Tian, Zhen; Hwang, Wonseok; Kim, Young Jo
Mechanistic understanding of monovalent cation transport in eumelanin pigments
Recent research advances in charge-conducting materials have enabled the transformation of the naturally-occurring materials into crucial components in many technologies, including renewable energy storage devices or bioelectronics. Among various candidates, eumelanins are promising charge storage materials, exhibiting hybrid electronic ionic conductivity in a hydrated environment. The chemical
Role of the Hydrophilic Latex Particle Surface in Water Diffusion into Films from Waterborne Polymer Colloids
Konko, Iuliia; Guriyanova, Svetlana; Boyko, Volodymyr; Sun, Lichao; Liu, Dong; Reck, Bernd; Men, Yongfeng
The diffusion mechanism and growth of large-scale domains during the immersion of latex films in water have been thoroughly investigated with scattering techniques in a combination with the gravimetric method. Latex dispersions for film formation studies had identical main monomer compositions and only differ in the hydrophilic comonomers that result…
A π-Conjugated, Covalent Phosphinine Framework
Huang, Jieyang; Tarábek, Ján; Kulkarni, Ranjit; Wang, Cui; Dracínský, Martin; Smales, Glen J.; Tian, Yu; Ren, Shijie; Pauw, Brian R.; Resch-Genger, Ute; Bojdys, Michael J.
Structural modularity of polymer frameworks is a key advantage of covalent organic polymers, however, only C, N, O, Si, and S have found their way into their building blocks so far. Here, the toolbox available to polymer and materials chemists is expanded by one additional nonmetal, phosphorus. Starting with a…
Scalable synthesis of dispersible iron carbide (Fe3C) nanoparticles by nanocasting
Fletcher, D. C.; Hunter, R.; Xia, W.; Smales, G. J.; Pauw, B. R.; Blackburn, E.; Kulak, A.; Xin, Huolin; Schnepp, Z.
Metal carbides have shown great promise in a wide range of applications due to their unique catalytic, electrocatalytic and magnetic properties. However, the scalable production of dispersible metal carbide nanoparticles remains a challenge. Here, we report a simple and scalable route to dispersible iron carbide (Fe3C) nanoparticles. This uses MgO…
Collective orientational order and phase behavior of a discotic liquid crystal under nanoscale confinement
Yildirim, Arda; Sentker, Kathrin; Smales, Glen Jacob; Pauw, Brian Richard; Huber, Patrick; Schönhals, Andreas
The phase behavior and molecular ordering of hexakishexyloxy triphenylene (HAT6) DLCs under cylindrical nanoconfinement are studied utilizing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric spectroscopy (DS), where cylindrical nanoconfinement is established through embedding HAT6 into the nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes, and a silica membrane with pore diameters ranging
Physical Chemical Properties of Shea/Cocoa Butter Blends and their Potential for Chocolate Manufacture
Rodriguez-Negrette, Ana Carolina; Huck-Iriart, Cristián; Herrera, María Lidia
Cocoa butter (CB) is the preferred fat for chocolates and confections. However, for technological and economic reasons, there have been strong efforts for partially replacing it. As shea butter (SB) has become an important natural source of symmetrical stearic-rich triacylglycerols (TAG), the aim of this work was to study physical…
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…
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…
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,
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,…