Facile synthesis of core‐surface crosslinked nanoparticles by interblock RAFT polymerization

A new, efficient method for synthesizing stable nanoparticles with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) functionalities on the core surface, in which the micellization and crosslinking reactions occur in one pot, has been developed. First, amphiphilic PEO‐b‐PS copolymers were synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization of styrene using (PEO)‐based trithiocarbonate as a macro‐RAFT agent. The low molecular weight PEO‐b‐PS copolymer was dissolved in isopropyl alcohol where the block copolymer self‐assembled as core‐shell micelles, and then the core‐shell interface crosslink was performed using divinylbenzene as a crosslinking agent and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The design of the amphiphilic RAFT agent is critical for the successful preparation of core‐shell interface crosslinked micellar nanoparticles, because of RAFT functional groups interconnect PEO and polystyrene blocks. The PEO functionality of the nanoparticles surface was confirmed by ¹H NMR and FTIR. The size and morphology of the nanoparticles was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic laser light scattering analysis. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Investigation of the effect of electron cyclotron heating on runaway generation in the KSTAR tokamak

Wave enhanced runaway generation is expected to play an important role in the conversion of plasma current into runaway current during major disruptions. The fast electrons created by electron cyclotron heating (ECH) were used to study this issue in KSTAR. It is found that the fast electrons driven by ECH can enhance runaway production in the flat top phase with high loop voltage. The runaway current in disruptions was not enhanced by the ECH produced fast electron population due to the strong magnetic fluctuations which inhibited the generation of runaway electrons. It is found that a complete loss of existing REs during thermal quench has occurred in KSTAR limiter configuration discharges.     

Synthesis and characterization of chemically anchored adenosine with PHEMA grafted gold nanoparticles

The synthesis of chemically anchored adenosine with biocompatible poly(2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate) grafted gold nanoparticles (Ado-i-PHEMA-g-AuNPs) was realized by employing a simple strategy. Disulfide-containing poly(2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate) (DT-PHEMA) was initially synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The formation of DT-PHEMA was confirmed by ¹H-NMR and FT-IR. The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution were found to be 9.6 kg/mol and 1.40 from GPC analysis. DT-PHEMA was subsequently used for the synthesis of PHEMA-g-AuNPs by a grafting to protocol. The grafting of DT-PHEMA on the surface of AuNPs was confirmed by FT-IR, TGA, XPS, and EDX analyses. The particle size of the PHEMA-g-AuNPs was found to be ca. 5.0 nm from HR-TEM analysis. Boronic acid was used for functionalization of PHEMA-g-AuNPs, which was then subjected for covalent immobilization with adenosine via strong interaction between free hydroxyl groups of adenosine and boronic acid. Characterization and properties of the Ado-i-PHEMA-g-AuNPs were investigated by taking advantage from FT-IR, XPS, EDX, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The Ado-i-PHEMA-g-AuNPs nanocomposite exhibits a surface plasmon resonance peak at 586 nm which is red shifted from AuNPs (521 nm), indicating significant changes of surface property upon PHEMA-adenosine immobilization onto the surface of AuNPs.     

Organic soluble deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) bearing carbazole moieties and its blend with phosphorescent Ir(III) complexes

A functionalized deoxyribonucleic acid (Cz‐DNA) was prepared with carbazolyl ammonium lipid as a triplet host material for phosphorescent material system. It is soluble in organic solvents, which facilitates the sample preparation for the absorption and luminescent properties in solid states. A highly soluble iridium complex, Ir(Cz‐ppy)₃ with carbazolyl‐substituted 2‐phenylpyridine ligands was employed for studying the phosphorescence in Cz‐DNA. There is a good overlap between the photoluminescence spectrum of Cz‐DNA and the metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (MLCT) absorption bands of the iridium complex. This overlap enables efficient energy transfer from the excited state in the host to the MLCT band of Ir(Cz‐ppy)₃. In addition, photoluminescence quantum yield of Cz‐DNA was found to be relatively larger than the copolymer (PCzSt) with vinylcarbazole and styrene. Thus, Cz‐DNA was employed as a triplet host material for fabricating multilayered electrophosphorescence devices via modification of its property by doping 5,4‐tert‐butylhexyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole (PBD). After doping 30 wt % PBD and 10 wt % Ir(Cz‐ppy)₃ into Cz‐DNA, we achieved much improvement in electron injection/transport from an adjacent carrier transport layer, resulting in much improved device performances. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1913–1918, 2010     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(1,4‐bis((E)‐2‐(3‐dodecylthiophen‐2‐yl)vinyl)benzene) derivatives

New amorphous semiconducting copolymers, poly(9,9‐dialkylfluorene)‐alt‐(3‐dodecylthienyl‐divinylbenzene‐3‐dodecylthienyl) derivatives (PEFTVB and POFTVB), were designed, synthesized, and characterized. The structure of copolymers was confirmed by H NMR, IR, and elemental analysis. The copolymers showed very good solubility in organic solvents and high thermal stability with high T_g of 178–185 °C. The weight average molecular weight was found to be 107,900 with polydispersity of 3.14 for PEFTVB and 76,700 with that of 3.31 for POFTVB. UV–vis absorption studies showed the maximum absorption at 428 nm (in solution) and 435 nm (in film) for PEFTVB and at 430 nm (in solution) and 436 nm (in film) for POFTVB. Photoluminescence studies showed the emission at 498 nm (in solution) and 557 nm (in film) for PEFTVB and at 498 nm (in solution) and 536 nm (in film) for POFTVB. The solution‐processed thin‐film transistors showed the carrier mobility of 2 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1 for PEFTVB‐based devices and 2 × 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1 for POFTVB‐based devices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3942–3949, 2010