Synthesis,characterization and self‐assembly of well‐defined linear heptablock quaterpolymers

Two well‐defined heptablock quaterpolymers of the ABCDCBA type [Α: polystyrene (PS), B: poly(butadiene) with ～90% 1,4‐microstructure (PB_1,4), C: poly(isoprene) with ～55% 3,4‐microstructure (PI_3,4) and D: poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)] were synthesized by combining anionic polymerization high vacuum techniques and hydrosilylation/chlorosilane chemistry. All intermediates and final products were characterized by size exclusion chromatography, membrane osmometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to further verify the chemical modification reaction of the difunctional PDMS. The self‐assembly in bulk of these novel heptablock quarterpolymers, studied by transmission electron microscopy and small angle X‐ray scattering, revealed 3‐phase 4‐layer alternating lamellae morphology of PS, PB_1,4, and mixed PI_3,4/PDMS domains. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to further confirm the miscibility of PI_3,4 and PDMS blocks. It is the first time that PDMS is the central segment in such multiblock polymers (≥3 chemically different blocks). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1443–1449     

Synthesis and characterization of polytulipalin‐g‐polylactide copolymers

Graft copolymers of poly(tulipalin A) (PT) and poly(DL‐lactide) (PDLLA) (PT‐g‐PDLLA) having various graft lengths and ratios were synthesized by free‐radical copolymerization of α‐methylene‐γ‐butyrolactone (MBL) and PDLLA macromonomers (HEMA‐PDLLA) terminated by 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)‐terminated. HEMA‐PDLLA were synthesized by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of DL‐lactide in the presence of HEMA. Both HEMA‐PDLLA and the copolymers were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The thermal properties of the graft copolymers were found to depend on the graft length and the ratio. The copolymers consisting of PDLLA side chains of M_n = 500 Da showed a single T_g between T_gs of the two component polymers, suggesting a miscible state of PT and PDLLA. In contrast, the copolymers consisting of PDLLA side chains of M_n = 1100, 2000, and 7000 Da showed two isolated T_g, suggesting two segregated domains. The AFM phase images of the copolymers supported the single and phase‐separated morphologies for the former and latter systems, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Polyolefin soluble polyisobutylene oligomer‐bound metallophthalocyanine and azo dye additives

Metallophthalocyanines prepared with polyisobutyl (PIB) substituents have very high solubility in organic solvents including saturated hydrocarbons, toluene, and other low polarity organic solvents. In heptane, PIB‐bound metallophthalocyanines have solubility of about 0.1 g/mL at 25 °C, solubility values that are significantly higher than other substituted metallophthalocyanines. PIB terminally functionalized with metallophthalocyanines as well as PIB containing terminal azo dye groups also dissolve in molten hydrocarbon polymers like polyethylene or polypropylene. Thus, these highly chromogenic PIB‐bound dyes can be incorporated uniformly into the polyolefins to form colored polymer solids on cooling. Because only a low concentration of a highly hydrocarbon compatible dye is used, the crystallinity and thermal properties of the colored polyolefin products are not significantly affected. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 545–551     

Triplet harvesting in poly(9‐vinylcarbazole) and poly(9‐(2,3‐epoxypropyl)carbazole) doped with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots encapsulated with 16‐(N‐carbazolyl) hexadecanoic acid ligands

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can be used as alternative for transition metal complexes to harvest the nonemissive triplet excitons in organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). In search for a QD‐based OLED material generating blue emission, poly(9‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK) and poly(9‐(2,3‐epoxypropyl) carbazole) (PEPK) are chosen as host for blue‐emitting CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs. The QDs are encapsulated with 16‐(N‐carbazolyl) hexadecanoic acid (C16), a ligand terminated by a carbazole moiety. As alternative for PVK, PEPK, where the lower molecular weight and less extensive excimer formation could promise a better film formation and more extensive exciton hopping, is explored. The efficiencies of singlet ( ) and triplet ( ) energy transfer to the C16 capped QDs are estimated by combining stationary photoluminescence spectra and fluorescence decays of pristine polymer films with those of polymer films doped with the QDs. At a loading of 30 wt % of the QDs, increases from 12 ± 1% in PVK to 41 ± 2% in PEPK while increases from 37 ± 22% in PVK to 72 ± 48% in PEPK. The investigation of the film morphology by atomic force microscopy confirms that the main factor limiting the triplet transfer efficiency in the PVK matrix is the clustering of the C16 capped QDs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 539–551     

Phase studies of long-chain alkanol complexes with alkylammonium layer silicates

Measurements of basal spacings ofn-tetradecylammonium-n-tetradecanol complexes of beidellite and montmorillonite in a wide range of tetradecanol concentrations have been carried out. Three different intercalate phases have been established at room temperature. In definite concentration ranges two of the phases coexist. These miscibility gaps disappear when the temperature is increased above 80°C. They appear again at cooling. This reversibility with temperature confirms the equilibrium nature of the phases observed. Additional information about the structure of the phases has been obtained by basal spacing measurements at constant temperature and alkanol concentration with all nine members of then-alkyl homologs with 10 to 18 carbon atoms in the chains. The structures of the interlayers in the different phases have been discussed.     

Preparation and phase behavior of poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene)‐block‐polyisoprene

Three poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene)‐block‐polyisoprenes (TIs), the molecular weights of which were 82,000, 152,000 and 291,000 (TI‐82K, TI‐152K, and TI‐291K), were synthesized by sequential anionic polymerizations. The component polymers were a miscible pair that presented a lower critical solution temperature phase diagram if blended. The TI phase behavior was investigated with transmission electron microscopy. The order–disorder transition could be observed at a temperature between 200 °C (the ordered state) and 150 °C (the disordered state) for the block copolymer TI‐152K. The block copolymer TI‐82K presented the disordered state at 200 °C, whereas TI‐291K was in the ordered state at 150 °C. With the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter between poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene) and polyisoprene, which was evaluated by small‐angle neutron scattering for the block copolymers, the TI phase behavior could be reasonably explained by mean‐field theory. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1214–1219, 2005     

Miscibility of phosphatidylcholine and sulphatide in monolayers

Compression isotherms of mixed monolayers of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sulphatides (S) were carried out, with the lipids being spread on subphases of different pH and different ionic composition. Several common trends can be observed. All monolayers when compressed reach collapse. Collapse pressures are directly related to the molar fractions of the lipids in the monolayer. Miscibility is not ideal, in general, and is independent on the surface pressure of the monolayer, the mixed monolayers being always (with some exceptions) in a more expanded state than those of the pure components. The thermodynamic parameters corresponding to the mixing interactions have been calculated at the molar composition that gives a maximum deviation from ideality.     

增塑剂法研究高分子共混物的相平衡曲线

经共聚改性的聚苯乙烯PS(OH)与聚甲基丙烯酸丁酯PBMA形成的互溶体系具有LCST行为。由于体系的玻璃化温度较高。分相温度与玻璃化温度接近。使分相时的浊点温度受升温速率影响很大,以致浊点曲线与相平衡曲线有一定的差距。本文以邻苯二甲酸二丁酯DBP为增塑剂加入PS(OH)/PBMA共混体系中,在一定的升温速率下测浊点温度,并对增塑剂作零浓度的外推,由此得到的浊点曲线与相平衡曲线完全一致。证实了增塑剂法的可靠性。加入增塑剂后浊点温度随升温速率变化平缓,更接近相平衡点,显示了增塑剂法的有效性。     

Molecular dynamics simulation of Cr-precipitate demixing in FeCr alloys

The mechanical properties of FeCr alloys rely heavily on atomic distribution and can be affected by phenomena such as Cr precipitation. While precipitation of FeCr alloys of various Cr concentrations has been studied before, dissolution of already existing Cr precipitates in FeCr alloys has not; this was the focus of this study. Our means of investigation was molecular dynamics computer simulation: we set up a number of configurations of FeCr alloys containing Cr precipitates of various sizes embedded in matrices of either pure Fe or with a 15% random Cr distribution, and examined their behaviour after thermal ageing at temperatures T ranging between 600 and 2000 K. The T range was selected so that it would include the (α+α^′)?α transition in the standard FeCr phase diagram. High-T results provide insight into the mechanisms that govern the dissolution: Cr precipitates dissolve by vacancy exchange, leading to a random distribution of Cr atoms in an Fe matrix, as the short-range order parameter shifts from a positive value (clustering) to zero (random atomic arrangement). Precipitates at low T were found to be stable, as were those at intermediate T (～1000 K), in agreement with previous experimental and simulation studies that challenge the standard phase diagram's reliability.     

Phase separation in mixtures of ionic liquids and water

The phase separation of ionic liquids (ILs) in water is studied by laser light scattering (LLS). For the ILs with longer alkyl chains, such as [C(8)mim]BF(4) and [C(6)mim]BF(4) (mim = methylimidazolium), macroscopic phase separation occurs in the mixture with water. LLS also reveals the coexistence of the mesoscopic phase, the size of which is in the order of 100-800 nm. In aqueous mixtures of ILs with shorter alkyl chains, such as [C(4)mim]BF(4), only the mesoscopic phase exists. The mesoscopic phase can be effectively removed by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter. However, it reforms with time and can be enhanced by lowering the temperature, thus indicating that it is controlled by thermodynamics. The degree of mesoscopic phase separation can be used to evaluate the miscibility of ILs with water. This study helps to optimize the applications of ILs in related fields, as well as the recycling of ILs in the presence of water.