Peterson, Colin; Hillmyer, Marc A.
Fast Photochromic Dye Response in Rigid Block Polymer Thermosets
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…
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…
Tuning Pore Dimensions of Mesoporous Inorganic Films by Homopolymer Swelling
Reid, Barry; Alvarez-Fernandez, Alberto; Schmidt-Hansberg, Benjamin; Guldin, Stefan
The functionality and applications of mesoporous inorganic films are closely linked to their mesopore dimensions. For material architectures derived from a block copolymer (BCP) micelle coassembly, the pore size is typically manipulated by changing the molecular weight corresponding to the pore-forming block. However, bespoke BCP synthesis is often a costly…
Fragmentation of 1,2-Polybutadiene-block-Poly(ethylene oxide) Micelles in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids
Early, Julia T.; Lodge, Timothy P.
The effect of solvent selectivity on the fragmentation kinetics of spherical micelles formed by a 1,2-polybutadiene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) BO copolymer in five 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquids (ILs), (, where n = methyl, ethyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl) was investigated by temperature-jump dynamic light scattering (T-jump DLS),
Reproducible Preparation of Proteopolymersomes via Sequential Polymer Film Hydration and Membrane Protein Reconstitution
Loo, Siew-Leng; Siti, Winna; Thiyagarajan, Monisha; Torres, Jaume; Wang, Rong; Hu, Xiao
Film rehydration method is commonly used for membrane protein (MP) reconstitution into block copolymer (BCP), but the lack of control in the rehydration step formed a heterogeneous population of proteopolymersomes that interferes with the characterization and performance of devices incorporating them. To improve the self-assembly of polymersomes with simultaneous MP…
Development and characterization of a novel soy lecithin-stearic acid and whey protein concentrate bigel system for potential edible applications
Bollom, Mark A.; Clark, Stephanie; Acevedo, Nuria C.
Bigels are a new technology with great potential in the food industry. Their success with drug delivery suggests they may be able to deliver sensitive compounds in foods, such as probiotics and bioactives. The purpose of this study was to develop and characterize a novel, edible bigel system. The bigel…
Toughening anti-overswelling semicrystalline polymer hydrogels with ultra-small hydrophobic nanoparticles
Meng, Xiaohui; Wu, Teng; Qiu, Dong
Semicrystalline polymer hydrogels (SC-gels) are intrinsically electrolyte tolerant and over-swelling resistant, emerging as promising candidates for applications in solution environments. However, SC-gels with high mechanical strength are usually brittle. In the present work, by introducing ultra-small hydrophobic nanoparticles, highly-stretchable SC-gels (15 times of its original length) with
Effect of Macromolecular Chain Movement and the Interchain Interaction on Crystalline Nucleation and Spherulite Growth of Polylactic Acid under High-Pressure CO2
Li, Shaojie; Chen, Taoyi; Liao, Xia; Han, Weiqiang; Yan, Zhihui; Li, Junsong; Li, Guangxian
Crystallization behavior of polylactic acid (PLA) under CO2 is meaningful due to its effect on foaming behavior during CO2 foaming, while present studies mainly concentrated on overall crystallization behavior. In this study, the effect of CO2 on nucleation and spherulite growth of PLA crystals was in situ investigated separately. During…
Tailoring the pore size and permeability of isoporous membranes through blending with poly(ethylene glycol): Toward the balance of macro- and microphase separation
Yang, Cao-ying; Zhu, Guo-dong; Yi, Zhuan; Qiu, Ya-yu; Liu, Li-fen; Gao, Cong-jie
Isoporous membranes prepared from the combination of self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase inversion (SNIPS) were known for their asymmetric structures that were characterized with an isoporous top layer and porous/interconnected sublayer. This unique feature provides an opportunity to tailor the structure on toplayer and sublayer separately or synchronously by adjusting…
Physicochemical Properties of the Binary Mixtures of CuII-Containing Chelate-Based Ionic Liquids with Linear Alcohols
Zhang, Songna; Wang, Yongtao; Wang, Xinyu; Yao, Jia; Li, Haoran
Systematic measurements (densities, viscosities, conductivities) combined with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments were performed for binary mixtures of CuII-containing chelate-based ionic liquid (ChIL) with linear alcohols. The experimental results were explained by disruption of alcohols to ionic aggregation of the ChILs. Viscosity deviations (??) of four binary systems all show