Sulfonation of polystyrene: Toward the “ideal” polyelectrolyte

Sulfonation of narrow polydispersity polystyrene, PS, standards remains the method of choice for generating polystyrene sulfonate, PSS, samples with defined composition. Although a variety of sulfonation techniques have been described, relatively little is reported on the material obtained, which is used for so many studies on the fundamental behavior of polyelectrolytes. Here, we show that powdered polystyrene treated with concentrated sulfuric acid (96%) at 90 °C without catalyst yields fully sulfonated PSS. Extensive characterization with ¹H and ¹³C NMR as well as size exclusion chromatography coupled with static and dynamic light scattering shows no evidence of sulfone crosslinking or chain degradation under the conditions used. Though mono‐sulfonated as soon as it dissolves in the acid, the PSS contains about 6% meta substitution. Sulfonation kinetics for this heterogeneous reaction depend strongly on particle size, sulfuric acid content and temperature. For preparing perdeuterated PSS from the corresponding PS it is essential to employ D₂SO₄, as about half of the aromatic units undergo H/D exchange during sulfonation. The remaining ortho H/D may be exchanged with extended exposure to the concentrated sulfuric acid, but the meta site is deactivated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 2416–2624     

Dynamic birefringence of oligostyrene: A symptom of “polymeric” mode

The dynamic birefringence and the dynamic viscoelasticity of an oligostyrene, A1000, whose molecular weight (M_w = 1050) was comparable to the Kuhn segment size, M_K, were examined near and above the glass‐transition temperature in order to characterize polymeric features of very short chains with M ∼ M_K. The complex shear modulus, G*(ω), was similar to that for supercooled liquids: No polymeric modes such as the Rouse mode were detected at low frequencies of viscoelastic spectrum. On the other hand, the strain‐optical coefficient was found to be negative in the terminal flow zone and positive in the glassy zone. Because the negative birefringence of polystyrene is originated by polymeric modes associated with chain orientation, the present results indicate that polymeric modes exist and become dominant for birefringence in the terminal flow. The data were analyzed using a modified stress‐optical rule: The modulus and the strain‐optical ratio were separated into polymeric (rubbery) and glassy components. The total modulus, G*(ω), was mostly due to the glassy component, G_G*(ω), resulting in the positive birefringence. G_G*(ω) for A1000 agreed with that for high M polystyrenes when compared at a comparable reduced frequency scale. The polymeric component, G_R*(ω), giving rise to the negative birefringence was lower than G_G*(ω) over the whole frequency range but its contribution to the birefringence exceeded that of the glassy component at low frequencies because of the larger optical anisotropy and longer characteristic relaxation time of the former. The limiting modulus of G_R* at high frequencies was about 3 times lower than that for high M polystyrenes, indicating that the main‐chain orientation of the oligostyrene on instantaneous deformation was reduced compared with that of high M polystyrenes. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 954–964, 2000     

Synthesis of arborescent polystyrene by “click” grafting

A method was developed for the synthesis of arborescent polystyrene by “click” coupling. Acetylene functionalities were introduced on linear polystyrene (M_n = 5300 g/mol, M_w/M_n = 1.05) by acetylation and reaction with potassium hydroxide, 18‐crown‐6 and propargyl bromide in toluene. Polymerization of styrene with 6‐tert‐butyldimethylsiloxyhexyllithium yielded polystyrene (M_n = 5200 g/mol, M_w/M_n = 1.09) with a protected hydroxyl chain end. Deprotection, followed by conversions to tosyl and azide functionalities, provided the side chain material. Coupling with CuBr and N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine proceeded in up to 94% yield. Repetition of the grafting cycles led to well‐defined (M_w/M_n ≤ 1.1) polymers of generations G1 and G2 in 84% and 60% yield, respectively, with M_n and branching functionalities reaching 2.8 × 10⁶ g/mol and 460, respectively, for the G2 polymer. Coupling longer (M_n = 45,000 g/mol) side chains with acetylene‐functionalized substrates was also examined. For a linear substrate, a G0 polymer with M_n = 4.6 × 10⁵ g/mol and M_w/M_n = 1.10 was obtained in 87% yield; coupling with the G0 (M_n = 52,000 g/mol) substrate produced a G1 polymer (M_n = 1.4×10⁶ g/mol, M_w/M_n = 1.38) in 28% yield. The complementary approach using azide‐functionalized substrates and acetylene‐terminated side chains was also investigated, but proceeded in lower yield. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1730–1740     

Solvent crazing of “dry” polystyrene and “dry” crazing of plasticized polystyrene

The critical strain ε_c for crazing of polystyrene in each of a variety of organic liquids has been measured along with the degree of swelling of the polymer by the liquid and the attendant reduction in the glass transition temperature T_g of the polymer. The critical strain for the crazing in air and the T_g of each of a set of specimens molded from mixtures of o-dichlorobenzene and polystyrene have also been determined. Correlations of ε_c with T_g in the two cases are identical within experimental error for the first 40°C of T_g reduction; these results imply (1) that organic liquids do not exercise a significant surface energy role in solvent crazing and (2) that their only roles are associated with flow processes. Correlation of solvent crazing ε_c with solubility parameter of the crazing fluid is very poor for several reasons that are discussed.     

Synthesis of polystyrene nanoparticles “armoured” with nanodimensional graphene oxide sheets by miniemulsion polymerization

Polystyrene particles “armoured” with nanosized graphene oxide (GO) sheets have been prepared by aqueous miniemulsion polymerization of styrene, exploiting the amphiphilic properties of GO in the absence of conventional surfactants. The nanoscale GO sheets were prepared from graphite nanofibers of diameter approximately 100 nm based on a novel procedure, thus effectively ensuring the absence of larger sheets. Polymerization proceeded to high conversion with minor coagulation, with final number‐average particle diameters of approximately 500 nm, but relatively broad particle size distributions. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed particles with a textured surface, consistent with the expected morphology. Interestingly, analysis of GO sheets recovered from the polymerization revealed that the GO sheets are partially reduced during the polymerization—approximately 50% of the initial carboxyl groups of the GO were lost, consistent with some loss in colloidal stability at high conversion. The overall approach offers a convenient and attractive synthetic route to novel graphene‐based polymeric nanostructures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Influence of nitroxide structure on polystyrene brushes “grafted‐from” silicon wafers

Alkoxyamine derivatives based on 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy (TEMPO), N‐tert‐butyl‐N‐(1‐diethylphosphono‐(2,2‐dimethylpropyl)) nitroxide (SG1) and N‐tert‐butyl‐N‐(2‐methyl‐1‐phenylpropyl) nitroxide (TIPNO) containing a C₁₁ hydrophobic spacer and a reactive triethoxysilyl polar head, were synthesized and anchored to silicon wafers by the Langmuir–Blodgett reactive deposition technique at surface pressures ranging from 15 to 32 mN/m. Polystyrene brushes (M_n ～ 8500–66,400 g/mol) were grown from the alkoxyamine functionalized silicon wafers by nitroxide mediated radical polymerization and characterized by ellipsometry and water contact angle measurements. The main parameters influencing the grafting density and the degree of stretching of the brushes are the nitroxide polarity and, therefore, the behavior of the corresponding alkoxyamines at the air/water interface of the Langmuir–Blodgett trough. Depending on the alkoxyamine chemical structure and the surface pressure during Langmuir–Blodgett deposition, polystyrene brushes with grafting densities of 0.3–1.0 chains/nm² and stretching values of 40–70% were obtained. Regarding alkoxyamines deposited at high surface pressures, size exclusion chromatography experiments performed on both cleaved polystyrene brushes and chains simultaneously grown in the bulk revealed that the polymerization degree of the bulk and surface chains are significantly different, suggesting that steric constrains affect the polymerization kinetics occurring at the silicon surface. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3367–3374, 2008     

“Superpermeability” and “pumping” of atomic hydrogen through palladium membranes

Permeation of atomic as well as molecular hydrogen through palladium membranes has been investigated experimentally in the temperature range from room temperature to 200 °C and at a higher incident flux of hydrogen atoms on palladium surface than in previous studies. The results demonstrate that phenomena of ‘superpermeability’ and ‘pumping’ of atomic gases through metal membranes are of a common nature. A theoretical model based on chemical thermodynamics and diffusion theory adequately describes the quantitative relationships observed in experiments. It was found that permeability of atomic hydrogen depends strongly on the magnitude of surface incident flux and membrane temperature.     

Functional assessment of “in vivo” and “in silico” mutations in the guanine binding site of RNase T1: A DFT study

Experimentally, the functional assessment of amino acid side chains in proteins is carried out by comparing parameters such as binding constants for the wild‐type protein and a mutant protein in which the considered side chain is deleted. In the present study, we apply a density functional theory (DFT) methodology to obtain changes in binding energy upon mutations in the enzyme ribonuclease T₁. Mutant structures were either taken directly from crystallographic data (“in vivo”) allowing for conformational changes upon mutation, or derived from the wild‐type (“in silico”). Excluding entropic contributions, the computed interaction energy changes upon mutation in vivo correlate qualitatively well with experimental binding free energy changes. In contrast, the in silico approach does not perform as well, especially for residues that contribute largely to binding. Subsequently, we assessed the applicability of the in vivo approach by analyzing the functional cooperativity between pairs of side chains. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2004     

A dielectric study of secondary relaxations and the “memory effect” in two compatible polystyrene blends

Dielectric permittivities and loss tangents of 10 and 30% poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO)–polystyrene (PS) blends and 10 and 25% poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME)–polystyrene blends have been measured from 80 to 360 K at 1 and 10 kHz. The PPO-PS blends have two secondary relaxations below T_g and the PVME-PS blends have three regions. All blends have a β process which appears near 290 K, is independent of PPO or PVME concentration, and is associated with the local modes of motions of PS chains. It is suggested that the β process of PS allows a dipolar reorientation of the PPO or PS chain segments by creating more favorable surroundings for the motions of the latter. The effect of physical aging in the PPO-PS blend is substantial but the “memory effect” is significantly less. This is due to the lower contribution to tanδ from the β process of the blend.     

A toolbox for parameter-free predictions of solid-state properties of monodisperse glassy polymers with frozen-in molecular orientation

This study presents a toolbox for the prediction of birefringence and craze initiation stress in oriented monodisperse linear amorphous polymers. The toolbox is assembled from a previously proposed melt–solid constitutive model that provides the necessary residual stress components required for predictions of birefringence and craze initiation stress. The Likhtman–McLeish theory for linear rheology of entangled polymers is used to generate the low reduced frequency part of the linear viscoelastic spectrum, the only molar mass-dependent input parameter. All other parameters are obtained by experiment or from literature and can be considered material constants. Toolbox predictions are compared to new experimental data on two grades of linear monodisperse polystyrene (PS) of known molar mass but unknown rheology and to literature data. The toolbox is able to account for the role of molar mass on birefringence and craze initiation stress of PS subjected to supraentanglement orientation processes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Concept of the “stability” of the quantum mechanical state

A new concept of the “stability” of the quantum mechanical state is presented. This concept is closely related to the hydrodynamical theory of quantum mechanics. For charged particles, the “stability” against the application of the external electromagnetic field is examined. Under a nonlinear interaction, a new type of the solitonlike phenomenon is shown as a novel, illustrative example of the “stable” state. An extension for the relativistic treatment is also examined.     

Cross deformation and stress relaxation of biaxially oriented polystyrene films

When a biaxially oriented polystyrene film was stretched along one direction and subsequently stretched along the perpendicular direction, the film showed enhanced ductility with pronounced yield softening and extended strain hardening. In the forward deformation, at least two types of shear bands were observed. The bands at the early stages of yielding did not seem to contribute to the reduction of thickness. They were approximately 200 μm thick and had an intersection angle of approximately 120°. The bands developed in the later stages contributed to the thickness reduction. These bands were smaller and possessed an intersection of approximately 90°. In the cross deformation, new shear bands developed that were likely related to the reverse shearing of the existing bands. Stress relaxation showed a power‐law relationship between the stress rate and relaxation time. The internal stress of the cross deformation was significantly (ca. 3 times) lower than that of the forward deformation at the same strain. The enhancement in ductility may be attributed to the lowering of internal stress during the cross deformation. The internal stress increased with the applied stress and strain. Fracture occurred when the internal stress reached a certain level, about 57–68 MPa for deformation along both directions and approximately 44–47% of the final applied stress. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 687–700, 2003     

Synthesis of a well-defined cyclic polystyrene via α-carboxyl, ω-amino heterodifunctional polystyrene

Living anionic polymerization of styrene was carried out in benzene at room temperature using 1-(3-lithiopropyl)-4-methyl-2,6,7-trioxabicyclo[2.2.2]octane and 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-(3-bromopropyl)-1-aza-2,5-disilacyclopentane as an initiator and terminator, respectively, to obtain α-2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propoxycarbonyl, ω-amino heterodifunctional polystyrene. It was hydrolyzed to α-carboxyl, ω-amino heterodifunctional polystyrene which gave a well-defined cyclic polystyrene by the intramolecular cyclization under high dilution conditions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2027–2033, 1999     

Free energy calculations,enhanced by a gaussian ansatz,for the “chemical work” distribution

The evaluation of the free energy is essential in molecular simulation because it is intimately related with the existence of multiphase equilibrium. Recently, it was demonstrated that it is possible to evaluate the Helmholtz free energy using a single statistical ensemble along an entire isotherm by accounting for the “chemical work” of transforming each molecule, from an interacting one, to an ideal gas. In this work, we show that it is possible to perform such a free energy perturbation over a liquid vapor phase transition. Furthermore, we investigate the link between a general free energy perturbation scheme and the novel nonequilibrium theories of Crook's and Jarzinsky. We find that for finite systems away from the thermodynamic limit the second law of thermodynamics will always be an inequality for isothermal free energy perturbations, resulting always to a dissipated work that may tend to zero only in the thermodynamic limit. The work, the heat, and the entropy produced during a thermodynamic free energy perturbation can be viewed in the context of the Crooks and Jarzinsky formalism, revealing that for a given value of the ensemble average of the “irreversible” work, the minimum entropy production corresponded to a Gaussian distribution for the histogram of the work. We propose the evaluation of the free energy difference in any free energy perturbation based scheme on the average irreversible “chemical work” minus the dissipated work that can be calculated from the variance of the distribution of the logarithm of the work histogram, within the Gaussian approximation. As a consequence, using the Gaussian ansatz for the distribution of the “chemical work,” accurate estimates for the chemical potential and the free energy of the system can be performed using much shorter simulations and avoiding the necessity of sampling the computational costly tails of the “chemical work.” For a more general free energy perturbation scheme that the Gaussian ansatz may not be valid, the free energy calculation can be expressed in terms of the moment generating function of the “chemical work” distribution. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Determination of “solvent” concentration in “chromatographic solutions” on the cellulose sorbents

An attempt was undertaken to furnish an entirely quantitative characteristics to the thermodynamic model of the chromatographic system presented in (2). The attempt proved to be successful and one managed to establish simultaneously a new method enabling direct determination of the hydrogen-bond enthalpy from the PC experimental results.