Cohen, Neta; Ochbaum, Guy; Levi-Kalisman, Yael; Bitton, Ronit; Yerushalmi-Rozen, Rachel
Polymer-Induced Modification of Cellulose Nanocrystal Assemblies in Aqueous Suspensions
The effect of adsorbing, nonionic polymers on the phase behavior of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is of interest for design and preparation of functional hybrids. CNC assembly into a chiral nematic phase (N*) was investigated in the presence of highly hydrated poly(vinyl alcohol) (HPVA), low hydrated PVA (LPVA), and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP).…
Pore formation and evolution mechanism during biaxial stretching of β-iPP used for lithium-ion batteries separator
Ding, Lei; Xu, Ruizhang; Pu, Lian; Yang, Feng; Wu, Tong; Xiang, Ming
The morphological evolution and pore formation mechanism of different kinds of ?-iPP spherulites during biaxial stretching were analyzed. The smaller radial-growth spherulite deforms heterogeneous, causing a faster reduction in ?-crystal content and higher orientation degree during longitudinal stretching, while the bigger spherulite derived from the hedrites deformed more homogeneous due…
Anisotropic polymer nanoparticles with controlled dimensions from the morphological transformation of isotropic seeds
Hua, Zan; Jones, Joseph R.; Thomas, Marjolaine; Arno, Maria C.; Souslov, Anton; Wilks, Thomas R.; OReilly, Rachel K.
Understanding and controlling self-assembly processes at multiple length scales is vital if we are to design and create advanced materials. In particular, our ability to organise matter on the nanoscale has advanced considerably, but still lags far behind our skill in manipulating individual molecules. New tools allowing controlled nanoscale assembly…
Brønsted acid mediated covalent organic framework membranes for efficient molecular separation
Wang, Hongjian; Chen, Long; Yang, Hao; Wang, Meidi; Yang, Leixin; Du, Haiyan; Cao, Chenliang; Ren, Yanxiong; Wu, Yingzhen; Pan, Fusheng; Jiang, Zhongyi
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) hold great promise in molecular separation. However, since the aperture size of most COFs is in the range of 0.84.9 nm, constructing COF membranes with a smaller aperture size is thus in urgent demand yet remains a grand challenge. In this study, a Brønsted acid mediated…
Facilitate charge transfer at donor/acceptor interface in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics by two-dimensional nanoflakes
Yang, Weitao; Ye, Zhixiang; Liang, Tao; Ye, Jian; Chen, Hongzheng
Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials have been applied in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) as electrode modifier or third component in bulk due to their high charge carrier mobility, various electronic band structure, and facile fabrication via liquid phase exfoliation. Herein, solution exfoliated few layers black phosphorus (BP) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2) were…
Multilayered assembly of poly(vinylidene fluoride) and poly(methyl methacrylate) for achieving multi-shape memory effects
Ji, Xiaoying; Chen, Dayong; Zheng, Yu; Shen, Jiabin; Guo, Shaoyun; Harkin-Jones, Eileen
The alternately-organized poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) multilayer materials were prepared through layer-multiplying coextrusion. With the multiplication of layers, the thickness of each layer was reduced in proportion and the layer interfaces were enriched generating a broader and more continuous thermal transition temperature (Ttrans) from PVDF to PMMA layers
Melt-Spun Nanocomposite Fibers Reinforced with Aligned Tunicate Nanocrystals
Redondo, Alexandre; Chatterjee, Sourav; Brodard, Pierre; Korley, LaShanda T. J.; Weder, Christoph; Gunkel, Ilja; Steiner, Ullrich
The fabrication of nanocomposite films and fibers based on cellulose nanocrystals (P-tCNCs) and a thermoplastic polyurethane (PU) elastomer is reported. High-aspect-ratio P-tCNCs were isolated from tunicates using phosphoric acid hydrolysis, which is a process that affords nanocrystals displaying high thermal stability. Nanocomposites were produced by solvent casting (films) or melt-mixing…
Gold and silver dichroic nanocomposite in the quest for 3D printing the Lycurgus cup
Kool, Lars; Dekker, Floris; Bunschoten, Anton; Smales, Glen J.; Pauw, Brian R.; Velders, Aldrik H.; Saggiomo, Vittorio
The Lycurgus cup is an ancient glass artefact that shows dichroism as it looks green when a white light is reflected on it and a red colouring appears when a white light is transmitted through it. This peculiar dichroic effect is due to silver and gold nanoparticles present in the…
Controlling the pore size in conjugated polymer films via crystallization-driven phase separation
Guo, Shaowen; Lu, Yaguang; Wang, Binghua; Shen, Changyu; Chen, Jingbo; Reiter, Günter; Zhang, Bin
A wide range of possible applications in sensors and optoelectronic devices have focused considerable attention on porous membranes made of semi-conducting polymers. In this study, porous films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were conveniently constructed through spin-coating of solutions of a blend of P3HT and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Pores were formed by…
Effect of Phosphaphenanthrene Skeleton in Sulfonated Polyimides for Proton Exchange Membrane Application
Mandal, Arun Kumar; Bisoi, Soumendu; Banerjee, Susanta
Sulfonic acid groups containing aromatic polyimides are of great interest as polymer electrolyte membranes owing to their high thermal and mechanical stability, strong resistance to fuel crossover, excellent film-forming ability, and high proton conductivity. However, these polymers generally experience reduced oxidative permanence. To alleviate the problems associated with the oxidative