Thermoplastic Elastomers Based on Ethylene-vinyl Acetate Copolymer and Waste Nitrile Butadiene Rubber Powder Blends Compatibilized by Chlorinated Polyethylene

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) based on ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/waste nitrile butadiene rubber powder (WNBRP) blends compatibilized by chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) were prepared by melt-compounding. The tensile strength and the elongation at break of the EVA/CPE/WNBRP blends were increased significantly compared with those of the EVA/WNBRP blends. The fracture surfaces of the EVA/CPE/WNBRP blends were smooth; moreover, the WNBRP in the etched EVA/CPE/WNBRP blends were inserted in the EVA matrix tightly. DMA results revealed that when the CPE dosage was 5 phr in the EVA/CPE/WNBRP blend, the Payne effect was weakened significantly.     

Liquid–Liquid Transition and Detrapping of Trapped Carriers of P(MMA/BA) Copolymers by Thermally Stimulated Depolarization Current

Poly (methyl methacrylate/butyl acrylate) [P(MMA/BA)] copolymers (M _η～2×10⁵) with different mass percentages of PMMA (100/0, 90/10, 81/19, and 75/25), were synthesized by the method of solution polymerization. In addition to the normal α and ρ peak, a third τ peak is observed in thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) spectra of the copolymers in the high temperature region. The α peak‐corresponds to the glass transition, the ρ peak originates from the detrapping of trapped carriers in the bulk amorphous structure related with flexible side groups, and the τ peak can be attributed to the charge detrapping related to the liquid–liquid transition of the copolymers. The three peaks all move to lower temperature with an increase of the BA component, indicating that the flexible side groups of butyl acrylate not only have an effect of plasticization on the glass transition and liquid–liquid transition, but also make the trap depth shallower and the detrapping process easier for the ρ and τ peaks. The experimental results confirm that TSDC analysis is very sensitive for investigating the liquid–liquid transition of polymers. The liquid–liquid transition temperature (T _LL) of the copolymers follows a type of the Fox equation. Fitting the results gives a T _LL of 102°C for polybutyl acrylate.     

Rheological Properties of Template Polymerization Polyacrylamide Aqueous Solutions

In this work, the aqueous solution rheology properties of both partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and the template copolymer (TPAM) synthesized from acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) were investigated using an advanced rheometer and viscometer. The results were correlated with the corresponding molecular structures of HPAM and TPAM, which were characterized by high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance. It was found that the thickening ability of TPAM is much stronger than that of HPAM due to its unique microblocky structure, while the viscosity of TPAM was more sensitive to shear rate. Furthermore, the effect of polymer concentration was also tested in an oscillation shear mode. It showed that the characteristic relaxation time of TPAM was much higher than that of HPAM at the high concentrations. The research on salt-resistance properties showed that the viscosity retention of TPAM was similar to HPAM at the same NaCl concentration. But, unexpectedly, at the same CaCl₂ concentration the viscosity retention of TPAM was much lower than that of HPAM, indicating a poor divalent salt-resistance property.     

The effect of ITO films thickness on the properties of flexible organic light emitting diode

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on cyclic olefin copolymer substrate at room temperature by an inverse target sputtering system. The crystal structure and the surface morphology of the deposited ITO films were examined by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, separately. The electrical properties of the conductive films were explored by four-point probing. Visible spectrometer was used to measure the optical properties of ITO-coated films. The performance of the flexible organic light emitting diode device with different thickness anode was investigated in this study.     

芴-咔唑新型共聚物/PVK掺杂体系的电致发光特性研究

研究了新型的芴-咔唑共聚物(PFC)与聚乙烯咔唑(PVK)掺杂体系的光致发光和电致发光特性.制备了结构分别为indium-tin-oxide(ITO)/PVK:PFC/bathocuproine(BCP)/tris-(8-hydroxylquinoline)-aluminum (Alq₃) /Mg:Ag，ITO/PFC/BCP/Alq₃/Mg∶Ag和ITO/PVK/BCP/Alq₃/Mg∶Ag的三种有机电致发光器件.对器件的光电特性进行了测试.结果表明，掺杂体系中的PVK有效地抑制了固态膜中PFC激基缔合物的形成.掺杂器件在不同的外加电场作用下发生发光层位置的移动，通过调节外加电场，可以获得从绿光到蓝光的可见光发射.当外加电压大于7V时，掺杂器件的蓝色发光亮度达到1650cd/m²，推测其中可能存在从PVK到PFC的能量传递过程.     

Azimuthal orientational correlations due to excluded volume epitaxy in growing anisotropic grains

The microstructure of anisotropically shaped grains can strongly influence a range of material properties, including transport, mechanical and electro-optical. A grain-structure-related phenomenon, known as excluded volume epitaxy (EVE), is reported in this study. EVE is a local, inter-grain orientational correlations effect, which results from a combination of continuous nucleation of anisotropic grains and impingement of growing grains. Due to EVE, anisotropically shaped grains have a tendency to be similarly aligned in a local neighbourhood, despite the absence of any forced global orientation in the sample. The effect has been repeatedly observed by the authors in block copolymers, as illustrated by a representative TEM image. Optical microscopy of anisotropically shaped non-polymeric crystals revealed the generality of this effect. The simulation study revealed a tendency for azimuthal, inter-grain orientational correlation and re-confirmed the experimental observation of EVE.     

Self-assembly of block copolymers grafted onto a flat substrate:Recent progress in theory and simulations

Block copolymers are a class of soft matter that self-assemble to form ordered morphologies on the scale of nanometers, making them ideal materials for various applications. These applications directly depend on the shape and size of the self-assembled morphologies, and hence, a high degree of control over the self-assembly is desired. Grafting block copolymer chains onto a substrate to form copolymer brushes is a versatile method to fabricate functional surfaces. Such surfaces demonstrate a response to their environment, i.e., they change their surface topography in response to different external conditions. Furthermore, such surfaces may possess nanoscale patterns, which are important for some applications; however, such patterns may not form with spun-cast films under the same condition. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of the self-assembly of block copolymers grafted onto a flat substrate. We mainly concentrate on the self-assembled morphologies of end-grafted AB diblock copolymers, junction point-grafted AB diblock copolymers(i.e.,Y-shaped brushes), and end-grafted ABA triblock copolymers. Special emphasis is placed on theoretical and simulation progress.     

Phase behaviors in a binary mixture of diblock copolymers confined between two parallel walls

The phase behaviors in a binary mixture of diblock copolymers confined between two parallel walls are investigated by using a cell dynamics simulation of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory.The morphological dependence of the wall-block interaction and the distance between walls(confinement degree) has been systematically studied,and the effect of repulsive interactions between different monomers is also discussed.It is interesting that multiple novel morphological transitions are observed by changing these factors,and various multilayered sandwich structures are formed in the mixture.Furthermore,the parametric dependence and physical reasons for the microdomain growth and orientational order transitions are discussed.From the simulation,we find that much richer morphologies can form in a binary mixture of diblock copolymers than those in a pure diblock copolymer.Our results provide an insight into the phase behaviors under parallel wall confinement and may provide guidance for experimentalists.This model system can also give a simple way to realize orientational order transition in soft materials through confinement.     

Synthesis and characterization of TiO2/Ag/polymer ternary nanoparticles via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

We report on the novel ternary hybrid materials consisting of semiconductor (TiO₂), metal (Ag) and polymer (poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (POEM)). First, a hydrophilic polymer, i.e. POEM, was grafted from TiO₂ nanoparticles via the surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique. These TiO₂-POEM brush nanoparticles were used to template the formation of Ag nanoparticles by introduction of a AgCF₃SO₃ precursor and a NaBH₄ aqueous solution for reduction process. Successful grafting of polymeric chains from the surface of TiO₂ nanoparticles and the in situ formation of Ag nanoparticles within the polymeric chains were confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). FT-IR spectroscopy also revealed the specific interaction of Ag nanoparticles with the CO groups of POEM brushes. This study presents a simple route for the in situ synthesis of both metal and polymer confined within the semiconductor, producing ternary hybrid inorganic-organic nanomaterials.     

MPD掺杂的共聚合物薄膜的发光特性

研究了由噻吩乙烯发色团单元和惰性寡甲撑单元组成的交替嵌段合物与小分子量染料[2-methyl-6[(2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benxo[ij]quinolixin-q-yl)ethenyl]-4H－pylidenes]－丙烷二腈（MPD）共混物薄膜的光致发光。这种共混物在645nm处产生增强的红光发射。发射增强的部分原因是来源于晶化共聚合物与染料之间有效的能量传递。