Structure–electrical property study of anisotropic polyaniline films

The relationships of the structure and electrical properties of anisotropic HCl‐doped polyaniline (PANI) films cast from N,N′‐dimethylpropylene urea (DMPU) solutions and stretched to different draw ratios were studied. The anisotropic structure of the stretched PANI films was examined by X‐ray diffraction, near‐infrared wave‐guide coupling, and polarized infrared measurements. The PANI emeraldine base (EB) films cast from DMPU solutions had a single‐phase noncrystalline structure, and stretching of the films did not cause crystallization to occur. The transition moment angles of two weakly absorbing infrared bands were determined, and the Hermans' orientation functions for the PANI EB films were calculated. The PANI films were then doped with HCl, and the electrical properties were determined by impedance spectroscopy. With a specially designed test fixture, the in‐plane and through‐plane impedance was obtained. The conductivity along the stretch direction increased with orientation. The in‐plane conductivity was significantly higher than the through‐plane conductivity. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 823–841, 2003     

Thiol–norbornene materials: Approaches to develop high Tg thiol–ene polymers

The ability to prepare high T_g low shrinkage thiol–ene materials is attractive for applications such as coatings and dental restoratives. However, thiol and nonacrylated vinyl materials typically consist of a flexible backbone, limiting the utility of these polymers. Hence, it is of importance to synthesize and investigate thiol and vinyl materials of varying backbone chemistry and stiffness. Here, we investigate the effect of backbone chemistry and functionality of norbornene resins on polymerization kinetics and glass transition temperature (T_g) for several thiol–norbornene materials. Results indicate that T_gs as high as 94 °C are achievable in thiol–norbornene resins of appropriately controlled chemistry. Furthermore, both the backbone chemistry and the norbornene moiety are important factors in the development of high T_g materials. In particular, as much as a 70 °C increase in T_g was observed in a norbornene–thiol specimen when compared with a sample prepared using allyl ether monomer of analogous backbone chemistry. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5686–5696, 2007     

Dimensionally and thermally stable polymer,containing disordered graphitic structure and adamantane

In an attempt to develop a low‐k interlayer dielectric, adamantane‐diphenyldiethynyl moiety containing oligomer is prepared. Oligomerization of 1,3,5,7‐tetrakis[3/4‐ethynylphenyl]adamantane ( 4 ) is accomplished by a Glaser–Hay oxidative coupling with 1,3,5‐triethynylbenzene and phenylacetylene end‐capping agent. The CHCl₃ soluble oligomer is then thermally treated by step‐curing at 200, 300, 380, and 450 °C for 30 min at each temperature under nitrogen flow to render a shiny void‐free black polymer. TGA analysis indicates that the polymer is stable under nitrogen up to 500 °C with a marginal decomposition up to 800 °C. Solid‐state ¹³C NMR, Raman scattering, and FTIR are used to characterize the structure of the polymer. The polymer consists of amorphous carbon networks with the adamantane moieties and nanosized graphitic regions (clusters), which are generated from the thermal crosslinking of the diphenyldiethynyl units. It shows a remarkably low linear coefficient of thermal expansion (～25 ppm/°C), presumably due to the presence of the disordered graphitic structure. Its high density (～1.21 g/cm³), refractive index (～1.80 at 632 nm), and Young's modulus (～17.0 GPa) are also consistent with the interpretation. This study reveals important details about the effect of microscopic structure on the macroscopic properties of the highly crosslinked polymer. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6909–6925, 2006     

Freezing temperatures and densities of solutions of some hydrocarbons and sodium oleate inN-methylacetamide. Evidence for a solvophobic interaction

The freezing temperatures and densities (at 31°C) of solutions of octane, nonane, decane, 3,3-diethylpentane, and sodium oleate inN-methylacetamide (NMA) have been measured. The molality of the freezing solution was calculated from the density. The solubilities of octane, nonane, and decane inN-methylacetamide are also reported. Apparent molal volumes calculated from the densities are close to the values in the pure hydrocarbons and are not strong functions of the concentration. This indicates the absence of any unusual packing effect. The calculated free energies of transfer of the hydrocarbons from pure hydrocarbon to NMA solution are much less negative than the corresponding values for water, showing that the bulk solvophobic interaction inN-methylacetamide is smaller than in water. This is consistent with the freezing temperatures of sodium oleate which show that micelles do not form below 0.1 mole-kg^–1. The osmotic coefficients of the hydrocarbons calculated from the freezing temperatures showed negative deviations from ideality that were larger for the hydrocarbons with the higher molecular weights. Two estimates of the pairwise solvophobic interaction inN-methylacetamide indicate that it is also smaller than in water. The solvophobic effect in this solvent does not include the large entropy and enthalpy effects found in aqueous solutions.     

Sequence distribution of partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl acetate)

Copolymers of vinyl acetate and vinyl alcohol were studied by differential thermal analysis. The melting points of the copolymers are not a simple function of the composition, but depend on the method of preparation of the copolymers. Partial saponification of poly(vinyl acetate) with sodium hydroxide leads to high melting, ordered copolymers, while reacetylation of poly(vinyl alcohol) leads to low melting, random copolymers. Catalytic alcoholysis of PVAc yields copolymers intermediate in melting point and order. The results are treated by assuming that equal melting points indicate similar sequence length distributions of crystallizable units.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the acid-catalysed decarboxylation of thecis-α- andcis-β-carbonato(3,6-dimethyl-1,8-diamino-3,6-diazaoctane)-cobalt(III) ions

Summary The acid-catalysed decarboxylation of thecis-- andcis--[CoL(CO₃)]⁺ complexes (L = 3,6-dimethyl-1,8-diamino-3,6-diazaoctane) have been studied over a range of HClO₄ concentrations and the temperatures 25, 35 and 45° at I = 1.0 mol dm^–3 (NaClO₄). The rate expression takes the form k_obs = k₀ + k₁[H⁺] where k_obs is the observed first order rate constant at constant hydrogen ion concentration. The k₀ term makes only a minor contribution to the overall reaction. Both complexes display solvent deuterium isotope effects ofca. 2.6 for the acid-catalysed decarboxylation, consistent with a rapid proton pre-equilibrium mechanism. Activation parameters have been determined and the mechanism of the reaction discussed. The magnitude of the solvent isotope effect is consistent with an A-1 type mechanism involving formation of a 5-coordinate intermediate.