She, Shan; Li, Mu; Li, Qi; Huang, Zehuan; Wei, Yongge; Yin, Panchao
Unprecedented Halide-Ion Binding and Catalytic Activity of Nanoscale Anionic Metal Oxide Clusters
One halide ion (X?) can bind on the surface of nanoscale Anderson-type polyoxometalate (POMs) clusters 3AlMo6O18(OH)3, and form stable complexes in solution with binding constant K=1.53×103. Single-crystal structural analysis showed that this binding behavior occurs through multiple hydrogen bonding between X? and three hydroxy groups on the uncapped side of…
Identification of a Frank-Kasper Z phase from shape amphiphile self-assembly
Su, Zebin; Hsu, Chih-Hao; Gong, Zihao; Feng, Xueyan; Huang, Jiahao; Zhang, Ruimeng; Wang, Yu; Mao, Jialin; Wesdemiotis, Chrys; Li, Tao; Seifert, Soenke; Zhang, Wei; Aida, Takuzo; Huang, Mingjun; Cheng, Stephen Z. D.
FrankKasper phases, a family of ordered structures formed from particles with spherical motifs, are found in a host of materials, such as metal alloys, inorganic colloids and various types of soft matter. All the experimentally observed FrankKasper phases can be constructed from the basic units of three fundamental structures called…
Effects of an ionic liquid and processing conditions on the ?-polymorph crystal formation in poly(vinylidene fluoride)
Pickford, Tom; Gu, Xu; L. Heeley, Ellen; Wan, Chaoying
The piezoelectric properties of poly?vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) are determined by the prevalence and orientation of its polar ?-crystal phase, which can be tuned by processing conditions, additives, mechanical stretching or post-treatment. Here, the effects of three types of processing conditions on the crystalline structure evolution of PVDF were investigated; electrospinning,…
Supramolecular luminescent triblock copolymer thermoplastic elastomer via metal-ligand coordination
Jiang, Feng; Zhang, Xin; Hwang, Wonseok; Briber, Robert M.; Fang, Yanxiong; Wang, Howard
We have performed synthesis and testing of novel supramolecular thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs). The polymers incorporate metal-ligand bonds between terbium (Tb3+) ions and imidazole groups in a triblock copolymer poly(isobornyl acrylate)-block-poly(n-butyl acrylate-co-1-vinylimidazole)-block-poly(isobornyl acrylate) (PIBA-b-P(BA-co-VI)-b-PIBA) as a second reversible physical cross-link in
Synthesis and Solid-State Properties of PolyC3 (Co)polymers Containing (CH2CH2C(COOR)2) Repeat Units with Densely Packed Fluorocarbon Lateral Chains
Illy, Nicolas; Urayeneza, Deogratias; Maryasevskaya, Alina V.; Michely, Laurent; Boileau, Sylvie; Brissault, Blandine; Bersenev, Egor A.; Anokhin, Denis V.; Ivanov, Dimitri A.; Penelle, Jacques
The synthesis and structural characterization of linear PolyC3 polymers containing trimethylene-1,1-dicarboxylate structural repeat units with C6F13 and C8F17 fluorinated side chains is described for the first time, and their properties were compared with the traditional polyvinyl structures that display the fluorinated chain on every second rather than on every third…
Ballistic thermal phonons traversing nanocrystalline domains in oriented polyethylene
Robbins, Andrew B.; Drakopoulos, Stavros X.; Martin-Fabiani, Ignacio; Ronca, Sara; Minnich, Austin J.
Polymer crystals that are good conductors of heat are highly desirable for thermal management applications. Although thermally conductive polymer crystals are well known, the microscopic thermal transport processes that enable these properties have been challenging to probe experimentally. We used an optical method to probe heat conduction at submicrometer length…
Improvement in mechanical and structural properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) nanohybrid
Saxena, Dipti; Rana, Dipak; Bhoje Gowd, E.; Maiti, Pralay
The wide range of applicability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) in various fields such as packaging, automobile parts, sports and textile due to its transparent nature, light weight and mechanical properties creates strong case to enhance its mechanical properties. By embedding nanofillers and thereby improving the mechanical properties, this spectrum can…
Pendant side-chain sterics against electrostatic forces: Influencing short-range ordering in random polyelectrolytes
Nwosu, Chinomso; Coughlin, E. Bryan
The length of pendant side chains in charged, random, comb-shaped polymers dictates the nature of their short-range ordering. Random copolymers, and terpolymer, of 4-vinylpyridine (4VP), styrene, and isoprene were synthesized and subsequently fully quaternized with 1-alkylbromides having varying number of carbons on the alkyl group ranging from 2 to 8.…
Soft cellulose II nanospheres: solgel behaviour, swelling and material synthesis
Beaumont, Marco; Rosenfeldt, Sabine; Tardy, Blaise L.; Gusenbauer, Claudia; Khakalo, Alexey; Nonappa; Opietnik, Martina; Potthast, Antje; Rojas, Orlando J.; Rosenau, Thomas
High axial aspect crystalline nanomaterials have emerged as polymeric building blocks for the construction of supermaterials. In contrast to this form, amorphous nanospheres have remained largely untapped. This is especially peculiar in the context of material assembly, due to the wide range of opportunities they offer by virtue of their…
Bacteria-Resistant, Transparent, Free-Standing Films Prepared from Complex Coacervates
Kurtz, Irene S.; Sui, Shuo; Hao, Xi; Huang, Mengfei; Perry, Sarah L.; Schiffman, Jessica D.
We report the fabrication, properties, and bacteria-resistance of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) coatings and free-standing films. Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid), poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), and salt were spin-coated into PEC films. After thermal annealing in a humid environment, highly transparent, mechanically strong, and chemically robust films were formed. Notably, we demonstrate