Marsh, Zachary M.; Blom, Douglas A.; Stefik, Morgan
Tunable Fluorophobic Effect Determines Nanoparticle Dispersion in Homopolymers and Block Polymers
The controlled placement of nanoparticles (NPs) within homopolymers and block polymers is of broad interest for functional nanomaterials. This manuscript focuses on small molecule-stabilized NPs that bring a large fraction of functionality. For such NP mixtures with block polymers, the overwhelming focus to date has been the use of attractive…
Enhanced Conductivity via Homopolymer-Rich Pathways in Block Polymer-Blended Electrolytes
Morris, Melody A.; Sung, Seung Hyun; Ketkar, Priyanka M.; Dura, Joseph A.; Nieuwendaal, Ryan C.; Epps, Thomas H.
The optimization of ionic conductivity and lithium-ion battery stability can be achieved by independently tuning the ion transport and mechanical robustness of block polymer (BP) electrolytes. However, the ionic conductivity of BP electrolytes is inherently limited by the covalent attachment of the ionically conductive block to the mechanically robust block,…
Comparative Study of Direct Compounding, Coupling Agent-Aided and Initiator-Aided Reactive Extrusion to Prepare Cellulose Nanocrystal/PHBV (CNC/PHBV) Nanocomposite
Zheng, Ting; Clemons, Craig M.; Pilla, Srikanth
Three compounding methods were compared to determine their effects on the organization of the interphase in nanocomposites of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) processed via (1) direct compounding, (2) reactive extrusion using a coupling agent (PHBV-g-GMA), or (3) reactive extrusion using a peroxide free-radical initiator (dicumyl peroxide,
Fast Photochromic Dye Response in Rigid Block Polymer Thermosets
Peterson, Colin; Hillmyer, Marc A.
The behavior of photochromic spiropyran (SP) dyes is greatly affected by the local environment in which they reside. Fluid microenvironments such as liquidlike polymers grant favorably fast dye decoloration whereas rigid microenvironments such as glassy polymers inhibit fast dye response. We study the use of disorganized but microphase-separated block polymer…
Improving the Hydrolysis Rate of the Renewable Poly(hexamethylene sebacate) Through Copolymerization of a Bis(pyrrolidone)-Based Dicarboxylic Acid
Noordzij, Geert J.; Roy, Manta; Bos, Natasja; Reinartz, Vincent; Wilsens, Carolus H. R. M.
In this work, we report on the synthesis of a series of polyesters based on 1,6-hexanediol, sebacic acid, and N,N’-dimethylene-bis(pyrrolidone-4-carboxylic acid) (BP-C2), of which the latter is derived from renewable itaconic acid and 1,2-ethanediamine. Copolymers with a varying amount of BP-C2 as dicarboxylic acid are synthesized using a melt-polycondensation reaction…
Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of (thio)alkyl hexopyranosides, nonionic glycolipid mimetics
Dubák, Petr; Gurská, So?a; Bogdanová, Kate?ina; Uhríková, Daniela; Kanjaková, Nina; Combet, Sophie; Klunda, Tomá; Kolá?, Milan; Hajdúch, Marian; Poláková, Monika
A series of 19 synthetic alkyl and thioalkyl glycosides derived from d-mannose, d-glucose and d-galactose and having C10C16 aglycone were investigated for cytotoxic activity against 7 human cancer and 2 non-tumor cell lines as well as for antimicrobial potential on 12 bacterial and yeast strains. The most potent compounds were…
Structure Evolution and Deformation Behavior of Polyethylene Film during Biaxial Stretching
Chen, Qiang; Wang, Zhiwei; Zhang, Sumei; Cao, Ya; Chen, Jinyao
The structure evolution and deformation behavior of tenter-frame biaxially oriented polyethylene (TF-BOPE) films were investigated in this study. For sequential biaxial stretching, the original spherulites were broken into small pieces, and the fibrillar structure simultaneously formed during the machine direction (MD) stretching. Subsequently, the single fibrils were pulled away, and…
Tailored crystalline order of nascent polyethylene from metallocene supported on confined polystyrene
Wu, Yanjie; Yang, Huaqin; Li, Wei; Mattea, Carlos; Stapf, Siegfried; Zhang, Letian; Ye, Chunlin; Ye, Xiaofeng
Building the desirable superstructure of polyethylene is one of the important topics for developing high value-added products, which brings potential benefits for society and sustainable development. Crystalline order is the ubiquitous superstructure for enhancing mechanical properties of polymeric materials. In this work, polystyrene copolymers (c-PS) are incorporated into pores of…
Unveiling the role of hydrothermal carbon dots as anodes in sodium-ion batteries with ultrahigh initial coulombic efficiency
Xie, Fei; Xu, Zhen; Jensen, Anders C. S.; Ding, Feixiang; Au, Heather; Feng, Jingyu; Luo, Hui; Qiao, Mo; Guo, Zhenyu; Lu, Yaxiang; Drew, Alan J.; Hu, Yong-Sheng; Titirici, Maria-Magdalena
Hard carbon materials are regarded as the most promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their best cost-effectiveness. However, their relatively low specific capacity and initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) compared with the graphite anode in lithium-ion batteries still limit the energy density for further development. Thus, it is…
Enhancing the accessibility to basic sites of as-synthesized silicas applied in catalytic transesterification
Zapelini, Iago W.; Silva, Laura L.; Oliveira, Cristiano L. P.; Cardoso, Dilson
Heterogeneous catalysis for biodiesel production is a current challenge due to the low activity of solid catalysts, especially caused by diffusional resistances. Hybrid silicas, containing SiO?CTA+ provide high conversions in the transesterification of oils and model molecules, but this activity is limited to the external surface area. The generation of…