The post-functionalization of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) via various synthetic routes is reported. Well-defined and monofunctionalized ω-thiol-terminated P3HT, ω-carboxylic acid-terminated P3HT, ω-acrylate-terminated P3HT, and ω-methacrylate-terminated P3HT are obtained in high yields through a straightforward procedure. From those, different novel P3HT-based graft copolymers are synthesized...

Micellar solutions of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene and polystyrene-block-polyisoprene in propane are found to exhibit significantly lower cloud pressures than the corresponding hypothetical nonmicellar solutions. Such a cloud-pressure reduction indicates the extent to which micelle formation enhances the apparent diblock solubility in near-critical and hence compressible propane. Concentrati...

We numerically study a set of coupled Cahn-Hilliard equations as a means to find morphologies of diblock copolymers in three-dimensional spherical confinement. This approach allows us to find a variety of energy minimizers including rings, tennis balls, Janus balls and multipods among several others. Phase diagrams of confined morphologies are presented. We modify the size of the interface betw...

We report preliminary evidence of shear-induced alignment of polyisoprene adsorbed from Ccl, solution on to a single solid surface. The experimental technique was Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, in the mode of attenuated total reflection. The selective augmentation of vibrational modes oriented preferentially along the chain backbone implied chain orientation in the direction of flow. ...

The order-order transition temperature (T(OOT)) in blends of poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) (S-I-S) triblock copolymer and polyisoprene (PI) homopolymer was investigated by using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Pure triblock copolymer undergoes an order-order transition (OOT) from hexagonally ordered cylinder (HEX) to body centered cubic (BCC) phases. In order to investigat...

Ultrahigh molecular weight polystyrene-b-polyisoprene block copolymers (BCs), noted for their photonic behavior, were imaged using transmission near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and NSOM polarimetry. Our improved scheme for polarization modulation (PM) polarimetry, which accounts for optical anisotropies of the NSOM aperture probe, enables mapping of the local diattenuation and bire...

Selective degradation of block copolymer templates and backfilling the open mesopores is an effective strategy for the synthesis of nanostructured hybrid and inorganic materials. Incorporation of more than one type of inorganic material in orthogonal ways enables the synthesis of multicomponent nanomaterials with complex yet well-controlled architectures; however, developments in this field hav...

The measurement of esophageal pressure allows for the calculation of several important and clinically useful parameters of respiratory mechanics. Esophageal pressure is often measured with balloon-tipped catheters. These catheters may be handmade from natural latex condoms and polyethylene tubing. Given the potential of natural latex to cause allergic reaction, it is important to determine whet...

Monoand poly-disperse melts of oligomers (average length 10 monomers) of trans-1,4-polyisoprene are simulated in full atomistic detail. The force-field is developed by means of a mixture of ab initio quantum-chemistry and an automatic generation of empirical parameters. Comparisons to NMR and scattering experiments validate the model. The local reorientation dynamics shows that for C−H vectors ...