Monomer sequencing and microstructural analysis on polymers of dimethyl norbornene dicarboxylate and 7‐oxanorbornene dicarboxylic derivatives employing ruthenium catalysts by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization

The physiochemical properties, comonomer sequencing, and regiospecificity of the linkages between monomeric units within homo/copolymers based on 5,6‐di‐substituted norbornene and 7‐oxanorbornene type monomers by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization are reported and correlated to their primary and secondary structural elements. In general, first‐generation Grubbs‐ I1 ruthenium catalyst generates polymers with high trans content that exhibits an extended secondary structure with exo,exo substituents, whereas second‐generation Grubbs‐ I2 catalyst produces polymers with high cis content that forms tight turns, resulting in a compact structure. Furthermore, I2 ‐produced polymers exhibit a high level of alternating cis–trans double bonds along their polymeric backbone. In stark contrast, both first‐ and second‐generation Grubbs catalysts display complete reversal in cis/trans selectivity when an oxygen atom is in position‐7 of the norbornene‐ring along with mono‐endo‐substitution in position‐5 or 6, and hence highlighting the importance of stereoelectronic complexation by the catalyst with the next incoming monomer for cis/trans selectivity. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2477–2501     

Correlating backbone‐to‐backbone distance to ionic conductivity in amorphous polymerized ionic liquids

The morphology and ionic conductivity of poly(1‐n‐alkyl‐3‐vinylimidazolium)‐based homopolymers polymerized from ionic liquids were investigated as a function of the alkyl chain length and counterion type. In general, X‐ray scattering showed three features: (i) backbone‐to‐backbone, (ii) anion‐to‐anion, and (iii) pendant‐to‐pendant characteristic distances. As the alkyl chain length increases, the backbone‐to‐backbone separation increases. As the size of counterion increases, the anion‐to‐anion scattering peak becomes apparent and its correlation length increases. The X‐ray scattering features shift to lower angles as the temperature increases due to thermal expansion. The ionic conductivity results show that the glass transition temperature (T_g) is a dominant, but not exclusive, parameter in determining ion transport. The T_g‐independent ionic conductivity decreases as the backbone‐to‐backbone spacing increases. Further interpretation of the ionic conductivity using the Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann equation enabled the correlation between polymer morphology and ionic conductivity, which highlights the importance of anion hoping between adjacent polymer backbones. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

2,3‐bis(5‐Hexylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐6,7‐bis(octyloxy)‐5,8‐di(thiophen‐2‐yl) quinoxaline: A good construction block with adjustable role in the donor‐π‐acceptor system for bulk‐heterojunction solar cells

Three 2,3‐bis(5‐hexylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐6,7‐bis(octyloxy)‐5,8‐di(thiophen‐2‐yl)‐quinoxaline ( BTTQ )‐based conjugated polymers, namely, PF‐BTTQ ( P1 ), PP‐BTTQ ( P2 ), and PDCP‐BTTQ ( P3 ), were successfully synthesized for efficient polymer solar cells (PSCs) with electron‐rich units of fluorene and dialkoxybenzene and electron‐deficient unit dicyanobenzene, respectively. All the polymers exhibited good solubility in common organic solvents and good thermal stability. Their deep‐lying HOMO energy levels enabled them good stability in the air and the relatively low HOMO energy level assured a higher open circuit potential when used in PSCs. Bulk‐heterojunction solar cells were fabricated using these copolymers blended with a fullerene derivative as an acceptor. All of them exhibited promising performance, and the best device performance with power conversion efficiency up to 3.30% was achieved under one sun of AM 1.5 solar simulator illumination (100 mW/cm²). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Collisional depolarization of rotational angular momentum: what are the observables and how can they be measured?

The destruction and transfer of polarization of the rotational angular momentum of small molecules in an isotropic collisional environment is reviewed. Several recent independent treatments are drawn together, including unpublished details from the authors' own work, of the formal kinetics in terms of moments of the density matrix. The final results are shown to be equivalent and directly amenable to comparison with results of exact quantum scattering calculations. In passing, some differences in nomenclature are noted and a self-consistent version is presented that might usefully be adopted. The existing experimental approaches are surveyed, within the common theme of laser-based creation of the initial rotational anisotropy of relatively low rank, K, combined with a spectroscopic probe, also sensitive to restricted K. Those formally defined quantities that may be measured are identified, either individually or in some combination, with each method. In particular, an attempt is made to distinguish between measurements of individual tensor moments of the density matrix, or ‘bulk polarizations’, and alignment moments, which are normalized to the population. Some cases are noted where experimental procedures have compromised the results, or where the analysis has been similarly approximate or carried out on a less rigorous empirical basis.     

Dynamic orientation of azopyridine units within the shell of vesicles PNIPAM‐b‐PAzPyn copolymers

Vesicles with hydrophobic shells have been self‐assembled through three kinds of amphiphilic block copolymers containing pendent azopyridine groups with different spacers, namely PNIPAM‐b‐PAzPyn (n = 0, 2, 6), respectively. By polarization laser‐trapping Raman spectroscopy, the photoinduced orientation behaviors of azopyridine groups within the vesicle shells have been investigated and it is found that spacer lengths affect the orientation of the azopyridine groups and the morphologic structure of the vesicle shells. The exact experimental results show that the orientation is dynamic for the pendent azopyridine groups with connecting spacers of 2 or 6 methylene units rather than those without spacers, so the vesicles of PNIPAM‐b‐PAzPy6 can be changed to show a typical “soft” character compared with its solid films when irradiated with a relatively weak polarized UV light of 190 µW/cm². However, the vesicles of PNIPAM‐b‐PAzPy0 without spacers do not change even though the azopyridine units can be oriented. By quantitative Raman spectral analysis, it is found that the isomerization degree of azopyridine units is 70% for PNIPAM‐b‐PAzPy6 yet it is 10% for PNIPAM‐b‐PAzPy0, which shows a close relationship between aggregation and isomerization of azopyridine units under a weak UV light. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 415–421     

Selective control over the lamellar thickness of one domain in thin binary blends of block copolymer films

Thin binary blends of poly(styrene‐b‐methyl methacrylate) (PS‐PMMA) block copolymers in films where the lamellar thickness of one domain is controlled while preserving the thickness of the other domain were demonstrated without microphase separation. One of the block copolymers used here was short and symmetric, and the other was long and asymmetric; the molecular weights of the PMMA block chains in the constituents were similar. A random copolymer brush was introduced and film thickness and composition of brush were adjusted to induce perpendicular orientation in thin film. As the blend composition of the long asymmetric block copolymer increased, the PS lamellar thickness increased from 15.8 to 25.1 nm, whereas the PMMA lamellar thickness remained constant at approximately 14 nm (the thickness decreased slightly from 14.0 to 13.3 nm). The domain spacing behavior in thin film was consistent in the bulk. These results were compared with the Birshtein, Zhulina, and Lyatskaya model and the theories for pure block copolymers in the strong segregation limit and in the intermediate segregation regime. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013, 51, 1393–1399     

Correlation of architecture with excimer emission in 100% pyrene‐labeled self‐assembled polymers

Pyrene was incorporated as pendant unit to side‐chain urethane methacrylate polymers having a short ethyleneoxy or a long polyethyleneoxy spacer segment. The short‐spacer pyrene urethane methacrylate was also incorporated either as block or random copolymer (1:9) along with polystyrene. The excimer emission was observed to be different for different polymers with the random copolymer exhibiting the lowest efficiency. But, the total quantum yield was highest (? = 0.58) for random copolymer due to the high emission coefficient of monomer compared to that of excimer. The polymer dynamics were compared by steady state emission and fluorescence decay in THF or THF/water (9:1) solvent mixture and films. The solid state decay profile showed decay without a rise time indicating presence of ground state aggregates. In THF/water (9:1), the decay profile at the excimer emission (500 nm) showed a rise time indicating dynamic excimers. The evolution of excimeric emission centred ～430 or ～480 nm as a function of temperature was also studied in THF/water (9:1). The I_E/I_M ratio for the λ_{343 nm} excitation exhibited steady increase with temperature with the block copolymer PS‐b‐PIHP exhibiting the highest ratio and highest rate of increase; whereas, the random copolymer PS‐r‐PIHP had the lowest I_E/I_M ratios. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

On the origin of the “core‐free” morphology in microinjection‐molded HDPE

This study investigates the morphology of a high‐density polyethylene processed with microinjection molding. Previous work pointed out that a “core‐free” morphology exists for a micropart (150‐μm thick), contrasting with the well‐known “skin‐core” morphology of a conventional part (1.5‐mm thick). Local analyses are now conducted in every structural layer of these samples. Transmission electron microscopy observations reveal highly oriented crystalline lamellae perpendicular to the flow direction in the micropart. Image analysis also shows that lamellae are thinner. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction measurements using a microfocused beam highlight that highly oriented shish–kebab morphologies are found through the micropart thickness, with corresponding orientation function close to 0.8. For the macropart, quiescent crystallized morphologies are found with few oriented structures. Finally, the morphology within the micropart is more homogeneous, but the crystalline structures created are disturbed due to the combined effects of flow‐induced crystallization and thermal crystallization during processing. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 49: 1470–1478, 2011     

Modulating structural stability and acid sensitivity of photosensitive polymer micelles simply via one‐batch UV irradiation

This article describes the photosensitive polymer micelles whose structural stability and acid sensitivity can be widely tuned simply via one‐batch UV irradiation. To this end, the well‐defined poly(5‐ethyl‐5‐methacryloyloxy‐methyl‐2‐styryl‐[1,3]dioxane)‐block‐poly[poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate] (PEMSD‐b‐PPEGMA) copolymers were synthesized via RAFT polymerization under mild visible light radiation at 30 °C. The results demonstrated that the irradiation of the homogeneous acetone solution with UV light only induced Z‐isomerization of their cinnamyl groups, while irradiating PEMSD chains in the bulky micellar cores only induced dimerization. Moreover, the micelles of previously Z‐isomerized copolymer could be effectively stabilized without changing their acid sensitivity on irradiating for shortly 3 min, while UV irradiation for 30 min could remarkably improve the acid stability of these micelles. These novel properties are of potential applications in controlled drug delivery. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Processing and characterization of oriented electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) mats

Mats of highly oriented poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofibers were electrospun by means of a conventional electrospinning equipment; the orientation, however, was obtained using a disk collector rotating at a speed of 4000 rpm and a device that reduced the influence of air displacement during nanofiber orientation. Thermal transitions of the mats were determined by differential scanning calorimetry, the predominant crystalline phase by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering and the nanofiber orientation and morphology by scanning electron microscopy. Relative permittivity, loss index, stable remnant polarization, and coercive field of the mats were also determined and compared with those obtained for a mat electrospun at 2000 rpm and an oriented commercial film. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 000: 000–000, 2012