Enhancement of Electrochromic Contrast by Tethering Conjugated Polymer Chains onto Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane Nanocages

Copolymerization of aniline with octa(aminophenyl) silsesquioxane (OAPS) was performed, which resulted in polyaniline‐tethered, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS‐PANI), with star‐like molecular geometry. The spectro‐electrochemical studies show that the electrochromic contrast of POSS‐PANI is much higher than that of polyaniline (PANI). The great improvement can be attributed to the more accessible doping sites and the facile ion movement during the redox switching, brought by the loose packing of the PANI chains. This was evidenced by a drastic increase in ionic conductivity, a decrease in the electrical conductivity, and a decrease in the crystallinity and crystal size, with the increase of the OAPS concentration in the POSS‐PANI.

     

Photolithographic Patterning of a Conductive Polymer Using a Polymeric Photoacid Generator and a Traceless Removable Group

Summary: In the present communication we describe a photolithographic method to produce polyaniline (PANI) patterns using PANI modified with a traceless removable functional group (nitrosated polyaniline, PANI‐NO) and external inexpensive polymeric photoacid generators (poly(vinyl chloride), PVC). Therefore, residual sub‐products created by irradiation of the plate do not remain occluded in the polymeric films. The borders of the patterns are better defined than in the case of chemical lithography using inorganic acids as the hydrolyzing agent.

     

Photoinitiators with Functional Groups, 8

Summary: Bimolecular type‐II photoinitiators for radical photopolymerization suffer from a diffusion‐controlled limitation of reactivity and from deactivation by back electron transfer. Here, a very efficient concept to increase the photoinitiator activity by the covalent binding of phenylglycine to benzophenone using a methylene spacer is presented. Photo‐DSC experiments proved that the rate of polymerization can be tripled in comparison to a physical mixture of the components or an industrially applied system with triethanolamine as coinitiator.

Structure of the new photoinitiator synthesized here.     

Supramolecular Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles Mediated by Polypseudorotaxane with Thiolated β‐Cyclodextrin

Summary: A water‐soluble gold nanoparticle aggregate 2 was prepared by chloroauric acid and a polypseudorotaxane 1 of mono‐6‐thio‐β‐cyclodextrin with poly(propylene glycol) bis(2‐aminopropyl ether) ( ≈ 2 000) in the presence of sodium borohydride in N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) solution. The investigative results indicated that the gold nanoparticle aggregate 2 might act as an efficient DNA‐cleavage reagent.

A typical TEM image of gold nanoparticle aggregate 2 .     

Self‐Assembled Hollow Polyaniline/Au Nanospheres Obtained by a One‐Step Synthesis

Self‐assembled hollow nanosphere composites of polyaniline and Au nanoparticles (PANI‐p‐TSA/Au) were chemically synthesized from solutions containing p‐toluenesulfonic acid (p‐TSA) with the addition of gold chloride trihydrate as the oxidant. The composite materials were characterized by SEM, TEM, and a range of spectroscopic methods. Spectroscopic characterizations confirmed that the polymeric product is a form of doped PANI, while electron diffraction and X‐ray diffraction showed that elemental Au was present in the PANI‐p‐TSA/Au nanocomposites. The room temperature electrical conductivity of the PANI‐p‐TSA/Au nanocomposites was two orders of magnitude greater than a PANI‐p‐TSA obtained in the presence of ammonium persulfate as the oxidant under the same conditions.

     

Fluorinated Poly(aryl ether) Containing a 4‐Bromophenyl Pendant Group and its Phosphonated Derivative

Summary: A high‐molecular‐weight fluorinated poly(aryl ether) with a 4‐bromophenyl pendant group has been synthesized based on a bromo‐bisphenol. A phosphonic acid derivative is readily prepared from this in high conversion yield. The phosphonated polymer possesses excellent thermal, oxidative, and dimensional stability, low methanol permeability, and reasonable proton conductivity, and may be a candidate polymeric electrolyte membrane for fuel cell applications.

Synthesis of a poly(aryl ether) with a phosphonic acid group.     

Synthesis of Large‐Area Three‐Dimensional Polyaniline Nanowire Networks Using a “Soft Template”

Summary: Three‐dimensional polyaniline (PANI) nanowire networks were synthesized in high yield using a “soft template” self‐assembled with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and oxalic acid. The PANI nanowire networks had diameters from 35–100 nm depending on synthesis conditions and/or procedures. The networks and the “cross‐linking points” were clearly observed by field‐emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A possible mechanism for the formation of three‐dimensional PANI nanowire networks is discussed.

FESEM image of PANI with three‐dimensional nanowire networks.     

Parallel Algorithm for 3D SCF Simulation of Copolymers With Flexible and Rigid Blocks

Numerical SCFT simulations of inhomogeneous polymers at the mesoscale can easily become computationally extremely demanding as the size (spatial resolution) of the simulated 3D system increases, making massively parallel computing a necessity. A new parallel algorithm for large‐scale 3D SCFT simulations of rod‐coil copolymers with interplay between microphase separation and orientational ordering is presented. For large systems, this algorithm scales well up to 1024 processors, achieving more than 200‐fold speedups. While existing SCFT simulations were limited to studying 1D and 2D models, this algorithm is applied to new, intrinsic 3D structures such as a hexagonally arranged columnar morphology that possesses macroscopic chirality arising as a result of spontaneous symmetry breaking.

     

Nanoscaled Polyaniline Fibers Prepared by Ferric Chloride as an Oxidant

Summary: Nanoscaled polyaniline (PANI) fibers with 17–30 nm in diameter were successfully prepared by oxidation polymerization using ferric hydrochloride (FeCl₃ · 6H₂O) as an oxidant in the presence of p‐toluenesulfonic acid (p‐TSA), β‐naphthalenesulfonic acid (β‐NSA), and camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) as the dopants. The resulting nanofibers show smaller diameter, higher crystallinity and conductivity (10⁻¹ S · cm⁻¹) compared with the nanofibers oxidized by ammonium persulfate (APS), which may be due to the lower oxidation/reduction potential of FeCl₃.

SEM images of the PANI nanofibers prepared by oxidation polymerization using ferric hydrochloride as an oxidant.     

Electrical Conductivity of an Individual Polyaniline Nanotube Synthesized by a Self‐Assembly Method

Camphor sulfonic acid (CSA) doped polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes (175 nm in outer diameter and 120 nm in inner diameter) were synthesized successfully by a self‐assembly method. It is found that the room‐temperature conductivity of an individual PANI nanotube is 30.5 S · cm⁻¹; in particular, the intrinsic resistance of an individual nanotube (30 kΩ) is much smaller than the contact resistance of crossed nanotubes (500 kΩ).

A SEM image of two crossed PANI‐CSA nanotubes and the attached Pt electrodes.     

Poly(4‐vinylpyridine) Nanocrosslinked by Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane

Summary: Octa(propylglycidyl ether) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (OpePOSS) was used as the crosslinking agent to prepare the nanocrosslinked poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) with POSS content up to 55.2 wt.‐%. The formation of the crosslinked structure is ascribed to the macromolecular reaction between pyridine rings of P4VP and epoxide groups of OpePOSS. The POSS‐crosslinked P4VP displayed enhanced glass transition temperatures (T_gs) and an improved thermal stability in terms of the results of thermal analysis.

Crosslinking of poly(4‐vinylpyridine) with octa(propylglycidyl ether) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane.     

Precision Sulfonic Acid Ester Copolymers

Linear ethylene copolymers containing sulfonic acid ethyl esters precisely spaced on every 21st carbon have been synthesized using metathesis polycondensation chemistry. These precision structures with one directly attached and one aromatic spaced sulfonic acid ester are synthesized with the goal of tailoring layered higher order morphologies in contrast to conventional clustered ionic polyolefins. Primary structural characterization confirms the precision polymer structures. Additional secondary microstructural analysis by DSC shows a recoverable endothermic melt transition of polyethylene‐like lamellae crystallites of the directly attached ester while completely amorphous behavior is observed when the ester is spaced away from the backbone with an aromatic group.

     

Nanofibrilar Polyaniline: Direct Route to Carbon Nanotube Water Dispersions of High Concentration

Water dispersible nanofibrilar polyaniline (NF‐PANI) provides a novel and direct route towards carbon nanotube water dispersions of high concentration. Carrying out the chemical synthesis of NF‐PANI in the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) results in an entirely nanostructured nanofibrilar polyaniline/carbon nanotube (NF‐PANI/CNT) composite material that contains well segregated CNTs partially coated by NF‐PANI. This new approach is simple, fast, and inexpensive, and enables the direct preparation of stable and homogeneous dispersions of the composites in water at concentrations up to 10 mg · mL⁻¹, even for the highest CNT loadings of 50 wt.‐% without the participation of surfactants or stabilizers.

     

New Polylactide/Layered Silicate Nanocomposite: Nanoscale Control Over Multiple Properties

The preparation, characterization, materials properties, crystallization behavior and biodegradability of a polylactide (PLA)/organically modified layered silicate nanocomposite is described. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction and high‐resolution TEM analyses confirmed that intercalated stacked and disordered/exfoliated mica layers coexist in the nanocomposite. The nanocomposite showed improved materials properties and crystallization behavior with a simultaneous improvement in biodegradability as compared to neat PLA.

Degree of biodegradation (i.e. CO₂ evolution) of neat PLA and PLACN4 under compost conditions.     

Synthesis and Properties of Oligophenylene‐Layered Polymers

We report syntheses of phenylene‐, biphenylene‐, and terphenylene‐layered polymers with a xanthene scaffold by the modified Suzuki‐Miyaura coupling reaction. Their optical properties were studied in detail. The polymer end‐capped by nitrobenzene units, which act as fluorescence quenchers, exhibited the photo‐excited energy transfer from the layered oligophenylenes to the terminal units.

     

Synthesis and Characterization of β‐Cyclodextrin Based Functional Monomers and its Copolymers with N‐isopropylacrylamide

Two novel monovinyl β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) monomers are synthesized. Their chemical compositions are characterized by means of element analysis, NMR and FT‐IR spectroscopy. The results show that the synthesis techniques used are convenient and efficient. Using N‐isopropylacrylamide as a comonomer, two novel linear copolymers can also be synthesized.

Synthesis route of monovinyl β‐CD monomers.