Immiscibility,upper critical solution temperature,and miscibility in blends of poly(vinyl ether)s with polyacrylics: Effects of pendant groups

Various phase behavior of blends of poly(vinyl ether)s with homologous acrylic polymers (polymethacrylates or polyacrylates) were examined using differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy (OM), and Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy. Effects of varying the pendant groups of either of constituent polymers on the phase behavior of the blends were analyzed. A series of interestingly different phase behavior in the blends has been revealed in that as the pendant group in the acrylic polymer series gets longer, polymethacrylate/poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) blends exhibit immiscibility, upper critical solution temperature (UCST), and miscibility, respectively. This study found that the true phase behavior of poly(propyl methacrylate)/PVME [and poly(isopropyl methacrylate)/PVME)] blend systems, though immiscible at ambient, actually displayed a rare UCST upon heating to higher temperatures. Similarly, as the methyl pendant group in PVE is lengthened to ethyl (i.e., PVME replaced by PVEE), phase behavior of its blends with series of polymethacrylates or polyacrylates changes correspondingly. Analyses and quantitative comparisons on four series of blends of PVE/acrylic polymer were performed to thoroughly understand the effects of pendant groups in either polyethers (PVE's) or acrylic polymers on the phase behavior of the blends of these two constituents. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 1521–1534, 2007     

Syntheses,crystal structures and blue emission of three zinc(II) coordination polymers with a 4,4′‐dicarboxybiphenyl sulfone ligand

Three novel zinc complexes [Zn(dbsf)(H₂O)₂] ( 1 ), [Zn(dbsf)(2,2′‐bpy)(H₂O)]·(i‐C₃H₇OH) ( 2 ) and [Zn(dbsf)(DMF)] ( 3 ) (H₂dbsf = 4,4′‐dicarboxybiphenyl sulfone, 2,2′‐bpy = 2,2′‐bipyridine, i‐C₃H₇OH = iso‐propanol, DMF = N,N‐dimethylformamide) were first obtained and characterized by single crystal X‐ray crystallography. Although the results show that all the complexes 1–3 have one‐dimensional chains formed via coordination bonds, unique three‐dimensional supramolecular structures are formed due to different coordination modes and configuration of the dbsf^2? ligand, hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions. Iso‐propanol molecules are in open channels of 2 while larger empty channels are formed in 3 . As compared with emission band of the free H₂dbsf ligand, emission peaks of the complexes 1–3 are red‐shifted, and they show blue emission, which originates from enlarging conjugation upon coordination. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cationic poly(methacryl oxyethyl trimethylammonium) and its poly(ethylene glycol)‐grafted analogue as capillary coating materials in electrophoresis

Cationic polyelectrolytes were synthesized and used as semipermanent coating materials for capillaries in electrophoresis. The polyelectrolytes used were a homopolymer of poly(methacryl oxyethyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PMOTAC) and its poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)‐grafted analogue. Two PMOTAC polyelectrolytes, with molar masses of 85,000 and 300,000 g/mol, and PEG‐grafted PMOTAC with a molar mass of 280,000 g/mol were synthesized and then characterized by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Attachment of the polyelectrolytes to the wall of the fused silica capillary for electrophoresis caused the electroosmotic flow (EOF) to reverse. The polyelectrolyte coatings were tested over the pH range 2–11 at different buffer ionic strengths, and the most stable and strongest anodic EOFs were obtained at acidic pH values with low ionic strength buffers. Between runs the capillary is merely rinsed for 2 or 3 min with the background electrolyte solution. With the PMOTAC coatings at pH values ≤5, the RSDs of the EOFs were less than 2.9% after 60 injections. The effects of the molar mass of the polycation and of PEGylation of PMOTAC on the interactions between the polycations and basic proteins were studied at acidic pH values. The differences in the effective electrophoretic mobilities, resolution values, and plate numbers of the proteins with the different coatings were due to the EOF, as demonstrated through calculations of reduced mobilities, relative resolution values, and relative plate numbers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2655–2663, 2007     

Synthesis of grafted poly(p‐phenyleneethynylene) with energy donor–acceptor architecture via atom transfer radical polymerization: Towards nonaggregating and hole‐facilitating light‐emitting material

In this contribution, we demonstrate a new effective methodology for constructing highly efficient and durable poly(p‐phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) containing emissive material with nonaggregating and hole‐facilitating properties through the introduction of hole‐transporting blocks into the PPE system as the grafting coils as well as building the energy donor–acceptor architecture between the grafting coils and the PPE backbone. Poly(2‐(carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl methacrylate) (PCzEMA), herein, is chosen as the hole‐transporting blocks, and incorporated into the PPE system as the grafting coils via atom transfer radical polymerization. The chemical structure of the resultant copolymer, PPE‐g‐PCzEMA, was characterized by NMR and gel permeation chromatography, showing that the desirable copolymer was obtained with the narrow polydispersity. The increased thermal stability of PPE‐g‐PCzEMA was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry along with its macroinitiator. The optoelectronic properties of this copolymer were studied in detail by ultraviolet‐visible absorption, photoluminescence emission and excitation spectra, and cyclic voltammogram (CV). The results indicate that PPE‐g‐PCzEMA exhibits the solid‐state luminescent property dominated by individual lumophores, and also the energy transfer process from the PCzEMA blocks to the PPE backbone with a relatively higher energy transfer efficiency in the solid‐state compared to that of the solution state. Additionally, the hole‐injection property is greatly facilitated due to the presence of PCzEMA, as confirmed by CV profiles. All these data indicate that PPE‐g‐PCzEMA is a good candidate for use in optoelectronic devices. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3776–3787, 2007     

Synthesis and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) copolymers

A new biodegradable starch graft copolymer, starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one), was synthesized through the ring‐opening graft polymerization of 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one onto a starch backbone. The grafting reactions were conducted with various 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one/starch feed ratios to obtain starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) copolymers with various poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) graft structures. The microstructure of starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) was characterized in detail with one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The effect of the feed composition on the resulting microstructure of starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) was investigated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3417–3422, 2004     

Growth of single-crystal magnetite nanowires from Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a surfactant-free hydrothermal process

Single-crystal magnetite nanowires with average diameter of ca. 20 nm and length of up to several micrometers were prepared by a simple alkaline surfactant-free hydrothermal process. The crystallinity, purity, morphology, and structural features of the as-prepared magnetite nanowires were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction. The composition and length of nanowires depends on the pH, with higher pH favoring longer nanowires composed entirely of Fe₃O₄. A mechanism for nanowire growth is proposed.     

THE BLOW-UP PROPERLIES OF SOLUTIONS TO SEMILINEAR HEAT EQUATIONS WITH NEUMANN BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

1IntroductionInthispaper,weconsidertheinitial-boundaryvalueproblem,where"o(x)isnon-negativesmoothfunctionsatisfying"o.(0)=0,"o.(1)=1'Whenconsideringtheblow-upofsolution,thefollowingproblemarisenaturally:Doesblow-upoccur?Howdoesthesolutionapproachtheblow-uptime'!Andwilersisthehotspotlocated(blow-upset)?WelookattheheatequationwithanonlillearboundaryconditiollHerefiisaboundeddomaininR",p>1isarealnumber.IthasbeenknownforalongtimethattheDroblelil(1.1).(1.2)withAL(~,0)--'no(x)doesnothaveaglobals…     

Optimal key mask design for optical encryption based on joint transform correlator architecture

We examine perfect recovery in the optical encryption system based on joint transform correlator architecture, which requires the key mask to be space-limited and phase-only in the frequency domain. Accordingly, a discrete sinc function interpolation is used to generate a binary phase difference mask for image encryption and decryption. Furthermore, the optimal binary phase difference mask is derived from the interpolation process best approximating the ideal sinc function interpolation. The simulation results confirm better recovery of the decrypted image for applying the proposed key masks to the optical encryption system. Especially, the optimal binary phase difference mask significantly enhances the recovery performance.     

Output dynamics and stabilisation of a multi-mode double-clad Yb-doped silica fibre laser

The intensity dynamics of the double-clad Yb fibre laser have been characterised. Stabilisation of the fibre laser intensity by using uniform bi-directional pumping is demonstrated. For the single-end-pumped Yb fibre laser, the output becomes more stable for the shorter fibre length due to the higher threshold of stimulated Brillouin scattering, SBS, and Kerr effects and the reduction of saturated absorber effects caused by any unpumped fibre section. By additional pumping in a double-end-pumped configuration, the output power can be scaled higher before detecting high intensity pulses initiated by SBS in the Yb fibre laser due to the reduction of saturable absorption effect. It is confirmed that uniform pumping enhances the stability of the laser output.     

Numerical Analysis and Simulation Analysis for Space‐Time Data

Spatio temporal dynamics of the positive column of a dc neon glow discharge is studied and investigated experimentally and theoretically. Spatio temporal analysis by means of biorthogonal decomposition method (BOD) gives insights into the mechanism of irregularity and can be employed for characterization of spatio‐ temporal complexity. In the weak nonlinear region, the wave dynamics is approximated by an amplitude equation of the Ginzburg‐Landau equation (CGLE) with complex coefficients and an additional integral term based on a fluid model. In the present work we deal with irregular spatio‐temporal data. A comparison between the numerical analysis of the experimental data and simulation results are studied. A good agreement between the dynamical behaviour for experimental space‐time data and theoretical simulation space‐time results was obtained. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)