Search results for "copolymer"
showing 10 items of 1003 documents
Periodic nanoscale patterning of polyelectrolytes over square centimeter areas using block copolymer templates
2016
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016. Nano-patterned materials are beneficial for applications such as solar cells, opto-electronics, and sensing owing to their periodic structure and high interfacial area. Here, we present a non-lithographic approach for assembling polyelectrolytes into periodic nanoscale patterns over cm2-scale areas. Chemically modified block copolymer thin films featuring alternating charged and neutral domains are used as patterned substrates for electrostatic self-assembly. In-depth characterization of the deposition process using spectroscopy and microscopy techniques, including the state-of-the-art scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), reveals both the sel…
Curvature as a Guiding Field for Patterns in Thin Block Copolymer Films
2018
Experimental data on thin films of cylinder-forming block copolymers (BC)—free-standing BCmembranes as well as supported BC films—strongly suggest that the local orientation of the BC patternsis coupled to the geometry in which the patterns are embedded. We analyze this phenomenon using generalsymmetry considerations and numerical self-consistent field studies of curved BC films in cylindricalgeometry. The stability of the films against curvature-induced dewetting is also analyzed. In goodagreement with experiments, we find that the BC cylinders tend to align along the direction of curvature athigh curvatures. At low curvatures, we identify a transition from perpendicular to parallel alignm…
Polyaspartamide-based nanoparticles loaded with fluticasone propionate and the in vitro evaluation towards cigarette smoke effects
2017
This paper describes the evaluation of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as a potential carrier for lung administration of fluticasone propionate (FP). The chosen polymeric material to produce NPs was a copolymer based on α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-d,l-aspartamide (PHEA) whose backbone was derivatised with different molecules, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polyethylenglycol (PEG). The chosen method to produce NPs from PHEA-PLA-PEG2000 was the method based on high-pressure homogenization and subsequent solvent evaporation by adding Pluronic F68 during the process and trehalose before lyophilisation. Obtained colloidal FP-loaded NPs showed a slightly negative surface charge and nanometric d…
Enhanced power-conversion efficiency in organic solar cells incorporating copolymeric phase-separation modulators
2018
A new class of copolymers containing oligothiophene moieties with different lengths and fullerene units have been designed and prepared by an easy and inexpensive one-step synthetic approach. The incorporation of small quantities of these copolymers into bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with donor regioregular polythiophene (P3HT) and an acceptor fullerene derivate (PCBM) results in good control of the phase separation process without further affecting the BHJ optoelectronic properties. Indeed, under thermal annealing these copolymers allow the modulation of the growth of domains whose size depends on the length of the copolymer repetitive units. Domain size on the same length scale as…
Synthesis and Characterization of Isotactic Poly(1-hexene)/Branched Polyethylene Multiblock Copolymer via Chain Shuttling Polymerization Technique
2018
Understanding from the underlying mechanism of chain shuttling polymerization (CSP) is limited due to scarceness of successful reports and incompetence of traditional characterization techniques to distinguish blocky structures. Here, a simple synthesis approach for production of an isotactic poly(1-hexene)/branched polyethylene multiblock copolymer from a 1-hexene monomer is presented. Resulting copolymers can be easily characterized because of their solubility in most organic solvents. This novel blocky architecture is synthesized using ansa-ethylenebis(1-η5-indenyl)zirconium dichloride and α-diimine nickel(II) bromide catalysts. While the former participates in 1,2-enchainment of monomer…
Investigation of the porosity of silica and alumina with chemically bonded polystyrene
1996
The effect of modification of porous silica and alumina with a copolymer of styrene and vinylsilane on the porosity of oxides have been investigated by means of low temperature nitrogen sorption. Only small changes of the specific surface area and of the specific pore volume were observed on modification of oxides with non-cross-linked copolymer. The specific surface area significantly increased after the cross-linking of the deposited polymeric layer while the specific pore volume remains almost unaffected. A broad hysteresis loop appears in the nitrogen sorption isotherm for the alumina modified with the cross-linked polymer. The porosity of oxides modified by chemisorption method differe…
Inhomogeneity of gel and microsyneresis in porous styrene‐divinylbenzene copolymers
1985
The porosity of styrene-divinylbenzene copolymers prepared by suspension copolymerisation of the monomers carried out in the presence of inert diluent changes due to solvent pretreatment is investigated. The changes seem to reflect the inhomogeneity of copolymer gel. Various portions of it are transferred from the rubber-like into the glassy state at different stages of either swelling solvent exchange or the drying process. A microsyneresis, i.e. a local collapse of loosely crosslinked gel portions not followed by a shrinkage of the whole system, leads to the porosity changes.
Surface investigation of adhesive formulation consisting of UV sensitive triblock poly(styrene–b-butadiene–b-styrene) copolymer
2002
Abstract Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis in conjunction with macroscopic studies such as peel testing and contact angle measurement have been undertaken to explain the nanomechanical properties of adhesive formulation consisting of triblock poly(styrene–b-butadiene–b-styrene) (SBS) copolymers. The cross-linking of this photosensitive copolymer was investigated by analyzing the mechanical and morphological changes of each phase induced by the UV exposure. Main result is that the adhesive properties are strongly influenced by the cross-linking of the polybutadiene (PB) phase leading to an increase in the surface stiffness without affecting the surface energy. AFM analysis shows that th…
An Inverse Thermogelling Bioink Based on an ABA-Type Poly(2-oxazoline) Amphiphile
2021
Hydrogels are key components in several biomedical research areas such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and biofabrication. Here, a novel ABA-type triblock copolymer comprising poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) as the hydrophilic A blocks and poly(2-phenethyl-2-oxazoline) as the aromatic and hydrophobic B block is introduced. Above the critical micelle concentration, the polymer self-assembles into small spherical polymer micelles with a hydrodynamic radius of approx 8-8.5 nm. Interestingly, this specific combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic aromatic moieties leads to rapid thermoresponsive inverse gelation at polymer concentrations above a critical gelation concentration (20 wt %) into…
Ruthenium-Containing Block Copolymer Assemblies: Red-Light-Responsive Metallopolymers with Tunable Nanostructures for Enhanced Cellular Uptake and An…
2015
The use of self-assembled nanostructures consisting of red-light-responsive Ru(II)-containing block copolymers (BCPs) for anticancer phototherapy is demonstrated. Three Ru-containing BCPs with different molecular weights are synthesized. Each BCP contains a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) block and an Ru-containing block. In the Ru-containing block, more than half of the side chains are coordinated with [Ru(2,2':6',2''-terpyridine)(2,2'-biquinoline)](2+) , resulting in more than 40 wt% Ru complex in the BCPs. The Ru complex acts as both a red-light-cleavable moiety and a photoactivated prodrug. Depending on their molecular weights, the BCPs assemble into micelles, vesicles, and large comp…