Synthesis and micellization of amphiphilic poly(sebacic anhydride)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(sebacic anhydride) block copolymers

Amphiphilic biodegradable block copolymers [poly(sebacic anhydride)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(sebacic anhydride)] were synthesized by the melt polycondensation of poly(ethylene glycol) and sebacic anhydride prepolymers. The chemical structure, crystalline nature, and phase behavior of the resulting copolymers were characterized with ¹H NMR, Fourier transform infrared, gel permeation chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry. Microphase separation of the copolymers occurred, and the crystallinity of the poly(sebacic anhydride) (PSA) blocks diminished when the sebacic anhydride unit content in the copolymer was only 21.6%. ¹H NMR spectra carried out in CDCl₃ and D₂O were used to demonstrate the existence of hydrophobic PSA domains as the core of the micelle. In aqueous media, the copolymers formed micelles after precipitation from water‐miscible solvents. The effects on the micelle sizes due to the micelle preparation conditions, such as the organic phase, dropping rate of the polymer organic solution into the aqueous phase, and copolymer concentrations in the organic phase, were studied. There was an increase in the micelle size as the molecular weight of the PSA block was increased. The diameters of the copolymer micelles were also found to increase as the concentration of the copolymer dissolved in the organic phase was increased, and the dependence of the micelle diameters on the concentration of the copolymer varied with the copolymer composition. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1271–1278, 2006     

Investigation of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone)/heteropolyacid composite membranes for high temperature fuel cell applications

The sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone) (SPEEKS)/heteropolyacid (HPA) composite membranes with different HPA content in SPEEKS copolymers matrix with different degree of sulfonation (DS) were investigated for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Composite membranes were characterized by Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR band shifts suggested that the sulfonic acid groups on the copolymer backbone strongly interact with HPA particles. SEM pictures showed that the HPA particles were uniformly distributed throughout the SPEEKS membranes matrix and particle sizes decreased with the increment of copolymers' DS. The holes were not found in SPEEKS‐4/HPA30 (consisting of 70% SPEEKS copolymers with DS = 0.8 and 30% HPA) composite membrane after composite membranes were treated with boiling water for 24 h. Thermal stabilities of the composite membranes were better than those of pure sulfonated copolymers membranes. Although the composite membranes possessed lower water uptake, it exhibited higher proton conductivity for SPEEKS‐4/HPA30 especially at high temperature (above 100 °C). Its proton conductivity linearly increased from 0.068 S/cm at 25 °C to 0.095 S/cm at 120 °C, which was higher than 0.06 S/cm of Nafion 117. In contrast, proton conductivity of pure SPEEKS‐4 membrane only increased from 0.062 S/cm at 25 °C to 0.078 S/cm at 80 °C. At 120 °C, proton conductivity decreased to poor 0.073 S/cm. The result indicated that composite membranes exhibited high proton conductivity at high temperature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1967–1978, 2006     

Matériaux composites à base de graves et de liants polymères—III. Caractéristiques et propriétés rhélogiques d'un nouveau liant à base de polyéthylène de récupération et de cires de polyéthylène

Recovered polyethylene is used with polyethylene waxes as a new binder for mineral granules. This binder is characterized and optimized mainly on a rheological basis. Its fluid index (I.F.), molecular distribution and crystallinity are especially studied. Its rheograms and tensile properties are compared with those of industrial polyethylene (I.F. = 250). The dimensional shrinkages of such binders during cooling from 190° to ambient temperature are measured.     

Analyzing Multiple Phenotypes Based on Principal Component Analysis

Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica, English Series - Joint analysis of multiple phenotypes can have better interpretation of complex diseases and increase statistical power to detect more...     

Microemulsion photopolymerization of methacrylates stabilized with sodium dodecyl sulfate and poly(N-acetylethylenimine) macromonomers

Methyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate were polymerized in oil-in-water microemulsions that were stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). A poly(N-acetylethylenimine) (PNAEI) macromer was also included in the recipe, as a cosurfactant and a comonomer. Polymerizations were initiated by UV-irradiation. The average diameters of latex particles, obtained by STM, were in the range of 17-200 nm. The experimental data evidenced that the particle size was mainly dependent on the SDS/PNAEI ratio. Polymerization yields were around 75-85%. The synthesized copolymers have viscosity average molecular weights in the range of 2.1-2.4×10⁶ and glass transition temperatures of 38.0-43.5°C, lower than those obtained without using PNAEI. The investigation by means of FTIR and 1H-NMR techniques revealed that PNAEI was incorporated into the nanoparticles.