An easily accessible isoindigo-based polymer for high-performance polymer solar cells

A new, low-band-gap alternating copolymer consisting of terthiophene and isoindigo has been designed and synthesized. Solar cells based on this polymer and PC(71)BM show a power conversion efficiency of 6.3%, which is a record for polymer solar cells based on a polymer with an optical band gap below 1.5 eV. This work demonstrates the great potential of isoindigo moieties as electron-deficient units for building donor-acceptor-type polymers for high-performance polymer solar cells.     

Novel polymer system for molecular imprinting polymer against amino acid derivatives

Molecular imprinting polymers (MIPs) against N-Cbz-L-Tyr were prepared utilizing different polymer systems and evaluated in HPLC mode. It was found that MEP utilizing cocktail functional monomers, acrylamide 2-vinylpyridine showed better molecular recognition and better separation ability for the template molecule than those utilizing other functional monomers. MIP utilizing trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as cross-linker showed higher load capacity and separation factor than those utilizing ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linker. Increasing the concentration of competing solvent, acetic acid weakened the ionic interaction and hydrogen bonding between the analyte and the functional monomers, 2-vinylpyridine and acrylamide, when the template enantiomer was separated by HPLC. Therefore increasing of the concentration of acetic acid leads to decreasing of capacity factor, separation factor and resolution.     

Electrostatic sums for polymer chains

A rapidly convergent expression is given for calculating the Madelung energy of infinite linear polymers with small radius.Dedicated to Professor J. Koutecký on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Correlative imaging for polymer science

The characterization of polymeric materials is key towards the understanding of structure–activity relations and therefore for the rational design of novel and improved materials for a myriad of applications. Many microscopy techniques are currently used, with electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and atomic force microscopy being the most relevant. In this perspective paper, we discuss the use of correlative imaging, that is, the combination of multiple imaging methodologies on the same sample, in the field of polymeric materials. This innovative approach is emerging as a powerful tool to unveil the structure and functional properties of biological and synthetic structures. Here we discuss the possibilities of correlative imaging and highlight their potential to answer open questions in polymer science.     

Methacrylate-containing polymer compounds for dentistry

Methacrylate-containing oligosilsesquioxanes were synthesized by acidohydrolytic copolycondensation of γ-methacryloyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane and phenyltrimethoxysilane in a mixture of bismethacrylate monomers, 2,2-bis[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropyl)phenyl]propane and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Performing the process in the bismethacrylate medium favors formation of uniform blends. Their introduction in an amount of 3 wt % into filled methacrylate dental composites considerably improves the physicomechanical characteristics of these composites.     

利用辅助识别聚合物链制备牛血清白蛋白分子印迹聚合物

论文提出了一种新的蛋白质分子印迹方法, 即以聚乙烯醇接枝聚合物作为辅助识别聚合物链(ARPCs), 以丙烯酰胺为单体, 在丙烯酸酯树脂载体表面进行聚合, 制备牛血清白蛋白分子印迹树脂. 实验使用2.00 mol•L⁻¹氯化钾(KC1)溶液除去模板蛋白质, 使用十二烷基磺酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)检测吸附蛋白质, 并设计使用0.150, 0.500和2.00 mol•L⁻¹KC1溶液分别对吸附蛋白质进行梯度洗提. 电泳实验结果表明, 2.00 mol•L⁻¹KC1溶液洗脱的蛋白质是大孔树脂的吸附效应; 0.500 mol•L⁻¹KC1溶液洗脱掉的是印迹蛋白质. 引入ARPCs制得的分子印迹树脂, 用于混合蛋白质体系吸附时, 对模板蛋白质的吸附量为80~100μg•g⁻¹, 其特异性吸附能力较未引入ARPCs之前有明显提高.     

Compositional effect of PVdF-PEMA blend gel polymer electrolytes for lithium polymer batteries

Owing to their improved mechanical properties and good polymer miscibility, the blend gel polymer electrolytes of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF)-poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) have been prepared using solvent casting technique and characterized for their electrochemical performances. The electrolyte shows a maximum ionic conductivity of 1.5 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 301 K for the 90:10 blend ratio of PVdF:PEMA system with good transport property. The ionic conductivity is enhanced, in accompany with improved microstructural homogeneity, at low PEMA contents, while the decreased conductivity at high contents has been attributed to increasing crystalline PEMA domains. With the optimum PVdF:PEMA ratio, the complex system was found to facile reasonable ionic transference number and exhibit superior interfacial stability with Li electrode.     

Non-equivalent D-A copolymerization strategy towards highly efficient polymer donor for polymer solar cells

D-A copolymerization is a broadly utilized molecular design strategy to construct high efficiency photovoltaic materials for polymer solar cells (PSCs),and all the D-A copolymer donors reported till now are the alternate D-A copolymers with equal D-and A-units.Here,we first propose a non-equivalent D-A copolymerization strategy with unequal D-and A-units,and develop three novel non-equivalent D-A copolymer donors (PM6-D1,PM6-D2 and PM6-D3 with D/A unit ratio of 1.1:0.9,1.2:0.8 and1.3:0.7,respectively) by inserting more D units into the alternate D-A copolymer PM6 backbone to finely tune the physicochemical and photovoltaic properties of the polymers.The three non-equivalent D-A copolymers show the down-shifted highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels,higher hole mobility,higher degree of molecular self-assembly and higher molecular crystallinity with the increase of D-unit ratio in comparison with the alternate D-A copolymer PM6.As a result,all the three non-equivalent D-A copolymer-based PSCs with Y6 as acceptor achieve improved power conversion efficiency (PCE)with higher V_(oc),larger J_(sc)and higher FF simultaneously.Particularly,the PM6-D1:Y6 based PSC achieved a high PCE of17.71%,which is significantly higher than that (15.82%) of the PM6:Y6 based PSC and is one of the highest performances in the binary PSCs.     

Efficiency scale for polymer nucleating agents

Nucleation of crystallizable polymers is quantified through an efficiency scale obtained and calculated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This scale, defined in self-nucleation experiments, is a simple, convenient and reliable calorimetric efficiency scale. Typical nucleating agents for isotactic polypropylene are evaluated; they rate at best at 60 to=70% on this efficiency scale.

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Zusammenfassung Anhand einer unter Einsatz von DSC erhaltenen und berechneten Effizienzskale wurde eine Quantifizierung der Keimbildung bei kristallisierbaren Polymeren vorgenommen. Diese in selbstkeimbildenden Experimenten definierte Skale ist eine einfache, praktische und sinnvolle kalorimetrische Effizienzskale. Für isotaktisches Polypropylen wurden typische Keimbildungsagenzien entwickelt, deren Bestgeschwindigkeit auf dieser Effizienzskale bei 60 bis 70% liegt.

     

Simple model for grafted polymer brushes

The first theories of grafted polymer brushes assumed a step profile for the monomer density. Later, the real density profile was obtained from Monte Carlo or molecular dynamics simulations and calculated numerically using a self-consistent field theory. The analytical approximations of the solutions of the self-consistent field equations provided a parabolic dependence of the self-consistent field, which in turn led to a parabolic distribution for the monomer density in neutral brushes. As shown by numerical simulations, this model is not accurate for dense polymer brushes, with highly stretched polymers. In addition, the scaling laws obtained from the analytical approximations of the self-consistent field theory are identical to those derived from the earlier step-profile-approximation and predict a vanishing thickness of the brush at low graft densities, and a thickness exceeding the length of the polymer chains at high graft densities. Here a simple model is suggested to calculate the monomer density and the interaction between surfaces with grafted polymer brushes, based on an approximate calculation of the partition function of the polymer chains. The present model can be employed for both good and poor solvents, is compatible with a parabolic-like profile at moderate graft densities, and leads to an almost steplike density for highly stretched brushes. While the thickness of the brush depends strongly on solvent quality, it is a continuous function in the vicinity of the temperature. In good and moderately poor solvents, the interactions between surfaces with grafted polymer brushes are always repulsive, whereas in poor solvents the interactions are repulsive at small separations and become attractive at intermediate separation distances, in agreement with experiment. At large separations, a very weak repulsion is predicted.     

Acetal-functionalized polymer particles useful for immunoassays

The synthesis of core-shell type polystyrene monodisperse particles with surface acetal groups was carried out by a two-step emulsion polymerization process. In a first step, the core was synthesized by batch emulsion polymerization of styrene (St), and in the second step, the shell was polymerized by batch emulsion terpolymerization of styrene, methacrylic acid (MAA), and methacrylamidoacetaldehyde dimethyl acetal (MAAMA), using the seed obtained previously. With the aim of analyzing the effect of the thickness of the shell, the pH of the reaction medium and the weight ratio of the termonomers to prepare the shell, on the amount of the functionalized groups, several core-shell type latex particles were synthesized by two-step emulsion polymerization in a batch reactor. The latexes were characterized by TEM and conductimetric titration to obtain the particle size distribution and the amount of carboxyl and acetal groups on the surface, respectively. Looking for the applicability of the synthesized latexes in immunoassays, IgG a-CRP rabbit antibody was covalently bonded to the surface of the particles synthesized in neutral medium. The complex latex-protein was immunologically active against the CRP antigen. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 1605–1610, 1997     

Phosphine oxide polymer for water-soluble nanoparticles

A phosphine oxide polymer was developed using bis(dichlorophosphino)ethane and poly(ethylene glycol). This polymer system was used to transfer various nanoparticles from organic solvents to water, retaining their physical properties and reactivities.     

Tubular conjugated polymer for chemosensory applications

In this paper, we present the concept of a soluble tubular conjugated polymer (TCP). We report on a fluorescent 5,5'-Bicalixarene-based polymer where the calixarene units are seamlessly incorporated in the conjugated polymeric chain that can respond to a small molecule complexation inside the hydrophobic cavity. In particular, our system demonstrated a reversible rapid fluorescence quenching upon interaction of gaseous nitric oxide with the calixarene moiety.     

Adamantyl-functionalized polymer monolith for capillary electrochromatography

An adamantyl (ADM)-functionalized monolithic stationary phase was newly synthesized by a single-step copolymerization of 1-adamantyl-(α-trifluoromethyl) acrylate, ethylene dimethacrylate, and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid in order to prevent the peak tailing of basic solutes in capillary electrochromatography and was compared with butyl methacrylate (BMA)-based one. The ADM structure shields the negatively charged groups on the surface of monolith from basic solutes, resulting in better peak shapes than BMA-based monolithic stationary phase. As the monomers ratio decreased, the monolithic column had lower retention and higher column efficiency which was likely due to lower phase ratio and smaller globule size of monolith, respectively. The ADM-functionalized monolithic columns exhibited a good repeatability and reproducibility of column preparation with relative standard deviation values below 9% in the studied chromatographic parameters.     

Graphene-based materials for polymer solar cells

Due to the remarkable electronic, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties, graphene-based materials have shown great potential in a wide range of technique applications. Particularly, the high transparency, conductivity, flexibility, and abundance make graphene materials highly attractive for polymer solar cells (PSCs). Graphene-based materials have been regarded as one promising candidate used in various parts in PSCs not only as electrodes, but also as interfacial layers and active layers with an aim to boost the power conversion efficiency of the devices. In this review, we summarize the recent progress about the design and synthesis of graphene-based materials for efficient PSCs along with the related challenges and future perspectives.     

Micelle-derived polymer supports for enantioselective catalysts

The BINOL moieties are successfully immobilized on the surface of a micelle-derived polymer. Ti-BINOLate complexes prepared from the polymer with Ti(O-i-Pr)₄ exhibited high catalytic activity for the asymmetric alkylation of benzaldehyde with Et₂Zn to afford the adduct in up to 96% yield with 84% ee.