ?3.84 eV and ?3.77 eV, respectively. PBThBSeCZ had lower HOMO level and band gap than PBThBSeFL and PBThBSeSiFL due to its increased electron donating capability of nitrogen atom in carbazole unit.     

A new high‐performance blue to transmissive electrochromic material and use of silver nanowire network electrodes as substrates

Synthesis of a novel, high‐performance blue to transmissive switching electrochromic material is described. The polymer (P1) was prepared by both electrochemical ( P1E ) and chemical ( P1C ) means from the corresponding monomer. The electrochemically synthesized polymer ( P1E ) revealed 64% optical contrast change (on ITO) in the visible region and very fast switching times of 0.32 s (coloration) and 0.90 s (bleaching). On the other hand, the chemically synthesized, solution processable polymer ( P1C ) also showed a high optical contrast value (49%, on ITO) with very fast switching times of 0.86 s for coloration and 0.57 s for bleaching. These high optical contrast values coupled with fast switching times place these materials along with high‐performance blue to transmissive electrochromic polymers. Significantly, these improved characteristics were achieved by side chain engineering of a known, inferior blue to transmissive polymer, PBEBT. Towards fabrication of flexible electrochromic devices, the performance of P1C was also tested on silver nanowire network electrodes. Even though the full potential of the material could not be demonstrated, a good optical contrast of 24% was achieved using these electrodes. Under the same potential range allowed by silver nanowire network electrodes, P1C on ITO showed an optical contrast of 30%. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 1680–1686     

Electroinitiated polymerization of butadiene sulfone

Electroinitiated polymerization of butadiene sulfone was achieved by direct electron transfer in acetonitrile—tetrabutylammonium fluoroborate system by controlled potential electrolysis technique. High conversions were obtained at reasonable temperatures and polymerization times. The polymer was found to be composed of linear segments along with some cyclic units. The effect of monomer concentration, temperature, and polymerization potential on the rate of polymerization was investigated. Temperature and polymerization potential have positive effects on the rate of polymerization. The effect of ultrasonic vibration was also investigated by conducting electrolyses at different monomer concentrations in the presence and absence of ultrasonic vibration. It was observed that the rate of polymerization increases significantly in the presence of ultrasonic vibration. The inverse relationship between the rate of polymerization and monomer concentration was observed in presence and absence of ultrasonic vibration.     

Synthesis of bistriphenylamine‐ and benzodithiophene‐based random conjugated polymers for organic photovoltaic applications

In this study, donor–acceptor random polymers containing benzotriazole acceptor and bistriphenylamine and benzodithiophene donors, P1 and P2 , were successfully synthesized by Stille coupling polymerization. The effect of bistriphenylamine moiety and thiophene π‐conjugated linker on electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and optical behaviors of the polymers were investigated. Optoelectronic properties and photovoltaic performance of the polymers were examined under the illumination of AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm^?2. The polymers were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV‐Vis‐NIR absorption spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography. HOMO/LUMO energy levels of P1 and P2 were calculated as ?5.47 eV/–3.41 eV and ?5.43 eV/–3.27 eV, respectively. Bulk heterojunction type solar cells were constructed using blends of the polymers (donor) and [6,6]‐phenyl C₇₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) (acceptor). Photovoltaic studies showed that the highest power conversion efficiency of these photovoltaic devices were recorded as 3.50% with open circuit voltage; 0.79 V, short circuit current; 9.45 mA cm^?2, fill factor; 0.53 for P1 :PC₇₁BM (1:2, w/w) in 3% o‐dichlorobenzene (o‐DCB) solution and 3.15% with open circuit voltage; 0.75 V, short circuit current; 8.59 mA cm^?2, fill factor; 0.49 for P2 :PC₇₁BM (1:2, w/w) in 2% chlorobenzene (CB) solution. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 3705–3715     

Syntheses and Optical Properties of Perfluorophenyl Containing Benzimidazole Derivatives: The Effect of Donor Units

Synthesis of two novel donor – acceptor – donor type monomers containing benzimidazole as the acceptor unit and thiophene and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) as the donor units were performed. 2-(Perfluorophenyl)-4,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole and 4,7-bis(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-2-(perfluorophenyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole were synthesized successfully and polymerized electrochemically. The electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies of the polymers were studied. The effect of electron donating moieties on the optical properties of electrochemically polymerized polymers was investigated. Both polymers were p type dopable and possessed multi-chromic property. Optical studies demonstrated that the polymer based on EDOT unit (P2) resulted in lower band gap since EDOT is higher electron donating group than thiophene.