Oxetane‐terminated telechelic epoxy‐functional polyesters as cationically polymerizable thermoset resins: Tuning the reactivity with structural design

A series of epoxy‐functional telechelic oligomers containing oxetane end groups have been synthesized. The precursor monomer, extracted from outer Birch bark, was first polymerized through enzyme‐catalyzed esterification to form oligomers having epoxy and/or oxetane groups in the structures. The oligoesters were subsequently crosslinked through cationic polymerization either by epoxy or oxetane homopolymerization or copolymerization when both functionalities were present. A study of the polymerizations of the resins was performed “in situ” using real‐time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealing a preferred copolymerization when compared with the homopolymerization. By tailoring the different structures, it was possible to control the final mechanical properties of the networks. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2258–2266     

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL BLUE LIGHT EMITTING ROD-COIL DIBLOCK OLIGOMER

Four new rod-coil diblock molecules, which had well-defined para-phenylene oligomers (PPP, from biphenyl toquinquephenyl) as rigid segments and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, M_w ca. 750) as flexible segments, were synhesized. Thechemical structure and the number of repeating unit in PEO coil and PPP rod were characterized by ~1H-NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectromeny. The diblock oligomers showed good solubility in common organic solvents and aggregated in wateras characterized by a blue shift in UV-vis absorption spectra, a red shift in emission spectra, quenching of the fluorescenceand formation of the microfibrilla and fractal-like structures. The formation of different supramolecular structures meant thatthis effort might lead to commercial important highly organized functional materials.     

Curing of epoxy oligomers by the eutectic mixture of aromatic amines

Kinetics of curing of structurally different epoxy oligomers (ED-20 and PDI-3AK resins) in a mixture with other low-molecular-weight epoxy oligomers and plasticizers by the eutectic mixture of aromatic amines UP-0638/1 is studied by the DSC method. The activation energy and the heats of curing reactions are determined. It is established that crosslinked epoxy polymers cured at moderate temperatures (40–80°C) are strong moisture-resistant compositions with different mechanical characteristics. Plasicized elastomers based on PDI-3AK resin with glass transition temperatures of ?78 and ?95°C are freeze-and heat-resistant materials.     

Synthesis and self-assembly of oligomers containing cruciform 9,10-bis(arylethynyl)anthracene unit: formation of supramolecular nanostructures based on rod-length-dependent organization

Conjugated rod-coil molecules, incorporating flexible and rigid blocks, have a strong affinity to self-organize into various supramolecular nanostructures in the bulk state.In this study, we report synthesized oligomers containing cruciform 9,10-bis(arylethynyl)anthracene units and characterized their self-assembly behavior. The molecular structures were characterized with ¹H, ¹³C NMR, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectroscopy. An investigation of the supramolecular nanostructures of these molecules using differential scanning calorimetry, thermal polarized optical microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering revealed that the rod length of coil-rod-coil molecules with identical rod to coil volume ratios dramatically influences self-assembly behavior in the bulk state. Molecules 2 and 3 with relatively longer rod lengths self-assemble into lamellar structures in the solid state, whereas, molecules 1 and 4 self-assemble into two-dimensional (2-D) oblique columnar structures in the liquid crystalline phase, in addition, on heating, molecule 1 transforms from the oblique columnar phase to the nematic phase.     

Silver pyrazolates as coordination-polymer luminescent metallomesogens

Silver pyrazolates with columnar liquid-crystal phases that are stable at room temperature have been prepared by reaction of silver nitrate with 3,5-diarylpyrazolates. The complexes consist of open-chain oligomers, despite the fact that the most common structural type for homoleptic coinage metal pyrazolates is the trimeric metallacycle [M(μ-pz)](3). The special characteristics of silver in forming reversible metal-ligand bonds in solution, evidenced experimentally, leads to supramolecular organizations in which the silver cations promote self-organization of the nonmesomorphic pyrazolates into helical 1D polymers that exhibit columnar mesophases. The materials are readily soluble in common organic solvents and are liquid-crystalline over a broader temperature range than their gold counterparts, which are known to form discrete cyclic trinuclear species. Thin films of the silver complexes show luminescence at room temperature. The compounds described here are the first examples of luminescent metallomesogens formed by a main-chain coordination polymer.     

Physical aging and relaxation processes in epoxy systems

Relaxation transitions in epoxy oligomers of various chemical nature and three-dimensional polymer networks on their basis are considered. Additional factors affecting relaxation of the networks, namely, the conversion of reactive functional groups of monomers during curing and the crosslink density of the network being formed, are discussed. Special attention is given to the phenomenon of physical aging in glassy crosslinked epoxy systems, which is analyzed from the experimental and theoretical viewpoints.     

基于横向分子间氢键的棒-线型分子自组装研究进展

棒-线(Rod-Coil)型分子的合成及其自组装行为研究是当前超分子材料研究领域的重要研究方向. 与传统的柔性(Coil-Coil)型嵌段聚合物和Rod-Coil型嵌段聚合物相比, Rod-Coil型分子表现出不同的相行为、自组织特性和微结构, 可以自组装形成多种纳米结构. 研究结果显示, 横向分子间氢键是Rod-Coil型分子自组装形成液晶相和(或)有机凝胶等自组装体的主要驱动力. 主要介绍目前文献报道的横向分子间氢键驱动下的Rod-Coil型分子自组装.     

Thermotropic liquid-crystalline peptide derivatives: oligo(glutamic acid)s forming hydrogen-bonded columns

We report on new thermotropic liquid-crystalline oligo(amino acid) derivatives forming columnar structures. These are based on branched oligo(glutamic acid)s and 2-(3,4-dialkyloxyphenyl)ethyl moieties. An oligo(glutamic acid) derivative, alpha,gamma-bis(L-glutamoyl) L-glutamic acid tetra[2-(3,4-dioctadecyloxyphenyl)ethyl]ester, shows a hexagonal columnar phase, whilst a glutamic acid derivative, alpha,gamma-bis[2-(3,4-dioctadecyloxyphenyl)ethyl] L-glutamate, does not show a mesophase. Hydrogen bonds formed by the oligo(glutamic acid) moieties should contribute to the induction of the columnar liquid-crystalline properties. In addition, we have examined the effects of the molecular chirality of the oligo(glutamic acid) parts and the functionalisation at the focal position of the taper shaped molecules on the liquid-crystalline properties of the compounds.     

Supermolecular structures and flow birefringence in polymer solutions

Experimental studies of supermolecular structures and localized flow birefringence in solutions of high-molecular weight polymer are described. Advantage is taken of poly(ethylene oxide) and polyisobutylene. Supermolecular structures are examined with the aid of optical microscopy using freeze-dried samples of the polymer solutions. Birefringence is investigated that arises in planar elongational flow in a cross-slot cell. Flow velocities at which the onset of the localized birefringence occurs are determined. Then these velocities are correlated with viscoelastic characteristics of the solutions. The presence of a liquid-crystalline fibrillar network in the polymer solutions exhibiting flow birefringence is ascertained. The fibrils are birefringent objects. The fibrils are birefringent objects. The localized birefringence phenomenon is explained in term of the orientation of the fibrils in elongational flow. It has been shown that the onset of localized birefringence occurs at a critical Weissenberg number, the value of which is close to unity.     

Mechanical properties and inhomogeneous nanostructures of dicyandiamide-cured epoxy resins

Dicyandiamide (DICY)-cured epoxy resins are important materials for structural adhesives and matrix resins for fiber reinforced prepregs. The objective of this study was to examine the mechanical and physical properties as well as the gel structures of the cured resins and discuss the relationships among them. Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) oligomers were chosen as the common chemical structure of the epoxy resins. Four kinds of resin mixtures were formulated using the seven types of DGEBA oligomers having different molecular weight distributions. Three resin formulations having bimodal-type molecular weight distributions were designed to have almost identical rubbery plateau values of the storage modulus in dynamic mechanical analyses after curing, means that they had almost equivalent average crosslink density and basic chemical structure. However, the toughness, ductility, and environmental (heat and solvent) resistance of these three formulations were different. Atomic force microscopy revealed the existence of inhomogeneous nanoscale gel structures in these cured resins. The morphological differences in the gel structures in terms of their size, the connectivity, and the relative magnitude of the heterogeneity would cause the difference in several properties of the DICY-cured epoxy resins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1425–1434, 2007     

Columnar nanostructured polymer films containing ionic liquids in supramolecular one-dimensional nanochannels

Ionic liquids have attracted a considerable attention as the next generation electrolytes for energy devices. We have developed new free-standing and nanostructured polymer films in which ionic liquids are confined into one-dimensionally ordered nanochannels. These polymer films have been obtained by photopolymerization of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular columnar liquid-crystalline self-assemblies of an imidazolium-based ionic liquid and a wedge-shaped diol compound containing polymerizable groups. The macroscopically parallel alignment of the columnar structures on a glass substrate has been achieved by the application of mechanical shearing, and subsequently fixed into polymer films by UV irradiation. This ionic liquid-containing polymer film exhibits higher ionic conductivity than that of the previously reported one-dimensional polymer film obtained by in situ photopolymerization of a covalent-type columnar liquid-crystalline imidazolium salt. The noncovalent supramolecular approach to one-dimensionally ion-conductive polymer films has led to improvement on conductive properties. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 366–371     

Discotic charge transfer twins Structure and mesophase behaviour of covalently linked triphenylenes and trinitrofluorenones

Discotic charge transfer twins, a novel class of discotic liquid-crystalline compounds were studied. These compounds consist of triphenylene units (as donors) which are chemically linked via flexible spacers of various lengths to trinitrofluorenone units (acting as acceptor). They display a liquid-crystalline phase over a wide temperature range extending up to 240-260°C. Based on X-ray analysis a structural model is proposed for the liquid-crystalline phase: the molecules are arranged in columns in such a way that mixed stacks occur, the intercolumnar packing possesses an orthorhombic symmetry. The neighbouring columns are connected along specific directions via flexible spacers which give rise to highly anisotropic structural properties of this columnar liquid-crystalline phase.     

Columnar Phases from Covalent and Hydrogen-Bonded Liquid-Crystalline Ferrocene Derivatives

The synthesis and liquid-crystalline properties of tetracatenar covalent and H-bonded bis-ferrocene derivatives 1 and 2 , respectively, are reported. Both compounds gave rise to enantiotropic columnar liquid-crystalline behavior with a hexagonal molecular organization. To explore the possibility to obtain also calamitic liquid-crystalline phases from H-bonded ferrocene-containing liquid crystals, a rod-shaped ferrocene mesogen 3 was synthesized, which gave rise to enantiotropic smectic C and smectic A phases. For the first time, a rational synthetic design at the ferrocene level led to ferrocene-based liquid-crystals with columnar behavior and to H-bonded metallomesogens.     

Self-organizing properties of monosubstituted sucrose fatty acid esters: the effects of chain length and unsaturation

Three families of mono-substituted sucrose fatty acid esters were prepared by enzymatic and classical synthetic procedures, and their self-assembly and self-organizational properties were investigated by thermal polarised light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. The properties were evaluated as a function of the fatty acid chain length. For the lower homologues of the series columnar liquid-crystalline stacking structures were found, whereas for the higher homologues, lamellar phases predominated. A model for the columnar stacking arrangement, consisting of a unique arrangement of the molecules which could lead to the creation of multiple internal ion channels between the hydrophobic interior and the hydrophilic exterior of the columns, is suggested.     

Electro-functional octupolar π-conjugated columnar liquid crystals

A series of propeller-shaped π-conjugated molecules based on 2,4,6-tris(thiophene-2-yl)-1,3,5-triazines has been designed and synthesized to obtain ambipolar charge-transporting liquid-crystalline materials. The 3-fold electron-donating aromatic units are attached to the electron-accepting triazine core, which forms electro-functional octupolar π-conjugated structures. These octupolar molecules self-organize into one-dimensional columnar nanostructures and exhibit ambipolar carrier transport behavior, which has been revealed by time-of-flight measurements. In this approach, electron-donor and acceptor electro-active segments are assembled individually in each column to give one-dimensional nanostructured materials with precisely tuned electronic properties. Their desirable electronic structures responsible for both hole and electron conductions have also been examined by cyclic voltammetry and theoretical calculations. The present results provide a new guideline and versatile approach to the design of ambipolar conductive nanostructured liquid-crystalline materials.     

Liquid crystalline epoxy resins by polyaddition of aliphatic diepoxides with 4,4′-dihydroxybiphenyl

Liquid crystalline epoxy resins were synthesized from 4,4′-dihydroxybiphenyl (DHB), which was used as a mesogenic component, and diglycidyl ethers of aliphatic glycols (ethylene glycol and 1,6-hexanediol) which were used as flexible spacers. The synthesis was carried out by the catalytic polyaddition in the melt. Triphenylphosphine was used as the catalyst. The course of the polyaddition was investigated at various molecular ratios of the reactants. It was found that both linear and branched structures were formed in the course of the synthesis. The rates of the formation of the structures were calculated. The epoxy oligomers were investigated by DSC, polarizing microscope, and x-ray and IR spectroscopy. The molecular weight distribution was determined by GPC. The dependence of liquid crystalline properties of the obtained epoxy resins on the molecular weight and on the chain length of the flexible spacer was investigated. The molecular weight of the epoxy oligomers and the length of flexible spacer influence the phase transition temperatures. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Columnar phases from semi-discoid molecules. Phase induction via hydrogen bonding and charge transfer interactions

To investigate the non-linear optical properties of nitrophenylhydrazones, a series of 4-nitro- and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones of substituted aromatic aldehydes were synthesized. It was found that many of the dinitrophenythydrazone derivatives are liquid-crystalline and X-ray investigations show that the mesophase corresponds to a hexagonal columnar structure. To explain this unusual behaviour it is necessary to assume that a mesogenic structure is formed by intramolecular hydrogen bonding of the dinitrophenylhydrazones. Charge transfer induced antiparallel alignment of these moleculer dipoles leads to discoid structures, forming the columnar phases.     

Morphology and molecular organisation of liquid-crystalline perylene-3,4,9,10-tetra-(n-hexylester) deposited on a solid substrate

Liquid-crystalline perylene-3,4,9,10-tetra-(n-hexylester) forms characteristic dendritic or flower-like structures at room temperature when it is deposited on a hydrophilic glass substrate using the zone-casting technique. It was found that such unique structures were not possible to be created simply by recrystallisation of this dye from a liquid-crystalline columnar phase. On the basis of the observations using a confocal microscope and the study of wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) as well as the analysis of the absorption and fluorescence spectra, some conclusions, concerning the molecular organisation in the dendritic structure, are drawn. Based on the research, one can assume that the dendrites are formed by columnar molecular aggregates with the column axes parallel to the substrate. Such an organisation of the molecules can be interesting from the point of view of organic electronics.     

Self-assembly of rod-coil molecules into molecular length-dependent organization

A series of rod-coil molecules (n-x, where n represents the number of repeating units in a PPO coil and x the number of phenyl groups in a rod segment) with variation in the molecular length, but an identical rod to coil volume ratio was synthesized, and their self-assembling behavior was investigated by using DSC and X-ray scatterings. The molecule with a short rod-coil molecule (16-4) shows a 3-D tetragonal structure based on a body-centered symmetry of the discrete bundles in addition to a lamellar structure. This 3-D lattice, on heating, collapses to generate a disordered micellar structure. Remarkably, the molecules based on longer molecular length (21-5 and 24-6) were observed to self-organize into, on heating, lamellar, tetagonally perforated lamellar, 2-D hexagonal columnar and finally disordered micellar structures. Further increase in the molecular length as in the case of 29-7 and 32-8 induces a 3-D hexagonally perforated lamellar structure as an intermediate structure between the lamellar and tetragonally perforated lamellar structures. Consequently, these systems demonstrate the ability to regulate the domain nanostructure, from 2-dimensionally continuous layers, long strips to discrete bundles via periodic perforated layers by small changes in the molecular length, at an identical rod-to-coil volume fraction.     

Curing kinetics of liquid-crystalline epoxy resins

By endcapping mesogenic rigid rod molecules with reactive epoxy groups a novel class of liquid-crystalline thermoset has been obtained. In fact is has been shown that the nematic molecular arrangement is sustained over the crosslinking reaction of liquid-crystalline epoxy resins when the curing reaction is carried out in the thermal stability range of the liquid-crystalline phase. Calorimetric analysis was used in characterizing the isothermal cure. An unsophisticated model is proposed for evaluating the activation energies of the crosslinking reaction. For liquid-crystalline epoxy resins lower activation energies result with respect to the cure reactions for non liquid-crystalline epoxy resins.