Elastic behavior of comb-like polymer chains

<正>Three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations of comb-like polymer chains with various backbone lengths N_b,arm lengths N_a and arm densities m are carried out to study the elastic behavior of comb-like polymer chains.The radius of gyration,the shape factors and bond length in different cases during elastic process are calculated,and it is found that the comb-like polymer molecules with longer backbone or shorter arm are more close to linear chains.But the arm density m affects the chain conformation non-monotonously.Some thermodynamic properties are also studied.Average Helmholtz free energy and elastic force f all increase with elongation ratioλfor all chains.     

Prominently Promoting the Formation of Poly(butylene adipate) α-Form Crystals by Coalescing from Inclusion Complex

We successfully use a co-precipitation method to prepare inclusion complex between poly(butylene adipate)(PBA) chains(guest component) and urea molecules(host component). The PBA/urea inclusion complex is confirmed to adopt a hexagonal crystal modification with lattice parameters of a = 8.14 ? and c = 10.92 ?, and the interaction between PBA chains and urea is van der Waals force. The singly isolated PBA chains are suggested to take some gauche conformation, which is different from the all-trans conformation in β-form PBA. Furthermore, we employ the isolated PBA chains which are uniformly pre-established in a specific conformation in urea channels to regulate the crystal form of PBA for the first time. After removing the host urea molecules, the coalesced PBA chains are found to solely crystallize into α-form crystals at different coalescing temperatures. By comparing the FTIR spectra, it is found that PBA chains in inclusion complex plausibly contain some similar conformers as those in α-form crystal, which is suggested to be the intrinsic reason for the sole formation of α-form crystals. This research proves that inclusion complex can be used as a very effective method to regulate polymorphism of semi-crystalline polymers.     

The Crystallization of Poly (3-dodecyltbiophene) in an Oriented Solidification Environment

Poly (3-alkylthiophenes) (P3ATs) have made up of a family of conductive polymerswhich are soluble, fusible and processable, since the introduction of flexible alkyl sidechains"'. It is generally accepted that P3ATs can form similar layered structures. inwhich the thiophene rings possess planarity and the side chains act as spacers'-'. Whenthe number. of 'carbon atoms of alkyl side chains is more than 10, some orderlyarrangements will occur for side chains betWeen the' layers'. It has been w…     

SEGMENT DENSITY PROFILES OF COMPACT POLYMER CHAINS CONFINED BETWEEN TWO PARALLEL PLANE WALLS

We use the pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method to investigate systematically the segment density profiles of compact polymer chains confined between two parallel plane walls.The non-adsorption case of adsorption interaction energyε=0 and the weak adsorption case ofε=-1 are considered for the compact polymer chains with different chain lengths N and different separation distances between two walls D.Several special entropy effects on the confined compact polymer chains,such as a damped oscillation in the segment density profile for the large separation distance D,are observed and discussed for different separation distances D in the non-adsorption case.In the weak adsorption case,investigations on the segment density profiles indicate that the competition between the entropy and adsorption effects results in an obvious depletion layer.Moreover,the scaling laws of the damped oscillation period T_d and the depletion layer width L_d are obtained for the confined compact chains.Most of these results are obtained for the first time so far as we know,which are expected to understand the properties of the confined compact polymer chains more completely.     

Monte Carlo simulation of the structure of mono- and bidisperse polyethylene nanocomposites

The structure of bidisperse polyethylene(PE) nanocomposite mixtures of 50:50(by mole) of long and short chains of C160H322/C80H162 and C160H322/C40H82 filled with spherical nanoparticles were investigated by a coarse-grained, on lattice Monte Carlo method using rotational isomeric state theory for short-range and Lennard-Jones for long-range energetic interactions. Simulations were performed to evaluate the effect of wall-to-wall distance between fillers(D), polymer-filler interaction(w) and polydispersity(number of short chains in the mixture) on the behavior of the long PE chains. The results indicate that long chain conformation statistics remain Gaussian regardless of the effects of confinement, interaction strength and polydispersity. The various long PE subchain structures(bridges, dangling ends, trains, and loops) are influenced strongly by confinement whereas monomer-filler interaction and polydispersity did not have any impact. In addition, the average number of subchain segments per filler in bidisperse PE nanocomposites decreased by about 50% compared to the nanocomposite system with monodisperse PE chains. The presence of short PE chains in the polymer matrix leads to a reduction of the repeat unit density of long PE chains at the interface suggesting that the interface is preferentially populated by short chains.     

Probability Properties of Multi－contact in Protein Molecules

The compact conformations of polymers are important because the native conformations of all bio-polymers with certain function are highly compact. The properties of mutil-contact bio-polymer chains were studied by Gaussian statistics of the random-flight chain. The theoretical expressions(were given, also), the calculations of probability distributions and correlation functions for different topologic cases were derived and made respectively. Comparison between single, double and triple contacts was also made. By means of setting the parameters, the results of the current calculations of the multiple contacts are just the same as those calculated by single, double or tripe contacts separately. It is a useful method to investigate native conformations of biopolymers. The probabilities of multi contacts and correlation functions between chain‘s contacts were calculated for the Gaussian chains. Because the bond probability distributions are Gaussian‘s distributions, the probability distributions of the separations of various points along the chains are always consecutive. All the contacts may break up into several groups, and each group consists of many contacts. Here we investigated the probability distribution from one group to three groups of contacts.     

DIMENSIONS OF ATACTIC POLY(α-METHYLSTYRENE) CHAINS WITH SIDE GROUPS

An improved configurational-confomational statistical method is developed and the mean-square radius of gyration for atactic poly(α-methylstyrene)(PαMS) chains is studied, in which the effect of large side groups is considered. The deduced formulas, based on the rotational isomer state theory, are used to investigate the configuration-dependent properties of the atactic polymer chain, and the statistical correlation of the unperturbed polymer chain dimension and structure parameters are calculated. For the fraction of meso dyads wm= 0.4, the dependence of the radius of gyration Rg and the intrinsic viscosity [η] on the molecule mass M are Rg = 2.63 × 10-2M0.50 nm and [η] = 7.36 × 10-2M0.497, respectively, which are in agreement with the previous experimental data for the PαMS samples. A small hump is detected in the curve of the characteristic ratio of the unperturbed mean-square radius of gyration versus the chain length for short PαMS chains. The Rg increases linearly with the temperature T, and the effects of the chain length and the tacticity on the temperature coefficient are remarkable. These are quite different from the results for PαMS chains not considering side groups or for the monosubstituted polystyrene chain.     

A theoretical investigation on the pH-induced switching of mixed polyelectrolyte brushes

A theoretical investigation on the pH-induced switching of mixed polyelectrolyte brushes was performed by using a molecular theory. The results indicate that the switching properties of mixed polyelectrolyte brushes are dependent on the pH values. At low pH, negatively charged chains adopt a compact conformation on the bottom of the brush while positively charged chains are highly stretched away from the surface. At high pH values, the inverse transformation takes place. The role of pH determining the polymer chains conformation and charge behavior of mixed polyelectrolyte brushes was analyzed. It is found that there exists a mechanism for reducing strong electrostatic repulsions： stretching of the chains. The H＋ and OH- units play a more important role as counterions of the charged polymers do. The collapse of the polyelectrolyte chains for different pH values could be attributed to the screening of the electrostatic interactions and the counterion-mediated attractive interaction along the chains.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Tris(N-p- methylphenyl-3-hydroxy- 2-ethyl-4-pyridinonato)iron(III)

1 INTRODUCTION A number of hydroxypyrones and hydroxypyridinones are being assessed or considered as orally effective chelators for treatment iron or aluminum overload[1,2]. Almost all present and potential applications involve the tris-ligand complexes of metal(III) cations, as for example in administration of iron(III) complexes for the treatment of anaemia[3], and the appropriate isotopes (e.g. 67Ga, 111In, 90Y) for radiotherapy or the isotopes of gadolinium for magnetic resonance …     

ELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF PROTEIN-LIKE SINGLE CHAIN

The conformational properties and elastic behaviors of protein-like single chains in the process of tensile elongation were investigated by means of Monte Carlo method. The sequences of protein-like single chains contain two types of residues: hydrophobic (H) and hydrophilic (P). The average conformations and thermodynamics statistical properties of protein-like single chains with various elongation ratio λ were calculated. It was found that the mean-square end-to-end distance r increases with elongation ratio,λ. The tensor eigenvalues ratio of : decreases with elongation ratio λ for short (HP)x protein-like polymers, however, the ratio of : increases with elongation ratioλ,especially for long (H)x sequence. Average energy per bond increases with elongation ratioλ, especially for(H)x protein-like single chains. Helmholtz free energy per bond also increases with elongation ratioλ. Elastic force (f), energy contribution to force (fU) and entropy contribution to force (fs) for different protein-like single chains were also calculated.These investigations may provide some insights into elastic behaviors of proteins.     

CONFORMATIONAL PROPERTIES OF STRETCHED POLYETHYLENE CHAIN*

 When polyethylene chains are stretched, the chains are regarded as being confined in an infinite cylinder withdecreasing diameter. The conformational properties of polyethylene chains confined in an infinite cylinder are investigatedby using rotational isomeric state model. Using the average conformational energy and entropy and the average length, wecan determine the elastic force f or the fraction of the energy term to the total forcef_e/f,where f_e=?<∪>/?and f=?/?.Comparisons with experimental data are also made.The results of these microscopic calculations are discussed in therms of the macroscopic phenomena of rubber elasticity.     

DIMENSIONS OF ATACTIC POLY（α-METHYLSTYRENE） CHAINS WITH SIDE GROUPS

An improved configurational-confomational statistical method is developed and the mean-square radius of gyration for atactic poly(α-methylstyrene)(PαMS)chains is studied,in which the effect of large side groups is considered. The deduced formulas,based on the rotational isomer state theory,are used to investigate the configuration-dependent properties of the atactic polymer chain,and the statistical correlation of the unperturbed polymer chain dimension and structure parameters are calculated.For the fraction of meso dyads w_m=0.4,the dependence of the radius of gyration R_g and the intrinsic viscosity[η]on the molecule mass M are R_g=2.63×10~(-2) M~(0.50) nm and[η]=7.36×10~(-2) M~(0.497),respectively, which are in agreement with the previous experimental data for the PαMS samples.A small hump is detected in the curve of the characteristic ratio of the unperturbed mean-square radius of gyration versus the chain length for short PαMS chains.The R_g increases linearly with the temperature T,and the effects of the chain length and the tacticity on the temperature coefficient are remarkable.These are quite different from the results for PαMS chains not considering side groups or for the monosubstituted polystyrene chain.     

THE ESTIMATION OF ORDERING DEGREE OF CORONA-POLED NONLINEAR OPTICAL POLYMER FILMS

The investigation of electrochromic effect of corona-poled nonlinear optical polymer films is an effective method for the estimation of poling level and the selection of poling conditions. The poling electric field E_p and orientational order parameter Φ, which are the important parameters to predict d_(33) of poled films, can be calculated by a simple operation from the number of red shift of charge transfer absorption band. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Conformational statistics of polymer chain terminally attached to wall(Ⅱ)——SAW model tail chain

The SAW tail chains were studied.The permitted conformational number and the mean square end-to-end distance as a function of the chain length N for such a model tail chain were obtained by computer simulations,including the exact enumeration and Monte Carlo method.These two basic quantities obeyed the relations deduced from the scaling law.The critical exponents and the lattice indexes were given by fitting the data of the computer experiments.It has been shown that there is a certain extension in the size of the SAW tail chains as well as the NRW tail chains in the direction normal to the wall.The normal component of the mean square end-to-end distance is almost twice as large as the parallel component of the short chain SAW.However,as N→∞,the effect of the wall on the chain conformation becomes a little weak because of the self-avoiding behavior for the model.That is quite different from the case of the NRW tail chain.     

ORDERED STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION AND RELAXATION BEHAVIORS OF A SERIES MICROPHASE SEPARATED “HAIRY-ROD” POLYIMIDES WITH MULTIPLE ALKYL SIDE CHAINS

A series of “hairy-rod” polyimides, BBPA(n), with multiple alkyl side chains was prepared from 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4,4′-biphenyldiamine substituted in the 2,2′-positions with benzoate, which was substituted in the 3,4,5-positions with ether side chains of varying lengths. The number of the methylene units, n, in these alkyl side chains were in even numbers ranging from 8 to 18. Combining techniques of one-dimensional (1D) and 2D wide angle x-ray diffraction, 1D small angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry experiments, it was found that this series of “hairy-rod” polyimides possess a micro-phase separation between the backbones and side chains. This led to the formation of ordered structures in two different length scales, of which both are hexagonal packing: one is attributed to the alkyl side chains on the sub-nanometer scale, and another is for the whole polymer chains on the nanometer scale. The development of the hexagonal structure on the sub-nanometer scale was critically dependent upon the lengths of the alkylside chains. Three relaxation processes were captured by dynamic mechanical analysis, i.e., segmental motion of the backbones, α the melting of the side chain crystals, β1, which exits only for the materials with longer side chains(n=18,16); and the subglass relaxation of side chains, β2- The peak relaxation temperature of the α process decreased with increasing the length of side chains, while the one of the β2 process increased. The activation energy of the α relaxation was relatively independent on the length of side chain, whereas, β2 process showed the increasing of activation energy with increasing the length of side chains.     

ORDERED STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION AND RELAXATION BEHAVIORS OF A SERIES MICROPHASE SEPARATED "HAIRY-ROD" POLYIMIDES WITH MULTIPLE ALKYL SIDE CHAINS

A series of "hairy-rod" polyimides, BBPA(n), with multiple alkyl side chains was prepared from 3,3′,4,4′biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4,4′-biphenyldiamine substituted in the 2,2′-positions with benzoate, which was substituted in the 3,4,5-positions with ether side chains of varying lengths. The number of the methylene units, n, in these alkyl side chains were in even numbers ranging from 8 to 18. Combining techniques of one-dimensional (1D) and 2D wide angle x-ray diffraction, 1D small angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry experiments, it was found that this series of "hairy-rod" polyimides possess a micro-phase separation between the backbones and side chains. This led to the formation of ordered structures in two different lengthscales, of which both are hexagonal packing: one is attributed to the alkyl side chains on the sub-nanometer scale, and another is for the whole polymer chains on the nanometer scale. The development of the hexagonal structure on the sub-nanometer scale was critically dependent upon the lengths of the alkyl side chains. Three relaxation processes were captured by dynamic mechanical analysis, i.e., segmental motion of the backbones, α, the melting of the side chain crystals, β1, which exits only for the materials with longer side chains (n = 18,16); and the subglass relaxation of side chains,β2. The peak relaxation temperature of the α process decreased with increasing the length of side chains, while the one of theβ2 process increased. The activation energy of the αrelaxation was relatively independent on the length of side chain, whereas, β2 process showed the increasing of activation energy with increasing the length of side chains.     

Preparation and Standard Formation Enthalpy of 2－Amino－4,6－dimethylpyrimidine and Its Related Complexes of Copper

IntroductionThe pyrimidine and its derivatives are knownto possess extraordinary biological properties thatare generally distinguished qualitatively by havingbeen used as pesticide,herbicide,bactericide,andmedicine intermediates[1] .A survey of these appli-cations and a number of the related variations thathave been developed recently,such as the extraor-dinary effective herbicide of sulfonyl sulfourea,re-veals that the biological properties are just becauseof the wide existence of pyrimidine …     

THE RHEO-OPTICAL FTIR STUDY OF POLYESTERPOLYETHER SEGMENTED COPOLYMER

The polyester-polyetber segmented copolymer has been investigated by rheo-optical FTIR during stretehing for the informastion on strain induced crystallizatinn of soft segment chains, hard and soft chain orientation.At room temperature 15℃, the soft segment chains of polyester-polyether being to crystallize at 220% strain and the degree of crystallixation increa(?)e with draw ratio, but there will not be any soft segment chains crystallization above 21℃even at bigber strain. The average orientation of hard segment chains are higher than that of the soft chain at high strain level, both are positive oriented into the stretching direction at allover strain level. This indicates that the b(?)d (?)ent ch(?)ins are dispersed into the elastomeric phase and without forming spherulite.     

Quantitative Structure Property Relations （QSPR） for Predicting Molar Diamagnetic Susceptibilities,xm, of Inorganic Compounds

For predicting the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities of inorganic compounds, a novel connectivity index ^mG based on adjacency matrix of molecular graphs and ionic parameter gi was proposed. The gi is defined as gi=（ni^0.5-0.91）^4·xi^0.5｜Zi^0.5, where Zi, ni, xi are the valence, the outer electronic shell primary quantum number, and the electronegativity of atom i respectively. The good QSPR models for the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities can be constructed from ^0G and ^1G by using multivariate linear regression （MLR） method and artificial neural network （NN） method. The correlation coefficient r, standard error, and average absolute deviation of the MLR model and NN model are 0.9868, 5.47 cgs, 4.33 cgs, 0.9885, 5.09 cgs and 4.06 cgs, respectively, for the 144 inorganic compounds. The cross-validation by using the leave-one-out method demonstrates that the MLR model is highly reliable from the point of view of statistics. The average absolute deviations of predicted values of the molar diamagnetic susceptibility of other 62 inorganic compounds （test set） are 4.72 cgs and 4.06 cgs for the MLR model and NN model. The results show that the current method is more effective than literature methods for estimating the molar diamagnetic susceptibility of an inorganic compound. Both MLR and NN methods can provide acceptable models for the prediction of the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities. The NN model for the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities appears more reliable than the MLR model.     

Scalable synthesis of multi-shelled hollow N-doped carbon nanosheet arrays with confined Co/CoP heterostructures from MOFs for pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction

Developing low-cost but efficient hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)electrocatalysts over whole pH values is a significant but daunting task for the large-scale application of electrochemical hydrogen production.Herein,we develop,for the first time,a scalable MOF-assisted strategy for the fabrication and microstructural optimization of multi-shelled hollow N-doped carbon nanosheet arrays with confined Co/CoP heterostructures on carbon cloth(Co/CoP@NC/CC)for boosting HER performances.The key to this strategy is the step-by-step epitaxial growth of unprecedented multilayer ZIF-L arrays on carbon cloth,which are subsequently pyrolyzed and controllably phosphorized to achieve the precise control over the shell number and nanoarchitectures of the Co/CoP@NC/CC.Impressively,the HER performances can be significantly enhanced by increasing hollow shell number,and the optimal triple-shelled hollow Co/CoP@NC/CC exhibits low overpotentials of 86,78 and 145 mV in acidic,alkaline and neutral media to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm^-2,respectively,ranking as one of the best Co-based HER electrocatalysts over whole pH values.Further DFT calculations suggest that the Co/CoP heterostructures can effectively boost the cleavage of H–OH to generate protons and optimize the adsorption energy of hydrogen(ΔG_H*),which,together with the large electrode/electrolyte interface and accelerated charge/mass transfer of multi-shelled hollow array structure as well as the good conductivity and dispersity,are responsible for the remarkably improved HER performances.This study not only provides a new toolbox for enriching the family of multi-shelled nanoarchitecture materials,but also points out a general and effective route to develop highly efficient self-supported electrode materials for energy-related applications and beyond.