Stable free radical polymerization has been used in the controlled synthesis of poly(2,5-bis[(4butylbenzoyl)oxy]styrene), PBBOS. This “mesogen-jacketed liquid crystalline polymer”, which has mesogenic units attached directly to the backbone in a side-on mode, has been found to exhibit thermotropic liquid crystallinity similar to more conventional main-chain architectures. Stable free radical po...

Photoinduced metal-mediated radical polymerization is a rapidly developing technique which allows for the synthesis of macromolecules with defined molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distributions, although typically exhibiting significant limitations in aqueous media. Herein we demonstrate that the presence of alkali metal halide salts, in conjunction with low copper concentration and...

UV free-radical polymerization techniques are often used to synthesize hydrogels for controlled release applications. Numerous techniques exist for immobilizing drugs or solutes in the gel. This work focuses on the entrapment of solute in a hydrogel by conducting a photopolymerization in the presence of the monomer and the solute. A kinetic gelation model has been developed to examine the effec...

Superplasticizers are a class of anionic polymer dispersants used to inhibit aggregation in hydraulic cement, lowering the yield stress of cement pastes to improve workability and reduce water requirements. The plant-derived biopolymer lignin is commonly used as a low-cost/low-performance plasticizer, but attempts to improve its effects on cement rheology through copolymerization with synthetic...

We study photopolymerization in a low-molecular weight liquid crystal with non-uniform director gradients. Phase separation results in spatially nonuniform distribution of polymer density controlled by the distorted nematic matrix. Director-gradient-controlled polymerization provides a new and useful technique to assemble micron-scale polymer architectures. PACS number(s): 61.30.Gd, 64.75.+g Ty...