A highly crystalline and low bandgap donor polymer, EI-PFDTBT, is developed by inserting ethylene bridging units to ensure a coplanar configuration between the side chains and the main chain. Polymer solar cells based on the EI-PFDTBT and PC(71) BM blends spincoated at elevated temperatures exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 5.1%.

We have synthesised and characterised a new low-gap conjugated polymer, with a broad absorption profile. In blends with a C(70) derivative we demonstrate power conversion efficiencies of 0.76%. We show electroluminescence from the polymer peaking at 956 nm, and quantum efficiency of 0.02% in a blend.

Local chain structure and local environment play an important role in the dynamics of polymer chains in miscible blends. In general, the friction coefficients that describe the segmental dynamics of the two components in a blend differ from each other and from those of the pure melts. In this work, we investigate polymer blend dynamics with Monte Carlo simulations of a generalized bond fluctuat...

We present a study of flow-induced phase transitions in microemulsion phases of ternary polymer blends. The results match qualitatively with the recent experimental observations on such systems but differ from the behavior expected and observed in the analogous system of surfactants. We rationalize this contrast from a molecular viewpoint suggesting that the interplay between polymer chain conf...

A novel process for obtaining controlled morphologies in polymer blends is modeled numerically. Particles of one type of polymer are allowed to dissolve in a matrix of a dissimilar polymer. Prior to complete dissolution the blend is quenched into the two-phase region, such that phase separation takes place. The combination of the incomplete dissolution and the wavelength selection process assoc...

Mixtures of ideal polymers with hard spheres whose diameters are smaller than the radius of gyration of the polymer, exhibit extensive immiscibility. The interfacial tension between demixed phases of these mixtures is estimated, as is the barrier to nucleation. The barrier is found to scale linearly with the radius of the polymer, causing it to become large for large polymers. Thus for large po...

5.1 Chapter Summary Bicomponent fibers, in the range of 100 nm to a few microns, of miscible poly(vinylchloride)/segmented polyurethane (PVC/Estane) and immiscible poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(vinylidienefluoride) (PVC/PVDF) were produced respectively by electrospinning two polymer solutions in a side-by-side approach. For each of the pairs investigated, PVC/Estane and PVC/PVDF, energy dispersive ...

A b s t r w A series of blends at molecular level dispersion between an organic polymer and metal oxide (mainly silica) are described. These blends are called "organicinorganic polymers hybrids". The dimension of dispersion of "hybrids" is much smaller than that of the so-called "composites". The most suitable organic polymers for the formation of hybrids are those which consist of repeating un...

This review provides a comprehensive assessment on polymer blends and nanocomposite systems for articular cartilage tissue engineering applications. Classification of various types of blends including natural/natural, synthetic/synthetic systems, their combination and nanocomposite biomaterials are studied. Additionally, an inclusive study on their characteristics, cell responses ability to mim...