Optical properties of the photorefractive polymeric composite with modified PVK polymer

Poly[N‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐3‐vinylcarbazole has been synthesized by radical polymerization from N‐(2‐ethylhexyl)3‐vinyl‐carbazole. The 50‐μm thick photorefractive device containing 30 wt % piperidin‐4‐ylbenzylidene‐malononitrile showed a diffraction efficiency of 40% of 50 V/μm, which corresponded to a Δn of 0.8 × 10^?3. The photorefractive response time was τ₁ = 0.6 s. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1695–1702, 2009     

Ionic conduction in composite polymer electrolytes at subambient temperatures

The majority of investigations carried out on polymer(SINGLEBOND) salt systems have been on polyether electrolytes at moderate temperatures where such electrolytes exhibit macroscopic uniformity. Relatively little attention has been paid to the subambient temperature region where composite electrolytes based on polyethers exhibit much higher conductivities than their pure polyether electrolyte analogues. For all of the composite systems studied the conduction mechanism changes from one in which the ions are coupled to the polymer segmental relaxations to one in which the ions are decoupled and thermally activated ionic hopping produces higher conductivities than would be expected from ion-segmental coupling and higher than observed for the base polyether(SINGLEBOND) salt system. This change has been observed at temperatures between 10 and 80°C above the respective glass transition temperatures. The relationship between this interaction and these higher conductivities at subambient temperatures is explored and discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Influence of PEG-borate ester on thermal property and ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte

We have focused on the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-borate ester as a new type plasticizer for solid polymer electrolyte for lithium ion secondary battery. Adding the PEG-borate ester into the electrolyte shows the increase in the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte. By measuring the glass-transition temperature of the polymer electrolytes with DSC, it is found that the increase in ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte is due to the increase in ionic mobility. By investigating the temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolytes using William-Landel-Ferry type equation, we considered that the PEG-borate ester does not have any influence for dissociation of Li-salt. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Conducting polymer based multifunctional composite electrodes

In this paper, we report a novel pattern of composite electrocatalysts. PPy/iron-oxalate films exhibit photo-electrochemical activity. The PPy/B12 composite electrode on stainless steal (SS) support shows high catalytic activity in the electrochemical reduction of methylviologen. Thin polymer layers filled with magnetite particles can be applicable in magneto-selective electrochemical reactions.     

Leakage failure in fibre-reinforced polymer composite tubular vessels at elevated temperature

Pressure-containing structures made from fibre-reinforced polymer composites are increasingly used in harsh environments. This is in part due to their good corrosion resistance. Assessing the performance of such structures often requires consideration of different temperature regimes. Compared to metallic structures, pressurized composite structures exhibit complex damage behaviour which commonly includes fluid leakage that is induced by micro-cracking of the polymer matrix. This is an important damage mode to consider since it not only affects the pressure capacity of unlined components but also causes reduced stiffness and, possibly, fluid ingress into the structure. Leakage behaviour, and thus the occurrence of matrix cracking, may conveniently be assessed through pressure testing. Since fluid properties vary with test temperature, an appropriate testing scheme is required to obtain truly comparable leakage thresholds. The work described in the present paper involves a permeability based testing methodology. Fibre-reinforced tubular specimens were used in this study with either an epoxy or bismaleimide matrix material, which are intended for room and elevated temperature service, respectively.     

Glass-transition temperature of polydialkyl fumarate copolymers

Two dialkyl fumarate monomers were copolymerized with styrene and methyl methacrylate. The reactivity ratios of the monomers were calculated, and the glass transition temperature-composition diagrams for the copolymers were measured. The experimental T_g data of the copolymers were fitted to several empirical equations proposed in the literature. A comparison is made between the copolymers and the blends of the corresponding polymers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1839–1845, 1999     

Radiation study on polymer - matrix composite materials

The present study is on the effect of γ radiation on the electroconductivity of two polymer - matrix composite materials and their application.When the absorption dose came to the peak value dose 6×10⁴Gy, the electroconductivity of the graphite - PM-MA composite materials reached a peak value of 14 s · m^-1.The electroconductivity of the copper - PMMA composite material decreased with the increase of the absorption dose in the range of 4.0×10⁴ to 7.5×10⁴Gy and then kept stable at about 2.5×10^-5s · m^-1.The two composite materials were analysed by infrared spectrum, microphotography and XPS. The two composite materials are of amosphous structure. The two composite materials show excellent properties of polarogram. They can be used in polarographic analysis as solid electrode. Graphite - polymethyl methacrylate can be powdered and mixed with plastics, rubber or coating as antistatic electric material.     

Enhanced photorefractive performance of the nematic liquid crystal cell containing photoconductive polymer film

Photorefractive (PR) nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) possess large optical non-linearity but coarse grating spacings (tens of microns) and slow response time (generally in the order of 1 s). Here we presented a great improvement in PR performance of NLC cells containing photoconductive films as aligning layers by varying the thickness and the sensitizer concentration of the photoconductive layer to enhance the surface electric field modulation. As a result of optimising, considerable diffraction efficiencies and the response time as fast as tens of milliseconds were obtained from steady-state PR gratings within a wide range of grating spacings from 30 to 0.7 μm. Besides, the grating response was enhanced significantly compared with the previous reports under similar experimental conditions.     

Effect of the sensitizer on the properties of fully functionalized photorefractive epoxy polymers and their performance in the hologram image storage

The 3‐amino‐9‐ethyl carbazole (AEC)/Dispersed Orange 3 (DO3)/diglycidyl 1,2 cyclohexanedicarboxylate (DCD) main chain copolymers are synthesized and studied on their photorefractive (PR), photoconductive, and holographic characteristics. They are good hologram recording media because not only the stored hologram exhibits excellent fringe contrast with the resolution at about 20 μm, but also the image can be stored, erased, and overwritten. The UV/Vis spectra shows that AEC segments may form charge transfer complexes with either DO3 segments or TNF sensitizers. By incorporating the sensitizer or increasing the charge transfer component concentration, the grating growth rate can be speeded up. Applying an electric field on the polymer film containing no sensitizer helps to elevate the grating growth speed, but it shows little influence on the grating growth speed of the films with sensitizers. More nonlinear optical (NLO) segments in the copolymer result in higher diffraction efficiency. The dark decay of the film depends on the dark conductivity. Incorporating sensitizers or more charge transport segments leads to more dark decay because of increasing dark conductivity. The dark decay of the PR properties at elevated temperature can also be evaluated by the thermal stimulated discharge current (TSDC) spectroscopy technique. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1057–1068, 1999     

“Vanishing” structural effects of temperature in polymer glasses close to the glass-transition temperature

Positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) measurements were used for observation of structural effects of temperature in polystyrene (PS), super-cross-linked polystyrene networks (CPS), and in polyimides (PI) below and in the vicinity of glass-transition temperature T_g. “Vanishing” of these structural effects in the repeating cycles of the temperature controlled PAL experiments due to the slow relaxation processes in different conditions and details of chemical structure is demonstrated. Obtained results illustrate complex, dependent on thermal history, inhomogeneous character of the glass structure. In fact, structure of some polymer glasses is changing continuously. Calculations of the number density of free volume holes in these conditions are discussed.     

Effects of preparation temperature on the conductivity of polypyrrole conducting polymer

An attempt has heen made to investigate the effect of temperature on the conductivity of polypyrrole conducting polymer films prepared by an electrochemical method in an aqueous medium using camphor sulfonate as the dopant. The polymer was grown from aqueous solutions employing a range of temperatures (l–60°C). It was found that with increase in temperature the conductivity decreased and the optimum temperature was found to be between 10 and 30°C. The results showthatthe polymer formed at low temperature has higher conductivity and is stronger than that formed at higher temperatures. Characterization by X-ray scattering shows that interlayer distance, d_Bragg (?), increases with increasing temperature. The morphology of the films formed was studied by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The changes in conductivity and physical appearance were interpreted as being due to compactness in the molecular packing and formation ofαβ linkages in the film.     

Morphologies and electro-optic properties of polystyrene/liquid crystal composite films

Morphology and electro-optic properties of composite films composed of polystyrene (PS) and nematic liquid crystal (LC) have been studied for a wide range (30-70 wt% of liquid crystal) of film composition. At two specific levels of LC loadings (50 and 60 wt%), effects of temperature, frequency and voltage of applied ac electric field on the transmittance of the films were intensively measured, and the results were interpreted in terms of aggregation structure of the film, the geometry of LC domains, LC loading, dielectric constant, conductivity, birefringence, and the solubility of LC in polymer. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of polymer molecular weight and temperature on case II transport

We investigated the effects of polymer molecular weight and temperature on Case II transport in the poly(methyl methacrylate)/methanol (PMMA/MeOH) system by a laser interferometric technique, using monodisperse polymer samples. Both the induction process and the steady-state front propagation were investigated. The data gave the volume fraction of MeOH in the swollen layer behind the moving front, ϕ, the steady state front speed, υ, and the characteristic induction time, t_ind. Values of ϕ separated into two groups, independent of molecular weight within each group. Significantly lower values of ϕ were found for polymers with molecular weight above the critical threshold for entanglement which can be explained by unrelaxed entanglements in the swollen layer. The Case II front velocity was independent of molecular weight for molecular weights at, or above, the critical weight for entanglement, suggesting that anelastic deformation processes other than simple viscous flow control the front propagation. Analysis of induction time data shows that the film surface properties differ from those of the bulk. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 3159–3171, 1999     

Morphology and properties of fibers based on polycarbonate/liquid crystalline polymer blends

Polycarbonate-triad-4–co-polybutylene terephthalate liquid crystalline blends were prepared and spun into fibers. It has been shown that fibrillation of the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) takes place at the given spinning conditions, forming thus “in situ” reinforcement. Continuous fibrils are formed at concentrations between 2.5 and 5% LCP. A degree of miscibility between two phases was observed. The moduli of both as-spun and cold drawn fibers increase almost linearly with increasing concentration of TLCP. Tensile strength was found to decrease and elongation at break to increase with increasing TLCP content. The structure of the cold drawn fibers was not stable with time, causing a relaxation in the observed properties.     

固化条件对聚合物分散液晶膜电光性能的影响

选用聚乙二醇二缩水甘油醚(EGDE)/季戊四醇缩水甘油醚(PERTGE)/1,8-二氨基-3,6-二氧杂辛烷(EDBEA)/向列相液晶(SLC1717)复合体系,在不同的固化条件下,通过热聚合诱导相分离方法制备了一系列电光性能不同的聚合物分散液晶(polymer dispersed liquid crystal,简称PDLC)膜.研究了固化温度和固化时间对制备的PDLC膜中聚合物网络的微观形貌和电光性能的影响.结果表明,随着固化温度的升高以及固化时间的缩短,PDLC膜的对比度、驱动电压和开态响应时间逐渐增大,而关态响应时间逐渐减小.在固化温度为363.2 K,固化时间为7 h时,所制备的PDLC膜具有较佳的电光性能.     

Effects of organophilic montmorillonite on hydrogen bonding, free volume and glass transition temperature of epoxy resin/polyurethane interpenetrating polymer networks

Epoxy resin nanocomposites containing organophilic montmorillonite (oM) and polyurethane were prepared by adding oM to interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of epoxy resin and polyurethane (EP/PU). The dispersion degree of oM in EP/PU matrix was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) showed that strong interactions existed between oM and EP/PU matrix, and oM had some effect on hydrogen bonding of these EP/PU IPNs nanocomposites. Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PALS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were used to investigate the effect of oM and PU contents on free volume and glass transition temperature (T_g) of these nanocomposites. The PALS and DSC results clearly showed that the presence of oM led to a decrease in the total fractional free volume, which was consistent with increasing T_g upon addition of oM, ascribed to increasing hydrogen bonding in interfacial regions of oM and EP/PU matrix and enhancing the miscibility between EP phase and PU phase. In addition, with increasing PU content, the total fractional free volume increased, corresponding to decreasing T_g.     

Thermoresponsive conductive polymer composite thin film and fiber mat: Crosslinked PEDOT:PSS and P(NIPAAm‐co‐NMA) composite

The thermoresponsive conductive composite (TCC) thin films and fiber mats, whose electrical property changed with temperature, were fabricated successfully. The thermocrosslinkable and thermoresponsive copolymer, poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide‐co‐N‐methylolacrylamide) (PNN), was synthesized. The TCC thin film and fiber mat were fabricated by spin coating and electrospinning process of PEDOT:PSS/PNN solutions, respectively. After thermocrosslinking and doping by DMSO, the composite thin films and fiber mats were obtained. Fibrous structures of TCC fiber mats were observed by SEM. The surface resistance and conductivity of composites were measured. The thermoresponsivity and swelling ratio of TCCs were also studied. The thermoresponsive conductive property was analyzed by measuring the surface resistance of TCCs in water bath under various temperatures from 20 to 50 °C. With the increase of temperature, the TCCs shrank to be dense structure and showed lower surface resistance. The TCC fibers mat exhibited greater sensitivity to temperature than thin film owing to its fibrous structure. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1078–1087     

Effects of moisture on the glass transition temperature of polyurethane shape memory polymer filled with nano-carbon powder

One simple approach to produce electrically conductive polymers is to fill them with conductive powders. This paper investigates the effects of moisture on the glass transition temperature of a polyurethane shape memory polymer (SMP) filled with nano-carbon powders. It is found that the SMP composites before immersion in water have a slightly lower glass transition temperature, and in the mean time, the moisture fraction at the saturation point upon immersion is also lower. On the other hand, the moisture can remarkably reduce the glass transition temperature of the composites. Heating to over 180 °C is an effective way to remove the moisture, which also results in the glass transition temperature back to the original. As the glass transition temperature can be greatly reduced by moisture, a novel feature, namely, the water actutable recovery of SMP composites is also proposed based on this study.