Shape-Memory Effect in Polymer Composites with a Compactible Filler

The shape-memory effect has been investigated in formed porous polymers and composites under heating. An epoxy polymer, ultrahigh-molecular polyethylene, and polypropylene were used as the polymeric matrix and carbon materials of different bulk density were taken for the filler. An unconventional shape-memory effect, which is accompanied by an increase in volume, was created. Processing schemes by which this effect can be achieved are proposed. They make it possible to obtain products of varying configuration.     

Deformational Properties of Polymer Concrete during Long-Term Exposure to Water

Changes in the elastic and viscoelastic (creep) characteristics of polymer concrete and its structural components (polyester resin, unfilled or filled with diabase flour) during a long-term exposure to water at 20°C were studied. Modeling the structural changes in polymer concrete with time showed an increase in the relative volume content of pores filled with water and a decrease in that of unfilled pores. Based on the free-volume concept and the data on swelling due to moistening and shrinkage due to physical aging of the binder, a rather accurate estimate of the time-moisture reduction function for polymer concrete was obtained. The function was found to be nonmonotonic: the interval of increase was followed by an interval of decrease.     

Photo-orientation at liquid crystal—polymer interfaces

It is suggested that liquid crystal—polymer interfaces are coupled systems, in which the components mutually influence the orientational state of each other. The photo-orientation process at liquid crystal-polymer interfaces provides a striking example of such a coupling. Experiments show that the anisotropic structure generated by polarised light at a polymer surface is strongly affected by the phase of the liquid crystal covering the polymer. Photo-orientation is significantly more efficient when the liquid crystal is in the isotropic phase than when it exhibits orientational order. The observations are interpreted by assuming that in the smectic and nematic phases the liquid crystal stabilises to a large extent polymer chain-segments aligned parallel to the director, while it blocks the photo-induced formation of chain-segments in the perpendicular direction. Other situations, in which the coupling between the liquid crystal and the polymer can be important, are also discussed briefly.     

Controlling Surface Interactions with Grafted Polymers

The interactions between surfaces modified with grafted polymers is studied theoretically. The aim of this work is to find polymer surface modifications that will result in localized attractive interactions between the surfaces. The practical motivation of the work is to find means to control the distance between bilayers and solid supports in supported membranes. Two theoretical approaches are used, the analytical treatment of Alexander and a molecular theory. It is found that grafting each end of the polymer to each surface results in an interaction with a well defined minimum. The location of the minima is found to be very close to the thickness of the polymer layer when the chains are grafted to only one of the surfaces. The predictions of the analytical theory are in excellent agreement with the molecular approach in this case. It is found that increasing the surface coverage increases the strength of the interaction. However, increasing the polymer chain length at fixed surface coverage results in a decrease of the free energy cost associated with separating the surfaces from their optimal distance. For the cases in which grafting to both surfaces is not possible, the molecular theory is used to study the effect of functionalizing segments of the chain to achieve an attractive well. It is found that by functionalizing the free end-groups of the polymers with segments attracted to the membrane, the range of the attractive interaction is significantly larger than the thickness of the unperturbed layer. Functionlizing the middle segments of the chains results in a shorter range attraction but of the same strength as in the end-functionalized layers. The optimal polymer modification is found to be such that the functionlized groups are attracted to the bare surface but are not attracted to the grafting surface. The relevance of the results to the design of experimental surface modifiers is discussed.     

Synergistic effects in mixed wormlike micelles of dimeric and single-chain cationic surfactants at high ionic strength

The mixed micellization between the cationic gemini surfactant [ C₁₂H₂₅( CH₃)₂N⁺( C₂H₄) N⁺( CH₃)₂ C₁₂H₂₅•2Br^-] and the cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in 150 mM KBr solutions has been investigated. The variation of the cmc of the mixtures, measured by surface tension experiments, with composition revealed synergism in micelle formation. T-Jump and light scattering experiments performed in the vicinity of the crossover volume fraction showed the existence of two micellar populations, possibly linear and toroidal micelles. Rheological and dynamic light scattering experiments allowed to fully characterize the linear viscoelasticity of the mixtures. These measurements revealed synergistic gains in viscoelastic properties with a maximum of the stress-relaxation time around the equimolar composition. These effects are ascribed to a progressive intermicellar crosslinking resulting from a continuous increase of the end-cap energy with the 12-2-12 content in the mixture. Received: 18 November 2002 / Accepted: 8 April 2003 / Published online: 27 May 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: candau@fresnel.u-strasbg.fr     

Polymer confinement and bacterial gliding motility

Cyanobacteria and myxobacteria use slime secretion for gliding motility over surfaces. The slime is produced by the nozzle-like pores located on the bacteria surface. To understand the mechanism of gliding motion and its relation to slime polymerization, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of a molecular nozzle with growing inside polymer chains. These simulations show that the compression of polymer chains inside the nozzle is a driving force for propulsion. There is a linear relationship between the average nozzle velocity and the chain polymerization rate with a proportionality coefficient dependent on the geometric characteristics of the nozzle such as its length and friction coefficient. This minimal model of the molecular engine was used to explain the gliding motion of bacteria over surfaces.     

Polymer-assisted complexing controlled orientation growth of ZnO nanorods

The growth of the oriented zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods on silicon substrates based on a simple novel chemical transformation and thermal hydrolysis by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as self-assembling complex polymer was introduced in this paper. All the polymers were removed after chemical oxidation and only the carbonized grid backbones remained that confines the ZnO nanorod’s diameter and enhance the absorption and diffusion of ZnO at the tips of the nanorods during growth. The ZnO nanorods are investigated by FTIR, XRD and FE-SEM. The results indicated that these nanorods have fine hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure and their diameter varies from 20 to 90 nm and the length up to about 1 μm. A polymer-localized ZnO growth model is proposed, which well explains the growth behavior of ZnO nanorods.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected issue number.     

共轭高聚物中的杂质分布：晶格形态及高浓度掺杂效应

基于扩展Su-Shrieffer-Heeger (SSH)模型,通过自洽计算的数值方法,研究了共轭高聚物链表现为孤子态和大极化子态两种不同晶格形态时链内的杂质分布情况,计算结果显示,分立的畴壁可导致高聚物链中形成多个稳定的势阱,有利于杂质在链中聚集分布。此外,还研究了在较高浓度的掺杂条件下,共轭高聚物链内的杂质分布规律。结果显示,杂质倾向于在中心区形成高浓度分布,而在链端区,杂质更倾向于离散分布。该研究表明,高浓度掺杂下杂质分布具有稳定的特征,晶格形态对杂质分布具有显著的影响,这些结论可为实验上操控杂质在共轭高聚物中的分布提供一定的帮助。     

AMT对青铜文物缓蚀作用理论研究

：5-氨基-2-巯基-1,3,4-噻二唑（AMT）能和青铜器表面铜离子作用生成一种配位型聚合物的保护膜[AMT –Cu (Ⅰ)]n,并将其中的氯离子置换出来,避免了青铜器的进一步腐蚀。为了深入了解AMT的缓蚀作用机理,本文采用密度泛函理论（DFT）和自然键轨道理论（NBO）,在B3LYP/6-31+G（d, p）水平上对AMT中反应活性位点的确定及活性原子所带电荷和杂化形式作了分析,并利用Multiwfn波函数分析了反应前后前线轨道能的变化。结果表明,-SH基中的S原子能与Cu(Ⅱ)形成有效的共价键,而N6原子可与Cu(Ⅱ)离子形成配位键,促使聚合物膜[AMT-Cu(Ⅰ)]n的形成。并且从概念DFT的活性指数（主要为 , , , , ）比较中发现,AMT-Cu(Ⅰ)-H较AMT的亲电性指数增加,有利于形成高聚物膜,而且反应前后AMT构型中的Ｃ、N、S却始终在同一平面,而C-S和C-N键键长和键角均有不同程度的变化。     

柔性有机场效应晶体管研究进展

柔性有机场效应晶体管具有可折叠、质量轻、低成本等优点,在柔性显示、柔性传感器、柔性射频标签和柔性集成电路等方面显示了广阔的应用前景.本文在介绍柔性有机场效应 晶体管最新研究进展的基础上, 总结了柔性有机场效应晶体管的器件结构和柔性有机场效应晶体管所使用的衬底材料、 栅绝缘层材料、有源层材料及电极材料, 阐述了柔性有机场效应晶体管的制备工艺, 并讨论了不同的弯曲方式对柔性有机场效应晶体管性能的影响, 最后总结和展望了柔性有机场效应晶体管的应用领域. 关键词： 柔性 晶体管 有机/聚合物 溶液加工