Yavitt, Benjamin M.; Fei, Hua-Feng; Kopanati, Gayathri N.; Winter, H. Henning; Watkins, James J.
Power Law Relaxations in Lamellae Forming Brush Block Copolymers with Asymmetric Molecular Shape
We report the linear viscoelasticity of densely grafted poly(styrene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock bottlebrush block copolymers (dbBB) of equal mass fraction over a wide range of backbone degree of polymerization (Nbb = 21119). The difference in side chain length (PS Mn = 2.9 kg/mol, PEO Mn = 5 kg/mol) produces an…
Synergistic effects from super-small sized TiO2 and SiOx nanoparticles within TiO2/SiOx/carbon nanohybrid lithium-ion battery anode
Wang, Xiaoyan; Xia, Yonggao; Zuo, Xiuxia; Schaper, Simon J.; Yin, Shanshan; Ji, Qing; Liang, Suzhe; Yang, Zhaohui; Xia, Senlin; Xiao, Ying; Zhu, Jin; Müller-Buschbaum, Peter; Cheng, Ya-Jun
TiO2/SiOx/carbon nanohybrid consisting of super-small sized TiO2 and SiOx nanoparticles is in situ formed within the in situ formed carbon matrix using difunctional methacrylate monomers as solvent and carbon source. The relative composition of TiO2 and SiOx is systematically tuned by varying the feeding mass ratio of the precursors (TEOS/TTIP)…
Thermally Conductive and Electrically Insulating PVP/Boron Nitride Composite Films for Heat Spreader
Liu, Y.; Wang, N.; Ye, L.; Zehri, A.; Nylander, A.; Nkansah, A.; Lu, H.; Liu, J.
Thermally conductive materials with electrically insulating properties have been extensively investigated for thermal management of electronic devices. The combined properties of high thermal conductivity, structural stability, corrosion resistance and electric resistivity make hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) a promising candidate for this purpose. Theoretical studies have revealed that h-BN has a
Liquid Crystal Elastomer Waveguide Actuators
Kuenstler, Alexa S.; Kim, Hyunki; Hayward, Ryan C.
While most photomechanical materials developed to date have relied on free-space illumination to drive actuation, this strategy fails when direct line-of-site access is precluded. In this study, waveguided light is harnessed by liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) nanocomposites to drive actuation. Using photo-chemical reduction of gold salts to plasmonic nanoparticles, prescription…
Protic Ionic Liquids Based on the Alkyl-Imidazolium Cation: Effect of the Alkyl Chain Length on Structure and Dynamics
Abdurrokhman, Iqbaal; Elamin, Khalid; Danyliv, Olesia; Hasani, Mohammad; Swenson, Jan; Martinelli, Anna
Protic ionic liquids are known to form extended hydrogen-bonded networks that can lead to properties different from those encountered in the aprotic analogous liquids, in particular with respect to the structure and transport behavior. In this context, the present paper focuses on a wide series of 1-alkyl-imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquids,…
Encapsulation of Aspartic Protease in Nonlamellar Lipid Liquid Crystalline Phases
Valldeperas, Maria; Talaikis, Martynas; Dhayal, Surender K.; Veli?ka, Martynas; Barauskas, Justas; Niaura, Gediminas; Nylander, Tommy
Encapsulation of proteins within lipid inverse bicontinuous cubic phases (Q2) has been widely studied for many applications, such as protein crystallization or drug delivery of proteins for food and pharmaceutical purposes. However, the use of the lipid sponge (L3) phase for encapsulation of proteins has not yet been well explored.…
Polymorphic states and phase transitions in a comb-like polymer having a rigid polyester backbone and flexible side chains
Danke, Varun; Gupta, Gaurav; Huth, Heiko; Schawe, Jürgen E. K.; Beiner, Mario
Structure formation in an alkoxylated polyester having rigid backbone and flexible side chains composed of 10 alkyl carbons per side chain is studied using X-ray diffraction, conventional DSC and flash DSC techniques. Two crystalline states-modification B and modification A are observed with their occurrence depending on the thermal treatment. Additionally,…
Effect of processing conditions on the mechanical properties of bio-inspired mechanical gradient nanocomposites
Zhang, Yefei; Edelbrock, Alexandra N.; Rowan, Stuart J.
Photo-induced thiol-ene crosslinking of allyl-functionalized cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)/polymer nanocomposites allows access to films that mimic the water-enhanced mechanical gradient characteristics of the squid beak. These films are prepared by mixing the functionalized CNCs and polymer in a solvent before solution casting and drying. The photocrosslinking agents are then imbibed into…
Nano-modified HDPE/PA6 microfibrillar composites: Effect of aminated graphite platelets coupling
Kelnar, Ivan; Bal, Ümitcan; Zhigunov, Alexander; Kaprálková, Ludmila; Fortelný, Ivan; Krej?íková, Sabina; Kredatusová, Jana; Dybal, Ji?í; Janata, Miroslav; Nofar, Mohammadreza
Modification of microfibrillar composites (MFCs) by nanofillers shows important effects of its localization on performance. This work deals with control of migration/localization of amine-modified graphite nanoplatelets (GNPAs) in the HDPE/PA6 system through their in situ coupling. GNPA/HDPE linking also leads to complex morphology of PA6 fibers. Although such control of…
Shape modulation of squaramide-based supramolecular polymer nanoparticles
Talens, Victorio Saez; Makurat, D. M. M.; Liu, Tingxian; Dai, Wei; Guibert, Clément; Noteborn, Willem E. M.; Voets, Ilja K.; Kieltyka, Roxanne E.
We report the synthesis and self-assembly of a library of squaramide-based bolaamphiphiles with variable hydrophobic and hydrophilic domain sizes, consisting of varied aliphatic chains (n = 2 to 12 methylene repeat units) and linear oligo(ethylene glycol) (m = 11 to 36 repeat units), to understand their effect on the formation…