Electrospun fiber mats of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate), poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate), and their blends

Electrospinning of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and their blends was first carried out in chloroform at 50 °C on a stationary collector. The average diameter of the as‐spun fiber from PHB and PHBV solutions decreased with increasing collection distance and increased with increasing solution concentration and applied electrical potential. In all of the spinning conditions investigated, the average diameter of the as‐spun pure fibers ranged between 1.6 and 8.8 μm. Electrospinning of PHB, PHBV, and their blends was carried out further at a fixed solution concentration of 14% w/v on a homemade rotating cylindrical collector. Well‐aligned, cross‐sectionally round fibers without beads were obtained. The average diameter of the as‐spun pure and blend fibers ranged between 2.3 and 4.0 μm. The as‐spun fiber mats appeared to be more hydrophobic than the corresponding films and much improvement in the tensile strength and the elongation at break was observed for the blend fiber mats over those of the pure fiber ones. Lastly, indirect cytotoxicity evaluation of the as‐spun pure and blend fiber mats with mouse fibroblasts (L929) indicated that these mats posed no threat to the cells. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2923–2933, 2006     

Effects of spinning conditions on the mechanical properties of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene fibers

We investigated the tensile strength and modulus of ultrahigh‐strength polyethylene (UHSPE) fibers obtained by using the special two‐step‐drawing process of as‐spun fiber (ASFs) which were prepared by the so‐called gel‐spinning method. We have found that the higher the ASF's spinning speed is, the higher the attainable tensile strength σ_f and modulus E are. For all the fibers drawn from ASFs with various spinning speed except for 120 m/min, we have found a master curve for the inverse of σ_f which is plotted as a function of T^1/4E^?1/2, where T is the linear density of the drawn fibers, in consistent with the Griffith theory: a thicker fiber obtained with a lower spinning speed exhibits lower strength, although all the AFSs possess the same value of E. This also suggests that a thicker fiber contains more defects which would lead to the Griffith‐type crack propagation breakage. Moreover, from morphological observation of ASFs under transmission electron microscopy, the ASF obtained at a relatively low spinning speed possesses a heterogeneous cross‐sectional morphology, whereas that obtained at relatively high spinning speed possesses a relatively homogenous morphology. We propose that this morphological evidence may account for the experimental findings of the behavior of the mechanical properties described above. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 2639–2652, 2005     

High‐resolution pluronic‐filled microchip CE‐SSCP analysis system via channel width control

Although the resolution of CE‐SSCP has been significantly improved by using a poly(ethyleneoxide)‐poly(propyleneoxide)‐poly(ethyleneoxide) (PEO‐PPO‐PEO; Pluronic^®) triblock copolymer as a separation medium, CE‐SSCP on a microchip format is not widely applicable because their resolution is limited by short channel length. Therefore, a strategy to improve the resolution in channels of limited lengths is highly required for enabling microchip‐based CE‐SSCP. In this study, we developed a high‐resolution CE‐SSCP microchip system by controlling the width of the pluronic‐filled channel. We tested four different channel widths of 180, 240, 300, and 400 μm, and found that 300 μm showed the highest resolution in the separation of two pathogen specific markers. Potential applications of our method in various genetic analyses were also shown by using SNP markers for spinal muscular atrophy.     

Dimensional Control of Block Copolymer Nanofibers with a π‐Conjugated Core: Crystallization‐Driven Solution Self‐Assembly of Amphiphilic Poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐b‐poly(2‐vinylpyridine)

With the aim of accessing colloidally stable, fiberlike, π‐conjugated nanostructures of controlled length, we have studied the solution self‐assembly of two asymmetric crystalline–coil, regioregular poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐b‐poly(2‐vinylpyridine) (P3HT‐b‐P2VP) diblock copolymers, P3HT₂₃‐b‐P2VP₁₁₅ (block ratio=1:5) and P3HT₄₄‐b‐P2VP₁₁₅ (block ratio=ca. 1:3). The self‐assembly studies were performed under a variety of solvent conditions that were selective for the P2VP block. The block copolymers were prepared by using Cu‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reactions of azide‐terminated P2VP and alkyne end‐functionalized P3HT homopolymers. When the block copolymers were self‐assembled in a solution of a 50 % (v/v) mixture of THF (a good solvent for both blocks) and an alcohol (a selective solvent for the P2VP block) by means of the slow evaporation of the common solvent; fiberlike micelles with a P3HT core and a P2VP corona were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The average lengths of the micelles were found to increase as the length of the hydrocarbon chain increased in the P2VP‐selective alcoholic solvent (MeOH<iPrOH<nBuOH). Very long (>3 μm) fiberlike micelles were prepared by the dialysis of solutions of the block copolymers in THF against iPrOH. Furthermore the widths of the fibers were dependent on the degree of polymerization of the chain‐extended P3HT blocks. The crystallinity and π‐conjugated nature of the P3HT core in the fiberlike micelles was confirmed by a combination of UV/Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) measurements, and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS). Intense sonication (iPrOH, 1 h, 0 °C) of the fiberlike micelles formed by P3HT₂₃‐b‐P2VP₁₁₅ resulted in small (ca. 25 nm long) stublike fragments that were subsequently used as initiators in seeded growth experiments. Addition of P3HT₂₃‐b‐P2VP₁₁₅ unimers to the seeds allowed the preparation of fiberlike micelles with narrow length distributions (L_w/L_n <1.11) and lengths from about 100‐300 nm, that were dependent on the unimer‐to‐seed micelle ratio.     

Mechanical properties and structure of the zone‐drawn poly(L‐lactic acid) fibers

The zone‐drawing (ZD) method was applied three times to the melt‐spun poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) fibers of low molecular weight (M_v = 13,100) at different temperatures under various tensions. The mechanical properties and superstructure of the ZD fibers were investigated. The resulting ZD‐3 fiber had a draw ratio of 10.5, birefringence of 37.31 × 10⁻³, and crystallinity of 37%, while an orientation factor of crystallites remarkably increased to 0.985 by the ZD‐1. The Young's modulus and tensile strength of the ZD‐3 fiber respectively attained 9.1 GPa and 275 MPa, and the dynamic storage modulus was 10.4 GPa at room temperature. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 991–996, 1999     

Electrochemical Sensing of NADH and Glutamate Based on Meldola Blue in 1,2‐Diaminobenzene and 3,4‐Ethylenedioxythiophene Polymer Films

The redox mediator Meldola blue (MB) was entrapped into two polymers, poly‐1,2‐diaminobenzene (p‐DAB) and poly‐3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene (p‐EDOT) by potential cycling and films were applied to NADH oxidation with subsequent glutamate detection using immobilized glutamate dehydrogenase. Both polymer films were tested for electrocatalysis of NADH using amperometry at E_app=0.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl and similar response characteristics were obtained with sensitivity values of 6.1 nA μM^?1, linear range up to 0.5 mM (R²=0.9972) and LOD of 50 μM. Subsequent amperometric determination of glutamate resulted in sensitivity 0.7 nA μM^?1, linearity 0–100 μM and detection limit of 2 μM glutamate.     

Polystyrene‐b‐poly(2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl acrylate)‐b‐polystyrene copolymers: Synthesis and fabrication of their hydrophobic porous films,spheres, and fibers

New block copolymers Polystyrene‐b‐poly (2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl acrylate)‐b‐Polystyrene (PS‐PTFEA‐PS) with controlled molecular weight (M_n=5000‐11000 g?mol^?1) and narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n=1.13‐1.17) were synthesized via RAFT polymerization. The molecular structure and component of PS‐PTFEA‐PS block copolymers were characterized through ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR, GPC, FT‐IR and elemental analysis. The porous films of such copolymers with average pore size of 0.80‐1.34 μm and good regularity were fabricated via a static breath‐figure (BF) process. The effects of solvent, temperature, and polymer concentration on the surface morphology of such film were investigated. In addition, microstructured spheres and fibers of such block copolymers were fabricated by electrospinning process and observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of porous films, spheres, and fibers was investigated. The porous film showed a good hydrophobicity with the water‐droplet contact angles of 129°, and the fibers showed higher hydrophobicity with the water‐droplet contact angles of 142°. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 678–685     

Properties and morphology of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/bisphenol a polycarbonate/poly(styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene) blends by low‐temperature solid‐state extrusion

Among the various methods available for recycling plastics waste, blending technology is a straightforward and relatively simple method for recycling. In this paper, a new blending technology, low‐temperature solid‐state extrusion, was discussed. Several recycled poly(terephthalate ethylene)/bisphenol a polycarbonate/poly(styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene) blends (R‐PET/PC/SEBS blends) have been prepared by this technology. The results show that thermal and hydrolytic degradation of R‐PET is improved when extruding temperature was between the glass transition temperature (T_g) and cold crystallization temperature (T_cc). Elongation at break and notched impact strength were increased evidently, from 15.9% to 103.6, and from 8.6 kJ/m² to 20.4 kJ/m², respectively. The appropriate rotating speed of screws was between 100 and 150 rpm. At the same time, the appropriate rotating speed of the screws brings a suitable shear viscosity ratio of R‐PET and PC, which is of advantage to blending of R‐PET and PC together with SEBS. Dispersion of minor phase, PC and SEBS, became finer and smaller, to about 1 µm. Chain extender, Methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) can react with the end‐carboxyl group and end‐hydroxyl group of R‐PET. FT‐IR spectra testified that the reactions have been happened in the extruding process. A chain extending reaction not only increased the molecular weight of PET and PC, but also can synthesize PET‐g‐PC copolymer to act as a reactive compatilizer. An SEM micrograph shows that a micro‐fiber structure of PET was formed in the blend sample. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrafine hydrogel fibers with dual temperature‐ and pH‐responsive swelling behaviors

Ultrafine hydrogel fibers that were responsive to both temperature and pH signals were prepared through the electrospinning of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly(acrylic acid) mixtures in dimethylformamide. Both the diameters (700 nm to 1.2 μm) and packing of the fibers could be controlled through changes in the polymer compositions and PNIPAAm molecular weights. These fibers were rendered water‐insoluble by the addition of either Na₂HPO₄ or poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to the solution, followed by the heat curing of the fibers. The fibers crosslinked with Na₂HPO₄ swelled to 30–120 times in water; this was significantly higher than the swelling of those crosslinked with PVA. The PVA‐crosslinked hydrogel fibers, however, exhibited faster swelling kinetics; that is, they reached equilibrium swelling in less than 5 min at 25 °C. They were also more stable after 1 week of water exposure; that is, they lost less mass and retained their fibrous form better. All the hydrogel fibers showed a drastic increase in the swelling between pH 4 and 5. The PVA‐crosslinked hydrogel fibers exhibited distinct temperature‐responsive phase‐transition behavior of PNIPAAm, whereas the Na₂HPO₄‐crosslinked hydrogel fibers showed altered two‐stage phase transitions that reflected side‐chain modification of PNIPAAm. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6331–6339, 2004     

Graphene‐doped electrochemical copolymer coating of 2,2‐bithiophene and 3‐methylthiophene for the highly effective solid‐phase microextraction of volatile benzene homologues

We report the electrochemical fabrication of a poly(2,2‐bithiophene‐co‐3‐methylthiophene)‐graphene composite coating and its application in the headspace solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography determination of benzenes (i.e., bromobenzene, 4‐bromotoluene, 2‐nitrotoluene, 3‐nitrotoluene and 1,2,4‐trichlorobenzene). The coating was uniform and showed cauliflower‐like microstructure. It had high thermal stability (up to 375°C) and could be used for at least 180 times of solid‐phase microextraction without a decrease in extraction performance. Furthermore, it presented high extraction capacity for the benzenes due to the hydrophobic effect and π–π interaction between the analytes and the coating. Under optimized extraction conditions, good linearity (correlation coefficients higher than 0.9946), wide linear range (0.01–50 μg/L), and low limits of detection (5.25–12.5 ng/L) were achieved for these analytes. The relative standard deviation was lower than 5.7% for five successive measurements with one fiber, and the relative standard deviation for fiber‐to‐fiber was 4.9–6.8% (n = 5). The solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography method was successfully applied for the determination of three real samples, and the recoveries for standards added were 89.6–106% for nail polish, 85.8–110% for hair dye, and 90–106.2% for correction fluid, respectively.     

Carbon Nanotubes‐Based Amperometric Cholesterol Biosensor Fabricated Through Layer‐by‐Layer Technique

A carbon nanotubes‐based amperometric cholesterol biosensor has been fabricated through layer‐by‐layer (LBL) deposition of a cationic polyelectrolyte (PDDA, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)) and cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) on multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)‐modified gold electrode, followed by electrochemical generation of a nonconducting poly(o‐phenylenediamine) (PPD) film as the protective coating. Electrochemical impedance measurements have shown that PDDA/ChOx multilayer film could be formed uniformly on MWNTs‐modified gold electrode. Due to the strong electrocatalytic properties of MWNTs toward H₂O₂ and the low permeability of PPD film for electroacitve species, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid and acetaminophen, the biosensor has shown high sensitivity and good anti‐interferent ability in the detection of cholesterol. The effect of the pH value of the detection solution on the response of the biosensor was also investigated. A linear range up to 6.0 mM has been observed for the biosensor with a detection limit of 0.2 mM. The apparent Michaelis‐Menten constant and the maximum response current density were calculated to be 7.17 mM and 7.32 μA cm^?2, respectively.     

Sensitive determination of glucose in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium by high‐performance liquid chromatography with 1‐phenyl‐3‐methyl‐5‐pyrazolone derivatization: application to gluconeogenesis studies

A new pre‐column derivative high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determination of d ‐glucose with 3‐O‐methyl‐d ‐glucose (3‐OMG) as the internal standard was developed and validated in order to study the gluconeogenesis in HepG2 cells. Samples were derivatized with 1‐phenyl‐3‐methy‐5‐pyrazolone at 70°C for 50 min. Glucose and 3‐OMG were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction and separated on a YMC‐Triart C₁₈ column, with a gradient mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 20 mm ammonium acetate solution containing 0.09% tri‐ethylamine at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The eluate were detected using a UV detector at 250 nm. The assay was linear over the range 0.39–25 μm (R² = 0.9997, n = 5) and the lower limit of quantitation was 0.39 μm (0.070 mg/mL). Intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were <15% and within ±3%, respectively. After validation, the HPLC method was applied to investigate the gluconeogenesis in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) cultured HepG2 cells. Glucose concentration was determined to be about 1–2.5 μm in this gluconeogenesis assay. In conclusion, this method has been shown to determine small amounts of glucose in DMEM successfully, with lower limit of quantitation and better sensitivity when compared with common commercial glucose assay kits. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultra‐rapid non‐equilibrium solid‐phase microextraction at elevated temperatures and direct coupling to mass spectrometry for the analysis of lidocaine in urine

Solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) has been directly coupled to an ion‐trap mass spectrometer (MS) for the determination of the model compound lidocaine in urine, hereby applying MS/MS [fragmentation of [M + H]⁺ (m/z 235) to a fragment with m/z 86]. The throughput of samples has been increased using non‐equilibrium SPME with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fibers. The effect of temperature on the sorption and the desorption was studied. Elevated temperatures during sorption (65°C) and desorption (55°C) had a considerable influence on the speed of the extraction. The desorption was carried out with a home‐made desorption chamber allowing thermostating. Only 1 min sorption and 1 min desorption were performed, after which MS detection took place, resulting in a total analysis time of 3 min. Detection limits below 1 ng/mL could be obtained despite yields of only 2.1 and 1.5% for a 100‐ and a 30‐μm PDMS‐coated fiber, respectively. Furthermore, the determination of lidocaine in urine had acceptable reproducibilities, i.e., relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 10%. A limit of quantitation (RSD < 15%) of about 1 ng/mL was obtained. No extra wash step of the extraction fiber was required after desorption if a 30‐μm coating was used, whereas not all the analyte was desorbed from the 100‐μm coating in a single desorption. Therefore, the SPME‐MS/MS system with a 30‐μm PDMS‐coated fiber for rapid non‐equilibrium SPME at elevated temperatures has interesting potential for high‐throughput analysis of biological samples.     

In‐Situ and Ex‐Situ Microscopic Study of Gas Phase Propylene Polymerization over a High Activity TiCl4‐MgCl2 Heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta Catalyst

In‐situ gas phase poly(propylene) (PP) formation over a high activity TiCl₄‐MgCl₂‐supported Ziegler‐Natta catalyst has been studied by video microscopy combined with ex‐situ light microscopy, SEM, high‐resolution TEM, and STEM/PEELS/EDX for the first time. In‐situ observation revealed rapid formation of poly(propylene) beads 9–10 μm in size (< 1/30 s) as well as growth of significant amounts of polymer within local regions. Catalyst particles containing 2–5 nm‐sized MgCl₂ crystalline domains are subjected to transformations during catalysis that form PP/catalyst aggregated structures of 30–50 μm in size.     

A two‐dimensional mixed‐valence CuII/CuI coordination polymer constructed from 2‐(pyridin‐3‐yl)‐1H‐imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxylate

Coordination polymers are a thriving class of functional solid‐state materials and there have been noticeable efforts and progress toward designing periodic functional structures with desired geometrical attributes and chemical properties for targeted applications. Self‐assembly of metal ions and organic ligands is one of the most efficient and widely utilized methods for the construction of CPs under hydro(solvo)thermal conditions. 2‐(Pyridin‐3‐yl)‐1H‐imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxylate (HPIDC²⁻) has been proven to be an excellent multidentate ligand due to its multiple deprotonation and coordination modes. Crystals of poly[aquabis[μ₃‐5‐carboxy‐2‐(pyridin‐3‐yl)‐1H‐imidazole‐4‐carboxylato‐κ⁵N¹,O⁵:N³,O⁴:N²]copper(II)dicopper(I)], [Cu^IICu^I₂(C₁₀H₅N₃O₄)₂(H₂O)]_n, (I), were obtained from 2‐(pyridin‐3‐yl)‐1H‐imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxylic acid (H₃PIDC) and copper(II) chloride under hydrothermal conditions. The asymmetric unit consists of one independent Cu^II ion, two Cu^I ions, two HPIDC²⁻ ligands and one coordinated water molecule. The Cu^II centre displays a square‐pyramidal geometry (CuN₂O₃), with two N,O‐chelating HPIDC²⁻ ligands occupying the basal plane in a trans geometry and one O atom from a coordinated water molecule in the axial position. The Cu^I atoms adopt three‐coordinated Y‐shaped coordinations. In each [CuN₂O] unit, deprotonated HPIDC²⁻ acts as an N,O‐chelating ligand, and a symmetry‐equivalent HPIDC²⁻ ligand acts as an N‐atom donor via the pyridine group. The HPIDC²⁻ ligands in the polymer serve as T‐shaped 3‐connectors and adopt a μ₃‐κ²N,O:κ²N′,O′:κN′′‐coordination mode, linking one Cu^II and two Cu^I cations. The Cu cations are arranged in one‐dimensional –Cu1–Cu2–Cu3– chains along the [001] direction. Further crosslinking of these chains by HPIDC²⁻ ligands along the b axis in a –Cu2–HPIDC²⁻–Cu3–HPIDC²⁻–Cu1– sequence results in a two‐dimensional polymer in the (100) plane. The resulting (2,3)‐connected net has a (12³)₂(12)₃ topology. Powder X‐ray diffraction confirmed the phase purity for (I), and susceptibilty measurements indicated a very weak ferromagnetic behaviour. A thermogravimetric analysis shows the loss of the apical aqua ligand before decomposition of the title compound.     

Preparation of Tip‐Protected Poly(oxyphenylene) Coated Carbon‐Fiber Ultramicroelectrodes

A high‐yield, reliable, and reproducible method has been successfully developed to fabricate poly(oxyphenylene)‐coated carbon fiber ultramicroelectrodes (POCF UMEs) with tip radii r<2 μm. During the insulation process, the tip of the electrochemically etched electrode is protected by inserting it into an inert polymer while the remainder of the electrode is insulated by electrochemical deposition of a 1–3 μm thick poly(oxyphenylene) film. Optimum conditions for poly(oxyphenylene) deposition are developed and the resulting carbon fiber UMEs showed good cyclic voltammetric behavior even after storage for more than one year. These UMEs were tested for use as amperometric scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) tips and successfully imaged Au/Kel‐F and Al/SiC_p metal matrix composites.     

Morphosynthesis of poly[4‐(1,4‐phenylene)oxyphthalimide] and copolymers prepared by reaction‐induced crystallization during polymerization

Morphosynthesis of poly[4‐(1,4‐phenylene)oxyphthalimide] (POPI) and poly[4‐(1,4‐phenylene)oxyphthalimide‐co‐4‐phthalimide] (POPI‐PPI) was examined by using the crystallization during the polymerization. The POPI fibrillar crystals were obtained as precipitates with the formation of spherical aggregates of plate‐like crystals. Some of the POPI fibrillar crystals were longer than 15 μm. They possessed high crystallinity and the molecules aligned perpendicular to the long direction of the fibers. On the other hand, one‐dimensional structures of POPI‐PPI such as ribbon, cone, rod, and fiber were obtained as precipitates by the copolymerization. The copolymer molecules might align along the long direction of the cone‐like crystals. The morphology of these poly(ether‐imide)s could be controlled by not only the polymerization condition but also with the aid of copolymerization. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Synthesis of three new 1‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐2,5‐di(2‐thienyl) pyrrole‐based donor polymers and their bulk heterojunction solar cell applications

A series of three new 1‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐2,5‐di(2‐thienyl)pyrrole‐based polymers such as poly[1‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐2,5‐di(2‐thienyl)pyrrole] ( PTPT ), poly[1,4‐(2,5‐bis(octyloxy)phenylene)‐alt‐5,5'‐(1‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐2,5‐di(2‐thienyl)pyrrole)] ( PPTPT ), and poly[2,5‐(3‐octylthiophene)‐alt‐5,5'‐(1‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐2,5‐di(2‐thienyl)pyrrole)] ( PTTPT ) were synthesized and characterized. The new polymers were readily soluble in common organic solvents and the thermogravimetric analysis showed that the three polymers are thermally stable with the 5% degradation temperature >379 °C. The absorption maxima of the polymers were 478, 483, and 485 nm in thin film and the optical band gaps calculated from the onset wavelength of the optical absorption were 2.15, 2.20, and 2.13 eV, respectively. Each of the polymers was investigated as an electron donor blending with PC₇₀BM as an electron acceptor in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. BHJ solar cells were fabricated in ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC₇₀BM/TiO_x/Al configurations. The BHJ solar cell with PPTPT :PC₇₀BM (1:5 wt %) showed the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.35% (J_sc = 7.41 mA/cm², V_oc = 0.56 V, FF = 33%), measured using AM 1.5G solar simulator at 100 mW/cm² light illumination. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Analysis of ToF‐SIMS spectra of poly(2‐vinylpyridine) and poly(4‐vinylpyridine) with density functional theory calculations

The time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) positive and negative ion spectra of poly(2‐vinylpyridine) (P2VP) and poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) were analyzed using density functional theory calculations. Most of the ions from these structural isomers shared the same accurate mass, but had different relative abundance. This could be attributed to the fact that from a thermodynamics perspective, the disparity in the molecular structures can affect the ion stability if we assume that they shared the same mechanistic pathway of formation with similar reaction kinetics. The molecular structures of these ions were assigned, and their stability was evaluated based on calculations using the Kohn‐Sham density functional theory with Becke's 3‐parameter Lee‐Yang‐Parr exchange‐correlation functional and a correlation‐consistent, polarized, valence, double‐zeta basis set for cations and the same basis set with a triple‐zeta for anions. The computational results agreed with the experimental observations that the nitrogen‐containing cations such as C₅H₄N⁺ (m/z = 78), C₈H₇N^+· (m/z = 117), C₈H₈N⁺ (m/z = 118), C₉H₈N⁺ (m/z = 130), C₁₃H₁₁N₂⁺ (m/z = 195), C₁₄H₁₃N₂⁺ (m/z = 209), C₁₅H₁₅N₂⁺ (m/z = 223), and C₂₁H₂₂N₃⁺ (m/z = 316) ions were more favorably formed in P2VP than in P4VP due to higher ion stability because the calculated total energies of these cations were more negative when the nitrogen was situated at the ortho position. Nevertheless, our assumption was invalid in the formation of positive ions such as C₆H₇N⁺˙ (m/z = 93) and C₈H₁₀N⁺ (m/z = 120). Their formation did not necessarily depend on the ion stability. Instead, the transition state chemistry and the matrix effect both played a role. In the negative ion spectra, we found that nitrogen‐containing anions such as C₅H₄N^? (m/z = 78), C₆H₆N^? (m/z = 92), C₇H₆N^? (m/z = 104), C₈H₆N^? (m/z = 116), C₉H₁₀N^? (m/z = 132), C₁₃H₁₁N₂^? (m/z = 195), and C₁₄H₁₃N₂^? (m/z = 209) ions were more favorably formed in P4VP, which is in line with our computational results without exception. We speculate that whether anions would form from P2VP and P4VP is more dependent on the stability of the ions.     

A three‐dimensional mixed‐valence CuII/CuI coordination polymer constructed from biphenyl‐3,4′,5‐tricarboxylate and 1,4‐bis(1H‐imidazol‐1‐yl)benzene ligands

Coordination polymers (CPs) built by coordination bonds between metal ions/clusters and multidentate organic ligands exhibit fascinating structural topologies and potential applications as functional solid materials. The title coordination polymer, poly[diaquabis(μ₄‐biphenyl‐3,4′,5‐tricarboxylato‐κ⁴O³:O^3′:O^4′:O⁵)tris[μ₂‐1,4‐bis(1H‐imidazol‐1‐yl)benzene‐κ²N³:N^3′]dicopper(II)dicopper(I)], [Cu^II₂Cu^I₂(C₁₅H₇O₆)₂(C₁₂H₁₀N₄)₃(H₂O)₂]_n, was crystallized from a mixture of biphenyl‐3,4′,5‐tricarboxylic acid (H₃bpt), 1,4‐bis(1H‐imidazol‐1‐yl)benzene (1,4‐bib) and copper(II) chloride in a water–CH₃CN mixture under solvothermal reaction conditions. The asymmetric unit consists of two crystallographically independent Cu atoms, one of which is Cu^II, while the other has been reduced to the Cu^I ion. The Cu^II centre is pentacoordinated by three O atoms from three bpt³⁻ ligands, one N atom from a 1,4‐bib ligand and one O atom from a coordinated water molecule, and the coordination geometry can be described as distorted trigonal bipyramidal. The Cu^I atom exhibits a T‐shaped geometry (CuN₂O) coordinated by one O atom from a bpt³⁻ ligand and two N atoms from two 1,4‐bib ligands. The Cu^II atoms are extended by bpt³⁻ and 1,4‐bib linkers to generate a two‐dimensional network, while the Cu^I atoms are linked by 1,4‐bib ligands, forming one‐dimensional chains along the [20] direction. In addition, the completely deprotonated μ₄‐η¹:η¹:η¹:η¹ bpt³⁻ ligands bridge one Cu^I and three Cu^II cations along the a (or [100]) direction to form a three‐dimensional framework with a (10³)₂(10)₂(4².6.10².12)₂(4².6.8².10)₂(8) topology via a 2,2,3,4,4‐connected net. An investigation of the magnetic properties indicated a very weak ferromagnetic behaviour.