Search results for "Network"

Patterning of Conducting Polymers Using UV Lithography: The in-Situ Polymerization Approach

2012

We report on the in-situ polymerization of 3T with Cu(ClO4)2 inside several host polymers such as Novolak-based negative-tone photoresist, polystyrene (PS), poly(4-vinylphenol) (P4VP), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(4-vinylphenol)-co-(methyl methacrylate) (P4VP-co-MMA) to form an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN). Conducting IPN films in the order of 10–4–150 S/cm are obtained depending on the specific IPN composition. Moreover, the convenience of this synthetic approach has been demonstrated using a commercially available negative-tone photoresist based on Novolak as a host polymer. Novolak photoresist was properly formulated with 3T and Cu(ClO4)2 to preserve as far as pos…

Novel patternable and conducting metal-polymer nanocomposites: a step towards advanced mutlifunctional materials

2013

In this work, we present a novel patternable conducting nanocomposite containing gold nanoparticles. Here, the in-situ polymerization of 3T is carried out using HAuCl 4 as oxidizing agent inside PMMA as host matrix. During the bake step, the gold salt is also reduced from Au(III) to Au(0) generating Au nanoparticles in the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) system. We found that this novel multifunctional resist shows electrical conductivity and plasmonic properties as well as potential patterning capability provided by the host matrix. The resulting nanocomposite has been investigated by TEM and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Electrical characterization was also conducted for different concentra…

Studying the role of protein dynamics in an SN2 enzyme reaction using free-energy surfaces and solvent coordinates

2013

Conformational changes are known to be able to drive an enzyme through its catalytic cycle, allowing, for example, substrate binding or product release. However, the influence of protein motions on the chemical step is a controversial issue. One proposal is that the simple equilibrium fluctuations incorporated into transition-state theory are insufficient to account for the catalytic effect of enzymes and that protein motions should be treated dynamically. Here, we propose the use of free-energy surfaces, obtained as a function of both a chemical coordinate and an environmental coordinate, as an efficient way to elucidate the role of protein structure and motions during the reaction. We sho…

Solid state halogen bonded networks vs. dynamic assemblies in solution: explaining N⋯X interactions of multivalent building blocks

2015

Tetrapyridine functionalized resorcinarene macrocycles were used as multivalent building blocks for the construction of halogen bonded networks with aryl halide linkers. In the solid state, resorcinarene macrocycles and aryl halide linker molecules assembled into interpenetrated, multidimensional halogen bonded networks with porous structure caused by the 3D block scaffold of the resorcinarenes. 19F NMR spectroscopy proved halogen bond formation also in solution, as either upfield or downfield shifts were observed depending on the bivalent or monovalent halogen bond binding mode. The binding mode in solution was explained by density functional theory computations. peerReviewed

Tryptophan catabolism via kynurenine production in Streptomyces coelicolor: identification of three genes coding for the enzymes of tryptophan to ant…

2011

Most enzymes involved in tryptophan catabolism via kynurenine formation are highly conserved in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. In humans, alterations of this pathway have been related to different pathologies mainly involving the central nervous system. In Bacteria, tryptophan and some of its derivates are important antibiotic precursors. Tryptophan degradation via kynurenine formation involves two different pathways: the eukaryotic kynurenine pathway, also recently found in some bacteria, and the tryptophan-to-anthranilate pathway, which is widespread in microorganisms. The latter produces anthranilate using three enzymes also involved in the kynurenine pathway: tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TD…

Polymer Films in the Normal-Liquid and Supercooled State: A Review of Recent Monte Carlo Simulation Results

2000

This paper reviews recent Monte Carlo simulation studies of the glassy behavior in thin polymer films. The simulations employ a version of the bond-fluctuation lattice model, in which the glass transition is driven by the competition between a stiffening of the polymers and their dense packing in the melt. The melt is geometrically confined between two impenetrable walls separated by distances ranging from once to about fifteen times the bulk radius of gyration. The confinement influences static and dynamic properties of the films: Chains close to the wall preferentially orient parallel to it. This orientation tendency propagates through the film and leads to a layer structure at low temper…

Disorder Classification of the Vibrational Spectra of Modern Glasses

2021

Using the coherent-potential approximation in heterogeneous-elasticity theory with a log-normal distribution of elastic constants for the description of the Raman spectrum and the temperature dependence of the specifi?c heat, we are able to reconstruct the vibrational density of states and characteristic descriptors of the elastic heterogeneity of a wide range of glassy materials. These descriptors are the non-affi?ne contribution to the shear modulus, the mean-square fluctuation of the local elasticity, and its correlation length. They enable a physical classification scheme for disorder in modern, industrially relevant glass materials. We apply our procedure to a broad range of real-world…

Structural and Gelation Characteristics of Metallo-Supramolecular Polymer Model-Network Hydrogels Probed by Static and Dynamic Light Scattering

2021

Supramolecular polymer gels are a promising class of materials whose polymer components are connected by transient bonds such as metal–ligand interactions, thereby spanning a dynamic network throug...

Structure and Chemical Bonds in Black Ti(C, N, O) Thin Films

2010

Effect of physical aging on the low-frequency vibrational density of states of a glassy polymer

2003

The effects of the physical aging on the vibrational density of states (VDOS) of a polymeric glass is studied. The VDOS of a poly(methyl methacrylate) glass at low-energy (<15 meV), was determined from inelastic neutron scattering at low-temperature for two different physical thermodynamical states. One sample was annealed during a long time at temperature lower than Tg, and another was quenched from a temperature higher than Tg. It was found that the VDOS around the boson peak, relatively to the one at higher energy, decreases with the annealing at lower temperature than Tg, i.e., with the physical aging.