Resistive switching polymer materials based on poly(aryl ether)s containing triphenylamine and 1,2,4‐triazole moieties

A series of poly(aryl ether)s were successfully prepared via aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction from various bisphenols and a novel bipolar aryl difluoride monomer containing electron‐donor triphenylamine and electron‐acceptor 1,2,4‐triazole moieties. The poly(aryl ether)s exhibited excellent solubility in organic solvents such as dimethylformamide, chloroform, and tetrahydrofuran at room temperature. The poly(aryl ether)s showed high thermal stability with T_d10 higher than 500 °C and glass transition temperatures (T_g) higher than 187 °C. The thin films of the poly(aryl ether)s indicated bistable resistive switching behavior with ON/OFF current ratios as high as 10³. The switching on and switching off bias voltages of the poly(aryl ether)s were affected by the bisphenol moiety. The good resistive switching behavior of the poly(aryl ether)s made them promising candidates for future nonvolatile memory applications. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6861–6871, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of fluorene‐based low‐band gap copolymers containing propylenedioxythiophene and benzothiadiazole derivatives for bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell applications

The following noble series of soluble π‐conjugated statistical copolymers was synthesized by palladium catalyzed Suzuki polymerization: poly[(9,9‐dioctylfluorene)‐alt‐(4,7‐bis(3′,3′‐dihepyl‐3,4‐propylenedioxythienyl)‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole)] (PFO‐PTBT) derived from poly(9,9‐dioctylfluorene) (PFO) and poly[(4,7‐bis(3′,3′‐dihepyl‐3,4‐propylenedioxythienyl)‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole)] poly(heptyl₄‐PTBT). The structure and properties of these polymers were characterized using ¹H‐, ¹³C‐NMR, UV–visible spectroscopy, elemental analysis, GPC, DSC, TGA, photoluminescence (PL), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The statistical copolymers, PFO‐PTBT (9:1, 8.4:1.6, 6.5:3.5), were soluble in common organic solvents and easily spin coated onto indium‐tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. The weight‐average molecular weight (M_w) and polydispersity of the PFO‐PTBT ranged from (1.0–4.2) × 10⁴ and 1.5–2.3, respectively. Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells with an ITO/PEDOT/PFO‐PTBT:PCBM/LiF/Al configuration were fabricated, and the devices using PFOPTBT (6.5:3.5) showed the best performance compared with those using PFO‐PTBT (9:1, 8.4:1.6). A maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.50% (V_oc = 0.66 V, FF = 0.29) was achieved with PFO‐PTBT (6.5:3.5). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6175–6184, 2008     

Importance of nanostructured vanadia for selective oxidation of propane to acrylic acid

Highly dispersed nanostructured vanadia supported on mesoporous silica SBA-15, prepared by controlled grafting/ion-exchange, has been found to exhibit high selectivities in propane partial oxidation to acrylic acid demonstrating its unique potential for mixed metal oxide catalyst development.     

Characterization of bioactive RGD peptide immobilized onto poly(acrylic acid) thin films by plasma polymerization

Plasma surface modification can be used to improve the surface properties of commercial pure Ti by creating functional groups to produce bioactive materials with different surface topography. In this study, a titanium surface was modified with acrylic acid (AA) using a plasma treatment and immobilized with bioactive arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide, which may accelerate the tissue integration of bone implants. Both terminals containing the -NH₂ of RGD peptide sequence and -COOH of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) thin film were combined with a covalent bond in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-3-dimethylaminopropyl carbodiimide (EDC). The chemical structure and morphology of AA film and RGD immobilized surface were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All chemical analysis showed full coverage of the Ti substrate with the PAA thin film containing COOH groups and the RGD peptide. The MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on each specimen, and the cell alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were examined. The surface-immobilized RGD peptide has a significantly increased the ALP activity of MC3T3-E1 cells. These results suggest that the RGD peptide immobilization on the titanium surface has an effect on osteoblastic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells and potential use in osteo-conductive bone implants.     

Using one EWMA chart to jointly monitor the process mean and variance

Two control charts are usually used to monitor the process mean and variance separately. The mean is monitored using the [`(X)]{\bar{{X}}} chart while the variance using either the standard deviation, S chart, or the range, R chart. Recently, numerous single variable charts are proposed to jointly monitor the mean and variance. Most approaches transform the sample mean and sample variance into two statistics, each having a standard scale, and either plotting them on the same chart or combining them into a single statistic to be plotted on a chart. The R chart is more widely used than the S chart but no attempt is made to combine the [`(X)]{\bar{{X}}} and R charts in the construction of a single variable chart and to study its properties and performance. In this paper, we transform the [`(X)]{\bar{{X}}} and R statistics into two standard normal random variables, used in the computation of two corresponding exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) statistics, which are then merged into a single plotting statistic for the proposed chart, called the EWMA [`(X)]-R{\bar{{X}}-R} chart.     

Fluorometric analysis of borohydrides based on reductive aldehyde-to-alcohol conversion of arylaldehydes

Fluorometric analysis of borohydride (BH₄^–) species by the reduction of arylaldehydes to the corresponding arylmethanols was investigated. 9-Anthracenecarboxaldehyde (9-AA) exhibited pronounced ratiometric fluorescence signaling behavior toward borohydride in alkaline aqueous media. The borohydride-selective signaling of 9-AA was unaffected by the presence of commonly encountered metal ions and anions. 1-Pyrenecarboxaldehyde (1-PA) also showed comparable borohydride signaling behavior. The detection limit was found to be 7.4?μM (0.11?ppm) for 9-AA and 15.7?μM (0.23?ppm) for 1-PA. The utility of the probe with μPAD as a convenient tool for the determination of borohydrides was demonstrated.     

Carboxyboronate: A Versatile C1 Building Block

The synthesis and applications of carboxy‐MIDA‐boronate, a novel C1 building block, are described. This molecule is accessible via a ruthenium tetraoxide‐mediated cleavage of commercially available ethynyl‐MIDA‐boronate. In the course of this study, carboxy‐MIDA‐boronate was found to possess ambident reactivity towards nucleophiles. Carboxylic acid derivatization produces a broad range of previously unknown carbamoyl‐, oxycarbo‐ and thiocarboboronates. Carboxy‐MIDA‐boronate and its derivatives undergo condensations to access borylated heterocycles with boron at positions that are difficult to access using alternate methods. The resulting heterocycles participate in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling reaction, enabling entry into diverse bis(heteroaryl) motifs. The carbon monoxide‐releasing capacity of carboxy‐MIDA‐boronate was also examined and applied in palladium‐catalyzed carbonylation.     

Modulation of Foreign Body Reaction against PDMS Implant by Grafting Topographically Different Poly(acrylic acid) Micropatterns

The surface of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is grafted with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) layers via surface‐initiated photopolymerization to suppress the capsular contracture resulting from a foreign body reaction. Owing to the nature of photo‐induced polymerization, various PAA micropatterns can be fabricated using photolithography. Hole and stripe micropatterns ≈100‐µm wide and 3‐µm thick are grafted onto the PDMS surface without delamination. The incorporation of PAA micropatterns provides not only chemical cues by hydrophilic PAA microdomains but also topographical cues by hole or stripe micropatterns. In vitro studies reveal that a PAA‐grafted PDMS surface has a lower proliferation of both macrophages (Raw 264.7) and fibroblasts (NIH 3T3) regardless of the pattern presence. However, PDMS with PAA micropatterns, especially stripe micropatterns, minimizes the aggregation of fibroblasts and their subsequent differentiation into myofibroblasts. An in vivo study also shows that PDMS samples with stripe micropatterns polarized macrophages into anti‐inflammatory M2 macrophages and most effectively inhibits capsular contracture, which is demonstrated by investigation of inflammation score, transforming‐growth‐factor‐β expression, number of macrophages, and myofibroblasts as well as the collagen density and capsule thickness.     

Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Zinc Phosphate with 28‐Ring Channels

An organic–inorganic hybrid zinc phosphate with 28‐ring channels was synthesized by use of an organic ligand instead of organic amine template under a hydro(solvo)thermal condition. This crystalline zinc phosphate contains large channels constructed from 28 zinc and phosphate tetrahedral units. The walls of the channels consist of two types of zincophosphate chains, in which the Zn atoms are coordinated by 2,4,5‐tri(4‐pyridyl)‐imidazole ligands as pendent groups. This compound exhibits yellow emission and interesting properties of removing cobalt, cadmium, and mercury cations from aqueous solution. A new two‐dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid zincophosphate was also obtained by changing the solvent mixture ratios in the synthesis.