Chain‐Length Dependence of the Electrochemical Properties of Conjugated Oligofluorenes

Summary: Electrochemical properties of monodisperse oligofluorenes ( OF n , n = 2 to 7) and corresponding polyfluorene were studied by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. In combination with data of UV‐vis absorption spectra, a series of linear relations such as the band gap, the oxidation potential, the ionization potential, and the electron affinity with the reciprocal number of the fluorene units (1/n) were deduced. When a chain length of ca. 14 repeat units is reached, a stable structure of about one positive charge per 3.5 repeat units is obtained.

     

Chain Transfer and Efficiency of End‐Group Introduction in Free Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in the Presence of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Macromonomer

Summary: Experimental and modeling studies of addition–fragmentation chain transfer (AFCT) during radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of poly(methyl methacrylate) macromonomer with 2‐carbomethoxy‐2‐propenyl ω‐ends (PMMA‐CO₂Me) at 60 °C are reported. The results revealed that AFCT involving PMMA‐CO₂Me formed in situ during methyl methacrylate polymerization has a negligible effect on the molecular weight distribution.

     

Binding and Sulfonation of Poly(acrylic acid) on Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: a Novel,Magnetic, Strong Acid Cation Nano‐Adsorbent

Summary: A novel, magnetic, strong acid cation nano‐adsorbent has been developed by the covalent binding of poly(acrylic acid) on the surface of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles followed by sulfonation using sulfanilic acid via carbodiimide activation. The nano‐absorbent can be easily recovered or manipulated with an external magnetic field and shows a good capacity for the rapid and efficient adsorption of multivalent metal cations from aqueous solutions.

An illustration for the binding and sulfonation of PAA on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles to produce a magnetic, strong acid cation nano‐adsorbent.     

A Preparation Method for Well‐Defined Crystallites of Mgcl2‐Supported Ziegler‐Natta Catalysts and their Observation by AFM and SEM

A method for the preparation of well‐defined crystallites of MgCl₂‐supported Ziegler‐Natta catalysts on Si wafers has been developed. This has been achieved by the spin‐coating of a MgCl₂ solution onto a flat Si wafer, followed by controlled crystal growth to give well‐defined MgCl₂ · nEtOH crystallites. The growth of the crystallites on the flat silica facilitates their characterization using electron and scanning probe microscopy. The relative proportions of 120° and 90° edge angles indicate the preference for the formation of a particular crystallite face for the MgCl₂. Polyethylene has been identified to be formed on the lateral faces of the crystallite.

     

High‐Performance Exfoliated Poly(propylene)/Clay Nanocomposites by In Situ Polymerization with a Novel Z–N/Clay Compound Catalyst

Highly exfoliated poly(propylene) (PP)/clay nanocomposites with obvious improvements in both the tensile strength and toughness have been prepared by a novel TiCl₄/MgCl₂/imidazolium‐modified montmorillonite (IOHMMT) compound catalysts. Through this approach, in situ propylene polymerization can actually take place between the silicate layers and lead not only to PP with a high isotacticity and molecular weight, but also to a highly exfoliated structure even at high clay content levels (as high as 19 wt.‐%).

     

Hyperbranched Polycarbonate‐Based Multimolecular Micelle with Enhanced Stability and Loading Efficiency

We herein develop a facile catalyst‐free method to prepare hyperbranched hydroxyl‐enriched aliphatic polycarbonate according to SCROP strategy. PEG‐attached multiarm hyperbranched copolymer HEHDO‐star‐mPEG was further designed. It was found that HEHDO‐star‐mPEG can self‐assemble into supramolecular multimolecular micelles in water. HEHDO‐star‐mPEG micelle showed excellent stability with respect to micellar size upon dilution, and displayed good cell‐biocompatibility. An anticancer drug of doxorubicin with hydrogen‐bonding functionality was incorporated into obtained micelles to establish a drug delivery system model. A high drug‐loading content as well as sustained release pattern for HEHDO‐star‐mPEG based delivery system was achieved.

     

Low‐Cost,Thermoresponsive Wettability of Surfaces: Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)/Polystyrene Composite Films Prepared by Electrospinning

Low‐cost, responsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)/polystyrene composite films were prepared by a facile electrospinning technique. The surface structures and wettabilities of the composite films are tunable by simply controlling the concentration of polymer. With a proper proportion of each polymer, the wettability of the surface can be switched between superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity when the temperature is changed from 20 °C to 50 °C. The combination of a stimuli‐responsive polymer with micro/nanostructures on the surface of the composite film contributes to this unique surface property.

     

Synthesis of Chlorotitanium(IV) Schiff‐Base Complexes and their Application to Styrene Polymerization

Summary: A [TiCl₂(salen)] complex and its derivatives with the formula [TiCl₂(L)] [L = salen(tBu), salen(di‐Me), salen(di‐tBu), salen(Me)] were synthesized in high yield by reacting the Schiff‐base ligands with TiCl₄. [TiCl₂{salen(tBu)}] and [TiCl₂{salen(di‐tBu)}] have been characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Styrene polymerizations carried out with [TiCl₂(salen)] and its derivatives co‐catalyzed by MAO yielded syndiotactic polystyrenes. The catalytic activity and syndiospecificity were dependent on the bulkiness of the ortho substituents in the aryl ring of ligand.

     

Mapping Acid‐Catalyzed Deprotection in Thin Polymer Films: Fluorescence Imaging Using Prefluorescent 7‐Hydroxycoumarin Probes

Summary: Fluorescent images that illustrate acid‐catalyzed tert‐butoxycarbonyl (tBoc) deprotection patterns in polymer films were obtained using fluorescent sensors based on 7‐hydroxycoumarin dyes. Three commercial 7‐hydroxycoumarins, which are highly fluorescent, become practically nonemissive upon protection of the 7‐hydroxyl position with tBoc. In thin polymer films, the protected “prefluorescent” probes can return to their deprotected, fluorescent states by reaction with catalytic amounts of photogenerated acid and mild heating.

Protected probes become highly fluorescent after acid‐induced deprotection.     

Propylene Polymerization Performance of Isolated and Aggregated Ti Species Studied Using a Well‐Designed TiCl3/MgCl2 Ziegler‐Natta Model Catalyst

In propylene polymerization with MgCl₂‐supported Ziegler‐Natta catalysts, it is known that the reduction of TiCl₄ with alkylaluminum generates Ti³⁺ active species, and at the same time, leads to the growth of TiCl_x aggregates. In this study, the aggregation states of the Ti species were controlled by altering the Ti content in a TiCl₃/MgCl₂ model catalyst prepared from a TiCl₃ · 3C₅H₅N complex. It is discovered that all the Ti species become isolated mononuclear with a highly aspecific feature below 0.1 wt.‐% of the Ti content, and that the isolated aspecific Ti species are more efficiently converted into highly isospecific ones by the addition of donors than active sites in aggregated Ti species.

     

Towards the Generation of Self‐Healing Materials by Means of a Reversible Photo‐induced Approach

Photo‐induced reversibility as a tool for self‐healing: a reversible photo‐induced dendritic macromonomer was synthesized and proven to form networks with different features depending on the crosslinking conditions. While networks formed from aqueous systems exhibited a reversible change in their crosslinking degree, networks generated in bulk underwent fully reversibility. The latter was then exploited for generating self‐healing materials by means of a photo‐induced treatment.

     

Enhanced Templating in the Crystallisation of Poly(ε‐caprolactone) Using 1,3:2,4‐di(4‐Chlorobenzylidene) Sorbitol

We show that small quantities of 1,3:2,4‐di(4‐chlorobenzylidene) sorbitol dispersed in poly(ε‐caprolactone) provide a very effective self‐assembling nanoscale framework which, with a flow field, yields extremely high levels of polymer crystal orientation. During modest shear flow of the polymer melt, the additive forms highly extended nano‐particles which adopt a preferred alignment with respect to the flow field. On cooling, polymer crystallisation is directed by these particles. This chloro substituted dibenzylidene sorbitol is considerably more effective at directing the crystal growth of poly(ε‐caprolactone) than the unsubstituted compound.

     

Titanium‐Catalyzed Norbornene Oligomerization. Isolation of a Crystalline Heptamer with a 2,3‐exo‐Disyndiotactic Structure

Summary: Norbornene (NB) was oligomerized at 0 °C using AlEt₂Cl‐TiCl₄ at a monomer/titanium molar ratio of about 11. The oligomerization product consists of a fraction soluble in diethyl ether, amorphous by X‐ray examination, and of a crystalline fraction, insoluble in diethyl ether. The crystalline fraction was shown by powder X‐ray diffraction to consist of a NB heptamer. Single‐crystal X‐ray analysis indicated that the heptamer had a stereoregular 2,3‐exo‐disyndiotactic structure. The heptamer adopts a strained, highly irregular, folded conformation in the crystalline state. Structural differences with respect to NB oligomers obtained with zirconocene catalysts are discussed.

A view of the molecular structure of the crystalline NB heptamer.     

Novel Hole‐Transport Material for Efficient Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes by Photoreaction

Summary: The photo‐crosslinking of carbazole dendrimers was analyzed by UV and IR spectroscopic methods. Photoirradiation results in the formation of a film that is insoluble in toluene and benzene. Time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry studies revealed that the photoirradiation lead to an oligomerization of the dendrimer through crosslinking. The resulting insoluble dendrimer film could be applied as a hole‐transport layer in efficient polymer electroluminescence devices (PLEDs).

Luminance‐voltage characteristics for PLEDs wherein PEDOT:PSS and CbzG3 complex with SnCl₂ were employed as the hole transport layer (ITO/HTL/EML/Ca/Ag).     

A Highly Active Iron‐Based Catalyst System for the AGET ATRP of Styrene

The atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene using activators generated by electron transfer (AGET ATRP) has been carried out in bulk in a limited amount of air at 110 °C, using 1,3,5‐(2′‐bromo‐2′‐methylpropionato)benzene (BMPB) as an initiator and FeCl₃ · 6H₂O/tris(3,6‐dioxaheptyl) amine (TDA‐1)/ascorbic acid (VC) as a novel Fe^III‐mediated catalyst system. The results of the polymerizations demonstrate the features of ‘living’/controlled free‐radical polymerization, such as the number‐average molecular weights being close to their corresponding theoretical values and increasing linearly with monomer conversion, and narrow molecular weight distributions ( = 1.18–1.26). The end functionality of the obtained polymers was confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra as well as a chain‐extension reaction.

     

Reductive Formation of Isospecific Ti Dinuclear Species on a MgCl2 (110) Surface in Heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta Catalysts

Dinucleation of TiCl₄ on the MgCl₂ (100) surface has been conventionally believed as the origin of the stereospecificity of heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta catalysts for propylene polymerization, while the MgCl₂ (110) surface has been regarded as non‐stereoselective in the absence of organic donors. Based on periodic density functional calculations, we propose a new isospecific Ti dinuclear species on the MgCl₂ (110) surface, which is formed as a result of reduction of Ti from 4+ to 3+. The new species closely resembles the dinuclear species on the (100) surface, but two Ti ions are obliquely stacked along the (110) surface through Cl bridges. The results address the importance of the reduction and re‐distribution of surface Ti species after contacting with cocatalysts in considering the origin of the stereospecificity.

     

New Heteroaromatic Polymers Consisting of Alkyl‐ and Amino‐1,3,5‐triazine Units. Their Basic Optical Properties and n‐Type Time‐of‐Flight Drift Mobility

Summary: Alternating copolymers between substituted 1,3,5‐triazine (substituent = alkyl or amine) and thiophene or bithiophene are synthesized. The copolymer of amino‐1,3,5‐triazine with thiophene is soluble in organic solvents, transparent in most parts of the visible region, and photoluminescent. The copolymer receives electrochemical n‐doping with an E_pc of −2.08 V vs Ag⁺/Ag and shows a time‐of‐flight electron drift mobility of 2.0 × 10⁻⁴ cm² · V⁻¹ · s⁻¹, which is larger than that of widely used Al(8‐quinolinolato)₃.

Structure of the poly(1,3,5‐triazine)s.     

Electrophoresis of Bottle‐Brush Polyelectrolytes in an Attractive Nanochannel

A molecular dynamics study of the electrophoresis of bottle‐brush polyelectrolytes (BPEs) through nanochannels is reported. The BPE molecules consist of a neutral backbone with charged side chains. For strong attractive interactions between the BPE and the wall, the BPE is being trapped on the channel surface. A stretching–shrinking migration of the BPE in a channel of radius 6σ is observed at relatively strong electric fields. The stretching–shrinking transition is periodic for intermediate electric fields but not for stronger electric fields. The BPE also shows a transverse migration toward the wall at weak electric fields, while toward the center with further enhancing the electric field. For a channel with larger radius 12σ, the BPE does not migrate in the stretching–shrinking manner.

     

Polymer‐Based Rectifying Diodes on a Glass Substrate Fabricated by Ink‐Jet Printing

Summary: The fabrication of polymer diodes on a glass substrate by an ink‐jet printing technique is reported. Both an n‐type semiconductive polymer, poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2‐ethylhexyloxy)‐1,4‐(1‐cyanovinylene)phenylene] (CN‐PPV), and a p‐type semiconductive polymer, polypyrrole (PPy) or poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), were printed through a piezoelectric ink‐jet printer. The printed CN‐PPV/PPy and CN‐PPV/PEDOT diodes showed good rectifying characteristics. These results indicate the potential of the low‐cost ink‐jet printing technique to produce polymer microelectronic devices and circuits.

Schematic diagram of the printed polymer diode     

The Utilization of Isolation Chromophore in an “A3+B2” Type Second‐Order Nonlinear Optical Hyperbranched Polymer

In this paper, a new nonlinear optical (NLO) hyperbranched polymer P1 is designed and synthesized successfully through one‐pot “A₃+B₂” approach via a simple Sonogashira coupling reaction, in which isolation chromophore is introduced to improve its comprehensive performance such as NLO activity, optical transparency, and stability. For comparison, its analogs, P2 and P3 , just containing one type of chromophore, are also prepared. Although P1 cannot be well poled under our test conditions, its NLO coefficient is still much higher than its analogs P2 , P3, and the linear polyaryleneethynylene P4 , which also contains isolation chromophore, indicating the advantages of isolation chromophore and the three‐dimensional (3D) spatial isolation from the highly branched structure in the NLO field.