Adamski, Michael; Skalski, Thomas J. G.; Xu, Shaoyi; Killer, Miho; Schibli, Eric M.; Frisken, Barbara J.; Holdcroft, Steven
Microwave-assisted DielsAlder polycondensation of proton conducting poly(phenylene)s
An exploratory microwave-assisted synthesis of a promising proton-conducting, DielsAlder poly(phenylene) is reported and comprehensively compared against a traditional, thermal polymerization approach. A 24-fold reduction in reaction time is achieved by microwave synthesis. Characterization of polymers prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis vs. the thermal approach reveals little difference in
Structural correlations tailor conductive properties in polymerized ionic liquids
Doughty, Benjamin; Genix, Anne-Caroline; Popov, Ivan; Li, Bingrui; Zhao, Sheng; Saito, Tomonori; Lutterman, Daniel A.; Sacci, Robert L.; Sumpter, Bobby G.; Wojnarowska, Zaneta; Bocharova, Vera
Polymerized ionic liquids (PolyILs) are promising materials for applications in electrochemical devices spanning from fuel cells to capacitors and batteries. In principle, PolyILs have a competitive advantage over traditional electrolytes in being single ion conductors and thus enabling a transference number close to unity. Despite this perceived advantage, surprisingly low…
Sulfo-Phenylated Polyphenylenes Containing Sterically Hindered Pyridines
Xu, Shaoyi; Adamski, Michael; Killer, Miho; Schibli, Eric M.; Frisken, Barbara J.; Holdcroft, Steven
We systematically investigated the effect of incorporating a sterically hindered pyridyl group into a sulfo-phenylated polyphenylene to control the polymers physicochemical properties through acidbase interactions. Homopolymers with similar molecular weights and comparable structures that vary by only one atom (N vs C?) per repeat unit along the polymer chain were…
Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters
de Kort, Gijs W.; Rastogi, Sanjay; Wilsens, Carolus H. R. M.
Thermoplastic composites based on thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) materials are interesting candidates for reinforced composite application due to their promising mechanical performance and potential for recyclability. In combination with a societal push toward the more sustainable use of materials, these properties warrant new interest in this class of composites.…
Preparation of cellulose nanofibers from Miscanthus x. Giganteus by ammonium persulfate oxidation
Yang, Han; Zhang, Yefei; Kato, Ryo; Rowan, Stuart J.
Carboxylic acid functionalized cellulose nanofibers (MxG-CNFA-CO2H) were successfully isolated from a sustainable grass hybrid Miscanthus x. Giganteus by a new two-step chemical oxidation, that involves bleach treatment and ammonium persulfate oxidation, followed by ultrasonication. The resulting MxG-CNFA-CO2Hs have ca. 1200?mmol/kg carboxylic acid surface groups, an aspect ratio of 230 (height
Widely tunable persistent micelle templates via homopolymer swelling
Sarkar, Amrita; Thyagarajan, Akshay; Cole, August; Stefik, Morgan
The combination of precision control with wide tunability remains a challenge for the fabrication of porous nanomaterials suitable for studies of nanostructurebehavior relationships. Polymer micelle templates broadly enable porous materials, however micelle equilibration hampers independent pore and wall size control. Persistent micelle templates (PMT) have emerged as a kinetic controlled
Nafion/Protic Ionic Liquid Blends: Nanoscale Organization and Transport Properties
Danyliv, Olesia; Martinelli, Anna
In this work, the possibility of using the protic ionic liquids N-ethylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate, , and N-ethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, , as charge carriers in appropriately modified Nafion membranes has been investigated. The superior thermal stability of ionic liquids, as compared to that of water-based electrolytes, hypothetically offers a
CO2 capture using three-dimensionally ordered micromesoporous carbon
Vorokhta, Maryna; Morávková, Jaroslava; ?imná?ová, Daniela; Pila?, Radim; Zhigunov, Alexander; vábová, Martina; Sazama, Petr
Adsorption of CO2 on three-dimensionally ordered micromesoporous carbon with a spherical pore structure has been studied using gravimetric and manometric analyses. Adsorptive properties were compared with activated carbon and nanostructured carbon materials such as carbon nanotubes, zeolitic-imidazolate framework-derived carbon, carbon nanohorns and ordered mesoporous carbon materials. The
Fused thienobenzene-thienothiophene electron acceptors for organic solar cells
Xu, Ye; Jiang, Haotian; Lau, Tsz-Ki; Zhu, Jingshuai; Wang, Jiayu; Lu, Xinhui; Zhan, Xiaowei; Lin, Yuze
Small molecule ladder-type heteroarenes IHBT-2F is designed and synthesized with strong electron-donating and molecular packing properties, where the central unit, fused thienobenzene-thienothiphene (IHBT), is attached with the strong electron-deficient 2-(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene)malononitrile (2FIC) as the end group. The counterpart IDBT-2F with…
Preparation of isoporous membranes from low χ block copolymers via co-assembly with H-bond interacting homopolymers
Zhu, Guo-Dong; Yang, Cao-Ying; Yin, Yu-Rong; Yi, Zhuan; Chen, Xian-Hong; Liu, Li-Fen; Gao, Cong-Jie
Self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase separation (SNIPS) was extensively used in the fabrication of isoporous membranes for its compatibility with massive production. However, for the well-defined SNIPS, preparation of isoporous membranes from low χ block copolymers is challenging because self-assembly of these polymers is usually hard to induce. In this…